tomatoes and more tomatoes

I found myself with a few extra tomatoes here...

and I already did the juice thing

and froze some whole for chili and goulash this winter.

So I combined these tomatoes with green peppers

 and basil from my little garden with a few other key ingredients -

onions, oregano, sugar

to make spaghetti sauce.

I found the recipe online...

~b

cobwebs

I know I have some little doilies around here somewhere...

but I looked and looked to no avail.

And I had a new project spinning around up there in the old cobwebs.

I finally figured it was quicker to just make a small doily for this...

Denim and lace...

shabby chic wouldn't you say?

A cute place to hold your secret stuff.

~b

pumpkin eater

I have been craving pumpkin...

anything pumpkin!

I tried an online recipe for a pumpkin latte..

it was yuck.

I thought about pumpkin muffins?

But couldn't find a recipe that looked good.

I finally dug out my pumpkin bread recipe...

d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s

~b

pumpkins

There is something about driving rural roads

and ending up at a roadside stand 

full of pumpkins and gourds.

This is a highlight of my year...

I love fall!

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.

 ~Jim Bishop

I have been coming to this same farm stand for years to buy my fall decorating items...

there is just something about it that draws me back every year.

I'm getting older but Mr. Larson just looks the same...

year after year after year...

Oh how we love pumpkin season.

 You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? 

Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin.... 

We anxiously anticipate it every year. ~Trader Joes

Well said Joe...

b

Paris

Parlez-vous Francais?

Oui?

Do you agree that this Dakota Maid bag is

ooh la la!

~b

Monday here

Do your Monday's roll around as quickly as mine do?

I think it's because my weekends are so much fun...

and I just want it to be Friday again.

~b

Friday musings...

It was cool enough this morning for a jacket...YAY!

I love cold weather you know.

Doesn't your morning coffee taste so much better on cool mornings?

Mr. b is a coffee snob...

no Folgers in this house.

He brought home his favorite brand (Dark Canyon) this week

 in this flavor... Rattlesnake Brew.

It just sounds like something a man would pick out doesn't it?

How about a rant here?

Dear news media...I'm sick of your stories about celebrities behaving badly!

STOP encouraging them. And most of us don't care.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest...

You can find all these cute mug rugs in our Dakota Maid shop

and at a very reasonable price.

I work for extremely low wages in my little sewing sweatshop....

cuz I love doing it.

~b

pips

I ran across this unfinished table runner the other day...

and just decided to finish it!

I just love when that happens...

call it a spurt of energy or inspiration 

from all the wonderful blogs out there that I love to read.

A completed pip*

(*project in progress).

~b

magical

With fairy gardens being so popular...

and a large patch of our backyard in need of some attention...

we decided the granddaughters might enjoy a fairy garden.

It was planted late in the season

while everything in the stores was wilted...

but on sale!

Grandpa even chipped in

getting me tree trunks, rocks, fencing

and planting wildflowers in the back of the garden.

It turned out beautiful and we're sure the fairies love living in it.

~b

Signs of fall...

The colors of flowers are getting more intense...

I'm working on quilts and blankets once again,

and the cats are looking for warm places to take their naps.

All good signs in my book. ~b

This weekend...

...I made two bags, both recycled wool and denim*,

and one zipper pouch, also with recycled denim.

*No husbands were harmed in the making of these bags.

I love cutting up Mr. b's old jeans to make bags.

I also accomplished lots of knitting,

and even managed to finish a project,

while I watched movies on Netflix.

The weather was cool enough to start the oven...

I made Spanish rice, an old family favorite,

and 5-cheese mac n cheese.

~b

Wooly

I was pretty excited to get some wool samples

that have been passed between my sister, my daughter and I.

It seems we have been waiting for just the right project

to come along before we cut into them.

I made this cover for daughter knit and pearl's Nook.

That's my book under it...I just can't give up the feel of a book yet.

Fall has finally arrived and I feel like a new woman...

ready to tear into new projects!

~b

pretty little bibs...

all in a row.

Making baby bibs

is just about my favorite thing to sew.

All those soft flannel pieces

in sweet novelty prints...

and easy and fast.

~b

extra creamer

Today is the type of day

 that calls for extra creamer in my morning cuppa joe...

with pink flowers on the table.

And a seafood sub sandwich for lunch...

with a white cupcake with fluffy frosting...

and chili dogs for supper!

Ya, it's my birthday.~b

Shades of Grey

Daughter knit and pearl

knows me well and that I love yellow.

Isn't this bowl of fabric I received from her just the greatest?

And how about that cement bowl?

By popular demand...(mine)

Mr. b is making them.

He is still perfecting his technique.

When he's finally got it down

he will be handing his samples out...

come and get one.

~b

Stupid Criminals

I had to forsake my morning coffee

to sit on the grand jury.

I needed a clear head and

an empty bladder.

After 3 hours of hearing testimony about stupid criminals...

(and aren't all criminals stupid?)

I headed to the nearest drive up window for my coffee fix.

Here's to a fun weekend. ~b

Captain Barb

Ahoy Matey's!

It's that time of year again when the captain

digs out her eye patch and sets sail

for her pirate birthday party.

It's a mighty big number this year...aaargh!

This weekend I'll be celebrating my birthday

with family at a fun motel 

 chosen for it's waterpark.

I don't know what's fun about showing up in a swimming suit?

But once I get over the shock of  that

we have a swashbuckling good time.

Of course grandma always shows up with party favors...

don't want the granddaughters

 making their ol' granny walk the plank.

~b

Like a fine wine...

No, I take that back...

finer than wine!

They should have special goblets to drink this from...

they should have tomato juice racks, closets and cellars...

and temperature controlled refrigerators...

and how about tomato juice tasting events...

we should be willing to travel hundreds of miles to see tomatoyards...

You should have to pay big bucks for my

Homemade Tomato Juice.

Because it's a true delicacy .

And a lot of work! ~b

The Crystal Palace

My new favorite song...

Mrs. Potter's Lullaby

by Counting Crows.

 Well, I woke up in mid-afternoon 'cause that's when it all hurts the most
I dream I never know anyone at the party and I'm always the host
If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts
You can never escape, you can only move south down the coast...

I think the person that wrote this is a genius.

 Well, I am an idiot walking a tightrope of fortune and fame
I am an acrobat swinging trapezes through circles of flame
If you've never stared off into the distance, then your life is a shame
And though I'll never forget your face
Sometimes I can't remember my name...

Why didn't we study lines like this in school?

 And the last one out of the circus has to lock up everything...

Or the elephants will get out and forget to remember what you said
And the ghosts of the tilt-a-whirl will linger inside of your head
And the ferris wheel junkies will spin there forever instead
When I see you, a blanket of stars covers me in my bed...

amazing, don't you agree ~b