This Weekend, I . . .

Spent a lot of time outside.

Pulled some weeds.

Made several jars of blackberry and strawberry jam.

Cut coupons.

Went through some old magazines, pulling out the pages of ideas and recipes I want to keep.

Wondered why life has to be so difficult sometimes.

Mowed the lawn.

Finally got the pond filters cleaned.

Enjoyed my husband's family recipe of authentic Italian spaghetti and meatballs with family.

Loved on my grandbabies.

How about you? What did you do this weekend?

This Weekend, I . . .

Took a roadtrip from Boise to Richland to Seattle to Portland and back to Boise in 3 days. It was a work related trip. It was exhausting.

Read The Saddlemaker's Wife by a new-to-me author, Earlene Fowler. Very impressed.

Bought another book by Earlene Fowler on my Kindle and have read the first two chapters. I am going to be as equally impressed.

Took a 3 1/2 hour nap on Sunday afternoon while it thundered and rained outside my window.

Picked a few weeds out of my flowerbed.

Rocked my sweet grandgirl to sleep while singing her the same songs I used to sing to her momma. Her momma says I should win an award because she never lets anybody rock her to sleep.

Started knitting another baby blanket.

Marveled at the sentences my little grandboy is using. He was talking to his momma on the phone and in his sweet voice he said, "Love you too mom." I melted.

Thanked the Lord for giving my four daughters the most awesome and wonderful dad ever.

How about you? Head on over to Becky's and join in the fun.

The Upside Down Tomato Thingy Experiment

So, I mentioned in my last post that I was growing my tomatos (or is it tomatoes? I'll check with Dan Quayle) in those upside down thingy's this year. I got several remarks implying that I may be wasting my time. I decided to research the things.

I discovered that opinions seem to be split right down the middle. About as many people who swear by them, think they are a scam. But the nay-sayers think that the people who say they are wonderful are really secret employees of the company who are faking their positive reviews.

Whew! I didn't know what a hornet's nest I had joined up with.

I just want to pick a tomato/tomatoe for my BLT later this summer. I haven't had a lot of luck in our soil growing them in the ground. I have lots of hanging space on my deck. So I just thought I'd give it a try.

I planted the first one, a Roma variety, a couple of weeks ago. It has grown a lot which is impressive considering our weather has been so cold.
The vines do seem to be growing upwards that makes me feel a little bit sorry for it, like it is having to work extra hard or something. But it is about 4 times bigger than it was when I started.

I decided to expand my little experiment, so tonight I planted a BeefSteak variety. It looks a little scrawny right now - it's going to have to flex those vine-y arms and grow some muscle to live up to its name.



My research stressed the importance of watering every day. Apparently, the water drains faster which makes sense, since it is upside down and all. So far that hasn't been a problem since it has been raining about every two hours in this desert land for the last 3 months. I am also supposed to fertilize it regularly.

So stay tuned. I'll keep you updated with the progress of my experiment. I tell ya, if things get any more exciting around here, I'm not sure my heart can take it!

p.s. I am not an employee of the Upside Down Tomato/tomatoe Thingy factory and I am not receiving any compensation of any kind for this experiment.

This Weekend, I

This Weekend, I . . . . .

. . . worked late on Friday.

. . . worked all day on Saturday.

. . . had a sleepover with Tyler and Ava Claire, fondly known as Thing One and Thing Two.

. . . watched Toy Story 1 and 2, with Thing One and Thing Two of course.

. . . went to the grocery story hungry, and worse yet, took my hungry husband with me - expensive mistake.

. . . ran into an old friend whom I haven't seen in about 10 years. We both told each other we still looked exactly the same.

. . . played in the sprinkler with Tyler.

. . . wondered if my tomato plant that is planted in one of those upside down planter things, is really going to grow. It looks to me like it is struggling to grow the right way.

. . . did not clean my pond filters. Again.

. . . made a awesome stir-fry with enough leftovers to share for a quick Sunday night dinner.

. . . enjoyed a picnic after our service Sunday with our church family.

Now, let's here what you did this weekend. Go here and make your list.

My Barn Sale Purchase

There is a sweet lady in our church who loves to go to yard sales and garage sales and estate sales and auctions. She buys lots of stuff, cleans it up, and once a year she and two of her friends have what they call a Barn Sale. They get pretty fancy with it. They even send out invitations.

This year's Barn Sale was this last weekend on Friday and Saturday. Late Saturday afternoon my husband and I ambled up the road from our house about a mile or two to see what there was to see.

I was so impressed.

First of all, the barn was immaculate. Not a spider web, not a speck of dirt. It was cleaner than my garage - that's for sure.

And the stuff. Oh. My. Goodness. Keep in mind that this sale had been going on for two days and the "Barn Chicks", as they refer to themselves, were reporting very robust sales. There was still so much to see. So much I would have loved to have brought home. So much vintage, fun stuff. I was really impressed.

And then it happened. I turned around and my eyes fell on something I have secretly wanted for several years. Something that is typically hard to find. My friend saw this "love at first sight" occurance happen right in front of her and she lost no time in running over to me.

"Do you like that?" "I can see you might want that."

"Um, yeah. I would love it. But how much is it?" I didn't want to look at the tag.

"Well, I would go down on the price for you."

I looked at the price tag and gulped. And then she told me what she would go down too. And then I said "SOLD!"

And this is what I carted home:

It is a Singer Featherweight sewing machine. And it works like a dream. It is so small it feels like I am sewing on a toy. But it is strong and sturdy and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

I didn't need it. My goodness, I have a sewing machine with more bells and whistles on it than I will ever use. And this little sweetheart only sews frontwards and backwards. And that's it. They couldn't be more different. But when I sew on it I wonder about who the first woman was who owned it and how excited and happy she must have been. And I wonder what she sewed on it. My first project was a set of placemats for my daughter's new kitchen.

I called the Singer company and gave them the model number and found out that my little Featherweights "birthday" is May 4, 1953. She was "born" in Elizabeth, New Jersey. That means she is 57 years old. Older than me. I guess that makes me vintage too. Vintage sounds a bit nicer than antique, don't you think?

A really cool thing is that the Singer needles and feet that you buy today, work on this machine too. Threading it was a breeze. The bobbin winder is fun. I love, love, love it! Can you tell?

I love having something from the past. I love having something so simple that still works so well.

They just don't make things like that anymore.

This Weekend, I . . .

So, my friend Becky over at Keys To the Cottage is starting a new Monday meme called, This Weekend, I . . .

It sounds like fun and if you want to join in with us just go here and grab her really cool button (that she made all by herself!) and let us all know what you did this weekend. Just short little blurbs - keeping it really simple.

So here goes.

This Weekend, I. . . .

Planted more flowers - even though I said I was done.

Cut some peonies and bleeding hearts for my kitchen window.


Ate breakfast with our kids on the patio Saturday morning.

Tried a new recipe. It was delicious. And one I will definitely be making again.

Sat in a hot tub with a bunch of girlfriends sharing birth stories - you know . . . girl talk.

Played with these guys. They are just too fun.


Wondered if it is EVER going to stop raining.

Enjoyed our Sunday School lesson - gave me much to think about.

Went to a Barn Sale and made a very unplanned purchase. But I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. (I'll share more later this week.)

Went to a graduation party for a young man in our church.

Kept thinking I should clean my pond filters - but never did get around to it.

Did 6 loads of laundry to be ready for the week.

Stayed up too late.

Finally figured out that all the news coverage of the oil spill is saying THAD Allen - not FAT Allen. I'm so glad his name is not Fat. LOL

How about you? What did you do this weekend?

Memorial Weekend Review

* Finished up our week away in the mountains. It was sad to leave. I had the most restful week ever - first vacation I have ever taken where I did absolutely nothing.

* Went to church

* Went to the airport to pick up our kids who traveled to Michigan for a wedding.

* Realized that all four of our daughters happen to be four different states this week. Weird.

* Knit two little mice - one for Tyler and one for Ava Claire. I'll share pictures soon.

* Watched some great shows on the History Channel and marveled at the sacrifices made by great men and women all for the sake of this country.

* Cleaned the kitchen in Michelle and Brad's house as they prepare to move into it.

* Ate in a public restaurant after cleaning the kitchen all day. I looked like I had been cleaning all day. My family assured me that in this particular restaurant that is what you are supposed to look like. Great.

* Watered my flowers.

* Went back to work.

* Wondered how many days until I retire.