tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52318784053161549262024-03-13T08:33:11.005-04:00Sojourn's NestSojourn: a short stay or visit; a vacation.
Nest: a place affording snug refuge or lodging; a home.Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-81870268224696730742010-08-27T06:20:00.002-04:002010-08-27T06:22:58.370-04:0065 Unbelievable Canstruction Sculptures - Chill Out Point<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/THeRqrDe3rI/AAAAAAAABKA/_53rVzdLYsA/s1600/top-canstruction-sculpure-30.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/THeRqrDe3rI/AAAAAAAABKA/_53rVzdLYsA/s200/top-canstruction-sculpure-30.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510032831408955058" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.chilloutpoint.com/featured/65-unbelievable-canstruction-sculptures.html">65 Unbelievable Canstruction Sculptures - Chill Out Point</a><div><br /></div><div>Thought you might enjoy these sculptures, I find them amazing.</div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-10583823237277535392010-06-12T14:13:00.010-04:002010-06-14T10:44:25.792-04:00Basement Windows<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A small change but a big difference. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We have a bedroom in our basement with two windows just like this one. They don't let in much light, so every little bit counts but for privacy sake they need to be covered. And typical of most basement windows they draw bugs and spiders.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I was stuck with the dilemma of how to cover them without blocking light or providing safe haven for <a href="http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Aragog">Aragog</a> and his gang. After several years of pondering the problem I came up with the idea of putting some kind of thin paper over them. It would provide privacy and I could easily clean the dust and cobwebs away.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBPO4uDbv4I/AAAAAAAABI4/Xyg0j7e2w38/s320/IMG_6042.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481952645270454146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>This paper was very pretty when I bought it but it had a waxy coating on it and I could never find any type of tape that would hold it up, not even that handy tack worked. And over time the wee bit of sunlight coming through caused it to dry out and start to crumble.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBPO5G0ufMI/AAAAAAAABJA/l_S_yHAMbKM/s320/IMG_6045.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481952651919654082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px; " /></span></div><div>So I was back to trying to find something to cover them. I was putting away some wrapping paper one day when it hit me, tape sticks to tissue paper like a magnet and tissue paper is sheer enough to let in light while being opaque enough to provide privacy. </div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBVmzhrAiTI/AAAAAAAABJI/mQRFFa60rQQ/s320/IMG_6084.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482401156791568690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 179px; " /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Yes, that's a donkey and an elephant you see there. We haven't found a </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">red/white/blue Bison (Independent Party) yet but when he do he'll join his fellow running mates.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Tissue paper is much cheaper than fancy artist paper, much easier to find, and comes in lots of colors and patterns, so I can recover the windows as often as needed without breaking the bank or going out of my way to find supplies. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBVuZNHLdeI/AAAAAAAABJg/xCgube48Pro/s200/Pic+for+Body+of+Blog3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482409500689004002" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 186px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be joining <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/">Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch</a>. Lots of other metamorphous happen over that <a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/">BNOTP</a>, take a moment and check them out. </div><div><br /></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-28881850104481634672010-06-12T07:16:00.007-04:002010-06-12T13:40:53.000-04:00Once In A Lifetime Moment<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBPEnWeifMI/AAAAAAAABIw/KI2DrdLqE7Y/s1600/IMG_6039_2.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: left;">We had one of those yesterday morning. I was out on the front porch tending my plethora of houseplants when I looked up and saw something I never in a million years expected to find on my lawn.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBNv6pyxtGI/AAAAAAAABIQ/6vxT485cJmQ/s1600/IMG_6037.JPG"><br /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBNv6Ln-72I/AAAAAAAABII/eXWPoYRRNrI/s1600/IMG_6036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBNv6Ln-72I/AAAAAAAABII/eXWPoYRRNrI/s320/IMG_6036.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481848216783613794" /></a><br />At first I thought it was a bird (my eyesight is not good to say the least) but then I realized it had spots running in rows down it's back and that's when it hit me, this was no bird this was BAMBI!!! I'm actually very surprised that I was the one to discover him because I am usually in my own little world when working with my plants and it practically takes gun shots to get my attention.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBNv6pyxtGI/AAAAAAAABIQ/6vxT485cJmQ/s320/IMG_6037.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481848224881947746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Isn't this the most precious, beautiful baby you've ever seen. One thing for sure his mommy will never be told he looks like Winston Churchill or Yoda (yes, I actually told someone that once, tact is not my strong suit).</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBNv7ItxJpI/AAAAAAAABIY/XGhT69kyG_k/s320/IMG_6038.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481848233182439058" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>G said that Toby the dog had been sniffing something in the grass but G couldn't see what it was and figured Toby being a dog he probably didn't want to know so he didn't check it out. Toby was his typically curious but very gentle self, he didn't bark or try to harm the baby, just wanted to say hello. He had actually come back in the house and was no longer interested in the baby.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBNyApEg9AI/AAAAAAAABIg/VK6AMnJ3FYU/s320/IMG_6039.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481850526790382594" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span><div><br /></div><div>We're not sure where mom went but I don't believe she could have been far because when he ran away, he was very wobbly and was listing side ways, so we're thinking he must have been pretty new. He was also very tiny. So I'm thinking he couldn't be very old, a day at the most. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TBPEnWeifMI/AAAAAAAABIw/KI2DrdLqE7Y/s320/IMG_6039_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481941351767637186" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>edited to add G's comment:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663333;">What Pamela didn't tell you is that she bent down beside Bambi and petted him. I had visions of this 12 point buck laying in our living room with Toby and going to the door wanting to be let out. And I can just hear the complaints from our neighbors! "Your deer ate all the buds off of my lilies last night." But when Pamela stood up, Bambi ran away and I must admit, I am very disappointed I won't get my very own pet deer. </span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-68768681025201878952010-06-08T01:26:00.010-04:002010-06-08T20:08:50.539-04:00In the Garden this Week.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3f7ZzH6FI/AAAAAAAABGA/IIkssYJajpU/s1600/IMG_6023.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3f7ZzH6FI/AAAAAAAABGA/IIkssYJajpU/s320/IMG_6023.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480282533210351698" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">G and I seperated out a clump of these daylilies 3 years ago, we planted most of them but had so many that we couldn't find places for all of them. We were so tired of digging holes that we didn't even bother to plant them, we just sat them on the ground. They lived and thanks to Toby's viligent watch over our yard they actually got a chance to bloom this year. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fFgfpnII/AAAAAAAABF4/62aYaG8Bzio/s1600/IMG_6019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fFgfpnII/AAAAAAAABF4/62aYaG8Bzio/s320/IMG_6019.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480281607294786690" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Not much inside the greenhouse this time of year but I love </div><div><div style="text-align: center;">the look of Terra Cotta and just had to snap this photo.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fFVEeBvI/AAAAAAAABFw/-Gjt9Ap4eJ8/s1600/IMG_6018.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fFVEeBvI/AAAAAAAABFw/-Gjt9Ap4eJ8/s320/IMG_6018.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480281604227991282" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Red verbena, it will be many times this size by the end of the season.</div></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fE27oYaI/AAAAAAAABFo/U9FhrQtmdxE/s1600/IMG_6016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fE27oYaI/AAAAAAAABFo/U9FhrQtmdxE/s320/IMG_6016.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480281596137857442" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">These started off as one very tiny division I was given about 6 yrs. ago. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;">I divided it about 3 yrs. ago and this is what I got. G keeps promising me a shade house. </div><div style="text-align: center;">If I ever do get that shade house I am going to divide some of these and pot them </div><div style="text-align: center;">up to sell at the market. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fEev7O7I/AAAAAAAABFg/oCmWmqUEdBo/s1600/IMG_6015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fEev7O7I/AAAAAAAABFg/oCmWmqUEdBo/s320/IMG_6015.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480281589646310322" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">We were living in Florida when I brought the parent plant to this hydrangea home and asked G to plant it he asked "Why? it's nothing more than a dead stick". I told him to just trust me. Many people don't understand the difference between dead and dormant. </div><div style="text-align: center;">The stick only looked dead but was actually dormant.</div></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fD886KgI/AAAAAAAABFY/6xZuKOrJ6UQ/s1600/IMG_6014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3fD886KgI/AAAAAAAABFY/6xZuKOrJ6UQ/s320/IMG_6014.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480281580573960706" /></a>I gave my mom a division from the parent plant and she planted it at her house. That was almost 25 yrs. ago. About 3 yrs. after we moved here to NC I got a division from her and planted it here. So in a sense that dead stick has traveled 500 miles and 3 states from where it first started. That's pretty good for a dead stick, don't ya think. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c8Cm2uaI/AAAAAAAABFQ/Q4MkpSgnOe4/s1600/IMG_6011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c8Cm2uaI/AAAAAAAABFQ/Q4MkpSgnOe4/s320/IMG_6011.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480279245629864354" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I like the way no two are the same color. Sometimes one </div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">bloom head will have several colors together. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c7tYIPWI/AAAAAAAABFI/JKGbgKZslps/s1600/IMG_6006.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c7tYIPWI/AAAAAAAABFI/JKGbgKZslps/s320/IMG_6006.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480279239930953058" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">My coneflowers are just beginning to open. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c6Bmx-kI/AAAAAAAABEw/DIJz5LJrcmw/s320/IMG_6002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480279211001379394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Gaillardia just beginning to open.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c6k0_U8I/AAAAAAAABE4/GzhrkM4CGNM/s320/IMG_6003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480279220456215490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Gaillardia's common name is <a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=indian+blanket+flower&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8">indian blanket.</a> </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c7KS-LII/AAAAAAAABFA/5h9bpyTgp5A/s1600/IMG_6005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c7KS-LII/AAAAAAAABFA/5h9bpyTgp5A/s320/IMG_6005.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480279230514080898" /></a> This plant was labeled Gaillardia but as you can see it looks nothing like one. I'm not sure what it is but the color is striking. This pic doesn't do it justice, it's is actually a deep copper. I'm kind of glad it was mislabeled because it's not a color I would have knowingly chosen and I would have missed out on it's amazing richness.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3c6k0_U8I/AAAAAAAABE4/GzhrkM4CGNM/s1600/IMG_6003.jpg"><br /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XYLUfnbI/AAAAAAAABEo/K2VBgN11w5Y/s1600/IMG_5996.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XYLUfnbI/AAAAAAAABEo/K2VBgN11w5Y/s320/IMG_5996.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480273131935342002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XXjhaseI/AAAAAAAABEg/F3GiYlOfmo4/s1600/IMG_5994.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XXjhaseI/AAAAAAAABEg/F3GiYlOfmo4/s320/IMG_5994.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480273121252127202" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The neighbors lilac myrtle hangs over our fence. It always blooms </div></div><div style="text-align: center;">so beautifully. I am not so lucky with myrtles. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XXPTWyWI/AAAAAAAABEY/TMd-eiH-_0k/s1600/IMG_5993.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XXPTWyWI/AAAAAAAABEY/TMd-eiH-_0k/s320/IMG_5993.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480273115824441698" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XWz0MpbI/AAAAAAAABEQ/zdqXfRCLah4/s1600/IMG_5989.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XWWYEz8I/AAAAAAAABEI/83QBPqaVnQg/s1600/IMG_5991.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XWWYEz8I/AAAAAAAABEI/83QBPqaVnQg/s320/IMG_5991.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480273100543414210" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">These are some of the asiatic lilies I have planted along the </div></div><div style="text-align: center;">back of the house. They too are just beginning to bloom. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TA3XWz0MpbI/AAAAAAAABEQ/zdqXfRCLah4/s320/IMG_5989.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480273108445996466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span>Found this fellow on the sidewalk behind the house. Not exactly sure how he got there but I'm thinking that Toby the dog had something to do with it. I looked him over but found no injuries but he was being very still for a large such a large frog. </div><div><br /></div><div>I picked him up and took him down to the pond in our back yard, I had to hold him with both hands like a Burger King Whooper, he was that huge. Then I brought Toby inside for the rest of the day so the poor guy could find his way to where he was going without the interference of a curious dog. </div><div><br /></div><div>Finding frogs in our pond says a lot for the quality of the water because frog are very sensitive to the eco systems where they live. They can't live in polluted water. It amazes me that our pond will support frogs considering it is surrounded by 14 houses most of which use some kind of lawn chemicals. </div></div></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-60991254233091292052010-06-01T10:04:00.020-04:002010-06-05T11:38:49.940-04:00More Switchplates<div><br /></div><div>Out of curiosity I did a google search for switch plates just to see what's out there? </div><div><br /></div><div>The answer is everything! </div><div><br /></div><div>I was truly amazed at the variety available. I am certain that no one would go away disappointed with the variety. I thought I would share some with you. I tried to embed them with links but I couldn't do it for some reason. I need to run out and do some errands but when I return I'll post the links under each one. </div><div><br /></div><div>OK I'm back and I've found all but one link. First I would like to give you the 3 sites where I found these switch plate. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=switch+plate+covers&x=0&y=0">Amazon.com Switch Plate Covers</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/">Switchhits.com</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchplatesuperstore.com/">Switch Plate Super Store</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/">Etsy</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAkHgV6ltKI/AAAAAAAABEA/ACuro0RMAss/s200/il_fullxfull.119695143.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478918673893012642" /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/17862612/hand-painted-wooden-blue-owl-single">Bright Colors Ow</a>l</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is one of my favorites because I like birds and I collect owls. </div><div><div style="text-align: center;">There are several different color patterns for this one. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I think I'll buy one of these for my office.</div><img style="text-align: right;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAkHgJe06EI/AAAAAAAABD4/5LE44xKMx1I/s200/51IBEM0pEYL._SS400_.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478918670555342914" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Talavera-Light-Switch-Plate-Cover/dp/B000I634PO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1275752094&sr=8-2">Talavera Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAkHfve4ngI/AAAAAAAABDo/_FTHFdSg2eE/s200/41ONTWOKNaL._SS400_.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478918663576264194" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This reminds me of photos I took at <a href="http://www.sanibelisland.com/">Sanibel Island</a>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> I'm wondering if there is a place that could make these using your own photos.</div><div style="text-align: center;">For the life of me I can not find the link to this cover. </div><div style="text-align: center;">If any happens to know the link please email it to me and I will add it. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.switchhits.com/switchplates_jeweled_light_switch_plates_covers_s.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 121px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUV2g13NLI/AAAAAAAABDg/_lQyYA3akG8/s200/switchplates_gst_classic_al.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477808548039046322" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/switchplates_classic_aluminum_light_switch_plates_covers.html">Jeweled Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I think these are especially pretty, they would look really nice in my house. </div><div style="text-align: center;">But I plan to do a lot more research before I decide because I found so many that I like. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.switchhits.com/asian-green.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUV2ZxcLVI/AAAAAAAABDY/PLjqBPaZC50/s200/switchplates-vt-asian-green.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477808546141449554" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/asian-green.html">Asian Green</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Great for Asian inspired rooms or for the person who enjoys art. </div><div style="text-align: center;">This would look nice in our Master bedroom.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUUzHhtcMI/AAAAAAAABDQ/SxHeBfsdgAI/s1600/switchplates_fef_celticheart.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 122px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUUzHhtcMI/AAAAAAAABDQ/SxHeBfsdgAI/s200/switchplates_fef_celticheart.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477807390192398530" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/switchplates_celtic_hearth_light_switch_plates_covers.html">Celtic Hearth Light Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Love these celtic knots. G and I both have a </div><div style="text-align: center;">Celtic heritage so these would right at home here. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.switchhits.com/switchplates-grey-slate-light-switch-plates-covers.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 147px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUUyzLoGXI/AAAAAAAABDI/vyxWUF0zZ6w/s200/switchplates_vts_slate.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477807384731064690" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/switchplates_slate_light_switch_plates_covers_s.html">Slate Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Grey slate. Very simple yet very elegant. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.switchhits.com/switchplates_train_light_switch_plates_covers.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 111px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUUyTIvUzI/AAAAAAAABDA/pgIx4wdgPVI/s200/switchplates_chr_train.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477807376129020722" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/switchplates_train_light_switch_plates_covers.html">Train Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our son-in-law is a train engineer and also collects model trains. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm think this might make a good stocking stuffer this Christmas.</div><div style="text-align: center;">This would also be nice for a little boys room.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.switchhits.com/fleur-di-lis.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUUyALuy-I/AAAAAAAABC4/VpI-iLf93XY/s200/nne008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477807371041295330" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/fleur-di-lis.html">Fleur de Lis Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Another one that would be great for a particular decor of if you have a French heritage. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I like these but I would prefer them in a cream color and a little antiquing. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I could do the color change myself if I can't find them in the color I want. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.switchhits.com/switchplates_toothbrush_light_switch_plates_covers.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUUx71FAyI/AAAAAAAABCw/9aD5QCbFGIw/s200/switchplates_noh_dentist.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477807369872540450" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/switchplates_toothbrush_light_switch_plates_covers.html">Toothpaste Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fun for a kids bathroom or if one of the parents is a </div><div style="text-align: center;">dentist they might like one of these for the office. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.switchhits.com/mother-of-pearl.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUT9ycN5mI/AAAAAAAABCo/nZtWT34Ng7s/s200/4mod-mp.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477806473999148642" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/mother-of-pearl.html">Mother of Pearl </a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Another that I really like. I think this would be very pretty in my hall bath. </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchplatesuperstore.com/cupcake-wallplate.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUT9WHcmqI/AAAAAAAABCY/oUxp6mZJz54/s200/yhst-61570671541135_2108_19531250.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477806466395839138" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchplatesuperstore.com/cupcake-wallplate.html">Cupcake switch plate.</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cupcakes but no calories :o) don't get no better than that. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUT9WHcmqI/AAAAAAAABCY/oUxp6mZJz54/s1600/yhst-61570671541135_2108_19531250.gif"></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchplatesuperstore.com/sea-shells.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 119px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUT9Djbp6I/AAAAAAAABCQ/XVjJ8Skuv9s/s200/yhst-61570671541135_2108_21127372.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477806461412943778" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchplatesuperstore.com/sea-shells.html">Seashell Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Another for the bath or the beach house. </div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/fairy-ballerina.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 94px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUT9h8JA-I/AAAAAAAABCg/0Uj_VryZhc4/s200/lnd068.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477806469569643490" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchhits.com/fairy-ballerina.html">Fairy Ballerina Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">For the angel collector or a little girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina. </div><div style="text-align: center;">There were other similar styles where I found her. </div><div style="text-align: center;">If you're interested click on her and she will take you to her house. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchplatesuperstore.com/palesa-fairy.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAUT80hDD2I/AAAAAAAABCI/Te-T9y_SYNI/s200/yhst-61570671541135_2106_733077.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477806457376411490" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.switchplatesuperstore.com/palesa-fairy.html">Dragonfly Fairy Switch Plate</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">For the fairy collector or possibly for a child's room. Again, if </div><div style="text-align: center;">you click her she'll take you to the store where she can be bought. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">As you can see there is a lot to choose from. There are so many that I really like that </div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure I could choose just one. But why should I, I have lots of rooms :o)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-86616585486317990912010-05-28T20:59:00.016-04:002010-05-31T08:00:58.537-04:00Thrift Scores ~ Dishes and Light switch plates<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB9lc0Qp6I/AAAAAAAABB4/-QKSAFgxf-w/s1600/IMG_5910.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB9lc0Qp6I/AAAAAAAABB4/-QKSAFgxf-w/s320/IMG_5910.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476515229226543010" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">G and I went to a local thrift store to look for supplies for a project (I promise to post it soon as we're finished). While we were there I found another set of dishes and fell in love. Because the pattern looked rubbed in places and I because I was trying to be frugal I only bought two. I planned to use them decoratively but then once they had been through the dishwasher they didn't look so bad after all. So I went back to buy the rest because I figure since there already a bit used looking it wouldn't matter so much if they get broke or chipped. Sure enough the first time I used them one of the kids dropped one, he was worried he had broken it I kept reassuring him that I paid only .50 cents for the plate and it was no big deal. He hadn't broken after all. I bought 6 plates, 6 salads, and 4 fruit bowls for $14.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For me that's the great part of thrifting. If it gets broke I haven't lost something valuable and I get to go shopping again *smile*</div><div><div><div><br /></div><div><div>When I went back to get the plates I discovered another great thrift score. The store had a</div><div>whole display of light switch covers of different styles. I bought 4 ceramic covers for $2.50 each. I would have bought more but these were the only styles they had that would fit my switches and my decor.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><i><b>Before</b></i></span></div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1R6KAURI/AAAAAAAABBg/_zNcyRT3hRI/s1600/IMG_5865.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1R6KAURI/AAAAAAAABBg/_zNcyRT3hRI/s320/IMG_5865.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476506097411969298" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">These are plastic but at least they're not pretentious like the fake brass switch plates (they further down in this post). Please ignore the peeling paint, we had a very mischievous cockatiel for awhile and just haven't had the time to repair the damage.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><i>After</i></span></b></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1RYRGYyI/AAAAAAAABBY/3XjmbXmZkx0/s1600/IMG_5867.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1RYRGYyI/AAAAAAAABBY/3XjmbXmZkx0/s320/IMG_5867.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476506088314921762" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Before</span></i></b></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB4H_u4EcI/AAAAAAAABBw/gfRx6T0ApCw/s1600/IMG_5870.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB4H_u4EcI/AAAAAAAABBw/gfRx6T0ApCw/s320/IMG_5870.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476509225644986818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ugly pretentious brass switch plates.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">After</span></i></b></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1Q3M3GAI/AAAAAAAABBQ/Bpd3NrSoSbU/s1600/IMG_5871.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1Q3M3GAI/AAAAAAAABBQ/Bpd3NrSoSbU/s320/IMG_5871.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476506079438772226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Pretty ceramic switch plates.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Aren't they nice? I think they look so much better than the others, btw I did not choose those fake brass plates, I think they look tacky. I'm a bit of a purist and if I had decided on brass I would have bought brass, not fake brass. The fake brass plates begin to rust over time and rust is not a petina I care for no matter how fashionable it may be right now. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><i>Another view of the after.</i></b></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1QU0oAjI/AAAAAAAABBI/p8xHc_x67rg/s1600/IMG_5874.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAB1QU0oAjI/AAAAAAAABBI/p8xHc_x67rg/s320/IMG_5874.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476506070210314802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> PS; the curtain is tied that way to keep the cats from </div><div style="text-align: center;">shredding it while trying to look out the door. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm adding this to <a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/">BNOTP</a> for Met Monday. There's lots of great transformation so go check them out.</div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/TAMbfSd3yaI/AAAAAAAABCA/FaNvqXGHFks/s200/Email+Large+size.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477251796159678882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 188px; " /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-9765041930461708742010-05-26T12:53:00.003-04:002010-05-26T13:11:35.273-04:00Good Sewing Requires Good Ironing<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_1VKz2nxUI/AAAAAAAABAg/8Bl33picMOc/s1600/Professional%2BSteam%2BIron.jpg"></a>My Home Ec teachers graded harder on ironing a garment than they did on the construction. They knew that some construction techniques take loads of practice to learn. They believed that good ironing habits had to be drilled into young heads from the very start because lets be honest, sewing is fun ironing is not. But fact is that the look, hang and feel of a garment on the body has as much to do with good pressing as it does with good construction.<div><br /></div><div>If you've ever done much ironing you also know you get what you pay for when buying an iron. Buy a cheap iron and you have to watch it every second to make sure it's not scorching you clothing or that it's actually steaming and not leaking. My own iron is middle of the road. The most frustrating part about it is that there is no hot/dry setting, if you need to iron something on a high setting but dry your just out luck cause the higher the heat the more steam you get. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've been wanting to replace it for awhile now but have always found something else I needed/wanted more. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_1VKz2nxUI/AAAAAAAABAg/8Bl33picMOc/s1600/Professional%2BSteam%2BIron.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_1VKz2nxUI/AAAAAAAABAg/8Bl33picMOc/s320/Professional%2BSteam%2BIron.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475626366158751042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div>But maybe luck will be my friend soon and I'll win this lovely piece of homemaking magic from <a href="http://bitterbettyindustries.blogspot.com/2010/05/bitter-betty-sells-out-just-for-you.html">Bitter Betty.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://bitterbettyindustries.blogspot.com/2010/05/bitter-betty-sells-out-just-for-you.html">Bitter Betty</a> is having a give-away for this iron. All you need to do is visit and leave a comment. Then you too will have a chance to upgrade your ironing skills. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://bitterbettyindustries.blogspot.com/2010/05/bitter-betty-sells-out-just-for-you.html">Betty </a>also has 3 pages from White's Sewing Manual circa 1947 about good pressing skills. I plan to print them out, put them in sleeve protectors and add them to my sewing binder. </div><div><br /></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-86119503820314304822010-05-21T22:34:00.013-04:002010-05-25T15:31:02.303-04:00Baked Red Fish<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>You can live with someone for 30+ years and still not know everything there is to know about them. After cooking for G, the kids, and any guest we had for almost 30 years I find out that my husband is an awesome cook. <div><br /></div><div>In all the time I've known and been married to G I have never seen him cook anything from scratch. But tonight he blew me away with the best baked Red fish I've ever put in my mouth. The stuff was awesome.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had asked him to stop by the grocery store and pick up some bananas and while he was there he bought 3 fish filets. He had no plan for how to prepare and cook them, just the confidence of a novice that he would figure something out, and he did. And the best part was he needed no help. He simply went in to the kitchen and about 30 minuts later he called me to come and eat. I did offer a few suggestions along the way but he did all the work.</div><div><br /></div><div>The fish were so good that I thought others might like to try the recipe as well. I would have posted this recipe much sooner but I couldn't get blogger to post a picture and I thought you might like to see what the fish looked like. So finally I figure out a solution to the problem and now I have a pic of the fish. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_wTpRcnJuI/AAAAAAAABAY/xBlQrmvfcEw/s320/IMG_5897.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475272846754653922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the recipe.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>G's Savory Baked Red Fish ©</b></div><div><br /></div><div>3 Fish Filets (approx. 1 1/2 lbs) you can use Red fish, flounder, whitefish, halibut, or cod. </div><div>Mrs Dash</div><div>Salt</div><div><br /></div><div>Mix together:</div><div><br /></div><div>1 tsp instant minced onion</div><div>1/2 tsp powdered mustard</div><div>1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice</div><div>1/2 mayonnaise</div><div><br /></div><div>Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Preheat oven to 425 f. Arrange fish filets in greased 9 x 11 baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with Mrs. Dash and salt to taste. Spread mayo mixture over fish. Bake for 25- 30 minutes until browned and fish flakes easily with a fork.</div><div><br /></div><div>Enjoy!!!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">This recipe is protected by US copyright laws. You may make a copy for personal use. You may link back to this recipe. <b>Please </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b>do not</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"> post a copy of this recipe on any other website, blog, forum or webpage of any kind, anywhere.<b> </b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-7471540211377971382010-05-18T15:38:00.006-04:002010-05-19T17:45:48.989-04:00Poor Sick Kitty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_LtjpqWCiI/AAAAAAAABAQ/1hqHGWNGSeE/s1600/IMG_5828.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_LtjpqWCiI/AAAAAAAABAQ/1hqHGWNGSeE/s320/IMG_5828.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472697693943237154" /></a>I would like to introduce Callie to you. She's our 10 yr. old Calico. Our daughter J found her in the middle of the road where she had been hit by a car and left. She was bleeding from a head wound and the vet didn't expect her to live through the night. J called me after taking Callie to the vet and begged me to allow her to keep her if she lived. I made her promise that she would pay all the vet bills. Much to the suprise of all Callied lived. J paid all her bills. The vet told us that she wasn't certain Callie was out of the woods just yet and that we should quarantine her for the first month. That was 9 yrs. ago. Callie still doesn't like to have her head touched, in fact she doesn't let anyone but family touch her and then only for a few moments. She is not a lap sitter and she doesn't allow people to pick her up, not ever. She will allow me to pick her up to put her on the table where she eats but only because of the food. Otherwise it's hands off.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Both our cats are indoor/outdoor, in fact somedays I feel as though my only purpose in life is to open and close the door for the cats. For the most part we don't have any problems with injuries or fighting but sometimes things do happen. Callie came home the last week with a very bad limp. <div><div><div><br /></div><div>We quarantined her to the house and thought it was getting better but then over the weekend we noticed that she was once again in a lot of pain. Sunday night she curled up next to me (and you have to understand Callie <b>does not touch</b> anyone on purpose and would never think of actually curling up next someone) and acted as though she was seeking comfort. I gently prodded her leg and discovered that the knee joint was particularly painful to her. She actually put her paw on my hand as though to say; "stop! that hurts!" I decided a trip to the vet was in order so G and I took her in on Monday morning.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turns out that she had injured her knee joint and very badly. I was helping to hold Callie down as the vet examined the leg and was able to see that Callie has a lot of play in the knee, in fact if I didn't know better I would have thought she didn't have a knee. The vet said she probably injured it as a result of jumping from a high place. That makes sense because both Callie and Nigel like to go up on the roof. Swifts nest in our chimney and raise young each spring and summer, both cats would love nothing more than to dine on a nice, young, tender baby bird but the swifts are smart and nest too far down the chimney for the cats to reach. </div><div><br /></div><div>The vet has confined Callie to bed rest. She is not to jump at all for at least 3 weeks. Callie is not pleased one little bit about any of this. First her knee hurts and now she is forced to stay in a lowly dog crate of all places. But as you can see we are doing out best to keep her comfortable. G bought her a large supply of tuna as a get-well present. Honestly the tuna is a foil for the meds the vet prescribed but Callie doesn't seem to mind that part. I made her a nice thick bed from two new foam cushion inserts, I covered it with an old towel and then put the fleece blanket on top, hopefully it will keep the leg more comfortable than sleep on the hard cage bottom. </div><div><br /></div><div>So for the next 3-4 weeks she has to be confined to the crate. After that I thinking she'll be staying inside for several more months. I realize this could have happened t inside the house just as easily as it happend outside but I can observe in the house much better and make sure she get her rest when need be.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_LtjG_MX8I/AAAAAAAABAI/m1KONlHLCcU/s1600/IMG_5830.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_LtjG_MX8I/AAAAAAAABAI/m1KONlHLCcU/s320/IMG_5830.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472697684635443138" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Callie stoned on Tramadol</span>.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The vet was very nice and gave Callie some pain killers called Tramadol. If you are familiar with this drug you'll know that it also has the added side effect of mood elevation. In other words it acts like a pain-killer slash anti-depressant. It did make Callie a bit excitable so I am spreading the doses out so as not to cause her undue anxiety, she's already neurotic. But she's also very sweet in her own way and we love her. Hopefully this will heal on it on and we won't have to put her through a surgery to stabilize the joint. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-49555351529720594452010-05-17T02:51:00.006-04:002010-05-17T03:33:47.994-04:00Little Things<div style="text-align: left;">I know it's small and insignificant to most but I think details like this matter. I don't like things to look messy so I'm always trying to improve on things. Unfortunately I'm afraid that most people would never guess by the state of my house that I am this <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/persnickety">persnickety</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Most people know that the cords to blinds can be very dangerous to children and pets. We have a friend who had a kitten hang it's self on a mini-blind cord. For that reason I've always kept the cords tied well out of the way of curious hands and itchy paws. </div><div><br /></div><div>But I've always thought this looked messy. And in some places like our big picture window I don't have anywhere to put one of those hook things you wind the cord around and honestly I'm not real found of the way they look either. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_DpbysapII/AAAAAAAAA_w/Nw1xkRjxvoI/s1600/IMG_5559.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_DpbysapII/AAAAAAAAA_w/Nw1xkRjxvoI/s320/IMG_5559.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472130210928960642" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_Dpcc_wc7I/AAAAAAAAA_4/bX-sOP8BtTA/s1600/IMG_5562.jpg"><br /></a></div><div>So I came up with this solution recently. I let the blinds down at far as I wanted them to go when closed, then I took the remaining cord starting at the top and using a very large hook I crocheted it into a chain and pulled the little ends through to finish it off. Now it doesn't look so messy but is still out of the way of small children and my kitties. </div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_DrO3Wce2I/AAAAAAAABAA/IePpfsOFxkQ/s1600/IMG_5561.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_DrO3Wce2I/AAAAAAAABAA/IePpfsOFxkQ/s320/IMG_5561.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472132187863939938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S_Dpcc_wc7I/AAAAAAAAA_4/bX-sOP8BtTA/s1600/IMG_5562.jpg"><br /></a></div><div>You can do this without using a crochet hook by simply making a loop at the top and then pulling a loop of cord through it over and over to create a chain. </div><div><br /></div><div>Go<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptOiDj1iIv0"> here</a> to see how it's done. Or search on crochet chain to find lots <a href="http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=crochet+chain&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=w-3wS5-2E4e8lQfg4rXqDw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=6&ved=0CEIQsAQwBQ">more examples.</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-15409986119698936222010-05-15T01:13:00.010-04:002010-05-21T22:34:33.102-04:00Hot Peppers<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-417EDlzMI/AAAAAAAAA_I/P-qkO6AZ9GY/s1600/IMG_2701.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-417EDlzMI/AAAAAAAAA_I/P-qkO6AZ9GY/s320/IMG_2701.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471369886119087298" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><br />For the past couple of summers G and I have been selling produce grown in our garden at the local farmers market. We usually only sell for a couple of months when the tomatoes are producing at their peak. Once they start to slow down I don't have so much excess so we call it quits until the next summer rolls around. <div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-416h2MhqI/AAAAAAAAA_A/by8eo2mdQ7E/s1600/IMG_2686.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-416h2MhqI/AAAAAAAAA_A/by8eo2mdQ7E/s320/IMG_2686.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471369876936099490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Last year I also did very good business with hot peppers. Most of the vendors don't offer hot peppers because for some reason this area hasn't caught onto the love of hot foods, ( I mean the truly tongue blistering hot that some crave). And I will have to clarify this by saying hot is not my favorite flavor either but G loves it, so we grow them. I figure to each their own and with the turn over I was doing in peppers last year I decided to look into other ways to use and sell hot peppers.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-417bHMqdI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/XROcFB5x5Jc/s1600/IMG_2703.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-417bHMqdI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/XROcFB5x5Jc/s320/IMG_2703.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471369892308232658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><div><br /></div><div>Since the vendors at the market where we sell don't offer a lot of hot peppers I don't have a lot of competition. It's a niche market that I plan to explore more this year.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-417z-IujI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/TEWfH1ORjgM/s1600/IMG_2844.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-417z-IujI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/TEWfH1ORjgM/s320/IMG_2844.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471369898981112370" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><div><br /></div><div>Once the tomatoes were finished producing the peppers where still going strong but I didn't really have enough of them or do enough business on peppers alone that I could justify booth rent, not to mention getting up at 4am to make it to the market on time for opening. But I couldn't allow my peppers to go to waste either. so I made 'pepper sauce' with some, pepper jelly with others and dried the rest. I plan to add these things to my booth and see how they do this year. </div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-422T0n3rI/AAAAAAAAA_g/SHnBKhBdRpo/s1600/IMG_2850.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-422T0n3rI/AAAAAAAAA_g/SHnBKhBdRpo/s320/IMG_2850.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471370903963557554" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>G identified the variety of Cayenne that were the hottest, I sorted them out from the rest and dried them. Once they were dried I cleaned the seeds from the inside and dried them a bit longer, until they were as crisp as old parchment. Then I ran them through a small coffee grinder I use just for herbs and made a powder for seasoning chili from them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can't tell you how pleased and impressed I was with myself. I planted those peppers and took them form garden to spice rack all on my own. But I'll admit I did "re-learn" some things the hard way. First of all, always and I do mean always, wear gloves when handling hot peppers. I got the oils from the peppers under my nails and in my cuticles and it stayed their for almost 10 days. Needless to say I also got it in my eyes and mouth.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-4223KO8RI/AAAAAAAAA_o/JAlRwBu6jQo/s1600/IMG_2854.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S-4223KO8RI/AAAAAAAAA_o/JAlRwBu6jQo/s320/IMG_2854.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471370913449439506" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-37832519818026411242010-03-17T13:34:00.003-04:002010-03-17T13:53:50.271-04:00Irish Blessing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S6EUCM2DiiI/AAAAAAAAA9g/CNPQcqWlVlw/s1600-h/free-vintage-st-patricks-day-clip-art-green-hat-and-gloves-shamrocks.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 196px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S6EUCM2DiiI/AAAAAAAAA9g/CNPQcqWlVlw/s320/free-vintage-st-patricks-day-clip-art-green-hat-and-gloves-shamrocks.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449659052135254562" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><br /></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, serif; font-size: small; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">May love and laughter light your days,</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, serif; font-size: small; ">and warm your heart and home.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 51); font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; "><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">May good and faithful friends be yours,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">wherever you may roam.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">May peace and plenty bless your world</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">with joy that long endures.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">May all life's passing seasons</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">bring the best to you and yours!</span></div></span></span></div><div><div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I thought you might enjoy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"> </span><a href="http://www.e-water.net/viewflash.php?flash=irishblessing_en"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">this slide show</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"> </span>as well. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've been fascinated with the Ireland and the Irish since childhood and have always fancied myself to be at least part Irish, even if it is a very distant part. I certainly have the pale skin, blue eyes and temper to suggest that it may be so. </div></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-3829323083596382192010-03-10T20:55:00.004-05:002010-03-10T21:22:06.336-05:00Legacies<div style="text-align: left;">Like most, my family wasn’t wealthy. There was no money, jewelry or land to pass down to the children or grandchildren. Our family considered themselves to be fortunate if there was money for a funeral. Nonetheless my family passed along legacies to it’s children. One that was passed on to me by my mother and grandmother (all the grandchildren called her Mam’Maw) was the legacy of needlework.</div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S5hPaSLQK9I/AAAAAAAAA8w/E-pjqv7RvyA/s320/IMG_3110.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447191062278843346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Mam’Maw was an awesome seamstress and was skilled in many other forms of needlework as well. She could reproduce a dress simply by looking at photos. Many of my school dress where made by her. The dresses fit perfectly and looked as though they came from the Sears catalog because that was most often her inspiration. I'll try to add a couple of pictures later but first I have to get the scanner figured out.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Since Mam’Maw raised me I was always there when she was sewing. I would watch her every move, totally mesmerized by the processes of cutting, pinning, stitching and so on. Like all small children I wanted to do what I saw the adults doing, I would beg her to give me a needle and let me try. Finally one night when I was about 4 she gave in and handed me a real needle, thread and swatch of fabric. She showed me how to do a running stitch and then let me play. I think she may have even given me a button or two. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S5hPZ66qKBI/AAAAAAAAA8o/fCHdJXCI11Y/s320/IMG_3107.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447191056035227666" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There were no toy needles back then, she gave me the real deal but admonished me very sternly that I was only allowed to use it while she was with me and that I was to put it back in pin cushion so no one would get hurt. She told me that if I didn’t follow the rules I wouldn’t be allowed to use her things again. I enjoyed sewing so much that I carefully followed those rules.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Needle work just seemed to come second nature to me. By the time I was in my early teens I was making my own clothing. Remember how carefully we picked out the outfit we would wear that first day of school. It had to be just right so as to favorably impress the other students and teachers. The first day of sixth grade my outfit was one I sewed myself. I still remember it. It was a Madras plaid, hip length tunic over a pair elastic waist bellbottoms. I didn’t like the elastic but I wasn’t skilled enough for flies yet and since no one could see the waist I felt I could live with it. My results weren't seamstress quality by any measure but they were pretty impressive for a 12yr old if I say so myself.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S5hPZBzIjTI/AAAAAAAAA8g/zsn7eKv8xc4/s320/IMG_3104.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447191040702844210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">However teaching someone to sew, crochet, knit, quilt, embroidery, does not come easy to me. I just don't have the same aptitude for teaching the skill that I have for doing it. Part of the problem is my own patience, I would rather being doing my project than teaching someone else. And that, I am sure, is the reason my skills didn’t get passed down to my children the way I had hope. They each can do a few things but none of them are truly skilled. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I'm not sure what it is but there something about being a grandmother that makes teaching come much easier. I not sure if it’s more maturity on my part or if I am not so pressed for time the way I was while raise 3 of my own. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So I’ve decided to try and teach M a little of what I know so that maybe she won’t be so inept with needle and thread. I started out trying to teach her to crochet but that didn’t go so well. Recently I’ve been letting her sew a bit on my machine. She seems to truly enjoy it, it’s the only thing I’ve found that will get her to put down the game system willingly and without demands on my part. All I have to say is, “do you want to sew” and she’s ready. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We’ve been doing small projects like and old school bean bag and an apron from a panel. But I think she’s ready to move up to patterns and learn to pin and cut properly. I think we’ll try a pair of pajama bottoms next.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S5hPauDbRtI/AAAAAAAAA84/OFxfzOJVCPM/s320/IMG_3113.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447191069762209490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Honestly I don’t know why I didn’t think of sewing panels and such with my kids but no need in crying over spilled pins now just move forward with what’s in front of us. </span></p><div><br /></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-89604231941373871122010-02-27T20:26:00.005-05:002010-02-28T17:51:51.557-05:00Saving the planet one paper towel at a time<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nP_YwJ4gI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/gJI81yGFnjs/s1600-h/IMG_5139.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: left;">Not really but maybe I can save few trees and a little change a long the way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Today I did it. I sat down and sewed. It was nothing fabulous but it made me happy to sit at my machine and create something useful to me. </div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nJgXx1CzI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/E7V89iqx8PY/s320/IMG_5130.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443103182629964594" /></div><div><br /></div><div>I want to stop using so many paper towels to dry my hands but I don't want cotton towels laying on the counter top. I've actually had a couple catch fire because I didn't realize how close they were to the burner. So I would hang them on the oven handle only to have them do this... </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nJgImsNEI/AAAAAAAAA8I/bBZxIP2E0xo/s1600-h/IMG_5140.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nJgImsNEI/AAAAAAAAA8I/bBZxIP2E0xo/s320/IMG_5140.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443103178556716098" /></a><br /></div><div>I don't want to dry my hands on a towel that has been on the floor and I was tired of going through 2 or 3 towels a day trying to keep a clean one on there. And I don't want to continue to use rolls of these each week just to dry my hands. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nJfh5QYKI/AAAAAAAAA8A/bcKr8zUbXLs/s1600-h/IMG_5135.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nJfh5QYKI/AAAAAAAAA8A/bcKr8zUbXLs/s320/IMG_5135.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443103168165601442" /></a><br /></div><div>So when I saw <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/goodthings/no-slip-dish-towels">this</a> on the Martha Stewart site I thought what a wonderful answer. Well I tried doing it that way but I didn't really like it because it wasn't all that easy to use. So I made it hang the above way instead. All I did was sew the stripes of velcro about 4 inches apart on one end of the towel but you'll want to check your oven handle for the perfect fit. </div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nJfKq9TGI/AAAAAAAAA74/J7DPxo-DUCg/s1600-h/IMG_5136.JPG"></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S4nP_YwJ4gI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/gJI81yGFnjs/s320/IMG_5139.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443110312537088514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-10179337464447440902010-02-23T06:57:00.003-05:002010-02-25T14:22:13.747-05:00BNOTP Give Away<b><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></i></b></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:100%;"><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><img src="webkit-fake-url://981C40F4-B1B9-459F-B2E5-DA8735742E18/www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com.jpg" alt="www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com.jpg" /></p></span></i></b></span><p></p></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><i><a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/">Between Naps On the Porch</a></i></b> is having a giveaway of the most adorable tassels ever. I'm sure that whatever your decorating style you could find the perfect spot for one of these amazing creations. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: -webkit-xxx-large;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><img src="webkit-fake-url://F4BBF99E-5D57-414A-B253-26873517F3F7/thetasselhouse.jpg" alt="thetasselhouse.jpg" /></p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:12px;"></span>You can view even more tassels by the maker of the two in the giveaway here at<i> </i><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/thetasselhouse"><b><i>The Tassel House. </i></b></a></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-17072321723141905462010-02-11T12:09:00.002-05:002010-02-11T12:29:05.930-05:00Brambleberry Cottage ~ 14 Days of Love<p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><a href="http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/"><img src="webkit-fake-url://380B23E1-BFE3-4C20-BDB7-0A850628A6CB/Fourteen+Days+of+Love+Feb_1st-14tha.png" alt="Fourteen+Days+of+Love+Feb_1st-14tha.png" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is about a week late but still worth mentioning. Liz at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><b><a href="http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Brambleberry Cottage</span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is having a </span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><a href="http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2010/01/fourteen-days-of-love.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"14 Days of Love Party</span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">". </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The instructions and requirements can be found </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2010/01/fourteen-days-of-love.html">here.</a></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></p>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-29292681018650261522010-02-10T08:12:00.004-05:002010-02-10T08:40:07.342-05:00Best Friends<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S3KyUzlMfMI/AAAAAAAAA7A/GSNaBHvq_0w/s1600-h/IMG_2736.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S3KyUzlMfMI/AAAAAAAAA7A/GSNaBHvq_0w/s320/IMG_2736.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436603770702953666" /></a><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;">Love can be found in the most unusual places. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S3KyTECEpRI/AAAAAAAAA6w/M0AYai_6qNA/s320/IMG_2681.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436603740759303442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Check out the paws. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S3KyThVgBoI/AAAAAAAAA64/tih08HjowRM/s1600-h/IMG_2634.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S3KyThVgBoI/AAAAAAAAA64/tih08HjowRM/s320/IMG_2634.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436603748625417858" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">This really gave me a chuckle. Not too many cats willingly </div><div style="text-align: center;">go into crates but Nigel seems to like sleeping with Toby. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-12481890035127589632010-02-08T21:14:00.005-05:002010-02-10T08:57:17.098-05:00Ultimate Gift for the Gadget Junky<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It’s our family conundrum. What do you buy the family gadget junky. You know he already has every gadget on the market. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">G has every gadget known to man. He started collecting gadgets in his youth and still has most of them. We have gadgets from every decade. We have gadgets in every drawer, cupboard, cabinet and closet of the house. We have techie gadgets. We have mechanical gadgets. We have gadgets for every need, both real and imagined. We have gadgets for our gadgets. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But even knowing this proclivity of his it’s still hard to know what to get him because the market is always being flooded with gadgets and of course we always want to get him a gadget that he’ll truly enjoy. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But this past Christmas K truly excelled and came up with the ultimate gadget. This gadget is not only the latest and greatest but it’s awesome to look at as well. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I sure you’re wondering what makes this gadget so wonderful</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, just exactly what does it do and why anyone would need such a contraption.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Well friends the answer is; Nothing.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">That’s right, this gadget does absolutely nothing. And that’s exactly what makes it the ultimate gadget. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But you have to admit it’s pretty awesome to look at ;o) Makes him look a bit like Mad Eye Moody, don’t you think? </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S3DFUAF0TBI/AAAAAAAAA6o/v1Z1PPJlBUI/s320/IMG_2995.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436061697648643090" /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-49573224485113878882010-02-06T19:17:00.004-05:002010-02-06T19:53:52.461-05:00<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We've lived in NC for the last 14 yrs. and in that time we've never had 3 snows in one season. This year we've had 3 snows in less than 30 days and 2 of them have been 8 inches or more.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S24JbEcj85I/AAAAAAAAA54/mcfpdFprQUI/s1600-h/IMG_3123.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S24JbEcj85I/AAAAAAAAA54/mcfpdFprQUI/s320/IMG_3123.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435292160937423762" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><div> <div><br /></div><div>They are so beautiful to watch. Especially if you can be inside with a warm fire and a good book or a favorite old movie. And they leave behind some charming sights. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S24Jbod-smI/AAAAAAAAA6A/MYP6xZdTjpU/s320/IMG_3129.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435292170607047266" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div><div>But eventually provisions will run low and you will have to leave the house or start eating berries. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S24M2GghOhI/AAAAAAAAA6I/zMTEFtE7EYI/s320/IMG_3134.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435295923882244626" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div><div>That's when the charm of it all wears off and you're faced with reality and day to day living. And as the locals will tell you, there is nothing charming about black ice. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S24M2neMyAI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/8F3q_pR0eOk/s320/IMG_3142.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435295932730886146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div><div>But in all honestly, we love the snow so much that we're willing to tolerate that down side of it all. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/S24M3EZFCxI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/myoWhXPio9g/s320/IMG_3132.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435295940494035730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-86712428522337363652010-01-05T22:09:00.004-05:002010-01-05T22:17:20.248-05:00CraftyPod - A blog and podcast about making stuffOne of the most awesome craft blogs I've found in a long time. There's new stuff and loads of vintage stuff as well. This is one of those blogs you could spend all day just following link after link looking with amazement and wonder at all the crafty goodness and wishing you were a cat so you'd have an extra 8 lives to make all of it. I'm not even sure 8 extra lives would be enough time to do half of the stuff that looks interesting but wouldn't it be fun to try. <div><br /></div><div>www.craftypod.com/</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a flickr group as well, so you can spend another day just looking at stuff other people have made. </div><div><br /></div><div>www.flickr.com/groups/1300628@N20/pool/</div><div><br /></div><div>Have fun :o) </div><div><br /></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-75211828342308241342010-01-02T15:07:00.005-05:002010-01-02T20:07:43.149-05:00Strangely Lovable; Lovably Strange<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Sz-tCcejVXI/AAAAAAAAA5o/_7bfKKjKmng/s1600-h/IMG_1046_0996.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Sz-tCcejVXI/AAAAAAAAA5o/_7bfKKjKmng/s320/IMG_1046_0996.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422242733893047666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Sz-tBzCRMVI/AAAAAAAAA5g/UTXE6bXwQqg/s1600-h/IMG_1049_0999.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Sz-tBzCRMVI/AAAAAAAAA5g/UTXE6bXwQqg/s320/IMG_1049_0999.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422242722768564562" /></a><br />For some reason Nigel prefers the old gutter drain as his entrance and exit to the back door rather than using the steps to the deck. Although it's rather strange it is amusing all the same.Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-21774252185860047472010-01-01T18:39:00.003-05:002010-01-01T20:11:50.654-05:00Be it ever changing there's no place like home.<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">First of all I need to tell you I am not a sports fan. I simply can not sit in the same room where ‘the game’ is on the tube without grinding the enamel off my teeth. But I bear it in silence because G likes it and he never says a word when I watch Martha Stewart. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">With that said I must share with you that I am very sad today. Today Bobby Bowden coached his last game as head coach for Florida State University. I grew up in Tallahassee and although I’ve never been a fan of sports and I’ve certainly done my share of cussing when the students would return each fall with the cars daddy bought them to clog our streets and act as though they owned the place it was still home. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">G also grew up in Tallahassee and although he and I have lived in several other cities since becoming adults Tally Town has always been home. It’s the place we return to were people know us and greet us in the mall and parking lots and ask about our kids and parents by name. It’s the place where we know all the street names, which directions they run and what roads to take at certain times of day to avoid the traffic. It’s the place where we can get from point A to B without a map or a GPS. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We know where to go to get local cuisine and are not surprised at what the locals consider a delicacy. What I wouldn’t give for some smoked mullet right about now. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It’s the place where we know if your local by the way you pronounce Wakulla. And we know you’re a certified native if you can pronounce Kissimmee, Wewahitchka, Withlachoochee, Choctawhatchee, and all those other double ee words our home state is famous for.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It’s where people from the North think we’re from Alabama and people from the South think we’re from “up North” based on our accent. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It’s the place where no matter how long we are away we can return and fall right back into the rhythm of the city without any effort. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But today something very fundamental about our home has changed forever and I have to say I’m more than a little sad about it. Home is just not the same without “The Coach”. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But it’s a new year and we must go forward. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 13.0px Optima"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In this New Year my wish for the entire Bowden family is peace and prosperity and may Coach Bowden see many more New Years to come. </span></span></p>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-17603498666658799752009-12-30T22:55:00.006-05:002009-12-31T01:30:36.151-05:002009 - The Year of New Beginnings.<div style="text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>2009 has been a year of changes, uncertainty, close calls and near misses. There has been financial uncertainty, near fatal illnesses, and mind numbing catastrophes, but God is good and He has seen us to the other side of each of those events and inspite of all of the drama we’ve also had some awesome rewards and priceless gifts. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I am a glass half full sort of person so instead of focusing on all the bad I’ve decided to see 2009 as the year of new beginnings. J has a new husband, G has a new diploma, T has a new son, K is home and starting a new life as a civilian. And me, well I’ve got a better grasp on what means the most to me, who I am, who I hope to be and what I hope to accomplish in the coming year. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Below are a few pictures of the highlights of 2009. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/SzwjOae8CtI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/I73Z0CasYzQ/s320/Jessica+and+James2+b.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421246781981461202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px; " /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2/09 J & J got married.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw_FCm-eGI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/y_tE9ggNukI/s320/036.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421277407279478882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">March - Toby came to live with us and we are very glad he did. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/SzwjPOkTDjI/AAAAAAAAA4g/ImXCf0cLAsk/s1600-h/IMG_1179_1115.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/SzwjPOkTDjI/AAAAAAAAA4g/ImXCf0cLAsk/s320/IMG_1179_1115.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421246795962584626" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">May - G graduated from High Point University with honors. </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6ne6yyAI/AAAAAAAAA5A/-4g9HM37ico/s320/IMG_2626.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421272501436205058" /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6n8XCuFI/AAAAAAAAA5I/Aoj5R1IcJeo/s1600-h/IMG_1769.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6n8XCuFI/AAAAAAAAA5I/Aoj5R1IcJeo/s1600-h/IMG_1769.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6n8XCuFI/AAAAAAAAA5I/Aoj5R1IcJeo/s320/IMG_1769.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421272509339318354" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6nJdeYFI/AAAAAAAAA44/dWFKyepQRxc/s1600-h/IMG_1900.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6nJdeYFI/AAAAAAAAA44/dWFKyepQRxc/s320/IMG_1900.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421272495676088402" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Little J was born. Grandchildren are the reward </div><div style="text-align: center;">that makes coping with your own children worth the strife.</div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span></span></div></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/SzwjPoCCI1I/AAAAAAAAA4o/_402Tw7Afgw/s1600-h/IMG_0753_0533.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/SzwjPoCCI1I/AAAAAAAAA4o/_402Tw7Afgw/s320/IMG_0753_0533.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421246802798191442" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">K finished his tour of duty and came home.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6mr7u1EI/AAAAAAAAA4w/gNNfF760HNw/s1600-h/IMG_0775_0514.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/Szw6mr7u1EI/AAAAAAAAA4w/gNNfF760HNw/s320/IMG_0775_0514.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421272487749932098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">The quintessential totem of new beginnings </div><div style="text-align: center;">and it hatched right in my own kitchen. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I wonder if just maybe God was trying to tell me something. </div></div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-51460480012087750222009-11-20T09:48:00.001-05:002009-11-20T09:55:11.084-05:00The Power of Words<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Power of Words</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A careless word may kindle strife;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A cruel word may wreck a life.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A bitter word may hate instill;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A brutal word my smite and kill.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A gracious word may smooth the way;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A joyous word may light the day.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A timely word may lessen stress;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A loving word may heal and bless. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Author Unknown </span></div></span>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5231878405316154926.post-5984646075485116812009-11-11T08:40:00.006-05:002009-11-11T09:57:28.887-05:00Cute Holiday Package Ideas<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/SvrBddyBSzI/AAAAAAAAA3o/lTcFKH09y7o/s1600-h/ChristmasTreeJar_calc.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402843414939126578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sDNqltBjsJ4/SvrBddyBSzI/AAAAAAAAA3o/lTcFKH09y7o/s320/ChristmasTreeJar_calc.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I love to surf the containier store. I fantasize about getting things in my home organized and easy to find. Mind you I do ok but it's never as good as I would like it to be - I confess, I'm a frustrated prefectionist. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I'm also always looking for cute and crafty ideas that are easy to do but look great.<br /><br /><br />Today while surfing <a href="http://www.containerstore.com/welcome.htm">The Container Store</a> today I found this list of packaging ideas and thought you might want to have a look. The way they put all the parts together on one page so that you could do one click shopping.<br /><br /><br />BTW I tried it and it figures out just what you need to make all your packages. Such as, I told it I needed 20 Christmas tree jars (thankfully I don't really) and it add 20 jars, 2 packs of labels and 2 reels of ribbons to the cart, not 20 of each. High 5 to the programmer who wrote the code and to the company for realizing they needed to do it that way. </div><div> </div><div>My apologies, I just realized I forgot to add the link. <a href="http://www.containerstore.com/homemadegifts">The Container Store </a>Christmas package ideas. </div>Pamelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00438373985006266252noreply@blogger.com0