Moving Day

Some of you have asked how moving day went so I'll give a re-cap.
Last week commerated the "baby's" moving day. The deck was loaded with all of her stuff. We had to downsize because there was no way we could get everything in the car. It gave me a laugh to see her father's face when he looked at the car trunk and then the boxes/containers on the deck.
A few facts about that day:
We moved her on the hottest day of the year. There is NO air conditioning in her dorm.
She is on the TOP floor.
Keep in mind that simple little scientific fact that heat rises. We unloaded everything then stood in the sun (guarding the stuff) for 1 hour. Then we stood in line at the elevator for 20 minute intervals not once but three times. She is in a triple room. Try to imagine a 15 x 15 room with 3 students and 6 parents.
On the top floor.
Humidity and 96 degree temps.
With NO air. Whew! We were wringing wet. We had a fan but it did nothing to help the heat.

Sometime in the late afternoon we took her off campus to pick up her books. More time spent in long lines. Time didn't allow a sit down dinner so we did a drive-thru. We took her back to the dorm and she turned on her computer only to discover another book was added to the list while we were out. So we had to go back out. Another hour spent.
Needless to say, it was evening before we finally we able to say good-bye. I held up well for weeks for her benefit. Unfortunately I, nor she, fared well on the good-byes.
Poor hubby had to listen to my sobs the ENTIRE 3 hour (yes, we hit heavy traffic)ride home. It is better now and we talk several times a day. Thank goodness for a computer messenger site and cell phones. Technology makes it so much easier these days.

She has pics of her friends, grandparents and of course her parents covering her wall.

Her father and I have decided to reclaim the house from WAY TOO many years of housing kids' belongings.
We have handmade placards that say, "Everything Must GO!" LOL

It feels like fall here and I'm loving every moment of it. I'm a homebody (sometimes by choice, sometimes by necessity)and there's nothing like pumpkin bread in the oven and a stew in the crockpot on a beautiful fall day. LOVE IT!

Churn, Baby, Churn

Do any of you remember the song, Burn, Baby, Burn disco inferno?
Well I've discovered a new word,
churn which means to stir (milk or cream) in order to make butter.
This new word fits perfectly in the disco inferno song.













Since I don't churn butter (although in these economic times, it's a thought)I decided to churn (or stir) a cake. Chan sent this to me a while back. The Pampered Chef rice cooker is wonderful to bake cakes.
This pic shows the frosting in the bottom of the cooker


The German Chocolate cake mix is then put on top and baked fin the microwave for appoximately 10 minutes.












Finished cake. It is moist and delicious. If you don't have one of these cookers by all means try to purchase one. They're wonderful!
More churning is coming soon!

In the meantime try to get that song out of your head..........LOL

Happy Birthday Wishes

There's a birthday in the works. Grab your party hat and hop over here to wish Little Miss Gretchen a Happy First Birthday!
Gypsy partied too much in advance and is sacked out on the floor.









On the other hand Mr. Bettis thinks Life is one BIG party. He also thinks Sissy is the greatest Big Sister ever. She has made some very good birthday gift choices for her little sister (wink). We all know Sissy only has her sister's well being in mind (wink).
Molly is.........well.....Molly. She truly wishes Gretchen a very Happy Birthday and she secretly hopes Gretchen receives a nice squeaky toy.








I asked the cats if they were interested in sending birthday wishes to Gretchen.
I believe this picture of Phoebe says it all.
(after all, in their opinon Gretchen is a d-o-g)

A Big Surprise!

A surprise package arrived at my house. It was absolute perfect timing. It arrived the day before we took the "baby"for the college moving day.

It is the Candlelight Shawl and it's from my non-blogging friend, Sara. I was so shocked and surprised that a few tears came. There was the cutest card enclosed in the package that made me laugh through the tears.
The college freshman took pictures and lightly fingered the exquisite knitting. I love the color and I love the style. It is beautiful. Thank you yarn bunches, Sara. I will think of you when I wear this beautiful knit.




This is the view from the back. Hides the thick back brace:). Love it! Thanks again non-blogging friend, Sara:)
Thanks to everyone for everything. The virtual hugs, the thoughts, prayers and gifts. This has been a difficult time and you have been so understanding and thoughtful.
Thanks to all of you, my blogging friends, for your compassionate thoughts and emails.




I'm going to make my life a bit lighter and easier so onto the unknitting.
Going into hibernation is this blanket. I'm bored with this project and my blanket knitting mojo has taken a hike for the time being.











Jumping in the frog pond is this project. A sweater. B-o-r-i-n-g! Rip-pit!













Another project that's going swimming in the frog pond is another sweater. Got bored with this one too. Rip-pit!

Now I have free needles and yarn. mmmmmm........might be time to cast on for another pair of socks. I should make the new college freshman a pair. She's going to need them.

All's Quiet

It is quiet here. TOO quiet.
We took the DD to her college today (sniff). So I'm off to spend the remainder of the evening with Puffs.

Surprise!!!!!

Finally! It's opening day. Not really. We opened the box a few days ago but I haven't had time to post. We're packing the new college freshman. But that's for a later post.

Chan sent the package to DD and me, so I not so patiently waited to open it with her.







First was the little treat package for Mr. Bettis & Co from the fur-girls.
It said, " For Mr. B & the fur girls at our house! Slobbery kisses
Sissy & Gretchen"
Aren't they just the sweeteset fur girls? Oh, you too, Chan :).
Mr. B & Co sends slobbery kisses right back.






Next were these wonderful tea mugs from Aladdin. We've never seen anything like them. I told the DD she had first choice in color and she chose the purple one. She drinks a lot of tea and as she put it, "this will be perfect when I'm running to class."









The lid comes off to reveal where to put the tea leaves. The lever at the bottom drops it into the hot water of the mug to be brewed. This is absolutely ingenious. We love it, Chan.










She dove into the box to find boxes and tins of flavored teas. Scrumptous teas like Blueberry, Pineapple Mango, Twinings assortment, Pink Lady Green, Golden Breakfast and many more. Every one of them drew oooohhhhhs and aaaaahhhhhhs from us as we pulled them from the package.
The theme of the gift is to have a mother/daughter tea party although we do not live close, Chan is going to us at our tea party. Feel free to grab a cup of your favorite beverage and join us.
There was a beautiful card handmade by Chan which is packed and moving with the DD. She wants to mount it on her dorm wall.

Chan, this is a very thoughtful gift and we are enjoying it immensely. Thank you so very much! HUGS:)

Fr-a-g-i-l-e

Chan sent notice that a box was shipped to me and the DD.

Here it is. Now there's tape all over the box with the words, FRAGILE HANDLE WITH CARE written in red.

This is how the package arrived. I know Chan was careful when she packed the item/items so I have no fear anything is damaged but wouldn't you think UPS would take better care when it's clearly marked FRAGILE?

Unfortunately I vowed not to open it until the DD is here to enjoy opening the package. She's with her best friends until tomorrow. One best friend leaves tomorrow morning for Utah where she will be attending college so they're cramming friend time.

Since I made that vow without really thinking clearly, DH decided to set the box right in front of me so I could stare at the unopened box. Meany! LOL

p.s. He and Mr. Bettis are taking a nap. Do ya think they'd hear me taking the pointy scissors to the corner of the box?

Heat and humidity

It's hot and humid which means my energy level is non-existent.

Mr. Rabbit is not fazed with the heat. He comes out of his hole on a whim. I secretly think he does this to annoy Mr. Bettis.












Speaking of Mr. B. He barks and barks and barks at Mr. Rabbit. Or is it Mr. Cardinal? Maybe the three bears? Who knows. He barks just hear himself sometimes.


I am going to my spine doctor tomorrow. We'll see how this appointment fares.
Next week, I'll be busy getting the youngest DD ready for college. (sigh)I have no idea where time has gone, but it is crunching.

I'm Dreaming of a .............

It's HOT & HUMID and I'm dreaming of snowflakes. It is downright miserable. The air conditioning unit is NOT working. I had to dig in the drawer to find a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top. Certainly not a pretty sight but at least it's cooler than capris and a t-shirt. I'm sweating bullets and this is no fun.

It's too hot to do anything but breathe. I'll make this brief because it's too hot to stay on the computer. The dogs are sleeping on the floor and they're miserable. Off to get another glass of ice-cold lemonade.

Update: The fan stopped running and it's now raining. If you think the rain is good, think again. It's only bringing more heat and humidity.

Birthday "baby girl!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the "baby." Our baby girl turned 18 yrs old. This is a big milestone as we, who have passed that day, already know. I've always wondered why the first birthday is such a big deal, after all the kid certainly doesn't remember, I think it's more for the parents. 16, 18, 21, 30 etc are much bigger milestones when it comes to birthdays.
She invited friends to help kick off the birthday weekend. Today will be the family party(as in grandparents, great-grandmother, aunt, uncle and of course, her sister ).
The weather cooperated for the first round. We had a bonfire at my parents' home to roast hotdogs and s'mores. At 10 pm, it rained. So they moved the party to our house to play Wii (a big hit for Mr. Bettis:).


There was candy shop pizza and I wanted to get a picture but it was wiped out before I could snap the pic. Birthday Girl's sister made human puppy chow and that was also wiped out. Watermelon, strawberries, grapes and chips finished the menu.







For your info Chan, the bonfire was at a safe distance and properly manned by the DH.
It was a fun day for all.
On a personal note: You were an unexpected surprise but you have been a blessing and an absolute delight. God had a reason:).

I'll leave you with this:
On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of brown
And starlight in your eyes of blue.

We love you, kiddo. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!