a bittersweet day...

(Shimmer Angel)

Amidst the excitement and festivities that are Christmas at our house, we've got sadness. Our dear Shimmer has passed away from a sudden illness. Last Saturday she was fine, I held her and felt nothing. Tuesday the girls felt a small, almond sized lump on her side. By this past weekend it was larger than a chicken egg, probably cancer. She was a spunky little pigger with a cantankerous and bossy "Miss Piggy" personality. We'll miss her.


(Merry Shimmer)



(painted hutch with handmade decorations)



(I think Amy did this one last year)


(red metal cart in the dining room. notice the paint swatches)



(top of the china cabinet with vintage ornaments and decorations)


In Other News...

A-1 Medical Equipment and Supplies is officially servicing patients!!! Mark is thrilled to finally be going. I hope they aren't too busy over the holidays though!

My parents will be here Friday!!!!! I'm trying to plan some meals and snacks for us. Last night my party mix plans fell through because the store had NO cereal, not one box! I'm headed that way in a little while to try again. I also forgot raspberry extract for our hot cocoa(a little gourmet secret) and hopefully they'll have peppermint too(they were out of that too).

Ryan has a Christmas party with his youth group tomorrow night, then our homeschool party, then another homeschool party on Friday with a different group and then hopefully nothing! Sarah's AWANA class is having a jingle party tomorrow so I've got to sew a bunch of jingle bells to a shirt for her. Should be cute!

Guess that's all. The dogs need fed and let back in. Its freezing here... no really it is. We try to wash and dry clothes to help keep the dogs warm since our dryer vents to the garage. It does work but with temps not out of the mid-30s all day it will be a struggle.

I'm spending the morning with apple cider, lightly spiked with buttershots and caramel syrup. Tastes like a caramel apple in a cup!

Merry Pigmas!!!

(Panda Claus)



(Rainbow the Reindeer)



(Meadow Claus)



(Meadow, Stella and Sundae)


In other news...

We have the computers back for now! Mine is still not perfect but the AVG and other symantec managed to get rid of all the baddies. Myspace is known, from what we hear, for virus and other lovely problems so the kids are banned until further notice.

my baby thinks she's a pig...

(Panda, Rainbow, Sundae, Shimmer, Stella, and Meadow)


(She had no clue she could jump over this fence)


(They have no fear of her at all)

In Other News...

Mark had something to do this afternoon so the kids and I are lazing around. We might head up to the Yamboree after he comes home. I'd like to take a load of stuff to Goodwill but we may wait til in the morning to do that.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!! It is just beautiful here, blue skies and low-70s! I LOVE this kind of weather, it makes getting out and doing so much easier.

Mark got the new job!!!! He starts Monday, I think. This is a job doing pretty much the same thing he was doing at JD Medical only with a national company. One of the best things is that there are people to do the billing, people to do the customer service, repair equipment, market, deliver stuff and more. He will be riding with the marketers about 1/3-1/2 of the time and "managing" the other part. There is NO being on call and he will be better compensated!

In other news...

My bloggy friend Jeanne at Backyard Neighbor has answered another blogger's challenge to help boost our country's economy. I am so inspired that I have a special trip planned just for this. Here is the origination of this wondrous movement!

One of my cousins is welcoming her second grandchild, Lyndee Allison(**edited for spelling**) today, born this morning somewhere in Oklahoma. Lyndee's big brother Lex shares my January birthday.


(Meadow, Rainbow, Stella, Sundae and Panda looking for a handout)

I don't feel like cooking tonight but I have no clue what we'll eat otherwise. Maybe sandwiches or nachos. I made the decision to renew my WeightWatchers Online account. That will start Monday.

We're going shopping this weekend for kids' clothing. Woohoo. Grandma has sent them some birthday/half-birthday money and that's what they want! And earrings I'm sure.

And now for some WAY cuter rodents(and some fabric)!

(Echo and Basil)


(Echo's other side)


(Moonshine and his daddy Basil)


(Meadow, Echo's sister)


(Meadow showing off how gorgeous she is)

And, here is the fabric I bought to cover the computer chair I got from Goodwill a few weeks ago. It will end up being a bit more complicated than I'd hoped. There are tabs with grommets and a plastic piece that goes across part of it. I've got to examine it closer and see what I need to do.


(this shows the pattern best)


(this shows the color best, sort of, the lights aren't quite as light as here and the dark is a rich dark chocolate. between Muffin's hind end and the date stamp are the most true colors-at least on my monitor)

Downgraded...

Louisiana and Arkansas are getting the brunt of what was forecast for northeast Texas. We're still in a Lake Wind Advisory and Flash Flood Watch through tomorrow night but the mega rains are staying to the east for now. Right now(noonish) we're getting a steady light rain with a slight breeze but the rain is supposed to get heavier this afternoon and throughout the night. I think we're projected to get up to 8 inches of rain through tomorrow. No tornadoes or other weirdness so far. Thank God.

I'm going to work on decluttering my craft corner in the living room. Its piled high with projects and loose ends, including the 3 shown here. This fall would be the perfect time to get many of them tied up and finished! Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Pigs in a Basket...

Sundae, Panda, and Rainbow enjoyed some peaceful piggy time in the girls' room this afternoon. The basket was their transport.

Blug, blug, blug

We have a bug! I can't complain too much, this is the first time any of us have been sick in months and months! Mine started last Friday with a mild knotty throat thing, then a headache and on and on. The girls felt so bad yesterday that they took naps and we've elected to skip park day tomorrow! Other symptoms are chest congestion, body aches, exhaustion, and now I've got the oogies(feels like I just stepped off a roller coaster). When Mark's alarm clock went off this morning I was hoping he'd get out of bed without too much flopping around because every little movement made me barfy. How fun. So, I have some completely random pictures to share so this won't be a PWOP.

Mark has been working 14-hour days lately because his company acquired the assets of another business with an office about 2 hours or so from here. He's been back and forth a few times so far. This weekend he'll take call for the drivers because one is going on vacation and the other would have had call for 5 weekends in a row. I'm sure he'll get called out at least twice, maybe more, since they have 8 hospice accounts now. Hopefully they'll all be in town. Yes, he is sick too.

My computer is still on the floor in the dining area. I was planning on painting the desk to match the cute little shelf I found at Goodwill but the paint didn't look good to me. Also, I have to move the china hutch somewhere else and plan so that the left side of it is up against a wall. The glass got broken years ago and the cats now get in there and eat the birds' nests and squirrel tails(don't read Anet, lol). It needs to go in a common room but there aren't any walls that suit it for now. Since we moved the metal fabric shelf from our bedroom it could go in that space, and probably will, but that isn't were I really want it. Sigh.

The pool fixer people are here today!!! Woot! They are replacing all the nasty rotted wood that goes between the earth and the new liner. We shall see when that ever gets here. It was ordered way back when but they are behind on putting them together. With custom vinyl liners, they have to have the seams heat sealed and all the corners molded so they are put together as they are ordered. The pool guy cancelled our 1st order and reordered it as a "special" and it is supposed to go ahead of the regular orders, or some such as that. GRRRRR. I HOPE it is done by next weekend but I'm not holding my breath.

Today is also the 19th anniversary of the Blind Date. Mark's friend Jeff and my friend Tami are brother and sister, I met her when I was 15 or so, Mark has known them most of his life. So, how come it took so long for me to meet him? I don't know. What I do know is this. Tami and I were at another girl's place having beer and pizza and primping and doing girly stuff. Tami was trying to get one of Mark's co-workers to notice her so she called Mark up and made a deal. She'd set him up with me if he'd set her up with this guy. I went out with Mark on July 2nd, 2 days later the other guy went out with another girl from work(and got her pregnant!) so that didn't work out so well for Tami, she should consider herself lucky.

July 2nd is also my grandmother's birthday, her wedding anniversary, my mom's late friend's birthday and my bff's birthday. Popular day huh?

Here's the pics:


(Basil last Christmas)


(the girls and dogs this father's day)

Shades of Inspiration...

Something in the creativity book that I took to read while camping must have sunk in because I'm just bursting with things I want to try! First, I have to finish hand binding a full-sized quilt. Then, I'm getting to work on my tote, made from that bright thrift store fabric in the previous post. I told my mom that I wanted to use a drawstring closure but now I'm thinking of making it with those wooden dowel rods that go all the way across the top and serve as handles. That seems like a very simple method but I haven't looked online for directions.

We took the kids fishing to Lake Gladewater last night after Bevo's new owners claimed him. We were out there for about 3 hours, part of the time in the dark. Now when I look at the computer screen it feels like I'm rocking in that durn boat and I'm SO seasick. Also, I swear(and I don't like to swear) that I saw a baby alligator. It was going between two groups of cattails about 20 feet from our boat and was about a foot long. I saw its nose, head, back and tail in the water, then it just submerged in one move, straight down like a submarine. Our fishing was not productive, Mark is the only one who caught anything and that was two tiny perch. We'll not go back to that lake even though its close.

Later last night, while waiting for the boys to unhitch the boat, I made a bold move and issued a challenge to my quilters who homeschool email group. We did these a few years ago where someone would come up with a theme and we all did our interpretations of it(supposed to just be a block but I did wall hangings). This is how I got my "Horse of a Different Color" wall hanging(look in my finished objects links on the left), from a Wizard of Oz challenge. Anyway, this new challenge was inspired by Sister's Choice participation in a Two-Color Challenge.

The challenge I issued is currently just for our yahoogroup but if anyone wants, maybe we can do one in September for the fall quarter(or you can play along here, I can create a flickr group. If anyone is interested just let me know). The rules for my group's challenge are that you must make a top(any size from candle mat to king) out of just two colors. You can use as many shades and varieties of the colors as you want or just stick to two fabrics period. Pattern doesn't matter either, you can do whatever you want. Progress will be secret, we're only going to post our fabrics. Then we'll post our results on September 1st. So far I have 4 maybe players but hopefully they'll commit for reals soon.

Last but not least, I found this wonderful flickr group over at Blackberry Creek and decided to play along. I, like several others, missed out on the "seeing red" part, but have picked up with the green week. You can click on the link to your left to visit the flickr group for this fun play-along. Meanwhile, here are my reds(good thing I didn't get in on "seeing red" because this is all I got! And some green photos for you to enjoy.


(my parents barn, my brother lives in the loft, where the itty bitty window is-and that is him walking away from the barn, just noticed that)


(one of my first crocheted purses, I really need to line this and start using it because I LOVE it!)


(my brother's childhood quilt made by my grandmother, I love this too)


(Amy's Sea Dragon)


(one of two quilts I made for a neighbor, remade from the nursery set she'd made for her girls 10 years ago, plus denim from a thrifted dress-this was in progress, not finished)


(the kids at Roaring Falls, a hiking area near my parents' home in North Carolina)

Goodwill Today...

We had 3 or 4 leaf bags full of clothing, bedding and fabric plus about 100 more books to drop off at Goodwill this morning. Mark was busy fiddling with the boat(actually, one of the trailer tires ruptured!) and he was on call so I decided to take the girls with me for an adventure... and boy was it!

Gypsy is helping me model this lovely twin sheet. It isn't a great picture but the fabric is extra-soft and sweet, probably not all that old though. I was hoping to find some good stuff for our camping mattresses but everything else they had was scratchy and pilled. Not sure what this will be for, maybe a quilt back.



This was my second fabric find, a good-sized pillowcase. Pickin's are usually slim at our Goodwills and we don't have many other thrift stores in town. I don't know why we don't get much vintage stuff coming through, maybe people just toss it thinking nobody would want it.



I have plans to turn this into a tote bag or purse. Isn't it just summerlicious?
***updated to add that this is from 2004, not an old piece at all. Didn't want anyone to think it was vintage. Still cute though.





This salad plate is from the Mikasa Natural Beauty collection, called Fresh From the Garden. They had a handful of matching(but plain) saucers and six dinner plates. I almost got them but we have a ton of my mom's Mikasa Stylecraft, Walnut Grove dinner plates that we rarely use. The kids and I almost always use a salad plate for our meals and saucers for our snacks.



This is one of four salad plates I got another time. They are my favorite of the two, wish I had a whole set. With these I'd use the dinner plates and all, I love them!



The girls found this lonely one and loved it, just a plain brown and green saucer, no label or anything on it. Dontcha love my proper-upper? Its a set of headphones.



I can't believe these espresso cups were there, aren't they adorable? There was another set in white with the words Espresso in cobalt blue, not nearly as cute, but I saw them in someone's shopping cart right before we checked out so I'm glad I nabbed them when I did!



And last but definitely not least! This was how I knew it was going to be a good day at Goodwill. I remembered(finally) that I wanted to find a chandelier to decorate and this was the first thing I laid my eyes on! My plan is to scuff it up good and spray paint it before decorating with some crystally beady things. I found one at Heather Bailey that is to die for but mine is a bit more formal and probably wouldn't look good in that shade of green(although I LOVE it for the one she's painted).



After spending a grand total of $15 at Goodwill, the girls and I went to Jake's for piggie bedding and then came home to eat and crash. Doggie still hasn't been spoken for but she's comfortably tied in the front yard with plenty of cool water and shade instead of in the miserable garage. We can't bring her in too often because she's obsessed with the guinea pigs and tries to get in their cages! If nobody claims her by next Thursday or Friday, I'll find a good home for her.
***updated again to say that we found the dog's owners and she's back with them! They live 5 houses down, how or why they didn't see our sign is a mystery. Nobody was home when we took her, a neighbor opened the gate and she ran right in. We're hoping they aren't out of town for a long time or something but we know where she belongs if she escapes again. Whew.

Guess that's all. Mark is on delivery to a place about 50 miles from here and he's taking Ryan and a buddy fishing tonight. I won't see him til after midnight, I'm sure. Guess the girls and I can watch a movie and play with Bevo for the last time. He's going to his forever home tomorrow with some HOMESCHOOLERS, yeaaaah!!!

A New Meme(because I have no real content)...

(more on these ruffians later)

Borrowed from Knits Galore

1. One person who made me laugh.

My friend Lisa. We met in the 5th grade when we were both new to the same school. That was 30 years ago and she has always had the most acid wit(oh we were just horrible in school)! She's still the most hilarious person I've ever met even though I don't get to see her often. When we run into each other at the grocery store or somewhere, we can sit and gab for hours and just laugh our fool heads off.

2. What was I doing at 0800? What time is that? I know I woke up around 7ish this morning, does that count?

3. What was I doing 30 minutes ago? Eating a snack.

4. What did I do in 2006? Not a whole lot of anything.

5. Last thing I said aloud? Ryan, Vernon can't come pick you up so you aren't going to Willie's house today.

6. Beverages? Yes, frequently when I'm thirsty. Most often, green iced tea.

7. What colour is my hairbrush? Light frosted lilac.

8. Last thing I paid for? Raw milk from our co-op.

9. Where was I last night? Grocery shopping and then home.

10. Front door colour? Very dirty vanilla yellowish. UGLY.

11. Where do I keep my change? Change? What is this "change"?

12. What’s the weather like today? Hot, windy. weather.com says, "94, feels like 99".

13. Best ice cream flavour? Peppermint.

14. What excites me? The end of the day!

15. I want to cut my hair? Nope, I'm letting it grow out again.

16. Am I over the age of 25? Slightly.

17. Do I talk a lot? Not often.

18. What colour socks did you wear today? No socks, just shoes.

19. Do I know anyone named Steve? My next-door neighbor goes by Steve but that's really his middle name.

20. Do I make up my own words? All the time.

21. Am I a jealous person? Not at all.

21. Name a friend who starts with the letter A. Amy

22. Name a friend who starts with the letter K. Kathy

23. Who’s the first person on my ‘Received Calls list? We don't have this feature.

24. The last text message I received? I don't have this either, no cell phone.

25. Do I chew on my straw? Alfalfa or timothy?

26. Do I have curly hair? Underneath it is very boingy spiral curls, on top it is stick straight.

27. Where’s the next place I’m going to? Homeschool park day is at 9am tomorrow, hopefully nowhere before then.

28. Who is the rudest person in my life? MIL

29. What was the last thing I ate? Triscuits and laughing cow cheese(french onion).

30. Will I get married in the future? I got married once in the past and still am so I'm guessing not.

31. The best movie I’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Oh geez, I haven't seen a movie in 2 months, maybe longer! I did see the NG Stonehenge special a few nights ago, fascinating!!

32. Is there anyone you like right now? Yes, most everyone.

33. Why did I answer and post this? Because it is easier than coming up with a post at the moment. I'm lazy today.

In other news...

Mark's job is going at a wildfire pace, he hasn't been home earlier than 8:30 yet this week and likely won't, and he goes in at 6:30am, ugh! One of his drivers is on vacation so he's having to make deliveries and pick-ups. It is crazy!!!! And, they have a potential good thing in the works, can't post more about it yet though. It would be a REAL good thing if it happens, expanding their territory and patient load by a lot. His hand, btw, is doing great! I had him take some Olive Leaf Extract and the next day it was barely swollen. I failed to mention in my post about our trip that he was barbed by a catfish the morning after his accident so it was also potentially infected. Currently it is still sore but only from the bruising.

I have been working hard on divesting myself of more books. I managed to get three shelves worth out to the garage(headed for Goodwill). The kids don't care to read them so there is no sense in hanging onto them. Hopefully I can get this little project overwith by the weekend. It would be nice to get my bedroom painted finally but I don't think it will happen that soon, especially with Mark on call this weekend.

We haven't heard or seen the pool man since May 24th when he brought a sump pump to get the last of the water out. I'm really losing faith in him. It is one thing to be busy, but quite another to not keep a client informed. We have no idea when he might come back to do the repairs or how much extra he will end up having to charge. GRRRR!

We have a potential home for Bevo finally! I advertised him on a local pet exchange list and another homeschool mom answered. She said her daughter has wanted a guinea pig for a long time. I'm even throwing in a cage! I really hated to do this but he's just so mean to his cage mate(whoever it happens to be), he's better off being an only piggie.

Oh, speaking of pets...

The dogs knocked down a section of our rotten privacy fence today. They were running after a squirrel and jumped up on the fence. A whole 8-foot section came down along with the post. Ryan and I took parts of their kennel and fixed it so they can't get back to that area of the yard for now. I have no idea when it might get handled. As long as our neighbor(the one from the meme) doesn't mind waiting we're ok.

Guess that's all, the kids are hounding me for dinner, the little brats.

Fence Plans...

We spent most of Mark's 42nd birthday Spring-cleaning up our pool area. The oak tree drops tons of limbs, leaves, and acorns throughout fall and winter which makes a huge mess. Mark and I raked, scooped and swept until it was clean. The kids helped by fetching things and loading leaves in the wheel barrow to dump on a compost heap. Ryan and Mark cleaned the umbrellas and table while the girls and I folded up the pool cover. Don't worry, we also celebrated with grilled steaks, fried calamari, green salad, scrumptious homemade carrot cake from Divine Domesticity and champagne(he won at a business function). It was a very lovely end to such a busy day!

Anyway... Over dinner we had serious discussion about what to do with the pool area. Since the pool won't be filled in, we want to rearrange the fencing to give the dogs and children more yard. We could take out the front deck and add about 1/3 of the current space to it. The back deck would provide a place for our poolside table but isn't exactly the best location for several reasons. So, we decided that the back deck will come out and a new lattice fence will go diagonally across the turf space(in between the decks) to the back fence. It won't provide quite as much yard but that's ok. The kids are begging for a diving board but it depends on how much they cost. Today we'll be measuring and figuring out exactly what we need to do the job. Of course that will be after Mark and Ryan return from their canoe-fishing trip.

(click pics for bigger views)

(rearranging of the fence after hurricane Rita to include the decks within the pool area)

This picture gives an idea of where the diagonal part will go. It will start at the back corner of the front deck(about 2 feet left of where the current lattice fence ends in the pic), and will come to the corner of the back deck and wooden sidewalk section(about where the end of the fence post is in the lower left of the picture), then continue to the privacy fence.



(the brighter lines show where the new posts will go)

The front deck is bigger with built-in seating. The back deck is about half the size of this one, has a rail but no seating, out of the way, and only used to store exercise equipment and an extra grill. It is also where Mark and I got married almost 18 years ago. Our wedding guests sat in chairs on the front deck and we had an arch on the back deck. Tables were set up closer to the sidewalk for our cakes and other refreshments. Of course, the fence wasn't there back then so the area was much more open. I'm not just a real sentimental person so I don't feel the need to leave it there for posterity.


(the back deck is more visible in this picture)

Currently the fence ends at the corner of the front deck and goes right behind the oak tree to the yard fence. The kids can also enjoy more room during the off season(from September through May). We have plans to trim lots off those bushes this afternoon, they almost touch the ground in places!


(this is how the angle will cut across the yard space)

I think we'll be quite happy having a bit more yard and a little less "pool area" with the new arrangement. Frankly, I am looking forward to planting a little garden where that Canna is. Maybe caladiums.

***piggie update**** Still no babies! Despite being huge and miserable, she cuddled on my chest for 45 minutes this morning, covered by my favorite afghan. She just chilled there, making her little chuttle noises and sighing, it was so sweet. I put her up because she got antsy all the sudden. I'm hoping that means things are moving along, but it was probably just her needing to pee.