Remember to Thank a Veteran...

My grandfather, my husband's father, and my husband all served our Country and I am very thankful for all of them and for all the men and women, past and present who served and who some gave their lives for ours and others freedom. So don't forget to thank a veteran today and say a pray for those who died and those still serving.

And Happy 10th Birthday to my dear son who is getting taller by the minute!

With love,

Tiff

New Quilt Shop in Town...

Let me introduce you to the new quilt shop in town.... Black Widow Weavers. My youngest daughter had a school project last month where she had to create a store with a spooky twist to it. She decided upon a quilt store. And yes, I am one of "those" parents who help(and I really enjoy it) their kids with big school projects.

We built the building from scratch(luckily I have a scroll saw), even cut the shingles on the roof, though we did buy the door and the windows.


We put plexi glass on the top so that middle schooler fingers wouldn't mess with the contents. And I must say, it was easy to cut and really worked out well.

We rolled fabric on cardboard for the bolts of material on the homemade shelves, made a cutting table in the middle, a quilt frame in the corner, and the ironing board was a goodwill find.
The torn wall paper is actually flocked scrapbook paper and the little quilts around the ceiling were printed from actual quilts we found on line.




We had so much fun working on this that we look forward to making a real doll house from scratch in the near future.

Have a great day,

Tiff

I'm back...

I really don't know where October went, it seemed to fly by. After being sick, we all recuperated, then projects, field trips, houseguests, birthdays, and life just seemed to happen and I didn't get back here to blog. I have so much to catch you all up on and pictures to share, I don't know where to start. Goodwill has been very good to me lately with furniture and small pieces. And my friend Sherrie's shop has also provided me with some neat treasures. I've been doing little tweaking and rearranging(hubby and I rearranged the whole family room on a whim one Saturday to make it more "Mason" proof) and working on some projects for me and a friend. My parents came to visit over Halloween(which is also my oldest son's birthday, he turned 17). My mom brought me a great chair and ottoman she no longer wanted and an old desk that she has had since I was 8 months old. I'm working on some wool items to sell and I made my mom a great snowman for her birthday. I know I'm rambling, but I have a whole month to share. I'll guess I'll just start with the chairs that I made slip covers for, for my dear friend.

She got two chairs from her mom that she was going to get reupholstered, but decided for now just to slip cover them. We bought white duck cloth on sale at Joann's and I sewed them for her over a 2 day period.

Here is the "before" of one of the chairs...

And here is the "after"... I let her iron them after she took them home because I really hate ironing, so yes, here they are quite wrinkly.

I think they turned out quite well, and at least she can use them now, and if they get dirty, she can just toss them in the washer with some bleach.

Have a lovely day,

Tiff

Under the weather...

It started last Thursday, with my 2nd grader throwing up about 10 times in the early morning hours(actually, all night long). I kept him home from school. He seemed better by Saturday. I worked out in the yard for 8 hours straight on Saturday, transplanting and dividing plants, putting the garden to bed, trimming, and general cleaning. Just took little breaks to nurse Mason. At about 8:30 Saturday night, it hit me. Severe nausea. I was up all night feeling absolutely miserable and incredibly sick. But I couldn't throw up. I spent Sunday in bed. Started feeling less nauseous but then I had stomach cramps. Sunday night, it hit hubby, my 4th grader, and my 12th grader. They did throw up, which they said helped a bit. I kept them all home on Monday(and for my hubby to miss work, he had to be really sick) and carted the well ones to school and did the bulletin board at the elementary school(I'm in charge of it). I wasn't feeling too bad yesterday, but then at around 7 last night, Mastitis struck. If you have ever had it, you know my pain. Now I'm suffering from extreme chills, weakness, and a very painful breast. I've been doing hot compresses, taking advil, and making Mason nurse as much as I can on it. But I feel like I got hit by a Semi truck.

So, needless to say, I'm taking a bit of a blogging break. But will be back with lots of pics to share. And I still need to return some emails(Tammy and Sue), I didn't forget about you.

Have a healthy week,

Tiff

Look what I got for Free!

It's rare to get anything for free now a days, but look what I got at the grocery store today for absolutely free! Well, I did have to buy 4 Philadelphia cream cheese products, but I was buying them anyway(think pumpkin baked goods, mmmmm!). They had a little cardboard stand by the cream cheeses and you could get a cookbook for buying their product. And this isn't just a little cheap magazine cookbook, this is an awesome book of 160 pages of appetizers, entree's , side dishes, and desserts. A picture for each recipe and put together very well, looks like a Martha Stewart book or something. I can't tell you how thrilled I am with this freebie. So RUN to your supermarket and get one while they last, there were only a few left at my store.

And a few pics of the inside....



Oh, and because I couldn't fix the problem with the other apron, I made Sue a second apron this morning. This one is just a simple sturdy half apron that she can actually use and wear. I figured she could hang the other one up for display. I finally got her package out this morning with a few other goodies in it too.
Thank you all for the birthday wishes, I had a lovely weekend :)

I'm enjoying the gloomy, rainy fall day, makes me want to be cozy in the house.

Tiff

Guess Who's 29 !!! (again)

Ok, so I'm not really 29 today, that would be kind of weird considering I have a 16(almost 17) yr old son. But 37 is just sounding so old. I don't really feel old, at least not mentally, definitely feeling it physically sometimes, but I think from now on, I will just stay 29. My grandmother(mom's mom) stayed 29 for almost 60 years!!! She had 9 children, close to 30 grandchildren, and I don't even know how many great and geat great grandchildren. So why can't I? right.

I thought I would take you down memory lane. Sorry about the pics, I just took pics of the pics and didn't fix them or anything, but you can get the general idea of "me" in each one.

Here I am at about 8 months old. I think this was either taken in Kansas(where I was born, and it was during a tornado(no joke, they evacuated the hospital twice)) or we had just moved to California.

I was about 18 months in this pic, sitting on my mom's lap with my 2 sisters standing behind.
Here I am with my grandpa at about 3 yrs old. I think this was in Wisconsin.
Ah, the picture me and my sisters hated. We did a family portrait at one of those dress up places in the mall. My mom wanted it to look old like the clothing so she told us not to smile.(I'm on the right in the dark dress. About 12 yrs old)
My 15th birthday. Look at those skinny legs, I can't believe I used to think I was so fat at that age.

Homecoming dance... 15 or 16 here. I had put my hair in curlers and ended up with poodle poof.
Senior year of high school, 17 yrs old. Look at that high hair!!!
And last but not least. The first "professional" pic of hubby and I, done at Sears :) I was 18, and again with that hair, what was I thinking!!??
So there you go, me through the years.

The day has started off very nicely. Hubby and kids woke me up with gifts(got my deluxe Scrabble board!). Then hubby got me yummy donuts from a local place. I will probably do some yard work later today, after soccer games are over, and hopefully someone else will be making dinner tonight!

Have a great day,

Tiff

Apples, Yum!!!

Yesterday I decided to bake some little apple popovers as an after school snack for my munchkins. I turned on some accent lights around the house and the air was filled with the lovely smell of baking apples and cinnamon. When my 9 yr old son walked in the door, he looked around and walked from room to room. He then very sincerely said " I really like the Fall decorating you did, the house feels so cozy". My mouth dropped and then smiled. I was shocked that he noticed such a small details as the lights, but was so happy that he noticed and that my efforts for a nice home for my munchkins doesn't go unappreciated. And the best part was, I didn't do one stitch of fall decorating!!! All I did was turn on small little lights around the house that cast a warm glow. But obviously, that was enough. I did put some fall things outside, but have decided not to drag up my 10 boxes of fall decor from the basement this year. It's a lot of work, and with a new baby and still trying to revamp the house, I just don't have the time or energy. And what a treat it will be next year to see all my decor that was tucked away this year.

Now, on to the very easy apple popover recipe(my own creation, though I'm sure many of you have your own version).

1 can of refrigerated flaky biscuits

2 large apple(your choice what kind, I used cortland)

1/2 C of brown sugar(you could use white)

dash of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

pinch of salt

couple tablespoons of butter

Using non stick muffin tins, divide the 8 biscuits in half(they are the flaky ones so they separate easily) and place the now 16 biscuits in the tins. Gently form them to a cup like shape but don't press them in. Peel the two apples and cut them into small chunks(1/2" or so). Place apples chunks in bowl, add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg,and salt. Mix well and then spoon into the center of biscuits. Add a small pat of butter to the top of each one. Bake at 375 until golden brown. Remove from pan right away and let cool on rack(it's just easier to remove them while they are still hot, because when they cool the sugar can stick). Super easy and a yummy treat with very few ingredients.

And this morning I made two apples pies for dessert tonight. I bought some heavy cream to make fresh whipped cream too.
And look who is officially crawling in the last couple of days! My baby is growing up way too fast.

Have a splendid Fall Day,

Tiff

Fall Apron

I've been busy cleaning out and oranizing closets, which has been keeping me very busy. And I have also been working on this apron. Did any of you participate in Sue's Fall Apron Swap over at Country Pleasures ? I signed up and was pleasantly paired up with Sue herself. She requested a Fall theme apron instead of a Halloween theme(which was an option). Here is what I came up with, and yes, I got picture happy :) And Sue, if you want to be surprised, close your browser now and don't look any further!!!!

The bib part was done from a pattern of a paper piece quilt that I did a couple years back and I thought it would look neat as an apron.
Here is a closeup, the vining is hand stitched with french knots for the berries.
The bottom of the apron is a patchwork of 28 different fabrics(I think that is what I counted).
And I backed the whole thing in a very Fall acorn print.
I have two problems though, I totally forgot to add a pocket. Do you think it needs one? And I don't like the way the bib puckers when it is put on. I may have to take the straps off the top and rework it.
Oh, and isn't this a sweet little knitted bonnet? I bought it for Mason from Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living. I love the simple old fashion look of it and the buttery yellow is just perfect. I can't wait for it to get a bit cooler for him to wear it. And No, I couldn't make it myself, I know how to crochet, but not knit.
Have a terrific day,

Tiff

Mornings goodies...

My good friend and I went to a local orchard this morning to pick blueberries. The season is running two weeks early, so the bushes are slim pickings but I still managed to get close to 5lbs worth. I forgot my camera, but she snapped these with her phone.

My 4 yr old had a blast picking(and eating) the blueberries. And he was very diligent about only picking the ripe ones. At one point he told me that I could "go take a rest" because he had found a spot with so many that he could pick for the both of us.
We then got 2 bushels worth of apples, which will soon be turned into apple pie fillings and loaded into the freezer chest.

We hope to go back on Friday and pick more(there were still quite a few that needed ripening) and head over to another spot for raspberries.

Anyone have any good recipes for blueberry treats that can be frozen?

Have a great day,

Tiff

Making of a doll...

September 2nd was my parent's wedding anniversary, so I decided to make my mom a doll. She has just recently gotten into collecting prim dolls but hates to pay the high price tag that the ones in her area have. She likes them slightly prim but not grungy or scary;)

I started off by making an osnaburg body, note to self(not a good fabric choice, as the seams come apart and fray as you stuff, just stick with muslin). So after battling the seams and hand sewing her back together, I stuffed her with wool fiber.

Then came color choices. I thought maybe she would be a pumpkin girl, but I was out of orange paint, so I blended and experimented, but didn't like it, so she became chocolate colored :)
Made her a dress and bloomers...
Painted a face, yes, I cheated, I didn't feel like stitching one.

Finished face.
Then I painted some wool fiber black for her hair, made a little stitchery for her to hold(it says "Faith, Love, Family"), and put a crocheted doily around her as a collar. I think she came out pretty cute and just the right level of prim for my mom. My son delivered her this weekend and my mom absolutely adores her. Though, my mom thinks dolls should all come with a name. So I need to come up with one and then send her a little hang tag with the name on it. Anyone have any suggestions for a name?
Have a beautiful day,

Tiff