It's Officially 2009.............

and I am so glad that I didn't make any RESOLUTIONS! My GOALS are lagging already...what if I had the RESOLUTIONS or the lack of, to deal with....not a happy thought!

I have been spending the last few days making lists, and getting stuff organized so I can photo them. I cannot believe how many items that I have, just sitting, because I haven't managed to get the camera out. Now, when the kids are around, the camera seems to be clicking on the time.....what on earth have I been (not) doing?!! This week is scheduled...photos, photos, photos! I have extra batteries and am ready to go!

I finally got my squares for the YCMT quilting project chosen and cut out:

And I even have some of the lines drawn, so hopefully, while football runs in the background, I will be able to get them stitched and cut. I am VERY far behind the group....do you see an on-going theme here? There is, and truly, I am resigned. I would be the child in the class who waited until the night before to study for a test......some things I guess you just never outgrow!

Now, while I have been looking for something that I lost/misplaced/hidden? Guess what I found......all my Homespun items for the website. Towels, Hot Pads and even the Mug Mats.............so, the question is: "should I actually be allowed to have a shop?" Quickly followed by...."should I be allowed to go to town by myself"? The answer, probably not. However, even Max needs a break from me....(well, he says "no", but really, sometimes I glance over and his eyes are spinning...of course, as long as his head isn't spinning, I should be okay..........)

I hate it when I put things away for safe keeping, or worse yet, when I put them someplace so I can find them instantly. That pretty much guarantees that they will NEVER be seen again. Someday, when I am gone....the kids are going to come in and go through stuff (I have made them PROMISE on a HUGE stack of Bibles, that they will not let the neighbors in to help them), and they will find some of the gifts that we bought for them for Christmas' when they were young...(what can I say? We had THREE kids that felt it was their MORAL duty to search out and check out all the Christmas gifts before Christmas.....and no, I have NO idea where that came from.....obviously some far in the past gene...) Hopefully by the time that time comes, those items will be antiques and they can make some money.......Yeah, that's how I can play it......I stashed those items so they could have an inheritance! Maybe I can set it up as a game?

I just glanced up and this is what I see:

The tree has been down for almost two weeks....I missed this, obviously. Now, a confession? I actually TURNED the lights on this morning......I am a well-trained rat obviously! Maybe I can get a part-time job?

My Brother, the Artist

Good morning, all! Hope that you are all having a good day! It is gorgeous here today....cold, but the sun is out and there is blue sky!! The first time we have seen this in ages!!! Really helps on that energy output!!

I just had to blog and brag about my brother, Craig, and his work! He has been working with horseshoes and has created some really wonderful items! They are all Hand-forged and then he adds Gun Bluing to them, and they hang from Latigo. I have listed them in the shop, just in case anyone would like to send a loved one a heart? It is almost Valentine's Day!!

Anyway, here we go! This is his large heart...it measures 5.75" long and 6.5" wide and has a total length of approx. 9"

This next one is the smaller heart which measures 6" long and 5.75" wide and has a total length of approx. 9".
He has also done a picture frame from the large heart (my nephew's horse Jodie was the model in this): He is also working on some with initials added, these are some samples:



And last, but certainly not least....Horseshoe Garden Hose Stakes for your garden! These have to be my absolute favorite!! (and guess what we got for Christmas?!!! I can hardly wait to use them, if the rain ever stops!):

Now he is working on a set of Wind Chimes! I can hardly wait to see them!

Well, I suppose I should close now...people are beginning to make comments about my Christmas tree, honestly? I cannot bear to take it down, I love my tree! And, I could decorate it for the next holidays...I've done that before. We once had a tree that would not lose it's needles, it was up through May........but this one now, is artificial, and so I can't use that as an excuse! Besides, I want my space back!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

I WON!!!!!

I WON!! Yep, I won something!! I cannot believe it! Thank you, Donna!!!!

Donna, at Cottage Days and Journeys had a 1 year Anniversary Giveaway. As soon as I heard about it, I hied my little tushie right over there and signed up! And I WON!! (okay, I know that I have mentioned this several times already, but I haven't won anything for a long time....well, I did win tickets to see the Beatles at the Cow Palace, but that was in 1965....and it didn't work out exactly as I had planned....George did NOT look out in the audience, his eyes meeting my eyes, a moment of silent communication between us....Me: heavy sigh, lowered lashes.....and from George: "I will wait for you....I will wait forever for you".....nope, didn't happen, unless I missed something?)OH!! I did win something else...and I received the prize from DONNA!! My wonderful necklace...that I wear all the time....I believe I mentioned it in an earlier post....I may be able to start a little collection of "Donna Art"...Donna, are you listening? I can hardly wait to get the pincushion...I have already cleaned out the perfect spot for it....now, I better go buy some new pins.......

Here is a photo of it:

Gotta go....I'm off to buy Lottery Tickets.....................

A New Year...A New Project!

I am sitting here, thinking that while I have decided to not even bother with Resolutions....see I can't even type it straight......I am going to do GOALS. That when..... if......if I fade out and get nothing done....it's no biggie! (well, okay, I'm going to WHINE about it the last three months of the year, but that is just an understood thing around here......
So, the dilemna....what project? Hmmmm....of course I could finish the three needlepoint projects lying around here......there is that knitted scarf for Max....and I really need to get on that, the cold weather will be finished before I am.....then there are the three wool knitted purse projects for the girls that I need to finish and felt....the stack of magazines that are now leaning like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and will be hitting the floor when I add this months' bunch of magazines to it. The beads that I have waiting to become bracelets.......but NO, none of this!! I am going to start a NEW project. Maybe one that I will actually finish on time!!

I had a newsletter from "You Can Make This", and there is was...staring me in the face! I would make a quilt top, and accomplish two (or more) things. I would, maybe, just maybe use some of this fabric leaning crazily out of my hutch.....I could get a gift done......and I might actually get something finished that was FUN! And it sounds so good! It is called a Make-It-Up-As-You-Go-Quilt...and I can do that! It is a NO STRESS project! I am so in!! I will let you all keep me accountable, as I am going to post every week as to what I have done. I am a few days behind, as I just found out about it, but tomorrow? I am digging out fabric!! I want some new fabric? And I have boxes, and I mean boxes of old fabric that I need to use before I get anymore! So, are you ready for this?!

Now,on to other things....Olivia checked out the blog the other day and emailed me, saying;

"love it! Love the pics...however, you need to add Grandma's pictures in there....I've attached a few suggestions!!! love ya".

So, I am posting some for her! Now, bear in mind that these photos are a little over a year old....we took them when we were back in FL a year ago last Oct. And the kids have grown....but they are darling kids, and well....Olivia DID ask....and I am such a obliging person...besides, I love seeing photos of our babies! So, bear with me, Okay? You can see the "before photos"! Here is Max and Lauren, taking time out for a quick read:

While Grandma (Oh so not the best photo of Grandma......) and Aidan play:
Grandpa and Aidan head into the dining room to see what all the noise is about: Big surprise!!! It's Grandma.....getting hugs and kisses from Brad: I am not big on having my photos taken...I prefer to be on the "other" side of the camera...but, Olivia was busy clicking...so....here I am!

Well, it is time for dishes....and then Max has a movie for us to watch, and I will make some popcorn...although after looking at these photos...I do not need popcorn.....but, then I have lost weight since then...not a lot....but some...so popcorn it is!

A busy Saturday........

How is everyone's weekend going? I hope that it is going exactly as you planned it! No surprises (unless they are good suprises) this weekend!!

I have been muddling about....a little of this, and a little of that.....pretty much the typical day at the Franklin Homestead!!!

I did get to talk to a good friend...well, not only is she a friend, she is my pretend big sister....I never had one of those...and so Kathy has been doing her best to be the big sister I never had....up to and including calling and teasing me.....well actually, she got Max too, but......you know what she did? Huh, huh? Well, she called to tell me that she was eating out...at the KOFA....the KOFA!!! Now while that probably won't mean a thing to any of you out there in Blogland....the four of us, as in Kathy and Wayne, me and Max.....the FOUR of us.....used to go there and eat out while we were all in AZ. And she called to let us know that the TWO of them were there.....and then she HAD TO HANG UP.......her dinner had arrived....FISH AND CHIPS!!!!....was that mean or what? And then? She hung up!!!! She hung up and ate her Fish and Chips.....without me.....and now? I want Fish and Chips. Doesn't matter that Max cooked and we had take-out pizza for dinner...(my favorite kind even)....no, I want FISH AND CHIPS!! And I don't want just ANY Fish and Chips...it has to be Kofa's Fish and Chips and their Iced Tea......with Kathy and Wayne....somehow the food always tasted better when there were four of us.....

So, after I recovered from that, (okay, Max told me that whining was not becoming..), I decided that I needed to accomplish something this weekend. So, out came the cardmaking stuff, and I did three cards to list on the site and on etsy. I have been wanting to get it done, but manage to find other stuff to occupy my time! Now, I have three cards listed on etsy, and tomorrow I will pop them on the site. And since I will still have the cardmaking stuff over here (and over there, and over there...........), I might as well do some more! Here are the ones I did.....Elivis, who was actually our Christmas Card this year....I just left the inside blank on this card.....

Then I did a fun one...................

The inside says: "I took a close look at my life...perhaps you heard my scream?"

And then this one, which is from a copy of one of my Mom's vintage postcards. I took two of the cards, cut out the inside frame and the ship in one of them, then layered them on top of the first one, with some of the pop dots....it made a shadowbox effect. Then I stamped "dream" on the front. The envelope also has "dream" stamped on it. I absolutely love playing with those cards.....they are so beautiful.

I should sleep good tonight.....playing with papers really is relaxing! So, speaking of sleeping? I think I will say "goodnight" and head to bed! Talk to you all soon! OH! And I should probably tell you all that once Kathy and Wayne finished their dinner and went home, she did call me back and we spent an hour on the phone catching up.....that's what sisters do, right? LOL!

Happy New Year!!!

Here it is! A New Year!!! Yippeee!!!! I think that most of us were ready to boot 2008 out the door......I know I was!!! Of course, 2008 brought some wonderful things to us.....the biggest one being our Katelyn.....she made it all worthwhile!

She has her Great Great Grandma's beautiful red hair.....that's the Irish in her!

Another highlight? Jordan lost her first tooth..............

How was everyone's Christmas? I hope that it was wonderful!! We had a very nice Christmas, our family gathered at my brother Craig's house....we didn't have any of the kids home, but we got to spoil our nephew Jamey richly! It was fun!

Our Christmas morning started at 6:00am with the phone ringing, it was our 4 year old granddaughter calling to say that Santa had been to their house, and they got lots of good stuff....including a club house that her Daddy had made for her and her brother.

And she wanted to know if Santa had been to our house.....then her Daddy got the phone and we chatted for a bit.....but once Brad heard that we were supposed to be going to Uncle Craig's, and that wasn't until 8:00am, he was horrified! His reaction? "That's just mean, Mom, get over there so Jamey can open his presents! Don't make him wait"!! !

Jamey doesn't look like he suffered too much, does he?

On our way to Craig's, Brandi called and we caught up during the drive (a whole mile down the road from us!), and while we were doing that, Jamie had been emailing photos to us of Alex and her Christmas............
So by the time we got inside we were well into the Christmas spirit!

Once we got there, Deanna caught us (she's in NZ), and later in the day we heard from Bob.....hopefully when he has time, we will get some Christmas photos of Shawn and Anna! And some of Jordan when Deanna has time!

Right now we are snug in the house...we have had high winds since late last night...supposed to hit 70mph...which I am sure it has at least twice! We get a lot of wind here anyway, so we don't notice it much, but Max is out checking the garage, and all, just in case something hit the ground and we missed it, which I suppose is possible, it being a FOOTBALL DAY here!

I spent yesterday going through some of my baskets of patterns, and was very firm with myself....by the time I got through one, I had a nice pile of patterns to go....I am always amazed at how I manage to stash stuff for "down the road"...well, "down the road" hit yesterday, and they are indeed going "down the road"! I have listed some on the website, with much more to come. I had hoped to scan more in today, but will wait until the weather settles. I hate to have the computer on.....we still have a chance of losing our electricity. I am so glad that we have the laptop, I can get my computer fix, and not worry about that little item!

Well, the lights are starting to flicker, so I am going to close this and light some candles......the winds are coming faster and harder, and I want to cuddle up with a book! Tomorrow I will be checking out all the blogs that I have missed the last couple of weeks!!

Hope you all are doing well, and are enjoying the 1st day of 2009!!

It's A Small World....

Okay, now that you have that song running through your head...(no need to thank me....it was my pleasure!), I thought I would tell you about my surprise!

Several days ago, I came upon a blog called Cottage Days and Journeys. I signed up for her PIF, and heard back from her. Then, in another post, she mentioned that she spent quite a bit of time at "Sisters At Heart". Well, Donna was her name....and as soon as I saw "Sisters At Heart", I had a major flashback!

I used to be a member of Sisters At Heart....for about a year or so. They livened up my days in the desert when it was too cold to go out! I had so much fun there! I could hardly wait to log on in the mornings, and they were my last visit before I headed to bed. (Okay, they were like a drug...and I was addicted...I confess...)

Well, life took a different turn, sickness, surgeries for our Alex, a bad case of Anemia for my MIL, a Stent for Max...A badly stripped muscle (again for Max), my Mom was diagnosed with RA, she broke her hip, it seemed endless! And, I just dropped out of sight...the computer was more than I could handle, I logged on for emails, and at long stretches of time, not even that. So, I just dropped everything, and that included Sisters At Heart.

When I started back on for longer periods, I thought of Sisters At Heart, but felt guilty that I had just dropped out of sight..(reading that it sounds a bit conceited I must admit....they probably hadn't even missed me), and I just didn't have the nerve to go back.

So, back to Donna....as soon as she mentioned Sisters At Heart (and invited me to visit them), I realized that this was "MY" Donna! I had won a contest there, called the "Mosty Posty"....I know, how appropriate...it fit right in with my "gift of gab"....and she had created a beautiful beaded necklace for me (in the coolest tin box I had ever seen). I wear that necklace a lot...it was just perfect, and everytime I put it on, I thought of her! And, by golly, here she was!!!

I emailed her and said..."Donna, Donna, Donna"....(more talking, I will spare you that), and she came back with..."that was me"! And after more emailing (sparing you my gabbing yet again!), I realized that I had found a long-last friend! I am so happy! She and I had some fun conversations, and yes, she helped me win that "Mosty Posty" award, she enjoys a good conversation as well as I do!

So, I have to say....she lives in the most beautiful state (TN), and has a WONDERFUL Cottage home....(and if you click on the photo below? You get an AWESOME up-close view....sigh...)



So, now...want to know that name of it? "Grey Havens" Isn't that just the perfect name?


Isn't it gorgeous? I love it! What a wonderful welcoming place to come home to! And what an awesome place to retire too...if it was me? I would never leave the house!

Now for the kicker? It's for sale!!!! Brenda, are you reading this? It's FOR SALE!! Maybe you and Jeff can go to TN for your next tour of duty? It's your cottage!

Well, I know that Jeff and Brenda won't be hitting the Knoxville area, but if anyone else is wanting to relocate? This is the place! OH! And it has 6 acres with it....I can see fruit trees, an herb garden out the kitchen...a swing, a book, and a cup of coffee.....or tea....or maybe a Mint Julep? Donna has an awesome photo of the stairs, all decorated for the holidays Check it out! This is just a wonderful home! (and if you find you just want it? Contact Donna!

I hope that everyone is settled for the weekend? It looks like it is going to be a doozy! We, on the Oregon Coast, are getting quite the weather! Last night it was high winds, and hail and rain...and rain, hail and high winds, followed closely by hail, rain and high winds. I went to the store last night...and loaded up on essentials.....(Hershey Bars, Paydays, chips, Pepsi, Sauerkraut (Kraut Dogs for dinner...), and of course, salad fixin's...which is what I...okay, I cannot tell a lie....I went for the Hershey Bar, Paydays, Chips and of course Pepsi's.....one has to be prepared for all emergencies, and I have to admit, Pepsi and a Hershey Bar can do a lot to make that emergency go better.......As for the salad fixin's....they just fell into the cart......AFTER I hit the other aisles...............Now, we are all ready...and they are saying that we might even get SNOW! SNOW! I love snow! It is so exciting....I keep watching the windows, just in case it shows up early...so far, no luck...but I've got my fingers crossed!

Well, I think I will close for now....there is laundry to be done....I just realized that if the power goes off (as it is prone to do), there will be no clean clothes.....which is okay with me...who needs 'em when you have sweats? But, what if I have to go somewhere in the car....gotta have that clean pair of underwear on...just in case....

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend!