Dairy Palace

Just wanted to tell ya'll about this great place we found years ago in Canton, TX while going to the First Monday Trades Days.  I used to live in Emory which is about 20 miles from Canton.  Every First Monday of the month there is a huge Trades Day event.  The whole town is involved in this.  For those of you that have never been, it is truly one of the sites to see in Texas.

So the reason for this post, I was in Canton this weekend scrapbooking at Ragles Retreat and my friend Halli and I went into town for a while to do some shopping (wished it had been First Monday) but enjoyed anyway and ate at The Dairy Palace.  They have great burgers, fries, etc., plus Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Check out this Chili Cheese Burger I got.  This is what I usually get each time I visit there because they are soooooo GOOD!!!

Oh and by-the-way, on my way back from Longview (another post to come), Amy (my daughter) and I stopped back by there and got a Blue Bell ice cream to go.  Yum! Yum!

Spin & Go Spin Mop

This is my first official product review.  I have had this mop and bucket set for a couple of years now and I love it.  So while I was mopping the other day, I thought how I would like to tell other's about how great I think this product is.  I purchased it from QVC after seeing it demonstrated on the television one day.  For those who know me, before I "retired" I was a QVC nut, but I have got some really great things from that show.

Okay, back to the mop and bucket.  This thing is so handy and makes mopping fun, oh wait, I didn't mean fun, but alot less back breaking, and I don't have to even get my hands wet.

The bucket has a pedal that you push to spin the mop once in the basket and it spins the water out so you don't have to use your hands or go back to the sink even.  Here, let me show you.

 First, you fill the bucket up to the fill line with your preferred detergent, then insert mop in hot water.  Well, I use Pine Sol and hot water.  Remove the mop from the water and place in the spin basket.

Push on the black pedal until you spin the water out.  You can see the water spray out the sides of the basket back into the bucket.  Then remove the mop once you have as much of the water out of it as you want.  I like to remove while it's still spinning so my mop is all opened up like this.  Then that's where the fun ends.  Place on floor and push.

But I don't mind mopping near as bad as I used to with this setup.  I see now that QVC has a new upgraded version since I bought mine called the Spin & Go Pro Spin Mop.  It has a spinner in the water also which helps with the agitating of the mop in the water.  I guess I'll have to continue my own agitating until this one breaks, but after 2 years or so, it's still working fine.

I hope you enjoyed my review. 

Happy Mopping,

Gaila

Birthday Present plus One

Well, I had this birthday present planned for Bill's daughter, Terri Rene' and just got around to finally getting it done.  Not that her birthday is in about 3 days. oops!! She just got her a new camera and I knew what I wanted to make her.  I had seen this camera strap tutorial on Pinterest and thought that would be perfect.  So I got into my stash and whipped her up one.  Well, after I finished it, I thought, humm, I want one of them too for my camera, plus I needed something to take to quilt guild Saturday, since I gave Mandy all of her goodies and Ryan didn't come back down this week for me to have him bring them back.  So back to my stash I went and ta da...  They were fairly easy and I just happened to have all of the right stabilizer and fusible fleece on hand.  I knew I would use the extra yardage I buy of things when I buy.  Living here in Bridgeport where there aren't that many options of places to buy things, I've learned to buy extra when I do go to Denton.

Sure hope she likes the colors I picked out.  Mine as you can see is already on my camera.  It has a little pocket on the end to hold the lens cap which is pretty cool.

As an addition to this post, I now have a request for my daughter Amy.  She just received a new camera for her graduation present, so I now need to make a "green" one, her favorite color.  I think that can be arranged.

Miracle Whip Biscuits

Have you ever heard of such a thing?  Well I hadn't until Bill's brother-in-law Dave told us about them.  They have become a frequent visitor to our table.  The recipe is so easy it's scary.

Miracle Whip Biscuits
2 cups self-rising flour
4 Tablespoons Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1/2 cup milk

Stir and drop on cookie sheet and back at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

As you can see I stirred until it got clumpy.  The recipe says drop by spoonfuls, but I did that the first time I made them and didn't like the way they looked. So from now on I kinda mash down and use my hands to make little patties.

It makes a mess on your hands because the dough is still pretty sticky, but it washes off.

After a few minutes in the oven we have great tasting homemade biscuits.  Yum ! Yum !

Give them a try sometime.  You'll get hooked just like I am.  Also, I would like to add, this recipe may be out on the internet somewhere else, but I'm not taking the time to look it up.  I'll just enjoy and thank Dave for the recipe.

Springtime

Spring is well under way here at the farm.  I am so enjoying all of the flowers blooming and the fruit popping out on the peach and plum trees. 

My roses are looking beautiful right now too.  I sure hope we don't have such a hot summer as we did last year.  Everything was so hot and dry.  No flowers anywhere.

We had a few of the poppies come up again this year out in the front from the bag of wildflower seeds Bill threw out a couple of years ago.  And my favorite Poppy Picker just happened to be here in his Poppy Pickin Gator.

Now on another note, when my sister and I went to Amarillo last weekend, this is what we saw to the north of us.  After we got home we found out this is one of the tornados that hit Oklahoma.  We knew it looked bad, but had no idea just how bad it was.  Glad we missed it, but feel so bad for the ones that it hit.

My Weiners

I meant to post this previously, but forgot.  Teresa (my sister) and her family, Bobby and Seth, went to Branson for Spring Break and brought me back a new Hot Diggity Dog for my new collections of Dachshunds.  Meet Miss Kentucky Derby.

Well, Teresa and I made the trip to Amarillo to see my son Robby this last weekend, and we ate at the Big Texan Steakhouse.  They had two guys there trying to eat that 72oz. steak.  Well they didn't make it, but it was fun watching them while chowing down on our own steaks.  They also have a small gift shop there, so I ventured in and already knowing that had the wiener figurines there, I hoped to find a new one.  Meet Miss Teeny Weenie.

In honor of our own Teenie Weenie (ha,ha), Miss Palyn.

Well maybe not so teenie weenie, but ya gotta love her.

Wise County Quilt Guild Projects

Wow!!!  I had alot of projects I signed up to participate in this month.  I was worried about getting them done, but I finished yesterday.  I am having so much enjoyment being in the guild.  I am meeting so many new friends and learning so much about my new hobby of quilting.  Everyone in the guild is so friendly and helpful.  So much that I am now the 2nd Vice President, which makes me in charge of the monthly newsletter and the guild's blog.  I am loving being able to use my skills from working to be able to still create.  This also helps me keep my skills up-to-date just in case a job comes along that I can't turn down.

Anyway, back to my projects.  Let's see, first I agreed to make a few blocks for one of our projects where we make baby quilts for the Wise Choices Pregnancy Resource Center.  I got three of them made, but plan on doing more.  String piecing goes really quick and you see results fast.

Next, we started a Block of the Month project, where everyone does the same block and then at the next meeting a drawing is done for a winner to win all of the blocks for that month.  I so hope I win one of these.  These blocks are very time consuming, well they are to me.  This one took most of a day from start to finish.  Maybe I'm just a little slow??? 

The block is called: Stars Fell on Alabama

Then I had one more project to complete.  It was called, "The Paper Bag Project".  We all put a 10" square of fabric in a paper bag with our name on a piece of paper and put in a pile.  We picked a bag out of the pile and had to create some kind of mini-quilt using some piece of that fabric.  We will present the person whose fabric it was a completed project at the April Meeting.  I sure hope ??? likes her "Lil Fox".  It is a paper piecing.  This is the most complicated paper piecing I have done thus far, but I love the way the points come out so accurately.  The piece of fabric I got was the green at the bottom.

I think I have all of my guild duties complete for this month: newsletter (check), blog update (check), BOM (check), paperbag project (check), string block pieces (check).  I'm ready.  Come on Saturday so I can see what's for next month.  Can't Wait!!!!!

You Never Know about Texas Weather

You just never know about this Texas Weather.  On March 19th we had a big hail storm hit here at the farm.  There were a few pieces about the size of a golf ball.  We did have some damage to the roof, so are waiting for the grandson, Tyler, who is in the business to come and give us an estimate.  Then, the next day, March 20th, I drove by the farm and looked out in the pasture and saw an amazine site of these little yellow flowers.  I'm not for sure what they are, but I had never seen so many here.  So, I hopped on my 4-wheeler with my trusty Canon Rebel in tow and commenced to take many pictures from all angles to hopefully get a few good shots.  I'm thinking about framing a couple of them as artwork for our newly remodeled bedrooms.

I had to make a mad dash to Springtown a couple of weeks ago, so after I coaxed Luke off of the dirt pile, we headed out.  On the way down Hwy 51 from Decatur, there were miles of Texas Bluebonnets on both sides of the road.  So on our way back, we stopped and snapped a few pictures.  Hope you Enjoy!

King of the Dirt Pile

Bill has had this pile of dirt left over from the remodel just sitting.  Well, he has been using it a little bit at a time to fill in places while leveling the yard back up.  He has "plans" for it.  Well, you just tell me what little boy doesn't like a good dirt pile?  So the minute Lucas came to visit last week, he was in PawPaws dirt pile.  Bill just cringed.  But after seeing how much fun Luke was having and after Easter seeing how much fun all of the kids had on it, I think he has finally succumed to the fact that we "NEED" to leave the dirt pile for the kids.  They had a blast with it.  My floors showed the after effects of it also.  Never seen so much sand in my house.  But nothing that a little broom and dust pan can't handle.

I did snap a few pics of Luke, while he was "King of the Dirt Pile" for a day.  If you ever need a babysitter, or just something to keep the kids occupied, get a pile of dirt.  Luke played on it for a long time and didn't want to leave it when it was time to clean up.

 

Look at that face.  That is a face full of fun and a little dirt.  It was so much fun watching him play outside.  I love it when the kids spend time outside instead of inside on the video games or watching television.

Happy Easter

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter.  We will be celebrating as we do each year with a houseful of family and a big Easter egg hunt after we chow down on our annual pot luck lunch.  Trent and family arrived on Friday and others should start arriving within a couple of hours, so I need to get in the kitchen and get busy with my part, Ham, Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and New Potatoes, Broccoli Salad, and I do have a couple of Lemon Ice Box Pies in the fridge.

I wanted to share a couple of my Easter craft projects real quick.  First, here is a table runner I made last year when I first started quilting.  Actually, it was my first quilting project to complete.  I had found online and thought it was so cute.

Next, a friend of mine, Rhonda has been holding a class at her house about once a month to do these holiday decorations.  Not for sure how to explain them.  We decopaged stamped brown paper onto these wood blocks and we go back each month and make the tags to go on them to fit the holiday coming up.  So far I have completed Happy New Years, Spring and now my Easter.  They are fun to make and not hard at all, and it's fun to have them sitting out.  Hope you enjoy!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Gifts of Love for Bella

As most of you know, I have my first Granddaughter on the way.  She's due in about 6 weeks or so.  I'm getting so excited.  And you also know, that I have been very busy getting several things made so I would have them ready for Mandy's Baby Shower last Saturday.  Well, I was so glad to get them finished, that I wrapped and packaged them before I took pictures.  Argh!!  Anyway, I had Mandy send them back down here with Ryan this week, just so I could take pictures.  I really had fun doing all of the different outfits and projects.  I'm sure more are coming.

I'll start with the dresses first.  I got all of these patterns from websites I found via Pinterest.  This first dress called the "itty bitty dress" was really fun to make.  I got the free pattern from the made by RAE blog.  I had a little problem with the piping (first time I've worked with it, and had to make it from scratch on top of that), but it worked out okay.  I thought it needed a bonnet to go with it so back to Pinterest and I found this free pattern.

These next two little dress caught my eye the first time I saw them.  I thought what a great idea.  Very easy to make, plus they are reversible, so 4 for 2.  And the backs are open so you can see ruffles from her diaper covers (oh yeah, I need to get busy on those).  This pattern was $8, but it comes in sizes 0 to 24 months.  So I should well get my moneys worth out of it.  I ordered it from You Can Make This.com

So that's it for the dresses for now, I'm sure more to come.  Next, here is a picture of the quilt I made that Mandy requested.  She wanted it twin size so she could use it as Bella moves into a twin size bed.  I took some pictures, but Mandy took one with it in the nursery and I thought it looked much better than mine.  It also shows the painted walls that Mandy did.  She made the pattern from the backing fabric I used on the quilt.

I was prepared to make some lavis quilting blocks, but she just wanted plain and simple patchwork.  I never knew that laying out 22 different pieces of fabric would be so hard.  Once I had the 5" squares all cut and determined how many I would need horizontal then vertical, I spent I don't know how long moving them around until I figured out the pattern I wanted to go with.  I barely had enough of each pattern to do what I planned.

Also, she wanted me to make a wall hanging that looked something like a quilt she had seen at Pottery Barn kids, but matching the quilt.  So this is what I came up with.  I think it still might need Bella's name on it somewhere, but will leave that up to Mandy since she is much better at embroidery than I am.  This picture makes it look bigger than it was, but I think it was about 18" x 24", or something close to that.

So after doing all of this, I wanted to do something for Luke.  One day I got my daily email from The Missouri Star Quilt Company with the Deal of the Day.  It was perfect for Luke.  It was a layer cake, called "Welcome to Bear Country" for Moda fabrics, featuring the Berenstain 

Bears. Luke loves those books, so you guessed it, I placed an order. I had seen a video tutorial from Jenny Doan called, Double Sliced Layer Cake Quilt.  I had just seen it a couple of weeks back and thought it would be perfect for this quilt and looked like it should go pretty fast.  Well, it did and it was so much fun to make. 

Needless to say, Mandy and Luke were very surprised to see a blue package at the bottom of the gift bag.  Oh yes, one more thing.  The Gift Bag.  I saw this bag somewhere on the internet and thought, well that would make such a good tote bag for Mandy to have to tote all of the baby stuff and Luke's

things when they come to visit.  I found the blog, Gudrun's World G.E. Designs and the book, "Fast & Furious Family".  So I went to Amazon and ordered the book.  It came very fast.  It has several other good projects that I plan on making in it.  The bag was a little tedious, but fun to make.  It came out alot bigger than I expected it would.  Also, this was a first time using laminated fabric.  The only problem with it was I was unable to use my normal sewing foot.  I had to use my walking foot in order for it to go through my sewing machine.  After I figured that out, it was easy peasy.  I used fabric from Riley Blake called Woodland Tails.  It was such a fun fabric and works with both girls and boys. I packed all of these things in the bag and topped it off with lots of various shades of pink tissue paper for the shower.

Okay, that all for Miss Bella and Luke, for now anyway.  Next big project, Jordan's quilt.  I'm excited to get started on it.  I think he is really going to like it.

Happy April Fools Day,

Gaila