IT'S A GIRL!!!

We have a new baby in the house...
Sheba! She's only 6-weeks old.
She's Blue Heeler mix. What a sweetie!
We've had her less than a day and she already loves us...
Tonight, she gets her first bath!

Talking Trash!

COMPOST!!!

All winter, we've been saving our organic matter - peelings, eggshells, coffee grinds, tea bags, and vegetables for the compost bin. The trashcan is too heavy to rotate anymore, so I have to dump and mix.
Today, we planted Honey Rock Heirloom Cantaloupes, and Sugar Baby Heirloom Watermelons. I have some extra seeds to share if Grandma is interested...
We had our first crop TODAY!
Flowers and Sunflowers have sprouted...

The only thing I lack for my garden is GREEN ONIONS. (Not counting the Egyptian Walking onions.)

Everything's Amazing

This is so true. I've caught myself complaining before when my Internet is slow.

We live in a generation of instant gratification. I remember when there were party lines. We'd have to wait until our neighbors were done talking on their phones before we could make a call...

One time my cousin and I were making crank phone calls and a guy (on the party line) said he wasn't going to hang up his phone so that he could talk to our parents.

On our side of the line, simply hanging up wouldn't disconnect. If our parents picked up their phone, they would find a connection to his home. Eventually he had to hang up to free the line for his neighbors and we got away. After that, we never made a crank phone call again!

Roast Beef Stir-Fry

Here's a delicious idea for ROAST. This is one of my favorites. I usually wait for roasts to go on sale at HEB for $1.99 lb and stock up. (They're on sale this week till Wed.)

Add some cooking oil to skillet and pan fry roast. I season with 1/2 stick of real butter, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cover with lid and simmer, turning to season other side.
While roast is cooking, chop some veggies: I use zucchini, bell peppers, onions, and canned mushrooms. If you prefer, you can substitute with broccoli, raw mushrooms, fresh green beans, carrots, etc.
After meat is cooked, slice roast into strips and return to the skillet - do not drain. Add chopped vegetables, stir, and cover with lid for no more than 10 minutes. We prefer our vegetables cooked, but not soggy.

The meat is juicy and tender!

Feels like SPRING

36 days till spring... Trees are sprouting leaves.

I dug out more seeds today and planted Cleome, and Zinnias.
The organic red potatoes I had picked up at Whole Foods. I planted those in the huge pot that I had grown tomatoes in last year. I'll be hunting for a new planter for the Brandywine tomatoes that I had earlier planted. So far, EVERYTHING I've planted has sprouted and doing very well -- except for the Catnip. I went ahead and replanted the Catnip today. They were first planted on January 11th.
Radishes are almost ready to be picked.
What a surprise I found in the Marigold planter! Overnight, these two bean sprouts appeared. I didn't even plant these and I'm still scratching my head on how they found their way into the pot. I'll go ahead and let them make their home there and transplant the Marigold's. The Marigold's were meant to be transplanted anyway, for companion plants.
Black Zucchini
I added some Zinnia's to the window sill. I'm using as much space as I can for seedlings to get an early start for after the last frost. The way things in Texas goes... One can be easily fooled into thinking "winter" is over. We never really can tell when one season ends and the next begins.
What a surprise I found in my mailbox today. They're just what I needed and they match my decor. THANKS GRANDMA! ;-)
(((HUGS)))

Texas Memorial Museum

We visited the Texas Memorial Museum today.


The bug specimens were beautiful.



Lovely!

Today, was the celebration of Charles Darwin. Booths were spread about and evolutionists were showing fossils. One man in particular was proudly showing off ACTUAL dried plants that Darwin himself had collected on The Galapagos island. When he repeated that Darwin himself had touched that exact plant (and I didn't show any reaction) He turned disappointedly to the next guy and said, "I don't know about you, but THAT gives me chills"... The other guy nodded in agreement.

The next plant he showed me (pictured above) is an actual specimen that Captain Cook had collected in the 1700's.








Dinosaur track from Glen Rose Texas.

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Daddy - Daughter Dance 2009

Dress is finished!

Colonial II

I still need to hem, add more lace, ribbons, and pearls, but at least this gives you a general idea.

Colonial Gown and good news!

The annual Father and Daughter dance is this weekend... This will be Alan and Pamela's 5th dance. Last year they won third place. For the first time, I'm making Pamela's dress. Years past, we would shop for a pretty new outfit. THIS YEAR, Pamela requested a soft pink rose 1700 Colonial Gown.

Yesterday, I managed to get the pattern cut, and parts of the bodice and sleeves designed.

The bodice is fully lined with handsewn lace and pearls. I'll be adding several yards of lace trim to the seams, which will trail the entire shoulder, bodice, and length of the gown -- this too will be handsewn.
Today, I'm adding the sleeves, and sewing 7 yards of skirt. After a quick dash to Hobby Lobby for embellishments, I'll post an update.

GOOD NEWS FOR THE SEAMSTRESSES....

Here's the latest development:

Federal Regulators Delay Testing of Children’s Products

February 3, 2009

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted to delay enforcing a portion of new safety requirements regarding certain products for children 12 and under. Specifically, the agency decided to wait a year before requiring manufacturers and importers to test and certify any children’s products that would have been mandated for testing on February 10. Overall safety standards remain in place and still apply even to small retailers and vendors of second-hand items.

Manufacturers of children’s products will still need to be sure that they are conforming to the safety standards on leads and phthalates in products. However, they will be given an extra year of limited relief from the requirement for testing and certification (lasting till February 10, 2010). Family businesses can move forward without testing for another year, therefore, as long as they are confident that their products meet the lead and phthalates limits, mandatory toy standards and other requirements.

Retailers, thrift shops, consignment shops, and individual sellers of new or used products are not affected by the stay. They were never required to test or certify that what they were selling met the standards, but they violate the law if what they sell does not meet the standards.