Getting Crafty

I take three vitamins every day - two in the morning and one in the evening.  I hate leaving the bottles out in the bathroom but if I don't, I forget to take them.  I went to Salvation Army looking for some little jars with lids.

I forgot to take before pictures of them but found three for $0.25 each and painted them with some chalk paint I had that happens to match the paint I had used to do the chair in the bathroom.  A couple quick coats and a seal with the pearl wax.

I rubbed the wax in a little extra to distress some spots so they looked more used.

And voila!  Cute little jars to hold my vitamins!

The next project was for my barn door.  I wanted a little wreath for the "window".  This one I cheated.  I found two small "wreaths" to go around large candles that I really liked.  All I did was wire the two together for a little fuller look.

I think the size is perfect and once I figure out how I'm going to paint or stain the door, I think the silvery glitter will pop more.

Last one was a semi-Christmasy wreath for the front door.  This one was made from all dollar store stuff - sum total of $10.  I used white poinsettia bracts for the "Christmas" touch but the colors themselves aren't very Christmasy.

Thanksgiving

Pretty much stole all these pictures from Thanksgiving since I failed to take any!

My beautiful children!

Austin looking especially happy - must have been the thoughts of turkey in his near future.

My wonderful sister hosted dinner once again and included David's sister and her family.  This is her husband, John, along with Olivia, Madison and Moi.  I brought the wine. And enjoyed it!

Cousins

These four haven't been in the same place at the same time in about 10 years.

On the left is Gracie who shares a birthday with Madison.  Of course, that's Madison and Austin in the middle, and Dillan is on the far right.  These are paternal cousins who came up to Ft. Myers beach to get together with everyone! So happy they got to do this!

Fall in Michigan Part II

We have had the most amazing fall this year.  It started out quite wet and cold but the color show this year has been incredible and much later than usual since the weather at the end of October going into November turned warm and sunny.

The colors across the street have been nothing less than stunning.

Madison was able to take Mata Hari on a trail ride/stroll down the dirt road by the barn where the colors were equally beautiful.  Nothing like riding in the fall leaves...

I found a pretty little trail through some fields across the street from my house.  it was a nice hike on a beautiful day.

The color wasn't quite as strong on this part of the tree line but I enjoyed every last second anyway.

A few days later I took Abby out on "my" trail. This part of it is used by some of the construction tractors - you can see some of them in the upper left corner of the pic.  Our trail veers off tot he right just at the curve and goes back into the woods in the distance.

On our next hike, I got Abby to sit for this beautiful picture.  She's 13 years old now. That's 91 in dog years.  I don't know how much longer she will be with us so taking this was a bit bittersweet.  You can see all the gray on her face...she is deaf now but still gets around pretty good.  No major ailments other than just plain old age stuff...

Next stop on my beautiful fall day tour was to see our Mata Hari.  Not much color in this pic but her fur was so warm and fluffy in the sun...she's beautiful too.

Proof in point to the crazy warm weather this fall - I still have roses blooming on the NORTH side of the house in November!  The Stella D'Oro daylillies popped open a few blooms as well this week.  

And while my kids and friends went to Florida this week to escape the Michigan cold, I sat out on my deck absorbing the November sun in Michigan and relishing in the beautiful of fall in Michigan!

A

Beef

Apologies to my vegetarian friends!

Last year I ordered a 1/4 side of beef from a friend up north.  The beef isn't certified organic but for all purposes, it is organic grass fed beef.  It was amazing.  So this year I ordered it again.  While getting it here was a bit of an ordeal for Shelley, it was totally worth every penny for me.

I don't have a grill yet but I seasoned these two T-bones and let them rest a while before putting them under the broiler after roasting my cabbage steaks.  Oh my.  Oh my.  Melt in your mouth goodness!