Thursday, August 26, 2010

Boxing Up Barbie

Once my party hosting was complete for August I vowed I would start on our bedroom remodel. I got the brainstorm to remove the wallpaper while taking a shower in the morning. Now we're committed! Yikes ...
I thought I had better start boxing up the Barbies to protect them from the upcoming project. I need to protect my collection from possible paint splatters or disaster.
I know one little girl who will be disappointed when the Barbies are no longer on display in Grandma's bedroom. Hopefully, we can unbox them soon!
P.S. Notice ... I am storing them in pink storage boxes : )

A Taste of Italy

Yesterday was quite a day ...
At 9:30 a.m. I had an interview in a neighboring school district. When I accepted the appointment time I knew I had a long standing date to host a luncheon for the RIF'd Media Assistants on the day we would have been scheduled to return to work. What a great group to spend the day with!
Planning the luncheon was actually a great distraction for feeling anxious about the interview. As I prepared the food ... set the table ... cleaned house, it was a great opportunity to go over potential interview questions and keep my mind busy.
What a fun day it was to spend time with gals I have worked with over the past nine years. Even though we were in different buildings we were always in contact through email, meetings etc. They were all a great support when you needed help with a book request, a Polaris question, inventory ... just a great group of friends.
In the coming year we will all be going in different directions. One gal has already been hired by another district ... congrats to Janet! Whatever changes are ahead ... I believe we will all stay friends.
P.S. I tried several new recipes and I thought the food was rather tasty! It brought my senses right back to Italy : )

Thursday, August 19, 2010

P is for Peaches

Monday the sun was bright, the sky was blue and the air ... hot and humid. It was a good day for a drive to Sauvie Island Farms to pick peaches ... EARLY in the day.
It didn't take long to fill my quota of peaches with the help of the grandkids. It wasn't my intention to pick them for canning at the time but as I drove home I felt inspired to dust off my equipment and see if I could recall the process taught to me by my good friend, neighbor and canning mentor, Barb. Here's a post from 2005 about "Canning 101"!
I am so thankful I stored my jars and canner on the top shelf in the garage when we moved here or they would have been long gone to Goodwill or a garage sale by now. You have to keep in mind ... I have not canned since the early 80's.
Due to my schedule I wasn't able to work on this project until Wednesday morning. By then, with the extreme temperatures, the peaches were a little too ripe but I decided to proceed anyway. I was amazed at how much of the process I could recall. Since I was working in a different kitchen I had to adapt to a new workflow. There were just enough peaches to fill six quarts and a few halves left over to top my waffles. It's great to enjoy a tasty breakfast during the water bath process.
The best part of preserving food is to hear the lids "pop" ... the sound of success!

Celebrate!

I know ... it has been awhile since the last post. Life has been a whirlwind so in September I'm thinking I will be back on track ... perhaps with a different blog ... a new look ... a new focus. Just a few things I have been pondering. I have some ideas floating around in my head but I am waiting to see where life takes me in the next few weeks.
Anyway, this week our Tuesday @ Five Bible Study group celebrated Melney's birthday and since I hosted, I took the pictures. Here's a glimpse of the fun ...
Credit is due for the party ideas pictured:
Your Homebased Mom:
Paper Bouquet
Best Chocolate Cake Ever
Simply ... This. That. And The Other:
Fruit Jellies on a Stick


























Layout Credit:
Template: Mandagirl, Template 26 -altered
Font: ChromosomeLight, American Typewriter
Paper: ae_bdaydoodles2_paper2
Wordart: ae_bday_wa_5 and wa_3

I haven't scrapbooked for nearly nine months and I have to say, it was fun putting a layout together. I need to get re-acquainted with my digi supplies. I found some great stuff while creating this page.
Perhaps the next "season of life" will provide opportunities to have more creative time in my schedule.