We're not in Kansas anymore!

On Sunday, Hurricaine Ike blew through Ohio. No, really. It did!

I know that what happened here is in no way close to what happened when Ike barreled through Galveston and its close neighbors, but this took everyone here totally by surprise. We had 75 mph wind gusts and sustained winds of somewhere around 40-50 mph at times. It was crazy. This is the view out my front door.

Luckily that BIG tree (see the trunk? The tree itself is around 4-5 stories high) didn't fall. I guess it's been there long enough that it would've fallen by now if it was so inclined! However, we lost a LOT of trees in the 'hood... and fences... and some power lines... and roof shingles... and at least one chimney that I know about.
Here's a side street:

They just this afternoon took this tree away.

and the alley:

We didn't lose power in our 'hood, but the 'hood on the other side of the cemetery (which lost some really big, really old trees, too) hasn't had power since Sunday. Schools are all closed, many businesses are closed, and ice is hard to come by.

Unfortunately, sister, who lives 70+ miles to the east, is without power until at least Thursday. I got an email from her last night--she was at school and, of course, they had power! But she's worried for her 1/4 cow, which is slowly thawing in the basement freezer :(

Because of this, and because I leave for my writers' retreat in a few days, we won't be around much the next ten days or so. Take care everyone, and if you were in the "real" path of the hurricaine, I hope you're back up & running soon!

Tiffani

p.s. We have to thank Christina of My Tangerine Dreams and Shannon of Magick Garden Studio for the award they bestowed upon our blog.


We'll be sure to pass it along soon!

WHEW!! Busy busy busy...

We are IN THE NEW HOUSE!! Most of the upstairs rooms are painted, but downstairs, and hallways, etc. still need love. Here are two of the finished rooms (painting wise, certainly not unpacking-wise!): Bella's room, and the soon-to-be craft room! YEAH!




Tiff will be coming out tomarrow--we are celebrating her b-day. She wasn't joking when she wrote that she likes to spreeeaaad her b-day out! Gotta go, need to finish her prezzies in my new craft room! More pics to come!
Dena

A Short Intermission

Just a quick note to let y'all know that sister and I are taking a short break for about a week or so. She's moving in to a new house!!!! YAY!!!! And you know what that means. Oh yeah, paint swatches! :)

Meanwhile, I'm turning a year older, and at my age that takes a few days. Hey, I like to streeeeetch my birthday out as long as possible. More cake that way! Speaking of cake, here's a pic of last year's fabulous creation. My but sister is talented!


See ya soon!
Tiffani

You'll hear me comin'!

Over the past few months, I've found new homes for nearly 600 buttons in my quest to declutter the craft room. However, I kept many, many buttons. The good ones. The ones I inherited from grandma. The ones she inherited from someone else. The really really old ones that I just could not part with. But keeping heirlooms in boxes or bags, hidden away from the light of day, isn't the way to keep them or show them--or who you inherited them from--any respect.

So last night I channeled grandma by setting up shop on the tv tray in front of the Olympics and crafting.

I made two noisy bracelets!

This one has a copper base and is covered with all of the Victorian metal shank buttons in the collection:


This one has a silver base, better to show off the glass buttons.


Aren't they cute?? And NO ONE has a bracelet like either one of them!

I might make a couple more. I still have a bunch of funky plastic and bakelite buttons and several mother-of-pearl ones in the collection.

Tiffani

Road Trip!

The past two weeks have been crazy for the RicRac gals. Seems that nearly everyone in the family has a birthday within the same week, and two weekends ago we had the BIG bash. Lotsa food, lotsa prezzies, and lotsa visiting.


This past weekend Dena & I had to go to TN to pick up the munchkin from her grandma's house, where she had gone for a week visit. The day before that big road trip, we took a smaller trip to nearby Greenville, OH, birthplace of the one and only Annie Oakley!


It's also the home of the shop Mcmaster & Storm. We first heard about M&S in Country Living magazine, and when we realized that we were only about 40 minutes away, we knew we had to go! The shop itself is billed as a mini department store--and it's full of fun stuff, all displayed on and in the most beautiful furniture. Housewares (beautiful soaps, linens, and tableware), craft goods (they have the best pink crepe paper edging, beautiful millingery flowers, and on our visit there were LOADS of clearanced ribbons!), and other fun things are to be found in drawers, cabinets, and even a tiny back closet.


My take? A bunch of ribbons, this fab paper frame, and a bunch of velvet millinery leaves. Don't miss McMaster & Storm's blog and web site, where you can order these goods and so many more.


Across the street we found the cutest flower shop called Ivy League, full of fabulous antiques and decorative touches--and the sweetest proprietress! If you're ever in the area, don't hesitate to stop by.


I bought some great stickers...


...and look how she wrapped them!


The following day we spent 8 hours in the car, driving along some of the emptiest highway--not a lot of stops, but we still found antique stores in Princeton, KY, and I bought this fab vintage sugar shaker for a whopping $5! Whee!

All in all, some rather productive windshield time :)
Tiffani

Have the leaves turned yet?

Every year, I get all excited when the snow melts and spring starts to peek its soft green head up out of the ground. And then it's halfway through July and I could give a flying leap about any of it outside. Too hot. Too muggy. Too many bugs. (And I'm a particularly sweet kind of bug sugar--I have to Off! myself just to walk out the back door.) Right about now, I'm hoping for a tiny cold front--enough so that I can get out my jeans and Docs, a favorite jacket, and go walk arund in the refreshingly crisp air without worrying about sweating. But it's barely August. The only cool thing about August is that my birthday is later this month, and I firmly believe that my birthday should be a national holiday--at least for me :)

Some cool things to look forward to:
As if my autumn won't be exciting enough (those in the know, know), lookie what's coming in November! Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the trailer for which has just been released!!

Soup, casseroles, red beans & rice, and crumbles! I just made this tray of blueberry crumble squares (thank you Smitten Kitchen!).


Go check out her pics--waaaay better than mine. Oh, and I only had 2 cups berries, but it still tastes great. (I was supposed to wait until they were fully cooled before eating ... yeah right! I scooped some out and ate it with a fork from a bowl. Had to be sure they weren't poisonous...)

Until then, I guess I'll have to make do with homegrown toms. I just popped out into said buggy yard to dump stuff into the compost and made a pit stop at the mater plants. First of many harvests:


Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the buttons ALL found homes!
Tiffani

Inquiring Minds Want To Know...

at least, I was always curious. How much a quarter of a cow actually LOOKS like, all cut up and ready for your freezer. Man and I finally, after many moons of debating, bought a share of a cow--1/4 of a cow. And here it is:




And, because I know that I would want to know, it cost-all together with the processing fees--about $350.00. This is an Angus cow, grass fed, no hormone, free range, all the good stuff. It is about 275 pounds of meat. Completely worth it.