• The Pie Auction!

    We planned, we worked and now it’s over.  Our first end-of-the-year party for Castle Keepers. There were elements of it that were a little stressful and there are things I would change but in the end we had so much fun. The highlight of the evening to me was our pie auction. The girls were asked to make 2 pies. One to be judged by our secret judges and then served for dessert to our guests and the other one to be auctioned off with all proceeds going to Castle Keepers. We did not know if all the pies would sell. Would we have enough bidders? Would they even be…

  • Good Times with Some Wonderful Young People

    Since I have 3 older boys, I have had plenty of young men stay with us.  This week though we get to host 4 lovely young ladies that belong to our Castle Keeper club from afar – 2 from Wisconsin & 2 from Oklahoma). Their visit started off with a lot of activity – youth meetings at our church and gatherings here at the ranch. We had about 22 girls stay at our house over the weekend. Sleeping bags, hair, blankets, bobby pins, suitcases and sundry other items were all over the place. I’m sure you know how girls can be! Near the house we have a ravine between 2…

  • The Garage is Done… 342 Days Later!

    Do you all remember the day I said I was ready to declutter my garage and get things in order? The Before Picture It Was a Long Process If you can’t I don’t blame you since that was almost 1 year ago. Precisely 342 days.  We were so close to being done but then I had those 7 boxes of boys clothing that I had to get rid of. I wanted to give it to others who might need them and so I waited and waited forgot over and over again until the day it finally worked out I finally remembered.  Those beloved clothes of my sons found a good…

  • Activating My Kombucha Scoby

    My master bedroom progress will be on hold for the next several weeks as other areas of life take over. 🙂 Many big events will be happening in the next month here at the ranch and I’ve got to be organized and ready for it which means grocery lists, to-do lists, cleaning, shopping and cooking. I started my first ever batch of kombucha this past week. I purchased a scoby or “mushroom” from Cultures for Health and after I make my kombucha, I’m going to attempt to drink it since that is the point of the whole thing. Maybe you haven’t heard of it so let me tell you a…

  • Needing to Make a Decision

    When you are unsure of yourself you can become the most indecisive, can’t-make-a-decision-for-the-life-of-you person around. And that’s where I’m at right now. I’m really considering making my own tufted headboard.  Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick makes it look so doable. Or my other option is to paint my current headboard using chalk paint. It would be painted a white with areas rubbed off to show the wood underneath which would give it more character in my opinion. A friend of mine did this to her kitchen table and it looks fabulous. I’m just scared I’ll mess the whole thing up. 🙁 Do you ever feel intimidated by projects you have…