September Acres

 Or what we had for dinner last night.  It seems like the whole country is in the grips of a heatwave.  The last thing I feel like doing when the weather is like that is cooking.  It's even too hot to grill out which is my go to method of cooking in the summer. My first thought is : 'let's go out'.  Well, most of our budgets can only handle that so long and going out to eat just isn't a good thing every night.  My husband is not big on salads for dinner since he eats them for lunch a lot so that idea was out for me. When I was doing my meal planning I knew it would be hot this week so when I saw 'Manwich' on sale I came up with the idea for sloppy joes one night.  I bet we haven't had sloppy joes in 5 years, maybe longer. Since they just cook up on the stove top it really keeps the kitchen cool.  And when you cook your corn on the cob in the microwave it still stays cool.  I just cook the corn in the husks for about 6-8 minutes for 3 pieces.  Adjust time

 LM's class was doing a little sewing project the first week of school and the teacher asked for donations of fabric, needles and thread.  I knew my mom would have some things so I called her and asked her if I could go over and pick up some things (she was out of town).  She told me where to find some fabric and that my Grandmother's old sewing box would have some thread and needles.  I remembered this box from her house; you can tell she had it for many years.  Very groovy,don't you think?  Inside I found these neat needle sets.  I guess when a new store opened 'back in the day' they gave the ladies these sets. I thought it was so neat.  I am sure most women sewed, or at least mended back then. And I guess these were giveaways at Lucky some time ago.  I am thinking back in the 70's, maybe.  Both of these (below) have needles in them, too.  So neat! I didn't want to part with these needle sets but luckily there were many more to choose from that weren&

 We never travel this light!  August has been a crazy month so far.  LM started school on the 8th.  On the 9th my mom got a call that my Grandma was in the hospital in No. Ca.  On the 10th hubby went out of town for 10 days.  On the 12th LM and I headed up to Ca after school to see my Grandma.  Nine hour drive just the 2 of us. A first.  We stopped half way to spend the night which ended up being a story all its own. We came home on the 14th and I swear we stopped at every rest area in Ca!  Some are quite nice. On the 16th my mom called to say that my Grandma was moving to AZ and I needed to go pick out her room at the assisted living facility so she could move in on the 17th.  She arrived and we spent the rest of the week getting her settled in her new room.  I can't believe that all of this happened in only a week. We were able to stay at my cousin's house while we were in No. Ca. so that was really nice.  They have a fabulous yard with grass (which we don't hav

can be turned into really neat accessories.  I was at Restoration Hardware not too long ago and stumbled upon a really neat idea for old paperbacks.  I could have purchased the books for $29 but decided, like I often do, that  "I can do that for alot less." So I headed to a thrift store in town for some old books.  Jackpot! I tore the covers off (I actually had a hard time doing that, it seemed so wrong) and was left with just the insides.  I used kitchen twine (the same stuff I tie turkey's legs together with) to tie the book together - three in a stack. After I tied them together with the twine I 'dirtied' them up with some brown ink. And that's what I ended up with.  Remember they were $29 for a set of three at the store.  The twine was heavier but I had the kitchen twine so I decided to go with that.  And it was a really quick project. So, instead of $29 I spent $3!  Not too bad.  And I like the look alot.  Right now I put the books on my coffee ta

 I hear of so many people finding fabulous things at thrift stores.  All over blogland you will see these finds made over brilliantly.  I love the idea of taking something old and making it new and fresh.  Last week LM & I had to run some errands and she asked if we could go to the Hospice Re-sale store in town to find an outfit for under $10 (an idea she saw in her American Girl book "Just Mom and Me").  We stopped by to see what we could find.  I figured I might find some fun furniture or accessory to play with.  Well.... The clothing selection was really sparse, especially for kids.  The furniture/accessory selection wasn't much better and I felt like everything was really overpriced.  I know the funds go to a good cause so that may be why there weren't too many bargains to be found.  I did find some books for a project I am doing for $1 each.  All books, even hardbacks, were $1.  I think that might be a bit high for paperbacks but I'm not sure. But it was

Monday was the first day of school here.  The summer just flew by.  It always does. LM started 4th grade.  For some reason 4th grade seems so old.  9 doesn't sound as old as 4th grade does to me.  She has had a good couple of days, likes the teacher and her classmates.  Homework? Not so much.  I think we hit the jackpot with her class.  Good, hard-working, nice kids.  The cream of the crop, really.  It doesn't happen every year so I know she will enjoy it.  Tomorrow night is 'Parent Information Night' at the school.  I know I should go but I am considering not.  This is our 5th year at the school so even with changes how much more information do I need?  But I also feel like it is the right thing to support the school so we'll probably go.  Now that school has started I'll get back into a routine and have time for fun projects like painting and blogging. Promise.  September Acres is now on Facebook, too so I'd love it if you 'liked' me (button at