It's the little things....

Today I'm riding the Tuesday Train . Every Tuesday, I like to feature 10 things that are on my mind at the time.

Ride the Tuesday Train

 We've all heard the expression, "it's the little things". Well today, my top 10 is about some of the little things in my life that have thrilled me this past week. Call me crazy, but I get so excited about those "little things." Here are my top 10 little things that I'm liking this week.

1. Walmart is now carrying the Lion Brand Yarn in the Vanna's Choice line of yarn. Since I love Vanna, (can I buy an E?) and I love yarn, it thrills me to be able to purchase affordable yarn that Vanna has teamed up with. She has been their spokesperson for 15 years. And my most favorite part is that Lion Brand Yarn and their Vanna's Choice line partner for a percentage of all Vanna yarns purchased to go to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. To date, they have raised over $700,000 for St. Jude's. That in itself is a wonderful reason for me to switch my yarn of choice to Vanna's Choice.

 2. I teamed up my new cranberry and gray yarn with some black I already had to get started on this adorable quilt pattern trinket box. I just completed the lid so far, but I just started it Friday night. I've never tried a patchwork pattern, but I loved doing in and I'm loving the way it is turning out. You can't really see it in the picture, but there is a lacy rose black button in the center to lift the lid on and off.

3.  Another reason I love Thirty-One Gifts products....they make excellent craft bags. My new trinket box project fits right in my bag that is monogrammed with Craft Tyme and the little mini pouch is monogrammed with Kit and contains my essential "tool kit" which has scissors, needles, seam ripper, needle threader, etc. This is one of my favorite 31 items. If Allen and I go anywhere I just grab my craft bag and I can work on it in the truck, at the hotel, etc. (I'm taking orders for these during August at 15% off making the total cost for the set $25.00 plus shipping and tax. If you want a set, email me @ mamawsplace@gmail.com and I'll send you the patterns available and the details) I have 3 different sets of these and I'm getting ready to order another set this month while they are on sale.

4.  I've shared before how I have to use reading class for up close work. Well, once I downloaded the Amazon Kindle app for my cell phone, I've started downloading some books onto my phone. Since I love to read in the car when Allen is driving, I needed a pair of glasses to keep in my purse. I had a pair that I keep at home, but I don't want to always have to remember to grab them. Found these yesterday at the Dollar Tree for (you guessed it) a dollar. The little dots are bling bling diamonds (fake of course for $1) . They are a little on the hideous side to some (like my daughter and hubby) but I love them. Need to find me a new glasses case for them.

5. I have several things that I'm always working on and needing to make notes, or print stuff, or keep copies, whatever. And they are normally scattered all over the house. So thanks to Staples and their $1.99 vinyl pocket folders and my $5.00 coupon and 25% off coupon, I now have five new folders for just about $2.50. Now when I think of a blog Idea, I drop a note in my blog folder. When I print patterns from Freepatterns.com for my craft projects or see pictures of crafts I want to make, I simply put the printed directions and pictures in my craft folder. When I have changes or updates for the church website, new music to learn for choir, or new children's church ideas, I have a church folder as well. I have a folder for personal stuff, like notes or pictures or sale flyers for my weekend shopping or my future wish list of things I want. I'm so organized now that it scares me!

6. Well, Pirate Shelby had a great 3 year birthday party Saturday night. She was so happy with her "treasure chest" on her cake because it had gold doubloon's. She is pirate crazy. Everything is Ahoy Maties. Thanks to Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We had pirate eye patches and compasses and pirate earrings and a great time.

7. One of her other obsessions is Lalaloopsies. They are dolls with wiggly arms and legs and big heads. She has only had the miniature so far but I wanted to get her one of the big dolls. We made a trip to Toys R Us and found a Lalaloopsie pirate. I was beyond thrilled. She named him Jake. Her mom got her a cute one that was a girl with pink curly ponytails and Shelby calls her Izzy (Jake's partner on the "Neverland Pirates"). The only problem is, we had never felt these outside the box. Oh my gosh, they are top heavy because of the big plastic head and the dangly body. I was hoping for soft and cuddly. But Shelby loves them and that is all that matters.

8. All parents have kids who go through the picky eaters stage. The first four of my grandchildren go through spurts where they eat better than they do at other times, but none of them are what you would call really good eaters. Until Colby. That baby just loves food. If you eat...he eats. And he doesn't care what it is. He is so adorable.

9. My neighbor lost his dog and his ducks grew up so he has no pets any more. He took down the big home he had built for the dog and all the fencing around it. He had a tree on the river bank that has lost limbs during each storm lately so he cut it down.  It has really opened up my view of the river downstream. I love it. It looks great.

10. I took this picture early yesterday morning. The sun was just coming up and reflecting on the water and the fog was still nestled among the trees on the other bank of the river. It was a gorgeous peaceful morning with the temperature not reaching smoldering yet.

That's my top 10 little things this morning. Hope you have a great Tuesday.

An apron string is tied with love....

When Mom would don her apron, we knew it wouldn't be long until Daddy was home. She'd head to the kitchen to start preparing the evening meal.....

When Grandma stood at the door to wave us good bye, she would have her apron on and we knew she would be heading back to the kitchen.....

When you see my apron coming off the shelf, you know that something good is getting ready to go in the oven....

I recently got on an apron kick. I saw some material at Hobby Lobby that I fell in love with. A quick call to my mom confirmed that she had an apron pattern and would welcome a craft project. So I picked out some of my favorite material and packed it up to go to West Virginina. Mom completed the aprons and recently came down for a visit and brought them to me. Here are the finished products. I love them all.

 (Of course, I had to have one for each of the granddaughters)

I bet you didn't know that August is National Mushroom and Onion month. I thought it would be great to start the month office with a recipe giveaway. This is going to be so easy. The first 5 people that leave me a comment on my apron post will receive one copy of a Season's Best recipe book from Pampered Chef. Can't wait to see which 5 will be the winners.

All because two people fell in love....

It started out in a little town nestled in the valley between the hills of West Virginia. They didn't have much money, but they had a love that withstood the test of time. They were happy in good times and in bad. They survived strikes and lay offs. Winter snows and summer storms. They had a good life and loved deeply.

Within a couple of years of getting married, that love grew to include their two little daughters....born just 13 months apart. They were so precious and so full of abundant energy. Both had a head full of natural curls, just like their mommy. The Big Sister had green eyes like the Mommy's and the baby girl had big blue eyes like her Daddy's.

Over the years, the love grew and the boys came. The girls were 2 and 3 years old when Brother #1 arrived and were 10 and 11 when Brother #2 came along. They all knew love and laughter in that old home place up a country road. Daddy worked real hard to support his family while Mommy stayed home to cook, clean and care for the precious children God had entrusted to her care. There were many summer days spent playing in that old yard and many winter nights snuggled in the living room with the stove giving off it's warm glow.

By 1981, the three oldest were married and living their own life in their own little houses tucked into that little village town. Baby brother still lived at home, but before long, he would soon spread his wings and fly. But holidays and Sundays almost always found them back in that old house up the holler.

Through lots of laughter, lots of love, many grandchildren and many, many memories, those "ole days" up the country road are still alive in our memories.

In 1999, we lost our beloved father, Luke Garretson, to congestive heart failure at the age of 75. Daddy would be 88 years old today. There is not a day goes by that I don't think of him and miss him. He was my idol, my hero. I was a Daddy's girl and knew without a shadow of doubt how much he loved us. Mom moved out of the holler and my brother has remodeled the old home place. We'll never go back to those days of yesteryear. Daddy will never see his great grandchildren or feel their love. But I know he is up there watching over us. I still feel his presence walking the streets of my home town when I go back to visit. So many wonderful memories of a very wonderful man.

I love you, Daddy. Happy birthday.



A special day....

Today, my youngest granddaughter turns 3. What a milestone. She has gotten so independent in the past year and developed her own little personality. Or should I say, her own opinions. She can be sweet as pie one minute and stubborn as a bull the next. She is going through the "I can do it myself" stage and the "Are we there yet?" phase. I ran her to her mother's work today. From turning at a stop light and going the equivalent of 4 city blocks, her brother counted 12 "Are we there yets."

She wants to buckle her car seat and she wants to brush her own hair. She is 3 going on 13. She is sweet as an angel, but can turn the whining on in a heart beat. She can be loving her brother one moment and launch a full blown attack on him the next. Her favorite show is Jake and the Neverland Pirates and she loves Rock and Roll. She'll sing "I totally Rock" one minute and be running through the house with an Ahoy Matey's the next. She is a mixture of drama and delight and I wish her a very special day!

Happy birthday, Shelby Rayne! Mamaw loves you! Her are some of my favorite pics from her first 3 years.

 (She was asking her Mommy if she could wake Daddy up in the above picture)

 I love the next picture, even though it is a little scary. I can't help but wonder what evil plot she was hatching.

 She is very close to her big brother Caleb (he's 8). Not sure how this happened, but her Mom said they were just playing and the next thing she knew, Caleb was pinned to the floor and Shelby is sitting on him with her "watch me now" grin and a pair of nail clippers in her hand. Like a good Mom, my daughter grabbed the camera FIRST and got the Kodak moment before she rescued Bubby.

 She loves her sunglasses. She has about 4 or 5 pairs. She calls them her Movie Star glasses.

Happy birthday my precious girl. Hope you have a wonderful birthday party tonight.

30 Happens

We all dread it. We all hear the horror stories. We all know it is heading this way...then one day, you wake up and look in the mirror and it hits you..."OH NO! I'M TURNING 30 TODAY!"

I have a very precious friend who is turning the big 3-0 this very day. She is one of those true Southern Ladies that will still look like she's 20 even when she gets in her 50's. She personafies what true beauty really is...inside and out. Like most southern women, she has charm, she has class, and she has poise. But mess with her family and she will knock you flat on your behind. I love her and her family very much, they are so dear to me. In honor of her BIG day, I thought I would let the WHOLE WORLD know she is hitting the big 30!(which I'm sure I'm going to get killed for, but what kind of friend would I be if I DIDN'T acknowledge this special day.) I would like to dedicate my blog to my dear friend by providing her with some famous (and infamous) quotes about others' views on turning 30.

"Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty." - Robert Frost

"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." - Lucile Ball

"30 is the new 20, ... - Dane Peddigrew

"You're not 30. You are just celebrating 20 for the 10th time." - Unknown

And my absolute favorite quote about getting older...

"It's always a great day when you wake up on this side of the dirt!"

So, happy, happy 30th birthday to my dear, sweet, precious friend, Kindall. Hope you have a blessed day from start to finish with lots of love, lots of laughter, lots of cake....and hopefully a new Coach Purse. :)

I was just thinking....

Those words normally scare me. My husband uses them a lot. Every time he starts a sentence with "I was just thinking...." I reply with "Oh, no. Now what". It is usually a prelude to something he wants to try change around the house that I'm not sure I want done. Or it is a new dish he wants to concoct for supper that, while others would love it, his picky wife...moi!...will probably not like.

But when I was preparing my blog this morning, a bazillion (well at least 20) ideas went through my head. But none was enough for a whole post. So, I was just thinking...

 I must have turned the A/C too low when I went to bed last night. I had to drag out flannel pj's and socks this morning because it is so cold in here....yet it is supposed to get up to 96 degrees today.

Okay, I starting to get over summer. I'm ready for cooler fall temps. I'm ready to put away the flip flops....well, almost ready. I need some new fall shoes to wear with jeans. But I want comfort and something that just slips on. Most slip ons are not that easy to slip on but I kind of like these from Sketchers. They slip on but have an adjustable Velcro strap. Not necessarily the cutest shoes in the world, but I'm liking them.

Check these flowers out. Due to so much rain and so little time, I didn't plant flowers in my patio pots this year. We just turned the dirt over and aerated it and let it set for fall for my mums. But about a month ago a "weed" sprouted in one of the pots and I thought it looked like a marigold so I let it be. Lo and behold, a month later, look how much my little "weed" has grown.

Then a few days ago, in another pot that we normally put tomatoes in, my hubby spotted this little plant coming up. I swear it looks like the leaves of the tomato plants we grew last year. Do you think it could be? I'm not a farmer so not real sure but he is pretty sure it is.

My grandson Caleb was looking in his uncle truck last night when the door shut on its own and knocked him into the bolt for the latch on the door frame. He bruised his little nose pretty bad. His mommy said that, amazingly enough, there was no blood and it's not broken. I'm sure he'll be hurting for a few day.

Aren't these the cutest little puppies ever. They are strays that showed up on my son's doorstep. He was very firm with the family that NOBODY was to feed them. Well, guess who had to eat his own words when he got them a plate of food. I knew he'd cave in. He's a softy when it comes to dogs. I hope he ends up keeping them. I'm not going to get anymore grandchildren, so maybe a couple of new granddogs would be a nice addition to the family. I think he should name them Midnight and Sunshine since they are as different as day and night.

I love following blogs. Each and everyone I follow is special in it's own way. Some inspire me with stories of faith & hope. Some make me want to clean and organize and redecorate the house. Some provide me with great craft or decor ideas. I have laughed with you and at times I have cried with you. I've prayed for your loses, your health, your finances. I have rejoiced in your births, your blessings and your joy. You are each special in your own way and I think you are 1 in a Million. You are each "fearfully and wonderfully made" and you are beautiful in who you are. So I would like to present each of you with the SO BEAUTIFUL blog award. Please feel free to grab the button and post it on your blog. Pass it on to other bloggers who you think are beautiful as well.

Gadgets and giveaways, Deadlines and dessert

***UPDATE TO ONLINE PAMPERED CHEF PARTY - THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTEND UNTIL SATURDAY, JULY 30TH. FOR EACH $25.00 SPENT YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE ENTRY INTO A DRAWING FOR A FREE MIX AND
 CHOP***

First off, a welcome to all my new followers. I have had a few hectic days, but if I haven't followed you back yet, I'm going to catch up on that tonight.

I just wanted to remind everyone to leave a comment on my Wacky Wednesday Giveaway to be entered in the drawing for the set of Thirty-One Gifts tote and accessories. Leaving a comment will get you entered for one chance and if you post it anywhere on your blog or your Facebook page you can get another entry. Just let me know in your comment where you have posted a link. These are some awesome products and I can't wait for one of you to receive them. The giveaway for this gorgeous set of 31 products ends on August 5. It's a Organizing tote, thermal lunch tote, billfold and mini zipper pouch.

I also wanted to remind everyone about the wonderful dishes we made at my on-line Pampered Chef Party. Michele made us a delicious homemade pizza and a scrumptious Reese Cup Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle. Click the link to "attend" our On-line Pampered Chef Party. Pampered Chef orders can be placed through July 27th by visiting www.pamperedchef.biz/michelemaples. Be sure and enter your hostess as Brenda Keefer.

Here are a couple of my new favorite Pampered Chef items that I can't live without. Remember, it's never too early to start Christmas shopping. Many women love their kitchen gadgets and these make a wonderful addition to any cooks "tool box".

From left to right, #1107 Microplane Zester $14.00 - #1134 Zester Scorer $10.00 - #1642 All Purpose Spreader $4.50 - #2590 Easy Opener $5.00 - #2622 Mini Spatula $5.00 - #2685 Mix and Masher $10.50

I love all of these items but I am fascinated with the Easy Opener and the Mix and Masher the most. The easy opener fits perfectly on water bottle or soft drink bottles. I quick twist and the lid is off. I use it to recap my Pepsi bottles so I can tighten them and keep them from going flat. It also has a function that can pop a tab on a can with ease or can be inserted under jar lids (such as pickles) to release the vacuum and make them easy to open. The mix and masher is the best thing in the world for mashing up eggs for potato salad or egg salad, not to mention for making true mashed potatoes.

Hope everybody has a wonderful Wednesday.