PUMPKINS AND AN A-MAZE-ING CORN MAZE

I have so many things to share this week

that I hardly know where to start.

I guess I will start with where

we went yesterday.

click for source

Gotta love a pumpkin place.

Especially when you see this

on the news.

This is the most amazing pumpkin farm.

Meuer Farm is in

Chilton, Wisconsin.

Every year we go and one of the highlights is the 

CORN MAZE.

Can you see that it honors Donald Driver this year.

Is that AMAZING, or what?

Here's what it looks like going in-

Well, when I saw that it made me think

of our fairy garden.

If you remember it started out looking like this.

THEN the Queen Fairy got lazy

and let the trolls plant corn there.

After coming home from the pumpkin farm

The Queen Fairy 

knew just what to do.

Snip, Snip, Clip, Clip.

Tis a

Fairy Garden Corn Maze.

And all the sweet fairies can find

their way home.

AND-it won't cost you 

SIX DOLLARS to

go through this maze.

FIVE dollars will be just fine,

thank you.

I take PayPal, Visa, Master Card

but NOT American Express!;>)

 Wait till you see what the Queen Fairy 

is up to today.

It involves Annie Sloan Paint-

Yes.It.Does!

MAYBE I'll show you that tomorrow

OR maybe I will show you

the truck full of Fall decorations

that I stole from the riverbank

OR maybe I'll show you the 

grapevine wreath that 

SweetCheeks made...OR...

maybe The Queen will just sleep in.

click on image for source

FAT chance of THAT happening!

Sunday Prayer Plea For A Peanut

Well, old bean, 

as Tammy  from Peanut On The Table would say.

However, Happiness has been elusive lately.

We need some prayers here.

Some prayers for wise decisions.

Tammy had just gone through some pretty

extensive cancer surgery.

They "think they got it all".

Her doctor, however, wants to continue

with radioactive iodine treatments.

This will make her terribly sick and 

means that her already

 compromised immune system

will take a hit- a big hit.

She has prayed on it and thought about it

and decided not to do any further treatment(s).

We have written back and forth several times

and I would like to ask you to pray

that they did 

"get it all"

and that she has peace 

with the decision she has made.

She is a believer in God and personal healing.

Please pray for her...

and if you like to be entertained

you can always find a bit of fun on her blog.

Peanut On The Table

Thanks so much-

I am off to the pumpkin patch with all the littles

and a few of the bigs today!

THE GIGGLE HEADS

No time for a long post.

The Giggle Heads Are Here.

TURN YOUR VOLUME ON

I guarantee that this 

TWENTY SECOND VIDEO

will make you smile!

See you later, 

my lovely blogging friends!

I hope there aren't any 

drool marks on my newly washed floor!

Sweet Cheeks Short and Sweet

Here is our dear little

SweetCheeks

all dressed and ready for dance class.

Optical illusion-

Which is bigger-her head or her bow?

I watched her dance last night.
She is so happy -no matter what she is doing.
She just makes my heart smile.
She can twirl and pirouette with the best of them.

And to think-we used to call her our little

DANCING BEAR.

You can click on the image to go to 

Amber Alexander's website which is full

of wonderful whimsical animal renderings.

Prepare to be delighted.

I guess that is better than 

Dancing Bare!

(No images available!;>)

French Provincial End Table ReDo

Bonjour or Good Morning

French or English- Take your pick..

Want to see what I have been up to?

Pretty darned cute, huh?

Paris inspired!

Simple and sweet.

It didn't start out so cute!

It was REALLY REALLY dirty

and pretty beat up.

I didn't have any white chalk paint

so I scrubbed her down and used good old

Behr ultra white in a semi gloss.

Two coats did it.

There is no distressing on this piece.

Distressing, isn't it?;>)
I lined the drawer with some 
"watercolor" wallpaper that I 
have had for at least 15 years.

Anyway- I think it turned out pretty cute

and this is going in some sweet girl's 

Paris themed bedroom.

And speaking of Paris~

When MyHero and I got married he

promised to take me to Paris for our

5th anniversary.  

He came through on his promise. He did!

He took me to Paris.

Paris, Wisconsin!

It coniists of a few houses and 

some closed down stores.

How about THIS place?

Now-Look at the top of that picture.

Does it?

Yeah......

Welcome to my world!

PRETZEL SALAD? Seriously?

Salad?

What does that bring to mind?

Greens?  Tomatoes?  Onions?

Well, folks, this will forever alter your vision of SALAD!

click on photo for recipe

Lulu decided it would be great fun to make 

PRETZEL SALAD

After crushing the ONLY PRETZELS I had in the house

(this is important later in the story)

we put them in the oven at the recommended temperature

and set the timer.

After about 4 minutes (out of 10) 

I smelled something burning.

Uh-Oh

Yes -I realize that I misspelled Pretzel-

but I am too lazy to change it now

Ummmm...Remember this was the LAST of the pretzels!

Too late to turn back now because the other part of the

SALAD  is already done.

Well, that means I have to take a trip to the store-

10 miles and 30 minutes later we are ready

to try it again.

Ummm...this time we leave the crust  in less time

and then have to let it cool.

However,

By now the Jello has "set up" and doesn't 

want to spread over the cream cheese mixture.

Now it looks like CRAP this!

And it served up like THIS.

Ummmm.NOT pretty.

I'll tell you a secret.

Want to know why the crust burned?

Ummmm...Wellllllll....

Remember how I was bragging on my great 

double oven the other day?

I had used the top oven to broil something 

for the kids

BEFORE we started the SALAD.

I set the LOWER oven to bake the pretzel crust.

GUESS WHICH oven I put the crust in?

Uh-huh-UPPER OVEN!  TWICE.!!

Hey- I never said I was a SMART cook.

I just like to eat!

SweetCheeks says-

Pass the spatula!

She loves the 

SALAD DRESSING!  

By the way- I have made this before

and it is DELICIOUS!

I'll be around late today-

I am meeting my daughter for a 

fun day with kids and lunch

between my house and hers.

ASK ME ANYTHING- PET PEEVES

Okay-
I lied- I was going to quit
yesterday BUT-

You asked for it.

You got it.

Question:

What are your pet peeves regarding blogging?

Answer:

I was hoping no one would ask me this because

I don't want to offend anyone.

But-you asked-

#1- No Reply bloggers that ask me a question.

I try to answer and have to back track through

links to TRY and find a way to answer them.

#2-Word verification. 

It takes SO MUCH EXTRA time.

Sometimes the words are so garbled that

I have to re-enter it two or three times

before I get it right.

#3- Bloggers whose name does NOT appear

anywhere on the their blog.

If you're blog is 

HAPPYLICIOUS and your real name

is not in your profile...and/or you don't

sign your name at the bottom of your blog

what am I supposed to call you-

Happy or Ms Licious?

Please identify yourself SOMEHOW on your

blog with a real name.

#4-No links back to your blog attached to your name.

I think when Google Plus came along and people

signed up for it they don't realize that a lot of times

it does NOT tie back to your email OR your blog.

So, if your are a NO REPLY blogger and 

connected to Google Plus with no profile info

I can't contact you.

#5- Bloggers that are 

MEAN GIRLS.

There are some people out there that are 

so jealous of other bloggers that they 

leave snarky comments.

I had one anonymous person that commented

all the time with one word.

CUTE

No matter what I posted-it was CUTE-

even to prayer requests.

If that is YOU-you need to get a life. LOL
You no longer leave comments on my blog

because I don't allow 

ANONYMOUS comments any more!
#6-Blogs that have black backgrounds
with small white print.
I find them almost impossible to read.
#7- Blogs that have super small
fonts that are single spaced
and hard to read.
Sometimes all I can do on those
is look at the photos.

Okay then-

Now that I have that off MY chest

what are YOUR pet peeves?

And please don't say blogs about

Pet Peeves!

Come back tomorrow and I'll
show you what's cooking at our house.

Wrapping Up Answers to ASK ME ANYTHING

Now that the 

BIG QUESTIONS 

are out of the way I will answer the rest of them.

Question:

What does your hubby do at the hospital?

Does he mind that I am so open about family matters?

Does my family "get it" with my blog?

Are we on our Second Honeymoon?

Answer:

MyHero is a chaplain at a local hospital.

(Married to a pastor-me-yeah-no one in my

family can believe it either) lol

He is used to me being open but there are

things that I don't talk about.

Some things are too private or too painful

so I leave those out.

He pretends to hate it when I make fun of him.

The truth is, if I don't tease him

he wonders if I am mad at him.

He is the straight man in my comedy act.

He is also the straight man in both of our son's comedy acts.

Our daughters are much nicer.

My family doesn't really GET IT with the blog

but I find it much more personal than 

Facebook where they have 5000 friends

and only KNOW 10 of them-snicker....

I KNOW my readers!

2nd Honeymoon?  Hmmm..that implies that we had

a FIRST honeymoon.  We never did.

Question:

Do you forgive easily?

Answer:

I never hold grudges. They would eat me up.

It takes A LOT to make me mad but  

when I have had enough I will 

LET SOMEONE KNOW.

TRUST ME ON THIS!

However, once I have had my say

I am over it and no longer angry about it.

If I struggle with forgiveness it would be with

someone that does the same awful thing 

over and over again.

Question:

What do I like best about myself?

Answer:

That I can roll with the punches and deal with

most things with a sense of humor.

Question:

If you could change one thing about the world

what would it be?

Answer:

That no one would have to suffer needlessly-

That no child would go to bed hungry or sick.

That those that need healing would be healed.

I guess that is more than one thing but they

all kind of tie together.

Question:

If you could spend one hour with any person

-living or dead-

Who would it be and why?

Answer:

My father.

He died when I was 21 and I never got to say Goodbye.

Question:

Someone asked me if I like light, fun blogs 

or ones that delved into real life problems.

Answer:

I like both.  It connects us when we are honest

and real because, let's face it, life is 

NOT always FUN.

I do think there is a fine line though between

sharing a problem/talking about life

and not falling into a pity party.

Illness, depression, divorce, death

all REAL problems to share.

There is a lessening of burden when it can 

be shared with others.

Okay- I think there will be one more day

of answers to

ASK ME ANYTHING

and then I'll move on.

Thanks for hanging in there.

Hanging?

Hope you haven't felt like 

HANGING yourself after all these

LONG posts!

More Answers to ASK ME ANYTHING

Okay then!

Had enough yet?

Shall I continue?

You know I have to show you at least 

ONE PICTURE from this trip.

Look at this lush little flower. Cute, huh?

Anyway, moving right along.

You sure asked a lot of questions.

Here are some EASY answers to some FUN questions.

Question:

What fragrance do you wear?

Answer:

I know you are gonna laugh about this, Liz!

I wear HAPPY by Clinque in the summer-seriously-lol

Or-BEACH by Bobbi Brown.

In Fall I switch to 

Tuscany per Dona by Estee Lauder

Question:

What's your favorite food?

What do you like to cook?

Eating Sugar?

Answer:

I love French food  but don't eat it often.

Don't snicker but the BEST French food I ever had

was at The Bistro in Epcot (Disney).

I like to cook but I like cooking for a crowd

better than just cooking for the two of us.

My FAVORITE though is baking.

I LOVE to bake-pies, cookies, cupcakes,tarts...

you name it- I will bake it.

When we built this kitchen we put in a huge

Bosch double oven and I love it.

Which brings me to sugar-my weakness.

I went for 7 out of the last 10 years 

without eating sugar.

5 years in the first stretch and 

then off an on for the last  five years-

As of this week I am off again 

and hoping to stay off this time.

Sugar to me is like cocaine to an addict.

One piece of candy is too much 

and the whole box

is not enough.  

I could LIVE on sugar.

My blood sugars are good but 

I know it is not good for me.

So, here in front of God and Bloggers 

I am telling you

that I am going to do my best to 

NOT EAT SUGAR.

I feel 100% better when I don't eat it.

Question:

What would be the most surprising thing about you

that we don't know?

Answer:

Hmmmm....A few things probably...lol

#1

I won the state (PA)

FHA (Future Homemakers Award)

as a senior in high school and they called a 

special assembly to present it.

Ummm...My HomeEc teacher hated me

and had to sit on the stage when it was presented.

I wore the pin to school every day.-lol

#2

I married MyHero after only dating him for

THIRTY DAYS.

I would not recommend this for any sane person.

#3
I drive everywhere.  
MyHero never drives when we go anywhere.
He reads or works on his computer.
I am not a good rider and 
he is not a good driver-lol-and admits it.

Question:

Where haven't you visited 
that you would like to go?

What is your heritage?

Answer:

I would love to visit Ireland.

My father's mother came to the US from Ireland.

Her name was Rose Owen. 

So, I am English/Irish on my father's side.

I am Pennsylvania Dutch on my mother's side and French.

Okay- Think that's enough for today.

BUT

Remember that sweet little lush flower I showed

you at the beginning?

Well, here is where it grows.

Yes- It grows right below 

THIS SIGN

No wonder it's so lush.

More answers coming tomorrow.

Y'all come on back now, ya hear?

More Answers to ASK ME ANYTHING

Wow!  Y'all sure have lots of questions

and I am going to answer some more of them.

But----first----

Here's a few more pics of our trip so far.

We hit Grand Marias, MI

And visited Eagle Harbor & Manistique, MI

Alrighty then:

Here are some of the things you asked.

Questions:

How do I visit so many people

 and leave comments?

How do I develop relationships with bloggers?

How do I know so much about other bloggers?

How do I get comments?

Answer:

When I visit someone's blog I READ it.

Usually every word. 

If it is full of pictures of the same thing I usually skim the pictures 

quickly but read the content.

I might mark it to go back 

to look at pictures later

in more detail.

I HARDLY EVER read anyone else's comments

that have been left before mine on a blog.

 I don't want it to influence MY comment

and if I did that I would not have time

to visit so many of you.

If I follow your blog 

you are most likely on my sidebar.

I want to honor every blogger-

not just a chosen few.

If you took the time to write it 

and I am going to visit you,

I am going to take the time to read it.

That's how I come to know all of you so well.

I think I get comments because 

I connect with people.

I don't care WHO you are-

if you are REAL that is the person

I want to know.

I don't care if you live in a tent 

or a mansion because

money and things 

DO NOT define who you are.

I think people respond to me 

because they know that

I genuinely care about them and their families.

I also think SweetCheeks 

has been a good drawing card for me!  LOL

Questions:

How long have I been blogging?

How do I blog everyday &

 balance life & blogging?

How do I go about blogging?

Answer:

I have been blogging about 3-1/2 years.

I started blogging after my friend, Jettie, started

blogging for books. I liked the idea.

For the first few months 

I did not get hardly any comments-

some days I got no comments at all.

But, I was writing my blog as a family "history"

so that my kids/grandkids 

would remember things

that happened.

Then, I started visiting other blogs 

and commenting

and following blogs.

I changed my writing style and shortened my posts

because I find short posts the easiest to read.

(LOL-THIS one is getting a little long though!;>)

I think most people just want the highlights anyway.

.

I take photos all the time and 

I write notes to myself.

I may post something SweetCheeks said 2 weeks after she says it- 

but when the time comes I have the pictures

ready to match the post.

I also do things probably a bit different 

when I write my post.

Once I decide what I am going to write about

I figure out which pictures I am going to use.

Then, as I am writing my story,

I post my pictures

one at a time as I go.

My "gift" if I have one is that I have a wicked

sense of humor-like my father did-

like some of my kids do.

I can see the joke in just about anything

and I try to end each post with a smile.

So...that's about it for this post.

I will answer more questions tomorrow-

keep 'em coming if you want.

Oh- yeah- Someone asked me what is the best

thing I have seen so far?

It's GOTTA be this!

Taken in Calumet, MI.

You didn't expect any less from me, did you?

Answers to ASK ME ANYTHING

Whew!

First off- I am going to have to break this down

into a couple of posts.

What fun questions some of you had.

Before I start answering question

 these are some of the things I saw
in the last couple of days.

I will answer one question

right off the bat-

Laurie asked me-

Why are Tete and Jettie NOT allowed

to ask you questions?  

Here is why!

As soon as they saw that they couldn't 

they started e-mailing me.

Here is a sample of their questions!

Do you stuff your bra with tissue paper or foam?

Do you like granny panties or tighties?

At least she didn't ask if I wore a thong!

How many WARTS do you have? seriously, Jettie

When you get up in the middle of the night, 

do you dribble as you walk?

Do you slurp your soup, 

or do you eat it daintly like the rich folk?

Have you read 50 shades of gray?

In the middle of the night, 

when no-one is watching, 

do you sneak food, 

saying those calories don't count? 

Are you REALLY blond?

Now-Do you see WHY?  

These are both very intelligent 

middle aged women

who revert to 6th grade behavior

when they think they can

GET ME!

AND I should have added 

my ex-sister-in-law, Ellie,

to the No Questions roster but I didn't think

her computer was working.

DARN IT!

So...

Moving along to the REAL questions!

I had several questions that asked 

How do you keep up?

Well, for starters I am very organized.

That can be a talent or a curse-lol

I sleep 6 hours maybe 6-1/2 at the most.

If I sleep more than that I am groggy,

When I get up- I make sure I have my post up,

I drink 2 or 3 cups of coffee, 

and watch the local news.

I also read any comments

that came in during the night.

I then have a "list" of things I do-

Sweep through kitchen,

make the bed,

throw a load of laundry in,

do an odd job or two like mirrors or dusting.

After I do my little morning chores I sit down,

pour myself MORE coffee

(Donna asked how many cups- 6 to 8 a day,

Awful, I know.  Hey-it's better than vodka, right?;>)

Then I sit down with my laptop 

 and answer any unanswered comments 

I have waiting for me.

If I have time I will also visit a few blogs.

Then my day takes off from there.

I might go grocery shopping or run a few errands

or I might sew or paint something.

If I am out and about

I try to be hone by 3pm and I sit down with 

my computer and Dr. Phil (yes-I-do)

I answer a few more comments and/or

visit a few more blogs while his show is on.

Then, I usually make dinner.
I might then go to kid's volley ball game
or run one of the grandkids somewhere.
OR

We watch a bit of TV and then 

when hubby goes to bed

(He goes to bed early 

because of his schedule at the hospital)

I spend about 2+ hours on blogging.
I am a VERY fast typist-
seriously fast.
On weekends I usually have kids
so just speed things up a bit with
chores and don't spend as much
time blogging.

Okay- That took way longer than I thought

and I don't want to bore you all.

Tomorrow I will answer several more questions

about how I grew my blog, etc.

Thanks for all the questions.

Some are fun and some are crazy

(not mentioning any names Jettie, Tete, Ellie)

Thanks for hanging in here with me

while I am traveling.

Headed East from Munising, MI

this morning.

ps.  You can continue to ask any questions
you might have!