Pink and Brown Lunch Tote by Sarah

I bought this cute pink and brown lunch bag at my family's fifth annual fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Sarah made it and donated it for the silent auction. We have a huge silent auction with tons of cool handmade or put together baskets.
Look at the cute sandwich container and the spots for the spoon and fork...and the checked napkin too! Very nice...I won't tell you how much I paid for it (let me just say someone else really wanted it as well!) but it is certainly a good cause!

We do it for the kids!

About this time every year my family participates in a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)...my sister Jenny's two boys Gabe and Beau have duchenne muscular dystrophy. The MDA does a lot for the kids and of course they are working on a cure for this ugly disease. This year our efforts were joined again by several other families whose lives have been touched by muscular dystrophy.

This is Ally and she is 3. She has the most beautiful eyes and she is from McLeansboro, IL.
She is one of the rare girls with duchenne muscular dystrophy.

This is Gabe, he also has duchenne muscular dystrophy, he is 6 and is from Galatia, IL.

Lori and Jennifer are some of the MDA staff who help us reach our goals! This is Beau....he is Gabe's big brother and also has duchenne muscular dystrophy. He is 9 years old and just got a scooter, so he is showing it off. It had rained a lot lately in Galatia where the fundraiser was, so Beau got stuck in the mud and needed a push!

This is Matthew and he has the best smile!! He has DMD also (I think) and he is 7 and from Harrisburg, IL. He is an accomplished scooter rider and didn't get stuck in the mud (at least not that I saw!).

This little man is Austin, whose first birthday was Saturday. He was all bundled up against the 40 degree temperature and is shown here with his mom. They live in Anna, IL.

Austin has a congenital form of muscular dystrophy.

This is Beau and Gabe's big sister Haley. She is a great big sis to the guys!
The kids and families affected by all forms of muscular dystrophies go through so much and have to face so many obstacles in every day tasks that we take for granted. The more money we can raise for the MDA the better. Check out the MDA website to see the services they provide to the kids and families (www.mda.org).

My sister Susan and her son Harrison
Sarah holding up one of our T Shirts for the walk. We didn't see too much of them this year because everyone had so many layers on over the shirts!

My son Sam and my niece's husband Josh

My dad selling quilt raffle tickets. My mom always makes a quilt to raffle and usually brings in close to $1000 in ticket sales.

A monarch landed on me while I was taking photos...
My nieces Laney, Liz and Ruth trying to keep warm.

Laney always steals the show!

The really cool thing about this fundraiser is all family members get involved in one way or another. This is my brother Cullen and my brother-in-law Fred and a friend of theirs.

The end...Laney and her daddy Josh

Mosaic Madness

I have always enjoyed making mosaic projects, especially flower pots...I have never taken a mosaic class, but just jumped in one day and and gave it a shot. I have learned a lot since then, but here are the basics. I use an adhesive grout and just apply the grout to the pots. I cover a small area first, being careful to evenly spread the grout. I use a plastic fork or spoon for spreading, or sometimes I use my fingers (wear gloves!). The depth of the grout depends on what kind of glass tiles or pieces you are using.

Then I just start laying down rows of tiles. These glass tiles came from Hobby Lobby and they were especially inexpensive but they are very thick so I used a thicker layer of grout.

These tiles are for flooring or back splashes and came from a home improvement store. They are very thin so I used a thinner layer of grout.

These tiles made beautiful pots in lovely neutrals with a hint of metallic sparkle in the glass tiles.

I also have used ceramic tiles and they make great pots too!

And I have used fancy glass tiles and they have their merits as well.

On the far right is a mosaic pot made from an old cracked dinner plate. This pot is probably 4-5 years old, so it has some discoloration at the bottom from water.

This is a clay jar that I found and covered with the thick glass tiles for a wine bottle cooler.

Here are a few tips: Once the tiles are arranged as you want them, allow the pot to dry for maybe 3-4 hours. Then you will want to wipe the haziness off the tiles so they are easier to clean up. Regular grout will not allow you to do this after it is dried, but the adhesive grout will. Allow it to dry for 2-3 days, then you might need to fill in the cracks with more grout. I use a moist sponge and smooth more adhesive grout into the cracks and crevices. Allow it to dry for 2-3 days. Then use a sandpaper block to clean off the rough parts of the dried grout or you can scrub it with a brush and warm water to remove loose bits. I sometimes use a knife to scrape larger chunks of grout off of the pot.

I let the mosaic'ed items sit for a few weeks and coat them inside and out with a clear spray paint (the Wal Mart brand works fine) to keep the moisture out.

I made this tray for the top of my toilet tank from a thrift shop wooden tray ($1) and flattened marbles. It adds a lot of color to the bathroom!

Touring the Amish Stores With Bonnie and Dorothy

Would you go anywhere with these two ladies?? Well, I do all the time and they are harmless even though the pictures might, well, indicate otherwise. That's Dorothy above and Bonnie below.
Here we are in Weavers Country Market in Versailles ( http://weaverscountrymarket.com/cart/index.php ). This store is chock full of all sorts of meal makins! I found stuff I didn't even know existed and it is packaged in bags--no boxes (except the one they load up at the end with all you buy). You can pretty much buy what you want there.

Noodles, utensils, cookware, enamel spatter ware and

lots of baking items like chocolate chips,

oats,

coffee and cream almonds,

and of course hot wasabi green peas (never heard of them before)!

I just love the shelves and shelves full of all sorts of dry goods

and these cute wooden striped scoops, how cute are they?

I have a thing for cobalt blue enamel ware and they do have it there at Weavers. Right now I am eating some potato soup from Weavers (I made it from this handy little mix I got there) out of an enamel ware soup cup from Weavers.

Mixes of all kinds abound--soups, cookies, brownies, gingerbread, cornbread.

Flavored gelatin looks pretty on the shelf and comes in many flavors. And I thought it wasn't jello if it wasn't in the little box!

I've got lots of noodles, wheat germ, crystallized ginger (great tasting and good for your digestion!), chicken rub, and all sorts of scrumptious soup mixes in my cart. By the way, I did not get the hot wasabi peas!After all this we went to a local bakery for apple dumplings, fresh bread and some banana bread! Mmmmm!

Thrift Store Finds

There is this pumpkin....kinda looks like something Tim Burton created. We found him at the Goodwill store for $1. He called to us and we took him home.

Today I found this beautiful rose picture for $3. I plan to paint the frame black and use it in my bedroom.

A tiny little framed scherenscnitte Mom poem for $1...

and a beautiful metal and wicker basket for 50 cents...the Mom picture fits perfectly inside it and will be a nice little birthday present for my mom in a few weeks.

This cool oval mirror that my sis pointed out to me at the Goodwill and which I thought might look nice on my bedroom wall (after I paint it satin black of course)...

And a total of ten wool sweaters which I plan to wash and wash and wash until they would fit a toddler....then I plan to do several craft projects with the felted wool....

And here is Mr. Personality again wishing you good bye!