Bye Bye August!

Last weekend of August already. The kids have until September 8th to enjoy their vacation from school. Caitlin had some fun this week going mini golfing and to an indoor trampoline place called Sky Zone. I love her sweet group of friends. I started sneaking out some Fall stuff....a little at a time. My leaves will be on the windows by Monday. I have a million silk leaves that I put up on all the windows and the sidelights of my front door. This is from last year on one of my sliders.

 

It's just gonna be quiet Saturday today. Some cleaning and laundry.

 

 

Putting some stuff away and taking some stuff out...

We'll see how far I get. I want to make apple fritters one of these days this weekend. I made stuffed cabbage the other night and it was so good! Here they are before they went into the oven.

When I'm busy I love making one pot meals like stew or crock pot stuff. It leaves me time to go into the shed and pull out the Fall stuff! I found this flag I bought at Michaels last year on clearance.

It's a Debbie Mumm flag and I paid $2! A mini flag. I put it out yesterday. Fall is coming!

Please join my facebook group by clicking on the picture on the top right OR just send me a facebook request and I will add you. We have 21 members so far and everyone is so nice and interacting like a big friendship ring. Just how I had hoped it would be :)

Happy Saturday!

How Was Your Weekend?

Monday already! Summer is quickly wrapping up. For me, when Labor Day arrives it's over. Even though the kids are still wearing shorts to school and the days are warm, Fall (for me) begins on Labor Day. School starts September 8th so we still have some time to squeeze in a few more fun things. Then in September the fun really starts with so many activities to look forward to with apple picking, picnics, pumpkin picking, etc.

I've been enjoying updating my new page on Facebook. It's a group and I hope you will check it out and join. It's called Country Home-Creating& Decorating Country, Prim & Amish style.  It's so hard to get noticed but it's been very fun for me to add to it. If you join, I hope you will upload some of your photos of your home, your creations, things you'd like to sell, recipes, etc.

Over the weekend we visited two of my favorite places--Peconic Agway and the Modern Snack Bar! Most women are excited over Macys and malls. Me? When I go to Peconic to the big Agway for my chicken and rabbit supplies! I can stay there forever. I purchase the different feeds for the rabbits and chickens, alfalfa, straw, etc and then I was looking in the goat department at the goat supplies. I'm in heaven. I would love to have a goat but my property is only 1/4 acre and I already have the chicken/rabbit coop. I love them though. The Agway has large bins to scoop your own feed and all kinds of fun displays. It's the best.

We had lunch at the Modern Snack Bar in Aquebogue. It has been there since 1947 and it is amazing.

Here is the interior. It hasn't changed in all these years. The walls are filled with many paint by number landscapes from the 1950's plus other artwork much of which is ocean related since Long Island is an island (!) and Aquebogue is not far from the very tip of it! When we go to the end we can see Connecticut! I wave to my cousin Joanne in Brookfield, Connecticut from the very tip (just kidding).

We enjoyed a great lunch that started with their delicious lobster bisque. Yum. I was sad to hear that the owner passed away in May. She was a lovely, lovely woman who would greet all her guests and then sit at her own special table folding napkins and doing little things. She passed away at 91. the Modern Snack Bar lives on though.

I added these wonderful rice lights to the top of my hutch. They are on a timer! I love them. I may keep them up all year as the color goes nicely with all my warm earth tones. Oh how I love my little lights all over.

A few more items have been made for the craft fair but now I am working on Christmas items. I also got some small scarecrow heads and I am going to try working with these to make scarecrow people similar to my pumpkin people. Here are some of my pumpkin people from last year:

Have a wonderful day!

Simple Summer Days

August 13th already. I like the Summer but am longing for Fall! School doesn't start till September 8th so the kids still have a few weeks more to enjoy. Caitlin and I are going to my Girl Scout co-leader's house today for a pool party for our troop. We still have all of our 12 girls. All of them renewed for another year. Hurray! I've been doing little projects around the house. I stained this little stool I bought at Michaels. First I had adhered a wallpaper border piece left over from my son's old bedroom. I save all the unused rolls for further use in crafts. I had also used this one on a milk can.  I had painted the stool a cream color and once it was good and dry I applied stain and wiped it to give it the aged look.

Also at Michaels I had picked up on sale this adorable shower planter. It was originally $29.99, and I really didn't want to spend that. Then I saw a sign that said all the products made by that particular company were on sale so I snatched it up for $10.49!

Now it's in the bathroom looking adorable.   :) They also had a cute bath tub!

I  made that apple crisp last weekend that I told you I was going to make with some of the apples in my yard. It came out good but I had to add a lot of sugar to sweeten it; the apples are very tart. I hope the next batch we pick are sweeter so I can share some with my neighbor. These were a little too sour. The apple crisp was good though! It just needed some extra sweetening as I prepared it.

Here it is out of the oven. Brown sugar is so YUMMY!

 

The whole gang was free in our yard the other day running around. Below is Miss Frankie taking her walk through the grass. She's such a sweetie but when she's in a mood we call her "Frankie Frankenstein." She has her diva chicken moments for sure. I love my fluffy girl.

Here are the three bunnies-Bandit, Chestnut and Lucky and of course Carol and Frankie playing in the grass. Notice the leaves on the ground???Yep....Fall is coming!

Not for anything but usually the leaves don't fall off my chestnut tree this early. They usually start more towards the end of August. They have been falling off for at least two weeks now. Is Winter coming early this year? I think Nature is sending us a message!

This pretty pink plant below was a rescue! My son and I were in Home Depot and we saw it in a garbage pail by the exit. It was in bad shape but not dead. We took it home and planted it, this is back in early June when we planted her...and she was a blooming beauty all Summer!

 

Buds and buds of pink flowers! The picture doesn't do her justice.

Before I run, I just wanted to let you know if you missed my last post that I started a decorating and crafting group on Facebook. It's called Country Home-Decorating & Creating Country, Prim and Amish style. If you are on Facebook, please join our group! We'll have fun! I promise!

Thanks! Have a great day!

Can I Have Your Attention Pretty Please?

Good Morning on this chilly August 8th! It feels like early Fall here! We are going to have a couple of days of these cooler temps and I am LOVING it!

So I wanted you to know, if you are on Facebook, that I have created a craft, cooking, decorating group and would appreciate anyone who would check it out. It's called:
Country Home-Decorating & Creating Country, Prim & Amish style. So go under groups and look me up :)    It's so hard to get noticed. Even with blogging I receive so many views but not that many comments and rarely do people become followers even though I hear from them for every post with emails. So if you wouldn't mind...thanks a bunch! If you can't find it, send me a friend request to Margaret Stone.

We picked a bunch of apples from our trees yesterday! We have several different kinds..

I think an apple crisp is going to be made in the kitchen today! I love crisps of any kind. It's all about the topping. Yummy crumb topping.

Working on the craft fair items, I made more sun bonnet girls for various crafts and look what's in the midst of those girls..a little witch! I still have to embellish them all with ribbons and trim, etc.

I finished a few more completely. Here is one I did adding a fence and lamb. It's hanging on a little chair that has a star so that black pointy part on the top is what it is hanging from...not to confuse you!

See it now? :)

Caitlin and I also did our salt dough lollipops and ornaments. They will be painted as prim snowmen. Don't mind the messy kitchen!

It's funny cause I'm all about Fall so I have a hard time doing the Christmas thing right now but I am getting some things made!

I think this week just flew by! How 'bout you? The kids have had a busy Summer. I really don't get post a lot about my son because he works with my husband and many times is with is girlfriend having fun at the beach and whatever. He's had a great Summer. Eight happy months with his gal pal.  So many posts show only my Caitlin but he is here and thank you Fran for asking about him :) He is feeling so much better but still does get painful episodes of his stomach disorder.He should be returning to school in September full time after 14 months of home instruction.  Caitlin has had fun going bowling, to the movies, and two nights ago went to a night time swim party with some of her friends at our neighbor's house. The kids love to night swim under the patio lights!

Yesterday Caitlin and I went out for lunch and shopping with my friend Mary and we also hit some sales. Here's what I came home with:

reproduction Quaker Oats can

 

wreath

Miss Chicken

country wagon

Great finds! Mary also brought me some wonderful things she had found when she was on her own and then she bought me this lovely pumpkin decoration:

And then we had lunch, more shopping and it was a real fun day!

earlier in The week I had gone to Christmas Tree Shop with two other ladies I love to be with and found this adorable tart burner! Goes perfect with my décor!

Time for me to get going here. I'm going on Pinterest for a bit and then off to peel some apples for that crisp! Happy Saturday!

Beautiful Things to See

Butterflies! Sharks! Sea Lions! and more!  We took Caitlin to the Long Island Aquarium on Sunday.

What a great day. We hadn't been there in a few years. It's in a town called Riverhead.

I don't know about you but I never get tired of viewing these amazing creatures.

The weather was hot and sunny and we had a fun time going through all the exhibits. It was a nice day to relax. The night before we were at my son's girlfriend's Sweet 16 party. And the night before that we finished our week at church for VBS topped off by the VBS Fair.

 The tomatoes in my garden are finally starting to ripen. I've picked some peppers too! I have two giant cucumbers growing! Woo Hoo! My first year with cucumbers.

Carol & Frankie enjoying the yard....

Today Caitlin and I are working on salt dough ornaments and salt dough snowman lollipops for our craft fair. Saw them on Pinterest. Stay tuned!