Grass Clippings

 Here is a little story that will give you some insight to our life here at Cotton Crk. I am hoping that the neighbors are not keeping very "close tabs" on us- lol... otherwise they probably got a good laugh the other day. 

 The last time that our neighbor mowed his lawn a pretty good pile of grass clippings ended up on our grass. I was afraid that it was thick enough that the grass under it would be turning yellow. I told Ron that I was going to rake it off of our grass. I did that, but all I did was rake it onto the sidewalk. I know, I know, I shouldn't have left it there, but at least it was "not on the grass". I was thinking I would come back and clean it up later, Hailey was wanting me to come to her house and show her how to make an apple pie. When I came back home, the grass clippings were back on our grass- lol. 😏😐I asked Ron if he had gone outside and done something with the grass clippings. He said, yes, that he had swept them back on to the grass... "at least they weren't on the sidewalk". haha. I was actually very surprised that he had gone outside and done anything with the grass clippings. Yard work is no longer in his "job description" here at this house! Anyway... the next morning I went out and raked the clippings back on the sidewalk... and then swept them up and put them in our grass clippings can. I don't think Ron ever noticed that I did that 😉 There are lots of little things that happen like that around here- lol. In fact, I have been thinking that there are many things that Ron does that, (to put it nicely), make me crazy. But... he doesn't know that, because I have never told him about those things. There are actually a few "big things" too... but I try to avoid pointing those out either. I guess it is part of staying married to the same person for a long time. I saw a little quote on fb recently, that I saved... that sums up a good relationship. It sounds like it is talking about other people than our family, but I think it applies to "family" too. And by the way... the apple pie turned out pretty good, too.

New Ceiling Lights

 After one of the downstairs lights got broken... I decided it was time to replace a few fixtures. I bought 4 black ceiling lights on Amazon and 1 white ceiling light from Lamp Goods. I love the way they look and there is a gentleman in our ward that can easily swap out light fixtures. I still want to do a few more, but we can wait awhile for those. I actually need another black one upstairs but those are sold out on Amazon right now.  I will have to see if those come back in stock or not. 

Sixty Six

 Turning 65 last year was a milestone ;) Now I guess it is all downhill from here- lol. 66 this year 😎 I guess turning 65 meant that my metabolism hit rock bottom. I put on more weight in one year than ever before. In order to try and combat that, I started walking a mile a day (usually 5 days a week) and even though we were on a low carb and low sugar diet, I am trying to cut that back even more. (At least for me... Ron still has his coke habit... and that has hit an all-time high- haha) And I am also trying to drink more water. On my birthday last week, Ron went with me to Homestead Handcrafts (to retrieve two taggie sets that I sold on Etsy), then we went to the Garden Center and bought a lemon grass plant (since it was half dead already, it shouldn't take me long to completely kill it 😉), then we had lunch at Torchys Tacos (two fried avocado tacos for me), then we picked up his new glasses and went to the bank. Dinner was leftovers from Olive Garden on Wednesday evening. Mike and Carrie set me a little "bumble bee" set. Dinner last night at Andersons was all decked out with sunflowers and Sam cooked steak and shrimp. Ashley brought salad, fruit, and strawberry cake. All of the sunflower decor and the black licorice came home with me. 😉 The Petes gave me a cute card and a "Target" card. Audrey is trying to plan a "girls out activity" on September 24, that she is also calling a "birthday event". Other than my weight gain, I am doing pretty well for 66. No major medical conditions and no major medications. I noticed that when I was filling out the new patient form at the eye doctor. (I also have new glasses coming- probably "grandma ones... without rims... they barely show up on my face 😉There is also another pale pink pair that I want... but they are $400 on sale. Saving up $$ for those- lol.)

Petes Trip

 On Mason's birthday, August 27, the Petes drove to Dallas... watched a soccer game there. Then traveled on to Oklahoma and Branson, Missouri. They drove through Tulsa and Bartlesville, looking at places that were somewhat familiar to Ashley. Another family that they are good friends with had asked them to share their timeshare in Branson. I grabbed pics from Instagram. They had a good week, but lots of driving. It's been a while since they went on a trip as a family together. Pics in totally random order.

Finn

 While the Petes were traveling to Dallas, Oklahoma, and Branson, Finn stayed with us. I'm sure staying at our house is BORING. I am sure that he was glad to get his kids and his cats back. Gracie was totally stressed out about him being here. We had to put her litter box and food in our bathroom, and she spent almost the entire week in our bedroom, under the bed. Half of these pics I took, and the other half Ashley took... but they are all Finn 😉😊 Super cute dog.

Noah and Mason Bdays

 I actually should have done this post before my last two. But Noah and Mason both have birthdays on August 27, so most years they celebrate together. This year the Petes were headed to Dallas and then on the Oklahoma and Branson, for almost a week. For Mason's birthday they watched a soccer game in Dallas. Noah had a friend party at a "Build a Bear" store. The kids did build a Pokémon character instead of a bear. They stopped by our house briefly after that party and Noah opened up his gifts. Then on Sunday evening, they came for dinner at our house. I did what I could to make it "a party" 😉🎉He wanted pizza, chips and salsa, watermelon, and Ceasar salad for dinner. I made a small chocolate cake to put candles in and I also made a large M&M cookie. He is usually more of a "cookie boy" than a "cake boy"... but he didn't really want the cookie.- lol. Audrey realized that he has wanted the Pokémon theme for the past three birthdays. Mason turned 10 and Noah turned 9. Here are a few pics of Noah's party.

First Etsy Order

 I got my first Etsy order today- Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Luckily it was a simple one, just a ribbon blanket. I had the one that was ordered in the closet here at home... so I didn't have to go to Homestead to get it. I feel like I should list all of my inventory on Etsy whether it is at Homestead Handcrafts or here at home. I have my supply of large envelopes and boxes to ship in. All I had to do was put it in an envelope, print the shipping label, and drop it off at the postal place on Potranco road, just a couple of blocks away. Perfect order to figure out how this Etsy thing works. I am just getting started while Hailey is an Etsy expert. 😉 Ashley took a picture of their front porch one day when Hailey had 11 orders ready to ship. She is amazing. I grabbed two pics from Ashley's Instagram posts. (Hailey makes and sells homemade bunny treats.)

Some Green Plants

 I am not ready for Halloween or even fall stuff. I guess I am ready for "some green" plants even if it is inside 😉Actually the yard is starting to green up a bit, because we have received some rain during the past week, but generally everything outside is pretty "toasty". So, here are my September decorations. This theme was based on some fabric that I ordered from Poland- lol. It is a print that has green ferns and leaves and alittle purple. Then Target had fern print pillows. Add a few other fern/plant items and you have it. I am not a huge fan of artificial plants, but this is a nice change of pace. By the last week of September, I will switch to Halloween. November will be pumpkins and fall stuff. (I have one little sign in the guest bathroom that says "Hello Fall" 😆and I have a couple of black and white pumpkin dishes out.)