Summer Rain, Summer Pest

Do you remember the fun of playing in the rain?

The thrill of get all your clothing soaking wet.

And rain in your eyes

Not having a care in the world

And wanting to spread the (wet) love!

Running for the shear fun of it

And watching life go by

Ah, Sweet Summertime!!


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now for the PEST!

I was so proud of my squash this year

I recently purchased a little bell pepper plant to add to the mix

Things were going so well..

Then this

Look right below my finger...you will see a little hole

from this nasty guy. Larva for the Squash Vine Borer


And while I was investigating, I found these.

Mexican Bean Beetles larva

*sigh*
Keeping fingers crossed that I got to the second pot before too much damage was done. And since I'm the only one in the family that even EATS squash, it's not a national emergency. But still, those pots were looking SO pretty! I do love the pretty yellow of the squash blossom.

Hope you have a great weekend!

~♥~

Vintage 4th of July ~ 2010

I'm thrilled to be participating in this years
Vintage 4th of July party!
While I don't have as much vintage items as some people,
I have a few things.
But mostly, I just love the red, white and blue!

Enjoy~

I'm glad we have a mantle in this house, always comes in handy for decorating.

A vintage Uncle Sam, a vintage Elephant (he's a pencil sharpener!)

You might remember an earlier post for Artful Thursday where the kids & I made the tissue paper flowers. We almost painted the jars ( that was fun! )

The little wooden flags inside the red bottle were cut out by my Papa and I hand painted them...about 18 years ago!

My Papa almost made the cute little red birdhouse. See the little cherries hanging from the cup? Cute!

I've been stitching my little fingers off for the last week trying to get this little sampler finished in time. The design is by Birds of a Feather and entitled: Liberty.

I always grab picture frames from yard sales and thrift stores, you could say I have a "thing" for frames! This one was a hideous orangy color. I brushed on some different reds to give it a warmer feel.

A cute little vignette at the front door. The floral picture was hand painted by my friend Tracey.

And a vintage button bouquet along with all my vintage chickens!

My vintage Statue of Liberty and yes, that was MY little corvette...and I know it's at least 30 plus years old! I usually keep it on my desk.

Vintage red, silver and blue ornaments

Well, that's all I have for now.
I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's
Vintage Red, White & Blue.
I see I have a lot of catching up to do!
BIG thanks to Joan for hosting this.
I could go live at her house any day!

~♥~

Artful Thursday ~ Week 23

Sorry I didn't get to post anything for last week's Artful Thursday, I was so tied up with attempting to get everything ready for The Mad Tea Jamboree! Thanks so all of you who stopped by and enjoyed some good food and entertainment. I'm STILL trying to make my way through the long-list of party-goers. There were so many wonderful parties to go to this year. And of course, the Queen herself, Ms Vanessa, truly out-did herself! She is an amazing woman with an endless supply of imagination!
Unfortunately, she is has had some very heart-breaking news and I do send her my most heart-felt condolences at this time....

This week's Artful Thursday project is more of an Upcycled Project. I purchased this red and white striped tank top from the thrift store. I'm not a big tank wearer, but this was a long one that came well below my waist, and with the heat we've been having, I had already worn it a couple of times.

But it need something...

Using some chiffon I had leftover from making pettiskirts, I made about 2 dozen fabric flowers. You can see these, and these. For mine, I cut my stripes various lengths anywhere from 9 inches to 14 inches and as I was twisting them, I stitched them into place because I wasn't sure how well glue would hold up after a few washings. If you look close at the picture above, you can see the stitches on the flower.

Then I just started hand sewing the flowers onto the shirt. I will say that I started, didn't like my placement, ripped it out, started again, ripped it out and finally on the third try, I think I got it.

We went to a car show on Saturday and I wore it.
I enjoyed it, but I'm still wondering if I should add a few more flowers,

maybe hit the 3 dozen mark...or is this enough?

AND...if I was 20 years younger...and didn't think I would kill myself, I would love to wear these with it!




Thanks for visiting today!!

~♥~

The Sunday Café - One-Pan Potatoes & Pepper Steak

One-Pan Potatoes & Pepper Steak

4 Medium potatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick, placed in bowl of water & microwaved for 6-10 minutes or until tender

1 lb. beef Top Round steak, thinly sliced

1 tsp. garlic pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips



While potatoes cook in microwave, toss beef with garlic pepper and heat oil in large skillet over high heat.
Add beef and toss 3 minutes; remove
Add green pepper to skillet and toss 3 minutes.
Add potatoes; saute 5 minutes.
Add beef back to pan and toss all together until heated through.
Season to taste.

~♥~

Mad Country Jamboree Tea 2010

WELCOME Y'ALL!!

Join us in our little Mad Jamboree...it's just a little small gathering of family and friends. But there will be lots of love, laughter and GOOD FOOD!!

The table of food (and yes, I took the curtains down from out bedroom and stapled them to the wall of the back porch. My terrify my husband with my industrial staple gun...you know what they say about women and hand tools ~ ( insert evil grin )

MENU:
D&D's Favorite Chicken Nuggets with Ranch Dressing
Corn on the Cob
Homemade Lemonade

DESSERT:
Chocolate Brownies
Purple Cows

Waiting on Mamma to take her "pictures"

"Hurry up Mama, I'm dyin' over here!"

...30 seconds later ...

And this was what was left of the lemonade. As you can tell, it was pretty darn yummy!

Handmade candle holders. I love the stripped one!

Like my utensil caddy?

Oh look who showed up...Holly Hobbie, Raggedy Anne and Vanie Mae! And their escort for the evening, Sock Monkey!

Still eating

Who doesn't love C-O-R-N on the cob?

"Mommmmm....."

Not a scrap was left

Ah, "That was delicious Mamma!"


And what's a Jamboree without a few BUGS?



I think they brought their own food, because I didn't make that!

Would you like to try some?

Time for dessert.
The brownies were gone before I got a picture, but I did get one of the Purple Cows!

Talk about something yummy on a hot afternoon...

Now time to sit and relax

Or wait for some leftovers...

Sasha is always smiling

I looked up into the sky and saw what looked to be rainclouds, but they keep on rolling by.

Dancing the night away ~ to a tune in her head!


We're so glad you stopped by for our little Mad Country Jamboree Tea. Hope you had a lovely time and enjoyed yourselves. And of course we can't forget to thank the Ever-Fabulous Vanessa for hosting this wonderful event! She is the hostess with the mostess.

I'm really glad to see you and hope that you come back again! I love to have people over! Even if it is only to chat on the computer.

Y'all come back now, y'all here?

~♥~