Avery swap

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Here are the results of the monthly PID image swap: Avery.
They're all wonderful! Thank you, friends!

By Sarah W.

by Jennifer R.

by Elena V.

by Eileen B.

by Dianna M.

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I've been asked to share the following recipe. It's quick, easy, and oh, so good!

Marcia’s Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

1 pound spaghetti, broken into thirds

1 teas. salt

2 pounds ground beef

½ cup diced onion (I use frozen)

1/3 cup chopped green pepper (again, I use frozen)

1 T vegetable oil

½ teas. minced garlic in oil

2 cans tomato sauce with Italian Herbs (I use Contadina)

Grated parmesan cheese to taste

In large stockpot, boil 6-8 quarts water with the salt. Add broken spaghetti to boiling water, simmer for 10 minutes or until al dente. While waiting for water to boil, sauté onion and green pepper in vegetable oil until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef, crumbling it into small pieces. Add garlic, sauté until ground beef is fully browned. Drain off any liquid, then add tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer until spaghetti is done. Serve sauce over individual servings of spaghetti and top with Parmesan cheese.

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Beautiful to look at...

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Three darling grandchildren!

The new table-topper I just finished...

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My DH just inherited some "dishes" from an elderly cousin. Some dishes!!

10 pieces of Fostoria crystal, "Baroque" in Topaz yellow.

4 ice tea tumblers, 4 sherbets, a relish tray, and a small vegetable dish. I love this pattern!



Also a complete set of Franciscan "Apple" USA, circa 1950, in excellent condition. Very collectible! Four place settings with several completer pieces, plus some coordinating green glassware of unknown origin. If anyone recognizes the green glassware pattern, let me know!

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Don't anyone try to tell my DH he can't grow iris in South Texas! These are next to our front door.

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Yesterday my DH spent all day at the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens' Big Bloom Plant Sale.
I helped out during the afternoon for about four hours. It was breezy and shady there, so I didn't bother to wear sunscreen or a hat. My face, shoulders, neck, and lower arms are very sunburned today--which has given me a headache. Yuk!


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New purse

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TODAY'S PROJECT

This purse was made from a pattern in the Spring 2009 issue of Quilts and More magazine. It is fully lined with 2 patch pockets inside, and has a magnetic snap closure. I pieced the straps for more interest. I wanted a purse that shouted spring. I may try another one perhaps for fall, but if I do I'll enlarge the pattern by at least 25% to hold all my stuff. It was easy to make, and I enjoy making purses for myself. Copper was not very impressed, though.

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Isabella arrived

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Below are the five Isabella ATC's I received from the February Swap at Paper Imagery Designs.

from Sarah W.

from Jennifer R.

from Eileen B.

from Dianna M.

from Angie H.


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These are my April swap cards--the image is Craig.

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My DH surprised me with these roses--aren't they beautiful? They smell luscious, too. He occasionally does things like this, and it always makes me feel great. I think I'll keep him.

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Kreativ Blogger Award

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My friend Eileen gave me this award, and I am thrilled and honored! So I am supposed to list 7 of my favorite things, then send this award to 7 of my favorite bloggers so they can pass it on.

My favorite things:

1. My Bedlington Terrier, Copper

2. My PT Cruiser, royal blue.

3. The series "Paranormal State" on A&E.

4. My own recipe for spaghetti and meat sauce. Yum!

5. My fabric stash--extensive!

6. Oldies radio stations

7. Rose-scented products, like potpourri, hand-cream, and scented oil that I bought at the Rose Garden in Tyler, TX.


I read a lot of blogs, but here are some of my favs:

1. Marci

2. Chrissy

3. Karen

4. Rena

5. Melinda

6. Beth

7. Angie


These are all worthy of a regular look--they all inspire me with their creativity. I need all the inspiration I can get!

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Happy Birthday to me! (last week--)

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This is the package that was delivered for my birthday.

and what it contained! It is from my son and daughter-in-law.

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I finally got around to doing the March image swap for PIDSwaps. This time it's Avery. I thought I'd show you one of my favorite background techniques. First, I cut cheap fusible interfacing into small pieces, about 3" to 6" rectangles. Then I painted them with acrylic paints in various designs.

Then I chopped them up into smaller pieces with a rotary cutter.


I used an 8.5" x 11" sheet of sturdy cardboard for the backing. I sprayed it with a little spray adhesive just to make sure, then covered the cardboard with the pieces in a random manner. I then pressed the whole thing, using a press cloth between the paint and the iron.


Then I cut it into 2.5" x 3.5" ATCs. They resemble a crazy quilt.


Here are the finished Avery ATCs.

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This is me at a recent Red Hat Society meeting. It's not a good photo, but then I'm not very photogenic. I look sleepy because I was.

I just bought a Wii Fit balance board for my birthday gift to myself, plus a couple of games.
I hope to get it hooked up tomorrow. I want to start working on my balance, which has been a problem for me over the last few years.

I just joined Facebook. I don't understand how to use it, but most of my family is on there, so I figured I'd give it a try. I tried MySpace a few months ago, but it made no sense to me, so I dropped out. We'll see how long this lasts. Ha!

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Swaps finished

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This ATC was sent to me by Dianna M. for the PID Red, Pink, and Touch of Green Swap. She also sent a goodie bag of ephemera as a bonus! Thanks, Dianna!

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Earlier I showed a bracelet with four of the charms I made for the Mixed Media Art Charm swap. I finished the last 3 sets, so I thought I would show them all as sets:

Game Pieces: Miniature Alphabet blocks

Fabric/Sewing: Covered buttons with flower brads
and beaded edges

Found Objects: Paper tags
One side is alcohol inks with a stamped face on it;
the other is alcohol inks with acrylic stickers.

Other: Wooden tags
One side has decoupaged roses, the other
side has a stamped design.

Fabric/Sewing: Beaded fabric dangles
One side has roses fused to it, the other
side has the word "Love" stamped on it.

Spring Colors: stacked buttons on wire

Beading: Wire-wrapped glass hearts


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Once these are mailed I will be all caught up with my swaps. I may skip the next month's PID swap to get some other things done. I have been going through books to reduce the number. I have a large box of Boy Scout books that I want to get rid of, I just haven't decided how. I am keeping the books that were my sons' of course. They both made Eagle Scout with palms and were in the Order of the Arrow. A lot of work went into that, both by them and by their Dad and I. They aren't really interested in keeping any of their old things right now, so we will save them in case they do want them later on.

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My elder son is returning from his active duty in Iraq for a two-week leave. He will be home with his wife and children. I wish we could see him, but not this time. He will be back for good in mid-May. I miss him, but at least I do get to talk to him by Instant Messenger every couple of weeks. It will be good to have him on home turf.

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My MIL is physically about the same, but mentally has lost all ability to recognize anyone other than her daily providers. She doesn't seem to notice that her home has been changed to make her care easier, or that we have transferred some of her clothing and valuables to our house for safekeeping. She no longer interacts with her pet chihuahua, either. The poor dog is confused and bewildered by the whole situation.

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Tomorrow is my younger son's 26th birthday. I can remember his birth as if it were last week--it doesn't seem that so much time has passed. My older son will soon turn 29. Oh, boy.

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