HAPPY HALLOWEEN -SWEET CHEEKS AND THE SMASHED PUMPKIN

I couldn't resist

posting this again

for Halloween.

This is SweetCheeks

at two years old.

She is 9 now.

She will not appreciate 

seeing this at her age..

BUT

Here she is holding

THE PUMPKIN

she picked out.

Ummm...

Here she is about 

15 seconds later.

(look at the knees of her tights)

Ummmmm.....

Let the crying begin...

Poor SweetCheeks.

I love that we have a

moment like this forever

frozen in time.

Someday she will show this

to her own granddaughter

and smile a sweet/sad

little smile.

I hope you have a

Smashing Halloween..

and I mean that in the

NICEST WAY!;>)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

image

CALLING ALL BLOGGERS HOME-Whatever Happened To---------

As most of you know,

I was away from blogging for almost a year.

A lot can happen in a year.

A LOT!

I have been trying to catch up with some 

of the blogs I used to follow---

Blogs I enjoyed for one reason or another.

Some for their decor ideas,

some for their lovely pictures,

some because they were just

DEAR PEOPLE.

So---that being said---

I am throwing this out there for anyone

that might want to respond that

'knows something'.

DOES ANYONE ELSE
wonder where bloggers go 
when they no longer blog?

Did these blogs disappear?

Are they on Instagram now?

Are they on Facebook only?

WHERE OH WHERE

did you go?

I am worried about you!

Here in no particular order are

blogs that I am missing....

Around the House (Phyllis)
At Home With Elaine (just not blogging?)
Blessed Serendipity
Blooming on Bainbridge

Blooming Rose Musings
Bluebird Notes
The Bam Life
The Bouse Life

Cottage & Broome

Cottage on Main

Confessions of a Junkyard Cat
Creative Decorating on a Budget
Elements Interiors

Happy To Be
Kelley Highway

OC Cottage

Pembrookshire Lass
Rose Petals from Heaven 

Rosewalk Cottage
Rusty Pearl

Shabby Brocante

I borrowed stole am using these

pictures from their blogs/headers

just to jog your memory.

This is FAR FROM a complete list-

Just some blogs that appear on my sidebar

that have 'disappeared'.

It's funny how connected we become

here in

BLOGLAND

and I worry about people 

that just kind of 

'disappear'.

BOO!

Maybe some of you are still posting-

have changed your name-

have moved on to a different form

(blogger to Wordpress, etc)

IF you have a moment and know 

what happened to any of these bloggers-

I would love an update.

And- as a side note---

 I was sorry to hear that

Pat from Back Porch Musings 

had passed away. 

She was such a lovely lady

and a beautiful blog.

Next post I will share my

 adventure at 

THE ZOO BOO

with 6 crazy running sweet grandkids

and my 2 daughters and 1 son-in-law.

Now THAT was scary!

QUICK SURGERY UPDATE -on CJK's OTHER NANA

Thank you all so much 

for your prayers.

I got a text from my DIL.

Pat is out of surgery and it went well.

Her surgery was about 8 hours long

and she is now in recovery.

So far- So Good.

They will be monitoring her for

seizures and any other side effects

from the long surgery.

Thank you again!

You have prayed another person

through a trial.

Keep praying for her and her family

in these upcoming days 

and weeks of recovery.

This little boy will be very happy to have

NANA PAT

home where she belongs.

Maybe he'll even share his pumpkin with HER..

Or--maybe not---

Working on my Etsy shop.

Setting these things up are not for the

faint-of-heart

or the computer challenged.

AN URGENT PRAYER REQUEST-For The OTHER NANA in CJK's Life

Good Morning!

I don't have much time to write

because I have to be somewhere soon

but I wanted to get this out there

this morning.

My sweet daughter-in-love's mom, Pat,

is having some serious surgery

very early tomorrow morning.

She is the OTHER NANA

in this little guy's life.

Pat is the 

STORYBOOK MOM!

She is the mom that, if you were a kid,

you wanted to be your mom.

She was a stay-at-home mom

that crafted, sewed, cleaned, cooked

and loved her family.

The proof of what a good mom she has been

is evidenced in my sweet dil.

Tomorrow morning she is having

surgery to 

REMOVE A TUMOR

from the 

LINING OF HER BRAIN.

I can't think of anything that is 

MUCH SCARIER 

than that,  can you?

She is a very private person so I know

it will be hard for her to even 

ask for prayer.

I have a big mouth so

I am doing it for her.

Please pray for her,

for her husband,

her 3 daughters,

and her grandkids.

Pat needs to be well and home

sewing, crafting, and cooking.

I say:

Play it for all it's worth and 

 let the old boy do ALL the cleaning.

Please, if you pray, send up a prayer for her.

If you are not a pray-er send up good wishes

for a successful surgery and fast recovery.

Love you, Pat!

BBQ RIBS-That'll stick to YOUR ribs!

I still have my sinus infection

and went back for

ROUND TWO

of antibiotics yesterday.

If this doesn't work I may be

cutting my nose off to spite my face

going to a specialist (again).

First, let me say that for all of you

that fuss about cooking---

 I have been

"off-duty" for almost a year

since MyHero can't eat

regular food.

I thought it would be a relief

to not have to cook all the time...

Wrong-o!

Anyway, I have decided

I need to cook even if it is

just for myself.

I like easy rib-filling recipes

this time of year.

It can't get much easier than this.

Looky here~

Here's my simple recipe.

Mix together:

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic POWDER

1 tsp. hickory smoke salt*

*I don't always use the salt because

some people don't like it.

Rub 4 pounds cut up ribs with

above mixture.

Layer in heavy oven proof

roasting dish.

I put tinfoil between the layers

of ribs.

Bake at 300 degrees for 2-4 hours

(until meat is tender)

Just before serving:

Cover with about 2 cups BBQ sauce.

I use Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce

Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes

until browned and bubbly.

Serve with garlic mashed potatoes,

green beans and 

baking powder biscuits

or cornbread.

Rib sticking good-

I promise.

I'm HAPPY.

Guess who's NOT happy?

source

Hoping to feel well enough

to work on my Etsy shop 

later this week.

Tonight I have a special guest visitor.

Hope he brought enough work in 

that briefcase to keep himself busy...

Otherwise, we might have to interact with him..

and you KNOW.....

"Ain't nobody got time for that".........

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH STAYS AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH

For the first time in 

FIFTY YEARS 

I got on a school bus to go anywhere to a

PUMPKIN PATCH.

I sat next to a 'bouncer'

who was too excited to contain himself.

He jabbered a mile a minute,

had a 'touch/push' match 

with the little guy across the aisle,

and kept peeking out the window to see 

'are we there yet'---

He couldn't really see out of the front window-

but I could see him in the bus mirror.

Once we got there it was SO much fun-

There was a big corn maze,

a smaller maze and a hut made out of 

hay bales complete with windows.

There was a 'train' made out of 50 gallon drums,

and various buildings to visit

including a child friendly 'haunted barn'.

The highlight was a ride through the corn fields

with various characters 'stalking' us.

(little pun there-did ya get it? 

Corn field/stalking-never mind)

CJK wanted to sit way in the back of the wagon.

Of course he did.

What you can't see hear is the scream 

coming out of his mouth.

I am so glad he picked our spot 

on the wagon

because we had a 

FRONT BACK ROW SEAT

to the ghouls and goblins that chased us.

Some on foot-

Getting closer by the minute -

Some of them actually 

TOUCHING THE BACK RAIL

OF THE WAGON WHERE WE WERE SITTING.

Which caused someone to DIVE 

to the bottom of the wagon-

Peeking up--

Gathering his courage to sit up again-

Only to see this chasing us.

He said- That's not scary, Nana!

There's a BABY on there!

 We rounded the morning out 

by picking a pumpkin

(you had to be able to carry it yourself)

and hugging a shy friend...

All well and good

BUTT remember---

What happens at

THE PUMPKIN PATCH

STAYS 

at 

THE PUMPKIN PATCH!

Have a good day-

I'll be picking the straw out of my hair!

WHEN-WHAT-WHERE--Anna Ireland Vintage Etsy Shop

Happy Sunday, People!

I had hoped to be able to

OPEN MY ETSY SHOP

this weekend.

However,

I came down with a nasty sinus infection

(me-that NEVER gets sick)

and am on some heavy-duty antibiotics

to try to get rid of it.

I am resistant to medicines

also-chocolate, lemon-meringue pie, 
suggestions from MyHero, etc.

so I get the 
BIG GUN MEDS 
and orders to

"take it easy".

I know- I am laughing, too.

Take it easy to me means --

I only work 8 hours instead of 16.

So- I will give you a 

WEE PREVIEW
of my upcoming Etsy shop.

(said with an Irish accent).

The shop is called

ANNA IRELAND VINTAGE.

Going back and forth over which banner to use--

Feel free to tell me your favorite.....

I thought I would give you a little teaser.

I won't have a ton of hand-made stuff

this go-round.

I am just trying to 'clean house'

and let a few things go.

My prices are going to be very reasonable...

if you want to bargain on something 

after I open

let me know.

I will put a few things on my blog, too,

that don't meet the Etsy guidlines for some reason

(age of item, etc.)

So- there you have it....

Like I said- shop is

NOT OPEN YET

but I am now working towards next weekend.

Here's your STORY for the day.

Night before last my son, Mama'sBoy (CJK's daddy)

called me just before 10pm.

I was in bed watching the news.

MB:  Mom!  How would you like to drive down to Indiana with me tonight?  We will pick something up and turn right around.  In 12 hours we can make a round trip and end up right back where we started.

Me:  Great- When?

MB:I thought we could leave in about 30 minutes.

Me:  Okay-I'll be there.

MB:Bring your car to my house-we'll go from here.

Me:  Okay.

MyHero:  YOU HAVE A SINUS INFECTION!

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? YOU'LL BE SICK.

Me:  I'm already sick.  

MyHero: JUST TELL HIM--NO!!!

Me:  NO!

MyHero:  FINE!  Suit yourself.

Me:(sweetly)-Thank you!

MyHero:Disgustedly-Fine! I'm going to bed.

Me:  I'm going for a drive-See you in the morning.

MyHero:  No response-Bedroom door shutting.

We drove round trip to my daughter's house
with a TRAILER to pick up a motorcycle.
We talked and laughed non-stop all the way.
I could not believe it when we pulled into Mimi's house at 4:30am (our time).
She had left the back door unlocked-
Like two thieves in the night-
we stole into the garage, 
rolled that baby out of the garage,
secured it on the trailer
and headed home.
It is a specialized bike- 
not many of them around-made in WI
by a retired racer.

Looks something like this.

He better give me a ride on that sucker!

I did not sleep at all on the trip.
So, we were both a little slap happy after
about 10 hours on the road.
I drove while Mama's Boy
 rested for a couple of hours.
We got home, unhooked the trailer
and headed for a family get together 
in Door County.
Ryan looked pretty good.
I looked like death warmed over.
(minus the owl and pretty outfit)

On the way back we were talking and wondered
how many moms at this age would jump
into a truck to drive 12 hours 
in the middle of the night
with something planned for the next day....
My sweet daughter-in-love says that I am
"an enabler".
Lord love her-ya know she is gonna do
the same thing someday with her
'little boy'....she'll see...

I told him I should get the
OLD MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD.

I would also like a PIN to accompany that
just so I could wear it proudly
wherever I go.

I wonder how many moms have 
FUN with their adult kids?
I know that I am blessed and lucky 
to have these relationships!

Have a wonderful Sunday.
I will be working on my Etsy stuff this week
AND
I have a Pumpkin Patch story coming up soon.