Wordless Wednesday ~ July 8, 2015

Isabella!!!!!!!!

My Newest Love

Isabella found her thumb!

My husband mentioned the other day that I need to update my "Grandma Times 2" picture on the right side of my blog since we've had the addition of two step grandgirlies last summer and a new grandgirlie in November.  Next time we have them all together we'll be sure to get a photo of all 5 grandgirlies together so I can update my photo.

Isabella...ah, what a cutie.  She has red hair, which I'm happy about.  I had high hopes that one of my children would end up with red hair like their father, but looks like it skipped a generation.  She had the strong genetics of being gifted with red hair due to the fact that the grandfathers on both sides were blessed with red hair.

Now three months old, she's discovered her thumb, much to her mother's dismay.  (LOL)  She's also trying to mimic what we do.  If we stick our tongue out, she does.  If we make a noise, she attempts to do the same.  Very much aware of her surroundings, and extremely easy to startle.  There has been many a moment of laughter over her ear piercing screams of fright over much of nothing.  We're starting to experience the attempts to giggle, as she's found my squeaky voice since Friday night to be amusing.  I look like Grammy but I don't sound like Grammy and so she grins, squiggles and squirms around as the beginnings of a laugh start to emerge.

It's amazing how quickly one small human being can win over ones heart.

Curing the Winter Blues

Smile!

It is hard to believe that it has already been five years since my first Grandbaby was born.  How did time fly by so fast?  Stop the clock, already!!!  We went for a visit and to celebrate the momentous occasion. I also snagged some cute T-shirts for the girlies while I was in Washington, DC which required a photo session, of course.  This is one proud Grammy, grinning from ear to ear, because we learned earlier this week that Grandbaby #3 will join our happy, growing family in October and these two precious girlies will have a new cousin to grow up with!

Watermelon Soap

Midweek we were inundated with yet another major winter storm that delivered 2 feet of snow followed by yet another deep arctic freeze.  I am so done with winter, and yearn for warm sunshine, flip flops, and summer fun.  I'm ready to retire the coats, boots, and scarves for a while.  Alas, winter is holding a tight grip and not relinquishing its hold quite yet.  In the soaping room I created Watermelon Soap that not only looks fun, it smells amazing!  A fragrance that cures the winter blues, for sure.

In other news, phase one of our new website design is now complete.  A real website that connects to our blog feed, and for now, to our Etsy shop.  In time products will migrate over to the new website.  At least for now I am please to have everything somewhat tidy and connected from the domain to make finding the online shop and blog/news updates easier.  And now it is time for me to head back into the soap room and create.  :)

Fun In The Snow But Looking Forward to Spring

I'm not a huge fan of the cold or the snow that goes with it...give me the sand, beach and hot sun! But here's a face that sure does enjoy the snow! Christina is inching right up on 2 years of age, and it is a constant battle...boots on, coat on and then it is boots off, coat off (by herself, of course) as she tools around the house begging to go outside. She knows exactly what to do when the sled is put on the ground...in she goes and waits to be pulled around. Baby sister is almost 6 months old and hasn't been introduced to snow angels or sleds just yet.

Christina's favorite Aunty taught her how to make snow angels as she tested out the new snow suit that was given to her for Christmas. And not a moment too soon, we finally had enough snow for her to get out and enjoy.

The only snow I enjoy are days when a call comes in the wee hours that we have no school due to inclement weather. This Grammy gets all giddy with excitement and the creative soap making juices flow. Several new batches of spring soap are currently on the curing rack, and will make a debut in our online store later this month.

Hailley Lynn ~ Our Newest Family Member

July 27 we welcomed our second Grandbaby, Hailley Lynn, into our hearts and arms. She is joined by big sister Christina, who is now 18 months old! Christina is absolutely smitten with her baby sister (check out the photo on the right side of this blog).

This is one very proud Grammy. We're celebrating so join with us and share in our delight...we have extended the summer sale in our shop until August 8, 2010.

Happy Birthday Christina!

It's hard to believe that one year ago today we welcomed Christina into the world. A precious miracle that immediately won the hearts and love of her family.

At 6 months of age, the independence was starting. Her personality beginning to come to the forefront.

Today she's a ham and three quarters. The big smile is just a glimpse of the sweet baby she has become.

Snuggles Reluctantly Shares His "Nest" With Nicky

Busy Times...

She was one of the speakers...


Then she graduated....


Our Growing Family....


And on this cold, rainy day in Vermont ~ a bit of Lemon Sunshine...
Don't be fooled by this realistic looking lemon ~ it's really soap! You can find it here.

Cleaning Up

With just a little over a week before Graduation, clean up from last Friday's fire is going well. Two rooms remain to be cleaned up from smoke damage. I am deeply blessed by the cleaning angels (as I refer to them) that have done an outstanding job on my house while I've been at work! Every wall, ceiling, corner, nook, window, has been cleaned of the smoke smell. The laundry room clean up/repairs and shed will be dealt with after Graduation. It does not appear that any of my soap was affected by the smoke damage in the house. However, my shop will remain closed until after Graduation, as my family is coming for an extended visit and I fully intend on enjoying the time we have together.

My Friday Afternoon...

Fire started in the lower left hand corner INSIDE the shed ~ away from any source of heat or electricity. How it started is as much a puzzle as where it started. Very strange, indeed!


Looking inside the shed you can see the tremendous char in the area where the fire broke out.


These last two photos are taken inside the house in the laundry room. You can see the wood is charred. Had there been no insulation between this wall and the wallboard we installed 2 years ago, things would look entirely different today.



Had it been another 10-20 minutes and the house would have become victim to this fire. We are so thankful for the wonderful fire department we have ~ they saved our home from devastation. The house was filled with smoke, so we do have smoke damage, some rooms more than others. Everyone is safe, the cat is safe...Ashley's prom dress for this weekend smells like smoke, but it is fine.

The upside in all of this....I finally get my house really deep cleaned...and I don't have to do it! :) Unfortunately, my business is going to have to take a back seat until everything is "back to normal" again.

Guessing Contest

In case you didn't know...LOL...my oldest daugther is due to have her first baby soon. And since this is also my FIRST Grandbaby, it calls for a contest! All you have to do is guess the date and approximate time you think she will have the baby and leave it as a comment right here on my blog. Her given due date is March 10. You must also leave a working email in your comment so I know how to reach you if you are the one to make the lucky guess.

So....what could you win? A shopping spree to Spotted Cow Soaps ~ haven't decided the exact $$ amount ~ but I will say that I am going be real generous!!!

Guess away ~ and I will announce the winner as soon as the baby arrives!

Look What I Came Home To Find Today

You would think by the time your kids reach 17 & 18 years of age they would know what a coat rack is and HOW to use one, right?
Apparently not ~ and look who has taken up residence in the coats hung ever so neatly on the floor!

Notice that the boot tray is empty...and boots are scattered around on the floor. ARGH!!!

Counting My Blessings

I knew it was something serious for them to come get me in the middle of serving lunch at school yesterday to take an emergency phone call at my desk. My husband, forgetting he is not invincible, headed off into the woods to cut more firewood to get us through the rest of the winter heating season...alone & not wearing a helmet...on snowshoes. His sister had a funny feeling that she should stick around while her brother was in the woods, Thank God she followed that heeding! A short while later she got a call that he needed some help as a tree had come down on him. He was lucky ~ a gash across his eyebrow that required stitches, a slash along the length of his nose and across his lip. He looks real cute! Today he feels a knot on his head ~ not from the cast iron frying pan this time ;-) and his shoulder is tender. It could have been far more serious because at the time the tree came down he was preparing to start up the chain saw. I shudder to think!

My Sweet Babies

We headed north near the Canadian border last night to celebrate Christmas with our oldest daughter, Melissa. Here she is at 7 months pregnant...I'm so jealous, she's all baby.



And here's all three of my babies. Ashley finally had a growth spurt and grew just a hair taller than her sister. Neither of the girls have passed me up in height. And Josh, the baby, well because he's now taller than his father we're banking on the fact that he's been well fertilized from all of the cow manure he wades through when milking cows.

TurDuck...Tee Hee....

Living with a hunter you never know what will end up in the kitchen and be required to fix for a Holiday meal. I can remember several years ago when hubby brought home a wood duck from a hunt. He was delighted with his catch and insisted the duck be cooked for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Now, if you've never seen a wood duck dressed out, you might be surprised to know that they are not exactly the largest bird. To compare the size, this one dressed out about the size of a cornish hen. There was no way this little, I mean, LARGE duck would feed the masses for Thanksgiving Dinner. Hubby suggested we tuck the duck inside the turkey to roast. Perfect fit!

Family started to arrive, my mother helped me put the final touches on the big feast. Hubby was raving and bragging about his wonderful prized catch to the family. The time came to carve the beast, but first the duck had to be removed....hubby's pride and joy. He reaches inside the cavity of the turkey and reveals his prized catch.

Coming from a family of non-hunters, they were just as shocked as I was over the "large" size of this duck. My mother started laughing and asked "Did you remember to pull the pacifier out of its mouth before you shot him?" The room errupted into laughter, and it's a good thing hubby has a great sense of humor about him.

Laughter always seems to be key to any family gathering. It doesn't matter what we eat around the table for Thanksgiving, or any other family gathering, the laughter with loved ones around the table is the best part. Even silly TurDuck stories from years gone past.

Five Months

Showing off my daughter's growing belly...

Childhood Memories

It was always exciting when my Maternal Grandparents asked if I would like to go with them for a hike. I was enthusiastic about these hikes because not only did I get to spend an entire day with my grandparents, but I got a nice big breakfast out of the deal (which is a big deal when you have that bottomless pit stomach thing going on as a child/teen).

Growing up in Illinois where it is flat as a sheet of paper and mostly cornfields and farms you wouldn't believe the hidden charms and beauty the state has to offer. When most people think of Illinois, they think of President Lincoln or Chicago,not prime farmland and rural tranquility. It is unfortunate that the northern part of the state is losing prime farming land to large developers of carbon copy housing and urban sprawl.

Surprisingly, Illinois has some of the most unique State Parks with waterfalls, caverns, lush trees and breath taking views. The one place I remember the most is White Pines State Park in Oregon, Illinois. The trek over to the park took well over an hour from where we lived at the time. My grandfather, a retired farmer, enjoyed the leisurely jaunt to the park as he marveled over the farmland along the way. Close by was the John Deere Historical Museum and historic sites rich in Indian History and Chief Blackhawk.

Once we arrived at the park our first stop of the morning was the White Pines Inn where one could dine on an all you can eat feast called The Paul Bunyon Breakfast. This breakfast included: Two country eggs, two buttermilk or blueberry pancakes, toast, American fries, two sausage links, and a strip of bacon. If you were still hungry all you had to ask and they'd keep the food coming!

We would eat until we groaned, then it was time to hit the hiking trails to work off all of the food we had just consumed. After several hours of getting lost on trails, laughing and enjoying each other's company, it was time to hit the gift shop to purchase some trinkets as a momento of our time together before heading home, which always included a stop along the way for another meal.

The inspiration for this blog post was inspired by the September 1, 2008 Etsybloggers Blog Carnival which is graciously hosted by our dear friend Lily at Tulip's Treasure Box. We were asked to Choose one of these two topic to write about:
1. "Something You Did When A Child That You Will Always Remember"
2. Labor Day Weekend: What you do on this holiday in honor of you, the American worker? Do you have plans, traditions?

The Pig Review

The Whole Hog BBQ & Music Festival in Haverhill, NY is one of 60 sanctioned Memphis BBQ Network contests in the country, and the only one in New England. The overall winner of the contest will receive an opportunity to compete at the MBN (Memphis BBQ Network) World Championship in Memphis in 2009.

This past Sunday hubby and I attended the Whole Hog BBQ and Music Festival with enthusiasm and big appetites! Live music was great, and we enjoyed the day until taste testing time when the skies opened wide and we were soaked from head to toe. We weren't alone, hunderds of other spectators stood in the long lines to sample every entry and place their vote for the People's Choice Award.

Having watched the Memphis BBQ Network contests on TV, it was a thrill to be present. Someone commented that the portions weren't very large at each tent. Ahem...2 ounce portion cups, multiply that by NINE participants...and you gotta figure if you visit every tent, you will have consumed over a pound of pork in samples...hardly a cause to cry world famine! Just goes to show you that you don't realize how much food you consume when you "graze".

And now, on to the highlights before the skies opened wide with rain....

Decorating the pig in anticipation of the judges arriving...


There we are, all decorated and pretty for the judges...


A good thing to display so the judges see...


Judging Time...


And finally, the judges get to do the taste test...


Who won? We don't know yet...we left because we were cold, soaked and in need of dry clothes and warmth. LOL

Donation Time!

I've been waiting to do this for a while now. Actually, 5 years to be exact! Today was THE day to get the job done!


A hairstyle again! YIPPEEE!!!! I don't regret living without a style, it was for a good cause.

And now my hair is being combined with both of my daughter's hair donations and we're sending our bundles to Locks of Love!

One Cool Dude