A Bonfire, Kitty number 7 and a rat story.

I have been meaning to share this bonfire photo from the ranch this fall.  I love the way it turned out. 

 This is Oakley. He is kitty number seven. He loves to cuddle and eat! My son can't resist a kitten. 

 He was rescued by some of my son's friends who lived in an apartment. Since they didn't want to pay extra to have a cat, he needed a new home. 

Now for a rat story! It happened on the last morning before the Christmas holidays. First, I dropped the curling iron on myself. I ended up with a lovely burn down my chest. I finished getting dressed and headed to the kitchen to pack my lunch,  have breakfast, and get some ice. I noticed several kitties at the door wanting breakfast. I opened the door and let them in . I saw that Whiskey had something in his mouth. I left the door open and went to see what he had. He set it down and it moved. I screamed. LOUDLY! Whiskey ran out the door, and the rat ran under my china cabinet. I shouted for my son and then realized he was spending the night elsewhere. Scoundrel (another cat) was nearby, so I tried showing him where the rat was hiding. He wasn't interested. I knew I wasn't leaving for school with a rat in my house, so I called my teaching assistant to let her know what was going on. It turned out that Whiskey hadn't gone far. He was sitting on the patio table, so I brought him back in. I showed him the rat's hiding place. He dove under the china cabinet and came out with the rat. Thankfully, he took it back outside. I ate my cereal and packed my lunch with an ice pack on my burn. I was only 15 minutes late to school.
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Flashback to the Halloween wreck.

More catching up! I haven't done very well at regular blogging. I had planned to head out to the Ranch for a night in the camper. Instead I stayed home because  I seem to have caught a cold.  I did get my Christmas stuff packed away and my Valentines stuff out. I also spent some time on Pinterest. I found a wreath that I want to make for spring/Easter. I also want to try some pom pom garlands! Oh wait, I also have a few tassel ideas as well. Too bad live is not all summers and weekends. Anyway, on the the "catching up" part of this post.
 On Halloween night, Brian was returning to work from his break when someone turned in front of him. He caught the back end of the other truck, lost his front tire, jumped a curb and ended up in the Discount Tire parking lot. He missed the building by about 10 feet.

This is his new set of used wheels. Yes he loves "lifted" trucks.  
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Catching Up!

 Hmmm,  I've really neglected my blog! It was a super busy fall, full of camping, deer hunting, clogging, sewing, crocheting, embroidering and celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas. Another cat has also joined the family. (Brought home by my son, Brian) I hope to start backtracking a bit and getting this blog caught up! I guess that could be my New Year's Resolution. My brother helped me pull my camper out to the Ranch for deer season etc. It doesn't look level because of the ground.

 The cousins spent some time catching tilapia before the cold weather which will kill many of them.

 Willie is about to toss a casting net. You can see a tilapia jumping out of the water! They do this when food is tossed into the water.

Brian is throwing the casting net here. We had a successful deer season and have a freezer of meat which helps keep the grocery bill lower!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

New chicken!

My SIL saw this chicken at her church's rummage sale and thought of me. She knows me well. I love it!
Totally off the subject, we have been back at school for 3 weeks now. My teaching assistant and I have 24 pre-kindergarteners in our room. We are exhausted. Our campus opens at 7:00 a.m. We dismiss at 3:15 with and teachers must stay until 3:45. (can be as late as 5:30 on faculty meeting days.) Pre-kindergarten has adopted a new curriculum so I am staying until 5 most days to work on lesson plans. Often with errands or other after school business, I don't get home until 6 or 7. I am wishing for a long weekend to take the camper somewhere. Sadly, there are none for quite awhile. I was so tired that I didn't even make it to our local Master Gardener plant sale this morning!
Y'all come back, 
Lorilee

Mom's needlework

My Mom was always busy. Besides gardening, cooking and baking, she also did various types of needlework, sewing, and crocheting. I recently did some re-decorating and hung some of her needlework in my dining area. 

I am trying to follow in her footsteps and hone my embroidery, sewing and crocheting skills along with gardening, cooking and baking!

She was my best friend. She has been gone 15 years now. I still miss her.

Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Rummage Sale treasures

My SIL has been in charge of the "boutique"  part of her church's rummage sale. Last year I helped her work on pricing for a day. This year I had a week of Pre-kindergarten teacher workshops to attend and was only able to help for a couple of hours. The perk is getting to shop early! I have been looking for a simple miniature coat rack styled jewelry rack but have been unable to find one that fit my vision or pocket book! SCORE for $1.

A lavender Liz Claiborne handbag. It doesn't appear to have been used at all. I usually buy sensible brown handbags. I always love the brightly colored ones, but I  hate to spend so much money on something that won't match everything! Perfect for $5.

I want to display more of my vintage hat collection, but vintage hat stands are too expensive. This is actually a candle holder that was marked 50 cents! Yippee!

AND I found this crocheted shawl in a box of scarves marked 25 cents each. 

These treasures made my day!

I also made my first fabric and appliqué banner. I  was working on it until time for Ashlynn's birthday party and didn't get a photo of it.  So here it is with Ashlynn and her mom, Michelle.
Y'all come back!
Lorilee

Wind Farming

 I traveled with my brother's family to the Texas State Swim meet in Corpus Christi. On our way home, their oldest son wanted a closer look at the Wind Farm near Taft, Texas. We were able to pull over and get a fairly close look at one. They are HUGE! There are nearly 196 wind turbines on the "farm".

 All turbines are approximately 262 feet high and have 2 blades. They have a maximum rotation speed of 22 rotations per minute.  The majority of the electricity is sold to the Lower Colorado River Authority and CPS Energy which is owned by the  City of San Antonio.

They were interesting, but I am glad that I don't have them lining the horizon near me. 
Y'all come back, 
Lorilee

Making gifts and an overnight trip

 I don't really have any photos of the overnight trip. I went with  my SIL to drop my nephews off at their summer camp for the week. As you can see, they didn't wait for us! They were anxious to get checked in. This is the oldest nephew's third year to attend and the younger nephew's first year. You can see how hot and dry it is. The grass is all crunchy! We stayed with my SIL's Aunt Jan that night. She is so much fun. We then shopped a little in Austin before heading home. We spent a little time at "The Domain" shopping center. We spent our time mostly in the M.A.C. store and a Sur La Table. We passed through the Macy's. We arrived home late Friday evening. My niece had a Regional swim meet the next morning. She placed 1st in her division in breast stroke, 2nd in butterfly and her freestyle relay team placed 1st. There will be a trip to the state meet in Corpus Christi in a few weeks!

 The week before the little trip, I was busy getting a wedding gift ready. I wasn't able to attend the celebration, so I sent the gift with my oldest son. The gift consisted of an apron from her Uncle's jeans, an embroidered tea towel, a cookbook of family recipes and a chicken feed bag tote bag (I forgot to include it in the photo). I have a stack of washed bags and plan to make more.

 Here is the apron on its own.

 A close-up of the embroidery. The pattern is from the Hobby Lobby website.

 I decided to include quotations about "family" in the cookbook of family recipes. I was thrilled to find polka dot looseleaf binders and polka dot border paper at Wal-Mart.

 The bride is a fan of "The Office" so I included some Dwight Schrute quotations!

 I used black and white polka dot for wrapping since the invitation was black with white print.

I've got a long to-do list. Hopefully, I'll get something done and have more to share soon! The Double Toe Jam is also coming up! I will be going to Waco to attend with several others from my clogging group!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Nostalgia in a cake!

 My mom made this cake regularly. Jello Poke Cake! We had a homemade dessert after almost every meal. It is a perfect dessert for the current hot weather. Bake a white cake according to the cake mix directions. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then poke with a fork or chopstick at 1/2 inch intervals. 

Dissolve a 3 oz. package of jello in 1 cup of boiling water. Add the cold water and spoon over the cake while still in the pan. Chill and top with cool whip or homemade whipped topping. We loved this cake made with watermelon jello! I used Black Cherry Jello and flavored my whipped topping with almond flavoring. YUMMY!

The perfect quick and cool dessert for summertime.
Y'all come back and say hello!
Lorilee

Summer is here!

 It has been months since I have posted anything here at Cackleberry Cottage! Busy months. End of the school year as a teacher, packing the classroom for the summer, baby graduating, working in the garden and slipping in a little clogging and crocheting. I made some changes in my bedroom. The old sewing machine cabinet was in the living room. I finally added the lace at the bottom of the door to hide the stuff stashed in the cabinet along with the sewing machine. I just received the print from a friend. I love how it has the same colors as the lamp.

 My baby graduated from high school. He is on the far left. This foursome has been friends since middle school.

 My oldest son joined me on a trip to Lake Texana. We joined my baby brother and his family and my dad and stepmom. We rode bikes, ate too much, had campfires every night, and swam a little. We had t-storms pass through almost every afternoon which made it unseasonably cool for south Texas. It was wonderful for bike riding and a campfire felt good in the evening.

 This is the clan on one of the several fishing piers. There was an alligator hanging around below the pier which had a fish cleaning sink. It was waiting for dinner.

 Another shot with me in the line-up!

 We rode some of the trails. This one had a nice little bridge over some water.

We really needed to burn some calories. Did I mention we ate too much!
Hopefully, I will not be as negligent about posting as I have been the last few months.
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of blogland!
Blessings,
Lorilee

 A few weekends ago, I arrived home well after dark. Hubby had fed the pets, but Bella (our youngest kitty) had not come from outside to eat. I went out to look for her. I called and called. I heard owls hooting in the distance. Then I saw a big rat snake on our privacy fence. There was a smaller rat snake crawling     up the wire fence under our bat house. I was feeling pretty creeped out and upset that I couldn't get Bella to come. Brian came home from work and started helping me look for Bella. Then he decided to catch the snake. The other cats were also interested in the snake. It let out its defense odor. YUCK. He did catch it. He put it in a bucket, promising to relocate it in the morning. Bella finally came--early the next morning. That evening, she knocked a basket with a 1/2 dozen eggs off the counter. What a mess. I was ready to put her back outside with the owls and snakes. Oh, and Brian did let the snake go--right back in the pasture behind our yard. I'm sure I will be meeting it again, probably in my chicken coop.

Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Redneck Saturday

I spent last Saturday afternoon and evening at the Rocking HI Ranch.

There was fishing at "Skinny Dip Place" a.k.a. the tank!

There was also some pecan shelling.

A little snacking in the back of the Ranger.

Along with refreshments and relaxation.

Then there was the "treasure hunt" following clues all over the Ranch to find birthday gifts.!

Finally, the jackpot! Gifts hidden in one of the deer blinds.

Then it was time for supper. Fried catfish and shrimp with plenty of sides!

Love those fingers full of fish breading!

Y'all come back,
Lorilee