Random Thoughts

1. The view from my kitchen desk.  Several things I love here...the red berries, the picket fence, and the last of the evening sun.
2. The big kids came for a visit this past weekend.  New photo of them on my Instagram feed if you are interested.  A quick visit but very fun! Miss them already.
3. Could you see the solar eclipse?  It was most visible here in Ohio from 1 to 4PM.  It got dark like evening for a little while. Always very cool to see.
4. I can't believe August is almost over.  This summer has flown by! I love September, though.  Fall is almost here!
5. A spider took a shower with me the other night.  Not fun.  Nope. I didn't know what it was at first since my contacts were out. I'm glad nobody could see the crazy little dance I did in there to get away. haha.

Today

Like my hat?

The big kids gave it to me as part of my 

Mother's Day gift this year.

Two of the guys woke up with a fever this morning

so we cancelled the day program and had a day off.

I still had to go pick up the groceries (so thankful for Kroger

ClickList) so we all piled in the Jeep after lunch and made the

trip, stopping at the thrift store to drop off a few boxes beforehand. 

After Kroger we drove through McDonald's for

fries for the guys and a coke for me.

While we were waiting in the drive-thru I got rear-ended!

That white car behind me ran right into us.

I got out and she got out.  The nose of her car was

jammed under the back on my Jeep.

She was upset, said her son was screaming for a

hamburger and she wasn't paying attention.

I asked her to back up a little so we could see exactly

what the damage was and when she did it didn't show

much.  I had a little scratch on my bumper and she

had a little worse scrape on hers.  We agreed it wasn't enough

to make a fuss over and I assured her it was fine.

She looked relieved and as I got back in the Jeep I

thought how she looked like she was having a terrible

day.  I thought I'd do a nice thing for her and pay for

the Happy Meal for her son when I paid for our stuff.

But before we could even get much further in the line

(it was very long and slow moving) she cut out of line

and left.  I guess the stress of waiting was more than

that family could bear.   I remember days like that.

So we got fries and a coke and were on our way.

Fevers are better tonight and we're going to take another

vacation day tomorrow just to make sure everyone

feels better.  I mean, fries cure everything, right?

♥

Random Thoughts

1. Did you have a nice Independence Day? We had Taylor and Lauren home for the last several days and it was a very nice time!  I need to see those big kids every so often! He turned 26 on Sunday, which is hard to believe. haha. They traveled home today and tomorrow we get back to our regular routines.  You know Wednesday is going to feel like Monday, right? 
2. I bid on this old chippy colander at an auction recently.  I thought I might sell it but it seems to have found its way into my kitchen to stay.  I'm thinking it will be a good thing to have when I'm out in the garden picking veggies!  It can go straight into the sink for everything to get a rinse!
3. Our new little rescue cat Pepper is doing great!  I still haven't gotten him into the vet but he is improving every day.  And what a sweet kitty he is!  Nobody responded to my notice on Facebook about him, so I guess he's ours forever and that's ok with us!
4. Can you believe it's July already?  The summer is flying by!  Here in Ohio our gardens are starting to flourish with lots of green fruit growing and teasing us before everything ripens.  It's always fun to watch sprouts break through the ground and thrive in the soil and a good watering every day.  Speaking of watering, it's hilarious to watch the cats when I use the garden hose.  They act like it's a big snake and they are ready to pounce if it makes a move. :)  Never a shortage of entertainment in this house!
5. I think I'll be picking my first basket of blackberries this week. There actually might be enough for a small cobbler!  Yum.
6. And God Bless you, America.  Happy Birthday to you!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a really nice trip to Pennsylvania to visit Taylor

and Lauren!  We took the boys on a train ride,

the two men went golfing and the girls went wine tasting!

Lauren's parents, who live in a nearby city came over one

evening so we could go out to dinner with our big kids, which

was extremely nice and much appreciated!

And there was lots of racing for our race car loving family

with Formula 1, Indy 500, and Nascar all in one day.

The train ride was in Millertown, a beautiful little town that was

decked out in lovely banners that paid tribute to their hometown

military heroes, hanging baskets of flowers and American flags.

The best part of driving home was the sky!

We started out with fog in the mountains and then it broke

into sun, blue sky and tons of big puffy clouds. 

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a beautiful route to take and

the boys loved the tunnels cutting through the mountains. 

It made a 7 hour drive very tolerable!

The kitties held down the fort while we were gone!

I didn't have anyone check on them...we just put out

plenty of food and water.  They can come and go as they

please with their cat flap, of course.

They sure were excited to see us when we got home!

Most were out lounging on the back porch and when I stepped

out there it was hilarious to see them all come running!

They chatted, wrapped around my legs and rolled over my feet.

The Mister stepped out and said, "Oh my gosh, you really do look

like a crazy cat lady!" haha.  All 13 were here, healthy and fine.

Oh, and Sterling appeared a little later....let himself in and stayed

long enough for some food, fresh flea control and a little attention.

So, I hope you had a good weekend.

Did you do anything special?

♥  

Random Thoughts

Sitting beside me on the couch as I type.

1. We had a great thunderstorm this morning.  Dark as evening, lightning and thunder, pouring rain.  Then the winds blew it all away and the sun came out.  Loved it.
2. I'm dabbing into spring cleaning a bit each week instead of blocking off a solid few months. haha.  This week I wiped down all the doors inside the house.  All 25!  Why do we have a crazy amount of doors?  Good grief!  Each closet has 2 bi-fold doors.  A few have 4 doors!  I'm happy to say that they are done and all those six panels dust catchers are fresh and clean.  Tomorrow I'm planning on making all the light fixtures clean and sparkly.  I should be completely done with spring cleaning by Christmas! ha.
3. If you love vintage linens, I'm slowly putting some in my etsy shop. I don't know how many people use dresser scarves or table runners these days but some of these would be very sweet repurposed into throw pillow covers or tea towels.
4. We're packing up the Jeep over the Memorial Day weekend and heading to Pennsylvania to visit Taylor and Lauren!  It will be our first trip to their new home and we are so excited!  Well, not so excited to ride 6 hours with the guys, but we'll see how it goes. haha.  I'm especially excited to be the company instead of the hostess, which seldom happens!
5. When we get home, I'm looking forward to planting my little veggie garden!  The Mister tilled my little planting beds last weekend so everything is ready to go.  Maybe if I get myself ahead of schedule, I can get it planted next week, but I will be surprised if that happens.  Meanwhile, my blackberries have blossoms! 
6. The boys have a three day weekend starting tomorrow!  I'm looking forward to not having to pack lunches tonight and sleeping in a little in the morning.  Maybe that's the reason for the glass of wine tonight....it's the weekend here already! :)

♥

Merry Christmas!

♥

Guest Room Reveal

 I finally have the guest room finished!

Nothing like the big kids coming home for a

weekend visit to get me to tie up the loose ends!

Until earlier this summer I had been using this room

as you would an attic....for storage of extra furniture,

items waiting to be sold in my shop, auction finds

and unfinished projects.

Since this room might get torn up and partially used

to enlarge a bathroom next summer, I didn't want to put

a lot of expense into it.  I just refreshed the paint that

was already on the walls, used Taylor's old bed and

used quite a lot of things around the house to finish it.

I made the chair cushion and headboard fabric from

an old comforter.  I made the peg board from an old piece of

wood and glass insulators.  I painted the guest house

sign on an old piece of wood.  The little white lamps

were from my bedroom when I was growing up.

The big metal basket is to hold the extra bed

pillows when the bed is unmade.

All of the artwork I already had.

The metal cart in the closet holds extra blankets and

some little extras like bottled water, tissues, etc.

I found the little luggage rack in the auction trash and

changed out the straps to match the decor. The bedding,

end tables, mattress, throw, fan, decorative pillows

 and dresser I got online.  (overstock, etsy, ebay and amazon).

It's a soft, relaxed feel that doesn't look too new, which

was what I was going for.  

The big kids are on their way...getting here late tonight!

I'm going to take a little blog break while they are here!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

♥

Around Here, Lately

1. The Big Kids.  They can't take a bad photo, can they?  I stole this one from them from their vacation last month.  They have all the exciting news lately!  They both recently turned 25! And Taylor took a new job in Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago! They are already there, staying with in-laws while Lauren finds a job and they get an apartment.  All huge changes and it feels like it all happened in the blink of an eye!  We'll miss seeing them every week but are happy for them!
2. The boys.  They've been to the doctor for annual checkups and we survived getting poked, prodded and lots of blood work.  Then we decided to torture them further with trips to the dentist this morning. haha ... But everyone got great checkups and test results so we are super happy about that.
3. I saw the first lightning bugs of the season over the weekend. Those magical things always amaze me.  Fun memories of childhood, too, running through the dark summer evenings trying to catch them!
4. We usually do some kind of home improvement during the late spring/early summer.  This year it's the garage doors that need to be replaced.  I flipped through my trusty gardening/landscaping Pinterest board and showed The Mister some ideas I had tucked away.  Turns out he likes my ideas, including a wall pergola above the doors!  Well, now!  That excites me! haha.  The doors are ordered, so it won't happen for a week or two but I'll keep you posted.  I need to take a 'before' picture, too. They look sad. Very sad. haha.
5. It was so cool and rainy here over the holiday weekend that I actually changed into jeans and a sweater to go shopping.  What on earth! haha.  Never has that happened in July!
6. My blog doesn't seem to be updating on blogrolls.  Anyone else having that problem?

Well, I think that's all the news for now.

How's your summer going so far?

Is your garden growing?

Are you staying cool?  

♥

She Had A Birthday!

The lovely Lauren had a birthday this weekend!

We celebrated yesterday with some of her favorite foods 

and presents (mainly a big wad of cash so

she can go shopping!).  We decided shrimp scampi

is so delicious, we need to have it more often and

not just on her birthday each year!

The big kids are turning 25 years old this year!

I can't believe that!  Time is flying!

The both get better looking each year, if

that is possible.  Aren't they a gorgeous couple?

♥

Around Here, Lately

1. We've had beautiful snow lately.  One of my most favorite things is waking up and seeing trees that look like this!  A winter wonderland!  It's going to warm to the 50's in a couple of days, though, so I'll have to say goodbye for now.
2. I've had a whirlwind of activity here the last week with auctions, a very active etsy shop,  cleaning, baking, company, snow days and a holiday.  Whew!
3. The boys are doing well.  They've had some fun activities at their day program lately.  The occasional bump in the road comes along like Spencer having a nose bleed when its time for the bus, or Alex throwing his lunch away every day or Harry repeatedly getting into trouble for digging through the trash for any potato chips someone might have thrown out.  Sigh!  Sometimes you just have to laugh.
4. I haven't been very chatty lately, can you tell?  So unlike me not to post daily!  Lots on my mind but hard to put into words.  Or I decide it's not of any interest, too much personal information, or a topic that will surely get me a nasty comment. haha.  The blogging world can be a rough crowd...or maybe I'm being too rough on myself.  Most times when I'm feeling down I opt for no information rather than too much. lol...
5. I went to a Stella and Dot jewelry party last night with Lauren. Very fun...I'd never been to one before!  I ordered a pretty bracelet.  And yes, it's mostly gray.  haha.  Gray is such a sunny color, I always say. lol....

How have you been?

♥

Marbled ClayTrinket Bowls

Last year while we were gathered for Christmas Day, we made

Sharpie Mugs as a fun thing to do together.  You can see them here.

This year I saw these marbled clay bowls and thought they might

be fun to hold keys, change or jewelry.  Instructions are here.

I laugh at this photo every time I look at it.
Everyone took their bowl making very seriously, apparently! haha.

You choose your colors and roll out long snakes.

Then you squish the snakes together and roll 

into one long rope.

Then you twist it, overlap it and smoosh

it together, repeating a few times.

Then you roll to a 1/4" thickness

and cut into a circle.

Setting it in a bowl allows the center to sink a little,

creating a concave shape.  Then you bake them for 15 minutes.

The final touch is a little shimmery paint on the edge.

Not too bad, although I don't think any of us had

better quit our day jobs! lol...

♥

So, We Had a Party....

We had a little group of people who work for The Mister

come with their spouses for some Christmas fun!

Fancy hors d'oeuvres, a little wine and white elephants gifts

all make for a good time, right?

I was busy and forgot to take photos of the food

so you'll have to trust me that it was yummy. haha.

We had steak and goat cheese sliders, shrimp cocktail,

a cheese ball, salad skewers, veggies & dip

 and sweet & sour meatballs.

Then for a little dessert ~ red velvet cake, lemon sugar

cookies, chocolate covered strawberries
 and chocolate peanut clusters.

The white elephant gifts are the best, though.

I had to show you what I got!  A Sculpt Your Own Boyfriend kit!

hahaha....little packs of clay, instructions and all!

I think The Mister felt threatened when I obviously 

loved it. lol.....

One thing I love about this group is how loving they are to our

boys!  They let them open their gifts, sit by them, etc. and I love 

 that.  Their kindness and acceptance does not go unnoticed!

We are up to our eyeballs in receptions and parties

over here!  The Mister has to attend many and host many

because of his job, so he is crazy busy and gone most 

evenings.  This week we have two more dinners to attend

together and our anniversary is this week.

Next week we have three gatherings to attend...oh,

and there are two auctions and a doctor appointment

in there, too! Whew!

♥