An early 4th

One of my dear granddaughter's turned 4 this past weekend.

For her party she chose a lady bug theme.

So I decided to have fun with my sewing/embroidery machine

and decorated a shirt for her to wear for the party.

She loves to play in her little kitchen so I also decorated 

an apron for her to wear in there.

To finish it off she got a little table and chairs

to go in that kitchen 

so I decided a tablecloth was also needed.

My hamper was about the right size to try it out.

I had fun learning how to rearrange the little leaf with ladybug

that was built into the machine

to spice things up a bit.

I am not sure if I had more fun making these 

than she will have wearing and using them

but maybe it will make good memories for both of us.

Birthday Embroidery

My little granddaughter has a birthday coming up this month

and chose Lady Bugs for her party theme.

This sparked my imagination 

and I decided to decorate a little apron

since she loves to play in her little kitchen.

I had fun playing around with the little lady bug on a leaf pattern

that was in my machine.

So many possibilities!

So I added them to a tea towel

to be used as a table cloth

on the little table and chair set she is getting.

It will be about the size of this hamper so I tried it out

and I think she will like this.

Maybe even as much as I have enjoyed making it!

The Magic of Grandma's

I was making memories with one of my granddaughters last night.  She was awestruck by the solar powered dragonfly lights in my back yard and had to show her daddy when he came to pick her up.  She had forgotten all about being afraid of the sound of crickets she heard earlier.

And then there was dessert...

Conversation between grandma and 2 year old granddaughter:

Grandma: Do you like pizza?

Granddaughter: No.

Grandma: I think you'll like mine.  It has fruit.

Granddaughter: (silence)

Grandma:  Here try a bite...

Granddaughter: (picking off all the fruit and eating it) 

Grandma:  Did you know the crust is a cookie?

Granddaughter: !!!

Grandma:  Here try another piece.

Granddaughter:  Grandma Boats, you make the best pizza in the world!  And the (y)ummiest kool-aid!

I remember 'making memories' with my grandmother, but had no idea she was loving it as much if not more than I was!

Where do they go?

Ever wonder where the bugs and critters go when the weather gets bad?

Well, this pretty little fellow has been in this same spot next to my front door all day.

Poor thing is probably too cold to fly!

I have not seen Lucky but then again I did not stay out long enough to look very hard.

What crazy weather this year.

Gate Guard

I need a name for this fellow.

I first ran into him Saturday as I was transplanting some flowers I bought.

He was on the flat and did not want to leave.

But I finally coaxed him off onto another pot on the bench.  

Since then I have found him hanging out in the sun by the gate catching bugs.

He does not seem to be the least bit afraid of me.

And is gaining a bit of weight so it must be a good spot.

Obviously something had a go at him as you can see by the holes in his back.

He was quite thin on Saturday and I did not think he would live.

But the spots no longer look oozy so maybe he will.

They do seem to be tough little critters.

Since I am not fond of bugs he is quite welcome to stay!

Who knew?

Who knew I would be helping with a last minute request from a 6 year old who just had to have a Monarch caterpillar cake?

At first it was just going to be a caterpillar.

But then she got quite specific so this is what we whipped up.

Can you believe all I had to buy was the cake mix? Licorice, M&Ms, cake decorating tips, large box and even a liner paper for the grass were all just sitting around here. I guess that is why they come to me. I always have plenty of 'stuff'. I just hope it passes the 6 year old's expectations.

Now back to Christmas stuff...

Ever just want to lay down?

One side of my face pretty much hurts from Tuesday's root canal and even with the pain killers most of the time I just want to go lay down. Not that it helps a whole lot. But I spotted this squirrel on the fence acting like he just couldn't hold his head up and thought "He looks about how I feel".

Some days are just like that. You just have to take it as easy as possible and hope that tomorrow will be better. And thank God for great dentists and painkillers. I cannot imagine what it was like before they could treat these things. My pioneer ancestors were a hardy bunch (seeing as how the poor teeth run in my family I am sure they suffered from these things as well). I wonder if squirrels get toothaches?

What a beautiful day

Today was a beautiful fall day. And when I looked out back I saw this striking butterfly. I have never seen one with such a geometric design.

After the rain...

This past week we have had a lot of rain in the Houston area as a result of hurricane Alex. I know we were not in the path of the storm but it brought in all the moisture from the Caribbean and the Atlantic and the Gulf and due to a high pressure we have been experiencing what is called training. It's as though the thunder storms were a train and we are sitting on the track getting run over by one car after another!

Now mind you we needed a little rain and we are fairly used to the street flooding etc. In fact people were still getting out in it. Personally the only thing I rescheduled was taking the dog to the vet. No it isn't so much the rain as it is knowing what comes next.

Mosquitoes. And they aren't wasting any time.

What are you looking at?

Sitting on the patio the other evening I could not figure out what my dog was doing. He kept looking up but not at the tree for possible squirrels or birds or cats. No he was obsessed with the umbrella I was sitting under. Now that can make you a little nervous wondering just what it is that he sees that you don't that is just over your head! But finally this bright fellow came out from behind one of the metal ribs and the mystery was solved!

(I am soooo very glad it wasn't a big bug!)

Texas Bugs

This fellow was discovered in the bed of my son's truck. I decided it is a Katydid that had just molted. We find the empty shells clinging to trees etc with a split up the back all the time. Seldom do you find one in this vulnerable state while it's wings are drying out. I just had to share it.