Hurricane Irene Has Left the Building........

Good Morning! Hurricane Irene visited us, and she wasn't a very pleasant guest. She took down two of our big pine trees in the backyard with her high winds and uprooted many others. She also took down a huge tree on the corner of my street which was so sad because I live on a tree-lined street, and I hate losing ANY trees. Thank goodness we are all safe, but we have no power so I am typing this using the power from a generator which we keep on several hours a day and then shut it down. Thank you so much for all the emails inquiring how we fared through all this. I am happy it's over and now we are just cleaning up after the wreckage. I am also grateful that when our two large pines fell into the yard that they missed not only my house but the concrete table! I love that table with its surrounding benches; I've had it for many years. Our wonderful neighbors have all come together sharing their generators with anyone who doesn't have one by plugging in to it with extension cords so each of us can have some service even if it's just for the refrigerator. We have no phones or cell service but that's okay. Everything will be fine and everyone is safe! I think this means we got a jump on Fall clean up cause a great deal of the leaves are down! I will write soon!

An Unwelcome Visitor This Weekend

Long Island is hosting an uninvited guest this weekend; Hurricane Irene. She'll be visiting the northeast coast from Saturday afternoon till Monday morning. Please don't be offended Irene....I usually am a very welcoming type person ; I love visitors, but you are creating a lot of extra work for everyone. Why couldn't you just visit us as a thunderstorm with some gusty winds? I love a good thunderstorm. But since you've decided to ignore my suggestions and visit beautiful Long Island in a very harsh way, I've been forced to batten down the hatches (as they say) and stock up on comfort food. Oh and put away every last thing in my yard that your high winds can take with you north of us to Boston! Every flower pot, every cute sign and decoration that took me all bloody Summer to find just the right place for. To stack up my chairs and collect my resin rabbits, squirrels and other assorted stuff out there in the garden that I cherish. Bill is busy putting away our patio table and chairs, and diverting our drain pipes far away from our house since we've heard you may drop 10-15" of rain upon us. I have stocked our home with the necessary supplies, and we will have lots of good things to eat even if we lose power. I have wonderful reading material of back issues of country decorating and craft magazines to read, Halloween craft books to look through, board games to play with the family and crafts to make. Lots of candles too. We will nest in our home till your worst is over , Irene and since you are coming and causing so much distraction may I just ask that you not overstay your welcome? Two days/one night is quite sufficient.

Some New Projects! and Plans in the Works!

Good Morning on this very beautiful day from Long Island! The humidity level has dropped significantly, thank goodness, and it is actually cool this morning! The whole week is only going to be in the high 70's -low 80's! Yippee! In my mind, it's already Autumn! I am dying to start my Fall decorating but I'm holding off till school starts on September 7th. I have started many Fall crafts though and started shopping for my supplies for my Halloween party. If you don't remember from last year's blog, every year I hold a kids Halloween party with friends and family and have done so for more than 15 years. It's been a great part of my life and something I look forward to more than I can put into words. It's amazing how the party has transformed from a small gathering of 6 in my original kitchen back in house Bill and I had in Smithtown in 1989 to it's most extreme with 93 people back in 2003 and now to a relatively workable number of about 25 which I much prefer. The party has evolved from niece and nephews who are now approaching 30 to my Caitlin and a whole new generation of cousins, friends and people I love. Every year I do many of the same favors for the party, which I will show in future posts, but I like to add at least one each year to keep it fresh, and I happily already found one. Hint: I need red cellophane...A simple craft but so much fun for me to create and Caitlin will help me too. Even Billy, at 12, still looks to work with me on the party, and he is now running the games for me! We even created two new games this year. My neighbor's daughter who is now Billy's age said something very sweet to me a number of years ago when I was crafting for the party and had thought of retiring one of the party favors I do every year (the ghost lollipop), thinking I need to eliminate some of the old standbys. She said "It wouldn't feel like your Halloween party if things are missing." That sure showed me how much she depended on consistency besides some new additions and it meant the world to me that she would even notice or care or realize for that matter! From the mouths of babes......Well, before I go on and on about my party, which I tend to do, let me move on to what I have been doing.
Like I always say, my blogging friends are huge inspirations, and seeing blogs such as Gina's -Cat Nap Inn Primitives, is always what gets me rolling! First off is my big reveal....drum roll please...I picked up this wide -seated chair at that house my husband is working on, remember when my sister and I were rummaging in the garage? Well, it's kind of beaten, the pictures don't show the damage so well and the seat cushion was damaged and dirty and smelly :( soooooo I recovered the seat and did a redo of paint in my favorite burgundy w/black and there she is!
I also did a redo of this little pumpkin planter that I picked up at a garage sale replacing the plastic flowers with silk leaves, The pumpkin guy has the cutest face! Coming up, I plan to use these little felt farm animals for a craft. I picked them up at AC Moore about three years ago, forgot I had them, found them and have decided to either blanket stitch them to a pillow or I have been studying some Amish crafts that are pieces of material to create scenes. I can use them in that. You've seen these projects before; I actually showed one of my favorites many posts back...they are a scene inside an embroidery hoop. These farm animals were so cute I couldn't pass them up at the time and knew I would find a use for them. They have strings attached to them as if they are ornaments so I think when I bought them I thought I might make a lighted themed farm tree. I love making decorated, lighted table top trees.
My Girl Scout Daisy Troop doesn't meet until October but that didn't stop them from being creative and generous. I mentioned before how our troop is working on the service project making doggy gift bags for the dogs who responded on 9/11 to search for injured and deceased when the towers collapsed. The dogs and their handlers are being recognized for their valiant efforts. Our troop,along with many others, decorated bags filled with treats for them. They are going to be shipped to the canine units. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of their artwork before I drop the box off at Girl Scout Headquarters.

That's about if for me! Time to start my day! Hope you have a good one!

Treasures From An Old House & more

It's after 10pm and believe me I would normally be shutting the light out to go to sleep about now! I'm a morning person so 10pm is my bedtime usually. Today was such a fun day that I haven't settled down yet. Remember a while back I told you about a house that my husband was renovating that had been owned by an old woman? Not the blue house from a few posts back but the one where we wanted to get into the house and garage and search through what was left behind....ring a bell? If not, well briefly --my husband is rebuilding/renovating a house that had been owned by an old woman who died several years back. Her kids had not made a move to empty the house till now when they decided to sell it. They had left alot of boxes behind and my husband, who always thinks of me, has let me rummage through what I could. I had gotten a few good things (one being the old shoe shine box I refinished) but then he put that job on hold to go to another project and I never got to go into the garage where more boxes were stacked. Last night he said he would be working near there and that I should go to the house and check out the boxes in the garage before he rid the place of them. I called my sister, who is also a collector, #1 because sharing your treasures is fun and #2 because she would do the same for me :) and we went to the house this morning. My husband opened up the garage door for us and I was sure there would be some good stuff. The garage and the boxes smelled very badly but rummage through we did. I'll hold my breath if I have to! I'm digging and so is she and we got some good stuff! I found the cutest little boxes that I am going to redo and hang in my craft room that say "needles", "snaps", "thread". They are so cute. Especially the one with the little girl sitting on it. It even has a mini pin cushion! I loved it! I got an almost complete set of dishes (china) that have a lovely pine cone design, odd bowls and dishes, some other gorgeous plates, some little tea sets and cups, some old red handled utensils and old tools, old irons, two great jars with handles that I am going to fill with potpourri and a votive candle! I got a really nice egg dish with a rooster crowing in the center which was a great find since I have a house filled with rooster stuff! Lots of great stuff! I got it all home and washed it all! I can't wait to start working on some of it! There was a nice bench that my husband is going to bring home for me that didn't fit in my sister's car as well a very nice old fashioned chair that she is taking. A worthwhile trip for sure. I haven't named half of it. I also got a Holly Hobbie music box which I will cherish. Love Holly Hobbie so much (as you can tell from my blog). I grew up in the 70's and I think anyone who did also shares a love for Holly Hobbie.

I couldn't resist posting a photo of Robin enjoying the jungle gym tree house. He's such a love. The other day Caitlin brought her paint set and some paper up to the tree house, and Robin was right in the middle. He loves kids so much.

We had a couple of cooler days this week and it really got me moving! I just hate the heat and I feel I have no energy even with the a/c on. Give me some cooler days, and I am as energetic as they come! We are in for more humid weather starting tomorrow but I think since it's Sunday, when I go to church I will pray for COOL weather!!!!

We've started getting our supplies for school together. Even though school doesn't start until September 7th, we do get our supply lists early and I like getting the items ahead of time. I've also been busy with Daisys. We are participating in a couple of service projects. One is supplying gift bags of dog treats, biscuits and toys for the canine unit that responded for the September 11th tragedy. My troop decorated brown paper lunch bags and collected items for dogs to put inside them. We also collected candy bars for their handlers. They will be shipped to where the unit of dogs is currently working so they are getting a doggy care package. God Bless them all. We are also collecting school supplies for the needy, and also making Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) cards for our local Jewish Nursing Home.I have found out that Rosh Hashanah is their highest holy day. We have two girls in our troop who are Jewish and just as we enjoy doing Christian activities for our local churches, I think it's important that we embrace ALL the girls in our troop. In the Spring, we did an Easter Request from St Anthony's Catholic Church and collected chocolate bunnies and candy as well as egg coloring kits and baskets for those who needed them in our community. When I called the Gurwin Jewish Center nursing home to ask if they preferred Rosh Hashanah decorations or homemade New Years cards for the residents, they were so happy and said cards would be appreciated and would be handed out during their religious service. I asked how many residents there were and she told me 460! Well, I only have 13 girls in my troop so we may come up a little short! We'll do a big bunch though! I''ll enlist the help of my Mom and sister on this mission and anyone else who walks through the front door for that matter! I'll hand them some crayons and some Rosh Hashanah pictures and demand they color and fold them into cards! Happy New Year! Now sit down and color!

Daisy Girl Scouts is about serving your community and giving of yourself ---we enjoy it and we are, with these activities not only serving the needy, but the older people in our society and dogs too! Whew! Now I am tired and ready for bed! Good night!

Busy August Days!

Well, it's only a lil' after 7am and it's already quite hot here! I think it's gonna reach the high 80's, which is too hot for me! Gonna break for the weekend, thank goodness! Bring on the cool temps of Autumn! PLEASE! As I once heard someone say "I keep better in the cold." :) Even with the heat, I have been pretty busy with some projects and other things. I worked on two rag wreaths and started squares for a poke one. The rag wreaths I did are the tie on kind, the poke one is when you push squares of fabric into styrofoam wreath form. I enjoy doing them both. The rag one that you tie is definitely gonna be getting a haircut as I don't want it too shaggy! I went to the fabric store and found some really pretty fabric for the poke wreath so I've been cutting my squares. Caitlin also got two beautiful handmade bead bracelets--one for herself and one for one of her Sunday school guides. My sister-in-law Linda, who has never crafted but always wanted to, started a rag wreath this weekend and loved it. It's always nice to see someone being creative especially when they are making it for their home. I've also worked on two painting projects. One I gave away before I could photograph it but the other I will show when it's done. The colors of Fall are so inspiring to me! I'm looking for some pretty flowers to redo an adorable garage sale find and when I look through Michaels or AC Moore and see all the silk leaves, and thistle and beautiful yellows and rusts and browns of all the flowers they have, I just want to buy it all, run home and create!!! Autumn is my nesting time of year.

Besides all my personal hobbies, we've also been busy with library club. Caitlin has finished enough books to earn her ticket for the show this year. Last year it was a magic show, this year it is a reptile show ....She is excited, me not so much ;)......I know snakes are God's creatures too but on the list of animals I love they are pretty far down....way down...way, way, way down...BUT as I said, she is excited, she completed her commitment to read the books which is the most important thing and now she will see, I am sure, a really wonderful show. School begins after Labor Day on either September 6th or 7th so I'm glad we still have some time to be home and have fun. Caitlin starts first grade and Billy starts 7th grade. Our wonderful school has an amazing curriculum, and I feel so blessed to be in the school district I am in. My husband and son are going on a chartered fishing boat with a group of others on the last weekend of August. It's a four hour fishing trip, which I think is a good amount of time. They did it last year and loved it.

We took a nice ride out east on Sunday, and I stopped at a farm to see the turkeys and chickens as I was feeding the turkeys I spied a lazy ole cat relaxing on a wagon that had plants for sale. This lazy guy had been enjoying himself a nap till he saw me and then he stretched, meowed and went back to sleep! What a cutie!

Time for me to get rolling! Oh, before I go, you must checkout the giveaway at Raggedy Creations! A Pumpkin Penny Rug!!!!! It's a beauty! I'm crossing my fingers!! Good luck!

Here's What I've Been Up To!

Howdy! The Summer heat is still strong but thankfully not as hot as it was last week and the week before. We are not used to temps in the high 90's here on Long Island. It slows us New Yorkers down! We have gotten a couple of good thunderstorms to break the heat, and I love those! I enjoy a good thunderstorm as long as it isn't so severe it causes damage~~you know the kind, just a few cracks of thunder and lightning...Anyway, I have been busy with alot of things. Caitlin completed her week of VBS and it wrapped with a fair for the whole family! The incredible thing was that the whole fair was free! (as was the VBS!) As the Pastor told us Sunday "VBS is free because God's word is". What a great way to look at it. There were carnival games to play, a general store to get little items such as punching balloons, bracelets, balls, etc. and a bouncy house, a GIANT slide, food and more. Caitlin earned VBS "cash" during her week by behaving, by learning a bible verse every day, by being kind, and more and she had lots of tickets. It was such a fun night.

Thanks for the emails about my little mischievous bunnies. Here they are enjoying some oatmeal and bok choy. Those little guys have won our hearts over BIG TIME. My husband cuddles them and kisses them just like I do! :) The cutest thing happened the other morning. I have 5 cats and 2 outdoor cats. Four of the five cats do not go outside except for a few minutes on nice days for a breath of air right in our yard where I can see them. The other morning, Robin (the black one) and Dutchess (the calico) went out at about 8:00 am and were relaxing. Then when I went to call them to come in a few minutes later, Robin was up in Caitlin's jungle gym playhouse!!!! He must have walked up the slide! When Caitlin woke up and she saw him, she ran to her house and Robin ,who just LOVES kids ,was so happy and they hung out in the playhouse for more than a half hour! It was adorable. He rubs against Caitlin's legs and almost knocks her down!

I got some really nice fabric the other day for some projects I'm working on. I'm making rag wreaths out of the two greens and a couple of pillows out of the others. Plus, I'll use the scraps from the pillows for another wreath. I love making them--big and small. I also redid a little birdie basket I had and it now hangs from a hook by my kitchen sink. I have two paints redos almost done---my son did one of them. He has discovered the joy of painting projects. So I guess we have all been keeping busy!

Saturday afternoon, my kids and I went to a garage sale a few blocks away and got some goodies. I got two boxes of ceramic ghost napkin holders (perfect for my Halloween brunches), some scarecrows, a metal witch, a really cool candle holder with a witch that you hang on the wall with a votive. It's all metal and I know my friend Mary will love it cause she loves odd items like that. What else did I get...a wooden snowman and some other harvest arrangements. Some I will keep as is, and some I will redo! My son got my sister a little chicken in a nest that is actually a covered box. He always remembers that Christine and I decorate with roosters and chickens, and he knew she would like that. All in all a good sale, and I only spent $7.

One more thing to mention, we have a new "family" outside. A raccoon family! We always have a lot of raccoons and possums here; they come out at dusk searching for food. I'm used to the raccoons coming right up to the house looking for cat food so I'm never scared but I never approach either. Well, the other night at about 7:30, along came a Mom and Dad and three little ones! They have come every night since so I been adding more scraps for them. I know alot of you might think I'm crazy. I never get close and I don't encourage them to come to the door. But where we live in a suburban neighborhood, our raccoons are VERY used to people. They live among us! I feel as though we took their land for houses that are built, and we have displaced them so now most of them live in sumps, some wooded areas and they even live in old sheds. They enjoy cat food as their diet because so many people feed cats and that's what they've gotten used to. They don't fear us; they treat us like neighbors. But I NEVER take that for granted and give them their food when I have some on the patio. I have to say, they respect me for it because my garbage pails are never touched or dumped over, Those little baby faces of the three babies are so cute and the Mom and Dad are so protective. With all the news you hear on tv, I have come to believe that in some cases, animals are better parents to their children then some adults are! I watch how the Mom and Dad strategically place themselves when the babies are eating to protect them and speak to each other in a low tone. It's true! Oh and my little squirrel buddies who devour all the peanuts I give them, are all in the doghouse this week! I'm just kidding though I wasn't so happy to find they have shredded a little pillow on my porch for the batting material within it! Some day I will scold them :0 hahaha I understand they are building their nests cause Autumn is coming! SO I took the rest of the batting out of the pillow and put it in an open bird feeder so that the birds and squirrels can just take what they need. Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose! When my sister brushes her German Shephered, she puts the huge wad of fur out for the birds to take and guess what? She saw his fur entwined in a robin's nest in her front bushes! Warm and cozy!

That's my story and I'm sticking with it ;) Have a great day!