Labor Day Weekend

Molly and Maggie .

I am posting an odd assortment of pictures from our weekend at Sara's. We got there early on Saturday as she had planned a "girl's morning out". My niece Lauren was in town for a friend's wedding and was staying at Sara's . So, we went out for breakfast, pedicures and shopping. I do not get to see Lauren that often, so it was a special treat. Unfortunately, the only pictures that turned out were of our 'beautiful' feet. But, don't they look good????? Can you guess what the picture on the left is??????????? When we pulled into Sara's driveway, this is what the view was from our side of the fence. Her cat Hailey was in the back yard and her tail was hanging out of the fence on the street side. It was funny to see. Hailey is about 12 years old and weighs 18 lbs.

So, she is not a small cat. In fact, Sara's neighbor told her the other day that he thought he had seen a racoon in in back yard......hmmmmm...only the fat cat!

VIEW FROM THE TOP

OK. So, I have really been harping lately, wanting to get rid of all of our flowers beds and just bo back to lawn. Then, Rich climbs to the roof of my shop and shows me a different view. Maybe I should join him. It still looks like a jungle , but at least the weeds are not as visible from above.

Join me in a walk through my garden. . .

All gardeners live in beautiful places because them make them so.

One is closer to God in a garden than in anyplace on Earth.

Don't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So be sure to stop and smell the flowers.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.

I have been away from a computer for the past week, helping Sara move into her first home (more about that in a minute). What a surprise to finally get to check my emails and discover my very first award! I was thrilled beyond words. I am so new at this blogging business and don't really know what I am doing, yet. So, what an encouragement this is to me. I am beginning to realize what a trial and error thing this all is. Sometimes, I push the button, at the same time praying it is the right one. Back to Sara and her house....... this is her first home. Sara is single and has just moved back to the area about a year and a half ago. She works at Vera Bradley corporate offices. Sara (with the help of some professionals) was the mover, and I was the painter all this past week. As she moved , I painted. I did finished the living room, entry, halls, master suite and guest room. Along with her kitchen cabinets and entry doors. Everything had to be primed as the former owners were into the dark taupes and reds and Sara is the soft cottage colors. Everything is coming together so nicely. We still have to do the office and kitchen walls. For right now...this old mom is painted out!!!!!! I will post some pictures in a few weeks when we finish up. I am so happy for her. What an exciting (and scary) time. First time home owner.
Again....I want to say thank you to Miss Gracie's for the award!

MY FIRST AWARD!!!!!

THANK YOU to Miss Gracie for making my day! What an honor!
I am passing on the honor to five of my favorite places to visit:
Rue at Rue's Peanutbutter & Jelly Life
LeeAnn at Pink Icing on the Cake
Andrea at One Hundred Wishes
Daisy Cottage
Kelly at Rose Vine Cottage

KITCHEN RE-DO

I had been thinking about it for a few weeks,trying to talk myself out of it and then, I saw LeAnn's new kitchen...I was inspired to get busy! I re-painted my kitchen! It was a taupe color with cream and accents of blue. So, after much deliberation...it is now "MACARONI"...yep, the color on un-cooked pasta. I love it! It is surprising how much pleasure you can get out of 1 gallon of paint! Makes everything look clean and bright! I love the fact that you can fill in nail holes and just start over. I still have no ideas on what to put on the wall behind the kitchen table. It is a blank slate. I have a chalk board on another wall (LOVE chalk boards in old frames), have small shelves on two walls, mirror on one....not coming up with anything. Any suggetions? I am also encluding a picutre of my "inspirational plate". I found it at a garage sale on Friday for $1.00. It sealed my decision on paint color! Isn't it beautiful?

SALE DAY - June 2008

It finally arrived and is now just a memory......the paper roSe summer sale!!!! I deem it a success!!! In spite of the rain on Friday, we were busy from the time we opened the doors at 4 until we closed at 7. Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day, and we were steady from 10 until 5. I met so many lovely people that were traveling through town and had seen the sign, and just stopped in to check things out. THANK YOU to everyone that came. I am so thankful for the support. A special thank you to Myra for baking and decorating a zillion mini cupcakes and a BIG BIG thank you to my sweet daughter, Sara, who took time off from work to drive down and help me. Also, to my hubby, Rich who was working behind the scene,taking pictures, keeping the food supply going, etc. I am also including pictures of my new "grand-baby"..Molly. Sara adopted a rescue puppy. We are all in love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is too, too adorable!!!! We hate to see her leave. Her and Maggie look like sisters. What a pair they make.

My friend Myra's beautiful granddaughters were in a weddding we attended on Saturday. Lexie and Alyssa ...how cute are they? They are so sweet, I just love them to pieces...and, since we don't have grandchildren, YET...Myra is kind enough to share them with me!

Saturday was a great day for garage sales!!!! We hit a barn sale at 7:30 and were on a roll until noon. Check out some of the haul. We found a lot of things for the up-coming sale (June 13-14). Which means I need to get the paint brush out and start working some magic. I promise things will look different. I also have to share some flower shots..........they are so beautiful. Everything is coming to life!

What a cold, dreary start to a holiday weekend! But, it is suppose to warm up. YEAH! I think of this as the official start to summer... We do not have any big plans. Sara is coming home this evening. I have been painting all week, getting ready for my up coming sale. It is set for June 13-14. The original date was 6-7th, but, then I found out that town rummages were scheduled for that weekend. So, plan B went into action. I am late in getting my mailers out. But, Rich just picked them up, so they will be in the mail this afternoon! We have found alot of goodies that I have been busily re-working and painting and I am anxious to share. I will be posting some pictures this weekend of some of the sale items. I have been busy painting, working on paper goods, painting, jewelry making, painting, tagging items, painting, doing some mosiac work, painting. Did I mention that I am doing ALOT of painting????? I am also posting some pictures that were taken around the house. I am always moving things from room to room, re-painting (that's a surprise), and re-purposing things. I LOVE IT!!!!

I met two of my dearest friends this morning for coffee at The Tree of Life. Why do we not take time to do this more often? It was just what I needed to get my day started! Rich stopped by and took this picture of us. I know Myra, you did not want to see this posted....but, we all know that we "look so much better in person". One of my goals, this year, is to try and be better about taking the time to spend with the special people in my life...and recording it..and how do you do that without a picture?

"THERE IS NO POSSISSION MORE VALUABLE THAN A GOOD AND FAITHFUL FRIEND"

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Sara is home for the weekend and Tyler and Missy came down yesterday. So we had an early mother's day lunch at the Half-Moon Restaurant and Brewery in Kokomo. Really good food and I tried fried pickles for the first time. YUM! I may be hooked. Is there anything that cannot be dipped and deep-fried? I do not think it would make our cardiologist's good food list! My mother's day started early....Jason invited us to Heritage Point for a mother's day program on Monday evening. He is the activities director for one of the Alzheimer's floors at Heritage Point, and he had organized the program for the residents. It was so good. It was a voice class made up of 9 children, ages 8 to 12. They sang songs from The Sound of Music. I kept thinking I was watching America's next American Idols! I am so proud of Jason. I really believe that he is right where the Lord intended him to be. He loves the residents and it is so obvious that they love him. As a mother, to see my son not only happy doing something he loves, but, to watch the reaction of those that he is affecting touches my heart! I hope that you are having a Happy Mother's Day with your loved ones.

It is pretty bad when you look forward to going back to work, so you can get rested up! After spending the week at the Vera Bradley outlet sale....I am worn out! But, what fun! I just don't think I am use to 10 hours of being on my feet all day! I just talked to Sara and 60, 000 people attended this year! WOW! I knew there were some die-hard Vera Bradley fans out there, but, that is alot of people! Seriously, I am signed up for next year. It was alot of fun! I met people from all over that had driven or flown in for the event. Atlanta, Kansas, Nebraska, Florida. Plus, I worked with some of the nicest people and am already looking forward to seeing and working with them next year. On Monday , I worked with a girl from Decatur, named Missy. We have already been e-mailing back and forth and plan to stay in touch. She and her boss, Amy, had taken a couple of days from their jobs to work the sale. They were so much fun to be with!
Sara found a house!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy for her. She will know tomorrow if it positively has gone through. But it is so cute and perfect for her! And, move in ready! Of course, she has already lined up her favorite painter (could that be mom????) to paint the kitchen cabinets...white of course! It will be perfect for all of her cottage/shabby chic things.
I will be posting pictures for sure!! I am posting a picture of the Friendly Fox.....we has brunch there on Sunday..........yum! Great food....we will be going back there for sure!

BUSY WEEK AHEAD!

What a week I have in front of me! Sara is here and I plan to go back to Ft Wayne with her tomorrow. As many of you know, she is house hunting. What an exciting time this is. We have appointments tomorrow to look at 4... one of which we are looking at for the second time. She has a wonderful realtor who is really zeroing in on what Sara is looking for....older with lots of character! She has looked at houses ranging from 94 years to as new as 3 years. You just do not find that character she is looking for in a newer home. But, for anyone who has ever lived in an older home , you know all that entails. But, I am with Sara on this one........I will take new over old any day. So, back to my exciting week.....tomorrow afternoon will be spent looking at houses (what a fun way to spend the afternoon). Sunday, she has some shops she wants to check out and hopefully some relaxation, because Monday through Friday I am working the Vera Bradley outlet sale!!!!! How much fun will that be? A week-long pj party with Sara plus, I get to play (???????) every day at Vera Bradley!!!! I am always telling her she must have the best job in the world.....she works for a wonderful company, with great people, and how could you not be in a good mood working around all that color! In case you do not pick up on it....I am very proud of Sara....(as I am all of our kids). I am so happy to have her living close to home again...plus to be really happy in her job. And, now, buying her first home! I will try and post pix of our house hunting adventures!

Sale Date Fast Approaching!

I have had several people ask me the date of my next sale. After changing the date 3 times, I have decided, there is really never, ever a perfect time! So, June 6 & 7 it is! PLEASE mark your calender! It is fast approaching . I wish my "do" energy was as high as my "thought" energy! I have been busy painting furniture, working on journals, greeting cards and earrings. But I still have so much to do! ! Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who is is good at repairing, will paint ( if begged long enough ) and will also listen to all of my worried rants that "I am not going to be ready!"
These are just a few of the projects that I am working on for the sale.

"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring"

Can it be that IT is finally here...has spring truely sprung? In the midwest it has been a very loooooooooooong winter...with hints of spring.....but, I think it has FINALLY arrived. Rich will say that I say this at the beginning of each season...but spring is definitly my favorite season. It is the season of hope of that all that is to come. It is a reminder to me of all those things that are so precious in my life...my husband, my children, my dear friends. It is hard for me to look out of my window, or better yet, step outside my door and not be reminded of all of God's promises.
In the midwest, we may endure the long, dark winter and all that comes with it, but we also have the privledge of enjoying the four seasons and all that come with each. Grass is green again, flowers are beginning to bloom. Springs holds forth the hope of fresh beginnings.

SPRING IS HERE!