4th of July treats

I love all things Americana.
Every summer I want to decorate my house in red white and blue.
I absolutely love it.

These are a super easy little treat to set out at 4th of July.
Marshmallows, dipped in white chocolate, colored toothpicks, and colored sugar.



Put them on a table with a red and white gingham fabric tablecloth.
And a galvanized steel bucket of big sunflowers.
And lemonade served in mason jars with red straws.
And a cherry pie with a star on top.
And Cathe's nautical napkin rings.
Easy peasy.

As I was taking the first photo, the sun shifted and offered a yummy glow.


Lovely food and lovely sun? I can't take it.
Too much loveliness.

Do you have plans for the 4th?

Alvin.

When we were in Colorado recently we were at a picnic lunch one day when we met Alvin.
You know Alvin, right?
The chipmunk?
He did a record album or two back in the 70's (I think??) and most recently he's done some family movies.




How cute is he?!

My kids desperately wanted to give him a cappuccino and have him sing "All The Single Ladies" but he wasn't interested.



*****
Speaking of movies, have you seen any good family movies in the theater lately? We're wanting to see something soon.

Perfectly Imperfect.

For a while I was on a search for a quilt.
I wanted something with a lot of color, not muted tones.
And I wanted it varied, with no specific color scheme.
And I didn't want it to be mass produced.
And I didn't want to pay a fortune.
A bit of a tall order, but I knew I could find one.
So every time I hit the thrift stores I'd check.

And one day I found this.


It was pinned together so I didn't even know the size. But I knew I'd use it somewhere.
On the way to the register, three different women stopped me to mention what a beautiful quilt it was!


It's heavy on turquoise and yellow, my two favorite colors.
Other than that, there's no rhyme or reason to it.


It's random. It doesn't make sense.
The pieces don't match up. The colors are all over the charts.








It's Granny Chic meets Ralph Lauren.
It's homespun midwest charm.
It's wrong in every way, but made with love.
And it was $25.

Which makes it so very me.


*****
Have you found any thrift store treasures lately?

Country Boys can survive.

Country Boy simply needs a wheat field, some John Deere tractors, and overalls to be happy.
Sunshine and dirt are good too.















Country Boy also needs a haircut.
Badly.

Happy Saturday to you!

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join:

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants.
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please sign in only if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week.
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This was taken a few days ago after a big storm with lots of hail.
I LOVE God's reminder that he promises to protect us, no matter what.
He really does have the whole world in His hands!

Catching Lightning.

The other night when we were driving home to Kansas from Colorado, we were headed into a huge storm.

We listened to the radio, made phone calls, watched the radar and felt like we were safe, but we still had to drive through some nasty stuff for about 3 hours.

Part of it was a massive lightning storm.
We watched for a while and then I got a wild hair and wondered if I could capture it on camera.

It took a few tries with different settings, but I finally got it.
So all of these were caught through a rainy windshield in a moving vehicle.

As we were headed toward the storm -




















Of course if I'd been outside with my camera on a tripod they'd have been much clearer.
But I'm still thrilled with what I could catch!
I love a good photography challenge.

*****
Storms: Scary or Cool?

Sponsor spotlight and a giveaway winner!

In the years that I've been running ads on this blog, I've changed things up several different times.

I really want the advertisers to get the attention they deserve so I'm going to start doing a sponsor spotlight once a month. Please click around these shops and explore what's out there. You might find something you just have to have!


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Sew Gracious : handmade accessories & gifts with Southern style
Pam's lifetime of sewing experience & love of pretty things make each Sew Gracious special. Individually handmade Sew Gracious Accessories & Gifts are created for the woman who appreciates a stylish, well-made item that reflects her charm, style, personality & good taste.

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Heart of Virtue is a site filled with information, tips, and ideas for raising Godly girls. Their book "What Every Girl Should Know" is a personal favorite in our household and it would be great for youth groups or Sunday School classes.

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V and Co. features amazing tutorials for the DIY crafter. The shop is loaded with instructions for quilts, purses, scarfs, and more. Trendy, fresh, and stylish!

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Doodle Bugs Paper was started in January 2003. I started selling my personalized stationery by word of mouth, local home shows, and selling on ebay. The Doodle Bugs Paper website was opened in November 2004 and I went from designing stationery as a fun side hobby to a full time job. I offer personalized notecards, address labels, notepads, stickers, bag tags, self inking stamps and much more.

Get free shipping for the month of June by entering rustedchain during checkout in the coupon/voucher code box.

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Wendy Darling Ltd. is a sweet etsy shop with a variety of items. I'm a stay-at-home mom who is smitten with her little one. She likes to give her input on all of my creations and it's so fun to hear what she has to say. I have all kinds of ideas floating around in my head and I love to create things! What I make depends on my mood and which way the wind is blowing, so you never know what you might find here. Don't you just love surprises?

The wheat around us has now been cut but I snapped a few pictures a while back. I have more to share with you soon. It's headed to be made into bread and crackers now!


One more thing:
The winner of the recent giveaway is Kelley. Congratulations! Please email therustedchaininfo AT yahoo.com.

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Summer reading: Magazines or novels??

We're not in Kansas anymore...

Actually we are now. But we weren't.
We spent the last week at our cabin in Colorado.
It's always... interesting.

It's not a luxury stay. It's rustic and rugged and similar to what I would think camping is like... if I camped.
It's dirty. Water is limited.
But the scenery and relaxation can't be beat.


(clockwise from left: 1. red pinecones. never seen those! 2. bear markings 3. The Boy 4. Welcome 5. handmade crochet)

Our cabin is about 10 miles from Pike's Peak.
We do lots of hiking and fishing and grilling hot dogs and making s'mores and singing Cumbaya around the campfire. (all those are true except the last one.)



(1. The Man and kids on a rock. 2. Lilo found a beaver hole 3. The Baby 4. Sun 5. The Boy and The Girl.)


(The Baby packed a backpack for a hike... a Dr. Seuss backpack with fruit snacks and water bottles.)


Pike's Peak. Or Peak Mountain. Or Hike's Peak. Or Mountain Pike. Or High Peak Moutain. The Baby never quite did get it right. But we went up. (1. Train 2. The Boy scared looking over the edge 3. The Man and kids 4. The Kids 5. Huge snow bank 6. stepping in a lake.)


(1. we paid $37 for a sucker at the top of the mountain 2. pretty trees 3. too much snow to read the sign 4. Pikes Peak or Bust 5. Shadow shot. I'm not sure why I look like the Michelin Man. I really do have a waist. Dang sweatshirt.)

There are bears and mountain lions, huge wood ants, and plenty of birds.
This trip we didn't see a bear. (a few years ago I came face to face with one!)
Our cabin neighbor said he saw one roaming around our place 2 days before we arrived though.


(1. dogs and mallows 2. messy mallow 3. more dogs 4. dinner time 5. Reese's S'more)


Santa's Workshop at the North Pole. It's a tradition. (1. slide 2. told you I have a waist! I'm quite tall and thin. And I lie. 3. The Baby and grandpa on a car 4. The Boy and The Baby driving 5. The Girl driving)


(1. Llama 2. some child with long bird legs and The Baby 3. Me and The Baby on a big swing)


(1. rocket 2. merry go round 3. This magician said "Kids, would you like to stroke my magic bunny?" ... and The Man and I laughed like 12 year olds for the next 5 hours. 4. teacups 5. Meeting with Santa)

We generally go to the cabin every year but last year Martha Stewart came calling so we went to see her instead.

Every year until this one, we've had no access to the outside world while at the cabin.
No computer. No cell phones. Nothing. We're real mountain people!
But this year it was impossible for me to be away from The Rusted Chain for that long so I took a laptop.
I tried to only check in a few times a day.
Instead of playing on the internet, I read. Lots and lots of magazines. (I'm deep and intellectual.) Then read them again.
Then read them a third and fourth time.
Then took a nap. And another.
The went on twitter and exclaimed that I was bored. Then I went on Facebook and said, "entertain me."
I've always heard and believed that "bored people are boring." But in this case I disagree.
In this fast crazy busy high tech always connected world we live in, there's something really amazing about becoming bored.
Not a thing in the world to do other than sit on the porch, go for another hike, listen to silence, watch for more wildlife, read, and nap.
I really wish each of you could experience this type of boredom once a year or so.


Manitou Springs (1. No Shoes No Shirt No service. Bras optional. Ha! 2. cute pink bike 3. pretty pottery 4. artisan bench 5. park bird art 6. Patsy's - a classic 7. beads - decisions, decisions, 8. tasting the spring water)


2 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs, 1 car, 9 hours... fun times!


Such pretty scenery!

Whew. That's a lot of photos. And a lot of vacation. And a lot of memories.
It was a great time! But I'm glad to be home.

Back to work I go!

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Did you have a good weekend?