Girl Fun

Today I have a couple of friends coming over for Bible Study and then lunch.  I like to do "girl food" like this and make it pretty.  Have learned a lot about "garnishing" and  presentation from my friends Terri and Debbie.  Today we are missing one of our friends.  She is just getting a cold and if it's anything like what Bill and others have had, it's terrible and she'll have it for a while.   Bill is still coughing pretty bad.  He's had his cold and everything that went with it since just after Christmas.

Today's menu is homemade chicken salad with pecans and grapes in a waffle bowl, French Breakfast Muffins that melt in your mouth, and fresh fruit.  I'll post the Betty Crocker recipe for the muffins next.  They are so good.   

It was very cold yesterday so we had sun dogs.  The picture below was taken at sunset.  This morning the sun is shining brightly but the temp. is -8 and -21 wind chill even though the wind is only 6 mph.  Brrrrr. 

 

Back from Paradise

I'm just back from a trip to Paradise with my mom, Aunt Dana, Uncle Dale, their travel agent and her husband and others from the Carmel/Indy area - 15 in our group. We left on Nov. 17th.  I flew from Des Moines and met up with the rest of the group in Dallas.  We flew from there to Los Angeles.  Then it was an 8 hour flight to Papeete, Tahiti.  We were greeted with leis and Tahitian music at the airport!

Uncle Dale & Mom

We spent that night and the next at the InterContinental Hotel there to get over the jet lag.  This hotel was beautiful.  Most of us said we would've been happy if we stayed there the whole trip.

This was our view from our balcony! 

Breakfast the next morning was more beautiful than good.  I don't really remember what I had to eat, just that the buffet and the view from our table was amazing!!

cereals

yogurt & toppings

all open to the amazing pool & lagoon area

pastries

mural

Fun with our Niece & Nephew

Recently Bill's mom had a couple of the grandkids at her house for a few days so Bill had a little shadow most of the time - one who asks LOTS of questions!   I didn't see him except for a couple of minutes one day so no pictures, but one of the days Peggy was going to Bible Study so I asked if Taylor would like to come hang out with me and she said yes.  

We walked down to the creek and across it and threw rocks in it and she waded in it.  We looked at Uncle Bill's shed.  I asked if she wanted to bake something and she requested that we make peanut butter fudge.  Luckily I had Aunt Jan's recipe that she makes in an electric skillet that I knew was easy and good so we made that.  We went downstairs and looked at all the cards and stuff.  And then ran out of time.   I'm sure her parents would probably let me borrow her most any time!  

The next day the three of us went to "coffee" at the library to hear the program which was Luke Dahl from our town talking about and showing pictures of his service as medical personnel on a Blackhawk helicopter in Afghanistan.  Very interesting.

stirring peanut butter fudge

Did you all see the Blue Moon again a couple of weeks ago?  Always fun to watch it rise.  Pictures just don't do it justice - at least with my camera.  

Blue Moon rising behind our house

I've caught a few beautiful sunsets this summer.  Here's one:

sunset from the front of our house

 
 

Great Labor Day Weekend

I'm so far behind on getting pictures posted of things we've been doing this summer that I hardly know where to begin.  And Bill says he doesn't know what he's done unless he reads it here!  ;)  

This past weekend was really nice.  We were invited to friends' lake house which was only about an hour away.  It was a nice, quiet lake with not many boats out and not very many houses around it even.  They grilled hamburgers and provided some other things and those of us that went pitched in.  I took deviled eggs and cream cheese cupcakes.  Peggy took a lemon fruit salad (got that recipe!) and a macaroni salad.  

Uncle Tim checking out one of the docks

We got to sit on their deck and enjoy the view and then those that wanted to went for a boat ride to see the area (really nice pontoon boat that holds 13).  Later those that wanted to go fast (me!) and kids that wanted to have fun went out again.  Nice, nice day.

kids riding on Big Mama (not really, but Big something - I forget)

sunset from the deck

The rest of the weekend we both got a lot done around here.  Bill has been moving rock up to the shed entrances now that the concrete is done.  Yesterday he got everything moved out of it to be ready for the spray foam insulation guys to do their thing in about a week hopefully.  He trimmed some dead branches from a big tree.  This tree got a little hot when we burned our old house so some branches died.   

I'm working on painting our screened porch that was painted yellow, when we built the house, instead of a tan that I wanted.  I'm having a very hard time getting the right color of paint.  The woman at the hardware warned me that it's very hard to get the tan color you want without it being pink and she was sure right.  Right now we have a pinkish tan screened porch - which is still better than yellow - I think.  Not sure what I'm going to end up with.

One of my stamping/demonstrator friends from southern Illinois is coming to visit me this Thurs.  Lots more summer fun on the agenda while she's here for a few days.
 

Another Beautiful Iowa Sunset

Last night I was typing an e mail to Peggy and noticed the sky was pink and told her I better go check out the sunset.  This is what I found!

Bill, Tim and Bryan have been working in our new shed getting things ready to pour concrete.  Bill's hoping they can pour it early next week.   They're going to do the outer thirds first and then the middle.

Bill cutting rebar

They've also been spraying beans (for weeds) and believe it or not, planting some beans.  We were not able to plant the last 300 or so acres of beans due to the ground being so wet and it got too late so now those fields are weeds.  What they're doing is having the elevator spread bean seed with a terra-gator and then Bryan is discing them in.  This will be a cover crop to keep the dirt from blowing for one thing.  The frost will kill the plants this fall and they'll stay there until next spring.  This is the first time they've ever had to do anything like this.

terra-gators

We were having lunch out on the porch today and heard a really loud June bug.  Bill says the old wives' tale says that when you hear those it's six weeks till the first frost!  That would be very early.

Fall Beauty & Fun

When I was in Indiana in October, Mom and I would go somewhere and then I would drive around forever taking lots of pictures of the trees!  So I have several more to post!  One day we stopped at one of my favorite places that has been around for years - Acorn Farm.  Not too many people know about it.  They don't really advertise.

Acorn Farm used to be a camp for kids.  Click HERE to read about it.  Now there is the country store and they hold events there in the old camp buildings.  Google Acorn Farm Country Store, Westfield, IN  to read some nice reviews.  Every year about this time they have seminars and show you how to decorate with some of the items they sell and give recipes for holiday entertaining.  Mom went last night.  It's a really neat store in a house with 13 rooms of things to look at or buy.    This first picture was taken somewhere else but this is what it looks like when you drive back the winding lane at Acorn Farm.  The second picture was taken outside the store.

On the Acorn Farm property.  This bright yellow tree is a gingko tree.

This is what you see as you open the door of the store - and the stove was giving off some heat which felt good.

If you like antiques and old dishes, they have lots!

I found 4 pretty lunch size chintz plates to buy.

Saw this nice barn used for weddings and other events.  Nice setting with a gazebo in the yard too.

Found this covered bridge in a neighborhood.

Loved this one taken the morning I left for home.

    

I Love Fall!

Taking lots and lots of pictures while here in Central Indiana.   Some of the leaves have turned just since I've been here.  Almost overnight the Bradford Pear trees in front of Mom's house turned red this week.  Iowa has lots more sunny days than Indiana but while I've been here, it's been mostly sunny.  There was a little rain Wed. night and last night and it's supposed to be cloudy today.  It's going to be sunny and in the 70's all next week so they're wanting me to just stay till Thanksgiving!

I found this in front of a landscaping business here in Carmel.  The bigger display was on a busy road.  I drove back in to see how they decorated their actual building and saw the little pumpkins.  Might have to do something like that next year since I found out this year that Uncle Tim grows the little ones!

SO PRETTY!!!

This is a house in Mom's subdivision.  She thinks this is the house that goes all out decorating for Christmas too.

Wonder how much all these pumpkins cost?

These winter cabbages are in the median close to Mom's subdivision's entrance.  This is where you turn in to Salsbery Brothers Landscaping.   They always have huge, beautiful hanging pots of flowers and other displays decorating their business.

Fall in Indiana

If you don't like Fall or pretty leaves you won't like this post!  I left for Indiana last Thurs.  This is what I saw as I left the house!

Since we got done with harvest super early this year due to the drought, I realized I should head for Indiana to see the leaves since most years I'll be in a tractor the month of October!  When we got married (5 years ago) and I agreed to move to the flat land with very little trees and ones that mostly turn yellow, I told Bill that I might have to go on road trips once in a while to get my fall fix.  He said that would be fine - "go".  But that was before I learned how to drive a tractor!  So this was a spur of the moment trip, and I happen to be here for the peak color week.

At Mom's church.

At Anderson Orchard in Mooresville, IN

View from Mom's house this morning.

Grandma & Grandpa's grave site.  The trees are always pretty here.

Near Mom's house.

This trip I'm not doing any stamp classes or downline meetings - just being with my mom, brother, nephews and seeing friends and family - and enjoying the  
beautiful scenery!

My favorite picture so far.

At Anderson Orchard.  The sun wasn't shining but still beautiful.  (my 2nd favorite)