Still doing apples!

Well, here I am, still doing apples! I thought they would be done by now, but I don't seem to be making much headway! This is going to be a short post because when I get off this computer, I'm doing applesauce. Really, I am going to do it this time! And some apple pie filling, too.

Lots of apples!

Have you got one of these handy gadgets? I borrowed this one from a friend.

It peels, cores and slices the apples all at the same time!

There you have it! The core is still on the gadget, the

 peels are under it and the apple rings are to the right.

Pretty handy, huh? Hubby runs the gadget while I catch the rings and put them in a bowl, ready to cook down. Gotta go get busy! See you later.

Friday Friends!

Wow! It's Friday already!Time for some new Friday Friends. First up is Alisa Burke. She has a very nice blog that's a combination of craft, fashion and photography, a little of this and a little of that. While you're there, browse her whole blog. You'll find some great ideas! She's also going to be giving an online class called Create Daily. It's 30 days, a post a day, of simple ideas, projects and lessons, and it only cost $30! $20 if you register by Oct. 31. Anyway, the project I picked for you today is a wreath made from canvas circles and it's one that I definitely want to make for myself! So go on over and check out http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/2009/11/canvas-layers-holiday-wreath.html and see for yourself.

Next in our line-up is Lynn Stevens from Trash to Treasure. If you go to her site right now you will see some of the most amazing Halloween stuff. She participates in a lot of swaps and posts really nice photos of what she sends and what she gets in return. If you scroll all the way down to the bottom, you'll find her archives and you can dig around in there and find some outstanding ideas. I found one in November of last year that I thought was really beautiful and I would love to make it if I can find an old ice skate. http://trashtotreasureart.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html

Our next friend is Julia at Vintage with Laces. Her site is an eclectic mixture of home dec and craft, and it's truly lovely. As the blog title implies, she uses a lot of vintage laces in her projects and makes some gorgeous items. The one I picture here is one I especially like. Go visit her and be sure to leave a comment. Bloggers love comments.

And our final Friend for today is Julie Ann Shahin over at Julie Ann Shahin2. Her blog is full of paper crafts and art journaling and things that are interesting. I found a Smash book that I really like and that's what I'm sharing today, but go browse her blog and you'll find all kinds of goodies. http://julieannshahin2.blogspot.com/2011/07/homemade-smash-book-its-okay-just-smash.html.

Well, that's it for today. I hope you will visit all our friends and leave comments telling them you saw them here. Comments are good for them AND for me! And remember......the greatest artist was once a beginner, so don't be afraid to try anything! Until next time,

Taking life as it comes.....

I have been using this week to catch up on some projects! I had quite a few swaps to get ready for Swap-bot, tomatoes to bottle, apples to dry and tomorrow I will be making applesauce and apple pie filling! I have two food dryers running as we speak, full of apple rings.

This is what my kitchen table looks like right now!\

A huge square dryer and a smaller round dryer.

Nice looking apple rings.

Here are a few photos of some of the Swap-bot items.

Book page and postage stamp ATC.

(ATC= Artist Trading Card)

Christmas ATC #1

Christmas ATC #2

A spoon lady with extra items to hold in her arms.

I don't know if you can tell but she's made from a wooden spoon.

Christmas tag #1

Christmas tag #2

Christmas bookmark

I also started decorating the house and yard this week. I know, it almost Halloween already, but a lot of the decorations I do outside are more Fall than just Halloween. Hehehe.....except for the headstones I'm making. This is the first year we've done this, but we are going to have a little mini-cemetery in the front yard. And we'll probably add more headstones every year. This is what we're starting with:

The lighting in our kitchen makes everything look yellow!

The cornstalks are actually from our own garden!

This is the first year I didn't have to buy them.

This big spider web lights up.

I'll post more photos when we get the "cemetery" done. Well, that's it for today! You can see that I've been busy. And it's not all done yet, either, but I will keep on pluggin'.


Thanks to all who are still reading and didn't give up on me. Life sometimes gets in the way of living, but I'm still here and plan to be for a long time. After all........either you run the or the day runs you!
Until next time,

Oh da lolly golly what a last few months!

Well, hello! It's been one heck of a last few months! Here's the short version: surgery on both hands, a trip to southern California, southern Nevada and northern Nevada, doctor's appointments by the skads, a mini-stroke, or TIA, arthritis and joint damage for my hubby, and diabetes, bulging disks, narrowing of nerve canals in lower spine and into the legs, and fibromyalgia for me. So you can see how I didn't have a lot of time to blog for a while. But I really am back now, and I will stay back!

The trip to California and Nevada was to visit family, mainly my mother-in-law, who is very ill. We spent two weeks with my husband's sister and family, making daily trips to visit his mother and do what we could to help his sisters get all her affairs in order and her "stuff" cleaned out and taken care of. I think she still has a good long while before she will be "checking out", but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. We had some nice visits with her and enjoyed taking her shopping. She's a hoot sometimes! She knows what she wants and that's that! It's the longest amount of time I've ever spent with her, and I really did enjoy it.

 

My husband, Chuck, and his mom, Thelma.

 

Then we visited the little valley where we lived for so long. Our youngest daughter and her two boys live there again, and we stayed with them for a few days. Two of our other grandsons live there, also, with their dad, and we got to go to soccer games with them. We also got to visit with my husband's brother and brother-in-law (his wife was in California with her mom) and had a nice family barbecue.

 

Rafferty and Cyric in front of their school.

Hal and Isaac at their soccer games.

 

 

 Then we headed north to Elko, where our two oldest kids and their families live. We stayed there a few days, went to another soccer game, saw the beginnings of the balloon light-up, and then headed home.

 

Cody and Jason in front of a character they drew,

It was from a video game or movie, something like that?

Hannah (in the pink) with her sleepover friends,

 and our youngest grandson, SJ.

 

Madison and Kacey, the daughters of my

oldest daughter's boyfriend.

 

 

It was a long trip and we were so glad to get back home to our own bed! We did have a good time, but 3 weeks is a long time to be away from home.

 

I am in the process of making plans for both my blogs and hope to be totally up to speed by Monday. I have a few projects in the works, plus a few that I did during the summer that you haven't seen yet, so I will see you again soon. And remember....."Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." Margaret Lee Runbeck. Until next time,