Convention Fun!

We just got back from our convention a couple hours ago. After going down to the barn to check on the boys I came back to check my computer. They did fine while I was gone. Funsize and Snowbird took good care of them. Of course I called each day to check up on things but I guess there was no need for that. Buddy's pads stayed on so that was a relief.

We had a wonderful time at our convention at Bar Harbor in Acadia National Park. I'm sure some of you have been there but if you haven't you should put it on your list of places to visit. The scenery is breathtaking and there is a lot to do. While the men were golfing we went to the little downtown and did some perusing in the wonderful little shops. There is something for everyone there including the youngsters. D bought a black lab stuffed toy at The Barkery and T did the stuff your own bear, although she picked a bunny.

Once you get them stuffed you have a whole store full of accessories to chose from to dress your new friend in. There has to be at least a gazillion different outfits!

The finished product! :0)

The air was heavy this weekend and it looked like something out of a Stephen King movie with the boats shrouded in the fog. (I've always wanted to use the word shrouded in something!) heehee! Quite an eerie look at times. But the sun came out and it was beautiful too.

There are all kinds of interesting shops, restaurants and such to go in. I thought of Moose Buyer so many times as there were moose things everywhere!

It was a fun time with my whole family there plus Sherri's Mom, Mimi who was 'Nanny In Charge'of D and T when we had a function to attend. This convention was very family friendly and invited people to bring their children and had children's events planned each night that the kids loved. Some conventions won't allow you to bring your kids or grand kids. It also was nice not to have to fly all day to get home but just jump in the car and drive about an hour and fifteen minutes! :0)

Husbands brother, sister in law and girls were there also which always makes it more fun for D and T. They just had a great time playing and acting silly.

Of course we had to go to Jordan Pond House and have some popovers while in the vicinity. I went on my feeding frenzy as usual and savored every bite of it!!! (Drool dcrmom!) I was going to take a picture of the popovers with the strawberry jam but couldn't stop eating long enough to get out my camera...........ahem........

Also stopped to check out the stables that were close by. They give carriage rides all season and have some beautiful draft horses.

All in all it was a great time of business and pleasure with my family. We have another one coming up in September and then back to Disney on October. Fall is right around the corner!

Thanks for all of your helpful comments on my jury duty clothing dilemma! Funsize even Googled it and got some information. I sat beside a prosecutor one night at dinner and picked her brain on ways to get out of doing jury duty right now. It was all in good fun but I may use some of her suggestions.......heehee! She told me some of the reasons people come up with for trying to get out of it and they were a hoot. One person stood up and said if the defendant was arrested he must be guilty and he would NEVER acquit! Needless to say he was not picked for any trials.

I will be catching up on all your sites tomorrow plus I must get the lighthouse tote in the mail to Laura. Did any of you win anything??? I didn't but it was a fun contest to participate in! :0)

Wordless Wednesday Green Eyed Noodles

Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway!

It's time for the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway. I am giving away one of my handmade totes that I design and make myself. They take about four hours to make, are made out of quality fabric, are totally lined and have an inside pocket. They are washable on gentle cycle. This one has a lighthouse design. Good luck! :0)

To enter leave a link in my comments. Go visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer for more give aways!!!!!

Saturday Night

Another busy day around the ole' mini farm. Husband did chores this morning so I got to sleep in a bit but then went out and helped him finish up. It was very overcast and dreary so Ann and I decided not to ride which is very unusual for us on a Saturday morning but she had things to do and I did also. Funsize had something to go to so she couldn't ride either so all the guys got a day off.

The carpenters arrived to start building the play house for T and D. This has been in the works for a few weeks, you know drawing up the plans and all.... We have tried to keep it a secret but got found out this morning when the kids popped in! They were pretty excited about the whole thing and will be even more so when it is finished. One side is going to be a work bench for D and the other side a sink and sideboards for T. We had a play house that my Dad got for us when we were kids and we LOVED it. It was our own little club house and get away. I wish I had a picture of it as it is gone now.

Will continue as progress is made. :0)

Husband and I went out for an early dinner at Captain Nick's another of our favorite restaurants. We both had the lobster rolls which were excellent. We also went to the nursery as I had to get some more Wave petunias to replace the ones that were bombarded by the hail a week ago. Luckily they had some left so I brought them home and put them in the bare spots. My poor gardens have had such a hard time this year and don't look nearly as good as they should by now.

On the way home we drove by Stephen and Tabitha Kings house so that I could get a picture for this post. I felt ashamed driving down their street, stopping and snapping a couple of pictures but you know anything for the blog! lol!

They live on a nice street with big old homes that are kept up really well. No one around here bothers the Kings, they are given their privacy except for a few crazy old bloggers that take pictures of their house....ahem......... I am not a fan of Stephen Kings writing, it would scare the living daylights out of me, but they have done so much good for the community with their money you just have to admire them. They have been very generous in many different ways, just one being the huge addition that they helped put on the library.

Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer is hosting a H.U.G.E. give away next week. Go over and check it out and you might want to participate. I'm getting something ready to give away but can't tell what it is until Monday! :0) (I guess it won't be hard to figure out for those of you who know that I make and sell totes.) heehee! Now I need to figure out how to use the Mr. Linky to sign up. Poor dcrmom will probably be getting another S.O.S. call!

Friday Happenings

It's already Friday. Where did the week go? One day seems to blur right into the next. It's been a good week despite the rain showers, we needed to get a little more green around here. I keep my hears and eyes open for thunder though as I don't want the horses out in a storm.

They were all freaked out this morning. Of course those of you that have horses know that they love something to get all wound up about. This morning it was the two guys with their machines that were making little holes in the pasture to get some air in the soil and then they put down some new pasture mix on top of it. Well you would've thought there was a Mack truck out in the pasture, the guys were all eyes looking at them standing stiff as a board. Even Buddy was trying to buck a bit in protest of this invasion of his pasture! I went out and put them in and they watched out their windows and settled down finally.

I was so pleased and surprised when I read a comment from my bloggy friend Joan that she had given me a couple of awards! Of course I immediately went to her site http://erstwhilelibraian.blogspot.com/ to check it out!!!! They are The Creative Blogger Award and The Thoughtful Blogger Award. What the awards are for is this:

For those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping other bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.

I am very touched by this and do hope that I make people feel welcome at my site and want to come back. I know when I started in this world of blogging there were those that were so supportive of me and my endeavors so I need to pass these awards on. I don't especially like doing this as I HATE leaving anyone out as everyone has touched my life in one way or another but I guess the rules are you can just pick five.

Pea at Pea's Corner has become a friend to me. I know if we met in person we would talk a blue streak. She is always so faithful about stopping by and leaving lovely comments. She is upbeat, fun and interesting. She thinks of others, is creative in coming up with contests and the things she writes about.

dcrmom at musingsofahousewife has been so helpful to me throughout this learning process. She has tirelessly worked on helping me with technical things that I have been at a loss as to what to do. She is a young sahm with three beautiful children and has a comical outlook on life along with maturity beyond her years concerning her quest for a deep and meaningful spirituality.

Susie at Susie's Space is a joy! She has a fantastic relationship with her husband of 40 years and it shines through in her writing. She was one of the first ones that I stumbled onto when I first started this blogging journey and she gave me some names of other bloggers that she thought I would like and I liked ALL of them. Thanks Susie! She has posted pictures of her life through the years with her husband that have been so much fun to see and continues to post current pictures of their life together.

Tina at Palm Tree Fanatic comes up with the most wonderful Tackle It Tuesdays! She is amazing with her organizational skills. She also has menus to die for, I hold her personally responsible for my 5 lb. weight gain since I started blogging! lol! Not really, but she does have some wonderful recipes!

Dawn at Grandmaofthree has inspired me with her life. She has had trials and tribulations that no one should have to endure but has come through them with her faith intact and strong. She has two amazing stories about her son's deliverance from drugs and her daughter's struggle and recovery from anorexia. It's on her sidebar and well worth the time to go and read both accounts.

That is just five and seeings as there are two awards I am going to take the liberty of adding five more.

Donna at just me Donna is one of my horse lover friends. She has a beautiful gelding named Blue that she rides most days on the most wonderful trail rides. She posts some beautiful pictures of the scenery in her area that I drool over each time. She and her husband Cliff take time to do things together like riding their Gold Wing motorcycle and she is always ready with her camera to share interesting things that they see.

Barngoddess at ramblingsfromthereservation says it like it is. She shares her life with her Hubs and their boys plus a beautiful horse named Scooter. She doesn't mince words but I can tell she has a heart of gold and has given me such kind words as I have gone through my ordeal with my horse Buddy. She has been a real encouragement to me.

Tonya at thereisaseason is another horse buddy. She posts beautiful action pictures of one of her daughters doing barrel racing and her younger daughter and herself in the most wonderful costumes for Leadline class. It's worth a look to go see some of the outfits she comes up with such as Goofy and Minnie Mouse. The pony her daughter is riding is in a matching outfit as well. Tonya has a heart for God and it is very evident in her writing.

KC at mindlesschatterofabusymom was one of the very first sites I started reading. She is a really busy mom with children and husband but finds time to post wonderful menus, WW, Thursday Thirteens and Time Travel Tuesdays. She also posts pictures of her beautiful family and lots of the exciting things they do together. She is a Christian Mom and is teaching her children the ways of the Lord.

Myrna at Cherish the Word is one of the newest bloggy friends that I enjoy. She and her husband have some challenges in their life but with super attitudes and a heart for God they go forward. Myrna has some neat puzzles on her site, does some really interesting memes, puts the word out about contests and give aways that are going on in Bloggyville and has a beautiful 'new look'. Recently she gave some very good advice to all of us women to have our yearly check ups and mamm*ograms.

I still could go on and on about more of my favorite sites but I guess I'd better leave those for another time. I enjoy each and every one of the them as they all are different and interesting. Some others post the most beautiful pictures of flowers in their yards, I think there should be an award for that. You can see I am having trouble leaving people out of this award thing!! Anywho, that's it for tonight. Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!