Hi

I know its been awhile. I'll try to do better now that things have calmed a bit.

My last show of the year is done. It was good not great, with working out of the house I didn't have as much inventory as past years, but it will help our family come Christmas Gift time.

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I got a fun surprise in the hen house the other day.

That little one, upper right, is way greener than the picture shows.

I believe it is from one of my new chicks. She is a Hamburg/Americauna mix, one of our May babies. You can see how happy it makes the egg in the middle.

We are having a gift exchange at the artist group. It's supposed to be small and homemade, I wanted to try some new techniques so i figured I'd would kill 2 birds. I made this little lunch bag using all scraps. Scrap lunch sack? I used this stuff called Insulbright for the batting. It is supposed to retain the cold or heat and is washable. I hope the recipient likes it.

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Thats about it, I'd better get ready for work. No jammie pants there. Dang!

A new me!

I'm working on some new bags for my biggest show of the year.

She is inspiring me to dye my hair pink and maybe eat less.

Then again, maybe not.

I have countertops!

I have the day off so I put the canning stuff away.

I keep it in the basement when not in use, but from mid June (strawberry jam season) through mid October HERE IT SITS! My kitchen isn't tiny but it isn't huge either.

I like canning but i'm loving the wide open space.

With my new job, i didn't can as much as i usually do. The cool summer didn't help out the veggie growing either but we did eat a lot of fresh which is my main reason for gardening anyway.

I had an abundance of jalapenos so I made jalapeno jam. Mixed with cream cheese it makes an incredible cracker dip. Sweet with heat. mmm...

I'm still loving the job. I havent had to resort to fast food yet since the crock pot is now my new best friend in the kitchen. My kids have been helping out as well.

Another perk of the job, I missed that whole balloon boy crap and didn't find out about it until it was declared a hoax. So there's that.

My girl made this yummy frosted brownie the other night.

Its all gone now so I cant share. I'd say sorry but that would be a lie.

It was good.

i'm happy, i'm bummed

Our Detroit Lions won their first game since December 07 (not counting pre season games), I'm happy. Since the seats werent sold out the game wasn't televised and we didn't see it, I'm bummed.

finding balance

I have tried to post pics now several times and it just isn't letting me.

So no pictures to share today.

You all know I do art/craft shows and have a little shop online. You all also know that this economy has been affecting people everywhere. I have been looking for part-time work for quite a few months now. The starving part of starving artist gets old after awhile. So here's the news, I found a job!

Since I kind of keep my personal info out of this blog, i will just say that i am into my second week and it seems to be a great fit. I deal with customers, answer phones and in the future may do a little sewing. The gals i work with couldn't be nicer or funnier. It seems we laugh half the day away.

It is also great that because it's part-time, I can still run my little sewing business, do the shows and still have time for family and farm. I am counting on my kids to help out around here more, but I think that's a good thing for them.

So if you don't see me much around here, its all good. I'm trying my best to figure out this new schedule and fitting everything important in.

I just hit spell check and got a no misspellings found. A first for me!

Celebrity Endorsement

I went to my local quilt shop over the weekend and got some new fabrics to inspire me to sew some new things. Did you know I love fabrics? Well I do.

I finished a new bag this morning and as usual, I hang new things on my entertainment center for my family to notice. Sometimes it can take days for them to notice but in their defence, our living room is very messy.

I noticed Kelly Rippa was wearing a matching dress!

Oh lookie, she noticed too!

I think she likes it!

The Kelly Bag is now in my etsy shop.

Back to school shopping

My son left his paper drivers permit in his pants and I washed it down to a crumpled ball of nothing. Nothing makes me happier than a trip to the DMV. Not that i love the DMV, it's only because it happens to be right next to Value World!

I happened to check out the Value World Website and found a down loadable

30% off coupon! Not only do they have cheap resale prices but 30% off too!

The kids and I spent an hour and a half in that store.

This is our haul.

2 docker type pants for hubbies work

3 strappy tanks for me

1 hoodie

9 t-shirts (one still had new tags on it)

3 sweat pants

5 pairs of shorts (one still had new tags)

1 pair of swim trunks

4 pj pants

and 1 new fancy schmancy jacket from Australia (with tags)

Grand Total: $49.81

If my math is correct, thats only 1.72 per item.

I love bargains.