This and That 2

Try, try again. I had to delete this post earlier do to computer problems..Hopefully I have found a temporary fix. This will be a condensed version.

There has been progress on the garden.  I took the mower to the thistles and will cover between raised beds with the ground fabric and then cover all with straw.

I do hope my friends with knowledge of all things 'yarn' will help identify this pattern of the pretty throw that I found at the thrift last week.  Can anyone tell me about this pattern?

Today is my birthday and my sweet hubby bought me this new diamond non stick pan made in Germany..Can't wait to give it a try.

Jack the dog overheard me saying that I wanted the ice cream scoop to make cupcakes and muffins and so he saved up his allowance and got it for me..bless his heart.

The timer was a bonus as my old one gave it up awhile back. I sure do like the features on this kind.

Please do let me know about the crochet throw if you have any info.

See you soon.  xo

Computer Probems - Help!

I just had to delete the post that I just put up.  After I posted it I went to check it like I try to always do..There were highlighted words that I didn't highlight and when I clicked on them it went to some advertisement. So, I went to edit and hurried and changed the word to something else to get rid of it.  Went back and checked and other words were highlighted..this is really frightening.

Yesterday all sorts of ads started popping up all over any place that we went...hubby worked and worked on it to no avail.  Norton says we have no problems, but this is huge..I can't even post on that computer..I am using my laptop right now.  I will go ahead and re post but will probably have to go to tech help or something..I don't even know what this is.

Have any of you had this problem with these popups...and I'm not talking just regular pop ups..these are like monsters on the top and bottom and sides and they change to different ones and if you click them off a new one comes up..

I'm not pleased...this is my birthday and sure didn't plan on doing THIS today.

Thanks for any help.   xo

A Sorry Sight

Well now, this is a sad state for a garden to be in.  On closer examination, it is more serious than I had first thought.

The garden was not put to bed properly last fall (pesky medical issue) and this is the result.

Thistles, everywhere...a literal carpet of them.  Have you ever seen anything like it?

How does this even happen in a few months time?  Too bad there isn't a demand for them..we'd be sitting pretty at the Farmers Market!

I'm going in............Send help if I don't return.

See you in a few days, hopefully with a better report.  xo

Simple Pleasures

Happy Monday my friends. I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend. We had a blast with two grand kids birthdays and the activities that go with.

 I don't need to remind anyone of the dreadful week that our nation has just endured, we will not soon forget it. My heart is heavy, for those that have been directly affected and for all of us as a country....I remain in prayer.

 Feeling helpless, I search for things in my own control and always come back to the home. I will feather my nest more carefully, help my neighbors more, plant extra flowers, perhaps iron my pillow cases.

There is just something about the clothesline that seems to set things right.

Seeing my linens blowing in the wind, well, it just puts me at peace.

As I was hanging up my last piece, I heard geese...many geese, and looked up...There they were, I have never seen so many at one time and could barely get them all in this shot, the sound of that many was amazing!

They were all heading North, perhaps to Alaska, just as they always do every year...and life goes on as usual.

When you feel that life is out of your control, do you have anything special you do to get a handle on it?

Wishing you all some simple pleasures today.  xo

How About a Plant Swap?

Happy Thursday friends! Another week has flow by, I still haven't figured out how that happens without my permission.

This will be a quick post, as I am packing up once again and heading South. We have two grand kiddos birthdays to celebrate Friday and Saturday so it will be a happy and busy trip.

I have been thinking about this for some time but keep forgetting to bring it up to you all.(what, me forget?!)

Would anyone be interested in a plant, start/cutting, swap? It could be house plants or even outdoor starts if you like.  I thought it would be fun to be able to have something special like this from one of our sweet blogging friends.  How nice to think of them every time we water and fertilize.

Please let me know in your comment and if there is enough interest I will be happy to organize the swap with all of the details necessary.

Wishing you all a blessed and joyous weekend.  xo

A Bumper Crop Year?

This morning, with my final cup of coffee in hand, I decided to take a stroll around the yard and really examine how things are coming along.

Here, in what I call the 'septic' garden, everything is growing like mad, the fennel has never been this tall in mid April.

Here, the mint seems to joined by what looks to be parsley..it must have self sown from last years plant.

My Hubby's Red Current bush is covered with blossoms.  Last year  there were only a few clusters, we looked forward to enjoying those little jewels but were disappointed to find that one morning they were cleaned right off...This time the bird netting will be coming out early!

I am noticing a pattern here.  The Asian Pear above, is also loaded with blossoms, it is three years old and we have yet to get one piece of fruit..perhaps this is the year.

Look at all of these flowers, the bees are all over it.  Our Italian Prune Plum tree has been here for 6 years and has only had a few blossoms before and a hand full of plums..The Mister has threatened if it doesn't produce this year it is gone (perhaps it heard him).

Even the wild fruits are heavy with blooms.  The Oregon Grape has never had even half this many flowers so there is a chance I may be able to get more than a few small jars of the treasured jelly.

I am wondering if this will be a bumper crop harvest this year.  Are any of you seeing the same thing in your area?  I'd love to hear about it.



Wishing you all a happy Monday and a good start to your week.  xo

Mag. Giveaway, One Day Only

Giveaway is now Closed!  Thank you for stopping by.


Happy Monday friends! I do hope you all had a lovely weekend and are all refreshed and ready to start a new week.

Most of us are dealing with less than Spring like weather and could use a little treat.  How about a new magazine subscription to perk up your week?

This will be a one day only giveaway as that is all this special offer allows through slickdeals.net.

The winner will have their choice of one of the magazines about.  If you already have a subscription, no problem, another year will be added to your existing one.

Just leave a comment telling about what you might be up to this week..no big deal, if you are just doing regular work things then fine or perhaps a special project on the drawing board.

Remember, this is a one day event...I will draw a name and be notifiying the winner by email so I can get their address and get it ordered this evening so please check your email later today..

..Have a great day!  xo

Fresh Cut Friday

Friday, glorious Friday...my this week has flown by!  Today, I am taking part in something I have wanted to do for awhile now.  Liz, over at Rose Vignettes, hosts a once a month hop..Fresh Cut Friday.  It is held on the first Friday of the month and is a way to encourage all of us to bring the beauty of flowers into our homes.

Ever since I did my post on the Eternal Bouquet (here), I have kept at least one arrangement ongoing...it has worked out better than expected.

In the past, I hesitated to join in on this hop because of poor lighting and my lack of floral arranging abilities, but Liz assures us that it is a simple time of sharing and so I pushed the fear aside.

It is a treat now, when I go into the market, to check out the little bundles of color and see the new offerings and perhaps a special price too.  When I come home with a new addition for the vase, I go through and remove the tired ones, replace the water, trim the ends of the old and new and plop them all together.  The little flowers above have been in the arrangement '3' times now...pretty good, I'd say!

These are the new addition from yesterday, aren't they pretty?  I was surprised when I got them home because I thought that there where two different flowers in the mix...this one and the other purple flowers, but no..when I took the bundle apart, I found that they were on the same stem.  Amazing that this cream colored flower turns all purple in the end, I still can't see how it will happen but we will have to wait and see.

If you would like to join in or just see every ones contributions, you can head over to Rose Vignettes.


Today is a happy day here at the Little House, this is the Mr.'s last day at the BP project up north.  No more 1 hr. commute (each way) no more getting up at 4:30, no more packing meals 5 to 6 days a week...Sigh. It has been a long haul.   He will have 9 days off and then on the 15th will start a new project at the Shell refinery right across the highway..5 minutes away.  I will love him coming home for lunch everyday and having Friday, Sat. and Sunday off.   It will be very nice.

Well my friends, I wish you all a happy weekend, do you have anything special planned or maybe just some restful home time?

See you Monday.   xo

This and That

Hello friends and happy midweek. I hope you all had a delightful Easter as we did. Of course I could show you all of the photos of our most adorable grandchildren in their special outfits, but will spare you from that excitement.

Here is a very small section of the vast fields of daffodils in our Skagit Valley, so beautiful.  The tulip fields will be next..I'll try to get some pictures of those too in a few weeks.



This next bit of info will really get you hot under the collar...Well, it did me when I went to make a pineapple upside down cake this weekend..Please don't judge me too harshly for using the dreaded 'mix'.  Anyway, I got the butter and the brown sugar on the bottom of the glass baker and distributed the pineapple on top and then poured the cake batter over it all, as I've done many times in my life but this time it didn't cover the pineapple up.  I thought it strange but didn't have time to fuss about it.  When it came out of the oven it was really quite flat, usually it is all the way to the top of the glass container...I told hubby and he said, maybe they are cheating you by making the contents less, kind of like the cereal boxes.  Well,  being the unorganized person that I am, I thought perhaps I have a really outdated cake mix in the back of the pantry so off I went to dig.  Yeah, there it was and the exact same cake mix, with one 'major' exception!!

The one on the left is the package used this weekend and the one on the right is our friend from the back of the pantry.  You are waiting for the date on that package, aren't you?  "Better if used by April '09 !!

Above, is the weight of the mix from the weekend.

Above is the weight of the box from 2009 !

Can you even believe it?!  3 full ounces difference..are they crazy doing that,  no wonder my cake was flat.

Have any of you had an experience with smaller cakes?




Here is a...What is it?

It is 12" tall and the seat is 14" across and 8" deep and 4" off of the ground.

The Red Door Thrift didn't know what it was.  My first reaction was that it is some kind of primitive kneeling, prayer bench, perhaps for a child.

It is hand made for sure and very sturdy..it appears to be old.

I would love to find out what it is for sure, but it would be fun to hear your guesses also.


The sun is still out at the Little House, so I'm off to the clothesline to hang out a few more things before the rain comes back tomorrow.

xo