Grams Made A Witch Hat Windsock

Grams loves to decorate for holidays. When my kids were at home I often took it to extremes. In fact, some of my neighbors used to call me the holiday lady. In recent years, I have cut back. I just don't have the energy to get it all out and put it all away for every holiday. With the exception of Christmas, now I only put out a few indoor decorations. But I always keep a seasonal windsock in the tree in the front yard and a wreath or other seasonal decoration on the front porch.

The windsock helps minimize the number of birds that roost right over my swing in the front yard. It cuts down on the bird poop on my swing. I've had quite a collection of windsocks over the years, but last year I noticed that many of them were looking worn and haggard, so I tossed those out when I took them down.

When I went shopping for a new Halloween windsock this year,

Saved

I couldn't find one that I liked. I decided to make my own. I went shopping for an inexpensive witch hat that would stand up to the weather. There is a strong prevailing south wind that blows right into my front yard, so it needed a rigid brim. I had a very hard time finding one that wasn't made of velvet or Pellon. I knew neither of those would take the wind and sun. I also had a hard time buying just a hat. Wal-Mart and HEB only had the entire costumes. I finally found a suitable hat at Family Dollar and it only cost $3. BONUS!

The hat is made out of a rip-stop parachute fabric and has a sheer overlay with a silver spiderweb print which also hangs off the brim and makes a ruffle about 4 inches long. The purple hat band also came on the hat.

All I did was add four lengths of black tulle spaced evenly around the brim. The tulle is 6-inches wide and I cut each length to about 48 inches.  Then I added four lengths of black ribbon, also about 48 inches long. I sewed them to the brim of the hat on my sewing machine. Then I knotted the tulle every 12 inches or so to give it weight. I used hot glue to attach small craft mirrors back-to-back every 6-8 inches down the ribbon. The mirrors were left over from another project so I was happy to use them up and get them out of my craft closet.

Finally I attached 8 inches of black ribbon in a loop, which I stitched across the tip-top of the hat. Since the wind is very strong, I added a swivel hook to the top which is used to attach it to a hook in the tree. The swivel hook came from the fishing tackle department at Wal-Mart.

I'm really pleased with the finished product. The mirrors really look good in the sunlight. They create a moving array of little spots of light all across the yard and the front of the house. I took several pictures, but it was difficult to photograph. This is the best picture I got.

Gone to Goliad

On Saturday, I met my sister, "Aunt B", in Goliad. Goliad is one of my favorite places to visit and I've been there many times. It's about halfway between my house and Aunt B's house. We're always looking for someplace to meet and this is a good choice. This was my first trip to Goliad Market Days.

If you're not from Texas, you may not know that Goliad is the site of Presidio La Bahia and Mission Esperito Santo. It was the place where the first offensive action in the battle for Texas independence took place when local colonists captured the presidio and hoisted the "bloody arm" flag. On December 20, 1835 they signed the first Declaration of Texas Independence here on the altar of the presidio chapel.

On Palm Sunday of 1836 it became the site of the largest single loss of life in the cause of Texas independence when Colonel Fannin and 341 men, who had surrendered to the Mexican army, were marched outside and shot at close range. Twice as many people died here as at the Alamo. The rallying cry for Texas independence became "Remember Goliad. Remember the Alamo."

You can still visit Presidio La Bahia which has been restored and the replica of Mission Esperito Santo. You can sit in the chapel and walk across the drill yard. It's especially moving to go for historical reenactments. The museum curators and docents tell the story in a beautiful and moving fashion. Grams will admit that no matter how many times I go, it still moves me to tears.

The centerpiece of Goliad Market Days is the Goliad County Courthouse which was designed by English Architect Alfred Giles in 1894. The market is set up all the way around the square. As you can see from the photo, Saturday was a post-card perfect day. The weather was warm but not too hot.

We started with lunch at one of several restaurants located around the square. We chose Panache on the Square which turned out to be a really good choice. It only offers a few menu items each day, but all of them are done well. It's a great little place, especially if you consider yourself a foodie. Aunt B and Grams both had half a Rachel sandwich, veggie chips, and a bowl of potato soup. It was delicious. On Saturday's menu they also offered a hamburger and another soup (I think it was Chicken Tortilla). We also noticed that they have a Sunday brunch. I think it would be worth the hour and fifteen minute drive from Corpus Christi just to try it.

We especially enjoyed several things about the market. As a matter of fact, we had so much fun that I didn't snap very many pictures. First of all, the market is smallish but it offers a very nice variety of merchandise. It wasn't just the same thing over and over again. Second, it was not crowded. There were a lot of people there, but it's set up well and spread out enough that it's not jam-packed with people. But my absolute favorite part was that all around the square there are rocking chairs and benches placed so you can just sit and rest a while. That's a really nice touch ... especially since Aunt B and Grams have dubbed ourselves as "LOL squared" (little old ladies - laughing out loud). We're both afflicted with bad knees and need to rest from time-to-time.

Market Days are dog friendly. There were several dogs there who were all on leashes and all very well behaved. I will admit that I fell in love with this beauty who is half Golden Retriever and half Chow. Gorgeous!

Goliad Market Days are held year round on the second Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can buy a wide variety of merchandise from hand-made lace to Tupperware. If you go, I recommend that you stop at the Whataburger or a gas station and use the bathroom before parking and walking into the square. They only have one bathroom with two stalls and the line for the ladies room was long.

For more information about Goliad and Market Days, visit the Goliad County Chamber of Commerce web site.

Halloween Doesn't Scare Me, But This Does ...

Grams' neighbors have started their annual Halloween decorating frenzy. There are ghosts and ghouls hanging from trees. Gravestones are popping up in front yards. Front doors are guarded by scarecrows and witches. Walkways have been lined with spiderwebs and jack-o-lanterns. This neighborhood is big on Halloween. I blogged about the Haunt-aholics in my neighborhood last year.

But ghosts and ghouls don't scare me. Here's what's really scary. Christmas is less than twelve weeks away. (Cue Psycho music.) AmberLee over at Giver's Log called this to my attention with a couple of recent posts.  She has also put together a very helpful Holiday Organizer to help us get organized and make this the year that we "get holiday things done in time to enjoy the holidays." Click on over to this post and you can download the organizer in two different forms.

Nerds Rule the School

Grams has worked two days at our local high school this week. Yesterday I taught chemistry. Today it was algebra. I'll just admit right now that I am woefully inadequate to teach either, but especially algebra. Fortunately, for today's algebra class I had an aide who was a math specialist for the first two class periods. She actually taught the class while I observed and took notes.

It's homecoming week at the high school which means the students are celebrating every day. Yesterday was celebrity day. I saw girls dressed as Kim Kardashian, J-Wow, and Christina Aguilera. The boys didn't seem to participate too much.

Today was Nerd Day. There were dozens of kids, both boys and girls, dressed as nerds. It was the cutest thing ever to see high school kids who are usually so concerned about being dressed in the most fashionable and popular clothing. Today they came in plaid shorts with suspenders, argyle sweaters, knee socks, Chuck Taylors, black socks, hair in pig tails, horn-rimmed glasses with tape on the nose piece, bow ties, and plaid skirts. I even saw one boy in a beanie with a propeller on top. It was SO cute!

There were even a couple of teachers who dressed nerdy. At lunch, one teacher came into the faculty lunch room and in her best "Steve Urkel" voice asked if anyone saved her a seat. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out her reading glasses which were extremely thick and held together with masking tape. But my absolute favorite thing was the science and math teachers. They all had on black t-shirts emblazoned across the front with "Talk Nerdy To Me."

Personally, I like nerds. In fact, I love them. I always told my daughter that nerds make the best husbands. Many years ago when I went to one of my high school reunions, I discovered that many of the boys whom we had considered nerds in high school were looking much better. They had great jobs, had learned how to dress well, looked younger than many of the others and seemed to have overcome the "nerd" label we had put on them.

Tomorrow is breast cancer awareness day at the high school. Each class has made and sold t-shirts to support breast cancer awareness. The school will be awash in pink.

Friday is maroon shirts and crazy socks and hat day. That should be fun.

Grams Made Pumpkin, Cranberry & Pecan Muffins

When we were in Houston last weekend Grams went to Ikea where I bought a new muffin tin. It makes a tall, skinny muffin which is bigger than a mini-muffin but smaller than a regular muffin. I've been dying to try it all week but I've been crazy-busy. This afternoon, while Grandad went dove hunting I decided to give it a try. The muffins sort of look like pop-overs when you fill the tins properly. I had to experiment a little to get it just right.

I got this recipe from another blogger. I modified it to use Splenda for Baking which is a Splenda/sugar blend. Click on For the Love of Cooking for the original recipe. While you're there, look around. She has some great recipes.

2 cups of flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Splenda for Baking
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a muffin tray with cooking spray.

Mix together the flour, Splenda for Baking, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the pumpkin, oil, eggs, cranberries, and pecans. Mix until just combined. Divide batter evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle coarse sugar evenly over batter in each cup.

Bake in the oven for 20-23 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

These were delicious, even with the Splenda/sugar exchange. I had two for dessert tonight.

I Hate Bra Straps

Grams can't stand it any more. I just have to finally say it. I hate it when women deliberately show their bra straps. I'm not talking about the occasional, stray strap peaking out now and then. I'm talking about blouses, tanks and dresses that are clearly meant to be worn with a strapless or T-back bra, yet women just go ahead and wear their regular bras and let the straps just show. I've noticed that young girls even seem to wear contrasting or matching colors. I hate it!

Grams tries to be tolerant, really I do. If you're just hanging out at the park or maybe even the mall, I'll just look the other way. But, if you're going to church, come on people, show a little respect.

As I've told you before, I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church. I know it's different now, but in my youth we didn't even wear pant suits to church. Dresses were the only acceptable attire for church. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was okay to wear slacks when I started attending the Catholic Church.

The church we attend now is in a very small farming community. Casual attire is very acceptable and we often wear blue jeans to church. But, this morning there was a young woman seated about three rows in front of me who was wearing a blouse that had deep vees cut into the armholes on both sides of the back creating kind of an X-back and baring almost all of the upper part of her back. She had two sets of straps in two different colors showing. I assume what I was seeing was a bra strap and a camisole strap. It was all I could do not to take off my sweater and drape it over her shoulders and back.

Aside from the inappropriateness of the blouse and exposed straps, the weather was cool this morning; cool enough that I had a sweater over my blouse. It is highly unlikely that she was not uncomfortably chilly. But most of all, it was just not proper attire for church. My mother would have described it as "trailer park trash" and I would have been sent to my room to dress properly. To borrow a phrase from Bill Cosby, "Come on people!"

I do want to point out that there is no photo to accompany this post. I resisted the urge to snap a picture with my cell phone for two reasons. One, because it would have been inappropriate behavior for church and, two, because my mother-in-law was sitting right next to me. See, I know how to behave.

I'm One in a Million

Grams has joined the army ... the Love/Avon Army of Women that is. Grams has joined and you should too!

You see, this year someone Grams knows lost her life to breast cancer. She was a beautiful, fun-loving, talented, caring woman who dedicated her life to her family, to the education of young children, and to mentoring young teachers. She was about the same age as me and her daughters went to school with my kids. She fought a long and hard battle, but ultimately she lost the fight. The entire community was moved by her struggle and devastated by losing her. Martha won't be there to hold her first grandchild when it's born in a few months. I joined for Martha.

And right now, someone I know is actively involved in the battle against breast cancer. She's a member of my book club. She is also a beautiful talented woman. I don't know her well, she's only been in the club a couple of months. She shares Grams' passion for reading. Her smile lights up the room. Sometimes she has chemo on the same day she comes to book club. Sometimes she doesn't feel like eating and she can't have a glass of wine, but she shows up and participates. I love seeing Becky every month at book club and I love her smile and positive attitude. I joined for Becky, too.



The Army of Women is an opportunity for women and men to take part in breast cancer research studies aimed at determining the causes of breast cancer–and how to prevent it. This is a groundbreaking initiative that connects breast cancer researchers via the internet with women who are willing to participate in a wide variety of research studies. The goal of the Army of Women is to recruit ONE MILLION MEN AND WOMEN of all ages and ethnicities, including breast cancer survivors and those who have never had breast cancer.

Signing up for the Army of Women does NOT automatically enlist you in any research project. What it does is put you on an eblast mailing list for notification of studies. When you get an email, you respond yes or no to let the Army of Women know whether you qualify for a particular study and whether you are interested and able to participate in that study. Participation is ALWAYS VOLUNTARY. Just because you join the Army of Women doesn't mean you'll be in a research study.

Studies will require a variety of different things. Participation in a study may be as simple as filling out an online questionnaire or you may be asked for a blood sample. It all varies according to the study. Joining the Army of Women is free.  It doesn't cost you anything and there's no charge when and if you participate in a study. This is an opportunity for women to help find the cause of breast cancer. The goal is to PREVENT breast cancer not just to cure it.

Now, Grams is asking you to join the Army of Women too. Sign Up Today. I joined for Martha and Becky. I also joined for my daughter and for Our Little Princess. Who will you join for?

After you sign up (or if you're already a member) you can also help recruit more members. Use this ‘invite a friend’ link to ask them to join.

You can also help by passing the word. On Oct 1 please post this following update to your Facebook status; “I signed up to STOP breast cancer before it STARTS. Have you? Join today at www.armyofwomen.com, then copy and paste this status update as your own”.

And, men, did you catch that you can join the Love/Avon Army of Women? That's right, you can and you should. As a matter of fact ... all men who love boobies should join.  And we all know you all love the boobies!