Harper Ann

We've been busy...

 HARPER ANN

Dec. 22, 2012

6Lb 9oz

18 1/2"

Momma & Baby are doing great...

Merry Christmas

*hugs*

The Girasole Lady

Coffee Diem Annual Craft Fair

The packaged treats I have been working on for the past couple of weeks have been delivered downtown for the craft fair at

COFFEE DIEM

1382 MYERS STREET

DOWNTOWN OROVILLE

Friday 8-3:30

Sat 8-2

While you're there be sure to grab a cup of something deliciously hot to drink

and a scrumptious fresh baked treat from Carrie. 

 HANGING  HOT CHOCOLATE HOLDERS

 SANTA CANDY BARS

HUGS & KISSES

& YORK PEPPERMINT PATTIES

CANDY CANE KISSES

SNOWMAN COFFEE

(assorted flavors)

ENGLISH TEA (inside the card)

CHAP STICK (inside) 

MATCH BOX TREATS 

(candy bars inside)

 Two of these Match Boxes have a sticky note pad inside, instead of candy. 

These treats are all priced at $2.50 each.

I have some of my Aprons for sale too. 

Have a lovely day.

The Girasole Lady

Sunday

Today is Sunday. 

I spent the morning and early afternoon cleaning out the horse barn.

It was time for a good cleaning between storms. 

Tonight the horses are bedded in soft, dry shavings, and very clean stalls. 

The barn smells of wonderful pine chips. horses and alfalfa. 

Caveman helped me move all the heavy mats on the barn porch, so we could completely rinse off the concrete in front of the stalls. 

It's a very good feeling when your animals are taken care of. 

The rest of the afternoon, I did absolutely nothing, which is rare for me.

It was good to relax. 

Yesterday I crafted some more for the craft fair coming up. 

Every day for the past 4 days I have said I was going to finish up, so I can clear off the table.

So far that hasn't happened. 

Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, or the next...

Tomorrow is Monday, and I have Laci & Mia on Monday's. 

I don't have any exciting news or great pictures to share tonight. 

Just a picture of the hutch & snowmen in my dinning room. 

Be Happy

The Girasole Lady

The Almost Everyday

Here it is Thursday.

So much for the every day in December challenge. 

I should have said "almost" every day of December. 

Tuesdays I help out a friend at her office, and yesterday... well yesterday just went to 'Hell In A Hand Basket'. Does anyone say that anymore? 

It was all fine in the beginning.  The morning started with a DEEP cleaning of our bedroom, then scrubbed the bathroom, sorted out some cupboards in the kitchen, and a took care of a few loads of laundry. I left for town about noonish, just to pick up a few things at the store, and didn't make it home until after 3 o'clock! 

Really- what happened? I have NO idea. 

I ended up getting some bright idea to stop at a few places for Christmas shopping, which I might add turned into a lose, lose idea. 

You know, I'm really just not a public shopper. I'd much rather shop on-line, where no one is breathing down my neck in the isle and trying to shove themselves by me. 

Seriously people... come on... we're all in this together. BE NICE! and SMILE. 

Oh- and another gripe....

(and before I state this, I love my dogs, cats, and horses very much)

but... the past several times, in both Walmart & Raley's,  I have seen people bringing their dogs into the store, putting them in the basket. 

I have an medium sized dog, Mini Aussie, is it ok if I bring him into the store with me? Or does the dog have to fit in the basket?  Tell me, what is the criteria? 

That's it! I'm making him a Service Vest so he can accompany me to the store. 

Or how about-I just bring my horse(s) with me to the store next time? 

Would anyone mind? After all it is my pet. Oh- and I promise to clean up after it! 

Besides, think of the money I would save on gas if I just rode into town on the horse. 

As Caveman always says, "Horses need to be fed every day whether you use them or not, as opposed to 

the car that doesn't need gas if it's not being used'. 

I'm guessing he has a point there. 

 

Alright- enough ranting. 

Today.... I'm still crafting items for the craft fair. Therefore, my dinning table looks just the same as the other day, well actually worse. So bad, in fact, that I have to re-organize it before I can even start working again. 

Saddle up Cowboy, I'm a comin to town.

The Girasole Lady

Baking

I Love being a Grammy and spending time with the girls doing "Grammy" things. 

Saturday when Laci & Mia were here we decided to bake cupcakes. 

Laci loves to sit on the counter and help. I started setting her up on the counter with me when I bake since she was about a year and a half old. 

Mia is almost old enough to join in on top of the counter as well. 

For now she is happy to eat an empty ice cream cone and hang out.

SPRINKLES are very important when you are 3 and helping with the cupcakes.

I'm sure more sprinkles were eaten than were 

actually put on the cupcakes. 

I love theses days. 

The Girasole Lady

Rain

It's been raining, for the most part, continuously since Wednesday.

(yes- I wear Capri pants and boots all during the Winter, because then I don't have to worry about getting the bottoms of my pants wet)

When living in the country, words like culvert, drains, ditches, and gravel are very important. 

Rain means one thing here, and that is mud and water.

The arena is now a lake, with various chairs lying around that have been blown there by the winds. 

The winds were terrible last night. 

Gusts upward of 50MPH. 

The swing set blew over.

I was dreading going out to the barn this morning as I was worried about my greenhouse,

but it weathered the storm very well. 

There it was standing secure, all the panels intact and together. 

We had a truck and transfer of gravel delivered a month or so ago, and spread it all around the shop. 

 Even though it is still flooded, at least you can walk on the gravel and not sink into a mud hole. 

This is the back of the shop. 

We've been without power twice during this storm, on Friday evening from 4-7 and again this morning from 5-6:30. It's not too bad when the power is out, we still have heat and light from the wood stove. 

I can still cook because we have a propane stove, and we are able to have hot and running water. 

We have a couple of lanterns and lots of candles. 

I need to brave this weather and head into town sometime today, as I need to get some groceries. 

For now, I'm just sitting by the fire, enjoying the storm outside. 

The Girasole Lady

ThanXmas

Last year during the month of November I challenged myself to post each day for the entire month.
I love looking back and remember the mundane daily things that go on in my life.
Because let's face it.... normal routines and mundane tasks are what make up the majority of life. Right?
I've decided to make the same commitment for this month of December.

My house has been a WRECK since Thanksgiving. I haven't put away any of my Fall decor, and to add to the mess I have picked up a few Christmas things here and there. Then to top that off,  I started to pull out some of the seasonal decor that I keep stored in the laundry room cupboards.

I call this ThanXmas... being stuck between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

 I was crafting yesterday and this is the dining table.

Yep- it still looks like this RIGHT NOW this morning.

Pretty sure I won't be cleaning it off because I'll be doing more crafting today.

I am participating in a craft fair December 15th & 16th.

The fair will be downtown at a local coffee chop, Coffee Diem. 

Last year I sold 3 aprons there!

This year in addition to some new aprons, I'm making some paper crafts. 

I'm a Stampin UP! Demonstrator, so am very well supplied in all sorts of really cool paper crafting stuff.

Here are a few items I made yesterday.

The top 2 are a hanging pocket holder, for a packet of hot chocolate, apple cider, or a gift card. 

The 6 bottom ones are matchbook style that have a sticky note pad inside of them.

I know these are terrible pictures, but when I'm ready to make the official "Craft Fair" post I'll be more detailed. 

For today this is what my life will more than likely look like. All the girls are over for more crafting. It's raining outside, as it has been for the last few days, and it's gonna be a good day for sure. 

The Girasole Lady

Post Thanksgiving Morning

Good Morning

Another successful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, good food, and good times. 

I'm in low gear this morning.

Caveman has already headed up to the mountains, with his brothers, to cut firewood. 

Us girls...we have a shopping trip planned later today.  

We'll be heading downtown a little later on, nothing big, just fun local shopping.

We are not ones who brave the early bird crowd and shop. 

The sun is brilliant this morning, and even though the temperatures will be cool, it will be a lovely Fall day for strolling the street(s) in town. 

We'll feast on left overs this afternoon, and enjoy this precious time together. 

The Girasole Lady 

   

Getting Ready For Thanksgiving

This week has been a busy one for sure. 

I love the time leading up to Thanksgiving. 

I've spent the past few days putting some TLC into my home,

cleaning, rearranging, and adding some final Holiday touches here and there.

My sister and little boys are staying here visiting for the entire week. 

We've been scheming crafting and decorating ideas together.
Today we all went to Kristina's to set up Harper's Nursery.
Tomorrow there will be pie baking.

♥ Happy Thanksgiving ♥
The Girasole Lady

Tagged- 11 Things

Daphne from Ivy, Phyllis and Me!

tagged me from her blog. 

I'm flattered!

This is the first time I have been tagged so I will do my best to keep the fun going. 

The rules are:

Every person tagged will tell ELEVEN things about themselves.

The person who tagged you,  in my case Daphne,  will ask you ELEVEN questions, for you to answer. 

Then you tag ELEVEN blog friends and ask them ELEVEN questions. 

(the blog friends you choose to tag should have less than 200 followers)

Mention the blog that tagged you, but do not tag back. 

Have a seat, let's get the fun started

ELEVEN THINGS ABOUT ME

1. I'm a serious Procrastinator.  

2. I have gray in my hair, and I do not try to hide it. 

3. I have been married twice, both times to my same husband. 

4. I hardly ever miss a sunrise.

5. I'm deathly afraid of heights. 

6. I love old music, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra...

7. I'm scared to drive in the city, I'll take back roads anywhere. 

8. I love the sound of the fire in the wood stove. 

9. I drink tea every day. 

10. I despise confrontation.

11. I feel awkward at social gatherings. 

Daphne asked me these ELEVEN questions

1. Who is your favourite author?

Mauve Benchy

(hard to choose just one)

2. What is your favourite food?

Seafood

3. Are you an indoor girl or outdoor girl?

No doubt about it- OUTDOOR

4. Which would you prefer, sunshine or snow? 

Sunshine

5. What do you dislike?

A negative attitude

6. What is your favourite colour?

Red

7. Do you enjoy comedy or drama?

Drama

8. If you could choose anyone, past or present to dine with, who would you choose?

Princess Diana

9. If you had to live on a desert island for a year, what would you take?

Books and a quilt

10. What is the name of your pet?

Maverick. 

(a mini Aussie)

11. What was the name of your first teacher?

umm...  I have no idea

I am going to tag these blog friends

Paula at Windmill Farm

Bernadine at Whippoorwill Road

Rebecca at Hopewell Creek Designs

Linda at Nothing But Blue Skies

Oxford Impressions

Musings of a Sea Witch

I must apologize, but I simply cannot think of eleven blogs friends to tag. 
Since this post has been sitting as a draft for over a week, I need to finish regardless. 
Please forgive me...I don't mean to spoil the fun. 

Here are the questions I am asking
1. If you had to choose another place to live, where would it be?
1. Are you a city girl or a farm girl?
2. How many animals do you have?
3. What is your decorating style?
4. What is your favorite season?
5. Do you love poetry, if so who is your favorite poet?
6.  If you had to choose between having the internet or TV, which would you choose?
7. Early riser or night owl?
8. Would you rather have a cabin in the woods or a cottage at the beach?
9. Do you have a garden?
10. Do you cook from scratch most of the time?
11. Would you choose pie or cake?

Have fun

The Girasole Lady

Ft. Bragg - Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

 On our vacation in Ft. Bragg we went to the Botanical Gardens. 

This was one thing I really wanted to do, and the weather held out for us to do so. 

The Botanical Gardens are 47 acres of absolute paradise! 

There are trails and paths everywhere, and I am sure we missed tons of stuff on our day trip. 

The 47 acres of garden lead you to the ocean.

Once you reach the coast there is this 

"Cliff House" with a spectacular view.

It is completely enclosed

I wished I had brought my picnic basket 

so we could have eaten lunch in here.

(next time)

Looking out the windows, just to the right, up on the hill, was a 

 beautiful weathered fence.

From there we ventured over to the Parrish Pioneer Cemetery.

and yes, I thought it was beautiful too...

Then.... the VEGETABLE garden. 

It was my favorite spot!

In light of that statement, now I'll just post about a gazillion pictures to share...

(yes, I do realize that my shadow is in the picture, and I tried to crop it out, 

but then it cropped off some of  the words)

Just outside the Garden...

 Entering the Garden...

My head was practically spinning... I have an iron headboard similar to this right in my garage at home!

This year I feel in love with Leeks

The out building leaving the Garden...

Oh my goodness... I could live there.

If ever you get a chance to vacation over on the Mendocino coast, 

this is a must 'go to' place.

The Girasole Lady