Monday Morning

Good morning! Hope everyone has a wonderful day and a good week.....I know the weather is bad in some places, cold.....it was cold when I got up but its warming up nicely....the weather people here say we are in for more rain....it hasn't rained very much yet, so hope we do get some.....keep the wildflowers around a little longer that way......

got a call yesterday for a job today so that is good news..plus the real estate company called and said they had a check for us.....hopefully we will get other calls today too.....last week was "slim pickens"...only two jobs.....

we watched an old silent film last night...it was so good that I stayed up later than I normally do....it was filmed in 1924/25 and was a travel film. Incredible footage of traveling with a Bedouin tribe on their migration to find grass for their flocks in Iran......doesn't sound like it would be good but wow...the incredible footage of 50,000 people, and animals traveling through raging rivers, and over high snowy mountain ranges...it was filmed by a USA ambassador and his wife who traveled with them......really something...reminded me of what it was probably like for the Israelites and their 40 year travel.....I wished I had taped it or at least written down the name of it......

Feeling a little better today, think I'll live...hope I get the canisters today!
They were mailed the 25th....

This label is so pretty...love the bouquet,don't you? It drizzled some last night but we always appreciate and thank the Lord for the rain...in our part of the country, rain is always a blessing....and it didn't get too cold either, in the 50s last night....perfect for the plants and flowers...
we watched a good movie last night, 3:10 to Yuma with Russel Crowe and Christopher Bale...its a western remake...yes, violent but very good ending....Christopher plays a young rancher who is between a rock and a hard place, having to transport a hardened bank robber/murderer (Russel Crowe) to the prison train station in Yuma...with the robbers gang after them.....I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't seen it but its excellent...it would be good for older children..little too violent for the little ones...there are maybe two swear words in it.No sex and very mild nudity. Its the only "new" movie so far that we have rented that I've liked...we saw Beowulf (yuck) and 300 (I found it boring after about 15 minutes). I think they sometimes go way overboard on the special effects to the point of ridiculous..
the other movie we rented is Amazing Grace which is an historical drama about
the life of William Wilberforce...haven't seen it yet, probably this evening. A good movie to watch on a Sunday evening.

I woke up this morning and my voice was gone! Evidently the cold has effected my throat....trying to take it easy today....it came back later later in the day...

Its cool, overcast and windy....nice day to relax inside....

Good Saturday Morning! There is a change in our weather.....its been warm all week, but today its overcast and cooler, the weather people say it could rain....that would be a good thing anyway....supposed to be in the 60s here today...it has been a lot warmer in the 80s.....

I cut up a old vintage dresser scarf and have it ready to sew into an apron..but need to find some additional material for the ties...not enough in the scarf for that....I'll have to look through my fabric pile and see if there is anything otherwise go to Walmart......each end of the scarf has tulips so I cut off the opposite side and am using it as a deep pocket on the front..the scarf is rather wide so I didn't need to add anything on the sides to widen it......its a solid pink linen with pink/white crocheted edging....with white tulips....got it at an estate sale. I will need to get some pink thread also.

Our little mourning dove mama has two babies in the nest.....we noticed a lot of movement the other day, she was feeding them.....they won't be in the nest very long and she'll be on her second clutch of eggs....she picked a good spot for her nest...she is very concealed and can't even been seen at all from above..which is good as we do have quite a few hawks. When we first moved here, I put up a bird feeder which was very popular with all the local birds until a little falcon decided to make it his personal cafeteria...

Aprons!

I inherited two aprons from my grandmother and my mom...Grandma always wore a apron over her pretty house dresses...my mom wore hers for 'slacks'.....during the holidays, Grandma and Mom had festive ones....I am glad to see aprons coming back into the main stream again...so pretty.....I just won this pattern on Ebay and will soon be getting my sewing machine out...hope I can make at least some simple ones.....I joined a new group that is forming called Apronista yesterday...its for anyone who loves aprons, either making them, wearing them or collecting them...
I am ready for something new....they are still accepting members so if you are interested, let me know and I can send you an invitation.....

I found this label and it reminded me of Buck Rodgers.....



The cold is still with me and now our oldest son is coming down with it too......not good as he works so hard at the dog rescue...they got a lot of new dogs in...I went there yesterday so see them....they had some very cute sweet pups.....tempting but Alan is a cat person totally...the one I really liked is a miniature Italian Greyhound, his name is Giovanna.....the lady holding him works at the rescue, her name is Kim.

He's small, only about 10 lbs...elegant looking, calm and sweet.....a wonderful pet....he was found wandering the neighborhood, and was turned in....they always advertise the dogs heavily in the area to find the owners and 60% of the time, the dogs are reunited but no one came forward to claim this little guy.....I know he will get a good home.

Journal Jars

I make these journal jars to help in preserving memories for our loved ones..each jar has over 100 questions to spur memories plus the jars are very decorative....I use vintage photos, old lace, buttons, etc. and have a lot of enjoyment in making each jar special and unique. Yesterday I posted the vintage western jar I made that had old Monopoly pieces on it of horseshoes and bits of rope....I have them on Etsy but it occurred to me to offer them to you also from the blog...they are usually 11.99 each but I am offering the jars for my blog readers at a reduced price of $9.99...and it costs 6.50 to ship...that is the exact shipping price. so if you would like one, please email me..you can get my email address through the About Me section on the left.
If you have a certain theme you'd like, just ask...they do make a unusually nice gift.

Enough of the commercial...how about another fruit crate label?

Good morning all! I am not 100%...fighting this allergy/cold thing...how to you like this label? reminds me of the western journal jar I made some time ago which sold soon after......

For those of you who don't know, I make journal jars and sell them on Etsy or my online store, the China Lake Shoppe.....

I am trying to organize our kitchen a little better...it is small with not much counter space..


most of the counter space is the island....but unseen in this photo to the left is a small alcove and in it, we have a little antique curio cabinet I inherited...I put our cookbooks in the one glass fronted cabinet and just won this canister set (on Ebay, I got a steal on them, PTL)...there is a cookie canister also not seen in the photo..for the shelves..hopefully this will lighten up the cupboards a little..


I'll post the finished curio cabinet when I get the canisters...Nancy Huggins also has made some potato, onion and orange homespun bags for us for storage also..when I get them I will post a photo of them too...

this is the famous Twin Inns of Carlsbad, Ca.....we've drove by it many times however never went there for supper....the rooster in the parking lot has been there for decades.....why is it called the twin inns? because at one time there was a similar inn in Oceanside, I remember it when we first moved there in the 1960s, but it was an empty shell, and soon after burned down...here is a photo of it in its heyday..


I started either a cold or an bad allergy yesterday afternoon, all congested and have a sore throat this morning....kinda hope its a cold as that will go away sooner.

we had stuffed baked potatoes last night for supper...Alan went to the store and bought the largest ones he could find and I cooked up some chicken tenders...then we added all the fixins...butter, sour cream, cheese...I made a salad too, from the lettuce we've grown, tomatoes and avocado....since I am trying to lose weight, just had a salad with the chicken tenders on top...it was quite good too...and a slice of cantaloupe for dessert...
I especially like this label for some reason..always been partial to plaid...my scotland heritage, I suppose.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day yesterday with family and friends...we grilled steaks outside...it was a warm day, in the high 80s here....

While researching I found several really interesting old California photos, this is one of them..notice the tall catus in the background? Its one of the largest ones I've seen...
we also got a call from another REO agent, and now work with him also...that makes a total of 10 agents we are working for and with.....Alan secures the properties, checking all the windows, boarding up any openings and re keying all the locks...he also takes photos of the properties as a record as he is usually the first person inside after the foreclosure....I've heard that some people leave their pets behind but we haven't run into that yet...hope we don't! Alan does check all closets, drawers, etc. just in case....we heard about one house that had kittens locked in a closet...I know what you're thinking and you're right.

I got up early and made blueberry muffins...they smell so good....put a sweet crumb topping on them so they are a little crunchy when you bite into them. Very good and somewhat healthy, by using canola oil, Splenda, organic blueberries and walnuts..I think I shared the recipe before so won't do it again unless you would like it...please leave a comment if you would....the recipe is adapted from the first edition Betty Crocker cookbook..1950.

I also found more fruit crate labels....some really cool ones...and did you know by eating grapefruit you could stay young?

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

please remember to turn off the ragtime music to view this video, thanks!


I will be taking break from blogging this weekend, to spend time with my family during this special time..but wanted to share the wonderful message of Good News!
God is always seeking the lost..Jesus came into the world to save sinners..He died so we can be free and He rose so we can be victorious through Him....what great love!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

If you don't know Him...would you like to? Paste this into your browser to find out how to know God http://www.godlovestheworld.com/

thanks for reading and have a blessed holiday...

Here is one of the last fruit labels.....I've enjoyed posting them. They are so colorful....

Alan came back from working at the real estate office yesterday...God is really working...he went to talk to another lock smith business about getting buying some key blanks from them...the owner and he had a long conversation...Alan was telling him about his business, etc. and how he hadn't had any calls in two days..the owner looked at him and said "well..you'll have to do 3 jobs tomorrow, I guess"..when he
left to back to the real estate office, they gave him two jobs for today and we got a call last night for a third...so there are the 3 jobs! Plus the locksmith owner said if he gets too busy, he'd call Alan and we will refer people to him if they need safe or auto work as Alan doesn't do that..
we also had a young couple come over and test drive the car...they offered us a good price so hopefully the deal will go through....they are supposed to call us today when they get their $ together.

I've had fun looking things up about Oceanside and remembering how things were back then...didn't mean for it to look like a travel brochure though...I've tried to find out more about where we live now, but as this is a fairly new area, there is not much online.....they do have a book out I will probably get one day. I always like to find out the history of where we live...
when we first moved here, many of the kids who came over told us about the Indian burial ground that is close by here...there is quite a few petroglifs and such near by ....and also the holes in rocks where they ground corn.
I did found out the name Menifee came from Luther Menifee Wilson who came out here looking for gold...he didn't find much but did mine quartz/gold, his house still stands....later this became mostly farm land which surprised me as our back yard was full of clay and large rocks...I mean large rocks...there are many outcroppings everywhere...it took us close to a year at get most of them out....we took several wheel barrel and truck loads out, mostly granite. Perhaps all the large boulders keeps this side of the city from becoming like the east side.

The east side of Menifee looks typical of most Southern California neighborhoods, wall to wall track homes..but the west side where we live, looks like the big sky country of Montana..lots of open land, dirt roads, and rural atmosphere...we love it. Alan has a lot of photos on his blog of the area if you are reading this and are
interested, just look at the blog list, Under Dogs Blog. we are still exploring here as we've only lived here a little over 3 years. For fun, we drive around the back hills, going down dirt roads to see what's around the corner....we used to do this quite often as a young couple and still enjoy exploring at our ripe "old" ages.

This post wouldn't be complete without a vintage photo so here is one I found of the old Oceanside train depot..


I am taking a break from posting tomorrow as its Good Friday but will be back on Saturday to celebrate Resurrection Sunday with you....God Bless!