The BEST Hubby in the Whole World!!

I thought these two photos and many others had been lost when my computer crashed in May. I asked my sister and several friends if they happened to have saved some of the pictures I was looking for, but none of them had the photos. Bob bought me a new computer for Christmas 2007, but he kept my old hard drive. He said he thought he could retrieve whatever I had on my old hard drive and maybe some of the photos I was looking for were there. Bob tried copying the old hard drive to a CD, but the CD would not work in my computer or on his. He then put my old hard drive into his computer and copied all the files onto his hard drive. Then, he took an external hard drive and copied all of my old files onto it, then onto my new computer. Voila!! I now have all of my photos and documents that I thought I had lost forever!! Bob is THE BEST HUBBY IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!

The Smell of Charbroiled BEEF

Do certain smells take you back to your childhood or an earlier time in you life? They do for me. Every time I walk by the Urban Cafe across the street from our Dallas apartment, I smell charbroiled beef. Ummm! This smell takes me back to my days of living on Barry Street in the Newtown area of Chicago. My first husband and I would walk down Broadway and the smell of charbroiled beef would waft up my nose. Oh, it smelled so good! We would go into a restaurant there and I'd order and eat a hamburger. One of the restaurants served what was called "The Mother Load". As most of you might know, I don't eat any beef now. Not for any health reasons. It's just because I don't like the taste of it. I used to eat it many years ago though. In the 1970's we even had a freezer with a side of beef in it. My parents did this, so I guess that's why I did it too. I do love the SMELL of that charbroiled BEEF! Whenever I smell it and say something to Bob about loving the smell, he says to me, "You know, this is DEAD COW you are smelling?" OK. Yes, I know I'm smelling BEEF, but as long as I don't have to eat it!

Texas State Fair

The Texas State Fair started on Friday. We can see The Texas Star Ferris Wheel on the fairgrounds from our apartment and it is four miles away! The Texas Star Ferris Wheel is 212' and the tallest Ferris Wheel in North America. I LOVE riding on the Ferris Wheel -- especially on this one! This is on my Top Ten Most Favorite Things To Do List. I love going to the fair at night so I can ride the Ferris Wheel and see all of the lights below. Bob and I are planning to go to the fair on Thursday night so I can eat my yearly corn dog and ride The Texas Star. Thursday is Senior Day and we will get into the fair for FREE! I can't wait!

Dallas Market Bead Show

I just returned home from a small bead show that was in Richardson -- about a 20 minute drive north of downtown Dallas. Here is a pic of my new purchases. I have something in mind for the dragon pendant, but not for the other items I bought. My sister went to a bead show in Milwaukee, WI last Spring and she purchased some Tibetan beads for me that I wanted and I'm going to put them with the dragon pendant. Watch for my other new items as I make them and add them to my new Etsy store at www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com. Now, it's off to beading!

Cooking vs Beading

I have a wonderful cookbook collection that I started around 1970. I do love to cook, but lately I haven't found much time for it since I've been beading. Also, I have a hard time finding much to cook that both Bob and I like to eat. We eat at the opposite ends of the spectrum. He likes a lot of meat and I like little meat. He doesn't like any fruit which limits a lot of things I want to try. And he won't eat any veggies raw or cold. So, he isn't much fun to cook for. Also, we are trying not to eat items with fat, salt, etc. And we do a lot of eating out too since Dallas has the best restaurants ever! Therefore, I spend little time cooking any more. Yesterday I had lunch with a friend at Bread Winners and I had an open-faced chicken, artichoke & spinach melt on sun-dried tomato and basil bread. It was extremely filling and by the time dinnertime came, I didn't want to eat, much less cook anything. I asked Bob if he wanted me to cook him a burger or pork chop and he said he'd take care of it himself. He ate some leftover chicken tortilla soup for his dinner. I continued on a beading project. Later in the evening, I was looking at a new bead and wire book I had just purchased earlier in the day. I said, "I think I'll make this." Bob asked me what I was going to make and I showed him the photo of a necklace from my new book. He said, "I was hoping you were looking at a cookbook!" I think I'd better open up one of my cookbooks and pick out something wonderful to make for dinner tonight and spend less time with the beads today.

A Scenic Drive

Today I took a scenic drive around Dallas. It certainly wasn't intended. I had lots of errands to run and I was trying to hurry and get them finished before I met my friend Pat for lunch at Bread Winners. I went to a bead shop and I forgot that this particular place didn't open until 11 a.m. and it was 10:15. So, I decided I'd go up to Michael's and Borders, then after lunch I'd go back to the bead shop. Whenever I have a choice to make as to turning right or left, I ALWAYS pick right! I have no idea why, but I just do. Bob teases me about this. When I come out of a store at the mall or coming out of a restaurant, no matter which way I SHOULD go, I immediately turn RIGHT! Well, I was driving away from the bead store where I've been many times, but I guess I wasn't paying attention and I came to a fork in the road and which way did I go? You guessed it -- RIGHT! I didn't realize that I wasn't on the right road to where I wanted to go until I was way past anything I recognized. I ended up going around White Rock Lake and down some roads where I'd never been before. I think I might have been in Garland. Well, maybe I've been on these roads before, but I don't remember when it was. Maybe back in 1996 when we lived in Dallas the first time. Anyway, just at the point where I was going to turn around and retrace my steps back to the bead store, I saw a sign that said "Mockingbird Rd." I DID know Mockingbird Rd. I got onto it, but then I didn't know if I was headed east or west!! I've never been any good at directions. My friend Cathy can tell you this. One time I was standing on the square in Springfield, IL, with my friend Cathy and I had no idea where I was!! She bought me a compass charm for my charm bracelet shortly after that! Well, I just kept driving and FINALLY I got to the corner of Abrams and Mockingbird Rd. This was a corner I knew, so I knew where I was. I certainly took the LONG WAY to Michael's. Next week when I have the car, I think I will print out some maps from Google AND the reverse directions too, so I can get to where I'm going and get back home!

Since I'm bragging. . .

Now I need to brag about my son Corbin! Here is a photo taken on my granddaughter, Carson's 5th birthday in Tulsa, OK, where Corbin and his family live. Corbin graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in petroleum engineering in May 1999. He works at Petrohawk in Tulsa. He and Christy got married 10 years ago and they just renewed their vows in Las Vegas to celebrate their 10th anniversary. They have three children, my darling grandkids -- Caty, who will be 8 in a couple of weeks, Carson who was 5 in July and Christian who is 17 mos. Christy taught school for a year, but now she is a stay-at-home mother. They are very active in their church and with their friends. Corbin & Christy have done a wonderful job raising their children and I'm very proud of them!

The Cavan S. Tubbs BET Scholarship

On May 10, 2003, my son, Cavan Scott Tubbs, graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in MIS. Cavan was in the Business Engineering Technology (BET) program. Cavan went on to receive a master's in systems engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA. When Cavan died November 7, 2005, his new wife's uncle started a scholarship in Cavan's name at Auburn University. Many friends and family contributed to this scholarship (and continue to do so). It has become an endowment now after it reached the $25,000 mark. I just received information about the new recipient of the Cavan S. Tubbs BET Scholarship. I want to wish Chance Tara a lot of success in his college and working career in engineering.

Beautiful Triangles

I finally finished this necklace last night after working on it during the afternoon for several hours. It was very tedious with all of the wiring of the beads between the silver triangles. The triangles are connectors and I was originally going to use them on a chain, but I was inspired by this design sometime right before I started making the necklace. I've had the silver triangles for nearly four years in my bead stash. When my family went to Cavan's funeral in Nov. 2005, my brother rented a big van and there were nine of us all together in it. We drove from Sarasota to Albany, GA, where Cavan was buried. On the way back home, we stopped at a Walmart for some water, etc. Of course, my sister and I had to check out the bead section! I saw these triangle connectors on sale for $1.50 and I decided I must have them. I have looked at them from time to time in my bead stash and I tried to get inspired to use them, but nothing came to me until yesterday. This piece will go on my Etsy website for sale.

My Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

Here is a photo of a plate of my favorite oatmeal cookies. I got into a baking mode yesterday. I took the cookies (and banana bread) to church today for the Fellowship Hour and I'm glad I did, as no one had signed up to host it and no one else brought anything. These oatmeal cookies were cut out with a Sun Giant (raisins) cookie cutter, which I acquired in the late 70's or early 80's by probably sending in box tops and a couple of dollars. There were a set of 3 of the cookie cutters. The cookies have these cute little faces on them from the Sun Giant cookie cutter, but you can just put a small amount of dough in your hand, roll it around and smash it flat on the cookie sheet. Here is my recipe:

1 cup raisins 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped dates 1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/4 cups flour 1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg
2 cups oatmeal (uncooked) 1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Cover the raisins and dates with boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes. DRAIN THE WATER FROM THE RAISINS AND DATES BEFORE ADDING TO THE BATTER. Cream together shortening, brown sugar and egg. Add flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Add to sugar mixture. Add raisins, dates, oats and almonds. HINT: If you chop up the dates, raisins and nuts to a fine texture when you are using a cookie cutter, especially one like I used, you can see the cute, little detail on the cookies. You don't have to chop them up very fine if you just use a round cookie cutter or roll them into a ball in your hand. Roll out the dough if you are using a cookie cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes. Enjoy!!

By the way, I bought this plate in 1995 from an antique store in the West End in Dallas. Bob's dad gave me some money for my birthday and he told me to buy something nice for myself. We came down to Dallas for a weekend and I bought this plate. Bob's dad was very disappointed. I think he wanted me to buy something more personal, but I fell in love with this plate and I think of Bob's dad whenever I use it.

Fun Saturday!

Bob and I decided to do something FUN today before we ran our Saturday errands. When my Red Hat ladies met for lunch last Saturday, we were discussing where we wanted to go for our next outing and lunch in November. Pastor Mae Jean suggested a restaurant in the Bishop Street Arts District in Oak Cliff called "Hatties". I had never been to Oak Cliff until today. Bob and I rarely venture south of the city. All of our errand running, favorite restaurants and haunts are all north of downtown. So, traveling south of the city was an adventure for us. Chad, who goes to our church works at Bishop Street Market and I've heard a little about it too. So, Bob and I drove the 3.3 miles to Oak Cliff and the Bishop Street Arts District. It is a small area with little unique shops, art galleries and restaurants. We walked through the shops and art galleries before we decided to have lunch at Hunky's. This was basically a hamburger place, but they did have some chicken and other dishes to choose from on their menu. It was a FUN day and I'm definitely looking forward to going back with my Red Hat ladies and to try Hattie's for lunch.

Day of the Dead

I am all ready -- accessory wise -- for our Day of the Dead celebration at our church, Emanuel Lutheran Church. The Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated by Mexicans and Latin Americans living in the US. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st, which is All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day which occurs on Nov 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. I found and bought this enamel skull bead at the Bead Merchant bead store when I was in Tulsa over the Labor Day weekend. So, I'm all ready with my new necklace for our Day of the Dead celebration and I'll be thinking of Cavan and celebrating his short life.

Seafoam and Flowers

I have had a lot of time this week to sit down and do some beading. I can always think of other things I NEED to do, such as some much needed apartment cleaning, cut, file and polish my nails, etc., but I would rather do beading than about anything else when I am by myself. I am glad I have some time to make some new items. This is my newest creation. I bought the sea foam colored seed beads at a bead store that was no longer going to carry seed beads. They were the right price and I love the color. I found the green agate flowers at my favorite bead store here in town. I never realized that the flowers and the seed beads would go together until I was laying things out on my dining room table. I tried a couple of other designs first that did not work, but this one not only works, I really like the outcome of it too. This necklace is for sale from my Etsy store -- www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com

Paper Beads

This new necklace is made with paper beads, along with some glass black and white beads wire wrapped onto the paper beads. About a year ago, a friend of mine, Rise, whom I used to work with at Project SEED, when we lived in Dallas from 1996 - 2001 , told me about a friend of hers who used to make jewelry from paper beads. Rise showed me how to make them. Then, I did a little research and my friend Mary in Chicago gave me a book on making jewelry from paper. I made some paper beads from magazine pages. The ads in the magazines make beautiful beads! This necklace hangs on an 18" black leather cord. You can see it and more of my beaded jewelry at my new "store" on Etsy at www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com

Taking Time for Beading

Since we have had rainy evenings and days since last Friday night, I have taken some time to make some new beaded jewelry. I named this piece Uptown Diva. I like to name each piece of my jewelry. I have been trying to use some beads that I have had for a while. Actually, I bought this glass lampwork pendant and the six, pink, enamel beads at a bead shop in Tulsa over the Labor Day weekend when we were visiting. I have other beads that I have had for several months that I am trying to incorporate into jewelry pieces. One of my newest necklaces was made with a glass lampwork bead that I bought when we took a trip to Wimberly, TX. I named the necklace Wimberly. I used a slider bead in a necklace that I named Opera Elegance that I bought in Atlanta last April. And, I made a necklace with three porcelain beads that I bought at a bead show in Grapevine, TX in April. I named it This Is Bliss. You can see all of my newest beaded jewelry pieces at www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com

Red Hat Ladies!

I belonged to a Red Hat Society chapter when I lived in Sarasota. It was mostly a group of ladies from the church where Bob and I attended, St. Paul Lutheran Church. We called ourselves the Sorority of the Red Hat Sisters. We were together for nearly five years! I'm sure it would have continued to this day, but I moved to Dallas in October 2007 and I was the Queen Mother and organizer. I think the group had a couple more outings, but then it fell apart. I really missed being part of the Red Hat Society and I missed having the closeness with my women friends. So, I decided to try organizing a Red Hat chapter within our church here, Emanuel Lutheran Church. Today was our first outing. There were six of us who went to lunch at the Adolphus Hotel dining room. I think we were the only ones in the dining room, so it was very quiet and nice for talking and getting to know one another. We all had a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to our next outing already, which will be in November.

Souvenir Penny Bracelet

I've always wanted Souvenir Pennies, but I didn't know where a person got them. Since I've been beading, I've seen photos of Souvenir Pennies on jewelry and this even made me want them more. On Saturday, we met Bob's daughters, a son-in-law, 3 grandsons, his sister and a great-nephew at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Tulsa. I have been there three times and it is a great place to visit. The kids loved it! It was kind of expensive, but worth the trip. Especially since I finally found my Souvenir Pennies! Bob's great-nephew, Austin, saw the machine first. I was walking near him and I went over to see why he was asking Suzanne for quarters to put into the machine. I got so excited to see the machine and the Souvenir Pennies. Bob says I love little pleasures. And this was one of them. I stood in line with all of the kids and I got four Souvenir Pennies so I could make a bracelet with them. They have an octopus, jellyfish, starfish and a shark on them. This is one way for me to remember my trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium. Now I'll be looking for those Souvenir Penny machines wherever we go!

The Start of My Beading Hobby

This bracelet was what started me on my beading hobby. One Easter after church, about six years ago, Bob and I stopped at the Southgate Mall in Sarasota on our way home. We walked around the mall and I saw a bracelet similar to this one at a kiosk. I was too expensive for me to buy at the time. There was a bead store, F.O.B. Beads, about a mile from our house that I had visited to look at their beads. I had never tried any beading projects, but I love to do many kinds of crafts and I thought it would be fun to try a new hobby. I figured I could make a bracelet like the one I saw at the mall for much less than what it was selling for. I bought these beads at F.O.B. Beads and I asked some questions about what to use to string them on, etc. I didn't know how to finish it of with a clasp, so the lady at the store said that for $5.00, she would do it for me. I watched her as she did it and it didn't look very hard. Shortly afterwards, I was in my front yard talking to my neighbor, Lori, who had also just started making beaded jewelry. Lori told me about another beadshop within a mile of our house and the man who owned the shop taught anyone how to do the beading for FREE! Lori and I spent a couple of Saturday afternoons with him and he showed us how to make many beaded items. This was the start of my beading hobby.

New Beads!

I love going to bead shops when we travel to different places. We were in Tulsa, OK for the weekend and I went to a bead store on Saturday morning called Bead Merchant. This store is loaded with very different beads than what I see in the Dallas bead stores. I bought the green tubular bead called Ryolite and the pink Fire Agate beads there. And I bought the enamel skull bead to make a necklace for myself for the Day of the Dead celebration that will be at our church. I got the souvenir pennies that have a shark, jellyfish, starfish, and octopus on them to make into a bracelet. I saw the machine at the aquarium and decided I needed to try this. I spent Sunday by myself while Bob played golf with his brother, so I went to Michael's Craft store for more beads -- the flowers, heart and I bought the oval glass beads to put with the souvenir pennies. I can't wait to start my new projects!

Swinging! Wheeeee!

Bob and I drove up to Tulsa for the Labor Day weekend to see our family who lives there and the ones who were also visiting. Both of Bob's daughters were there too. On Saturday, we spent the day with Amy (Bob's daughter), Jonathan (Amy's husband), Samuel (A & J's son who is 10), Jezreel (A & J's son who is 8), Daniel (A & J's son who is 3), Jenny (Bob's older daughter) and Bob's sister Suzanne and her grandson, Austin. First we all went to the aquarium. We saw seahorses, jelly fish, sharks and many other water creatures. After dinner at Zio's -- one of my favorite local restaurants -- we took the boys to Woodward Park. I found the swings right away. Swinging is one of my Top Ten Most Favorite Things I enjoy doing. Whenever I find a swing, I get on it and swing away. I don't know why I enjoy it so much, but I could swing for hours, I think. Now you're probably wondering what the other nine things are that are on my Top Ten List of Favorite Things To Do. You'll have to just use your imagination, as I'm keeping that to my self!

A Surprise Purchase!

On Monday, I worked for Lone Star and when Bob and I pulled into our parking space in our garage at the apartment, a lady I had met on the elevator a few months ago, also pulled into her parking space. She had commented on my homemade jewelry in the past and I had given her one of my business cards. She saw this necklace in the photo that I was wearing on Monday and she said that she MUST have it! I took it right off my neck and put it on Cynthia's. She came up to the apartment an hour later to pay me and to buy a few other beaded jewelry pieces. Last Friday I made this necklace shown here in the photo. I used eyelash yarn, scrapbooking flowers and clusters of Lucite flowers with beads on wire. I really liked my creation and I thought for a couple of days about how I was going to make it. I was inspired by a photo of a necklace in my new "1000 Jewelry Inspirations" book and a necklace I saw in a book on how to make jewelry from recycling soda pop bottles. My necklace looks NOTHING like either of the others, however. I wore this necklace to church on Sunday, even though I thought it might be a bit "different". Well, I received more compliments on it, even from the men, than I had on any other piece of jewelry I had ever made! Then, I wore it to work on Monday. I've been working at Lone Star Funds off and on this past year and no one there had ever complimented me on any of the other jewelry pieces I had worn, until I wore this necklace. I am going to go out on a limb and change direction of my future beaded jewelry pieces. I want to experiment more with using wire and also try some different media. Let me know your opinions.