Doggie Shampoo

 Natural Shampoo for Dogs - Flea Removal

... 1 cup liquid dish soap
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 quart warm water
Directions:

1 Mix the three ingredients in a large bowl and then transfer to a leftover squeeze bottle (like an old shampoo bottle). Give it a little shake to make sure it is mixed.
2 Apply to your doggy just as you would normal shampoo. It is best if you can massage it into the fur and let sit for 5 minutes.
3 Rinse your doggy thoroughly with warm water. Towel dry


Edited to Add  --12/2/13       I'm not so sure this works great for the fleas for the dogs-I'm still wary of using the chemical choices so I will keep looking for flea solutions. HOWEVER--- this concoction works great for cleaning. I have used it to clean in the bathroom a lot. it works wonders on the tub grunge

more upcycle shoes

more shoes I decorated---these are my favorites. I love the black and white theme.  fun to make too

interesting things to see at work

.....so this was a  SUV that was parked in the parking lot at work. It was covered with duck tape with flames on it. Interesting!

simple AHA quilt

Small quilt I put together for a raffle at work to benefit the American Heart Association.

I am getting ready to do something I have not done on purpose since I was 15 years old and got

my driver's permit (or my friends did)  I am going to walk and raise money for the heart association. To do that our

team, "The Fastest Turtles in the Mid-South", is doing some fund raising prior to the actual walk. This is all done  by machine.... now hand sewing except for the binding around the edge.

shoes, shoes, shoes

pair of plain white shoes that got attacked by Sharpie markers. Freehanded designs of my own. I love them, they were to large for me so I gave them to my workmate, Darlene. I'm making another pair for me--all black and white. Since I had the Sharpies the only cost upfront was for the shoes $5.99
When I looked at these pictures of the shoes it reminded me of the ones I used to decorate for my sweet baby girl-- the ones  I remember most of hers were the ones with a house and a sun on them...done with the late 80's puffy paint.

she got a BIG GIRL job!

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/may/18/art-briefs-for-may-19/

Blount Mansion site of birthday party
The Blount Mansion Association hosts a 6-8 p.m. May 31 birthday party for the State of Tennessee at the historic home, 200 W. Hill Ave. The party in the mansion’s colonial revival garden includes a cocktail supper by Holly’s Eventful Catering and music by The Tennessee Sheiks.
Tickets are $100 per person. Reservations may be made at 865-525-2375 or www.blountmansion.org. Proceeds go to the mansion and its supporting association for educational and other programs.
Blount Mansion was built in 1792 by William Blount before Tennessee became a state and while he served as governor of the land south of the Ohio River. Blount was a guiding force in Tennessee becoming a state in 1796; the state constitution was drafted in his office that sits behind the mansion.
During the May 31 event the mansion association will recognize the work of Turcan Hockaday as the site’s interim director and welcome Katie Stringer as its new executive director. Stringer has a master’s and Ph.D from the University of Memphis and previously worked at the Sam Davis House and Museum in Smyrna as its director of collections, interpretation and development.

Aleigha's Quilt

  Aleahia's Quilt- for Nickey's baby girl- finally posted. I think it came out great. Soft flannel on the back. soft and cozy

wooden collage

several years ago--think along the lines of  5-6 years ago--my friend Theresa made a collage out of discarded wooden stamp blocks. She had un-mounted her stamps and used them to make a collage. I commented on how much I liked it. Much to my delight a few weeks later I got a large flat rate box full of wooden blocks.OK, it has taken me forever to get it done .... but I love it. What do you think?

spring wreath

Spring has been so late this year. We have only had a few days of really hot weather. So I guess that I am just now posting my "spring wreath" this late is not surprising. Anyway.. taking the idea from Pintrest. Our spring porch wreath is actually a old picture frame spray painted with silver paint. The word spring from letters for $1 each at one of the box craft stores then glued to a paint stir stick and nailed to the  picture frame. The asymmetrical appearance is on purpose--so yeah it is supposed to look like that> LOL

Blakely's Baby Quilt

The day before Thanksgiving 2012 our niece, Kara, had her third baby. This time a girl. I found out the summer before that Kara loves quilts. So a baby quilt was called for.
Thus was born Blakely's ladybug baby quilt. The colors of her nursery were grey and yellow----so it didn't match, but I thought it was cute anyway. and made with love for a little one far away from me.

My Daughter the Doctor!

 Today I am one proud Momma! She achieved something that she has dreamed of for a long time. Today our baby girl, Katie Stringer, became Dr. Katie Stringer. She has worked hard to get to this point. I can't tell you how proud we are of her
Two things I would like to relate:
#1-when she was about 6 she had to get stitches in her leg. The PA that was stitching her up was freaking out because she wanted to watch him.He was so afraid she would  break his sterile field. He kept telling her she couldn't reach over there. She was as calm as could be, as long as she could see what he was doing. She sure made him sweat though. He said "so, do you want to be a nurse when you grow up?" her reply "nope, I want to be a doctor". At the time, I think she was meaning another  kind of doctor---but there she is 20ish years later--my daughter the doctor -
#2- 3 years ago when she was trying to decide if she wanted to continue to her education and complete her education with a pH.D, or go out in the world and get a job. I remember our conversation so well. She said "but Momma, when I finish I will be nearly 27 years old" and I answered... "you know what? you will probably be almost 27 years old in 3 years whether you go to school or not"
..... and she is and she did and she did it with grace and poise and great determination! We are so proud of our daughter, Dr. Mary Kate Stringer!

Blessed!

I am Blessed beyond anything I can imagine...well we knew that. Because none of us deserve the blessings we have--hence the name of the blog :-)
today I am blessed by several things:
Mr. S--- not only has he loved me through many things--he is just a lovable kind of guy. He works hard to bring home a paycheck. Today he went out of his way to go to our local quilt shop http://www.loosethreadsquiltshop.com/ Loose Threads to see if they had a pedal for my sewing machine. As I was finishing a quilt over the weekend  I dropped my pedal and broke it. I was going to have to order one from an online retailer I thought. Anyway, he dropped by the store and found the machine repair guy --wallah the guy had a pedal and Mr S talked him into taking $20 for it. Now I can finish the quilt and  have one more project done. YEAH!
Katie-- tomorrow is D-Day! She defends her dissertation in the morning and will be finished with school-- FOREVER she says. she will have her Ph.D. graduation is May 11! wooooot!She has been employed at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Davis-Home-and-Museum/110912078921411 as a Director of Collections, Interpretation, and Development . We are so dang proud of her! She set her goal early in her life and stuck with it. She has been determined and tenacious
Now, I am done with telling you why I am especially blessed today...oh one more thing-- the weather was beautiful today with no snow! (we have gotten more snow in March that all the rest of the year put together)

more sadness

Charles' father passed away today.

sadness

Charles' mother passed away 2/15/13 early in the morning. Today we went to the funeral and internment. Long, tough weekend.

accomplished

so I got some things accomplished this weekend. none of which happened to be on my "to do list" that resides in my brain

- finished my pages for Becky's memorial book. she was my dearest friend  and passed away unexpectedly last year. Some scrapbooking friends decided to make pages for her family in remembrance of our sweet Becky and what a wonderful friend she was to us all.  we sure do miss her still. I am not sharing anyone elses' because I don't have their permission.... but all were lovely. I thought of her as my sister
-got my household notebook/organized bill payment notebook finished. all ready for the rest of the year

- made a wooden block stamp collage. My friend Theresa in AZ sent me the blocks ooooo maybe 3-4 yrs ago or longer. waiting for the last  of the glue to dry before I can get it completely finished

NOT ACCOMPLISHED:
-Nickey's baby's blanket--due date was yesterday...... not one stitch sewed
- 2 inch squares cut for the charm swap

Lonesome... part II

I don't think lonesome is the right word for what I was feeling yesterday. More out of sorts. today I am just feeling like I need to be creative....  I am working on a quilt for my best friend's new great-grand daughter who is due soon. I can't wait to meet her. So exciting.
 I need to finish several projects....and pay bills....and wash dishes..... and go to bed early as per my Dr's orders. I need to get enough sleep. Off to create something!

sometimes I'm so lonesome

At this time of year I am always sorta sad. Winter seems so dreary to me. I love the cold (when we get cold as we have today), a little snow (like we had last week) and the toasty bed when it is time for sleep. I DON’T love the dreary, no sun, cold, snow and short days. As usual this time of year, I get lonesome. I miss my family that is waiting for me in heaven, I miss our pets that have crossed the rainbow bridge, and I miss the long days and warm weather.

I am so very blessed that there is really no reason for me to be sad or lonesome. I have a wonderful husband… Mr. S is so very good to me. Even when he gets on my nerves. Katie is a great daughter. She is doing very well and will graduate soon with her PhD. She already has a job she likes and is happy. She has even brought a nice guy into our lives. . . . . . And a grand-kitten. J

the light of our lives
our lovely daughter

It occurred to me today that I am middle-aged! Big surprise I know. I am just amazed that my life is more over than is left; my mom has been gone longer than I was with her here on earth, my big brother lives in another state and I don’t see him as often as I want to.

My Brother at age 18

Mother

grandfather Jackson

me and my brother-Nashville

my dad and his sister when they were in
their 80's

grandmother Jackson



grandparents May with my momma as a baby



Mr S' parents..... great parents and examples

Mr S. as a little guy

 

I have so many things I want to do… travel…make countless quilts (maybe for a someday grandchild)… make scrapbooks…. Read all the books that interest me… love on my kid ….and my hubby….and my dog. …. Be happy in the sun…be happy in the winter… share the great old photos we recently found with my cousins…. See my family happy and in a good place… ride a horse… raise some chickens… travel…. Go with my love to Alaska…go on an ocean cruise….write a book………..so many things I want to do.



me and Mr S--age 18 and 22