Wednesday Dog of the Week

I wanted you to meet Boomer, an Italian greyhound mix..just look at those eyes....she wants a family so badly.......she is a female, about 2 years old, very healthy and just needing someone to love her......she's a bit insecure and nervous and the volunteers are working with her but she's not aggressive..poor girl, not much is known about her, she was a stray that was brought in..you just never know what kind of experiences she had to go through in her young life.....
you can find her and others at the Sun City K9 Rescue....both my boys are out there today...our younger son has decided to do some volunteer work .........there is always lots of work to do....!

This old owl is a vintage transfer pattern...I love to collect them and a few months ago bought a homemade CD on Ebay of very old transfers...this is from the turn of the last century, around 1900...I think I posted a few of these earlier last year.
I rather like owls......they have a reputation of being wise...but actually they are only created for one thing....as predators....they focus on their object and don't look away..but have eyes only for the prey....which is rather wise after all....kinda like as Christians we should be.....with our spiritual eyes focused only on the Lord.
We don't have many owls in our neck of the woods, but do have other predators..mainly red tailed hawks, turkey vultures, and smaller types of hawks like American Kestrals......we also have road runners.....

We woke up to.......rain! Yes, actual wet stuff........this may be a good wet winter for us when we get rain in mid October.......its a El Nino year so its possible...we got a email from a realtor to re key a duplex in Loma Linda also which isn't too far away...about a 40 minute drive. Our lawn is happy!

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Good words for today......and I hope you have a good one......and please if you like the owl, you are free to get a copy of him.......public domain....

A Giveaway , A New Listing and a Recipe

Jessica from Country Whispers is celebrating her 200th post with a stitching giveaway...the lucky winner will get 3 great cross stitch magazines (my favorite Country Stitching) plus a book
on home decorating....a yard of pretty fabric, a embroidery hoop and some nippers to clip threads....she is also throwing in a nice mug..so please check it out and welcome a new friend..just click on the link...you know me.....I love anything concerning embroidery and cross stitching.......
I just finished and listed another candle mat...I think this is the last one for awhile.......but they are so fun and addicting to make......You can find this one and more in my Inspiration Etsy shop


This one is snowmen and candy canes....before we know it..it will be Christmas time...I did this mainly with satin and backstitches..again, this pattern is from Primitive Stitches...

Lastly, as its been cooler (unseasonably cool here, Thank the Lord!) I made some cookies yesterday afternoon.....

I found this recipe when I was blog hopping, but don't remember which blog it was..sorry....but the cookies are made with Nutrella...something I had never tried before..and are absolutely delish......actually, if you don't have the kisses, don't worry....personally I think these are great without...they are slightly crunchy and soft in the middle......I didn't have white sugar (it was all frozen and I didn't feel like digging through the freezer) so used some turbinado sugar (its a natural sugar which has a coating of sweet golden molasses) and I think it made the cookies even better...the boys thought they would be good holiday cookies.....

Nutrella Cookies

1 3/4 cup flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup Nutrella
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
24 Hershey kisses

Preheat oven to 375....In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda and salt. In another bowl, combine Nutrella, sugars and butter, cream for about 3 minutes and then add egg and vanilla, blend well.
Stir in dry ingredients, just until combined. Shape into balls and roll in sugar, place on baking sheet, 4" apart as they will spread. Bake 8 minutes, remove and gently press a kiss in the center of each...return to the oven for another 3 minutes. Let sit on sheet for a minute or so and then remove to cool on wire rack......
If you are not familiar with Nutrella..its a hazelnut/chocolate spread that is very good.......rather rich by itself...I found it fairly inexpensive at Winco.
hope you enjoy the cookies as much as we do...

Sunday

Table Mats away!

Here is the almost finished mat.....I think it's turning out fairly good.......I tea dyed it and it streaked a little......the family wants me to make 3 more so we can use them at Thanksgiving....
I did colorize the pumpkin stems but it didn't come through in the photo....but they are slightly green........I am going to wash it and see if the streaks will come out...I want to line the back with a fall print...have to make a trip to Walmart, ours still has fabric.....I think I will make one more with this pattern and then make 2 with a different but matching pattern....have to put my thinking cap on!

Odd Thursday Thought about TV Commericals

I am really starting to hate certain commercials...you know the ones...I think they are made for ADHD people..... after the 20th time of seeing them......the jumping graphics, and music makes my brain go on overload...Alan just mutes them...I especially dislike the one medication commercial where the shadows walk around with pink lungs... I find that one very irritating. I also hate the birth control one with all the women doing water ballet.... Honestly, do we really need to know about washing used catheters? Some things I don't want to know. REALLY, I don't want to know... Are there some ads that bother you or is it just me?
We have a local one too that drives us batty..this gets the immediate mute



and believe me, this is the best of the bunch.....this is so bad, its almost good.

Wednesday Dog of the Week

Yesterday I went out to the dog rescue as Don had left some things home he needed...Our printer died and as I bought two more epatterns, had Don print them out for me on the rescue printer...another reason to visit, not that I needed one...I met the cutest little dachshund named Wolfgang...Don had him in the office and although the other dogs were making a racket...he was friendly and quiet in spite of the noise.....he had a pink bunny toy he carried around in his mouth, it was bigger than him and wanted to play....I threw it about half a dozen times or so. He would get it and bring it back to me, dropping it at my feet...then he'd had enough, went over to his food bowl, got a few bites and laid down...what a sweetie...

I tried to get him to play with the shoe toy you see in the photo, but he wanted the pink bunny.
Such a charming dog...great personality...you can see Wolfgang at the Sun City K-9 Rescue



I also finished most of the embroidery on the table mat I spoke about before..I am thinking of writing Harvest Blessings on it in script..


The little black "berries" are seed beads......I am not sure how I am going to finish this....I do have quite a bit of vintage hand crocheted lace edging but thought that might be over the top...I thought I might tea dye it too......and colorize either the pumpkins or just the stems......work in progress.....it is padded with warm and natural batting...

We've been rather busy every day this week with locksmith calls...either from the realtors or home owners...good week, thank you Jesus! Now if the realtors would start paying us, we'd be ok.......constant problem...
Alan had to get up at 3 this morning and drive to Sylmar for a lock out, north of Hollywood....the lock out was at 7 in the morning! and a 100 mile trip one way.....we have one realtor who is a very nice person, but he sends us out on the longest trips.....

and yes, I worked on my book too.....will have the first chapter done soon....

Monday

We went to the grocery store on Saturday and I used the cart handle cover that Nancy had sent me...what a wonderful and healthy idea! it went on easily with velcro and fit the handle perfectly...so easy to put on and I felt so good about using it.....as I had gotten the flu about a month ago, I didn't want to have that experience again if I can help it.....I had alot of people watching me as I pushed the cart...and felt nothing but positive thoughts....I am more aware now of germs and watched others more carefully in the store just to observe..saw one child with a runny nose wiping his nose with his hand and then touching the cart handle.......that sight was all it took for me to use this cover faithfully.....it can be thrown in the washer when you get home, folded up into it's carrying bag for next time..... these are very unique, no one else makes these but Nancy of Huggins Haven......they would make a great stocking stuffer and a thoughtful gift......I've heard that that grocery cart handles are one of the dirtiest things you can touch..worse than public toilets...protect yourself and your loved ones......


She also has the nicest pincushions! I just love this one...its her newest.....I have one she made that I use all the time and it sits on our end table where I do much of my stitching.......you will find these in her shop also.....
and I have been stitching! Here is my latest Christmas candle mat
kinda a snowman/Christmas tree primitive theme......I am working on a harvest pumpkin table mat too....my own design which I will have done in a few days....not so prim but vintage looking..I plan on colorizing part of it too......you can find my creations here

I started actually writing a few paragraphs last night for my book.........but I didn't realize how difficult it would be to do.........stretching my mind which is a good thing.....I figure if I do a few paragraphs a day, it will start flowing as time goes on...I know characters have a life of their own...the hardest part is getting started!

Road Trip

sorry I didn't post yesterday..we went on a road trip...first did a little work on a foreclosed and for sale house in Murrieta......we had to install smoke dedicators there... then headed up to San
Bearnadino to re key a foreclosed house...it was in an older established neighborhood, rather pretty street lined with tall trees...the house was in good condition, just needed some cleaning and perhaps new carpeting..it has a very pretty fireplace...San Bearnadino has so many palm trees...more I think than Palm Springs...this is what the freeway looked like..sorry, you can see our clipboard with road directions in the reflection.....we don't have GPS....but do fairly well with online maps.
I am getting things together for the story....I have a little notebook, I am putting ideas down in...characters, plots, etc. I figure if I get things fleshed out, the story will write itself....it takes time..I've thought for years, I would write a book as I am getting older, thought its now or never...if no one reads it, that's ok...my family will get a kick out of it perhaps....LOL

I am not in a bloggy mood today.....we woke up to cool skies and wind. It got down into the low 60s last night and yesterday I noticed the fig tree was losing its leaves so I guess fall is here.......I am wondering if we will get any more hot days......
Yesterday, I worked out front, weeded a flower bed, swept the stoop, etc. It looks better...I'd like to decorate the front of the house with some mums and pumpkins but sadly, no funds for that right now......but its neat and clean again.....with the wind, most of the streets leaves comes into our yard.

I've had in the back of my mind a story idea......what do you think of two women who work as locksmiths....I am not sure what to call their company but I've got alot of stories about different rather exciting adventures..spooky houses, funny situations, and things that have actually happened in real life (remember the foreclosed house where they found the dead agent?) I thought have two women would be a little unusual and a good twist. What do you think? and also do you have any ideas for a name for their company?