Ugh, Stuff....and Giveawy ends tonight...

I know I haven't posted all week and I'm sorry, it's not that I haven't wanted to, I actually have a ton to share! Like all my yard sale finds and my sewing room/school progress. BUT, unfortunately, blogger has not been friendly to me this week and I haven't had luck with downloading pictures. Not to mention, that my sidebar keeps updating and then unupdating(I know, not a word) itself, so I can't even tell who is posting to their blog. And add to the blog issues, that I haven't been feeling well, though I have found out what has been wrong with me for the last 4 months or so(which is a huge relief because I really was beginning to fear the worst), I just haven't been on the computer much this week.

Right now I am scrambling to finish up some blueberry pies, fight off a headache, and avoid the heat outside(it got nasty and humid here) and later on tonight I will draw the winner of my giveaway, so stay tuned!

have a lovely evening,

Tiff

"Fall is in The Air" GiveAway....

I've been pretty fortunate lately by winning two lovely giveaways, so I thought I would pass along some of the kindness. I'm calling this "Fall is in the Air" because Fall is my favorite season and I'm really looking forward to the cool crisp days that just have a certain feeling to them that you can't describe with words.

What I'm giving away is not Fall themed by the traditional sense, but more so because of what they are... a small tin accent light because the daylight hours are getting shorter and it's nice to have fun little lights to turn on.... a handmade doll because it's nice to have a friend to hang out with when the weather turns chilly.... and a iron on transfer kit because it's fun to have a chilly weather project to stitch on by the fire.

This gal was made by Erika of Erika's cupboard, she is no longer making dolls but was a fantastic artist and her dolls are well made. This one is from my collection.
Now if you would like to enter for a chance to win these items, all you have to do is be a follower of my blog or become one and leave a comment on this post. That's it! You are welcome to share this giveaway and use any of the pics above but it is not necessary to enter. One piece of bad news is that I'm going to have to keep this to US residents only as I just looked up international shipping costs(yikes), sorry about that to all my international readers.

I'll draw the winner on August 19th at 9pm et.

Have lovely weekend,

Tiff

Thursday Thoughts... Thank you for the idea!

Yes, I know I skipped "Wednesday's Work", but the day just kind of slipped away from me, at least we got our school supply shopping done though.

I've been working in my sewing room, tweaking the family room, still doing the redwork blocks, and working in the garden.

My thoughts have been scattered and all over the place lately, and I have way too many projects mulling around in my head. I did decide on the spur of the moment today to do an easy one that I couldn't stop thinking about since Kimberly of Camp and Cottage Living mentioned it in a comment about my last post.

The old mixer was pretty grungy and I had to scrub it so much that some of the paint came off with the grunge. And I got some water in parts of it,so I figured I was never going to use it for food preparation, so I cut off the cord and spray painted it. It was a pretty quick project and I like the way it came out. Thank You Kimberly for the potted plant idea!!

I dug the lemon balm plant up from my garden(it keeps sprouting everywhere!) and thought it would make a nice fragrant plant for the kitchen.

The spray paint was just basic black and antique white(which was quite close to the original color).
I like that it is now functional instead of just sitting in the kitchen as a decorative object.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's Friday Fun, I'm going to announce a giveaway!

Have a fantastic day,

Tiff

Tuesday's Treasures... Craigslist Freebies!

I was up late on Sunday night and happened to be browsing craigslist. I always check the Free section first and then move on to my town and then anything else I might be looking for. I spotted an add in the free section for an end table, I clicked on it and saw a small gateleg table. I immediately emailed them and in the morning I got an email back, I was the first to reply, yay! When I went to go pick it up, I wasn't expecting this perfect little(smaller than I thought, and I LOVE it) antique table. Isn't it cute?! I have it sitting in front of my medium size gateleg table so you can see the size comparison.

I have no idea where I am going to put it, but for now I'm just so excited to have found such a sweet little table for free! Have you ever seen such a small gateleg?

The older gentleman had just sold his house and he was clearing things out. He offered me this old(like 1940's old) mixmaster mixer by sunbeam. The thing needs a good scrubbing and I probably would have passed on it if I hadn't seen him pull out the two milk glass mixing bowls!! The mixer itself has all the parts, the booklet, and a cool glass juicer mixer that attaches to the side. And this was all free too!

So there are my treasures for the week. I'm skipping GW this week because the huge lions club yardsale is on Saturday and I'm hoping to bring enough home from that! Not that I need anything anyway, but maybe I'll find treasures for my etsy shop that I just won a Makeover for!!! **** Jumping up and down ***** I'm so excited! I'll share more of that tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day,

Tiff

Miscellaneous Monday...

I thought I would share some highlights from our weekend for Misc. Monday.... We made and canned blueberry syrup on Saturday...

And on Sunday, after the kids driving lessons, we were invited to a lovely friend's camp. We brought along some syrup and relish to share...
The kids loved the boat ride. Highland lake is about 5 miles long, but is a quiet lake because the only boat traffic on it is from the residents. As you can see, my 5yr old was enjoying the ride....

Mason was terrified at first, but soon calmed down and began to enjoy it too....

Lots of Loons on the lake...


My 10 yr old made a zucchini canoe(have you heard the song "Cucumber Canoe"?) and brought it along. The waves overwhelmed it, but it lasted quite awhile and was totally edible, so no harm to the fish.

I love this photo... credit to my 16 yr old daughter who took it with her much better camera :)
Ate dinner outside...
All tuckered out....
A big THANK YOU to our hosts, we had a lovely time!!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Tuesday's Treasures, I can't wait to show you what I got for free today from Craigslist!!

Have a happy day,

Tiff

Friday Fun... Find, Books, and Butterfly!

I hope everyone has had a nice week, I got things accomplished, but not nearly as much as I would have liked(isn't that always the way).

So for today's Friday Fun, I'm sharing with you a hutch top that I picked up at GW, with my discount it was $11, a bit more than I would normally want to spend on such a thing(especially since it didn't have a bottom), but it was the perfect thing for a project in my sewing room and I could envision it all done. Here is the before... I have since painted it and it is now in place in my sewing room and working even better than I imagined. I'll share pics of it later, when I get my sewing room done(yes, it is getting another make over!)

And now for the books. I found some more at GW! I just love these two and they are both from 1953. I have never come across a hard cover Little house book before. The illustrations in it are very sweet.
Almost every other page has a sketch drawing.... here are just a few.


And then these next few books I have had for awhile, but I was rearranging and thought I would take some pics while they were off the shelf.... Bird book, early 1900's
South African Travel and Research book, 1858 !

Love the title of this one... Mother Carey's Chickens... sorry for all the sideways pics, normally my computer turns them, but not this time.
The PieMaker, not old 1980, but still sweet.
1928 Human Anatomy book
And one of my favorites, a 1946 sewing book. It has everything from clothes making, to upholstery, to ovens mitts and everything in between. The graphics and pics are really neat too. I tried to take a bunch of pics, but my camera is being fussy again and most of them came out fuzzy.
Here are a few though....



And last but not least.... Remember our caterpillar friend that we were watching? Well, he emerged this afternoon and we were there to watch it.... Here he is just minutes after coming out of his cocoon. He looks kind of wasp like with his wings so little.
Drying out more...

And after a couple of hours, he was ready to be released. Isn't he beautiful?!?!

He needed some coaxing to leave the jar...
His first flight was only about 2 feet onto the grill cover. He stayed there for over an hour as the kids watched him and oohed and aahhed. Finally, when we left him alone, he took flight and is now somewhere out in the yard, joining the dozens of other butterflies that we saw fluttering around the yard today. And I have to tell you what my 8 yr old son said as he was watching the butterfly on the back deck... "they sure grow up way too fast". Yes they do, butterflies and children.... can't keep them little for long enough.
Have a wonderful weekend,

Tiff

Thursday Thoughts...Does your Home have a Name?

You never know what is mulling around in my head on any given day, and lately I have been thinking about house names. Yes, some may see it as pretentious or even silly to give a house a name, but I think it is neat and old fashioned and helps to give distinction to our very ordinary modern homes. Houses were originally given names because street addresses did not exist, so your location was known by the name of your home. It could have come from the owner's name, the location of the house, the view from the house, what grew around the house, the owner's occupation, or just something whimsical.

In America, houses are not very often named, and those that are, are either historical or have some distinguishable architecture. It seems appropriate and not even questioned if someone names their quaint little cottage or bungalow, Honeysuckle Cottage or Beachview Bungalow. But what about those of us who live in suburban subdivisions? Do you ever see house name signs in a modern neighborhood? I don't mean signs that say the homeowner's last name, but honest to goodness House name signs.

I know that a house is not alive, but I do believe that it takes on an identity. After years of existing, it holds memories and feelings of those who have lived in it. I'm sure I'm not the only who has walked in a house and have felt negative vibes, pleasant vibes, or often, nothing at all. The latter, happening most often, but when you walk into a friendly house or an ill house, you certainly know it.

I have lived in many houses in my 37 yrs, as my parents moved us across country quite a few times and my hubby used to be in the Navy. I have never lived in a house that was named, but I have lived in a few that you could definitely tell were pleasant or not so pleasant. Our current home was new construction when we bought it almost 5 years ago. And although we did not design it, and there is a lot I would change about the layout, it is HOME and with every passing year I grow fonder of it and the surrounding land. We(myself, my hubby, and our children) are leaving our mark on it and transforming it to fit our needs and likes. It is taking on character that it lacked and growing gardens in once barren yard. Its walls are filled with constant chatter, laughter, dog barks, cat meows, and occasionally tears through out the day. By night there is audible dreams being heard and a rumble of snores permeating the walls. It may not have a heart, lungs, or mind, but it does have a soul, in fact quite a few souls live with in it, they are our souls, but this home of ours houses them. And by the Grace and Love of God we live here and I hope to live here for many many many decades to come.

So, does your house have a name? I'm thinking that our house should, but what? I can picture a small sign hanging out by the front fence that tells the world where we live. Do you have any suggestions? Anything pop into your head when you see the picture below?(please ignore the picket panel that needs to be nailed back up!). And just do give you and idea of where we live... it's small scale subdivision about a 1.5 miles from town, the houses are not right next to each other, we all have between 2 to 5 acres or so and it feels very rural without being way out in the country. The houses are 6 years old or younger and this land used to be old farmland(hence the farm dump in our back woods) but the original farmhouse no longer exists.

I wanted to share my coleus plants with you, I am blown away at this pot of plants. This was the first time I have started coleus from seed and I am amazed how easy they are to grow and well they are doing(much better than any plant I bought from the nursery).
And these guys were from seeds too, but I forgot their name. I didn't start any of my seeds inside, just put them straight in the pots out on the front porch.
And last, my first ever garden carrots!!! This was our first year trying carrots and we did lose half the crop early on,but the other half is doing great and just starting to come to harvest. The little bowl is full of coriander seeds, which I need to look up how to process or dry or whatever.
Whew! I know that was a lot to read and I'm not usually one for long wordy posts, but I just wanted to share my thoughts and see what you all think.

Have a lovely day,

Tiff