On to Grander Things

Isabel's second birthday cake! She enjoyed eating the frogs...except for the legs. She gave them to me, I handed them to Colt and told him if he ate them that he would turn into a frog. He ate them, turned to his mommy and said, "Me frog." LOL

Daddy feeding Isabel some cake...see the lily pad in her hand? (LOL That lily pad has legs! Must be a frog on a lily pad.)

Isabel in Granny's arms.

The first gift she opened. She saw the netting sticking out of the top of the gift bag and wanted it. Great Aunt Carol helped her pull it out. She grinned from ear to ear while Carol tied it on her. Throughout the afternoon, every so often she would stop, kick out a leg, and watch the netting flutter. Brought a smile to my face every time I saw it.

Colt and Isabel playing kitchen.

Cain got in on the action too!

The tutu above was just "icing on the cake" so to speak. My former sister-in-law told me she still had MY baby doll bed that I had given to my niece, Lacee...did I want it back. WELL YEAH! Sam repainted it for me. I made the soft-sculpture doll, "mattress," and doll quilt. As the gift opening wound down, I pulled the goodies from a trash bag, placed the mattress in the bed, laid the doll down, and covered completely with the doll quilt. The quilt is made from scraps of Isabel's baby quilt. Isabel pulled the quilt off the doll...looked at the doll...put the quilt over her head and walked off. :D

As an aside: Christmas week, Cody and Brook sold their old home and purchased this new home. John gave or loaned them the bed Sam made for the A-frame John did live in. When he and Erin purchased their new home, the bedroom had 9-foot ceilings. The bed just did not work in there so they purchased another. Brook is very excited about the bed.

 I made the quilt for Brook and Cody when they married. It all looks pretty good together, doesn't it?!

New Sweet Potato Recipe

I'm trying to get away from ooey gooey sweet potato casseroles no matter how good they are.

 

This is what I did:

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick

Layer in a buttered baking dish

Drizzle with maple syrup. 

Spread several really thin slivers of real butter around

Sprinkle with a dash of salt and some ground cinnamon

Toss on a handful of dried cranberries (Craisin) and

about 1/4 cup of slivered almonds

Cover with foil

Bake at 400 degrees about 40 minutes.    

Jonathan's baked mac 'n' cheese. He boiled a box of macaroni. Made a bechamel sauce using whatever I had left in a pint of cream and some milk then added about 3/4 pound of grated cheese. (He used an 8 ounce bag of preshredded 3-cheese Mexican mix and some shredded cheddar.) He stirred in the macaroni. Poured it in a buttered casserole. Topped with a mixture of bread crumbs and 1/4 pound grated cheddar, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes I think. Not that he was territorial about his recipe, but I was busy prepping something else.

My niece, Stacey, and her Ty.

...and her daughter, Brianna.

   

Colt playing with Uncle Jonathan's toys.

Rosy cheeked Cain.

The Rays...John, Sam, and Elton.

Can't remember what my own plant is, but I saw this stuff frm across the room and thought it had a fungus amongus. It's flowers! First time it's ever bloomed that I noticed...

 

Christmas Eve

Colt liked Granny's boots too!

He did have a bit of trouble getting them lined out in the same direction. ;-) BTW, he calls me Genie. It won't take long before he gets the hang of "granny."

I was shocked! No pictures of Isabel! She spent a tremendous amount of time in Colt's room playing with all those "new" to her toys. During the gift unwrapping, she was across the room from me with bigger kids in the middle.

The Kids

My grand-niece, Brianna (Bri for short), at her kindergarten Christmas party.

Colt and his BFF

Cain can sleep in any position imaginable! Oh to be able to sleep like this!

Um...normally aren't the Pygmies supposed to be on the outside of the pot?

Colt's favorite place to chill out.

 

Isabel and Pawpaw sharing special time on his 77th birthday.

This granny enjoys her special moments too!

My new boots! I've been wearing my old navy ropers, but they are in pretty bad shape. So... :D ...Justin boots made in the USA! I bought them at Country Outfitters - got a great buy and free shipping AND received them in just a couple of days! www.countryoutfitters.com

Colt's Second Birthday!

Baby brother Cain trying to decide which end of the toy to eat first.

Ah-ha! Success! :D

John and Erin decided to purchase a bounce house instead of renting one. They said that the cost was the same a renting twice. It was used on Colt's birthday, then inflated again on Thanksgiving. Sounds like a good buy to me!

Colt checking out his new jungle gym - er, I mean, picnic table.

What do you mean "Don't touch it?!"

I'm only TWO! I HAVE to touch it!

Isabel and Colt just pretending to be asleep. So cute!

Gorgeous early evening view.

My soap was gummy. I asked Sam if he could take a piece of wood and cut lengthwise grooves on one side and widthwise grooves on the other creating holes for drainage.

It works!

Pumpkin Patch

 

Long Weekend Trip - and Other Stuff

These are in the "other stuff" category. I fooled around with the templates in my cell phone. LOL Sam did not really appreciate the photo below. Wonder why?!

I took a couple of days vacation for a trip to Mt. View AR.  The colors are gorgeous! Once upon a time Sam would stop so that I could take pictures. Now I shoot them while he's driving. sigh...

This is called Ozark Mountain Pie. I got a slice at the Rainbow Cafe in Mt. View. OH MY GOODNESS! So good! I asked for the recipe. RATS! It's a specialty of the restaurant and they wouldn't share. However, I think I can replicate this. More to follow later. Butter and eggs are on the grocery list.

 When we were in Branson MO last month, Sam won a couple of tickets to a show. Grand Country Jubilee (or something like that). We took the opportunity to make a side trip to use the tickets.

This is the view I had. Sam sat to my right. Every time the performers moved to the left, I leaned left. The guy on that side probably thought I was putting the moves on him.

At intermission, he and his wife changed places. (This is probably the shortest hair-do I've ever seen on a woman. And, yes, Sarah. This is a woman.)

We ate at Jack's restaurant on the White River. A group of Miatas were in the parking lot. I took a photo of the car in the group I liked best. Sam told me I had good taste - this is a Porsche. :D

On the way home we spotted this on a trailer. Yep. I could see myself in either one of these cars.

This is the main reason we go to Mt. View...jam sessions on and around the courthouse square.

These photos of fall foliage are just south of Branson.

By now I believe y'all know how I love clouds. Aren't these in the Missouri sky unusual?!

This is for The Monitor - the local paper from the north end of Morris County. ;-)

Two years ago I purchased the two fabrics in the foreground from The Quilting Bee in Mt. View. I visit every time we are there. I found the fabric in the background in the sale bin. Pert near perfect match!

Big brother Colt reading to little brother Cain. I LOVE IT!

 It's truly funny how you associate "things." That pie up above. I thought to myself while I was eating it..."This better than sex!" Of course I didn't say anything out loud with Sam sitting across the table from me. Since the booth directly behind me was occupied I had to keep down the "When Harry Met Sally" scene... Anyway, I thought about...you-know-who. OH YES!