Cuteness- pure and simple- Oh, and a few bugs too...

Yeah, you know that kind of cuteness. The puppy kind. That puppy breath, puppy feet smell cuteness...... Cuteness pure and simple.

This is "Jipped". He belongs to our former neighbor. He brought him over to show the kids. They ate him all up. He said that he was named "Jipped" because they were promised a female pup and when they got him, they figured out he was a boy so they got, "jipped".

Jipped was so sleepy- you know being cute is very tiring. He took a nap in the backyard. The kids had a hard time leaving him alone because he was just too cute and they wanted "awake" cuteness- not "asleep" cuteness.



Since Jipped wasn't around later that day, Roly Poly girl spent some time with this caterpillar for awhile. I've been around these guys all my life and for the first time, one bit me. Yes, it sank it's little fangs right into my arm. Let's just say that I'm not picking these guys up again. You learn something every day I guess.


This beauty was captured by another neighbor. Apparently he was injured by a passing car. We took his picture and then left him under a tree with hopes he would survive. Who knows if he made it or not- we had a nasty little hail storm- (yet again)- the next day. That's nature though. As much as it hurts us, we have to let nature take it's course sometimes.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. "
............................The Pledge of Allegiance


My blog is not a political blog. It was never intended to be. My blog is just a little peak into life- in my world. There are just some things that bother me in my little world nowadays. I've always tried to bring a little silliness into my posts, because, like I often say, life is just too serious already.

I do want to make it clear that I am an American. I was born in America. America was formed under certain principles and because of those principles, America is a great country. There are some in this country that want to erase our history and make our America something else.

I am who I am, America is what it is. You can try to change a person or thing but deep down, to the foundation, a person or thing is just, simply, what it is and you can't change "grass roots".

Please don't let your children forget how America was formed. Please don't let yourself become biased by the opinions of people who are only out to make a dollar or to gain "power" over others. Be an American. Be strong. Stand up for what you believe in...... It's our right as an American.

A Few New Items at Minnie Maes and a Bear in the Works...

Since I made my Bible carrier last week, I stumbled upon the fact that some people like to carry their latest paperback book with them where ever they go. I never thought of this because I guess, I've just never had the time to enjoy a good book at my leisure. I'm the type that hovers, humpbacked over a book, with a maddening look in my eye, and feverishly reading as fast as possible. Why? Because I'm a mom and moms just don't get to read books at leisure. The are interrupted constantly. It's a fact of nature. So, you see, that's why I was quite surprised to the fact that I had lost sight of what was going on around me. Not everyone spends their free time cleaning house, cooking, or figuring out which kiddo went where. Some people sit, relax, and actually consume a book. People actually take books with them to the park, beach, or even the coffee house. Where have I been?!?


I found this fabric on clearance last month and had no idea what it would become until I pictured someone holding it while sitting on a bench underneath a weeping willow tree at the park. It reeked of personality and besides that, it's just plain, cute.


Here is the paperback carrier opened with a Nancy Drew book inside. (Yeah, I have one - make that two- girls that like Nancy Drew). A book carrier comes in handy, not only because you can "carry" your book, but also you can have some privacy. No one will ever suspect that that girl in the park, wearing that pink chiffon dress is reading the latest issue of "Grub worms and Other Fishing Bait"


This is the other paperback carrier that I made from the material left over from my Bible carrier. It's cute, it doesn't call a lot of attention to itself. I think it's practical- more my speed I guess.

This is what it looks like opened and with a book inserted. The inside is a little more colorful than the outside. Hey, kind of like me :)

This is Bessie Pearl the teddy bear. She is, in the making, so to speak. Poor girl, I had just about finished her and ran out of stuffing for her tummy area. So, right now, she's a little on the skinny side. When she is finished, I'm planning on listing her in the South Carolina Etsy Street Team's shop.

I'll be sure to let you all know Bessie Pearl is celebrating her official birthday and when I actually find a copy of Grub Worms and other Fishing Bait to pass on to that girl in the pink chiffon dress......

More Yard Critters and a Marble Treasure

Mr. Dragonfly

Somehow or another, we went from the dead of winter to early summer. What happened to spring? I'm not complaining too much since it's not blazing hot, but some days, it's in the mid 80's already! Anyway, with the warmer weather, we find ourselves outdoors a little more than we had been. Roly Poly girl is still young enough to find nature amazingly interesting so I find myself taking full advantage of these little learning opportunities.

Yes, Roly Poly girl was at it again. She had to lift up the mat in front of the basement door to find her little crustacean friends hiding below.

Mr. Bumble Bee

This little guy strikes fear in one of my kiddos heart the minute she sees (or hears) him. Why, I don't know for sure but I would suspect it is due to the fact that my daughter managed to step (yes, I said step) into a yellow jacket nest when she was a very little girl. She feels the way I do about snakes (you know, a good snake is a dead snake) but her little saying would be; a good bee is a dead bee. Maybe we both will get over our little fears one of these days...

Mr. HoneyBee- Stay away from Monsanto Corn!!!!

Speaking of bees, I was thrilled to see Mr. HoneyBee. You just don't see these guys much when someone has planted that evil, genetically modified corn in the area. You might want to get educated on "Frankencorn" if you haven't heard about it already. You can start at Mother Earth News Magazine's site and read their recent article or head on over to one of a gazillion web sites dedicated to let the public know what Monsanto is doing to our food supply.

Ok, I'm off of my pure food high horse now- back to the program......

We have an over abundance of robins in our backyard. That's not a problem. They supply us with hours of endless amusement. The other woodland creatures in our backyard (the squirrel family) do not approve of the flock of robins so, they are constantly waging war on the birds. It is quite hilarious to see either birds jumping straight up into the air after a squirrel sneaks up behind them, or squirrels running around confused after being dive bombed. It's a win- win for us- hey, it's free entertainment!

Stay tuned, I've been trying to get a photo of the squirrel family but they are photo shy. One of these days I'll try to share the squirrel family with you. Their three babies are sooo cute so it will be worth it to see them.

A Roly Poly Girl treasure.....

With the general population of children in the neighborhood being male, there are a lot of boy-related games that are taking place at any given time somewhere around the house. One of those boy-related activities is marble shooting. No, not the old fashioned kind of marble shooting- the sling shot kind of marble shooting.

What's so good about boys shooting marbles in slingshots? Well, little girls enjoy spending hours looking for marbles that boys shot out of slingshots. Before it's over, the girls have more marbles than the boys!

Roly Poly Girl and I like to leisurely walk around in the backyard and nearby gravel to look for long lost marbles. (It's like treasure hunting...) On this particular day that I snapped this photo, we found 3 of them. The best time to go marble hunting is in mid day, the day after a rain storm. Once, we found 4 at once- that's a good haul if I do say so myself!

The week in photos....The Vampire Bunny, UFO's, and some new sewing projects

Vampire Bunny

We had a really great Easter and our Easter dinner and egg hunt were lots of fun ( I ate waaaayyyyy too much) . This cute bunny bread is from a recipe that I had in an old Quick Cooking Magazine from years ago. I misplaced my magazine but I found the link on Taste of Home's site. The link to the recipe for the bunny bread pictured above can be found here. It's super easy but next year I think I'll scale the recipe down to just one batch of bread dough so I'll have more room for the veggies around Mr. Bunny.


I had a few minutes a couple of days before Easter (and some spare cloth scraps) and whipped up this little pocket tissue holder from a pattern that I found on the internet. (Sorry, I'd share the link but I had sewn the holder while the computer was on and later turned the computer off for the day without bookmarking the site- I didn't realize that until later the next day- argh!) Maybe I'll run up on that pattern again.

The only problem is that I don't have a pack of tissues to use inside- so I'll just have to wait until I can remember to buy a pack to see if they actually fit inside! I've got some ideas to make my own pattern with "quilting" and other strange designs that are cooking in my brain. It just might take me awhile to turn those ideas into reality! ....isn't that always the way it goes..... plenty of ideas, just no time to make them come to pass....

I'm keeping this one for myself....

I also found this really cool Bible carrier pattern and knew right away that I had just the right fabric for the job (hence the scraps that went into the tissue holder above). My Bible is a little too small for it but, this was my test model just to see if I could make one. I don't use other people's patterns for anything I sell in my Etsy shop so I'll have to come up with one myself soon as I really enjoyed sewing this one up. I'm planning on changing the tie strings to a buckle type closure with a large button, adding a key ring with a clasp (for holding car keys), and a cell phone pocket. The possibilities are endless as to what they could look like. They could even be made from holiday type fabrics. Hey, I would have used an Easter Bible cover if I had one. Look out, I'd imagine I'll have some interesting choices come Christmas time!

A UFO

I thought I'd share a picture that one of the younger kiddos at our egg hunt took. I have no idea which one did, but they managed to get this photo of a UFO in mid flight in the backyard. (See it? Look near the top center of the photo- it's long and pinky looking) Awe, I know what it is I just thought it was funny that they managed to get a picture of it. I don't know the technical word for the UFO but it is part of a Ladder Ball yard game. Let's just say that these UFO's were flying back and forth a lot that day. No one got beaned in the head by one believe it or not!

Love you Heather... (Now your hurt boo boo is all over the internet...)

We did have one casualty though- well, technically 2-1/2 casualties on Easter Sunday. One kiddo tripped and hurt her toe when she fell and the bandaged toe in the photo above was cut by the teeniest, tiniest, piece of glass. What was the 1/2 casualty you say? I say 1/2 because it wasn't until the next day that the casualty fully blossomed into a full blown case of poison ivy on Go Cart Boy. ( I guess you could say 1/2 since the ivy claimed it's victim on Easter but didn't show up until the next day.)

So how did your week go?

Happy Easter

Leave it to Family to Prank You Good....

I guess what comes around goes around. I logged into Farmville (on Facebook) this morning and discovered that you could "TP" someone's barn for April Fool's Day. I wasted no time in clicking on over to my sister's farm (while simultaneously making a deep, evil, "he, he, he" laugh).

Later this morning, I was blessed with the incident shown above in the photo. Was I mad? Naaahhhh. It's all fun. I love having my barn toilet papered. I might just leave it that way too.... thanks Janette!

Happy Birthday to My April Fool

Orion's Stardust

Born April 1, 1978
(That's 32 years ago in case you didn't add it up)

....and yes, he has acted the part as long as I've known him.......