Wordless Wednesday: The Storm
Going To The Dentist Was Not As Bad As I Thought It Would Be
The only thing that hurt was my pocketbook. Ouchie! I had an appointment in Kanab today to get impressions done to replace my partial plate. The one I have now that broke last summer and then again last week, I got in Mexico when we lived in south Texas. It was a short walk across the border to the dentists office. They pulled 6 molars, provided me with all my pain meds and antibiotics, and made the partial plate for me all for only $450. That was back in 2005. Now before you go saying, well you get what you pay for, I have found in my online searching that dental appliances only have a 5-8year life expectancy anyway. Mine lasted 6 years, which is pretty good.
So, at this dentist in Kanab, the whole process is simplified because they don’t have to remove any teeth. They just do the impressions, make the plate, make sure it fits, and the price is a whopping $1003. Yes, more than 2.5 times what it cost in Mexico with no messy tooth extractions. Ah, ain’t it a great country!
While we were in Kanab, I did a little fabric shopping too. I haven’t bought fabric in a very long time, so I went a little crazy:
And for my granddaughter, Sarah:
We went to the thrift store while we were in town. I love going thrift shopping–we dropped a few things off as a donation, then I got this beautiful cloth tablecloth for $2:
I also picked up this set of 6 shot glasses for $2, so now I can actually share my tequila with friends without having to share the one shot glass:
On the way home, the farmer guy had his Fresh Produce sign out, so we stopped there too. This guy does not harvest the veggies until you get there, so everything is garden fresh when you get it. I got some new potatoes:
And some green onions:
We also got some chard and some broccoli. When we got home, I cooked up the potatoes, onions, and broccoli along with some chicken on the grill:
Dinner:
I used a recipe I found online to cook the potatoes: it was really easy, too. You slice the potatoes almost all the way through, peel and slice some garlic and stick a slice of garlic between each slice of potato, drizzle with olive oil, and bake.
For the onions, I sliced them in about 1 inch slices, put them in aluminum foil, dotted with butter, sprinkled with salt. Closed up the foil in a tight packet, and put them on the grill for 10 minutes on each side. Heavenly!
Wordless Wednesday–Broken Again!
Amelia’s Baby Quilt Pattern
Last year before Amelia was born, I made her an adorable baby quilt. While I was making it, I took lots of pictures so that I could make a tutorial on how to do it. I have finally gotten the whole project finished and saved in a PDF file, so that I can now offer the pattern for this cute baby quilt for sale!
This quilt uses half of a precut triangle pack, 1 yard of medium fabric, 1 yard of dark fabric, and 2 yards of a light fabric to make a 52″ X 43.5″ finished quilt. It is very easy to make, and the pattern is explained with lots of pictures so that even someone who is a beginning quilter will find it easy to follow.
I have this pattern for sale in my store, FabGrandma’s Crafty Stuff. You can buy it and download it for $5.00. To get to the pattern in the store, click here!
My Face Is Looking Better
Y’all remember back in the winter when my face broke out? I have been doing several things to prevent that from happening again. My doctor prescribed an anti-biotic that I take three times a week. I will admit, it has been hard to keep up with what days I should take them, and some weeks I do better than others.
I also bought an SPF 100 sunscreen, and put it on every day when I have to work outside. The doctor told me that being out in the sun without a sunscreen is one the factors that would cause my face to break out again. So, I have been very diligent at putting on that sunscreen. I hate the way it feels on my face, but it is better than having an ugly rash.
When I wash my face, and when I moisturize, I try to use organic skin care products. I make my own soap–I have been making my own for more than 12 years, mostly because I want to know what is in the soap I use to bath with and to wash my face with. I also haven’t worn makeup in more than 20 years. I don’t even own any. I bought a lipstick last summer, but I only wore it once because I didn’t like the “taste” of it.
So far, I haven’t had that ugly rash again, and with any luck and the right skin care routine, I won’t ever get it again.
A New Tote Bag
I finally got a chance to sit down at my sewing machine today, and make a tote bag for myself. I have been wanting a new one ever since I got my NOOK Color, so that I would have a bag big enough to take it with me everywhere I go. I wanted to have pockets inside to hold all my stuff, like my Droid, my glucose meter, my shopping list, the charger for the NOOK and the charger for the Droid. So, here it is:
I made the handles longer than the pattern called for because it was more like a purse, and I wanted more like a tote bag.
I can take everything, even a change of clothes if I want to!
This bag measures 17″ wide X 9″ tall X 4.5″ deep. Lots of room without being too big, and lots of pockets to hold everything I need. If you want one like it, let me know, and I can make one for you for $45 plus shipping. I have a lot of different fabrics on hand, or you can send me a link to your favorite fabric store online.
Stormy Weather
Yesterday at the Grand Canyon, the sky turned dark and omnious:
There was a lot of lightening, and some very loud thunder, hail, and then lots of rain. We were hoping for rain, because it has been so dry here. While much of Arizona is burning, luckily we haven’t had a fire here this year. A fire ban was put into place last week, so that campfires are no longer allowed in our campground. While a lot of people may have been disappointed because they couldn’t have a fire, the fire ban would not have become necessary if there had been more rain.
Fortunately for me, it did not rain until I got home from work. FabGrandpa was in the process of lighting the charcoal grill so we could cook out. When the rain came, we moved the picnic table under the awning, and continued with our plans, and enjoyed the rain while it lasted. There is more rain in the forecast for this week:
July in Arizona is typically the start of the monsoon season, and this year, we really need the rain. Arizona has six national forests, and with such dry weather, the threat of wildfires is great. Let’s hope we get the rain we need, and lots of it.
Happy 4th of July, Y’all!
While the 4th of July means going to a parade, going camping, spending the day at the lake, or just cooking out in the backyard with friends and family to most of you, my day will be spent in uniform, at the entrance station to one of the most beautiful national parks in this country. I love that living in the United States means that I can choose to live full time in an RV is want to, and that I can work at this gorgeous place. Even if it means I have to work on the holiday, so be it.
and because I work here, of course I get to live here for 6 months out of the year. Here is my backyard:
And there were people who thought I was crazy to want to live this life!
