Baby Raccoons

Yesterday at lunch Lynne' called me at work to tell me there was a demon in our wall - seriously. I'm not real sure how I should've responded to that, but we both laughed. I told her I knew it was there and we'd wait for this evening.

Turns out we had a baby raccoon in our wall! We kept hearing it chatter and move around and Lynne' was the one that came up with the raccoon diagnosis. We Google'd it and found a website with baby raccoon sounds and sure enough, that was the sound. I called Animal Control and the officer came out and went in the laundry room with all his gear and Keith. They said they would trap it, but they cannot cut your walls open (go figure). Keith stood there and tore a big hole in our wall, then stood in the dining room with Lynne' and I while the man wrestled an elephant, at least by the sounds of it. He brought his little cat carrier out of the room victoriously and the cutest little baby raccoon was spitting and chattering in there. I took pictures, but don't have them out of the camera yet.We had a Disney moment before he left when he told us how they would make sure it was ok and then they would set it free somewhere that raccoons roam.

They are coming back out tonight to set traps in the attic in case the mama is up there. We were cautioned about DO NOT GO IN THE ATTIC! Hey...not a problem dude! LOL!

WHIBSIB

WOW - what can I say about WHIBSIB? I'm back from a three day knitting retreat. This was the "3rd Annual WHIBSIB", which stands for "What Happens In Buda Stays in Buda" and this year it was down the road a piece in Wimberley.

We had a total blast! Left early Friday morning with girlfriends and drove the estimate 5 hour trip in about 10 hours - LOL! We stopped at yarn shops, a ranch, Starbucks (naturally) and the grocery store.

There were five gals in our cabin and I think there might have been six cabins filled with people from our group. Friday night we hiked to the cabin next to us to meet a bunch of the other gals and ended up having a spaghetti dinner there. Coming back, wearing our stylish citified flip flops on this rocky, hilly terrain, hearing that it's rattlesnake season, laughing so very hard in the pitch black night, having only one flashlight for the group, somebody up ahead let out a startle sound. Being the brave souls that we are, Dawn and I grabbed each others' hand and just stood there holding hands. Not sure what we thought we would do next, but at least we were going down together! This of course sent us all into more gales of laughter.

Saturday found Carrie and I headed to town to do some retail therapy. Cute, cute little town that you just find a parking place and walk all around to the shops. I got some sunglasses that are simply "da bomb" and some other little trinkets. :) This was apparently a mecca for girlfriend groups because everywhere we looked we saw groups of gals laughing and "all about the chat".

We headed to a nearby alpaca farm to meet the rest of our group. The alpaca close up picture was Romeo, who had been bottle fed as a baby. He was so sweet and had the best hairy lips for alpaca kisses! Lunch was next, then more shopping before heading back to the cabins. That night we had lots of guests, so we tossed some frozen pizzas in the oven and did some knitting, spinning and LOTS of talking.

Sunday morning was more of the same, then a few carloads of us headed back towards Austin for lunch and another yarn shop visit. It was there we had a rock star moment and met Amy Singer of knitty.com fame. Yeah, I'm shameless and we took pictures. Luckily she was very gracious about the whole thing.

Honestly, I'm leaving out so very much and could probably type for days with stories. But really I'm trying to remember that..........What Happens In Buda, Stays In Buda....even if we were in Wimberley this year! :)

Sewing and Hobbies

Last night I finally had some time to slow down and just enjoy. I'm working on a "secret project" that I'll be able to post about soon, but I will say that it involves sewing. I haven't had my sewing machine out for quite some time and am enjoying it immensely. The quiet hum of the motor and the rhythmic motion of the needle are very calming. I think I've really missed this.

It also made me think about how I flit from hobby to hobby. The picture of the thread shows I'm still playing with all the settings on my new camera - and enjoying it as well. There are so many things that I really love to do and at least I rarely get bored! My list includes - in no particular order - sewing, photography, knitting, scrapbooking, cross stitching, reading, walking, crocheting - and who knows what the future will find me doing. :)

Speaking of knitting, I got a call last night from the lady that I met in the tornado shelter Friday night. She invited me to their Knit n Nosh, so I'll be going next week for the first time. Isn't it funny how such a good thing can come out of a scary situation?

~ Elizabeth

We who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng. -
Psalm 55:14

Irish Cream Bundt Cake

Yesterday while perusing my favorite blogs I found a cake description so compelling that I was driven to stop by the grocery store and liquor store on the way home from work. The Dine and Dish Blog has been one of my favorites for quite some time and her paragraph on the wonders of the Irish Cream Bundt Cake had me putting on my sheep ears and following the herd. I am now a Bundt Cake Trendsetter and am proud to have my voice heard!

And the amazing thing about all this fun is that this cake truly is worthy of the praise. The recipe can be found at Recipezaar and is destined to become a signature cake for me. I read through the 23 comments on this cake and decided to try the glaze a little differently than the recipe calls for and followed one of the comments. We're not overly fond of cakes that have holes poked and glazed poured over the top as too often they can become soggy. I made the glaze and let it cool a bit before pouring over the cake and it was perfect.

I will admit that Irish Cream isn't something that I've ever purchased before, but I did know of Bailey's and headed for that. When I saw the price of the real thing vs. the cheaper substitute at half the price, well I'm sure you can guess I was a cheapskate. It was still wonderful. :)

Loni and Xena Knit!

While Loni has been on bed rest (I just can't decide if that is one word or two!) she has been busy teaching herself to knit! She is doing an awesome job and I honestly think it won't be too much longer and she'll be teaching me some things. :)

But then there's Xena, her adorable black lab. She left the knitting out while she went to the bathroom and came back to this picture (that I have blatantly stolen from her)! She said she'd just started a new skein of yarn when this happened. And that the needles now have teeth marks on them deep enough to snag the yarn.

My little grandpuppy is just too cute! LOL!

Samsung 500

Once we got Loni released from the hospital and felt that immediate danger was averted, we made the decision to go ahead and go to the Sunday Nascar race after all. There are very few thing in life that I enjoy as much attending a race. Truly. So this was the best thing in the world for us to do. I will admit to being a nagging mother-in-law though and called Loni a couple of times to be sure she was off her feet. ;)

We really couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for the race. And we really felt rather spoiled rotten before and after the race because our version of "tailgating" was in my brother-in-law's fifth wheel! Really nice to have a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom right there for our every need. :) We grilled burgers for lunch and sat outside enjoying the weather, then after the race we had pizza outside while the cars sat in pretty much a gridlock for an hour and a half. Very, very nice to have the trailer!

This picture really tickles me and won't interest anybody that isn't a Nascar fan. As a group, one of our favorite drivers is Dale Jr (and I'll add that really he is a BIG fan favorite here in Texas). Anyway, he was doing so well all through the race and it was looking like if he didn't win, it would at least certainly be a top 5 finish. Next thing we know there's a wreck and in front of him and Kyle Bush ran into Jr's backside, causing him to spin out! There was practically weeping in the stands at this turn of events. We had scanners and sat listening to Jr. try and try to get the car going, but no go. Next thing we know the scanners said that Jr. was on the track again, this time driving Kyle Bush's car!!! Very funny - to the fans anyway. :)

Tornados and Grandbabies

All righty - time to try and play a little catch up from some whirlwind days. Last Friday, the 13th I might add, we had severe storm watches all day long. Really nothing much happened, so when Keith and I left early evening for my eye appointment I thought they had really blown the forecast.

My eye doctor is inside a mall and after the exam we went next door to look at glasses. The storm hit and we were actually pretty impressed with all the lightning and thunder, so Lynne' decided to walk down and look outside. She came back fairly quickly with a worried look on her face and told us that the mall PA system was making announcements, people were running and the stores were pulling down their security gates! We followed the crowd down a corridor and into the tornado shelter. The PA system announced that a tornado had been sighted in the area and that the sirens were sounding.

The crowd inside sat down and got comfortable, then started visiting. The men quickly determined that we were safer there then if we'd been at home, so the atmosphere became almost party-like with all the conversations going on. And one man had a blackberry and was able to keep us up-to-date with the radar.

After the all clear sounded we went back up to finish ordering my glasses. Rather surreal. We'd barely started when Loni called and said they were on their way to the hospital. Turns out she'd gone into preterm labor and they kept her overnight. They were able to get the contractions stopped - Praise Jesus! The sonogram showed that Brooke was only 1 pound 12 ounces, so we were very relieved when she decided to stay put a little longer. :)

Saturday morning we drove through Chik-fil-A and got breakfast for everybody, then had a sort of picnic in Loni's hospital room. She looked good and that did a lot to keep us all calm.

~ Elizabeth

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. - Psalm 62:8

Easter, Daniel and Hobbies

Easter Sunday was fabulous as always, but came really close to the service that didn't happen - for us anyway. I just didn't think and we got to church the same time we do every week and of course, Thank You Jesus, the church was very crowded. Thinking back on it now it was pretty comical. We'd see some seats and start walking that way, only to have somebody slide in. Turn, spy some seats, walk that way and the same thing would happen. There literally was no place for us to sit, so we resigned ourselves to sitting in the car and waiting for the next service. Luckily the "announcement lady" asked everybody to do the "Easter squeeze" and move towards the center and many seats opened up. It turned out to be a great thing for us as we ended up sitting right behind the family that was having their baby baptised during the service. The baby was so precious and had the hardest time staying awake during the service and even slept through the baptism! Of course she was very distracting to me because I kept watching her and wanting to go and love on her. :)

Then Monday night was the first night of our new Beth Moore Study on Daniel. I am so happy I decided to go as this study will be amazing. So many things I need to hear at this time in my life. And I really think that I haven't given the book of Daniel the credit that it deserves. The other neat thing about that evening was one of the ladies I was sitting with asked to exchange phone numbers just in case we miss a night. I was so thrilled! I do realize it's very high school, but some of those feelings really never leave you and it was so good to make a connection. One of the goals I have for this year is to get more active in my church and meet more people and this is a great beginning. I also think that by and large a person gets out of a group what they put into it, so step one was doing something more than just attending service. God is so good! :)

In knitting news, I have finally picked up the stitches and started knitting on the gusset of my sock. For those of you that knit, I used Grumperina's method of picking up stitches this time and they really are prettier this way. Try it, you'll like it!

Fabric news - last night I started using my rotary cutter on those beautiful fabrics and getting things ready to sew. I so thoroughly enjoyed this and it's especially nice as Keith has installed some new under shelf lights above my crop table and it made cutting a breeze.

I did have to cut it short as I ran to the grocery store with Keith. On the way back home we stopped by the Christian book store so I could run in and get book two of the Restoration Series by Terri Blackstock. Great reading!

And all these fun things are making it very difficult to sit at work today, especially as the weather is simply gorgeous out there!

~ Elizabeth

"As one woman told me, "When I decided to come in to work happy, everybody around me became happy." This woman had decided to quit a job she hated, and on the last day of her two weeks' notice, she woke up happy. At the end of the day, she noticed that everybody around her was happy, too-- so she didn't quit after all. She decided to come to work happy instead. Two years later, she's still on the job, radiating happiness and love." - Unknown

Happy Anniversary!

Ahhh...fabric in such beautiful colors. A colorful reminder of spring, even if there were snow flurries in the Dallas area this morning! I had to squint very hard to see the teeny little flakes, but Loni had snowflakes big enough that she took Xena outside and let her chase them! No ground cover or anything, but a last breath of winter.

I prewashed all the fabric last night and this morning ironed it. This is destined to be a gift, so I won't be able to post a picture until it has been gifted. But I couldn't resist sharing the beautiful colors.

Today Keith had to work, so I gifted myself a little over an hour spent wandering a nearby antique mall. I haven't done that since I last went with a friend before Christmas. Antiquing can be one of the most relaxing things in the worlds and that hour passed far too quickly. But I enjoyed every moment of it.

Our 27th wedding anniversary is tomorrow and since the day will be spent worshiping and celebrating Easter we went tonight for dinner and a movie. We saw Wild Hogs and it reminded me, in the less silly times, so much of the life Keith and I have now that we are getting older. Watching Tim Allen and his family altering his meals due to his LDL, when Keith and I are changing our eating habits for the same reason. Hearing him called a middle-aged man as we face the same period in our life. And watching these men hit the road on their motorcycles reminds me of times when Keith and his friends go on their rides.

~ Elizabeth

True love isn't something that just happens. True love is a delicate flower that flourishes and blooms only when tended. - Unknown

Homemade Flour Tortillas and Retirement Card

Take a good look at the photo and then let me regale you with my tale of virtuousness. ;) On the menu last night was tacos - simple, fast, cheap and we love them. However when we got home I discovered that I had no taco shells. What does any normal blog obsessed woman do in a case like this? A blog search of course! I found a recipe for homemade flour tortillas and got to cooking. These are so EASY and are sure to be a staple in our home now. One of the things that appealed to me the most is that I know exactly what is in these and there are no preservatives or ingredients I can't pronounce. They were quite good and I was so pleased with myself as we ate our dinner. I also want to put in a plug for Google blog searches for recipes. Sure we could go to the recipe magazine sites and such, but I guess I like to read the stories behind the recipes and read about what works for real people.
After dinner I headed back to my room for some papercrafting fun. One of the men I work with is retiring on Friday and making a masculine card proved to be a challenge for me! I think I like it though as it passed muster with my husband. "Honey, if you were opening a retirement card would this one be ok???" :)

And I should admit that the card didn't take nearly as long as the photo shoot of the card did. Some day I'm going to sit and actually read a little bit more about that cool new camera I have and stop letting all those buttons and settings intimidate me - LOL!

~ Elizabeth

Blessed is the person who can enjoy the small things, the common beauties, the little day-by-day events; sunshine on the fields, birds on the bough, breakfast, dinner, supper, the daily paper on the porch, a friend passing by. So many people who go afield for enjoyment leave it behind them at home. - David Grayson

Knit Night and Spinning

Last night was Knit Night at Starbucks and as usual it was a really nice evening. Knitting-wise I got very little done, but that wasn't due to lack of trying! I went into the evening ready to start the heel flap on my sock. After knitting merrily along a bit I looked down and saw that I had started with the wrong row, so my heel flap was inside out. :( I frogged it, then started knitting again. I did manage to get about an inch of it done, but it could've been oh so much more had I been paying attention. Sigh.

The highlight was Jennifer demonstrating the drop spindle. She started out with silk hankies, which was something I had never heard of before. We passed those around and I seriously just wanted to hold on to this thing forever - oh so soft! She spun that for a bit, then was handed some roving (as pictured) and showed how to start spinning that. It really was interesting to watch and I am going to try really, really hard to not join in!!! I was explaining it all to Keith when I got home and he didn't help my reserve at all when he mentioned that really spinning would just go right along with the knitting. Sigh.

Currently Reading

Oh my goodness - I started this book LATE Friday night and just am having the hardest time putting it down! I saw it recommended on this blog and since I have a love for books and movies about catastrophes (I know...it's weird) I knew I had to get it. I've read Terri Blackstock before and I'm not sure how I missed this series. Anyway, it is GREAT! And I'm so happy to learn that book 3 is coming out in I think June.

You can read about the book here. :)

Dyson Giveaway!

Here's something you ALL need to do! Click on over to 5 Minutes For Mom and enter the contest for a FREE DYSON! Yep, you read that right. And how funny I feel getting this excited over the possibility of a free vacuum. But a DYSON - come on!!!

Happy Monday!

Such a wonderful family weekend we had! Thursday night the kids brought Xena over since we all knew there would be lots of running around. She had a blast! This picture is pretty typical of how she spent a lot of her time - in Joe's face. He wasn't particularly impressed with it. ;) I truly have never seen a happier dog than Xena and though it probably doesn't show up in this photo she has the most beautiful deep black coat. Silly little pup.

Friday was Keith's birthday and his brother and his wife came to town and joined us all at the Museum of Nature and Science to see the Body Worlds exhibit. It was absolutely fascinating and I'll admit that it's changed the way I think about some things. We were also able to see the IMAX movie The Human Body before we went into the exhibit and that was really cool. We love IMAX movies anyway and it this one was so interesting.

Then Saturday Keith's parents arrived and we all had a birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse. The kids came to the house afterwards to get Xena and they brought Keith's gift - a radio control Dragonfly! It was a really fun gift and he enjoyed it all weekend. However, last night he came in and Joe had his ears back and went straight for his crate. Apparently the dragonfly flew down low enough that Joe was able to jump up and grab it in his mouth. Keith was not amused. ;)

And here it is already Monday again! Makes me feel old to say this, but time sure does fly by these days. :)

~ Elizabeth

“Jesus can turn water into wine, but He can't turn your whining into anything.” - Mark Steele