rain rain go AWAY!!

Hello!!
I have been away on vacation! My mom had planned on having a bed and breakfast or a dude ranch for many years. she has been collecting stuff - furniture and decorations to decorate. She recently decided that she didn't want to do that anymore - she wants to retire and travel. I had asked if I could have one of the pieces of furniture - I offered to pay and she said yes. then she decided that I should go through all of it and take what I wanted!! woo hoo!! We had planned to fly to Colorado in March but Colorado is having a weather crisis - more snow than usual. So, we moved it to May. We flew out on the 14th (thank goodness for Xanex because not only were we one row from the very back - we also flew through lots of bumpy clouds) We landed in a downpour and it basically rained the whole time we were there. Not like Colorado at all - my step dad said he thought he could see the Seattle Space Needle from his yard haha! The crazy rain meant we could not get the ranch where all the stuff is stored. Mom did have some at her house so I rooted through that and took all the good stuff!! We rented a moving truck to take it all home. My uncle Joel and aunt Carol came over from Grand Junction to see us - that was so much fun. We went to a cake place called Glaze - Scott and I had seen it on Unique Sweets  They bake cake on a rotisserie using a spit oven. It is very cool!!

Scott, Diana(my mom), Joel, Carol, Brian (step dad)

apple baum - apple in the center, fill the hole with cinnamon cream, served with caramel and nuts

 

Scott and I went to the Polish Pottery Outlet we are trying to collect an entire set of Polish pottery - takes awhile because it is expensive. I just love it though!!

cloudy skies grrrr

10 inch dinner plates

8.5 inch salad plates

I got a new mug too

My aunt and uncle headed back to Grand Junction - my uncle accidentally left behind his library book. That book went on a wild adventure - I will post about it in a few days.

 We drove to Santa Fe to see Ryder. Of course we made him go hiking - he had to work and missed most of the hiking but we got him out for one!

Ryder celebrated his 22nd birthday on May 24 - we weren't there for it but we took him a Glaze cake!! We also ate at a Diners Drive ins and Dives (of course) restaurant that Ryder and I had eaten at before - Backroad Pizza they have that incredible beet salad that I found a dill vinaigrette for... mmmmmm  (lettuce, beets, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, feta and the dill vinaigrette mmmmm)

 We went back to Colorado and saw our daughter and her girlfriend (we also saw her best friend but I didn't get a picture of her darn it!) Can't tell which one is mine - can you ha ha

 We had dinner with our friends Al  and Joanie. I will show you pictures of the things we brought back as they get added to my house - I got two wood bowls and a pumpkin picture I am excited to show off!! We left Colorado and a gray rainy day - go figure - damn weather. The first day we had terrible weather across Kansas and it was a struggle for Scott to keep the truck on the road. We got to Kansas City and had dinner at another DDD place - Blue Koi First we had to park about 3 blocks away because of the moving truck - and walk in the rain (fun!) The food was SO good!!!

shrimp and pork pan fried dumplings

firebird chicken on noodles

Chinese style pot roast on noodles

taro bubble tea

Oolong tea

cheese cake wontons

It rained all night

night view

day view

The next morning I was so focused on packing that I washed my contacts down the drain. I am blind as a bat without them. For the last 10 years I carried an extra set with me and NEVER needed them. When my prescription changed drastically and contact prices went from $15 a box to $67 a box I stopped carrying extras. Since we were new to Indianapolis I had just gone to the Walmart Vision center - YAY there are Walmarts everywhere so we went to one and she WOULD NOT help me because my prescription had expired THREE days - THREE!!!!! days prior. So I went the last day with no vision. Really?  I can't see clearly the length of my arm. When night fell it was awful because all I could see were lights. Luckily we only drove for about an hour after dark and were home. That meant we had to go pick up my car the next day - we flew out and left my car at Scott's work. I will never ever ever use Walmart Vision center again. Scott says she was just doing her job but it was three days and I was 10 hours from home - not good. I will always carry a second set - even though that means I will never need them. We got home and in the morning I saw noticed this little creature in my yard (a baby deer)

you almost cant see her - so tiny!! We unpacked the truck and made a lot of noise and she just hid there until we cleared out. Her mom came and got her and we haven't seen her since - her mom has been hanging around though so I know she is close.
No stitchy news this time - I will have something fun to show you very soon though!! Hope you have a lovely week with clear vision and appropriate weather.
 

and the winner is.....

 I assigned everybody a number going right down the list and used a random number generator. The winner is....

Kaisievic

I popped over and looked at her blog - love it! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented. Also - welcome to my new followers!! I hope I can keep you entertained! 

I had a lovely Mother's Day - my daughter sent tulips which arrived on Sunday! How wonderful!!

They came with a blue mason jar - I love colored mason jars!! My son called me to tell me he loves me - ahhh what a nice boy! My husband took me to dinner and gave me the cutest monkey card. It was a nice weekend.
I finally got all my grades - 5 classes all A's!! What a relief! I have to take anatomy and physiology this summer and I have to get an A in that. Plus I have to study for the entrance test - to even get in the program. Scary. 
I have to show you some fun finds from the Goodwill store!! Scott found this LoRan line magnifier for my metal stitching board - wow does it work well!

 check this out - flat ...

 pull up the handle and it's a basket - adorable!! Looks handmade and it is heavier than you would expect!!

 the little rustic house - it doesn't blend in as much in person - it's perfect there!

 a Mongolian Ger - hand painted  "jewelry suitcase"

 Scott picked up these frames - can't wait to see what he does with them!!

 and the best find (Scott just rolled his eyes - he says it's the ugliest gaudy bag ever - what does he know lol yes, it's bright but I LOVE it!!) A Vera Bradley messenger bag the fabric is discontinued "Cupcakes Pink" a  bit faded on the front otherwise in PERFECT condition!! 20 bucks! 

 When we lived in Colorado my friend Katie bought me my first Vera Bradley messenger bag - she was shocked that I didn't have any Vera Bradley bags. She found this one at a thrift store in Colorado for 5 bucks!! One little frayed edge - otherwise PERFECT condition! Retired "Java Blue". There are some on ebay - prices aren't bad. I love the messenger bag!!

Scott bought me a bag when he first came to Indianapolis to use as a lunch bag - yes it's a diaper bag! At the time I needed to take 2 meals and drinks because I worked 10 hour shifts so a big bag was needed! Retired "Suzani" The pockets are great for silverware, salt, sunglasses, wallet and keys - so you don't have to carry a purse on work days! 

 Today I am going to stitch - woo hoo!! Hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

EEEEkkk I think my husband turned into a cat.....

Traveling Pattern and some stuff

Hello!

 As you may remember, Kim from Wisdom with Needle and Thread blog sent me the traveling pattern "Count Your Blessings" by Shakespeare's Peddler.

I used 822 on the fence - 840 was too dark for my fabric

I'm ready to send this design off to a Sister Stitcher (or brother). If you'd like to be the next stitcher and agree to pass it along when you're done, please place a comment and let me know you are interested. The only guideline is you must have an active blog.I will pick the next stitcher Tuesday May 19th
There are watermelons in the stores now - they are not great for eating but they are great for Agua Fresca (fruit water) The first time I made it I did not love it because of the texture - so this time I strained it! I could drink this stuff all day but I am trying to keep it as a one glass a day treat.

unstrained

my recipe is two servings because I like to make it fresh every day and there are only two of us!

Agua Fresca
3 cups watermelon + the juice from the bottom of the bowl
3/4 cup water
3 strawberries
5 mint leaves
Blend it all together and let sit in the fridge until cold. Strain and enjoy.

I have always hated cutting watermelon - it takes forever and it's messy. A friend of mine posted this VIDEO on Facebook - OMG it really works and it's sort of fun to do. I use a bowl instead of the ridiculously small baggies he is using! I've done it twice - a smaller sharp knife works best. Remember to wash the outside of the melon and be careful not to cut off any digits.
We tried the "Kiss My Grits and shrimp" recipe out of the Skinnytaste cookbook - wow - it was so good! I was actually surprised at how delicious it was, we are having it again this week!

Look at my new toy!!!! We got it for a great price. Kohls had it on sale for $100 off plus I had a 30% coupon and a bunch of Kohls cash. I already made a loaf of bread with it - the American Sandwich Bread by the Brown Eyed Baker is even easier with a mixer!! It's burgandy and it sparkles!!

So I told you about my recent coconut obsession. Well, I started drinking almond/coconut milk as a treat. I get unsweetened and add a little honey. I love the flavor. I am not going to bore you with the details of the effects it had on me and I'm not going to get on a rant about how nasty the additive carrageenan is but I am going to post this article LINK and say if you want to know about it - read it. I will say that we will no longer be buying anything with that crap in it(which means my favorite creamer, almond/coconut milk and coconut ice cream bars are OUT of here).  The fun part of this is I bought a nut milk bag and will be making my own almond and coconut milks (the links are recipes) and combining them.I'm excited to try it - just have to wait for the mesh bag to arrive!! 
The semester has ended. I know that 3 of my 5 classes I got an A. Two of the teachers have not posted grades. They have been slow at it all semester which is super irritating. I start school again on June 8th - anatomy and physiology is the only class I'm taking for summer - I hear it's hard!!
Last weekend Scott was a super busy guy. He did several projects. I have three closets in my craft room

 Scott put shelves in the middle one - AWESOME!!!

 He also put my door up - he bought me this door for my birthday when we lived in Longmont CO. We painted it and put it on the craft room - I love it so we brought it with us

 never had a knob - I always used a spool of thread - appropriate!

 Scott put a knob on it!!! It's not the fancy glass knob he wanted but this will be perfect until we find the right glass knob!!

 The upstairs hallway has 4 closets - I don't know why  but it's good to have storage! Scott put shelves in one

Then Scott fixed this frame up and framed The Gathering Room by Little House Needleworks

I love love love this frame - he always does a great job but this one may be my favorite.  My phone camera takes pictures so slowly that I hit the button and then this fat head stuck up in the way - darn cat. Guess he needed to see what I was looking at

Look at what Scott spotted in our yard - groundhog!! It's so fat and fluffy that I want to grab it and squeeze it!! It is huge!!

 I also had a momma chipmunk and some babies in the yard this morning - so sweet. I have to watch out for that stray cat though - she likes to eat baby chipmunks and she is FAST!! I have a male cardinal that sounds the alarm when she is in the yard - he chirps non stop until she leaves - guess the chipmunks don't understand cardinal.
I'm doing 3 this time because one of them is silly. Only 7 or 8 left in the book.

Goodbye Bobby Stanton

 Dear Mary Ellen
When you get married
and live by me
Don't forget you
ow {sic} me the sea.
Your friend
Nancy

  
 Dear Mary Ellen
When you get married
and live in a barn
write me a letter as
long as your arm
yours till the kitchen
sink walks
Your friend
        Barbara Lee
             Burkland

Thanks for stopping by - have a lovely weekend!! Don't forget Mother's Day is this Sunday!!