Meet Piper! Meet Harriet!

 You may remember that Laura, Aaron and girls lost their sweet dog last Spring.  Remie lived a good life with them and they were all so sad when she passed.  Last week, they decided it was time to start thinking about getting another furry friend to love and they went to an event that had rescue dogs available to adopt.
Aaron said when they met one of the puppies, he looked around and saw that all three of his girls were crying, and he knew this puppy was going home with them!

Here she is - this is Piper!  She's 10 weeks old and was rescued with a litter of puppies that were abandoned behind a gas station.  Don't you love her ears?  Laura says she must be part bat.

Two happy girls!

and one happy family!

I was checking on my Dad Saturday, when Laura and the girls showed up to introduce Piper to Dad and Ann.

And also on Saturday, Heather and Andrew let us know that they had adopted a rescue dog Friday night!  We haven't met in person, so I don't have many pictures yet.

This is Harriet!  She is about 12 weeks old and is a mix.
Andrew and Heather name their pets after writers, so her whole name is Harriet Beecher Stowe.  (They already have cats named Oliver Wendell Holmes and Lucy Maude Montgomery.)

Another happy family!

A girl and her dog...

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 We had a summer potluck with Bob's work.  This potato dish is what I took.  It's another dish that is always good for a potluck and is well liked.

Red Skinned Ranch Potatoes

3 pounds redskin potatoes, quartered and boiled until tender
1 1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup cooked bacon pieces
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups crushed cracker crumbs

Stir sour cream and ranch dressing together.  Then add in the potatoes, bacon and cheese.  Stir together and put into a 9x13 pan.
Stir cracker crumbs into melted butter.  Spread over potato mixture.
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Solar Lanterns

 Some of you may have seen these pictures when I posted them on Facebook, but these lanterns are so pretty I wanted to share them here too.

Andy and Nikki got me these lanterns to put on our porch.  They are solar, so no batteries needed.  They light up at dusk and stay lit for several hours.  I have one on a little table between our two chairs, and one at the top of the steps to the porch.
Check out the beautiful patterns they make!

This is the lantern on the porch.  The part that looks a little more gold in the very center is the lantern, the rest is the beautiful patterns of light and shadow that it makes on the porch.

Here you can see the lantern on the table.  Isn't it pretty?

If this is something you are interested in, you can get them here from Amazon.  (I'm not making any money on this, just enjoy mine and I thought some of you might too!)

Making Necklaces

 I told you I did a fun craft with the girls last weekend, and today I'm going to show it to you.  This was so easy and fun!  If you have any young girls in your life, you would have a good time with this.

You need:
polymer clay
rubber stamps
Stamping ink
Necklace chain and metal loop
Optional - small square and circle cutters

First, take a small piece of clay and roll it out to about 1/8th inch thick.  The LaChoy bottle is next to Ruby because we were using it to roll the clay.

Then choose your stamp, ink it and press it into the clay.

You then use the little cutter to cut out your shape around the stamp, or you can free hand cut the shape out if you don't have a cutter.  Then use a toothpick to cut a little hole in the top, which you will use to hang it from your necklace.

Place your finished pieces on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  Place in a preheated 200 degree oven and bake for 25 minutes.

When they are cool, place your metal loop through the hole in the top, and then string them onto your necklace chain.

Here's Ruby with her ladybug necklace.

And Alaina with her bee necklace.  They really enjoyed this, and I did too!

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 Today's recipe is one I got from a friend at work.  She brought it in one day and we all loved it.  I've made it a few times now, and it's another of those recipes that is easy and good!

(not my picture, I forgot to take one, but this is how it looks!)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
3/4 cup ranch dressing
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

Stir together the wing sauce and ranch dressing.  Mix in the cream cheese and then stir in chicken and cheese.
Place in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Serve with celery sticks, baguette slices or tortilla chips.

Wordless Wednesday

 

A little time at the big Lake

One of the doctors I work with has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She asked those of us who work in the office to come join her and her family at her cottage Sunday afternoon for a celebration of hope and a short prayer service to commemorate her completion of the first round of chemo.
Her cottage is about an hour south of our house, on Lake Michigan.
We drove down with another nurse and her husband.  It was a nice drive, but the skies were looking a bit dark.

This is her cottage; built in 1928.  She said it was built as a model by a businessman from Chicago.  He bought a lot of property and was going to build a bunch of houses, but then the depression hit and no more were built.

This tiny little building is next to her cottage.  It is 1 bedroom with a full bath.  She says her elderly dad stays here when the family all comes.  This way he has a nice quiet place to stay.

Here are a few photos of Lake Michigan.  The cottage is on a high bluff, overlooking the lake.

The lake was quiet, this was the only boat we saw all afternoon.

This little group was playing some beautiful music.
It started raining quite hard during our prayer time.  We huddled under umbrellas and then had a light supper before driving home.
It was a very nice time and our doctor was very thankful that we all came, and so were we.

Cribs, spills and swings!

Cribs, spills and swings; that tells you a little about our weekend
We have a spare room set up with a bunk bed that the girls sleep on when they stay over.  It also had an armoire that I stored craft things in, and a big book case for books and toys.  That was all good until Cassie started getting bigger.  We wanted to have her overnight, but didn't have room for the crib the girls used because of the bunk bed. She's too little for a regular bed, so we had to come up with a plan.
I found a mini crib, and we decided to move my craft armoire to the spare bedroom downstairs, and put this mini crib in with the bunk bed.
Alaina and Ruby are very excited about this and can't wait to have a "slumber party".  They said Grandpa, Grandma, Alaina, Ruby and Cassie are all invited.
When they heard that the crib was here, they wanted to come and help put it together, so this was the weekend for that.

Getting all the pieces out and making a plan.

Bob said Alaina did a great job.  He didn't even have to tighten up the screws she was putting in.

The finished crib - just need a little mattress and Cassie can come!

After that was done, we took them to Dairy Queen and got some blizzards.  We took the blizzards home to eat after the girls got their pj's on.  I was getting my p's on when I heard a little thunk and a yell. And this is what I found when I came to the kitchen!

Ruby tried to grab her cup out of the carrier, mine was still in it and it fell.  You can't imagine how far it went!  It was under the stove and frig, on the rug, on the cabinets and on Bob and Ruby.  It took a bit to clean up, but we did it. And although Ruby is smiling in this pic, she felt bad, but it was just an accident.

On Saturday morning the girls helped me make an ice cream dessert and then we made a craft that I'll show you later.

Our neighbors had said they could come use their tire swing, and they had fun trying it out.

Kids and a tire swing - classic summer fun!

We stopped to see Great Grandpa and Great Grandma.  We sat outside and had lunch with them.  Dad was doing good and they are both always glad to see the girls. Then it was time to bring them home.  They are hoping the next time Cassie will be there too.  Ruby tells me I won't have to do a thing, she will take care of her!  :)

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 Today's recipe is from my daughter Laura.  She made these bars to bring to the 4th of July party at my niece's house and everyone thought they were so good!  They were perfect for the 4th because of the red and blue berries, but they would taste good anytime.

Glazed Sugar Cookie Berry Bars
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 cups fresh berries, I used blueberries, raspberries and blackberries*
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°F
Line a 9×9 baking dish with aluminum foil and coat with cooking/baking spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar with the cornstarch. Place the berries in a medium bowl and sprinkle the cornstarch mixer on top, tossing the berries to coat them evenly. Set aside.
Mix the butter and 3/4 cup of sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in the egg, yolk, vanilla, salt and baking powder and mix for another minute until smooth. Turn the speed to low and add in the flour, mixing until just incorporated.
Press 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan. Top this evenly with the prepared berries. Next drop the remaining dough by the teaspoonful evenly onto the berries. This will not cover the berries completely.
Bake the bars for 35-40 minutes until the bars are set in the middle and lightly golden on top.
Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Meanwhile prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together until smooth. Pour this on top of the warm bars.
Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into pieces.
* You may use any mix of berries, but the original recipe says strawberries make it more watery, so she doesn't recommend them.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Old Lady

 

A strange old lady has moved into my house

I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in. I certainly did not invite her. All I know is that one day she wasn't there, and the next day she was.

She is a clever old lady and manages to keep out of sight for the most part, but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her. And, whenever I look in the mirror to check my appearance, there she is hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body. This is very rude! I have tried screaming at her, but she just screams back.

The least she could do is offer to pay part of the bills, but no. Every once in a while, I find a $5 bill stuck in a coat pocket or some loose change under a sofa cushion, but it is not nearly enough. And I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I think she is stealing money from me. I go to the ATM and withdraw $50 and a few days later, it's all gone! I certainly don't spend money that fast, so I can only conclude the old lady is pilfering from me. You'd think she would spend some of that money to buy wrinkle cream. And money isn't the only thing I think she is stealing.

Food seems to disappear at an alarming rate-especially the good stuff like ice cream, chips, and sweets. She must have a real sweet tooth, but she'd better watch because she is really packing on the pounds. I suspect she realizes this, and to make herself feel better, she is tampering with my scale to make me think I am putting on weight, too.

For an old lady, she is quite childish. She likes to play nasty games, like going into my wardrobes when I'm not home and altering my clothes so they don't fit. And she messes with my files and papers so I can't find anything. This is particularly annoying since I am extremely neat and organized.

She has found other imaginative ways to annoy me. She gets into my mail, newspapers, and magazines before I do and blurs the print so I can't read it. And she has done something really sinister to the volume controls on my TV, radio, and telephone. Now, all I hear are mumbles and whispers. She has done other things-like make my stairs steeper, my vacuum heavier and all the knob and taps harder to turn. She even made my bed higher so that getting into and out of it is a real challenge.

Lately, she has been fooling with my groceries before I put them away, applying glue to the lids, making it almost impossible for me to open the jars. She has taken the fun out of shopping for clothes. When I try something on, she stands in front of the dressing room mirror and monopolizes it. She looks totally ridiculous in some of those outfits, plus, she keeps me from seeing how great they look on me.

Just when I thought she couldn't get any meaner, she proved me wrong. She came along when I went to get my picture taken for my driver's license, and just as the camera shutter clicked, she jumped in front of me

I hope she never finds out where you live!

Author Unknown