Not So Fast ...

Hey bloggers...it's the crafty guy again. You know--the one with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Just to keep you REALLY updated, I've decided to cool my jets on the Stampin' Up career (for now anyhow). My wife (bless her heart -- love you honey!) reminded me that I have about 1,452 things going right now and adding any more might put me (or her) over the edge. And...nobody likes the 'over-the-edge' thing. So. I'm going to behave and deal with what's currently on my overflowing plate.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Mike and Mary (SU! demonstrators) for their kindness in answering so many of my questions. If YOU are looking to get involved with Stampin' Up, I highly recommend you get in touch with them. They are THE BEST and although I've only known them for a very short time, I can tell that they are wonderful people and would do just about anything to help you along in your Stampin' Up adventure. And...even if you're not looking to become a SU! consultant, check out there websites for some of the most creative card-making you'll find on the web. Truly amazing. And...make sure you check out Mary's craft space (there's a link on her blog). OMG...it's so great. A beautiful place to create. I'm jealous. :-)

So where do I go from here? Well...I'm going into purge mode. I really MUST get rid of some stuff. I don't really want to give it all away...so I'm going to try to dedicate maybe one night a week where I can list some items on eBay and try to make a buck or two. Hey: let me know if you're in the market for a cover stitch machine. I just happen to have an almost brand new one from Janome. It's only been used about fifteen (15) minutes. I bought it thinking I just HAD to have one (wrong). So...my loss will be someone's gain. If I remember correctly, I paid almost $300.00 for it. Yikes! But it's just taking up space in my craft corner...so it's time for it to find a new home. Let me know if you're interested.

Enough of the ranting already. I'll leave you with some photos (click on them for a better view) I took a few weeks ago as we were closing up the park model. I've never seen Canada Geese on the lake...but they must have decided to take a break and wow...there were tons of them on the water.

Early Autumn at the lake

More geese...and beautiful Autumn colors.

An empty campground.

Have a great day!

Just Checking In ...

Yes, I'm up a tree and wondering where to go from here! (Kidding of course, I mean I'm kidding about the 'up a tree part'). I'm always wondering where to go from here.

Riley says "hello".

As always, it's been a hectic time. Work has been extra-full of challenges. But..I'm happy to have a job. Don't get me wrong, okay?

We're off to a soccer match (Little Guy's first one of the season). And, Mr. Teenager has a band contest 2-1/2 hours away. He has to be a the high school at 10:45 this morning and (get this) won't get home until almost 1:00 A.M. on Sunday. THAT's a long day. And he (we) get to do it all over again next week. Wow!

The marching band is looking good. I got a little choked up watching them perform at last night's football game. They are good, very good. It's not the marching band that my wife and I were in when we were in high school. No no no. It's very different. But they look good and they sound good. Hope they do well when they perform for the judges tonight under the lights in Lafayette, IN.

BTW: both my boys were elected to Student Council yesterday. This is Little Guy's first year (he's pretty psyched up about it).

Have a great (safe) weekend bloggers!

First glimpse of Fall. A leaf on the shore at the lake.

P.S. In case you haven't notice, Fall is right around the corner.

Just Another Manic Monday

Hey bloggers! Welcome to another week of fun and excitement (well...I hope so anyway!)

We spent the weekend at the lake. Nice weather. Warm days, cool evenings. Perfect. I'm just having a really tough time dealing with the fact that it's August and the boys will be going back to school on the 18th. Bummer. They don't seem as bothered about it as I do. I guess that's what happens when you get older. Oh. Well.

The new sewing machine is really nice. I've not had a lot of time to test it out, but so far, so good. Very nice machine. Has a great needle-threading option (great for aging eyes), has a needle-down option (always a good thing) and also has a thread cutting function (very cool!). I'm working on a tote bag with a musical theme. It's a vintage-ish piece of fabric I got from a sweet, little old lady in Michigan. She's closing down her sewing business and is going thru the de-stash process. Bless her heart! She didn't have too much for me to choose from, but I found a few things. I'll share a photo of the bag once it's a little further along.

My wife found some wild raspberries at the lake and suggested I take the boys berry-picking. So...berry-picking we did. And the camera went along with us. Here are some shots from our little nature walk.

Until next time, have a great day!

Food, Flowers and Frivolty

Not much going on 'craft-wise', so I thought I'd share some more photos from this past weekend at the lake.

Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market and they were loaded with vendors and customers. Just the way I like it! We found lots of fresh veggies. Not too many tomatoes yet (we bought the best we could find), but plenty of summer squash, onions, zucchini, green peppers and cucumbers.

Farmer's Market Fare

We bought several and later that day Crafty Mama cooked them up on the grill. Excellent. The boys and I kept saying, "Oh my gosh..this is so good" all through mealtime. (What a great way to make Mama proud: compliment her cooking. Oh yeah!)

Chicken Kabobs, Onions and Green Peppers on the grill

Here's a big shout out to Linda (our neighbor at the lake) and her beautiful lily.

Linda's Lovely Lily

OH, and I'm am doing my part to stimulate the economy. It's been a while since I've added to my family of sewing/craft machines. So....I ordered a new combo sewing and embroidery machine from my favorite shop. Ken's Sewing Center is the best place to find great machines at great prices. Give them a call or look them up on the web. They are also on eBay. Their seller ID is "easyterms". They always have lots of great stuff for sale. Prices are low and many times they offer FREE shipping. And they have nice warranties too. Can't pass that up.

Here's the cool machine that I bought:

Brother Sewing/Embroidery Machine (Model HE-240)

Happy Hump Day. We've made it halfway through the week. Can we do it? Yes we can!

Take care!

New Floor in the Park Model

I'll bet you didn't know that Crafty Mama and I were so talented, did you? Well...when we put our minds to it, we can do just about anything. [Note to self: hire someone to strip the ugly-ass wallpaper off the bedroom walls.]

During the cold, cold winter months the park model remains unheated. And we've never had any trouble with anything. We have it professional winterized each fall and we put little containers of moth balls around (to ward off any pesky mice). But we got an really unpleasant surprise when we opened up our unit this year.

The vinyl flooring in the kitchen and entryway was split in several places. It was like someone came in and took a utility knife to it. It was sliced in pie-shaped triangles from wall to wall. Ugg!

We got an estimate on having it replaced. After picking each other off the floor (the estimate was a tad bit too much to appreciate and we both about fainted!) we decided we could/would do it ourselves. So...Crafty Mama made a few trips to Lowe's and Menard's to pick out some nice square vinyl tiles. The kind that you peel and stick. I was a bit hesitant at first...not sure if the "stick-em" kind was going to be a good idea (as opposed to vinyl that comes off a roll). But, thankfully, the project moved along faster and better that I imagined. In fact, it would have been a huge PITA* to deal with a sheet of vinyl as there's not a great deal of space to work in, and there were TONS of places that had to be notched out.

IN case you didn't know, I carry my camera with me everywhere, but do you think I had it when we opened the park model? Nope. So...I don't have any good photos to show you of the 'before' shot. However, here are a few pics to show you how it ended up. Bottom line: it's nicer than the original floor. We love it.

Thanks Honey for all your hard work! Crafty Mama makes a great partner in these handy-man/woman projects.

Before

During

More "During"



"DONE!!!"


Smooth as a baby's butt!

*Pain in the a$$

Have a good one!





P.S. Oh, yeah...almost forgot. Please make sure you sign up for the Crafty Dad mailing list. Later this week I'll be drawing a name for some great giveaway items. It's going to be FREEBIE FRIDAY in honor of my Christmas in July celebration. The sign-up form is over on the right-hand column. Go there now and then watch for a special e-mail invitation. ;-)

Wonderful Weekend!

Hey...hope you had a great weekend. We certainly did. Spent Friday and Saturday nights at the lake. Weather was a bit iffy, but pretty much okay. We're still dealing with bare floors in the kitchen of the park model. The estimate to have it replaced was enormously-large a bit more than we expected, so we're going to do it ourselves. (Oh boy!)

Son No. 2 went swimming while Crafty Mom and Dad sat in the sun and looked at magazines. Which just happens to be one of my favorite things to do. It is total relaxation for me. And the wife and I needed some of that. My wife cooked chicken over the open campfire and it was EXCELLENT. As she was tending to it, Grandma and Grandpa Cook (no relation to either of us, but two of the nicest people we've met at the lake. My kids have 'adopted' them and we call them Grandma and Grandpa) pulled into our site on their golf cart and gave us some wonderful chocolate dessert. Not sure what all was in it, but it had a yummy crust with pecans or walnuts...chocolate pudding and Cool Whip. It was g-o-o-d. Along with chicken, we had green beans, a baked potato and a very simple (I like simple) salad of Romaine lettuce hearts.

Sunday was the family celebration for Son No. 2's birthday. He turned NINE. (Holy cow, where does the time go? Famous parental question, right?) This fall we'll have a high school freshman and a fourth-grader living with us. Geez. He got lots of greenbacks which (I'm sure) he'll spend on baseball, football or basketball trading cards.

The family get-together was a hit. The weather cooperated so we spent the afternoon outside on the patio. The kids played on the swings, kicked a soccer ball around and had a great time. The grown-ups sat around and chit chatted about all the things grown-ups chit chat about. Then it was time for ice cream and cake. Son No. 2 is a big Colts fan, so the cake was white icing with blue trim and a Colts emblem on it. He loved it!

Here are few photos from the weekend:

[Click on the collage for a larger version.]

1. Rose bush that's LOADED with blooms this year.
2. A peony bush...almost all done with blooms..but still pretty enough for a photo.
3. Up close and personal: peony flower.
4. Sleepy boys on Sunday morning at the lake.
5. Crafty Mama's open-fire chicken (YUM-O).
6. Grandma Cook's chocolate dessert (also YUM-O).
7. Son No. 2 in the pool.
8. Salsa, chips and some other goodies.
9. Simple: Romaine lettuce (love that stuff).

Dreaming of a White Memorial Day

White, white and more white!

This is a mini-collage I put together last spring of the beautiful white blooms in our front yard. With such a harsh 2008-09 winter, I'm not sure what we'll see this season. We worked in the yard yesterday and while there's lots of green, I'm not sure we'll have a repeat of last year.

Speaking of weather. Can I tell you how tired I am of temps in the 30s? Yes...it's the middle of May and the night-time temperatures have been at the freezing level with lots of frost. We've been dragging in the flower pots each night to keep them safe. Just when you think it's going to stay warm, it happens again. My wife just potted up more flowers yesterday. And (yep) they spent the night in the garage.

Not sure if we'll spend Memorial Day weekend at the lake. We were greeted by a crazy sight when we opened up the park model for the season. The brutally-cold temps over the winter seemed to have wreaked havoc on the vinyl floor. [Photos to come soon.] Let me just give you this visual: the floor looks like someone stood in the middle and took a knife to it. It's cut in pie-wedge shapes from edge to edge. After just putting $800.00 out for car repairs last week, we're not real excited about replacing the floor. But...what are you going to do? My wife and keep saying: It could always be worse.

Have a great week!

Craft Time at the Lake

Painting wooden apples
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

Saturday afternoon was spent painting a bag of wooden apples I picked up the the Thrift Shop several weeks ago. The weather was cloudy and dreary...a perfect time for a creative pick-me-up. The boys helped me create some very life-like pieces of fruit. They might need a little touch up and then a spray of matte finish clear coat.

My plan is to get them finished this week and put into a basket that (I hope) will really show them off.

Stay tuned.

P.S I hope you had a crafty weekend.

Wow! What a Week it Was ...

Some of us had to work on the 5th and 6th, so with the Fourth of July being stuck in the middle of the week, it was like having two Mondays (ugg!) and two Fridays (woo hoo!). My wife was able to take some extra time off so she and the boys (and the dog) spent the entire week at the lake.

I stayed home and puttered around the yard -- cut grass, trimmed some overgrown bushes, watered flowers, and other fun stuff. I love the fact that it stays light outside until after 9:00 p.m. It gives me time to get so much done. I hate the fact that we've crossed over into the part of summer where the days have already started to get a tad bit shorter. And once we pass the 4th of July holiday, it seems that summer zooms by and the kids are back in school before you know it.

But let's not get all depressed about that, okay? We had a ton of fun this week. And here are some photos to document that fact.

The hazy sky over the Shipshewana flea market on the 4th. It looked like it could rain any minute ... but it never did. It was perfect 'walking around' and shopping weather.


Some patriotic posies at the campsite.



Flags, flip-flops and crocs. Three summertime staples.
The boys got all decked out for the golf cart parade and
"best decorated cart" contest on Saturday afternoon.


The bike decorating contestants. The kids did a great job!

Sometimes you feel like a nut.
(The walnut tree at the entrance of the campground is FULL of these beauties.)


Or...sometimes you feel like a chocolate cupcake with tons of frosting.
(Thank you Grandma Cook for the scrumptious treats!!)


Have yarn. Will travel.
Crafty Dad crocheting a cotton dishcloth during a spare moment.


The crochet tote. With the two WIPs.
Yes, the tote needs some handles. It came home with us this weekend and is in the 'to do' pile now.

Making good progress on the dishcloth.


Hershey Girl keeping cool in the park model. It hit 96 degrees on Sunday. A scorcher for sure!

I hope you had a great holiday week!

We're busy getting ready for the road trip to the East Coast. Blog posts may be few and far between (and what is different about that?) LOL!

Crafty Dad's Family in the New York Times!

[Park Model - 2006 Season]

Oh the power of the Web. It's true: blog posts get noticed.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from a New York Times reporter. At first, I was skeptical. But....I got brave and responded. She said she was doing a piece on park models and found one of my blog posts and, yada, yada, yada.

So...a phone interview, several e-mails, and a photo shoot later, and my family appears in the online and print version of the June 14 edition of the Times.

Wow. Go figure.

Check it out. Here's the link.



A big "thank you" to Kate Murphy for allowing my family to have our 15 minutes of fame! It was fun.



UPDATE: The link was only 'live' for a few days. Unless you want to pay for the article, you'll just have to trust me: we really were freatured in the Times. :-)

Leaving on a jet plane ...

Jet at the Museum of Science and Industry
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

... no, actually we're driving. To the lake for a three day weekend. And with the mad rush of end-of-school-year activities, my wife and I need some 'down time'. I mean it's all been good: the boys got awards at school and that's ALWAYS a good thing. Then there was the band concert (Son No. 1 plays a mean alto sax.) And the field trips. Our oldest was just in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry. (See photo above.) And, just today, my wife accompanied our first-grader to the Ft. Wayne Zoo. So..it's been a busy, busy time.

My oldest 'graduated' from elementary school this year. It's off to the big middle-school next fall. Yikes! That's a transition for all of us. (Perhaps more for my wife and I than him....we'll see about that.) He was honored last night with a President's Circle Award for academics. The boy is bright, I'm telling you. (He takes after his mother, you know.) Books? Oh, heck -- he devours them. And that's a very good thing. (On that subject he takes after his dad.).

So...it's off to the lake for some good ol' R & R. Here's hoping the sun shines for at least most of the weekend.

Have a very good weekend, peeps! See you next week.


P.S. I don't want to forget our 'little guy'. Our six year old is a smart little cookie too. He has been recognized a few times this year as well. And that boy....oh, he's a charmer...so watch out girls.

Another Member of our Family

Let me introduce you to Hershey. She's one of the four-legged members of our family. Umm, yeah, we also have two rabbits. She's a super-sweet (no pun intended) Chocolate Lab . We love her dearly and she loves us back -- big time.

Here's a picture of her on the deck at the camper. She looks tuckered out, don't you think? Must be all that fresh air My six-year-old shutterbug took this one. Good job dude!

[Hershey at the Lake - Mother's Day Weekend, 2007]

She loves to go camping with us. She nervously paces the floor as we pack the van for the trek to the lake. She is so afraid she'll get left behind. When we reach for her leash, that tail wags so hard you better watch out! She knows exactly what's next: the door opens, she prances out to the back of the van and 'ummmph', she jumps in and sits right down. Let the road trip begin!

Real Simple

More pictures from Mother's Day (using the new camera).

Here's a shot of the deck in front of the park model at the campground/lake. The hostas are really doing well. I love to see their perfectly-shaped, variegated leaves (before the bugs start gnawing on them). The boys have outgrown the little picnic table, but my wife and I can't part with it. We've been hauling it out each spring for many years and summer just wouldn't be summer without it.

With all of the colors in the kitchen sink, I had to take a quick shot. I love the new camera!


Here's another. The sectional plates were a find at WalMart. At 98 cents each, they were a no brainer. And since we couldn't decide on blue, green, yellow or coral...we bought one of each.

[Click on the image above to see the droplets of water. I really, really like the new camera!]

A close-up shot of the hosta.

And, one more!

Yep, sometimes it's the simple things.