Craftiva

I wanted to make homemade gifts this past holiday season.  I've just been waiting to share with you my Christmas craft ideas.  We finally had our last celebration, so without further ado, here they are! 

 

My first idea was to make a t-shirt vest.  I cut up a t-shirt according to the directions, and it looked like, well... I cut up a t-shirt.  It was pretty bad.  CRAFT FAIL

Fortunately, the next idea went better.  I made t-shirt scarves.  They didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but I did like them.  I thought about making little pins covered with beads to place on the part where it's gathered.  I might still do that.  The project was fun to make.  I saw a pic of Tullybird wearing hers, and it looked really good!

My version of t-shirt scarves

Next up, I made a Lemon Sugar Body Scrub.  I soon realized after I whipped this stuff up, that I really like this stuff.  My hands have been dry and itchy all winter.  Rubbing some of this on when I've been doing a lot of hand-washing really helps.



Warning:  you may fall on your ass if you use this on your feet while standing!
But man, do my paws need this stuff.

For my next project, I was only able to make a few of these this year.  I need to start earlier next year.  I love painting wine bottles.  My specialty is a snowman... because they are easy.  And this year, I made a female version who loves the tropics! 

My inspiration was when Tullybird mentioned that she keeps the first bottle on display all year around that I painted for her; it doesn't matter what season it is.  Snowman needed a girlfriend!




Aloha!

And for my very favorite project of all.  This was SO fun, but so time consuming.  I could only make one at a time.  I started out by growing sunflowers.  Giant, mammoth sunflowers.

Keystone in my giant sunflower forest

Then I added lots of love and cement. 

I used our existing plain, smooth birdbath as a mold.  I put a trash bag over it to protect it.  Then I poured on mixed up grout mix.  I smoothed it out and then pressed my huge sunflower leaf into the wet grout mix.  Let it sit for 24-48 hours, and viola!

 

This birdbath has magical powers

This is one of the special editions that I made.  I had the most fun telling Suzie's little girl that baby unicorns drank from this birdbath; that's why there is glitter.  Cause everyone knows that baby unicorn's have glitter on their tongues.  I think she really enjoyed the story.  I truly believed in unicorns when I was her age.  Remember the days of rainbows & unicorns and when stickers were special treats?

For Dawn's family, I put a nice rock towards the bottom of the bath.  This is to allow butterflies to rest on the rock while sipping their cool beverage.  Plus they have a bath-less butterfly garden.  Until now.

I can't tell you how badly I wanted to make Shelly one of these.  She likes birds has a bird obsession.  Next to my parents and my hubby, I don't know anyone else who feeds their wild birds as much as she does; and enjoys watching them too.  It about killed me not to be able to make her one and send, but the cost would have been astronomical to send a hunk of huge, heavy concrete across the country.

And I really wanted to make Tullybird one too.  She loves everything homemade that I make, and she would have loved to have had one in her yard under her apple trees.  But again, the shipment cross-country just wasn't going to work.  Not to mention that they would probably beak.

So, it was hand delivery only for the birdbaths.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my projects.  I had other ideas that I didn't get to.  Maybe I'll start much earlier this year.
 

Our Hobby

This post is for Anonyvox.  I've been making mysterious references to which she is curious about the meaning.  It's been so nice getting to know Anonyvox online. We've never met in person but I think we could have been separated at birth or something because we have so much in common.  We have mutual loves for food, ONJ, camping (especially tent camping), LUSH, dogs... the list goes on and on. 

I realized there is a very fundamental aspect to my life that people in the real world know because it's literally pretty obvious. I take it for granted that people know about our hobbyobsession-gone-wild. We like pinball.

Teehee, OK, that's an understatement. We love pinball. We collect machines. We have a LOT in our basement (see pic below), and I'm cool with that. There is a culture across America, and actually the world, of people who love to play pinball. Most of the spouses of the men who play and collect do not appreciate the hobby. The games are big, expensive, and they complain because it takes time to work on the machines. A hot deal may require an emergency cross-state road-trip adventure to obtain that must-have machine. Or you talk a relative into picking up and storing a machine until your next visit. Most women resent the hobby. To which I respond "Poppycock!!!". Why not embrace something your hubby loves. Maybe get into it and enjoy it for yourself. I'll get off my soapbox now, cause this little post isn't going to convince them to stop their whining. Just saying, you might give it a try.

So in 1996 we bought a Police Force. It's a nice Williams machine that is a lot of fun to play.  I remember the day we brought it home.  Little did I know what was yet to be.

From there the hobby turned into an obsession. It's like potato chips, you can't have just one. Why? Aren't they all the same? No. They are not.  They all have their own individual personalities. Pinball machines come in different themes and from different eras. There are the old ones with wooden side rails and wooden legs, and then wedgeheads with a distinctive antique kind of feel.  Then the latest games have the most visually advanced displays with videos and 3D graphics.  Past manufacturers include Gottlieb, Williams, Bally, Data East, and even Atari (there are more, but these are the ones I know).  Current manufacturer is Stern (and I think another one possibly but can't remember the name).  Did you know the first pinball machines had no flippers?  You were supposed to bang and push on the side of the machine to get it to go where you intended, and the ball pretty much had one shot down the playfield.

We collected a few over the years. Whatever would fit in the basement. And then the garage. And then we expanded the garage to store more. And then stored some at a neighbors house. An then another neighbors house. And then Todd got a storage area... 

We currently have an awesome house with a nice open basement, just perfect for our games.

Here's part of our basement.  Yes, it's an arcade.

There is a community of pinheads in KC. We are so happy to be back in the area so that we can see our friends again and gather for pinball events.  There are new people to meet since we left & came back.  More women are getting into it too.  There is one tournament we enjoy going to monthly.  Actually, here is an article about the tournament.  I happen to be the one in a black t-shirt playing pinball (recognize my ring Mrs. Irritation?).  You might recognize the guy in the picture, too. 

We went last Saturday night, and I tied for 5th place in the tournament!  I beat the first 3 guys I played.  I had a couple of awesome games!  It was exciting to say the least.  And then the guy who ended up winning first place beat me.  I don't mind.  I usually don't play very well, so this is a big deal for me.  I knew the guy who beat me first was going to place very high, and he took first, so I was beat by the best.  Last Saturday night was good pizza, good pinball, and good friends.

Plenty of pinheads available to jump in and fix a game that developed a problem.
This was at the tournament a month ago.



Dawn, the Boy and Todd having fun at the event a month ago

We also travel across the country to attend pinball conventions. Yearly conventions for us have included:

• Texas Pinball Festival (TPF) yearly in March in the Dallas area (we still attend this one every year).  This is my favorite show from a party perspective.
• Pin-A-Go-Go in Dixon, CA (used to attend when we lived in NV)
• Pacific Pinball Expo (PPE) in Marin county (San Francisco area) in the fall (used to attend when we lived in NV and a couple of buddies would fly in from KC to go with us).  This by far is my favorite show from a machine perspective.  HUNDREDS of games from the 30s to the 70s plus a few newer ones.  This show made me appreciate the oldies. 

There is the Stern pinball factory in Chicago that you can tour. We've never been, but I could see going to that some year.

I've had a brush or two with pinball "royalty". 

• Once at PPE, I was waiting in line to play a tricked out Metallica machine (based on an Earth Shaker that someone had seriously modified in a most cool way), and just before it was my turn, Steve Ritchie walks up to play. Being that he is a well known designer of pins, I offered to let him go ahead of me. He declined, knowing I had been waiting. I said "OK, I'm not that good so it probably won't take long". I played with him watching and to say I was a little nervous was an understatement. I'll be darned if I didn't have an awesome ball or two! I had a respectable game.

• This past March at the TPF, I happened to get into an elevator, and someone was rushing in to catch the elevator at the last second, and it was Steve Ritchie.  I had just stood in line for hours to play AC/DC a few times, and I don't remember exactly what I said but he asked if I was having a good time.  I told him I was and I told him how excited I am about the AC/DC machine and he did a really great job.  It makes me excited about pins again.  I waited in line to play that game about a dozen times that weekend.  Some day, I'll have one.  Some day.

• One time at PPE, Larry Zartarian shared with me the strategy for playing Coronation.  I had a few great games on that machine and found myself drawn to it over the other several hundred machines.  Understanding the strategy from a pro made me appreciate the game even more.

If you find yourself in a pizza place and there's a pinball machine, give it a whirl!  Especially if you see an AC/DC machine--that will be my next acquisition.  Some day.

My score was the top one!

My Lap Dog

My boy has always been a lapdog.  And he still is.

One month old





More the merrier!

Grandpa spoils him



Exhibition Of Emotions

Last weekend was pretty fun.  Had a birthday party in the old 'hood to attend.  For some unknown reason this little princess doesn't like to take self portraits, but she thought the iPhone self-picture feature (technical term) was pretty cool.

This was our "BIG SMILES" photo

Ok, now show me shock and horror!

And now for the BIG FINALE!!!

Todd's 40th

Has anyone close to you made you do something for their big milestone birthday?  Was it something you vowed at some time in your life that you would never ever do?  I'm not talking about anything illegal or harmful.

I had to go along with his wishes for my hubby's 40th birthday.  And as a matter of fact, Suzie & Kevin came along for the ride as well.

And that was after he came home with his ear pierced.  Actually, he was home, and I walked in the door and took 2 steps into the house and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him.  You think he told me ahead of time?  Nope.  He went to the mall and had the teeny-bopper pierce his ear.  I actually think it's very funny.  Who DOES that?  Todd.  That's who.

So we all flew to Chicago for his big 4th-decade-of-gracing-this-earth-with-his-presence celebration.  It was a really great weekend, one filled with great memories.

I remember that we went a day or two earlier, and they met us there.  Our first stop was to the first bar we saw which happened to be Harry Caray's bar (I think).  Since we hadn't seen them for awhile, I sat next to Suzie, who was next to Kevin, and then Todd on the end.  We were at the bar enjoying a drink.  I must have looked available despite THE SPARKLY RING ON MY FINGER, cause some short dark Italian dude comes up to me and starts hitting on me.  After a couple of minutes of extremely awkward IGNORING THE HELL OUT OF HIM, my hubby leans over from down the bar and waves and says "Hi Honey!".  You would think the guy could take a hint?  I remember that he didn't exactly receive the message because I think all the alcohol he had consumed was blocking some synapses.  Anyway we left and decided to go bull riding.

Suzie was performing surgery on one of the cow holes.
This was the "holey cow".

I think this was the night we ate at a New Orleans type of Cajun restaurant.  I remember enjoying it.

We crashed a party at the museum (it was actually open to the public, but it wasn't obvious until we were leaving) and ate a lot of free food at the Kukla, Fran, and Ollie exhibit.  Who are they again?!?  And can you believe I remember this shit?

We ate at Weber Grill and the idiot waiter dropped BBQ sauce that went all over Kevin and me--we didn't realize it until later.  The food was good, but I was disappointed that they didn't have dessert on the grill.  WHY NOT?

What you can't see?  This was indoors. 
That's a bronze statue of a guy grilling.  On a Weber.  Get it?

We went to China and had dim sum.  First time for Todd and I.  I had never seen prepared chicken feet offered as a dish until that day.  I remember not wanting to eat the "cow eyeball" dumpling-things.  Had a tasty drink.  Bought a cool light display thing we've never seen anywhere else. 

Volcano drinks get me every time.  Yum.
And where does one buy straws THAT long?

Had drinks on top of the John Hancock tour.  I remember Suzie had a "side car" cocktail.  First one I'd ever tasted, and I liked it.  I think I had a Cosmo, it was alright.  I think Kev had a whiskey sour.

Some of us REALLY enjoyed bowling and gourmet cocktails at 10 Pin.

This could have been the key lime martini

We had a fun waitress

OK, so nothing despicable or deplorable, right?  Looks like a fun weekend full of good food, good friends, and good drinks, right?  So what happened that I said I'd NEVER do?

The reason we went to Chicago was.....  Jerry Jerry Jerry.

Yes, Interweblings, I've shared my deep dark secret.  We went to the filming of a Jerry Springer episode.  Because it was the only thing my hubby wanted to do for his 40th birthday.  Besides get his ear pierced.

Us and The Steve

Honestly I have to admit that it was very interesting.  Things I learned at the taping:

• they place "very blessed" women on the end of each aisle.
• Jerry really is a dirty old man.  Saw him hitting on some young Asian ladies.
• If someone has to go use the bathroom during a break, they have someone else sit in the chair so you never see an empty seat.

Oh the horror...  Actually, I hate to admit it.  I'd do it again.  It was that entertaining. 

Where else do you see a skinny old man dance on a pole with red heart underwear?

Abbytail: The Homecoming

Our Abbytail took us on a dramatic roller coaster ride this past week.  We are exhausted and completely worn out.  We are also hopeful, excited, and thankful to be home at last.  We brought our little girl home.

Abby has fought a battle with IMHA and so far, she has been able to put up a great fight.  We still have a long road ahead of us with her continued recovery.  Thankfully we took her to the best place possible for care, VCA Mission Animal Referral and Emergency Center (formerly Mission Medvet).  They have great doctors and technicians.  Abby received 24 hour care.  She went up and down battling this horrible disease, and there were 2 times I was expecting the worst.  Then I would wake up and go visit her and find out that she has rallied.  She has fought so hard, she has made herself better.


We will continue working hard to make sure she stays better.  It's possible that she could have a relapse.  We will never know what caused this to happen.  It was not a tick.  It is going to take 6 months or more for her to be completely off her medications.  Until then, we'll continue to baby our baby.  You haven't even seen spoiled yet.  ;-)


Throughout our horrible battle, we had awesome friends supporting us along the way.  Many of you sent emails or called.  Suzie & Kevin loaned us a car so we'd go eat and they watched Keystone when we needed.  Suzie reminded me to take a shower, which I hadn't even thought about doing but felt so much better once I had.  Ray & Becky gave Abby a tomato in hopes that she would eat.  They all came by to bolster our spirits. 


We stayed with Suzie & Kevin one night, then the rest of the time, we slept in our RV behind the facilities (where Keystone could stay close to us as well).  Abby's "jail cell" was only big enough for one of us to sit/lie down with her at a time.  The other one of us would sit with the cage door open and sit right at the door.  Abby wasn't exactly trying to escape.  We usually tag teamed it, so one of us would be with Stones while the other would be with Abby.

 
It was so nice to be able to stay with Abby until I wanted to call it a night (usually around midnight).  I woke up around 8am and would head back in for the latest news.  They had no problem that "Abby's mom" or "Abby's dad" was there to visit all the time.  I got used to being called "mom", because I was often the only visitor there (besides Todd, of course, aka "dad").  We took her outside for potty breaks*, and we held her water bowl for her, and hand fed her.  She ate for us--and it took some coaxing to get her appetite back.  I truly don't think she would have fought so hard, if she hadn't had us right there beside her to help her through this.  The vet said she really perked up when we were there.  Once I heard that, I was in for the long haul.  Clean clothes are overrated.

*I wish you could have seen Keystone the first time he saw Abby in the middle of all this turmoil.  He gave her a royal sniffing over and was literally enthusiastic to be in the presence of his leader again.  It was very cute.  I think it helped him to understand what was going on, when they shared a potty break.

 
Here is Abby in her luxury suite:

Sad puppy not feeling well

We have our leader of the pack back.  She isn't going to be real energetic or aggressive for awhile, but we'll take it.  Having her here just sleeping is good enough for me.  She'll gain her strength back over time.  Before you know it, she'll be the boss again.

Things I've learned this past week:  Hug the ones you love, furry or human.  I think the extra hug grandma gave Abby last time she saw her had magical powers.  Never ever take them for granted, because you don't know when you'll loose them.  And treasure every minute you have with family and friends. 

One more thing, never pass up a chance to share a belly rub.

Happy tired puppy in one of her usual spots at home in the middle of the hallway.
Did someone order a belly rub?

Suzie's Poodle

Every once in awhile when I need a pick-me-up, I look at this picture on my phone.  Tell me, how can this NOT cheer you up?

I'm Such A LUSH

I am not being endorsed in any way for this post--if you know me, you know this topic is straight from my heart.

If you don't know what LUSH is, let me introduce you.  It's the BEST, most fun store ever.  I saw a comment from Mouse the other day on Anonyvox's post, and it reminded me that I had this post in progress.  If you are lucky enough to live in a city where there is a LUSH store, even just a little corner in a Macy's, then you are very, very lucky.  It's a fresh handmade cosmetics store. Not cosmetics as in makeup, although they do have lip balm (hardly makeup, I know).  It's bath bombs, bubble bars, bath melts, massage bars, fresh face masks, soaps, moisturizers, lotions, and potions and I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this company.  My ultimate crazy wacky dream is to someday own my own LUSH store.  I'd sell jewelry too, and mix my own soaps in the back room.  MMMWWWwwhhahahahahahaha (evil scientist laugh).


Mrs. Irritation introduced me in Vegas when we were there with our hubby's.  We went to LUSH again on our first girls trip to Vegas, which was a first time LUSH visit for Becky and Erica, it was so fun!  I got Dawn hooked on it when we decided to unexpectedly go shopping 2 years ago in Dallas.  I am so lucky to live just an hour from the store in KC now, and I had to get a present for Tullybird before my final move (can't wait to take her to the actual store).  Whenever I travel and have this stuff in my bag, I wreak in a most delightful way--during a business trip to Chicago, I picked up Suzie's 40th birthday present last fall.


My favorite product: Soft Coeur Massage Bar.  This stuff allowed me to live in the high desert and not shrivel into an old wrinkled prune.  It's amazing stuff!  There is a trick to using this: After you get out of the shower, warm it up in your hands, roll it all over, and THEN towel dry yourself off.  Not only will your skin be soft and hydrated ALL day, but your towel will smell like Heaven too.  If you think the feel is too greasy or you need to get dressed quickly, just sprinkle on some Silky Underwear Dusting Powder or any of their dusting powders.

Need something else that moisturizes?  Their bath melts are AWESOME!  Try this one Floating Island or this one MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment.  Or this one Deamtime, or You've Been Mangoed, or the witchy one.  I love every single one of these for a really moisturizing bath that takes your stress away.


When I was in NV, I LOVED the closest store in Sacramento.  The employees were always so fun and everyone is always knowledgeable about all of their products.  I've only been to the store in KC twice, so I haven't gotten to know their staff.  Yet.


Now let me warn you, if you visit a store and the employees seem a little eager in a crazy kind of way, like they believe their stuff is just SO awesome, well, it's cause their stuff IS. JUST. SO. AWESOME. Really. I am this Canadian companies' biggest fan.  Oh, oh, if you are lucky enough to be there at the right time, one of the employees might mix a "bath time cocktail" for you.  It's usually some kind of complimentary scented bath bomb and bath melt, or bubble bar and bath melt.  They swirl the items together in a big bowl of water, and messier the better!!! You can stick your hands in and feel how nice a bath full of that stuff would be.

I love most of the products I have ever purchased and all of the products I have been the very lucky recipient as a gift.  Christmas time is SO MUCH FUN to sniff your gifts first, if you think it might be LUSH, or if you recognize the paper.  I've been SO EXCITED to unwrap presents from Suzie, Tullybird, Mrs. Irritation and my parents in years past when I saw the LUSH paper. See what I was like at Suzie's last December?

I am not a sales person, it's not in my DNA.  But this stuff?  I'm their biggest cheerleader.

I do have to admit there are a few items I wouldn't purchase again. 

• Phoenix Rising bath bomb is a beautiful product with a different scent that had me enjoying it after getting used to how different it smells.  However, when I went to drain my fresh clean tub?  I had to scrub it 5 times because the bath water had left a pink stain all over my tub.  Not happy about that especially since I had JUST CLEANED IT BEFORE THIS BATH.  Use this only in a hotel. ;-)
• If you like your hand soap to suds up a lot, I'd recommend skipping their bar soaps.  However, you are missing out on some killer great scents.  Honey I Washed The Kids soap and Rock Star are my two favorite bar soaps.  You can't beat those scents.
• This eye cream, Enchanted Eye Cream, is inconsistent. Since their products are hand made, I experienced a difference in this.  The first bottle I ever bought, I loved it.  The second bottle?  Not so much.  It was much thinner and didn't work well.  It actually didn't work at all.  I SHOULD have taken it back to the store and gotten a replacement.  A sales person told me that since they are hand made, that batch may not have been the same, so I should have brought it back.  So that is really my fault, but I had purchased it while on an out of town trip.  I could have called them.  But I'm still not going to purchase it again.  At one point in time, I did love it though.

I used to misunderstand their Shower Jellies.  And then one birthday, the daughter of Mrs. Irritation picked out a shower jelly especially for me.  She chose a Halloween themed jelly in my favorite color, neon green!  I learned that if you smoosh it into a shower scrubby, it lathers up really well and works really great!  Viola!  I love them now.  I do not freeze them to use in the shower, like they suggest.  That's just too high maintenance for me, if a bath product needs to be kept in the freezer.  My freezer is on the other side of the house for crying out loud.

Here's my little protégé.  Mrs. Irritation sent this pic one time they were in a LUSH thinking of me.  Her daughter loves the store as much as I do:

I do love their 9-to-5 to wash off eye makeup.  It's so gentle.  I just use it in the shower on my eyelids.  Another product I love is their lip scrub, Sweet Lips, which was another mandatory item when living in the desert.

I am a certifiable LUSH fanatic! If you have never been and have a LUSH accessible to you, GO, GO NOW!!!!  Or shop online.  I have absolutely no idea what you are waiting for, an engraved invitation?  I'm working on it.  But go now!

Mice, Start Your Engines, And It's Here!!!

There are several things on my mental list of things to do since being back in the KC area. Last weekend was one of those events.

I should explain that we used to live on the best block. There were several houses of friends who got together socially fairly often. Honestly, it was a little more often than I could handle at times, but we just chose to participate when we could (i.e. not on Friday nights when I needed down time to recover from the week). I still don't know how they didn't go around naked from lack of clean clothes to wear (when did they ever find time to do laundry?). 

Anyway, there are so many people on that street we will stay in contact with... simply forever. There was always someone you could borrow an egg or a cup of sugar (or a fifth of Jack Daniels). When the weather was cruel and limbs were scattered around our yards like jenga sticks, we all went from yard to yard to yard and cleaned up together. It made life easier to deal with the crap mother nature throws at you. Oh yea, or like when it's an unexpected monsoon and you realize the basement sump pump can't keep up and the water is coming in the basement and you're seriously screwed, our friends came over in a pinch and helped (did I mention we just met them?). There is no other hood like it anywhere. Two of our closest friends were right next door (the two who helped during one of our many floods). So glad to be able to see them now.

One event we always used to attend was the yearly MOUSE RACES. Yes, you read that right. Mouse *races*. It is the most unique fund raiser. They sell entry tickets and you get all the beer you can drink. (Oh, did I mention that the folks we know in the old hood were pretty much the drinkers on the street.)  Think of dog races. Only with mice. And instead of a little bunny they try to catch, a hair dryer is used. I know, I know, it sounds mean, but they don't look scared. Just trust me on that so you are not all distraught and lose sleep over it. They are very happy looking mice.  See?

So they have 6 mice that run on their own track, and if your mouse wins, you split the winnings with the others who bet on the same mouse.  Here is a video of an actual Mouse Race:

The mouse winners from each race gets special participation. They get to be the "ball" in mouse-roulette. No, they don't spin the mouse around. That would be mean. They plop the mouse in the middle of a stationary wheel with pins around the edge, and if you chose the number between the pins the mouse crosses, you win big money! I was so hoping Suzie was going to win. She tried *really* hard. At least she won a door prize, and I heard her name. I was so excited they called her name!  The environment was extremely loud, so hearing the person next to you was difficult. 

A pic of Mouse Roulette:

After the races ended, they had a dance. I should have brought some Kinky to drink, but I forgot and the beer wasn't real tasty so I had not had enough to drink in order to dance. Inebriation is required for me to dance, cause frankly, it's not real pretty. Grace and coordination = not my best friends.

_________________
So, the long winter is OVER and it's Daytona time, Baby! And MY BOY is on the pole! Of course I'm taking about NASCAR.  What did you think--pole dancing?  Perv.  I was not ready for the race season to be over last November so it was a long dark season for me. My boy, Carl, has some winning to do.  Get ready to Start Your Engines!!!

_________________

It's here, it's here!  I got my Crappy Day Package today! I am so excited to have these beautiful packages of joy waiting for whenever I need something to improve my day. Aren't they positively wild?!?? I love the paper.

The lovely person who sent me my CDP is SuperJules.  I can't wait to read all about her!  I haven't had a bad day yet, so I'm saving them.  Cause I have a feeling, they are going to be needed.  Thanks, Doing My Best for coordinating!

_________________


Check back later this weekend for pics of my furry kids--their 9th birthday is SATURDAY!  I will be baking a cake soon.

It's Good To Be Back

I am so stinkin' happy to be back in the KC area.  We've seen so many great old friends within a 24 hour time span this weekend.  We saw Kevin & Suzie and the girls, Butch & Bev, Dave R (finally got to see him!), Mitch & Dawn and the kids, a ton of old and new pinhead friends at the pinball tournament last night, Ray & Becky, and Bill & Vera.  We've seen all these friends in the past day!  Wish I had remembered to take pics of the monthly pinball tournament last night to share, but I forgot.  I will remember next month.

 

We had a fabulous Mexican breakfast with Ray & Becky this morning.  I had (pork) salsa verde.  Mmmmmmm.  I can't wait to grow tomatillos, onions & cilantro in our garden and have a Mexican market in my own kitchen next summer.  The patron will be flowing.  (Note to self: buy an indoor lime tree.)  Rick Bayless is one of my favorite chefs.  I made one of his recipes last weekend and it was pretty good.  I am trying to make ourselves eat more vegetables.  I find that it is easier with Mexican food to do that.

 

We used to go to Mexican breakfast with Ray & Becky a couple of times a month back when we used to live here. It was fun finding a new dive with authentic Mexican cuisine.  You know it's good when you're the only table speaking English.  Speaking of tasty Mexican food, Ray slow cooked some incredible pork with arbole chilies all day yesterday.  He made soft tacos for us last night that I enjoyed even more than the salsa verde this morning.  I could eat Mexican food every day. 

It's definitely yummy to be back!

It's Pumpkin Time

We went to a pumpkin patch last Sunday on my birthday.  I think I may have gone to one over 20 years ago but never did the hayride.  And because I don't really remember it, it doesn't count.  I wanted to experience the pumpkin patch with Kevin & Suzie & their girls.  Since it was my birthday, Todd couldn't say no! 

They had many animals to visit since it was a working farm.  We saw a yellow lab puppy (chewing the front porch), a couple of pigs, geese, roosters, chickens, and who knows how many goats, donkeys and horses.  The most odd fowl we saw was a chicken (or maybe it was a rooster) with feathers on it's feet.  I don't know what I was thinking not taking a picture.  It was SO WEIRD to see a poof of feathers down like where you'd think of it's ankle.  I will have to do some research on that oddity.

Todd appreciating his favorite meat

(and Suzie starting early with the lesson of "never listen to Uncle Todd"):

We rode on the trailer full of hay bails out to the pumpkins:

It would have been way more impressive if there had been boat loads of pumpkins.  Should have gone earlier, but it was fun!  Next year, maybe we will do a corn maze.  The idea sounds intriguing.  I can just hear it now "Marco"...

Many of you probably already know this little trick, but I just learned about this.  Pumpkins rot from the outside to the inside.  So when you get your pumpkin, wash it in a sink full of water with two caps of bleach.  That will kill any bacteria on the outside.  Be sure to wash the entire stem and let it dry in the sun.  This will keep your pumpkins lasting longer!  All of mine still look like I just got them.

I leave you with this parting pic of one completely sweet baby:

And one cute cowgirl (LOVE those boots):

It's Just One Big Party

We've got some dear friends in the KC area, and we get to eat & drink with 4 of our dearest tonight!  Ray & Becky cook up a storm when we go to their place.  After we moved to Nevada, we really missed getting together with them Saturday nights at their place or ours and cooking & eatingdrinking with a little drinkingeating.  The cooks usually end up snockered before the food is served, but what do you expect when it takes that long to fix a table full of unbelievably yummy food?

Also, Kevin & Suzie get to be there and Suzie had a big birthday yesterday!  WAHOO for birthday weekends!!!  I can't wait to hear how her birthday surprise happy hour went.  I wish we could have been there, and I hope she had the best birthday.  Can't wait to catch up with them all.

In other news, Shadow, also known as Chateau after a few cocktails, has blended nicely into the family.  Our goldies are not exactly sharing a plate-licking with her, but they tolerate her just fine.  She seems very thankful to be part of the fam.

We have kind of a fourth doggy-visitor.  Nyla is a very friendly boxer.  I have never known a boxer and am amazed at her wonderful personality and desire for affection.  She likes to kiss all over the face of every other dog.  Abby can't really stand it, but Keystone doesn't seem to mind.  I think it's her way of saying, "Hi, You're CUTE!" in a friendly and expressive way.  We let her into the house in the evenings to chill out for just a little while to hang with us.  So she's like a niece to our kids.

And then there's Bo.  He is a tall, dark, lanky and extremely cautious boxer.  He is often found sitting in the field just staring.  At what, who knows?  He must have had traumatic experiences with people as a baby, because he is extremely skittish.  But as he has become familiar with us, he is getting closer and closer.  He has a crush on Shadow.  I think because we are taking good care of Shadow, he sees how happy we make her, and that makes him start to trust us.

In the morning, everyone goes out to potty, and they all race back in for a treat.  Whoever happens to be hanging around gets one.  Since Todd bought gargantuan sized dog bones, they get to eat them outside.  One day last week Bo was there.  He looked very interested in the treats but I could tell he felt conflicted.  How close should he get?!?  I must have looked fairly evil.  He got to within 15 feet of me, so I tossed him one.  He took it and hopped off a little ways and ate his new found prize.  TODAY?  I got to hand him his bone.  For a split second, I was connected to Bo by his treat.  THAT's progress.  He was really just over to say good morning to his little girlfriend, Chateau, and he got to see me too.