UGG... WHAT'S GOING ON???

I have been trying to download pictures on Blogspot for the past week with no luck!!!
Anyone having the same problem????
I go on some of my usual blog visits and you all have pictures.... so what am I doing wrong????
Any suggestions????

I'M SEEING STARS....

I have been "nose.to.the.grindstone" working on some Christmas gifts in glass. I saw these stars made on a show THAT'S CLEVER and thought I could figure them out.....

Well,,,,, THAT PATTERN DIDN'T WORK FOR ME,,,, This star is the pattern I got from the program. It was hard keeping all the pieces together. It just looked sloppy to me.

so I made my own pattern and I like them MUCH BETTER...

I used etching cream and my dremel to put a design on the glass before I cut it, then put a rounded edge on all sides and points with my glass grinder so the edges are nice and smooth. Each star has 50 passes on the grinder (that was the time consumer!) Then I used beading wire to hold the pieces together along with some decorative glass beads... These stars are 6"- 8" from point to point.

So this is the ornament of the year for me.

Maybe I will start a new tradition, annual ornament of the year....

THIS LITTLE ELF.....

I have some stones to finish and some baking to do today.

This one is done.

This one is getting poured next...

This one, a friend of mine made, but I thought it was so pretty, I would put it in the show!

Hope your Monday is filled with wonder (I'm wonderin' when I'm going to get the baking done!)

Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd - Mary, did you know?

THIS SONG MAKES ME WEEP.... and yes, I like Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd!!!

THE 33RD YEAR OF HAPPINESS....

Today my DH (dear hubby) and I celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary. Last year on this blog, I put up pictures and took time to write a nice piece about how wonderful our wedding was. I'm honestly just not feeling it today! Got too many things going on.... Oh, I still love him the same and everything is honestly wonderful (couldn't be any better!!!) but just not feeling the 1 1/2 hrs. it seems to take to download pics and all the blah, blah, blah...
Hubby is actually hauling beans today and I have a list a mile long of stuff to do....
So please go to my 2009 post and know that I am truely a blessed person to have this other person in my life.... love ya all....

46 vs. 16....

I saw a decoration the other day and they wanted $46.00 for it... It was just perfect for my dining room table and I am starting to look for new ideas for around the house. This year is not going to be a big decoration year, I'm just not feeling it!!! So I studied the decoration (as any crafter would) and thought, "I could make that for a lot less than $46".
I was on the hunt for all the parts and pieces...

I found a set of trees (2 to the box) for $24.95 and the ornaments for $2.00 a box. So each
decoration cost me $16.00. Not bad!!!!



The table runner under the tree is one my mom made me. I just love it and try to use it each year to remind myself of how much my mom loves me and how she is so special to me. She weaved all her love within this piece. I know it took her a long time to do it. I am so blessed to have a caring mom that likes to make me things ♥

Look at all those stitches...

Here you can see the detail...

So that is the only decoration I made new this year. I decided this year I am going stress free. I am not stressing out about baking, decorating, or buying. Just not going to do it!!! and so far, I have found "IT'S OKAY".

I wish you all a stress free holiday...

I JUST DON'T GET IT....

I have tried to post 3 times now and pictures won't download and the compose page takes on a life of it's own... so don't give up on me yet!!! I am trying to figure out these technical difficulties.

MY LITTLE DIY PROJECT TODAY....

See this can light. I have been loathing these for a long time and I read somewhere that they were making conversion kits for changing these recessed lights into pendant lights.

So the search was on and I finally found them online at Improvementscatalog.com

I did a little research and thought I would give them a try for $34.95 a piece.

So just by screwing in the adapter, you can have pendant lights. No electrician necessary!!

You can make them basically any length you want...

see how the cord is wound around the little attached arm...

Wow! What a change..... worth the money....

There aren't a whole lot of colors to choose. These were the only colored ones I could find other than white or beige. There were a few different styles. These fit just perfect for what I wanted.

It made it look so much cleaner, more updated with just changing out those two lights!

Glad I did it.

ON MY WAY TO THE GYM...

One morning on my way to the gym at dawn, I decided to stop on the bridge and shoot the water pics out my window. Going over the Mississippi River every time I "go to town" is always so pretty, but many times I am thinking about what I need to do and how fast I can get it done and get home. This morning a barge was heading for the Locks (We live by Lock and Dam #16) and the sun was just coming up. The pictures do not do it justice.

These are the Illinois side.








This is the Iowa side.



Got home from the gym and we were being attacked by blackbirds!!!!



It is my most favorite time of year... hope you are enjoying your autumn....

HOUSE PROJECTS...

I don't know why it gets to Sunday night and I realize I haven't posted something new for a week. So here are some pics from a few projects.

DH (dear hubby) and son pulled out bushes before the ground freezes. This big window is where they are putting in french doors. The other door will disappear.

BEFORE

AFTER

The boys are also fixing up a machine shed by the house, having new doors put on.

BEFORE

AFTER

It sure is nice to have a tractor to do the heavy work.

On this day, Ami (d-i-l) and I sorted the last of the furniture. We will be having a consignment sale in November sometime. The house is getting emptied, slowly but surely.

WHEN THESE PROJECTS ARE COMPLETED, I WILL ADD MORE PICS.

MY NEW TREADMILL,,, for a few weeks

I decided to consider walking in this field as MY NEW TREADMILL.... until my DH(dear hubby) plows the ground. The weather has been just that gorgeous fall weather us Midwesterners wait all year to enjoy. Ya know, cool in the 60-70's, sunny, dry, breezy.... yeah, just how we like it!

The soybean stubble is real easy to walk on and the ground is quite level (not like a picked corn field).




I have inclines....




and I have wind resistance..... see my hair blowing in the wind..





All the way to the tree line,,, no cheating. It takes me an hour to and from my back door, perfect!!! If you click on this picture and look on the right hand side, in the tree line, you can see a spot of blue, that's the Mississippi River!




I can sing at the top of my lungs.... and nobody has to listen to me....
(on pitch is not an option)....

I even can do my arm exercises while I am walking and no one thinks I am doing monkey impressions.

Casting Crowns is my choice of music. It is a perfect pace for me. I am trying to walk for 3 minutes, jog for 1 minute. I will increase my jog time, in time....
Everything in moderation I am told.
Anyone want to join me!!!!!

AUTUMN, MY FAV TIME OF YEAR!!!

There always seems like an abundance of projects to do in the fall. Everyday starts with exercising because I have turned over a new leaf (fall,,,,, leaf,,,,, never mind....).
Here's a few things I have been doing.

Visited Elvis, he is really growing tall, well, tall for a miniature horse.


Made homemade noodles with Pam and Jake.


Took pictures of a barn on our property. Every fall, I love to walk back to the field this barn sits in and look at all the trees turning down the river (pictures in another post). You have to go between crops being picked out and ground being tilled under.





It has been a long couple months for this guy, but the weather has been good and the crops abundant. That makes for a happy man!



I made some jar jewelry for Candle Shed. Working on a few glass projects too.



Cleaned out this old refrigerator. It will be good for the basement!


The rest of the week will be filled with making 8 pies and 6 salads for the Harvest Baazar on Wednesday. Cooking noodles with chicken for 300-400 tomorrow. It is an all day cooking deal! Remember,,,, I am the Noodle Lady...

Then the next project is to can all those pears I picked yesterday. The mums got planted already.



Hope you are having a most beautiful fall. ♥

A LOCAL HERO TOLD NATION WIDE...

This past week was filled with a somber overtone for many many miles around here. When this story broke on national news, I had no idea how close to home it would hit! On September 21st, a helicopter crash in Afghanistan claimed the life of a local hero along with 8 others.

39 year old Lt. Col. Robert F. Baldwin had just left for his 4th tour a week prior. He leaves behind a wife and 4 children ages 8 - 7 months old. His parents live in a small community, Eliza, IL, 10 miles from me. A very close friend of the family is a very close friend of mine.

I did not know the family personally, but alot of folks here did and it hit hard. Devastated many!

In honor of his service and ultimately giving his life for our country, Lt. Col. Baldwin will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

One man, from the area, Larry Eckhart from Little York, IL (actually 30 miles away) came to honor Rob by bringing these flags. They were 4 ft. flags that were placed every 20 feet for 1 1/2 miles lining both sides of the road going to the community center where they had a memorial service and time of fellowship and food with Rob's parents, Gary and Cherie Baldwin.

I can not stress enough how awesome this sight was. Flags waving in the wind for 3 days. Just enough wind to keep them waving and beautiful autumn sunshine . I drove up this road when I first heard about the display and sat in my car and cried. This was the closest I have ever been to something so moving and heart wrenching.

My neighbor called and asked if I would be able to help take down the flags the day after the memorial and I could not pass up the opportunity to do something. So last Friday, I went and walked the 1 1/2 miles pulling up the flags and rolling them up. It seemed to be the best hour I had spent in a long time, just thinking of the experience and praying for the family and other families who have lost loved ones.

This is something I will never forget!

It reads on this trailer, TODAY A SOLDIER I DID NOT KNOW, DIED SO I COULD BE FREE

Some how a "thank you" just doesn't seem like enough.

So support our armed forces any way that you can.

CANDLE SHED

I haven't posted pics of Candle Shed in a long time. Piper is all decked out for the fall!

New Fall scents have arrived!!!!

Jars for all occasions!!!!


Candle Shed, where you can find all your

spooky decor.

Bring in your own container and get it filled!!!

Hawkeye Fever

The Piper elf hard at work. Many things in the shop

are all her own designs.

Piper, the multi-tasker, painter, inventor....

You are truly an inspiration to the field of

women entrepreneurs.