Happy Homemaker Monday

I finally made it to Happy Homemaker Monday! No thanks to US Cellular who I spent over an hour on the phone with today with NO satisfaction whatsoever! Sooo frustrating! But on to happier thoughts...

Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom is the weekly host of Happy Homemaker Monday! Check out her blog to see what she's up to. Trust me, she is one busy lady!!!

The weather...At 3:00 in the afternoon it finally hit 60 degrees and it is very windy! It has been super windy for the last 3 or 4 days!

Right now I am...On hold again with US Cellular to try to resolve the issues! Wish me luck although I am not counting on resolution.

Thinking...About how thankful I am that we are changing our cell phone carrier to another company!!! This is not the first time I have spent hours on the phone trying to resolve issues with them. Hmmm...I did say onto happier thoughts didn't I. Guess I am stuck in my frustration!

On my reading pile...I am reading The Replacement Wife by Eileen Gouge on my iPad via the Kindle App; Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (a real-life, hard back book); our read aloud right now is Treasure Mountain by Louis L'Amour (another book in the Sackett series)

On my TV...Nothing I am interested in at the moment although I may check out the links for Downton Abbey that Sandra gave in her Happy Homemaker Monday:)

On the menu for this week...I am thinking about trying some more new soups this week. Definitely soup weather! Will let you know what I try!

On my to do list...

• Clean the bathroom
• Mop the kitchen floor
• Make thank you cards to send to customers and downline
• Get cell phone issues resolved and new phone activated!

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating...

• Still working (or not working) on a pair of socks. I need to get back to it.
• Need to get back to Granny Square afghan I was working on a few months ago. Time to put the squares together:) Now that the weather is cooler it will be more fun than when it was hot and sticky!
• Cards, cards and more cards to create!

Looking around the house...

• Kitchen floor really needs some attention
• Bathroom is half cleaned
• Need to make the bed...AT 3:00 IN THE AFTERNOON!!!
• Table looks like something exploded

It really doesn't pay to be sick around here! Oh well, I should have it all back in order in a day or two. Working with what energy I have!

From the camera:

Loved this potting bench we saw at the Oregon State Fair! Do you think Hubby will build me one?

On my prayer list...

• Young friend working in China for 10 months!
• Family needing a house to rent.
• Couple getting a divorce.

Bible verse/Devotional...

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. --John 14:27

Well, that's it for me today! I hope you are having a great day:)

Kat

Sunday Night Chit-Chat

I am so thankful my cold has subsided enough for me to be able to do the Sunday Night Chit-Chat this week! Friday and Saturday were terrible but today has been some better so hopefully I am over the worst and on my way to a full recovery! 

My photo for the Chit-Chat is of some new fabric I purchased while up visiting my daughter! It is part of the Sassy Shoes collection (designed by me-O-my for Spectrix Fabrics) and I LOVE it!!! I am a true shoe-a-holic so this fabric is right up my alley! There were some more prints I should have gotten but had to go easy with the $$$ so limited myself to these. I am thinking about a tote bag and one of Carla's cute Zippy Wallets (tutorial)

Okay, on with the Sunday Night Chit-Chat! Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily is our weekly host. If you haven't checked out Carla's blog, you are really missing out! Carla inspires me with all of her wonderful creations! This winter I really am going to sew! I've been saying that since I retired 3 1/2 years ago but this time I really mean it!!!

I am...

Reading...The Replacement Wife by and Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (I thought I lost it between DD's and home but found it this morning so now can finish). 

Listening to...The wind and our darling bulldog snoring.

Watching...Not sure what's on the agenda. I have been spending more time reading lately but can't crochet and read at the same time so will need to find something good or my projects won't get finished.

Cooking/Baking...The weather turned cold and rainy plus I was sick so have been making soups all week. I tried a couple of new ones that I will have to share with you...especially the Curried French Green Lentil Soup! Today we are having Mizidra. Everyone here loves it so it shows up on the menu at least twice a month! I have a big batch of Granola ready to go in the oven tonight:) I used to make all of our bread but we started having problems with the wheat (especially me) so have started buying Sprouted Wheat Bread. I have a couple of recipes for Sprouted Wheat Bread that I want to try but if you have had success with making it, please pass along your recipe! I really miss making my own bread:(

Happy I accomplished this week...I really didn't accomplish much of anything! I caught up on the laundry after being gone for a week and got a little bit of house work done but that was it! I didn't even feel much like reading with my stuffy head.

Looking forward to next week...

• Being able to share some of the cards I made on my blog
• Picking up my stamping order from my friend Barb...tomorrow!!! Lots of fun new stamping things to play with. I spent waaayyy too much money this month so will really have to reign in next month!
• Playing with my new stamping stuff!!!
• Having an unstuffy head! Do you think it's possible?!!!

Thankful for today...I am starting to feel better:) So very thankful for that!

*Bonus Question* What is the largest sum of money I have ever found? 

I think it was a $5 bill in my coat pocket when I wore my coat for the first time in the Fall. I am a great one for tucking money in pockets and forgetting about it! 

Halloween Wiper Card

I am not a fan of Halloween but did make a few Halloween cards with my daughter. This one was totally CASEd (remember, that means Copy and Share Everything) from Dawn Griffith at Dawn's Stamping Thoughts! Yup! Dawn has a video to show you just how to make this card! Did you know that Dawn was the first blog I started following when I was thinking about becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator?!!! She is amazing!!! Thank you, Dawn, for such great ideas!

Are you scared?! This card is pretty easy to make and has a great WOW! factor! Be sure to try it!

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! products:

• Paper: Pumpkin Pie and Very Vanilla card stock; Modern Medley Designer Series Paper
• Ink: Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie
• Stamp Sets: Spooky Bingo Bits (retired) and Halloween Happiness
• Other: Labels Framelits, Glue Dots, Sticky Strip and Dimensionals

Have a great weekend!

Kat

Free Standing Pop-up Card

DD and I made a lot of cards last week while I was visiting her. It was such fun to try new (to me) cards I saw on the internet and then show her how to do them! We covered her dining room table with white paper (on the roll) so we could stamp our little hearts out plus be able to make notes to later transfer into our books!

This card was inspired and CASEd from my upline Linda Gutierrez at Stamping Year Round. The link will take you right to the video showing how to do this card:) I will be making a similar card with my Happy Stampers next month but we will use a different stamp set.

Card closed and ready to put in envelope for mailing--genius!

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! products:

• Card stock: Basic Black, Lucky Limeade (retired), and Whisper White
• Day of Gratitude stamp set (retired)
• Ink: Old Olive, Cajun Craze and Early Espresso (my pad needs re-inking)
• Other: Dimensionals and Glue Dots

Be sure to check out Linda's video and blog for great ideas and instructions!

Kat

French Bulletin Board

I got home on Monday from my daughter's with a sore throat. Today the sore throat became a full-blown cold so I am stuffy, headachy and just a little bit cranky:( Tuesday and Wednesday I was recovering from my week-long visit and trying to get some laundry and other housework done. Whew!

When I left home, it was still summer and warm; when I came home Fall came and brought some coolish, rainy weather. I don't think I was finished with summer yet!!!

Three or four years ago my daughter and I bought some canvases to use to make French Bulletin Boards. Alas, it never got done! So armed with hubby's new Dewalt Staple Gun I told my daughter this was a project we were going to get done! Off to Joann's we went to purchase fabric, batting, ribbon and buttons! Did I mention that this was my first one EVER! Well, I got it done except for the buttons. Darling Daughter, not being a sewer, didn't have thread to finish the project (or a glue gun for those of you who would have glued the buttons on) so the next day we visited the new fabric store in town, Loving Stitches, to purchase some heavy duty thread to finish up the project. So, this is what the finished project looks like...

My eight-year old granddaughter loves puppies and this was for her room. I think she picked out some pretty cute fabric, don't you? I will make one for my daughter's craft room when I go up in December.

I hope you are having a great week!

Kat

Happy Birthday Darling Daughter!

I really thought I would have time to blog this week at my daughter's  but we have busy, busy, busy! I haven't even made it to the new fabric store yet (Sunday, I think)! Yesterday a couple of her stamping friends came over and we stamped our little hearts out! When they left DD and I just kept stamping:D Finally about 7:30 I started making mistakes so decided it was time to quit! Whew!!! 

One of the cards we made yesterday I need to wait to show you because it is a swap card that dear Mieka showed us. It was VERY time-consuming but what a great result!!! However, I have other cards to show and will be making more today! Whoo Hoo!

DD is off to a Birthday Party Coffee Morning with the neighbor ladies this morning. Can you believe that two of her neighbors have the same birthday as she does--TODAY! And another one is Monday! My granddaughter got sick yesterday so stayed home from school yesterday and today. Sooo, gramma is having some granddaughter time while daughter is celebrating her birthday:)

First card is the card I made my daughter for her birthday.

She loves the Dress-up Framelits so decided to use them to make her card! I added some Glimmer Paper and Bling to make up for the fact that I reminded her of her age on this card:0

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! supplies:

• Paper: Midnight Muse, Pink Pirouette and Basic Black card stock; Silver Glimmer Paper
• Ink: White Stazon
• Occasional Quotes stamp set (retired)
• Other: Dress-up Framelits, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die (thank you, Barb) and Basic Rhinestones

Next up are the cards I made and gave to her neighbor-friends...

 

I CASEd a card I saw on Pinterest done by Jackie Topa at Addicted to Stamping! The link will take you to her blog post with video! I LOVE the videos!!! Thanks, Jackie!

The one on the left is made using Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade (retired) and Whisper White card stock; the middle one is made using Bashful Blue (retired), Midnight Muse and Whisper White card stock; the one on the right is made using Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade (retired) and Whisper White card stock. I used the NEW Envelope Punch Board to make the closure! Stamp set is Flower Shop and I used the Pansy Punch to punch out the popped-up flowers.

 

Check out what the inside looks like with the Starbucks Card in the pocket! Jackie shows a male version on her video. I may make several of these for Christmas gift cards!

Have a great day!

Kat

Sunday Night Chit-Chat

It's time once again for the Sunday Night Chit-Chat hosted each week by Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily. For my picture tonight I chose this one of two of our dogs playing tug-of-war with a toy that they hardly ever play with. The funny part was Rocky, our English Bulldog, was just holding on to the toy. However, Petey, our 13 year old miniature dachshund, was growling and pulling on the toy--doing all the work! This went on for at least 1/2 hour! So funny! They they both abandoned the toy and went off to find something more interesting!

I am...

Reading...The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. and Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy

Listening to...The wind and the dog chewing on his bone.

Watching...Hoping to watch Secret Millionaire tonight:)

Happy I accomplished this week...Stamping Club and order; ready to go to DD's  tomorrow

Looking forward to next week...A whole week visiting my daughter and granddaughter!!!

Thankful for today...The thunderstorm that came blew over quickly with no damage!

*Bonus Question* Do I still have my air conditioning on? Yes, the heat is still with us so we have been using the air conditioning still! Hoping it cools down a little soon.

Well, that's it for me tonight!

Kat

Happy Stampers Meet Again

Good Morning one and all! First off, I want to wish my friend, Margarita, a very happy 40th birthday today! She is living in Japan so on her side of the world her birthday was yesterday but here, now, it is today:) I have a huge amount of admiration for this woman who is a Navy wife, mother of 3, stamper and crafter extraordinaire and a wonderful friend. She is one of my daughter's best friends. I feel fortunate to have met her and become friends with her over the last five years. Margarita became part of my Stampin' Up! downline a year and a half ago but has been stamping for years! Happy Birthday Margarita!!! Remember, the best is yet to come!

Now, onto the task at hand before I get all teary thinking about Margarita so far away! 

My wonderful Happy Stampers Club met last night and we had sooo much fun! I know I say that every month but last night we just seemed to have a little more fun than normal:) Kim volunteered to bring a Halloween project which ended up being two projects because she couldn't decide which one to do! Thank you, Kim! They were both fun, fun, fun!!! At the last minute we decided to switch them up a bit with the Spider Web Embossing Folder (retired) and it gave both of the projects a real WOW! factor!

First up...

The card on the left was made by someone following directions and the card on the right was made by someone not following directions (me!). You have to stamp, then emboss! We had even talked about it and then I didn't do it! Oh, well, plan B...stamp on white card stock, use Labels Framelits to cut it out and then make it look a bit ghastly by sponging black on the edges! Definitely an acceptable substitute! I don't know the names of the stamp sets we used on this card but do know they are retired. 

Second card...

Whoa! This one is just too cute! For this one we used the Halloween Happiness stamp from the Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog! Too cute! The ribbon used on both of these projects is a retired Stampin' Up! ribbon and I wish I had several spools of it! 

I stamped the inside of both cards with the same sentiment but added the cute little pumpkin to this one. 

Thank you Kim for these great projects! I know everybody enjoyed them!

Well, I'm off to try to get something done today so I will be back tomorrow with our third project using the NEW Envelope Punch Board!

Thanks for stopping by today:)

Kat

Happy Mail

Just a quick post today as my Happy Stampers meet tonight and I take that opportunity to have a town day. I live 45 minutes from where we meet so it's not a quick trip to town. I use the day to run errands and visit friends before our stamping club meets in the evening.

But before I get to today's card, I want to say a big THANK YOU to Cindy at Just North of Wiarton... She is such an amazing and thoughtful person! We are blog friends but she calls me occasionally and you would think we had known each other our entire lives! She called yesterday and it really made my day! Her blog is truly a fun read! Thank you Cindy for your uplifting phone call!

I always enjoy some Happy Mail and especially cards from my downline and customers (hint! hint! hint!)! The card I have for you today is from Charina. She also sent me the card I posted HERE. At the time of her first card she lived near Seattle and stamped with my daughter and my downline Margarita. Her Navy husband has since been stationed in southern California and she signed up as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator under Margarita! Lots of changes. Margarita is no longer living next door to my daughter as her Navy husband is now stationed in Japan. Margarita will be introducing Stampin' Up! in her new community!

On to the card or this quick post won't be so quick...

I haven't tried one of these Chalkboard-type cards yet and don't know what I'm waiting for. It's not like I'm afraid of wasting card stock in the process of learning as I do that ALL the time! I will just have to get my stuff out and do it! The other card I am intimidated by is the Waterfall card. But hey, if I can crochet doilies, I can make a Waterfall card! Again, I digress.

She used just the right amount of smudge on the blackboard. It shows a little more here because my flash insisted on going off--grrr! Someday I will get a real camera! Love the woodgrain around the blackboard and the adorable banner! Thank you so much Charina for sending me this card!

Well, I'm off to get my stamping stuff loaded in the card to get ready to go to town. It looks like my appointments may be trying to exceed time allotted but oh well, what else is new?!!!

Kat

Flower Shop Step-up Card

Yesterday was not a good day! About 7:00 Sunday night my muscles and joints started aching--even my fingers and toes! I was miserable! Then yesterday the pain continued but I woke up this morning and other than feeling like somebody beat me up, I am sooo much better!

This is the original card I posted last week...

The supplies I used can be found HERE. To be honest, I really like the simplicity of this card and those large pearls really jazz it up. However, I made a stab at "stepping it up". I didn't do as much as I wanted to because I wanted to stay with the same colors but didn't have any ribbon that would work.

For this one I used Candy Dots instead of Basic Pearls; Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine (retired); Pansy Punch and Dimensionals!

Which one do you like best?

I am working on some WOW! cards today so can't wait to share them with you:) Oh, and I got my new Envelope Punch Board that I will be playing with as well! Woo Hoo!!!

Kat

Sunday Night Chit-Chat

Guess what time it is? Yes, you would be right...Sunday Night Chit-Chat time:) We are hosted each week by the super talented Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily. 

My picture this week is of my DS checking out the new Kubota tractors at the state fair. I think he left a little drool on this one. We didn't take one home with us but it's not because we didn't want one!

Let's get on with the Chit-Chat!

I am...

Reading...The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.

Listening to...The saw as hubby and DS are finishing up the deck repair.

Watching...Hoping to watch Secret Millionaire tonight but it wasn't on last week so hope it is tonight!

Cooking/Baking...I made the yummiest salsa today...Tomatillo Onion Avocado Salsa. It was so good I was eating it with a spoon:) Super quick and easy in the food processor.

Happy I accomplished this week...I got nearly half the cards made and delivered that needed to be done. About 15 more this week and I should be caught up!

Looking forward to next week...My Happy Stampers meet this week! A week early because I will be visiting DD and DGD the following week:) 

Thankful for today...All the yummy fruit in the garden, especially the grapes right now! Also thankful that hubby and DS are finishing up the deck project. Whew! Now they will clean the whole thing (old and new) with a peroxide mixture and then seal it up so it will be good for winter! And thankful that one of my Happy Stampers has prepared two projects for us to do on Wednesday which leaves me only one to prepare! Thank you, Kim!

*Bonus Question* Do I have a celebrity crush? WOW! That's a tough one because it's pretty hard to be hunkier than my hubby but I would have to say Tom Selleck would be a close 2nd:P Sean Connery has always been a favorite as well!

Well, that's it for me tonight! Tomorrow is Happy Homemaker Monday! 

Kat

Five Things Friday

Today I am a little bit scattered and maybe a bit discombobulated! Not sure why, just one of those days! I call these my ADD days! Just bouncing from one thing to the next but not finishing anything! Let's see if I can finish this post!

We have had thunderstorms the last couple of days so turned our internet off Wednesday night and yesterday to avoid a hit. A couple months ago we got a hit and it took out one of our phones and the internet. Fortunately, hubby was able to plug the internet into another port on the board and we were back up. We didn't turn it on until last night when I wanted to download the next book in Louis L'Amour's Sackett series, Treasure Mountain. Only three books left to go in this series of 17 books. 

When I saw that Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily was doing Five Things Friday, I thought I would play along! Sooo...

1. Cardmaking...This week I made and mailed off one Thank You card to hubby's client plus made and delivered 9 cards to my Stampin' Up! customers. I have my "stepped-up" card completed but still need to make 3 more for my wonderful downline! Hope to get those mailed off on Monday. I need to make 4 downline cards and 8 customer thank you cards for last month when I wasn't feeling up to making cards at all. Sunday and Monday I will be getting ready for my Happy Stampers Club that's meeting on Wednesday--a full week early because I be visiting my DD and DGD the following week!

2. Garden...We are enjoying the very last of our peaches:( But the grapes are on and producing great! I can't seem to get enough of them!!! We also have LOTS of raspberries that I need to quit eating and put in the freezer:) The tomatoes are producing slowly...lots of green ones! Cucumbers, oh so yummy! We don't have as much in the garden this year but what we have is delicious!!!

3. Knitting...I am working on my sock but am at a place where I need to tear out a bit. I got messed up on the gusset so will tear back to the end of the heel flap and see if I can figure out where I went wrong. However, if I can't figure it out I have a wonderful friend (Barb) who can help me out of my jam:) I am hoping I will have two sock finished here soon!

4. Reading...Well, a couple weeks ago I went to the Library and saw an audio book by Nora Roberts called The Perfect Home. But discovered this was book 3 of The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy. Well, the library didn't have book 1 on audio but had it in book form which I prefer anyway. So I got book 1 and 2, read them and picked up book 3 this week and finished it up this morning. I hadn't read Nora Roberts before and probably won't again but this was an interesting read--obviously as I read 3 books in less than 3 weeks! Nora Roberts is one of my daughter's favorite authors. Now, I can settle down and finish The Iodine Crisis by Lynne Farrow to be followed by The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. As I said above, we are still working through Louis L'Amour's Sackett series for our read aloud most evenings.

5. Cooking...When it's hot I don't cook much; we mainly eat raw or quick and easy. However, last night I was in the mood for Garbanzo Oat Burgers and wasn't disappointed! Yummy! Today I am going to have some with baked sweet potatoes and a salad! I need to make a big batch of Granola so may mix up a batch today to bake tonight. It turns out perfect when I let it bake at a low temperature overnight--no need for stirring!

6. Blogging...I know it's supposed to five things but I just wanted to add one more! Some people might think that when a blogger doesn't blog it's because they don't have anything to share and that might be the case with some. However, for me that will NEVER be the case as I have sooo many things I want to share! Some of my readers have commented to me privately or asked me if something was wrong as over the last couple of months, even when I did blog, it wasn't with the same enthusiasm as I normally have. Depression set in for me just before my birthday in July (no, it wasn't age related) and didn't leave until just recently. I felt guilty because I have sooo much to be thankful for and no reason to be depressed but that didn't help either. Well, the crisis has passed. Thank you to all who realized something was wrong and were praying for me. Sometimes it's hard to ask for help in the midst of the storm.

Well, I think I have sufficiently told you more than you care to know so I will be off to get this messy house cleaned and some cooking done!

Have a great weekend and I will be back Sunday night for the Sunday Night Chit-Chat! 

Kat

Flower Shop Thank You

Yesterday afternoon was spent delivering Stampin' Up! orders to my Happy Stampers and visiting my little heart out! It was a good day! Tucked into each Stampin' Up! bag was a Thank You card made by me:) This card was totally inspired by Robin Messenheimer at Robin's Craft Room. I will be working on a "stepped up" version today to send to my wonderful downline so hopefully will have that one for you tomorrow.

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! supplies:

• Card Stock: Whisper White and Wisteria Wonder
• Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder and Lucky Limeade (retired)
• Stamp Sets: Flower Shop and Sassy Salutations
• Other: Large Basic Pearls

This was a fun card to make and super quick and easy! I made 10 cards, start to finish, in less than an hour:) While I love to make fussy, complicated cards it's nice to have an arsenal of quick and easy cards for when you need them!

Have a great day!

Kat

September Design Team Projects

Good Morning to all of you in blogland! Summer is coming to an end and I can feel the nip in the air that signals Fall's fast approach. We are having nippy nights and very warm days. I try not to complain about the heat because I know that all too soon we will have frost on the ground and I will have to trade in my flip flops for warm fuzzy boots! I hope my flip flops can remember how much I love them through all those cold months! Oh, but that's not what this blog post is about! I could do a whole week of blog posts on SHOES! But, alas, I will spare you:)

This month I created two Design Team projects for The Cupboard Trilogy Challenges! Usually I feel really lucky to get just one done plus commenting on my share of the entries. Last month we had an amazing 75 entries--WOW! There were some pretty amazing cards entered! The theme for September is Male--my hardest category! However, when I think of Male cards, my mind immediately goes to The Open Sea stamp set by Stampin' Up! Love it!!! So that is the first one I took out to make this card...

I started out by deciding I wanted to make a 5" x 5" square card. Then I decided to create a background for my ship so stamped the log image in Crumb Cake and the world image in Early Espresso. Looking at it now, I think I would stamp the world image in Soft Suede but it is what it is:) My son saw this card and loved it so I guess when I finish the inside it will be his birthday card come November.

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up supplies:

• Card Stock: Midnight Muse, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla
• Classic Stampin' Pads: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Midnight Muse
• The Open Sea Stamp Set
• Punches: 1 3/8" Circle and 1 1/4" Circle
• Other: Stampin' Sponges, Dimensionals, Antique Brad and Linen Thread

For my second card I pulled out a retired favorite, . So what to do that I hadn't already done?!!! Nothing fancy but...

This time I decided cut my card stock at 4 1/4" x 11" and folded it in half to make the card 4 1/4" X 5 1/2", then laid it on it's side (opening on the right). 

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! supplies:

• Card Stock: Midnight Muse (can you tell I love that color!), Bashful Blue (retired) and Whisper White
• Ink: Midnight Muse and White Craft Ink
• On the Fly Stamp Set (retired)
• 7/16" Burlap Inspired Trim--Love it!!!

This one was super quick and easy! Move that left hand fishy to left a little bit and it would be "perfect"!

I have so many things backed up over the last month that I want to share with you but will just go one day at a time and do what I can do!

Thank you for stopping by today! I have more for you tomorrow so be sure to visit again!

Kat

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello and Happy Monday to you! Also Happy Labor Day! Actually, Hubby and DS are laboring on the deck at the moment; replacing boards that were rotting after nearly 20 years in the elements.

Welcome to Happy Homemaker Monday hosted each week by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Thanks, Sandra! Okay, let's get started...

The weather...We started out with a cool morning but it is heating up fast so will likely be in the high 90s today! We have a few clouds and some wind.

Right now I am...Waiting for the dishes in the dishwasher to cool off so I can put them away and waiting for the laundry to finish in the washing machine so I can hang it out.

Thinking...About all the cards I need to get made today.

On my reading pile...The Iodine Crisis by Lynn Farrow; The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts (book 2 in The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy); 350 Best Vegan Recipes (yes, I read recipe books); and our read aloud is Galloway by Louis L'Amour (another book in the Sackett series)

On my TV...Nothing! I was hoping to watch Secret Millionaire last night but it wasn't on. I have been reading a lot.

On the menu for this week...I will start planning menus next month. For now, it's whatever sounds good at the moment.

On my to do list...

• Pack up some stuff to take to the thrift store
• Make about 30 cards
• Clean out refrigerator
• Trip to town tomorrow to deliver Stampin' Up! and take stuff to thrift store

In the craft basket...

• Granny Square afghan--I will get back to it when it cools down a little; probably later this month.
• Socks--I took the sock apart I was working on and have it knitted through the heel flap and am working on the gusset. I have to take it apart again to the end of the heel flap cuz something's funny but will work through it. Hopefully will have at least one finished sock by next week. 

Looking forward to this week...I am looking forward to seeing friends tomorrow and to doing some stamping this week.

Looking around the house...Dining room table is littered with mail and books from the weekend. It tends to be our drop spot:( Kitchen is clean; dogs are sleeping in the living room. Hubby and DS had to make a run for more lumber (1 1/2 to the store and the same back).

From the camera...

Hubby found the Dave's Killer Bread Store in Clackamas last week!
He brought home lots of good sprouted wheat bread:)

On my prayer list...

• My granddaughter as she starts school this week--3rd grade.
• Joan, an 82 year young friend who has started sharing her faith through a blog I helped her create. This is helping her cope with the loss of her husband and her failing health. You can visit her at Vital Concerns. Leave her a comment or send her an email to encourage her:)
• Some friends making poor choices.

Bible Verse; Devotional...

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

Well, it looks like even with several interruptions, I still made it through this post! I will be back tomorrow with my Design Team projects for The Cupboard Trilogy Challenges. I actually did two this month!

Have a great day and a wonderful week!

Kat

Sunday Night Chit-Chat

I am beyond apologizing for not posting for the last week. I don't know what has been wrong with me for the last couple of months but surely this month I will be able to get back on a schedule so I can get something done!

It is time for the Sunday Night Chit-Chat hosted each week by the super busy and talented seamstress Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily. Her creations just keep getting better and better so hop on over if you get a chance to see what she has been sewing. Mondays are a favorite day for me to visit her blog because it's Warp & Weft Reveal Day! Always something fun to see! But let's get started with the Chit-Chat!

New cookbook hubby bought me last week:)

I am...

• Reading: The Iodine Crisis by Lynne Farrow
• Listening to: The gentle whirr of the ceiling fan and my hubby using the drill and skill saw outside (he's replacing boards on the deck).
• Watching: We just finished watching Abel's Field--great movie! I hope to watch Secret Millionaire tonight.
• Cooking/Baking: Still a little warm for much cooking or baking. Yesterday we made Eggplant Pizzas--very yummy! I ate the leftovers for breakfast this morning:) 
• Happy I accomplished this week: I caught up on some emails that were long overdue; survived week 4 of a special diet I have been on (more on that later); got my Design Team project done and submitted to The Cupboard Trilogy Challenges.
• Looking forward to next week: Getting back on some kind of a schedule!
• Thankful for today: God's love and saving grace.
• Bonus Question: What is your favorite thing about the fall months? I like the changeover to my fall wardrobe and being able to use the fall colors on my cards. 

Okay, that's it for me this week! I hope you are having a great Labor Day Weekend and I will be back tomorrow for Happy Homemaker Monday:)

Kat