This weeks show and tell is actually quite shameful! Last night while I was looking around for my fall decorations, I found this pop-up haunted house.
When I was in the 2nd grade ( 1969), my teacher Mrs. Udell told us she had a special prize and showed us this haunted house. I knew from the minute I laid eyes on this haunted house, I had to have it. No matter what it took! To win the haunted house, Mrs. Udell told us to put our heads down on our desks and close our eyes while she hid several construction paper pumpkins.
Well you probably have guessed by now that I cheated. I just squinted my eyes and watched her hide all the pumpkins! When she told everyone GO! I ran right to all the hiding places and found the most pumpkins, so I got the haunted house!
The sad part of this is that I felt no remorse! I HAD TO HAVE THAT HAUNTED HOUSE!
38 years later, everytime I get this haunted house out for Halloween, I remember how I won it and feel just a little guilty. But not much!
Hope everyone has a wonderful week-end.
Blessings
Linda
Speaking of helping, the deer "helped" my hyacynth bean vine turn into sort of a topiary! There are not so many of the leaves left near the bottom and all the blooms and pods are at the top, I guess they can't reach that far.
We also drove the boat down to "The Cliffs". The cliffs have been an attraction since I was a young girl. You climb up the rocks then jump! There used to be a rope swing, but it isn't there anymore. I used to jump until I was sore. 
I dismantled our guest room and my husband built the cabinets! The cabinets are oak and the counter top is a laminate called "Butternut". I have under the counter lighting which I LOVE!
Now I have easily available spaces for my craft supplies. I was forever re-buying things that I already had but couldn't find.
I have all my scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies in one area and all my sewing supplies in another. The lady in the picture is my great aunt Clara. She taught me to crochet and tried very hard to teach me to sew, but I was more interested in climbing trees and playing football. My mother in law finally taught we to sew when I was about 22. 
The bookcase holds all my craft and sewing books, along with some Mary Englebreit, Martha Stewart Living and Country Living magazines. My In-Laws gave me the old timey radio for Christmas one year. I think it goes great in this room.
Last but not least is my cutting table. This table came from my Grandma's attic when she lived in the country. It was in the attic when she moved into the house in 1947. I used this for my kitchen table for almost 25 years, then when we remodeled the kitchen and put in a bar to eat from, I moved the table to my sewing room. I love this table. (The Strawberry under the table belongs to my great niece! and the bowl and pitcher is something I just have'nt found a home for yet. It belonged to my great aunt Clara.
Lemon-Lime Chiffon Pie
They are very simple. All you need is a pretty plate, a glass candlestick and some glue that bonds glass.
Find the center of the bottom of your plate and mark it with a marker. Spread the glue on top of the candlestick and just stick it on and let it dry 24 hours. That's it! This is what I am going to make to put my Christmas goodies on this year. I got the plate and the candlestick at a thrift store for .50 each. So for $1.00 you have a lovely gift! 
The first one is too funny. I had broken my arm that summer while playing "War" in a tree. One of my "friends" pushed me out of the tree and I landed on a rake handle and broke my arm. I don't even want to think what would have happened if I had landed on the pointy part of the rake. Anyway, I climbed back into the tree and slugged him before I went and told anyone that my are hurt. The dress I am wearing is homemade from my great aunt Clara, I loved that dress. Check out the injured doll. This was my favorite doll. She was cloth with a thin plastic face. The whole forehead part of the doll is punched in. She was very loved. The little girl with me is my sister, obviously hogging the Bugles. There is also a lovely shot of the cow "patty" beside me.
To get to my grandparents farm, you had to cross a swinging bridge. That's me at 6 years old, hanging on for dear life. If the water was low enough, you could drive through the ford in the creek, but not always. We crossed that bridge in sleet, snow, wind, you name it. There was also a nice little hike through the woods to get to the bridge. It was a real pain to carry groceries to the house this way, but we did what we had to do.
This past weekend was lots of fun. We went with a couple other families down to Greensboro, NC to Wet and Wild Emerald Pointe water park. It was really crowed but at least the weather wasn't as hot as it is in VA. The park has great water slides for babies all the way up to seniors.
Yesterday my husband and I went for a jetski ride after supper. Because of the drought in our area, (no rain in over a month) the lake is so low. Some peoples boat docks were completely out of the water. I truly hate the devastation that hurricanes bring, but I sure hope they send some rain our way.
She even put the bead details on the dolls dress.
My husband made a case for her and she proudly sits in our dining room.
On my way to my Grandmothers on Sunday, I took a picture of this house because it has always been one of my favorites, and now it is being torn down for a new road. I know the road is really needed through there but I have always loved this house. It has a huge barn and used to have several stables and riding rinks for horses. I can just imagine what fun past occupants had in that house. I can't help but feel sad for old abandoned houses. Think of how excited the builders of the house were when they were moving into their beautiful brand new home.
Sunday evening, when I was taking a walk down to the lake, I found that I wasn't alone in my walk. This beautiful deer stood perfectly still for quite some time as I continued to walk up to her. She finally ran off when I was within 50 feet, but was nice enough to pose for a photo before she was off. 
There is also ALOT of caterpillar nests in our trees! We are going to be bombarded with caterpillars this fall. Several years ago, our elderly neighbor decided to wage war against the caterpillars and after a "few" drinks, decided to go light the nests on fire. Needless to say, the fire got out of hand in the woods right next to our house! The fire department was able to extinguish the fire before too much damage was done. But he didn't learn his lesson, the next year he did it again! This time my husband was able to put the fire out before it spread to other trees. 
I love this burgundy colored sunflower. It is from Burpee seed and is called a "Chianti" The blooms are not very big, but are a rich burgundy color.
I love this little orange flower too. Does anybody have any idea what it is? It's stems almost look like daffodils. I planted them two years ago and forgot to mark what they are. This is the first year they have bloomed.
And last but certainly not least are the marigolds. I think Marigolds have gotten a bad rap. I hear people say they smell bad and they don't like them because they are too common. While I agree they aren't exactly "perfumy" smelling, I like the scent because it reminds me of fall. And marigolds are common because they are so easy to grow. I always just scrape a place in the soil fill with seeds and pretty much forget about them and they always grow. I especially like the colors of these.
I love this bowl too. I use it every time we have a family get together, and always with green beans in it.
Do any of you still use one of these? It is for bacon grease. My Mom always kept one on the stove and whenever she needed to flavor something, like green beans, cabbage, etc. She would use the grease in this kind of container. I thought nothing of it when I was young, but thinking about it now, it seems kinda yuck!
These little childrens cups did not come from Aunt Maggies home. I found them at a flea market and just had to have them. They are so cute!
After a little rummaging around in the weeds, I found the culprit! This amazingly colored terrapin. Most people call these box turtles, but where I grew up in the south and in the country we say "Tarpins".
