How many do YOU see?

(Click to enlarge.)

Poll Results PLUS

The results of the poll "If you had the choice of accepting a sweepstakes grand prize of either a trip to an exclusive resort, say in the Virgin Islands, or its cash equivalent, which would you take?" are as follows:

1. The trip! (4 votes)
2. The cash! (2 votes)

Okay, here's the PLUS: Some of you already know this... I DID win a sweepstakes grand prize of a trip to an exclusive resort in the Virgin Islands (plus a year's worth of the vitamins I already take), compliments of the Melaleuca company! What a shocker! :-)

I was glad to see at least a couple people agree with me in preferring the cash over the trip. Though it looks like the dream vacation of a lifetime, it just isn't 'me'. I would much prefer to receive the cash and then maybe use it to take our whole family to a resort somewhere closer sometime (if we could get both father and son away from the dairy at the same time). We shall see what happens. At this point, I haven't heard yet if I even can get the cash equivalent.

Thanks for voting. Due to low voter turnout and lack of time on my part, I'm going to suspend the polls until after Christmas. (I reserve the right to change my mind, however, if I come up with something I just HAVE TO poll about... but for now, my brain is having trouble thinking of poll topics. I'm open to suggestions, BTW!)

Black Friday freebie

See Jess's blog for details.

A Thanksgiving song for you

At least that's what I think it must be. ;-) (Sorry for the blurriness in this first video, but it was too cute to not post.)

I think her hair was tickling her eyes, that's why she was rubbing her face in the book at the beginning. :-)

She is one of the things in my life that I'm most thankful for (as if you didn't already know that).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to ALL!

Grandma's little cleaning lady

Must've been a real dirty spot under that desk!

Whew! That was a big job! :-)

See what I see!

From our basement window, I kept noticing 'something' way up in a tree south of our driveway.

After several days, I finally remembered when I got upstairs (my memory's pretty short these days) to grab my binoculars and take a closer look.

I do believe it's a baltimore oriole nest! I'd been wanting to find one for a long time, knowing there had to be one around here somewhere, since the orioles are usually here all summer. Sure wish I could see it right up close and see how it's made, but I guess that won't happen unless for some reason the branch falls to the ground. But it's cool to know it's there!

(Click photos to enlarge.)

HELP!

Courtney had the cutest sweatshirt on when she was here Friday. But boy, was it a job to get her to stand still long enough to get a picture of it! Notice I had to corner her. ;-)

I got a better shot with it lying empty on the table. :-)

Who needs a whistle, anyway?

Another baggy post

This is my latest bag, other than one just like another I already posted. I've done a couple of repeats, replacing sold ones or for special requests. The fun part for me is that I get to do so many different combinations.

Jess is having a bit of a dilemma at her house. See her latest blog post. ;-)

Also, she now has ribbons available that match her fabrics! Fun!

Another day at the daycare...

Sometimes the kids can be so frustrating you just don't know what to do with them!

MORE pink

Our favorite little model... in her cute kitty-tormenting outfit. ;-)

Best to not mess with napping kitties!

No claws were engaged. Just scare tactics. ;-)

It did make for some nice cuddle time with Grandma afterwards. :-)

Snow was in the air... and on the ground

Our previous snow is now 99.9% melted (yay!). Though I don't like the thought of getting more, I did enjoy the snowflakes that I noticed on the ground this morning. Hey, they came down about 10 feet apart, so that kind I don't mind so much. ;-) Anyway, I noticed these tiny, perfect snowflakes scattered across the grass. They were only about a quarter inch across, yet kind of thick. Unfortunately, they were so little that it was very hard to get decent pics of them. But here they are, even though the pics don't do them justice. Click to enlarge.

Poll Results

The results of the poll "Have you ever met someone over the internet, corresponded with them, and then eventually met them in person?" are as follows:

1. Yes (1 vote)
2. No (9 votes)

Though I've met and corresponded with a lot of people over the internet, I've never met any of them in person. But I'll bet I know who voted "yes"! It had to be Jess, who met Caroline, the lady she designed fabric for. And then there were a number of others that she met at the Quilt Market... and maybe some design clients, etc. Cool!

Just a little more pink

Willow

"I think I could be a good help here."

"Please?"

"Phooey. She said no. AGAIN."

(BTW, notice how much Willow and the outdoor kitty in the post below look alike?!)

Kitty!

Kitty was pretty patient... but got when the gittin' was good! ;-) And she was saved from further "attention" at the last second... thanks to those precious OJ caps.

How 'bout pink?

What a good helper Grandma has... working so hard to help pull out the dead moss roses!

(Click to enlarge.)

Blue, anyone?

No, I'm not blue, either, but this latest bag is.

I'm sure glad I have these pretty fabrics to work on, or I would be blue, what with the yucky weather we've been having. It was so icy out yesterday morning that Suzi didn't go to work, so I didn't get to have my day with Courtney. :-( But, I shut myself in my sewing room with all the bright colors and didn't look out the window, and I was fine. ;-)

Here's one more you haven't seen yet.

A long shot

These two were a long way off....

.... but still avoiding the hunters, as were several others that Hubby saw on our place last evening! Three days down, six to go....

Grandma gets the stones...

... not the precious OJ caps. :-)

Poll Results

The results of the poll 'Do you enjoy the "Thought for the Day"?' are as follows:

• Yes, I go to the website and read the whole thing (1 vote)
• Yes, I read just the short version (0 votes)
• Yes, but I forget to read it (3 votes)
• No, it doesn't inspire me (3 votes)

Thanks for voting. I was just curious as to whether to leave it on my blog or not. I guess for now it'll stay. I think it's GOOD STUFF!

I shot a buck!

On the first day of firearm season, even!

He's a beaut, isn't he? Look at that rack!

Okay, so I only shot him with the camera (which is the only way I would shoot one). And it was from quite a distance, through a dirty window, getting dark, and I was in a hurry because he wasn't standing in one spot for very long... so not the best quality photos. But at least I got him! I wonder how many hunters can say the same after yesterday. ;-)

(Click photos to enlarge.)

Sorry, I couldn't help it

My eyes looked out the basement window yesterday morning, and something just made me run back upstairs and get the camera. "Beauty"? Aw, c'mon! But if I have to look at it, you do, too! ;-)

It snowed ALL DAY LONG yesterday. Blech! Thank goodness the ground was warm enough to melt a lot of it (into a sloppy mess). Thank goodness, too, that there's warmer weather in the forecast... well, by the end of next week, anyway. I guess I can wait. Like I have a choice.

YUCK!

This is what we woke up to this morning. And it's still coming down.

'Nuff said. Now scroll down to the much more colorful and cute and fun post for today. ;-)

Those fascinating OJ caps

And then she managed to drop one, and it rolled under the deck. Of course Grandma had to go fetch it.

"Hi, Grandma!"

Helping Daddy harvest corn

(Any caption suggestions for the above pic???)

She looks pretty little there between the big tractor and trucks, doesn't she?

Helping unload corn....

.... one kernel at a time. :-)

Just cute

I'm getting way behind with my pics again... these are from last week Tuesday! Enjoy!

And don't be too surprised if I don't post every day. This bein' a bag lady takes time! ;-)

More bags

These bags and the previous two got shipped to Jess today to be listed in the Etsy shop.

They are not reversible... they each have a magnetic snap and an inner pocket.

I think this one is my favorite so far:

Always unique

Another lovely sunset last night!

It's too bad you can't view the pics side-by-side, with the bottom one on the right. Then you'd see that cloud mass and the sunset as a whole. Oh well... imagine it. ;-)

Poll Results

The results of the poll "Will you be wearing a costume for Halloween?" are as follows:

• Yes, for a party (0 votes)
• Yes, for Trick-or-Treating (0 votes)
• Yes, for giving out treats (0 votes)
• Yes, for other (1 vote)
• No (6 votes)

I guess most of us are not too into dressing for Halloween (anymore). Too bad a certain little scarecrow couldn't vote. ;-)

Thanks to those of you who could and did vote!

A little extra BOO!

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi..... "

And a very short little "dance" to BOOt!

Okay, so those first few steps weren't really a dance, but I didn't know how else to describe them. I just thought they were cute. I did like the strange language again, too. :-)

The Little Scarecrow... a tutorial

How to dress a scarecrow: Have Grandma hogtie her so Mommy can stuff her into the outfit. (She preferred running around in just a diaper and was quite adamant (<-understatement) about NOT putting on a scarecrow outfit.)

How to get a scarecrow to hold still long enough to get a photo: Send her to a mirror so she can admire herself.

How to "Treat" a scarecrow: Give her a little bag with yogurt covered raisins and string cheese in it. Yum!

How to get a nice pic of scarecrow and Mommy: Good question. Too many wiggles. But it sorta worked out. :-)

How to keep scarecrow from eating all the contents of the bag in one sitting: Pick up the ones she's dropped on the floor, sneak them to Mommy behind her back so Mommy can hide them.

WHEW!! What a "scary" Halloween that was! ;-) I hope we've given you some helpful advice for handling little scarecrows!

Here's a closer look at the bag. I made it over a month ago, before I ever started on the ones for the Etsy shop. In fact, this little bag is what inspired me to offer to sew for Jess. It's just made out of old fabric pieces I had stored around here, and trimmed with Jess's piggy bank ribbon. It was really fun to make, and I had a terrible time having to keep it a secret until Halloween! :-)

And just a few more shots of Little Miss Funnyface Scarecrow.

(Click to enlarge.)