Wednesday, August 31, 2011

This and That!

I tried my hand with the fried apple pies again. This time Pop brought home several sizes of canned biscuits and frozen biscuits for me to try. The ones we normally use were just too small. I used the jumbo size biscuits this time, and they made a much bigger pie. More the size of what we were all use to.They are about 1/2 the size of a dinner plate.Now that's what I call a fried apple pie.We'll be having the oldest daughter's Birthday-Do here tomorrow and the pies are my gift to her.  I'll probably make her 15 or so small ones like I did the younger daughter this past week for her birthday.They usually compare notes to make sure one wasn't treated better than the other. Pop says they are joking, but sometimes they get carried away with their jokes, and feelings get hurt.The girls and Pop have a different sense of humor.And sometimes by different, I really mean strange.


I spent part of the day making this pretty little casserole hot pad. I didn't have enough of the pretty flowered fabric to make two hot pads, so I decided to make one long one. I will work nicely under a casserole dish.
I have been on a roll making these little hot pads. I love working with my fabrics.Mixing and matching the patterns and colors.I really need to save this project for winter, but with the drought, and no grass to mow, I needed something to keep me busy, and cleaning is not my favorite past time,although I do need to do a lot of that. Pop has mentioned a time or two,the railings need painting.We have a wrap around porch on three sides of the house with white railings all around.The windows need cleaning.I have about 15 huge windows, if we count the glass doors.The vinyl siding needs washing down, and the porch floor need refinishing.And I am usually in charge of getting all of that done. I'm not as young as I once was, and I'm moving a little slower at times,so it may all get done, and then again, it may not.

 We made the rounds and visited the family members who were  not able to attend the family reunion this past Sunday.I had taken my books and my hot pads to show and tell and my Aunt chose this pretty set of hot pads as her favorite, so I finished it up last night and will get that in the mail to her this week. I try to take Mom around at least once a year to visit a few of the family she has not seen  for awhile. Several of the daughters try to go along, and that makes for a really nice day for us all. We stop and eat breakfast and lunch out, and drive around the country, looking things over to see how much has changed since our childhood days. It's always a fun day for us all.We were really tired after our little trip, but it was loads of fun for all.

Monday, August 29, 2011

The Greening of Gavin Site???

Has anyone encountered a strange screen popping up when trying to open Gavin's blog? I have been following Gavin for quite some time, but the last two times I tried to view his post, I got a warning that something was wrong. I got frightened since it mentioned a virus, so I deleted his blog from the list of blogs that I am following. I do not have his email address, or I could ask him directly, what he thinks the problem might be. Evidently there is something on his blog that looks suspicious. Not a clue why this could be happening. Has anyone else had this problem?

Has Blogger Gone Bonkers?

I read other posts where folks are having all kinds of problems, but I have been one of the lucky ones.......until today. I think Blogger has gone bonkers. I hate the thought of searching for another host, but it appears that may be what I need to do. I don't know enough about computers to understand all of the explanations they give regarding these problems, so I'll have to figure out a way around all of the ones I am running into.Hopefully, I will be posting along the way,if possible,but meanwhile I will be searching for another host.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Practice Makes Perfect


Today is Carmen's birthday, and I told her I would make her some fried apple pies, since she was not able to attend the family reunion on Sunday, and didn't get a single pie.Who knew they would be such a hit. After Pop and I returned for our usual Sunday morning breakfast, I tackled another batch. Two to be exact. One can of biscuits is one batch of ten, and I knew they would devour one can in a heartbeat,so I made two. It doesn't take that long at all,once you get into it.It takes longer to get everything out and ready, and then the cleanup,that takes a few minutes,too.Plus, I had to cook down a quart of apple sauce to make my filling. If you remember, I am not drying any apples.They'll get apple butter filling and be happy.We'll need to run by Mom's before we go to the Birthday Do, so I'll leave a few of the pies for her.She'll have them with her morning coffee.She eats like a bird, but I think she'll enjoy the pies.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Can You Guess What This Once Was.....


Give up? I was a flip flop.

Somehow,in the last four years, the mate to this shoe was lost,misplaced,or destroyed.Who knows,but by now, if you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know one thing for sure. I HATE WASTE! Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Blame it on growing up poor or just in my genes. Whatever! I can't change. I hate to throw out anything that could possibly be used in some other way.Well, I have held on to this lone shoe long enough. The mate must be gone forever(or maybe I'll find it in one of my sheds ten years from now).Nevertheless, I no longer need it. I have plenty of every day shoes,as does Pop.

Pop was telling me just this week how you can soak rubber in something to bring back it flexibility.Break fluid or anti freeze,I forget exactly what he said to soak it in. I guess I'll do some more experimenting. At the time, we were discussing my pressure cooker gasket.When I ran across this dried up rubber flip flop, I decided it was time to put his theory to the test. If it works, that'll be great, but if it doesn't, I think the pieces will still work for what I have in mind to do with them.

In the past, I have gone to Michael's and paid dearly for a tiny square of rubber to make my own stamps. I love Stamp-It-Up's products, but with this recession, you gotta do what ya gotta do.So I will be trying my hand once more at making my own rubber stamps. I have played with the idea once before, so I feel I can do it. Only time will tell. Hopefully, I'll use some of them to post something to show soon.

I'm Getting Anxious


I'm getting anxious to get started with my winter crafts. This is usually one of the things I do when the weather is too bad to do anything outdoors.Well, the weather has been too bad. Not cold, like it usually is when I start my winter crafts, but hot and dry. To dry for the grass or the garden to grow, and they are usually my main two jobs that occupy my time this time of the year.My late beans are trying to make, but with no rain, it's going to be iffy as to whether they do or not. I planted them late, and we really didn't need any more green beans,but since we had just learned about the Roma beans and loved them so, I thought I would take a chance on a row or two, even though it was a little late in the season.

I have been on a roll with the hot pads, here lately. I love fabric, and with these small hot pad projects, I can see results quickly, plus I get to mix and match a lot of my pretty fabrics.I do enjoy that part. I should have,if I had gone to college,mastered in fashion design of some sort. I love the mixing and matching aspect of my fabrics. Working with fabric and the like,I could have worked in various fields.I'm pretty sure it's the fabric that draws me anyway, or possibly, it could be the colors. I love working with colors. I love to paint anything,rather than to stain it.I do like the stained and varnished look,too, but if I had to choose, the paint would win. I am drawn to things painted on canvas. So many times I have stopped to admire a painted picture of flowers.They stop me in my tracks when in a consignment store.I have even purchased paintings of flowers and a few other things. It's really strange the draw they have on me.I love tole painting. I simply have so many other things I want to do, I haven't given it the time needed to perfect my painting.I had better get to it soon though. I think I have accumulated about 600 bottles of paint in hopes if getting to it in the near future.
I have been spending a little time during this drought, in the basement,too,building,painting and organizing  more shelving for my crafts,canning jars,etc.It's not been so bad when I know there's nothing I can possibly do outside. Normally, I could not force myself to work in the basement, this time of the year.

Just a quick note about Mams. That's Pop's ex-wife, the grandmother of our two grandchildren and Mother of my two step daughters. She had surgery about a month ago to correct several large hernias, and has gone down hill ever since. She got an infection in the open site, and had to return to the hospital. They corrected that, supposedly, and sent her home. Last night she was taken back to the hospital, and is now in CCU,not doing good at all. They are saying now that she has a lot of fluid retention, and it could possibly be Congestive Heart Failure.  Mams is only 66,but things are not looking too good with her at the moment.Let us keep her in our thoughts and prayers.No matter what has happened in the past,she is the mother of my two step daughters, and we wish her well.

On another note,Vicki has been keeping in touch with the family, since she lives in North Carolina, and so far, all is well with her and her family.Hurricane Irene is taking her time moving up the coast. She has been down graded to a category 1, but we all know,the weather is not an exact science, so we keep watching the news and hoping for the best for all involved.They had just been through the scare over the earthquake, so I'm sure their nerves are a bit frayed.Our thoughts and prayers are with them, too.
 

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Fried Apple Pies-A Labor of Love




Last Sunday was my family's reunion, and for some reason, I wanted to try my hand at Fried Apple Pies.I can remember,helping my Grandmother make them when I was very young.I do have one bad memory of that time though,and that was when I broke her big glass bowl that she kept in the flour bin to make her biscuits.I dropped the rolling pin into the flour bin,right in the middle of the huge glass bowl. I have never forgiven myself for that. There was no way to replace that bowl. Most likely, it would be a collector's items today, and if Grandma was like me, I am sure she cherished that bowl dearly.But what could she say? She was a very soft hearted lady, and I'm sure I inherited a lot of that characteristic from her as well. There would be no way she would have let on,even if her feelings were crushed over the incident.I told my Mom later about breaking Grandma's big glass biscuit bowl, and the next time we went to town for groceries, we made a stop at the local Dollar Store, and bought Grandma the biggest plastic bowl in the store. There was no way for us to replace the nice bowl I had broken, but at least Grandma would have a big bowl in which to make her biscuits once more.

My memory is not that good, but I do remember using a saucer to lay on the pie dough, and cutting a circle around the saucer. That must have been my job, because no doubt Grandma would not let me near the frying skillet with the hot grease. You know how Grandmother's are when it comes to keeping grandchildren away from potential harm.

I have tried a few times in the last 45 years to tackle the task of making fried apple pies, but I have always been certain that fried apple pies are definitely "a labor of love".It is indeed an art, and a dying art as well. There are very few people who make fried apple pies anymore,the way Grandma did. Pop tells me often how his Grandma made the best he has ever eaten, and of course, every wife wants to measure up to that, or get a close second place.In this case,Pop remembers his Grandma Ray making hers with dried apples.The ones that he had helped her peel and core and slice, and then dried them on a bed sheet in the sun, and turned them once in awhile so they would dry evenly all over. He loves to tell that story, and I do believe at times, it is just that. A story. From my 33 years of living with him, I'll bet he did a lot of watching and talking, while Grandma Ray did the work.He and I did,one summer that I can remember,dry a batch of apples for old times sake, but when and if,I do make more fried apple pies, I won't be using dried apples.The we in all of his stories usually pertains to something I have tackled alone, and with so much that requires my attention on this small property, I don't think drying more apple will be part of it .I'm lucky if I get around to making applesauce,apple jelly,apple butter, and freezing a few bags for fried apples.Especially with the other chores required when you own a piece of property,even if it is a small piece of property.I have a feeling he would be a lot like my Dad when it comes to the dried apples anyway. Dad always wanted Mom to dry apples,like he and his Mother use to, and when she did, he would give them all away as samples, telling folks the story of how he and his Mother use to dry apples.If that's the case, Pop will have to tell the story without the dried apples to pass around.Times are hard, but not quite that hard,yet.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Strange Birds Circling My House

I tried to take a good picture of these birds to no avail.Then I tried to find something on the internet about this strange occurrence. There were approximately 15 to 20 birds. They had an erratic flight pattern. They darted and turned a lot in all directions,but still in a circling manner,over my house.The closest I came to finding anything helpful on the internet, was different explanations of why birds fly in circles. One site said it was a sign of an incoming storm. Another said it was the updraft of the wind in which birds hitch a ride to get to their destination.I wouldn't have paid any attention at all to this behavior, except these particular birds were different from any birds I had ever seen in this area, that I'm aware of anyway. They were fairly large. with long slender wings,slightly bent in the middle, and they had a white square of sorts in the middle of each wing when out stretched. I had hoped to see one of the birds light, so I could get a better picture, but no luck there either.


 I have drawn a sketch of how the bird looked to me,but other than that I have no clue as to what kind of birds they were.They reminded me of seagulls, but a much slimmer body and wings.I may never know the real truth behind this strange occurrence.They were gone as quickly as they came. They only circled my house and property for about ten minutes that I was aware of, then they were gone.Maybe I will get lucky, and stumble across additional information in the future.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

A Gutsy Visitor



I snapped this picture from inside the house,since I knew the least little movement would have scared the visitor off.We have watched him or her or their relatives, scurrying around the property all summer, but they have never come this close to the house. The apple tree is approximately 30 feet from the porch.I was able to get two or three pictures before he scurried off,under one of my sheds.Once more, desperate times call for desperate measures. With the dry weather we have been having, food for these critters, must be scarce.I had picked up a few buckets of apples from the ground just this week, and noticed teeth marks on a few, but never suspected a ground hog.Possibly a squirrel,a rabbit or even a ground squirrel, but never a ground hog.
Pop usually shoots groundhogs for all the neighbors, since they can reek havoc around a barn, grain bin, or an outbuilding of any kind. They are extremely ferocious diggers.Since they had not been coming that close to the house, Pop and I usually just sit and watch them when they visit our property.Usually they will come out and forage on whatever they can find that appeals to them, then when they sense the slightest movement anywhere near them, they'll scurry off, back into their den,which is usually in a nearby sinkhole.Pop says if the critter has taken up housekeeping under the shed,we may be forced to break up their happy home, and I doubt he means to humanely capture and relocate him.  

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Could The Blame Lie Here!


I got a note from my Sister Vicki,of  My Favorite Things, this morning, and she seems to be feeling much better at the moment. She just recently take a shot which was suppose to relieve some of the pain she had been enduring for quite a while.
Well,I had no shot and I have been having a really good morning myself. No aches and pains to speak of, even though I have been suffering for days with my hips and back. I have come to the conclusion,that  the weather is playing a big part in my problems. I have noticed it before. When the temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure changes, so do my complaints. It may take some more investigation, but I am sure the fix for many of my ailments lies in the weather.I can usually fix most of my problems with a little experimentation,so now, if I could only learn how to control the weather.(Not only would I have fewer aches and pains, but I'd be rich.)

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Words of Wisdom


I received this in an email message this morning, and it would be a good lesson for us all. We lost a good friend this week, as we do on many days lately. We are reaching the age,where that it is a given. One of our lifelong friends will appear in the obituary column on a regular basis. That is why we need to remind ourselves that each day, each hour, each minute, is special. Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.
********************************************************************************

A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk
 paper wrapped package:

 'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.'

 He unwrapped the box and stared at
 both the silk paper and the box.

 'She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She
 has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion.

 Well, I guess this is it.

 He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he
 was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.

 He turned to me and said: 'Never save something for a special occasion.

 Every day in your life is a special occasion'.

 I still think those words changed my life.

 Now I read more and clean less.

 I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

 I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

 I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to,
 not survived through.

 I no longer keep anything.

 I use crystal glasses every day...

 I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.

 I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever  I want to.

 T he words 'Someday....' and ' One Day...' are fading away from my  dictionary.
 
 If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it  now....

 I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she  wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell...

 I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.

She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.

 I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.

 It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

 Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one..

Sunday, August 14, 2011

How about this,Brendie?


Brendie, my sister and brother are thinking about building a greenhouse of sorts, and I think  this is something like what they have in mind.The arches are black plastic pipe.They will attach them to the side of an existing  shed on one end, and anchor them to the ground, on the other. Most men can figure out a way to attach, support and brace them. My sister has a plan,but everyone has their own ideas.Possibly, you and Glen could build something on this order until you can get your operation up and going good, then expand or rework it later,as needed.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Experimenting Again!



This time I am experimenting with candle making.As I have mentioned earlier, I ordered a few essential oils hoping to come up with something close to the fragrance Terry, over at Urania's Inspirations,uses in my favorite soaps.Terry has her own soap company,Blue Moon Soap Company, and I have been ordering a few items from her. I love her fragrances, and she has so many. I managed to get a close match in a bottle of inexpensive liquid bath soap, so maybe I will get lucky and hit on a close version in a candle fragrance.Wouldn't that be great?

I had a blue mason jar filled with orange candle wax, which I have had for 20 plus years,but I never really cared for the candle that much. Today I decided to melt the wax and take it out of the blue mason jar so I could use the jar as a salt shaker.That gave me the idea to experiment with adding my new oils to the wax, in hopes of coming up with a fragrance similar to Terry's soap that I love so well. I have so little to do, I needed another craft idea.(lol)I have it in the fridge, at the moment, setting up in  the bottom half of a cola can. If it works out like I hope it will, I may come up with a different plan for my candle making procedures,but for now this method is not costing me anything to try it.

Patience and Determination




Terry, you can stop looking now! I fixed up a set of salt and pepper shakers from a couple of pint Mason jars I already had in my collection of goodies.

I was short on Patience, or I wouldn't have ordered the small set of salt and pepper shakers. Not only were they too small, but the price of the shakers and the postage was ridiculously high. However, I did have lots of Determination to find and assemble this set and finish the project for today's post.

One of the jars I used was a candle, and the other was on a bubble gum dispenser. I will definitely need to replace the one on the gum dispenser, but the candle has been around for years and was not one of my favorite collectibles. I can always reuse the wax for another project later.My older sister,Mary, of Nails in my Pocket ,suggested I use these type jars. I don't know why the thought of using them, had never crossed my mind,since I do have several of the old blue Mason Jars of all sizes and styles. Nevertheless, I took the glass from inside of the zinc tops, and scrubbed them up good, and put a rubber ring inside of both lids. Wallah! I have a large set of salt and pepper shakers. I am just waiting to see now,what Pop will have to say about them. I hope this set is large enough to suit him this time.

Friday, August 12, 2011

In response to Tigeriffic's Post




(In response to Tiggerific's post under Birds in Nature)
(Sorry!I couldn't get the connection to her link to work properly.)

Sorry to hear of your dilemma with child management and medical issues, but I am glad to hear there are others in this world who have similar problems to ours. We struggle with the child care arrangements, too. Our youngest is an LPN but she is taking more college to be a Nurse Practioner.I think that's the title.Her hubby is an EMT, plus he is very active in their local volunteer fire department.We have one other daughter,who has no children,and helps tremendously with the the two grand kids,but with school being back in session,she will be teaching some now,but she is only a substitute, at the moment. Not sure if she will get a full time teaching job any way soon or not, with the economy being in such a mess.Meanwhile, she helps quite a bit with the kids.One good thing though. The parents have moved the children from town to the school right across the street from their home. You would think that was perfect, but being the age the kids are, someone must be there to pick the kids up at the school door each day, since the parents schedules are so unpredictable. Their Mom is working on a new plan for their care after school each day as we speak.We are ten miles from their home and school, so it is a bit unhandy for us to go on a moments notice, and that's if she can get to us with enough notice.It is a juggling act and they are not even in a divorce situation (yet! and,like most, we are hoping it never comes to that.)

As for the medical things, we have have been there and done that.We do love to keep on top of our medical issues, and it can be a bit much doing just that. I will be making my appointment for a Mammogram this next few days.I accidentally forgot to schedule one for last year, and time flies by so quickly.I had no idea, I had failed to do that until my insurance man and I were filling out some forms requiring a copy of my last test.


Pop has sugar and cholesterol, and his blood pressure runs a bit too high, so he is on medicines for those.He had his yearly stomach abdominal aneurysm check up this past week, and there was no change.Thank you,Jesus.He does have a hernia, but the doctor says to simply watch it close for any great change. Then he had the basil cell carcinoma removed from his ear. Now that requires him to get a bi-yearly checkup for other possible skin cancers,which in reality, we all should do.


We are both in fairly good health for our age, other than the typical complaints. We try to keep our weight down, although we are both pretty healthy specimens,if you get my drift.We are both tall, but we have both drifted over that 200 mark a bit,both neither of us are sloppy fat.Just in the obese range according to all of the medical charts.We are eating better with all of the garden produce that we have raised and have access to.If Pop could stay away from the cornbread and potatoes. Those are his two main weaknesses.Both are no-no's for him,with his sugar, and they might as well be for me. They make me fat.


We are both fairly active. One of us, more than the other(lol) but that helps in the weight department.Wood cutting season is upon us, so he will be more active during that time.We will continue to burn wood for our supplemental heat as long as he is able and,I'm sure, that will not be much longer.Wood burning has it's pros and cons,and Pop only see the pros, but I would love to make a few minor changes, if I were making the decisions regarding our wood burning setup.Women tend to see things a bit differently,since they are the ones who must clean up the mess.


I suppose we all are or will be facing some of the same issues regarding our health, so it is good to be able to share our experiences with others. It's a great help to see what other are doing to help themselves, and hopefully, we can learn a bit from their experiences.Good health is a gift that I wish for all.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Blogger Maintenance

For those of you who have not heard, Blogger will be doing some maintenance sometime today.
They will shut down for about an hour and we will be able to read only during that time.




http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2011/08/blogger-maintenance-scheduled-for.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Nitecruzr-Blogging+%28The+Real+Blogger+Status%29

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Another Pet Dies



I purchased my 22 quail, on April 16 of this year. I lost one early on.The hens began laying on May 23. I have worked with the birds every day since bringing them home and, like any other pet,you get attached.We have been doing a bit of running here lately,taking care of business, and I must confess, I had not been able to spend the time with my birds that I usually do. I do check their feed and water a few times during the hot, hot days, but as for checking to see if each and every bird is doing well, I did not.Well, today when I checked the food and water, I found one of my largest quail,dead from having it's head hung on a wire as he had apparently,attempted to reach through the wire mesh fencing,and catch a bug. At least, I assume that is what he was doing. I have seen them do that before.They love bugs.As we all know, things like this happen under the best of conditions.That I know,but just thinking about the little bird,hanging there, in all that heat, with no water,waiting and hoping someone would come soon, and find him and help him get untangled,makes me nauseous.He depended totally on me for his safety and well being, and I let him down.I know I won't sleep tonight for thinking of his horrible death.Why do some of us feel so much pain from such occurrences, and others could care less?

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Brendie, this is the one!


The Frozen Bird (I cleaned up the language a bit.)

A little bird was flying south for the Winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some doodoo on him.
As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow doodoo, he began to realize how warm he was.

The dung was actually thawing him out!
He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow doodoo, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who doodoos on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of doodoo is your friend.
(3) And sometimes,when you're in deep doodoo, it's best to keep your mouth shut!


(the joke comes from this site http://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/read/1004069/  )

Friday, August 5, 2011

Devil's Trumpet

Moon Flower or Devil's Trumpet

Since first learning of this flower or weed, which ever you prefer to call  it, I have passed it out to all of my friends, calling it a Moon Flower. There are some folks who will argue with a fence post, so I did a little research. The Moon flower is actually called the Devil's Trumpet. There are so many different Devil's trumpets, and since I do not wish to memorize all of the botanical names, I'll just keep calling it a Moon Flower or Devil's Trumpet. I did learn that there is an Angel's Trumpet, but it has gold or yellow blooms that hang downward.

This flower has taken over my flowers beds,but I do love it. It has a wonderful fragrance in the evening, and it's habit of opening up around 8 or 9 p.m., makes it a very curious and fascinating plant to watch.It forms seeds galore, so if you don't care for it to pop up just everywhere, you should remove the seed pods or the entire plant, before the seeds drop onto the ground.Be careful. The seed pods are huge and prickly.After all, it is also called a Jimson Weed.The plants are similar,but the seed pods are identical.

We have Snow-on-the-Mountain in August!

 

  If you have this plant in your yard,you,too, have Snow-on-the-Mountain in August.                       

Blog Hopping can be fun and helpful.

When I have a few minutes for myself, I blog hop.I usually check out blogs listed on the sidebars of my regular blogger friends. If my friends enjoy their blog, I feel I will too. Today I was reviewing some of my own followings and their past posts,etc.I stumbled across a very good post by one of them,although I found many.This post offers a lot of great advice to new bloggers, especially those who may get discouraged quickly. I love blogging, and I feel others will enjoy it as much as I do,if only they would give it a try. I have friends and family, who need a caring ear occasionally,but refuse to use this venue and forum. I have found it to be a great comfort to me at various times. I can share my joy, my frustrations, my excitement.and even my problems, if I choose to do so. There are many great folks who are following, that are great listeners and give wonderful advice, should you choose to consider it.You can get lots of great ideas on a variety of subjects. With any particular task you may be undertaking, there are folks out there who have been there and done that, and are willing to share their experiences,whether they be good or bad. That's one way to learn,from the mistakes of others.The link that I have posted was a great read, and could be very helpful to beginning bloggers.Patience and persistence is the key.This particular blog is by Tami Marie at Things We Find Inside.


http://www.thethingswefindinside.com/2011/04/life-lessons-learned-from-blogging_16.html

Monday, August 1, 2011

A Little Disappointed


I received this set in the mail today,which I had ordered from a site I found in the back of one of the leading magazines. It sounded like something I would enjoy having on my table at mealtimes.Pop uses a lot of salt,although we both know he shouldn't, and our salt and pepper shakers are older and very large,but I liked the concept of the new Mason Jar Set. Well, they are so small, I know Pop is going to fuss. He will not be happy at all.  I will, no doubt, add the set to my collection of dust collectors.It was $15. for the set and $15.00 for shipping.  I did order 1 tiny bar of lye soap in with the order, but still, I feel that was a bit much. Live and learn.I'll wash my old set and have them ready to go again.Pop being an old dog, and you know how hard it is to get them to accept change of any kind.