Winter warmth...

I'm getting a new furnace and hot water heater. I'm not seeing my pictures, only the data that they contain. I will end this post now, I hope this is not something new and "improved", and that we will be back to normal again soon. (Am I doing something wrong?) Fingers crossed! 'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

Flowers!

 It's amazing!  Even after a prolonged extreme drought, very, very hot summer, I still have some flowers that I managed to keep alive!  These are all in my backyard, which was the most extremely hot and the most sunny spot in my garden.

Caladium

Million Bells that my granddaughter gave me

 for Mother's Day!

Caladium

Coleus

Cleome (Spider Plant) with seed pods

 

Zinnia with Bee
(doing it's job,  collecting pollen!)

Cleome Closeup

Cleome (they are almost 5 feet tall) 

Zinnia in a pot.

The hanging pots are Jazzberry Vista Petunias.  They stayed alive but it was really too hot for them.  They like it better now that the temps have cooled off.

So,  I am also enjoying the cooler temps and it is raining out there today.  Love that,  too!  Hope you enjoy seeing my beautiful flowers and I hope to show more of them soon.  Stay tuned!  Thanks for looking.  
Love ya,  Jean

Fall Centerpiece and Hello

 It's Fall again!  Wow!  That happened so fast!  

I put this centerpiece together with a tribute to

  back to school along with it.

I have been doing the everyday living thing and just wanted to check in on everyone!  My life has changed...  for the better,  I hope!  I won't go into it but I am adjusting well.  At least,  I think so. Lol

So...

'Til next time,

Love ya,  Jean

Strawberry Jam...

 I made some strawberry jam the other day.  It's a very simple recipe.  Two 10 ounce bags of frozen strawberries,  4 cups of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.  Mix this all together and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes,  stirring constantly, until you feel it gel.  Place in sterilized jars and place lids and rings on jars.  Place in water bath canner and process for 15 minutes after it starts to boil.  If not water bath processed,  keep in refrigerator.  As you can see,  it made 4 half pint jars and a one quarter pint jar. This jam is so delicious!  Easy Peasy!!!

I am getting ready for Halloween on Sunday.

Pictures to follow...  

A good time is insured!

Can't wait to see all the little goblins and ghosts!

'Til next time,

Love ya,  Jean

Fall Decorations...

I can't believe that Fall is upon us so soon!

The summer went by pretty fast for me.

We had much more than the normal heat waves.

We also had a frequent amount of rain.

Not complaining about the rain,

 but it made it very difficult to garden.

So I did some Fall decorating outside this morning.

Have a peek:

This is the wall beside my garage...

(This is all stuff that I have crafted.)

My watering can with flowers and leaves...

My little cutie...

On the right side of the front door...

 

Hanging on my mailbox...

Pumpkin lady...

I will be incorporating some Halloween 

when it gets a little closer...  

that's always so much fun!

'Til next time,

Love ya,  Jean

 

Outside Interest...

I went shopping to the Thrift store about two weeks ago

 and found some unexpected goodies.  

The "Hello Summertime"  door round 

was made by my nephew's girlfriend.

I love the colors!

It was too heavy for my front door 

because it is very thick wood.

So I put it on the outside of the house,

next to the garage.

I painted the hat and flip flops

 that I found at the thrift store, to match the door round.

Below is how they looked when half painted. 

I used acrylic paint on them.

Here is the hat before.

I spray painted it.

Here they are together.

They look so cute!

I will hate to take them down 

when it's time to change to Fall decorations.

'Til next time,  Love ya,  Jean

Spring around my garden...

I thought I'd show a few pictures from around my garden today.

The tulips and daffodils have been blooming for a while now,

and other plants are slowly coming to life.

It's been a really chilly Spring and things are a little behind.

But the Spring bloomers have also lasted a long time. 

 Here are some pansies that I put in about a month ago.

The pond is coming along nicely.  

It'll soon be time to put some plants in there.

The fish survived the winter.

I even found a few new ones in there.

I am now a member of the National Wildlife Federation.

My property is deemed a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

It says that I have provided food,  

water and shelter for the animals.

I am very proud of this honor.

The new project this year was to move the small gate from one corner of the fence to the other corner.  Quite a lot of work, but now I don't have to walk on the neighbor's property to get to my side garden.  It's not large enough to fit the wheelbarrow through,  but just to pass through to get the the main garden.  It is so much more convenient.

This is where the old gate was,  

so I had to fix that up,  too.

I really like the new arrangement.

Some of my "garden junk" that I've collected over the years.

This is in my backyard.

 I will be showing more as the season progresses.  

I have been growing seeds to plant in my gardens.

I hope to have an over abundance of flowers 

and vegetables this year.

I finished my quilt top and have put it away for now.  

I will hand quilt it in the Fall and Winter,

 when I am trapped in the house.  Lol

That's all for today.  

'Til next time,  

Love ya,  Jean

Another postage stamp quilt...

Still working on my postage stamp quilt.  This is the second one that is evolving from my 2" squares stash.  I see a trend here:  I had to cut more squares because I was running out...

Now I have more than I need for this one.  What to do?  Will I start a third one?  I am looking for a new pattern that will be some thing different from just random...

 I have time.  The second top is almost finished but I will still have to get the backing, the batting,  put those together and then hand quilt and bind the whole thing.  Maybe I will finish this one by the end of the summer.  In the meantime,  I'll keep on "keepin' on".

'Til next time,  Love ya,  Jean

Pediatrics surgical caps...

I am showing some more of the surgical caps that I made for my local hospital.  These will go to the Pediatrics wing,  for the nurses that work there.  They are all made from my stash of children's prints.  I think they will like them...

A baker's dozen...

I will be making more..

'Til next time,  Love ya,  Jean

Surgical caps, masks, and a smash cake

 Hi.  It's been a while since I posted anything.  I've had some health problems,  which I'm hoping are resolved.  I'm still healing, so it remains to be seen.  I have been a little productive,  during this time.  Below are a few pictures of my latest projects.

While I was in the hospital,  the nurses were so nice to me. I noticed that they were all wearing surgical caps (to keep Covid out of their hair).  I asked about the caps and my nurse said that one of the mothers of one of the nurses made a lot of them.  So I volunteered to make some for them. She gave me a sample of one to bring home.  I found the exact pattern for free on the internet.  I got to use some of my stash of fabric.  She asked that they be bright and cheerful!  I think they are and I'm hoping they will enjoy using them.  I made a few of the dark ones for the male nurses there,  too.  I still have to sew on the buttons to loop their masks onto.

I also made some new masks for my son-in-law for his comic book store.  All stores require a mask upon entry,  so I made some early on.  But I figured by now he would probably need some new ones.  The customers love to see them and always say they like them.

My youngest great granddaughter just turned one year old and I had the honor of making her smash cake, for their photoshoot.  The biggest one is a very large cupcake cake and the smaller one was a prop for her photoshoot also. And she did smash it alright.  haha

So,  I'm still taking it easy.  I figured sewing is not too strenuous, so I can do that.  Can't wait to start walking every day again.  I must be patient though.

 'Til next time,  Love ya,  Jean

Christmas 2020

                               

Christmas 2020

Just dropping by to wish you and your families the very best Christmas ever!

'Til next time,  Love ya.  Jean  

Henry Mouse

I made this mouse for the pumpkin house.  

Unfortunately,  it turned out to be way too big.  

So I decided to give him to my Great Grandson as 

one of his Christmas gifts.  

I named him "Henry".  

He is made with aluminum foil,  

masking tape,  and paper towels. 

His "fur" is acrylic yarn. 

He was fun to make...

Just wanted to show him off...

'Til next time,  Love ya,  Jean

My Pumpkin House...

 This is my latest crafting project.  It was fun to make it.  It is made from aluminum foil,  masking tape,  and paper towels soaked in white glue.  A lot of the features are made from cardboard and paper egg cartons.  There is no wood in the construction of it, a little in the accessories.  I saw this on a YouTube channel called "Where the Gnomes Live" and could hardly wait to try it.  So here are some pictures...

This is an arbor that is made from layers of cardboard...

The front door and steps with a little fairy...

Mushrooms are made with translucent polymer clay...

Inside showing the fireplace, floor and a basket of firewood...

Stairs and front door inside.

Chimney and side of house. 

It is made with aluminum foil and 

covered with paper towels and egg carton...

Fencing,  wood shed,  apple bucket...

Closeup of wood shed.  

The roof is made with cardboard 

that I peeled the top layer off of...

Stepping stones are torn egg carton...

A shot of the window roof and the front door roof...

The whole thing sits on 4 layers of foam core,

 so it is very light and strong...

On the right side you can see the mail box,

 and the little pond that I made there in the corner.

This was a fun project to do,  and I loved making it!  We used it as our Thanksgiving centerpiece.  I still have to make a little bit of furniture for it.  That will be one of my next projects after the holidays.  For now,  I have to get ready for Christmas!  That's always fun,  too!

'Til next time,  Love ya,  Jean