Dogs Everywhere!

Posey, (the chocolate lab) is babysitting her country cousins Annie and Lillie. They live out on 5 acres in the country so very use to running around a lot! 

Its too sweet that the black and white dog is named Annie. Makes me think of my Annie when I call her. Lillie is a mix breed but looks exactly like my Annie's best friend Bergie, who was a French bird dog. They were best friends and if it wasn't for Bergie's parents kindness I wouldn't have be able to keep Annie after my divorce. It's a sad but grateful walk down memory lane. 
 

Boycott Projects

 I'm supporting the "Ice Out" boycott today. With so many projects in the pipe line, it will be no problem being home all day. For the past month I've been drying limes, lemons and oranges. I had a little sticker shock on the spices, which because of the tariffs are super $$$. I couldn't decide how to package my simmer pot spices when I found out how $$$ bags at Michael's are.  As I was heading home I passed the dollar store so I stopped in just to see. The exact same party bags were only $1.25 compared to $7.99 at Michael's. I bagged up 40 simmer pot spices before I ran out of cloves. It's passed the holiday season so we'll have to see how well they do. 

I no longer shop at Target, shop on Amazon or Home Depot. I voted NO to keeping Zuckerberg on the board and not longer post on Facebook or whatever he calls it now. Deleted Spotify

Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic

I recently sold a crate full of albums from the 70's and 80". Came from an estate clean out. I don't even know how many were in the crate but it was a lot. Maybe 100? When I did a quick flip through to take a few pictures to post, this album popped up. My very favorite song is "do you believe in magic" by the Lovin' Spoonful. I remember hearing the song for the very first time on TV during slumber party. I think it was a sign I should at least keep this one. Since I don't have a record player I will at some point frame it. 

"New study shows the most popular female hobby 

is drinking coffee and doing nothing" 

This is a hobby I can get behind! :)

Picker's Luck Strikes Again!

For several months I've been collecting or should I say they find me, miniatures. Things really too small to have in my booth at Cottage Crafts. I was sad that the two random printers cabinet drawers I had sold. Fast forward to now a year later. I walked into the back room at CCB and I saw two drawers. To my surprise they had my vendor number! They had been moved to the backroom during a front window display change. Stored under the stairs so totally forgotten about. My daughter asked me months ago to find one for the boys growing rock collection. Buying them one the open market is $$$ because they are hard to find. I had originally priced them very low so that would sell fast, which is why I thought they had. Now I have one for the boys and one for me!

 

Year around tomatoes 2026

Last year I bought a very sickly cherry tomato plant. It was the last one left at Ace hardware. There is one corner of the house that is perfect for tomatoes. Warm and protected from the wind. For that past year I've been burying my compost directly in the ground to build up the health of the soil. It had been neglected for years. 

My tomato plant is so big and bushy that I didn't see all the tomatoes on it. Not bad for the middle of January!

Picker's luck hits again!

 

A few weeks ago my daughter said she wanted to make a mother's ring. Pearl and sapphires are the boys birthday stones. Plus a diamond which is her husband's birthday stone.

For the past few months I've been working with two guys who buy gold and silver. With the market going nuts, I've been referring them to a lot of friends!

When they have gold jewelry to melt down they remove the stone which is then sold to a jeweler. The only gem I've never had in my collection is sapphires. I asked that they let me know if they come across some. Doesn't have to be big as my daughter's design for her ring would be a band. They found some earrings that checked off all the boxes. I'm not sure if my daughter will want to change the earrings into a ring because it has everything she wanted, so I also purchased the earrings that were just sapphires. These earrings would be easier to take apart. 

 

Yes I brought bags of dirt

 

I'm slowly building my raised garden beds at my place. I really wanted to get these bags of dirt at Costco but lifting them into my already filled cart wasn't going to happen. Good thing Matt is going to Costco sometime this week. He has the muscle mass to lift these suckers into his truck. :) 

I don't think I'll have a successful garden this year as it's still a work in progress but it's getting there!

Latest binge foods from Costco - 2026

I'm so glad that Costco and Trader Joe's aren't on the boycott list! 

I go to Costco about once a month, mainly for the gas and the basics. I don't go down each aisle as I know I will pick up something I don't really need. I do allow myself one impulse buy when it comes to food. With the California cold weather (anything in 40's is winter for us) I've been craving soup. My daughter is great at making soups something she didn't learn from me. :)

Going out to eat is so outrageously expensive that spending a little more for something I can make at home is worth. I really like the brand bibigo. I didn't know at the time that the spicy mushroom soup and dumplings are something they recommend combining. Looking forward to making it after I finish all my leftovers in the refrigerator.  My other splurge was the seaweed and salt chip, another favorite. The Costco size bag cost the same as a small bag at the Asian store. Do I really need to eat that many chips, no I don't but I'll enjoy it anyways!
 

Vintage Matchboxes Collections

Last month I picked up a tub full of matchboxes. The dad had a hobby of covering the walls in the garage with matchbox covers. I thought a crafter would be interested in the ones that didn't make it to the wall. Since everything I put in my booth has to be tagged, it wasn't practical to tag all of them. Not knowing anything about match box collecting, I decided to lump them together. I've been in search of a big glass jar ever since. In slowly cleaning out my death pile in the garage I found one! I'm slowly getting the garage cleaned out to make more room for the home gym that's in there. The gym area is useable but it would be nice if I didn't have to step over things to get to the weights and bike. 
 

Chop Wizard

Chop Wizard a

I like kitchen gadgets and it's fun to see if they really work. Of course I will never pay full retail but if it's cheap enough I will play around with it. This is the "seen on tv Chop Wizard" that was new in the box. How well does it work?

When the boys were here I made cottage style hash browns a lot. Yes, it doesn't take long to chop everything up but the potatoes do cook fast when all the same size. With the family coming out to visit this summer, I'm testing if this is a time saver. So far it's working well with potatoes but doesn't really save time if you good at making everything the same size. I can see it working if you can't hold a knife for very long. You still do have to cut things to fit into the wizard. Still deciding if it will make the keep list. 
 

Lucky California Oranges

I heard that the orange groves are ready to harvest but there's no one to pick them. Of course that's no surprise with all that is going on. :(

Living in California we're able to grow fruit trees in our yards. There is a volunteer at the store that has a yard full of fruit trees. She will bring in bags full of whatever is in season. This month it's oranges.

I did use most of the oranges for my smoothies but I also dried few. The orange color stayed so bright that I don't think I'll have to paint them when I make them into mushrooms. I've learn low and slow on drying everything works the best in keeping the color. Oranges and lemons make the best for mushrooms, limes not so much. All the slices are being storage until I make my holiday potpourri. 

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Muffins

Back in the day gluten free products were so bad. It's come a long way. I saw post about Trader Joe's gluten free muffins. I normally don't even go down any bread aisle in any grocery store. I searched these out and decided to give it a try. It's very pricey but groceries over all are very high now days. The muffins aren't bad. Had the taste of raw cookie dough or I could have gotten a batch that wasn't baked all the way through. Very light and not overly sweet. It doesn't have a lot of flavor but overall not bad for being gluten free. The list of ingredients is a mile long but that's expected.