Progresso winner

The winner is Missy from There's no place like home.Congratulations to Missy and thank you to everyone who entered.

more pictures inside my parents home

There are lots of pictures in this post....

I found the circles for these pumpkins in Mom's stash, she had cut them out last year. So Dad fetched some branches that I cut up for the stems and I sewed this bunch of pumpkins on our last visit there.

a little quilt, ceramic hearts and a needlework scene - all made by Mom

3 grandsons framed on the wall - they are all 3 bigger and older now

3 generations
Mom, me and NinaBeth

Gavin is pretty much of the star of the fridge

Kitchen table decorated for fall

old oak bufffet,
my parents bought it at an auction in their hometown way back when I was teenager

Printers tray filled with pictures and momentos

glass front hutch filled with their wedding china and crytal

lamp made by Dad with help from my Grandpa.
they used a wagon axle and wheel hub. It was from an old wagon on my grandparents farm and Grandpa thought the wagon had been driven into Oklahoma during one the land runs.

dresser in the guest room - the clear crystal thing is a cast of my brothers face - he was the model for an award and it was a big honor made by a professional artist, it seems just a pinch creepy to me though...

Crazy quilt heart made by Mom from neckties that belonged to her daddy

crewel embroidery picture by Mom, this reminds all of us the farm she grew up on

Have you heard about Progresso's new high fiber soups?
They come in 4 yummy sounding flavors and have lots of good fiber. The Chicken Tuscany has 7 grams of fiber per serving.
I'm hosting a giveaway for Progresso. The winner will get 2 very snazzy soup mugs that have a nice indentation on the handle to rest your thumb on if you like to hold your mug up close to your mouth. The gift pack also comes with 2 big stainless soup spoons and of course, a can of Progresso high fiber soup.
It will be mailed to the winner directly from Progresso.

Creamy Tomato Basil
Chicken Tuscany
Hearty Vegetable & Noodle
Homestyle Minestrone

Entering is easy, just comment with which flavor you think sounds best for 1 entry.
For an extra entry, link this back to your blog or facebook or whatever and tell me.

Contest will close Thursday Night, Oct. 29.

Frugal Luxuries giveaways

Tracey McBride has a giveaway for 2 of her books at her blogs
Frugal Luxuries
and
Frugal Luxuries by the Season

both are easy to enter, her blogs are really sweet and I am pretty sure you'll be glad if you visit Tracey.

Jane Snead Samplers

My Mom made all these samplers and lots more. They are all from a mail order company that is no longer in business called Jane Snead.
They are stamped cross stitch with some embroidery, no one we knew did counted cross stitch way back then.

Thank you Tammy!

my blog's new header was a surprise from Tammy at Walking Out His Good Plans.

I'm still not used to the new and improved Blogspot ways so bear with me while I work on the rest of my page to match my pretty new header.

over the weekend....

I did a little sewing this weekend.

We also watched several football games,

did some shopping, laundry and cooking,

cleaned out the garage and Jeff's part of the closet.

bread machine cover for Nina

little bibs for a soon-to-be-born baby boy at church

I used the same flannel prints to make some new bigger bibs for Gavin, these are a pull-over style with ribbing at the neck because smarty-Gavin has learned how to unfasten his velcro bibs.

new pillows

I love Brenda's cozy quilts and pillows and used hers as the inspiration for mine.
My colors are a little different than Brenda's so they match my green couches. All my fabric was scraps.
I've also pieced a sofa-size postage stamp quilt and bought the batting for it today - used one of the nice Hobby Lobby 40% off coupons on it -
but it may take me awhile to get it quilted.

If you've never been to Brenda's Cozy Home blog, then go when you have some time and big mug of hot tea, because you will be there awhile. She has so many beautiful pictures, I promise you will enjoy her.

I'm a little slow....

I posted back on July 23 that I had a plan to swap around our 3 empty bedrooms. It's taken awhile for several reasons, partly because of Jeff's surgery and taking care of Gavin, but also because it just takes me awhile to think about things and decide what I want and where it should be.

So far, one of the guest rooms is pretty much done as well as the new craft room/computer room.

All the big furniture is in place as well as some the accessories, and my next step will be to get some pretty things hung on the walls.

Guest room #1

Most everything in here were things I had previously used in other rooms. The curtains and pillows are from the living room, both the bedspreads and side tables were once used in the master room.

The only things I bought were the lamps from a garage sale for $1 and new shades for them from Big Lots.

One side table - 2 patchwork table toppers were previously used as a window treatment in the craft room.

The decoupaged lunch pail is thrift store find several years ago and holds note cards.

the other side of the bed - the toile box is from a yard sale last month.

favorite toys from the past

Nina bought this cute message board at a yard sale but them changed her mind and asked me if I wanted it. It will look great hung on the wall in this mostly red and green room.

And you can lay in bed and watch TV if you want to.

Craft room / computer room

I already had one of the white book shelves, they work so well, Jeff got 2 more and put them together last night.

The sewing desk is in the middle of the room so while I sew, if I want to....

I can watch the news or a decoration show on TV.

The little armoire was part of Nina's bedroom furniture before she moved out. Now it holds craft supplies.

Rubber stamps on a shelf that Jeff and his dad built several years - it got a fresh coat of white paint.

This room does not have much hung on it's walls either - and it needs a a new valance on the single window.

And even though I've been thinking and working on these rooms for almost 3 months, not exactly as fast as those TV decorating shows, I'm really happy with how they've turned out.

The 3rd bedroom is also a guest room with Gavin's things in there too. I'll show you some pictures of it soon.

what I've been up to

Hello, it's been a while since blog posts - I am really trying to do better.

I went to a church rummage sale about 10 days ago and found a few goodies. I remember starting first grade with my Big Chief tablet just like this one!
This bathroom themed wall paper will look good as shelf paper in my black and white and yellow hall bathroom.

2 fun vintage patterns and a bag of assorted thread. This all cost $1.

2 new pair of shoes - both my size and 25 cents for each pair.

The flip flops are New Balance and the black ones are Kenneth Cole - but the lower line of Kenneth Cole, not his expensive line, according to one of my children.

I did a lot of cooking this weekend. Nina and John came for lunch on Sunday. She first requested beef stew, then she requested chili. So I made both. The leftovers were divided up, Jimmy took some, John and Nina took some and Jeff and I have plenty left for several lunches and beef stew will be for our supper tonight.

I also made a big batch of what we call Roma Sauce. You might call it spaghetti sauce without meat. It is a family favorite here. I've been making it for years because no one in my family likes the sweet store bought jar sauces.

the ingredients are simple - olive oil and onions

salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes and just a little sugar

and lots of tomatoes. I also added 3 cans of diced tomatoes.

Saute the onions, then add the spices and tomatoes to almost fill up the pan.

Stir well, let it simmer a while, taste it to see if you like the seasoning. Then simmer a bit longer.

This batch made enough for Jeff and I to have for supper and for 7 quarts for the freezer.

We eat in with pasta and a little grated sharp cheddar on top. It is also our pizza sauce.

This cute little guy just turned 8 months old! he is busy crawling, pulling up, exploring, singing and just doing everything he can!

so, are you as busy as Gavin?