I'M IN A MEETING.....

Isn't this the cutest card!

I received this from my friend and fellow blogger Pam at Stamping with Seredipity!
Check out her blog - she has some fantastic card ideas. 

Pam and I met through blogging and we have met "in person" once.  Wish we lived closer we have alot in common.

When I recieved this card - it made me smile.  Sometimes don't you just wish you could get away from it all and relax like that??

Thanks for stopping by - Gail 

I'm In The Mood - To Craft!!

Hello Bloggers!  I got to spend some time in my craft room the past weekend - Yeah! 

With this card I used some SU! retired DSP paper that I have been hoarding because it is so pretty.  Finally decided I had better get to using it.  This is a pocket card so the white and green insert pulls out so I will be able to write a note to someone.

This card I used the Strength and Hope stamp set, Whisper White, Sahara Sand card stock and SU! ribbon.

I will have more cards to share in a day or two so stay tuned :)

Gail

Fair Time in Nebraska!

It is always fun to go to the county fair!  Lots of people, excited little kids, candy and S-U-N!!  It was pretty hot during the parade that kicked off the fair and one float even handed out bottles of cold water to the crowd!  A welcome treat!

I don't know who this little girl is but she was with her Daddy and she was so excited for the parade to begin!  She was clapping her hands when she heard the band!  She is so cute!! Notice her ice cream bucket on the ground to hold her candy!

The Legion carrying the flag, the High School band and the Freedom Riders started the parade then the floats,

and the horses,

and the candy

Even the moms and dads helped pick up the candy!  The parade lasted an hour and 20 minutes.  They said it was the biggest one yet.  The kids really liked the big fire engines when they blew the sirens and shot water from the hoses.  There was even a Thomas the Train (really cute).

Our small community of Sargent enters a booth every year and this year we had enough items entered to fill both sides of part of the exhibit hall!

Canned goods, home grown veggies, quilts, scrapbooks, cards (!), woodworking, needlework, just about any craft you can think of was featured!

Our town of about 600 people earned $1,600.00 in premium money that will go back into our community towards worthwhile projects!  Great job Sargent!!!

Thanks for visiting - Gail

Finally....A Card!

This is a quick card I made just the other day when I had a few minutes to relax and "craft".

All materials are Stampin' Up! except the ribbon.  Quick, easy but I think it is pretty. It is nice to have a few cards on hand so you can have them when you need them!

I used Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla card stock.

Next is a picture of the beautiful mirror I bought while in Denver.  I finally got some pictures taken of it!

See the beautiful detail at the top and around the edges?

I just love it! I saw a mirror like this at a Bed and Breakfast quite awhile back and always thought I would love to have one like it.  Never thought I would ever find one similar to it!  I love to look for antiques and kind of lean towards antique furniture!! 

Also, what do you think of my berry colored wall??  I painted that about 10 years ago in my living room.  Just one of the three walls that are in there the other are painted with a color called Khaki. When I first started painting that wall my husband thought I was nuts but now we get so many compliments about it!

Thanks for stopping by!  I will have some fair pictures to show next time :) Until then ... have a great weekend!

Gail

Chokecherry Jelly & Syrup - Yummy!!!

Sorry folks, I haven't had ANY time lately to make cards but I have been busy!  No couch potato here!! 

My husband, John and I went Chokecherry picking this past weekend and for the next couple of days, after work, I have been busy "putting up" (or canning) chokecherries!  Chokecherries grow wild here in Nebraska and we even have a Chokecherry Festival in Sargent every year - chokecherry pit spitting contest and all!!
Here is a picture of the chokecherry bush.

The bushes grow wild in the ditches and some years are better than others as far as how much fruit is on the bushes.



This is a photo of the cherries, after we picked them - they are about the size of a pea and they have a hard pit inside.  At this stage they are very bitter if you bite into one!

The next thing you have to do is extract the juice.  You boil the cherries and then run them through a sieve it separates the pit and skin from the juice.  This takes some muscle!!

After you extract the juice you are ready to start cooking!!

I made chokecherry jelly and syrup to keep and give as gifts at Christmas.  It is delicious!

Oops!  This picture isn't very clear but you can see how many jars I got!  My family was disappointed though, every jar sealed so there weren't any rejects to taste!!  We may have to open some soon :)  You can also make chokecherry pie, chokecherry cobbler, chokecherry kolaches all kinds of creations!

While we were picking chokecherries, my husband surprised me with these:

Have a great day!!

Gail

Abbey's Quilt!

While my daughter Abbey was home for a week, she decieded that she wanted to learn how to make a jean quilt to keep in her car for ball games, picnics etc.  She wanted it big enough to wrap up in but small enough to be folded up in her car.  Soooooo we gathered up some old jeans that were not wearable anymore and got to cutting and sewing.  This is the result:

As you can see, we used jeans that were dark, faded and patched.  She tied each corner with yarn to hold the batting together.  Here is a picture showing a part of the backing she picked out:

She picked out a striped pastel flannel.  It is so soft and very pretty!  It really turned out cute and she plans on making another one on her own.

This is a picture of Abbey with her puppy, Paxton.

The county fair starts tonight with the parade.  It will be a busy week for all the exhibitors and 4-H/FFA kids showing thier animals.  Our kids were 4-H members while growing up and now they are all grown up and done with that.  I remember this coming week being so awful busy but some of the best memories. I will try to get some pictures of the fair and post them.  It is always a fun time!

Hope your weekend is going good.  I will have two more quilts to show in the weeks ahead to stay tuned :) 

Gail

Where Have I Been??????

Oh my Goodness!  I cannot believe I haven't posted since July 4th!!  Life has just gotten away from me and I have been soooo busy here on the farm and enjoying the summer (tho NOT the heat and humidity!)  I hope your summer is going well.  Isn't it going by so fast?  I cannot believe that it is the end of July and many schools will be starting before we know it. 

Here on the farm, the guys are busy irrigating and putting up hay.  They try to irrigate early morning and later on in the evening.  We have several center pivots but still have quite a bit of gated pipe that needs the gates opened and closed.

The last week of June and early part of July, I headed to Colorado to spend a week with my sweet "baby girl".  We had a good time visiting.  The first day I got there - we added a "berm" to her front yard. We edged it in landscaping bricks, planted flowers and added some cute yard art.  I am sad to say that I did not take one before or after picture of the project but it really makes her yard look nice.

The next day we headed to Hammond's.  Hammond's is a candy factory that has been there since 1920.  They make the BEST candy canes - the old fashioned way - in so many different flavors.  They have a tour that you can go on and see the workers making candy all day long.  Once again, I forgot to take my camera so I don't have a pictures to show but you can "click" on the link above and they have videos of the candy being made.  Their Candy Canes are sold at alot of stores including Hobby Lobby, Cabelas, Macy's, and Cracker Barrel.  They make other candies as well as the canes.  Of course, after the tour we had to visit the sweet shop and bring home bags of goodies!!

After we left Hammond's we headed to the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall. They have antique mall's at Pheonix, Omaha, Denver, Kansas City and Des Moines. Plan on spending a whole day when you go to visit! There is so many fun things to see and buy :)  After looking for about 2 hours, I spied with my little eyes this treasure:

This is a seed display cabinet from the Nebraska Seed Company, Omaha, Nebraska!

This is a close up of the decal on the top of the cabinet:

See the wire holders that held the seed packets?  I want to hang it on the wall and put knick knacks on the shelves.  You can also see the round rings stained into the wood where cans of something (seeds??) sat.  I think it is a treasure - especially since I found it in Denver and I am from Nebraska.

The case closes so possibly it was a traveling case and there are swing locks on each side of it.  There are also holes on the top of the case so maybe it was hung in a store.

On the back are these words:  This case is Property of Nebraska Seed Co, Omaha, Nebraska and must not be disposed of or sold!

This is it closed up.

We also took the light rail downtown and shopped one day, ate at Jason's Deli (yummy) and visited the old Union Station.  We went to the Park Meadows and Southlands Malls and did more shopping in the days to follow.  I found a fun mirror at Cali and Mo's, a fun boutique that has antiques and vintage clothing.

Well, as you can see we had a great week!  Went out to eat as much as possible, shopped alot and had a great time together. 

I will have more posts on what I have been up to including a couple of quilts to show you!!

Thanks for not giving up on me and until next time - enjoy your summer!!

Gail