Meet Baliegh...

...the newest addition to our family! My Mom & Dad just got her last week...she's 7 weeks old now & as adorable as she can be! Baliegh is a chocolate lab full of puppy energy...a real cutie-pie...love that puppy breath...she's so soft & has a personality like no other! Should be interesting and entertaining when they open the pool this summer!!! It'll take all of us to keep her OUT! LOL...who am I kidding?

I now find myself making "extra" visits...just to see my "sister"!

Happy Spring!

I've been anxiously waiting this day to arrive as I know many of you have as well...as the new growth peeks above the ground's surface to wish us all "Happy Spring"...it's such a long-awaited, beautiful sign! One of my favorite times of the year...digging in the dirt & planting something new to my garden! I adore the picture above...it was taken several years ago by Obscura Photography (a local studio her in Germantown)...they would often stop by the shop to see what new props I had for them...I miss that...this picture includes some items they bought from me for their Spring specials that year! Cute as it can be!

Speaking of cute! Here's a pic of me & my girl before her Spring Dance this year! I don't normally share personal family photos...but, we had such a special time! Yes, only in middle school & already looking DOWN upon Mom (even with Mom in HEALS)!



Here's the whole gang...Mom's & sisters included! My friend Reva & I (two Mom's in the middle) took the "gang" to Lone Star for dinner before the dance...they had a blast...we did too! I can't give all the details (she would shoot me)...but we did a fine job of embarrassing them! What else are Mom's for?

These kids have known each other since before kindergarden...but they all act like the other has CUDIES! LOL

Who's the NEW renter in my OLD shop?????

Well....March is coming to an end so I figured I better reveal who has moved in my old shop...as promised! BALL AND SKEIN!! :)

I'm so excited & I know she is too! The yarn shop is now officially moved in and ready for business! Susan has done a wonderful job displaying all of her fine yarn, wool, knitting needles & other merchandise. Her decor & merchandise fit so nicely with the decor I had in the shop! It's such a great look! So if you're a knitter...you've gotta stop in to see her NEW location & gobs of yarn. It's bubbling from every nook & cranny! She offers patterns for sale too & has many completed items on display...she even spins her own yarn! She's open Wed. - Sat. from 12 - 5:00 p.m. and hosts a "Knit Night" on Thursday's...staying open til at least 9:00 p.m. They all seem to have such a great time...if I was a knitter...oh my...I'd be right in there with 'em!

Check out her link "msknits"...you'll find it in my favorites!

Happy Spring!

Where have you been?

Seems I've dropped off the face of the Earth! Not true! LOL

I've had lots of folks wondering what I've been up to...well...here's some idea! BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!! Closing the shop was quite an ordeal! Just liquidating merchandise was a long process, then it was off to prepare the house for a rental once again! That entailed painting, cleaning, installing a shower stall, yard work, installing a hot water heater & so on & so on! Seemed it took forever since it was already rented prior to liquidating the merchandise!!! Whew...after we got that finished the new renters moved in...OMG...what a nightmare! Literally! After moving out in the middle of the night (only being there for 5 weeks!) they totally destroyed the place! Seriously...they're kids colored on the walls, they never hooked up their dryer vent to the outside exhaust, left an overwhelming amount of GARBAGE throughout the entire house, left furniture, dirty diapers on the floor, milk on the walls, spills in the hall, half eaten boiled eggs on the floor....I'm really NOT joking! I was in tears! Months of hard work for a spotless, "move-in ready" home for a family...down the drain! I truely could not believe someone would not have any more pride in themselves than that. Such a mess. We have now gotten that cleaned up AGAIN...and it is rented once more. I'm very excited about our new renter and certain we won't have to deal with this again for quite some time! I'll reveal who will be moving in in March! I think you'll all be as excited as I am!

Between all of that...we celebrated Christmas (which was wonderful & prim as usual...I think I gained 30 lbs from all the baking I did!), DH graduated from his HVAC program & found employment (wooo-hooo), I caught up on my deep cleaning & organization (so badly needed), closed the books to the shop (what a relief to have that behind me..yeah!) & have been enjoying the kids on all these snow days we've been having! Holy Cow have we had some snow this winter! Man am I grateful for 4 wheel drive! I would have been stir-crazy! LOL

NOW....I'm helping my sister with her cleaning business! Check out her blog broom-n-bucketcleaning.blogspot.com! I've also added a short note in a gadget if you want to take a peek! We've been steady at it & business is good! There are a few days still available if any of you gals need a hand! Gaps are slowly filling in though...give us a call if you need some help with Spring cleaning, graduation parties, etc. Mention you saw her on my blog & receive ONE HOUR OF FREE CLEANING SERVICES!!!

Hope everyone's holidays have been blessed! Mine sure have! I'll be posting more often now that I'm somewhat caught up around here! Take care prim pals! Til next time....Many blessings, Missie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K16SEmYJwNU

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish you all a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Take care, Missie

GARAGE SALE NEXT WEEKEND!

YOUR TREASURE AWAITS........

I'm having a Garage Sale at the Shop to liquidate the residual inventory left over from closing & non-primitive items as well!

My sister will be adding a few items of her own...large wood office desk, a primitive table, etc. Who knows what we might come up with!

• Wednesday, 9/16 10 - 4 p.m.
• Thursday, 9/17 10 - 4 p.m.
• Friday, 9/18 10 - 5 p.m.

No early birds please! CASH ONLY!

If you live close...stop on by! We have some Fall & Christmas items as well!

Have a great day!

Everyday Cheapskate!

Helpful hints I ran across on the Everyday Cheapskate Website!

• Hand sanitizer with 60 percent ethyl alcohol will remove pen and permanent marker ink from skin! This is a cheap and easy solution for removing ink from skin. As a bonus, it also kills germs. Great idea now that school is back in session!!!!

• Here's a way to put your cell phone to good use: create an entry named "License Plate" in your contact list. Enter your license plate number and you will have that information at your fingertips. This is great info to have at hotel check in, or in the unfortunate event that your car gets stolen. Having that entry could be the difference between a quick recovery and a never-ending hassle.

• Use an old golf bag to store my brooms and mops. Its deep pockets hold dust rags and a dust buster, and you can hook a spray bottle on the top edge. The bag makes a handy cleaning caddy and it stands easily in the corner out of the way!

• Never use expensive commercial septic cleaner. Septic system installers recommend flushing three packets of yeast down a toilet once a month to keep the septic in great condition. Yeast is the key ingredient in the commercial solution. Buy the cheapest three-pack of yeast you can find (quick-rise or regular) and flush it down one toilet every month.

Have a great day!

Well....Fall is arriving quickly...so I thought I'd get a few Spring/Summer pics in I've been meaning to post!

This is a picture of the lil' mini pond we put in last Spring next to our patio. I love it! The sound of trickling water is soooo relaxing! We put in some lil' gold fish & planted some flowers around it! It was really a fun project!

This is a picture of our "Moon Plant" or "Angel's Trumpet"! It's sooo beautiful & a lot of fun to watch! There are only pods in the morning...then, as the afternoon goes along...they begin to expand! By evening they are nearly open...you can watch them grow through out the day!

Then when the sun goes down, just at dusk...they open! You can literally watch them blooming throughout the day! It's the most intreguing plant I've ever had in my garden. We planted it next to the pond, so I find it hard to get anything done once I'm out there...between this flower & the pond! Geez!

Although our yard is small...living in town & all...my Sunflowers did awesome this year! Love the color!

This is my "Gate Prop" on the patio! Looks like someone needs to do some weeding & stop listening to the pond & watching that Moon Plant! This is the first shop sign I made when I was at my first store! I drug it home & found a place in my garden for it~nestled with the tomatoe plants on an old wheelbarrow!

My fern on the porch got HUGE this summer! I LOVE ferns!

Can you believe no one bought this in my liquidation sale!!!!! I drug this beauty home, hung it on the porch & put watering cans on every hook I could find!!!

A view from outside the porch!

Well...that's all for now! Hope you have a blessed day!

~*Fried Mozzarell Sticks*~ mmmm

As you may be able to tell...since the closing of the shop, I've been doing a lot of cooking, gardening, etc!

Here's another quick & easy recipe I wanted to share with you all! Enjoy!

1 lb Mozzarella
3 eggs
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Light Vegetable Oil

Cut cheese into 2 inch long, 1/2 inch wide sticks. Dip cheese into beaten eggs and then into bread crumbs, 2 times! Freeze for about 10 minutes (can be overnight). Fry until golden brown (about 2 minutes on each side).

~*Flapper Jacks with Meat Filling Receipe*~

My mom shared this receipe with me....can't wait to try it! Sounds so old-fashioned!!

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup grated cheese
shortening

Mix, sift dry ingedients. Add milk, egg butter. Mix well. Melt enough shortening in skillet to cover the bottom. Make 6 thin pancakes about 5 inches across. Brown both sides. Put meat filling in center of each, and wrap into rolls. Spinkle with cheese, put in hot oven (400 degrees) just until cheese melts.

Meat Filling ~
3 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk or stock
1 1/2 cups chopped feal or chicken
12/ cup diced celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Blend shortening with flour and add milk. Stir to keep smooth. Add meat, and celery and cook slowly until celery is tender. Add salt & paprika.

Enjoy!

Ruth Rochelle~Walking with the Angels

Ruth Rochelle, co-owner of Primitive Homeplace...It is with much sadness I learned recently of Ruth's passing. I had the pleasure of meeting her and her husband, Jimmy, a couple of years ago as they passed through Germantown going home from a buying trip. I found this sweet couple to be very down to earth...just kind folks! They were the first prim shop owners I met, as a new prim shop owner myself. I loved to follow her website & picture trails from shows...she will be dearly missed by many. My condolences to her family & friends.

A friend of Ruth's created this picturetrail: http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/22377966 for all to view.

Visit Ruth & Jimmy's Picture Trail at: http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/listing/user/primitivehomeplace

Blessings