Rosie The Riveter ~ "We Can Do It"~!

A Michigan factory worker used as the model for the wartime Rosie the Riveter poster whose inspirational
"We Can Do It !" message became an icon of the feminist movement has died. Geraldine Doyle died Sunday said a spokesman for the Hospice House of Mid Michigan.. She was 86.

It was on the news yesterday.. This is the picture I have that was made into a magnet.. I have it on my refrigerator... Cool m-m-m-?

I remember my mom wearing her scarf on her head like Geraldine.. She wore it like this when she cleaned the house.. When I was a little girl coming to the breakfast table in the morning and seeing my mom with her scarf on her head ~ I knew we would be cleaning and my sister Lynn and I would be helping mom. I also remember when Mom came home from the grocery store she would have these little plastic bags with oleo inside with a red dot. Mom would give each one of us girls one of those bags and we would have to squeeze the oleo until it was soften and then have the red dot squeezed evenly throughout the oleo.. One day I was so glad I got mine done and I took it to my mom thinking I could go out and play.. She told Lynn to give hers to me so she could help mom with something else that needed done. Lynn threw that bag across the room to me and wham bang it hit the armrest corner of the chair which was wooden and that bag exploded all over me and the chair... We both were in shock and Lynn ran to the kitchen to get a towel so we could clean it up before mom saw what happened.. Holy Buckets that oleo did nothing but smear smear smear all over , everywhere~! Now that I'm older I think "Why did Mom have Lynn and I do that job in the living room"? It was a warm day ~ we could of done it outside... Well, anyway it made a memory and I still remember that day.
We had a wonderful Mom who loved us both so much... She died at 54 of bone cancer the day after Christmas 44 years ago.. I was 22 and had 3 children.. I took care of my mom full time for 6 months. Dave and I were having a new home built at this time. The oldest boy, Wally (age 5) stayed with my hubby at his mom's house so he could go to school. I got to see him on week-ends. Richard (almost 2) stayed with me and I had Jodie in September so I took care of Rich and a new baby and Mom.. It was hard at the time and I don't regret having to do this. But I'm so glad I was able to take care of my Mom. We had many great times talking to each other and she loved Wally, Rich and Jodie so much.. Jodie would lay next to my Mom whether she was awake or sleeping. I think Jodie was great therapy for her..four happy people loving each other. Rich loved to sing` so he sang to my Mom. On the good days Mom would always play board games with Rich and me. Too bad my children didn't get to know my Mom better because she was a happy person who loved God with all her heart and soul..and mind.. I missed her so much after she died.. But I will see her again someday.. Ya-Hoo~!
It's foggy today~!! rainy and some of our snow is melted away. Tomorrow it's going to be 57 degrees.. Goodness to be...that is warm for this time of year.. Then on Saturday it's back to cold temperatures again and snow... The birds have been eating like hogs all day and the feeders are empty.. When I get up in the morning I'll get them filled up . Last day of 2010 tomorrow and onto 2011.. You all have a safe New Year's and get ready for a tiggeriffic New Year~!~!
Ta Ta For Now~!~!

Feeders a full of red and blue beauty PLUS Mr. Pheasant is back...~!

This morning I quickly took a picture of the bird feeder right outside my window.. Oh the glorious red, blue and black was just overwhelming . When I was in town yesterday I bought #50 pounds of black oil sunflowers seeds and #50 pounds of cracked corn.. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see>>>>>>

Mr Pheasant was back to fill up on corn and the black oil sunflowers.

He stayed about 45 minutes.. The birds and even Mr. Squirrel shared the same space with Mr. Pheasant. It was fun to watch.. No fighting, no squabbling,

Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Pheasant had words but they still were sharing the food.. I was surprised . I thought Mr. Squirrel would chase away the pheasant..

Mr. Squirrel's tail was flipping, flipping and he was announcing his right to the feeder.. Mr. Pheasant didn't care~ he's the boss and he held his ground..
They are such a beautiful bird... Hope he brings his family with him next time. I was so excited to see him come back to the feeder...

It's starting to snow now and according to the weather man we are headed for some pretty bad weather.

that's O.K. I'm prepared..I'm ready...Let it rip~!

ta ta for now from Iowa...

This is the best~!~!

Tracie and I decided to make some neck warmers... We went to Target,WalMart and bought some knee socks. They were $2 a pair..

Stopped at Aldi's and bought some long grain white rice ~ 3lb. bag for 69 cents. She had some Lavender essential oil at her house..so didn't have to purchase any oil.

These neck warmers are also good for hot packs for pulled muscles or you can put them in the freezer and use as cold packs . They are amazing~!

Here is what you have to do.. Put the rice in a big bowl or container. Rice has to be long grained (no instant) Put in a few drops of Lavender essential oil (a little goes along way) stir the rice to get the oil well distributed. If you want you don't have to scent the rice. Take one sock and fill with 3 cups of scented rice.(or unscented) Don't want too much rice so if 3 cups seems too much take out a little.. Knot the first sock and take other sock and slip it over this sock. Knot this sock and ta da you have it done.. Easy Squeezy. I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and then put it on my neck.. On these really cold days it really feels good.. My arthritis loves it that is in my neck.

We made a bunch and gave them away for presents.. Everyone that has one tells us how wonderful they feel. I loved this project ~ no sewing... I made one to keep in the freezer.

Have a great day...~~~~ta ta for now from Iowa.... 19 degrees sunny with rain later in the day..

Very Frustrating~!

Have you ever made one of these... This was suppose to be a gingerbread barn.. Oh my goodness. Had the front and back and sides all standing and frosted together.. We start to put the roof on and whoof~ it all falls down.. and then the back of the barn breaks apart in 3 pieces.. YIKES~! So I took the one front that was not broken and put all the other pieces back in the box.. In the mean time Ben is eating all the candy pieces and yummy yummy sounds... No problem we don't need all the candy that is required.. I squirt on the frosting and Tracie and I start placing what is left of the candy pieces onto the barn front.. we are laughing.. How do people do these dog gone things.. Ben is having a great time helping us and of course yummy yummy sounds are coming from him... Finally decorated ~ here is the picture of our barn.. Ta Da...~!

Picture of the box to give you an idea of what the finished project is suppose to look like..

YEAH~! One has to have a lot more frosting than is given to hold this baby together and then have enough to smear over the barn.. Well, it was an adventure and never to be tried again.

I don't know how people do this, but they do..

Here's Ben with his new hand held DSI1 Nintendo game,, he is playing Mario Race Cars game.. He loves it..~! I can see this game is going to have to have a time limit on how long to play..

Can't believe how smart he is and he can really play it and keep up with all the curves and pass other cars and come close to winning.. He has won but not too much. When I took this picture he wouldn't look at the camera..he just said "Cheese".. Lol. What a boy... Tracie and I call this the babysitting machine.. It sure keeps him busy ~! GranAnnie says we need to play board games Ben.. He says O.K. maybe in a little bit... Lol... Have a great Tuesday..~! ta ta for now...

Mr. Pheasant at my feeder.

What a pleasant surprise this morning. While I'm sitting her reading all my blogs that I follow.. I looked out to the North where my feeder is at the lilac bush.. Oh my,,,he is a big bird.. Hope no one shoots him...it's hunting season... we don't allow anyone to hunt on our property.. Hope Mr. Pheasant stays on our 40 acres... He is so beautiful~! Everyone should have ham or turkey to eat don't you think.. They don't need pheasant..
Have a great Monday..~!

OH the weather outside looks frightful~!

Went out this morning to feed the birds and oh my goodness, it's a winter wonderland. So beautiful... I love mornings like this, of course I can stay home.. The roads are pretty clear, snow plows have been on our road 6 times this morning.. I'm sure the road grader with their blades will be on the road later today clearing off the side of the roads to get ready for the next storm...on Thursday... Farmers Almanac said we were going to get lots of snow but oh my goodness this is a lot of snow.. I'm loving it~! I'm sure the people at Sundown Ski Resort in Dubuque are having a great time skiing and snowboarding.. I went skiing there once when I took a high school class there from Springville School with a school bus. I took the lessons which is very important if you have never skied before and I had a great time...










Jodie ~ my daughter from Michigan was here for Christmas with her hubby Mark.. His mom and dad live in Marshaltown and he came this morning to pick up Jodie to head back to Michigan.. It was so nice to have her here for a few days. On Christmas Day we went to Marshalltown to have dinner at Mark's mom and dad's house.. I took two pies. rhubarb/strawberry pie and apple. Yum Yum~! we had a great time visiting with Mary Lou and Tom and think we will go to their house for a visit another time. Ben and Tracie went with us. Ben got a new DSI nintendo hand held game.. He sat on the couch the whole time we were there playing with his Mario game.. We call this game Ben's babysitter...That is all Ben wanted to do while we were there.. He wasn't happy he had to pause the game to eat a little turkey. But he managed and off he went back to the couch.. I can see with how much he liked this game we are going to have to set limits. But after the newness wears off I'm sure it won't be a problem..





The icicles on the side of the house were so huge, big and pretty. Ben loves these long icicles. Last night when he went home he had to have mommy knock a few off so he could take them home with him...






The snow is so heavy the pine trees are weighted down to the ground.

Little foggy this morning ~ it sure is a pretty sight.. Not too cold either.. 13 degrees.. The sun is now trying to peek out and now everything glistens and sparkles...

Have a great Monday.

ta ta for now from Iowa

My Kelsy GIrl Is Home~!

Kelsy my grandaughter who is 21 has been in Rome ~Italy since Sept. 24, 2010.. She went there for her internship for her senior year at Iowa State.. She was suppose to be home on the 19th but because of all the snow in London, at Heathrow where she was suppose to fly out of was clogged with snow.. She said it was quite an adventure.. She was so happy to be back in Iowa. We were so happy we got to be at the airport to welcome her back to the good ole USA>

Her boyfriend Cam was there to meet her too and she was especially happy to see him... He is a Senior at Iowa State too and they will both be graduating in May... It was fun to see them together once again.

After the big welcoming party they left and we did too.. Dave and I went out to breakfast and then I took him home.. I had to get my haircut at 11:30.. The gal that cuts my hair we always go out to lunch.. I just had a small bowl of soup ~ especially after having such a big breakfast. We had a great time talking and then we went to her shop and whack whack...my hair was put back in shape and oh my it feels and looks so much better. I love getting my hair cut..feels so good.

It's day before Christmas and all is well in our household.. Had a big snow last night.. The snowmobilers are having a good time on the road today.. No traffic and lots of snow on the road..Zoom Zoom~!~! Got my birds all fed this morning. I shoveled all the snow under the feeders before I filled up the feeders. My lilac bush is just covered with birds.. It's like a Christmas present from Nature.. I love the birds and they are only 12 feet from my window.. so I can watch them and see them up close.

Well, be cleaning my house today.. Make Apple Pie for tomorrow. Going to daughter, Jodie's in law's house tomorrow in Marshaltown for Chrismas dinner . Have a few gifts to wrap and of course be on my computer reading my blogs that I follow..

OHHHH ~~~ yesterday I bought myself a Christmas Present.. A webcam.. I hooked it up to my computer and then I signed up to Sykpe for free... Last night I skyped my son, Richard and got to see 3 of my grandchildren, Rich and Lisa and Lisa's daughter Sophia and Lisa's mom Pat.. I made them all hats for Christmas and they modeled the hats they had received that day. They really liked them and the hats looked so good on them.. They carried the lap top into the living room and I could see their Christmas tree.. Then they put the lap top on top of the piano and I got to sing carols with them.. Oh that was a magic moment. It was just like I was there with them.. This is going to be fun in the future..

You all have a great Christmas..~! ta ta for now from Iowa.....

I have been tagged~!

#1When do you usually know and feel it's finally the holidays.
Second week in December. Listening to the music and thinking about what I want to make or buy. Have to start early if one's going to make something . I made hats this year for the grandchildren.
#2 What do you want for Christmas this year...
I love to watch grandchildren open their presents. I really don't need anything. I love doing for other people.
#3. Do you go all out with decorations....
No,,My decorations are on the tree and I love to put out my ice skaters that we used when I was a small girl. They are on the end table.
#4. What you doing Christmas Eve....
Going to Christmas Eve church service.. children putting on their program and ending with candle light service with songs .
#5. What you doing Christmas Day.....
Going to daughters, in laws for Christmas dinner.. It will be a wonderful day.
#6. It's Christmas time ~ what are you reading....
All my favorite blogs. Christmas letters from friends and family.. Too busy to read a book. I read my devotions daily and bible.
#7...Favorite movie to watch during the holidays...
Christmas Story...(you'll shoot your eye out)
#8 What is your Favorite Christmas song....
Michael W. Smith Christmas song from his CD
#9. What is your Favorite Holiday Drink....
Starbucks holiday tea...
#10 How's your Christmas shopping going....
Right on schedule...
#11 If you could spend Christmas Day anywhere else ~ where would you spend it with...
As long as I'm with my family I don't care where I spend my Christmas Day .
Went to Hilton Head one year with son's family. Sang Silent Night on the beach at midnight~ that was awesome~!
#12 Do you have any holiday traditions?
Making all our favorite receipe's that were made when I was a little girl. Putting shoes at the back door New Year's Eve..Santa's on his way back to the North Pole and he leaves something small in our shoes. Dave and I always go to the mall the day before Christmas and just sit and watch the people..
#13 What is a favorite thing about the holiday....
Watching children at this time of year.. it's just so magic.. they get so excited about getting presents and Santa coming for a visit.. I love the Christmas program the children put on for church.. The songs , candlelight service and the genuine love of Baby Jesus.. Putting out the nativity scene under my tree. This year giving Ben a nativity scene and watching him give baby Jesus a kiss.

I'm tagging:
Coming Alive In Christ ~ nicolyn75@yahoo.com
three thirty three
Rex22lbs
Carolina Trekker

Mr Squirrel Has Success~!

Mr. Squirrel Showed up this morning with an additude~!

He jerked and jerked and swayed and swayed that peice of corn all around and around.. I just sat inside and laughed...
He was determined ~ there was going to be victory victory victory and the Corn was going to be his ~!

He chewed on that string and kerplop~! it fell on the ground and yes, he was victorious...

Victory is mine ~said Mr. squirrel~!~!
Off he ran and so did I...He dropped the corn just before climbing the tree..I brought it back to the feeder and took the corn off the cob for the birds and for him too if he wants to come for a bite of corn.

One thing to remember if you feed the birds you have to feed the squirrels.. LOL~!

I love this picture with that big peice of corn in his mouth and he is running for his life to get away. He must have strong teeth ~!

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

Joe our good friend delivers our propane gas to us... So this morning he stopped by and I couldn't resist and took his picture. He is such a happy fellow.. He always come inside and visits us when He comes to our house for a delivery..
Thank goodness I had oatmeal raisin cookies made and a fresh pot of coffee.
He said they were good and it was a great morning snack.. We talked for awhile and off he went back out on the road..
It's snowing like crazy right now and he said "Man if you don't have to go anywhere today ~ stay inside". It's a light snow and it's blowing hard..can't even see the road from my window..

I got his attention and you can see his big smile and a wave... He said get the coffee ready I'm coming inside for a little bit..

The birds are busy at the feeders.. Here are 3 downy woodpeckers lined up to eat on the suet..

Mr. Squirrel was back and he couldn't get the corn lose from the red material that I have the corn fastened to the tree. He really tried before the snow came...he got it turned to the side but not enough muscles to get it lose. Yeah~! Now that the snow is blowing full blast he left and went up in the big pine tree. I can see him eating on the corn that he took couple days ago..

Glad I don't have to work anymore or have to leave the house today to go anywhere.. Oh I'll take that back...I'm picking up Ben at daycare this afternoon.. and I have a few things to take to the Post Office to mail to Illinois. Maybe by then this storm will be done and it will be easier to see down the road. It's white out right now.

Happy Monday to everyone~! ta ta for now from Iowa...

Who cooks for you ~ Who cooks for you~!

Last night I was laying in bed and all of a sudden right outside my bedroom window I heard the Barred Owl.. Oh I was so excited. He has a clear voice, expressive, hooting/barking hoo hoo ho-ho, hoo hoo ho-h0000000aw~! He always ends his song with a descending and rolling hoooaaaaw note.. It's almost like he is saying "Who cooks for you ~ Who cooks for you ~!
There is always another owl close by in another tree that answers back.. It's just the coolest sound and I get so excited when I hear the owls talking to each other.
These owls are 18 to 22 inches tall and have a wing span of 3 1/2 to 3 foot.. can you imagine that?
If you would like to see the Barred Owl just go to You Tube~~Owl Cam #1 Barred Owl.
Someone videoed a Barred Owl and you can see him . I love their faces it's almost shaped like a heart.. They usually live in mixed woods where they hunt rodents from perches. They usually mate this time of year and then the eggs hatch in March.. There are some live cam's that usually give a 24 x7 viewing of these owls. The babies are so cute and fuzzy. Last of February a web site called ~ The Owl Cam" will have a web cam inside the nesting box and one can watch the male bring food to the female and then watch the eggs hatch.. Then they both feed the babies.. It's very fun to watch.. The web cam is in Bernita California.
Went to church this morning.. Good to see everyone this week.. because we wasn't able to have church last Sunday because of the weather,snow and the frigid temperatures. So it was good to see everyone.. We are going to have a children's program on Christmas Eve. Just a short one... then end up with candlelight and singing songs.. I love that..
Today after church we went to Springville at a little restaurant and had lunch.. Afterwards we went to Cedar Rapids at the mall where Springville choir and band were playing.. That was really nice to see them perform... While there we were passing by the food court and there was a Flash Mob going on..a lot of people were singing the Halleluya Chorus.. Oh my,, I have seen this on You Tube on Facebook ...It just made me have lots of tears...Glad I keep Kleenex in my coat pocket.. It was wonderful~!
6 more days until Christmas... Yeah~! Tomorrow I'll get to see Ben again.. It is his turn to be at his Mom's house.. Tracie has school tomorrow evening so I will pick him up at daycare and Ben and I well have a fun evening.. I miss him..
Have a great evening, it's Sunday... ta ta for now from Iowa ... It was a sunny cold day today...Suppose to get a snowstorm tomorrow ....Let it rip~!

While I was napping~!

Well, I decided to take a nap since I didn't get a very good nights sleep. WELL~ while I was sleeping Mr. Squirrel came and had breakfast..

Notice the corn is still in the platform feeder.. At first I thought maybe a rabbit came by and had a snack.. No rabbit poo poos on the ground..

This worked..tying the corn to the branch of the tree deterred Mr. Squirrel to not take the corn up the tall pine tree... Yeah~!

Wonder what he thought when he couldn't get it to move? I wish I could of gotten a picture of him...There will be other days...I'm going to tie the next corn onto the tree just like this and I'm sure I'll get to see what happens..

WOW~! what a lazy day.. I made one more hat today and I have two more to go. I really enjoy making these hats.. They are easy and fairly quick to make..

Dave got out the snow blower and blowed off the cement pad infront of the garage.. IT wasn't working very well so he took it to Hiawatha to the Green Valley John Deere store and left it with them.. They should have it done sometime on Monday..Just in time for another snowstorm..

Ta Ta For Now from Iowa...

Yippee Yi~! Yippee Yo~!

This morning I put this huge big ear of corn on the platform feeders for the birds.. If you feed the birds of course your going to get the squirrels.. You see there is no big ear of corn in this picture.. That is because Mr. Squirrel took it up the big pine tree and hid it . Guess for another snowy day... The only squirrels I get here at my house are the cast offs from Whittier.. A small town 3/4 mile south of my house.. I think what happens: the population gets to be too many male squirrels . so these squirrels are chased out of town.. They must smell the food I have at the bird feeders because they always come here...which is O.K. because they don't stay long.. They seem to like the road and after being here for a few days they go on the road and commit suicide.. I try to tell them ahead of time this is not a good idea.. I really hate it when this happens..

I went out to my garage where I store the food for the birds and I got one ear of corn, brought it into the house and took one row of corn off the cob.. Then I took a piece of red material and tied it to the corn... It's now out there tied to a branch above the platform feeder. Now lets see if Mr. Squirrel can get a hold of this corn and drag it away.. It should be interesting.. If I see him out there I'll try and get a picture..
Today it's pretty cold, sunny and not much wind.. Had frosty ice over everything this morning and made things look like winter wonderland..

I'm sitting at my desk writing out Christmas Cards. So far I've only gotten the ones done that I have received in the mail.. But plan on getting others done today.

Hubby is off to the workout center.He's going to stop and get groceries on his way home. . I made a Apple Crisp for supper tonight.. It's cooking in the oven and smells so good. Two more servings of Chilli,,so that will be our supper.

Read my devotional today and It says we need to surrender to God..all our past regrets, present problems, future ambitions, fears,dreams,weaknesses, habits hurts and hang-ups. Put Jesus in the drivers seat and take your hands off the wheel.. Don't be afraid; nothing that is under His control can ever be out of control. Surrendered to Christ, you can handle anything life throws at you...

I remember couple years ago going to Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois and listening to Kurt Warner, professional football player for the Cardinals. He was speaking about his faith and how God now directs his life. He said when he was younger he didn't have much faith or belief in God and God rode in the trunk of his car. Then he met his wife, Brenda and he could see that she had a relationship with God and if he wanted to have a relationship with her he had to know God just a little better. So he let God ride in the back seat.. By this time his relationship with Brenda had gotten closer and he decided to up his faith with God.. So he let God ride in the passenger seat.. He then had some set-backs in his football career and he said he just surrendered everything to God.. SO now God drives his car and he said His life got so much better. He said "Do you know how God is talking to you?" By praying and reading your bible daily and then surrendering to Him.. I will always remember hearing that from Kurt because it is so true.. What a great role model he is for our young people and for me..

Have a great day~! ta ta for now...from Iowa.....

Woke up this morning to 5 inches of beautiful snow...If I was still working I would of been at the school at 4 in the morning, shoveling off the walks. I was a head custodian and that was one of my jobs.. After I retired the school bought a walk behind snow blower... Imagine that~! It's like our kids mowed the grass for up teen years here on the farm with a push mower.. They all grew up and it was just Dave and I.. Yep~! you are right Dave went out and bought a riding lawn tractor... Took several pictures through the window that is right outside my computer room. I have 6 pairs of Cardinals.. They are so bright red with the snow in the background.. I love spring this bird tells us how pretty he is: pretty bird pretty bird he chirps to his mate. Now all he does is look at her and eats and eats and eats. I love wild birds they are a wonderful treat to look at right outside ones window..


Don't need any Christmas decorations on this tree.. These Cardinals is all you need.. Aren't they pretty.. They were here all day feasting on black oil sunflower seed, field corn and I cut up a suet block and mixed it in the seed on the platform.

Here's the Cardinals, Morning Doves, junco's, gold finches. The woodpeckers were here also, all 8 of them . I made up some special peanut butter/corn meal/lard, suet for them..
Yum Yum~! It was just fun today to sit here and watch them all come and go.. Mr. Red Tailed Hawk must of been busy somewhere else today. Didn't see him..

Won't be seeing Ben until Sunday evening. He is with his Dad. I miss him when he is not at Tracie's.. Called his Dad this evening and asked how Ben was doing.. Cory said he had a great day~! took a 2 hour nap.

Have enjoyed just reading all the blogs today...One of my blog friends took a video with her this morning and filmed driving her dog to the vets this morning. It was snowing big time and it looked really slippery.. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Look on You Tube: Snow Drive Dec.16,2010 it was made by deedah1..

She also had another funny one on You Tube: It's a Jolly Holi-dog Celebrations made by Best Friends Videos.. I laughed so hard at this one.. It's a good one to watch over and over.

Have a great evening...Tomorrow is Friday and it's going to be a sunny day.. I will be outside sh0veling the cement pad in front of the garage.. Hopefully the boys across the road will come and push out the snow in our driveway with their tractor /snow blade.

Ta Ta For Now from Iowa...15 degrees and it was a wonderful day~! I love the snow...

Quick Pick Me Up~!

Tracie's Christmas tree is up and it's in lights. Ben just loved it.. Now Ben and Tracie can decorate this tree. Pick Me Up ~ I have both my tree finished and now Tracie's tree finished. The real pick me up this morning was reading all my blogs..JP getting 4 leaf clover from Texwisgirl ~ Varunner making super looking cream cheese pops...activity mom having children make early thank you cards to send out, pumpkin patch taking pictures of her sheep.. The list goes on and on...maybe I shouldn't of mentioned peoples names because now I know I missed someone...sorry.. My highlight of the day is reading all the blogs that I follow.. Then I think about what I want to post on my blog... So here I am...thanking you all for taking the time to write on your blogs.. They make me laugh,, get tears in my eyes... get emotional and I just love it~! It's a great way to start the day~ of course after I read my bible and read my devotional for the day, that is how I start my day and then God's blessing flow though my day.

Got one more hat done this morning.. My friend Holly will be receiving that one.. Need to make one for my friend Carrol.. Then I want to make chilli for supper tonight and some apple crisp.. That sounds good to me. Have a great Wednesday~!~! ta ta for now from Iowa....

MFBS She is the greatest~!

My Favorite Best Sister ~ Lynn is the greatest sister one could ever want.. I call her my MFBS all the time...she is my only sister so it's O.K.
Before Thanksgiving I wrote to www.Punkin'sPatch.blogspot.com
and asked her if she sold any of her yarn..
She of course said "Yes..."..
Well, to begin with my sister is the one that got me started in blogging and she always mentions punkin's patch blog to see if I had looked at posting that she had done ... So I got real acquainted with all the sheep that live on this farm... Lynn would talk about these sheep as if they were her friends.. She can tell you how Keebler first got started and Lamb Graham, Eunice and Willard and all the rest. I told her she could write a book about these sheep.. It's just so fun to hear her talk about them.. And now with Renny living on the Punkin Patch farm we now have a added story about Renny..
Well, when Punkin's Patch wrote back to me and said she had yarn I just had to buy some for making a hat and a cowl for Lynn. Here she is with the hat on and you can see Keebler's curls on her hat and a picture of Keebler.. When she opened the package she had tears and was so very happy. She thought this was the best Christmas Present she was going to receive this year. What a perfect gift to give to your sister..
She called me this morning and told me how cold it was in South Carolina and she was so glad she had the hat and the cowl... My brother, Dave lives there now and he bought her a Green House. They have been putting this together for a month and she told me today they have it all done and they were going to move in the plants that she has in her house into the green house. I asked her how she was going to heat the GH.. and she said they bought a Vornado heater and that is what she is using.. My son, Rich has a Vornado heater and it really works.. It keeps their kitchen so warm. It's drafty in his kitchen and this heater really keeps things feeling cozy..It is friendly on the electric bill and costs very little to use.
Man oh man the birds are sure busy this morning.. THey went through a suet block in two days and I just went outside and put up another one.. I have 3 different woodpeckers in this lilac bush right outside my window.. plus cardinals, blue jays , black capped chickadees and junco's and the list goes on.. They look so colorful in the snow..



When I picked up Ben yesterday at daycare, they had a sign on his classroom door that said "Please have your child come with snowpants, coat, mittens, hat and boots everyday"...
Well, I went into his closet and got his brand new snowpants Tracie bought for him to see if they fit.. They looked pretty good.. After sinching up the straps ~ I put them on him and they fit pretty good.. Plenty of room to grow into for next year..He said GranAnnie take a picture.. I love the hat ~ and his little ears poke out.. I put his name on the tag so the school would know they belong to Ben.. I also marked his coat, boots, mittens and hat.. Nothing more frustrating then not knowing what belongs to who...
The Christmas tree is on the table because I'm getting the lights on it ~ that way I don't have to bend over.. This afternoon I'm going to Tracie's house and get the last string of lights on and then Tracie and Ben can decorate it this evening.
Ben is all excited about Christmas and loves me to read about Jesus being born.. I have a small nativity scene I bought for Ben last year and I'm going to take it to his house today.. He can play with it and put the wisemen, shephards, Jesus, Angels , Mary and Joseph where he wants them.
I think it's great when children have their own manger to play with.. That is what Christmas is all about..
Have a great Tuesday everyone...Ta Ta For Now~! from Iowa....

GranAnnie "Frosty is on the window"~!

Had to laugh at Ben...On Tracie's porch the frost was on the window , it was -20 degrees outside with the wind howling. He decided to get a stool and the spatula we used when we made pancakes to scrape off the frost that had gathered on the window.. Oh I thought it was so funny.. He got all the frost off the window and then a little while later he would look and it was back. So off he went and had to scrape it off again.
Meantime I'm getting the lights on Tracie's and Ben's Christmas tree and it is really great... He is busy doing his thing and I'm busy doing my thing. So if anyone has a child that needs something to do on a frosty windy afternoon, just give him a frosted window and a spatula and scrape ~ scrape ~ scrape... he loved it and had a great time~!


Here he is after his hard work of scraping. Ben is bundled up with his favorite blanket and Nibbles.. watching VegieTales 'Pirates that do nothing.. I think that is what it's called. I popped him some popcorn and gave him some hot chocolate.. He was in hog heaven. It was so cold on Saturday I decided to stay all night. Plus there was a warning to anyone that got on the highway and needed a tow truck they would not be coming. So it was a great evening. Tracie ~ Ben and I watched the Vege-Tales movie . Sunday morning Pa Pa Dee Dee called me and said there would be no church this morning.. I stayed with Tracie and Ben all day Sunday. It was blowing and bitter cold outside.. At 4 p.m. Tracie wasn't feeling very well, so Ben and I went to the grocery store. He loves Hy-Vee. He wanted a bag of oranges, brocoli and Cheeto's.. :) We stopped at Culvers and I got supper for Tracie, Ben and myself and went to Tracie's house.. He got a hotdog with fries... It was good not to have to cook and it tasted good. Came home about 9 p.m. after the Amazing Race.. couldn't miss that because it was the final show..
This morning after feeding the birds and putting water in the heated bird bath I came inside and had my coffee and ate my breakfast. I watched the birds at the feeders for a long while and then decided I best get the decorations out of the box and get my tree decorated. Now I can put the plastic tubs back in the closet and ta da my tree is finally decorated.. It looks good and tonight I can turn on the lights and watch the lights from the tree light up the room.. It will look cozy in there.
The wind has finally stopped blowing and the sun is out ~ it's 5 degrees right now. The roads are cleared off except for a few icy spots. School was delayed for 2 hours for the school kids and I'm still in my P J's... Yeah~!
This morning my devotion was about "Preparing for your biggest test".
Gensis 22:1,2, Hebrew 11:8 We can walk with God, yet not know the details of our destiny. When God makes you a promise, the timeline is up to Him. We can have faith in one area, yet experience fear in another. We all have times when we cave in to fear, self-interst, or other peoples demands. Were it not for God's grace we'd all be disqualified~!
We have to surrender to God and let him be in charge.. You simply let go and let God have His way.. (for me that is hard to do)...
Have a great Monday~! ta ta for now...from Iowa

Picked up Ben & Nibbles at daycare~!

Today when I picked up Ben he was so happy to see me.. It just makes my day when he is so excited to see me. He runs to me with open arms...gives me big hug and a kiss and says "Hey GranAnnie".. Wove you... Almost makes me want to have tears.. Then he says "Go to Mommie's house".. I said O.K. As we left the daycare he put Nibbles in the snow and said.. "Let's take a picture.".. So I gave him my camera all set to take a picture and this is what we have, Nibbles sitting in the snow.. He picked him up and off we went to the car.. He said to Nibbles.."Wasn't that fun?".. I just love it when a child is so attached to a stuffed animal.. My oldest son, Wally loved his bear... He carried him until he went to Kindergarten and then the bear stayed home with me until he got back home.

Went to the grocery store with Ben and this grocery store has carts for children to push around the store.. Oh my goodness.. Ben was so excited. He put Nibbles in the cart and off we went.. Grape juice first.. then a big bag of carrots. I got milk and bread. Big storm is coming to Iowa tomorrow with high winds. We got a lot more things and then he put it on the counter for me to buy.. He was just beside himself , with this cart.. When we were ready to leave he put the cart back where it belonged.


When we got home,, (now I wish I had a picture of this )but I had put his sled in the back of my car and when I got the sled out of the back to put the groceries in to pull them to the house, he was really excited.. So he sat in the sled with all the groceries we had bought for his house and I pulled him to the house. Then we went back outside and I pulled him and Nibbles all around the farm with his sled . He giggled and laughed ~ he loves to be outside doesn't matter what the weather. When he was a little baby I would wrap him up and put him in a sled or wagon and pull him all over the place everyday in the wintertime. It was time to go in the house and he pulled the sled into the house.. He said to keep it warm...:)
He put on his cowboy hat and he looked so cute sitting in his barn with his tractors. I couldn't resist in taking a picture..

In his bedroom there is a mirror and he is looking in the mirror posing.. Cheese~!
I played a few Super Nintendo games with him and his MaMa had supper ready for them.. So I told him I had to go home and fix PaPa Dee Dee's supper and I would see him tomorrow. He said reluctantly O.K.

Today I got another hat made for my brother. He saw the hat I made for my sister and wanted one too. Only he didn't want the brim. So I went up and found some grey wool yarn in my plastic tub of yarn and da ta I have his hat done. So tomorrow if the roads are not too bad, I'll see if I can get to the Post Office and get his hat mailed. I love making these hats and they are so easy.
Dave and I got the lights on the tree and now it's ready to decorate.. Have to do that tomorrow..
It's time for bed and it's raining outside.. That is scary.. I hate rain in the wintertime.. it freezes and then try to drive in that, then the snow comes and covers the ice and now one has a twofold problem,,,ice under the snow.. Yikes~! Since were not going to be having a thaw soon it will be with us for quite awhile. Suppose to be 7 degrees Monday.. Welcome winter,, if you don't like what it's doing in Iowa today wait until tomorrow.. That's what I tell people.
Ta ta For now From Iowa...

It's a beautiful day~!

Made this for Home in the Hollow's granddaughter. Sure hope it fits this 2 year old.. These hats are so fun to make.. Had this one made in couple hours.. Well, put it in the mail tomorrow...

Today I went outside to burn the garbage and on the step was this; a fluttering morning dove feather.The wind was picking it up and it would flutter in the air and then drop onto the ground. It was like magic.. I thought it was soo cool. I went out to the side yard and there were lots of feathers laying on the ground.. Mr. Red Tailed Hawk had breakfast. I know he was probably hungry , but why can't he eat the suet or the black oil sunflowers like all the other birds do,,,oh well, the big bird will have a good nights sleep tonight because his stomach is full..

Went over to the neighbor's house today.. Lori is such a wonderful young lady and we have a lot of fun visiting and drinking tea. Her mom , Dara came over today to have tea with us.She lives next door to Lori.It was fun to see her mom..
Right inside the door I saw this new piece of furniture with the baskets.. She said she got it online through Target.. She bought it so her children can have a place for their hats, mittens and gloves when they come home from school.. She is so organized.
She also had hooks on the opposite wall for them to hang their coats and a place for them to put their snowy boots. I thought this was a great idea.. When her children came home from school they did just what they were suppose to do.. hats,mittens,gloves in the bins and coats hung up with boots sitting below.. The wood matches the furniture she has in her living room.. Everything just looks very tidy.

Lori had her tree up and decorated and her Christmas shopping was done and all the presents wrapped under the tree. Oh my goodness~! I don't think I know of anyone this organized..

This evening I'm going to my girls quilting sewing bee at the other neighbors house. Sharon last week had delicious blueberry/peach cobbler to go with our tea.. I'm taking my hats for show and tell and I'm making a hat for my brother (without the brim on his) for his Christmas present.

I'll be working on that while I'm there. It's a lot of fun to sit with girls that do the same thing you do. Learn new ideas and talk just about everything under the sun.. It's relaxing and I enjoy getting out once a week with the girls..

Got the Christmas tree out of the plastic tub today.. Dave and I got it altogether.. It's now standing in the front living room waiting for the lights to be put on tomorrow morning. Haven't put a tree up for 3 years and decided this year we would put one up.. Ben will like that.. I will also get the plastic tubs out and get the decorations out and put them on the tree. After tomorrow the tree will be up and decorated.. You can't imagine how hard it was to just get this done.. I have been dragging my feet for weeks.. After I saw how all the bloggers I follow have their homes decorated so brightly , I got in the mood.. Maybe I won't take it down for awhile.. or maybe it can stand there until next Christmas.. just kidding.. that won't happen.

Weatherman says lots of snow for Friday night and Saturday.. Yeah~! I got out the inner tube that we use to go down the sliding hill and Saturday or Sunday, Ben, Tracie and I can go sled riding. I take the grain shovel and sit on it with the handle going forward, use my feet to guide me right or left and use the handle to hang on to.. it's a great way to go sliding in the snow. .Dave put the right amount of air into the tube so it can go smoothly down the hill. Last time I took Ben sled riding he just laughed and laughed going down the hill.. It was so much fun.

Have a great Friday everyone.. Be careful if you are in the snow, and stay warm...

Ta Ta For Now...from Iowa...

Look out for power naps~!

This blue jay looks like it has two tails.. LOL the birds are hungry this morning...



Yesterday I was working on my crochet hats and I decided to put some bacon in the oven to cook because it was needing cooked before it got to old.. Put it on the baking sheet , turned oven to 350 degrees and didn't bother to put the timer on ~ thinking my power naps are usually 15 minutes...Ha~! I work up 35 mintues later to the smell of burnt bacon.. Oh my goodness~! So I rushed out to the kitchen and opened the oven door.. smoke poured out and the smell of Yuck~!


So I put the bacon on a paper plate and took it outside to put in the field.. (That's where I put all my garbage)... I was really wanting some bacon and now it's gone...:( I must of been extra tired to sleep beyond 15 minutes.. Guess I can't trust my internal alarm clock anymore and next time I'll set the timer.. I hate to see thick sliced hickory smoked bacon go to waste.
After a while Dave came home from his trip to the work out center.. His smeller must be bad because he didn't smell a thing. He didn't even ask if I was baking something for supper..

Used to be when I was much younger and I had the four kids at home I waited till the last minute to even think about supper.. I either was playing with them or sewing or doing something ~ I would look at the clock and think ~ oh my goodness, I only have a little time to get supper going before Dave came home from work.

So I would put a onion in the oven and get it cooking.. The onion puts a wonderful smell in ones kitchen and makes one think that supper is on it's way...What this smell does is to trick that person into thinking that supper is going to be on the table soon ~ Giving me time to fix something quickly and of course the onion is served as a side or I would add the onion in whatever I was cooking . Works everytime... Now I can burn something royal and no mention of "What's cooking"..


Here's picture of the four hats I have made so far.. Oh I'm so excited I can finaly make hats that actually look good.. They are made of wool so they will be warm this winter.
One can use acrylic yarn if they want but up here in the North we go for the warm wool ,that is if you aren't allergic to wool.
Going to get 1 inch of snow today and the birds are all so busy eating this morning. There are a lot of different kind of birds sitting on my lilac bush this morning,right outside my window waiting their turn to get to the feeder.
Have a great day today and be careful taking power naps and not setting a timer.. I can still smell that burnt bacon this morning. Going to light my cinnamon candle that will over power that burnt smell. ta ta for now from Iowa..
We are having a heat wave this morning ~ it's 24 degrees right now..

Oh my goodness~! Look up~! Look to the West~!

Late this afternoon I was out scrounging around in the cornfield looking for corn cobs the combine left behind for me to pick up for the birds. There is way too much snow out here and I can't find any. Why didn't I do this on a day that was warmer and no snow.. As I'm walking out here I see that we are going to get another beautiful sunset. I'm so glad I brought my camera.. You never know what you are going to see and then wish you had it with you..

The house you see in the West is a neighbor that lives a mile from my house. I should make a copy of these pictures and take them over to their house. It's a beautiful setting with their house and outbuildings and then the sun setting..

Here we go it's getting darker.. The clouds were so wonderful and it is freezing cold outside.. 8 degrees right now..

Today I just sat in the house and crocheted on my hats I'm making. I have one more hat done and 1/2 way through with the next one. I thought maybe the tree would come out of it's box today, but not today.. maybe tomorrow.. and then all the Christmas decorations will come out too ..

ta ta for now..from Iowa

Have any of you tried the Hartz Infusion shampoo/conditioner dog shampoo yet? I have been using it for couple weeks now and I can't believe how soft my skin is and I use less lotion on my body. I know ~ my husband is still laughing at me.. He says I'm desperate.. Well, I am...If I can find something that works and keeps my skin from being dry and it does work~! . I put this product in my soap container that I use by the sink to wash your hands with. He's using it on his hands...SHHHH~! don't tell him.. lol

Sometimes we have to be sneaky.

Have a great Tuesday evening~! ta ta for now from Iowa 8 degrees and dark...ha ha..