Tidying Up the Tea Cupboard

Hi.  Happy Weekend!  I've been spending a bit of time reorganizing and tidying up a bit around here.  I have a very special friend coming for the weekend and I'm soooo excited!  A bit of catch up time, some fun girl time and even some planning-for-future-stuff time!

Some friends know you so well and you are so comfortable with them that you don't have to worry about your dustbunnies.  Well, in honor of her coming I wanted to control my dustbunny population, but it's just nice that I didn't have to Worry about it...

But in my preparations for our little visit  I realized I was out of tea.  I love tea and drink it all year long, but it does get special attention when the days get cooler and when my tea drinking friend comes to visit.  Now, the last time she was here and asked for a cup of tea I said, oh no, I think I'm out of tea!  But when she went to the cupboard she found about five boxes.  This time, I was OUT of tea!  Now I do occasionally like to order tea from wonderful places like Murchies but no time for that now.  Just some nice herbals from the supermarket will do for now.  I do love Murchies because I was introduced to them on a trip to see Hubby's family and they have a wonderful selection of everything!

But today I just want to show you a couple of favorites.  My new FAVORITE, favorite is this Bengal Spice.  Wow.  I've had nice spicy teas, but this one takes the cake!  It is so warm and richly spiced and to my surprise soooo naturally sweet!  I had to go check the box and see if they put something else in there, but no.  Just spicy goodness and 0 carbs! 

The True Blueberry is an old fav, but one that my dear friend really enjoyed on her last viisit, so must keep that on hand.  And then I had to clean out and reorganize the tea cupboard.  She will laugh, but I like tidy places and baskets to hold everything.

Besides, when the weather is dumping buckets and splashes all over, what's better to do that fix up, pretty up and rearrage the tea cupboard?

One last funny thought.  We are such creatures of habit aren't we?  I just have to share that I've been wanting to find a new laundry detergent that really cleans and really smells fresh.  One that I love using and smelling when I make the bed or put our clothes away.  So I stood in the grocery store staring and reading and wondering and pricing and picked out a 'new' one to try.  Do you know when I got home and put it on top of the washer it sat right beside a bottle of the very same stuff?!  How funny.  I'm still looking for a new one to try.  Lol!

 Have a truly wonderful weekend folks and let me know what smelling, good working detergent to try next.  Obviously, I can't figure it out on my own! 

xoxo, Chris

Stash Busting Cutie

Hello!  I have been on such a roll lately getting little projects done.  I think it's the change in the weather.  When we have these fall teaser days it makes me want to cook and hook.  I had done several hats for my grandfather recently and I have s e v e r a l  other little things on my mind to complete.  Yes, my list of to-do's is looooong!  I have mental lists and several pattern books and magazines stashed in my yarn bag.  If they are in the yarn bag that means I really intend to get to them sooner-than-later.  Then I have the majority of books and patterns put away where I can't be tempted by them.  Those are wonderful to have to peruse just in case I run out of sooner-than-later projects.  Ahem...  right then.

So recently I came across this wonderful little idea here at Pardon My Chaos of using a granny square to make a little sweater.  How sweet! So I wanted to make sure I give Amanda props for so inspiring me.

This was a new-to-me idea and I loved it!  It's a great was to use up left over yarn.  I really want to make a couple in bright, fun colors, especially since we are headed into fall.  This was a left over alpaca blend yarn in a very pale pink.  And as much as I LOVE the earthy fall colors, I really want to make some more colorful versions of this cutie. 

I decided as I went along that it needed to be a bit longer so I added a couple rows of scalloped edging to cover low-back and tummy.  I also put on a little flutter sleeve just for fun and for the pure girlie-ness of it.

I used to love to play with photography - back in the day when I had a film SLR that I knew how to manipulate so well.  I realize I need to spend more time learning my digital camera and I really wish I had more direct sunlight in this house.  Well, there's not a lot I can do to fix that, but on a dreary day like this I really notice how dark it is in here.  Think hubby would mind putting in a few windows?  Just kidding. 

Also, I have to mention this lovely blog little woolie that I was recently directed to and oh, so glad.  It is such a happy place full of color and goodness inspiration and happens to be having a little giveaway.  Check it out if you can.  You will be glad you did!

So have a bursting-at-the-seams happy day folks. 

I hope the weather is pretty for you to enjoy where ever you are. 

July Just a Memory

Moment of truth:  I actually wrote up a lovely post for July and with baby-happenings, etc., I walked away from the computer and when I returned it was GONE!  So I'm just now getting around to doing it again. 

So, some sweet summer memories:  Returning home from visiting family and finding lucious, fat, sweet, juicy berries ready for picking and Yum!

We enjoyed very small harvests every day.  It seems morning and night there were more sweet berries ready for our enjoyment.  It was so fun after dinner each day to walk out and pick our desert.  The kids loved it - almost as much as I did!

I thought how next year I need to make easier access to the vines and hopefully can figure out the best way to harvest so I can attempt some homemade jam or some other juicy goodness from these little gems.  As it was, that side of our yard is still overgrown and getting close enough to pick took some stretching and careful placement of feet.  Then wondering 'who' you may be stepping on...  Must bush whack the fence line and make it easier and less scary for next year!

I did attempt to fill our little basket, but as you can see, the more we picked the emptier our basket became!  That's all good with me.  It was so sweet to see Sweet P enjoy this special treat.

This is one little corner of our yard that I tried to add a bit of color this summer.  Our Young Man built  this little bird house (yay!).  It was one of those moments when I really didn't want to put it outside in the elements to weather because I wanted to cherish it.  His first attempt at really building something with his own 2 hands.  Sigh...  but each time he spotted his birdhouse in the bay window he would ask, "Mom, when are you going to hang my birdhouse up?"  So I am learning to cherish the moments and experiences and capture the memories for later.  It's so much more important to see his creations be useful and appreciated for what they were intended.  Tough job this Mom-Stuff. 

Our days were full and busy all summer long here, but we did enjoy our walks through the garden.  Even the pets really loved spending time in the garden.  The fresh, soft dirt and hiding in the corn and beans were very exciting to little kitties who sometimes need to feel like lions. 

I also enjoyed saving the memories of the new blossoms and pods and enjoying the beauty up close.  The smell of this dill was fabulous!  I'm now drying the seeds so Hubby has some seasoning stashed away for his grilling needs.  Love it when Hubby grills!

One of my favorite things from July was making good old corn fritters just like Grandma taught me to, especially with the fresh corn from our garden.  Nothing better.  She always showed me to scrap the 'milk' off the cob and add just enough milk, flour, egg and seasoning.  Fried in a bit of bacon grease makes them so delish!  I know it's not an everyday thing, but they are so good.  It's one of those things that takes me back to childhood, to simpler times, good, sit down and chat with my mom and grandparents and laugh moments.  They always have a special place in my heart.  If only my mom and grandparents were sitting in my kitchen to enjoy these with me.  Maybe next year.

It's crazy that July is just a memory now.  I need to look through my pictures and try to remember what August was all about.  As the weather has changed I've had several little projects being hooked along.  Let me see what I can share... 

Chat soon, xo!