His list included things like overalls, voice recorder, watch, cookbook, a gift certificate for the friends of the library, a cuddle pillow, a lizard, cowboy shirt, wolf scout uniform, digital camera and any books! It is funny what they ask for. He got almost everything on his list except a lizard! Having just had the frog die, I wasn’t ready to feed a lizard! The cuddle pillow I made him is a ladybug with pipe cleaner antenna’s inserted into a cotton cording then sewn down. She came out cute. I made her wings so they were satin lined and sewn down at the top and bottom to create two pockets. He likes to stick his hands in the pocket when he hugs her.

Here are some pictures. Unfortunately, alot of the pictures he either wasn’t looking at the camera or had red-eye. These are pretty good tho!

Here he poses in his new cowboy shirt and overalls. Everytime we hear overalls, Slo and I laugh about a lady online he used to tease about living in Georgia. She responded in a thick southern drawl in IRC with a voice recording, “I-D-O-N-O-T-W-E-A-R-O-V-E-R-A-L-L-S!” Well now, SugaBaby, you don’t have to be ashamed to admit it now! We are wearin’ them now.

He wanted a blue cake again this year. Last year, if you remember, I mistakenly mixed blue food coloring with buttercream frosting and got Tiffany blue! This year, we was smert and ‘membered to get white icing! lol. It came cute. Chocolate cake, and X’s and O’s for decorations.

He loves to cook and totally worships Bobbie Flay. Last year he wanted a chef’s jacket like Bobby’s, and got it. Since he already bought himself most of his cookbooks, this time, we gave him the Joy of Cooking. It’s a great cookbook and this one is their 75th anniversary edition.

The baby of the family loves to give presents. The morning of Doc’s birthday, he went around his room and gathered everything he thought J2 would like and wrapped it up in pillowcases, blankets, whatever he had that was colorful. It was really sweet! and J2 loved every one of them!

As for canning – I’m down to one bushel of apples left and a 50lb. box of new potatoes to can… Then I’ll give the full report.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fall!

Carlos Santana (1947)
Santana is a Mexican-American Grammy Award-winning guitarist known for his searing, emotional playing. He became famous in the late 1960s with his eponymous band that created a highly successful blend of salsa, rock, blues, and jazz. He has sold tens of millions of albums worldwide, was inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has influenced countless musicians. What instrument did Santana play as a boy before switching to guitar? Answer Here

Ahhh, I can hear his guitar in my head now…. Gotta go find my cd! Happy Birthday Santana! I LOVE YOU!!!!

What could be more patriotic to start your festivities with today?

Test Pattern #49: The 2 Minute Blackberry Jam from Slobokan on Vimeo.

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How can one woman affect the lives of so many and raise 6 successful children? My mother taught me the secret to raising your children successfully. Give them a secure life:

Love them
Talk to them
Listen to them
but above all else – ADVOCATE for them.

Be quick to tell them when they are doing wrong and guide them in another direction, and fight for them when they are doing what’s right!

One thing none of us ever doubted, was if our mother would fight for us. We may not have always been right, but she gave us a security alot of children just don’t have.

My mother raised six children. The first five before Brandon came along. We have all been more successful than many of our friends. Do you see the picture in the upper left corner? That is Brandon’s birthday party at my house in 1993. The girl was his best friend. She became an unwed mother. The boy, Randy, was our nephew. A few years later, at the age of 10, he would be killed when his cousin shot him with a rifle at his father’s house. He did not want to go to his father’s house that summer, but because of divorce custody agreements, he was forced to go – he came back in a coffin. I only know of three friends who grew up to be successful. Over a dozen or more ended up unwed parents, drug abusers, alchoholics, etc. And that was from a middle class neighborhood of the 70′s. I am not saying we we’re perfect. Far from it. We did the usual bad teenage stuff, tested our limits, but my mother was always there to help us and set us straight, even when it took years. Sometimes hormones just take awhile to mellow out in some more than others. lol

When my mother started out with my real father she did not know he was a drug addict, alchoholic and wife abuser. They lived in the projects of Baltimore. She had five children by him, one severely retarded, my sister, Pooh. After he died (thank God!) my mother met and married my step-father. My step-father was not always demonstratively loving, but he was steady and took good care of us. He came home every night, paid the bills on time and I only got a spanking once (well-deserved!). They taught us to take pride in ourselves and to work hard if we wanted something bad enough. We were not rich, always slipping and sliding from poverty level to middle class, but my parents worked hard. My mother is still working full-time as a PBX Operator for the switchboard of a local hospital. They did all of this, working full-time, caring for Pooh Bear (who is almost 50), keeping a clean house and clean kids, and still had the time to listen to us. I’m sure my mother would have loved to have seen all of us graduate from college, but I know that she is satisfied that she has done her job well and now all of her children can live good, safe and happy lives.

So, Mom, if you’re listening now, you can retire….. It’s okay, there’s nothing else we need that you did not provide for. Brandon’s job at the CDC will pay his student loans now. lol

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Our Lil’ Entertainer wanted a ‘flag’ themed birthday. His two favorite images in life, the Cross and the American Flag. At first he wanted a Curious George / Construction theme and had his cake all figured out. We would do a triangle cake – one side Curious George, the other Construction workers with a pile of crackers to dig like last year. But when he got to Party City and saw the Red/White/Blue Uncle Sam sequins hat he completely changed his theme to a Flag Birthday party! (Thank goodness! lol). A flag cake is much easier to make.

His birthday wish list consisted of:

Anything Curious George
A worker man set with wrenches, screw drivers, etc.
A Flag pole – one that he can put in the yard and see from his bed
A jacket like that guy that danced on the cieling (Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding)
A black bowtie
manual typewriter
and Boxing Gloves.

Thanks to Grandma’s and Stimulus checks – he got everything on his list! lol

I made him a tuxedo with tails (Grandma bought him a boutonniere for it), curious george sleeping shorts and pants and a pig in a blanket. The blanket has a crocheted pig head, crocheted pig feet attached on either side of the head and at opposite corner of the blanket – and a really fun curly-q pig tail crocheted and sewn to the bottom corner. It has minky polka-dot fabric on one side and polka-dot cotton on the other. I made a matching round minky pillow to go with it (the belly).

He had a really great birthday and now Daddy just has to get a clear day to ‘plant’ the 20ft flagpole! lol

Here’s the images from his birthday with one of his baby pictures. Oh, I miss cuddling those sweet, drooling little babies. *sniff* Still, what wonderful young people they are to be with!

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He wanted a Dr. Gregory House birthday party.
Solution?

Little guests in “Doctor in Training” suits

rubber gloves as party bags filled with:
first aid items, hugs and kisses candy (because you know you need lots of those when your dealing with House)
tic-tac “Vicadin” (should have heard the kids wondering aloud what they would use for Vicadin at the local CVS – just a few eyebrows raised)
laser pens and blank notepads for writing prescriptions.

We forgot the squishy balls to throw against the wall (okay – Mommy just ‘conveniently’ forgot).

Here’s the table:

And the handsome attendings:

Stetson’s birthday wish list had:

A cane like House’s
A tiperiter
ponchin bag
cowboy shirt
and a jene jakit
and red suspenders.

He got everything on his list +some! The cane and typewriter are from our local antique store. I painted them with black testor paint. I painted the flame design on the end of the cane with red, yellow, and gold. The typewriter is a Royal manual typewriter in excellent condition. I made the cowboy shirt from cotton and embroidered the cowboy, feather, and spurs using free patterns from AnntheGran.com ‘s website. That was alot of fun. Slobo found pearl ‘snap looking’ buttons Thank Goodness! I couldn’t find pearl snaps anywhere and was really glad not to have to worry with putting real snaps on it. The shirt has a secret – I interfaced the white broadcloth with a white muslin iron-on interfacing and accidentally embroidered the interfacing side – Teach ME to use my glasses! LOL. He doesn’t know – and I’m not telling! It was the night before his birthday and I didn’t have enough white broadcloth to cut new pieces – soooooooooo If I couldn’t tell – he shouldn’t be able to. Oh well mom…..

Next birthday in two weeks – Little Dr. Chase turns 7!

*Sniff* they are growing up tooooooooo fast!

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I used the naugha patent leather from one of our son’s old costume boots . It was backed with foam, which I peeled away – as it made it too thick. The liner was the black nylon that was backing it. I would recommend a cotton muslin tho. The pattern with instructions is from sewing.org I used the adult size pattern (no scaling). In case their site is down, here is the bean bag pattern gif . I cut open a beanbag chair we had in hopes it had the little beads in it… but alas … the thing was filled with shredded egg cartons and paper pulp! WHO KNEW! Since the chunks were too large to use in this small beanie, I used the only small dried beans I had in the pantry – Lentils with a garlic herb scent. LOL. Now when Slobo lies in bed to watch his videos at night – he gets hungry! Hey – At least no vampires will get him!

If you make this pattern, I would suggest making it about a 1/4″ larger on all sides so that you end up with a beanie that’s a little bigger. Also, prepare to hand sew the circles on top and bottom. They are too small to get into a sewing machine and chew lots of licorice while trying to see to hand sew them. They are a bit of a booger.

Also – I highly suggest using the poly beads. The beans come out to a bit of a stiff bag. Might even want to use some cotton fabric too, as the nylons / polysters etc. can transmit a static charge which we all know can be deadly to an electronic circuit. The patent leather turned out to not be needed for grip as the bag settles down to conform to the shape anyway.

Think I’ll knit him another one – it might be great practice for some short row shaping skills.

My sister’s sweater is just about done. Needless to say, it will be a Valentine’s day sweater. Who knew it took so long to knit a sweater? lol.

This is the first sweater I’ve knitted and the first time I was able to buy all the yarn needed up front! That was exciting in and of itself!
I’ve become a big fan of Creative Knitting magazine in the process. This sweater is from the Sept. 2007 issue and has been a great deal of fun to knit. It has just enough variation in the pattern (cables and lace) to keep it from becoming monotonous. I will be putting a separating zipper on this sweater, rather than the buttons, just for ease of use for Pooh Bear. If she thinks her sweaters aren’t closed properly, she will walk around hunched over all day for fear of it opening! Don’t want a hunch backed sis!!!

btw… I found the magnetic board at Target’s clearance for 2.00 and the sliding rule from Walmart’s clearance section for 1.00. These have been priceless in working this pattern! I noticed they have more left, so anyone that needs one, I HIGHLY recommend especially that magnified and magnetized sliding rule!!!

Slobo made turkey broth from the Thanksgiving turkey. I canned 8 quarts of it. We’ve already used half of it, so he made broth again from the Christmas Turkey. This time I added the salt and meat (he chopped it up and made the broth). Last night, we got 7 quarts and 9 pints from that Tom Turkey! Not Too Shabby!

Now, I’ve got 4 lbs. of blackeyed peas soaking in the fridge along with a thawing Ham Bone from Thanksgiving and some yummy fattening Salt Pork! Those are going to be so good. I’m hoping there is some ham in the freezer too, to have as the main course for tonight. If not, there will be a quick run to the store! In lieu of collard greens, we will have spinach and brussel sprouts for me!

This is what is left of the cookies from something like 15 dozen that we made (and gave away! lol) I made fontegmon, sanbackles, ginger snaps and J2 made absolutely wonderful homemade caramels dipped in belgian chocolate! That boy needs to become a chef and make the world a happier place! He did a wonderful job!!! The fontegmon required 16 egg yolks, so I froze the egg whites and will use them to make an Angel Food Cake (or two) tonight. We bought some strawberries that I’ll make a glaze from with slices on top. YUM! Diabetes, heart disease, can go out with the old a day late, then I’ll be good!

My dear MIL gave me a cookbook that belonged to our boys’ great-great grandmother from Canada. It’s the Woman’s Guide To Cooking. The front cover and title pages are missing, so I can’t tell you when, where, who published it, but it has a section talking about the frugality necessary now that the War is beginning, and I believe they are talking about WWII. What a wonderful book it is!!!! I stayed up until 4 am reading it. NO Kidding! It has more information in the beginning chapter about food than any other book I’ve ever picked up!!! For example, there was a test for pectin in fruit, using epsom salts! I had not run across that. It also explains exactly what fats, sugars, milks, etc. do in cooking – making it possible to understand them inside and out so that you can create your own wonderful recipes. Information that is sadly lacking in the cookbooks beyond that time period!

Well off to can and cook up some blackeyed peas! I hope that everyone has a Happy and Safe New Years!

I hear that Mars is in retrograde until Jan 30th, so hopefully Christmas will go well with alot of effort… and we can get back to normal Jan. 30th. lol.

Here’s to happy thoughts and warm wishes…. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all… Don’t forget to tell your loved ones they are loved and appreciated.

May God bless their loved ones and the heroes that fight to protect us and care for us.

A typed message for Bin Laden and all your cowards:

America’s Homegrown Network – 6 years later still growing!

One place, one town, one state, one country – AQE?

Time has flown by so fast. J2 was born beet red, kicking and screaming (which he didn’t stop until he was 6 months old). He would cry until 4 in the morning. For the first 6 months, he and I slept in a rocking chair in the living room so that the rest of the house could attempt some sleep in between and everytime Daddy tried to pick him up he would scream which made Daddy cry! I would beg the pediatrician to help me figure out what was wrong. He did not seem to have gas pains, I gave him enough Mylicon to de-gas Chevron!

When he was born, the OB feared he was in distress and hooked a fetal monitor wire just under his scalp. The poor baby still has a small bump on top of his head from the experience. Even tho the docs don’t believe it, I still think the reason he cried like that is he must have had such terrible pain from it. As he aged, his favorite way to fall asleep was to have his head gently rubbed. I’ll always remember that heavenly look of his when I would rub his head and his eyes would roll back in his head. Now, at 8, he still asks for his head to be rubbed!

After his first six months, he turned into the sweetest, most loveable boy! Happy all the time and he has a great sense of humor! He and Daddy have been inseperable ever since! (There are so many wonderful pics of you smiling that I had a hard time to pick, but this is one of my favorites! My Very Own Little Elfin!)

We held his Birthday Party on Saturday. He requested a Spiderman / Star Trek Birthday. Walmart was out of Spiderman cakes, so we bought the Wilton cake pan for Spiderman. It was alot of fun but I was up until 4 AM on Friday night trying to mix black icing! Not a pretty sight. I luckily had a bottle of black dye from our oldest’s Power Puff Birthday – He loved the green one until he got old enough to realize they were girls! lol. My fingers are still a bluish purple color, but it was a great deal of fun to make! I also baked an oval cake in a casserole dish and decorated it with the Star Trek Voyager Logo in tan and gold icing. Which I then covered in web as if the spiderman had caught the logo in his web. Originally I printed the Star Trek Voyager Ship blueprints and was going to attempt to make the ship, but alas, at midnight, I had enough sense not to even go there!

Here is the cake:

Note: The foundation icing was supposed to be light blue, but when you mix light blue dye with buttercream frosting you get a Tiffany Blue! I thought it was pretty and he didn’t seem to mind. Makes me want a Tiffany Box cake for my birthday!!!! (Ahem… Slobo?)

As part of the party gifts, I made the kids Star Trek Costumes. They are made of black knit from JoAnne’s (they have costume knit now at 3.95 a yard) I used a bias cut satin for the colors at the top and embroidered the Star Trek Logo on a muslin in gold and tan thread for the communicator logos. I used Steam a Seam to apply them to the costumes and then just top stitched around to secure them permanently.

The jumpsuits for the two smaller ones are from an astronaut jumpsuit pattern and the oldest ones’ is just a pant and long sleeve top pattern joined. I used a 12-14″ invisible zipper on the fronts. I didn’t get them hemmed in time, but the kids don’t care – and hey – most halloween costumes aren’t hemmed anyway, so I think I’ll leave them that way! The only thing I wish I had done different was to crop the sleeve satin shorter. I used a mirror of the sleeve scye on them and wish I had just cut them straight across. But – who knew! I should’ve been watching Voyager so I would know these things!

Here’s a pic of the Voyager Crew (L to R) Tom Paris, Tuvok and the Holographic Doctor:

The locket is so beautiful. In it is a picture of my sister, April Gaye. They engraved part of my mother’s poem entitled ‘Heavenly Conversation’. It begins “April Gaye, So Sweet, So Fair… ” and they engraved 2007 at the end. My sister’s photograph is actually a color engraving on the inside that shimmers when the light hits it. I absolutely LOVE this locket!

Pictures on Gold did such a beautiful job on the engraving, the photograph, and even the packaging! It comes in a white gift box, inside which is a black box with a clear-vue window showing the locket and a free polishing cloth.

This locket will be a special suprise for my mom. I’m mailing it to her tommorrow and I’m sure it will bring her tears of joy when she opens. I highly recommend this company and especially this locket. It will brighten any woman’s day!!!!

Here is an interesting link for things from timelines, pictures and audio books. Alot of free things under a nice fast server.

Speed Library

To all the men and women, and all of their families -

THANK YOU!