Raise your hand if... you made your first sale on Etsy! Yay! It was an to an old friend, but still, it was a sale! She bought this pendant...










It's a bit confusing navigating my way around the shipping and payment process, but I think I've figured it out. Either way, the pendant will be on its way to a new home tomorrow. Kind of a cool feeling. :)

Geo-caching Success!

Hi there. So, has anyone ever heard of geo-caching? Me either, until a few weeks ago. My husband heard about it, downloaded some geo-caching doohickey onto his phone, and voila...off we went.

He set out early this morning and found his first one ever. It was called a "micro", meaning it was smaller than small. I probably would have walked right over it cuz I wouldn't see it. Who cares.

The two of us set out together this afternoon with his geo-caching doohickey on his phone. We traipsed down a long path, through the high school football practice field, up a hill, into the woods, and finally found it at "the base of two broken trees". I found it first!! Yay me!



The next one was a bit harder because the clue wasn't so great. It was more of a riddle, and I do NOT like riddles. We followed another dirt path into the meadow (loosely translated...lots of small trees and four foot high grass). Bob persevered and lo and behold, he found it, his third of the day. :)



Once you find your cache, you open it, sign the log, and then replace everything just as you found it. We added a nickel to this one, though, just because. :) When you get home, you go to the website and log your find in, which Bob did.

When the kids asked why we were doing it, I had to think about it for a bit. I guess it's because it's a challenge, you're outside together, and once you find your cache, you can say "I did it!" It's kind of cool...sort of a scavenger hunt using map coordinates.



While I was waiting for Bob to figure out some of the map stuff, I saw this...






...and this...












...and these.

Primitive Pantry Cakes

Hi again! I just thought I'd show you the finished products of what Kenzie and I started at about noon today. These are called "Pantry Cakes" and are a primitive decoration.

They smell heavenly...cloves, nutmeg, coffee and cinnamon. I could get used to making these. They are easy as pie (easier) and smell so good!

Tomorrow I'm going to try and grunge up some cheesecloth and wrap these for display. This could be the start of a whole new craft-affair!

Hi again. I just listed a few new things in my Etsy Shop...stop in if you have a hankering. :)

My granddaughter Mackenzie is spending the day with me today, and we decided to do a new craft I've been wanting to try. So we did. :)



I love the whole primitive style (although you can't tell from my busy house!), so I love reading primitive blogs. Well, yesterday I came across these "Pantry Cakes" and I fell in love with them! They're scented with coffee, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Does it get any better than that?





My good friend and her husband are serious primitive crafters, and if these turn out ok, they're going to try selling them with their things.













Well, Kenzie and I just put these eight little babies into the oven for the next six hours, then an hour of cooling in the oven after that, THEN an hour of cooling on the counter...evidently one must be patient when one is doing primitive crafts.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Like the new magnets I made? I guess it's my form of basket-making, to keep me sane.

Raise your hand if... you have discovered a new drug...aka...Godiva Chocolate Pearls. Oh my. :)

Today's been one of "those days" where I feel as if I've done nothing except walk in circles, bumping into walls, then starting all over again. You know those days.

BUT...I did accomplish one thing!

My husband has started his own photo blog! Indeed he did!! This is the same man who, as recently as last fall, didn't know how to turn the computer on...for real. However, since he got an amazing camera phone last fall, he has been a picture-taking-fool!

Bob's a UPS driver and his route (which I like to refer to as the "old guy" route) is way out in the Berkshires, the mountains separating us from New York. They aren't the Rockies, but they're still lovely. Anyway, there are a lot of real characters on his route, and Bob finds odd and curious things to take photos of daily. They're such cool ones, too, so...another blog is born.

Bob's New Blog

(This is where I AGAIN shamelessly promote my daughter's photo blog; a family theme perhaps?)

Cate's New Blog

Where do I come in? I just spent over two hours setting it up for him using the new Blogger program, and when all was said and done, we reverted back to the classic style. Too many doodads on the new templates...and I do not embrace change! I'm sure we'll be tweaking it, but just the same, check it out if you get a chance. You might just get a chuckle or two out of what's hidden in them there hills!

Hi friends. Well, I did it. I officially opened my brand new, first ever, bright and shiny Etsy shop! I've been pussy-footing around all summer, which is sort of my style...I don't seem to commit very easily. Anyway, stop on in, pull up a stool, have a candy from the candy dish on the counter and sit a spell. :) See what you think, and feel free to give me any suggestions you might have.

If all goes as planned (she said foolishly), I'll be making some more of those colorful magnets and I may even put them in the store, too.

Hi friends. My middle daughter has just started her own photo blog. If you have a minute, take a gander. She loves taking photos both for a living and for fun; she's also darn good at it if I may say so myself.
Cate's New Blog

Raise your hand if...your head is still on vacation, but your body is back here in your living room. Bummer.

But still, there's nothing quite like an unexpected mid-summer getaway...even if you didn't have hot water!!

We hiked up here...














...so we could do this!



We started our days here...













...in our own "secret garden".



We saw a few of these...









...some of these...










...only one of these...










...and a TON of these! (No surprise considering we were in Vermont!)










But absolutely nothing compares to these...

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. :)

Day four of the tomatoes ripening on the porch and voila...it worked! My mom was right!

Raise your hand if... your huge, healthy, tomato-laden plants were hit with blight and you had to dig them up and dispose of them. Yeah, us too. (sigh).






So...day one of hoping to ripen these babies on the porch instead of on the vine.














Over the weekend, we took a little trip in the country, heading to my brother's girlfriend's house, and came upon this gorgeous field of sunflowers! She says that all day long, the flowers will turn to follow the sun...how cool is that!










How's things in your neck of the woods?