Crafting, Camping, Cooking and Life! (with RA!)

Good morning all! First, the PSA... I posted this on social media this morning as well. Sharing this.. A friend of mine is a small business owner. A couple of years ago, she took the step and opened her own small business. With the pandemic, like many other small business owners, she is struggling. Please remember to support local small businesses. Thanks!! I didn't realize until I talked to her a week ago, but they also hold online auctions. They do small to large things. I don't know what platform she uses or anything on shipping, so please feel welcome to reach out to her. And yes, I also sell a few items at her shop - not the reason I'm sharing but because of her concerns of her livelihood. A couple of days ago, we felt we found The Truck. It was out of state, not too far, about a 2 and a half hour drive to Kentucky. We went, we looked, we liked. Made the purchase but need to sell our Dodge Ram 1500 here as they weren't willing to give what we wanted in trade. Proba...

Good morning and Happy Tuesday! Been a somewhat interesting week. Been looking at trucks to get rid of our Dodge and get something that can pull a little more weight. Hubby and I have been discussing our retirement plans. We had/have been discussing a couple of different options. Either retire in a camper to travel meaning a need to get a different truck and camper or retire in a house with a smaller truck and camper for our trips. Regardless, either plan would require a truck to handle the load. Our current truck is adequate for the camper we have but we're close to the tow limit on it. Also, since I am no longer working, we've been discussing getting rid of our Nissan Rogue and our Dodge Ram and use a newer truck as our primary vehicle. We also have our older Hyundai Accent that just needs a couple of repairs that we can use until our son gets his drivers license and starts driving. But we've looked at a few trucks and tried them out but they all seem like "one offs...

Hello all! Well, been a long past few weeks. Several family member birthdays of late, so too much cake and going to HAVE to start watching my intake as I've put on a few pounds with holidays and all.  Had a setback this past week.... the sweater! Previously, I shared a pic of a sweater I was making for my daughter (lol, featuring Isabel!). I was finally able to catch her for a fitting before I finished all the tucking and cast off the neck. UGH!! The underarms were too tight and she asked for the sleeves to be longer. I had been using a top of hers to gauge the size. I know, I know, should've taken actual measurements. So now... Been a few weeks since I've been able to post. Been having a lot of internet issues here with all the family in the house so many days at once. I've gotten through I think another sewing machine, Kenmore 158 and starting on a Singer 7050. Here is the Kenmore 158 mid-cleaning. Singer Imperial Anniversary 7050  I was a little surprised with this S...

 Good morning!! Waking up to alert that we're under a Level One snow emergency here with the schools taking a calamity day. Odd morning so far, trying to get my day planned out and so much to do, it's hard to decide what the priorities and needs are. Today, I want to get the cake made for hubby. I plan to make it sugar free, but I want to add elements to make it fun and tasty. I plan to use the Pillsbury Sugar Free Devils Food cake mix for the cake. I will more than likely be adding a mousse and frosting or ganache. This, I haven't decided so I will probably be updating this post throughout the day on my progress. Here's the cake update! Hubster decided just a simple frosting, which I made an American Buttercream sugar free. Of course I had to double, you know, gotta have that thick layer and outer frosting! My Reduced Sugar American Buttercream This is a full recipe, but can be halved: 4 sticks unsalted butter (you can use salted but omit adding the salt listed below) ...