Fun times at October Afternoon

What a great bag of goodies!

Found a link about some times they were looking for packaging help on a blog - went on down with Scrapper Lady and we had fun! Yes, we did work, but look at the wonderful goody bag they sent us home with! Now to find some of these lines locally!

The Ducks are in the "House" :)

They're here

Jumbo Pekin Ducks, that is. Ds is pretty happy - he now has added some ducks to his menagerie. They will be sharing space with the chickens (boy are they looking cool these days) and bunnies until spring. It may seem a long way off, but it will take a while for him to determine exactly how he wants his animals to be kept. He is looking forward to adding his ewes soon.


The chickens are a type of bantam - not positive exactly what. They have downy type feathers and some regular ones - they are cool with their blue feet and feathers down their legs.





It will be interesting to see what types of eggs we end up with. The ducks are pretty young, but still bigger than the chickens!

Happy Hermit Day

First - something fun - some spooks from the haunted hayride - totally fun as always.

Now to regular stuff - Well - it is a day according to my web source! The internet allows anyone who truly wishes to live like a hermit to do so. Not my first choice, but hey - this is America, so if you want to - go ahead.

Speaking of America - yes, there is an election coming up (you would have to be a hermit with no internet access, tv or other media to not know this). I have some pretty strong opinions for McCain/Palin and will be voting their ticket. However, I also am publishing this here, on this seldom visited site as a kind of test. In our area, many Republican signs are destroyed on a routine basis. Why? We allow those not agreeing with us to put their signs up (though I think the maniquin representing the hanging of Sarah Palin is in extremely bad taste - wonder those same people would think if there was one of Barak Obama in the same manner?).

I don't like the thought of rebuilding this site, but figure I will if needed. Do I agree with McCain on everything - heck, no - (do I agree with dh on everything - heck no) but truthfully, the re-distribution of wealth scares me way more than McCain's policies. When did we stop being America? If anyone has read their history, they will know that this does not work. One of the best things about being an American is the right to try to succeed beyond our wildest dreams. We also have the right to fail. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are protected in our great Constitution, not guaranteed.

Who does the re-distribution hurt the most - the backbone of America - small businessmen and women. You know - those of us who still believe in the dream. We sink our blood, sweat, and tears into a new business - having several years of loosing money, now, as we turn the corner to become profitable, stable pillars in our communities, here comes a redistribution of wealth policy and all of our hard work will be destroyed by the government. The new policy - why work - let others do it for you? (note: latest I have heard/seen - looks like the redistribution/wealthy American level is decreasing - no longer 250K, now down to 150K. We all need to start seeing what is up - the economy is in tough shape and to put through all the new programs, the money will have to come from somewhere - even raising taxes on those "rich" - you know - the ones who worked hard for their funds - won't provide enough to cover proposed healthcare and education spending. The money will have to come from somewhere and it won't be from those who don't work for a living.)

I am just a regular mom out here - working hard with my husband to build a life for our family and maybe, just maybe, if we save and have a good year, we go out to dinner every so often and are able to take a nice vacation each year. These are some perks we enjoy by our labor. And our vacation (or camping trips) increase the bonds between family members, allow us to enjoy this great country, learn about different parts of the country and meet new people.

I will continue to enjoy this while I can (yes, I do know the economy is extremely tough right now, but the reasons all started before George Bush took over the White House and by the way - rather than rebates, gas prices dropping back down to around $2/gallon has helped our family budget more than anything else - hmm - which party is in the White House?), execute my voting rights, and continue to pray for our nation and its leaders.

Rambo is making friends

Well, no more escapades from Rambo - he really is a darling. My daughter has him running to the fence each time he sees her in order to get her to pick him some nice grass. Her dog Brigetta loves to help as well.

Rambo has arrived :)

In sheep form, that is. Ds brought a ram home last night. He is cute - 4 horns (Jacobs) and thinks he is all that. Our 2000# bull stood on one side of Rambo's pen and started bellering at the small ram (about 80#?). Well, Rambo wasn't standing for that, so he climbed up and over the pen, jumped towards the bull and started chasing him around the pasture! Oh boy - talk about a site! (No pics, were worried about animals getting hurt and all, but picture it in your mind - little brown ram - not even as high as the 2000+ pound bull's knees chasing him around a field - at this time -- absolutely hilarious!)

Well - we now have fencing that goes all the way to Rambo's pen ceiling - we don't want to chance him getting out again, not for the bull's protection, but for his own.

The story continues.

Rambo, noticing how much fun it was to chase this large bull, decided to go after the cows. This was still a lot of fun - now there are cows running, the ram following, and two teenage boys chasing the ram down, trying to catch him (dh and I had run errands). Plus our beagle decided that it would be fun to run after the group barking, so very helpful of him!

Well, Rambo then decided to chase calves. This was also fun until he decided to pick on Jerry (who, by the way, weighs in at about 450 pounds). Jerry was not amused, and Charolette, his mother, was even less amused. It was one thing for this little, pain of a ram to chase her, but going after her son was an entirely different matter. (Charolette is the cow at the top of the page)

Charolette immediately stops running, stands still, lowers her head, and Rambo attempts to run her down (yeah, right). He of course is stopped cold (even though the bull weighs more than Charolette, she goes around 1700 lbs). Rambo, with his never give up attitude, returns to his feet (Charolette hasn't moved at this point, just head down snorting at him - Jerry is in the rear looking like he is saying, "Go get 'im, Mom") puts his head down and takes off towards our dear Charolette.

Care to guess what happens next? Charolette, at the appropriate time, takes a single step forward, head down into the oncoming Rambo. Rambo, still thinking he is tough for about another second, butts heads with her as hard as he can, only now, 1700 pounds of force is returning towards him (slow, but nevertheless, on-coming). Rambo hits, goes flying head over heals backwards, rolling and bleating -- where did this vicious thing come from, finally rights himself, and runs to the side of his pen.

Oldest ds grabs one of Rambo's horns (Rambo still thinks he is being tough, but the boys are plenty able to control him at this point), and leads him back to his pen. Rambo did suffer a bloodied nose, but seems to be ok otherwise. No broken bones or anything, and Charolette, once the ram left her calf, returned to eating her hay. So ends another Saturday morning around our house.

Wonder what this afternoon will bring?

Using "Stuff"

Maybe I am the only one who does this (boy, I hope not); anyway, when you are done with a layout and everything has been put away, ever find a single brad or button or whatever?

I do - sometimes they get put away, other times they end up in this baby food jar I have on my table (I put some ribbon on to make it look more festive).

Well, I am hosting a grungeboard atc swap (2.5 x 3.5 artist trading cards). I listed on All Moments Remembered (site: http://allmomentsremembered.com/)as well as this new site I found (thanks jblaze!) called Swaps - I'm so addicted! (site: http://swaps.originalsbyoliveira.com/index.php).

Anyway - I was looking for a single way to do the ATC's, when I saw my little jar of "leftovers". My leftovers are taking almost the entire space in the jar these days, so I figured I would try some out (thinking I had more in my stash). Well, I played around with my first ATC - grungeboard base, alcohol inks, ribbons, staples, brads, etc., completed it and thought "Yeah, I figured out my swap!" No such luck :( I forgot that sometimes when I put things into my little leftover jar, that is what it actually is - leftover. Ok - so lets try some other ideas.

I tried the next atc - ok, but I knew I didn't have more of the same, so I made another - "you know what", I thought, I talk to myself a lot, "these look kind of fun, all being different." Sooooo, you guessed it, I am not making them all different. Some may be similar, but I was just having way too much fun making all of these unique ATC's. If you have joined my swaps - which one will you get? (pics coming soon to a blog near you :))

Ok - I am learning

Ds just informed me that I can just put my camera card into the computer slot and it will download - no need for cord!!!! So, here are some promised pics!

First - the pulpit is finished and traveled out to the church for ds's eagle project! Just some landscaping left at this point and he will be finished (with the project part)! The picture is of one of the boy scouts sanding the pulpit after getting it moved to the church. There are others in the picture sanding and adding sealer to benches.

Above are some layouts I worked on this weekend - I did some more, but kind of a lot of pics already.

This is an encouragement album. It started with Scrappingirish's (Happy Birthday to her!!) Inspirational theme 6x6 swap, I have added some verses and am now adding the fruits of the spirit. I have two pages completed (though I may add some more to both). The grapes are from a purple swap hosted by Fia - the paper is wonderful, I need to figure out where to get another sheet! (I am kind of stingy in using it because it is so lovely)

These are some items I have been working on with alcohol inks and experimenting. The plum is perfect for my Inspirational album. It is fun to play! This is an embellishment from a page - sorry the pic isn't very good - I am not good at closeups. Anyway - I used two different pp, a rub-on and skittles! (ok, I found out today that the kind I used are called dew drops, but I only know them by the skittle name)

Poisoned Blackberries Day??? We celebrated something else!

Wow - where did this one come from? I googled and found the following "In the 1700s blackberries were the cause of more deaths than any other form of fruit from a vine or patch. Since then, tens, if not pairs of people take this day to hunt for blackberries that can kill someone instantly when consumed."

Well that may be the day we found, but dd came up with a better one Barlow Girl Monday on Air 1!!! She was so thrilled to hear them - they are her favorite group. She has met them at an autograph signing - was even able to have them sign a fan decoration she had made for her room! Great day for her.

I had a great weekend at the crop - got some stuff done, some stuff progressing, and of course, bought some stuff (who can resist with a 50% off coupon?)

Also - working on my Faithbook layouts that came in Septembers kit - there are some beautiful papers. Will get more of those posted as well.

Pics coming tomorrow!

No new pics today (at least not yet). It is Friday! I am attending an all day crop tomorrow and need to prepare! I have one kit ready to go and that is it! (and really, I guess ready isn't the right word - I wanted to paint the chipboard before going - saw some cool ideas in the latest Creating Keepsakes - just in one of the ads. Gotta give it a shot!

Hopefully I will get more together and have lots of fun things to post come Monday! But first paper sorting, a quick trip to sharpen skates, pick up milk, find some pics, assemble kits (be creative in this time????), dinner (ok - ds is getting everything in the crock pot for me, so other than supervising him, he is 11, this is done), running to hockey practice, and get everything packed into the car. A pretty typical day. Oh yeah, we homeschool as well, so spelling tests, supervising, helping, teaching, etc too.

Have a great weekend!

National Comic Book Day!

Boy are my kids thrilled! Since we homeschool and incorporate some funky holidays in, they have all decided that comic book reading should be a subject today! they are in luck - i have some great comics from the Federal Reserve that cover money and banking, finance, and the gold standard. There is also the comic book Bible, comics relating to physics and then the standard GI Jo, Heathcliff, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes comics. (I didn't realize how many we had until today :))

I am going to be getting some pics developed to make some pages about kids playing monkey in the middle outside the other day. Dh joined in the game between grilling and they were all having fun (ok - one ds was at camp, but the others were having fun).

After monkey in the middle, my monkeys decided to put each other on their shoulders and start spinning around. They wanted to see how dizzy they could make each other - then I did get a few "posed" shots.

Titles are always a challenge for me, so any ideas are welcome. Have a great Comic Day!

Miss that squirrel day!

I don't really know if this is an official day, but ds was out riding his bike (phy-ed this month for homeschool). However, one of the friendly?, neighborhood squirrels wanted to see what he was up to, so stepped out and into the path of an oncoming bicycle. Well, ds didn't want to run him down (he has a much softer spot in his heart for animals), so over he swerved on the dirt road. He showed up at the house a few minutes later - glasses bent, dirty, scratches around his eye, both arms, dirt ground into his shoulder and blue jeans. I think he now wants to hunt the friendly?, neighborhood squirrel and invite him for dinner! (yes, I have had squirrel before - but it was when I was younger)

Well - we shall see how this saga plays itself out. He cannot use a shotgun or rifle around here, and the pellet gun is not in operating condition. I have a sneaking suspicion that the squirrel will get off :)

On to scrapbooks!

The pages posted are some from a 6x6 religious swap that Scrappingirish hosted over at CKMB. I have them in a book and am trying to add to it on a regular basis. I have not done faithbooking before, but hope this helps me get further.

Oh - if you have any good title ideas for this pic, i would love to hear them. DD and friend at GS camp a few weeks ago - love the glowing glasses!

Shh! :) My thanksgiving card swap - finally figured a design! The tag pulls out and can be used as a bookmark!

Long John Silvers Opens!

Above is ds's dog - she even got in on the fun! They have finally opened a local Long John Silvers. They were always around where I grew up, but after 12 years of no LJS - it was so fun to go and order today! Yes, it still tastes the way I remember - yummy!

I know Talk like a pirate day was the 19th, but couldn't reisist this pic this afternoon!