Carrie Catlin’s Neighborhood

I have never tried to make pickles...of any kind.  In fact, the only foods I've ever canned are fruit into jam.  Since I am on a "learn to can everything" mission, I started with the cucumbers.  I used a Bread & Butter Pickle recipe.  A lot of onions (I used sweet walla walla), sugar, ginger, vinegar, peppercorns, mustard & celery seed, and turmeric are the ingredients added to the sliced cucumbers.  Now they have to stay sealed for at least 4 weeks for best flavor!  Can't wait to try them!

 

I feel like I have been so busy.  I guess when the time gets to flying then a few things go out the window, starting with the blog.

Thank goodness my busi-ness is slowing down again to a degree that I can manage.  So, I hope that all of you have been well.  I have had some funny and interesting things happen over the past few weeks that I need to write about.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did...or at least get a little chuckle out of them :).  That is, when I finally write about them.

 

 

8.20.8

Just came across this coolio website through Vox that gives all sorts of top ten blogs, so I thought I'd steal my faves from the list and post for you, lovely readers. Have fun!

Top Ten Popular Blogs for Shopping Moms (das me....)
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-blogs-for-shopping-moms/

Top Ten Bargain Fashion Blogs
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-bargain-fashion-blogs/

Top Ten Popular Home and Interior Design Blogs
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-home-and-interior-design-blogs/

Top Ten Popular Healthy Living Blogs
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-healthy-living-blogs/

Ten Meanest Celeb Gossip Blogs (we love...)
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-meanest-celeb-gossib-blogs-we-love/

Ten Popular Style Blogs (From Fashion to Furniture)
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-style-blogs-from-fashion-to-furniture/

And here are some of my own personal faves. Favey, favey Crockett! King of the wild frontier. Now I'm rambling...

http://madebygirl.blogspot.com/

http://www.becoming-mom.net/

http://www.becoming-home.com/

http://candycoloredbuddha.wordpress.com/

Wheeeee!!!!! Have fun tripping the light internet fantastic (or as Aaaah-nold would say - fans-tastic...)

 

I definitely want to become more familiar with my camera....if only I could find the book!  I took these first 3 photos using the auto exposure w/adjustable settings, with color mode set at rich.  The rest of the functions were set on "smart".  Macro was turned on.  Flash did not come on.  I'm not sure if I can adjust my shutter speed...that would be nice because it took a lot of photos just to get these 3.

 

 

 

 

This last one was really difficult!  I was trying to snap a butterfly flying.  Here's where a different shutter speed would have helped!  Then the only decent shot I got, the flash came on, so it's not quite like I wanted.

My camera is a Sony Cybershot 7.2

 

8.18.8

Yesterday was such a great day with the peanuts. They were awake, perky, pleasant, smiling and cooing (yes, they are cooing now - they are VERY advanced). They were awake so much, in fact, that Tom and I were sure that putting them to bed was going to be a piece of cake. When I say "them," I mean Simon and Gavin, because Scarlett was spending the night at Grandma's (who has, ever since we have had all three at home, graciously kept one of the babies every night - it has been a HUGE help).

We were somewhat perplexed when, close to bedtime, the boys started crying and were inconsolable. Clean diaper? Check. Had they eaten? Yes, several times. Burped? Yes. We each had one, Tom with Simon and me with Gavin. I rocked Gavin and put him to bed asleep (or so I thought). Simon, however, was a different story. He was cranky and crying, and Tom was getting frustrated, so I took him upstairs to rock him as well. While I was rocking him to sleep, Gavin was waking up again, cranky and crying. Long story short, this scenario went on back and forth for a good hour and a half, possibly two hours, with one falling asleep as the other woke up crying, then vice versa.

At one point I took Gavin downstairs to where Tom was, laid him on the couch, and left the room. I am ashamed to admit that in my frustration it was not difficult to see how someone in a similar situation could shake a child. I would never do it, and it is why I put him down and left the room. I went downstairs, sat in the bathroom in the dark and cried. Now, having had those feelings, I will not be so quick to judge someone when I hear those stories. It is in the dark where you pray for patience, you pray for your child to be consoled, for him to fall asleep "for 6 hours, please God!" And sometimes, God answers you six and a half hours later as your child is waking up again for the first time, and you go in to pick him up, and he stops crying immediately and breaks into a huge smile at the sight of you.

God forgive me. God give me patience. God, thank you for blessing me with these precious little peanuts that You brought into our lives.

 

Thank you sixweasels and [this is connie] for the award!  I enjoy your blogs and having you as blogging friends!  Before I joined Vox I was a habitual visitor to jacolily so I could catch up on things going on with family.  She helped me get started with my own blog and I am so glad!  Reading about all of my neighbor's lives, sharing our feelings, laughing, crying, looking at photos of our families and other interesting subjects, learning from each other, and just getting to know everyone has become a favorite part of my day! 

 

The rules for this award are:

• The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
• Link to the person you received your award from.
• Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
• Put links to those blogs on yours.
• Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated.

 

becknits I enjoy her blog and hearing about happenings with her work and family.  We have something in common and that is we both enjoy teaching children.  Some of her stories about subbing jobs are so funny!  She is wonderfully talented at knitting.  The one thing I enjoy most of all is her wonderful sense of humor!  

WPG has a wonderful photo quest group.  She is a talented photographer and I really appreciate her photos.  I learn so much from her knowledge & experience. 

Mello  I look forward to reading her blog and am disappointed when she hasn't posted for a period of time.  (Hint Hint!)  She has a way of turning normal day to day events into posts that are funny (the kind of funny that makes you laugh out loud), thought provoking, and educational.  She is a fun person and getting to know her has been great!

Patti She does not post near enough!  I love to see new items on her blog.  She is inspirational and has no qualms about sharing her faith. I have enjoyed getting to know her and learning about her life. 

jacolily I wouldn't have found Vox without her.  She is my step daughter-in-law and my friend!  I enjoyed (and was addicted to)  her blog long before joining Vox.  It is wonderful to see my step-grandchildren involved in all their activities.  Since we live so far away, we only see each other a few times a year.  So, keeping up with each other's blogs is a great way to stay in touch.  She is a wonderful mom, and this is so evident when you see how great her children are!  Their lives are filled with activities and her posts are always so fun to read.

typinginboldprint  She welcomed me right away when I first joined Vox.  Sometimes she can say a lot with very few words.  I enjoy her sense of humor and hearing about the goings on in her life.  One thing I really appreicate about her is that she puts her real feelings out there.  This is not an easy thing to do for most of us.

sixweasels  & [this is connie]   I have to include both of these blogging friends, and since they both nominated me I guess it will be o.k. to include them together as one of the 7. sixweasels is one of my favorite blogs to keep up with.  She is an extremely talented writer and has made me laugh & cry on more than one occassion.  She has a wonderful and interesting life with her significant other and her weasels & cat.  [this is connie]  lives in another part of the world and brings her world closer to ours through blogging!   She posts about various & interesting topics...sometimes informative, sometimes entertaining and sometimes very inspirational!   

 

I took Snickers & Hershey in for grooming yesterday.  Snicker's coat was completely out of control...he has more poodle hair.  So Snickers got the full treatment...bath, haircut, nails.  Hershey has straighter and thinner hair.  I only had him get a bath, trim around the eyes & bottom and nails.  I also weighed them yesterday before giving them their heart worm pills.  Snickers weighs only 12 pounds, but Hershey weighs 15 pounds!  I'm thinking, OK...the breeder said they would only get to 15 pounds, and they are only 4 months old now.  Surely they will grow more!  The groomer told me that she wouldn't be surprised to see them top out at 30 to 35 pounds!  I guess they inherited more of their mama's cocker spaniel growth characteristics rather than their dad's toy poodle ones!  No matter...we love them anyway!  Funny thing is, Hershey was the runt of the litter!

 

 

Cole took some really good photos while he was on his 5 day camp trip. 

 

He was so happy to be there!

Here's a photo he took of the campsite.

Here's the area where they went hiking.

Cole's friend Zac got some great shots also.  Here's one of Cole's tonsils!  :0)

Zac got a great shot of the lake.  Beautiful!

Note sure who took this photo, but it's a great shot of Zac having fun!

This last shot was taken after we picked them up to come home.  They were all a little tired...but full of stories & excitement about their trip!

Taylor started complaining a couple of months ago that she couldn't see the music notes for piano lessons & practice.  I was concerned, yet I was skeptical.  She has had a fascination with eyeglasses for some time.  I made an appointment and we went today to the eye doctor.  After an hour long visit, the doctor sent Taylor out of the room with a nurse to pick out some stickers. He looked at me and said, with a smile on his face, "I think we have a little girl who WANTS glasses.  She has 20/20 vision!"  She was a little disappointed.  I know now that she CAN see those notes, so, no excuses during practice!

I returned home right at 10:00, anticipating the omelet I was going to make myself, since I hadn't had breakfast.  As I walked in the front door, I heard Bill from the back side of the house coming in with Cole saying, "Cole, come inside, this may be serious."  I had no idea whether Cole was in deep trouble or had been hurt.  Unfortunately, it was the latter.  Cole had a mishap on the trampoline, playing "butt bomb" with a few friends.  One of the friends "butt bombed" him all the way to the metal frame around the tramp and Cole came down hard on his arm.  He was holding his arm and crying in pain.  Off to the ER we went.  After 2 1/2 hours and 2 sets of x-rays, the diagnosis was:  no broken bones, just severe bruising; Tylenol & Ibuprofen alternated every 3 hours & ice packs!  I was so thankful that his arm wasn't broken! 

It was a long day....no serious damage to report, thank God!  Our insurance deductible has been met though, I'm sure!  :-)

8.14.8

Welcome to the Jungle!

Here it is - my weekly Project Runway recap, with guest judge Amy, from stem. Check her fab blog at www.stemparties.blogspot.com.

 

 

Blayne and Leanne

 

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: I actually like the idea of this, but the “evening” shirt underneath should have been with a completely different outfit. Just give me the button down and the bermudas, and I would have been fine with it. Not a winner, but I would have been fine.

 

Amy: (((squeaky squeaky))) Rubbing eyeballs. What? What part of this makes any kind of sense? The blue shirt underneath is pretty cool but what good does that do me if I have to go through this visual assault to get there? None. None good, that's what.

 

 

 

Kelli and Daniel

 

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: This gets the award for trashtastic ensemble of the week. Holy cow. It was like my Madonna bustier from 1990 that someone dug out of a dresser in my parents’ basement. I think the outfit would have looked better if she had worn the cut off denim shorts, over the knee black tights, suspender garters and black fedora I wore with it.

 

Amy: I love black. I love leopard. I love peacock blue. I actually kinda love the jacket in this photo. So, what's the problem? Problem is I watched the show. I know what's lurking underneath. There's evil below. Do not go down in the basement. Okay, not the basement, but under the jacket.

 

Jerrell and Stella

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: Ames, I could not agree more. I did NOT love this outfit. Hated the color scheme, the zebra belt that junked it up, and the curtainy skirt. The only part I liked was the wide leather obi-ish belt. Thank God for Stella and her leatha.

 

Amy: Can someone tell me what all the praise was about on this one? And Jerrell getting last pick and playing if off? Way to turn lemons into leather, J. Good save.

 

 

Joe and Korto

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: My second favorite outfit of the evening. That jacket was wicked awesome, and aside from the gapey fit on the dress – which I also actually loved, this still rocked. I could see Tim Gunn’s “big giant sweet potato comment,” but DANG, girlfriend pulled this one off.

 

Amy: This is stunning. STUN.NING. It's only fitting that I give this a Gold Medal right now. KORTO! KORTO! KORTO! 

 

I did have issues with the fit under the bust/under the arm on the dress underneath but I can overlook it because this jacket is just divine and the dismount was good. Uh, the sleeves…hellooo? Audible sigh, I love them.

 

 

 

Kenley and Keith

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: Another outfit I did not like that everyone else loved apparently, since it won. I think that skirt would make any normal size woman look three sizes bigger than she is, thanks to all the flutter pieces on it that are apparently on every friggin piece that Keith designs. It is getting ollllld. Nope, this is not good for me.

 

Amy: I think this is heavenly. The print and construction of that blouse are dreamy. When they took off the scarf and let down the sleeves, I was done for. A reveal within a reveal? Does it get any better? The layers on the skirt are so delicate and exquisitely done. The high waist is just icing on the cake. I don't know how you couldn't feel anything but fabulously and elegantly feminine in this outfit as you float across the room.

 

 

Terri and Suede

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: Once again, Mz. Terri has my favorite outfit of the episode. The floofy collar on the shirt (yes, I said floofy), the sash, and I am sorry, but those pants are excellent. The woman knows how to make a kick ass pair of pants. Terri – please just add this to the list of items that you are going to make for me.

 

Amy: This is fantastic. Terri has done it again. I think she made a pact with the debbil.  It may not be the most "officey" outfit of the bunch but I think it is just so well-executed. It's like the most wonderful resort wear on crack. I.Love.It. If I saw this girl out in this, I would do a triple take and secretly hate her for looking so effortlessly chic. I mean, if I was really shallow.