Wieners Roasting By The Open Fire

These two Wieners are most thankful for the cold weather and a fire in the fire place...they have not moved all day...well, Dora has not moved. She has laid on her side, rolled over and baked the other side all afternoon. They are most thankful!!

Sophie and Dora took up the prime chair in the living room, poor Bailey had to sit in my lap or under the covers today.....she does not mind, she is a long haired wiener and she says she has her winter coat on and will take a lap nap any day, or the very least, a fresh out of the dryer load of laundry will do nicely too!

I hope you had a wonderful lazy day like everyone around here had....it was different but sorta nice all at the same time.....the pups could not agree more!

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Gardens

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday and a Happy Thanksgiving to all here in the United States. Today, I decided to be a little different with my post. Seems to fit the bill for a lot that is different around here this year. So, please indulge me this one time for straying from the usual post on Vintage day.

I'd like to share with you some photos I took last weekend at the Fort Worth Japanese Gardens. It was beautiful with the trees turning, truly stunning.

These gardens have been here for many years, so I do believe they do count for a vintage thingie. I remember them being there when I was a little girl, but history dates back long before that. During the depression years, the city paid workers out of work $2.00 a week to come and work in the gardens, making new ones, and clearing land.

These gardens are very peaceful to walk through, and was a much needed break from all the goings on in life today.

I know most of you are busy cooking, celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow. Our Thanksgiving will be a bit different this year. It will be just Steve and I.......this is a first......ever.

Jeff and Alisha both have to work, and won't be here for Thanksgiving. So I guess that means no cooking for me! I told Steve I was not going to cook, as we will have Thanksgiving over the weekend, when hopefully both my kids can make it home. Maybe we will have chips and dip....or go out to eat.

Of course that does not sit well with my very traditional husband.....but that is just the way it is. I think it will be a good day for me  to spend sewing and Steve can spend it in front of the TV...minus all the food!

I am very thankful for my family, both my kids are doing so great, they have good jobs, and are making their way in the world......I just wish they were a bit closer these days, but they are happy and that is what is important.

I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends......enjoy the simple things in life, for those are truly the most important.

I'll be back next week, with true to fashion something vintage to offer. Remember there may not be too many to link in today, as most will be cooking and preparing for a large feast....that my husband does not want to wait till the weekend to have....haha.

Have a wonderful holiday, and if you are brave enough to hit the shopping mall on Black Friday, have a great time fighting the crowds and crazies. I used to love to do that, but these days, not so much...it almost is not worth it to me...but back when I was younger...I was slinging buggies with the best of them!! Have a great Vintage Thingie Thursday everyone!!

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Christmas Treasures

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the United States, and I know many will be very busy. I will have a post up as usual, and a link working so if you want to link in, feel free to do so. I know several will want to know what the plan is.....

Now, I really do like most things vintage, Christmas items are no exception. I found a lovely array of holiday items at an estate sale a while back, and well....purchased most all they had. Now, what am I going to do with them? That is a good question...but I loved the memories that these treasures recalled from my childhood.  A time, some days, I long to return to....even for just one day. Take a look.

Vintage Christmas Cards:

These are some fabulous vintage Christmas cards, in the original boxes. There is just something about the designs and graphics on vintage cards that really can bring a melancholy feeling of holidays pasts. Now, I don't know why that is the case for me, but hey, I don't question it. I just love them. I maybe will frame a few of my favorite ones and sit out on a shelf or table top at the holidays.

Vintage Gift Tags:

Oh, can you believe I found these vintage gift tags. Talk about memories. I think when I saw the bag of tags and started looking at them, my heart skipped a beat.

I swear some of these tags are the exact tags I remember being on the packages of gifts at my grandmothers house. Believe me, I would recognize them in a heartbeat. I did not spend several days before Christmas peeking at the tags over and over again, looking at my presents, and seeing who they were from for nothing. I was training my eyes for years down the road to recognise a treasure when I found one.

Will I use these tags? No, most likely not. I don't know what I will do with them, but treasure them I will....Oh, what wonderful memories they bring to mind just looking at them.

Vintage Napkins:

Are these adorable or what? The only thing I can say, is these reminded me of my mother. No, she does not like Santa Claus all that much, you see, she is a snowman person herself. But these reminded me of class parties at school, and my mom, who was the room mother. She always planned the parties, made the favors, baked the cookies, the works. Thanks mom.

Remember how excited everyone was on party day at school, well that is the same excitement I felt when I saw these adorable santa napkins. I know, I am weird. The price tag on them is .39 cents. You know they are old, I don't think you can even purchase a single napkin for .39 cents these days.

Do I think my mom would have purchased these back then, sure I do, after all, for a young child, what says Christmas more than Santa. It's funny how a single item will spawn memories of your childhood.
I really love the old vintage looking Santa. He is so cute. So I had to have them, with no purpose or design to use them. Just to have.

Vintage Serving Trays:

I found these vintage serving trays from Hallmark at the same sale. Now, I remember my mom having about 2 of these and used them at Christmas for cookies or candy, and serving her famous cheese roll with crackers on the tray.
I loved those trays and had forgot all about them until I happened upon them at this sale.

Wow, light bulb moment...I had forgot about something I so loved as a child. Silly, I know. I purchased 6 of these, 2 red birds and 4 snowmen trays. I loved the birds and the snowmen just remind me of my mom so I had to have them. The original tags and packaging was with them $3.00. I would guess these were from the late 60's or early 70's. Now, these, I will more than likely use. I think they are so cute.

There are always wonderful memories associated with Christmas and holidays.
Just writing this post took me back about 40 years, to my grandmother's house that always smelled of good food. To a house that had an aluminum Christmas tree in the dining room and a real tree in the living room with red decorations and silver icicles. But most of all, this post brought back wonderful memories of the families who gathered there during the holidays, who loved each other and wanted to share their lives with each other, and took the time to do so. Precious memories that are etched in the very soul of my heart.
~ Good Stuff ~

A Reality Check, A Reminder, A Way To Make A Difference

Sometimes the stress of everyday life really gets the best of me. I get down, upset and frustrated, especially when I absent mindlessly cause the issues. This time of year especially. The holidays are stressful, there it so much to do, and so little time.....and certainly no time for things to break.

This weekend, I fried my new computer.....somehow. Thankfully, it was still under warranty and hope to have it back by the end of the week. But when my computer is not working...I freak. Totally. All my photos are there, and we do have a laptop I can use, but no pictures on that computer thus....stressed over that this week. I will make do. In the big scheme of things.....this is so trivial.

My daughter sent me a link last night, and said if I needed something to blog about this would be good. Was she ever right. She reminded me to really look at what is important. She reminded me how little my troubles really are, and how we can make a small difference in the world we live in and the people in it. Alisha went to private school from kindergarten to 12th grade, in High School, the kids at the school participated in Samaritan's Purse/Operation Christmas Child. Alisha, said she was going to do that this year and finding a drop off place in Austin. She made my heart smile.

All you need to be a real blessing is a shoe box, some small toys, some candy, maybe a toothbrush and toothpaste anything small that a child would treasure, a child who never gets anything. And a little time. The time it takes to put this together, would be nothing to the delight on a child's face on Christmas morning. Each box requires a $7.00 donation to cover the shipping expenses. A small price for a smile. What a great activity for the whole family to get involved with...from the very young, to the very old.

Please go to the LINK to see what you can send and what not to send.

Click HERE to see the drop off locations in your area. Many churches participate in this program, so it should be easy to find a drop off location.

But hurry...the deadline is this week....so take a minute and be a blessing to a small child. The website also has links to print a label with a tracking number, Samaritan's Purse emails you and lets you know where your box ended up in our large world. I think that is really neat.

Please take a minute and watch this video, it is short but powerful. It sure served as a reminder to me this day how my problems are really not that important at all....and now, I am off to find a shoebox and some little treasures....please, would you join me?

Operation Christmas Child - A Lot Like Christmas

And the one thing I am so thankful for is the fact we were able to send our children to schools where they learned the value of individuals and how much they can make a difference...we do that at home, but is was nice to have them learn that lesson with their peers as they grew up in school.

Quick, Easy & Oh So Delish - Roasted Rosemary Chicken & Potatoes

I don't know about you, but I love dinners that are quick, easy and taste wonderful too....like I cooked all afternoon but didn't. Those are the best. Here is a wonderful recipe that is really wonderful and super easy to make....and it makes your house smell so inviting while it is cooking.

You will need:

5 teaspoons Paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
3 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary or use 4 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
cooking spray
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 large potatoes, cubed - skins on or off, I keep skins on

How to:

In a large bowl mix spices, salt and olive oil together. Add potatoes and chicken breast. Mix in spice mixture until all is coated evenly. Place in a large casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray in one layer. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 35-40 minutes uncovered. 

Quick, Easy, Delish, Enjoy.

A Warning About Opening Text Messages In Public Places

Hello friends, this post is to serve as a warning about opening text messages in public places. To do so, could result in having to explain yourself, and then botching it up in a ridiculous way. Doing so, could also annoy others when you don't really know enough about your phone to turn the message off or worse, when you think it is just a text and not one that is equipped with sound....very loud sound in fact when you are in a space of waiting patients in a doctors office.

This is a true story....it is not meant to offend anyone....it happened, and I hope I remember to wait until I am in the car if I am ever in a public place again to open a text message......just sayin'

Last week, I had a doctors appointment for a mammogram. Sorry if there are any guys that have found their way here today, you may want to click off now, or if your curiosity has gotten the better of you...well, you have been warned. Anyway, it was as always, hurry up, get there and wait. Once I was called back, the not so nice lady, (think old fashion school matron type) proceeded to order me to go change, put on the top...blah, blah, blah. And you guessed it, wait again. And for the life of me, I always wonder why in the devil it is always freezing in that place....hello......sub zero degrees is really not necessary.

There were benches outside the room where the mammogram is done, and I was waiting there rather impatiently with two other ladies about my age....40ish give or take a few.....anyway, my phone beeped...I had a text message. I thought it might be one of my kids...but it was from a friend.

So what do I do? Open it right there in the hallway that was so silent you could hear a pin drop to read it. Actually, I was rather happy for the message...anything was better than staring at two other ladies robed in a half gown knowing they were bare chested like myself....seriously.....

See that sweet little message...that is what was on my phone when I opened the message...I smiled thinking about my friend who sent it, and THEN it went off like a cannon.....click the arrow to hear the message!!!



One of the ladies looked up and asked me: "Is it your anniversary? How sweet of your husband to send you that!"

Me: Huh??? Oh, no....it is from my girlfriend.....I love that girl.....

Lady: "Oh, I see..." with raised and knowing eyebrows... (why at that moment did I feel her glance at my chest??)

Me: Puzzled then realizing what she thought...good grief, she thinks I like women......I exclaimed, "Oh, no...I'm married......"

Lady: raises eyebrows even more and opens a magazine......sorta smirking....

Me: ...."To a man.....my husband that is,.....this message is from my friend...who happens to be a girl....."

Guess you notice I was digging a deeper hole with trying to explain.....and really, why did she think it was any of her business and why did I feel the need to explain myself.....just because I said I got a message from my girlfriend.....did that mean I liked girls??? I find that today, so many people seem to be jumping to conclusions over the silliest things, but jump they do.


And wouldn't you know it about that time I glance up and the old school matron looking lady is standing in the doorway looking agitated and like she did not believe my story for one bit. Who's name do you think she called? Mine.....

All I could do is stand up, throw my shoulders back and say as I passed her standing in the doorway, "lets get these boobs picture taken ...I have things to do today"....and with that, I heard a loud gasp as I left the lady waiting on the bench and walked inside. But heck, if all those eyes wanted to look up behind open magazines and look and gawk, I was in the sorta mood to give them something to gawk at.....and I guess I did....I mean I had the nerve to say..."boobs" at a mammogram clinic of all places.  And that school matron looking lady, seemed to find great pleasure in turning that crank a little tighter that day....but I swear, I did not flinch one bit.

So if you would like to save yourself the humiliation of having possibly to explain a text message with sound attached, I strongly advise not opening it in the doctor's office...or at the very least the mammogram clinic...but to my sweet friend who sent it, I meant what I said when I text back to you, "I love you more." I bet you could not have imagined the predicament that message would find me in.

Have a great weekend everyone...and if you have not had a mammogram this year, schedule yourself one, but leave your phone in the car.

I'd like to say Thank you to Alisha's friend, Brad who turned this text message into a video.....I could not figure out how to do it!!

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Vanity Mirror and Brooch

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

This is a vanity mirror I picked up at an estate sale a few months ago, I loved the design and the little lady so I brought it home with me.

Unfortunately there were no other pieces to the set, just the mirror. That is ok, it has a great home with me.

Here is a close up of the details of the mirror. She looks to be enjoying a garden.

At the same sale, I found these great vintage pins and a brooch. I loved the birds and the brooch is rather art deco looking to me.

Here is a close up and more details of these pieces.

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday everyone, have a great weekend.

Begging Quilt Project Update and Announcement

First off, I would like to say, when I posted about me begging for fabric scraps, I had no idea what kind of response I'd get. Let me say, I was just completely overwhelmed by the generosity and all the lovely fabrics sent my way.

If I say this a hundred times, I wall say a thousand, it was SO MUCH FLIPPIN' fun going to the mailbox and having something fun to open and admire besides bills!!! I had the best time with this project than I remember having in a long time. I just about drove my poor Aunt crazy with the updates, but one afternoon she came over and sat with me at the table, and well, she saw for herself how much fun this actually was!!!

At last count, I received almost 3945 different fabrics.....oh, so close to the total I needed. And in all the fabrics I received, you have to believe me when I say, that only THREE swatches came in that were duplicates to something that was already sent......Amazing really. To give you an idea, the little stack in front is a total of 25 in that little short pile....so you can see bloggers were very generous in contributing to my cause. I will most likely feed into the quilt a few duplicates as I have decided I don't think it will be too noticeable with all the DIFFERENT fabrics I have now.

There are five winners of the gift cards. I put all the addresses and names in a box and shook them up, drew them out one by one. Congratulations to the winners and thank you so much my friends for all the lovely fabrics that went out my way.

1. Janet from Wisconsin
2. Carol from New Hampshire
3. Sadie from New York
4. Cathy from Maine
5. Julie from Texas

Please send me an email (email is on my side bar) and let me know if you'd like a JC Penny's gift card or a Walmart gift card. I will mail these out on Friday.

JC Penny's and Walmart are not associated with this giveaway, they don't even know I exists......in case you feel the need to know.

I will be posting about this quilt as I progress with putting it together. I'd like to say without anyone really knowing it, these fabrics are most special and many prints brought back memories for me of sometime during my life. There were all kinds of animals, dachshunds (which remind me of my 3 babies), butterflies, birds, bees, trees, dolls, and small toys on fabric. Someone sent fabric that had a saxophone on it, and that was most special, my grandfather played the Sax in a band for years, I saw that and thought of him.

Another swatch came in (green check with sunflowers)and when my daughter was in elementary school, I made t-shirts using that very fabric for her and some of her friends, I had thought how neat it would have been if I had saved some of that fabric....well, I got a swatch of that VERY fabric in a bundle.....I could not believe it.

There were florals that reminded me of my grandma's roses and irises she had in her garden. There were some that had a vegetable garden theme and well, you know how I love my garden in the summer months. There were adorable chickens and roosters that remind me of my aunt who loves chickens.

There were fabrics with trees, pine cones and cabins which reminded me of our little place in the mountains. There were lovely modern prints in the most amazing color combination that remind me of my daughter, she would have picked those very fabrics.

Then there were the vintage and reproduction prints that I am sure if you listened on that day, you could have heard me screaming.....so dear to my heart. Yes, you guys really have blessed me beyond measure....and I can not thank you enough.

Don't Forget to Turn Back Your Clocks: Wisdom According To Maxine

I don't know about you, but I would prefer the time to stay the same all the time, and day lights savings time would be nice for me. But that is just me.

I think Maxine has the right idea about this one! Oh, to be able to just turn the dial and be able to dial back to when you were 20 or heck, how about even 30!

And this is how I feel all winter long!!!! Maxine hit it right on the head for me!!!

Today we set out clocks back one hour, so we can come home in the dark....man, I hate the sound of that!!! And while you are at the task of setting your clocks back, be sure to check the batteries in your smoke alarms, and replace if need be.

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Wedding Ring Quilt

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

This past weekend, Jeff and Alisha were home and it was a bit on the cool side. So I took out a couple of quilts and put them on the beds for extra cover. My daughter walked into my sewing room and commented on this quilt. She said to me that this is the quilt she had been asking me where I had put it. Funny, I did not remember that conversation coming up in the past, but she did.

She said this is the quilt she remembered on her bed when she was a little girl, it was all soft and comfy and good for snuggling....much better than a new quilt. I did remember she always liked this quilt as the conversation went forward.

She even pointed out that the marks on this quilt, that were done in permenant marker, were of her doings.....yes, there is the proof right there on the quilt. Funny, I had not remembered them being there before...but you can tell that the marks have been there for a while....several years in fact.

Then she proceeded to tell me how when she was little, she used to love to look at all the fabrics and pick out her favorites. She exclaimed that was what she would do when she was supposed to be taking a nap in the afternoons. She assured me this was her favorite quilt and it held lots of memories for her. Well...crap....that was the wrong thing to say to me.....sentimental fool I am......I had to take a deep breath and tell her she could take it with her when she went home.

That was no easy thing for me to do I might add. This quilt was made by my grandmother's mother on my dad's side of the family. My great grandmother pieced this quilt and I have always treasured it. I told my daughter that her great, great-grandma made the quilt and it was a treasure, and to please take care of it. As I type this, I still find it hard to believe I let her take it.

The quilt is not in perfect condition, it is vintage and has a few places that are not perfect. But quilts like this were made to be used and enjoyed not stored away. I feel relatively sure that my daughter will use this and enjoy it. I am not sure she is as sentimental as I am and treasure it, but at least it will be used as it was intended....for warmth and comfort along with holding fond memories for her.

But did I mention how hard it was to not tell her I changed my mind and keep it here with me??? I am rather proud of myself for letting a real treasure to my heart go on with the next generation to enjoy it. It was not easy.

Take Me Back Tuesday: A Heart Warming Moment

This past weekend was one of the best ones we have had in a while. It was a wonderful fall weekend and both of our kids were home. Each one had their own agenda for the weekend of course, but for a little while over the weekend stretch, they were both here and it was great. Perfect weather, baseball, good food, and the kids. Perfect.

And in knowing that they would both be here at the same time, it was a must to decide what each one would love to eat. Luckily, that was a pretty easy choice. We had homemade Mexican food....which is a staple in our family for years and years. These dishes were passed down from my great grandma and it is something we all enjoy. The meal is rather simple, cheese enchiladas and tacos...but the tacos are far from traditional really, they are wonderful and I am sure full of calories, but no one seems to mind. The enchilada sauce is made from scratch, just like my grandma made it, and just like she learned to make it from her mother in law, my great grandma.

On Saturday afternoon, I was in the kitchen cooking when the kids showed up. I was cooking and in the process of grating cheese for the enchiladas by hand...yes, I do that, don't even own a food processor, when one of them came in the kitchen to steal a bit of grated cheese out of the bowl. This is so hard to resist and I guess the cheese always taste better freshly grated. At least in my memories that was the case....I used to steal the cheese too when I was growing up.

For an instant, a image flashed in my mind of years and years ago when it was me entering my grandma's kitchen and stealing the cheese out of the bowl. I thought about how I would snatch several bites and she never minded one bit. I thought about when it was her cooking this Mexican meal for her family coming to visit. For an instant, I was transported back over 40 years ago to the smells, love and warmth of her kitchen and it washed all over me. It was fleeting, but it came none the less. It was surreal.

The rest of the afternoon flew by, but several times I thought about what had happened in my kitchen earlier in the day. It reinforced traditions being important in families, and holding on to the important things like family recipes and memories to pass along to the next generation. I'd like to think that in that fleeting moment earlier in the day that my grandma also felt it too, that she would be so proud that I cared enough to learn these dishes and know that I can never prepare them without the wonderful memories of her and her love coming to mind.

This take me back Tuesday, for me is about a heart warming moment over a perfect weekend and getting a glimpse of how life can come full circle sometimes when we least expect it. Now, I just have to get one of my kids in the kitchen to learn how to make this food.....the traditions can not stop with me.....they better be ready for a cooking lesson or two!!