Hidden Acre

Vanilla Muffins

2011-12-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

I love to wake up to the smell of something good going on in the kitchen! And this morning I created just that very thing for my family!

I baked up a batch of Vanilla Muffins, and they are so good, sweet and great with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk.

I picked up these cute Christmas paper liners at the Dollar Tree.

Here's the recipe for Vanilla Muffins.

3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups unbleached four
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix the sugar with the egg. Add the extra virgin olive oil, milk and vanilla.

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and make a well in the center.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients; stir to mix, about 20 times.

Divide the batter into twelve muffin cups.

Place in the oven and turn the temperature up to 400 degrees.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes.

Now enjoy!

Remember, baking not only makes others happy, it makes you feel good too!

~Violet~

A Very Simple Meal

2011-11-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

We had a bunch of days of a lot of eating! Thanksgiving dinner was at our house, so we didn't just start to eat on Thursday, but rather on Tuesday of this last week! We've been celebrating Thanksgiving for close to a week now. Last night we had a humble dinner of the last of our feast. I was glad to eat such a simple dinner. We had left over bread rolls with some gravy that I made. Can't be much more simple than that!

Sometimes I like to eat my supper on a small plate. And I like lots of black pepper. After days of eating, and over eating, it's nice to have a simple, and adequate meal. I am thankful for simple food. I am thankful for my warm home. ~Violet~

Peppermint Mocha

2011-11-28T07:14:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, we are definitely coffee drinkers and coffee lovers around here! Through our Pinterest exploits we found a site for homemade coffee creamers. And the good thing about the recipes from this site is that they use good quality ingredients.

This afternoon Lacey made peppermint mocha creamer using milk, cream, maple syrup, cacao and peppermint extract. Delicious! We whipped up some of the heavy cream for our mocha's but it mostly melted into the coffee before I was able to take photos.

But even though the whipped cream melted, they were so yummy, just the same! You can find more coffee creamer recipes here on Deliciously Organic. And the Mary Engelbreit mugs? Found at Marshalls! Well, off to brew more coffee! ~Violet~

Some Thanksgiving Photos

2011-11-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

We had a busy and wonderful day yesterday. I love to cook, and I love to cook for my family. We usually have a mix of traditional and non traditional food to share on this day.

We always have the classic yams with marshmallows and green bean casserole.

Lacey made Pumpkin Coffee Cake for Thanksgiving breakfast and, Oh My Gosh! It took care of my sugar fix real quick! I must have more.

Four of us played a game of Scrabble, so there was plenty of times between turns for kitchen prep. In our family, it's unusual for the game to be spread out so far, it always and quickly trails down to the right bottom section of the board.

This was taken after dinner, but I love this centerpiece that Lacey made!

Homemade dinner rolls.

Steamed broccoli.

Homemade pies with fresh whipped cream!

A couple of snaps of my entertaining grandchildren.

I am thankful for my family.

I am thankful for our food to eat.

I am thankful for our home that we live in.

I am thankful for a place for my family to gather.

I wish you all the best from the bottom of my heart!

~Violet~

This is Some of Our Thanksgiving Prep Work!

2011-11-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving and we've been working in the kitchen all day long! I've been working along side two of my daughters. It amazes me how well we can work and dance together in our little galley kitchen without getting in the way of each other!

I chopped veggies for our macaroni salad. I'll try to post photos of the salad once it's in a pretty serving bowl. For now, it's stored in a tub in the fridge.

This little guy is poised and ready to help his Gramma with his super powers! I can use all the help I can get!

I took some random pictures. This is my bread book, titled "Bread Machine Magic". I bought this book years and years ago at Costco. I think I made every recipe in this book. It's well worn and much loved. Today I'm using the recipe for dinner rolls.

By choice, we won't be roasting a turkey, but we will have stuffing, or dressing. This photo shows our dressing in progress. My daughter used homemade bread.

Eggs. Tomorrow morning we will boil some to make deviled eggs with.

An awesomely beautiful pie crust that my daughter made. She's going to fill it with pumpkin pie filling. Just look at that gorgeous braided edge!

Not what you would expect to see. This is my clean laundry art. To be dealt with when I finally sit down!

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! ~Violet~

Saturday in Three Rivers

2011-11-21T08:22:00.000-08:00

For the past several years we have attended the Three Rivers Christmas show, setting our booth up and selling our Gaelic Forge Celtic jewelry. The weather was beautiful and the fall colors were breathtaking.

We have been selling our hand forged Celtic jewelry at his show for several years now. Three Rivers is up the mountain from us below the gate to Sequoia National Park. It was a beautiful setting against a chilly autumn day with brilliant autumn colors on the trees and shrubs.

The day was sort of a family affair.

Our oldest daughter is an artist and draws wonderful and whimsical illustrations.

She had her art for sale arranged on one of the corners of our display tables. Her work can be found at her Etsy shop, "Cracked Illustrations".

Our two youngest daughters have been selling their handmade fudge at this Christmas show for the last five years. They are acquiring a local following and folks come to this show specifically to buy their delicious handmade fudge.

I ducked away from our booth for a few minutes and strolled around to take some photos.

It was a wonderful Saturday in beautiful Three Rivers and we look forward to attending the Christmas show in the years to come!

~Violet~

Autumn Garland for My Primitive Tree!

2011-11-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

What fun I have with these "go projects"!

It's almost Thanksgiving and I was hoping to have this felt sewing project completed by the first of November, but who knew?

I first found this idea for a cute felt circle garland a couple of years ago and have been wanting to sew this garland up for my autumn decorating ever since!

I have four primitive Christmas trees and I've had the idea of using at least one of these primitive trees for autumn decorting for awhile now. It looks like I finally made it. A little skimpy, but I'm happy with the results, non the less.

This autumn inspiration came from AnnaMariaHorner. Anna even has a tutorial on how to make a blanket stitch with easy to follow instructions and good photos.

I wanted to make a felt autumn garland so I used autumn colors. Six fall colors to be exact, as that is what I had on hand. I used tan, yellow, orange, burgandy, green and red felt.

I cut ten sets of each color and with two strands of embroidery thread, I started to sew them up. It has been a perfect "go project" whether I'm going to visit with hubby, going out to the sit on the patio or going out of town!

When finished and on my autumn tree, I decided to extend the length some. I thought it was going to be forever long enough but it wasn't. I just sort of draped it back and forth on the top two thirds of the front of my three foot tree.

I didn't have much yellow left, so that was my gauge. I cut six more circles of each color and will extend it a little more by Thanksgiving.

Before I placed my autumn garland on the tree I put clear lights on it first. I had a strand of fifty clear lights and wrapped that around the trunk of my primitive tree.

I really do like the way it looks. And I think it's perfect with the addition of the lights.

I'm off to finish the additional circles for my felt garland!

Remember to make some time for your creative projects!

~Violet~

Some Autumn Decorating

2011-11-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

OH, I had so much fun this weekend with cleaning up the house, spending time with my family. I've been decorating for Fall and anticipating more time with our family. And I've been doing good, making sure that I have some time to decorate for fall. I love autumn decorating!

This is a vase I made in Handbuilding Ceramics last year. I love the way it looks with my autumn bouquet. Silk flowers from the Dollar Tree, of course.

This is my desk top. The flowers? Yes, these are REAL! Aren't they beautiful? They are birthday mums from hubby!

Look at the precious Willow figurine. It's titled Grandmother. Given to me by my 3 year old grandson, with the help of his mommy and daddy.

I've been admiring hurricane lamp globes from some of the awesome blogs that I visit. When I saw these glass globes at the thrift store for .99 each, I snatched them up! I found three of them, right now the third is in my kitchen with a gingerbread candle.

I know that I've shown this centerpiece before, but it isn't often that my table is clear and I can have it looking like this. At least not often throughout the week with school and what not.

Until next time, ~Violet~

More Birthday Time

2011-11-11T15:07:00.000-08:00

A good birthday.

Grandson.

A part of my garden.

My birthday breakfast. Lacey baked pumpkin scones. Yum. What can be better?

Oh, and I'm playing with borders on my pumpkin scone photo.

I like birthdays.

~Violet~

Happy Birthday To Me Today!

2011-11-10T18:02:00.000-08:00

My birthday is today. I wanted to post this morning and celebrate my birthday, but my life is busy. And full. So, I am posting this evening instead.

I hadn't changed the time on my wristwatch yet, ( I know, it's several days after the time change, right?), and therefore left the house an hour earlier than I needed to.

All I was thinking was I needed to leave the house on time because I was taking care of my grandson today, and now, great. I was going to be late. It takes me 30 minutes to drive to town, and I left my house at 7:45, to be at their house at 8:00! A.M.

As I was driving down the highway I was thinking to myself "there sure isn't much traffic like there usually is. Hey.....wait a minute!" I switched over to the radio to see if I could check the time on the news. 7:06! It was 7:06 in the morning.

I realize this all doesn't make much sense, but I'm actually laughing now!

And besides...

I fixed it all with a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha!

I just want to share that my birthday is a good one. A gift that I gave myself was the gift of learning a simple thing of using the timer on my camera. Then I had fun using it to take self portraits of myself.

I'm looking forward to many more gifts to myself this year. My plan for this year is to learn how to celebrate myself. My plan for this year is to make myself my project. My plan for this year is to embrace myself.

And while I do this, I also plan to keep my heart full to brim with the love for my husband and with the love of my family.

Celebrate, celebrate! This 61 year old girl is looking ahead to a wonderful year of celebration!

~Violet~

Where I Live After A Rainy Day

2011-11-09T16:06:00.000-08:00

This is my neighborhood after a rain. I love the way the air looks so clean and clear after it rains. The clouds are beautiful. Everything I see is beautiful and clean.

We live up against the foothills on the west side of the Great Sierra Nevada Mountains.

As usual, I had my camera with me and my hubby pulled off the side of the road for me to hop out and take photos.

I took these about a quarter of a mile from where we live. This was a good spot because the orange groves are very young, or just an open field, making it a perfect setting. Perfect to see the Sierra Nevada Mountains and surrounding hills covered with beautiful cumulus clouds against the bluest sky.

My neighborhood on a beautiful autumn day!

~Violet~

Sculptures From The Gaelic Forge

2011-11-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

I have a wonderful Cannon camera that my hubby gave me last year for Christmas. It's the most wonderful digital camera I have owned. And the best camera I have owned since my hubby gave me a Cannon Rebel G, film camera.

I have enjoyed this camera immensely and have taken literally, a few thousand photos, and that is a modest guess, with it in the last year since Christmas 2010.

I've tried my hand at some of the manual settings, and that was nice. But....since this camera has a mind of its own, a brain of its' own, and since this is a camera that can think, my attitude, mostly has been, "Why not? Why not use the auto settings? This camera is wonderful! This camera can think in camera mode for me!"

But now, I am challenged. Challenged by both my camera and challenged by myself!

I think that I have jewelry photography mostly covered. Yes, I realize that there are still many pieces of Gaelic Forge jewelry in our Etsy and ArtFire shops which needs to go through the retakes. But, I've got it down. Well, as far as I presently know, I've got it down. I'm completely open to the idea of learning, Learning, and LEARNING!!

My husband, being ever so creative, has been creating some new pieces that are not hand forged jewelry. They are the most awesome, awe-inspiring and mind blowing hand forged sculptures ever!

Hubby has created these wonderful, artistic, pieces that he calls parts of "Merlin’s Garden." And this is my challenge. To photo them to show how awesome they are!

I'm sharing some of my attempts. I actually love these attempts because they have led me to learn, and become somewhat closer, and more familiar with my Cannon T1i camera.

My auto settings did not want to give me the needed depth of field that I needed to show with the Merlin's Garden sculptures.

More experimentation and book reading, studying, along with trial and error are needed.

I'm posting my early attempts here, throughout this post. When I arrive at the destination of achievement for these photos, I'll share them here, and then the sculpture will be uploaded to our online shops.

Until next time, embrace your challenges and go for it!

~Violet~

Jo Totes Camera Bag!

2011-11-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

I've always thought that most camera bags are not girly, not girly at all. But that's before I discovered Jo Totes!

Jo Totes offers the most awesome and girly camera bags that I have ever seen. They are large enough to carry a camera and a couple of lens. Not to mention extra room for a few personal items such as your wallet, snack and a small laptop.

Visit here to see all of the camera bags by Jo Totes. Each one has the option to have a shoulder strap or not, and they come in different colors to boot! It would not be difficult to choose multiple favorites, I know that I have!

My most favorite camera bag is this one, the Betsy Chocolate. It would be the perfect bag to carry my Cannon T1i

Check it out, you can see the details for Betsy here. And browse and click through all the bags, I know something will go onto your wish list from Jo Totes.

Right now, Tatertots & Jello is having a giveaway. The lucky winner will receive a camera bag of her choice from Jo Totes.

But you have to hurry; the giveaway ends tonight, November 6th, at midnight.

All you have to do is hop over to Tatertots & Jello and:

1.) Leave Jen a comment on her Tatertots & Jello blog.

2.) Like Jo Totes on her Facebook.

3.) Promote the giveaway.

Here's wishing you the best!

~Violet~

Beautiful Monarch Butterflies!

2011-11-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

My husband and I took the last couple of days off and took a little vacation over to the Pacific Coast, west of where we live on the far eastern side of the Central Valley. We made a lot of stops, saw some new things and in general had lots of fun!

The first thing I want to share is pretty much the last thing we saw before we decided to head home again.

The Pismo Beach Monarch Grove is located in Pismo Beach, California. More Monarch butterflies come to this Pismo Eucalyptus Grove than anywhere else in the United States. It is the largest gathering of this butterfly in the state of California.

The website for this grove can be found here. There is a lot of Monarch Butterfly information and fun activities for kids here. If you home school your children, or even if you don't home school your children, you may like to avail yourself to this Monarch butterfly site.

Hubby and I were able to take these photos that I'm sharing here. The Monarchs look like golden leaves high in the trees.

As a child, my family used to visit relatives quite a bit north of Pismo Beach, in Bolinas, California to be exact. I remember one of the times we were there; I went for a walk to the Eucalyptus Grove that bordered their property. Suddenly, and magically, in the midst of the Eucalyptus trees, I found myself surrounded by what seemed to be millions of Monarch butterflies! The grove was very overgrown and the Eucalyptus limbs gracefully draped down to my level. And they were covered, literally and beautifully covered with Monarch butterflies! A gift I will never forget and will always treasure.

~Violet~

Halloween Activity with the Kids!

2011-10-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I was so busy crafting with the grandkids that I did not take enough photos! They really have a way of keeping me on my toes and busy, busy, busy!

I had four of my sweet grandchildren with me on this weekend, but only have "fuzzy" shots of my one of my grandsons. He's active!

We made a Haunted Forest Centerpiece. It pretty easy and the kids enjoyed doing it. We made it a little different from the directions. We had chocolate graham crackers and the grandkids crushed those into the plate. They said it looked more like soil that way.

We put thin craft wire through the black licorice so we could made the licore tree stand up.

I mixed some powder sugar with a tiny bit of water to make "paste". This was used to glue the candy corn in place making a fence. We threw some pumpkins under the tree and made a pumpkin patch instead of a Haunted Tree!

All the directions for this activity can be found here, check it out.

Until next time, ~Violet~

Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

2011-10-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

All the beautiful pumpkins!

Isn't this just an awesome display of pumpkins? I absolutely love seeing it on my way home, it is just so picturesque!

Well, Fall is definitely in the air here in Central California. Even here in California we have trees that turn beautiful colors with the arrival of Fall. They are in the early stages of beginning their annual display of a an Autumn leaf carpet.

And everywhere I look, I see pumpkins! Large pumpkins, small pumpkins, and mini pumpkins. This is the cutest little produce stand that I pass on my way home. Quite often I stop and pick up something fresh to fix with dinner.

For the last two years they have the most beautiful display of pumpkins brought in from one of their farms and I've been waiting since last year to stop and take pictures of the new display.

I just have to include photos from my trip to the Pumpkin Patch with my three year old grandson!

Of course, being three years old, he wasn't about to be still for anything!

A flower for his mommy!

After we looked at what seemed to be thousands of orange pumpkins, he easily picked one out to take home.

I loved and enjoyed all the different shapes and colors of the pumpkin patch!

I hope you're enjoying the Autumn season! Get some pumpkins, decorate with them or make some pumpkin pie!

~Violet~

Top of the Wedding Day!

2011-06-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well, actually, it's been pretty tough. Of course, I wanted to be a part of my sweet daughter's wedding. It has been a time that I treasure. I love her so much and needed to be a part of this time leading up to the day of the beginning of her new life.

But her wedding and the wedding planning was a lot of grief to me. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. My my sweet child, who, for all her life has held a precious and special place in my heart, will be separated from me forever.

Very natural event. I understand that on an intellectual level. But emotionally, I grieve at the loss and separation from each one of my six children. Yes, as a mother of six wonderful and incredible children, this is not the first time I've gone through this.

One would think I would have been able to buck up by now. Mostly, for all outside appearances, it would seem that I kinda, sorta had and have it together. Ah, if only I had pursued my acting skills so many years ago, I would be able to carry this through flawlessly!

My second to youngest daughter is married. The beginning of her life as a married woman. The beginning of a new chapter of sadness in mine, the grief of separation that must be replaced with some other wonderful thing.

For those who have suffered the pain of separation and loss from the time that they were a small child, perhaps should not have children. Because the loss is looming on the horizon, approaching from the beginning of giving birth, to an accelerated quickness that ends with a definite period at the end of childhood.

Would I change any of it if I could? No. Absolutely not. Not one single thing.

So, enough of my self indulgence!

I went with my daughter to the beauty salon, the morning of her wedding.

We had a such a nice time being there together, and our hair dresser is a hoot to boot! We both just love her. She really has a way to step it up and put lots of smiles on our faces and laughter to our words!

It was the last "event" that daughter and I would do together before she is married. A precious, precious time. This has been the second time that I've gone through this, memories will treasure always.

Gorgeous! Next, off we went to have make up done! We had the good fortune of meeting with a delightful make up artist who was so much fun to work with.

There were mirrors everywhere and you can see my reflection posed with my camera as I took this next shot!

Isn't she beautiful? Wedding photos to come soon!

Thank you once again, until next time, ~Violet~

Bridal Shower at Hidden Acre

2011-05-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

Preparations under way! Daughter and Maid of Honor made these cute little cupcakes with 7 minute frosting.

Anybody remember Spoolies? I helped my daughter the night before to put all these in!

Even the Bride to Be was put to work!

So much to do!

There was so much to do as we worked to set up for the party in our front garden!

My grandaughter!

My sweet daughter, Bride to Be.

Sister and sister, Bride and Maid of Honor.

Bride to Be and her older sister, our second sweet daughter.

Oh my goodness, we have so many sweet daughters! Here's our first born daughter, the one with the camera. The girls in the back? Working on a toilet paper wedding dress!

Girl Friends!

A game of dressing the Bride with a toilet paper dress!

Daughters and granddaughters dressing the Bride!

They are all winners!

More girl friends!

Oh my! What's this?

One of my granddaughters!

Another granddaughter and daughter-in-law!

Tomato the cat!

~Violet~

Tuesday

2011-05-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

On these days, the days that I watch my 2 1/2 year old grandson, I get started on my day's chores just as soon as husband leaves for work.

That means no answering emails, no shop promotion, no visiting my favorite sites and no reading the news!

On weekdays we're up at 4:00 a.m. I'll either take care of our grandson at my daughter's house or I'll bring him back out here for the day. But either way, I only have about 2 1/2 hours to work at home before I get into the truck and start down the road.

I really don't like to come back to a messy home with everything out of place, and worse yet, no supper to eat!

By messy, I mean that effort was not made to pick anything up. Our house is by no means, clutter free, photo perfect. But I do like to keep things petty much, more or less, in their place.

So this morning started out as usual. My husband and I sit together on the couch every morning and have a cup of coffee together. Then when he goes to get ready for work, I start on my morning chores. Most of them are pretty routine. I start with packing a lunch for husband, and making a loaf of bread. When he leaves the house, I go to start a load of laundry and then I do my morning exercises. Come back and check on the bread, wipe down the counters and fill the dishwasher. Next, it's a shower, get dressed and with my shoes on, (just think flylady) I"m ready for whatever is after that!

This morning I cut a photo file from our main computer and pasted it onto my laptop so I could edit if I could find the time to do that. But what was I thinking? Edit photos while watching a rambunctious 2 year old boy? In large part, my day has consisted of playing marching games, coloring, reading story books and building with Lincoln Logs!

Thank goodness, I'm going home to dinner in the crockpot! I'm using a recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. A delicious Broccoli Cheese Soup. And with the loaf of bread made this morning, we'll have toast to go with the soup. I'm looking forward to walking through the door, into the kitchen with clean counters and the wonderful aroma of home made soup!

I think I'll edit photo's this evening when I'm sitting next to husband watching The Office. There seems to be to many distractions to edit photos with chubby little hands and Thomas the Train Engine!

Later: I need to give an update on the soup. Do I need a recipe to make broccoli soup? Absolutely not. Am I addicted to recipes? A big YES! Most of the time, recipes serve the purpose of reminding me of what I can make. As in, "Oh yes, I have a Costco size bag of broccoli, I'll can easily make soup!

When I was throwing the soup together, I was telling myself that I should not put milk in the crockpot for nine hours! It's been my experience to always have milk separate when it's in the crockpot for a long time. Sure enough, I should have listened to myself! Milk was separated. For a quick fix, I used my immersion blender, making it more visually appealing as a cream soup. Cheese on top, Tamari artfully applied, bread sliced, supper was ready!

Now to edit more photos!

~Violet~

Missing Jason

2011-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

This past week was a sad week. We received a phone call from our dear sweet daughter telling us that her beloved sweetheart passed away. This unexpected news was shocking to say the least. Jason suffered a back injury and as a result he suffered chronic pain. But we were all looking forward to his return to health as he sought medical attention and good doctors.

We just can't believe this has happened. Jason was always in such a cheerful and happy mood. Even though he was in pain, he was never pathetic about it. He was always upbeat and always happy. He looked forward to being well and didn't waste time feeling sorry for himself.
He loved us, his *new family*, and we loved him. I will always see Jason's beautiful smile which he wore ALL the time! Jason loved God and he loved to talk about God. My daughter said that the last time she heard his voice, he was talking to his neighbor about God.

Jason was thirty two years old. I know that there is a season for everything, but I still ask myself why.

I wish I had known Jason better. Even though the time we spent together was a time of friendship and loving acquaintance, laughter and stories, and that perpetual smile of his. There was always more to know about Jason. He loved to learn. When he had an interest, he threw himself into it with dedication and passion.

Jason loved our daughter, and our daughter loved him. I pray for my sweet daughter during this difficult time. She took care of him. She cooked his favorite food. She laughed with him and was his best friend and constant companion.

There is a brighter star shining in Heaven. Rest in peace Dear Jason.

In memory of Jason Scott Soucie 1978 -2011

Easter, Another Wonderful Family Day!

2011-04-25T12:36:00.001-07:00

What a nice day we had on Sunday! I love it when our children come over and we're all together spending time together and catching up with our lives. Our two sons and three of our daughters made for a nice gathering. Our oldest son is married and he and his wife have four sweet kids, my precious grandchildren. And our fifth and youngest grandson belongs to our married daughter and her husband.

Our half acre was busy yesterday and no lack of lots of kids playing and running. It was so nice to have most of our family together again.

I just love it when we can get together, these times are so special. I love to have lots of food on the table with more to come from the oven or barbeque. I love to see my family in groups, small or large, catching up with the latest of what's happening in each of their lives.

Paska Bread that one of my daughters made. It's an Ukranian Bread. She was inspired by Martha Stewart!

One of my other daughters made Petite Fours. There's orange pound cake under that chocolate frosting!

It's just amazing to me how it doesn't seem like it's been so long since my husband and I were a young family, doing our best to raise these six children of ours. At the time, I felt that we made so many mistakes with them, and was sure that I had no idea of what is was that I was doing, whether it be right or wrong. Even now it can be easy for me to think that I could've done so much better if I had been raised by wise and loving parents. As it is, I scraped together the best of what I could of being raised in a foster home and tried to piece the fragments of that into something useful to raise my own children.

Now when I see our children as adults, I know that we did something right. That though there were mistakes made, these children of ours have turned into amazing and wonderful adults. To see them and spend time with them definitely validates that through it all, they turned out right. My husband and I are so proud of each of one of them.

And it's sets my heart proud to see how our two who are now parents, are such good and loving parents. I am so proud to see them with their own children, loving them in an incredible way.

As I'm growing older, it's becoming easier for me to be somewhat easier on myself. I'm coming to a place in my life where I can take a deep breath and exhale easily as I gaze upon this family that my husband and I raised.

I would not trade any of it for all the world. And now, these times that I spend with my family are so precious. And just as precious as keeping relationships with my children is the wonder of knowing and building relationships with each of my precious grandchildren. Our family continues to grow.

If you are a young family and sometimes find yourself stressed and wondering how you can make it through another day with the busyness that comes from raising children, remember that each moment is a possible memory, create a good one for yourself and your children. Stop and take a breath and look see whether there might be some humor and an occasion to laugh at the sillies. Another moment to add to your treasure of memories.

~Violet~

The Wedding Site

2011-04-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Our third daughter born will be getting married in June. Bitter Sweet.

We went to see the chosen wedding site. It's beautiful. It's also close to home. Close to where she grew up.

This is a home where a family lives. They've opened their grounds for several weddings. Very nice people. And a lovely setting.

We're thinking we'll bring in flowers. Not sure about the decorations yet. Something handmade. Something papery.

There's a pond to add to the ambiance. Out in the center there is a fountain which can be turned on for the wedding event.

And my youngest grandson!

He LOVED this tractor!

So many things to do between now and then.

~Violet~

Those Beautiful Shabby Coffee Filter Garlands!

2011-04-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

I love all the coffee filters crafts that I've seen on some amazing blogs! Some beautiful coffee filter wreaths, garlands, pom poms, I'm sure the list goes on!

I haven't made the time to make anything decorative for Easter yet, so I thought "why not?" The coffee filter garland looks easy enough to do with a little time investment. And it looks incredibly and whimsically gorgeous!

I believe that tatertots & jello is the first blog I saw these coffee filter garlands, but with a quick search, you can find lots that so many creative women are putting together!

I started with this pile of coffee filters and more circles that I cut from tissue paper. I colored white coffee filters by submerging them for a few minutes in water tinted with a few drops of red food coloring.

As suggested by tatertots & jello, I dried them in a 200 degree oven. I gently squeezed them out a bit from the tinted water and laid them on a cooling rack which I had on a cookie sheet. I just let them stay in the oven until they were dry.

I loved the *mussed* look of them so much that I decided to also soak my natural colored coffee filters and dry those also to get that same look.

Then as I watched "The Mentalist", I strung them up! I suspended them over the mirror above my desk, but I'll probably play around with them some more to see how else I can use them.

If you want to do something creative, but feel like you don't have enough time, let me encourage you to do your projects in steps. You can gather your materials one day, prep at a different time when you have the time. Don't feel as though you need to get your materials all at once, or prep in one session. Make it work with your schedule. And as you find little bits of time here or there, work on your project.

You'll be amazed with how wonderful you'll feel when you've made something beautiful for your home. Or if you choose, to give an awesome gift created by your own hands!

~Violet~

Fun Fun Jazz Affair!

2011-04-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we attended the Jazz Affair in Three Rivers. It was so much fun! This was the first time we ever attended, and I didn't know what I had been missing all these years!

Starting late Friday afternoon and concluding late Sunday afternoon, there was music, music, MUSIC! Jazz and more JAZZ!

People come from FAR away to hear their favorite jazz bands. I had no idea! We talked with a few different people and they actually travel to different states to see Jazz Bands! It was awesome! It took place at the Lion's Club Rodeo grounds so there was plenty of room for folks to camp for the three days. And just look at the setting, isn't it just gorgeous?

I've always liked, LOVED jazz, but now I love to see jazz bands! But I can't say that we'll be
jumping on the band wagon any time soon, but next year, I wanna go!

Well, I just have to include a picture of my sweet hubby and myself up there soaking in all this live music!

There was a jazz band from a local high school that came up from the valley, "Reedley River Rats". I really enjoyed this band because they were all high school students. They said that they LOVE this sort of music but most of their friends don't really care for it. They were happy and thankful for this venue so they could play what they loved. I loved it that they were so young and had such an appreciation and love for this sort of music. And, they were a pretty good band too!

Here's "Blue Street". We loved them, they were my hubby's favorite! Lots of horns, great music, great jazz! And they had a girl singer with them. She was sooo good! Such a jazzy voice, such a jazzy style!

We also loved these guys, I think they may have been my favorite. "Tom Rigney & Flambeau". This guy could play the fiddle like nobodies business! Oh my gosh! We bough one of their CD"s. And that piano player, she was AWESOME!

They were all great! I believe there were nine bands in all. There were three different venues in the community that they made the rounds at. They were on a loop. We liked it best at the rodeo grounds, it was outside and we thought it was much more fun that sitting inside and listening.

Have fun. If you have an opportunity to do something different and fun, and you have the means to do it, then do it. Enjoy it. If you don't have anyone to go with, go anyway. Enjoy yourself!

~Violet~

A Simple St. Patrick's Day Centerpiece

2011-03-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

This is my simple green centerpiece in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

I bought several green votive candles and some greenish glass gems. My votive is in a glass votive candle holder which is nestled down within the green glass gems, all in a tall hurricane glass. I swiped my husband's green glass sphere to use with my St. Patrick Centerpiece. It's green and perfect, how could I resist?

The mushroom and tiny vase were created by our son. See the beautiful red glaze on the mushroom? I love it!

Avocado's are ripe for the picking right now in Central California. I had just bought them from the fruit stand the day before. They're green, so, why not?

I also wanted to share these petri dishes. I learned from my online friends that they can be used in crafting for different and wonderfully creative ways!

I found these at the Dollar Tree.

So now, I may also use them for something different than kitchen measurements. Although at this point in time, I have no idea what!

'Til next time,

~Violet~

Sore Throats and Natural Healing

2011-03-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

This season has been hard on our family. It seems that we've been catching colds and sore throats just one after the other!

I've decided to take inventory on our personal health care. I'm not sure where our health care system is going to take us, or how we will be affected when it's all in place. But I don't want to just wait and see what the outcome will be.

I've always felt it to be safer being pro-active about our own health care. That's the position that I've always taken with our health. There have been times when I needed a name of an ailment, allowing me to go home and do the research and make a plan.

I am not fanatical about this. I believe in availing myself to the best of health care. Whether it's something that we can take responsibility for ourselves, or take advantage of the Doctor's ability and skills.

By taking inventory, I don't mean I am going to do something different for my family. I am going to invest new, fresh energy and effort into my families health care.

What jump started my new resolve, what motivated me to change it up to the next level, is the fact that we've been sick with colds, coughs and sore throats since before Christmas.

I've been looking through our "Pharmaceutical Book Shelf" trying to find a better and more natural approach to a sore throat than to take another, different anti biotic for a sore throat. My daughter is on her second round of a different anti-biotic, and her throat is just as bad as it was a week ago.

I've collected quite a few books through the years, and I've weeded out quite a few. Here's a list of what I keep at my fingertips. Not in any particular order.

Smart Medicine For Healthier Living
Natural Health Bible
Prescription for Herbal Healing
Prescription for Nutritional Healing

Several books by Earl Mindell such as:
Herb Bible
Anti-Aging Bible
Food as Medicine
Soy Miracle
Healthy Aging

Andrew Weil's, 8 Weeks To Optimum Health and Healthy Aging.

American Red Cross First Aid and Safety
Nature's Medicine Plants that Heal
Davis's Drug Guide For Nurses

It all started with this next one that I've had and used for the last 35 years,
Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss. The book in the photo is NOT my original copy! Several of the others are also seconds.

I have all the books by Dr. Oz and several different books published by Rodale Press. Some of the information in the Rodale books are pretty simple, but I can't get rid of them. Sometimes they are a springboard.

I think it's important for us to take accountability for our health, rather than by habit, leave our very lives in the hands of the medical profession. It's all to often that we blindly do as told, without question, without our own research. I think it's important to have a good doctor, and at times, it's just as important to do our own research. Best case scenario, working WITH our doctor.

By way of lab work, strep has been ruled out. In our house right now, anti-biotics are ineffective. I'm off to read more!

~Violet~

Started With White Vinegar in My Hair!

2011-03-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

Vinegar.

This morning I wanted to use a vinegar rinse on my hair. Occasionally, I'll rinse my hair with white vinegar. It's great to wash out build up of different products, such as conditioner's, gel's whatever. Well, this morning, after I poured it on I just about sheiked! What was I thinking?

Two weeks ago I went to the hair salon and had my hair cut and got new blond high lights.

My high lights! Was it to soon for a white vinegar rinse? I rinsed, didn't even take the time to condition, and bolted out of the shower straight to Google!

You can only imagine my relief when I found that I was OK. My high lights were fine. I combed and checked and there they were. All the beautiful high lights that my hair dresser applied were still just as perfect and blond as they should have been!

Throughout the morning as I picked up the house and worked on our Etsy and ArtFire shop, I was just thinking about all the sites I saw on Google about the uses of vinegar.

And I was thinking about all the ways I use vinear. So, in what ways do I use vinegar in my life? Let me list the ways.

I probably use white vinegar for cleaning on an almost daily basis. I keep a spray bottle listed "Vinegar" full at all times with white vinegar. Straight. I don't cut it with water. When it's near empty, I fill it up from a gallon jug.

At least a couple of times a week I quickly spritz and wipe both bathroom floors and all the porcelain for a fast clean up. It also works great on the faucets. With our mineral build up, I can just saturate a rag with vinegar and leave it sitting on faucets for awhile to help with clean up. I also pour it directly into the toilet bowl and swish it clean.

It's the best mirror and window cleaner I have ever used. I spritz white vinegar on the glass, wipe them down with a rag and polish them up with scrunched newspaper. SPOTLESS!!!

White vinegar is also great as a fabric softener. I use about 1/2 cup for a full load. Just pour in for the last rinse. And your laundry won't smell like vinegar.

It is also unbelievably effective to use in the coffee maker! We have well water out here and there is a high mineral content. When our coffee maker starts to run slow, I pour about three cups, undiluted white vinegar into the coffee maker. I then pour through about another eight pots worth of water to completely rinse all the vinegar out. I made the mistake one time to cut the rinses short and my half 'n half curdled in my coffee!

Don't forget to use it in the tea kettle also!

I also use it to wipe down the appliances in the kitchen, such as the refrigerator, stove, microwave and dishwasher.

And speaking of dish washer, I pour a cup of vinegar in the cycle to reduce spots. At the same time, this keeps the inside of my dish washer clean.

When my babies were little, I poured a small amount of vinegar mixed with water into the diaper pail.

From time to time I use it to unclog the bathroom drains. I put baking soda in the drain and pour in a little vinegar. About fifteen minutes later I follow up by pouring boiling water down the drain. If the drain is stubborn, I may have to do this more than once.

I add a little vinegar to a cup of water to boil in the microwave. This helps with odor and aides in clean up.

I was looking at a couple of Google sites to help me list all the ways I use vinegar and see that there are SOOO many other uses for it! I'm definitely going to try new ways to use it in my homemaking! If, and I'm sure I will, find more effective uses for white vinegar, I'll be posting about it.

I was also going to share how I use vinegar for health and cooking, but I'll save that for another post!

Violet

A Valentine Bouquet of Flowers

2011-02-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

Wishing each and everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

This beautiful bouquet of flowers are from my own Sweet Valentine!

This gorgeous Valentine Bouquet the perfect centerpiece for my Valentine Decorations.

Here is a short and sweet Valentine Quote for you.

A hundred hearts would be too few
To carry all my love for you.
~Author Unknown

~Violet~

Valentine Goodies and Decorating!

2011-02-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

I just have to share the Valentine cupcakes that my sweet daughters baked! Daughters spent several years in 4H Cake Decorating and now this sort of thing is just eezy peezy for them!

They made Red Velvet from scratch and topped them with fresh butter cream frosting! Some of them are embellished with yummy Valentine, Heart shape Junior Mints!

While daughters baked and created, I got to play with my grandson. Isn't he a sweet little Valentine?

I did a little creating of my own. I made a Valentine Paper Heart Garland.

It was easy to make. Using scrapbook paper, I cut strips in three different lengths, folded them in the center, stapled the center, then stapled the ends together, and there you have it!

I strung them from narrow red ribbon and hung them over my desk!

Happy Valentine's!

~Violet~

My Valentine ArtFire Collection!

2011-02-08T05:21:00.000-08:00

I spent a part of yesterday afternoon putting together a couple of collections over on ArtFire.

Gaelic Forge was invited to join "Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers" and I created a collection that features some of the different members of the guild.

I enjoyed doing this, it was a fun process to learn something new.

This collection is designed with Valentine's Day in mind and I love how it turned out!

Wear Something Re...

Curated By: GaelicForge

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Photography

Red and pink, what better color for February!

Thanks!

~Violet~

I'm Crafting For Valentine's Day!

2011-01-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hello Again!

With our New Year's Party down, I'm embracing Valentine's Day! When the kids were small, we'd make hundreds of paper valentine hearts and hang them everywhere. Along with pink and red paper valentine's chain that there was never an end to. We hung them everywhere.

Now, I love to make paper chains with my grandkids. But until they come over, I'll be making these little Scottie Dogs.

Well aren't these cute? I've been admiring these little Scottie Dogs over on Allsorts for the last several years and I always thought I'd like to make them.

I love the way they turned out. I'm going to make some more for our next Christmas Tree. You can find the pattern for Jenny's Scottie Dogs here. And here is the inspiration for the Valentine Swag I want to make.

See the glass vase with the pink paper hearts? That's an idea I found on another wonderful blog that I enjoy visiting, Under The Table and Dreaming. The Quilled Paper Hearts can be found here.

I'm going to work on some more of the little Scotties.

~Violet~

What Did My Husband Get Me For Christmas?

2010-12-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

I got my Christmas wish for Christmas, although I didn't ask for it because I was trying to save up for this one!

A few months ago I packed up my Cannon EOS Rebel G11 and my lenses and took them with me to the camera shop.

I needed to know if my lenses could fit a new digital body that was equivalent to my film camera.
Sure enough, a Cannon EOS T1i would be the same but only better!

The above is my much loved camera that I have used for several years now. Up until film started to become an issue with where to purchase, where to develop, it had been a constant companion.

After my trip to the camera shop, the digital camera was all I talked of over the next couple of days as I looked forward to saving enough to purchase this new camera!

But wasn't I in for a surprise when on Christmas morning my husband proudly handed me my gift from him! Thank you Husband! I love you!

Here she is, isn't it a beauty? Minus the lint of course! My trusty Kodak Easy Share does an excellent job of taking photos on the macro setting. Darn, I should have brushed my camera with the feather duster first!

More to come!

~Violet~

Hoover Dam From Our Las Vegas Trip!

2010-11-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

On our second day to Las Vegas we drove 45 minutes further to see the great and grand Hoover Dam!

Hoover Dam sits on the Nevada and Arizona border and was built during the Great Depression.

Hoover Dam is an arch gravity dam. It was the first time ever that such a large concrete structure had ever been built.

Hoover Dam is considered to be one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders.

At first the dam was named Boulder Dam but later it was officially changed to Hoover Dam in honor of our 31st President, Herbert Hoover.

Nearly one million people visit Hoover Dam each year.

Over 200 engineers were involved with designing the dam and over 7,000 men worked to complete it.

Boulder City, Nevada was built to house the workers of the dam.

President Roosevelt dedicated the dam in 1935. After the ceremony he became the first American President to visit Las Vegas.

Hoover Dam curves against Lake Mead and is fortified against the massive rock walls of Black Canyon. The pressure against the curved walls of the Hoover Dam causes the canyon walls to push back, counteracting the awesome power of Lake Mead.

Currently, water from Hoover Dam provides irrigation for over 1,000,000 acres in the United States and over 500,000 acres in Mexico. It provides water to over 22,000,000 people in Arizona, California and Nevada.

I thought that the landscape and geographical rock formations surrounding the Hoover Dam were just incredible. And I couldn't get over the immensity of the project!

The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman bridge was dedicated this past October, 2010.

It is the highest and longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

It is the second highest bridge in the United States and 14th highest in the world. It has the world's tallest concrete columns of it's kind.

You can see visitors way up in the distance on the bridge.

And here's a shot from on the bridge.

Here we are, my daughters and myself up on the bridge leading in with my grandson, held by his Mommy.

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It extends over 550 miles of shoreline. These next few shots are panning from right to left as I'm trying to show the expanse of this small portion of the lake. This part represents one quarter of Lake Mead.

It was an awesome day and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to see this part of our great United States!

Time to head back and cruise through the malls at Las Vegas.

I'm looking forward to sharing the mall photos with you. The malls were like being at an adventure park but in Las Vegas Mall Style!

~Violet~

Our Trip to Las Vegas and a Ghost Town!

2010-11-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my sweet daughters took me to Las Vegas for my birthday! Just us girls and my two year old grandson.

It was the first time I had ever been to Las Vegas and I was looking forward to all the replicas of famous artwork, buildings and neighborhoods from other countries. The drive was amazing and the country was so different from California's Central Valley.

Look at all these windmills! This is only about one quarter of how many there really were along this ridge.

This is one way to make the trip pass by a little quicker! The drive took us better than seven hours. We stopped whenever we wanted and this little boy got to run around and spend some energy!

We decided to make a small detour and visit this Ghost Town.

There was just one street, up the hill.

Calico, California was a small mining town started in 1881. It produced $86 million in silver, $45 million in borax. It had a population of 1,200. Today it has a population of 12.

Calico included over 500 mines and was a boom town from the years of 1881 through 1907.

When the price of silver dropped from $1.31 an ounce to $.63, Calico became a ghost town.

Calico is one of the few remaining original mining towns of the western United States. Walter Knott, founder of Knott's Berry Farm, restored Calico and donated the little town to the county of San Bernardino County in 1966.

Walter Knott restored Calico in such a way that it's difficult to distinguish the original buildings and structures from the reproductions.

There were so many wonderful and interesting things to take pictures of that I somehow managed to not take any of the outside of the Mercantile Store. But here's several shots from inside.

In it's Glory Days, Calico supported a general store, livery shop, blacksmith shop, a dentist, jail and several saloons, brothels, gambling halls, restaurants, churches and a town newspaper. There was also a school, sheriffs office, post office and a Wells Fargo Station.

After the silver mine was discovered, the miners originally set tents and shacks up in the canyon. When a flash flood wiped everything out they moved to the top of canyon onto a mesa which came to be known as Calico. So named for the myriad of colors throughout the surrounding hills.

Calico is 1926 feet above sea level and gets snow and freezes in the winter.

It was time to get back on the road.

This is a picture of the world's largest thermometer located in Baker.

This is a picture of Las Vegas, the first glimpse of Las Vegas that I saw for the first time in my life!

This is a picture of a pyramid in Las Vegas.

This is the "Space Needle" located at the Stratosphere where we stayed. People jump from the top of it with a bungee type jump! The Stratosphere is the tallest tower and the fifth tallest structure in the United States! It's the second tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere.

After a long day, here's three of my girls registering at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.

I'll try to post more sometime during the next few days. We went to the amazing Hoover Dam and I want to share some of those photos with you!

Thanks for dropping by!

~Violet~

A Beautiful Treasury of Patina Art!

2010-11-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

I learned something wonderful and new today about Etsy Treasuries! And now I can upload complete Treasuries that include our Celtic Jewelry here to my blog to share with you!

A very nice Etsy member shared a link on the Etsy Forums which generates the proper code to do this.

I've attempted to do this before but was only able to upload the first photo of the Treasury, but now I can include the complete collections.

This is the latest Treasury that our hand forged jewelry has been featured in. I love this Treasury, there are so many beautiful works of art and I am honored that our Celtic Blue Patina Earrings were included with them.

Enjoy!

~Violet~

'Patina' by laidbackladies

Gifts for her with the most wonderful aged patina. EnjoyStop by my shop if you have time.

GaelicForge $18.00	slevart $22.00	micerv84 $10.00
crazyhazel $15.00	colinduncan $90.00	nekedesigns $86.00
TreasureGypsy $59.00	karmelidesigns $30.00	dimestoreempor... $2.00
flutterbudget $32.00	laurrose $24.50	theshagbag $8.95
CoolVintage $29.50	HigherChakraSu... $2.25	AndewynDesigns $20.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Election Day!

2010-11-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Make time to vote! Take your children. Maybe eat out or have a picnic supper on the living room floor as you watch the results! Have fun!

~Violet~

Loving November 1st, 2010!

2010-11-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

It's November 1st and I am so excited! I've been thinking about November 1st all day! I look forward to change of weather, color, baking and all the preparation for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I look forward to finding a new recipe to bake! And I want to do a craft at the kitchen table at the same time that it's cold outside. Or when it's raining outside. I hope all of you are enjoying this time of year also!

~Violet~

Stop and Take a Step Back!

2010-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Happy and Merry Halloween, I was hoping you would drop in!

Here's some pic's of my Halloween Brood! They are all three on their way to a Halloween party with their friends.

Above, our son. Who is a Living Stop Sign.

Our daughters. MaryAnn who is Indiana Jone's girlfriend in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Birdie, a Flapper Girl from the 20's!

And last, but not least, our own little Cowboy Woody. Who fell asleep before he ever made it to the Halloween carnival! It was a long day with rootin' tootin' work at the round up!

Have fun as we embark upon this Holiday Season!

~Violet~

More Halloween Graphics and a Halloween Poem For You!

2010-10-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday!

I remember a song I learned in third grade that we sang, as a class. It was Halloween time when we pulled out our music books and our Teacher, Mrs. MacDonald sat at the piano and played an eerie tune and taught us this song.

I remembered all through the years. I sang this to our kids each and every Halloween as they were growing up. This morning I was thinking about it and became curious about whether I could find it on Google. Not only did I find it, I found the author's name! Here it is in it's entirety.

~ HALLOWEEN ~
By Harry Behn

Tonight is the night
When dead leaves fly
Like witches on switches
Across the sky,
When elf and sprite
Flit through the night
On a moony sheen.

Tonight is the night
When leaves make a sound
Like a gnome in his home
Under the ground,
When spooks and trolls
Creep out of holes
Mossy and green.

Tonight is the night
When pumpkins stare
Through sheaves and leaves
Everywhere,
When ghouls and ghost
And goblin host
Dance round their queen.
It's Halloween.

I hope you enjoy the Halloween poem and the graphics. Have a wonderful day!

~Violet~

Some Halloween Graphics

2010-10-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

I'm playing with some of my graphics so I thought I'd see if this uploads OK. So much of this is new to me, but this does seem like it should be a simple process.

I'll publish and see how this turned out.

~Violet~

A New Scale For Our Hand Forged Celtic Jewelry!

2010-10-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've been missing in action around here, but I've been up to plenty! I have a way of becoming focused on one thing. When I do that, I can't put it down until it's finished. Here is the culprit!

We've had several of our customer's ask about the weight of a few pairs of earrings. We didn't know the weight of our earrings. I explained that my daughters and I wear larger earrings quite often and these earrings are not heavy for us. But I know earrings are a personal matter, including the weight. So we bought this little scale. Isn't it cute?

It's a Biggest Loser scale made by Taylor. We found it at Bed, Bath & Beyond and it's perfect for for determining the weight of our earrings! I came up with the idea of comparing the earring weight with pennies. You can see what I've been consumed with here at our Etsy Shop and here at our Artfire Shop.

Thanks for dropping in! ~Violet~

Gaelic Forge On Artfire!

2010-10-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy the last couple of weeks and I admit, I haven't made the time to check on my blog much.

Artfire was running a special for new shop owners and so we decided to get on board. I have a way of developing tunnel vision when I take on new projects sometimes. We set our shop up and imported all our Celtic Jewelry and then I discovered that some of the HTML didn't transfer correctly. I had to go over each and every 166 listings and manually corrected each one of them.

Then I discovered that I didn't complete the shop categories and so there I am again with each 166 listings. Next, we decided to get a scale to answer questions about earring weight and we purchased a small scale. Last, I weighed each earring and included that with each earring listing. One hundred and twenty-nine Hand Forged Celtic Inspired Earrings!

We are so excited that our jewelry has been featured in six Artfire collections! Please visit our new Artfire Shop here. And let me know what you think!

~Violet~

Debbie Mumm Teapots and a Clam Shell Vase!

2010-10-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

I went to our favorite thrift shop of all. It's been a couple of years since we went there. I know that sounds kind of crazy when the shop owner gets so many amazing things into her shop. But, truth be told, I had to take a break, and do something with the treasures I accumulated. And make choices about which ones to part with.

I was sorry to see that the shop owner has taken a different direction with her inventory and now sells mostly books. Not that books aren't good, but there are a couple of great little book shops in town that are well stocked.

I did find a couple of things. A Debbie Mum Sakura Teapots and Sunflower plate which I'll use for a cookie plate.

I also found an awesome vase and I can use some help with it. My guess is it's from the 40's. But I don't have a clue about who manufactured it, except it wasn't made in the states, it has a Taiwan sticker on the bottom. So...maybe not the 40's, but I still think it's awesome!

Happy Fall!

~Violet~

Try This Rice Dish For A Quick & Easy Dinner!

2010-10-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

This rice recipe is Quick and easy to prepare! Nutritious to eat!

This is a yummy rice recipe I wanted to share with you all. It cooks up pretty easy and you can do the prep work in the morning to make it easier.

I use brown rice. I skip the celery because my hubby doesn't like celery. I did use cheddar cheese, but I would use whatever I had on hand. I used half & half instead of cream. I didn't have any seasoned bread crumbs on hand, but I did have some Cheez-It's, so I crumbled those and put Cheez-Its on top of the rice casserole.

Broccoli Cheese & Rice Casserole

4 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups cooked rice, packed cups
1 cup onions, chopped
1/4 cup celery, diced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease 9 X 13 pan.
2. saute onion and celery in butter in a large skillet over medium heat till clear. Add
mushrooms and saute till soft.
3. Add flour to skillet and stir to make a blond colored roux. slowly add cream and milk, stirring
incorporate well. Using a whisk makes this quicker. add basil, thyme and parsley and salt &
pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat until thickened.
4. Meanwhile, blanch the broccoli by adding it to a pot of boiling water for no more than 2
minutes. This keeps the bright green color.
5. In a large bowl, mix broccoli, rice, onion & mushrooms sauce, & cheese. Add chicken broth
if mixture seems dry. season with salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce to taste.
6. Pour into greased casserole dish. Cover with bread crumbs.
7. Bake 30 - 40 minutes at 350 degrees until bubbly all the way through.

Get your pot, your pan and measurement cups! Put out your cutting board and set your table!

Happy cooking!

~Violet~

Beautiful Loaf Pans!

2010-09-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

My old bread pans were really, really old. And they were not very good bread pans to boot, even when they were new.

When my hubby took them to use for bar-b-que, I did miss them. And then when I needed them to bake with, I realized that I did not really want to bake in them anymore. They had been sitting on the grill, and whatever else a bar-b-que would put them through. Now with the beginning of Autumn, I wanted bread pans, or, loaf pans. And being that I didn't really have bread pans any more, what a wonderful reason to buy new bread pans.

I found two kinds of bread pans sitting side by side on the shelf at the store. Paula Deen and Pyrex. The Paula Deen was listed as a 9 X 5, and the Pyrex was listed as 5 X 9. The Pyres pans were probably 9 X 5 at the top, but came to a steep angle and no way were even close to that same measurement at the bottom. And they were not very deep.

Now, on the other hand, the Paula Deen pans are close to being the same measurement top and bottom. They are also deep, taller than the Pyrex. And so pretty!

I bought two of them. I haven't baked in them yet, but I'm sure they will be perfect for a nice loaf of bread. And with the weather changing, it's going to be time for baking!

~Violet~

Like Dandelion Dust

2010-09-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today, I went with my daughters to see,

"Like Dandelion Dust."

If you have the opportunity to see this movie, go see it! And take Kleenex along with you because you are going to need it. Don't wear mascara!

It's playing in selected cities and Visalia was chosen as one of the premiere locations because Visalia is the hometown of the two brothers who directed it.

The following is the storyline from the imbd website.

"A compelling drama that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the gritty, realistic lives of the struggling, blue collar Porter's, and the privelidged Campbell family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy. This film bravely exposes the humanity in each character reminding us that we each have the potential to be the best and worst versions of ourselves at any time."

It won quite a few awards including a dozen People Choice Awards. It's based on a book by Karen Kingsbury.

It stars Mira Sorvino from one of my all time favorite movies, "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion."

I might go with my husband to see it again tomorrow. If you would like to try to see it, click here for a list of showings.

You won't be disappointed!

~Violet~

Copper and Sea Glass Pendants!

2010-09-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

I've been busy the last couple of days listing more of our hand forged organic jewelry to our Etsy shop.

During the last couple of days, I've been watching my grandson. We have a deal. I take turns back and forth between re-listing jewelry in our shop, then, I get down on the floor and play lots of two year old Thomas the Train games!

These are some of the newest offerings we have in Gaelic Forge.

I listed several pairs of new hand forged earrings. These above have a beautiful green patina.

I love the Czech Glass Beads used for the pair above. The next pair has a flame patina.

I also listed several pendants. This next pendant is created from copper and has a beautiful patina.

The next three pendants are made from sea glass and are ready to hang.

I love this next amber piece!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Violet~

Fresno Highland Gathering and Games

2010-09-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the 33rd Fresno Highland Gathering and Games. My husband, our son and one of our daughters with her friend participated in the March of the Clans.

The couple on the far left were the Henderson Clan conveners for the Henderson Clan booth. Next, my daughter's friend, my daughter, my husband and son.

This is our Henderson Clan information booth. Henderson's can gain information here about their heritage in Scotland, and where the Henderson Clan Ancestors came from. There were many clan booths with many Scottish Clan names.

Our son enjoys hobnobbing with Henderson folk who drop by. Our family convened at this booth for a couple of years.

There were merchants with lots of offerings!

Kilts of many colors!

Many colorful textiles!

Our son will always make a point of checking out the swords!

Our daughter, the photographer taking a break.

And again, our son.

My husband, son and daughter. Our other daughter stayed with me to take photos.

See how happy our son looks? He just loves this stuff!

It was a good day at the 33rd Fresno Highland Gathering and Games!

~Violet~

Compassion

2010-09-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about compassion. Compassion should be a way of life.

It can be easy to say what we think, just blurt it out, no matter the consequences. I believe that if we take the time to listen to our conscience, then we would know to not speak so quickly.

Better to replace words with compassion. Better to quietly look for ways to express unselfish compassion than to speak hasty words and hurt feelings.

Listening and acting with compassion, responding quietly instead of speaking quickly can do much to spare the feelings of others.

Compassion. What is it? What does it mean?

Compassion is an act, a verb, that can be practiced throughout the day. Compassion means not indulging in negative or selfish thinking.

Compassion means putting yourself in the place of the other person. What are they going through? What can we do to help them feel better, what can we do to help them?

There have been times when I was being snarky, but the response I received was one of kindness. All I can say is that it's very humbling, and the meanies just drained from me!

Compassion is a win win situation for all of us, the giver and the receiver. And it's also helpful in getting a good nights sleep!

~Violet~

I Won a Beautiful Pair of Earrings!

2010-09-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Look at this awesome pair of earrings that I won! I was the 500th fan poster at Spirals and Spice over on Facebook.

Tammy and Taylor are a mother daughter team and they make the most beautiful jewelry just like these gorgeous earrings that they so generously gave to me! Please drop by their Facebook Fan page and let them know that Violet from Gaelic Forge sent you. And check out their Etsy Shop, Spirals and Spice for more awesome handmade jewelry such as bridal jewely, necklaces, rings, and of course, incredible earrings!

Thank you Tammy and Taylor! I love my new earrings!

~Violet~

What I See From My Kitchen Window

2010-09-13T21:43:00.001-07:00

This is my view from my kitchen window. I spend so much time in the kitchen and at the kitchen sink that I am happy that I like what I see from this spot!

My kitchen window isn't always spotless, we have our own well, and we have lots of minerals in our water. I have a screen that my husband just put up a couple of weeks ago after we washed the window, but it's such a chore to take the screen down and then put it back up all the time. I was happy just to leave it down because it is so much easier to wash the outside of the window, but my Big Daddy wanted it up as he was cleaning up and wanted things to be in their place.

My African Violet really needs to be repotted. The poor little thing is still in the original plastic pot from time of purchase a couple of years ago. Can you see how much new growth it has put on? I think I may have at least three African Violets in that pot now!

I've been wanting to show my kitchen view before, but I kept thinking that I should repot the Violet so it would like nice in the photo. But now I'm thinking if I show how things really are around here, that just might be the incentive I need to repot! ~Smile~ We'll see.

My little pot pets were given to me for my birthday years and years ago by our three oldest kids. They were all little and Daddy took them shopping to buy a gift for Mommy! I still love them just as much as I did the day they were so excited to give them to me!

These three little repeat pots were made by one of my daughters last semester in handbuilding ceramics. Repeat pieces was one of our assignments and she went all organic with them!!! I just LOVE the way they look on the window sill and they are perfect to hold the occasional single flower that is brought in .

I made my simple prim valance. I clipped the bottom edge of it and washed it so it would fray. When needed, I can use the clothespins to hold a recipe card. One of these days I'll stain those clothespins up. The yard is looking a little spent with the end of summer upon us, but I still love my view from my kitchen window. The springtime in the garden is the most beautiful. But soon now, very soon, the garden will be dormant and sleeping through the winter. It's almost time to fill the bird feeder and watch all the barn birds come to eat!

~Violet~

Slowing Down

2010-09-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think I have so much to do. Or do I really? Maybe I just have a habit that makes me think and believe that I'm overworked, overwhelmed and just plain out of time.

When I was so much younger, I used to think of myself as being pretty laid back, low key and down right mellow. Now when I think about it, it seems that I'm still those things, but with clutter!

When I rush, rush, rush, it's difficult for me to really see what's before me. It's difficult for me to enjoy what I'm actually into at that moment because my mind is already onto the next thing on the list.

But when I slow down, it is so much easier for me to see, hear, feel, and to think about things that make a real difference in my life.

Right now, that difference is sitting and writing this post. It's late. I could get up and make sure the kitchen is clean before I go to bed. But it is clean. It isn't perfect. But it's good. And we can easily use it in the morning.

I hear the water pump trickling water in the aquarium as Nora Jones also plays softly in the background. My little dog is asleep down by my feet.

The little things can become wonderful things when I take the time embrace and enjoy them. As I make a point of not acting too busy, simplicity becomes the busy thing as it plays out ever so slowly in my own place, my own space.

I love to have these moments of time. They are such a breath of fresh air as I relax and then become energized for what comes next. What does come next?

Well, tomorrow, hubby and me will have a date to Costco, to Michaels, to Lowes and, who knows, maybe some lunch!

One more thing, this is a bouquet that my husband picked for me yesterday. A couple of the flowers wilted some, but you get the idea! I took this photo tonight with the indoor setting. It sits on my desk and I'll be able to enjoy it for a couple of more days.

Have a wonderful tomorrow!

~Violet~

I Love Old Movies!

2010-09-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

If you love old movies, and you have not seen this movie, you need to watch it. If you love old movies and you have seen this movie, watch it again!

This movie is a mysterious, psychological suspense starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson. Gloria Swanson must have had a lot of fun with this one as she pulled off some extreme theatrical skill as she portrayed an aging actress.

It ranks number 12 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best movies. You can find it on Netflix. I was going to fold the mountain of laundry while I watched it, but I was so immersed in it that I didn't finish the laundry!

~Violet~

Farmchick Christmas Book Giveaway

2010-09-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to let you all know about this really neat Farmchicks Christmas book giveaway and I better do it now because we are leaving for the coast tomorrow, and we will be spending Monday with family.

Chris from Red Gate Farm is having this awesome book giveaway in celebration of her 50th post! You can read about it here. Let her know that Violet from Hidden Acre sent you over.

There are 110 days until Christmas 2010!!! There is still time for some wonderful Christmas projects!

Until next time,

~Violet~

A Trip To The Coast, Part 3

2010-09-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Alice's Tea Garden!

Well, I have missed my blog and I have missed my blogging friends! I have been busy watching my grandson and school has started. I'm taking my fourth semester of Handbuilding Ceramics.

Here is one shot of my grandson at Hearts Ease in Cambria. He loved it there. I wish I had more pictures of him. But how do you get a two year old to stand still for a photo? There were adventures to be had in this little garden with all the little trails and paths leading to the next wondrous sight to see, miniature worlds to explore, small pebble treasures to be hidden away by chubby little hands.

I remember the magical wonderment that filled me when I was in a beautiful garden as a little girl. I was a Princess, of course, and incredible things abounded around me! No wonder this little grandboy of mine could not be still!

And what little garden cannot be complete without a special place for wee folks!

I'm enjoying my time here again and look forward to our next visit. I wish you all a lovely Labor Day weekend! ~Violet~