wonderful visitor

I love spending one on one time with my grand kids.  When they are all here together it's usually so hectic that we can't have any personal time together.  Last week my middle grand daughter Jaydin came to stay for several days.  Of course she is 12 almost 13, thinks she's 20 and is as goofy as most tweens can be.  We had a wonderful time together.  She baked brownies,learned how to make scrambled eggs, we shopped, went to the fair and she helped me make product for VCB.  She did want to sleep in, but only got to do that a couple of days.  We saw Paper Towns, worked hard and laughed harder.  I keep calling her silly and strange, my favorite kind of people.  I wish she lived closer so we could spend more time together.

how to make a tussy mussy

A tussy mussy is a small hand held bouquet of flowers that were given as gifts during Victorian times. Ladies would carry them to sniff when the nasty odors of no indoor plumbing and not so regular bathing became too much. When the tussy mussy was given as a gift the flowers usually each had a different meaning.  We went to a wedding last week and my grand daughter wanted to give the bride a gift so this is what we came up with.  If a nine year old can do it with little help so can you.  What a charming present for a sick friend or elderly neighbor.  There are many resources on line that can list flowers and their meanings if you want to include that with your gift.

You will need:
flowers, leaves and herbs that will dry well and smell great
rubber band
cutters
satin ribbon 1/2-3/4" wide
Starting  with your central flower held in your hand then add more flowers or herbs around it.  When the group is about 5-6" around fasten with the rubber band.  Trim the stems to 4"  Wrap the stems with ribbon to within 1" of bottom and tie off, a drop of hot glue will hold everything in place if you are worried about it coming apart.  Add a bow from the same ribbon if you like.
Stand the bouquet in a coffee cup with a small amount of water until you are ready to give it.  If you like add a card with the meaning of each flower and instructions to hang upside down to dry.  It will last for years when dry.

the beautiful artist and designer, all I did was show her which flowers would work best and wrapped the stems, she did the rest.

fun color run

For the last several years our town has done a 5K run to raise funds for various community projects.  From building a new play ground to upkeep of the swimming pool the proceeds help with a great cause.  This year they decided to do a color run and part of my kids and grand kids participated.  Since it goes right down Main street in front of our house we had a great vantage point.  I was watering hostas when the race started and had plenty of takers for my offer too spray them down, it was really hot a sticky out.  Everyone including my littlest grand son finished and returned to the house covered with paint.  We spent the rest of the weekend camping and even a  rain and a collapsed tent didn't stop a weekend of family, food and fun.  Now all I need to do is get the piles of laundry done.

before

before

she was so far ahead of the rest of the family she could stop for a second to get her picture taken

after

after

new bed

Yards and gardens change and grow throughout the years.  When we put in our front beds that line the side walks, they were in full sun.  Now the east bed has a large maple tree that makes it very shady.  Time to rethink the lilies, roses and sedum that are there.  I had AH mow around the tree and several feet out. The young man that is helping with the gardens, his brother and my grand daughter laid down card board and mulch.The two younger kids painted some yard sale chairs and we made new seats for them.  A quick lesson on how to use an impact driver and the chairs were whole again. with AH's help we dug and  transplaned several of my hosta that need divided.  We  added the two chairs, a rusty free a table, solar light and bird bath.  The kids worked hard, hopefully learned a few things and the new bed looks great.  Is it perfect, no but they had a great time and who cares if the paint isn't perfect?

before

crowded beds, it is good for hostas to be divided every few years

great helper

I could not have nearly this much garden without this guys help

bird bath won't hold water but does a great job of holding a plant

after the hostas will fill in quickly

close up of chairs and table

glass jewels

These glass jewels are one of the crafts KT and I made when she was here last week.  You can buy the the glass marbles at the dollar store or craft store, buy the big ones or you'll regret it.
You will need:
glass flat back marbles in clear
several colors of nail polish, the glitter kind won't work and the polish needs to be fresh or it sinks to the bottom of the bowl
plastic disposable bowl, water, skewer or craft stick
black craft paint
clear nail polish
magnets or jewelry bail and chain or pin back

The video I watched showed holding the stones with forceps to dip but we ended up using our fingers and cleaning them with nail polish remover when we were done. I picked up polish for $1 a bottle.  We made about 30 jewels for around $5.  There is still plenty of polish left.
Fill your bowl about half full and add several drops of 2-3 colors of polish.  Swirl gently with stick to marbleize then dip the flat side of the glass into the bowl.  Remove and lay flat side up on a piece of wax paper.  Replace the water after every couple of dips.
Let the jewels dry then paint the backs with 2 coats of black paint, let that dry then add 2 coats of clear nail polish.  If any of the paint has ended up on the side just scrape it gently with a small knife before you add the clear polish.  Let dry and add a magnet or bail and chain or pin back.

chillin time

We had the opportunity to spend time with three of our grand kids last week. It always amazes me how exhausting, smart and funny they are.  Little kids can teach you a lot if you just listen. We did take a short field trip to the river front of historic Washington, Mo and did a little thrifting but mostly we just played and hung out by the pool enjoying the sunshine and the end of summer vacation.  School starts this week YIKES!!!
Here's a sight you won't see very often, my hubby as a bathing beauty, lily white skin and all.
Everyone needs a break from the day to day routine, even if it is a someone elses house.

fairy garden part 2

After I helped my grand daughter make her fairy garden I decided to make a couple of my own for the patio.
I used two enamel washing pans, added a layer of gravel for drainage and planted the plants.  I used baby tears, ivy and a mystery plant.  After the planting was done I started to accessorize with a twig swing, and arbor, pathways, rock furniture moss and tiny figures.  On garden has a little fairy the other a magical polar bear.  I don't get notes and candy from my fairy, KT says that's because they don't sparkle enough.

fairy garden

While KT was here last week we spent an entire afternoon planning and making a fairy garden for her to take home,  We both had a ball going through my junk and walking around the yard finding just the right pieces to use.  Fairies are very particular don't you know.  I had picked up an oil changing pan at DT to use as a base.  Because this garden was not going to be filled with plants, we picked up big chunks of bark to fill the bottom,  We then added a house made from a plastic bowl covered with moss, a table made from a can, stools from spools with button seats and a classy umbrella.  We did add two polka dot plants in tiny pots, rocks, silk flowers and berries, a path and lots of moss to fill in the empty spots.  We even found a fairy who only come to life at night to add.  The fairy left a note and candy in the house when weren't looking.  I'm sure the notes a treats will continue as long as the fairy is happy.  The phrase less is more has no meaning to a seven year old mind so I tried to keep me design opinions to myself and just enjoy the fun.

smoothie time

We spent last weekend hanging out with our favorite seven year old, grand daughter Katelyn.  It amazes me how bright and creative their minds are.  Who says you can't have a smoothie for lunch?  We planned out exactly what we would put into it on the way home and got busy making them as soon as we arrived.  It was delicious and healthy.
2 bananas broken into chunks
8-10 strawberries hulls removed
1 6oz container of Greek yogurt we used raspberry but use any flavor you like.
12-16 ice cubes
juice of 1 orange
Mix everything up in a blender or food processor until smooth
makes a great breakfast or lunch, easy enough for the kids to do with a little supervision.  I find that if you get kids involved with the planning and cooking they are more likely to try foods they might ordinarily turn up their noses at.

cooking with kids

Any time they come to visit, my grandkids love to cook with me.  Yes it's much slower, messier and I have to repeat myself over and over but they learn so much.  KT lvoes to cook so this time she helped make pancakes, she fliped them herself and learned that when the bubbles pop it's time to turn.  They were yummy even though they were from a mix.  After breakfast we made black forest cup cakes with butter cream icing.  They little girl learned why you don't lick a spoon and put it back in what you are fixing for other people.  A good lesson on germs, sanitation and delayed gratification.  Kids learn a lot more than you think when they cook with you.

Black forest cup cakes

1 box dark chocolate cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
Mix the cake per the directions on the package except cut the amount of water in half.  Dump in the pie filling and bake according to the directions.

When they are cool frost with your favorite butter cream recipe.

Butter cream
1 stick softened butter
1# powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla and almond extract

Blend togeter and beat for at least 5 minutes

Frost cooled cup cakes

Happy birthday to my wonderful sons Nathan and Rich.  I couldn't ask for better kids.  You have grown to be such wonderful men, fathers and husbands.  We must have done something right.

sponge balls

 While watching my sons filling, throwing and breaking water balloons during our recent camping trip, I thought there should be something easier to do.  Later that weekend I read about something similar in the Sunday newspaper.  Sponge balls.

Simple, easy to make and reusable.
Here's what you need:

kitchen sponges in a variety of colors.  You will use about 2 for each ball.
Heavy twine
Cut the sponges crosswise in strips about 1/2" wide
Stack about 12 pieces in the center  of twine 12" long.
Tie tightly at least twice, wrap around the ball and tie on the other side.  Trim excess string.  Let the kids help, they'll love it.
I bought  packages of 3 sponges at Dollar Tree and made 8 balls for $4.00.  Sometimes you can find big bags of sponges for a couple of dollars, so look around.
That's it, give the kids a couple of buckets of water to refill their sponge balls and stand back if you don't want to get wet.