Weekend Kids Craft

Another weekend craft with my daughter. This time we made some ghosts for the front yard trees. It would have been easier to just buy some at the store but not as fun.

I had some leftover white fleece so that seemed like a good place to start. I took some empty 2 liter soda bottles and poked a hole in the bottom then put some floral wire through it for a hanger. I left my 5 year old paint faces on the fleece then draped the material over the soda bottle. The wire went through the fabric easy as pie and a ghost was born. I used a little spray adhesive to get the material in the right place and we hung them up.

We had fun and it didn't cost a dime.

Game 7 People!!

Ah the joys of being a Red Sox fan! I must confess that I have only been a fan since 1996 when I met my husband who is from Boston. Before that I was an Atlanta Braves freak. However I am a fan now for better or worse.
I always expect my boys to win but I must admit being down 3-1 was not a good feeling. I don't remember feeling that way with the Yanks or Indians but I might have. I feel good about game 7 now and will be expecting a win.
So I have made this observation about Kevin Youkilis that he really looks like Youkon Cornelious. It cracks me up every time I think about it!

Twilight

My daughter is a total Twilight freak and I have finally come around. I am reading the book now and have jumped on the bandwagon.
I have made her lots of necklaces but for her 16th birthday I made her this Twilight bracelet.

Undecided Vote

Yep, I am still an undecide voter at this point. I will be voting for one of these 4 guys though.

Scooby Doo ~ Where are you?

Scooby Doo and the Goblin King is on so I thought I would ask everyone to post their favorite character.
I am a fan of Shaggy myself with Scooby comming in a close second.

Weekend Kids Craft

My 5 year old loves journaling, drawing, coloring, etc. She is always stealing my Diet Dr. Pepper notepad I got on Etsy.

We did a little DIY version for her this weekend. I cut up various cereal boxes, added some paper inside and stapled them. She now has about 4 of these cereal box journals and loves them.

Etsy Quotes

onegarnetgirl says:
I think the biggest problem is that we can't turn that blame finger back around where it belongs more often than not. Sometimes it's them, yes. But ultimately it's a series of choices we make that get us where we are.

This has to be one of the most intelligent comments I have seen on Etsy.

An unusual source of amusement

Last week I took down a birdhouse from one of the trees. My friend Mary gave it to me about 20 years ago and we have dragged it from house to house and state to state. Living in Oklahoma some birds actually took up residence in it and had babies in the springs.

I set it on the ground and went about my business only to hear the dog barking soon after. He was completely curious about it and was pawing and barking at it. Then he pawed at it and the bird house flipped back towards him and scared him half to death! The house is his favorite toy now and maybe it has something to do with the smell. He flips it around, lays on it,runs around with it, and generally loves it. So much for *dog* toys.

Potato Pancakes

Thanks to Dan Quayle I always spell Potato correctly! So someone on Etsy mentioned Potato Pancakes and it sounded like a good dinner plan. I don't think I have ever made them before but I know my FIL loves them.

Recipe was simple:

POTATO PANCAKES (Latkes) FOR HANNUKAH

4 med. potatoes 1 sm. onion 1/2 c. pancake mix1/2 c. oil 1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sour cream2 eggs1/2 tsp. pepper
Peel potatoes and grate into a bowl. Pour off extra liquid. Peel onion and grate into potatoes.

Add eggs, pancake mix, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Heat oil until it sizzles. Drop a tbsp. at a time of batter into hot oil. Flatten with a pancake turner. When bottoms are brown turn them over. When done remove and drain on paper towel lined plate. Serve with applesauce, sour cream or just plain.

The stuff looked like barf in the bowl so I figured I was on the right track.

They were quite tasty as well. Mr.Keys put sour cream on his and I opted for a bit of salt.

Even a fussy 5 year old said 2 thumbs up!

It's the playoffs baby!

Fall means baseball playoffs! Well it only means playoffs if my beloved Red Sox are in there and they are! Tonite is Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

I am always optomistic when it comes to the Sox. If they are playing a better team I don't care- I always know they will win- I mean I really hope they make it to the world series. I would love to see the Sox and Dodgers make it.

I am a team fan but also get attached to certain players as well. I was really mad that Johnny Damon left but I have gotten over that now. I am still upset about Manny. I liked *Manny being Manny* and wasn't looking at the bigger picture. I have decided I like Jason Bay as a replacement so it is all good.

My favorite player is Jacoby Ellsbury ( I even named a foster puppy after him) and love watching him play.

Can't wait to watch the game tonite.

Front Page

My friend DottyRal always has my back when it comes to letting me know I was on the front page. Her convo tore me away from Puffcorn and YouTube Videos. I have been pretty lazy today.... and I got rewarded-hee hee

My letter W charm is featured.

Going,Going,Gone....

Sometimes you spend a lot of time on something and it sells before you can blink!
Case in point is this bracelet I made. I have been thinking about this idea for several months and slowly making my way towards it.
I liked the spoon bracelet idea but not just any spoon bracelet- I wanted it to be unique and I think I achieved that. Even with the tools I had I did practice alot and wasn't happy with the results until this past week.
Making this was a 2 fold process- the actual work and then some thoughts. Lots of people make spoon bracelets but I couldn't really find any info on HOW to make them as I ran into some specific issues. Hmmmmmm.... it sure would be easy if someone just spilled the beans on the specifics but I wasn't going to ask, besides I need to practice what I preach, which is "grab some tools and experiment- it will make you a better crafter" that statement seemd to be biting me in the ass now!
All in all I got through it,learned a lot,and am ready to make another one.

Just call me Handy Manny

My Maytag washer has been a workhorse for 12 years and I am a bit attached to it. Lately it has been on the fritz and not advancing to the next cycle. I have been coaxing it along until I realized I need to do something a bit more.

*More* could mean several things. The idea of starting to scrub clothes by hand with a washboard just sounded archaic and time consuming. So I browsed some ads and saw that you can spend a pretty penny on the new washers. They are very energy efficient these days and the idea of a front loader reminds me of grandma (which is always a good thing) but I really didn't want to shell out for something if I didn't have to.

Plan C (which really should be plan A because it was my first choice) was to see if I could figure out what was wrong. I love to tinker with things so I got some tools and started taking the panel apart. I knew the problem was with the timer so I unhooked that area and had a look-see. behind the panel was a big metal box that was the timer. After removing a small plastic cover I could see the cams and realized one was not firing properly ( which could be deduced by the spark when it did catch)

Now to see about ordering a part- but trying to figure out a model number wasn't working as there are tons of numbers all over the machine. I hit the website AppliancePartsPros which told me exactly where to find the model number. The part was available for about $75 including shipping and arrived today.

Now for the big test! Was this the problem? Could I install it? Could I not break anything WHILE installing it? How in the world was I going to install it? I couldn't see anyway to remove the metal box. After thinking about it I decided to see if access was available through the front nob and after popping the cap off- voila I was in business. It took me about 15 minutes to remove and replace and then for the big test!

My 5 year old new the washer was acting up so I made it a fun game for her- we fill it up with water,clothes,soap,and fabric softener and then voted if we thought it would start agitating when I closed the lid. She voted that I had repaired it correctly ( Thanks Gracie) I made it a big deal for her to shut the lid and see what happened and it worked!!!

I am pretty proud of myself :)

Tulsa State Fair

I love the fair. I haven't figured out why they call it the Tulsa State Fair but no matter.

The Tulsa fair is heavy on livestock, trucks,farming,and animals.

One of the big draws is the birthing center where you can watch pigs give birth- standing room only with grandstand seats! My favorite part is the petting zoo. I could spend all day there.

We hit the fair early and did lots of rides before the crowds showed up. Compared to Phoenix the crowds are light though.

This year I sampled Corn Dogs and Frozen Chocolate covered Cheesecake- Yummy

I did have a taste of a frozen Margarita, barbeque chicken and beef, and steak dinner.

We all kind of shared whatever we got so no one really got too much of anything.

I also had to hit the vendors and got myself a nice Tulsa State Fair Hoodie and a 15 minute massage. We sampled candy, looked at pianos, and I kissed Sarah Palin.

To top off the night my daughter and I rode the Skyscraper. I had ridden it it twice in Phoenix about 6 years ago and loved it. The Skyscraper is about 160 feet tall and goes 70 miles per hour.

It is funny because every year we would drive to Sand Diego we would pass throught the area of the huge windmills and I would always say "I wonder if they strapped someone on the blades what kind of ride that would be" well someone beat me to it and invented it!

Last but not least on the way out the sea lions had finished their show and were available for pictures. They were 2 females trained to put their head on your shoulder and pose. They were so cute and it was amazing to see one up close. They were very soft but sure smelled like fish!

My sweashirt was the source of a chewing episode for the dog when I got home.

Looking forward to next year!