What Do You Read?

                                      I love to read! 
    I love to read books, magazines, seed catalogs and your blogs!
 The pipeliner said if I didn't have anything to read, I would probably read the side of a cereal box. (I have done that!)

The only bad thing is the collection of magazines that over run the house!. I have decided now that the pipeliner is back to work I am going to go thru them. Many are dog-eared for things I want to rip out and save.

               One of my favorite magazines lately has been Grit.

Does anybody remember when this used to come in newspaper form?

I remember reading it at my grandmothers house.

I subscribed to this magazine for a few years. Then I decided to give the subscription to my library. I can read it there, and others can enjoy it as well.

Another favorite:

Their covers look so tastey!

Again, I subscribed to it until my library started putting it on their shelves to be checked out. If I find a recipe I really like I can just go to the website and download it.

My parents give this one to me every year as a Christmas present.

I have found so many neat places to visit, eat at or stay in my area through this great magazine.

A lot of my friends don't pick up magazines anymore, they read them online.

Not me!

I love to look at all the glossy pictures!

I love to read a few pages and then put it down for awhile.

My favorite is soaking in a hot bubble bath, reading glasses on and a stack of magazines on the edge of the tub!

Just came back from the library with a new batch to go through.

The weatherman has a winter weather warning posted for us tonight and tomorrow.

I say bring it on!

I am all stocked up!

Liz

Back to real life!

            The pipeliner and I are back from a great vacation!

                          Can you recognize this landmark?

Yes we spent a week in Key West!

The weather was fantastic!

The sunsets breath-taking!

We stopped for a few beers at Hemingways famous hangout.

Lots of these fellows strutting around the island. Even found a few while wondering around the cemetery.

And most days began and ended around this relaxing spot!

It was a wonderful trip. I would go back in a minute. But all good things must come to an end.

The pipeliner is back at work. I am catching up on laundry.

Life returns to normal!

Spring on my mind!

Today I received an email asking when we should get together and start working on this years Farmers Market. It must be something in the air because I had been sitting at the dining room table looking through seed catalogs.

Looks like spring!

 

Last years Farmers Market wasn't the best. It was only the second year for the town. We started out with quite an interest, but only ended up with 5 or 6 regular vendors.

 

But the customers that came out week after week sure enjoyed all we had to offer.

 

Some garden fresh veggies.

 

 

These pictures were taken when the garden was over flowing with vegetables.

 

Sadly this was the garden the other day!

 

 

The only thing left is a few sunflowers with their heads swaying in the wind.

 

We will be meeting to plan this years Farmers Market the first week in March. I hope we have a few more interested in joining.

 

I always hope to participate, but with the Pipeliners job, I never know if we will be in town or not. Fingers crossed we will be around this summer!

 

My order for seeds is ready to be mailed as well. It won't be long before I can start planting.

 

I am thinking spring! Are you?

 

Liz

 

 

 

Getting ready for the girls!

We came back from the farm early this morning so I could get the house ready for tomorrow.
 I have the pleasure of hosting my Bible study group.
 We usually meet weekly at the local Presbyterian church.  But twice a year we take turns inviting the ladies into our homes for brunch.
 This year my day falls on Valentines day.

I thought I would decorate the dining room for the holiday.

 

Pink Pyrex makes the best Valentines color!

 

 

The vintage valentines were my dads from his grade school days.

 

 

These cute valentines came from my Golden Egg Vintage and Speedy Lady. Thanks again ladies!

 

 

Each of the ladies in my group brings a dish to pass. This time we also decided to share with each other, a craft project we enjoy.

 

The house is ready!

 

 

Tomorrow we will meet for a morning of worship and friendship.

 

What a nice way to start a Valentines Day!

 

 

 

 

 

Liz

 

 

 

 

 

A Little Get-Away

The pipeliner and I did a quick little get-away over the past three days. We hopped on the train for a ride into the city.

All Aboard!!

 

It was a great day for a train ride! The weather was horrible and traffic would have been worse driving in!

 

 

The Chicago skyline.

 

We stayed at a different hotel than usual. But the view felt familiar. Tomato plants left over from the summer.

 

Roof top garden.

 

The snow was coming down fast and furious.

 

 

Waiting for a cab.

 

We didn't venture far the first night. Just dinner at our favorite seafood place.

 

The next day we went to the Shedd Aquarium. So many interesting things to do and see.

 

A few sea horses floating around.

The jellies.

 

This exhibit was the coolest!

 

 

More jellies!

 

 

And another one!

 

I think this guy was giving me a hard time about eating his cousins the night before at dinner.

 

 

I love living in the country. But we sure do enjoy taking a few days to spend in the city.

 

 

 

I am always in awe standing in the middle of these buildings!

 

 

So much to see and do!

 

We will be back to the city when the weather warms up.

 

Tomorrow we are off to spend a few days at the farm!

 

Liz

 

 

Things on a Tuesday

Today we had an appointment at the farmhouse to meet the Dish guy. We have a receiver that we carry with us in the camper, but we don't need it anymore with the new camper. So we decided to install it at the farm. The pipeliner isn't happy without a tv to watch!
 The tech guy said he would be there after lunch.
With some time to waste I thought I would take some pics of our kitchen. It is actually clean! No paint trays being washed out in the sink! No saw horses set up for cutting trim.

First pics are of the great stove my aunt gave us from her farmhouse.

 

It fits like it was made just for this spot!

 

I bought the trays on top of the stove at an estate sale over the summer.

 

 

I think the people who lived here before built the cabinets. They are definetly one of a kind.

 

We put in new, energy efficeint windows when the house was resided.

 

I haven't decided yet what to do for window treatments.

 

I just have a hard time covering up this view!

 

For now the kitchen will stay just like it is. Maybe sometime down the road we will remodel. But it makes me happy just like this!

 

The Dish guy was there on time. He did a great job getting everything installed. And that makes for a very happy pipeliner! 

 

Liz

Valentines Swap

The weather around here is frigid! Below 0 windchills! Brrrrr......

So I was a little grumbly when I lost the coin toss to the pipeliner on who got to make the trip to the mailbox.

But I forgot all about the cold when I pulled out a package addressed to me. It was my goodies from the Valentines Day swap!
I first read about the swap at Ericas blog,  Golden Egg Vintage.  She has the most delightful blog!
Erica took care of partnering up fellow bloggers. My partner was Tresa from Speedy Lady. Another fun blog!

These are the fun things I found when I came home and unwrapped my package!

Tresa had 3 smaller packages wrapped in tissue paper!

 

 

Look at the cute decorated heart box!

 

Can you believe all of the cute things she had put together for me? 

 

Lots of Valentine hearts to decorate with. A cute cross stitch that reminds me of the farm house. And look at that Hershey Bar!

 

Some lipgloss. Just what I need in this cold weather!  Oh I am thrilled with everything!

 

I had so much fun at my first swap. Thanks to my swap partner Tresa. She sure was generous!

 

And a huge thanks to Erica for hosting this swap!

 

I feel so blessed to have found these great group of ladies in blog land!

 

Liz