Primitive Halloween Crow Witch Dolls!

No babysitting today so I got these two dolls finished! They are made using a pattern from Kim Kohler of Veena's Mercantile. I have one listed in my etsy shop and the other will shortly be listed on my website. Aren't they fabulous!!!

Hummingbirds Galore!

This video was one of the winners in the Birds & Blooms' Backyard Video Contest. It would be so cool to see that many hummers at once!!

New Folk Art Pumpkin Guys

So I have decided I need to pay more attention to my website since I have an website ad in the Country Sampler magazines new issue. I have mostly patterns there now. These whimsical pumpkins are for sale on my website right now! Rock River Stitches

Currently working on more Halloween things and will post them here for you to see!

Another Primitive Prairie Doll

Finshed up this sweet little prairie doll and have her listed in my etsy shop. I love the way she turned out. I made one for my granddaughter too, but had to make her unstained by request by my daughter. She don't care for the stained look.



What a beautiful weekend we had! Couldn't have asked for better weather. I would say it was perfect! Sunny and 80º! In a couple of days I think the first of my tomatoes will be ready to pick! It will be awhile before my cucumbers will be ready. They aren't growing very fast. They are about the size of pickles right now. And I have one red bell pepper plant with just one huge pepper on it. Is that normal for a pepper plant to just have one?? I've never grown them before.

Primitive Pioneer Prairie Doll

It was a perfect day to sew. It rained all day. So I finished this sweet little doll today and she is listed in my etsy shop. She is made with a pattern by Maureen from Sweet Meadows Farm. She has some of the best doll patterns around.

Cora's 1st Birthday Party

Oh my gosh I've been so busy the last 3 days, haven't had time to do any sewing at all! Friday was my mom's birthday. All of the family went out to dinner to celebrate. It was a really good time! Then Saturday was busy getting ready for Cora's birthday party and had a wedding shower to go to also. Then Sunday was the big party day for Cora! We had it at my house because my daugther and son in law's place is very small. The weather was perfect, but a little cool for July! My daughter made Cora's birthday cake all out of fruit. They like to eat everything organic. I can hardly believe Cora will be 1 year old on Friday the 24th! Now that all the celebrating is over, I can get back to work on some new projects!!

Primitive Halloween Scary Black Cat Pumpkin

Here's something new for this week! Haven't gotten much done this past week as I've been doing more babysitting then usual since my daughter was sick this week with the flu. I have the pattern for it listed on Pattern Mart and my Etsy shop. Will get the actual item up for sale in my etsy shop tomorrow night.

Close Up Photos of the Hummers!

About a week ago I moved one of my hummingbird feeders from my back deck to a front window of my living room.









Click on the photos to see them up close!


It's a perfect spot! You see them come right up to the feeder while watching tv. I don't know why I never thought to put it there before in the 3 years I have been feeding them.



So I took these photos today. Some are when the sun was under the clouds earlier today and then this afternoon when the sun came out and hit the feeder just right. Enjoy!>

Red, White and Boom!

Happy 4th of July!!



Last night went to the local fireworks works here in the Quad Cities called Red, White and Boom.




It draws huge crowds from Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois.



They set off the fireworks out on a barge in the middle of the Mississippi river for a spectacular show, to music on both sides of the river.




Here are a few pics I captured from last night. Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th!



Here's the grand finale!!

We have rain here this morning and I do hope it clears off in time for the cookout with the neighbors next door.

Cactus Flower

What a perfect day today!! Temps in the upper 70's and dry air. Much better then last week that's for sure with the 90º temps and the humidity. I took advantage of this nice weather and got out and pulled weeds which defiantly needed it. When I got to my flower bed behind the garage there was my prickley pear cactus blooming! And it has 3 other buds that will open soon. It took me forever to weed around that thing. I did have my gloves on but you still get pricked by those tiny little yellow needles that stick in you.

Primitive Halloween Ghost Door Doll

I know most of the country has either been in a heat wave or being flooded with rain. It's the heat here in my neck of the woods. Another day with heat advisories. In the 90's, with heat index over a 100. This is more like July/August weather.

Well I've been staying inside creating and thinking cool with Halloween goodies! Finished up this ghost guy today. He's a big guy, measuring 24" long. I'm headed over to etsy to list him after this.

So for now everyone try to stay cool and don't forget about our pets that are outside that need plenty of fresh water. I always worry about them when it's freezing cold in the winter and sweltering hot in the summer along with the wild birds too. I try to fill up the bird bath every evening with clean water. OK...till next time.

Super Yummy Casserole Dish!

We had this for supper tonight. It's one of my favs! I just have to share this recipe with you all! I don't remember where I found this recipe but its a good one! Very quick and easy to make. I love making casseroles. Just put a bunch of stuff together and bake! LOL If you like cheese you will like this one. It's sorta like lasagna.

Husband's Delight

Ingredients

8 ounces wide noodles
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (I usually added more of this)
3 cans (8 ounce each) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cottage cheese
1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
3 to 4 green onions, chopped
2 cups shredded cojack cheese

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions. Cook ground beef, green pepper and garlic until beef is browned. Drain the fat. Add tomato sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in noodles. combine cottage cheese and cream cheese in a bowl. Add sour cream and green onion. Layer half the noodle mixture into a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Top the layer with the cottage cheese mixture and then the remaining noodle mixture. Sprinkle with cojack cheese. Bake uncovered in a 350º oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Serves 8.

Yay! Finally Got A Hummingbird Picture!

I have 4 hummingbird feeders and there is one that gets the most activity. It's a mini size feeder that I got a Lowe's that you stick in your potted plants. So I parked my lawn chair out in the middle of our backyard waited for him to come. It didn't take long, about 5 minutes. So I sat there for about 20 minutes and got a bunch of pics. He would come by every 5 minutes. Then I weeded out the best one to post on here.

I took a few more pics too. Here is one of the front of our house. I like to use lots of pots of flowers around my yard. Don't exactly have the best soil for planting. We have lots of clay in our area.

While I was sitting out in the backyard. Just under the shed was one of the baby bunnies watching me. They sure are growing fast!

Then these pictures are of some of my most favorite geraniums.

Primitive Halloween Witch Pumpkins

Here is something new for Fall 2009! These guys were fun to create! Been pretty busy this week with babysitting as my daughter and son in law are having finals for their chiropractic classes. Then they have 4 weeks off before they go back to school. I'll probably be able to get a ton of stuff done then while they are on break. Will be listing these guys in my etsy shop tonight.

Photo Challenge: "GET UP CLOSE, USING MACRO"

Since I love taking pictures, I thought I would enter the photo challenge over at Brenda Photo Challenge blog. I just love using the Macro setting on my camera. You can list up to 3 photos. So here are my pics! It had rained a little this morning so I captured some of the flowers with rain drops on them.

This is a pic of a flower called Spiderwort, which I love!

I have many varities of this flower, Astilbe

And this is just the flower everyone knows, Marigold!