Blueberry Plains: November 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving…..

Blessings to you all……………

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

It’s Official…My Place & Deep Fried…

Every year we are always wondering right around this time where we are all going to gather for Thanksgiving and who all is coming? Last year my brother in law Joe had us all up to his place. It was a lot of fun. Each of us pitched in by bringing a dish or two and helping to set up tables and so on. The big surprise was that Joe was deep frying the turkey! Not just one turkey….but two!! Two different kinds of marinades gave us a slightly different taste of each one and it was fabulous!! This was my first time having deep fried turkey and I’m not kidding when I tell you it was amazing!! We have all decided, that turkey day, will be here at my house this year, and weather permitting, Joe will be deep frying two more turkeys in my yard!! Here’s Joe cooking last years birds in his yard…. I guess this will be the scene at my house, next week, and it should be fun! My mother in law, makes the most amazing pork/peach stuffing in the world, and she will be gracing us with that. I think my sister in law is making mashed potatoes and bringing that. That leaves me with the rest of the fixins like butternut squash and whatever else I come up with. Plus… the cranberry sauce, pickles and olives, rolls, pies and such. It should be a lot of fun and we hope the weather cooperates. If not, I will be cooking a large turkey in my oven….not a problem! I may cook a small one anyway! I need gravy for those mashed potatoes don’t I?? Above photos were from last year and here are a few from the year before at my house….I’m starting to see a pattern here….My house….then Joe’s house….then my house….. Before the crowd arrived…my son playing guitar. Starting to arrive….. Gathering the goodies….. Fun and family….Woody goofing around. Maybe just ONE piece of that pie!! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I will be back with updated photos of this years turkey day soon…..if not before!

Meanwhile, I am working on more mouse pincushions and other crafts when I can. My cousin took some of my mouseeees to a craft show she goes to…we’ll see what happens. I don’t think any of them will sell. I have been working on some new and improved ones! I’ll show you soon. The weather here in Maine has been so nice during the day! We are blessed. I will leave you with this wonderful Irish blessing…..

Wishing you always...
Walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain
And tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire……:)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Just Let It Go!

My son moved down to Portland from Bangor about 5 months ago now. He lived with his sister for about 3 months and then finally got an apartment with two people he had never met before. He’s been working at a golf course in Portland as a short order cook and the work has slowed way down so he needed some extra $ to see him through. What he really needs is a second job! We are having some unusually nice weather here in Maine for November. We set a new record yesterday, for the warmest weather on this date in November.

Hubby and I never got a chance to rake the yard and get rid of all those pine needles and leaves, so we invited my son to come out and do it. He was up for it since it meant earning some extra cash….which he has none of! Now my son used to be the kind of kid that tried to get out of doing ANY kind of work. He would do the heavy supervising while leaning on the rake or tree. I was the worst enabling mom at the time. Having gone through a divorce when my kids were 5 and 7, I guess I was filled with guilt. I let them get away with murder and tried to “fix” everything myself, thereby never letting them learn those great lessons in life that they needed to on their own. Heck….I wouldn’t even let them cook for fear that they wouldn’t do it right or they would hurt themselves! They couldn’t leave the driveway on their bikes until they were 20! No…it was more like 12 I guess. I am so trying to change that person that I was back then but man is it hard!

The deal was that my son could go out and work in the yard as long or as short of a time as he wanted to….until dark or just until lunch…if he liked. My husband gave him instructions about the giant tarp in the cellar….the key to the shed…which areas he wanted raked….which little saplings he wanted cut with the clippers and a couple of other chores if he had time. He started at about 10:45 yesterday morning. He came in a couple of times to use the bathroom and get a drink and a bite to eat but kept at it. Hubby went out twice to help with a couple of things, but all said and done, he did not finish until it was dark at 5:00!! I was actually shocked that he lasted that long!! I fully expected the old moaning and groaning, the rolling of the eyes and all those expressions you get from kids when they feel put out to do chores but this was different. This was a grown kid….a 25 year old who was simply digging in because he really needed to earn some money.

I was in the house doing chores and baking a chicken pie, making salads and wrestling with the chaos going on in my head! Am I the only mother that still goes into protective mode when it comes to her grown kids??? I was thinking to myself….Oh this has been a long day for him….oh he must be thirsty….oh he’ll be sore…oh he is going to be hungry….on and on and on. I struggled with all of these thoughts until I realized how I used to be when they were kids. Because I was such an enabler when they were young, it definitely had a lasting effect on them….especially my son. This was my chance, as I saw it, to let him be the man that he is supposed to be. I know that sounds crazy but it’s true. I kept busy….stopped looking out the window…and sailed through it. When he was done, he came in with a grin and a hungry belly and a little sore but it was a good day. We got a beautiful job done in our yard and he got some hard earned money. He got to be a man without mom jumping in to “save” him. It was all good. Now…..if I could just get that Jack Russell of mine to do what I say.:) :)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I’ve Been Mousing Around……

I’ve been busy making mouse pincushions from fabrics I acquired at a yard sale a couple of years ago. I am trying different designs and materials. I got the pattern online and here it is if you are interested.

Mouse Pincushion Pattern

They are quick and fun to make. Most of the eyeballs are made from a broken necklace I got at another yard sale. I just color the center with a permanent marker. The ears are black felt. Some I like and others…not so much….but it’s been fun trying different methods. My next experiment will be giving them a little collar or some bling.

Here are some close ups of the animal print one. His nose is a little too hairy! The tails and whiskers are black cotton twine of some sort….not a big fan of this type though….I need to find something else to use. Here’s one without whiskers….kind of looks nekked! I like the lines in the fabric though. The little guy to his left is kind of cute. The fabric is a leaf pattern…..well take a closer look….. It’s such a soft fabric and I love the leaf detail. When you are not able to cinch the fabric together at the bummie, you can stitch a round piece in there, like I did here. Actually….most ALL of them I had to do this with!

I also do not have the whiskers the way I like them…still working on the prototype! Here are a bunch of them sniffing out some of my fabric pieces! The red one was an experiment with brass eyes….again, broken jewelry, and the one on the far left has that cotton black string for eyes. I made him last year.The blue plaid one has beads down his back and I absolutely hate the look of it but will probably give it to a little one….they won’t mind a bit!! Here’s the animal print above, with pins stuck all through him…ouch! I also am crocheting some purses…..this one is for a little 10 year old girl. My friend’s daughter…… Front and back.

I am working on an afghan too….same one for 2 years now! It’s big! I am sewing a lap blanket out of scrap material and am making more purses. I plan on going to some of the local craft fairs starting up around here and hopefully getting some more ideas on crafts for the holidays! What fun things are you all making >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>???

Do tell!!!!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

I Got An Award!!!

Hey girls….I got an award!! It’s called the Gorgeous Blogger Award and it was given to me by my good friend Dawn from C&G Design …….Check her out….she has a wonderful blog filled with crafting and family and gardening and she is a master at all of them! Thanks Dawn….it is much appreciated! What I am supposed to do is list 6 things about myself and then pass this award on to 6 other people. Here are 6 things about myself.

1. I am deathly afraid of lunar moths and can go into a frenzy pretty quickly if I don’t get away from them….crazy I know. Especially if one happens to fly into my car…. I have to stop and get out!

2. I absolutely love, love, love, Christmas! I always have and probably always will. I love everything about it. I think it is the one time of year that everyone seems to be generous and giving and loving and full of humanity. I just wish it lasted all year. I try to soak it all up during the season!

3. I lost my first child when I was 22 years old and 5 1/2 months pregnant. I found out I had an incompetent cervix as a result of my mom taking a drug to prevent HER from having miscarriages. It was very hard and some day I will meet my little girl Dahlia in heaven. As a result of finding this out, I was able to have two healthy children after that. They gave me a purse string stitch, with each pregnancy and then took it out before I gave birth.

4. I’m a sugar addict! I love candy and just about any kind. I am especially addicted to fire balls. I always have a dish full of them in my house. I keep them in my purse and the cars. I think it was all that penny candy as a kid that got me started!

5. I was in a gun powder explosion when I was in my early twenties. I was at a party and we had all been drinking. One of the tenants loaded his own shotgun shells. There was a bag of gunpowder under a table, unbeknownst to all of us there. A cigarette ash fell onto it and boom! I was in the hospital for 10 days, along with two other friends, and out of work for months. An FBI agent visited me in hospital, asking questions about the explosion.

6. My all time favorite song in the world is called “Don’t Play That Song For Me” by Aretha Franklin. Here is an old video of her doing it….. It gets me going like nothing else!