Hawaiian Shirt Refashion

This is my newest refashion! But it has a story that started 20 plus years ago. My hubby and I, my youngest sister and her hubby and my BFF and her hubby. We were planning to go to a Jimmy Buffet concert and thought we needed matching shirts. Fast forward a few years and we went to another concert, then another. When we heard he was performing in Chicago we said we were in! 

It always makes me laugh when I take selfies. Anyway, I could not show up to this concert in a shirt that looked like this. So something had to be done.

Cut off the sleeves.

Cut off the collar forming the neckline you want. Hem your new neckline. Next take in the sides. And finally give it the hem length and shape you want. I wanted mine to look more feminine so I took it up on the sides and swooped it down in the front and back.

I love it!! I'm withholding the other pictures of our family and friends in their big sloppy shirts to protect the innocent. But man oh man did we have fun! I hope you can do something just as fun this summer.

Fins to the left!

Linda

Puppy Love

This big boy is Harper. He's 8 years old. We've had him since he was 2. He's one lucky pup. He was just a few days away from being put down when we found him at a local shelter. Harper is the best dog ever! So maybe we are the lucky ones. Even at 8 he likes to chase bunnies. In April he shot out after a bunny and by the time I caught up with him he was limping in the worst way. A visit to the Emergency Vet proved Harper had torn his puppy ACL (CCL). We were looking at surgery to make him a happy running pup again, so that's what we did.

Ouch!!! Poor guy. I was one nervous puppy mom. 

This is Ellie. She's 3. She was pretty sad Harper had to be away for two days and even more sad when she wasn't allowed to play with him when he got home.

Harper was pretty sad he couldn't play, on top of that he had to wear the cone of shame.

But with some special loving from one of his boys, I am happy to report Harper is mending very well. His post op x-rays show good healing and the Dr. says he'll be running after those bunnies again soon. Take care of your pups. Remember never leave them in a hot car, bring them into the air conditioner if you can. Walk them in the coolest part of the day. And watch that they aren't walking on super hot pavement, we wear shoes, they don't. I hope you all have a puppy love kind of day.

Thanks for checking in on me.

Linda

Veggies practically grow themselves!

Wow, this summer is just flying by. I can't believe I shared my vegetarian meal I had the other night and did not share the veggie garden itself. I planted in a hurry this May. So many fun activities once the weather starts to turn nice, it was hard to find time to plant. You'll have to forgive me for the weeds you're about to see. And that darn water grass/nut grass. If anyone knows how to get rid of this stuff and not kill every living thing for miles around please do share. But anyway, here's my 8 foot pole in the garden with the little house for the birds. 

The green beans are starting to grow and I noticed some beetles eating away at them. I'm not sure exactly what they were but I described them to the hardware store clerk and she lead me to the aisle with all the chemicals to kill and then regrow an entire garden. By the time I left there I had spent a fortune trying to grow vegetables, kill beetles, weeds and that darn nut grass.

I'm happy to report the beetles have not reappeared and the beans are delicious!

To prepare my bean pole for the soon to be climbing vines, I just take some sturdy string (I used twisted mason line) and my trusty scissors out with me.

And then go to work. I like to run the string so it is doubled through each eye screw on top and bottom. It just gives the beans a little more oomph to hang on to.

So far this year the vines have not grown inside the bird house. So that's good for the birds. :)

I was so tired of using tiny wimpy tomato cages I decided to splurge and go heavy duty. I've seen this idea around but I saw this You Tube video that made it look so easy I just had to try it. I got a few friends together that wanted to do the same thing then off I Lowe's I went and bought a roll of the concrete reinforcing wire. I then had the friends come over and with a heavy duty wire cutter (I guess we used bolt cutters) we cut 5 foot sections of the wire. It made the cost reasonable and these babies will last for many years.

 I cut mine then they sat until we came back from vacation.

You can see below how we turned the ends in so they would hook the other side of the wire to make a tube.

 These plants are towering over the top of the cage now.

 This is my poor little pepper plant I thought would not make it but now it is producing huge fruit!

And proof of growing cucumbers!

 That's the cucumber on the left.

Check back in on me. I'm sure to have tomatoes coming out my ears and maybe even a few recipes to go with them. I hope your garden is growing well. 

Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies

These are my version of the Funetti Butter Cookie you've probably seen on Pinterest. I like to call them Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies. They are the perfect size for little hands or those on a diet. Yes, I know cookies and diet do not go together. But how could you resist these little yummy balls of goodness. They were a huge hit at our 4th of July cookout. I did not use the brand of butter the recipe calls for. I used the Aldi brand of butter. And I used off brand cream cheese and powdered sugar. I did use the Funetti Cake Mix however next time I may use an off brand to see how it goes. You can find the recipe here. They are delicious.

Check back in with me. I want to share a few other ideas for treats and decorating for this summer holiday. 

Linda

Vegetables Everywhere

Vegetables are in full abundance! I have 3 types of tomato plants that are just loaded with fruit. My green bell pepper is producing peppers larger than I have ever picked. And the green beans make a meal every night. On top of all of that my friends at work have been bringing in some of their bounty. Gigantic zucchini, a white squash we don't know what it is and some tiny eggplant called Fairy something or other. Oh and I know this might be hard to believe but I am trying for the first time growing cucumber in a large pot. It is doing well. Now I am not a vegetarian. I grew up in Iowa, they love their beef there. However, tonight I dined like a vegetarian. 

I was yummy!! Now that I have fresh tomatoes I'll have at least one every day. As my garden continues to produce, I hope you'll continue to check back in. I've been working on some projects that I want to share with you.

Linda