August Fields

thanksgiving. so much to be thankful for.

i’m posting a little backwards…..christmas and now thanksgiving…but i wanted to share thanksgiving!  ðŸ™‚
the girls were super helpful preparing the feast….some people snap their beans.  we cut.  you can also see the ingredients for grandma great’s famous creamed corn, which i will be sharing at the end of this post.

wisking…..

mashing……

 checking PW’s amazing sweet potato recipe…making sure i’ve got it right.

dubs.  he’s just cute. 🙂

oh glory.  look at that tom.  perfectly glazed and stuffed.  mmmmmm.  my mom and dad prepared this bird and brought it over.

really.  this is what its all about.  always.

oh let the carving begin…. i think my dad has worn that same apron for every thanksgiving i can remember!

ah…the table is set!  we added one fold away table to the end of our main table.

hank and his little cousin sat at this little table.  they are such best little friends 🙂

almost ready!

nana and dancy led devotions before we ate.

moving right along and skipping over the cleaning of dishes…. game time!  one of many rounds of blokus.

after dinner wine and games as we move on through the day…..

round two!  you know…pull out all the leftovers.  make turkey buns.  the other side of the family came over to join us and catch phrase followed…. with speed scrabble to round out the evening..

it was so fun to laugh with family.  meet new friends.  share traditions.  
give thanks to the Lord for He is good.  His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1
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grandma great’s famous creamed corn
2 cans creamed corn
1 can regular corn (drained)
2 eggs
1/4 C. milk
1 1/4 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
mix all ingredients, reserving 1/4 sleeve of crackers.  bake, covered at 275 (yes 275) for 2 hours in a round casserole dish.  add a mixture of 1/4 sleeve crushed crackers and melted butter to the top the last 15 minutes.
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psst. and facebook

just a quick note…. i started a facebook page that i can update more often than the blog.  it will mostly be “friday favorite” type posts, coupon codes to share, continuations of blog posts….

so come join us!

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and yes, the facebook block on my sidebar is somewhat tacky and large.  so far i’ve been able to figure out blog design and format on my own but i have taken the plunge and am in the process of having someone else design a new look for the blog!

hopefully ‘big facebook icon’ over their will become smaller and more pleasant to look at!

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and here’s a little randomness.  boone is wearing mr.daddy’s faceshielding, huge, orange, nothing can touch me helmet.

we worked on a trail for the children that leads to an open area…their “fort”

artprize

$250,000 to the winner!
of artprize 2010.
over 1,000 pieces of art to view.  located in various venues within
a certain city perimeter.  fun, fun, fun!
below is one of my favorites.  “the seven days of creation”.  made from crayons

beautiful weather, great art, yummy food, cute date.  
makes for a lovely evening. 🙂
and viewing the art?  its free!
so much creativity.
 behold.  this mermaid is made out of toothpicks!
papercutting.  amazing.
the shadows this piece cast were exquisite.

a gorgeous stencil made from dirt.  it is surrounded by
steel shovels and wheelbarrows.

below is a shelf of several little ceramic cups in shades of gray.

gorgeous oil painting.

beautiful floating steel orbs.  

shoot.  for 250k i might be searching for the inner artist in me. 🙂

the pumpkin man

we live in a relatively small town.  one of the perks is the pumpkin man.
i went to the same pumpkin man when i was a little girl.
he is kind of old. 🙂
the pumpkin man has every kind of pumpkin…..and a lot of them!  
the thrill of the hunt.  i say…if you can carry it, you can get it.
the rule of thumb is one pumpkin per person.  we came home with 9. ? . 
hank’s face is blurry but its priceless!  he was trying so 
hard to prove he could carry it.

love deanie’s humor at the sweet age of 9.5
and dubs….well you’re just cute buddy 🙂

an attempt at all the children together.  poor dubs is crying, honestly,
for no good reason.  just turns the tears on when i say “smile” . ha!
the best part right here.  dickering.  we’ve never been able to figure
out the pumpkin man’s pricing…..i think the more you talk and smile 
the lower the price gets!  this year he started rambling numbers
off like an auctioneer.  hilarious.
boone and hank stopped talking and just looked on.  
mr daddy has a twenty in his hands going back and forth
because the pumpkin man is still deciding.
the whole process is worth the trip.
i love traditions and family.  what a fun night!

my white slipcovers for the couch and loveseat

i love love getting email!  i receive questions, compliments, suggestions….i love it all!
one of the most common questions is regarding the white slipcovers on our sofas.
sofa set #1
this is the loveseat from the set.

when we moved we brought our red floral couches with us.  
they are really pretty they just don’t
really go with the look i am going for in this house. 
so rather than spend a fortune on reupholstery,
i opted to try slipcovers.
(the picture below is from our previous home)

the loose, white slipcovers are from wal-mart.  you heard it hear first.  wal.  to the mart.  
 they are the classic sofa slipcover.  if the link doesn’t work in the future,
hopefully you can just search that name.  
they do have a subtle stripe through them (white) and don’t
fit my couches as tightly as the picture online…but they do the job.  
and for the price point and one cent shipping it was worth it.
so if you see LOOSE white slip covers in my posts they’re the wal-mart ones 🙂
sofa set #2
if you see TIGHT slip covered couches in my posts…these are from ikea.
 yes, they get dirty.  yes, you need to wash them. 🙂
the loose covers are easy to pull off and throw in my washing machine.
so far with the tight, ikea covers we have just spot cleaned them.  eventually,
this white set may move to the downstairs family room to fulfill a “beachy” look.
at that point we will put some pieces that are a darker shade with more texture,
but until then i love these up here! 
i don’t mind a little smudge here and there, but that’s just me 🙂