365: week 26

177/365:

#vacationfun

Oops. I'm posting backwards. Post about what I did with frames can be found here. Seriously .. loads of therapy in this pile right here.

178/365:

Dinner menu = mutton.

Tia has had us playing Settlers like crazy. 6 nights in a row ... 3 games each night. We may have missed a night, but we're wearing out the game this week.Who needs dinner anyway?

179/365:

Maybe it would be fun to go shopping/lunching together but this ... melts my heart.

My daughter is a girl after my own heart. She's as creative and crafty as I love to be. If someday she finds a guy to share her world, I hope he'll understand as well as her dad does.

180/365:

Cruising through farming country. #crafty #rugsforfun #countrylovin

This one is for you Jane! Remember all those little 2 inch squares you cut for me? I used them and cut many more to make this little rug. I have so much cow print that I don't know what I'm going to do with it all. Alyx drew me a cow spot shaped rug and I added on squares and squares and squares. Looks downright cute inside the teeped I made with some of it.

181/365:

Perfect day for ham bone soup and homemade peasant bread. #theonlybreadicanmake

I use to make a lot of peasant bread. One loaf that requires no kneeding and not much of anything else but is pure deliciousnes. Fresh bread with homemade soup. 

182/365:

Sadly ... a Pinterest fail. #ontothenextone

happy birthday brock!

You've come a long way from this boy of 12. Today a husband and a father ... and always a son.

Wishing all the best for you in the coming year with days that are filled with the humdrum goodness of life, bright moments that light your eyes and bring a smile to your face, dreams that are fulfilled and just all around goodness and love.

Love you bunches.

365: week 25

170-173/365:

When your glasses lose one of those nose protector thingamajigs.

Beating the heat with a hot glue gun.

I'll park a mile away to get the shade of one good tree.

5:34 a.m. still counts for Thursday right?

Alyx and Tarron went to Alaska for a loonng weekend and we did a little bit of child tending over here. Dominic (bottom right of top photo) was being weaned ... doesn't take a bottle .. and really likes his mom. I will admit that I was incredibly thankful that Tia is still living at home. Whew! The first night with this little man was a bit interesting and a lot sleepless. By the time morning rolled around tho', I had him figured out. He was mad as a hornet and pitches an 8 month old fit like a raging 3 year old when he wants his mom and not his nana.

The rest of the time went famously. We got sleep figured out and he did great. Sebastian did a great job of being a big helper and he is mighty fun and easy to have around. We kept the boys until Sunday when they went to their own home to spend time with their other grandma until the parents came home.

174/365:

We got this!

I have a new lens on my camera and haven't downloaded photos for a good while. It is full of pictures of these little muchkins .. Tia is a bit of a shutterbug.

175/365:

Then men's section at #targetoptical. Really?!

In our quest to find out why dear hubby has had a headache for a month ... we headed for an eye exam. Checking all the boxes .. one at a time. Except for needing reading glasses, his vision is 20/20. Go figure. He does have a "freckle" somewhere close to the optic nerve that we are going to see a retinologist about. Maybe that is causing a problem?

Post retinologist - freckle is nothing to worry about. Altho' they can be melanomous (is that even a word?), his is hot diggety fine. We saw a super cool doctor. You know she's great when the pickiest patient in the entire world liked her. She learned that we had spent time in Alaska and then really wondered why he was being sent to see her. Alaska folks are tough stuff and don't end up in her chair for eye freckles. She, herself, has spent time in Alaska and is a photographer. Makes me want to hop on a house with wings ..

176/365:

If I drink a pbj smoothie while reading the Christmas issue of #countryliving ...

Blended PB&J

1 scoop protein powder (recipe calls for vanilla whey ... I used peanut butter non whey)
1-2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 tsp raspberry jam (home made is best)
1/2 c frozen mixed berries
1 cup ice

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

******************************

Week 25 is done and over with. Almost to the halfway mark of the year. Where on this good earth is time going and what is happening to it??!

365: week 24

166/365:

Oh my aching feet.

Nothing more needs to be said.

167/365:

#onceinawhileshesurprisesthem

Green chili chicken enchiladas. Might I say they are about the easiest thing in the world? And I have come to the point where I cheat in the biggest ways. I live very close to 2 (count 'em!) Costcos where you can buy the cheapest and most tasty rotisserie chicken ever. I'm not sure I used it in this recipe, but I use it often. One of those benefits to only have a few mouths to feed. One bird now gets us at least 3 meals.

168/365:

#crafting

The end of June was curbside bulk trash pickup. This nicely weathered pallet had sat here for a long time serving a purpose but we were pitching. I kept this one out and used up every single board. I'm still going to add some more little rosettes on the heart ... but recycle, reuse and redecorate with 3 pieces of wood. This piece really isn't staying here ... I've just run out of places to put projects headed for market. So I figured .. why not? I'll enjoy for a few months and then ship it out of here.

Incidentally, I've often thought I should do a post about pillows. In our world, pillows are also an indicator of how life has changed. This is how it use to work. For years, Aunt Martta would come for a visit every July. Before she came, I would head to Walmart and buy fresh pillows. Those $5 pillows that last about $5 worth. After she left, the pillows would move to our bed. Our pillows would move to the kids' beds and the kids' pillows probably headed to the trash bin. Really, we never had extra pillows. Today I will make the bed and prop 7 pillows up against the headboard. If I dare admit ... sometimes it has even been more than that. Whatcha suppose to do? You need one to keep your head up. Another to keep the aching hip from being in the wrong position. Yet another to keep .... 

169/365:

Happy Fathers Day!

We made it. All the way up the mountain and out into the woods for a drive.

And a selfie.

365: week 23 and into week 24

Earlier this week, I spent hours trying to catch up in the blogging department getting posts in order to share with you. 

This one that recaps a short few days of our lives is hard on the heart. It is late. It is still hard to add to.

155/365:

The best laid plans ..

My dear hubby has been struggling with some health issues. Work has been impossible for him. On a Sunday morning we packed up some stuff and headed toward Payson for the day, thinking a drive in the fresh mountain air would be good for him. We didn't make it halfway ... turned around and came home. He doesn't have any life threatening illness. He is busy doctoring and finding that he is a healthy man for his age, yet unable to function as he would like to. We will get answers at some point and he will be back ticking on all cylinders again. In the meantime, it is day by day and pray for things to turn around.

156/365:

When the phone rings and you think your heart will stop beating.

#prayingfor levi

If you are reading this and don't know the story behind this ... Levi was swimming in the Crow River with friends and disappeared that Monday evening. The search began. He had graduated high school the day before and was beginning his adventure into an adulthood filled with promise and dreams. 

157-160/365:

#clothesforthehubby

#flighttime

Searching the river and making decisions regarding my own future river adventures.

#peonies

Jari went to Minnesota on Tuesday and I went on Wednesday. We had planned to be in Colorado that weekend for a wedding so I had Thursday off. Even though hope is eternal ... the clothes were packed. I was able to spend some time on the river on Thursday in hopes of finding Levi. He was found later that day ....

It is interesting how things in life give us a new perspective into our own activities and the things we are no longer willing to do. We believe that our days on this earth are numbered by God before we are born. While we understand that Levi was called home on the day God needed him, I saw just a small amount of the torment his family, friends and community went through in the search for him. I saw the Crow River and in my mind I saw the eddy in the Verde River. The eddy that I was saved from by landing in the V of a tree ... kayak hanging above the water. And I was done. Maybe that was a decision made in the midst of a heart wrenching struggle. Maybe it will change. I decided that day that I was done. Give me a hard kayak and a peaceful lake, but you can take my inflatable kayak and the dangers of the river. I'm not a physically fit 18 year old male. I'm really getting to be an almost older lady who, although her days are numbered as well, does not want her family searching a fast flowing river for her body.

The end of this day saw heartbreak and relief. Relief that they could bring him home and to his final resting place. Heartbreak that touched so many who had never even met him .. 

161/365:

Precious visits.

Oh, we are also blessed beyond measure to have these parents with us still. Loss of the young mixed with the laments of the aged.

162-165/365:

"Safe in the arms of Jesus .."

#airportracket when the bank of outlets is in a restaurant.

#wishingiwasthere 

We drove over some downed power lines in MN last weekend without knowing. Saw a sign on I-17 warning not to do that. "whowouldathunk

I had to come home Sunday so was not able to stay for the funeral. Jari stayed and came home later that week. I wish there was a way to ease the heartache of those who were the closest to Levi. A call. A text. A hug. Many a prayer.

Lanterns

It's vacation week and I'm not traveling. Rather, I'm home catching up and crafting. Pure bliss for this lady.

One day I took a trip to my favorite HHH and the Dollar Tree. Incidentally, HHH is Home Depot, Hobby Lobby and Harbor Freight. The hours of crafting in this little pile should keep me out of trouble for a minute or two.

First project was the frames. The brown ones on top are a little smaller than the black ones.

First order of business was to disassemble them all. Wrappings and backings all went into the trash.

The glass was removed and safely stowed on the kitchen counter in a pile. Where else would you store plates of glass? My family does put up with a little bit from me I think.

I made some of these earlier and actually used the brad nailer to put them together. However, the frames at the Dollar Tree have gotten even cheaper in quality if that's possible. One smack with a brad nail and the thing might not make it. So I took to E6000 glue and started gluing sides together, two pieces at a time. After they were dry, I attached both pieces together to make a box.

(Please ignore the sawdust in the photo below.)

Next stop was to attach a bottom to each of the squares. I didn't take a photo of this process. Sorry about that.

I have used left over fence board or any kind wood that is wide enough for the base.

This time I went to Home Depot (see ... I really am a fan!) and looked through their 70% pile. There was a leftover piece of board there of a kind I've never used before but figured it would work. It came home with me, got cut into appropriate sizes and was attached to the bottoms of the squares. This was another job for the E6000. Next up was spray paint. White paint layer after layer.

No lantern is complete with a top, right?

Whatever kind of wood you've got works just fine! The top is actually a triple layer. The middle layer sits on the top of the lantern square. The smaller piece on top probably doesn't need to be there but certainly adds. 

When I did the original one using this link and this one from Pinterest, my goal was to have the tops close using tiny itty bitty hinges. Tiny itty bitty hinges going into a frame from the Dollar Tree. Not really a math equation that adds up well. My hubby is just the smartest person out there. Sometimes I get a little stubborn about the way I want things done, but if I'm smart ... I listen to him. He is the reason for the bottom part of this 3 piece top. It is cut to fit directly inside the square and keep the top in place without sliding off. And no hinges needed!

Being as these pieces were all the real deal wood ... I used wood glue to put them together and clamped them overnite. Now that would have been the other smart person's idea. My dad. He was here when I was going to brad nail them together. Saved hauling out air compressors with his idea! I'm seriously surrounded by smart guys.

Because I sometimes use less than premium wood and am not a finish carpenter ... there is caulk. I now know how to watch the edge of the blade on the chop saw so I know exactly where the cut will be, but goodness! I still use wood that may be a bit distorted. After the pieces were all where they were suppose to be ... the seams that needed it were give a bit of caulk to clean them up.

Following the caulking session came a bit of sanding and another spray paint session. By then it was getting rather dark outside so I hope I managed to cover up everything that needed covering!

Next up was glass knobs for the top of each lantern. I kind of like the glass ones for these projects. Checked Hobby Lobby online to find out if knobs are on sale this week and found it was my lucky day! Off to Hobby Lobby I went and came home with a few. (Hint: there is rarely any reason to pay full price for anything at Hobby Lobby ... although I really do enjoy supporting their business.)

Holes were drilled nearly through all 3 layers of the top. Knobs were threaded on and the tops were done!

Now for the glass. Note: these will not be conducive to candle burning. Please do NOT try that. I want glass on these so I can fill at least some of them with winter scenes .. complete with fake fluffy snow. Glass pieces were cleaned and attached back to the places I originally took them out of using some hot glue. A bead of hot glue on the frame in several places and plop the glass in very carefully. 

Four of them are done and ready for filling!

Spray paint takes a bit longer to really cure and dry than does regular paint. The main reason (other than cost) I rarely use it ... I like things done quickly. I've taken the tops off to let them cure, but this gives you an idea of possibilities for the inside. When my mom was in town, she went home with one of the first ones I did. She placed a small fake succulent in it and it looks darling.

These will be filled with removable winter scenes .. I can't wait to share those with you!

As a teaser ... I found piano wire ...

365: week 22

149/365:

Miniature princesses bring miniature bouquets. 

We have a lantana bush that is ginormous! Sometimes I wonder if there is a world record for that kind of bush like the world's largest rose bush in southern Arizona. When it is blooming ... we get flowers from the little people. Sometimes it might be an entire bloom like this one. Other times it will be a handful of individual petals from this ever so tiny bloom. Melts my heart every time.

150/365:

Getting the crafting going!!

Pinterest and I have a relationship that is ever evolving. I pin all kinds of things, some of which I later discard in "what was I thinking?" moments. Others may take me until next year to finish. This would be one of them. My stash for Market is starting to grow!

151-154/365:

Cloudy skies can stay all summer as far as I'm concerned! 

#amazondelivery

Love when he has a minute to share a handy trick that makes my work (play) so much easier.

Farewell breakfast with mom and dad before they take off on the long drive home. #travelingfolks