Busy Weekend

Oh, it's definitely the Holiday season. In addition to the obvious (Christmas songs playing on the radio and all the decorations in the mall) it's the rush-rush-rush of our schedule that tells me the big day is not too far away.

Friday night was the middle-school play. Son No. 1 had the lead role in Who Poisoned His Meatball? It was a hoot! The audience was laughing the entire time (oh, and it WAS a comedy by the way). The kids did a fantastic job. Crafty Mom and I were especially proud of the young man who had the role of Luigi.

Middle School Play - "Who Poisoned His Meatball?"

Take a bow! You did a fantastic job kiddo!

Saturday Son No. 1 spent the entire day at a rehearsal for Honor's Band. He was selected as a top musician from his school to join 17 other area schools for a concert on Sunday afternoon. It was phenomenal. Those kids played their hearts out and played music that was at a skill level that .... I don't know. My wife and I were in high school band back in the late 70's and we never played music like that. They did a great job and received a standing ovation.

T.G.I.S.

Yes. Thank goodness it's Saturday!

Crafty Mom and I are getting ready to head out to Kohl's and Michael's then later we'll be taking a van-load of 'stuff' to Goodwill. It's such a good feeling to de-clutter a space. Last night we spent a good amount of time in the cedar closet and sorted through old clothes and other miscellaneous items. Geez, it's amazing how much 'stuff' we've accumulated.

Hope you have a great day.

Do something crafty. With the Holidays just around the corner, there's no better time to get the creative juices flowing and to c-r-e-a-t-e.

Something fall-ish from the Crafty Dad photo gallery:

Take care,

Chicken Soup for the Sewing People

I love it when a plan comes together.

It seems almost zen-like when you are so "into" a project. Like the one above. There are so many steps to the process. And when you're done (and ... assuming you got the results you expected) there's a sense of elation, accomplishment, a 'whew that went well' moment.

This pair of slacks turned out nice too:



Do you experience that with your projects?

Happy Veteran's Day

I am THANKFUL for my freedom.

From all of us at the Crafty Dad household: A big 'thank you' to all the members of the armed forces (past and present) for keeping this the land of free and the home of the brave.

Hungry? Dinner is Served

It's a pasta casserole that Crafty Mom put together.  Yumilicious!  That's the best word to describe it.

Thanks honey!

My good friend:



This little baby was VERY busy a couple of weekends ago. And it's going to become busy again. I have some Christmas gift ideas for some special people on my list.

Oh...and did I tell you? I've added another machine to my inventory of "tools"? Yes indeed. I bought myself an early Christmas present. You can see it here.

And, although it's not a super-duper-commercial-grade machine, it works a lot like this one:



Am I a crazy, crafty maniac? I think I am!

But hey, there are lots more pants that need shortened, so this blindstitcher (some people call them blindhemmers) will be a big help.

Wow! An Actual CRAFT Project

Yesterday was Hannah's 11th birthday party.

My latest craft project.
The Cricut and I had fun with this one!

Some scrapbook paper, cardstock, a few white buttons

and a little bit of pink thread turned into a fun project

And...(I didn't tell you, but last month, on the 22nd, was MY birthday) I used my new toy (cough, cough, I mean TOOL) to help me create a birthday card. Yep, I bought a Cricut and I LOVE it. What a fantastic little machine.

Hannah is a big, big fan on Hannah Montana and she was ECSTATIC when she tore the gift wrap off the Hanna Montana Back Stage Pass book from Disney. Wow...that girl was jumping up and down on the sofa like a kangaroo. She devoured every page.

Inside the book was a door hanger. I told my oldest son that I should have one like that for my cubicle at work. He rolled his eyes (he's 13, so that happens frequently these days) but he did assist me in the photo op. What do you think?






And a very yummy chocolate cake too:

Hannah's mom cut out a paper plate and decorated the top. Pretty nifty, huh?

I was good: only one piece of cake and one scoop of ice cream.

Hope you had a good weekend!

Kitchen Poetry :: 5

Wrapping up the week, I took these shots last night at the dinner table.

Hope you enjoy. This has been a fun little project. Thanks to Toni for the inspiration.

Going fast!

Ready for dinner

Pizza bread-- fresh out of the oven

Kitchen table runner and pumpkin

Have a great weekend, bloggers!

Kitchen Poetry :: 4

The photo journal project continues with these:

Summer time produce. Nothing better.

Simple summer salad. Yum, yum, yum!

Clean. Soap and a sponge.

Enjoy your day!

Kitchen Poetry :: 3

Hey bloggers! Not much time to post today, but wanted to share these recent photos with you.

Join Simple Sparrow's Kitchen Poetry photo week here.











Have a great day!

Kitchen Poetry :: 2

Like most of you, our kitchen is the room where we spend most of our time. Not only do we use the kitchen for meal preparation, but we use it for doing homework, hanging out with the boys, eating our meals, etc. My wife uses the kitchen as her 'home base' when she telecommutes. The kitchen table makes a great work surface for all her paperwork.

And...sometimes the kitchen is converted into a craft/creative space (as evidenced below). Most of the time we use the table, but sometimes the floor is the best place to camp out.

Here's my Little Guy having some creative time with his clone trooper book, sketch pad and crayons. I'm lovin' it!

What's going on in your kitchen today?

Kitchen Poetry :: 1

I've joined Toni in her "Kitchen Poetry" photo journal and have this to share with you.

A new recipe (I made it up) and a new (vintage) casserole dish from the thrift shop. It was easy and the presentation wasn't too bad either. My family loved it.

Visit Toni's blog and join the fun.

Weekend Update

Hey bloggers! Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend.

I spent a few hours at the office on Saturday and then made a trip to Michael's and spent almost $50.00 on card-making supplies. They had paper on sale and rubber stamps were 40% off, and I found some great bargains in the clearance bin too.

Saturday afternoon was spent cleaning up leaves in the yard. They are very late coming down this year. But..the wife and I took care of those that were on the ground and we also chopped off the sea grass for the winter. Wow...that stuff was tall and the blades of grass are really sharp too.

Sunday morning was church then brunch at the Elk's. Yum-yum! They had a great selection of food. Then...it was time to tackle a job that's been on my list for quite some time.

The pile of "to-be-shortened" pants has been growing since we did some back-to-school shopping back in late summer. And...my wife and I have found some great bargains on slacks recently too. Unfortunatlely, our family is somewhat vertically challenged (read: short).

Since I have the skills and the tools (boy, do I have the tools!) to get the job done, it's my responsibility to mark, cut, press, sew and press again. So...that's what I did yesterday for a few yours. Wow! How nice it is to have that task checked off on my to-do list.

Here's what I was up against:

Eight pairs of pants and a button to replace on Son No. 1's shorts.

After a few hours (with a few short breaks), here's what happened:

Wow! A pants-shortening marathon. And everyone is a winner!

The little bunny on the pillow is from a pattern

I bought many months ago from Hillary over at Wee Wonderfuls.

BTW: I'm planning to put together a little "pants shortening tutorial". I'm sure you all have your own way of doing it, but I found a couple time saving tricks that work well and I thought it would be nice to share it with you. I took tons of step-by-step photos as I was working yesterday, so I think I'm ready to roll. Stay tuned.

Saturday Sunrise

Sunrise on the way to work 11-1-08
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

This was the view I had as I exited the Toll Road this morning on my way to work. Yeah, working on Saturday. It's not so bad! I'm VERY thankful that I have a great job and that I get to work with some really cool people.

Speaking of "thankful", Thanksgiving is on the way, bloggers. So make sure you can find your roasting pans and the turkey baster!

Have a great weekend.

P.S. I'm headed to Michael's after work today -- scrapbook paper is 4 for $1.00! Sale ends today. I recently bought "The Enveloper" and I'm going to try it out this weekend.

Buried in the Corn Box

Corn Box - Autumn 2008
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

A few weekends ago, we visited A-Mazing Acres to get our pumpkins.

And...to bury the Little Guy in corn kernels. Both seem to be traditions. And traditions can be very good.

Creative Yard Ornamentation

This is not a very good photo. But I wanted to share it with you so I took it with my camera phone the other day as I was driving back to the office from lunch.

This yard is decorated like this each year. And every year I promise myself I'll remember my camera and get a good shot before the wind and rain take its toll.

I hope your week is going well. There was snow on the ground here this morning. Bummer.

Busy Times

Greetings!

First, two of my favorite photos to share with you:

Toledo Zoo - Summer Vacation 2008

Toledo Zoo - Summer Vacation 2008

I guess it's always 'busy' time isn't it? Seem there are so many things to do...and you often wonder how you're going to get them all done. But, somehow, all (or most) of them get done. Thank God for that!

We've made two visits to the funeral home this week. My Little Guy's teacher is Mrs. H. And Mrs' H's mom passed away this week.

Then...last night, it was another visit. I work with Dean and his father passed away. His dad was diagnosed with cancer on Labor Day weekend. And he died last week. Wow...

Today it's a trip to the lake to close up the park model and then, later today, Little Guy has his bonfire at school. We're not going to stay too late. My wife heads off to Cleveland Clinic tomorrow. Her headaches and severe pain in the side of her face and head are still causing her a great deal of discomfort and stress. I pray that the folks at CC can help her out. We'd appreciate your prayers too!

Hope you have a great weekend.

God bless,

Happy Friday!

Woo Hoo! It's Friday. And I'm lovin' it.

Last weekend was the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. It's called A-Mazing Acres because.....it is amazing and it has a corn maze and....it is several acres in size. Makes sense, right?

More photos soon.

Have a great day.

A Really Great Blogsite

Whoa! Thanks to a link on Harbor Hon's site, I've discovered Organized Doodles by artist Rick Green. He has some great drawings and caricatures that await your viewing. And..get this...he allows some of his doodles to be shared. How cool is that?

So...don't wait, click on over and check out his site. Great blog posts accompany his doodles.

It's a pleasure to meet you Rick!

Have a great day,
Mike


P.S. Do you see the huge 'connectivity power' in the blog community? Wow. It is wonderful.

Soccer Star

Ready for another match.

The team members received their medals after the game.
Excited? Happy? Proud? You betcha!

Saturday's To Do List

Crisp. Fall. Morning.

Let's see:

• Little Guy's soccer match
• Lunch perhaps?
• School projects (both for Son No. 1 and the Little Guy)
• Hem some pants (daytime high temps are NOT what they used to be)
• Start making the coaster sets I cut out several weeks ago
  
• Relax (if possible)
• Church at 5:30
• Finish up what doesn't get done during the day
• Get some photos uploaded to Flickr so I can share them with you
  
• Whew!

Update:

• My little guy's team won the soccer match (1-0) It was an awesome game. All the kids (from both teams) did a great job and had a good time, which is a very important part of the whole 'game' thing in my opinion.
  
• Lunch: Hacienda Mexican Restaurant (I ate way too many tortilla chips)
• Hemming pants: so far five pairs (with the help of my wife --thank you Honey!)
• Now...it's off to Barnes & Noble and church.

Time Flies When ...

1. you're having fun;
2. you're working too hard; and/or
3. you look at the last blog post you wrote and go "oh my gosh!"

So..how have you been? It has been a long time, hasn't it?

Summer is over (yes, I know...I need to come up with a new autumnal blog banner). The kids are back in school. Both boys are doing very well.

My little guy is in soccer and having a great time. He's tall for his age, and that's a good thing when it comes to soccer.

Work (the day job) continues to be challenging and stressful. Don't get me wrong: I'm VERY happy and thankful to have a job. It's just been extra demanding lately.

I hope things are going well for you.

P.S. I hope to post more often....I miss the blog experience...and I miss all you guys too!

Still Here

Yep, I'm still here. Just been a tad bit busy lately with the day-job.

The boys are getting ready to go back to school. Damn, where did summer go? Their first day is Wednesday. And they are anxious to go back. That makes Mom and Dad happy.

I'll try to squeeze in a little better post soon. But...please know that I'm still here.

Did you miss me?

:-)

What? An Award? Who, me?

I was surprised and honored to receive an award the other day from KJ over at the eye-dyllic blog. KJ has a really great site, so you will certainly want to check it out!

The award is called the Brillante Weblog Award. It's given in recognition for blogs that stand out for one or more reasons


The rules for receiving this award are as follows:

1. Post the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who nominated you
3. Nominate seven (7) other people for this award and add links to their blogs
4. Leave a message for the people you've nominated

Here are the blogs that I am nominating:

Harbor Hon - Carolyn is a dear blogger-buddy of mine and while her blog is fairly new, she is doing a FANTASTIC job. Her writing style, content and photos are top-notch!
Micah's Reality Tour - This guy is a hoot. His humor and photos make me laugh. And...he's a knitter. And that is TOO cool.
Knits with Balls - Jason cranks out the pointy-stick-projects and shares his comments with the world. Great blog dude!
Cabin Cove - Dave has a first-rate site and a HUGE following. He has helped me on several occasions. He also spins and dyes his own yarn and sells it. Go see!
Rusty Bobbin - Beth's site is one of the first blog-sites I visited back in the day. I think she may be the one who inspired me to start mine. Check out her site - she sews up a storm and offers all kinds of helpful hints.
JC Handmade - Mother of twin girls, Jennifer cranks out all kinds of handmade things while spending quality time with her kiddos. A must-see blog site for all kinds of inspiration.
Everyday Beautiful - Jody is a new mom and has a great blog. She has all kinds of fabric, fun and photos to brighten your day. Go take a look.

Congratulations to the nominees. Thanks for making the blogosphere a better place!

Strawberry Jam Forever

Alicia inspired me to make strawberry freezer jam. My mother-in-law used to make it and I remember how much I liked it so, I thought I'd give it a try.

After my trip to the grocery store to get strawberries (on sale for $9.99 for TWELVE pints), a five pound bag of sugar, two boxes of Sure-Jell pectin, and some new plastic containers, I set out on my adventure.

My first thought was: what in the hell am I going to do with TWELVE pints of strawberries? But...then I collected my senses and moved ahead.

One of the twelve pints of berries.

The recipe is simple to follow. But...may I suggest that you use a large mixing bowl [larger than you think you might need, okay]. Because I doubled the recipe that Alicia pointed me to and, lets just say the bowl was VERY full of berries and sugar and pectin syrup when I was done.

Fourteen cups of strawberry freezer jam.

The jam has to "sit" for twenty-four hours. Then it's ready to be refrigerated, frozen or ... eaten. I will be doing some of each. Guess what I'll be having for breakfast tomorrow? Yep: toast with strawberry jam. Yum.

Oh, and the rest of the berries? They are being used as (1) toppings for ice cream, (2) quartered and put in a bowl with lots of sugar on top. [And will later be put on top of short-cakes or biscuits.] And (3) some are just being washed and eaten, sort of like this:

Fresh berries and whipped cream.

UPDATE: Here's the link for the Strawberry Freezer Jam recipe from Kraft Foods.

More Vacation Stories

The first night of our vacation, we spent the day at the Toledo Zoo and spent the night at the Hampton Inn at Toledo/Maumee, Ohio. It's a nice motel with an indoor pool (a requirement if you have kids that LOVE to swim as much as our boys do.) We've stayed at this motel on other trips and I highly recommend it. Their free continental breakfast is a tasty perk.

Hampton (owned by Hilton) has done a great job on their signage.
This is the room we stayed in.

My water-bug boys. As much as they are in (under) the water, you'd think they would grow fins and be able to breathe under the water.

Day Two of our vacation was spent on Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. It's a popular summer spot located on Lake Erie. We rented a golf cart and went all over the place. The Chicken Patio is a great place for lunch. It's our traditional eating spot and this year was no exception. Wine-basted chicken cooked on a grill is the best.

Perry's Victory and International (US and Canada) Peace Memorial on Put-In-Bay Island.

Just an image