Idaho Jan

Here is Michelle Dass and I just hanging out. She came for a visit on her way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She says she wants to move back to Rexburg but I think she has forgotten how long our winters are!

I've finished tieing about 6 quilts now and it does feel very nice to be getting some things finished up. I like the quilting frames I borrowed. They are the right height for me to stand up and it works out great.

Have you ever tried this? I heard about a way to save on paper towels by cutting them in half because you usually only use a little of it anyway. So I brought out my electric knife... And I cut through my Bounty Towels. This works if your paper towels are on a verticle holder. I use these in the bathroom and cutting them in half is working out well. Try it, you might like it.

I borrowed some quilt frames and invited my two lovely granddaughters over to learn how to tie a quilt. We had fun. Madison is trying to get the needle unstuck from the bottom of the quilt. Our finished products (which you can't see all that well) but the girls liked them. I even made one for me. I'm calling it my picnic quilt. Now I just need some sunshine, a lunch, and my wonderful hubby!

Silly girls Rilee and Madison with their quilts. They came over last week to learn how to quilt. (Another posting soon to show that.) Madison is headed up to girl's camp this week and will be taking the quilt she tied. These girls know how to have fun!

People say you can grow tomatoes this way...Dale said a guy at his work is doing this and his tomatoes are growing well that Dale decided to try it. You get a large bucket (5 gal. size I think) and drill a 2 in hole in the bottom and the lid. Then you gently place the tomato in it upside-down and take a sponge (cut with a slice in it) to surround the stem so it won't fall out. Then you add the dirt and put the lid on. Keep watered, pray for sunshine, and hope it gets some flowers on it that grow into giant, fresh tomatoes. I'll have to keep you posted on this interesting, green experiment!

This was a nice bargain I found, thanks to my coupon friends. I bought one bottle St. Ives body wash for $1.50 (I had a 1.50 off coupon) and the Right Guard was actually free. The deoderant was on sale at Walgreens for .99 and I had a coupon for 1.00 off! Plus, I received a $3 off Register Refund on my next purchase. Total OOP was $1.94. Now that was a good deal.

Monday Dale and I decided to tie a quilt. I borrowed the quilt frames and we spread the blue tricot fabric on the wood. Here Dale is working on the quilt. He actually did very well once I showed him how. Because Dale has big fingers, he couldn't thread the needles so I was the official yarn threader for the night. The "just about finished" product. Now I have to bind the edge but it will be a nice soft quilt for little Frankie Sailor Gumbs soon-to-be-born grandson.

On Tuesday several ladies in our ward got together for a "Healthy Appetizers" class. We each made something, brought extra recipes and tried the snacks together. I brought the homemade chips in the middle with the salsa. Someone brought layered chip dip, fruit with dip, and some yummy cucumbers topped with feta and tomato pesto. What I enjoyed was the conversation. Just sitting, relaxing, and visiting was fun. Oh, and the food tasted pretty good too!

Lovely, isn't it? I went to get a mammogram at the hospital and this is what one wears during the proceedure. So after I was done, I decided to check out the fish tank in the lobby. I had to laugh. . . There was a fish playing Peek-a-Boo with me. He would swim around the rock and when he saw my camera, he would flee. These two didn't mind the exposure. A fun time at the hospital. :) S

Just thought I'd share what we had for dinner the other night. Let me explain. . .We had two enchiladas (filled with a hamburger/bean mixture), 1 cup parsnips (a great vegetable I just discovered), 8 oz of iceberg lettuce, 1/2 c salsa, and 1 cup of grapes for dessert. No need to go to Gringos!

I saw this tree on the south side of the Rexburg Tabernacle. I love pink and I thought this was so colorful!

Cole and Jenna are now the proud owners of a cute home out in Ammon, Idaho, which is a short distance away from Idaho Falls. They have some pasture land that came with the house and there are some horses grazing on it right now. The horses belong to the previous owner. They've been painting and working hard to update the inside of the house. Their address is now 4822 So. Ammon Road. This is their dining area with a TV room that has been added on. This is their kitchen and it is actually the same design as my first home...the U-shaped design. I really like their bar. What a great place to cook, serve and eat. Congratulations you guys! I know you'll take good care of it.

Yeah, so since going to the Dave Ramsey event, we've been working on our debt snowball. Part of the process of being debt free is getting rid of the credit card... Don't get me wrong, I like the Beehive Credit Union but we decided we're not using the credit card any more. So therefore, it's time for plastic surgery! Down with Debt! WooHoo!

June 5th was the anniversary of the Teton Dam Flood which happened 33 years ago. That was quite something to be involved with. At the time I had two toddlers and one on the way. I was outside working in the yard when my neighbor ran to tell me he heard on the radio that the dam broke and we needed to get out. I grabbed some diapers, graham crackers, loaded up the trunk of the car and waited for Dale to come home from work. We were told to head up to the college Manwaring building. It was about 2 1/2 hours later after the warning that we saw this come through town. Dale is on the right standing at the base of Ricks College campus standing on dry ground, watching debri and cows float by. After living for a time at the college dorms, we were issued this HUD trailer to stayed in while Dale worked on making our home liveable. We sustained only minimal damage because our house floated up off the foundation and came back down about 2 inches off where it was. The only way we knew is because

LeeAnne Dewsnup and I went to IF on Saturday. We shopped at the beauty supply store (one of my favorite places) and WinCo Foods. When it was lunch time we took our food and went to the green belt. Just by sitting there a half hour I got a sun burn on my neck! I introduced LeeAnne to the Meatball Marianara salad. Yummy stuff! She liked it and I was in heaven with my veggies! It was nice to hang out with my good friend.

This is the crew I work with in the Extended Resource room and Madison Jr. High. Coach Wilson gave these boys special football jerseys because they were so enthused about going to gym class. They would change into their PE clothes and RUN down the hall to see who could get there first. I often would play UNO with Jaden here and I would say, "You're goin down!" He liked to beat me and say, "Are you gonna cry now?" Nah! This is Asheley. She doesn't talk or communicate much. After I took this picture I left the room with another student and while she was up from her chair she got into my purse and took a bite out of my blue tooth! I think she thought it was candy or something. Luckily it still works...must have tasted bad though!

Dale and I are on our deck eating dinner on a warm Idaho day. Thanks to my son-in-law Chad Ward and my husband Dale, we have this awesome place to sit and eat. We look to the west and see the golf greens so it is really a nice view. Of course, that means we harvest some golf balls in the summer but that's OK... I give them away to family members who play the game.

Dale decided last Saturday that he would wash the front windows. What a great idea! As you can see we had beautiful blue skies. Now we can see clearly now...Much better I think. One of the things I like about Dale ...he likes clean windows and he's willing to do the work!