Friday, June 29, 2007
Hot day...etc.
Posted by Tina Leavy at 7:33 PM 1 comments
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
CRASH! aggghhh....etc.
Posted by Tina Leavy at 4:30 PM 1 comments
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
And the winner is!.....etc.
Posted by Tina Leavy at 5:06 PM 4 comments
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Chili Nachos....and etc.
Posted by Tina Leavy at 12:06 PM 5 comments
Friday, June 22, 2007
Whimsical whatnot...
Posted by Tina Leavy at 3:37 PM 4 comments
Thursday, June 21, 2007
I've Been Tagged...Southern Style...
I've been tagged by Sue over at "Country Pleasures" to participate in a Southern Tag..listing all the things I can think of that remind me of the "South"...so here goes....
Lemonade
Hospitality
Sweet Tea
Oranges
Orange Blossoms
lemons
tangerines
clementines
boiled peanuts
Seminoles(both the ball team and the tribes)
Gators(ball team and the real McCoy)
Fishing
Boating
Mud Boggin'
Spanish Moss
Oak trees
Plantation style houses
Porch swing
Tire swing
Blackberry Pickin'
Hot weather
Beaches
Sand
Cool water
Sunsets
Coast
Tourists
Sun hats
Sunscreen
Tan
Sunburn
bathing suits
tea with lemon
watermelon slices
strawberry pickin'
pea pickin'
tea in a mason jar
no see um's
mosquitos
snakes
chiggers
Parades
Rodeo
cattle ranch
horse ranch
cowboys
cowgirls
southern twang
Palm trees
palmettos
flat land
swamps
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O.k. I think I listed quite a few things..ha..I wasn't told there was a limit..so anyhow..there ya go..things that remind me of the "South"
O.k...I'm going to be thinking of who I can "tag" next. Watch out! ha. (I have tagged madrekarin,Nancy-Jo, and Beemoosie..you all know who you are..I hope you'll play along)
~The Garden Goose~
Posted by Tina Leavy at 1:56 PM 4 comments
Homeschooling topics/website helps....All about "Butterflies!"
Posted by Tina Leavy at 10:10 AM 7 comments
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Words to remember..
Found this bit of inspiration recently..and thought I'd share it with you all.
Words to Remember:(with words to forget in parenthesis next to it)
Love (hate)
I Can ( I can't)
I will (I'll try)
I want to (I have to)
Will do (should have)
my goal (could have)
Today (someday)
next time (if only)
I understand (yes, but...)
Oppurtunity (problem)
challenging (difficult)
motivated (stressed)
interested (worried)
possible (impossible)
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Have a wonderful day! ~The Garden Goose~
Posted by Tina Leavy at 11:29 AM 3 comments
Monday, June 18, 2007
"Girlfriends on The Go- Drawing"...
Posted by Tina Leavy at 4:50 PM 23 comments
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Night Visitor...
Posted by Tina Leavy at 8:13 PM 4 comments
More Picnic Fare...and etc...
Wanted to share another fast,easy "Picnic Take-Along"
This is for something so easy, yet so very refreshing in the summertime, and a great way to use those fresh tomatoes, and not only that..if your kids aren't too fond of either cucumbers or tomatoes they will most likely enjoy this toss together though.(my oldest daughter isn't too fond of either, but really likes them this way)
Tomato/Cucumber Toss
2 cold firm ripe tomatoes,chopped into cubes
1 large cucumber sliced,then cut into cubes
2-3 tsp. of your favourite italian dressing or a greek vinagrette dressing
Toss together well and chill for about an hour before serving to incorporate flavors. So easy..yet so yummy and refreshing.
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Fried Pies
2 1/2 cups flours
2/3 cup shortening
pinch of salt
cold water
Fruit filling of your choice
shortening for frying
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Cut shortening into flour until mixture is crumbly. Mix in salt.Add cold water,a tablespoon at a time, until you get a stiffwad of dough-stiffer than regular dough.
Pinch dough off and roll it out on a slightly floured surface.Place a saucer on dough and cut out around it.
Place fruit filling (about 2-3 tablespoons inside each dough circle.Fold dough over and mash the edges together lightly with a fork.Fry in medium-hot shortening until browned on both sides.Serves 6-8
Great as a take along snack for a picnic outing.
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This afternoon I worked on creating a decorated birdhouse for the etsy shop. This little bird house will be decorated in a retro style look ,and will have a decorated branch to accompany the display. The branch will have cute little paper mache'd blue birds on the branches. And the flowers will be 3-d looking flowers taken from the pattern on the birdhouse design .Together they will make a really cute/whimsical display.I really like how it has already been shaping up.Really cute.I'll of course share the photo with you when the item is completed.-----------
This evenings dinner is Moussake..hadn't made it in a while here..so I had an eggplant in the refrigerator that I wanted to use, and then 2 black angus burgers up in the freezer. So I crumbled the burgers in the skillet, added about a tablespoon and a half of crushed garlic and about a tablespoon and a half of cinnamon and added a jar of marinara sauce.(it calls for a scrambled egg added to the mixture as well, but I didn't have any eggs on hand)Then I slice and layer eggplant and the sauce in a casserole dish, sprinkling the sauced layers with parmesan cheese and sprinkling with supposed to be mozarellla cheese but I onlty had sharp white cheddar on hand this evening..so I used that instead.("Improvised Moussaka" I call it..ha)Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.It's not exactly how the recipe is supposed to be..but I improvided and made it work and it will still be yummy and edible.
Served with green peas on the side---------
For dessert my daughter made my husband a really cute chocolate cake topped with fondant. The cake is in the shape of a little tug boat..so cute.
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Well, I had been wondering when ducks start laying eggs/breeding..well..this afternoon I found out that I definitely do have a pair ...and they are old enough now to want to do what ducks do to make more baby ducks. But apparently they don't have a big enough water container to continue what they are wanting to do. So, I'll most likely have to get them a child's size wading pool if I expect to have fertile eggs for hatching out and being able to sell the babies. As Peking ducks must have water to breed in.But I did definitely pick out a pair. One thing I found out when picking the baby ducklings out on the pekings..the male baby ducks will have a bright yellow beak, while the females will have a pink beak.(you can even tell them apart at 1 1/2 weeks of age..like I was able to do. I was pretty sure I had chosen a pair..and I was right)and as someone mentioned..indeed the female(pink beaked one) is much louder than the male..the Female quacks and quacks loudly, like you'd expect a duck to do, but the male has a low raspy whispery kind of quack.Of course my female duck has not laid her first egg as of yet.
Anyhow..I expect by Spring of next year that I'll be able to have a few ducklings on hand to sell. That would be nice.------------
My daughter and I were able to get out and about to a few shops around town yesterday afternoon, and I wound up getting some cold porcelain clay..it is a porcelain that air dries. Pretty cool stuff! I haven't started playing with it yet, but did obtain some push molds to create some different types of flowers and leaves. So..that will be fun.-----------
This weekend has been a bit quiet. But relaxing.Everyone just relaxing and enjoying being around each other.
I hope that you all are having a nice relaxing weekend too, and spoiling those Dad's.
Have a great evening.Thanks for joining me in "blogland"
~The Garden Goose~
Posted by Tina Leavy at 3:27 PM 1 comments
Friday, June 15, 2007
Happy Friday!...
Happy Friday!...hooray!
...Friday's are fun around here..usually anyhow. Of course it is also a day that we usually set aside every week to do some housecleaning before the rest and fun that the weekend brings.(but hey..I have a new "toy" to try out today..a new dyson vacuum cleaner..and it's a beauty too)
Friday's are special for me because it means that I'll have 2 entire days to spend with every single member of our family..all together at the same time. It is also sometimes the days when hubby and I can sneak away just by ourselves too for an hour or two all alone if we so choose to. (I'm so appreciative of my oldest daughter often times offering to watch the youngest so that her dad and I can have a "date", she'll say to us..ya know ya'll need a date..go on..I'll watch the 2 youngest kids"..ahh so sweet of her)
Well, I have a new toy to try out this morning... the dyson vacuum..we all crowded into the master bedroom last night to watch my hubby try out the vacuum cleaner on the area rug in the master bedroom..yeah I joked that "oh honey..so you got yourself a new toy..have at it..looks like fun huh..you can do the whole house now..see you have a new toy." haha ..he was like "yeahhh.right" and gave me that funny look that means "yeah right...NOT!" haha. Anyhow he wanted to see just how good this machine was..and my goodness, we were amazed..in just a few seconds the filter area was swirling with dust and lint....wow!!(doesn't take much to entertain my crew around here huh? LOL haha)
My family joked that "hey mom..you have a clean house already, but now you are gonna be known as "Spotless"..lol ...ahh well. It will be nice to be able to actually really get alot of the allergens up while I am doing my household chores. as Martha Stewart says..."It's a good thing!"..haha.
I forgot to post a picture last night of the little floral arrangement I made..isn't it cute? I like making little things like that. They are so fun and cheerful and they really add a bit of fun and whimsy to decor.I like anything like that ..that has a decidedly "garden look" to it. ..as I adore flowers of all kinds.
Speaking of flowers...the cottage garden has had a round of lavender colored bee balm growing in it..most of that has gotten faded flowers now..but the flowers that have started popping up all over in the garden now are gloriosa daisies(some folks call them black eyed susans but these are large flowers though) and a few bright reddish orange blanket flowers..wow..they are so cheerful. I could most assuredly have a garden filled with just thosse two "sunshine bringers" I tell you! They are so delightful and so cheery looking. They never cease to perk me up when I see them. I really enjoy seeing bright cheerful yellow flowers like those.
This afternoon after my household clean up is complete..I'm wanting to get out the old Farm ABC coloring book that my hubby found at the antique mall this past weekend..and trace over some of the images to prepare a few tea towels for some redwork embroidery. Lookig forward to scouring through the book to find unique little patterns...oooh what fun!..Play time later today..ha.
I wanted to wish you all a very lovely day today. I hope that today brings you a bit of cheer and a smile upon your face.
Have a good one!
Thanks for joining me in "blogland"
~The Garden Goose~
Posted by Tina Leavy at 5:52 AM 3 comments
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sunshiney day...Picnic Fare and more...
A lovely day outside today here.
Hope that all of your day is going well, and you are enjoying a sunny outlook and a sunshiney countenance is upon your face today.
Let's see what is new today...
Oh, I got a new "servant" today (as my friend Elizabeth over at "Elizabeth's Clothesline" would call it...I always do chuckle when I read her writings about making her "servants"go to work... a.k.a. the washing machine and dryer and other household appliances that make work simpler for us housewives)
...anyhow..my hubby bought me a new vacuum cleaner.
A fancy smancy thing too compared to any vacuum cleaner I have ever owned.
I have tiled floors so I had been using a simple little $30 special from Kmart for quite a while..one of those teeny little bright yellow things..nothing fancy at all. Anyhow last week while vacuuming..I was thinking how nice it would be to have one of those types with the air purifying filters and the allergen catcher type thing..oh shoot I don't know all the fancy words for them..but a better one that had an attachment and would get up the dust in hard to reach areas lots better. So there I was thinking about wanting one..and lo and behold the next day my husband says to me.."how would you like a new vacuum cleaner?" and I said well, I had been thinking about one lately..and well..I dunno as they are kind of expensive and the one I have ..well..it works..but it would be nice to have a better one"..but I leave that up to you" So he said "well, since you had been thinking of it, and here I have found one without knowing that you had been thinking of it..well, then I'm going to go ahead and get it for you then"
So he ordered a nice vaccum that has a lifetime hepa filter in it...and a long hose attachment so that I can reach up and dust off the ceiling fans and valances, etc.
Coool! :0)
See that picnic basket in the upper left?
Well..it is there because I want to start sharing with you all some recipes that would be good "picnic fare".Things that can easily be packed in a tupperware container and taken on a quick picnic day out. (If taking a hot dish along or an item that requires refrigeration..remember to take along a cooler full of ice to provide proper storage for the item and do not leave an item out in the heat. Picnic items should be refrigerated as soon as possible after serving for safety purposes..so bringing along a cooler full of ice is a good idea for carrying the items that may be left over..back home...remember safe food precautions..always better to be safe than sorry.Items like mayonaisse should never ever be left in the heat)
First up is :
Best Macaroni Bake
16 oz. pkg macaroni
1 cup soft bread crumbs
2 eggs well beaten
2 cups canned tomatoes
1 cup American cheese
1/3 cup diced green peppers
1 tsp. minced onion
1/4 cup melted butter
Cook macaroni in boiling (salted) water for 7 minutes.Drain, add remaining ingredients, mix lightly, season to taste.Pour into greased 2 quart casserole. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees)for 45 minutes.Serves 6
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Salads are also a nice item to take along on a picnic.
You can chop your lettuce or use a pre prepared mixture and add items like shredded carrots, celery slices, or chopped apples and nuts and raisins.
Put into small single serve tupperware containers and into the cooler to keep cold. Take along your favorite bottle of dressing in the cooler too.
Wines can be taken along..don't forget the corksrew to open the bottle.
And the wine glasses.
Items like apple slices, bananas, baby carrots, celery sticks, trail mixes, granola bars, crackers, cheese, olives, pickles, cubed deli meats.
These items can all pack very easily into small containers and pack very easily also into a small ice cooler.
Remember to take a blanket to spread on the ground.And a cup and drinks and utensils and plates.
And always remember to clean up after yourself.
Most of all..take along someone you love or like..and enjoy spending time together in the great outdoors..just enjoying each others company..and enjoying nature.
It's a great way to "reconnect" with a spouse or with your children.
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Fruit Salad
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1 tub of cool whip
1 large can of fruit cocktail,drained well,cold
1 large apple cored and cut into small chunks,cold
1 large banana sliced
1 small can drained mandarin oranges,cold
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans
Mix all together well.Enjoy! A nice cool, refreshing fruit blend.(fresh sliced strawberries can be added also if you wish)
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Have a great afternoon!
~The Garden Goose~
Posted by Tina Leavy at 1:14 PM 2 comments
It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright..sunshiney..day!
Posted by Tina Leavy at 8:11 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Flusterations and aggravations....
Oh dear gracious...one of "those" days today..the kind where you wish you could crawl back into bed and draw up the covers and start over again type of days.
Yeah..we all have 'em..and today was my day.
Uggh.
It started at about 9 a.m. this morning when I went to check my sons ear..we had been struggling with an ear infection for 3 1/2 weeks with him...and had taken him to a nurse practioner at the start of the symptoms..well..
this certain nurse practioner had assured me that I was to "flush the ear twice daily with water" before administering floxin ear drops." Well, when I first heard this procedure 31/2 weeks ago I thought..hmm but he has what is called "swimmer's ear" and I thought that you aren't supposed to add water to the ear.. but then I thought..well..she's a nurse..went to school for this..what do I know?..right????
WRONG!
I should have listened to that little warning signal that was oh so quiet 3 1/2 weeks ago..ya know that little tiny inkling you get when something just doesn't feel quite right?Oh..I wish, wish, wish I had listened to that nagging little inkling inside that I had.
Well, I didn't..I just said "o.k...well, we will do as the nurse prescribed and we'll keep doing it until the ear gets better."
Well..we kept on and kept on..and the ear wasn't getting better and wasn't getting better.
Luckily my son has had no pain with this..thank goodness.
But this past Saturday night..after things still weren't better I was sitting in bed and said to my hubby.."can you do me a favor?..let's check on the computer about what it says to do for swimmer's ear and ear infections and let's see if there is any mention about flushing the ear with water"
Well, of course there was none!! In fact everything we were reading was emphatically against putting water in the ear.
Oh my was I mad..I was madder than mad..I was spitting mad.
So come Sunday morning after all this..into the bathroom son and I go to try and dry his ear with a little bit of holding the hair dryer near the ear at a light angle.
We did this for 2 days. Seemed like a tiny improvement. Then to today..
I went to remove the light gauze that I was putting in his ear to catch the drainage..and..oh no!!!...blood!
Now..I was even madder yet..oooh..knowing that most assuredly, most certainly I had been given totally wrong instructions for this situation! How could she???!!! Didn't she go to school to learn how to help people??? While me....I'm just a mere highschool drop out and a stay at home mom...certainly she was "supposed" to have more medical knowledge than I huh???
So..to a new dr. we went this afternoon to be told that"no way, no how are you ever supposed to put water in an ear that is infected..you have been told the wrong instructions..I am so sorry you had to go through this..your son has a burst ear drum" but we'll prescribe the strongest antibiotic I can for him and it should heal..come back in 2 weeks so that we can check the progress, oh..and don't get the ear wet at all"
well..back home I came and since the nurse practioner was on vacation..I called her at home..and yes..I did give her a piece of my mind. Did she admit that she had made a mistake? ...oh no..in fact she lied several times on the phone to me.
Well..we told her that there was no way she'd ever get our business ever again.
uggh. I told her that not only had she told us wrong..that even then she had to basically call both my husband and I liars and claim she never gave us those instructions.. when we both were in the office and heard her, and when I was gone to the new dr's office she had called my husband at home and assured him that yes you can put water in the ear..yet again..
so I asked her..didn't you just tell my husband an hour ago that indeed you could put water in the ear..and ya know..she denied it...and I told her..that what made me even madder still that she didn't even have the guts to admit that she was wrong and to apologize for doing so.
ugggh.
Anyhow..and get this..she had wanted to start an ethics committee here in our town for the County Commissioners..isn't that a hoot?
I told my husband.."an ethics committe when it is obvious she is a bald face liar?" how amazing!!! ." I had to laugh about that.
At least that was one thing in this whole thing I think I could laugh about..on a day when I just felt like crying because my son ..poor little guy..had to pay for someone telling me wrong.
I have felt absolutely terrible all day today..that I didn't listen to that inkling voice a bit sooner...the little signal that lets you know that something "isn't quite right"...I have learned today to listen more to that "still small voice" a bit more..it usually is right on target....anyhow..
Today my "mama's heart" really cried.
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On a wee bit better note though..I created a really cute garden styled mini floral arrangement for my etsy shop. I will post it tomorrow. I really like how it turned out. Really cute and cheerful.
A little bit of of small table decor, I like it alot, and hopefully others will too.
I tell you, this etsy stuff has become a bit of a challenge trying to come up with new things,ideas,items that I "think" folks would like. I guess until the little shop gets established a bit more things will be slow a wee bit.
I do try and go into the forums and check out other etsy shop owners and try to network..and try to mention things here on the blog from time to time.
And try to post a new item as often as I can.
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Well..after several months of no rain..today makes the 2nd day in a row that we have recieved rain..today we actually got quite a bit of rain..nearly an entire days worth. That was very nice, although I think we could have an entire week's worth and still not be caught up with how much we are behind this year on rainfall.
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Well, that is all today.
Hope that we all have a better rest of the week this week.
~The Garden Goose~
Posted by Tina Leavy at 9:48 PM 3 comments
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Rain! Rain!...and Amish cooking...
We finally recieved rain today..oh happy dance!
I actually did go out in the rain and just sort of dance around a bit/spinning. So happy that we finally got rain. As it had been so long.
It rained for a while this afternoon. Was actually so nice to hear the thunder and the rain falling after having been so dry here for so long.
My daughter had her sewing lessons today...and while that was going on I took the oppurtunity to put labels on some soaps for my little etsy shop, and to photograph them.
Dinner this evening was so yummy. I made some white hominy as a side dish(I drain it very well then let it sizzle with a little bit of smart balance in a sauce pan). A salad to go on the side made with chopped apple,romaine , and sprouts(broccoli sprouts)and a mix of sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds and raisins(both regular and golden)drizzled with a poppy seed dressing, then main course was italian sausage sauted with red and green bell peppers and onion.
I picked up a copy of the book shown upper right corner..at an antique mall this past weekend.
I wanted to share a recipe from that book with you all this evening.
this one is for :
Banana Drop Cookies
3 cups flour
1 tsp.soda
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp.baking powder
1 tsp.salt
2 eggs
2 bananas sliced
1/2 cup sour cream
Sift flour, baking powder,soda,and salt into mixing bowl.Add the nuts.
Pour blended mixture over sifted flour mixture. Mix thoroughly.Drop by teaspoonful onto greased sheet. Bake in oven (350 degrees F.) until lightly browned and done, about 12 minutes.
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(I posted this recipe this evening because I figure that most folks have the ingredients on hand, and it would also be a good way to use those bananas that might be getting a bit ripe too fast.)
Well, I had briefly mentioned a retail space in our downtown area..we went to look at last night..it just was not in a very good foot traffic area and way too much cosmetic work to be done to make the area suitable for the type of thing I'd want to do..then add to it the fact that since there wasn't much foot traffic/business I didn't feel like it would be a safe area for me to be in.
So..scratch that one..there will be other oppurtunities to come along and when the time is right I will know.
In the meantime I will continue plugging along at the little etsy shop I have and offering fun items.
And continue doing reasearch for the type of boutique I really want to have.
------
Well, my ducks seem to be lots happier today now that it has rained.
But I saw a yucky thing this afternoon in the rain..yuck to me..but it is nature though...
while it was raining..a big rat had discovered the ducks food tray and had climbed into it and was just munching away in the drizzling rain(it had not started really raining yet) but the rain had driven it out to a food source and it was going to town gorging itself while it could on duck mash...uggh. I saw it outside of my kitchen window and at first thought it was a bird. Apparently this rat/oversized mouse..lives up under my deck..o.k. double yuck...I guess my husband will have to get out the pellet gun soon, as well...I don't care for mice/rats.. at all. And when the ducks saw it they set up a racket..well..can you blame them? That is their food, their water area. They had not finished eating their mash this morning..I honestly did not think that a rat would come out and start having at it.
But then I guess I should not have been so suprised as I have seen them climb the shepherd hook pole to go after bird seed before.
uggh. like I said..I can't stand them.
I guess I don't honestly mind them too much as long as they stay out in a field or something, and they do make good coyote food, and they do help to spread seeds in the forests and what not..but up close to the house is just a bit too close for me.
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Well, my daughter and I both have entered the pinkeep contest over at Mary Jane's Farm website www.maryjanesfarm.org and I must say I am so suprised that only 6 people have entered the contest thus far. I was really hoping that more people would have gotten involved by now.
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Well, that is all in my little corner of the internet for now.
May you all have a wonderful evening.
Thanks for joining me in blogland.
~The Garden Goose~
Posted by Tina Leavy at 5:13 PM 2 comments