Christmas presents made in the USA!

My quest this year was to only purchase X-mas gifts that were made in the USA. That quest was short-lived because there are so few items still manufactured in the USA. Quite sad to walk into a store and everything you pick up is made in China. What has happened to all of the great companies that once existed? I will not get on my soap box but I could continue because back in the 80's our jobs were slowly being moved overseas. When I was in college, an instructor shared with us 'to become computer savy because that is where our future was'. Get real!! All of those jobs have been contracted out to other countries too. Back to my X-mas story..

My new goal: everyone at least has one item that was made in the USA. I will strive to meet this goal and it is doable. (or so I think). I wanted a set of dishes for my aunt... so I thought, 'my Pfaltzgraff is made in the USA'.. Wrong!!!.. not since 2005. I chose Corelle but only the plates and bowls are made in the USA.. The mugs are imported in.. so it is only a matter of time...

I've been giving antique glassware because it was made in the USA. Hope nobody thinks I am cheap... LOL.. Actually most antique glassware is quite costly.

Clothing made in the USA. is nearly impossible. I was going to buy my son, brother and dad, Carhart because it is made in the USA. Wrong again: there are still some items made in the USA but every shirt I looked at was made in another country.

I went to a local craft fair... guess what? There were items there labeled: made in China.

As I find American made items, I will share.

One windy day...

'Dorothy I do not think we are in Kansas anymore'.. Wow, what wind gusts we had this morning... I have many large limbs down in the backyard...I will have to take pictures before cleanup... I need a chain saw or lumber jack...ha.. I worked in my yard yesterday and planted a couple mums and was getting ready for a large amount of rain but I did not receive much rain but plenty wind. Not sure what time the wind started but was during the night, and it must have been fairly bad because I was dreaming of a tornado... or else that was what I went to bed thinkng about...:)

I bought the mums on Sprigg street.. they always have the nicest mums.. I bought mums their the first year that I moved to Cape.. 1999.. I found the place by accident and had to stop and buy 5.. I do love fall time.. and used to love to decorate, but that was when the kids were smaller...

I remember Brian helping me make a stuffed halloween 'monster' that was part of the decorations and then he was to afraid to go into the living room by himself...LOL.. I asked him yesterday if he wanted a mum for his yard.. and he said 'no, I already have a mom'...:) He was 22 this past Wednesday... I was 22 when I had him....doesn't seem like it should be that many years ago...LOL... must be the old age think again...

I've spent the day inside working on remodeling projects that I have had started for quite awhile... I bought the wall tile for the bathroom yesterday... I have started painted the portion that I am not going to place tile on.. Then of course I decided to paint the vanity first before I buy a new one... Thought I would try and recycle the old one... Am trying to crackle paint it... It does not look real good yet...If you know of any good sights that show renovation ideas, let me know...

Time to get back to painting, and what ever else I start but not finish today... It is back to work tomorrow... Weekends are way to short....

Butterflies make me think of my mom

My mom loves butterflies and I had bought her a couple butterfly bushes several years ago to help attract more around the house. Any time I see a butterfly I think of my mom ,and I often buy her a shirt with butterflies on it. She probably thinks 'I like butterflies but I'm sick of all these butterfly clothes'.

Every spring I go down and plant flowers around the wheat drill and in her barrel. This year I felt bad because I had not taken down any flowers and mom said 'I told someone the other day that you had not asked what I wanted for mother's day, but I was going to tell you that I want flowers because you always plant flowers but you have not yet this year'. So needless to say, we made a trip into town that day for flowers.

I can not remember what the purple flowers are called ,but these have been at mom and dad's since I was a little girl. These flowers attract many butterflies too. I remember loving to pick these and place in a vase or jar. Some things you never out grow because I still love a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. I go to Aldi's and buy myself a 3.00 bouquet from time to time.

I can remember getting in trouble for picking my grandma's flowers. I loved her peonies and will always have those memories of sneaking around and trying to break one so I could ask if I could pick it because it was already broken. Her flowers were her treasures and we were not suppose to pick those. As she got older, she started giving me flowers each year out of her yard. I was just not old enough to understand that those were truly her prize possessions and she was passing those along to me.

Dad's corn crop

Dad's sweet corn crop is quite healthy this year so I've been up to my ears with ears. I brought home 10 dozen a couple weeks ago. My mom did not need to clean anymore corn so all of it came home with me. Peaches n cream sweet corn is quite delicious.
Pop always plants more than he needs, but it must make him happy. He takes some of it around and sells it for nearly nothing and it is hard work picking all that corn by hand.

He likes being out in the heat though, and on the go and at 74 he can out go me for sure. I was at mom and dad's for about two hours: dad and I schucked the corn, he then got his chain saw out chopping up limbs that had fallen in the yard, then started up the mower and began mowing and acre or so. He would rather be in the heat than in the air conditioning. I hope I still get around that good when I am 74.

Unique recycled containers

Here are a couple pics of the 'cradle of flowers' and the ' trash can tomato planter'.

Going Green brings out the redneck in all of us

Recycle, Recycle...we have to go green!!! That is all I hear out of J. He digs through my trash and pulls out items that I should recycle. I am all about being green but get out of my trash!! LOL... I think he just does it to see how much I can take and how long before I go over the edge and yell at him.. He actually brings me trash from his house to recycle.

I tried to explain that I do recycle but on my terms....I was going out buying flower pots, baskets and containers and I thought 'why am I spending this money when I have junk in the basement that could be used for flower pots?'.. I rummaged through my 'treasures' and found an old wooden cradle, old porcelain pots, old baskets, and old ash bucket that I had bought at an auction..An old metal trash can that I had bought at an auction and that made a perfect patio container for my tomato plant. So I do recycle, but I do not dig in other's trash cans and pull out card board containers...

When Rednecks are allowed in the city limits...

Since I live most of my life out in the middle of nowhere, I bringith my country ways to town with me.. LOL... I had to have a large tree cut down and I thought removing the stump was to expensive.. So with my redneck ways I figured out a better plan.. I was going to use the old stump and plant flowers and such around it.. After buying the bird bath, all the plants, and the rubber mulch, I could have probably paid for stump removal.

Over 40 sag and lag

Over 40, and not only have I began to sag, I've began to lag. Seems I have no energy at the end of the day. It would seem that I really started falling apart when I turned 40. LOL.. I have an eye floater!! Old people have those!! My knee hurts and it hurts after I have sit and try to get up... Old people do that!!! I need to figure out how to get a 'jump start'...


I did go to the dr. a couple weeks ago and he gave me a testosterone shot and meds for my thyroid. I am waiting for my energy to kick back in but so far it has not. The energizer bunny just has not started back up... One of the ladies at work, joked with me and said 'you will be skinny with energy and a full facial beard'.. She is a hoot.


Of course the doc said I need to be on a 1000 calorie a day diet... LOL... I said, if I would only eat 1000 calories a day, I would be very skinny... He thought my ideal weight would be 115.. I could wish for that but I really do not even want to be that small. I have started eating Pistachio nuts the past week and I love them... I like all kinds of nuts (pecans, walnuts, cashews,etc.) but pistachios are suppose to be a very healthy snack.


A 1-oz serving of pistachios, with 160 calories, offers an excellent source of vitamin B6, copper and magnesium; and are a good source of fiber, thiamin and phosphorus making them a wise snack choice. For more information on these studies, visit www.pistachiohealth.com

Vacation for a few days...

I just back from a few days in Destin and then headed to Bowling Green. Destin is so very nice, and I hope to stay longer next time I go. First time I have taken an entire week off from work in several years, and I probably will not do that again in the near future. Way to much to try and catch up on when I return.

Was a last minute decison to take off to Florida but was a good deal on a canceled condo so I decided to ride!!! My neice Em, her friend and I loaded up and off we went.

We ate at a unique place on the water 'Dewy Destin'. The food was great to say the least. The best and least expensive meal I had the entire time. A very simple little dive that was soooo busy....

We also ate at Red Snapper but can not say much for the food and service but the entertainment was great. A man played his guitar and sang the entire time we were there. He was really good. The best food I tried there was the alligator tail.. Very tasty...

Of course we went to Joe's Crab Shack.. that was fun..

Memories=Marbles collection

Most of my collections were inspired by someone or I have those to keep someones memory alive. When I go to the antique shops, I always have thoughts and memories of my grandmother. She was so ahead of her times and often I think 'I should have kept that crazy looking bottle that grandma gave me'. She always gave us hankies and strange looking bottles for X-mas. I just love to find one of those 'genie' type bottles and not because I like them but because it brings back such good memories for me.
The picture I'm downloading is of a vase full of Marbles that I purchased a year or so ago because it made me think of my good friend Shanda. We rarely see each other or even talk on the phone, but she is often thought about in my home. The kids and I reminisce quite often about times spent at her house when they were young. I know nothing about marbles and do not need to because these were only purchased because they triggered a memory. I am sharing this because sometimes we all think that are life has not been meaningful enough or we have not made a lasting impression or motivated enough when really we have.
I love that chain email that I receive from time to time that states: there is someone in the world thinking about you but you just do not know it. That is so very true. You just never know who you have inspired throughout the years.

The glass vase or spooner in the picture is a piece of Ohio and Flint glass called circle and swag.

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts and the memories that you cherish.

Wine collector/taster

Wanted to share a pic of a few bottles in my wine collection.. I have to laugh when I see these bottles collecting dust because I am not sure how I got started collecting unusual bottles of wine. As you can tell, no these are not 'expensive' bottles.. I think the most expensive one I have was 30 bucks and that is way to expensive for me...

My favorite to drink(taste that is) is the Stone Hill Concord, and the bottle in the picture will be empty by the end of the weekend cause a little wine is good for your heart so the experts say.....:)
I was in Maine a couple years ago and and asked a waiter in a restaurant if they served any Missouri wines, and he looked at me with a very puzzled look on his face, and said that he did not think they were able to offer a Missouri wine. He was from another country so he probably was thinking 'what is this country hick talking about and where is Missouri?'

Does red wine protect against heart disease? Maybe. Many studies investigated the benefits of red wine suggested that moderate amount of red wine (one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men) lowers the risk of heart attack for people in middle age by ~ 30 to 50 percent. It is also suggested that alcohol such as red wine may prevent additional heart attacks if you have already suffered from one. Other studies also indicated that red wine can raise HDL cholesterol (the Good cholesterol) and prevent LDL cholesterol (the Bad cholesterol) from forming. Red wine may help prevent blood clots and reduce the blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits. Indeed, studies showed that people from the Mediterranean region who regularly drank red wine have lower risks of heart disease
What's in Red Wine that are good for heart?
Red wine is a particularly rich source of antioxidants flavonoid phenolics, so many studies to uncover a cause for red wine's effects have focused on its phenolic constituents, particularly resveratrol and the flavonoids. Resveratrol, found in grape skins and seeds, increases HDL cholesterol and prevent blood clotting. Flavonoids, on the other hand, exhibit antioxidant properties helping prevent blood clots and plaques formation in arteries.

Dog induced sleep deprivation

My dear sweet friend across the miles has asked me to blog so we can keep in touch, share ideas, update family happenings, etc. :) So here goes..

The 4 howling hound dogs had me up at midnight and at 3 a.m, then again about 5 a.m... With faces like these, I can not hardly get upset with them but I have been sooooo very tired today.. I'm to old to have 4 babies..They have been out all day barking at everything so I'm sure the neighbors are ready to hang me high...I am hoping they sleep better tonight.. I would think they would be ready for a long night's sleep. I know I am.

The 100 mile yard sale is going on this weekend, and by surprise B was going...He asked me to go with him but I just was not up to it... He was looking for table and chairs, love seat and not sure what else. He wanted to take my truck so I used his today... running around town.

I did not make it to any antique stores today but normally try to hit at least one each weekend. I will try to download some pics of a few of my many collections of junk better known as 'June Bug Treasures'.