Babs Just A Babblin' Blog

A bit of Gardening, baking, blogging, knitting, sewing, family, friends and discovering hidden treasures along the way.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Volunteer Initiatives

One accomplishment that was on my "to do" list was to do some type of volunteer work. I was picky though. In the recent weeks, a few things came to fruition.

Today, I met my friend Sue for coffee. She had arranged for me to knit baby hats for newborns at a local hospital. Perfect fit for me. The hospital provides the yarn and the pattern one must use.

I started this afternoon. Each hat is 47 rows. Piece of cake.

My other volunteer work I'm doing is manicure's on Monday afternoons at a local assisted living center.

Nice ladies. Long, strong fingernails made pretty. Just a little something to make them feel feminine. Everyone likes pink polish...not too bright.

The highlight today was Hillie telling me at least 20 times in 20 minutes." You'd never get this in Germany, they are too tight." You see, she is from Berlin Germany. Couldn't quite get out of her how long she has been in this country. Just that she thought it was so nice getting a manicure in America....never in Germany. Each time she repeated it, I smiled! So sweet! She loved her nail color too, pink of course.

 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Going, going......Re-Do

We've lived in our house thirteen years. It was new construction thus, we had to put in the lawn and gardens. We did it all ourselves. Things grew and grew and grew. To the point that it's somewhat out of control. This year, the weeds, out of control.


Answer. Dig it all up and start new. Well, dig most of it up, some things will stay.




 




All that green are weeds.




I believe we are going to do grass and have two flower areas.




This will stay. Just digging overgrown things out and replanting things from the other side over here.


We have piles of Stella D'Oro lilies, daylillies and AnnaBelle Hydrangeas sitting at the end of the driveway hoping someone will act upon our FREE sign.


This was our Sunday!


 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Five on Friday

One. This week has proved to be absolutely gorgeous. The temps are perfect. Walking, biking, sitting outside reading a book. The air is crisp yet, delightful. The days warm up to the perfect temperature. Absolutely glorious.

Two. Success. Finally after all these years I found a recipe for chicken noodle soup that is gift worthy and oh so delicious. Thanks Lynne for sharing. Add a loaf of Dutch oven bread and oh my!

Three. Cleared away the spent flowers of summer in various pots and refilled with autumn goodness.

The Farmers market had every color you could imagine.



Four. My niece Lindsey was re-married this past weekend. It was a small, lovely ceremony and luncheon which followed. Happy for them! Congratulations Luke and Lindsey.

 

Five. Not many accomplishments in the de- cluttering, sorry! Too nice outside. I did go to the apple orchard and bought more apples. Made a luscious Apple Crisp.

 

Little bonus, for those of you not on FaceBook, here is a photo of my husband and I taken at the wedding.

Enjoy your weekend. Hope you do something fun!

Babs~

 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Blogging Outcomes

Last spring, Lynne and I traveled to Naperville, IL to attend the Midwest Blogging Meet-up. We weren't sure what to expect! Long story short, we met Erin from the blog Just*Grand. We chatted for a short while and learned she had a summer cottage in Michigan. We exchanged emails and said let's meet at her cottage someday. That someday was yesterday.

Just a two hour drive from our home to this charming cottage on Lake Michigan.

A little community of six cottages.

Totally gutted and remodeled to make it their own!

So tastefully done! Charm!

We visited, talked blogs, family, books, antiques, flea markets. Walked to a local deli and picked up some lunch and took it back to the cottage and sat outside on a gorgeous day and enjoyed the view.

We then hopped in the car and went to one of Erin's favorite fall stops, Dinges Farm Market

Pick your own concord grapes.

Cut your own zinnias.

Pumpkins galore…every color, size, shape you could imagine.


I love the the funky, bumpy ones!

Here's my loot. Pumpkins, squash and gorgeous zinnias.

The afternoon flew by and it was time to say goodbye.

Thank you Erin for a lovely visit. We will meet again.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

The Reveal

 

We had great fun taking selfies!

When little Missy was just a little nugget in the oven, I started a quilt for her.
Her momma had several baby showers and received lots of blankets and quilts.
I put mine on the back burner. Came across it again when I was de cluttering and decided to
complete it. Took it to have it quilted and got the backing and binding done.

JoJo came for a visit this weekend and I had it all ready for her.

Here is the front...below the back.

The label I sewed on it. She wrapped up in it, laid for a few minutes and said, it's hot!

We sat quiet and read books, while Mommy and Daddy were at the Notre Dame/Michigan State game.

Had to get a little nap in....we were tired out from playing and playing!

I hope my little JoJo cherishes her quilt and passes it on to her kids one day. It was made filled with lots of love! The pattern Urban Baby Quilt.

 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Five on Friday

One. This was my second week at volunteering at a local assisted living center. I am helping out with manicures on Monday afternoons. It's nice to see the ladies choose a color for their nails. The number one color is light pink. "not too bright." they say.

Two. The colors of the trees are definitely starting to change. Really noticed it this week. Fall is here.

Three. Time to remove the spent annuals from pots and replace with some mums to freshen. I picked up a few small mums....three purple for a planter and a rich burgundy.

Four. Speaking of fall color....I just had to do it. My black purse just wasn't cutting it. So, COACH had a new color for fall. Gorgeous!

Five. Not much cooking this week. Company is arriving tomorrow. I am whipping up a batch of chicken noodle soup, dutch oven bread, a chicken spaghetti casserole, and....a new recipe Pumpkin Pie Lasagna. If its delish....I'll share the recipe.

 

Have a fabulous weekend!

babs~

 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Stepping Out of My Box

I am not an artist....not in the least bit......until today! Today was our coffee day, Lynne and I. We decided to try our hand at a fall craft we saw on another blog. Jennifer Rizzo provided a step-by-step tutorial for this project. And so, here we go.

Started with a blank canvas.

 

Lynne at work.
The outline.

 

 

Lynne is really diggin' this!

 

The finished artwork!

Not bad for a couple rookies. What do you think?