Gourmet Popsicles

I found a great recipe at www.cooks.com recipe search for popsicles and fudgesicles. Popsicles have been my staple food item all summer long and the front porch swing is the best place to enjoy. That is how I have been keeping my cool all summer. I even enjoy the cheapest, plastic sleeve ones and so does my dog Mena. She likes the grape ones best and waits patiently for me to almost finish because she knows I will share the last bite. Anyway, I live several miles from the store and sometimes I run out so I was looking for a recipe that would be a little bit better than just freezing kool-aid (although there's nothing wrong with that!). I tried the popsicle recipe first:

1 (3 oc) pkg. jello, any flavor

1 pkg. kool-aid, any flavor

1 c sugar

2 c hot water

2 c cold water

They are soooo goood and actually have more of the texture of a "pink thing" remember those?

I tried out the fudgesicle recipe next for my 3 young friends that visited. It was a big hit as well.

1 (3 oz) pkg. chocolate instant pudding

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c cream

2 c milk

I also found these push up pop things at a kitchen store. They are for serving ice cream to little kids. You pack it in and then they can eat off the stick by pushing up from the bottom. I tried freezing the popsicles and fudgesicles in them and they work great. I filled them up, put the lids on and then slipped them through one of the shelf racks in my freezer. That held them in upright position while they froze. I am definitely going to get more of these the next time I find them. They were actually featured in this month's Woman's Day magazine. At least that is where I saw them first. The other containers are the regular ones for making homemade frozen treats. Even though school starts Monday, and Hobby Lobby already has Christmas decor on display, we know here in Texas it will hot for a lot longer. So, give these recipes a try and cool yourself off on your front porch while the hot summer afternoons are still here. Sew long..

Friends Reunite

Campbell and Gator met a couple of months ago, but they still remembered each other when she came to visit this week. Gator loves Campbell and just about knocked us down trying to sniff her hair and face checking to see if she had sugar cubes in her pockets. Campbell loves anything outdoors so she made quick friends will all the animals. We had 2 dogs and 3 cats at the house plus the neighbor's horse next door and she spent a lot of quality time playing with them. They look sad today because they haven't had much attention since she went home. We can't wait for her to come back to visit. We took lots of pictures and I will post more later. Hello my little friends, I miss all of you!!!!!

Getting to the Point!

Here are 2 of my friends that came to visit this week. I don't know why their mom's worry so much. They pretty much take care of themselves! He just got the archery set the day before and already he is doing great! His sister barely even got a scrape! Not really, we just set it up to give the mom a fright, but she picked them up yesterday and they were still happy and healthy.
I had so much fun playing with my friends. We fed the horse, played dress-up, colored, sat on porch swing, went to park and Boykin Springs, fed the goats, ate snowcones, ate homemade fudge pops, had weiner roast, made smores, laid down under the stars and talked about God and did a bunch of other stuff. Wow, in only 1 and 1/2 days. I can't wait for their next visit. I'm sure we can find a lot of other stuff to do (I can still hear Campbell in background doing her spooky laugh as I think about what to plan next!).

Before and After

Gold Thrifted Frame

Pretty Pink Bulletin Board


Sewing Room Before

Sewing Room After

Just a few before and after photos to help keep me inspired. I might remind you though, that the gold frame was only purchased 2 days ago and I actually re-created it yesterday. Now, that is a super fast turn around. The sewing room, not so fast. Notice the pink desk. That was a project from last week. This is just about as neat as this room gets. I work in here a lot so the ironing board is always up. When I have company, I clean up all the sewing stuff (lol, by stuffing it somewhere) and fold up the ironing board. It almost looks like a guest room then. This week my two young girlfriends are visiting and I will spruce up the room for them. I will have to add another sleeping space but I am prepared. There is a blow up mattress under the bed and we will get that out and make a very comfortable sleep spot.

The weekend looms before me and I always feel pressure to do something extra around the house, but then I get stage fright, and end up doing nothing. It seems that no matter how much I get done during the week, I feel the need to do something major on Saturday. I guess left over feelings from working and school. Anyway, tomorrow my goal is to pay bills, vacuum all the floors (ulterior motive with that, I plan to vacuum in the morning to help son wake up at a decent hour), mop some of the floors and then crochet or sew. Plus, tomorrow is my 29th wedding anniversary. That is a long time and I feel that couples who stay married that long should get an extra stimulus check from the government or somebody. Hey, this is quite an accomplishment! Hubby and I will go out tomorrow night and celebrate with dinner out. Maybe I will get motivated and make that dress I was talking about earlier for something new to wear. Let's see, if we leave for dinner at 5:30, I need to start working on it by 4:00. That sounds about right. Don't you think sew?

Wait There's More (goes with article below)

These are the goodies I found in the Goodwill "as is" store. I got all this loot for 1.00. Amazing! And, I have plans for all of it. The books are for me and a few of my young friends that will be visiting next week. I am so excited that Campbell, Eden and Lucas are coming to spend a few days. The plate which is very vintage looking will be a bird feeder in one of my gardens and the big mug, a planter for a small ivy cutting. However, the find of the day, the brown mug, is my souvenir from Washington D.C. where my best friend Melissa and her husband will be visiting next week. What's wrong with finding your souvenir before you go? Mel and I do it all the time. It is way cheaper and you don't have to worry about it breaking in transit. I hurried and called her so that she could stop worrying about what to bring me back when she goes. For just about .10 I have a good as new cup from Washington D.C. I bet when she goes there she will find the same one for at least 8.99 or more. So, I saved her money, time shopping and worries packing all for .10 for me PRICELESS for her! Now that's a good day's thrifting!

Goodwill to Me!

So, mom and I decided to swing by the Goodwill store in Lufkin to do a little bit of treasure hunting. Look what I found! A platter/plate (1.49) which I will save to use for a cake plate when I take someone a cake for a gift and a gold, plastic, picture frame that has no picture. I know, how lucky you must think I am. I have big plans for that picture frame. Just keep watching blog, it will definitely show up again and for just .99 you will be amazed at the treasure it will become. Mom found a very nice Bill Blass blouse (say that 3 times fast) for 1.00 and a brand new scrapbook photo album for .99. Not bad for a day thrifting!

Finally, a Sewing Project

Yesterday, mom and I made plans to go shopping and I planned to meet her at her house at 10:00 am. At about 8:30 am, I decided to make myself a new blouse to wear. Ok, stop right now and understand that this is very normal for me. I will go days without sewing, but then, as soon as the mood strikes, I am there! I had this fabric already picked for this blouse pattern so all I had to do was cut it out really fast, (make a few alterations) sew it up and then get a quick shower and meet her by 10:00. I did it and was only about 5 minutes late. How about that?! I love this blouse. This is my third from Simplicity 4177 and so far my favorite. The pattern calls for elastic around the sleeve, but of course, I left that out. Saved me about 20 minutes and I prefer the loose sleeve anyway. I lengthened the blouse as well thinking that it could also double as a dress, but it is not quite long enough. I had to guess how much to add to the hips when I lengthened and I guessed wrong, so it will just have to be a little bit bunched up, tunic style top. I still love it and wore it all day long. I used a little less than 2 yards of $2.00 fabric so the top ended up costing about $3.75. The next time I make this pattern and yes, I will make more, I am going to make it into a dress, with maybe a loose hip style belt. Even Ethan said he liked it on me when he had to take the picture, so I will definitely wear it many more times.

Inspired by a Movie - Julie and Julia

Looking good

Almost ready!


Fried Pickles!
So, on Monday night my friends from the city went to see the movie Julie and Julia that has just come out. Of course, they called and invited me to join them, but since it was a 2.5 hour drive and we already had a doctor's appointment, I had to decline. The next day, Mel called to tell me that the movie was great and they all had a great time. So, I decided to invite my mom to go out with me to see the movie.

Before we left for the movie, I got on facebook and invited one of my friends from here, to join us at the movie when she got off work. I even suggested she call up her sister also to meet us there. Then, as often happens, I was distracted from the computer and did not return to see her reply. When mom and I got to the movie the previews had already begun so we were trying to feel our way in the dark to find seats. I heard someone wispering my name and it was facebook friend Debbie and her sister. I realized then that I had forgotten to go back and check to see if she would take up my invite. Good thing she came on anyway. We sat right in front of her and her sister and we all enjoyed the movie.

Now, about the movie. It was really good and was all about cooking. It made me so hungry just watching it. Ironically, it was about a young woman who was writing a blog.... hello, I am writing a blog.... she also had dreams to one day write a book.... hello, I have a dream to write a book. Anyway, tonight when I started making my son and me a "vegetarian dinner" of "fried pickles", I decided to take pictures and add it to my blog. So I did. Have you ever had fried pickles. They are yummy. I started with big, kosher dill, pickles. I sliced them up pretty thick, made up a batter of flour, egg and milk and then deep fried them until brown. To eat them, you just put them on a plate and then dip them in cold ranch dressing. You can eat with your fingers. And the best part... NO LEFTOVERS! Now, neither Julie or Julia demonstrated fried pickles last night on the movie, neverless, I felt very inspired as I cooked, ran and got the camera and took pictures of the process. I think that might be one of the symtoms of ADD, but that is what makes a blog so special. Right in the middle of everyday routine boring stuff, you can get an idea for the blog and then all of a sudden, something as boring as fried pickles becomes an inspiring article. At least to me it does. So, in short, I had something good to eat and new material for the blog. Plus I mentioned two friends names here, so there, I think this is a great blog entry!! Sew hoping you think sew too!

Things I Painted Last Week

Kitchen Door



Return Air Vent

Josie's Bottom

My Fingernails

Mom's Bedroom Ceiling

Blue Desk, Now Pink

Blue Desk

Wow, I must be really tired. "Yes, I am". I painted and painted and painted last week. It all started when mom went out of town. I decided to finally paint her bedroom ceiling which was a very old gray/brown tile. It actually started out as white with gold veining that I think my Dad thought would help hide spider webs. That was over 30 years ago, and yep it did hide them. Anyway, I had been telling her I would paint it for about 5 years at least, so I finally did it. It turned out great. Then, I got inspired and decided to paint my sewing desk that I have been intending to paint ever since I bought it at a garage sale about 8 years ago. I painted it pink to match my sewing room and it turned out great. Then, there it was, the old dirty, half paint scrapped off return air vent in the farmhouse we are currently restoring. (restoring sounds better than fixin up). That led to the back door of the kitchen and that's when Josie curled up in the drop cloth and got kilz on her behind. After all that, of course I needed to do my nails. So, that is how one project can get you into trouble. I finally ran out of paint and rested. Wow, I don't even like to paint and am not good at it at all. I make huge messes and waste a lot of paint, but for some reason it all turned out well. This week I am resting, unless of course I decide to ......