Friday, October 30, 2009

Sweeeet Giveaway

Hey Pink Tractor Friends ----

Just wanted to let you know about a sweeeeet giveaway over at a
beautiful fellow blogger's place....Prairie Flower Farm Blog.

Get over there by clicking on the cute "button" over right above
my "Blogs I Frequent" section. Comment on her blog and tell her
Gwynie Pie at The Pink Tractor sent you.

Fun stuff !

Gwynie Pie

JIGS

Isn't he cute, dressed warm in his little hoodie?

Jigsy boy got here last night, full of energy and ready to party!!! It's gonna be a great weekend.

Our 6th annual Woodchopper's Ball will be held on Saturday.

"Friends, Fun, Firewood"

We should have t-shirts and caps made for the event.


More about the Ball next week -- I'll try to remember to take a few pictures too.

ALSO -- we here in Texas get to "fall back" this weekend and we get back that hour they took from us in the spring. I know it's just messing with my mind but I promise I will feel sooooo much better.


Have a great weekend everyone!


Gwynie Pie
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

THIS made me LOL

Saturday the Aggies of Texas A&M played
Texas Tech University --
in some circles this is a rivalry of grandest proportions...
as evidenced by this ---------When William came home from work yesterday and told me about this
funny sight, I got him to literally run to take a picture.
The gin was running and we knew it would be gone
quickly -- disappearing inside the gin
and coming out on the other end in little bales of cotton.
Soooo, he had to move fast !
THIS is our kind of Autumn pictures, I guess.
No beautiful red and golden leaves here.
No lovely landscape turning colors.
For us -- a cotton module sitting on the gin yard
sporting a "Gig 'Em" for everyone to "enjoy"....
That's our idea of a great Autumn picture.
And if you are an Aggie family,
as we are --
Then it's also your idea of a real fun time !!!!!
Gwynie Pie




Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I managed to spend yesterday with limited technological intrusion. In other words, I checked Facebook and e-mail less often and didn't turn on the tv. I didn't even get many phone calls.

I spent some quality time and quantity time yesterday just being quiet. Being still. Being thoughtful. Being thankful.

It was a great day !

Of course when I take the time to "be still" and listen....I hear. And not everything that I hear is easy to take. But ---- everything I hear is necessary for growing me into the person the LORD desires me to become.

Sometimes, I think ---- I have sooooo far to go to "get there". Then other times, I look back to who I used to be and realize just how good God is. And just how much He loves. And just how much He delights in me. In you too.

Growing up just isn't easy.

Gwynie Pie
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Ahhhh -- the quiet

I spent all day yesterday being a helpmeet.
Isn't that a sweet, old-fashioned word?
I really love it when I get the chance to help my husband
do something he really needs help doing.
He is a very competent man -- not "needy",
so sometimes it's tough finding something I can do
that will benefit him.
But -- today he and his co-workers will be having
a planning retreat and he is in charge of the food.
Ah ha!
That's an area where I can definitely help....
We decided on a sandwich smorgasborg,
made the list, and
I then ran around all day yesterday
gathering up all the ingredients for
the meal today,
assembling trays of goodies,
and baking the desserts.
Much satisfaction comes from accomplishing a task
with excellence.
Not perfection, just a job well done.
And early this morning
after we ran around loading everything,
"don't forget the croissants, they're on the dining table".
After my final instructions on assembling the
strawberry shortcut cake
After checking and double-checking
--- as William drove off with the car laden down with
all manner of tasty treats,
I realize how very much I am longing for the quiet.
And with the quiet -- the voice of God.
So, after several days of noisey and busy,
I'm just going to be quiet and still today
and
listen..........




Saturday, October 17, 2009

Gorgeous New York Leaves


Colin and Ronnie returned Wednesday from their week and a half long trip to see her family in North Carolina and New York state.

They brought us back a big ziploc of THE most brilliant, breathtakingly beautiful leaves that they gathered.

Their trip included going to Ronnie's hometown, which is in the Adirondack area of New York and a trip over to Vermont for apple picking and sightseeing. They had a great time.

I just wanted to share the leaves with those of you who, like myself, don't see the trees actually turn colors. Here --- they just get cold one night and turn loose.

:)
Gwynie Pie


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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Colors of Autumn

I just love the colors of Autumn !

The cute little pumpkin "leaves" are
actually the cut-out pieces from the
pumpkin topiary I made a few posts
ago.

They work well as placecards, but I
really love them just kind of thrown
into the Fall mix.

And the sweet Autumn banner is a
"happy" (a little gift for no reason at all)
given me by friend Elaine.

Check out her blog Grace-Works.

Good Tuesday to you all --- Gwynie Pie
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Cute Coffee Bar


I saw the cutest coffee bar on someone's
blog the other day and decided
that with all the entertaining we
will do during the next three months,
it would be an excellent idea for us.
We have groups of 20 - 40 at a time,
and we really need the room to move
about the serving areas.
Separating the coffee area from the food area
would free up a lot of space.
Soooo, after giving our furniture a lot
of thought, I decided what I thought
would work, presented the idea
to William and he
enthusiastically (really)
spent most of Saturday helping put
it all in place.
Six pieces of furniture had to be unloaded
and moved, drawers taken out to lighten the load.
Then, cleaning under and behind
everything. We ended up cleaning
some windows and the shutters
AND the baseboards.....quite the project.
BUT ---
we both love the payoff!
In the kitchen area, we put the
"bar" at one end of
the room, where the gigantic
old store counter was.
It is now in the dining area, buffet that was there is now in the guest bedroom
and so on......
We are enjoying it.
And we are looking forward
to the first fun event
in a couple of weeks.
Doesn't everybody rearrange
furniture by the "season"?
Gwynie Pie
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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Dinner's On......

Cool and overcast days like today..........really put me in the mood to cook.

Buttermilk pies. Cranberry cheese bread. A spicy tortilla soup. Or some fluffy fragrant biscuits.

I'm sure inquiring minds want to know-------- yes, she had been freshly bathed and came out of
the bathroom to find someone cooking without her. Couldn't be bothered with putting on clothes first.....

Creating all these delightful delights would be ever so much more fun if only I had my Lily Kate here to help.

Since she was big enough to sit in her high chair, she has been cooking. Her mama loves creating with food. And she
has passed that love on to her daughter. Dana would put the high chair in the middle of their very small kitchen and
she and Lily Kate would fix dinner for Daddy.

When Lily Kate comes to Pops and Pies house, we almost always cook something yummy.

And honestly, she would rather cook than watch Little Einsteins.

Bon Appetite !!!

Gwynie Pie
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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Pumpkin Topiary

Finished pumpkin topiary Tracing the leaf pattern (or any pattern you might want)
onto the pumpkin



The line-up of the supplies you will need for this project ----

I love to blog browse. I have found some of THE most fantastic, creative ideas out there.

AND the best part, of course, is that these ideas come from THE most fantastic, creative people !!


I wanted to show you the "how-to" for making
the super cute pumpkin topiary

BUT


a very fun blog
and see where I got this fantastic idea.
You'll love visiting with Jane at

Jane has a ton of great ideas, recipes to die for, fun Fall decorating ideas,
good stuff....
A very creative lady who enjoys frugal fine living !
Gwynie Pie











Monday, October 5, 2009

"Fancy" Chandelier

We needed a "fancy" drippy chandelier to hang in the big backyard tree for Lily Kate's birthday party a couple weekends ago.

Sooooo- I set out to make one. I remembered an old black iron candle-lier that had been put away in the barn. So, I dug that out and
spray painted it Heritage White, a can of paint I already had in my paint stash.
Next, I hot glued 3 strands of crystally Christmas garland. This part was amazingly easy. The only hard part was making sure each "drip" was equal. I bought these garlands at Hobby Lobby 1/2 price, spending a total of $3.00.
Then, I looked at small canning jars, Dollar Tree glasses and teacups to glue on each arm and hold a candle. However, teacups would cost too much. And I couldn't stand to ruin a teacup like that anyway.

My friend Elaine came to the rescue with 5 mis-matched clear punch cups. And my daughter, Dana had 5 sweet old china saucers without any cups. Soooo

the saucers glued upside down onto the arms and the punch cups glued onto the bottom side of the saucers.

I found a box of vanilla scented tealights on sale at Target and voila !!!

Fancy, Drippy, Crystally Birthday Chandelier !!!!

And I love it so much hanging in my living room.
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Saturday was a fun day for thrift store shopping. Here are just a few of my acquisitions --
I saw an ad for 50 burlap coffee bags for $15.00. We have a large coffee distributor in our hometown and they have an abundance of
burlap bags. Problem is --- they stink!!! I had all sorts of plans for these bags -- framed out in old wood. Made into cute "green" grocery totes. Pillows. Seat covers. I was thinking of tons of cute things to do with these bags. If only they didn't have that funky smell.....

So my husband hung them out on our fence. We figured some fresh air and sunshine would perk them up over time. We didn't even dream we would have rainy days to give the bags a good washing. Now -- they are smelling much better and I'm about to bring them in and start transforming them into something fun.

My grandmother had a wonderful collection of state plates, which I now have. I just never could think of anything cute to do with them and have tried more than a few times to sell them without any luck. I finally just decided to grow the collection, so I'm always on the look-out for a state I don't have yet.

I found these 3 plates - Missouri, Arkansas and California -- at a local thrift shop on Saturday at their half-price sale. I have a "rule" that I don't pay more than $7 for a plate. That makes the hunt a lot more challenging. Well, these three plates cost me a whopping 50 cents each !!! Gotta love that!

And this cute little sugar bowl was a bargain at $4. "Azucar" bowl. I couldn't pass it up.
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