~ organizing my sewing room...

...I persuaded Rick to help me start a bit early on one of my new year's resolutions.  He put together some shelving for me! :-)

~ first game of the season...

Sofia cheered for the first game of the basketball season tonight.  It was a home game for the girl's team.


 

 In case you can't see the video, here is the link:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/myhappybluebird/15929560026/

 final score:



 The other team fought hard -- but the girls from Sofia's school are GOOD!

~ it's december 1st...

...time for the elves to get busy ;-)



  Well...one elf started yesterday.  Sofia's homemade apple bread
  rates a BIG 2 Buddy-the-elf thumbs up!!

  She also cut out the snowflakes ~ by hand ~
  I think that even Buddy would be impressed :-)

~ post thanksgiving treat...

...freshly baked cupcake topped with homemade buttercream icing and a cup of cinnamon coffee :-)



I cannot share the cupcake/icing recipe with you -- Sofia asked me to keep her Christmas recipes secret while she is testing them.

I can tell you that the cupcake and icing are delicious!  Oh, and that cinnamon coffee is perfect!

~ sugar cookie saturday...

...inspired by dollar store cookie cutters ;-)



 Baked with love by Sofia .

 Original recipe can be found here: best sugar cookie recipe

~ homemade olive garden breadsticks...

...made by Sofia -- eaten by everyone ;-)



original recipe found here:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/195273333818993465/

~ baked vanilla glazed donut cupcakes...

 ...recipe slightly modified and made by Sofia!



 She even cleaned up afterwards! ;-)

 original recipe found here:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/140526450848313276/

~ vote today...

I usually don't post about things of a political nature -- but I'm a little excited because today is the first time Nicholas will be voting!  YaY!

~ happy sunday...

...hugs :-)

~ the final count...

...we had 160 trick or treaters!  This breaks last year's record of 150.  All of them wore costumes.  Maybe the rules set by the old one-eyed crow kept the non-costumed folks away...



 Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

~ patiently waiting...

...for those trick or treaters



...I think I see some over there ;-)



...the porch invites you



... to see what the witch is brewing in her cauldron



...and to join us



...to dine with on some locals

~ autumn trees...

...the leaves are spectacular this year!

~ creeping around my yard...

...no halloween decorations necessary!


                                             ~ preying mantis ~



                                             ~ wooly caterpillar ~

~ carving the pumpkin...

...:-)



Sofia drew the template for Rick.  I guess she got her inspiration from the plastic light-up pumpkin on the left!

~ spooky, scary, skeletons...

...swinging from my tree ;-)

~ crescent moon at dawn...

...southeast view from bike path across the street from our house.



Click on photo to enjoy a better view! :-)

~ local delicacy...

...pumpkin spice mushrooms ;-)

~ spooky, scary, viney things...

Since the weather today was in itself, scary, I decided to make some halloween window decorations.  There is a purple light behind the owl's eyes -- so when it is dark, the eyes glow.




                                             
                                        ~ full window view ~
             

~ done...

...3 hems altered + fully steamed.  Come and get it!

                    

~ the moon...

...this morning.  View is due west -- above my neighbor's house.



~ click on photo for a better view!

~ as she awakens...

...mother nature is a pretty lady :-)



~ click on photo for a better view!

~ so many pins...

...sew little time :-(  I am working on the hem of a bridesmaid dress for my lovely niece.



The upper pins are holding up the length of (very uneven) chiffon fabric that needs to be cut away!  There is a slip, an underlayment, and, a chiffon skirt.  I need to alter three hems!

I took this photo last night after fiddling with the chiffon fabric for hours...  Since then, I have basted the chiffon hem, sewn the raw edge of the chiffon hem and taken out all the pins.  The next steps should go more quickly.

~ project(s) of the week...

...done

            

...done

            

...and, Done!



Applause, applause...



Note:  I "cheated" in the third photo -- the weather has turned gray and dreary, so I am using the photo taken before the painting was completed.  But, I'm sure you get the idea ;-)

~ it's October 1st already...

...ahh (as in take a deep breath and relax!)  Look at that pretty autumn morning sky :-)  Okay, so I'm cheating here, because this photo is from yesterday morning. I also want you to enjoy my freshly powerwashed back gate along with me -- before it's 15 minutes of being clean is over.  We have 3 gates -- this is the one that gets the most use...and...the dirtiest.



Since the powerwashing made me feel energized, I decided that this week's project should be...



...to get rid of the unattractive moldy stains on the front porch.  It is on the caulking surrounding the vinyl framing and woodwork. I get annoyed by it each time I change the decorations, and through the entire summer (yes, I vent this annoyance to Rick ;-).  We have tried everything over the past couple of years to get rid of it -- but it does not budge.  We cannot even get it out with sandpaper.  So -- I googled how to paint vinyl.  When I am done (by the end of the week) I will post a photo of this completed project.

And, then...we must quickly move onto --

                              halloween decorations!

~ last week...

...the weather was great for doing some powerwashing!



The garden didn't need much attention, and, it was too early to start putting up the halloween decorations.  So...I did the front porch, the backyard fence, the garage doors, the back porch, and, the front walk.  Rick was trapped inside taking an online training class while I did this.  When he finally had a chance to come outside on Saturday to finish up the posts on the front porch, the weather was sunny and hot -- so he was not feeling the "great weather for powerwashing" that I had been raving about all week.

I'm off to this week's project -- hopefully that "great weather" continues to cooperate with me :-)

~ smile...

...if you have pink braces  :-)

~ glorius autumn sunrise...

~ 63 degrees farenheit, slight breeze, heavenly :-)

~ pumpkin art...

...drawn freehand and painted by the talented Miss Sofia :-)

::malificent::



::dopey::

~ they're gone...

Today:  Sofia's first day of 8th grade
              Nicholas' second day of college classes
              Rick's first day back to work after vacation
 and
              My first day of quiet since the end of June.

~ cookie the cat...

...enjoying the gorgeous late August weather :-)

~ a view of the porch this morning...

...late summer loveliness.  This is where we sit before the craziness of the day begins.



Ozzy's favorite place to sit before the craziness of the day begins. :-)

The flowers in the hanging pots have been changed from petunias to chrysanthemums, and, the blue morning glories on the porch are blooming...sigh...summer is coming to an end.

~ a double rainbow...

...needs to be shared with friends :-)



   

~ the fore of us...

...playing miniature golf in Flemington :-)

~ new etsy listings...

...we've listed Sofia's perler bead art on etsy!



Come take a look ;-)

Just click the link to etsy ~myHappyBluebird~ on the right hand side of the screen.

~ zucchini muffins...

...made by Sofia :-)



These are delicious!  You can find the recipe here:  Sweet Zucchini Cupcakes

~ sunday lesson...

Today, Sofia is busy making banana muffins.  We didn't have any over-ripened bananas on hand, so we learned something new today!  To quickly ripen bananas, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Heat the oven to 300 degrees farenheit and bake for 20-30 minutes.  To test for doneness, poke with your finger -- the banana should have a soft/squishy feel.  Note:  I protected my fingertip with a paper towel to avoid a burn while testing for doneness.



To remove the skin:  let the bananas cool and then use a very sharp knife to make a single cut down the side of the banana.  The inside should easily pop out!

~ after the rain...

...droplets sparkle in the foggy morning sunlight.



~ humidity 95%, temperature 76.5 degrees farenheit, dew point 75 degrees farenheit.

Last night's thunderstorms dropped a ton of rain on us.  This morning, it feels like a steamy jungle out there. It's so humid that  I broke into a sweat just by pressing the shutter release on my camera! More thunderstorms are on the way to us today...sigh.

(click on photo for a better view :-)