A Puppy Update

As you know a few weeks ago we were surprised to hear that our daughter Carrie's dog had puppies.  They did not suspect she was even pregnant.  Well she ended up having 9 puppies and they are all doing well and so is the mom Harley.  The puppies are growing and are starting to really move around now so my daughter Jenny bought a pen for the puppies to be in so they don't wander around or get hurt. Carrie has said when they have the puppies on the living room floor that they like to wander and one got under the sofa.  Now with the pen the puppies can wander and Carrie doesn't have to watch them all like a hawk.  All but one or two puppies have been spoken for so that is good.  They are so cute and I get to seen them in a couple of weeks!

Good Bye Kiwi

In the middle of the orchard is a gazebo with add trellises that supported the Kiwi that was planted.  It is not traditional kiwi but a form of it but it never did fruit and after several years of not getting fruit George decided to take it down.  Since the kiwi was going so were the trellises.  By removing the Kiwi and the trellises he is taking care of a few issues.  The area around the gardens will now be able to easily be mowed and it will give more light and make it easier to get around the garden.  The wood from the trellises will be saved to be used for other things on the farm.  It was not a fun job but Tim and George did a great job.  Way to go guys!

Glitter Is Messy!

I have created an on going mess even though it has been two weeks since I have touch the stuff that created the mess.  The culprit...glitter!  When I started to get my Crafty Cottage reorganized I came across a bunch of glitter paper scraps.  I save the scraps from the glitter paper I am working with for one main reason; it is expensive.  One 12inch by 12 inch piece of glitter paper costs $2.00 so I try not to waste any.  It you have ever worked with glitter paper it is like working with glitter because it gets all over just by touching it. Well the scraps of glitter paper were getting out of hand so I decided to use the scraps and my small punches and created a bunch of stars, hearts and bows that I can use on future projects. I felt like I had accomplished something until I looked at the mess I created with the glitter from the paper.  I am still cleaning up as it sticks to EVERY surface.  Oh well, at least it gives me a sparkling personality!

No Contest For Pickles

Last Saturday night, while we were grilling out and enjoying the beautiful weather and view, I brought out the jar of pickles I had purchased while we were visiting Boerne, TX.  I visited Miss Pickle and tasted and chatted with her about pickles while in Boerne.  I introduced myself as one of the self proclaimed Pickle Queens of Tennessee or at least Francisco Farm.  I purchased a jar to bring back to the farm so that George, Lisa and Travis could try Miss Pickles pickles.  After our taste test there was no comparison at all.  The Pickles Queens win!  Miss Pickle, we tasted a pickle then tasted ours and we are sorry to inform you but in eastern Tennessee your pickles lose.  We, the Pickle Queens, can hold our heads high and know that we have the best pickle at Francisco Farm. Way to go Pickle Queens!

Creating Or Playing?

With the Crafty Cottage being all cleaned up and organized again it was time for me to either create or play.or both.  My sister was so sweet and surprised me with a package of goodies; a new stamp set, dies set to go with the stamp set, washi tape and glitter paper.  It was a set I wanted to borrow to make cards but now I have my own; Thanks Pam!  So I decided to make an Easter picture using the set.  It turned out pretty cute and I had a lot of fun creating it.  It is all my own design and idea and it turned out so well that I created a different one.  I will be making a few Easter cards with the set too.  So I was creating and playing yesterday in my clean and well organized Crafty Cottage!

The Crafty Cottage Is Done

After almost a week of working in the Crafty Cottage getting it reorganized and cleaned up I am happy to say that I have finished. I went through every box, crate, drawer, shelf and basket.  I was able to let lots of stamps go especially the ones I have not even touched in over two years.  This was the second stamp purge for; the first one was when I was setting up the Crafty Cottage.  I donated the stamps and other craft items to Good Will so that they will hopefully be purchased and used again.  With the Cfafty Cottage being cleaned up and organized now not only do I know where everything is but I have more room for new things if and when I start or do something new.  Right now, it is nice to have more room and  I can get back to creating!

Trucks And Truck Parts

I am wondering if Tim and George have been dreaming about trucks and truck parts because they have had a week long "truck part thing".  It started with the new truck George purchased a week ago and getting his old truck ready to sell; which he sold yesterday.  They were moving good parts off the old truck on to the new truck then they did a few repairs on the old truck.  George ordered some parts for the new truck and when they arrived they put them on.  Yesterday was a long day with the dump truck.  While we were gone George picked up another dump truck to use for parts for his first dump truck.  Tim and George started working on the dump truck yesterday and after spending a couple of hours getting the some parts off the truck they discovered that one of the axles was broken.  Had either one of the them tried to pull out the axles all together then that broken axle discovery would of been sooner and less work.  The good thing is they took an axle from the parts truck and fixed the dump truck.  They still have a little more work to finish on the dump truck before it will run.  It truly was a week of trucks and truck parts.  Update on the Crafty Cottage...it is almost done!