Sunday's song

One of my favorite songs ever. We are so blessed and sometimes we don't even realize it.  The songwriter asks "What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?" We have days we are on top of the mountain and days we are sunk down in the valley below. I have often wondered if we didn't have any valleys to go through, how would we ever appreciate those God moments that put us on the mountain top and bring us pure joy. Please take the time to listen carefully to the words of this song. They are beautiful.

Friday Foto Friends

I am hooking up with Friday Foto Friends today. Of all the rooms in my house, I love my kitchen the most. I adore my roosters and my Pyrex and other vintage items. So I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you today.

This shelf holds my tulip collection from Glasbake and some of my rooster collection.

The top shelf holds my Colonial Mist Pyrex collection and my little milk glass stuff for the kitchen. My Colonial Mist along with Town & Country are my two absolute favorite Pyrex patterns.

Here's the two shelves together for my wine rack. There is a bottom shelf not shown because it is a work in progress at the moment.

This is the top shelf of the Baker's rack. This shelf focuses on my fall colors. You will see some of the Town & Country Pyrex pattern on the top right hand side Cinderella bowl. Followed by the large Cinderella bowl in Town and Country right below that on the right. That is my Harvest Wheat Pyrex set in the middle of the bottom row.

And I adore this collection. It has my Town & Country, Americana, Daisy oval and Friendship bowls. Out of all my Pyrex, I have more items in the Town & Country than I do in anything else.

Here's the two shelves together. Sometimes as I walk by, I just stop and admire it. 

I am running out of room for Pyrex (GASP!) But I had a couple of thoughts. First off, I could always change it out seasonally but that would be hard to do because I really love seeing it all. So I realized I could replace the cart my microwave is on with a microwave style hutch, similar to this. I checked dimensions and it would work. This would add more room for storage plus, some more shelf space for Pyrex. It's a thought. 

I do love my Pyrex. Many years back, I had some of the snowflake but due to it only being out once a year, I sold it when I downsized and could have kicked myself because I have room for it now. All I have left is one little bowl of snowflake garland (I think I still have it). I love red and aqua in my kitchen at Christmas. This is what I did several years back and I still have just about everything on the shelf except the Pyrex. Guess I will be going on an antique shopping trip soon. I want to try to replicate this. 

Well, hope you enjoyed my pretties as much as I do.

Color me crazy....

I have been coloring my hair on and off since I was 18 years old. I didn't do it to cover the gray, I did it because sometimes I thought my hair looked drab and I wanted to lighten. Then there were the times I decided I wanted just a touch darker and ended up with almost dark walnut color. The first time I went with a slight reddish tint, I ended up with that carrot red hair that is bordering on orange in the sunlight. Then a hair dresser who knows we have Irish ancestors and a propensity for auburn to show up in our genes, recommended I only used shades that had the words Ash in the color title. It would avoid the red and she was right. So when I want to go lighter, I use light ash blonde. Which is what I did this past summer and it is wearing off. This was in June or July. It's gotten even more gray starting to show through.

I was going to do the light ash blonde again to color it and lighten it up at the same time. Then my daughter suggested maybe I should go darker for fall and winter, but I said I would think about it. Just a few hours later, a friend of mine posted this picture of me when I was 17. Oh my, I love the color of my hair in this picture for fall/winter. In high school, I considered it just drab brown but now I like think I like it like that. However, the one time I tried to die it back to the original color like this was when I ended up looking like a ripened walnut. So I don't want it to go THAT dark again.

Knowing about the ash factor and knowing that when I use any shade of medium brown it always ends up darker than what I like and I look washed out. So I compromised from the lighter hair I like and the darker hair in this photo and decided to go with Light Ash Brown. If it goes lighter, oh well and if it gets to dark, oh well. It's not permanent. And I'll just live with it. But what the use of being an old lady if you can't walk on the wild side sometimes.

I'm going to do it this weekend while the grandgirls are over for the weekend. That way they can take a picture for me to share with you. Wish me luck.

Can you believe it?

I am having tons of random thoughts today. One thing I am thinking about is the fact that there is just one week left until November is here. I love all three of the last months of the year. Tomorrow is a Halloween Sweets & Treats day at work. I'm making cookies for the office and the servers in the arena. Going to make the brownie cookies like I made the other day. Just up in the air if I want to make the frosting for them like I did a few years ago.

My Facebook memories today popped up about the croissant donut that Dunkin Donuts had a few years ago. I loved those things. Wonder why they quit carrying them?

Since I am going to have another Saturday and Sunday off this weekend, I am going to make a pot of veggie. This is one they call school cafeteria soup and it is the best veggie soup ever. Here's the recipe. 

School Soup

1 48 oz. can tomato juice

1 lb. fresh lean ground beef

1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

1 8.5 oz. can lima beans

1 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed and with juice

2 potatoes, diced

2 med. onions, diced

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Bring tomato juice to a boil. Slowly add crumbled ground beef. Cook until beef is separated. Add onions, mixed vegetables, potatoes, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add more salt if desired.

Time to start watching the Family Dollar store for my favorite November/December candy. This is the only time of year you can buy them. I snatch up about 3 boxes at a time so I can build a back stock to last me through the winter.

I can't wait to get my Thanksgiving decorations out and put the jack-o-lanterns and witches away till next year. This is Tom the Turkey. I bought him with the thought of instead of Elf on the Shelf, he could be Tom on the Table. But Tom doesn't get into any mischief. He just sets someone and behaves.

My favorite, favorite Thanksgiving decor is my little chipmunk salt and pepper shakers. I got these several years ago at a yard sale and I have loved them ever since.

I don't know how my Thanksgiving holiday will be this year, but I know one thing. I have not done in the past two years is to have a graham cracker pie. This year I am going to bake one. I hope I can make it as good as hubby's always were. I love Thanksgiving because the family is always together. With my grandson away at college this year, I am hoping the holiday works out that he can be here at some point and we can get together while he is here.

And then of course I have all the wonderful Black Friday ads to look forward to.

So you can see, I love November just as much as I love October. 

Weekend wrap up

I finally made it through all my photos from the weekend so I can catch you up on what up was taking place. I can honestly say it was a fabulous weekend and one of the best I have had in awhile since it was the first time in months that I have been off on Saturday AND Sunday. It started off when I got home from work Friday and my Thirty-One order had arrived. Since I was the hostess I scored a couple of free pouches. I love this one in the deep teal green. The mini zipper pouch is my weakness.

But they have these new pouches that are the faux leather and a little bigger than the mini. They even hold an 8" tablet. I have a red one for my tablet, but I wanted this wintery looking one for my some of the loose items I carry daily in my work bag. I am so in love with it. 

Saturday morning, me, my daughter and my two granddaughters headed out for the 10 mile garage sale. Turned out we only stopped at a few places, but the places we stopped had 20 or 30 spots so we got a lot of looking in.

I didn't find a lot, but what I found I loved. This is just a small table top style sled. I have some thoughts on what to do with it for my decor.

I could not pass up this cut glass crystal bowl. Check out the swan in the middle of the circle. So detailed. I just fell in love. I don't know if it is old or new. I don't really carry. I just know it's gorgeous.

I am loving baskets made from this material (not sure what it is) , but this is the third time I have found one and it is going in my sewing room with the rest. 

But the find of the day I didn't even find it myself. I got a Facebook phone call from a friend of mine from work. She was shopping the other end of the 10 mile sale and found a booth with Pyrex. She's a world class haggler at yard sales, so she scored me these two pieces from my wish list for a great price. She picked them up for me and we met up yesterday for me to pay her and get them. I am so ecstatic!

After the yard sale, we stopped at Dollar Tree. A lady at a yard sale was selling wooden Christmas decor and she had it on a small Christmas tree. She wasn't selling the tree so I asked her where she got it and it turned out it is from Dollar Tree. So I picked one up to use in my dining room. I want want to hang the ornaments my daughter got me last week on that tree along with some other things I have.

Speaking of what my daughter got me, she also bought me this little sign the other day. I think she said she found it at Family Dollar. I adore it.

After me and grandgirls came home, my grandson Colby got dropped off after his ball game. We made a run to Taco Bell for supper. As we were getting ready to leave my niece Amy texted to see if I had checked my mail. I was on my way to do that before Taco Bell. When I opened the box, I had an envelope that had a card that said early Merry Christmas from Amy & Makenzie. I screamed. I mean literally screamed. I was so excited. Turns out she saw my post about this being a movie I want to put on my wish list. To say I was happy was putting it mildly. I was thrilled.

After Taco Bell it was time for our little Halloween party for me and the three youngest Grands that were spending the night. Other than a turtle shell and numchucks that I picked up at Dollar Tree, they had to create a simple costume from around my house. I had an old tank top that was stained that I cut up to make a headband for our very own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. He turned his shirt inside out. He said that made it look more like the turtles belly. 

I was sure that Shelby would go for movie star or rock star and raid my makeup. But she surprised us all by wanting to be a librarian. She had a black tank top and black pants in her overnight bag and paired them with an old pair of my glasses, my sweater and her hair in a librarian bun. She added one of my books as part of her costume. And she wore a pair of my old worn out loafers that I can't forced myself to toss because they are still comfortable.

Alexis went with the character of April from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, one of her favorite shows. She just needed dark pants, a yellow shirt which she was given by her Aunt Diana and she borrowed my ankle boots. April wears her hair in what the girls call a low pony tail so we pulled her hair back into one. The black loop is what April's weapon looks like and Alexis used pipe cleaners to make that. 

So it was super simple and super easy. Not to mention super fun watching them decide what to do.

We made ghost-like mummy's with toilet paper rolls, gauze and googly eyes. We lined them up and knocked them down with a ball. We called it boo bowling. They had a blast with that.

I had died some clothespins purple with grape Kool-Aid so we could use them for the clothespin drop game.

They had lots of fun playing the games.

Tons of crazy moments.

And loads of laughter.

Here was our table we set up with stuff I had. The only thing we bought that day was the plates and cups and food.

They pretended like the barbecue twisty Fritos were twisted fingers. 

They made some bats and spiders with pipe cleaners earlier in the evening and I had made a ghost for them.

We had treat bags and a bucket of assorted candy bars in Halloween wrappers. The Boo Bucket containers blue Doritos.

We had a big bowl of popcorn with some popcorn salt for those who wanted it. We deemed the popcorn to be pumpkin poo.

When we crafted before the party, we made some witches brooms with yarn and pipe cleaners. We had as much fun getting ready for the party as we did having the party.

After the fun and games was over, we watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Colby cracked up laughing every time Charlie Brown said "I got a rock." 

We watched another movie and went to bed. The next day, Colby had to leave around 10:30 to go to another round of ball games. But the girls stayed with me. They both have beautiful thick hair. Once we got dressed and brushed it, I had them go outside so I could get a picture of all this gorgeous hair.

They vegged out on the couch most of the day. I put on a beef stew to simmer all day for my supper and sent some home with my son. I also made some brownie cookies. Shelby was picked up around 1:30 or 2:00 and Alexis was picked up around 4:00 or so after Colby's games were over. That left me all alone after and busy, busy weekend. So I ate my supper and got my jammies on. I fixed a snack of some of the brownie cookies and a glass of milk. 

I settled down and watched my favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus. It was a totally amazing weekend.

My talented cousins....

My Aunt Frances (Mom's sister) had 6 daughters and 1 son. They are all so talented in may ways. It's time to show off three of them today, Amy, Carmen and Patty. Here is the final fall decorations which have been sent to me by my cousin Amy. Amy has done an amazing job on her decor. It makes me want to just go sit down and visit with her for awhile.

I absolutely fell in love with this one.

I want to sit on her porch and pass away a lazy afternoon.

I adore this primitive display. 

She is such a talented decorator. An old window and old jars and look what she turned it into.

Carmen fixed up an adorable project. She used Modge Podge to put napkins on the top. 

How adorable is that. 

This little table was her first time of trying chalk paint. I love the way it turned out. I have been wanting to try it but haven't found anything to paint it on yet.

Carmen has this hanging in her home, but the cat was actually made by her sister Nancy. My cousins are all multi-talented.

One of the other sisters, Patty, is one I have featured on my blog before. She is so awesome at crafting things. She is the one that is my age (technically I am two months older than her, which she would remind me of if I don't mention it. LOL) She recently made some dolls. Check this one out. 

But my favorite was this lady in black. Isn't she amazing.

This is a pin cushion she made. Isn't it adorable?

But my favorite is this pin cushion she made. How precious is that?

This isn't fall, but it is crafty. She recovered a folding chair. I love this!

Well as you can see, my cousins are all talented and I am so thankful they let me share. I can't wait to see what they make for Christmas.