Thrift Store Finds, and Apple Pie

I went to the Salvation Army a couple days ago. I went there specifically to find some cheap t-shirts to make into tank tops like ones I saw on Pinterest. :D I pinned it, but thats the link to the website. It's starting to get super hot here; and I wanted some new tops (inexpensive), just for everyday..

I thought I would look at dresses, too. I have been trying to dress more *girly* lately. Dresses seem to be in this year. I almost didn't get this one, because it's purple. Not my favorite color. But, it was half off. So.

But I really like this one. So I got it. :D It may be my new favorite dress. I paid "full price" for this one, $8. Still not bad; when  you think how much it would be at the store it came from (I think it is a Target brand).

Then while I was waiting for Eon to look at stuff, I got this photo album - which looks brand new, for $1.50. And seven cards and envelopes for 10 cents each. Boo Yah. :P  I got the Thank You card for Evan, to send to someone for a wedding present they sent him. (That's a long story..) It was my husbands' Aunt. She lives in Canada at a monastery (sp?). She is a little strange...  Anyway. She sent them (Evan and Jayce) a wedding present (to me, since I didn't know his address, since he had moved again). She sent two pictures of Jesus. Not the wedding present a new (super young) bride and groom are probably looking to get.. But...  I still think he (they) should send a thank you card. And, she keeps asking me about it. So. That's the story behind the Thank You card. (I know you were wondering, and weren't going to be able to sleep tonight unless I told you. Lol..)

Then after I paid, on the way out, Eon said "Mom, look."  It was a skateboard. I said :O. Do you want it?! He has been wanting a skateboard for a long time. I didn't want to buy him one (cuz I worry myself to death..) But I promised him I would get him one if he brought up his grade in math. (An F, on his progress report.. Ahem..)  And, he *did* bring it up. To a C. :/  Thing is, though; all of his other grades dropped. To a C or B. :/  I won't get into that.  I asked him if he wanted it still. He said no, since I had already checked out. I said "Too bad, I'm buying it for you." ;)  I think he really likes it. (He;s actually smiling, big clue there..)  :D  I just hope we don't end up in the ER... (Sigh.)  He *will* be wearing his helmet, knee pads and elbow pads when riding it. And bubble wrap. Lol!

These are the apples from our tree this year. (Sigh...) But. Last year our apple tree only got ONE apple. So...  I was actually happy it got apples this year. I saw the rotten one, and I picked it off. Then I started looking at the other apples, and picked them. I had been wanting to make a pie with apples from our own apple tree. So...

I did.  I didn't use that rotten apple though. (Yuck.) A couple of them, I had to cut pieces off that were starting to go, too. And, I had to use two apples from the store to get enough. But... There's my pie. It's long gone. :P  I don't think I've ever made an apple pie before. I've made all kinds of other pies. Pumpkin (my favorite), Key Lime, rhubarb, custard (pumpkin pie in that post, too)..  Now apple.  Oh, and I saved the seeds from all the apples. I'm going to try and grow more apple trees. :D

I don't know if I ever posted this yarn that Sue (one of my pen pals from NM) sent me? She sent me five skeins. I LOVE this yarn!! The reason I have three pictured is because in the other two skeins, the "coral" color is more of a light pink. So I am going to try and see if three will be enough, to crochet the Grove Park Tank by Robyn Chacula.   

I tried to wind one of the skeins previously. I didn't know how it got to be such a tangled mess. (I had it in a special place, it wasn't getting moved around..)  So I unwound another skein and thought I would try again. Well as careful as I was, that one got all tangled up, too.

It took me two hours to wind it, but... I did it. :P    I started on the first one again, too. That one still isn't finished. I realized that it still had some of the ties in it. It's knotted and tied in a few places, and I hadn't taken those off. That was one of the reasons it might have been so hard to wind. (Duh... :P)   I actually started a tank, in a size medium. Had to frog it and am going to start with a size E hook and make the small, I think. (I was using an E hook, and it still came out way too big.) I will need to get a contrasting color for the collar. But I still wanted to start it. 
I have the fabric ironed and ready to cut out for the purse lining for my Mom's bag. I need to work on that. (Sigh..) 

I got another hanging pot of flowers last week. I was thinking about getting a pot of red, a pot of white, and seeing if I could find any blue ones. For the 4th of July. But I couldn't find hardly any. Then I saw the red, white, and blue beads on this one. So I decided to get it. (And, its a third of the cost of what I was thinking... Lol. Which would have been way too much money, anyway.) 

Here are my flowers I had already. And our wind chime we bought in Colorado for summer vacation last year. And Jubba. :P

I don't know if I ever posted a picture of the latest bloom on my prickly pear cactus? It had a flower when I bought it. Then it got another one just recently. It only lasted about one day. It was so pretty, though. I think I finally decided where to plant this. In the back yard, in between the two yucca plants. Out a ways, though. Since they get really big.. 

Bloomin' Bag Progress

I took this picture last night. I actually have one strap almost finished, too. :D  Hopefully it won't take me forever to do the lining. I already have the bottom "pattern" piece cut out.  I have the fabric washed and dried, just need to iron it and cut it out..  It's a different size from my Bloomin' Bag, so the measurements I have written down aren't any good. :(  I'll have to figure this one out from square one.   I haven't been feeling well the last two days (stomach, like usual...)  I feel a little better today than I did yesterday.  We went and looked at a house for rent last night. It had almost all the things I want in a house: 3 bedrom, 2 bath. Fenced in back yard (for Jetta)..   But.. we weren't impressed. (Tiles in the kitchen were cracked, a lot of stuff is outdated.) I told my husband, "If we're going to move again, I want to upgrade." (Not have some of the same problems we already have in this house..)  :/   I doubt we will ever find a decent house in this town. Unless we build it ourselves. (But I don't want to stay here, so... Not going to invest in that..) 

Fathers Day

I hope everyone had a nice Fathers Day. We didn't do much. I made French Toast Bake the night before, for Fathers Day breakfast. I was thinking about making Blueberry Stuffed French Toast, which I made last Fathers Day. But I didn't want to make the blueberry syrup. Plus it is really sweet, and really rich. My husband said he likes this kind better. I think I do, too.

Lookie what I got in the mail a few days ago!! Home roasted coffee beans from one of my pen pals, Linda. :D They smell soo good. My husband kept asking me where I got it, where can we buy it?..  I said you can't. Someone roasted them for us. :)    We have two coffee bean grinders. I think I got them both from my SIL, when we were first married. And we have three coffee pot/makers, but none of them work very well. Actually we only have two. My husband was trying to fix the one we were using, yesterday. I noticed it was leaking. He finally figured out where it was leaking from and tried to soder it. But it didn't work. :/ So now we have two. Trying to keep them going..  :P   Save a few bucks. I also cut my own bangs this morning. Didn't do too bad. It's summer time, so..  :)   
I have been working on my Mom's Everbloom Bag (the last picture of this post). I am on the last few rows. I think I want to crochet myself another bag, when I'm done. For Fourth of July.

Newborn Sweater Set

Finally, some crocheting! :D  I feel like I am always crocheting, but I never get anything done. But I actually finished something, this morning while waiting on the phone scheduling annual doctors appointments for the kids. (Scheduled my mammogram, and Eons' cardiologist appointment too. Glad that's done.) I have been watching "Call The Midwife", recently; on Netflix, and online. :P One of my penpals got me hooked on it. :)  Somehow I found myself wanting to crochet and knit baby things. (Hmmm..)   This set is a bunch of different patterns, the sweater is the Little Darling Newborn Cardigan pattern by Laura Tegg. It's a free Ravelry download. The hat is the SLK baby hat by Susan L Kraus. And the booties are the Roll-Tops bootie pattern by Hayley Missingham, also a free Ravelry download. I put this in my pile of stuff to send to the hospital on Pine Ridge (when the weather starts getting cooler). I figure I will have a good collection by then, if I keep watching Call the Midwife. :P

It's Summer Vacation

And, I'm still baking... Will I ever learn? (Especially since it is over 100* outside?..) O.o I have been wanting to make these for a while. Another mom brought some in one Popcorn Friday, for Teacher Appreciation Week. I meant to try one, and for some reason I forgot. :/  I was so bummed when I realized I forgot to try one. I had never heard of them before. So I googled when I got home, and found a yummy recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars; that I finally tried a couple days ago. They are better than I thought they would be. They are really rich. I didn't use a mixer, I cut the butter in with two knives (like for biscuit dough, you know).

My prickly pear cactus is blooming (again)! It had a flower on it when I first bought it. Then I noticed a couple days ago, a different looking "bud" (?) on it. It opened up today. So pretty. I need to plant that somewhere. I know it's going to get big, so that's why I haven't planted it. Don't really know where to put it.. In the front yard, we back into the yard to turn around to pull out of the driveway. In the back yard, there aren't very many options because Jetta would destroy it with her tie out chain..  I kind of want a little "garden" (desert garden?) area. Maybe I'll do it over by the bird feeder.  I could just plant it right where it is. But I'm not sure if it would get too big. There's only so much space there, too..

This is Jetta... doing what she does best (bring me her ball... constantly..)  "Play with me, Mama..." Excuse my mess on the table. I have been going through pictures to put in an album. (Sigh...)  I have way too many pictures. I'm trying to put an album together for our oldest son, Evan. I don't like the album I bought, it has three slots to put pictures in. Well I don't know where to put all his school pictures? I might have to get a different album...  One of my things on my list to do for summer vacation.

A picture of the sunset the other night.  Of course I didn't capture it, it was so pretty.

Baking... It's No Wonder I Can't Lose Weight :(

I have been baking quite a bit lately. I saw a yummy looking Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe and had to try it. I have actually made this twice (I get one of these loaves, plus a mini one out of the recipe). And I made regular banana bread one day, too.

Last week I made two pumpkin pies. The crusts came out really good; probably the best I've ever made. I don't know what I did right. Because I used the same recipe and did everything the same with my custard pie, and it didn't turn out so well. :(

My sad, sad custard pie...  :(  I did everything the recipe said to do. I par-baked the crust for 10 minutes, then put an egg wash on it (to seal it), then baked it for five minutes more. Stuck it in the fridge. Made the filling. Everything seemed perfect until it was done baking. :(  I think maybe I baked it too long. But it wouldn't cook and looked like soup to me. So I baked it for an hour. I've done that with pumpkin pies and they come out perfect.

It looked yummy; and it tastes all right, but it's a bit "eggy". The kids and I didn't really like it too much. I asked them what they thought. The teenager just shrugged his shoulders. The ten year old said it tasted weird.  My husband said he liked it. (He's just being nice..) ;)   Well there's only two pieces left, so they must have liked it enough to eat it. :P

I burned my hand, too. :(  I try to be super careful every time. But.. I failed. It doesn't hurt anymore. It hurt for a couple/few hours and that was it. I put Vitamin E on it right away. Maybe that helped. This morning it looked the worst, had a big blister on it. But it didn't hurt. And it looks better now. Will probably leave a scar, though.