Trippin'

This will be my last post for a few days.  We're getting ready for a teeny, tiny vacation and we'll be heading out in the morning to Northwest Arkansas for the long weekend.

We love to camp and had planned to take the pop-up camper and stay in a campground on Beaver Lake, but our destination is almost four hours away.  We decided the last thing we would want to do after that drive is put up with a bunch of whining and crying while we set up camp for an hour (...and that's not even counting all the fussing Kat would do.) Also, our camper needs new tires before we can go on a trip that far from home. So, we decided to stay in a hotel instead.

Our true destination is Eureka Springs, but we'll be staying about an hour away in Bentonville; by doing so we can save quite a bit on the hotel since Eureka Springs is all touristy and gimmicky and expensive, and Bentonville is...well...not.  Despite being touristy and gimmicky and expensive, Eureka Springs is also beautiful, nestled as it is in the Arkansas Ozarks.  I've been there a half-dozen times before, but not since Shane and I were married there in 2000.  We'll be spending the better part of Saturday there.

On Sunday we'll go out and explore Beaver Lake, do some hiking and probably some Geocaching. We'll probably have a picnic while we're there. I don't think it will be warm enough to swim in the lake, but hey, that's what that indoor pool at the hotel is for, right?

I'm not sure what we'll do on Monday as we make our way home. We'll probably just wing it. There are some caves in the area, so we might see if any of those are open for touring. I have no idea why, but we seem to enjoy touring big holes in the ground.

I'll try to get a lot of pictures. Hope everyone has a great weekend and that all of you stay safe! See you Tuesday!

This Will Brighten Your Day

This will bring a smile to your face, even if you've seen it before.  I didn't see it until yesterday.  Enjoy and have a great weekend!

PS...Watch his hands...LOL!




Also, there are a couple of new posts at the other blog.

Is It Just Me?

Okay, so is it just me, or now that it's December 26, are there others out there who are ready to take down their Christmas tree?

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not really Mrs. Grinch. I like Christmas, and I like having the tree up (yesterday's post in shades of purple was from our tree this year), but our tree is very large at the base, taking up much of any room it's in. Two or three weeks of side-stepping and circumnavigating is about all I can handle.

I'm also ready to put away all the holiday knick-knacks and get back to normal. Those ads you see right out after Christmas for storage totes and organizing bins? Those ads are aimed right at me. They tempt me far more than the before-Christmas ads do. Spring cleaning begins the last week of December around here.

You shouldn't get the impression that I'm a neat-freak or a perfectionist, either. It's the holiday clutter that gets to me. There is plenty of dirt, dust and everyday clutter in my home. I just don't feel the need draw any more attention to it with tinsel and lights.

Dusty The Snowman

Shane's been at it again with the construction. This time he used the leftover wood laminate flooring from our bathroom to rework the entry floor at the front door.

As always, he stirred up a lot of dust while he was at it.

Everything's Amazing; Nobody's Happy

I should be in the O.R right about now, but I've left a video for you to enjoy. Comedian Louis CK's funny take on just how spoiled we are.

Heading To "The City"

We're heading south this evening to visit my sister in Springfield, Missouri. If the weather stays nice, we'll be going to Silver Dollar City tomorrow. This will be the first time Kat has been to any kind of amusement/theme park, so I'm sure she'll have a blast. Shane hasn't been to SDC since he was a child, and I haven't been for 12-15 years, so I'm sure we'll have fun as well. My favorites are the old time crafts. My sis and her husband have season passes, which will allow us in as their guests, making the day even better. :)

If the weather's bad, by sister has all kinds of ideas for fun things to do/see that can be done in the rain. She's good like that.

On Sunday, if we're not too tired, we might take in Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield. It's a great zoo and not as large as our own zoo, which is hard to cover in a single day.

This is a trip that's been in the works since spring of 2008. It's really not that far to drive, but something has come up every time we've tried to make plans. Looks like it's really going to happen this time!

Time To Pay It Forward

While I was on my recent break from blogging, I received a package in the mail from Ireland! It was from my friend Leanne. Leanne is the industrious sort, taking care of her husband and daughter, cooking from scratch, creating and selling jewelry and other crafts; she's even planning on installing a skylight in her garage! She maintains not one, but three blogs: See The Woods and the Trees; See The Woods, Simply Food; and See The Woods Designs. For all I know, she has a half dozen more blogs out there...wouldn't surprise me a bit!

A while back, Leanne participated in the Pay It Forward Meme, offering to send a specialized homemade gift to the first three people who responded to her post and asked for one. Of course, I jumped all over that!

Here's what she sent: A wonderful knitted coffee cup cozy, a set of 4 (K-N-I-T) stitch markers, and two little handmade notebooks. I love them all! I can't wait for cooler weather to try out the cup cozy, and I'm always searching my purse or glove box for a bit of paper to write down a note or two. The stitch holders will come in handy, too; I'm determined to do more knitting this fall and winter.


Now it's my turn to Pay It Forward!

Here's How It Works:

The first three people to comment on this post (and this post only) will receive a handmade item from me within three months, completely free of charge. I have some great readers and this is a great way for me to reward some of them. You don't get a set date, but just know that some day within the next three months, you'll receive a little surprise from me.

The Catch (of course there's a catch):

You agree to Pay It Forward yourself after you receive your gift from me. Or even before you receive it. Send a gift to the first three people who respond to your post. The gifts should be handmade, by you, and somehow personalized for that person.

So, who's in? I'm feeling crafty today!

Sometimes It's Worth It

We've had A LOT of rain here lately, including some unexpected showers while we were camping. But as you can see, sometimes it's worth it.

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An update on the feral cat and three kittens in our back yard: They've come back after being gone for the last couple of days and are still cute as can be. I called our local shelter and they do TNR (trap-neuter-release) for much less money than I'd imagined. They charge just $15 per animal, and sometimes will spay the mother for free. They also have a humane trap we can borrow. We're just waiting now for someone to get back with us with more details. All they ask is that we agree to release back into our back yard and continue to feed them. I don't think that will be a problem.

Some Things About Me

I've been tagged by Leanne at See the Woods and The Trees.

This meme is a bit more thought provoking that most. The instructions are:

1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, and/or add one more question of your own (don't feel obliged as it's quite long already!)

2. Tag eight other people. As I've mentioned before, I don't tag, but feel free to copy this if you'd like to play. I'd really like to read your answers, so be sure to let me know you've played.

What is your current obsession? Gardening. I'm not obsessed in the "read everything I can get my hands on to learn about it" way, but it's my current top hobby and I'm finding much enjoyment in it this year.

What is your weirdest obsession? I guess I'm a bit obsessed with numbers and tracking things. I track our spending. I track our utility usage. I track how much TV we watch and how much food we get from our garden. I track how much money I spend at garage sales and how much I make on eBay when I re-sell the things I buy at garage sales. Oddly enough, one thing I've never tracked or obsessed over is my weight.

Coffee or tea? Tea. I do enjoy coffee and drink a cup or two almost every day. Tea, on the other hand, is almost a necessity for me. Hardly a day passes that I don't drink at least one glass or cup of tea, and usually much more than that. I like all kinds of teas - green, white, herbal, flavored - but my favorite is just Lipton Orange Pekoe (black) tea, made strong and sweet.

What’s for dinner? By the time supper rolls around, we'll be setting up camp. To keep things quick and simple, we'll be having taco salads; most of the ingredients were prepped here at home before we left. They were supposed to be those "Walking Tacos" that each person assembles in their own little bag of crushed Doritos, but I'm too cheap frugal to buy the little bags of chips. We'll be making them in little disposable bowls leftover from one day last winter when Shane took homemade soup in for his work crew. Not very green, but very cheap frugal.

What have you just made? In the kitchen, I last made some Sausage Pinwheels and some Coconut Blondies to take to camp with us. In the craft room, the last thing I completed was a baby afghan. The last thing I started was a shorts and top outfit for Kat. I got it cut out and partially sewn - I really need to get back to it and finish it.

What are you listening to right now? Kat's cartoons from a couple of rooms away.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? I'm not a big fan of ice cream, but when I do want some, I like chocolate chip (the kind with the tiny little flecks of chocolate throughout, not big chips) or something with cherries in it. My favorite sundae toppings are butterscotch or caramel.

What do you think of the person(s) who tagged you? Leanne's got her act together as a mom and homemaker. Because of this, I was surprised when I learned how young she is. :) I also think she is very creative, and I enjoy learning little bits about Ireland and Irish culture from her blog.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? To a massage therapist. A massage would be heavenly right now. Preferably full-body, but even just a back massage would be great.

Which language do you want to learn? I know bits and pieces of both Spanish and German, but really only to read and not to speak. I'd like to become fluent in both, but especially Spanish.

What’s your favorite quote (for now)? It changes from time to time, but I like the one on my header for now: "Happiness consists not in having much, but in being content with little." -- Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington.

What is your favorite color? I don't have just one. I like earthy tones - browns, rusts, greens. I used to love cobalt blue, and my eyes are still drawn to that color, but I think it's more out of habit than it is real attraction.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? I have a very soft jersey knit top in a swirled pattern of white, oranges, rusts, black with a kind of clasp at the bust line. I picked it up at a garage sale for pennies. It's very much NOT what I consider "my type" of clothing, but I love the colors and it's SO comfortable that I find myself wearing it often. It didn't hurt that Shane said he liked it, too.

What is your dream job? I have my dream job staying home, taking care of the home and garden and raising our granddaughter. I didn't actually realize it was my dream job until it happened, though. When I was a single mom and HAD to work, I always assumed I'd be bored as a SAHM. How wrong I was!

What is your worst habit? Procrastinating. Specifically, working in too much detail on projects or chores I enjoy, intentionally or unintentionally leaving myself little time for projects or chores that I don't like as well.

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on? First I'd convert that to dollars, finding that today I'd have about $165. Then I'd probably save half of it and take the other half with me to garage sales.

Do you admire anyone’s style? In a fashion sense, not really. I do admire writing styles, humor styles, personalities, etc. And I do notice when someone's sense of fashion seems to enhance their true personality...and when it goes against it.

Describe your personal style? I don't think I have a style, especially when it comes to fashion. I value comfort over all else and usually blend in to the crowd. I like quirky clothing, but only if it pleases me and never just to draw attention to myself.

What are you going to do after this? Finish getting ready to go camping.

What is your favorite fruit? A nice ripe pear. The kind that drips all over the front of your chin and shirt when you bite into it.

What inspires you? I'm primarily inspired by things I read and music I hear. I'm sometimes inspired by other people, their achievements and my (nighttime) dreams.

Your favorite book? As with types music, I find it very difficult to pick a favorite book. A blogger I once read (I've forgotten who it was) described herself as a "book slut" because she read all types of books by all kinds of authors, regardless of what was considered popular or proper. That describes me well.

Do you collect something? I don't collect anything just for the sake of collecting. That said, I have a decent collection of cookbooks and other books. I have a dozen or so beaded bracelets that I forget to wear. At one time I owned about 500 music CDs. And I often collect dust.

What are you most proud of? I'd have to say my marriage. Shane and I had something of a whirlwind courtship. We met on a Saturday, he moved in with me the following Thursday, we were unofficial engaged that same week, official engaged within a month and got married eight months after we met. Add to that the fact that he was just 23 when we got married, but I was 36. I'm sure there were a lot people who didn't think it would work. We've been together almost ten years, and married nine of those, and our relationship is better than ever.

How many times do you press the snooze button before you get up? None. I either wake up on my own before the alarm goes off, or I get up when it goes off. Snooze alarms are just another form of procrastination.

Cats or dogs? Cats, without a doubt. We have three in the house and currently four outside (see yesterday's post). I don't mind some kinds of dogs, but I have no desire to own one.

What’s your biggest fashion mistake? Leanne mentioned a perm and I'd have to agree. No matter how large the perm rods or how long my hair is, my "style" turns out to be an afro.

Complete the following: Love is...not at all what I thought it was when I was young and foolish.

What would you like to make next? Clothing for myself. But ask me again in five minutes and the answer will be different. The reason I have so many unfinished craft projects is because I'm always thinking ahead to what I want to make next. Often at the sake of enjoying what I'm working on currently.

Shooting From The Hip

I don't know much about photography, but once in a while, I get a nice shot or two. Here are some pictures I took Sunday.

In these first shots I was playing around with the shoot from the hip method where, instead of looking through the viewfinder or the camera's display screen, you just point the camera in the general direction of the subject and click. It's fun, but thank goodness for digital cameras. I'd have wasted a lot a film by missing my subjects too often.

In these last photos, Kat was on her jungle gym. Shane had just draped an old tent over the top temporarily to afford some shade, which changed the lighting drastically from it's usual brightness.