Almost done decorating...

Still not quite done!  It's a job!  I had to drag Worker Bee into the process.

So, since that job is not quite done I thought I'd take you back to the County Fair 2008.  Sorry no table settings that year - that's a long and bitter story and we're over it, right? - but we did get Best of Show for our Christmas tree.  We usually decorate in the fair theme category and last year it was ..... well I can't remember the exact words.... but it had to do with fishing and dreams.  The More Creative Friend and I didn't want to do the usual fishing lures, etc. tree. So we really s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d it to be a kitty cat's dream. The More Creative Friend's mom sewed all those little fish.  We painted the wooden fish, our garland was a ball of yarn,  and MCF made some big fish hooks.  She also made the tree skirt and topper.  (I was not exaggerating about her creativity!)   It's hard to tell in the picture, but the fleece we used had little kittens with santa hats on them.  Too cute!  We also took a couple of stuffed kitties and tucked them in and under the tree.  Believe me we did not expect to do so well!  It was a lovely surprise.  It's always fun when a ribbon goes along with the work, but the best part is getting to work with MCF.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you can come for a visit again.

Pirate Table Redux 2007

Still haven't finished all the Halloween decorating, but I thought I might share our Best of Show pirate table from the County Fair in 2007.  The More Creative Friend was mostly in charge of this one.  She went thrift store shopping like a pirate after buried treasure.  We started with the tablecloth fabric as our inspiration which made the table a little more grown up than child like.  We borrowed some pewter dishes for the table setting and bought the glasses at Marshall's.

Plastic skulls with our husbands' names were used for place cards (Worker Bee still has his), drippy candles and a treasure chest  were our centerpieces.  Any kind of jewel or coin we could find were used for this.  The napkins were coffee stained lace. This one was a lot of fun.

Now for a drastic change, we also did an Easter table in 2007.  Fabulous Phyllis sewed the tablecloth.  I used some pink plates I got at Target, along with some blue plates I bought when I was a Southern Living at Home consultant, and then topped off with a milkglass dessert dish.  The pink martini glasses were from Home Goods.  The menu board was also from Southern Living.  I just saw some similar products at Michael's last week.  The centerpiece was a little bunny with a cart filled with easter eggs and two little bunny candle holders.  We earned a second place for this table.

Hope to show pictures of Halloween soon!  Thanks for dropping by.

Here's a peek!

Feeling a little under the weather and didn't get to finish decorating for Halloween today as planned.  But here is a little peek....

Laptop Dead! (Accompanied by sounds of sobbing)

I feel like crying like Lucy would when Ricky would chastise her.  WAAAAAAAANH! (Worker Bee does not believe that is the correct spelling, but I hear an "n," don't you?)

Today computer tragedy struck.  My laptop.................died.  Reminds me of a writing exercise I did as a kid and I still have my students do sometimes.

What good luck....
It's the school's laptop so I don't have to pay for it.

What bad luck...
As of now no data can be retrieved from it.

What good luck....
I did a full backup last week.

What bad luck...
I didn't save anything I created for school (or my blog) this week.

What good luck...
The home computer is up and running.

What bad luck....
The home Mac is not portable.

What good luck...
Uh oh!  I'm out of good luck!


What bad luck...
My principal is doing an evaluation this week and I'm one of those teachers that doesn't use an overhead, I just use my Promethean board.



I'm going to have to go RETRO  
(or should I say - OLD SCHOOL) all over those third graders!





What? More bad luck....
Whew...I think I covered all of the bad luck!

So what's a teacher/blogger/internet addict to do when her Mac will only do this?  And then even stops doing that?

WAAAAAAAAAAANH!

(DON'T WORRY, I'M REALLY OKAY, IT JUST FEELS GOOD TO VENT!  TRUST ME,  I KNOW IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD.)

Books are My Friends

We read.  Put simply the entire Bee Family (all three of us) are readers.  One of my happiest moments as a parent was when Baby Bee was in first grade and she came home with a Junie B. Jones book and read the whole thing to me.  The first gift I ever got Baby Bee (when she was 7 days old and still in the NICU) was Goodnight Moon.  Worker Bee and I are so content when we can spend a cozy weekend in a bed and breakfast with a stack of books.  Our favorite date night always includes a trip to a bookstore.  But sometimes our ambitions collide with our time demands, so what do we do with all (or should I say some) of our books?

We turned the original dining room (really an area) into our library.  We found unfinished bookcases that were seven feet tall and we bought four of them.  I painted them white and the backs of them a dark, yet also bright, green.  They are filled to capacity.  They are bursting with words, paragraphs, pages, and more.  There are classics, contemporary fiction, junkfood fiction, gardening books, cook books, craft books, resource books, old text books, travel books, children's books and more.  We have a wing chair (that the Fabulous Phyllis slipcovered for us), a reading light, and a cozy quilt to snuggle into and read.  It's one of my very favorite places to read.   (Trust me, there are many cozy little spots like that in Sweet Bee Cottage.)

Where is you favorite place to read?

Thanks for stopping by!

What do you crave on a rainy day?

It's pouring buckets here in Central California.  I'm not complaining, mind you, because we are in a serious drought situation, especially since the rain puts me in the mood for.........SOUP!

Worker Bee gave me a Williams-Sonoma cookbook called Soup & Stew for my birthday.  I am dreaming of tackling some of these recipes.

On Thursday I'll be making Manhattan Clam Chowder for the first time, straight from this book.


Doesn't this look delicious?  I have wanted to make Boeuf Bourguignon since seeing Julie and Julia this summer.  I think I can make this.

How about something different? Celery Root-Potato Puree? Sounds hearty! If you've never tried celery root it has a delicious mild celery taste.

The recipe box was Sewing Bee's when she was in high school.

I love how her name is written on the bottom in red nail polish.

What kind of soup did I make tonight?  Taco Soup - perfect for a weeknight.  Here's that recipe -


3-14 oz. cans fat-free chicken broth
1-4 oz. can diced Ortega chilies
1 can Stagg Ranchero chili beans

1-15 oz. can of each of the following beans: red kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans

1-14 oz. can Mexican-style crushed tomatoes (diced is okay too)
2-3 zucchini squash, chopped
1-2 yellow summer squash, chopped
1 cup diced carrots (I use my hand chopper for the carrots, celery, and onion)
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. taco seasoning


Place ALL ingredients in a soup pot and cook gently for 30 minutes.  Serves 6-8.

You can garnish with any or all of the following:


sour cream
shredded cheddar, jack or blend of Mexican cheeses
chopped avocado
chopped black olives
sliced green onions
crushed tortilla chips


Also great to have with a salad and corn bread.


Hope you have a cozy evening and can come by again for some warm delicious soup!

Gotta' get me some of that!

Oh dear, my third graders would be horrified with that headline.  Not using a subject pronoun?  For shame! It just does not sound like the proper grammar I teach them.  I would like to have some of that - much better.  So what do I need to have?  Some proper Halloween Spirit, that's what!  With fair set up, school carnival, a family reunion, counting money for my school's jogathon, and Worker Bee's birthday, this house is not at all festive.

Tonight I unpacked my six crates of Halloween decor.  Well, truth be told, one of the crates is filled with old Halloween costumes and another is filled with goody bags, paper napkins, and other such stuff.

Well it's all out now.  I certainly can't just leave it there like that, could I?

Please come back to see where it all ends up in Sweet Bee Cottage.

Thanks for coming by!