I DID IT!

After much help from Mom while she was here
and even more help from Hubby and the twins....




TERRA is IN the GARAGE!!!





no, really, she is! See for yourself!!

Oh- and all the Christmas decorations are put away! Yeppers! I know
it's hard to believe but it's all true! Those boxes? Oh, they go out in
the recycling pickup tomorrow. So, the only thing on the other side
of the garage will be the bicycles & tricycles! You know I'm happy!


Just had to share!
xoxox
Csmoferret

You just have to see this card!

http://confessionsofaribbonaddict.blogspot.com/2010/01/swinging-from-tree-whee-full-tutorial.html

I love the tree on this card! Click on the link above and go check it out!

xoxox
Csmoferret

Baby, it's cold outside...

( Front and left side of house - 2 tarps along each side.)

Since the temperatures have been hovering around freezing
the past few days I decided to cover the plants in the backyard
(specifically the potted plants and the fruit trees) with dog
towels and picnic blankets.

Then it rained. The towels were so heavy, once they
got wet, that my plants were being broken up. So, I removed
the towels and figured they would just have to brave the cold
until the rain stopped. Meanwhile, I hit the local box store
and bought the last two painter's drop clothes and tried
to protect the potted plants with the dry covers.


My wonderful Cotton Farmer Hubby decided I was not
getting anywhere with my tiny towels and drop clothes and
picnic blankets and brought home several Cotton Module
Tarps. He and a couple of guys from the farm spread the
tarps out over ALL of my plants, not just the select
few I had tried to save.

I felt much better about the fruit trees and roses and
bird of paradise and hibiscus, etc...as I watched the
temperature drop past freezing yesterday evening. It
finally rose above 32F this morning around 11am and will,
hopefully, not be below freezing for very long tonight.

The tarps stopped traffic. Of course we live on
a corner with a stop sign so traffic stops on 2 sides
anyway but ALL of the traffic was stopping after the
tarps were up! LOL! It kind of looks like we have
buses parked along the walls of the house
and certainly makes you look twice.

They made me laugh out loud as I walked around
the front of the house. Talk about 'over protected'! : )
Well, you can see for yourself...


Note: Having the clean tarps in the front and the dirty one in the back was
pure chance. The guys just unrolled and covered and never even noticed
the condition of the tarps. The orange fence under the trampoline is to
keep the puppy out of the mud that the rain has generated for us. One
of these days (hopefully very soon) the trampoline will go away and a
nice rock creek bed (of my own design and creation) will take care of
our mud problem once and for all. The blue tarp on the edges of the
trampoline did not make it through the freeze last night- they totally
cracked up and blew around in the breeze this morning. Anyone know
where to get another edge cover?

So, I'm off to light another fire log in the fireplace and
get some laundry done... Stay Warm, where ever you are!

xoxox
Csmoferret

Happy delayed new year from the Pensacola airport

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The last month since Thanksgiving has been so incredibly busy
at our house. Instead of heading out to stand in line in front of
stores for early Black Friday Sales I flew to Florida to help my
Mom drive out to Texas to spend the month with us. I got there,
helped her pack up the car, get the house ready for Dad to
hunker down for the month and then we took 2 days to drive
back home.

The next few days were busy painting ornaments, making jewelry and
keepsakes for the Christmas Craft Fair in a local church on the 12th.
The fair was busy but nothing sold. It was a very disappointing
experience that has made me realize there is NO market in my area for
handmade goods. Therefore, I have given up the desire
to make stuff to sell. At least for now. I know my friends are pretty
tired of getting handmade stuff so I don't know what I'm going to do
with all of it but I'll figure it out eventually.

We have straightened the garage (a bit) so we could pull out
the Christmas stuff, cleaned up my studio (a bit) so we could do
some work, finished my shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, etc.
It has been so much fun having her here that I am having a difficult
time accepting the fact we are going to have to pack up the car and
drive back in the next couple of days. I already have my plane ticket for
my return on the 3rd so visiting time is growing short. Again, time
just moves too fast sometimes.

The Tuesday before Christmas the Twins participated in a piano
recital/ Christmas Party and each student played a carol for the
audience. Punkin even played a duet with the Instructor.
Unfortunately, we were seated on the wrong side for photos and
were only able to get clear pictures of the kids from the back while
they were at the piano. Ah well, next time we will pay
more attention to which side we sit on. : ) It was very nice and Punkin
and Buddy really enjoyed dressing up and performing for everyone.



Our day today was wonderful - a laid back present exchange this
morning followed by the baking of the rolls and then the trek to
visit family for a late lunch. A very enjoyable day.

I hope you and your family enjoyed a peaceful Christmas Day...

XOXO
Csmoferret

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!!!

Although we are not having everyone over here for Thanksgiving I
still set up our table centerpiece as if we were... here are some
pictures....

The wood bowl is from an antique store I visited a few weeks ago. I
was thrilled to find it. I'm sure it is from Pottery Barn or something
like that but I really wanted one and was super happy to find it and
I couldn't wait to fill it up with harvest stuff...
A close up of the left end...

Here is the right end...

Turkey Lurkey keeps moving around the house, trying to 'blend in' ...


I hope you have a wonderful day reconnecting with family and friends!

See you soon!
xoxox
Csmoferret

Gratitude Day 7

Day 7 (Friday)
1) Rain
2) Rain barrels to harvest the rain water for the veggies & friut trees.
3) chili starter
4) Mom being able to visit for a couple of weeks
5) Dad for letting Mom be here to visit without him
6) The rest of the family for promising to check on Dad on a regular basis
7) An email from a very good friend
8) online classes to stretch my creative ability
9) 9 years of being the mother of a pair of awesome kids
10) 10 amazing years with the love of my life
11) weather radar online so my Farmer Hubby can keep up with what is going to happen with the weather every day
12) the ability to pick up and go at the drop of a hat
13) letting more and more of the past go
14) better sleep
15) parent’s night out at the local gymnastics gym for the kids tonight so the kids have a great time with friends and coaches while we celebrate our anniversary with a fancy dinner date
16) great timing
17) the ability to learn something new everyday
18) non-squeaky dog toys for keeping the pups busy on a rainy day
19) big windows to watch the rain from
20) crafty friends who share ideas

Well, that was fun! I thought I would really have to stretch to find
140 different things I was grateful for but it wasn't very difficult
to do after all.

More stuff coming (including a new look for my blog)
soon...
xoxox
Csmoferret