Is It Spring Yet?

It sure seemed like it when I dressed Rosie this morning in this cute little top, made as a model forStrawberry Patches.

Here's a closeup of the cute little flower applique.

And the bias straps. Sew cute and sew easy.  I'll be making a couple of these for grandbabies.

The pattern is so cute, that's reason enough to click here and order it and the fabrics to make your own.

There are also applique patterns for an owl, bird and heart.  Did I tell you...it is Sew Cute.

Even though the sun is shining, we are still havng record cold weather. No snow, as predicted in Bakersfield, but the mountains around us are white.  Should probably wait awhile to start my little herb garden. That's my first project with the grands when the weather allows.

So in the mean time, I will Sew On.

Making a valance for my DIL's guest bath.

I'll be back with that and another fun thing.

God is Good!

Life is Good!

I'm a Little Embarrassed...Only a Little!

I'm a winner again!!

Okay, I know y'all think I cruise blogs looking for giveaways.

I only enter when one of the ones I follow offers one.

Yeah, right you say...really.

Well, my sweet friend Elizabeth (and Gary) from

offered a $35.00 gift certificate from CSN. I blogged about it here a couple of weeks ago, but kinda forgot about it until yestersday  when she e-mailed me that I had won.

If you haven't visited her sweet blog, you need to go meet her and her husband Gary. She has a lot of decorating ideas, sews and crochets beautifully. (In fact she made a red and white afghan that I have coveted since she made it) She amazes me how much she gets accomplished as she works and has a long commute.

Click on her name above or her button in my side bar.

Speaking of buttons. Hers is another one of those sew cute ones. (Note to self...spend some time updating your blog look and get a cute button.)

Okay...back to the giveaway. I spent hours last night here. At first I was shopping for somehing outdoors. After all spring is right around the corner, right?

Then I heard the weather report for the weekend. Snow all around us and possibly in Bakersfield.

My thoughts went to snuggly and warm and  I came up with

this:

It's a warm fuzzy throw and I chose the black and white one because as I have mentioned, I am adding all the black and white(heavy on the white)  I can to my black and tan decor.
Thanks Gary and Elizabeth!
I will think of you when I cuddle under my new throw.


God is Good!
Life is Good!



Sewing Christmas

My friend Renee from Sewn with Grace started this great idea last month. We are to make something every month to put away for a Christmas gift. I just didn't get myself together for January, but I worked a little bit each week to have this ready for February.

Acually, this one is for a friend. She was here (I'm embarassed to say) almost a year ago and we visited Strawberry Patches , where she bought the pattern, and a yd of that big polka dot. Then we were off to GW to find a pair of jeans to recyle.

My friend had surgery this month, so I was inspired to get this finished and off to her.

Now to the Sewing Christmas part...I was able to get a smaller version of the same bag out f the same pair of jeans and the fabric., so it will be put away for a Christmas gift.
I am having issues with the flower, so the smaller one is still waiting for it's rose.
The pattern says to heat and curl the ends of the petals. I have done that with the iron and curled it on a chopstick.  It opens up when cool. I tried the curling iron and that worked a little better, but due to my natural curly hair, my iron is "ginormas" (I got that adjective from my granddaughters, but it fits.)
Does anyone have and idea for curling these petals so they will stay curled?

Here's a closeup of the flower.

I think I will run walk up to my DIL's and borrow their "Baby Curls" iron. It is tiny and meant for Shirley Temple type curls, but I would still welcome any suggestions.

One of the reasons I wanted to do Sewing Christmas  with Renee was because her button is just so stinkin' cute. Click on it on my sidebar or here to see other gifts people are making to put away for Christmas.

God is Good!!

Life is Good!!

Purple and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

What could those two things possibly have in common, you ask?

They happen to be two of grandchild number five's favorite things.

That would be Kobi, and her 9th birthday was yesterday.

The family got together to celebrate.

I made 4 dozen of these little beauties.
I make them every year for her birthday.

Here's her birthday skirt and a matching outfit for her American Girl doll.

Kobi, opens her presents.

Kobi's other grandma "Nonni" is Hawaiian and sent her the new "Hawaiian" American Girl Doll for her birthday. Her name is Kanani which means"beautiful".

Kobi's middle name is Hawaiian. Kahanulani which means "breath of heaven"

That name suits her. She has a sweet loving heart and is just like a "breath of heaven" sent from God to our family.

God is Good!

Life is Good!



Happy Valentine's Day

A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,

A song is no song 'til you sing it,

And love in your heart

Wasn’t put there to stay -

Love isn’t love

'Til you give it away.

~Oscar Hammerstein, Sound of Music

 

 

I've been a bit under the weather for the last 2 days, but just had to do a Valentine's Day post.

Would have much rather had hot cocoa with marshmellows, but am steeping tea with lemon and honey.

Wishing you all a "sweet" day.

 

 

Just as I was about to hit "publish", Mr. SS walked in the door with these.

I am so blessed.

 
I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday.
You can click on her name and go check out other inspiring tabletops.
She's having a great giveaway too for the 1 yr. anniversary of Tabletop Tuesday.

 

 

God is Good!!

Life is Good!!

Luvs & Huggs and Rosie

Today, I finally found some sewing time and finished those cute little wipey/diaper holders that I showed you the fabrics for last week.  I made 4 of the boy version and 4 of the girl version. They are for a lady who wanted to have them on hand for gifts for new Moms.

Here's the boy version:

And for the girls:

These cute little pouches hold a pack of wipeys and a couple of diapers. Just perfect for throwing in your purse instead of a big diaper bag.

I think they would make a great gift for Grandmas too.

I think I told you before, but here goes again. You can get the pattern and oh so many cute fabrics from Strawberry Patches

Visit her blog too. You will be glad you did.

Notes from the Patch

Oh! On the subject of diapers, just had to share a tidbit with you, even if it is probably more information than you needed to know.

My 11 yr. old granddaughter, Drew did her Science project this week. We all remember helping our kids with theirs.  Don't tell my boys, but I was so thankful when all three were finally past that stage.

But being a girl, with 5 younger siblings, she picked something she and Mom could relate to.

It was called Diaper Duty and just in case you needed to know. She tested 3 brands and Pampers won

It held...drum roll please... 52 oz. of liquid.

Can you believe that?  That is amazing.

Okay, enough of the diaper trivia.

There is a new member of my family to introduce you to.

Rosie

I first saw one of these on my friend Patty's blog. She got it at Home Good's. I think hers is bigger than mine.

It is a jewerly holder, but I can get Mr. SS to cut the hooks off and I will use it to display little outfits so I can take better pictures.

Even though I have been abstaining from Home Goods since we moved, I decided to stop at one on the way home from Southern California last week and  she just had to come home with me.

Have to tell you she was only $19.99. Just couldn't pass this girl up.

I'm making baby Emmy a dress for her upcoming (sob) 1st birthday.

I will be able to show it to you on Rosie first.

(Note to self...Get to Strawberry Patches this week for that cute Strawberry fabric Emmy's Mommy spotted today and fell in love with.)

I'm linking up with Cindy at My Romantic Home  for Show and Tell.  Please click on her name to visit some of the other bloggers for show and tell.

God is Good!

Life is Good!



"Our Family Holiday"

Those of you who know me even just a little, know that having my family altogether in one spot is the most important thing in my life...all 20 of us.

Super Bowl Sunday is one of those times. Something that happened 44 years ago started this being a family day.

The night before Super Bowl II, I found out just how important Super Bowl Sunday is.

Mr. SS and I were just newly engaged and I had planned a picnic and activities at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, for his birthday, with some good friends of our Bill and Patty.

As I was leaving Mr. SS's family home and telling him goodbye, leaning back against my  1966 VW Bug, getting my goodnight kiss...

(You can imagine what an impact this was on my life by how I remember every little detail.)

Mr. SS told me there would be no picnic the next day, because it was Super Bowl Sunday.

I had no idea what that was and proceeded to tell him about the planning and cooking etc., that had gone into this picnic. Well, I just wasn't getting it. He wasn't budging and I can be very "hard headed" too.

I was twisting my precious little diamond ring and very nearly took it off, saying that football could not be more important than me.

Could I possibly have been that immature...well I came to my senses and realized how much this precious man meant to me and how good he was to me in so many ways...and since that second Super Bowl have made that day special to him and eventually to our boys too.  Now the DIL's and grand kids are included and it is such a fun family time.

It helps that it always falls near Mr. SS's birthday and we have that to celebrate too.

The day started out by our sons taking Mr. SS golfing for his birthday along with Kyle who is on his HS golf  team.

Can you imagine the pressure of having your Papaw and three uncles critiquing your swing?

 Us girls were home preparing lots of snacks for when they got home.

My son's garage/kids playroom was turned into a "mancave" for the day.

 

The big girls got the cozy warm living room to sit, talk and play with baby Emmy.

Sorry no picture here.

It was warm, sunny and in the 70's today and the kids played out side all day.

Some were eating (well, we all were eating).

Some rode around in Papaw's golf cart.

While some put on a rollerblading show.

And some road tricycles and scooters.

all danced.

It was the most fun day even though we all ate too much. I asked several what there favorite snack was and most said the Fudge (see previous post for recipe).

My favorite part came at the end of the day. I got to bathe, feed and cuddle baby Emmy to sleep.
She's our last baby and those moments are very precious to me.


God is so Good!
Life is so Good!

Fudge is Fun

When asking my family what they wanted to eat during the Super Bowl, my 11 yr. old granddaughter, Drew said, "Fudge...Fudge is Fun" So we started a new Super Bowl food tradition in the Parks family.

I told her she would have to come down and make it with me as it takes a lot of stirring.

Her Mom said "Please take pictures and she can get credit for it in 4-H"

Well of course I would take pictures...a great blog post coming up!!

When she got here I had the ingredients ready for her and she did the whole thing by herself.

Pour in the sugar ("That's a lot of sugar!" she said) Add the evaporated milk.

                                                     

Now stir on medium heat until it comes to a rolling boil.  Boil for 6-8 minutes (we do 7). Stir constantly or it will burn.

Add the butter, chocolate chips and the marshmellow creme.

Right about now, I think I can hear a big "YUM"

I know my mouth is watering.

Drew's favorite part of this might be getting to scrape the Marshmellow Creme jar.

Opps!

Now more stirring (beating) until it gets shinny and pulls away from the pan.

For this part, it helps to have a partner and I helped out when she got tired.

Then pour into a wax paper lined pan. It should just pull away from the pan easily.

After licking the spatula, Drew gives it a big

Thumbs up!!

The recipe I have always used for fudge, my friend Suzanne from Notes from the Patch shared with me when we were just young wives and moms.

It has always been fail proof and yummy and as you can see,  Sew Easy.

See's Fudge

In Saucepan combine:

4 1/2 cups sugar

1 lg. can Evaporated milk

Bring to a rolling boil for 4-8mins. (I do 7)

Add:

1 pint Marshmellow Cream

3 sm. packages of chocolate chips

(I use 24 oz. because when it comes to chocolate...more is better)

1/2 lb. Butter

2 cups chopped nuts

(I don't use nuts, because...well no one in my family likes nuts except me)

Pinch salt

Whip until smooth

Stay tuned for the more of the "Parks Family Holiday" story.

Super Bowl Sunday!!

God is Good!!

Life is Good!



Sew On and Sew On

We're back in So. California again. But we had to move out of our sweet little old shady green trailer park.

They had a promised reservation for Feb. 1st. so I spent a good part of Sunday and Monday trying to find a new temporary home for at least another week. Hopefully Mr. SS will finish here by next Tuesday.

It's really hard to find a resonably priced RV park  around here and we ended up in Anahiem.

I call it the Asphalt Jungle. Nothing but asphalt and big rigs all around me...I miss the little old trailers, big trees  and green grass...can you tell?

It really makes me appreciate Bakersfield's abundance of nice RV parks and of course our own private space at our son's place.

Sew....I sew.

I brought a fun little project to do for my 14 yr.old granddaughter, Madi. She is getting a bedroom makeover. Going from little girl pink to big girl hot pink and black and white zebra. I will take a picture after it is complete. Here are the curtains I reconstructed. They were pocket panels with tiebacks

I cut the pocket off and made tabs from the part I cut off and covered large buttons by cutting the back off the tie backs then lining them with white flannel. I just love making something out of something else.

I have a special sewing order for a lady who wanted these cute little diaper and wipey holders.

I love the name of the pattern.

I am making 4 of the boy version.

and 4 with girl fabrics

Of course all these cute fabrics and the pattern came fromStrawberry Patches. While at my favorite store,

I also picked up these fabrics for one of my Girlie Girl purses that is for a gift.

Tommorrow I go back to Bakersfield so I can babysit the grands on Friday and start getting my grocery list  together for food for the big game on Sunday. 

I will post about that day next time as it is considered the "Parks Family Holiday" and how that came about.

God is Good!

Life is Good!