Little Crochet Snuggies

Made from the YouTube pattern I found by Emi Harrington. Fun and cute to make but it takes several re-dos to make two that match in size because my gauge is so variable. I guess that's the Gemini coming through.

Henderickson's and Other Good Stuff

This stuff is so tasty!

And, I just can't get over finding this little jewel.

Seriously can't believe that I left behind the Buffalo china dish. That Canton Craze had set it and you just can't be held responsible for your actions. Fingers crossed it will still be there next time around.

Two blogs that I can't get enough of right now. Rabbit Food for My Bunny Teeth and Gone with the Wynne's. The first is a girl who writes about her yo-yo challenges with weight and how she has created a Rabbit food pyramid. Her mantra "nibble like a rabbit." She does a lot of DIY stuff/recipes/tips and her voice is authentic and likeable. She has lots of good information and she happens to be from Houston but is now living in LA. I copied off the essentials pantry list and am going to make a date with Whole Foods to find Quinoa. I've seen that stuff written all over the health food websites and blogs, but I've never seen it. This summer one of my goals is to try out as many of her recipes as I can. Gone with the Wynne's is a hoot. They are a quirky couple of twenty-somethings from Dallas who are RVing full time. Trust Fund, maybe? I don't know, but they are super cute and lots of fun to watch as they travel around in their RV. It's the only blog that I found with folks under the age of 40, so I will take it. 

Hello, Summer!

I have always considered the first day without kids at school as New Year's Day. Hurray! Summer is the start of the year for me. I have always loved, loved, loved summer. Reasons: my birthday is in the summer, being outdoors, the sound of locusts, bicycling, fireflies, homemade peach ice cream, any flavor homemade ice cream for that matter, waking up early then taking a nap then going to bed late, grilling, going swimming, water parks, and I don't have to work!!! heh

We kicked off the summer by ditching work at 10:40 a.m. after the end-of-school breakfast, loaded up Skipper, and headed towards Canton Trade Days. We had so much fun. Of course, as Jen-style, we had to drive all the way back to Denton (4 hours round trip) to conduct a 1 hour orientation for the students in my EDSE 5005 class on Saturday afternoon. (Didn't I just say I didn't have to work in the summer?)

It was still fun though. We crashed pretty early on Friday night because we have both been burning the candle at both ends, but we woke up at 7 a.m. and sat outside, drank coffee, and slowly welcomed the day. It was so cool and breezy that we had to wrap up in blankets. We loaded up on the 9:30 a.m. Canton Marketplace Trolley and away we went for a whole hour of shop til you drop then crawl madness. As usual, I think I spent my entire Canton allowance in that one hour and as usual, continued to spend, so now I'm totally broke but I think we got some cute stuff and no unfortunate purchases which can happen in Canton very easily. I *almost* bought a black sequined tank top. That would have been an oops! So cute on the shop owner so not cute on me. I was in that totally Jen wishy-washy thing but luckily Wendy saved me from myself. Thank you.

What we got: burlap footstool that looks really cool with our new sofa setup, 4 pairs of trendy (read: silly looking on 40 year old women) sunglasses for $28.00, a necklace for Cathy, a butterfly bracelet for me, a cute t-shirt for each of us, dog treats (really???), a heart hang-on-the-wall thingey for the RV, a bag made of reclaimed postal material, candied pecans and almonds, a magnetic golf thing for Tom, and 3 sets of bangley bracelets (why?). The "Canton Craze" was setting in at that time and there was no reason to buy 3 sets but did.

The "Canton Craze" is when you have low blood sugar, are getting hot, and have complete sensory overload, (and maybe even a little drunk) that you buy absolutely adorable can't live without at all goodies and get home to discover that while driving home in the car have transformed into very unfortunate, guilt-laden, even embarrassing at times, lack of good decision making skills items--like the double washtub and stand that Daddy carried across the field back in 1995, like the $150 fringy super high heel platform wedges (really?), license plate purse, patchwork knit pants, and revamped camo pants with appliques and sequins.

We did see some stuff that we I really liked and didn't get but maybe will sometime. A cute sign to put in front of the RV that says something like "The Hideout" or something like that. A cute t-shirt that says "it's all good in the trailerhood." A really cute bracelet with black and silver beads and crystal skulls.

When we got back from Denton, we stopped at Goodson's Farmer's Market and bought really tasty salsa, some fresh corn, delicious tomatoes, some olive oil and sweet vinegar salad dressing that is to die for, a cup of homemade peach ice cream, and some pickled tomatoes.

That night Wendy grilled a delicious ribeye to perfection and buttery corn on the cob served with tomatoes with that really good dressing, and a baked potato. Delish!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. On Sunday we totally scored a turquoise blue Fiesta deviled egg dish at a little antique store on the corner. I had also found an oval Buffalo china dish that matches my other ones (or mother's - I can't remember), but had forgotten about it when we got back to the store. Darn!

Serendipity really set in when we ran into Ann Daughtry at the Brookshire's. Ann is a vivacious 95 year old woman that used to be Wendy's neighbor at Cedar Creek Lake. She is so pretty and so sweet. She knows everything there is to know about gardening, canning, putting up preserves, herbs, etc. I think it is her fountain of youth. Wendy called it a God thing because ever since her Granny Katie passed, Ann has been on her mind. As we walked through the booths at Canton, Wendy kept saying I wonder where Ann's booth is. Then we walked right into her at the Brookshire's. It would be my dream to go and spend a summer with her and learn everything that she knows. That's my sociology degree kicking in, isn't it? I would love to document it (and then get super rich and famous when my book and then movie is released that then launches into a TV show where I travel around and document old timey stuff) like My Year with Julia or Tuesdays with Maury. A girl can dream right?

Isn't she cute? When we saw her from behind, I said to Wendy, "that is probably what I will look like with that red sparkly hat on my head when I'm old." That made her look at the lady and then I heard, "ANN!"

Well, I don't want this fun weekend to end. The last few weeks of school were grueling. Back to the grind tomorrow with writing the PE and speech class (can't we just combine those?), and working on master schedule. Yikes!

When is it an addiction?

I have always loved bikes. For as long as I can remember, my fondest memories are when I'm on a bicycle. I remember all of them. My first training-wheel bike was orange with black handle bar grips. Daddy clipped playing cards with clothespins on the spokes, so that it made a cool shuffle sound. I graduated into a glittery purple Donnie Osmond bike with a white banana seat and streamers. Dreaming of jumping over 25 cars like Evil Kennival, I nearly rode the wheels off that bike. Back and forth and around and around and around the funeral parking lot, I took it upon myself to patrol the perimeter during funerals. Middle school brought a red 3 speed with handlebar brakes that Mother thought I would kill myself on, but I'm still standing and rode that bicycle to Fairview Park with Debbie Heckman, the Dairy Queen with Suzy Ayers, and even all the way to Nonna and Poppa's house where Poppa would then have to load it in the back of the truck because it would be too dark to ride home. In Coppell, I had my 10 mile Tour de Coppell route that took me past the duck pond, library, rec center, and CVS. After Anna-Jane was born, one of the first things I bought was a green baby seat that fit on my handlebars. I strapped a tiny pink helmet on that bald kid and away we went singing Old McDonald all the way.

The sense of adventure, the calming cadence, the lookey-looing around, the breeze, the smells, the sunshine, the pounding heart pumping up a hill, the swoosh of gliding down the going faster than walking--all together my kind of deal.

Now with Big Bess, my "new" vintage Western Flyer bicycle for two being such a friend catcher, I think I'm hooked. I walked right up to my "new" Thunderbolt (that's what I named her) and it was love at first sight. Snagged it at the White Rock Market. The man even threw on a bell. It's black with red and yellow flames. It says President (Ha!) on the top bar and "Tour De Hood" on the bottom bar. It needs a new seat and Wendy says new tires and wheels, but on the first stroll around the neighborhood, a pack of kids yelled, "Love your bike!". Now that's some awesomeness! Ha!

What I've Been Doing Lately

Sometimes real-life takes over. I'm completely stressed out over testing that's going on for the next 2 weeks. Literally, our little school will administer well over 2,500 tests. It's long, boring, tedious and painful. Thank you, State Board of Education and Texas Education Agency. I appreciate the kindness.

Even the Grass is Edible.

My cousin Suzanne made these for all the kids at Easter. So cute. She is so creative and has a hilarious sense of humor. I love to read her FB updates She's taught pre-K and Kinder for probably 15 years or more, so she gets my R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Lana

My favorite clutches are the ones with a surprise inside. This one for Lana has a quote and a cute patchwork pocket. She grew up on a big farm in East Texas, so she said the red gingham reminded her of fun summers back home.