Who’s Gabbing and Who’s Gushing

T & T Book Club, is in it's second decade of existence. It was started as a great way for my sister Tami and I to share the reading of the same book at the same time each month. We lived several hours apart and so we used snail mail and by that I mean email or oh my even the United States Postal system to deliver "book announcements" to each other. We took turns being in charge each month and finding a book to share with the other. Then the one in charge also came up with a fun activity to do along with reading the book.

This was a huge success for several years - I still remember the excitement of sending off an announcement and sometimes even a copy of the book to Tami - or the thrill of getting the announcement! Then things changed and Tami moved much closer to me - just 10 miles away and although we have always kept it going - - - it has waxed and waned throughout the years. But we love the idea of having our own Book Club and so as we kicked it in gear again just recently - we have decided to do something a little different and we are calling it: The Summer Reading Challenge of the T & T Book Club!

I have picked a four book series from the great state of Texas ... Read more →

Our friends' mare foaled last week and I wanted to share some pictures of the cute little colt, Max.

Max's dad is a pure black, registered Percheron named Bismark, (I forgot to take pictures of him) and his mom is a registered Thoroughbred named Duchess.

Our friends have had Bismark since he was a colt and he was a Dressage horse, he's retired now. They have used him as a stud several times over the years because of his sweet disposition. Bismark is now getting pretty old and they wanted to have one of his babies to carry on the line ... Read more →

I'm in love with a tall spray bottle. Pretty sick, I suppose, even for a cleaning freak. Before we judge, however, remember all the spray bottles we've used that spit, dribbled, and squirted, then went limp on the squeeze when you needed them most. This industrial strength bottle creates a huge, perfectly fine mist when needed or can produce a stream that shoots four feet. I love tools that work. I love the way this basic helper functions.

There's often a catch or a small flaw, so here it is. The bottles are too tall to sit on the shelf with the cleaning supplies. I've perched them directly under the cupboard (remember the idea of storing like things together) on the back of the wash machine. Talk about an unruly gang of helpers. These guys cannot adjust to the sloped surface and tend to tip every which way. My confined wrist was ready to have me put "duke it out with them and win" on the Things I get to do today. First, the old towel bar from the recycling collection was measured and found to fit ... Read more →

We were watching the news last night and what is happening in Oklahoma is heartbreaking. It makes you hold your little ones a little closer. Our thoughts and prayers are with you today and in the days to come ... Read more →

It’s amazing how things can come full circle. This little 68 Shasta Compact was actually our very first vintage trailer (see here:http://littlevintagetrailer.com/2010/09/how-it-all-began/) and here it is available for sale! Just seeing the photos brought back so many memories for me. We had some wonderful times camping in this cutie. Here is what the seller has to say about it.

Are you looking for a small trailer that is ready to camp? This cute, clean lightweight camper may be just what you are looking for ... Read more →

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday at Dandelion House! Your go- to spot for trying something new and healthy each week in your homestead kitchen. This week's Tasty Tuesday feature is a double share recipe and a treat for all of my friends who keep goats. I do not keep goats, but I love seeing all of yours and enjoy sharing things I think will inspire you in your goat keeping adventures!


Michelle from Little Piece of Heaven featured this amazing homemade goats butter tutorial from Louise's Country Closet on her blog last week and shared it again on Farmgirl Friday. I guess that makes it a triple share! Here's what Louise has to say about raising goats and making your own homemade goat butter ... Read more →

Often you’ll notice that my posts of late begin with “I remember when”. Such as when I say that I remember when I had “good” jeans without permanent mud stains on the knees. I remember when weather bothered me, I’d complain about rain or too much heat. But tonight, those things are far behind me, they don’t bother me any longer. Tonight, I’m going to start my post saying “Remember when I used to stop working at 5?”

Now at 5, I stop my corporate job and start my real one. The kids are home, homework is out and dinner needs fixing ... Read more →

It was a birthday weekend, (happy birthday, Mig) and a Sisters on the Fly and friends, get together over in the beautiful woods of Idaho. Thanks, Mig. Isn't this the cutest pillow made from a t-shirt? I love it Mig ... Read more →

Before I gave my life to Christ, I was very reactive and didn't censor the words that would come out of my mouth. You would know how I was feeling. My junior year of high school, I got suspended for some bad language towards another girl I was in a fight with. Even though I have since given my life to Christ...it is still a battle. I think I have made huge strides thanks to God...but because it was so natural for so long, it is a battle I must deal with more often than I would like to. Praise God for His never ending grace and mercy...He sets the example for me.

I recently got a birthday card from my mom. It started out all sweet and then turned to how criticizing I am of her (I was when I was growing up) and how I should just accept her as she is (I do, she is my mom, I love her).
All in my birthday card ... Read more →

Rue, short for Rudy, does not like the early heat we are getting. I took some scraps out to my daughter, to feed her goats, and saw her giving Rue a hair cut with her trimmers. He was panting miserably.

The lamancha goats handle the heat better, unless they are babies, but generally their breed can handle heat better. Poor guy ... Read more →

Thus far, my foray into growing my newest favorite vegetable has been smooth sailing. I was gifted free extra seeds from a friend, and every single one sprouted. Over the past couple of weeks, they have grown and grown, becoming a veritable forest of fennel.

Have you ever seen a more beautiful sight? Sigh.

Of course, now comes the tricky part. I've never actually grown fennel. I've never seen fennel growing in a garden, except on TV in my pal Hugh Fernsley-Wittingsall's River Cottage garden. And everyone knows that is helped along by an army of minions. This leads me to be concerned: what if fennel requires an army of minions to be grown successfully? Eeek. I have no minions.

I need some minions ... Read more →

I am not one of those mums that looks forward to the summer holidays. The prospect of six weeks at home with the Evacuees, rain invariably drizzling down outside while our carefully-crafted daytime routine slips out the window, does not fill me with a warm glow. This may be because I am a SAHM and therefore do not have an opportunity to escape to the workplace during those six weeks; I suspect it may also be because I refuse to throw money at the problem. Whatever the reason, the summer holidays do not feel like a holiday to me.

Add to this the fact that I don't want to waste this six weeks and see their education come to a complete stop. Like Jennifer Tankersley of ListItPlanIt, "I want to teach my children life skills, responsibility, and self-fulfilment." ... Read more →

Once again, it has been a week of little actual needlework at my house . . . in fact, none at all. Kids were home on my days off, so other things took priority. However, we did accomplish two needlework related projects.


1. Design board and bulletin board.

I recently moved my sewing/crafting area to the basement. It's not nearly as nice looking as the spare bedroom where it had been, but much larger and more functional ... Read more →

I've been enjoying fresh fruit in season right now and these sweet cherries were not only very affordable, but delicious as well. Oh, and they are good for me too ... Read more →

Dear friends, I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of seeing other peoples stuff... So, I created an open group on Facebook where we can click and share all day and night to our junk lovn' hearts content.


Welcome one and all to my new group Burlap and Bling...your place to share your posts, projects, EVENTS for all things antique, vintage, rustique, and flea market romance whenever the spirit moves you! ... Read more →

When you have nothing to blog about, blog about nothing.

Like Mitch and Dave (Son and Hubs) repairing the yard and driveway that was torn up to run the new water line,

Or planting the garden ... Read more →

I love it when I have a chance to meet with my spinning friends. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t gone to many of our regular Monday gatherings but today was a special day for fiber lovers at Phyllis’ farm. We spent the day on her deck over looking her long horn cattle, camels, sheep and an assortment of other animals.

Diversity at it’s best!

The variety of animal chatter was accompanied by the lady-chatter of 45 women and the occasional scream of a peacock ... Read more →