Another Finished Project

I love buying quilting material and then I put it away and forget what I have. I was digging in my Christmas material and found this kit that I had bought when visiting the kids in Maine. It was at a great little fabric shop in downtown Bath. So what else do you do when it is snowing outside - you sew. I put this together in an afternoon and now it decorates my table for the holidays.

Sesame Street Friends

I love this new cartridge... Sesame Street characters are now my new friends...

Thanksgiving - Horseheads, NY

We had a great time with the grandkids at Thanksgiving. Eric is really into hockey and his socks are his skates. We also went bowling and as the picture tells the story - Eric was close to getting a strike. Better then Gramma D who dropped the ball behind her... good thing there were no pictures of that one. Sophia just hangs out, smiles and watches everything that is going on around her.

Elmo

When I was visiting the kids over Thanksgiving in Horseheads, NY, I got a great deal on the Sesame Street Cricut Cartridge. This is my first creation for my grandson, Eric. Elmo is one of his favorites. Grandkids, Beware - Gramma D will be creating many more...

Old Barn Windows

We had a number of old barn windows that we saved when we took down our old barn in Waupun. This is one of the first craft projects that I have done with them. I caulked the bad spots and then painted green on one side to match our house. With the next window I want to paint on the glass different pictures. I will need to practice before I do this.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

My favorite cookie this time of the year. I got this recipe from my Aunt Audrey many years ago and I want to share it with you.

Combine together:
1 Cup Cooked Pumpkin
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Cooking Oil
1 Egg

Sift together:
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt

Dissolve 1 tsp baking soda in 1 tsp milk and add to pumpkin mixture. Stir pumpkin mixture and dry items together. Stir in last.

1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1 tsp vanilla

Drop by tablespoons on cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 12 min. (you don't have to grease the cookie sheet.

I use a can of pumpkin and double the recipe. They are yummy.

Eye Ball Cupcakes

I got this idea from one of the many magazines that I get. I just baked a box cake mix and a store bought can of frosting and added the little details like the life saver and M&M. The surprise was in the inside of the cupcake... there was a mini peanut butter cup. Yummy.

I Love Halloween

I love to decorate for Halloween. This year I got the idea from Dena to get out the old photos and add orange eye lights and fangs. They turned out great.

Top Ten List

Darwin & I have come up with the top ten list for camping in an RV not a Tent.

10. Bears prefer canvas over fiberglass
9. No place to hang a spice rack inside the tent
8. Tents don't have cable/TV hookups
7. In an RV when hot - turn the AC on - when cold - turn the heat on
6. To take a shower you do not have to hike a half mile with your underwear in one hand and quarters in the other
5. You don't go broke buying ice, because it stays frozen forever in the freezer - beer & drinks are always at the perfect temp
4. Man's best friend (Baxter) prefers a carpet floor to sleep on - not the cold, damp ground
3. Lazy Boy recliners not webbed lawn chairs
2. After 3 inches of over night rain you still have a dry bed, clothes, food and you are not packing your bags and heading home
1. When nature calls in the middle of the night, you are only a few feet away from your own private throne

Back In Lac Du Flambeau

After spending a week with Dena & Matt in Maine and a week with Doug & Val in New York and a week in Hawaii - we are back home. All our trips were full of fun, laughs and great memories. The only problem we had was leaving Hawaii and getting to the mainland. We had to spend an extra day in Honolulu because our plane needed repairs before it could fly out. The good news was we had an extra day in Hawaii the bad news was we had to spend it in the airport. The weather in Hawaii was great and the pictures show the beauty of Maui.

Trip to Horseheads, NY

We had a great time visiting the kids and celebrating Eric's Birthday. We drove out to NY and had the back of the car filled with Doug's toys - riding tractor, all his farming implements, barn that Grandpa Pierret built and a bike. Eric is now an official farmer in Horseheads. Sophia is as pretty as a picture and we no longer call her TOK (the other kid). She also stole Grandpa Dar's heart. We even had time to built a sand box for the kids. What Fun...

Ross Allen Lake July 4th Boat Race

The people on Ross Allen Lake have been talking about a boat race on July 4th for years. Well... this year it happened. Since I did not think that we would win the race, I put some time into the decorations. The pictures tell it all. The pre-race boat, Darwin, the Carroll's & their goose, and the gathering after the race. We had the best decorated boat (since there was only one other boat decorated) and we came in 2nd place in the race. The Carroll's with their dog, Penny and one of our geese were the last to cross the finish line. I guess that three Uncle Sam geese is better then one goose. The winner, Bob was behind in the start of the race and then took the lead, but we did not see him cross the finish line - so I believe WE WON THE RACE.

Garden

My garden is doing well this summer. My lettuce is up about 6 inches and the tomatoes and peppers have lots of blossoms. In fact I had my first fresh onions from the garden this evening for supper. The pot in the picture with the tree branches sticking out of it is my new experiment this year. I planted Morning Glorys in the pot and the sticks are for them to grow and climb up on. Will take pictures later and let you see how it worked.

Loons On The Lake

As I was sitting on the pier last evening I quickly returned to the cabin to get my camera. Our two favorite loons were swimming on the far side of the lake. I tried my loon calls and a few whistles to see if they would come over to my pier. After they heard my desperate attempts they slowly swam over, looked at me and did their really loon calls and swam off. I guess it was their way of telling me to leave the loon calling to them.

June 1 & Mr. Frost Did Not Get The Flowers

After numerous frost warnings on the evening news and bringing the potted flowers into the garage and screen porch - WE HAVE SURVIVED. If you remember from a previous post, I painted the pots this winter and now they are filled with beautiful flowers and they decorate my deck and house.

Humming Birds Are Hungry Little Fellows

I mix up about two gallons of sugar water twice a week and fill the feeders some times twice a day. I have counted about 8 to 10 birds flying around the feeders at one time. This morning as I was sitting out there drinking my coffee I decided to set up my tripod and camera and hoped to get some pictures of these little guys. Let me tell you they are not camera shy. The tripod was only about two feet from the feeders and as I was snapping pictures they would come flying right up to me.

Eric's Favorite Things In Life

Besides his new baby sister, Eric spends most of the day carrying around his basketball and shooting hoops, talking to Elmo on the phone, cutting up his plastic veggies and cleaning the house with his new vac "Dusty". By the end of the day I was exhausted...