Different Strokes for Different Folks….

Hubby had me up and out of the house this morning by 6am, groggily clutching my coffee cup, Maggie in my my arms, and we were off on an adventure.  It was a 200 mile garage sale, something near and dear to his heart, not so much to mine.   But I’m a nature lover, and it was a gorgeous fall day, and of course we didn’t go the entire route.  So here’s my day in pictures.

I’ll do the token rummage sale first, that’s hubby, checking out the wares.

These people really needed to have a good sale, yes they actually live in this house!

And now for the country shots.  I’m a total sucker for old barns, I could spend an entire day just taking pictures of barns.

They don’t even have to be great ones, to me, they are all fascinating.

And speaking of fascinating, this is the strangest target practice range I’ve come across yet.  The poor little deer is missing his nose, is that somebody’s idea of a bullseye?

We were in Amish country, and who isn’t fascinated by their simple lives.  And yes, I know I’m not supposed to take pictures of the Amish, but this is just their horse!

Okay, so I took a picture, it’s not that good, I was across the street, being incognito, and besides what’s with the colorful throw?  I thought the Amish believe that color is vain?  So, I guess he is?  Yes, I know I shouldn’t have taken his picture.  But there was this little devil sitting on my shoulder.

Okay, so I took another.  But this all I took, I pinkie swear.  I know, I know, bad, bad, bad Jan!  I just couldn’t help it, and no, they didn’t realize I took their picture, but that doesn’t make it right.  And now I’m sitting here feeling guilty, hoping that if I wait it out the feeling will pass.  Okay, so it isn’t passing, I do feel bad, but I’m still posting the pictures!

And we went thru a little town that was all decked out for fall.  It was so quaint, and so colorful.

And we could have eaten here, but we decided to go on a picnic.

But first we had to cross the ferry.  And of course when we drove upon it, the boat was on the other side of the river, but that’s okay, we were just rambling...

It didn’t take long before we were loaded and “rolling down the river.”

Maggie didn’t understand what was going on, but she was very interested in watching the shoreline.

Who wouldn’t like to picnic here, overlooking the bend in the river.  It was perfect, absolutely, positively perfect!

And finally this lovely old home, total overkill, of which I am a fan.  The colors were wonderful.

Oh, wouldn’t you love to sit on a cool autumn day on this porch, visit with the neighbors, read a good book, or just sit and look at all those lovely fleurs.

And that’s how I spent my day.  It was such a good time.  Now about those Amish pictures, still waiting for the guilt to subside.

And you’re probably thinking, “if she feels that guilty, why did she go ahead and publish the darn pictures anyway?” 

And I would reply, “it’s that little devil, I told you it is, it’s right there, sitting on my shoulder.”

On this day in history…

Sixty-two years ago, Snoopy appeared in his first Peanuts comic strip!

Wrapping paper, I can’t cut a straight line…

Let’s face it, we’ve been spoiled over the last few years with gift bags, you just stick your gift in, throw some tissue paper on top, and voila, you’re finished.

But there are times when you need to wrap packages, and I never, ever cut straight, resulting in these odd-shaped gifts that look like our little almost three year old Abby might have wrapped them.

So imagine my surprise today when I unwrapped a roll of paper and it had a cutting grid on the back side. 

WHY . DIDN’T . SOMEONE . THINK . OF . THIS . YEARS . AGO ! ! !

Do you know how much grief this would have saved me?  So ingenious, it just made my day!

Looking out my living room window...

I'll be bringing in my plants soon. I'll miss the view...

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Ashley and Pudsey–Britain’s Got Talent 2012 Audition

Stop whatever you’re doing and watch this.  Talk about a feel good video, this little dog is amazing!  Thanks for sending, Carlene ;o)

Fall means pickles and chili weather for me….

Food, like most other things in our lives, is rooted in childhood, and for me it’s wonderful to relive the foods of my childhood.  Mother was such a good cook, she grew our food, canned it, then stored it under the beds for the winter.

October was chili month, and for us, it was always served with pickles and cornbread.  Dill pickles, sweet pickles, Mom’s were amazing, and I still have the recipes.  Her sweet pickle were quite a process, sitting in big crocks for days marinating in all kinds of wonderful spices, sugar and vinegar before canning, and her dill pickles were stuffed with heads of garlic, oh they were so good! I would love to make them just one more time, and maybe I will someday, you never know. 

I remember when we lived in Denver, I was just thirty at the time, and I invited some of my co-workers over for lunch, and true to my upbringing, I served them chili and pickles.  They sat down at the table and had the strangest looks on their faces, evidentally not everyone eats pickles with their chili, something I didn’t realize at the time.

My friend Angi always eats a peanut butter sandwich with chili, something she started in childhood as well.  And my kids, well it’s not pickles, even though Mom ate them, they like their chili with Fritos Scoops, chopped green onions, shredded cheese and a big dollop of sour cream.

Is there anything better than family memories?  Especially on cool fall days, it just kind of brings it all back.  And I didn’t even talk about the apple pie, dusted with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg that Mom always served with her chili in the fall.  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to sit, one more time, in the kitchen of my childhood, with her bustling around, preparing this meal for us.  Such good memories….

Candy Corn Oreos Are Here!

I know a few, well more than a few, a lot of people who will be rushing out to try these.  Go ahead, admit it, you’re curious.  Let’s see now, it’s 8:26pm, not too late for a Wally World run……

Nervous Man Nearly in Tears Ends Up Blowing Crowd Away

Heart warming, gut wrenching, pure raw talent.  It’s so amazing when an ordinary person in an ordinary life steps out of his world and onto a stage, sings a song and moves the crowd to tears.  What a wonderful video this is and what an extraordinary man Christopher Maloney is.

And he’s singing Bette Midler’s The Rose, always and forever my favorite song of all time.  Talk about goose bumps!  Do yourself a favor, take a few minutes and watch this video, it’s haunting, it will stay with you, you won’t soon forget him.

Pioneer Woman’s Pepperoni Pizza Burgers

Photo cropped and reprinted from Pioneer Woman’s website         

Some things are just too good to not share.  It’s enough to make you swoon!  Here’s the click, ladies, enjoy…

Marie Debuts this morning…

This is must see tv at my house.  But why 11am?  Same time as The Young and the Restless.  Drats!  Thank goodness for DVR’s!!!!

Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down…

I’m actually in a great mood this morning, but it’s a drizzly, damp Monday in Heavensville, and I often think of this song when the weather is such.  Karen Carpenter was such a talent, this was the music of our youth, ladies, it’s so sad that she left us too soon…

The last rose of summer…

Abby Visits the Wild Wild Wild West

That’s what she kept saying yesterday, that she was going to the Wild, Wild, West!  Lindsay and Ryan’s next door neighbor’s daughter was getting married, it was an outdoor country wedding with a western theme.  The ladies in the wedding party all wore gowns with cowboy boots and Abby was a flower girl, so Linds bought her cowboy boots to go with her dress as well.

She practiced walking down the aisle last weekend when we were visiting, and she had it down.  But Abby is an almost three year old, and this was her first public participation, Grammie wondered how it would all play out.

Ryan called me last night to tell me that she did great.  But first I should explain that when Abby finishes a project, be it putting together a puzzle or playing a game, when she accomplishes what she wants to do, she throws her little hands in the air and yells “I did it!”

So she strolls down the aisle, throwing her petals out of her basket, and at the end of the aisle she spins around to face the audience, throws her hands up in the air and yells, “I DID IT!”

Mama and Daddy must have been so proud of their firstborn.  And Grammie was sitting here daydreaming that she must have looked a bit like America’s favorite cowgirl, Dale Evans, when she was just a little girl. 

But wait, Dale Evans never wore a party dress with a feather in her hair, she only wore a cowboy hat, vest and skirt.  It was Miss Kitty who wore the fancy dresses and had feathers in her hair. Eeeeek!!!!!  Forget about that little daydream. 

And that’s what’s going on in my life this Sunday morning, I hope I gave you all a smile with little granddaughter’s wedding story….