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!

One Hot Weekend!

Thank goodness the heat spell has been broken. We were near 100 degrees since Thursday and it was just getting unbearable. We were lucky enough to go to my sister's house for a dip in the pool on Friday but the rest of the time we hid from the heat in the a/c, and I really hate living that way. I did escape to the porch at times. The flowers seem to love this weather because they are growing like mad. My garden mailbox is blooming away! But I am ready for Fall! I am not ready for the kids to go back to school; I like them home, but I am looking forward to all the the things I love about Fall! The colors, the scents, and all the things we do! With all this heat, I was hardly able to muster any energy for a visit from my cousin and her husband on Saturday. She was visiting from Connecticut and I thought it would be nice to go into Northport and walk through the town down by the water but we were all so lazy that when she came we just relaxed in the house and ordered Chinese food. That was fine; we did a lot of catching up and had a great day. She wants us to go to this flea market where she lives called The Elephant's Trunk. She and her husband go every Sunday and get cool things. She only lives one hour and a half from us so that is certainly on our list for either late Summer or early Fall.

I'm having such a hard time (as I previously mentioned) leaving comments on certain blogs. It's very frustrating as I want to comment on so many. Stacy had some beautiful projects done and did a beautiful geranium wall (check her in my sidebar) and on Thru Nana's Window, some terrific Amish photos which I could never tire of looking at--love the Amish so much. Jen, I have posted a photo of a firkin my Mom decaled back in the 1970's. My parents used this same decal on several items I remember growing up.

Besides all that, I did this cute little bird's nest basket. I'll show it in a coming post. Oh, and the little bunnies are mischievous as ever. They helped themselves to a bag of their pellets as I was cleaning their home. Lucky, the little gray one is very feisty and will push your hand around with his little head.

Caitlin starts VBS this week at a local Christian Church. It's from 9:30-noon, and she's looking forward to it. Most of her friends will be there too! Have a great day!

This & That & HOT!HOT!HOT!

It's another steamy day here, and I'm not feeling too much energy! Long Island has just been hit by a major heat wave that has traveled from the mid sections of the country over to us here on the East Coast. I am NOT a heat lover so I am spending my time dreaming of Fall and Winter. That snow isn't looking so bad right about now! And when I think of Fall and Winter, I am in a nesting mood so I'm almost wishing the Summer away! My husband has been sweltering in this heat working hard so I was so happy when he came home last night and we took our waverunner out to the beach. I enjoy watching him enjoy himself since he works so hard everyday. It's a hard thing for a man to keep his wife a stay at home Mom these days and that is not lost on me. My son has always enjoyed the water and the waverunner but last time Caitlin had her first trip on it, and she was overjoyed! We only spent about an hour or so on the water but it was enough to put us all in happy moods!

I've posted some new pictures of the bunnies who have made themselves very much at home. I transfer them back and forth from their indoor to outdoor coop. I don't let them sleep outside at night in the outdoor coop as I fear the raccoons or possum will get them even though they are VERY safe. We love them so much so I bring them in at night and put them in an indoor rabbit cage so they are safe. Bandit is the white one and he is very much the leader. Lucky is gray and he's a little baby. Very nosy and curious. Chestnut is the brown one and he is the adventuresome one. He gets himself into all kinds of trouble and is the risk taker. Fresh little bunnies they are ;)

My sister found this great barrel type stand for me on the curb of some one's house when she was on her way to visit me one night. Thank goodness she got it before the Town Sanitation truck did. I remember these from when I was a kid and the decorating style was colonial. You know the '70's style of "colonial". I was so thrilled cause I had seen one for $5 in Stormville but when I went back for it someone had already purchased it. What a surprise when she brought it over! I actually have decided to put it in my bathroom !!! I don't have a closet in my first floor bathroom and kept my bath towels rolled up nicely in a basket. I now use this and it looks so sweet. I will post that photo next time. I love when you find a purpose for something you didn't expect.

If anyone loves Amish fiction, I just finished a great book called "Plain Perfect" by Beth Wiseman. Check it out. I really enjoyed it. Speaking of the Amish, upstate New York is really enjoying a huge wave of Amish moving here. We already had some communities set up but 13,000 more have moved here for the prime farmland. I am so happy about that! Farms!

Have a great day!

A Lovely Summer Evening

I'm just getting ready for bed. I've had a nice shower, and I'm in my jammies planning to do some reading before I turn out the light. We had a nice night tonight! Billy has been so busy; he leaves at 6:30 am and I rarely see him before 7:00 pm. Tonight after dinner, we decided to go to Northport Village for a stroll and have some icecream! I was so pleased that my husband offered this little trip. He works so hard and I know he is frazzled (especially in the heat) but he still found the energy to go and have fun! Northport is the next town over from us in Commack and to go down into the village itself is about ten minutes away. I love it there. I know I have mentioned it many times but it's so much like a New England village. Large fishing boats, sailboats and cruisers fill the waters, a great old town all leading down to the piers and water, and it's so nice to see so many people enjoying the night. There is a bandstand and two playgrounds and tons of people bring their dogs. I, of course, love the houses. There are many farmhouse, victorian and what I call Sea Captain's houses from more than a century ago. We had such a good time~~we walked, we had icecream and Caitlin played on the jungle gym. Little Bill and I walked down to the rocks. My husband twirled Caitlin on the tire swing. I think I will keep this lovely night in my mind so I have pleasant dreams ;) Oh, and I had chocolate rocky road icecream with hot fudge....

Today my son helped me organize one of my big closets that has all the things I treasure for the house. He also helped me take out everything for my new craft room (when it's finished). He was such a big help. He also helped me clean up an antique mirror we found. It's very pretty and needed a good cleaning! Thank you Billy. My son is one of a kind. Look up and you'll see the pretty mirror in the photos too. It weighs a ton. We put aside a bunch of items that I will be painting and repurposing. I have alot to do! Now I just need to sit and do it! I love reading about all the crafts all my blog friends are doing. I think they are the most creative and talented people. Sadly, blogger only lets me post comments on some blogs and not on others. I wanted to tell Carmen how much I enjoy her blog but it won't let me leave a comment. Carmen, if you are reading this, I love your blog! And there are others. I love your blogs too!

Lazy Days of Summer

Monday morning already? Our weekend went by fast! It was a lovely, low humidity weekend which made it even nicer. Not too much to post today; we enjoyed a nice evening with my sister-in-laws on Saturday night, and I have to say my bbq chicken came out scrumptious. My sister-in-law Linda went to a great bakery near her house and got their specialty apple crumb pie for us which was delicious! The whole pie quickly disappeared. I've been loving blueberry pie! I always did but this Summer I really am enjoying it. I think it's my new favorite. Just what I need! :)

Yesterday I went with my husband to see another project he's going to start working on. It's the complete remodel of a home built in the 1950's. When I say complete remodel I MEAN IT! It's in a town about 1/2 hour from me named Wantagh and the style home is called a Levitt house, named after the builder who, after World War II, set up the first designed /planned suburban communities here on Long Island. He even created Levittown. These were planned communities that were "starter" homes for returning soldiers. Mr. Levitt went on to build other communities modeled after this one in Pennsylvania and other spots. What a great idea that was because everyone who could, snatched them up.He made it affordable for people to move into houses and have the American Dream. I love that whole time period because people were eager and excited to own a home and have a family life here. It's a very basic home but has withstood the test of time. Most people have added on and made changes but if you see the neighborhood, you would notice how everyone LOVES their home and takes great pride in it. I'm wondering how many original owners are actually left.... This customer of ours bought it at an estate sale but it needs a ton of work. I was thrilled to walk through and see the design in person. You have such a "Leave it to Beaver" feel in the house. I wish Billy was restoring it to it's 1949 best but the customer wants new and modern, and I can understand that too. Stepping into the front door (which actually is in the kitchen!) was like a time warp. I tell ya, I had such an urge to sit at the table and have milk and cookies with some Mommy wearing an apron.....okay back to 2011....I will post a picture of the house (look up) and show you pictures as it progresses once he starts the project. Right now it's the saddest little Levitt house on the pretty block. Very overgrown and abandoned looking. The new owner and her daughters are excited to start and bring on the curb appeal! She will will be a beauty in and out when Billy gets through with her! ;)

I wanted to also post two other items I had gotten at Stormville. A great 1950's cat planter and this adorable birdhouse. We are heading back to Stormville on Labor Day weekend. I really got such great buys there. As I have said, we don't get too many bargains here when it comes to antique stores and our Good Will and Thrift stores are filled with 1980's clothes and furniture. No thanks! I'll wait for Stormville or the occasional good yard sale!

You all have a great day! The sun is shining here; hope it is by you!

Fresh Little Bunnies

Well, I just finished freshening up the home of our three little bunnies, and I think I now completely understand how Beatrix Potter was inspired to write Peter Rabbit. Such curious creatures they are, INDEED! I have to post some new photos of my little guys but curiosity and mischievousness are the outstanding qualities--topped only by cuteness and cuddliness. I have never owned bunnies and never knew what types of personalities they have. Everything must be investigated, and they don't hesitate to politely but FIRMLY push your hand out of the way with their little heads to see what I'm doing in their home! It's like a funny movie. They are such cuties and I love them!

We are spending the day home today catching up on all that we need to. The floors need to be done, dusting and some preparing for tomorrow night~~two of my husband's three sisters are coming over for a bbq with their families. Small gathering as one of the sisters has no children, the other has three. Just gonna do some bbq chicken, burgers and franks, pasta salad, stuffed mushrooms, & baked corn. I might have a couple more items to add but I'll see. Dessert is brownies, marble cake, and grapes. I'll be adding to the menu probably as I go along! I enjoy all my husband's sisters. Billy is the oldest of 5. He has one brother and three sisters. The three sisters all like the same stuff we do. They have also (after MANY years of prompting) discovered the joys of Pennsylvania Amish Country and country decorating so it adds another layer to the conversations!

It kills me to turn on the big AC in my family room that cools down that room and my kitchen but if I'm gonna be working in here today, I need to be comfortable. The open windows and fan just aren't doing the trick with this humidity. It's going to be 86 degrees--too hot for me!

I'm gonna have another cup of coffee and get started! Have a great day!

Hidden Valley Pinwheel Recipe

Hey! Happy Sunday! I wanted to get this recipe on for ya before the 4th so you still have time to getthe ingredients. Sorry I didn't get to do it yesterday. These are one of the most requested recipes I make for occasions and believe me, you will love them!

Hidden Valley Pinwheel Ingredients are: 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (8 oz),

2- 8oz pkgs of cream cheese softened ( I used whipped in the tub-buy 2 tubs), 2 small onions, diced finely, 4 - 12" tortillas, 1 jar diced pimentos (4 oz), 1 can green chiles ( 4oz)(optional), 1 can (2.25 oz sliced black olives

Mix the first three ingredients. Spread on tortillas. Drain vegetables and blot dry on paper towels. Sprinkle equal amounts of veggies on top of cream cheesed tortillas. Roll tirtillas tightly. Chill (I like to chill them overnight and I roll each tortilla in plastic wrap to keep them firm. Cut rolls into 1 inch pieces, discarding the ends. Serve with spirals facing up.

Hope you love them!