Just a little of this and that

Yesterday I was busy putting away STUFF. There's just STUFF everywhere. Jackets, pencils, mail, coupons, quilting thread, tweezers, scrapbooks, notebooks, cookbooks, candles, baby toys, tennis shoes, snow boots, clothes, earrings, atlas maps, Boy Scout stuff, old homework papers, old report cards, video games.....STUFF.

I kinda feel like I want to clean like I'm moving to another house. When you prepare to move, you pack away all of the extra, unnecessary stuff . . . . and you're left with clutter-free furniture, counter tops and living space! I love it! I wonder if I'm getting that Spring cleaning feeling.

When I looked at my bookcase yesterday, the sun was shining through the window and highlighting the magazines and printed recipes tucked here and there . . . and I was perturbed. It looked so dusty and disheveled. Then, I put away all of the snow boots and extra shoes gathered by the front door and found a few dried leaves and lots of crumbly little pieces of dried mud and dirt that had been stuck in the thick treads . . . and I was like it. . . . errrrrrr!

Yep! I think I'm getting that itch for Spring cleaning. It will be nice to get that first warm day of the season when I can open a couple of windows and let some fresh air in!

Amidst cleaning, I did find time to take a little walk and enjoy that sunshine. I noticed white feathers peppered the landscape everywhere I walked. Chicken feathers. Not sure if they're from the Leghorn named Crystal Gale, or the Americauna named Sleepy. They were so pretty and fluffy, dancing softly in the breeze . . . glad I took a few photos because it is really raining out there this morning! No fluffy, puffy, pretty white feathers floating on a breeze today...everything is washing downstream today! Our creek is up sooooo high it will probably crest by afternoon. Our basement will undoubtedly flood {minimally} and that is quite normal for us...especially in Spring!

Boo!

This is Sleepy. 

She wants to know why I'm poking around in her business!

I realize she looks a little scary up close...but really, I love her the most! She is the only chicken that willingly lets us pick her up.

Today I will continue with a little cleaning. I've planned to use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on the finger prints left at the edges of walls, openings and door frames. I'd also like to take a little time to do some quilting, drink some coffee and watch the rain from my living room window.

We are having dinner guests this evening . . .family . . .I'm making spaghetti with homemade meatballs and sauce, garlic bread and salad. Dessert is chocolate pudding pie with whipped cream! Yum! Well, I've got my day planned so I am off!

Aw, come on Sleepy! 

Don't go away mad.

Let's talk about this.

I need material for my blog!

Until next time! 

Oh darlin' . . . I've been busy!

O H,   T O  F I N I S H   A N   O L D   P R O J E C T  ! 

It's sooooo gratifying !

This month I've been catching up on unfinished projects . . .

and Sassy was the first thing I completed ! 

Yes ! 

I've been working on him, Sasquatch, on and off, for the last 18 months.

Oh the shame of it.

But . . . sweet Sassy !  

He's done . . . and I am loving him !

Your curious, aren't ya ?

You want to know if I believe in Sasquatch, don't ya ? ! !

Should I tell you ? 

Hmmmm.

No, I don't believe there are Sasquatch out in them there woods.

It's  fun.

It's  folklore-y.

It's kinda  scarey.

It's  mysterious.

And . . .that's all it is for me . . .

that's why I like the legend !

It's just fun!

By the way, I love those "messin' with Sasquatch" commercials,

and that Finding Big Foot show.                          

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

N E X T   O N   M Y   L I S T   T O  F I N I S H . . .  

was a sweet, little, chubby bunny !

I started this project last January !

Yes.

One year ago.

Sad but true.

She sat . . . 

unstuffed . . .

no ears

no legs

and no arms . . .

for one year !

So rude . . . I'm so sorry sweet little chubby bunny !

Well, she is now complete . . . made from an old pair of corduroy pants.

She has been mailed out to my little 3 year old niece in Florida.

She now has a happy home  !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A N D . . . C U R R E N T L Y   I ' M   W O R K I N G   ON . . .

this awesome sail boat, children's quilt !

This one takes the prize for how long ago I started it ! ! 

Let's see . . .

I started this when my son Easton was 5 years old . . .

he's now 10 years old !         

Yes, he's still a children . . . a child . . .  

but, this won't quite cover a 10 year old boy.

His feet will stick out the bottom.  

His head will stick out the top . . .{ that's a good thing ! } 

However, he is still excited to see me working on it.

He says he can't wait to sleep with it.

He can definitely cuddle with it.

Heck, I've even curled in a ball and covered with it whilst napping on the couch.

I pieced this quilt on the sewing machine . . . 

and I am hand quilting.

I have machine quilted before, but I have found, that over time . . . 

the stitches have pulled snapped and broke.

Very sad.

The quilts I have hand quilted, have withstood the test of time . . . 

and even the washing machine !

However, I am not a professional machine quilter by any means . . . 

so, I am not knocking machine quilting.

I'm just knocking MY machine quilting ! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mousey Valentines

I just wanted to show you my son's valentines. They are so adorable. He has made these before and just loved them...so he made them again!

We cut out hearts from card stock, wrote from Easton on the inside...no valentine-y phrases so as not to be embarrassing for a 4th grade boy...and a chocolate lollipop on the inside creating the tail of the mouse with the stick.

The lollipop mold is a flat strawberry...it's all solid chocolate..he thought they would look like chocolate covered strawberries. I don't think kids like chocolate covered strawberries, but...solid chocolate that looks like a strawberry...well, I think they would love that!

Teeny Tiny Doll House Embroidery

How do you like this teeny tiny embroidery piece? My mom made this years ago for her dollhouse.  My mom has made many dollhouse miniatures over the years. So very adorable! The embroidery hoop is made from a small coil from a key chain, and the needle is made from a straight pin with the ball removed from the top. As you can see, there are a couple of rust stains on the fabric. I'm not quite sure how old this is. She probably made it at least 20 years ago. My mom has so many talents it's not even funny. You wanna talk about creative...she's probably one of the most creative people I know.

winner for lucky leaf giveaway!!!!!

The winner for the Lucky Leaf pie filling giveaway is Suzanne from Window On The Prairie! 

Congratulations Suzanne! 

I know you will bake up something great with these premium pie fillings from Lucky Leaf! 

Please email me your address so your giveaway package can be shipped out to you right away. 

Thank you all for participating in this giveaway!

It was a lot of fun!