Rock of Ages

We spent part of the day busting up these concrete posts along our back alley. (I think we busted a few muscles in the process!) They have probably been there for as long as our house has. (Over 100 years) We got economically stimulated, and plan to spend our "refund" on a new fence. Inside one of the posts, we found an old, crumpled up comic page from a newspaper! Unfortunately it was in very small pieces, and we couldn't find any dates. Luckily, we got the job done just as the handle of the sledgehammer broke!

My favorite picture

When I was a little girl, this painting hung in my Granny's guest room. The raspberries and roses have always fascinated me. When Tony and I moved into our first home, Granny gave me the picture so I would have something to hang on my bare walls. I did a crackle finish on the frame, and had a piece of glass cut to fit. ( It had no glass when I received it.) Now it sits on the mantle in my living room, and I have used the colors in it as inspiration for many projects! It is my favorite painting because it is beautiful, and it reminds me that I am loved.

Card Chaos

Today I did NOT wake up and say "I think I will get out all my paper scraps and spend the day making cards". It all started when I looked at my calandar this morning and saw that I have a niece graduating in a few days. Then I remembered 3 or 4 other graduation announcements that are stuck on my bulletin board. I went to get out some cards to send, and realized that I didn't have a single one that would fit for a graduation! ( I keep a bin full of home-made cards). So... I got out the paper, scissors, glue, stickers, ribbon, accessories, etc.... and got to work. Since I had all the supplies out, I decided I might as well make a few extra cards to keep on hand. I'm not a real "froofy" person, so I don't get too fancy with these things. It was fun, but now I need to get to the laundry, cleaning, and other not-so-fun things.

Memorial Day

Today is a cold, wet holiday. We went to the annual Memorial Day parade in Corvallis, and saw a lot of old tractors, and trucks with political candidates trying to look personable. We also went to Grantsdale Cemetary. I don't know anyone buried there, but it is one of my favorite spots! The view is spectacular, and I always feel a sense of peace as I wander among the old headstones. I told Tony that I would like to be buried in this cemetary. He had me write down the phone number to call to buy a plot! Tony is an Idaho boy, but maybe he'll indulge his Montana girl for our final resting spot! I probably won't think about it again until next Memorial Day!

Quilt Crazy

My sister makes a lot of neat quilts. As I was looking at her blog, I found this link http://www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/. Right now she is on week 3 of a "star quilt" quilt-a-long. I decided to join in, since the weather is cold and rainy, and I can't be working outside. The picture on the bottom is my inspiration block. It was in a box of "quilt pattern blocks" that was given to me when Tony's grandmother died. ( Her name was Elsie Bodily.) The blues and oranges struck my fancy! So I dug through all my scraps and pulled out the blue and orange pieces for my quilt. I spent the morning making these first 3 blocks, and I'm excited to do the rest! I also like the hand stitching around Grandma Bodily's pieces. I think I'll try that and see how it looks!

Playing with Power Tools

This is a project I made last week. My cat was needing a place to scratch, so I went to the pet store and looked at scratching posts. I thought " I could make one of those!"... so..., I did. The base is part of an old shelf that I kept for putting up in my garage. (Hopefully you'll see my shelf project in a few weeks.) The posts are pieces of a 4x4 fence post that I scrounged from my Dad's back yard. The square platform is another piece of old shelving, and the round platform is an old tabletop that I cut a "peek-hole" in. I covered everything in old carpet pieces that my parents had. ( They keep everthing!) The only piece I bought was the very top, barrel thing. I wrapped the posts with sisal rope, and screwed everything together. It was a fun project, and the cat loves it! I'm just happy he stopped trying to sharpen his claws on my leg!!!

Chocolate Raspberry Jam

This morning I decided it was time to use up last year's raspberries out of the freezer. I don't eat a lot of jam, but my family does. I found this recipe on-line and it was super-easy! What can be better than raspberries and chocolate? I also canned some raspberry pie filling, but haven't tried it out yet. If it is good, I'll post that recipe also.

Chocolate Raspberry Jam

6 cups frozen raspberries, or 7 pints fresh

3 (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate squares

5 cups sugar

1 box dry pectin

1 tsp. butter

Mix raspberries, pectin, and chocolate in a large pot. Heat on hight until it comes to a rolling boil. Add the sugar all at once. Heat to a boil again and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and process in jars. This made exactly 5 pints.