A Woman's Best Friend And Protector!



Found Fluffy

I admit it, I’m not really into pets.

I think it dates back to my childhood.

I’ve had several pets in my lifetime, dogs, cats. birds, rabbits …

Pet equals, eventual death of pet.

Why put yourself in the mix, risk heartache?

At present we have three dogs, all rescue of some sort or another.

Fluffy is the latest in the mix, wandered up on New Years Eve of last year.

Cutest little Australian Sheppard ever,

who would leave this pup to fend for herself ?



Abandoned dog!

Now, Fluffy is laying in the floor wondering,

“why do I feel like crap, why was I left at an unknown place

all day without my buddies, why can’t I have food or water“?

Because Fluffy….

We had to get you “fixed”.

I’m sorry!

I realize these dogs would lay down their lives for me.

They position themselves in a triangle around me, wherever I am,

covering any angle just in case…..

And poor little Fluffy, in her less than perfect condition,

is in the mix, protecting me.

How cool is that?



My newest best friend at my feet!

Till next time, realize!

Bonjour





OH MY!!!!

SO.....

I had a job interview in Dallas today....

What was I thinking?

Stop and go traffic, rude, impatient drivers and the awful smell...

Once I hit the Trinity River Bridge the sewage smell of the River

mingled with the vehicle exhaust fumes...

That's when I remembered why I moved to the country!

Lou Sterrett Justice Center

 This is just one of three towers, guess we have a lot of criminals!

The job opening was for a commissary worker at the Lou Sterrett Justice Center.

Basically it entailed delivering, via a cart,  personal care and other sundries to the inmates.

Sounded easy enough, what the posting failed to mention was the hours,

6AM to 2PM.

There's no way I can be anywhere at 6AM,

I drop off two other people at their jobs.

Unless it pays $20.00 an hour I'm out.

The interview was odd to say the least,

but that's a whole story in itself....

This is more my speed.

First cutting of the season.

I walked outside while waiting for this photo to load,
heard crickets, a frog and other country noises.
No traffic, no stench, that's what I'm talking about!

I hope I find a job more suitable to my sensibilities.
Perhaps you' all could put the vibe out there for me?

I have numerous skills available!

I'll be making soap tomorrow, also more my speed.

Till next time,

Bonjour and good karma

No Turkey Day Just Yet!!

Well...

Our family Thanksgiving will be on Sunday at Steve's Mom's house.

SO...

I took the free day to ready for our last show of the season,

get the newest Boutique order together

and also to work on handmade Christmas gifts.

I have a lot of ideas for cookie/ brownie/ biscotti mixes in a jar,

chocolate coated pretzels, handmade candy, flavored coffee creamer etc.

Also sewing up a few things.

First up,

for the show,

mini, reversible stockings, free with a $25.00 purchase.



To be used in place of a gift bag.

Drew the template on computer paper and got into my fabric stash.

 Each stocking took about 1/4 yard of fabric per side,




In progress



finished size is 9 1/2" tall by 7 1/2" wide

 



Time to tuck one into the other.





Finished stockings.

Next up are the Christmas gifts.

Placemats & napkins.

Side 1



Other side.

Up-cycled jacket as a dish towel.



Ugly jacket, cool fabric.



Cool dish towel.



















Wire basket.

Found this cool wire mesh basket in a thrift shop.

A little spray paint made it good as new!

 I plan on putting a loaf of home made sweet bread in it.

Maybe put a cloth napkin first, then the bread, then tie with a ribbon or two?

Boutique order.

Mini soaps.

Half size bars that are encased in a cello bag.

I market these as stocking stuffers at Christmas.

In the spring they become camping/travel bars.

If you have any thoughts for handmade gift items

please share. I need more ideas!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Life & Soap Shows



Nathan's pomegranate tree

SO.....



It's soap show time!!!

You never know what is going to sell.

For the last several years, our dominant category in all products was floral

and that's where I concentrated my efforts.

The trend this past spring was fruits and spices, seems that trend is continuing.

Our demographic is widening, we're all over the page now.

Customers that were hard sells previously are now purchasing our products.

Not just the soaps either, all our products are selling better.

Personally, I've been feeling the earthy vibe for awhile.

Something I have noticed is,

when I'm formulating a new scent, and purchasing

the scents for it from my local supplier,

a few months later they are selling "that" scent pre-blended.

I've even noticed them naming the scent pretty close to, or the same as mine.

I order under my Co. name, pretty easy

to go to my site and see what I'm up to.

Whatever...

 My husband says I should be flattered.

Again, whatever!!

Yesterday's show was great with lots of sales and today was spent

making more soap, etc.

I have four more shows for the year and I foresee my immediate future

filled with soap bubbles.

Oh yea,

I was contacted yesterday by a local B&B for soap.

We shall see where that goes.



My morning view from the surreal world (work)

Till next time,

Bonjour

Thrifty Threads Features Moi!!!

SO....

I know I've been lax on the blogging but really,

this laptop is a royal pain.

I know it's not actually the laptops fault,

it only does what I tell it to do.

Apparently I am not giving the right commands, or,

 my fingers are touching what they shouldn't! 

The desktop is at the repair shop getting a makeover,

and I can't wait to get her back!!!!

Anyway....

I sent a photo of myself  in a thrifted outfit to

Angela Barton.com AKA Thrifty Threads.

Her blog is about non consumerism, recycling and generally being thrifty.

I hope you will click on over to her site and explore a bit, she is really an inspiration.

And as a bonus you'll get to see my thrifted outfit!!!

Ha Ha!!

Angela Barton's Thrifty Threads

Till next time,

Bonjour

I'm Laptop Challenged

OK....

I admit it, I have no skill with this laptop!

I'm typing away, I look up at the screen and

my text is all jumbled up or completely gone.

It took me 30 minutes to write a simple Email last night.

My, oh my, very frustrating..

Things have been very weird around here of late but I'm

embracing the changes and trying to go with the flow!

 NOT!!!

Read,

  Terry is a control freak and does not

like change unless it is initiated by her!!!

 Anyway....

My shower curtain of 8 years really needed to go

but me being the frugal (cheapo) person I am

wanted something really cool at little to no cost.

I was browsing the recycle box at work

 and found a catalogue from Garnet Hill.

(Pricy clothing and home decor).

Spied this shower curtain ($78.00) and knew

I could replicate it at less than a third of the cost. 

 

Pricy Catalogue Curtain!

I already had the fabric,

the pink fabric was from a secondhand store score

and the peace sign fabric was purchased a few months ago at

Wally World for $1.50 a yard.

The floral top and bottom fabric
are leftovers from I don't know what!



That thing hanging in the middle is a lei

 from my sister's b-day party!

My Version

Close Up

I found a liner at Ross for $3.99 so now I'm good to go.

 Ivy and Spike like it,

but....

No Face, Jamaica and Voodoo Girl are noncommittal.

What do you think?

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

 

Downed Tree Turned Sculpture

OK...

Remember that huge tree that

was downed in the park a few months ago?

Someone was very creative!!!
Till next time,
Bonjour

Garden Goodies



The Plum Tree



Cayenne

                                                                     

Hurry Up...Turn Red



Freesia or Lilly?



Peppers and Tomatoes



Pickled Beets and Green Tomatoes



So...

  The computer crashed on Sunday,

just now got it up and running.

We were out in the yard tonight and

I thought I would share the view.



We canned the beets and tomatoes on Sunday,

 unfortunatelywe didn't plant very many 

so we only got two jars canned.

They're  for Steve's Mom and

she will appreciate whatever we give her.

The green tomatoes were a gift from

Steve's workmate Rollo and

he's promised some okra so

I'll pickle that for Steve's Mom also.

The garage sale-ing went well and

 I found a bike for Nathan....

photos to follow (hopefully).

Sorry this post is so terse

but I'm expecting the computer to crash at any moment.

I know, positive thinking.....



Happy first day of summer!!!

 Till next time,
Bonjour

 P.S.
It rained this morning and it's raining tonight. I can hear thunder outside...
SUPER!!!!!
I'm gonna check it out.
We're in a drought you know....TEXAS

Sue's Cabbage Slaw And Thievery!!!

So.....

I'm hearing Rambo First Blood in my background,

(Steve)

while I'm thinking about tomorrow's agenda.

My daughter Ginger, her son Nathan and I have plans

to garage- sail tomorrow.

We need to replace his bicycle that was stolen.

Hopefully we can find one that's not to expensive.

 I also need to school him on the proper security of said bike!!!

Where and when I grew up this was not an issue, times have sadly changed.

Anyway...

Sue, here's the recipe.....

Jerry's Ramen Salad

Ingredients:

1 small head cabbage

1 diced bell pepper (any color)

3 stalks diced celery

4 chopped green onions

1 cup toasted nuts (any variety)

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

2 packages ramen noodles, lightly smashed

4 Tbsp. sugar

6 Tbsp vinegar (any variety)

1 cup oil (any variety)

salt and pepper to taste

2 ramen spice packets

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Sometimes I add grated carrots, raisins, chopped apricots ETC... Use your imagination.

Till next time,

Bonjour

Karma

After the break in down the road

we've been trying to

better secure the property.

Steve had been buying T posts here and there in preparation for the fence,

 but it's time to step things up a bit!! 

SO... 

Today after work I was in my local Home Depot

purchasing a few more T posts.

I was in the line waiting my turn when the man behind me said,

"I have about six of those in the back of my truck if you want them".

"No way I say", "way" he says. "Awesome" I say.

"Funny how Karma works out" I say.

He just laughed.

I purchased three and got nine total.

At $3.89 per post  I was in the positive at

$23.34!!!

How cool is that?

Turns out he's a rancher from Avalon who raises Black Angus.

Thank you Randall, I'll be talking about you for quite some time!!!

People can be, and, are generous.

I wasn't even going to stop at the Depot because of time issues,

I wanted to check out at the complete opposite end of the store,

Karma had other ideas!!!

Got to go,

Steve got the new lawn tractor stuck and I have to

try and pull him out!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Time For Me?

Oh My, Busy, Busy Bee....

Soap shows are over till fall, no more late night product making....

I'm out of, or near out of several soaps but that can be rectified in a day or two!

(Like Tomorrow and Sunday).

Time to concentrate my energies on other endeavors!!!

Cooking, painting, redoing?

Let's start with cooking.



Nathan holding his cookbook



As I've had time Nathan and I have been working our way

through the cookbook 

Rachel Ray 30- Minute Meals For Kids.

A gift from his Aunt Heather.

We've done several recipes in the book but Nate keeps going back

 to the Shrimp Scampi recipe.

Nathan, shrimp is $6.99 a pound, let's try it with chicken!

OK then!

Today we tried altering the recipe to use chicken.

The original recipe goes like this.

RECIPE

1 pound angel hair pasta/ we used thin, whole wheat spaghetti

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsps EVOO

3 tbsps butter/ we just used more EVOO

1 lb. shrimp/ we used 1 lb. cubed chicken breast 

1 cup chicken stock/ we had canned turkey stock

4-5 blades fresh chives, snipped/ we used dried, ground rosemary, dill, lemon balm and chocolate mint

A hand full of fresh parsley/ we used fresh lemon balm

tablespoon or two of flour, (not in the original recipe)

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Bring a pot of water to boil, add pasta.

Cook pasta aldente. Drain.

Heat oil in saucepan and add dried herbs.

Sautee herbs about 2 minutes then add cubed chicken.

Cook chicken until almost done then add chopped garlic. 

Sautee about 2 minutes.

Add flour and cook for another 2 or so minutes.

Add the stock and  raise heat up to a boil.

( May need to add some water to mixture depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce to be).

Remove the pan from the heat and add the drained pasta.

Stir/toss to incorporate.

Garnish with fresh snipped/chopped lemon balm.

Serve with toasted, buttered herb bread.

YUMMO!!!!!

Chicken was $1.97 lb., boneless, skinless.

Pasta was $1.00 lb.

Surprisingly inexpensive for several gourmet lunch box treats.

What do you think, would you make this recipe?

Would you change anything?

I think we'll make chicken toes next!

Till next time...

Bonjour

The Pitfalls Of Verbal Communication

OH MY!!!

It's not just a potato, patato dilemma.

It involves tone, accent, inflection, body language......

You're saying one thing and the recipient is hearing something completely different.

I've lived in Texas since the late 1970's

 BUT,

 I still  have a definite Midwestern accent and style of speaking.

No amount of ya'lls and fixin have

fooled anyone here as to my origins.

I try to speak this language,

I say the correct words, it's that vocal style I have

that gets me into trouble on occasion.

Example:

Steve & Ginger

My girl Ginger helps me with the soap shows, she's a Texan

so I let her do most of the talking.

She's a great little salesperson,

friendly, outgoing and speaks the language correctly.

Today she was helping a lady pick out soaps,

explaining the different scent categories, botanical additions etc....

The lady had several soaps in her hands and Ginger said,

'I can put those up here for you while you choose more".

The lady was good with that but then said, "let me see those".

I said to Ginger, "she doesn't remember what she has".

I've seen it happen time and time again,

they smell so many, pick out some,

and then forget what they chose.

However I said it, my tone my accent,

my body language, I don't know,

pissed her off. She put down the soap,

mumbled something and walked off!

It's never my intent to hurt anyone with my words,

I really think before I put any words to print lest I offend someone.

I would never overtly intend to make anyone feel bad.

What it all boils down to is,

REGIONAL LANGUAGE AND INFLECTION MISHAPS....

If I have offended anyone with my style of speaking,

 I am truly sorry, and be assured it was not done in malice.

That being said,

how about we all lighten up just a bit and give each other a break!

I'm out here in 96 degrees plus heat trying to sell soap, why would I piss you off on purpose?

Oh well, nothing I can do now,

maybe some Duct Tape across my lips is in order?

We had a great show,

sold lots of soaps etc. so apparently I said a few things correctly!

Round two tomorrow,

where did I put that Duct Tape?

Till next time.

Bonjour

Scarborough Faire Renaissance Festival

The Gnomes' Place



Steve

Nathan

 We do like our Renaissance Festivals.

These photos were taken last weekend at Scarborough Faire.

We used to purchase season passes, but since we bought this property there's no time to be lolling about. There's work to be done!!!!

Now, once a year has to be good enough!

The venue is quite pretty, with a creek, pecan trees and plenty of shade all situated on about 33 acres.

Nathan & I

Jousting, belly dancers, knife throwing,
comedy shows, camel rides,
what more could you ask for?

Me

As I was standing in line to purchase our tickets
 this woman came up to me and gave me a comp ticket.
Three for the price of two!
How cool is that?

Got a soap show for the next two days, so.....
Till next time..
Bonjour

What Little Red Found In The Road!!!

OMG.....



Poor Little Guy

Nathan and I were out flying his kite this evening and we decided to check the mail.

The dogs followed us to the mail box and

Little Red (Black Lab mix) found this Cardinal lying in the road.



Little Red

She had it in her mouth and I think she had plans to eat it! 

I told her to bring it to me and

surprisingly, she dropped it in front of me.

Nathan was freaking out!

To be honest, so was I.

The poor little thing looked dead.

Miss Lady (German Sheppard) came over to see

what all the fuss was about

and pushed it with her nose as if to say "get up".

Miss Lady

I picked him up and he chirped, cried, I don't know,

but I did know he was still alive.

Nathan and I brought him into the house and placed him

in the old bird cage along with some dead grass,

water and some johnson grass seeds.

One of his eyes is not so good and 

I figured he wouldn't make it past the night.

An hour or so later he is hopping

around the cage looking for an escape.

I had to clip mesh around the watering bowl holes

lest he get stuck trying to get out.



Poor Little Guy Looking Much Better

Steve thinks he might be blinded in that one eye, it does look bad

but, he does seem to be feeling better.

I've turned down the lights and

now he's resting more comfortably.

What should I do?

Let him loose in the morning into the trees where they hang out?

Keep him a few days to see how he's doing?

I'm afraid he'll hurt himself  more trying to escape!

He does look better than when we found him!

HELP!!!

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What You Gonna Do.......

Whoa!

This happened Tuesday May 24 less than a mile from my house.

Ellis County

2 suspected burglars shot inside home

An Ellis County man shot two burglary suspects in his son's

house in the 2800 block of FM85 near Ennis

shortly after noon Tuesday, officials said.

One of the suspects was dead at the scene

and the other was in surgery hours later at a Dallas hospital.

His condition was unavailable.

Ellis County Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. James Saulter

said a neighbor saw the two men knock on the front door

of the single-family home, then drive around back.

Suspicious, the neighbor called the homeowner's

father, who lives next door to his son and was on his way home.

The homeowner's father, who Saulter said has a concealed handgun license,

confronted the two men inside his son's home, where they were in the process

of carrying some of his son's guns toward the back door.

The homeowner's father called 911 after the shooting.

Saulter did not identify any of the men involved in the incident, pending
notification of next of kin.

Story written by Richard Abshire, for the Dallas Morning News.

This happens all too often in our neck of the woods,
it's remote and criminals know you're most likely at work.
I've been burgled at two different residences and let me tell you, it feels awful!

We do have the Castle Law but...

I don't know about killing someone over possessions.
Then again, I wasn't there, maybe the criminals had their own guns!
These Texans do seem to love their guns.
What would you do?

Till next time,
Bonjour

Urban Forest Food?

Getzendaner park

Remember me mentioning the local park?

33 acres, corralled by the interstate to the west, a hospital to the north,

the ancient cemetery to the east and the Waxahachie Creek at the southern end.

Lots of playground equipment, picnic tables, grills and

6 miles of a concreted hiking, biking trail, dotted with exercise equipment.

Plenty of trees, birds and squirrels.
The trail is always crowded with walkers, joggers and bikers.

Funny that the walkers, joggers and bikers all have ear buds in.

Sounds great to most people, clean comfortable nature.

If you dare to venture off the concrete path

you're transported into another world......

The mini forest.

 Full of snakes, chiggers, poison ivy, bees, birds, butterflies and

 believe it or not.....Food

I speak of the alternate bike trail.

It's littered with downed tree limbs and no bike could possibly get through.

I've been on this trail before, but not in my present state of mind.

It was just a whim to even be there, no planning, it just happened.

We had no walking sticks, I was in a skirt, no hats, no insect repellant....

Nathan's always up for an adventure,
so....
We walked the trail, climbing over and around the limbs and downed trees.

Along the way we stopped to photo all of the interesting trees, flowers, lizards....

and the food!

The vegetation was so lush and thick,
 birds were singing, butterflies were happily kissing the flowers
and the bees were busy collecting pollen.

If it wasn't for the distant sound of the interstate
you would never have known you were in an urban setting.

We found several patches of blackberries nestled under the giant trees,

walking onions hiding in plain sight alongside the grasses

and honeysuckle happily twining itself up and around the fallen limbs.

Pecan and Walnut trees were everywhere

and we even found a Mulberry tree.



Not quite ripe blackberry...



Honeysuckle









Wild onions

There's no telling what other edible plants might be hiding

in this little piece of nature, and perhaps I should look for a field guide

and educate myself.

You never know what the future might bring,

being able to identify food in nature might come in handy.

The creek was beautiful and judging by the high banks

there's been more than one heavy rainstorm that's found it's way through there.

Maybe it even has fish at times? I don't know, it was pretty shallow but

our rainfall is down so maybe at other times it's deeper.

I've found some of these same plants on our property

and probably have missed a whole lot more than I've found.

What's in your urban forest?

By the way, we didn't get chiggers, bitten by a snake or poison ivy.

Till next time,

 Bonjour