A Girl's Gotta Have Her Stuff

Along the Guadalupe River

We got home yesterday. This was the view out the back of our RV. I do already miss it!

My Birthday on the Road

My birthday was yesterday. Rick, Jenna, Ashley and I spent the afternoon walking around downtown Gruene. Finished it off with a birthday meal at The Grist Mill. Thought I would share the afternoon with you, too. We will be back in a couple of days. Have a good week.

Going Green Gruene

Rick and I are going to Gruene today. We will be taking the trailer and staying five or six days. If you are a Texan, you probably have heard of it and perhaps many of you have been there, too. If you are not a Texan, click on the picture and take a peek! Reading the history of the town will give you a hint into its rich historical significance.

Have a great weekend!

It's Done!

Remember these I shared with you during a previous post?

After a few hours (and a backache or two from working in the floor and at the machine), I have a quilt top.

I'm in love with scrap quilts for so many reasons. They are economical and such a great way to repurpose fabric. They can have such a story behind them.

Remember, ladies, save those special t-shirts of family members to repurpose as well. They make awesome quilts. (If you didn't see Rick's "Harley" quilt I did for him last Christmas, you can see it here.)

The List

As I got up this morning, it hit me. Good grief......July is almost gone. Where has it gone? I decided I needed to commit to three "written" things to get done before July 31! So here. Hold me accountable.

1. Straighten my closet
2. Make some jelly
3. Finish "sprucing up" the patio

Do you have anything you want to get done in the next few days?

Ok.....Confession Time

I posted Tuesday about two surprises in the mail. Today I've got two more surprises. Not in the mail...but deposited at our door. Aren't they great looking?!

Confession. I have not been a recycler. However.......I will be now. Our waste management company and our rural little city have a new agreement. So from this day forward, our household will be a recycling little machine. Normal trash goes in the green one. Recyclable materials go in the blue one. A little bit of a change in the way we do things, but I do admit this is a good thing. 


The following facts have been floating around in the twittering/blogging world. Check them out.
Fact: About 900,000,000 trees are required to feed America's paper consumption each year, according to the Clean Air Council. 
Fact: With over 90% of US households taking advantage of the convenience of paper towels we produce over 3,000 tons of waste each day.


Wow! Paper towels are an addiction for more people than not. Should we work on this?


Now if you've got the paper towel thing down, read this. Ten Things You Should Never Buy
There are plenty of things to consider. 


For me one thing at a time.......

Chair Flair

Have any of those white plastic chairs that you are tired of? Try one of these suggestions from Outdoor Living.

Cupcakes and Cars

Glory and Jonah decorated cupcakes with me yesterday. We went with white cupcakes (pretty safe) and a mixture of two kinds of canned frosting--butter cream and vanilla. (Try that sometime!!) I purposely went with small dabs of frosting on them though: I didn't want to give them a sugar high late in the evening. And of course, no cupcake is complete without those glorious, fun-to-do sprinkles.

Glory enjoyed hers tremendously without any other thing needed. Jonah had his with cars on the side.

Oh, and I guess we did OK. They both slept fine and got up at their normal times for me. Whew!

Two Mailbox Surprises Yesterday

First.....I received two books from Linda at Mocha with Linda. I can't wait to start them.

Second...We received a thank you card. Not so out of the ordinary (well, maybe it is....). Except this was from a young couple that we had as July 4th guests. She had written a sweet note letting us know how much they had enjoyed the family, food, and fun during the holiday weekend. Very thoughtful.

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Pulling Out the Singer and Scraps

Because I need a project, I decided to start another quilt. I still have plenty of "magic fabric" from a garage sale find, so I am not purchasing any material. It's more fun knowing it's not costing me anything. It will truly be a scrap quilt. But that's ok.  Don't let the sneak peek of some of the fabric scare you. I THINK it will be ok........

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Several of you asked about the pie. Well, so easy....

Graham cracker crust

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1 sm. can frozen lemonade (partially thawed)

1 sm. carton Cool Whip

Mix all ingredients. Pour into crust. Chill. Can top with more Cool Whip or whipping cream.

So Simple

I wanted to make a dessert yesterday. I am sure we have all made a Lemonade Ice Box Pie many times. I don't know why I seem to forget about this simple, quick, and delicious treat. And what is better than a homemade graham cracker crust?!!!

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Let's eat

My garden would be considered one with a "limited variety" of produce. As I have mentioned before, I have plenty of squash to eat. Now tomatoes....well, that's a different thing. This puny little one is about all I've gotten so far. Pretty sad, huh?

The other thing I am surprised I have gotten are these cute cantaloupes. Last year I got none. By the time I had some ripening, the coyotes from the woods around us also smelled them and "stole" them at night! Not nice.

Finally, this is the most exciting thing I have seen. Look at this precious little pumpkin!! I was amazed though. I thought it was too early too find an orange one already. I have some green ones still. So how in the world am I to keep this little thing until the fall when I wanted to decorate with it? 

Anybody else growing pumpkins? Seriously, what's the deal with this? 

Weekend Recap

Greg has two firework stand locations. The smaller of the two is on our property. When it opens, well, just suffice it to say, "Get ready."

Marilyn and I did meals and snacks for our kiddos and their friends. We've had casseroles, brisket, sandwiches, tacos, pies, homemade ice cream, and whatever else we could come up with to feed everyone. The dishwasher ran. The washing machine ran. Oh, and the trash piled up.

Greg and his partner are paid to do two city shows--ours and another city about 10 miles away.  Both shows went off without a hitch with awesome finales!!!

Jonah helped the "guys" everyday. He was the cutest thing ever -- greeting, selling, and sacking.

Chad, Marilyn, and Greg

The gang...

Justin, Glory, Keelie and Jonah

We wouldn't take for these few days of fun and fellowship with the family and friends who stayed or just dropped by! Can't wait for next year!