Finally Friday Post on May 29, 2012

Where shall I begin this post, I kinda purposely missed Friday's post, figuring that I'm on vacation this week and will have plenty of time. Then I thought, let's do this post on a significant day to me: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 The 150th date of year 2012 since we are in a leap year. Nothing of real interest happened the latest being in 2004 when The World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. There are quite a few birthdays of famous people on May 29th. Bob Hope was born on this date in 1903 and he died in 2003, wow 100 years old. John F Kennedy, 35th president of the US was born on this date in 1917. Here is a picture of both of them together.

Then there were two women, one famous and one not famous, both were born on Tuesday, May 29, 1956. Both are 56 years old today. Can you guess who they are?

and the second one...............

If you guessed La Toya Jackson, you'd be correct. If you guessed it was me, you'd be correct. Today is my birthday, and the best part of the day is that I don't have to go to work. I never work on my birthday, or should I say the week of my birthday. Do I know how to celebrate or what??????? Til next week, have a wonderful last week in May.

TGIF - And Some Interesting Pictures

I'd like to begin by thanking all those that have sent me heartwarming comments, emails, and pet loss cards for our loss of Dixie. To those that said to "Just go get another dog," I truly don't think they understand the companionship and love that she provided to us all these years and she just can't be replaced so simply. She has been returned to us and has a permanent place in our home and in our hearts. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” ― Anatole France I've changed the look of my blog and have done some editing. For someone that isn't a blog guru, I think it looks pretty good and I may be tweaking it further in the future. So on with today's post. This is going to be a wonderful weekend in NW PA. Temps tomorrow and Sunday will be in the 80's - finally. Have some plans for tomorrow with Bernie and then rest and relax on Sunday. Can't wait for this weekend. I will be on vacation soon and will be working on my new quilt, can't wait to really get into that. On with the pics, yesterday morning, having had to go into work early, I left the house a few minutes before six am. As I drove across the lake as I do every weekday, the scene had changed from other pictures I have taken there and posted here. The morning was cool to say the least and a fog mist was coming off the lake just as the sun was rising. A lone Mallard Duck was swimming just in front of me. I stopped at three different places, once in the middle of the road, just to get a shot of what I saw. It made for a calming beginning of a day Take a look and see what I mean. Have a fantastically calm and relaxing weekend. Which photo is your favorite?

My Little Dixie Girl is an Angel Now - Sad Last Weekend

It is with a very heavy heart and eyes full of tears that I tell you that my little girl, Dixie, had to be put to sleep last Saturday morning. She was the love of our lives and my hubby, Bernie, and I are missing her so much. She is in the title of my blog, her picture is on my blog many times, she is on my computer screensaver here and at work, on my cellphone as a wallpaper, on my camera, she is everywhere and I guess that is how I want to remember her, she is everywhere and looking down from the Rainbow Bridge above. She will forever be in our hearts. We will meet again someday, My Dixie.

I adapted this poem below to incorporate Dixie. A Little Dog Angel, Dixie High up in the courts of heaven today a little dog angel, Dixie, waits; with the other angels she will not play, but she sits alone at the gates. "For I know my master will come" says she, "and when she comes she will call for me." The other angels pass her by As they hurry toward the throne, And she watches them with a wistful eye as she sits at the gates alone. "But I know if I just wait patiently that someday my master will call for me." And her master, down on earth below, as she sits in her easy chair, forgets sometimes, and whispers low to the Dixie who is not there. And the little dog angel Dixie cocks her ears and dreams that her master's voice she hears. And when at last her master waits outside in the dark and cold, for the hand of death to open the door, that leads to those courts of gold, she will hear a sound through the gathering dark, a little dog angel Dixie's bark. Noah M. Holland (with a little editing by me)

OK, Alright!! It is still Friday, and I'm not late....yet!!

I planned on posting this morning, but I was a little late getting up and had to hurry off to work, so I figured after work is still Friday, so I won't be late. My last post, I told you I was going to begin some quilting. Well, I did. I want to make a queen-size quilt for our spare bedroom and I plan on using the Civil War Reproduction Fabric Jelly-Rolls I purchased. Here is the book I found my pattern in:

And this is what it actually will look like and it's called Martin's Pennies, but I'm renaming it Meyer's Pennies. Tee Hee!!!!!

The first thing I did was start with all of these strips:

After cutting for a while, I am down to these strips.

Here they are almost all cut up.

So after I get this far, I'm figuring, I'm gonna need a lot more fabric than this. I had only planned on making a small quilt out of this fabric, but now that my plans have changed, I had to purchase a lot more in this same Barbara Brackman Civil War Homefront fabric. So it has arrived just yesterday....

So now my next step is to wash all this fabric, iron it all, and begin cutting again. I thought I would have been able to show you some sewed strips, but I haven't had the time just yet. I think I'll get everything cut and ready before I begin sewing. So that is it for this week. I could use some encouragement for sure. I can't wait to get it started to see how it will look. If I may ask you one thing, will you all say a prayer for my little Yorkie, Dixie.

She has collapsing trachea and in the warmer weather and when she gets overly excited she begins honking like a duck. Well, today we figure we had storms in the area and she is deathly afraid of those, and of course we weren't home yet, and when we got home she was honking terribly. She has settled down a bit since I gave her the meds the vet gave me last time, but she is still making some noises with her throat. Please pray that she is OK. I don't want to lose her just yet! Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!!

Another Friday Missed, but at least I kinda remember!!

Hi everyone, today is definitely not Friday, hubby is home, so it must be Saturday. Friday is a blur pretty much. I was off work, I know that, had two doctor appts scheduled in the AM, needed to make sure I didn't eat or drink anything until after the appt. Thank goodness Bernie leaves me notes, "Don't EAT OR DRINK." I contributed to the local blood bank I think, at least my arm feels like it today. Just my normal checkup and I'm doing great!! Second appt helped me very much. I was always skeptical of going to Chiropractors, but since I've been going a few times a year, or when I hurt, I actually think they do a lot of good. My hip had been bothering me for more than two weeks, lower back feeling tired and achy as well. One trip to the ole chiro and today feeling great, best nights sleep I had in two weeks last night. Didn't get up until almost 9AM today. So today is Saturday, have my usual Saturday chores. There is a quilt show going on at one of the high schools here, but just can't bring myself to go. It's a dark, dreary day, no rain yet, but it has to be coming by the looks of it. I stopped again one day last week on my way to work to take a few pictures over the lake. It was a cloudy morn with the sun just peeking through the clouds. I carry my camera with me every day just so if I see anything I can take a quick pic. Here is what I saw that made me stop.

And another shot:

These two were my favorites. So I get to work and everyone is talking about this bat on our dock wall. She stayed there all day, I'm calling her a she because I called her Beatrice the Bat! Although I don't really like these things when they are flying around at night, but she looked kind of peaceful at rest. She only stayed one day! I figured she must have been busy the night before and just had to rest and stopped over our place for a day's sleep. So here is Beatrice:

I really needed to go to that quilt show, I need inspiration to do some quilting. I've been lazy to say the least! Maybe if I just do one little thing, it would work. OK, I'm off to the sewing area to do something. I'll make a point to show you what I did next FRIDAY!!!! Take care and have a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever you do!!!

Finally Friday - A Gorgeous One Today!!

Last weekend, I decided to get productive and actually do something that would benefit me all week. All week I don't get home until about 6PM and then I have to plan a meal, cook a meal, do the dishes, and by then it is about 7:30ish, and my evening is basically shot! So, I thought I'd cook a few dishes that I could have ready, so I didn't have much cooking to do during the week. And YES!! It did pay off! I actually had some evening to spend doing what I wanted for a change. So I began by just making some basic rigitoni, I know, I know, it wasn't homemade sauce, but it was fairly quick to throw together and had two bowls, hey, that is one meal and a side for another night!

Then, I remembered something I used to make a while ago, it is a recipe good for at home, or even camping. I'd like to share this one with you today. This makes enough for two people for two different nights. Foil-Wrapped Dinners 1 to 1-1/2 pounds beef round steak 1/2" thick 1 Package (10 oz) frozen green peas 4 medium carrots 4 medium potatoes, pared 1 can (10-1/2 oz) cream of mushroom soup 1 envelope (1-1/2 oz) onion soup mix 8 cherry tomatoes (Only if you want to use them, I don't) Heat oven to 450 degrees, cut the meat into 1" pieces. Place frozen peas in a colander and run cold water over until they are broken apart and drain. Tear off 4 pieces of Heavy-Duty Aluminum foil, each 18x15" On the center of each piece, place 1 carrot, thinly sliced (I use the baby carrots in a bag and just cut them up into little pieces); 1 potato cut into quarters, and 1/4 of the meat.

Stir together mushroom soup and onion soup mix;

Spoon the soup mixture over the meat

And top with peas! You'll have to make sure the peas are on top of the soup mixture. Those little buggers like to roll around. :)

Wrap securely in foil; and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes or until meat is tender. Right before serving, you can add your cherry tomatoes if you decided to use them as a garnish. Here's one nights dinner!

You will have a total of 4 pouches. I freeze them and when we want one or two or if we get company, we have a quick dinner with no prep time. I serve them with brown and serve biscuits, since the soup mixes make a wonderful gravy. You can substitute the fresh carrots with frozen if you wish. These are great for camping too, freeze them and take them with you to cook on a grill. These are great for nights when everyone arrives home at a different time. Bake them as needed, or keep them warm for latecomers. That's it, my post for Friday. I hope you enjoy your weekend!!

Happy Friday Morning!!

Good Morning everyone in the States, and Good Afternoon to those of you reading from across the pond. It is a bright, sunny morning here, but we are only at 31 degrees F this morning, a bit cool. Going all the way up to 60ish today, so that will be nice to come home to after a long day at work!!

So, I told you last post what I have been up to, so here it is.............

I've been working on this puzzle that Bryan and Jess gave me at Christmas. It's been on our diningroom table for a few months, and you know how puzzle making goes, you put a few pieces in place, then you can't see anything else so you step away, go back an hour or so later, place another few pieces, and it goes on and on. Well here it is finally done..............

Well, I meant I was done putting all the pieces together, now I have to get it glued and framed. I love Yorkies, so I can't bring myself to tear it apart, so this weekend I'm going to glue it together and get it ready to either find a frame, make a frame, or purchase a frame to put together on my own. I may just get some Amish people who make frames build me one out of oak. I want to hang it up in this computer room which doubles as Dixie's room during the day. Her little house is in here and since she approved of the puzzle being in here, that is where it is going.

Another thing I worked on last week, weekend, and this week, were getting some glass-etched mugs I had done for a craft show last year that didn't sell put into my Etsy Shop. They look like this:

I have a few mug rugs listed in my shop as well as some different designed coffee mugs. I don't have any beer mugs listed yet, or champagne flutes. I used to personalize the mugs, but haven't used the program in years, so I have to brush up on that before I offer personalization. You can visit my shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsbyDebandDixie

Well, you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll talk with you again next Friday if not before.