A Big Sigh of Relief...

Yes, Christmas is over!
I always take a deep breath and say 'thank you'.  Not that Christmas was stressful this year.  I can say it was actually fun and very laid back.

Brad did most of the decorating.  Since we are still adjusting to the move, we only put up the little twig tree instead of the big ones.  Between our two families we have lots of vintage decorations that we've inherited or picked up at flea markets.

 

Kami and I started baking two weeks ago.  We planned on making several kinds of cookies but only got as far as the sand tarts.

Brad loves Chex mix so we made a whopin' big batch.  We baked it slowly in the oven for two hours, stirring every fifteen minutes like our recipe said.  It was yummy!

Later I was reading recipes on line and found a recipe for Chex mix in the microwave.  DUH!!!  Am I behind the times???  It takes less than ten minutes!  We had to make some more to try it out.

A tradition in Kami's family is potato candy.  We made some of that, too.

 By Christmas Eve there wasn't a crumb of any of these goodies left.  We had to buy extra cookies.

We open our gifts on Christmas Eve.  Deiter is checking to see if there is anything exciting for him.

And strange gifts they were!  No lovely pieces of jewelry, no fancy new electronics, not even any new clothing. 

Would you believe a new used tire for Brad's mower, complete with a bit of grease around the hole for the axle?  And a box for Reggie

A can of paint for Kami.  And now the box belongs to Penny!

Oh no!  Did he find a stray Kitty Treat???  I must check this out!  Can you see Isabel's eyes shining in the dark?

A perfect leap out of the box!

Notice how the heads on the humans have been cut off the picture.  It's all about the kitties!

Deiter loves rolling in the paper.   Boxes and wrapping are the best kind of kitty gifts.  Along with a few Kitty Treats.

 

After the gifts we had a snack fest.   With wings, cheese ball and crackers, bacon wrapped dates,  meatballs, veggie tray and cheesecake.

Deiter took a nap.

Christmas Day we enjoyed crablegs.  Thought I should get some human in the pictures.  Zip and Kami chowing down on crab.

Brad and Reggie.  Hmmmmm, that melted butter looks really good!  I hope I get some on my pieces of crab.

We had a really enjoyable Christmas.  I am so glad to have Brad and Kami living with us.

Daddy and Deiter keep the home fires burning.
Zip calls Deiter his little Fire Dog.  He is white with black spots like a dalmatian.  And if Zip is at the stove tending the fire, Deiter is sitting by his side.

After all the excitement, it's also good to have a little quiet time alone to contemplate.

Hope your holidays were the best ever!
Thanks for stopping by.
See you in the new year!

Freebies

Just a quick post to mention that I am giving away a hundred+ molds for making reproductions of antique porcelain dolls.
There are many boxes of molds in my basement that I do not want to go through and take the time to inventory.
They are dusty and need cleaning, BUT
THEY ARE FREE for anyone who wants to come with a truck and haul them away.
You will have to load them your self, so make sure someone with muscle comes along.
If interested, please email me at patandzip@hotmail.com
Please put molds in the subject line!

I also have a floor model kiln that I used to fire the porcelain that I'm giving away.  Also heavy and will need to be hauled in a truck and carried out by two strong people.

I really hope someone would enjoy these supplies.

If this isn't of interest, wait a month or two and there will probably be more crafting equipment that I'll be needing to unload.

It's All Finished!...exept for organizing...

The addition is officially finished!

Thanks to our wonderful contractor, Paul of Z and E Construction, the project was completed three weeks ahead of the proposed date.  We are so pleased with the work he did!  He gave us estimates and did not go over budget.  How great is that?!
There is still a lot of work on our part that needs to be done, like organizing the combining of two households.  Two households of hoarders, that is.
The kids have moved in with all their stuff.  Lots of stuff.

I haven't included any interior shots yet because we are still arranging furniture and trying to decorate.  The pale green cupboard has just been painted and will go in the bathroom.  When I took this picture, the Hoosier style cupboard was awaiting it's coat of olive green paint.  I've since finished it and put it in the laundry room/pantry.

Zip's room is mostly finished except for the hanging of pictures and his mounted fish.  Mine still needs work, especially curtains.

The kitties are adjusting well to all the extra family members.  Though this past week we thought we were going to lose our dear older girl, Tipper.  She got some kind of horrible intestinal illness and was unable to eat or drink.  I couldn't even get her to take water by giving it in a syringe.  Thankfully the vet gave her medication, first something to settle her stomach and then an antibiotic and an appetite stimulant.  She made an amazing recovery.  We are so happy she is still with us.

Deiter has been a source of comfort through all the stress of building and moving.  He is such a wonderful even-tempered guy.  He brings me joy every single day.

 

Though he did say that if things didn't soon settle down he might be tempted so crawl into a priority

mail box and get sent off to where there's peace and quiet.

 

I just love his furry little white face!  I don't know what I would do without this darling boy.
Is there anything more amazingly beautiful than a cat's eye?

 Isabel is muttering to herself, 'oh Mom, give it a break!  I can't take much more of this!'

A few weeks ago we were driving in to Shippensburg and passed by this lovely log house that is being moved to another site.  Is this not amazing???  Last week there was an article in the paper about this house moving and it said that no truck pulled the bed that the house was resting on.  There was a motor that moved it that was remotely controlled.  Totally unbelievable! 

My new header picture was taken this past Sunday morning.  I want to get back to this church another Sunday and take better pictures.  There must have been at least fifty buggies parked around this small white church.  What a great congregation!  Seeing this makes me happy to live in rural PA.

Thanks for stopping by!
Hope to have some pictures of the insde of our addition next time.

Fall Already?

Waaah!
Where did the summer go?
I must say I loved this summer with only one week when the temperatures were in the 90's.  Mostly it has been pleasantly warm and sunny with a nice breeze blowing.  There were a few much-needed rainy days.  I can't remember a more enjoyable summer since I don't know when.

We've been busy painting in the addition.  WOW!  Brad and Kami have been life savers.  They are so good with the brushes and rollers that the basic wall and ceiling painting only took two day.

Brad is the king of the roller derby.

 Kami did all the trim work around the ceiling.

 Zip is revving up the reciprocating saw.
There are no pictures of me because I'm sitting on the sidelines supervising the action.
Well, not really.  I did do a little bit of the rollering but I just don't have the strength that I used to.

The job is finished!
 

 The colors look brighter than the picture.
 
This week the crew came and put the trim around the windows and doors, put locks on the French doors and installed the chimney for the wood stove in case we decide to install one.  No pictures of that yet.

Next either the flooring or the electric will be installed.  Then all that's left is the plumbing.

When we took a lunch break during the painting, we discovered this guy taking a stroll through the yard.  First turtle I've seen in our yard in several years.

This past weekend I noticed that little Miss Penny was in the catbox a lot more than normal.  I keep little styrofoam bowls handy in the bathroom so that I can take kitty urine samples when necessary.  Sure enough, she was peeing pink.  We called the vet and they were able to see her right away.  She has a recurring bladder problem when she gets stressed.  She didn't seem upset by the roadwork by our house and the work crews in the addition, but it must have affected her more than we realized.

When we got there the vet tech came out with a towel and put it over the cat carrier.  They are using 'comfort towels' to lower the stress levels of cats who come in for an exam.

It was pretty amazing!  She isn't a spazz or anything, but she does like to wander around the exam room and climb up on the shelving and hide.  This time we got her out of the carrier and put her on the towel and she lay there and purred.  She was relaxed and very cooperative all through the exam.  I was relaxed and happy too, even when I saw the bill!   It isn't supposed to work on humans, but I wonder...

The stuff they spray on the towel is called Feliway.  It mimics the pheromone that cats use to mark their favorite things.  You  who have cats know how they rub the side of their faces against things.  When they do that, they are leaving this certain scent that tells them that this is a good place or thing.

The brochure claims that Feliway will help reduce inappropriate scratching and spraying and helps reduce stress.  I don't know about the first two, but is sure did calm Penny while at the vets.

I bought a bottle for myself and Kami.  She used it on Ernie recently when an inspector came to their house to make an assessment in preparation for selling their place.  Ernie who usually races off to a hiding place as soon as someone comes to the door, remained laying on his 'comfort towel' right there in the living room.

We may have to buy this stuff by the gallon when they move here.

One last kitty thing.  A friend emailed this to me yesterday.
Was she trying to tell me something???

Thanks for stopping by!

The Quest (Lust) for Corn

 

Zip is a lover of corn.  It's his favorite vegetable.  You might say he's a corn-a-holic, the Corn Meister, a connoisseur of the cob, a corn wort.

The quest for fresh sweet corn starts sometime in late winter when Weis Market starts importing corn in the husk from SOMEWHERE.  Somewhere far  enough away that the corn has that held-in-refrigeration-for-who-knows-how-long taste.  Usually a disappointment, but we have to try it.  So we hold off for a week or two.  Then it's time to try again.  Eventually they get in one or two good batches.  But we keep buying.

Finally summer arrives and LOCAL corn is available.  Oh Glorious Day!!!
So we start making the rounds of the farm stands and markets.  Now where did we get that really good batch last year???  And what variety was it???  Bodacious, Incredible, Butter and Sugar, white, yellow, bicolor?

We begin to buy and try and buy some more until we have corn coming out of our ears (pun!). 
The trouble with corn is that it ages.  What was good one week will be probably be too old by next week.  But that doesn't always register with Mr. Corn.

The best way to not get snookered by aging corn is to pull the husk down a little way and LOOK at it.  Are the kernels large and waxy looking?  If so,  I don't want it.  But Zip hates to check the corn in front of the people selling it.  He says they disapprove.  It's embarrassing.  So I end up having recipes where I can hide inedible corn.  Soups, fritters, quesadillas, salsas.

But this week we were lucky and found the best corn of the season so far.  The farmer had the good sense to pick it while still young and tender.  Even I, who am usually to the point by now that I never want to see another ear of corn, loved this.

Zip wanted me to add that the name of this corn is 'Mariah', like that singer, only sweeter and more luscious.

 

 If you think humans are the only ones affected by this CORNINESS, you would be wrong.
 
Only minutes after Zip laid this bag on the table, The mania began.  I came into the kitchen and saw this.  Good grief!

 Keep plastic bags out of the reach of your children!

Let them dig in trash cans instead.

The kitties have this irresistible attraction to corn also.  They go crazy trying to get husks to chew on.  Unfortunately they barf the pieces all over the floor later.
Happiness is NO PICTURES!!!

OK, I think I've said enough on that subject.
Last week a spinning and weaving friend invited me and several like-minded women to a day of relaxation and chatting under the trees at her lovely 19th century farm house.  The weather was beautiful, the company was great, everyone had a nice time.

I took some dog hair to card, but never got it out of the basket.  As usual I was too busy talking.
Our hostess using her Canadian production wheel.  At least I think that's what it is.

Taking the spun yarn off the bobbin and putting it on the niddy noddy to be finished.

Spinning and knitting.

Their lovely vegetable garden and pond.  Oh no, I don't see a cornstalk anywhere!

Thanks for stopping by and putting up with my foolishness.
And go out and get yourself some really yummy corn-on-the-cob!

Just Peachy

This past weekend Hollabaugh's Orchard near Biglerville PA held their annual Peach Fest.

They featured alive band each day, lots of good food made with peaches, and a lovely selection of fruit and veggies for sale.

We went on Sunday to see a band called The Willys who were supposed to be bluegrass and classic rock.  They were heavier on the classic rock which was OK with me.  Zip kept mumbling that he thought he was going to be listening to bluegrass.

We had yummy fresh peach sundaes for lunch.  Somehow it got eaten before I even thought of taking a picture.

There were dozens of varieties of peaches to choose from.  These are the best of the crop.

And then here are the bargain bins where I usually get my peaches.  There were so many people gathered around filling their bags that I had no desire to fight for my fruit.  Zip and I decided to go back another day through the week to make our purchases.

The baked goods made with fresh peaches really looked yummy.  There again, we decided to wait because the checkout lines were a mile long.  I really hated to pass up the kettle corn.

I don't know how I managed to get a shot of some produce bins without people in the way.  They had some lovely yellow watermelons.

A visit to the orchard isn't complete without a view of the trees from which all these delicious peaches are harvested.   The trees in the foreground are apple and the ones up farther on the hill are the peaches.

On the home front, work has slowed down on the addition.  Or maybe the changes just aren't as dramatic.  The basic wiring and plumbing is done.

The drywall being unloaded.

 The French doors are installed.

 I don't know where along the walls we are going to have room for cupboards and dressers, there are so many electrical boxes all over the place.  Switch plates, thermostats, receptacles every six feet and the electric baseboard heat.  This is Zip's bedroom.

 This is the laundry/storage area.  We are keeping the original outside wall with the wood siding and painting it to match.

The drywall is now hung but still needs finishing.  The crew was supposed to come yesterday but didn't show up.  No sign of them today either.  Where are you, guys???

We are finally getting some much-needed rain.  It will be nice to see green grass instead of brown.
That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.