Little Road Trip for Me and My Honey

Mr. Cutie Pie and I had a little road trip today. We drove down to Galveston. We hadn't been down there since Hurricane Ike roared through here last year. It looks like people down there have done a remarkable job of rebuilding and renovating. There are still a lot of businesses that have not reopened, and a lot of those look like they never will. The picture above is the Flagship Inn. I believe it's the only hotel in the country built over the water. As you can see, it is actually built on a pier that extends out into the Gulf. It's been there a long time, but it was heavily damaged. We couldn't see any sign that it is being rebuilt at all.

We took a ride on the ferry from Galveston Island to Bolivar Pennisula. It is a free ride and one of the best local excursions in my opinion. We went up on the observation deck during the ride and enjoyed the sea air and the sea gulls antics. People on the lower deck were tossing food up in the air and the sea gulls were having a great time catching it.

On Bolivar Pennisula we took a little walk around the Fort Travis Park (another free attraction).

You can see that the Fort Travis seawall had some damage during the hurricane that has not been repaired yet.

We came home a different way and found some nicely deserted roads to travel. Isn't that sky beautiful?

And then, of course, we had to have some treats on the ride home. :)

Hope you've had a good day, too!

Hugs and kisses,

Chloe Does NOT Like Being Held

No, she doesn't.

My daughter-in-law told me that it's because she is a calico, that they are "hands off" cats.

I had never heard of that before, but it's surely true of Miss Chloe.

She's a funny little girl. She likes being right where we are all the time, preferably underfoot. Just don't touch her. Or at least, only touch her when she permits. :)

By the way, tomorrow, September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day. There, I've done my public service for the day. Aaaargh!

The image above is at this page. And it is in the public domain so help yourself.


Enjoy your weekend!!!!

Hugs and kisses,

Little Bumps in the Road

I really hate to admit it. Hate to say right here for everyone to see how very clumsy I can be at times. Hate it. Oh well. Sunday night when Mr. Wonderful and I got home from church, in getting out of the car I somehow got my feet tangled in the straps of my bags on the floor of the car. Next thing I knew I was on the driveway, a little bit shocked and a lot in pain. Thank God, nothing is broken, just bruised. I've taken most of this week to try to take it easy and keep my knee elevated and iced. So, no sewing at all going here.

I hope to remedy that tonight. This one has been calling out to me from the cabinet where it is stashed. I still have to finish quilting it (I'm about half through) and sew on the binding.

Outside our back door today you can see that there is still plenty growing in the remains of summer. It has been cooler for the past week, and that is so nice! I've had enough of summer, thank you very much.


Don't you love the yellow angel's trumpet? You should smell the wonderful fragrance when you walk outside at night. Heaven!

I haven't had quite enough of these field peas yet,which, when shelled are so pretty, and when cooked are delicious. Just those and some cornbread and this country girl is happy!

I also haven't had enough of picking fresh flowers to put on our dining room table.

So, I guess it's a good thing that summer for us probably won't be over for another month or so.

Enjoy your day - whatever the weather!!

Hugs and kisses,

Cranberry Nut Quick Bread

I made some more of the Cranberry Nut Quick Bread today. It is SO delicious!

There is just something so satisfying about sitting down to enjoy something you've made for yourself. (Or even something the bread machine has made for you!)

I hope you've tried making some of this bread. It is SO good!

Looking outside, I saw a very small mouse scurrying all around in the old wheelbarrow outside my sewing room window. There is a suet bird feeder hanging above the window, and as the birds help themselves - some of the bird seed and suet falls into the wheelbarrow below. I am using this old rusty wheelbarrow as a planter of sorts. This is the first time I've seen a mouse there, though I have noticed that the wrens really appreciate the goodies they find there! This is not a good picture at all. The screen distorts everything and the mouse itself was so small it was hard to see anyway. All I could think of was Beatrix Potter and her beautiful drawings of mice and other small creatures. I've loved her stories for as long as I've known about them. I DON'T like mice and I really don't want to see any in my vicinity, but just for that few moments, it was nice to suspend reality and just enjoy watching that little mouse in its quest for food.

And Chloe said, "What? I didn't see anything."

Have a great day!

Hugs and kisses,

Peeved!

Iced tea in the summertime is more than refreshment here in Muddle Manor. It's a necessity!
Lipton has been our brew of choice for more years than I can remember. It's always served us well. It's just as good in the wintertime as hot tea. I don't know what their problem is, but every single bag in the last box I opened has not been sealed. Look at this mess! I can't pull one out of its little envelope without it spilling all over the counter, and the tea pitcher is full of tea grounds as well. Bummer. I did sent Lipton an email message, but so far no reply.

edited to add: I received an email this morning from Unilever, the parent company of Lipton apologizing and saying there were coupons in the mail to replace the faulty bags. Good job!


The summer heat has melted (literally) some of my pretty flowers, so I was happy to see some replacements available when I went to buy chicken feed.
And I was really happy to see tomato plants. Hopefully I'll get these planted this evening.

On a still brighter note, I received some fabric in the mail today from one of my favorite ebay sellers. One of the fabrics I'd ordered was not in the package, but another had been substituted - not a problem ordinarily but I have special plans for that fabric. After some emails back and forth, she is very kindly sending me the fabric I wanted at no charge! Don't you love it when people do the right thing. For sure, I'll keep on buying fabric from her.

Enjoy your day!


Hugs and kisses,

Sorry, Thimbleanna!

Sorry, Anna, I can't help you. Thimbleanna is lamenting her addiction to making yoyo's. I am somewhat in remission at the moment, but that's only because I haven't been on a road trip lately.

See, here are my little boxes patiently waiting on top of my bookcase.

I have this little kit that I take with me. It has the fabric squares, the yoyo makers in two sizes, needles, thread, scissors - ready to go.

Then, when the yoyo's are made, I have another little box to put them in, because I like to look at them. (And yes, that's Chloe's head you see peeking out under the table. She's everywhere.)

I gave away Mr. Bunny here in a Toy Society drop. I've wanted one of these yoyo toys for a long time. Don't ask. I just did. Anyway I made him, and then I thought about how much some anonymous someone in the hospital would enjoy him, so I bagged him up, along with a little note and left him for someone to find. I truly hope he found a good home.

Here's hoping all your addictions are ones that will benefit someone! I am just a trifle addicted to quilting, too (in case you hadn't noticed), but most of the quilts I make are given away. I often start out making a quilt for our home, but then at some point I just "know" who it is really supposed to belong to, and then I finish it up with that person in mind. And I like to pray for that person as I finish their quilt.

Hugs and kisses,

A New Bag and Help with Cleaning

I have to tell you, cleaning up my messes used to be a lot easier. Now I have this little helper who feels it is her job to closely supervise the process. As you can see, she is moving quickly to be sure all is done correctly.

I'm not sure how I managed before I had her very able help, but somehow - it used to be a lot quicker.

I made this little bag with Nanette's pattern as a jumping off point. I made the fabric strips shorter, narrower and more numerous, and the handle a bit wider. It is of course a smaller bag, and I think it turned out rather well.

It looks so bright and cheerful modeled by the hibiscus, don't you think?

As you can see, it has passed the Chloe test. She has given it her seal of approval. After all her hard work with fabric selection, cutting and every phase of construction, the finished product has her approval.

Whew! All this supervisory work has just worn her out. Time for a nap.

Hope your day is going well (with or without help from your pets)!

Hugs and kisses,