A Trip To Uncle Bubba's Farm

I promised more pictures from Uncle Bubba's Farm so here they are.


This is the home of the newest resident of Uncle Bubba's famous outhouse. Luckily for me at the time, Mrs. Bird was out looking for food and did not "flog" me in the head when I snapped this picture of her nest. Her nest is conveniently located on the "tp" shelf as I like to call it.

This is the future location that I am going to leave a tin can with corn cobs on it as a joke for Uncle Bubba. If you don't understand that joke, I'm sorry, ask your grandmother- I'm not going to elaborate on the use of corncobs in the outhouse.

This is one of my most favorite pictures. Look closely on the right side of the outhouse. You will see the bird house that he built in hopes that Mrs. Bird would take the hint and move on out from inside.

Uncle Bubba left a chair outside of the outhouse because he had been standing on it when he was finishing up building his outhouse. When I saw it, I said to myself, "Self, Uncle Bubba has done built an outhouse with a waiting room outside".

Enough said...

A Wordless Wednesday- My Enemies

A Trip To The Park- Down The Lane.....

First there were cute bunnies.....


Then there was the ultra-shy peacock that wouldn't let me take a decent picture...


The sheep didn't seem to mind getting their picture taken.....


Mr. one horned goat could have cared less.....


The sign nearby said, "Willie Bacon". I think this is the guy that belongs to that name.... He didn't care if I took his picture either.


He made such an impression on me, I took another picture. He didn't care. Willie Bacon, you have a face that only a mother could love....

Making Do Monday

Can you guess what this might be?

Can you guess now? That's right, it's a portable tractor gas tank. Believe it or not. I'm not exactly an expert as to explaining why there is a portable tractor gas tank on Uncle Bubba's tractor. All I can tell you is that there is "crud" in the real gas tank and due to the lack of time that it takes to tear the real gas tank down and clean it, this little handy plastic model is the solution temporarily. From what I can remember, this little model was "borrowed" from a riding lawn mower. Hey, look on the bright side, at least if the gas gauge isn't working (which it isn't), you can look straight down and see how much you have left.

The moral of the story is, Uncle Bubba made do with what he had.....

While I'm on the subject of making do with what you have, this is Uncle Bubba's portable electric company. Yes, he really does use lanterns on his farm. (They make handy hand warmers in the winter time too)

Stay tuned this week for some more pictures from Uncle Bubba's farm.

Something else New at Minnie Maes

This is the newest item that I have added to Minnie Maes. It is a simple fabric wallet made entirely of cotton fabrics.



It features two deep slots for money or receipts. I also stuck my full sized check book down in one and it fit with plenty of room. (But my checkbook doesn't come with the wallet ;) ) There are 8 credit/debit slots to hold all of your cards as well.



If you can't tell already, the ocean has been on my mind so I was inspired to create this little money/coupon organizer.



Inside there are 3 ocean blue slots with vinyl label sections on the top and 3 "sand" colored sections on the bottom, also with vinyl label sections. In the middle section, there are two credit/debit card slots and a small zipper pouch for coins.

If you are interested in these or similar items, just click on over to Minnie Maes and take a look-see.

Want to fill in your own? Go to Friday Fill Ins for the details!


1. Apparently there's some sort of disturbance out on the back 40 (This questions reminds me of the X-files for some reason?).


2. Tomorrow is supposed to be a sunny day.

3. 2009 has been kind of rough so far.

4. The penny rolled across the coffee table, made two circles, dropped onto the carpet for the vacuum cleaner to suck it up by accident, and that was it.

5. For too long I've been cooped up in the house .

6. I am not obsessed with the internet; I am not! (ok, I am...)


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to buying some much needed zippers for some projects, tomorrow my plans include planting something in the garden and Sunday, I want to finally sit down and breath !

Seedling Update.....

I'm kind of in shock that all of this has sprouted ....

I begged, and I received! My tomatoes made their sudden appearance overnight.
One day there were not there and the next morning, they are.... I'm wondering if Scott is playing a trick on me....

You would never guess that I actually dislike tomatoes in their raw form but bring on the ketchup and sauces ....

A Wordless Wednesday- Run, Run, as fast as you can!!!!

A Few New Things At Minnie Maes This Week...

I did this special order and it was the first time that I had worked with burlap

It is a grocery bag with the silhouette of the owner's three birds on the front. It turned out being very fun to make. (The only hard part was keeping my 4 year old from running off with my bird templates- Don't worry, in the end, she got to keep them for good.)

While I was in the mood with working with burlap, I kept going and created this cute little burlap sack

You know you could keep your favorite craw-dad in it if you wanted.......

In keeping with the "burlap" theme, I made this cute little handled tote

You could probably keep a craw-dad in it or a few onions if you wanted to.....

Lastly, I created this smaller sized organizing wallet
It's a smaller replica of my deluxe Saving for A Rainy Day Wallet

This is what it looks like when opened

This wallet has 6 slots deep enough for coupons or money, 3 credit/debit card slots, and a mini coin purse sewed in. They are labor intensive so I might make only a few and take special orders on them.

I guess you can see that I was busy this past weekend but it was fun to create something and actually "finish" them. If you are interested in any of these items or if you want something similar to those you see here, just visit Minnie Maes and drop me a line!

Making Do Monday

What you use when your kids get clay all over your wooden rolling pin

My Trusty, glass peanut butter jar works just as good as any old, clay covered, wooden rolling pin would.....and the clay stays out of the food too...

I hope you are not sick of my kitchen related Making do Monday's but the two things that I had lined up are unavailable for pictures right now. (To give you a hint, Uncle Bubba has been at it again and Scott solved his problem of his laptop sliding off of the car seat while driving. I'll get them photographed this week- hopefully).

I figured that I'd just let you know how I made flour tortillas the other day without a rolling pin. (Modeling clay can not and will not wash or can ever be scrubbed off of a wooden rolling pin)

My making do moment was simply to use a jar to roll out my tortillas. As you can see from the picture, they are not perfectly round but they served their purpose. Who cares if the kids had fun figuring out which different state they were resembling. Who knew a jar would help teach geography in the kitchen? It was a win- win situation as far as I'm concerned..... I'm going to hang on to my peanut butter jar for as long as I can or at least some family member reads this post and realizes that one of the things I need most in this world is a Tortilla Press......

What's Outside Mine and Scott's Windows....

I am confident in saying that, "that there is a fine shade of hot pink"

In case you are not a regular around this blog, I'll fill you in on a little information. From time to time, I see strange things outside of my windows. I like to share my little findings with the online world.

Little did I know that this morning I would awaken to the sight of a hot pink pirate ship with a green octopus on top of it. I guess no one ever imagines that would happen to them.... I wonder if the guys that work on these things are ever embarrassed when they test them out? Personally, I think that the Merry Go Round (that I have yet to get a picture of) is the funniest of all because when they deflate it, it looks like this huge UFO. Anyway, I've never thought of renting a hot pink pirate's ship. What occasion would you do that for?

Ok, I've got my funny out of the way. Below is one of the many strange things that Scott likes to send to me in my e-mail throughout the day. Normally, I'd do a "What's Outside Scott's Car Windows" post but both of these abnormal things just happened to show up on the same day and I thought that if the pink ship didn't get a chuckle from you, this guy would.....

Can't you just imagine me jumping back slightly in my chair when I opened up this email?

I almost want to give a prize to the person that guesses where this guy lives but alas, I am prize less. I will, however, dub you Most Valuable Blog Reader for the day if you guess "Old Toothie's" home town.

Friday Fill Ins

Got to Friday Fill Ins to create your own!


1. Join me in taking a day off from my responsibilities.

2. Put a little sunshine in your day!

3. Happiness is something I'm always looking around for.

4. The starfish with google eyes in the aquarium, left my niece dazed and confused.

5. I'm waiting for the van to get fixed- (help, I'm trapped at home!).

6. Anything with sugar is hard to resist.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finally being able to do anything that I want, tomorrow my plans include working on a sewing project and Sunday, I want to be able to look back on Friday and Saturday and be contented that I got to do what I wanted!

Seedling Update- Green thumb or Black- It's too early to tell

Look what I found the other day

This is cabbage and lettuce by the way....

Remember Moe Moe's bucket? I found a good use for it since I didn't want to store any food in a "fish" bucket. The more I think about it, maybe the artificial chocolate syrup that was formally in the bucket, was more dangerous than fish germs? Anyway, I decided that I would turn this bucket into my make-shift compost bucket. (after bleaching and rinsing) I'm throwing in some leaves, lettuce leaves, cucumber peelings, you get the picture. From what I've been reading, if I keep this mixture mixed up and moist, I should have come nice compost in a few months. If I fill the bucket up, I have no idea what I'll do. We have too many wild kitties running around outside and I'm afraid that if I made an uncovered compost pile in the yard, they would get too creative and make the compost pile something else of their own design. I guess I'll eventually be forced to take my full bucket to Uncle Bubba's compost pile (which is inhabited by fire ants by the way).

I am sad to report that we are already loosing the fire ant battle (but that is another story).

For now though, my bucket is only about half full and I'll just keep saving my plant based scraps. I've heard that you can add egg shells and coffee grounds too. We don't drink coffee very often but boy, howdy, do I have egg shells. Those guys, however, are getting put into a bucket of their own. I have a trick up my sleeve (I've been reading a Mother Earth News article). Maybe I'll get to write about my new use for those egg shells if my tomatoes actually come up someday (I'm beginning to wonder about them). Uncle Bubba says that his haven't came up yet either and he planted his the same day I did.

Tomato seeds, please, please, please come up.....

A Wordless Wednesday- The Easter Edition

So, What's The Strangest Thing You Have Ever Put Into Your Oven?

I baked fish rocks last week for the first and "last" time in my life

Our goldfish, Moe Moe, has been feeling a little under the weather for awhile. First there was that upset with Aunt Nee Nee's dog Jake and now, poor Moe Moe has went and got himself a fungus. The poor guy has been swimming around like a crazed maniac and rubbing himself all over the rocks and his lone little plant in his tank. (You never have had a good laugh until you watch a goldfish scratch his head frantically on a plant -by the way!)

Being a responsible pet owner, I sought the advice of a fish expert. In my case, this happened to be the guy at the local Pet Smart store. I took in a sample of his water (in a recycled plastic palm oil container, no doubt). The result, Moe Moe was in imminent danger. Moe Moe's tank needed a complete overhaul.

You see, recycled plastic containers do come in handy. The only container around my house , that would hold a huge goldfish, was a five gallon bucket. Don't worry, it was cleaned thoroughly and did not contain artificially flavored chocolate dipping sauce.

Moe Moe swam around and around and around in circles for about two hours.

I was instructed to take all of the rocks from his tank (easily scooped up by my palm oil container), wash thoroughly, bleach in a mild solution, rinse, and then bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I never thought I would be baking rocks. Fluorescent pink rocks at that.

In the end , Moe is is now happy and swimming along in his freshly cleaned tank. All chemicals are balanced, levels are correct, and I am relieved. We even got into the whole "redecorating thing" and bought him a background picture for his aquarium. Now he has a star fish with google eyes staring at him all of the time. Life is good for Moe Moe.

And in case you are wondering, baking fish rocks, smell like strawberries- don't ask me why but it is true.

Making Do Monday- What happens when you spend too much time on the internet

Treasury West was about to open on Etsy. I had a poster sketch ready. The green beans were boiling along- minding their own business. Treasury West was getting close. Uh, Oh, I need to take the cake out of the oven. Done. Cake made it. Green beans died. I missed Treasury West. Oh well. This is what I was left with.

I didn't have any SOS pads or other type of scrubbing pads. What did I do? I grabbed a wad of aluminum foil. I made do with what I had. I scrubbed and scrubbed. (Don't do this unless you have a rough finished stainless steel pot.)

Poor aluminum foil......

This is what I was left with. Now, the automatic dishwasher will take care of the rest.

Can you tell that I have done this before?

The Real Meaning Of Easter- (Not just an egg hunting day)

Calvary

Usually holidays slip up on me when it comes to blogging about them. This time, Easter didn't. I wanted to share with you the real meaning of Easter in case you didn't know it or maybe you forgot.


In a typical kid's eyes, Easter brings about thoughts of Easter bunnies, ducks, eggs, a delicious baked ham, and candy- lots of candy. These things are great (especially the chocolate bunnies) but we tend to forget why we celebrate Easter in the first place.

Being a Christian holiday from the beginning, Easter is the day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being hung on a cross to die for our sins. I believe that most importantly, Easter reminds us of the sacrifice that Jesus gave; so that we might have eternal life.

I'm not a theologian, and will not give the entire story the justice it deserves, so you can read the story in the Bible for yourself. Head on over to the Book of Mathew chapter 27 and you can educate yourself fairly quickly.

As for today, I plan to spend the day with my family. We are going to hunt Easter eggs, eat ham, and hopefully, I can grab a spare chocolate bunny or two (or three or four....). Most importantly, I am going to remind them all of why we celebrate Easter and what it should mean to them.

An Oops at Minnie Maes.....

My latest accordion style coupon or money organizer

My "oopsie, boo boo" that occurred

I loved the fabric that this coupon holder is made of from the moment I saw it. I had high expectations for it's future.... All was going well until I finished it. I have this little habit of ironing things when I finish them so they look all pretty for their photo shoot. Well, I had the iron turned up a little too high..... the rest is history.

Nothing is wrong with this little guy except that a random daisy or two has a fusible webbing stain here and there. In this case, the white daisy petals have random black marks on them. Not burn marks, just overheated fusible webbing marks here and there. Structure wise, the coupon holder is fine. "Looky" wise, some people might not even notice.

The moral of the story is.....

I learned that fusible webbing can be evil when over heated. It tries to secrete it's "goo" to the wrong side of the fabric. Lesson learned. I have to pick up and move on....

If you are interested, this guy is reduced in my shop, MinnieMaes.

(If no one snags it, I'm gonna keep it for myself.....)

Friday Fill Ins

Sometimes I just don't have anything to say. Sometimes I do. For those times that I am at a loss for words, I like to visit Friday Fill-Ins.

Visit Friday Fill-Ins if you would like to fill in your own.

1. Anonymous...good deed.

2. A good bucket is an asset to any household.

3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, you will not last long and will be out of my life- at least for awhile until I have time to get over this last go-round.

4. Green leaves on the trees is what I look forward to most about Spring.

5. Who needs therapy when there is laughter.

6. Chocolate (in any form or fashion for this mama) MUST go into the Easter Basket!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having my grocery shopping done and over with, tomorrow my plans include getting my fish aquarium water tested at PetSmart and Sunday, I want to throw a party together at the last minute (something I am known to do often- very often)!

Salmonella + Dirt + Seeds + Cold Frame

My Cold Frame

Last week, we got a visit from my brother. He said that he had been busy making cold frames. He also informed me that he made me one too and it was in his car! Woo Hoo, free cold frame, free eggs, and free dirt! (So far, all I have invested in the garden is my seed purchase)!

If you have no idea what a cold frame is, a small enclosure that protects young seedlings from cold temperatures and usually has a glass or plastic cover. You didn't really think I would keep 60 egg shells filled with dirt inside my house did you? If you really want a cold frame education, you can click on over to Wikipedia for the whole scoop.

I have since added a black garbage bag to the bottom floor of the cold frame. This is day 3 of my seeds being planted. We'll see what happens......

Christmas In ..... April?

My New Christmas Ornament and my prize for winning a blog contest!!!

Ellemar's Abstract Red Miniature Vase that I think is just gorgeous! Go take a look at all of the other pretty pieces Ellemar has to offer.

Smokey Mountain's Cupids Spell Glycerin Soap looks like you could just take a bite right out of it! Make sure and take a look at all of her other great products.

A little bit of Christmas has come early for me this year! I won a blog contest hosted by a fellow SHE team member (Schooling at Home Etsians), Smokey Mountain Scents.

Smokey Mountain makes delicious looking bath and body products that make you want to eat some of her soaps! (although I wouldn't advise eating soap!)


Smokey Mountain Scents was giving away a ceramic Christmas ornament donated by Ellemar Designs (also a fellow SHE team member). Ellemar specializes in beautiful one of a kind ceramic pieces and sells her products on Etsy.

I've always been interested in ceramics but never got to pursue ceramics except in middle school (that's what we call it in the south- middle school- you might call it 2ndary school or junior high). Anyway, I got to design a vase and fire it in the kiln at school. What I got was a weird, strangely shaped thing that resembled a large hat. The kind of hat that a large, deformed teddy bear could wear. Enough about me!

I think I will let the experts do what they do best.

Make sure and visit Ellemar Designs and Smokey Mountain Scents when you get a chance and I bet you will find something you love!

Special thanks to Smokey Mountain and Ellemar for allowing me to enter and win my beautiful Christmas ornament...