Fun Stuff

Oh, I Forgot About This

Because of the excitement of Miss Amelia’s birth on my birthday, I forgot all about this. We went to Mesquite, Nevada to the Casa Blanca Casino for my birthday. I remembered this today when I got around to actually looking at the pictures on my SD card in my camera.

DSCN4213 — On the way to Mesquite in the Virgin River Gorge

We had a marvelous time. (except for trying to get room service the next morning to bring us some coffee. What the heck is up with me and room service? why can’t I get a dang cup of coffee???) Anyway, we had coupons for a free room for two nights, dinner for two, and $15 in coins for the slot machines, so off we went. You have to go through the Virgin River Gorge on I-15 to get there, and OH! how beautiful is that?

We got there, got checked in, ate some dinner, then got down to the serious stuff: Slot machine! Cha-Ching!

We did pretty good on the first night as you can see. I was on a roll! The second night, I won over $800!

DSCN4195 — The view out the window of our room.

The view out the window of our room was of the Nevada desert, stretching out to the Virgin Mountain Range to the east.

redrum — This reminds me of "The Shining" REDRUM!

The hotel there is really nice, but this picture of Fabgrandpa walking down the hall reminded me of a scene in “The Shining”.

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National Park Meme

Karen · 2 Comments

Outside The Interzone posted this meme today. It is two lists of National Parks, the Most Visited and the Least Visited. Instructions are to bold the ones you have visited, and italicize the ones you have never heard of. Here’s my list:

Most visited:
10: Glacier
9: Acadia
8: Grand Teton
7: Cuyahoga Valley
6: Rocky Mountain
5: Olympic
4: Yellowstone
3: Yosemite
2: Grand Canyon (you all know I work and live here! Best backyard ever!)
1: Great Smoky Mountains

Least Visited:
10: City of Rocks NR, Idaho
9: Cumberland Island NS, Georgia
8: Florissant Fossil Beds NM, Colorado
7: Chiricahua NM, Arizona
6: Tonto NM, Arizona
5: Dry Tortugas NP, Florida
4: Katmai NP & Preserve, Alaska
3: Kalaupapa NHP, Hawaii
2: Hagerman Fossil Beds NM, Idaho
1: Russel Cave NM, Alabama

So, how does your list stack up?

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I’ve Been Nominated!

Karen · 3 Comments

I was really surprised by this, but my blog has been nominated as one of the Top Medical Blogs for 2011 in the “Diet” category. I do feel honored by this nomination, as someone out there thinks my blog is pretty good! So, what do you think? If you think I should be honored as the winner of the award, click on the link below and go vote for me. When you get to the page, put in the this url, https://fabgrandma.com, and click on submit to vote. And thank you if you do!

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I’m Ready For A Party

Karen · 2 Comments

I have my new barbecue grill set up and ready to go on the picnic table.

Got my new outside rug and the solar lights down on the ground.

Got my cute lights hung up in the trees.

But good gosh! The weather just won’t cooperate! Although it was about 70 degrees with sunny skies, and little puffy clouds, the wind is blowing about 45 miles per hour, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour. So, while I’d love to have a barbecue, all I can do is sit here and enjoy the view from my picnic table.

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A Day In Kanab, Utah

Karen · 6 Comments

Remember this? Well, today we added more to it. We got up very early to go to Kanab, Utah. It’s an 85 mile drive, with a one hour time difference once you cross the Utah border. We wanted to get there by 8:00 a.m. Utah time because we were having work done on the truck. So, we left about 5:50 (Arizona time), went to pick up Gaelyn of Geogypsy, and took off.

DSCN4237 — Gorgeous sky in the Kaibab National Forest

Early morning in the Kaibab National Forest, just outside the gates of the Grand Canyon National Park, is always interesting. You might see deer, turkeys, a coyote, or a buffalo out there. Today we saw this beautiful sky.

We got to the auto shop just at 8:00, and dropped off the truck. They gave us a loaner vehicle so we wouldn’t have to sit around there all day. We went to Houston’s Trails End Restaurant for breakfast, then headed about a mile or so north of town to the private campground where our friends, Marcie and Jim, and Chris, are staying while they are workamping in Kanab. I didn’t think about taking pictures while I was there, but that campground has some wonderful scenery around it.

Marcie and Chris are going to be staffing a booth at The Kane County Farmers Market, which will be held every Saturday from the last weekend in May through the middle of October, beginning at 9:00 am to 11:30 am. Chris makes some really cute “tea bag wallets”, which are big enough to hold 4-6 tea bags for hot tea. What a great idea! Marcie makes crocheted items, which I unfortunately did not see. But, if you find yourself in Kanab on a Saturday morning this summer, go on over and check out our stuff. They are going to be selling some of my things, too. Thank you so much, girls! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.

When we left their place, we went over to the Family Dollar store, where I picked up some packing tape and another cute dress for Amelia. (yeah, I know, I have it bad, hehehe). There just happened to be a thrift shop next door, so we went in to see what they had. I picked up a luggage carrier for a good price to use to take my laundry to the laundry room. By then, it was almost time for my hair appointment.

Since the post office is right behind the hair salon, we parked there and I finished packing up the things I had to mail out. Heads up to all my kids, I sent gifts out to all the grandkids today. They should get them soon. Got the hair cut and made an appointment for a pedicure in two weeks, and another hair cut in 5 weeks. Yay!

We went to another thrift shop, the one for the hospital auxiliary, where they had these cute fabrics for 50 cents a piece, for 1/2 yards!

DSCN4244 — Lots of inexpensive fabric. Yes!

I also picked up all this lace trim, for practically nothing!

DSCN4246 — Almost a hundred yards of laces, for less than $5.00!

The best bargain of the day, though, was this fabulous thread bin, full of thread, for $15! Some of that thread is silk. And all of the spools are wooden, which I haven’t seen in years. OH, I am just loving this!

DSCN4242 — Some of this thread is silk! a great bargain here.

And last, here is a lovely piece of fabric, all pink and flowery. It is actually an 84″ X 26″ curtain panel, that I picked up for $4.00 in Deja Vu Antiques. I am planning to use it to make a fluffy dress for Amelia. Yes, like Scarlett O’Hara, she will be wearing the drapes before she is old enough to walk. Hahahaha. But, don’t you think that is just soooo pretty?

DSCN4251 — Soon to be a fluffy baby dress!

Somewhere in there, we went grocery shopping, and ate some lunch at Escobar’s. Finally, around 4:00 p.m, they got finished with the truck. They added a Banks Intercooler under the hood. See all those new manly pipes! FabGrandpa is in “guy heaven”.

DSCN4255 — Those gray pipes were added to increase the flow of air to the turbo.

And FabGrandpa finally got to add the Banks sticker to our truck. One on each side. He says they only cost $1100, each.

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New Old Friends Visit

Karen · 3 Comments

I have been friends online with Marcie for quite some time. I found out over the winter that she and her husband were going to be working in Kanab, Utah this summer. So, the first time we went down there, I stopped in one of the places that hires workampers and inquired if she worked there, since I couldn’t remember exactly where they would be working.

They didn’t work at that particular location, but the woman who did knew her, because all the workampers who work in Kanab stay at the same RV park. So, I left my business card, and asked that Marcie call me. The next week, she did–they were coming up to the North Rim to see the Grand Canyon, and we made arrangements for them to meet me at my duty station.

It is always so fun to meet the faces behind the online names, and this time was no exception. Marcie was fun, and nice, and just what I expected her to be. She brought along Chris, who I had run into online some, too. She was just as nice and friendly as Marcie. What a treat on a workday to meet such nice people in person!

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A Thrift Shop Treasure

Karen · 1 Comment

In 1976, (dang that seems like a hundred years ago) I bought this pattern and made tons of these felt ornaments. My children were little then, five, three and almost two years old. I sold the ornaments for $20 a dozen to make some extra money for Christmas. I also made enough to decorate our Christmas tree with them.

Over the years, a few got lost. Then, in 2000, my husband and I sold our house and everything we owned to run away in an RV. I went through all of the Christmas ornaments I had left and divided them up amongst all the now grown up children. For some reason my children all loved those felt ornaments. Maybe it was because we had them for so long, that it was just a tradition to see them on our tree. Or maybe it was because I made them.

I have been wanting to make some more, but the pattern was long gone. So, you can imagine my delight when I came across the pattern in a thrift store in Flagstaff, Arizona last week. So, I haven’t actually made these yet, but I am sharing the love on the I Made It! Blog party over at Everything Etsy.

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A Little Tour Of The Mixes From The Heartland Plant

Karen · 3 Comments

: Look at all that gluten free goodness~!

The first thing you see when you walk in the door at the Mixes From The Heartland plant are shelves and shelves displaying all the products they make here. And the next thing you notice is the aroma! The smells of all those delicious mixes wafts from the packaging area in the back to the lobby and offices in the front. It was a wonderful experience to go there, and meet Teri, the owner, in person. I have been corresponding with her for about a year now, and it was high time we met face to face.

: Teri, the owner of Mixes From The Heartland

Teri invited me and FabGrandpa into her office, where we talked for an hour or so. She has been in the gluten free food business for 5 years, and is getting ready to move the plant into a larger building. She has lots of plans for new products, and is introducing a new buying club on her website. There are lots of benefits to becoming a member, including discounts and access to new recipes.

: Packages of mix waiting to be sealed.

We took a little walk around the back, where staff members were busy filling bags with product, which today was a Tex-Mex Rice mix. The seasonings smelled soooo good! I noticed that everything was so clean and neat in there, too.

DSCN3347 — Ingredients in bins waiting to become part of a mix.

Teri explained that one of the secrets of her success for flavor is that she uses freeze dried ingredients. She gave us a sample of the freeze dried corn–it was so sweet! It tasted like fresh corn, only dry and crunchy. No wonder that corn chowder she makes is so good! And she makes sure every ingredient she buys to make her mixes is from a gluten free source. Her products test at 5 parts per million, which is well below the US standard to be labeled gluten free.

DSCN3348 — Me and Teri of Mixes From The Heartland

Teri gave me an assortment of products to take home, including my favorite, the Country Dumpling Mix. I had not had my favorite southern chicken and dumplings in more than three years before I found this mix. I loved it so much that I made it three times in one week! Now I can’t wait to get to my summer home so I can start cooking some of these things up! I made some of the Sweet Potato Brownies tonight, though. Easy peasy!

: El Toritos Restaurant

Before we left to come home, though, Teri and her Aunt Marilyn took us out to lunch at El Toritos Mexican Restaurant in Amarillo. I had the Tamal Dinner. Boy, was it ever good! I haven’t had tamales that good since we worked down in south Texas in 2002.

DSCN3354 — Teri and Aunt Marilyn enjoying lunch at El Toritos

We finally had to say our goodbyes, but not without making plans to stop in again on our way east next fall. Can’t wait to see what new products she has by then!

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