Girl's Weekend AKA A Minnesota Hurricane!

OK--another Girl's Weekend has come and gone! This one was a little different than most, to be sure. We are a hardy bunch of gals--no sissies here. We've been doing the weekend for many years now and have run into a LOT of different weather situations: hot, cold, rainy, windy, etc. and we take it in stride, dress for the weather, and play outside anyways. This year we ended up spending almost the entire time inside the cabin! lol I went up on Friday afternoon because it was a beautiful day and I wanted to sit in the sun and read a book! And I did! For about 3 hours and then the wind started to blow. My sis-in-law showed up and we went and sat on the other dock which was out of the wind a bit more and had a nice time up until right about dusk when the wind really picked up and it started to drizzle. The next thing you know we are in the middle of a big thunderstorm and the wind is raging and whistling through the trees. It never stopped! lol The temps dropped down into the 30's and 40's--the winds were constant at about 40-50mph and we were even blessed with some snow! At one point I thought for sure the cabin was going to be picked up --ala Wizzard of Oz--and tossed to a new location! Anyways, so we just had to stay inside and play the whole time. It was fun, but I had really been looking forward to doing some outdoorsy stuff. Oh well. Oh, AND I neglected to put fresh batteries in my camera and it pooped out on me the first time I used it. I did manage to get a pic of my friend in her annual "bra" picture, but that was it. We've decided that we got gyped and are going to re-schedule a little later in the year. Soooo, how was your weekend?? :-D

Girl's Weekend---Look out!!

Yeah!! It's that time of year again! As far back as I can remember, the guys have always taken off for the fishing opener--usually for 4 or 5 days or more--leaving us poor women back home with all the babies all by ourselves. Waaah. Finally, one year, my sis-in-law and I were whining about it and we decided that we would get our own "fishing weekend"--and the guys get to stay home all by themselves with the kids! And girl's weekend was born. It started off with about 4 of us and the numbers have grown as the years go by--who knew so many women needed a break!!! LOL Luckily, we have a family cabin on a lake about 40 miles from town . It's a pretty rustic cabin and no running water (that's right--OUTHOUSE!) but it is perfect really. I think the first year we went was 1994--and it's been every year since, the weekend after opener. We only have a few rules, no bras, no men, no kids, and all food that is brought has to be pre-made--there is no
cooking except for crock pot stuff and things that you can heat up over the fire or in the microwave. We lounge around and laugh and talk and fish and drink and whine and throw horseshoes and just have a silly funny good time!
Here are a few pictures from last year--I'll share some of the new ones when I get home Monday (or Tuesday if I am too tired!). You all have a great weekend--and if you are ever in northern MN on the weekend after opener--you're all welcome to drop by.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day ! I hope that you all had a wonderful day and let your kids and hubs spoil you rotten! I got my usual Mother's day breakfast made by the kids--and now that they have gotten a little older, it was actually more on the edible side than it has been in the past! lol AND Mark actually came home early from the cabin so he could make me dinner, yeah--no cooking for me today! I had a great day and got spoiled quite nicely, thank you very much.



Here's a pic of me and my Mom--we're a couple of peas in a pod! I am bummed that the pic is so dark but I think you can still see us pretty good. This is only the second Mother's Day since my Mom died and I just miss her so much. I spent a bit of the day looking through old pictures and thinking back on our lives. I had a rather unusual life with my Mom--I actually had no contact with her when I was between the ages of 11 and 18 (it's a long story, and I'm feeling a little too weepy to tell it today) but when we were re-united we found out that we were practically the same person, lol. We had so many of the same interests and hobbies and likes and dislikes--and our voices and laugh were so alike that people couldn't tell us apart, and we even looked a lot alike. She was such a fun and loving woman and had such a spirit of encouragement towards others-- she just had a way of making people feel like they were worthwhile and could do anything if they put their mind to it. I love you Mom and I miss you.

I also ran across this pic of my parents on their wedding day--they are so young and pretty! This was back in 1959.
I have to laugh at the wedding pics--my Mom was quite a fashion plate and made most of her (and our) clothes--She made her wedding dress and on her wedding day she completed her outfit with bright red shoes and purse! Yeah!

So, all of you reading this, if your dear Mother is still with you--go give her a big smooch and cherish the moments you have together.

Smiles!

Queenie

Here's Queenie--pretty and practical, as any good queen should be! I took one of my little felt birds, and perched her in a beaded wire "nest" for her throne, and perched that on top of a paper mache box that I gussied all up with papers and glitter--wah lah! She's pretty sweet! and can be found in my Etsy shop.

Speaking of Etsy--I was just reading through a great thread in the forums and thought I would pass it along. It's all helpful crafting tips--basically from the experts, you know, all the wonderful Etsy artists and craftspeople. It's a fun read and I picked up quite a few new tips . Check it out HERE.

Is anyone else out there a fishing widow?? LOL, well, not a widow actually--but in the 15 years that Mark and I have been married--there has only been 1 Mother's Day that we have spent together! Yup! Opening fishing season weekend and Mother's Day happen at the same time here--and guess who loses that battle?? Sniff. I'm just kidding really, I always get very thoughtful cards and gifts for Mother's Day, just not on the actual day. It's kind of a standing joke here, and I get to pout and pretend that my feelings are hurt and everybody hugs me and spoils me. Sigh, I love Mother's Day. *grin*

Well, I need to go get back to work--this house is a sty! lol I can't wait until I make so much money with my Etsy shop that I can hire a maid (wake me up when this pretty daydream is over........).

Random Facts about Me.

Here's my latest Inspiration Kit--Roses and Romance. It can be found in my Etsy shop! I am really having fun putting these together. Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement you have all given me about these kits, you are all so sweet! BTW--that pretty little pink rosebud that you can see in the middle was made by the talented Betty at Shessewpretty--she sells them in her shop! I had just gotten the ones I ordered from her in the mail--and I had to add one to this kit.

OK--I've been tagged by Beadiful Things and Saffron at Poppy Cat News . Double tag, double listing...hmmm..

The Rules:--List seven random facts/habits about yourself--Choose another seven bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog--Leave your seven tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.

So, here goes:

1) I come from very large families--my Grandparents (my Dad's parents) had 17 kids, my other Grandparents (Mom's parents) had 8 kids, and then I married into another large family--my hub is the youngest of 10 kids! We had a pretty small family with only me and my 3 brother--but then I ended up with 4 step-siblings, so there were 8 of us! lol

2) I think I was born to sew. When I was just a little tiny girl, my favorite toys were those cardboard cards with the grommets in them, and you would lace the shoelaces through the holes like you were sewing. When I was about 5 I got my first little toy sewing machine and I LOVED it! I would make all kinds of things for my dollies and for my Mom. When I was 11, ALL I wanted for Christmas was a REAL sewing machine--that is it--nothing else! I got a Kenmore sewing machine that I had for about 20 years.

3) My parent got divorced when I was about 7 years old, and my 3 brothers and I stayed with my Dad (which was pretty rare in those days!). I learned to cook and clean and take care of babies at that time, and by the time I was 8 years old, I was pretty good in the kitchen and could change and bathe a baby like a pro!

4) I'm famous (with the people who know me!) for my soups. People save me their bones and scraps and bring them to me with the stipulation that I must share my soup with them! lol My brother Will, has a physic connection with my soup pot! Somehow, he always shows up at my doorstep when I make soup!

5) My hub and I decided that I would be a stay-at-home-Mom once our kids came along--so we have always been on a real tight budget. Due to this fact, I can brag about this--I once saved $68.79 in coupons at the grocery store!! Once the coupons were rung in, my bill was under $20. Oh, and it was NOT double coupons either. Long live the Queen.

6) I didn't learn to drive until I was 31. Yup, 31! (before I got my license, I used to walk-- 5 miles a day--to and from work).

7) My hub and I are going to be married--again-- very soon! We're just waiting for the paperwork to get finished. (We are catholics, and in order to get married in the church I had to have my first marriage annulled--and it finally came through, which has taken a little over 2 years). So we will have 2 wedding anniversaries each year--15 years apart!

8) I love to watch movies. We have over 200 movies here in tapes and dvd's. After the kids were born, we decided we didn't want to have cable tv (too much junk!), so we just would buy movies to watch when there was nothing on tv--and the collection has grown to rather large proportions!

9) I call my daughter "neeneenanooo" and she calls me "meemeemamooo".

10) I need to have knee replacement surgery and I keep putting it off, which is ruining my so-called "good" knee.

11) I'm a pretty boring person, and I am having a hard time thinking of 14 things that may be interesting about myself! lol

12) We moved around constantly when I was a kid. My Dad worked as a tiler for a long time and then he got into sales and we would move where there was work. I never completed a whole year at one school until I was in the 9th grade. Always the "new kid". I think that is why I am such a homebody. I am so very happy to have been in our home for 14 years--and I love it here! Having roots ROCKS!!

13) I love to do crossword puzzles---HARD crossword puzzles.

14) My favorite snack is popcorn and a cup of cocoa. Sweet and salty--oh yeah!

There! lol Now who will I torture, I mean PICK, to do this next? How about:

Teresa at Cedar Junction

Jenn Maruska

Betty at Shes Sew Pretty

Angela at Norththreads

Jenn at Persephone's Awakening

Joni at My Piece of Heaven

Amy at AmyEliseDesign

Have Fun!!

Inspration Kit #2--Birds in Spring

Inspration Kit #2--Birds in Spring
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Spring has sprung--the grass is finally starting to turn green around here. The sun is shining and the birds are singing and chasing each other around--but unfortunately, as is pretty common here, the wind is coming right off of the lake and it is COLD! I might have to head up over the hill to get any spring-like warmth today! It is nice to live so close to the lake, so I'm not complaining, but you know how it is in the spring when you have been waiting and waiting for the warmth! Sigh.

I have been getting that urge to spring clean--air things out--get rid of the dust! I always feel so sorry for my houseplants by the end of the winter. They just look kinda gray and dusty! As soon as it looks like it isn't gonna freeze anymore, I like to get the hose hooked up outside and take all the houseplants out and line them up on the porch railings and spray the bejeebers out of them! Add some new dirt to thier pots and let them sit in the sun for a while. I'm gonna do that as soon as the wind shifts, lol.

I finished up my big order for the Loopy Ewe, and another custom order I was working on, so now I get to play a little! Speaking of spring cleaning, I was thinking about doing some destashing and listing the items in my Etsy shop, and I started to get a little stack going when I decided that instead of just listing individual items for sale, I would make little packs of things that match! Yeah! So I get to have fun putting the packs together--and maybe they will be an inspiration for a project or two for someone else! Win/Win! I listed my first kit yesterday and it sold right away. Sooo, this morning I put together another one--the one pictured above. I call this one Birds in Spring. It is listed in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested.

Well, I should go back to work. I've been working on designing a potholder---but it's not really turning out too well! LOL What I have is more like a mini quilt instead of a potholder (yeah, I got a little carried away! lol) So, I need to get back to the drawing board. Maybe I'll try and finish up the hand stitching on that mini quilt this evening while I'm watching Ugly Betty and see if I can get it listed tomorrow.

Have a great day everyone--and so soak up some sun for me--OK?!!

What Karen needs.....

So who's been noticing a bunch of silliness showing up in blogland over the last week or so? OK--more silliness than usual, lol! I saw some on Imaginary Fronds blog (had to laugh out loud about the boob job!). Again, on the lovely Jenn Maruska's blog (thanks for posting your little prayer--I almost peed my pants!). And Jenn was kind enough to point us in the direction of Sweet Repeats where there is some more silliness abounding! Whew! Go check it out and have some laughs!


I've been prompted by Jenn to do one myself---so here goes. ( I cheated a little and skipped over the more boring ones)

1) Karen needs to grow up! (umm, sorry! not gonna do it and you can't make me!)


2) Karen needs to have full carbohydrate stores and be well hydrated. (Can you say Pizza and Beer? yeah!)


3) Karen needs additional time for laundry and changing bed linens. (um YEAH!! all that housework seriously cuts into my crafting and playing time! Better yet- Karen needs a maid!)


4) Karen needs to check her figures. (Whew, for a minute there I thought it said "FIGURE" singular--again, not gonna do it and you can't make me!)


5) Karen needs a MAN! (well, OK. but don't tell my hubby! This one has got to be rich and love to give presents.)


6) Karen needs Dr. Pelvic's knowledge. (I don't even know what to say about this one! lol Can you say "name-change"?)


7) Karen needs a facial. (oh yes, and a massage, and a manicure, and a pedicure, and a ........)


8) Karen needs to fake her own death. (never expected THAT one!)


9) Karen needs to get real! (real what? drunk? rich? what?)


10) Karen needs to make national attention. (yeah, for something good--not some Brittany Spears forgetting her underwear kind of attention, but the makes the cutest little bags and stuff kind!)


There you have it! Everyone should give this a shot! Just go to google and type your name and the word " needs"--and hit search and see what it comes up with! Such a hoot! Please let me know when you do it, so I can go and have a chuckle!
Smiles, Karen

Yippee!

Oh yeah! It is a beautiful spring day, already over 50 degrees, the birds are singing away out in the cedars, and the sun is shining in the windows. Yesterday I noticed a very healthy batch of bright pink and green signs around town--and that can only mean one thing.....GARAGE SALE season has finally started! I know what I'm doing today, lol. Yeah!!


I need to find the perfect little tall table for our freshly finished, gorgeous staircase. The work is all done now but I really don't want to post pictures until I get the curtain done (no time right now for curtain sewing!) and get some of the pics hung. There is a huge wall that goes from about neck height up to the ceiling that we have decided is going to be a wall of fame--all the family pics are going there. It's going to be a real test of our marriage to get that all put together, let me tell you , LOL!!!!! Just kidding, luckily my hub has learned a long time ago to just hang 'em where I say! He is a very wise man. There is a small area on the landing that is just begging for a cute little table--so I have to go on the hunt--Yeah!

Oh yeah, the pic above is a little fridge magnet that I've recently listed in my shop . Bright colors, a cute little bird, and I even added some leaves to the side to snazz it up a bit!

Well, I'm off to find treasure--have a great day!

And the winner is......

Jenn Maruska!! Yeah, congrats Jenn. I just think it is wonderful that you were drawn as you have been such a nice new friend here in the blog and Etsy world!! If you will just email me with your street addy--I will send that right off to you.

I would like to thank all of you that left such sweet and encouraging comments--you are all so wonderful and I'd just like you to know that I am grateful for all of you!

Say! I almost forgot, LOL. I have something else to give away! I bought some pudding cups the other day and there are coupons in there for Baskin Robbins--*buy a sundae, get one free* and *free quart of ice cream when you buy a cake*. Unfortunately we don't have a Baskin Robbins around here anywhere--so if you do, just say the word and I'll send these to you.

Thanks again everyone and have a great night.

UhOh--Etsy is having growing pains

Hi! I just wanted to make a quick mention here that Etsy has been doing some work with their servers, and things are running a bit wonky over there! If you have been trying to do some shopping and have run into difficulties--I would advise you to either try back tomorrow some time or maybe just try and contact the seller and talk to them directly. If you want to reach me, you can just leave me a message here in my blog or you can email me. Thanks!

What you see here is a special shadowbox I made up for my Etsy shop--something really pretty for your special MOM!