MEN! You can't live with them and you can't live with them. ; ) That's okay, I'll live with mine, anyway! *Hee* I just had to share this with you: We have a primitive-type cabin birdhouse living outside and he apparently discovered that the wind whipped three of the decorations on it off. Missing were a butter churn, a chair and a barrel (probably would have been filled with moonshine if it was real). He found the items (yaaaay, Hubby!) but instead of handing them to me or simply placing them on the kitchen counter or table where I would see them, he put them in one of my candles: Now - what I want to know is, would anyone else's husband have done this? Would your husband have secured them back to the birdhouse, given them to you, left them on the ground, etc. I'd like to know whether any other man in this whole world would have stuck them in the middle of a candle. Okay, moving along: I found these two table covers (that are large enough to fit on a youth bed) at a yard sale this weekend. There are some minor stains (most washed out) but I thought they were pretty enough to share with you. The covers, not the stains. Saturday was beautiful enough to hang them outside in the sun. Problem was, so was Sunday when I washed them. I broke my Sunday rule and hung them outside. Don't look at the stains on the vintage dish towel. They obviously didn't wash out. BTW, the covers were $2 each. Remember my Peace Garden I showed you last post? Look at the difference a few days have made: My lillies of the valley have really started springing up. They'll probably be fully grown and maybe in bloom in just a couple weeks. I uncovered this little angel in my largest garden:
Notice that she's broken but her unbroken arm is still raised in praise! She didn't just "appear" in my garden - I remember putting her unbroken body inside one of the glass garden decorations I made last year or year before. I'll now recycle her where she'll be more safely tucked into another creation.Lastly, my daughter's birthday is the 23rd. I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that she'll be 39 years old. Amazing that she won't tell her age but I always share mine. And why not? We're the same age! Okay, maybe I'll be 62 in July but I'm still shocked when I pass a mirror and see that I'm not. Anyway, I can't tell you what I got her (just in case she decides to read my blog) but I can show you the wrappings. I covered a tag with green vintage wallpaper found in the attic of an old home. The large middle tag says "Memories" and the little glass bubble reads, "Baby of Mine". She may grow to be older than me but she'll always be my baby. I made hera pink felt "envelope" and put a little note inside. The envelope fastens on the other side with a piece of vintage lace and an old button. It can be reused later for probably absolutely nothing, as I failed to make it a pouch that she could have used for makeup, etc. Nope, it's just a flat envelope that she will probably hate to throw away but really has no other good common use.(*sigh*) ...and I'll never know why mothers do these things. Have a blessed week!
To use triflingly; squander: piddle away one's time.
v.intr.
1. To spend time aimlessly; diddle.
2. Informal To urinate.
Umm - let's discard the informal definition, aka #2.When piddling and working marry, it is a marriage made in Heaven. At least, that's my take on it. And when the weather is beautiful as it is right now, piddling/working in my gardens are as one to me. Anyway, I spent a few minutes outside this morning and worked on one of my gardens. This time I chose half (okay, more like 1/4) of the one behind our patio also known as the pond garden, aka the patio garden, aka the garden behind the patio.Tomorrow is my day to receive my Remicade treatment (which, by the way, my body is no longer responding to) and I am hoping I can get more done in next week. My Rheumatologist is getting permission from our insurance company to switch me over to Orencia. Meanwhile, I've been receiving "dose packs" of Prednisone to get me through the month. But I digress...enough about rheumatoid arthritis.I started this little garden a couple years ago. Ironically, it paralleled the day a beloved neighbor passed away. I wanted something really soothing so I gave it yet another aka: the Peace Garden.
There's nothing really special about it except for the fact that I have a more intimate attachment to it than my other gardens. The background is lushly planted with weeds. The area I worked in this morning has a little figurine of a girl with a basket. My MIL gave her to me for my birthday a couple years before she died. I put a broken pot under a lilly, hoping a toad will find it to be a comfy spot to relax in the shade while waiting for tasty bugs to catch. I scattered a few little seashells and a sweet little garden sign that I found during one of the shopping trips my MIL and I used to take. It says, "Come into this garden for here you'll find Peace." The rest of the plants are mostly lilies of the valley and hosta with several daffodils thrown in for early color. I had to squeeze in a shot of these sprigs my sweet hubby brought in for me the other day. And for now, I need to rest for awhile. Hoping for more energy and less pain next week!
We added a new product to the shop (Corner Nest, Elizabethton, TN) this week - key chains! Yeah, I know - what's so exciting about key chains? Well, as you know, it doesn't take a lot to get me excited but these particular chains are sooo darned CUTE!We've never carried key chains before and the first time I saw these, I knew I had to at least give them the ol' college try: They're not just key chains, they're little books! And they seem to celebrate every occasion. Here's a peek at a couple pages inside one of the "Friendship" type chains: Now, how cute is that? They almost look like miniature purses. Just had to show 'em to ya! Now, a look at what our place is looking like as of this morning: The creek in front of our house - it runs through the front part of our property and always sounds so well, creek-like. I love the sound but it's not so fun to keep it clean. Speaking of which, looks like I have quite a bit of cleanup of wintry dead stuff along the wall. (I have a small garden of Iris growing next to the wall to the right) Time for the Hubby to get all his equipment uncovered and literally "in gear" (actually, I hear the mowers running outside as I'm typing this). Okay, this is a little prettier: A closeup of some of the blooms on one of our Dogwood trees ...and a look at the pink blossoms on our peach tree. And this is a picture of the pond behind our back patio - the one I should be cleaning out right now! Going on to yummier things, I fixed pepper steak last night for dinner. Remembering that I'm Filipino-American, I cook my Asian dishes using American veggie substitutes. (This is also primarily done in restaurants as well.) Start out by frying some beef strips in olive oil. Fry them quickly. You'll want them to be nice and brown on the outside. The amount of beef you use depends on how much you want to make or how large your family is. This is the time to season the steak. I like to use fresh black peppercorn - you can buy them at the grocery in those little bottles that have lids that allow you to grate the pepper as you turn the lid. You know what I mean. I also like to add a little garlic and some ginger. While that is frying, slice a couple bunches of green onions, including the tops. Lower the heat a little and add the onions to the beef. Cut a bell pepper into strips and add some sliced carrots for color. Serve it over a bed of cooked rice: Have a wonderful day!
OOPS! I forgot to add - season to taste with soy sauce!!!!!
The winner for my February/March blog Giftaway is (drum roll...) new grandma MICHELLE of COUNTRY VINTAGE! Congratulations, Michelle! If you don't know Michelle, please stop in at her blog and tell her hi!
Michelle will receive the cute little vintage stationary chickens shown HERE and this sweet little cottage pot (it's not perfect, it has a tiny chip on the spout)
and this scalloped apron. (Plus, I like to enclose a surprise or two! ;) )
Michelle, be sure to email me (miller.sher@yahoo.com) with your snail addy!
Winning my Giftaways is easy - just follow my blog and leave a comment for me at least once a month!
Not that I'm one of those neighbors who keeps who nose pressed to the window watching our neighbors comings and goings, but I do have to admit I wish I had gotten a recording of this new neighbor's arrival: Actually, Hubby is the one who spotted the little guy/gal lying down in the field so of course I grabbed my camera and literally leaped out the door. Hubby is talking to me but you can't hear his voice (didn't want you to think I was talking to myself, although I often do). My monthly Giftaway is back on! Yes, a name will be pulled from the scant list of people who commented during the months of February and March. The scant list is my own fault - I took a blogging break and know that several people, believing I had either died or broken both hands and was unable to type or manipulate a microphone stopped reading and commenting. But, both the Giftaway and I have both returned! Look for the announcement of the winner's name April 1 or 2!The April Giftaway and those following, however, will have a New Condition. In order to be eligible for the monthly drawing you must not only leave a comment for that month, you must be a follower of this blog. Simple enough, eh?I've noticed that most of Blogland has been sharing their home Easter decorations. I'm not one to decorate much for Easter but here goes: This is a little vignette I put together for my office. The Peter Cottontail plate in the background is something I made several years ago simply because I like bunnies. Yes, I'm a bunny lover. Well, except for when they raid our garden. Then I feel like Elmer Fudd ("Kill the wabbit...")I made these eggs from felt the other night and threw them in a heart-shaped basket. I'll put them on our kitchen table whenever I clear it of a new batch of items that are awaiting their turn to be priced. As you can see, I obviously didn't go all out for decorations. I must confess, though, that the felt eggs do look better in person. Actually, they're quite beautiful and rival the Faberge' eggs. Okay, so I exaggerate. But the bunny in the basket with them IS quite cute...
As promised in my last post, here are some "after" pictures of the bedroom furniture Hubby picked up curbside. These were taken in his workshop, the shape of which I will make no apologies for! (It's a man thing, ya know!) And a closeup of the mirror: Finally, the chest: These pieces had been actually painted by the factory, so we made the decision to repaint them a similar color. However, the floor linoleum tiles that were scraped off was done by someone OTHER than the factory! Looks pretty good, especially for something that started off like this, don't ya think? ; )
Yep, ol' Hubby's a keeper! We just celebrated our anniversary Wednesday, guess we'll keep each other a while longer.
...and, to answer Deb's question - we were both trash pickers before we met! It was a marriage meant to be!
Now - what I want to know is, would anyone else's husband have done this? Would your husband have secured them back to the birdhouse, given them to you, left them on the ground, etc. I'd like to know whether any other man in this whole world would have stuck them in the middle of a candle. Okay, moving along:
I found these two table covers (that are large enough to fit on a youth bed) at a yard sale this weekend. There are some minor stains (most washed out) but I thought they were pretty enough to share with you. The covers, not the stains.
Saturday was beautiful enough to hang them outside in the sun. Problem was, so was Sunday when I washed them. I broke my Sunday rule and hung them outside. Don't look at the stains on the vintage dish towel. They obviously didn't wash out. BTW, the covers were $2 each.
Remember my Peace Garden I showed you last post? Look at the difference a few days have made:
My lillies of the valley have really started springing up. They'll probably be fully grown and maybe in bloom in just a couple weeks. I uncovered this little angel in my largest garden:
Notice that she's broken but her unbroken arm is still raised in praise! She didn't just "appear" in my garden - I remember putting her unbroken body inside one of the glass garden decorations I made last year or year before. I'll now recycle her where she'll be more safely tucked into another creation.
Lastly, my daughter's birthday is the 23rd. I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that she'll be 39 years old. Amazing that she won't tell her age but I always share mine. And why not? We're the same age! Okay, maybe I'll be 62 in July but I'm still shocked when I pass a mirror and see that I'm not. Anyway, I can't tell you what I got her (just in case she decides to read my blog) but I can show you the wrappings. I covered a tag with green vintage wallpaper found in the attic of an old home. The large middle tag says "Memories" and the little glass bubble reads, "Baby of Mine". She may grow to be older than me but she'll always be my baby. I made her
a pink felt "envelope" and put a little note inside. The envelope fastens on the other side with a piece of vintage lace and an old button. It can be reused later for probably absolutely nothing, as I failed to make it a pouch that she could have used for makeup, etc. Nope, it's just a flat envelope that she will probably hate to throw away but really has no other good common use.
(*sigh*) ...and I'll never know why mothers do these things.
Have a blessed week!
d
l)
