It gives me great joy to know I am never to old to celebrate Halloween and that I have people just as nutty as I am to celebrate with!

Today was sewing day at the Orange Quilt Bee. We have a pot luck lunch and today I brought the entertainment instead of food!!

Marcie is wearing her Big ears head band, she's wearing a red shirt over to the left. I brought the quilting girls arrows, axes and big ears to wear ... with just a wee bit of chocolate! It was actually funny watching all the women sewing serious projects wearing silly head bands. They were all such good sports.

 

 

Now here is good shot of the Big ears!! Rita ad Eva are taking a lunch break. They kind of remind me of the ears on the 7 dwarfs!!  Or maybe Dumbo, not quite sure which.

 

Here's the whole gang! You gotta love Linda wearing the orange  T Shirt on the left. Check out those ears!! Gloria is our resident witch, love her Orange hat! Next to Gloria on her left are 3 of the shop girls plus Candy in the white shirt next to the gal in the pumpkin shirt. Such a fun day!!

 

 

 

I've got my trio of pumpkins carved and ready for the Trick or Treaters .... I usually get about 3 groups .... We'll see what tonight brings.

 

Halloween 2012!!

I love the holidays ... kicking off with Halloween and rolling right through New Years it's just one big happy moment! When I begin to see my Maple tree's leaves start to turn in mid-August and cooler mornings by mid-September I begin to seek out pumpkin flavored foods and uncover my fall decorations. This morning as I was reading Facebook my dear daughter-in-law, Lacey had added some picture of Austin's school field trip to the pumpkin patch. I was reminded of my own pumpkin experiences with my dad. He was a pumpkin carving master!! He would pull out his trusty pocket knife (also good for cutting his finger nails) and dig in. Reflecting back I wish mom had taken more pictures of all those pumpkins daddy carved. However, they will be locked in my memory forever. Thanks dad for so many wonderful memories.

 

This morning I want to share a few pictures I captured from my facebook buddies and family. Let's begin with .....

 

My dear friend Donna's "Longaberger" basket of yummy candy! This is a vintage Wildflower basket! So happy she is putting it to important use .. woohoo.

 

My grandson Austin on a school field trip to the pumpkin patch. Such a happy boy!

 

Friends, Blaze, Austin and Summer. Aren't they just too cute???

 

These three scary kids hail from Australia!! Yep my dear friend Renee' lives in Australia and these are her beautiful grand daughters. Halloween has only been celebrated "down under" most recently. We have a vampire, ghost and a bat. She is hiding her adorable little freckled face. It is summer in Australia now, notice the ghosts flip flops!! 

 

And finally, the first ever carved pumpkin by Renee's son-in-law Scott. He did a good job for a novice!! He better get a lot of practice, they have another baby due in 2013.

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween. Count your blessings before you count your candy!!

PS ... My friend Tanya has a grandson due to arrive today ... isn't that just to fun!! A Halloween birthday. Welcome Kingston!



Santa's Cute Belly ....

For the past three years the Longaberger Co. has produced the cutest Santa Belly Baskets! We have had small round ones, medium markets, small tissues, waste basket etc, etc! In addition to this years October offers Longaberger has added three more cuties. In addition all 3 are sold as sets and all 3 are available in Rich, Warm and Black stains!! The long tissue basket set will hold a rectangle tissue box, this basket set has been requested over the years and it's finally back for just 12 hours!! If you are interested in any of these items please contact me at www.baskets4anita @aol.com. Have a wonderful day!

 

 



Frankenstorm 2012

As I sit in a quiet space this morning counting my many blessings I am abruptly reminded of the horrendous storm preparing to pound the east coast. Frankenstorm, as it has been tagged is scheduled to make land fall this evening. I am so grateful I live in California today and I pray for those in Sandy's path.

 

New Your has weathered many storms, stand strong Big Apple ....



Wonderful Blessings ....

Facebook can be a blessing as well as a curse ... at least in my opinion it is. But today when I logged on it was such a blessing. My daughter-in-law Lacey is so good about posting photos of my grandchildren. She knows it is the fastest way for me to keep up to date with their daily activities. They live 12 hours north making it difficult to see them regularly. Yesterday they carved their Halloween pumpkins. They have a VERY large family up there so all the kids, nieces and nephews and adults gather and carve pumpkins, dye Easter eggs, cut Christmas trees etc., At first I just cried at not being able to participate. However, now I am just filled with joy that the children are blessed with so many loving family members to create such wonderful memories together.

 

This picture just cracked me up. I can so relate to the Eeewwww look on her face! I hated sticking my hand (still do) inside the pumpkin and pulling out the guts!
 

 

Look at the focus on her face, she is one precise 7 year old. I am confident that by the time it was done every single seed was out.

 My one and only favorite grandson! He is losing his front teeth so his smile is even more precious. He is just beginning the "carve."

 



 

The top is off and he's digging in. I so wish they could come down here and do this for far away grandma, I hate doing that. Did I mention that??? Love his shirt .... Independent, that fits this little guy perfectly. He got that trait from his grandma!

 

Here is Austin's all finished! Very scary too. 

And of course Barbie is carved into Karlee's. She loves her Barbies. FYI, mom did a lot of the final work on these beauties. My grandkids are great but they are not carving prodigy's ... yet that is!

So like I said earlier. Today I am grateful for Facebook. Without it I would have to wait forever to get pictures . They would have to get the disc out of the camera, developed and then mailed to me. Six months at least!! So again, thank you Facebook!

 



Craft Class #3 - Advent Calendars

Well today concluded our final fall trio of craft classes and I saved the best for last! We met at 10:00 this morning and the girls were so prepared to create a family memory! Prior to their arrival I had painted the metal calendar bases black, cut ribbon for striping, printed the Santa card stock and marked the grids.



 

At this point they have glued on the Santa pictures and tea stained the backgrounds. Now they are are stamping their December  bottle caps. Jewel is at the end of the table keeping the troops in line. It's good to have a tough assistant to help me out!

On to the grids we go. We used black grosgrain ribbon to mark off the spaces for the individual dates, look at all the concentration going on here.

 

Does anyone but me notice how messy the table is getting? The girls are beginning to assemble their numbers and this can get very messy and very time consuming.

 

Another view from the top ....

One done!! Barbara is finished, isn't it just so cute.

All done! I think everyone did just a fabulous job. Left to right is Ronna, Corinne, Tanya, Barb, Susan, Christine, Rita and me sitting down. I'm pooped, it was a great day with some great ladies.

 

 



Did You Win the Million????

Each year, my daughter and play the McDonald's Monopoly game and each year we declare it's our year to win the million .... So, we gathered together on Tuesday, Oct 22nd to review our game pieces.

 

And the winner is ..... drum roll please .... No one. Yep, once again we didn't win the million, or the Fiat, or $10,000.00 or even $50.00. However, we did win free Frappes, french fries, Coke rewards and a burger. Hey, who needs a million dollars when you win great, healthy food??? 



So Grateful .....

As I age I realize there are more and more things that I either can't do, or have trouble doing or .... DON'T want to do. This is pertaining to the trouble doing category!! Keeping this in mind I find myself so grateful for those talented young (very young) ladies that can help!

 

Meet Lena ... she is the best. She just opened her own nail spa!

 

 

 Nancy gives a great pedicure, I actually fall asleep. These are my feet ... they'll be pretty very soon!

 

 

Lena is getting ready .... she will be filing my nails and she doesn't want to inhale all the dust! Isn't she cute.

All done, nice and pretty. Don't be jealous of my shoes, just go to Dragon Nail Spa and you can't get your very own pair!!

 

Lena and Nancy are both such a blessing to me. I just can't seem to get close enough to my toes to do a good job these days! Today I count these two as a gift.



Fellowship ....

On the first and third Wednesday's I gather together with some quilting gals. Yesterday, being the 3rd Wednesday I found myself cruising down the freeway to the Orange Quilt Bee. This week my novice quilting buddy Tanya joined us.

 



 

Tanya and Rita! We had a small group, only about 8 of us were there but it is always enjoyable!

 

 Funny photo's ... With her head on the counter is Gretchen, she's napping, this shop is so relaxed and laid back the employees can even nap ... NOT! In the fore front is Candy, she just had 10 inches cut of the length of her hair as a donation. No, she was not showing me her hair, she was hiding her face! These ladies are so much fun.

 

Gretchen brought one of her own sewing friends. Mr. Mouse. Gretchen has no idea of the issues I have had this year with mice so I found it so interesting that this was the little creature she chose to bring in the shop today to share! What is with me and mice???

 

While driving home Tanya said something that struck a cord with me. It was something to the effect that she enjoyed the day sewing with the ladies and that we have a nice "fellowship." I had never looked at it in that way. I seem to equate the word fellowship with church. But sitting with these women time after time we have created a fellowship. We worry when someone doesn't show up. Grieve at a loss and rejoice is a finished quilt project! The quilt shop itself is so generous to us as again Tanya pointed out. We sew, bring food to share, use their tables, irons, restroom etc. and we are not charged. They greet us with warm hello's and smiles and are always eager and willing to offer assistance. Again, I am blessed with a circle of wonderful people.

Counting My Blessings ....

As the Thanksgiving holiday season approaches I always find myself becoming a bit melancholy. This year, with the death of my dear friend Dee so near I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my losses over the years and the people no longer present at my holiday table. This can pull a person into a very depressed, tearful state if it continues for too long. This year, however, I have decided to look at my surroundings and the people in my life that are still here and rejoice in the joy they give me on a daily basis. Over the next month my focus will be to log a/or blessing(s) each day that God has placed in my life in lieu of mourning the losses at my 2012 Thanksgiving table.

 

 

Here sits one of my life's greatest blessings .... my husband Joe. We just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. This gentle man came into my life when I felt I would never know unconditional love. He didn't just marry a wife, he married two teenage children, a live in mother-in-law, a dog and a neurotic cat. He saw something in me that I didn't, maybe still don't.
As I sat on my corner of the couch I looked around my cozy, comfy, family room and began to experience the warmth of contentment. I gazed over at my "Joe" who was engrossed in his most recent birthday gift "Killing Kennedy" by Bill O'Rielly. Love or hate Mr. O'Rielly (Joe is a fan) you have to admit the man can write a book! Even high school educators agree his best selling book "Killing Lincoln" should be mandatory reading. Thank you Paula and Darrell for his gift! He has his glass of Orange Crush soda and Betsy, our Boston Terrier nestled next to his hip and he is a very happy man. It takes so little to make him happy.

A treasure to be sure. On my trip to Ohio a few weeks ago I stumbled onto these beautiful pewter Tavern Measures in a Newark antiques shop. I have been coveting a 7 piece set of these for YEARS and if I found a complete set the price was HUGE! On this particular day, while cruising the shop there they were, all gathered together waiting for me! I had sticker shock in the reverse! I scooped them up and made a mad dash for the register before someone told me there was a pricing error. Now they sit on the windowsill above Joe's corner ... I can enjoy them both at the same time!

 

I can hear you, I can hear you ... What are Tavern Measure's??

Here is a brief description ...

 

Knauer Collection of Tavern Measures

 

Mason said the new shelving will display the museum's Knauer Collection of Colonial Tavern Measures. Donated by Virginia Knauer, the sets of mug-like pewter measures made in England, Scotland and France were used in the 18th century to measure the amount of drink poured into the mugs of paying customers.
"These were the source of the expression, 'To get a full measure,'" explained Mason.



 

Another treasure from my "home land" Ohio. This great Punched Tin lamp has found a home next to my side of the sofa! I have been sitting in a dark corner for years. Finally, I found this perfect lamp. It serves two purposes, one to see and one as a night light. The little flickering light at the bottom will work alone at night to give the room a gentle glow. Love this lamp!!

 

 

While watching TV in Mesa, AZ last week Nate Burkus was on a talk show. He said "I have several homes, and each one is ONLY decorated with individual treasures that have special meaning to me." On the other hand, I do not have several homes, however, my home does reflect my collection of special family heirlooms, collected treasures and gifts from family and friends. It's a bit on the eclectic side, but it's home, it's my place to rest and rejuvenate my soul ....



Tea Time with Friends ....

Sometimes when you least expect it someone enters our lives for absolutely no other reason then to put a smile on your face. It can come in the form of a hug, a smile a gift or maybe Tea .... That is the base of today's post.

 

 

One of my Longaberger customers, Pam attends most of my open houses and various events that I host. At one such event she met my friend Kim who has been battling breast cancer. A few months ago the two of them were attending an event at my home at which time Kim was sharing her story of surgery, expander's, drains, radiation burns etc. A few days later I received a phone call from Pam, she thought it would be fun to ask Kim to join her for tea to give her something to look forward to other then doctor's appointments. I whole heartedly agreed. So today Pam, Kim, Kim's mother-in-law Barbara and myself went to tea at McKenna's in Seal Beach. This little shore town is nestled on the southern California coast between Long Beach and historic Surf City, Huntington Beach. Main Street is lined with small gift shops selling sea side baubles and souvenir T-shirts, ice cream stands, Cappuccino coffee bars, and small trendy restaurants. Tucked in between is McKenna's.

 

a

Barbara, Pam and Kim. Barbara is 77 years young and doesn't she look fabulous?? Her skin is so smooth and pretty, I want to look like her at 77!!

 

This little tea room was such a nice surprise.

They even had a cute little gift shop filled with various treasures!

My pretty pink tea cup ....

Our tray of scones, jam, cream and tiny yummy sandwiches.

I loved this vignette. All the various clocks gathered together were so fun. Notice they all tell a different time!

.... Sparkling chandeliers dotted the ceiling ....

Me, Kim and Pam. We're stuffed with little desserts. Our menu consisted of soup or salad, assorted teas, sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream (so yummy) and a plate of 4 small desserts.

Kim goes back for another surgery on November 13 and will have another long time of recovery. With special people like Pam in her life that add smiles to her days I'm sure she will be up and around in no time at all. Thanks again Pam for including me in "Tea Time."



Think Pink .... Baskets that is!!

As the end of October is rapidly approaching the Longaberger is taking the opportunity to introduce an awesome Pink Laundry Basket! This beautiful basket is a perfect gift for a breast cancer survivor or someone fighting the battle.

 

 

For one day only one of these beautiful baskets can be all yours! Pink or blue for a new baby ... red or green for the up coming Christmas season .... black for Halloween. The protector is FREE and there is a lid offered separately!



We're Baaaacccckkkk!!

Woo hoo what a quick trip that was. I swear as I was driving into Arizona on Thursday afternoon I saw myself driving the other way! Yikes all I did was drive. Buuuttt, We did have a great time. Here we all are ready for departure from Redlands.

 

Left to right, Ronna, Tanya, Susan, Jewel, me, Barb and Kim. I rented a 7 passenger van so we were all snug inside! I presented each gal with an Americana tote filled with snacks, bottled Crazy Woman water from Wyoming and some other treats.

First thing I realized once we were on the highway was I forgot my sunglasses!! OMG, this is awful! No fear, Kim had an extra pair .... however, mine are prescription. No worries, they were large enough to fit right over the top of my eye glasses.

Tanya thought this was very funny so she needed a photo of my stylish look. Hey, when you're driving 300 miles through the desert you need sunglasses!

We stopped in scenic Blythe for lunch and then back into the van we went ...

All smiles ...

Kim is knitting with 5 needles ... yes, I said 5, while I'm driving! She is so talented. It felt sorta like driving a bus!!

The girls were quick to realize they had Cracker Barrel's in Arizona. So with the help of the internet they found one 10 miles from the hotel. Off we went before we attended Longaberger Live. Oh my gosh, I have never been to one before ... the food was amazing and so was the shopping!! I decided you could actually live in one of these places, it's that cool.

 

I didn't find beds anywhere, however I did find these great chairs, they were so comfy I think you could sleep in them if you had too!

 

 

We made it! We arrived at the Gathering Place by 6:30, just in time to purchase our flag event baskets and get a picture with Tami and Claire Longaberger. Tami was enamoured with our 92 year old Jewel and spent quite a while chatting with her.

 Jewel is sharing a story ...

and having a good laugh. Let me tell you, she may be 92 but she is still sharp as a tack. Hears everything and has a lot to say! We just love her to pieces.

 

Paula finally got there as well. She was diving all over Mesa looking for us and she made it!! Aren't all those baskets behind the ladies just gorgeous?? I wanted the whole stack!

 

One final group shot before the speakers begin.

 

This time Tami Longaberger was the photographer. Brenton Baker and myself having a giggle.

Friday morning, 9 am. The car is loaded and we are just about ready for departure. We all had such a great time getting to know each other better, bonding with laughter, stories of our youth, and shared Longaberger events. As I pulled into Redlands To drop my travelers off we all hugged and decided we needed to do this again real soon. Maybe a little longer next time!! 24 hours was just tooooo fast!!