A Night Out for Dinner

I'm joining in with Claudia's A Favorite Thing linky party tonight and will use this post but put in a favorite thing now to join her at 8 pm EST.

It's hard for me to have just one favorite thing as I could keep this party going well into the 22nd century with my favorite things. Actually, I'll probably depart this earth before I could possibly get through my "favorite things." But today my favorite thing will be this little bucket I painted to match the new decor that I'm striving to get: Romantic/French/Traditional/Connie. ;-) It was purchased at Joanns fabrics and kind of a verdigris color and not very good one at that. I painted it pink and yellow stripes. Turned out even better than I thought it would!

Closer to better see it is yellow. Anyway, while it looks lime-color in these photos, I can assure you it's yellow and I truly do love the colors.

This was taken inside with indoor lighting, but I assure you this is truly pink and yellow, not limey green.

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At a doctor's office recently I was reading an old Reader's Digest. There was an article in it by a podiatrist. She said unequivocally that the best lotion for feet was Amlactin. My own podiatrist recommended it also. It's a bit pricey at about $15.00 for an 8 oz. bottle but it is so true. Even Love Bunny noticed how soft my feet were. And if that man notices anything, it's worthy of note, trust me!

He and I don't see eye-to-eye on portions. Food portions. He'll ask for peas for dinner and would put a half a bag of frozen peas in the pot to cook. That's ridiculous. He says it's the right amount. I put about a third of the bag in the pot to cook. He just has no sense of portion. We argue about this all the time.

Recently, he took me to Sizzler. Now, I'm not that fond of Sizzler but that night the steak was really good. Hotter than blazes though. No child could have eaten it that hot. I mean the platter was smoking and did so for the entire time it took me to eat the steak and potato. If a parent let a child eat it that hot, it would burn their mouths for sure and then we all know what would happen—they'd sue Sizzler. It took me 6-7 minutes before I could even put a forkful of it in my mouth. Truly! He likes his food HOT—from the skillet to his mouth. Our son is the same way. Me? I have to let it cool before I can put it in my mouth. I don't want my mouth burned and it has been. Once scalded; twice cautious...or something like that.

Anyway, I had a small salad bar, the entree and dessert. He had a bigger steak, salad bar heaping on his plate, then went back for cottage cheese, then went back for a PLATE of fruit and then had an ice cream sundae. We're not talking small portions; we're talking big portions. I was sick just eating what I did, but he said he didn't feel full or think he ate too much and defended it. Sigh...as I said, we have totally different views of "portions." But we both agreed that's our last time at Sizzler.
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Is this a cute little cottage or what? No driveway, just a patch of grass with wheel paths leading to the back. But it looks like it's at the end of a road. Charming, no matter where or what it is.

This looks to be in Britain to me. Not many homes in the U.S. are that close together and so charmingly old.

The other day I gathered all my wrapping papers—such as they are—from the hallway coat closet and put them in my office here. They were getting in the way of the coats and vacuum I have in that closet and I didn't want them to get too frayed. So I brought them into this office and am now trying to find a cute bucket, preferably of the tin/metal variety, to put them in and store them "in plain sight" somewhere in the house. Just adding more eye candy for visitors to see. ;-)

Isn't this a gorgeous dreamy coat? I'd love to have it but I'd look like a polar bear in it.

A stunning balcony window with lace curtains. Oooooh, how gorgeous.

A beautiful bathroom, probably done over in rustic vintage decor. The colors are beautiful and serene.

You probably remember when we would have thrown out something that looks this bedraggled. Now we pay dear for such a vintage "ornament."

Just for the gorgeous deep colors have I posted this for you.

I love this little cuff done so fancifully. While I'm more fond of colors, I'd still make a cute little one like this to wear.

While this doesn't look like a particularly popular or sought-after street to live on, I thought the home was worthy of note. It looks huge even before you have the side protuberances. Cute, but too big for this gal.

This is such a place I'd love to have near me to enjoy. Absolutely adorable!

A rustic bench. Very desirable.

This looks like a bunch of fabric before it is ruffled just put together to make a curtain of sorts. Clever.

An Italian doorway looking like a jewel. Notice the mailbox is the same color as the door and the archway.

Darling picnic table cover. Now, this is my next project! LOL

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Glammin' Up the Backyard for Pink Saturday

Thank you for visiting today. Be sure and visit Beverly at howsweetthesound for more participants in Pink Saturday.
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Our son and grandsons were here for a couple of days this past week. The 2 on the right are our grandsons, 20 and 11, and the young man on the left, 13, is a "sort of adopted" child. He takes him whenever he and his wife can because his mother isn't a good influence on him and he loves our son and boys. He is treated just like his sons in everything: trips, cruises, punishments and college when he is ready. His mother won't give him up because......well, just because. He is a sweetie though. Keith is doing much better but, of course, he will have to repeat the surgery on his leg that the gang injured when they beat him. He is very optimistic about everything though.

Here is hubs planting 2 grape plants for us. I suggested we use this metal arbor since the clematis' have all, but one, died. He transplanted the clematis. We'll have a lovely place to view from our patio door and have the grapes to eat. The arbor will definitely hold them.

I have looked at every garden and hardware store in town trying to find a window box I thought was pretty enough. There was nothing available and then "POOF" an epiphany! I had two french vintage wire window boxes in the house—one in the living room and one in the family room under the faux mantel. Another "duh" moment for me. *Sigh*.........

Anyway, out it came from the wall and I put it under the window in my office with the faux ferns (I can't grow any other kind). Then...........

We went out to Michaels and Joanns and found some lovely silk peonies and roses and I stuck them in there with the ferns. I absolutely love looking at it from the front of the house and I can see it out my window seat.

The peonies are really very pink. I took this picture just after a rain storm and it was a bit dark but you can see underneath how the water stayed out from the box a bit. (Notice the rock underneath in the above photo.)

Here are the other faux roses and dahlias I purchased today at Michaels and Joanns. They are truly lovely and 60% off!

While I was out there I snapped more photos of the new crop of roses in the rose garden. Aren't they lovely? I have finally succeeded in growing something!

Just absolutely stunning to me, chicks!

Have you ever seen anything as gorgeous as a rose except for a newborn baby? I think not!

Ooooh, I almost forgot to mention th' thumb! This is what happens when hubby and son take me and grandsons target practice at the local shooting range and they neglect to tell me my thumb is in the wrong position on the semi-automatic handgun for the sliiiiIIIIiiiide (slide)! These are 2 Marines who know and taught Marines how to shoot but neglect to tell th' wife and mom. They're just lucky they weren't standing in front of me after I dropped the gun. *Sigh*........it hurts!!!!

And...........*sigh*........the fluorescent ear plugs you wear when shooting???? Well, I tried one pair and they fell out of my ears so I tried the 2nd pair and they got stuck in my ear! I tell ya, it was not a good day for me, bloggerettes. Thank goodness my son is a nurse. Hubs tried to get them out. I finally got the right one out and I couldn't hear out of my right ear. It was strange because it seemed that I could hear out of my right ear through my left ear. Then Keith tried pulling the left one out and he couldn't get a hold on it. He said, "Mom, why did you put them in so far?" I said that they kept falling out. He used his fingernails to grab the very edge and started pulling and boy, did it hurt. Felt like he was sucking my ear drums out! I had to tell him twice to stop as he was pulling. Well, I can hear out of the left ear but the right one is still plugged up badly. I can hear it trying to pop but I've been going around for 3 days "yawning" to pop it but so far nothing. I think I'll give up shooting.........unless it's a hubby and son! Target practice just could be hazardous to their health, ya know. :-)

Cottages and Roses Paintings #1

Before the main event below begins, let me say one thing.

For quite a while now I've wanted to do a tutorial on photography. I've made notes and note of things and narrowed it down to a few very simple points that might help other women on their road to taking excellent photos. I didn't do this with an air of superiority because the Lord knows how lacking I am in anything "superior" but I truly did it with the intent of helping women achieve beautiful photos for blogging and/or ebay or whatever your intent is with your photos. With that intent in mind I've finished it after several months of note taking and thinking and about a week of actual "working" on it intensely and came up with it yesterday. With that being said, you'll now find it on the right sidebar just below my laundry room. It is not meant to criticize! It is truly intended as a help to those of us who struggle through this relatively new experience of blogging, selling, digital cameras and all things 21st century. I say go forward, chicks, and conquer this one because there will be a new one by a new entrepreneur any day now. How wonderful it is to live in these times of new inventions!! As Charles Dicken said and it is certainly true in our times today: "It was the worst of times and the best of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness." I don't know about you gals, but I have a bright future ahead for me. I'm positively loving living at this time of the world. Be of good cheer, be happy, be kind, be prayerful, be a friend, be a doer. We have much waiting for us if we get through with the help of our Lord. I don't fear because I know he is in charge - no one else.
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I was searching the web a couple of weeks ago for some cottage or roses prints and came across this artist and just adored her work. In some of her paintings she seems to replicate the old masters, but in some she's just as froufrou-y as the rest of us. She even has a few "country" or "primitive" paintings. Those aren't my favorites so I didn't include any of those in here. So take a look at the first of many I'll be displaying in the next week or two. I think you'll love her as much as I do. Her name is Barbara Mock if you'd like to "google" her paintings.
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A lovely white picket fence with a rose arbor along a stone path.

A bouquet of dusky pale pink roses.

Some victorian women on a lake watching a regatta through a garden gate nearby.

A country shelf with pansies, tulips, a gardening sign and a bird nest.

The quintessential garden shed.

Potted flowers.

Another "old masters" looking painting of lush flowers.

A garden spot most of us dream about from time to time.

A spot to repose inside a potting shed.

A tablescape vignette.

More to follow soon...........