Drive In

We took the monsters to the Drive-In for the first time over the weekend. We saw Despicable Me 2 & RIPD. Both movies were very good.

The monsters loved the concession stand and the bathrooms. I know weird, right?!? But I guess both of those things lost there appeal for me years ago. 

Intermission was a hoot. They kept watching to see how many minutes they had left before the next movie started.

Of course we had many a fight about who's arm was where and who was touching who. All in all they had a great time. Grim and I were exhausted.... The drive in is an hour and a half away from us. We didn't get home until about 3:30 in the morning. That's the main reason why we never went just way to far away.

With UN-monster not being home for our annual trip to the ren fest I thought she needed to be included in something special and this was it.

What you don't see in the food pictures is the rest of the food. Do you know how much food 5 people who didn't eat dinner can eat. The kids loved being able to run back and forth to get more stuff before the show started.

We didn't even have to worry about the window speaker as now they have it set up so that you can pick up the sound on your radio! How cool is that! It was a very nice night, a little on the chilly side. That made it great to have the windows open and not be bothered by the mosquitoes.

Yart

Thirty-One Girl on the Go Purse Line Montage

Here are the new purses that are coming out on August 1st...If you see something you like let me know!

Yart

Back to the Grind

I have been slacking off the last couple weeks with cooking. First is was to hot to be stuck in the kitchen, then we got busy, then Grim got sick... Nothing serious just the flu.

But with the Flu, came the realization that I needed to get back to my kitchen. So I mad a pork rib roast for dinner Sunday. Monday I made chicken noodle and cabbage roll soups. Tonight I made a rack of ribs. Yum!

In most of the country there is above average temps but not here. We've been in the 70's as the high and down to the 50's at night. Totally not normal end of July weather. I mean we even have trees that are changing color already. So I was alright in making soup. 

I didn't have any chicken broth on hand so I ran up to Aldi's and got 6 quarts, 3 for each pot. Since I was there I also got celery and carrots. Once I got home I fried up some turkey and got a jar of canned chicken from the pantry. Into the pots went the chicken stock, then the meat and can't forget the vegg. This is where the pots take on a drastic difference.

Pot 1                                                             Pot 2

stock                                                             stock

chicken                                                          turkey

onion                                                             onion

celery                                                            celery

carrots                                                          carrots

      braggs spice mix                                   diced tomatoes canned

      salt                                                           cabbage

pepper                                                            salt

garlic powder                                                 pepper

tumeric                                                         paparika

   pasta                                                            rice

The chicken soup is almost gone as Grim needed it as he was so ill. The cabbage roll soup will be frozen as UN-Monster and I can't possibly eat that much. I made way more then I thought it would. That's alright as now I have soup for the winter months! Yeah!!!

Yart

                                                                     

WIP ~ SunBurst

I really should be working on the scrap-ghan, since the weather has turn fall like. But it was put away in favor of warmer temps. LOL! Well played Mother Nature, well played! Any who.... I did need to get back to working on this loverly WIP. For some reason all these little puffs make me want to pull my hair out. Not sure why.

But yesterday, I got back to it and got the last of the purple centers done and got 6 of the pink centers finished. As you can see I still have all those blue to do... :(

I'm hoping that the next round will go smoother.

And when I'm doing something, at least one of the monsters wants to come and play. So as you can see the toddlers (the game Mouthy was playing) were attacking my feet. LOL! KIDS!

I'm hoping to get the pink centers all done today. Maybe even get 1 or 2 of the blue done!

Yart

P.S.

I turned in the Flamboyant Afghan to the county fair people on Saturday! Keeping fingers crossed for a ribbon!!!!

I guess this is why!

I got this off of facebook and had to share!

Yart

Free Time

Not really, but I do have a couple minutes to fill you in on what's been going on here.

UN-Monster's Grad party was a success. We had tons of food and lots of goodies!! I only managed to snap a couple pictures of the cake. None of the party, I know, I know. In my defense I was making sure that the food went on without a hitch. Only one snafu, I bought a new crockpot for the party (will be used in the camper), it heated up the outside but the crook never got hot. *I took it back the next day and got another one, still haven't tried it yet* Everyone had lots to eat, that made me very happy.

I think the best part of the day was that my brother wanted to open up the pop-up. So I got the keys for him. All the guys were ohhhhing and ahhhhhing. They couldn't believe the deal that I got and how good a shape its in! I guess my brother wants me to go with him when he buys a trailer, so to help him pick out a good one. LOL!

UN-Monster had her wisdom teeth pulled out Tuesday. It went very fast and she did really well. There is some swelling and a bit of pain but she is a trooper. She got her music in the mail today for the University Band. I think she will heal so much faster having to learn the new program.

I have been keeping up with all the hard work that went into cleaning the house. It really amazes me at how fast it starts to fall apart. Now to just keep it clean. Or to win the lotto and hire a cleaning crew! Can't blame me for hoping!

Almost forgot, I drop off my afghan on Saturday for judging. Wish me Luck! And I've been working on the squares for this summers project. Its slow going, because of all the puffs.

Oh, and I'm giving my prediction for winter a little early this year. I think that I need to though. My prediction for winter is going to be early and cold. Probably lots of snow again. I know its only the end of July. Its just something I feel in my bones.

Yart

This program has been interupted

With the heat in the high 90's and the humidity at an all time high I had to stop working on my scrap-ghan. But before I put it away for cooler temps I thought I should show off the progress.

There was enough scraps to do about 2 and 1/2 skeins. Once that was done I moved on to full skeins. So far I have used 6 1/2 full skeins. With no end in sight. I will keep working until it hits the right length.

That won't be until Autumn sets back in... LOL! Good thing I got two huge skeins of cotton yarn by Bernat.... At least I won't have idle hands... I can still knit wash clothes!

Yart

I don't want to & you can't make me!!!

I think I've made mention before that I hate to clean. I have no problem picking up, dishes and even laundry isn't to bad.... But the cleaning. I hate it and avoid it at all costs... LOL! Not really but you get the point. Well, in my best, brilliant thought process, I thought what a great idea it would be to host the graduation party here... Yes, at the house.

Now in my defense it was before we had countless days of rain in a row and almost into the 100's (the heat really isn't an exaggeration). Both I can deal with. What I forgot to think about was having to do what I hate doing most of all in this nasty hot, sticky weather. I know what you thinking its just cleaning what's the big deal?

I'm washing walls and ceilings and floors. Tossing out stuff and reorganizing. So far my room, Mouthy's room, the bathroom and the stairway are all done. The kitchen, living and dining room and the yard still need to be taken care of.

All the preps for this are surrounded by my mom who is on vacation, taking UN-Monster to orientation 8.5 hours away for 4 days, my MIL having a heart cath and then being rushed to the ER because of complications, Picky breaking up with her BF, Grim's job being bounced around, oh and planning and hosting Picky's 16th birthday... 

So again, I'm gonna say that I don't want to and you can't make me... LOL! I'm going to ground myself to my room and get some sleep. Early day tomorrow!

Talk to you all later! Thanks for listening!!

Yart

Mother of invention

Grim and I have signed the final paperwork. So the property is ours. When I was up there this past weekend, I was able to see the surveyer stake.... I forgot to get a pic next time.

Since there really isn't a structure other then the pole barn, Grim & I have no place to stay to clear the areas that need to be cleared.

We decided that we would wait a couple years to build. So we kicked around the idea of a tiny house or even putting an old mobile home up there. Both are about $3000. What we did decide to do was purchase a pop up camper. It will travel with us. Once we get electric run to the pole barn we can then stay there. For now there is a state park with camping about 20 minutes away.

We got it for a really good price. Mainly because it has some damage. We opted to let them do the repairs. Just because we didn't know how much damage to expect. So I don't have it home yet. This one will be able to stay here because it doesn't hang over the sidewalk.

.

Sorry the picture is sideways. This is the area at the front at the tow end.

I got a new spare tire cover since the one that's there is falling apart. I'm going to have it airbrushed to say

GLAMPING

31

BAG LADY

What do you think?

Grim said I have to pull this around saying that?!? LOL! I think its great! 

Since this camper will be up and running before the classic one, this one will be the rainbow one. That way all that stuff can go right into this camper and get used right away. Plus, it give me an excuse to buy more yarn this winter to make blankets for the classic one... Now to come up with a theme for the classic one?!?

Yart

Ramblings of an....

Today I have a ton of stuff floating around in my head. So this post is bound to ramble.... 

First the DNR in Michigan  is trying to force Baker's Green Acres to pay $700k as well as put down over 70 animals all because they look like a feral pig?!?!? I'm not going to go into the politics of it. But they have set up a crowdfunding page to help pay for the expenses of this nightmare. So if you can spare some change they could really use the help!

We still haven't signed the final paperwork for the property. So I won't be placing the no trespassing signs on Sunday when I'm passing through. That's alright though. I will be stopping in to show my mom the property and look for the Artisan Well that's on the property. I have seen a picture of where it is in relation to the shed and road. I need to check the survey stakes also. I'm hoping that when I get back from Orientation at the University, there will be paperwork for us to sign. 

Today I'm going to see old friends that I had lost contact with. It's been over 18 years since I've seen them. I'm very excited. Grim won't be able to go with me and the monsters as he has to work. :o( But with me making contact with my friends I'm sure we will be getting together again very soon.

I got an email for the blueberry farm that I go to.... They are expecting the berries to be ready on July 22. Yeah... By that weekend Graduated monster should be feeling better (wisdom teeth being pulled on the 23rd,) & Grim should be back on his regular job so he can go also. I think we need about 100 pounds.

Two more things... 

I belong to 2 sites that help pay the bills around here.. LOL! Not really but they do help out. The first one is Recycle Bank... You got through the site and learn about recycling and such. They have lots of earning opportunities through out the year. You don't have to buy anything to earn points, you can if you want but it isn't necessary. If you want to go and check it out please use this link, https://rcycle.it/66y9y

I get 25 points for each person that signs up.

The other one is SwagBucks. Its a search engine that rewards you for searching. How great is that. I earn several gift cards each year. They offer a $5 amazon card, that's the one I get. It helps with Holiday Purchases. If you want to go and check it out please use this link http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Yart .

Yart

Pecked to Death by Ducks!

Think about that.... Could someone really be pecked to death by ducks? I don't think so, but while they're pecking would become very annoying after some time you wouldn't die from it. Why am I asking this profound but silly question, you ask?

Remember the car that I procrastinated about putting up for sale.... Then actually put it up for sale and never sold? Yep, that one.... Well, with the gas prices up, we took the signs out of the windows. Since it really does make sense to drive the car that has the best gas mileage. Any who... the car started do weird things and making funny noises.

Grim got out there and checked it out. He thought that the anti-freeze reservoir had a crack in it. Seeing as how there was anti-freeze all over the engine and the reservoir. So we took it to the dealer (still under warranty as its only a 1 1/2 years old). They replaced the reservoir and sent me on my way 2 days later.

I picked up the car, got gas ( a full tank ), went home... A couple hours later I drove 8 blocks to get pizza and came home parked the car for the night. At this point your wondering where I'm going with this aren't you... especially since the car is suppose to be fixed... Right!

We get up in the morning to take a family trip to Tractor Supply.... I turn the car on and it is sputtering, the check engine light is blinking and we can smell anti-freeze. So Grim hops in the big car and follows me to the dealer.... Where I again drop the car off for repairs.

Grim gets a call the next afternoon to tell us that the head gasket is blown and that's why we have anti-freeze everywhere. I guess while Chevrolet while re-figuring how they were going to make a better car with the buyout money from the government they must have missed a couple steps.

The car is under warranty and it will be fixed. So essentially, it is just a big pain in the butt... Hence being pecked to death by ducks! LOL!

Yart 

Exhaustion

That is what I've been feeling for the last week. Only hours after I get up, I can barely keep my eyes open. It is a struggle to make it through the day. But I think I finally figured out what is causing this exhaustion. I'm out of my routine. My exercising has come to an abrupt halt and I haven't been eating right. I already switched my diet but I really think that my body is going through withdrawals from exercising. How sad is that... LOL!

So tomorrow I plan on getting back to my regular activities and see if that helps any. I hope it does... I have a house to deep clean, walls to paint, food to prepare, plans to make, and a trip to take. WOW, no wonder I'm spent.

To help pass the time, I have started to clean up the mess that was left from when we got home from the last trip... You know the stuff that no one seems to know where it goes other then MOM. And I was able to get to the point with the scrap-ghan, that I got the 2 skeins of cherry colored yarn. 2 rows done!!! I think I'm still going to need 4 more, though.

I got a call from the people at the county fair. They told me I sent in to much money when I sent in my application. Newbie mistake. So I need to drop another check in the mail to them in the morning. I can't wait to see if I win something... :o)

Yart