Friday Fifteen...

A glimpse into our June, in random order...


(weather)


(laundry shenanigans)


(cousins)


(viand)


(harvest)


(me)


(creating)


(thrift store score)


(temp-june 2nd)


(sad day)


(monkey suit)


(sweet boy)


(sweeter boy)


(spied)


(respite)

The Birthday Week...

Sarah's was Wednesday, she turned 11, on the 11th of 2011. Pretty cool huh? Ryan will be 18 on the 15th, and Amy will be exactly 15.5 on the 15th as well. Soooo, we have lots of celebrating going on these days. I took the kids out to lunch yesterday to a new restaurant in Longview, El Pollo Regio, and to their favorite thrift store. Sarah found another bathing suit(her 3rd) and a beach dress. Amy found two bathing suits and a dress, and Ryan got a Bob Marley shirt. Not too bad for under $50!

Here are some birthday-ish pictures of them...


(Amy in her $8 dress)


(Sarah and Ruby)


(modeling with Rosie)


(Amy looking gorgeous)


(Ryan hanging out by the pool)

Ryan is having his annual pool party on Saturday. Not sure how many kids we'll have but I think we're gonna grill hot dogs for them again. One time he had over 40 show up! I need to tell them to bring their own towels and sunscreen!!! Shhhh, don't tell that I'm getting a cake for him too!

Comfort Food...

Today we took the boat out to Gilmer Lake for a test run to see how the motor would be. We had a not-so-great day fishing(we didn't catch anything, sunburn, lost lures, fought winds, and had so-so luck with the motor-but it could have been worse). Plus Mark has come down with the nasty sore throat I had a few weeks ago and tomorrow is his birthday. When we came home I was scrounging for some dinner that wasn't a frozen burrito or eggroll or leftover spaghetti. I spied the half-eaten bag of Doritos we took on the boat and had an instant craving for Dorito Casserole.

My mom's sister Donna introduced us to this awesome, tasty dish when I was a little girl. It had Rotel tomatoes, cream of mushroom and chicken soups, ground beef, and lots of cheese. My mom made it very occasionally and I've made it a few times now and then(like every 2-3 years). It is sooooo good and sooooo bad for you at the same time, the perfect comfort food! Once you get a craving for something like this, nothing else will do though so I was disappointed to think I couldn't make this tonight... or so I thought.

There was a new block of extra sharp cheddar in the fridge along with a couple leftover chicken leg quarters I'd baked on Thursday, some sour cream, and a jar of green chili salsa. In the pantry was a jar of roasted red pepper alfredo sauce. Oh my gooosh this was good!!!! It didn't make much but it was just enough for the four of us to have one serving(Ryan is camping with friends and missed out- bummer).

Southern Comfort Chicken Dorito Casserole

(all measurements very approximate)

3/4 cup sour cream
1 jar roasted red pepper alfredo sauce(use 3/4 of it)
3 cups Doritos(not crushed), I used spicy salsa flavor
3 cups cut up chicken(cooked)
2/3 cup green chili salsa, I used Herdez brand
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder(or cook up an onion if you have time)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a greased 8x8 casserole dish or 9x5x3 loaf pan(I used my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan). Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350. Serve hot with cut up veggies such as baby carrots and cucumbers. This will serve 2 very hungry people or 4 very tired people who need something to eat.

My day...

Sunday night I got a call from my brother. Seems he found "the" table set that he's been searching for all his life, in my neck of the woods. Nevermind that he lives almost 1000 miles from me...


(this is the best pic I have)

I can see how it would be hard to resist. It isn't really my style, unless, of course, I had the whole 50s kitchen thing goin' on, but cute nonetheless. The 80+-year-old couple who owned the table set had it since it was new. I called yesterday morning and it was still available so I made arrangements to pick it up early today. Aaron had also sent a link from the same seller for some quilts. I asked about them when we were finished loading up and the owner of the table said the seller was working with her things on consignment so the quilts didn't belong to her. However, she wanted to show me one she did have(but not for sale!). Her mother-in-law made this one probably back in the 50s or so. The hexagons are in between the size of a nickel and a quarter, in other words, TINY! It is just gorgeous! It came to her unfinished so she and her sister sewed a few stitches and hand-quilted it. I was positively drooling and politely asked if I could take a few pictures of it. She obliged...

(click to enlarge)








Oh, and an emu runs the woods behind their property...

Cool colors and less clutter...

I bought this shelf sometime last year and just love the shape of it. There used to be sliding doors on the front but they weren't with it when I found it.


(picture taken when I first brought it home and cleaned it up)

We stopped by Lowe's on Wednesday night after we dropped the girls at their church activities and I bought a "mis-tint" pint of this wonderful minty green. It is SO brilliant it almost sparkles(but its a satin I think). Anyway, it was just enough to do the octagon mirror from the thrift store and the inside of the shelf. I love how it turned out!


(look next to the white shelf, but don't you dare laugh)(you are laughing aren't you?)(I told you not to laugh!!)(its the same box)(quit laughing)



I spent most of Saturday and Sunday thinning out books. If there is a thing that is harder to part with I've not found it. So far I've got two stacks over 30 inches tall. First I'm taking them to my homeschool park day to hand out and what is left will go to the thrift store.


(There isn't an after picture yet because I'm not finished but there is a cleared path to the door now)


In other news...

We stopped by the pet store to see how our kittens were faring only to learn that 3 of the 4 had passed away about 2 weeks ago. The rescue/foster mom said they just never gained weight and seemed to get sicker and sicker. They had trouble opening their eyes and trouble eating. It makes me wonder if they weren't a bit premature or suffering from an illness(I hope not). She said the survivor was very small still, about 2 weeks behind in size, but had a good appetite and they were hopeful she'd make it. They've decided to keep her and named her Fiesty.

Their sad sad situation just drives home the point that people need to spay and neuter their animals(and keep them inside to curb the spread of disease). If you haven't done so, please do. And, if yours are all taken care of, consider donating to a low-cost provider of these services like the one we use here in Longview, S.N.I.P.-Pets so that others can afford to do what is right.

We are doing VBS this week for Sarah, starting this past Sunday. Its at 6:15 til 8:45 each evening and lemme tell ya, that's a major pain. Having to have Ryan here there and yon and now Sarah, EVERY night, I'm a tired mama. This morning I woke up about 6:40, ate, got online and decided at 8am to go back to bed. I slept til 10:34. Apparently I needed it, to be fair I did get up at 5am Sunday morning when the boys left to go fishing.

Anyway, Sarah loves VBS and tonight she brought a friend. She'll go to the friend's VBS on Wednesday morning to return the favor. So, tomorrow Ryan to work at 9am, pick up around 5:30ish, Sarah to VBS at 6:15-8:45. Wednesday, Sarah to VBS(friend's) at 9am, home at 12, back to her VBS at the usual time. Thursday morning is homeschool park day, 9am-2pm usually, Ryan to work at 6, Sarah to VBS at 6:15...I'm not sure how I will pull this off, they are on opposite sides of town, Sarah out at 8:45, Ryan off at 9:45. Friday Ryan to work at 11pm til 7am Saturday(for a Lock-in). Oh My Heavenly Stars, I'm going to be freakin' exhausted as I am the designated driver to and from all of these events!!! So, there may not be as much decluttering going on as I would like.

You all know where I'm headed as soon as I hit the publish button...zzzzzz Hopefully I won't dream about strange men breaking into our garage like I did this morning, that was a scary, very real dream. ugh.

I am SO on a mission!!!

To get rid of my clutter!!! This is a serious, bonafide, sanctified, chicken-fried mission, no sissy stuff!!!

Yesterday I took 12 or so bags of clothing, toys, bedding, dishes and so forth to our local battered women's shelter.

Today I'm starting the gathering-up for a second run, trust me the above load was the tip of the iceberg. It will take me the week, I plan to go next Saturday to drop off.

I also have things for our city's bulk pick-up but that will have to be in two phases as they'll only take what will fit in the bed of a regular truck at one time. We've got a crappy desk, a 50-year-old refridgerator, a microwave, part of a baby bed, a tv cart, assorted bed pieces and lots more. That doesn't even count the stuff in the attic.

Now that Mark's job situation is "situated"(email me or leave a comment if you want the scoop, he doesn't want me posting it publicly) I can declutter in a more organized fashion and I plan to take full advantage of not having to move.

I'll keep you posted.

Our Memorial Day...

Was partly spent thrifting! We were looking for corner shelves for the girls' room but didn't find any at all. However, I did come across these lovely owls! Sorry for the crappy pictures, I was in a hurry to get these done and didn't take time at all.



The pair is carved and painted balsa wood. The white one is an Avon lotion jar from 1974(going for $3-8 on etsy and ebay). I paid 49 cents for each piece and just LOVE them!!




These are gorgeous in person, the colors are so much richer than seen here. I think there are 29 blocks I can use. My plan is to sew 10 of them together and make a few scarves from them. It is frustrating to find vintage crochet pieces that are coming unraveled. I found out this is actually an instruction in the 1977 BHG crochet/knit book I bought a few days ago though. It says to clip the yarn an inch(AN INCH!!) from the work and weave in! An inch is NOT enough yarn, no way no how. Sigh. Most, if not all, of these will have to have the last several stitches redone and tied off better.




This was probably my favorite find! The small one is a Wagner size 5 pan which goes from $45-$100 on ebay and other sites. The larger griddle pan is a Lodge brand, new at Bass Pro for around $23. I paid $6 and $7 for them and plan to get them ready for use asap!!




A neighborhood friend tore down her water trough garden and gave us the trough to use as a doggie pool. The girls couldn't wait to get it set up!!








After these shenanigans we went to Mark's parents and had a bowl of ice cream to honor his father's service to our country as a Marine stationed in Okinawa and Hawaii. I bet his mom asked 20 times if we'd eaten already or if we wanted her to cook us some ham. She's getting real bad.

Today I've got laundry out the ying yang, as my good friend Lisa puts it. Wish me luck!

a kitty video and in other news...

Here's Tallulah trying to groom Jasper. Tibert shows up to see what's going on outside.



In other news...

I made Susan's(Blackberry Creek in my blogroll) pumpkin pound cake yesterday afternoon, complete with the caramel sauce! It is oooooh soooo good!!

The boys went fishing early this morning and had a good time. We're strictly catch and release here. Our area lakes are known for high levels of mercury and pcbs so and Mark doesn't like killing/cleaning them.



We took the piggies out again for more grass munching. Sarah discovered a lump on Rainbow's belly and another one on Meadow. We are hoping it isn't what killed our Shimmer. Its in a different place and could be mastitis or a mammary cyst maybe.

Then there is this:

Mountain Lion sighting. Yay. (hint, watch the video, the guy looks like Brad Pitt but more rugged)

We're going to take a mega-load of stuff to the women's shelter thrift store after lunch, hope they are open! I'm looking for wooden corner shelves to use in the girls room and in my bathroom. Mark might have to break down and make some though.