Duck Duck Goose

This last weekend we took the chance to get away from all work and we played. We packed up in the van, drove a few hours to where hubby's dad grew up. The home was built by hubby's grandpa.

We launched model rockets. Went up the canyon in the dune buggy hubby grew up with.

His mom refers to it as a great babysitter. Hubby took his share of naps riding in it as a wee little boy. Sure enough, it is true, our littlest girl took a nap on my lap as we drove up the canyon, admired the scenery, got away from the hot weather, and even got rained on! The kids went to the pool, while I admired our surroundings and played with our camera. I did take a lot of pictures. These are just a few:







We saw our share of wildlife. Prairie dogs, squirrels, hawks, jack rabbits, and best of all a golden eagle, that was sitting on a post, at one point no more than 10 feet from the side window of the van. I enjoyed hearing different birds chirping, and flying from place to place. Something we don't get too much at home since our trees are still fairly small.

We found this little pond nearby, fed the ducks, and saw many dragonflies. I remember being so scared of them when I was little. Now, although I don't want one to land on me (bugs and I don't mix), there seems to be something magical about them.

Is this where "Duck Duck Goose" came from? It looked like they had their very own game going on here.
I thought it was funny. Overall, good times. Can't have all work and no play.

Changing Table

When I saw this little end table, I wasn't exactly sure where it would go in my home. I just saw so much potential.

I loved the shape and details to it.

The corner was chipped off. A bit of wood putty took care of that!

Don't let that smile fool you. It looked a bit sad.

I also liked the hardware on it, but the finish; not so much.

I also wasn't too crazy about the speckled effect throughout the piece.

A quick fix with the trusty old spray can . . .

. . . it's looking better already!

My initial impression was that this little table would look daring in a deep red, but I don't have a place for a red accent table at the moment. Then I thought it would look classy in black. But I've run out of places for black furniture for now. I then thought it would be perfect in my craft room, perhaps an antiquey green? (refer to OCD post). . . Later it was going to go in my bedroom, as a little accent table for a sitting area. That's when I envisioned it in a tranquil light seafoam. You might have heard that saying that goes something like this: "If a girl doesn't change her mind, she doesn't have one!" (Don't quote me on that, I'm not good at remembering sayings, or they always come out twisted, much like Ricky's sayings in I Love Lucy). Well, I definitely have a mind of my own, because this little table is now heirloom white and in my front room!

For now I'm content with it there. I haven't decided if I will antique it or not. But I could very well change my mind! . . . And according to my husband, I most likely will.

Bird Watching

Once in a while when I need a break from the monotony life can bring, I will sometimes go to craft or home decor stores. I can usually think of something I may need, but there have been many times I will spend quite a while there, just browsing. At one of my recent "get aways" I spotted three cute little birds. At 99 cents each, I could not pass them up. They reminded me of my littlest girl. She loves birds, and "bird" was one of her first words. Whenever she says "bird", I think of the movie "Bambi" when "Thumper" is teaching the little fawn to say bird (Yes, I can play a mean game of Disney Scene It!) . . .


A couple of dishes, a bowl, an iron plate holder = A unique little bird bath.

I found the perfect place for them (you will see in my next post). I knew that as soon as my littlest saw these, she wouldn't be able to help herself! Which is why this one ended up in a cage!

She is enamoured with it, and enjoys peeking at it from time to time!

Leftovers - Makeovers!

Ham Fried Rice

Seems our family has been consuming quite a bit of rice lately, and we always end up with left over plain rice. I've learned that one, two or three day old rice is perfect for making ham fried rice. (I learned this from hubby's cousin's wife, who's originally from Taiwan).

Stir fry cubed ham and some vegetables,


I usually use celery, carrots, green onions, but when I'm in hurry I'll just add a bag of frozen peas and carrots. Scramble an egg or two. Add the rice. Soy sauce for flavor and to give it that brown color.
Season with pepper to taste. I have a quick leftover makeover my whole family will eat (that's a plus!).

Noquis (known as Gnocchi in Italian)

Another meal I make is by using left over mashed potatoes. It's best to make noquis with cold potatoes anyway, so again one or two day old mashed potatoes works great. Crown the potatoes with flour, add an egg.


Mix and keep adding flour until you have a dough that's not sticky.

Cut into smaller pieces.

Roll into snake-like shapes.

Cut into small pieces (I remember doing this whenever my mom would make noquis. Now, I have helpers of my own!)

Roll pieces through the handy noqui tool, or use a fork to form shell like dumplings.


After they're cooked in boiling water (the noquis, not the helpers!) add your favorite sauce. We like tomato sauce with chicken! Everyone enjoys this makeover at our house too!
Yum!

Smiley Locks

Mail these days consists of: bills, credit card applications, and your typical junk mail, including your local grocery adds (to which I will admit to looking through while I make my grocery list).

A few days ago I received this little postcard in the mail. It would usually be considered part of the junk, except, it actually brought a smile to my face, (okay, I don't know if I actually smiled, but I was smiling inside). It made me happy.
Almost 3 months ago, I cut nearly 12 inches of my hair, which I donated to Locks of Love. It was simply a small contribution, with practically no effort on my part and the hope that it would actually help someone out. After reading the postcard I thought, "Maybe I did make a difference" that's what made me happy. I actually might have brought a smile to someone else in need. Sometimes it's small deeds that can make a big difference. It may just be a friendly smile, a simple hello, a "your hair looks nice" (although, is it a good thing, if you didn't even style it that day?), a phone call, a nice note (or e-mail), or a compliment for a job well done, - cookies work too. This little postcard brought me happiness. So I have come to the conclusion that everyone (or at least me) can benefit from a little bit of praise, compliment, or a bit of recognition of some kind. . . . Of course, it should be genuine, but a little positive upliftment can go a long way, even if [in this case] it was automated!