Abby versus Birdie

Was Abby naughty when I found her sitting on my entertainment unit? She had discovered the little birdie like the ones I use for my tassels. I'd slipped into a white cage on a nest of tassel ribbons. She patiently eyed it for a while .....














...then she thought she'd better check it out closer and see why it wasn't moving....

... enough of patience, she wanted that birdie out! I was sure happy it wasn't a real one.

Abby makes me laugh...momma's girl....

hope you have a lovely day... Judixoxo

Rainy Monday...

Hope everyone is well and your weather is bright and sunny.
Its a rainy gloomy kind of day here.
I'm just saying hi and saying I'm fine but just missing in action..
Things are busy...
I'm needing a little break....
Have a lovely day... Judi xoxo

Henna and Dinner....

It has been Wellness Week at work with different things going on throughout the day. Yesterday I had a free 15 minute back/neck massage at one of the booths. I was lucky to get my name on the list because she was full in no time. She was so good. Whew...it hurt periodically but it was that good hurt you know? I even heard a couple of cracks on the right side of my spine during the process. I felt soooo tall and straight when I was done.

I've never had a henna tatoo...or any kind of tatoo but today I got one. Can you see what it is? Its a butterfly on a flower. Everyone in our office got one. They were free and again one of the displays. It didn't take her but a few minutes to do this one. Once it had dried she applied a clear tape over it all which I had to keep on for 6 hours. It isn't to touch water for 24 hours....and should last about 3 weeks with proper care. It will continue to deepen in colour and as I sit here having just taken the tape off I think its even darker. So that was fun. Friday's activity for me is playing on a volleyball team. I have not played in years so this should prove to be interesting.....

For dinner tonight I made -

Veggie Noodle Side Dish

...This is THE RECIPE

1 zucchini sliced

1/4 cup red onion sliced

1/4 cup fresh green beans, cut

3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots

1 yellow pepper juliened

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 package of Remen dry soup/noodle mix

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Fajita mix

1 tbsp soy sauce

In frying pan saute the veggies in the olive oil for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile boil water and follow the directions for the Remen dry soup/noodle mix discarding or using the spice package for something else.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the veggies and continue cooking until the veggies are a tender crisp. Drain the noodles and toss with veggies. Delish!

With it I served Buttermilk Oven Baked Chicken

1 fryer chicken cut up

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup bread crumbs

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 cup buttermilk

1 tbsp melted butter

Place chicken into a large bowl and pour buttermilk over. Toss to wet each piece. Allow to marinade in fridge for about 1/2-1 hour.

Mix all the other dry ingredients and place into a large plastic zip lock bag. Add each piece into dry ingredients in the bag and shake to coat. Place on a 13x9" pan which you have sprayed with Pam.

Bake 10 minutes at 375F. Pour the melted butter over the pieces. Bake 30-40 minutes longer or until juices are clear. Nothing else to it and it was sooo crispy and tasty.

Its a rainy night here...I think I'll go and get changed and comfy and ready to watch American Idol.

Hope you have a lovely day... Judi xoxo

BLUE Monday

Monday is BLUE Monday hosted by our Sally from SmilingSally. This is the day you'll want to be sure to click on her name and see all the other participants of BLUEness for this day. You'll be glad you did and don't forget to leave a comment because they will be glad you did.

My first BLUE for today is a new addition to the tassels I've been making. She is Ms Fishie a lovely ceramic fish atop the blue and brown tassel coordinating her ownself! Isn't she a pretty fishie. She will go into my Etsy shop.

Sunday I had to slip over to Fabricland for ribbon. They are having a huge $1.00 and $2.00 and $5.00 and $7.00 sale. I've been looking for fabric to make up new drapes for my livingroom. I can't believe there was just the fabric I was looking for but it was never there when I was actually doing all the searching. The angle makes it look really busy with flowers but the picture with Abby shows it more to its true print.

I love the variety of flowers and the colours with the yellow and raspberry and green are so me AND I am excited there are BLUE flowers in it also. For the first time in my life I was hoping to do that. Some of you may know I just haven't been able to include blue in my home decorating until very recently. I am broadening my horizons I guess.

Even Abby came to have a closer look. I also purchased the plaid fabric that has a line of BLUE in it which I'm going to cover my diningroom chairs with. The chairs will coordinate with the new drapes too once I have them sewn. Oh my I have got my work cut out for me...*grinning*. Pardon the pun because I haven't cut anything yet! I'll show them to you when I'm done and I'll tell you how pleased I was about the cost.

Have a lovely BLUE Monday..... Judi xoxo

Happy Spring!!

I hope everyone has a really lovely weekend. I think I'm not going to blogging over the weekend. But I do hope to do some visiting and reading here and there.

Enjoy the spring...Happy Spring!!

Judi xoxo

Pillow Shams and Ideas...

I couldn't resist temptation when I came across these lovely pillow shams recently while thrifting so they came home with me. I think they are shams versus pillowcases. Love the colours and they have a flouncy frill all around. As soon as I saw them all these ideas bounced about my head. So I've started playing around with one of them.

Last summer I made a dress for Madeline from a vintage pillowcase. I know I'm going to make one for her from this sweet pink one. Isn't it pretty and feminine? Just like she is. A pillowcase dress is quick and easy and its amazing how lovely it really is. Maybe I'll have a tutorial if you'd like to try one also for the special little girl in your life.

I'll share what I'm making once I get one made and hopefully it'll work out and I'll have something to share. One never knows about these things you know....

Here is a picture of Madeline when she was over last night for St. Patrick's dinner and biting into her cupcake. Funny how there is always room for dessert...hmmmm...Yum!

I hope yours is a lovely day.... Judi xoxo

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I'm dressed in a green sweater today for St. Paddy's Day. I'm not Irish but we enjoyed our St. Patrick's Day dinner early on Saturday. The brisket along with spices and carrots and onions and potatoes and a whole cabbage quartered boiled for hours. It smelled so wonderful in here. We served it up with some lovely crusty rosemary bread, seasoned the dinner with apple cider vinegar. Yum!

I hope you have a Happy St. Patrick's Day....Enjoy Judi xoxo

BLUE Monday

Must be Monday again because its a BLUE Monday hosted by Sally, SmilingSally. You'll have fun after you click on her name and see all the other BLUE participants! Everyone will love hearing from you so be sure to leave a comment.

This BLUE Monday I'm going to show you another Blushing Bunny so appropriate for this time of year..well its a little bit early for us here but we're getting there. Isn't she a little sweetie?

You can just make out her pale blue bonnet in this view but its better viewed from the back. I love collect bunnies...and she's a little cherished one.

Also I've made yet another Love Bunny Easter Tassel. You can see it at the top of my blog but I wanted to show you more blue which is on the ribbon hanging it. Its in my Etsy store also ready for Easter.

I hope you enjoy all the other BLUEs of this day... have a lovely day.... Judi xoxo

PINK Saturday

Its PINK Saturday hosted by Beverly at HowSweetTheSound. Click on her name and be taken away (after you finish here) to her blog of many many more PINK participants. Leave them a comment and they will be forever happy to know you've been there!

Now what do I want to show you today? Sometime ago when I was on Wordpress I posted about the picture my son painted as a teenager of a Glad from our garden. He painted it yearrrs ago and in the summer I had painted an old picture frame white for the picture. Remember that? Well now I've painted the frame a pink colour. I am going to add a bit of red to it but here it is now. Once I add the touches of red then I'll varnish it and it'll change up the colour at bit.

In the picture you can see two other PINKIES...the plate and the dried flowers however I think I've posted about those 2 before.

Now while I blog with my laptop on the sofa my Abby likes to keep me company. She keeps me company this way....

(you can see where her fur is growing back on her little, rolly PINK tummy)....and she's lying on a PINK throw to make it cozy for her on the leather sofa....and sometimes she lets me know how interested she is in what I'm doing when she's like this ...

isn't it nice to have someone to talk and share your special times with? She's just so into me isn't she?...*sigh*...

but when there's a mouse closeby...she sits up and takes notice!

Hope you have a fun PINK Saturday.... Judi xoxo

Accepted a Tag - Things I've Done

I accepted a tag by Rosezilla to show things that I had done. l have bolded the ones I have done. This was fun! You may want to join in and if you do let me know so I can read about you too.

1. Started my own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (drums!)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than I can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain (hiked and camped in the mountains though)

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sung a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught myself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown my own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitchhiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (every weekend in the summer on route)

34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors (Finland)

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught myself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had my portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had my picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Ridden an elephant

101. Been on t.v. several times

102. Swam with and touched a manatee

103. Seen 2 sitting U. S. Presidents in person

104. Ridden on a float in a parade

105. Been waterskiing and snow skiing

106. Done Chinese Fire Drills on a bus

107. Been through hurricanes

108. Ridden bareback with no bridle/reins

109. Homeschooled children

110. Lived in a house with no indoor bathroom - we had an outhouse

111. Married Prince Charming and Lived Happily Ever After (not yet)

Well it was either the questions or I haven't done too darn much!!

Hope you have a lovely kind of day....Judi xoxo

Walmart Cake Order

I received this bit of humour through my email and wanted to share with you.

Make sure you read the story under the picture. Keep in mind this actually did happen.

This cake is for someone who was moving from an insurance claims office.

Okay, so this is how I imagine this conversation went: Walmart Employee: 'Hello 'dis be Walmarts, how can I help you?'

Customer: ' I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.'

Walmart Employee: 'What you want on da cake?'

Customer: 'Best Wishes Suzanne' underneath that 'We will miss you'.

Have a lovely day.... Judi xoxo

Thrifting Finds in Silver...

I have a new Love Bunny Tassel above that I had fun making tonight. It replaces my previous one that SOLD on My Etsy. Thank you....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Last week when I found those Botanical dishes I also found some other things. It kind of makes me chuckle because of something that Sally said to me last summer when I discovered thrifting.

At that time I was slipping in and out of thrift shops and joyfully finding all kinds of great "treasures". What made me chuckle was that I, like all of us reveal how much we paid for our finds expressing how much we saved by these thrift purchases.

Sally commented something like with all this money I've saved I'll have enough to take a trip to Europe soon *lol*. I remember reading that....probably frowning a minute taking it in...and then "bursting" out into a big smile.

Remember I told you that it was 50% off at the Thrift store on Friday? Each of these items were reduced to $2.00. So I am sure I'll be on my way to Europe soon.. wo hoot!!

This tarnished candle and flower holder came out like the one below with a little elbow grease and a little help from "Twinkle". I treated myself to a bouquet of yellow cut mums. It was such a beautiful springy day and everyone seemed to be mentioning that in their blog. So it was all around.

I found the silver candleholders as well. They don't seem to be the tarnishing kind so thats a bonus. I have 2 different coloured candles here because they were on 2 different spots until I decided to bring them together for the picture.

The last item I bought was a lacey tablecloth. Another $2.00 buy. Yayyyy.

I should probably have named Abby the "Streak" because of the white streak she wears down her back at times. Its not there all the time...it depends on how she feels I think. Other times I feel like calling her "Ollie" because she's like an owl.

Have a lovely day..... Judi xoxo

BLUE MONDAY - Tutorial on Making a Bird Tassel

Sally from SmilingSally is hosting BLUE Monday. Be sure to click and visit her site and all the other BLUE Monday participants. There are so many different BLUES you'll be glad you did. Its so fun to meet new bloggers in that way also...and don't forget to leave a comment so they know you've been there.

I have had some requests for a tutorial on the tassels such as the one on the top that I've had so much fun making They are simple to make and I've found new ways of making them with what I have on hand or have found as I go along. Therefore I'll show pictures of a couple of variations.

You can use a wooden finial such as the pink one below, or purchase a small wooden flower pot from Michaels, or a little wooden box such as the one shown near the bottom I found in the dollar store. I hot glued the lid closed on it. Sometimes I glue the little box.

You'll also need a selection of trims available from a fabric store, Joanne's or Michaels, and also a selection of coordinating ribbon.

I usually use 2 different types and lengths of fringe trim. I cut each one about 8" in trim length. One of the fringe trims will have tassel strands longer than the 2nd piece. Begin wrapping and hot glueing the fringe trim with the longest strands around the finial. Be careful you don't get that hot glue stuck on your fingers!!! Continue glueing this way all the way around.

Next I choose the ribbon I would like to use as the loops. I like them to be the length of the longest strand of tassel times two to make the loop. Decide how many loops you want to hang. I would probably use at least 8 of them. Aren't these lovely shades of BLUE ribbon?

Glue one end of the loop like the BLUE ribbon in the picture, using the hot glue and then bring up the other end to form a loop. Glue that in place. Continue all around adding as many as you would like. Use different coordinating colours or variations of the colour. Its all your choice....and thats the fun...

Then hot glue the other 8" piece of fringe trim with the shorter length fringes on top of the other layers to cover the loops. The first one I used here is again BLUE along with pink. Again fasten it hot gluing along the way to secure it. Watch that hot glue on your fingers I repeat!!!

The one above is still in progress and requires more tassel so I'll show you the Cardinal I created today which now is not BLUE but rather red and shows you more of the contrast in size of the length of each of the hanging fringes. I have added a strand of dried greenery to the one side.

I made the Cardinal using the little wooden box.... and I glued one long length of red ribbon to either side of the box under the tassel. I cut the ribbon in the middle at the top to make the tie to hang him by. Isn't he just cute?

If you are using one of the birdies like the one on the top of the page he is made of a sort of styrofoam material with feathers over it . I use a little eyelet screw purchased from a hardware store and screw that carefully into the head of the bird and slowly screw it back out. I put on a dab of hot glue and then screw it back in. Sorry its a bit fuzzy. From that I hang the ribbon which to use to hang him on your buffet knob, or lampshade, or a door knob...or anyplace you would like to add a lovely tassel.

There are all kinds of different materials to improvise that work better with others depending on what you are using. But generally this is how I do it.

This little lamb is a china type lamb which is made the same way. I think he would be darling in a baby or child's room. Don't you think?

Have fun creating your own and if you have any questions please email me. Email me a picture if you do make one. I'd love to see yours.

Visit my my Etsy store if you would rather purchase one..

Have a lovely BLUE Monday and productive day.... Judi xoxo

PINK Saturday

Its Saturday again. How do I know it is? Because its PINK Saturday hosted by Beverly from HowSweetThesound. You will want to click onto her site and see all the other PINK participants. Be sure to leave your mark, your comment so they know you've been there!

I caught it. I caught what Shelia had last week. You know hearing voices softly calling to me and the car "being directed" to a thrift store. Once I got there I thought well I'll just go in quickly and after all I haven't been there for a little while. The parking lot was FULL! I did manage to find a parking spot and inside I saw all the 50% off signs. This was really exciting.

I went to my favourite area of the store and look what I found and brought home with me....Dishes.

There were 16 pieces to this set. Are they not pretty for spring and summer? First there is the bread/dessert dish with a pretty yellow flower. The outer rim is a soft gray and white.

The second piece is this beautiful bowl with a pretty purple flower. I know the PINK is coming.

The PINK dinner plate! They all show no wear and I'm so happy I found them. Now these dishes were $12.95 for the set. I got them for $6.50 because they were half price. I was so excited. I love them.

Enjoy your Saturday. I hope your weather has continued to be beautiful. I hope you'll visit the other beautiful PINKS today. Have a lovely day.... Judi xoxo

Foodie Friday

Beef and Mushroom Stew in Slow Cooker

This is my first contribution to Foodie Friday hosted by Gollum. Click to get on her site and see the other delicious food contributions. You'll be glad you did!

I am offering a dish Marc and I made one cold winter day for the first time. It really was delicious. Its full of wonderful tasting mushrooms. The porcini mushrooms are a little more pricey but they added extra taste thats for sure.


Don't you love to be able to put together all the ingredients and throw them into a crock pot, put on the lid and then just forget about? You forget about it until you start to smell the wonderful aroma of the foods cooking, doing their own thing. The flavours just loving it in there and mingling and blending? I sure do.

After we had sauteed the veggies this is how the first batch of ingredients looked....happy?

and this.....

I had posted this recipe in Wordpress before I moved to Blogspot and before I met any of you my dear blogging friends. So I wanted to bring it here to share with you.

Its especially delicious and warms your tummy on these wintery cold days even in the south where you've had your unexpected snowfalls lately.

Beef and Mushroom Stew in Slow Cooker

2 lb stewing beef, cubed
½ cup flour
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups sodium-reduced beef stock
1 onion sliced
1 tsp dried thyme
4 cups button mushroom, halved
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cups cubed peeled potatoes (we halved little new potatoes)
1 cup diced carrots
1 pkg (14g) dried porcini mushrooms
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen peas

In large bowl combine the ¼ cup of the flour, salt and pepper. Add the beef to flour mix and toss until mixed. In large frying pan heat oil and add and brown the beef. Place meat into the crock pot. Add beef stock to the frying pan and heat to boiling stirring and scraping the brown bits in the frying pan. Add this to the beef in crock pot.

Add remaining oil to frying pan and fry onion for about 5 minutes, add thyme and button mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Add to the slower cooker.

To the slow cooker add the celery, potatoes, porcini mushrooms, bay leaf and 1 cup of water. Stir well. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours and high for 4-4-1/2 hours or until veggies and the meat are tender.

Mix remaining ¼ cup flour with ¼ cup water. Whisk this into the slow cooker mixture. Add peas. Cover and allow it to cook on high for about 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Yum perfect for a cold winter's day.....

Enjoy.

Have a lovely day.... Judi xoxo

Finishing up the Edge/Trim Corners of a Blanket/Quilt Tutorial (my way)

I wanted to post about a baby's blanket I made for a lady at work who was expecting her first child. Don't they have the cutest eyes and expressions? I thought so.

At the time I made a tutorial on how I did the edging and corners on the main side. I used to have some trouble making the corners square but after playing around with it this is how I do it. Many of my quilts and blankets use a contrasting material on the back that becomes the edge binding on the right side. This is easy, tidy and is a nice contrast for the front. It works for me.
I had a lot of interest in this tutorial when it was on Wordpress so I thought I'd bring it to Blogspot as well.

Looking at the front of my completed blanket I measure the panel/material that runs around the completed blanket/quilt which is the right side of the back piece of my blanket/quilt. I want to leave double the width I want the edge/trim to be and cut it to that size.
Along the long side I fold the fabric in half and then half again on to the blanket and pin at that spot.

Beginning at the left side of the short end I place a sharp fold, temporarily pinning that point and fold the bottom up to the bottom edge of the blanket/quilt and then fold up one more time. You might have to adjust the fold until it meets at a perfect and neat angle with the edge of the left-side longer edge. I fold up the rest of that edge pinning along the way to the end.

Turn your blanket/quilt so that you once again begin at the left side with the sharp fold repeating until all four corners are pinned evenly.

I then sew along the folded edge of the trim/edge all the way around. I might use a fancy machine stitch, or small zigzag to close up the fold on the corners, or place delicate hand stitches and sometimes the fabric looks good without doing anything more.

The trim is actually the same width all the way around the blanket although them picture didn't capture this. Were you able to understand my tutorial?

Let me know how it works for you....I'd love to hear your comments on what you are making.

Morning 2 of Vacation is sunny and clear....it can only be a good day.

Hope you have a lovely day too.... Judi xoxo