Prayer Request

I won't be posting for a while. I just can't seem to put words together or try to be clever.  My sweet friend Suzanne posted this a couple of days ago.  She has been so open on her blog about her son's illness and his family's struggles with it. Their faith in God's timing is such a testimony to all.

I wanted to ask all of you to pray for this wonderful family as they go through tragic times.

Also read here about how to donate to ALS and get a chance to win a beautiful quilt.

I will still be reading all of your blogs and keeping up and when I feel inspired again will come back to post.

Thanks to all of you for prayers and love sent to Jeff and his family.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I drove down to Long Beach last night to spend the rest of the week with Mr. SS and our #1 son, Scott. They are still working on the remodel for my friend's cousin.

After dinner tonight we decided to take a drive and show Scott some of the places that hold memories for us from our childhood. He was probably bored silly, but we sure had fun.

Remember this post when I told the story of how Mr. SS and I went steady in elementary school.

Well, this is that school. It was Sutter Elementary when we went there and now it is an acadamy of some kind, so I couldn't get a close-up of the front like I wanted as the street was blocked off.

The next one is of Hughes Jr. High where I attended school.  Mr. SS went to a different Jr. High, but he said his practices for his first Little League team was on the field here. I didn't know that.

We didn't drive by our High Schools because they had done that the night before, so no pictures of those.

Next we drove by the house I lived in when I was in Jr. and Sr. High.

What a surprise to see that it is now a two story house. Doesn't fit very well in the neighborhood, and don't know if I would have recognized it if I didn't remember the address.  I learned how to drive in that driveway. It used to have the strip of grass up the middle and a flower bed with bushes on both sides. We had a Ford Fairlane and my Dad made me backup and pull forward until I learned to stay on the cement and not touch a bush.

 

I really wanted to show Scott where we lived when we brought him home from the hospital.

Back then you stayed in the hospital for 3 days after the baby was born.  I wanted the whole place painted and cleaned before I would bring my new baby boy there. My sweet Mr. SS got his first inkling of  what it was going to be like from then on. Even back then, we were painting and refinishing furniture and homes. He painted the whole two bedroom duplex including doors and trim in 3 days.

Here's the front.

 

Here's the back yard. I got out of the car to get this next one in an alley and stuck my head around the gate.

I really wanted this shot because I have a picture of Scott in his walker or on a blanket in this little yard..

This place and the next two were in what is considered North Long Beach. It wasn't the best part of town when we lived here, but was okay. Now it is a lot more run down and really not a good place to be out taking pictures, if you know what I mean. We were honked at if we slowed down and definetly got a few stares. But you know I had to get these pictures.

Right across the street from this duplex is the trailer park I lived in off and on while in elementary school.

Not far from here was our very first apartment, so off we went to find it.

How can I remember these addresses when I can't remember where I put my glasses or keys??

18 Morningside. I loved having that for our first address. It sounded so fresh and sweet, just like being newlyweds.

 

Well, not so sweet now, but you can see the number and the words Morningsi  Apts. So what if the de is missing, which my smart-alec son pointed out....and not fenced when we lived there or bars on the windows and doors either.  Such are the signs of change.

Okay on to the last place we lived in Long Beach before making Bakersfield our home.

Our door was at the top of the stairs and to the left.  This is where we lived when our second son, Eric was born.  It is also where our "Corvair Monza" was stolen from the street in front. Okay, maybe even back then it wasn't such a great neighborhood.

I'm sitting here wishing there was something I could add or post to make this a little more exciting for those who got through the whole thing. I apologize for being a little indulgent by going on this Sentimental Journey.

Tomorrow, I go to Aunt Fanny's for a little while. Maybe I will find some fun things there to take pictures of to post.

P.S.

I just remembered...

I do have something exciting to add to make it worth reading to the end of this post. My sweet friend Marcia

is having a giveaway. It is a $50.00 gift certificate from CSN. Click on her name and hurry over to her blog, leave a comment and learn about this great giveaway.

Whew! I Made It.

Just by the hair of my chinny....whoops don't want to go there.

Back to school dresses and top were done, freshly pressed and hanging in the car as we pulled up for dinner at my son's house.

We were met by 3 screaming girls. Of course Papaw teased them and told them their clothes didn't get done...Ha!!  As if...they knew better.  Mamaw would not dare show up the night before the 1st day of school with out their new clothes.

I was planning on them putting them on after dinner and baths.  Then I would get my pictures and go home. But before I even sat down they had gone and changed.

Here they are.

Camy on the left, Drew in the middle an Lexi on the right.

Camy (Don' know why this one is so dark)

Notice she is holding the purse she got from me for Christmas

She says it matches.

This Peasant dress pattern was all one fabric, but I always like a little mix and match, so she picked out the little plaid for the accents. (I put the elastic casings on the outside instead of the inside)

Lexi

I added a ruffle to the bottom with the coordinating fabric. It was just so plain without it. Girls just love to have something to twirl in.

Drew

Front detail. The sleeve bands and the little ruffle that stands up just

made this so cute.

Back detail. Gotta have a bow in the back for this girl.

Again, all three.

Of course the other three had to get in on the camera action too. Although I took over 30 pictures tonight, I'll be kind and only post a few more.

Jack, with his strongman ?? pose.

Brooke has to do everything big brother does. Her strongman(woman...girl??) pose

And then there is baby Emmy who at five 1/2 months, looks like she hasn't been getting enough to eat.

That's what mama's milk does for you. LOL

Oh, and you can't see them, but she is trying to show off two bottom teeth.

Okay, I promise....just a few more.

That's all folks. Gotta get to bed so I can get Mr. SS up at 4:00am and off to Long Beach in the morning.

I won't be going until Wednesday and will be staying until Saturday.  My friend Ellen's shop (Aunt Fanny's) will be having their fall open house on Saturday and I will be helping with that and helping with a painting technique demo. (Remember when I went to the class in Clovis to learn this)

Hoping to have a couple of Home Dec projects I finished to show you next, along with a couple of machine embroidery projects.

Back to School

When I went to school (I know that was a loooong time ago), I always wanted something new to wear the first day of school. Last year, I decided to make some of my granddaughters a cute flirty skirt to wear back the the first day.  They loved them.

So, a few weeks ago, while in Strawberry Patches, my friend Suzanne gave me this book to "look over",

and I got inspired to make a Peasant top for Drew.

This is the most wonderful book. Suzanne knew I would love it. I read a lot (mostly fiction), but this was my reading material for 2 days as I read it from cover to cover.

Drew (who is 10) saw it and oh'd and aw'd over the clothes in it just as I did.

She picked just the Peasant top I had hoped to make her and I took her to Strawberry Patches to pick out fabric.

This is the pattern we both decided on.

Here's the fabric. There are 3 fabrics. One for the bodice, one for the bottom and one for the ruffles, trim on the sleeves and the tie. It isn't just your basic peasnet top, but the attention to detail is what makes it special and right up my "alley"

There is a  pattern for a basic skirt (front cover), a dress, a top and a jacket.  Then dozens of ways to make them different. The book is spiral bound so it is easy to use.

Can you tell I love it. My friend, Suzanne knows me so well. She knew I would have to own this book.

Wish I could make every thing in it.

I'm working on Drew's top tonight and the instructions seem to be well written and easy to understand

Of course Drew's two younger sisters wanted me to make them something too.  They decided on a peasant dress. I found a basic one on line from Sis Boom and will embelish it with coordinating fabrics.

This is what they chose.

Lexi's fabrics. She wanted polka dots

Camy's fabrics. She wanted pink and purple.

They really did pick their own with a little direction. Thanks Suzanne for your patience and help.

They all love going to Strawberry Patches. I know it is partly because of my love for the place, but Drew would stay there forever and Lexi and Cami got so excited when we pulled up in front.

It just does my heart good to see how excited they get.

These have to be done by Sunday as school starts Monday. Sooooo...what am I doing here.

Will post pictures Sunday night of them finished.

Oh, yes I will!!!

My Favorite Fruit??

I had to take my "baby" (Bernina)to Strawberry Patches for a little repair work.  I feel like one hand is missing without her.

But I was quickly cheered up when a favorite customer Marie, showed up carrying a box of these beauties.  I always enjoyed Marie when I worked there and she would come in to chat and shop. She is the sweetest....and often brings in treats like these.

Suzanne says I shamed her into giving me these, but she would have shared anyway.  That's just the way she is.

Aaaanyway...

I plopped these babies into a collander in my prep sink, and washed them.

One was already split and I just had to grab the salt shaker and eat it leaning over the sink.

That's my favorite way to eat a home grown tomatoe. It has to be room temperature too. The flavor just oozes out.  Yummmy!!

Thanks, Marie and Suzanne.

The question....is a tomato  a vegetable or a fruit? Is it spelled with an "e" at the end? Is it pronounced tomatoe or tomahtoe?

All considered, eaten this way, it is a favorite of mine.

Summer Cookin'

As I said in my last post, I am in a Long Beach, Ca. with my oldest son and Mr. SS., as they are doing an addition and remodel of a friends kitchen. We are staying in an old trailer park in our RV.  My son Scott is really good at BBQ, so Monday night, I marinated some pork chops and he BBQ'd them while I fixed one of my favorite summer veggies....Zuccini.

I started fixing zuccini this way when my boys were growing up. Veggies went down a little easier with either Ranch Dressing or Salsa ( or so my boys told me). My middle son Eric,still claims the only food I cooked that he liked growing up was tacos.  One night, I fixed zuccini and he poured on the salsa and ate it.

This is how I have always made zuccini since. It helps that I have more fresh baby zuccini from Avila Barn like those I bought at the Farmers Market in Arroyo Grande.

Start with the zuccini, a fresh clove of garlic, green onions and salsa (If I don't have homemade, my favorite is Santa Barbara Salsa found in the deli section of your grocery store.

Slice the zuccini (1/4" or smaller slices), chop the green onions and garlic.

Saute the veggies in a little olive oil (or use cooking spray) tossing until you see a little brown on the zucinni.

Add about 1/3 cup salsa.

Stir, cover and simmer until the zucinni just starts to turn translucent (don't overcook)

Add salt and pepper to taste (remember salsa usually has salt in it already).

Serve and enjoy!!

A little funny story to leave you with:
We always have applesauce with porkchops because of a Brady Bunch episode ( I know, you have to be of a certain age to know who the Brady Bunch are) where one of the boys says "Pork chops and applesauce" when they are having dinner. My boys always say that in the same way when we have pork chops.
Anyway... the funny part is, even though I wore my boys out on applesause, Mr. SS still  loves his applesauce and loves it with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on it (liberally)
After eating most of it, he said, "Taste this applesauce, it tastes salty"  I did and ran into the trailer and tasted the mixture I had made earlier to sprinkle on his applesauce....ugh....salty.
To conserve space, I often put things in ziplocs to bring in the trailer.  I had grabbed one of these thinking it was sugar and added cinnamon. (So proud that even camping, I would have applesauce like he likes it)
You guessed it, didn't you...note to self...always mark those ziplocs.

One of the reasons I love my Mr. SS so much is that  he will eat almost anything I make. I am a pretty good cook, but I still have those "Why did I make this" moments and he is always a good sport and tries to eat it.
Even "salty" applesauce.

Lazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Last week was a blur of travel, fun and grandkids.  I left off my last post with getting ready to head to Avila beach with my youngest son, his six kids and 3 more of the grandkids. My mission for the summer has been to have as much fun with my grandkids as I can and then fall face first into bed and get up and do it all over again.

It was windy and cold, but sunny. I love the beach no matter what (have I told you how much I love the beach?) The kids don't care either,  so we did all the things you do when you go to the beach.

There was swimming (the big kids) wading (the little kids) and watching (the really big kids)

Getting buried in the sand

Building sand castles (or just digging in the sand)

Resting

Soaking up some sun

That's me off to the left wiggling my toes in the sand...really.

It finally got too windy and cold for everyone (except me), and we left the beach  and stopped by Avila barn for ice cream (yes, all those freezing kids and adults wanted ice cream). We bought fresh vegetables and fruit for dinner, visited all the animals and headed back to Santa Maria to our campsite.

Thanks to Mr. SS for the beach pictures. I just wanted to sit and enjoy.

We did the camping thing that night including a story telling time around the campfire and  of course, roasting marshmallows.

The next morning we were off to stop at the outlet mall for back to school clothes and shoes.

We ate dinner in the parking lot and headed home'

Another night of falling face first into bed.

It was ONLY Tuesday.

Wednesday and Friday I watched the six grandkids for 12 hrs. as nurse mommy had to work a couple of days ( she usually works nights).

Have you figured out why I have been missing in blogland for a week. But as I have said many times before. I love every minute of time I have with my grandkids.

It is amazing how good my bed feels at the end of the day.

This week, I am in Long Beach with my husband and son who are working here.  Yesterday, I relaxed, read, sewed and cooked.  Today I spent the day with my friend who has Aunt Fanny's Emporium that I showed you here.

Tomorrow I'm sewing all day!!

Will show off what I worked on and a recipe on Thursday or Friday. We are here for the whole week in our RV.

Opps!!

So sorry I didn't get here to post the giveaway winner yesterday as promised. Packing, traveling, setting up camp, dinner, minature golf, go-carting (yes, and seeing me get out of that thing wasn't a pretty picture) campfire stories and me falling face first into bed....Hope you will forgive me.

Before Mr. SS  put on his Avila Beach golf hat this morning and left for the golf course, we put in about 49 slips of paper and he drew

Marcia of BlessedMom's Simple Home.
Congratulations, Marcia!!

All of you should pop over and visit Marcia. Hers is one of the first blogs I followed. She's a Mom with 6 kids and has a really sweet blog.

Remember, I said there were a few things inside the tote.

Two of my favorite magazines

A really wonderful smelling bar of soap ( but the box with the Eifel Tower is what got me),a magnetic "to do" list notepad, a vintage hankie, a sparklely brooch (not vintage, but pretty), three shabby roses that came from Strawberry Patches. (I plan on showing you some ways to use those later. Or go here and see what Suzanne has done and order some now.

And my personal favorite, this little key holder that just hooks over the side of your purse so you can always find your keys

Thanks for all your comments and support. I love visiting all of you, made so many new friends, renewed an old friendship, learned so much, gotten to see places and things I would never have otherwise, been inspired by all of you,

and just in general had fun.  I am looking forward to the next 100 and my head spins, always looking at things from a "post" viewpoint.

Now, I'm off to fix breakfast and head for Avila Beach to wiggle my toes in the sand and get those same toes wet, playing in the water with 9 of the best grandkids a "Mamaw" could have.

Madi, if you read this....Mamaw misses you!!