We’re Moving

My original idea for this blog was a place to share my design ideas and a venue for attracting customers to my store.  Over the course of time (3 years) the theme of my blog has changed.  It has now become necessary for me to move my blog to another site that will better accomodate the direction of this change.

I thank all my loyal readers and invite you to continue to follow my journey at my new blog, Patti’s Place.

A Sign of the Times

I think everyone can identify with my current situation, if not now-at least at some point in there lives. Too busy to think straight!

Last month was so busy creating pioneer and Pebble’s outfits that I just did not have time to do any posting.  Things have truly been hectic around here, but the extra business was a real blessing.  My husband got laid off about the time my business picked up so we viewed the extra business as an answer to prayer.

The business has slowed down again, for awhile, and now we are trying to organize our home.  Again!!  Our house has been on the market for the last six months and we have had things packed away and in a storage unit.  The house did not sell and now we are bringing everything back home.  This has been quite a job and we hope to finish this week.

We are heading to South Carolina for our granddaughter’s birthday this weekend and are looking forward to a much needed rest.  Since hubby is not working we can relax and take our time getting home.

I am hoping to return to the blogging world when we get back from our trip.  I have so much to share, making blueberry syrup, jam and butter-using my new dehydrator-creating new outfits for American Girl dolls and so much more.  Hope to see you soon!!

Sunday Phunnies

This is the true story of George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, who was going to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the shed. George opened the door to go turn off the light but saw there were people in the shed in the process of stealing things.

He immediately phoned the police, who asked “Is someone in your house?” and George said no and explained the situation. Then they explained that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be there when available.

George said, “Okay,” hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

“Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I’ve just shot them all.”

Then he hung up. Within five minutes three squad cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to George: “I thought you said that you’d shot them!”

George said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”

Sunday Phunnies

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

If money doesn’t grow on trees then why do banks have branches?

Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?

Why do you have to “put your two cents in”…but it’s only a “penny for your thoughts”? Where’s that extra penny going to?

Once you’re in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they “slept like a baby” when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you?

Why are you IN a movie, but you are ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They’re going to see you naked anyway.

If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call?

Why is “bra” singular and “panties” plural?

Oh Dear, the Deer are Back

Those cute little Bambi critters, so sweet to watch, and a terror in the garden.  Once again we have been invaded.

These footprints were found on the side of our home.

They did quite a number on the leaves of our plants.  Looks like they really like Swiss Chard, just for the record, we like this veggie also!!  They sure didn’t leave much behind.

They also sampled the tops of our green pepper plants.  It is hard to see, but the tops of these plants are gone!

Now, squash leaves seem to be more to their liking. I am glad to say these were young plants so they have lots of time to recover.

But it looks like their favorite is flowers.  These are Impatiens which were full of leaves and blossoms.

We spent last night installing a temporary fence (until the weather cools and we can install a permanent one).  Hopefully Bambi will go someplace else for dinner tonight!

Camping Successes

On our recent camping adventure we were really impressed with how well we adapted and with some of the things we thought to bring with us to make the experience more pleasant. 

We brought an extra tarp with us and used it as we traveled around to hide all the supplies in the back of our SUV.  This tarp proved to be really handy.  When we arrived at our destination each day we would take the tarp out and lay it on the ground.  Then as we unloaded the vehicle we would place things on the tarp until we got the tent set up.  This kept the leaves and sand to a minimum on all our supplies.  We used it the same way each day as we packed up the car.

Another item we brought with us, and this one we purchased just before we left home, was a tent protector.  It is just a thin piece of plastic that goes on the ground before you set up the tent.  It protects the floor of the tent from rock holes and also keeps the sand and dirt off the tent.

Because neither of the previous 2 items is foolproof we were also glad to have brought a little whisk broom and dust pan.  Everyday we would sweep up the floor inside the tent before we packed it up for the day.  This helped to keep our floor fairly clean.

As we were sorting through all of our supplies and deciding what we should bring and what we could leave home, we decided to bring our little Sterno Stove.  We do not have a camp stove because for 2 people the Sterno Stove is large enough to get us through. 

The Sterno Stove is just a little metal box (that folds up for easy storage) and holds a can of Sterno (which is the fuel used to heat the food).  It is very inexpensive, works great and we have had ours for years.  

We were so glad to have brought this little treasure because all of the wood on the top of the mountain stays wet.  We saw people selling firewood when we entered the park and could not figure out why, but once we started searching for dry wood we realized.  So our little Sterno Stove provided a hot meal for us.

Another item my husband had read about, that was highly recommended, was a Shamwow.   We were told these make great towels for camping.  Well, we were not sure about this one but Shamwows are a lot smaller than bath towels so we decided to give them a try.  They work great.  You can use them for washing, wring them out and then use them for drying.  Another great idea!

This little bag was an impulse purchase and it proved to be so very handy.  It is a water bag.  We used it to hold water for washing our hands, rinsing dishes and providing a wet cloth when needed.  Then we carried the dirty water to the sinks to dispose of.  The bag was also handy for carrying dirty dishes to the sink provided for washing up.  I was very glad to have this little bag with us.

I mentioned in the stories about our vacation about the cots we used for sleeping.  Our son says we were not really camping since we slept on cots but since we have 20 years on him, I think it is allowed.  My husband has been trying to talk me into these cots for awhile but until we planned this trip I did not want to have the hassle of storing them.  However, now that I have slept on them I am so glad we bought them, they made the trip so much more comfortable for our old bodies.

I saved the best for last.  Another item my husband has been trying to sell me on for quite awhile is the Luggable Loo.  It is a portable potty.  It gets really dark in the woods at night and having to walk to the public potty in the dark did not sound like fun.  So I finally broke down and we bought one.  I am so glad I married such a brilliant man!  This was the best $20 we spent getting ready for our trip.

The only major item that we decided we needed for our next trip would be sleeping bag liners.  Our sleeping bags are made of some type of nylon and they are not comfortable on your skin.  We checked into buying these on our way home but the quality is lacking in the ones we saw so I will be making a couple of these in the near future.

It cost quite a bit to get ready for our vacation but all of these supplies can be used over and over.  We are already planning our next camping adventure.

Sunday Phunnies

A man was in his front yard mowing grass when his beautiful, blond, female neighbor came out of the house and went straight to the mailbox.

She opened it, looked inside, slammed it shut, and stormed back into her house.

A little later she came out of her house again, went to the mailbox, again opened it, and slammed it shut again. Angrily, back into the house she went.

As the man was getting ready to edge the lawn, here she came again. She marched to the mailbox, opened it and then slammed it closed harder than ever.

Puzzled by her actions, the man asked her, “Is something wrong?”

To which she replied, “There certainly is! My stupid computer keeps telling me I’ve got mail!”

The End of the Vacation

Table Rock proved to be the best campground because for the last 2 days we had not been able to shower.  Sponge baths were getting old and we were very glad to take a nice warm shower before going to bed.

Wednesday we drove through the mountains of upstate South Carolina.  It is such a beautiful state and the roads are well maintained and clean.

It was nice to get out of the twisty roads of North Carolina and

Table Rock (vacation part 5)

After a good night of sleep in Deep Creek, NC we headed down the mountains.  We have visited North Carolina many times and one thing that seems to be consistent in all of the western part of the state is that they love twisting, winding, mountain roads.  They don’t have any issues with people using their cell phones while driving because it is impossible to take a hand off the steering wheel or your eyes off the road long enough to push the buttons.

These signs are everywhere.

And the road look like

Sunday Phunnies

There were three fathers to be in a hospital waiting room, waiting for their babies to be born.

The first nurse comes out and tells the first father, “Congratulations you’re the father of twins!” He says, “Great! I am the manager for the Minnesota Twins.”

The second nurse comes out and tells the second father, “Congratulations you’re the father of triplets”! He says, “That’s cool! I work for 3M.”

The third father opens the window and jumps out.

The third nurse comes out, and asks, “Where’s the third father?”

One of the other fathers said, “Oh he jumped out the window.”

The nurse asks, “Why?”

He replied, “He works for Seven Up!”