A Texas welcome party

I have a large extended family that loves to get together.  Last night one of my cousins hosted a pre-wedding party for her niece and fiance.  He is from France and speaks limited English.  He and several of his family and friends were treated to a "Texas" welcome party at a roping arena.  Now, this arena is a very nice indoor facility with a lot of amenities.  There were calf roping lessons, horse riding lessons, karaoke, Texas BBQ, roasted corn, baked beans, cobblers, cake and home made ice cream.  My cousin cooked the food...the girl knows how to cook!

I'm disappointed I don't have more photo's to share, my Sony Cybershot is wearing out and most of the photo's are way to blurry to share.  I headed to Best Buy to get a new and much nicer camera today.  Here are a few that are still a bit blurry, but fun.

heart

7/25 Heart.  I'm kind of a sucker for kitchen novelties.  I bought this with intentions of attaching it to a wedding package in mind, but loved it too much to let it go.  Kind of sweet to prepare breakfast for someone you love using it
Photo a day July.

Toddler Play = retro toys

This toddler day was a great old fashion fun day.  We spent a lot of time playing in the water (while giving the dry grass a much needed drink) and in the sink inside and later in the backyard wading pool with some neighborhood children.  Playing with some retro toys pulled from storage that belonged to my adult son proved to be a lot of fun too.  The Mattel train was especially a big hit.

Keeping it Clean

I've worked out a new house cleaning schedule. I have used several different methods throughout my life, all of them worked pretty well as long as I keep at it! One of my favorite sources was from a book I read in the 80's called "Side Tracked Home Executives". I loaned the book out and never got it back but it is still my basis for keeping house. By previous admissions, I'm a habitual organizer and RE organizer. So I have re organized my cleaning schedule and here it is. There are some things I do daily without thought, those are not on the list. What IS listed on the day is a chore I do on that day plus there are once a month chores listed for that day below it. I left the 4th and if there is a 5th week for the month to do seasonal or annual chores. Weekends are free. Keep in mind, I may move things around, add an extra duty or delete some. I think when you are making your own rules, it just fine to adjust them.

Monday: Wash sheets, Vacuum vents/curtains/windows/carpets

• 1st Monday Clean fridge inside & out
• 2nd Monday Clean & straighten pantry
• 3rd Monday Wash windows
• 4th Monday: seasonal chore

Tuesday: Wash towels, Dust, sweep

• 1st Tue: Clean bedroom closet
• 2nd Tue: Clean baseboards, cobwebs, ceiling fans
• 3rd Tue:  Wash & Vacuum car
• 4th Tue: seasonal chore

Wednesday: Wash clothes, Clean guest bath, make meal menu for next week

• 1st Wed: Clean/straighten hall closets
• 2nd Wed: Wash bath mats
• 3rd Wed: Clean out purse
• 4th Wed: seasonal chore

Thursday: Clean master bath, sweep, grocery shop

• 1st Thur: Clean under bath sink
• 2nd Thur: clean/wash combs & brushes 
• 3rd Thur: Wash waste & laundry baskets
• 4th Thur: seasonal chore

Friday: sweep/mop floors. sanitize kitchen counters & microwave & stove area

• 1st Fri: wash cabinet doors, door frames, light switches
• 2nd Fri: Clean oven  
• 3rd Fri:: Clean under sink and junk drawer
• 4th Fri: seasonal chore

SEASONAL:

Winter: discard worn towels & sheets. Holiday decor up, holiday decor down, clean out craft supplies, clean out laundry room, dust ceiling fixtures & vents

Spring: switch wardrobe, discard old/unwanted clothing, turn mattresses, vacuum furniture, change decor, dust ceiling fixtures & vents, change air conditioner filter

Summer: clean curtains including shower curtains, move furniture to clean underneath, clean out freezer, clean out laundry room, dust ceiling, walls, ceiling fixtures & vents

Fall: switch wardrobe, discard old/unwanted clothing, change decor, turn mattresses, vacuum furniture, dust ceiling fixtures & vents, change refrigerator water filter, change air conditioner filter
printable

In case your wondering, here are some of the daily chores I do, pretty much in the order I do them.

• make the bed, fluff the pillows
• Spray the shower with bleach solution, wipe down the sink, toilet and floor.  
• Put away any toiletries used or left out.
• Get dressed & put away any clothing left out.
• After coffee and any meals; wipe down the sink, counter, stove top, microwave & fridge.
• Dishes in dishwasher and when it's full enough, turn it on.
• Water plants.
• Quickly dust all surfaces.
• Sweep the hard floors or use the robot sweeper/damp mop.
• Vacuum carpets in high traffic areas.

A horse is a Horse of course

unless of course the horse is the famous Mr. Ed... or this horse named Color.

7/19 Animal.
A horse named Color.
He gives these big smiles when you feed him green apples!

Blueberry Coffee Cake using biscuit mix

There are some blueberries in the fridge that need to be used along with a small amount of biscuit mix I'd like to cycle out of the pantry.  A recipe search yielded a couple that might be okay with some tweaking.  While great grand and gr grandad play outside in the sprinkler I get busy.  In about an hour it smells great and the grownup grand arrived to pick up great grand just in time to taste test.  He voted a big YES and ate another piece!

7/18 Plate (photo a day July)
my favorite dessert dishes



Blueberry Coffee Cake

Stir all together:

• 3 Cups biscuit mix (I was using a store brand)
• 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 Cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 -6 oz container fruit flavored yogurt (I had cherry)
• 1/4 Cup 2% milk

Gently fold in blueberries.  (I had a little less than 2 cups)
Spread into a  9" x 11" baking dish prepared with baking spray.
Sprinkle across the top a hand full of brown sugar.  (Probably about 1/8 Cup)
Bake 350 F about 40 minutes.  Cool a bit and drizzle glaze on top.

Lemon Glaze: 

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 or 2 drops vanilla
1 teaspoons lemon juice (I had a concentrate juice in the fridge in one of those little plastic lemon containers)
If it's too thick to easily pour over cake, add milk or water a teaspoon at a time until it reaches desired consistency.  If it's too thin...add some more powdered sugar.

Small Bathroom Make Over

The master bedroom bathroom is a tiny space and was very dark.  The old ochre color paint and brown cabinetry made the space anything but pleasant.  The brighter Glidden "Antique Beige" (GLN09) walls with glossy white cabinetry & trim make a huge difference.  I left the "Rainy Day Blue" ceilings with clouds because I like them.   You can view the complete project at the One Year Project

If you want to try this, it was an easy project too. Paint the ceiling blue, then use wadded up plastic grocery bags to dab on white clouds.

Do you have a small bathroom make over to share?

Thanks for stopping by!

linking up at

Picture Perfect 8

Garden Sign



716 Sign
photo a day July

My garden is in the mid summer heat slump.  Some of the roses brave the heat with pretty pink blooms and the Hibiscus doesn't mind the heat as long as I keep it watered.  Pretty much everything else is dominated by dark greenery, which is fine because I like green.

bubble popping Photo a day July

7/15 Finger.  Little Grand popping bubbles as fast as I can blow them!

7/14 Building.  I think it's a lookout tower.  It is at the entrance to our local golf club.

Toddler day 7 healthy cookies

Another beautiful day in Texas, only 82 F. at noon!  Great Grand is feeling active today too.  We started the morning with baking some toddler approved healthier cookies.  I adapted a cowboy cookie recipe to sneak in some additional nutrients (dried fruit and grated carrots).  The 2 year old dumped the ingredients in the bowl and stirred as best he could.  He sampled the dried fruits and peanut butter bits nodding enthusiatically that they were "DELICIOUS".  The carrots...not so much.

Toddler day 6 texture collage

7/12 Texture.  Love this rustic Americana art in my Sister In Law's junk garden.

Big Girl Grand accompanied Great Grand today.  We took a field trip to Pet Smart to look at the fish, guinea pigs, dogs and cats.  They were grooming 3 dogs that great grand found quite interesting.  We ate  lunch at Rosa's Cafe.  They have good taco's, but the tortilla's are the prized food there... and the Peach Tea!

After nap time we explored textures and created a fun collage and chased balloons.

glue, assorted beans, cereal, stickers, pre inked stamps for the collage.

DIY Super Kid Cape

7/11 Letter.  For our little Super Hero

Great Grand doesn't care too much for clothes, but he absolutely loves his Spider Man boots!  So I found an old t-shirt and we cut it up for a NO SEW super hero cape to go with his boots.

• First we laid a shirt out on the floor.
• Cut an A shape starting at the hem and ending where the neck band meets the shoulder. DON'T cut through the neck band yet!
• Cut over the shoulder and down the other side of the shirt all the way to the hem, 
• create  2" wide ties by cutting back up to the neck.  Now you can cut through the neck hem leaving the 2" strip attached to the cape back. Do this on both sides of the neck.  It should resemble a cape.
• Now, the part that will make Dad proud...a Duct tape Super Hero Letter.
• K for Kaydon.

A little hint:  To keep the tie from choking your little person, first tie the ends together.  Holding the big loop to their back, slip the arms in at their side (leaving the bottom of the loop at their back-not in front of their neck.  Kind of like a sleeve.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoyed your visit!

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Every other Friday the cuffs come off



Toddler day 4 paint birdhouse

7/10 A favorite color.  Apple green and all shades of pink.

A reprieve in the hot weather allowed us longer outdoor time today.  We gratefully dodged a few sprinkles and showers and managed to play with bubbles and paint bird houses.  We found small wooden birdhouses at Micheal's craft stores for a $1 each and used craft paints I already had on hand to splash on a lot of bright colors.  I've been saving some garden rake handles and pieces of lumber to lift them up in the garden.  They add a bit of fun and whimsy to the garden that a toddler really appreciates. : )  He and I especially love the bright apple green color.

We set up a paint station in the sand pit area and removed shirt & shorts to avoid stains...but had to keep the spider man boots on!  Craft paint, paint brush and bird house in hand, let the crafting begin!

Planted them in a planter needing some color.  A few more - and who needs blooms in this spot!

By the way, I made sausage balls today.  Great Grand LOVES them.  Here is the recipe I used:

Sausage Balls

1/2 pound mild ground breakfast sausage

1 jar Kraft Old English sharp pasteurized process cheese spread (5 oz)

1 1/2 cups flour

Knead it all together using your hands.  Form little 1-2" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 350 F for 15-20 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen balls that can be stored in an airtight container for a week or frozen for a month.  Add a dot of jelly to the top when you serve them. 

Here is a recipe I found via Google for a pint of fresh berries.  It makes just a small amount, which is perfect for a pint of fruit from the produce section.

1/2 Pint Jam

 Rinse & dump a pint of berries into a measuring cup and smash them.

Add half as much sugar (If you have 2/3 cup of mashed berries add 1/3 cup sugar).

Stir to combine.

Move mixture to a small saucepan and cook until it thickens. (5 min)

Makes about half a pint of jam, perfect for a little mason jar!  Store in the fridge.

                                     

Toddler day 3 stringing straws

7/9  Big boots on a little boy.
photo a day July

What little boy doesn't like to play in mud?

After the morning walk and a little muddy play in the back yard, some string art was the thing for enticing the great grand inside out of the heat.  After a short distraction using the kid safety scissors to cut up an old envelope, we got down to business making "stuff".

Cut a length of string (ours was 2' long). 
Wrap a piece of tape around one end to form a "needle".
Tie a big loop or knot in the other end to keep the pieces on the string. 
Cut several straws into short pieces. 
Let him string them up.

The 2 yr old is creative too. 
He asked for his fruit loops and quickly discovered they fit on the string too!

Gr Grandad joined in the fun too.

Later we discovered the straw pieces fit onto the little flag pole from the July 4th celebrations.

photo a day FUN, ON THE FLOOR, CHAIR

7/8 Lunch

7/6 & 7 Chair in the garden

7/5 On the floor.

7/4 Fun. The moment Big Girl Grand opened her graduation gift.

You know you're "vintage" when...

You know you are "vintage" when:

• The typewriter you learned to type on in high school shows up on the Antique Roadshow.
• When your grandchild finds an old four sided camera flash cube in the kitchen junk drawer and wants to know "what is that?"
• When Hobby Holly's lunch box comes up on Pinterest as "I remember when" and you know your YOUNGER sister had one. (she's still mad at me for painting in and carrying it as a purse)
• You know how to turn off the TV without a remote.
• You can set up a "vintage" mantel vignette from your wedding gifts.
• When you start to hoard old junk because you just know there will be a neat use for it on Pinterest soon.
• When you read a story to your grand kids about "grandma's attic" and you have one.
• You can make a canning jar lid wreath, and you didn't have to buy the lids.
• And all those old Ball canning jars in the garage...are collectible!
• When you hear someones cell ring tone...and it sounds like you remember the rotary phones USED to.

 (If you're wondering what "rotary" is...you aren't vintage.)

How about you.  Are you "vintage"?

Toddler day 2 FOIL art

Who knew foil was so entertaining?  Gram Sissy needed a piece of foil so I ripped of a piece for her when she dropped off great grand. The curious toddler (I may start calling him Curious George!) wanted to know what it was.  When told it was aluminum foil, he studied it closely.  So I ripped off another sheet and offered it to him.  For well over an hour he played with it.  He looked at his amusing reflection, drew on it with crayon, tossed it in the air and watched it float down and we shaped it into objects he could guess what they were. 

New definition of foil art!

Bauble bottle.  Let toddler fill with glitter pom poms & 1" pieces of curly ribbon & water. Shake shake shake and watch.
A piece of foil becomes a mirror, art paper, parachute or dragon fly. 

If it has a string, it will take a walk!
7/2 photo a day July.  Best part of the day.
http://fatmumslim.com.au/photo-a-day-july-see-the-list-join-the-challenge/

Toddler Play Day #1 water painting

First day keeping up with great grand was BUSY!  I was so excited I met him outside when his Gran Sissy dropped him off.  While it was still cool, we walked the 6 blocks to a school playground only to be turned away.  They are having summer school and the playground is closed to the public.  Bummer.  That's a bit hard to explain to a 2 yr old.  A slow walk back home and a hat full of nature finds, we hopped into the car and drove to a city park where he had a great time with 4 other little kids enjoying the cool morning.  Snack time was picnic time under the trees.  

7/1 photo a day July...Busy
http://fatmumslim.com.au/photo-a-day-july-see-the-list-join-the-challenge/

Back at home, lunch and a nap out of the way, some more outdoor playtime in the sprinklers (it's only 90 degrees today-wha hoo).  Who doesn't enjoy playing in the sprinklers on a hot day?  While the water is on for the alloted 30 minutes, chalk and paint brush in hand an artist emerged.  Whether it was  drawing a truck or painting rain puddles for the truck to splash in and sometimes Gr Grandad's legs...it was fun.

Celery stick fishing pole with peanut butter bait catches goldfish crackers.

Self portrait

I am tempted to skip day one of the July photo a day challenge.  Who ever named old age as the "golden years"  clearly wasn't old!  In my mind I am still youthful and can do anything I imagine.  In reality, my body has begun to look and feel like my mother!  But it is what it is, and I am what I am.  I still enjoy life and find a lot of humor in it - and in myself!

7/1 Self Portrait

1.  What's your favorite childhood snack that you still eat as an adult?



Cheese & crackers.  Learned to love them with my Dad.

3. What's your favorite way to cool off during the summer?
Big glass of iced tea under a fan.
4. What's your favorite summer read? I like novels, but my favorite read is a cookbook!
5. What are you doing to stay cool in this awful heat?  All outside activities are happening before 9:00 AM, then it's inside for renovating and blogging or reading.