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Saturday, June 27, 2015

TLC's Tour of Home: Part Four

Happy Saturday evening, y'all!

I wanted to share my fireplace tonight. Fireplaces invoke such cozy feelings! And it was one of the reasons I fell in love with our new (to us) home.


I have a thing for candlesticks. Without actual candles on them. I know. Kind of weird. It completely perplexes my husband. On top of the small mercury glass candlestick, I have a teeny tiny white porcelain bird from Magnolia Market in Waco. "She's" looking up to Heaven, and seeing her makes me smile! My lantern is from Pottery Barn that I purchased with a gift card a couple of years ago. The grey vase is a recent buy from Hobby Lobby. It was originally in my bathroom, but I just moved it here yesterday. I think I dig it!

My most cherished piece on the mantle is my sign from an Etsy shop called "Between You and Me Signs." It's from a verse in a favourite Christian hymn of my family's--10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord). I think it serves as such a wonderful reminder to always be thankful--no matter how hard the day was--thank Jesus for each and every blessing!

I hope you are all having a wonderful and BLESSED weekend!

Monday, June 22, 2015

Wasps and Tigers and Bees...Oh My!

Hello, Monday! Hello, Y’all!

I am in shock that it’s already the first of a new week. Shocked—but grateful to be up and breathing and looking forward to all that life holds for me and My Sweet Hubby (MSH). And TLC. And Little Leighton (LL).

I haven’t had much sleep since Friday night. Long story. TLC actually told me NO ONE would want to hear why I haven’t slept for the past two nights. Suffice it to say there is an Advil PM in my future—probably tonight.

Talking about sleep—or lack of it—makes me think of dreams. And dreams always make me think of TLC. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this is the past: TLC has some cRaZy dreams. I mean they are fascinating. Mysterious. Confusing. FUNNY. Once she shares them with me (I kid you not—I look forward to hearing her say: "Listen to the dream I had last night!"), we can usually figure out most of the symbolism. Every now and again we’re stumped—have no clue what any of it meant.

Then there’s moi. In order to have the really cRaZy dreams we all have, we must be asleep. For someone who’s basically been an insomniac since l966, I remember very few of my dreams. I do dream. I know I do. I rarely remember details—or even what I was generally dreaming about.

When I’d been married to MSH a couple of years, I had a horribly frightening dream/nightmare I can remember to this day. I was inside our fairly new (new to us) home and MSH was outside with his boys and some other people. We had a pool. They seemed to be having a swimming party. MSH was standing at our back door looking in at me and hollering for me to bring some drinks out. As I turned to walk into our kitchen, wasps and bees starting coming out of our fireplace. Thousands of them! Wasps and bees scare the living daylight out of me. MSH had turned to go towards our pool and I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t hearing my cries for help. I woke myself (and MSH) up that night screaming and shaking. I recall being a teensy bit angry at MSH. To this day, about thirty-five years later, he says he’s very sorry he didn’t hear my pleas for his help—in my dream. He assures me if it’d been real, he would have saved me from the doom. I did have the symbolism of that dream clear in my mind. Better save it for another day.

I typed the details of a dream I had this past January in my Notes on my iPhone so I’d remember every little thing to tell TLC. For some reason, it’s still there. I’ve decided to share it with y’all…then delete it. It’s long past time to move past this one.

ELC’S ODD AND WACKY DREAM/NIGHTMARE:

TLC had a tiger. Yes. A tiger. A rather large one. She’d brought it with her from her home to ours. In her SUV. (LL was nowhere to be found in this dream, thank You, Lord…) I went out to meet her and told her I was going to town to see my doctor. I suggested she go with me. TLC said the tiger would have to go, too. I have a Toyota Avalon. Although it does have good head room in the back seat—I was skeptical the tiger would fit. He did. Sat straight up—looking out the windows—all the way to town. My doctor’s office had moved from the downtown area out to the west side. My doctor actually is in practice with her husband. MSH goes to see my doctor’s hubby. They’d moved to a new, big building near a shopping center that does exist. In fact, there’s a Bealls Department Store in that center and my doctor’s new office was near that store. (This is not true—there is no new office building for doctors, etc. This was a figment of my dream imagination.)

When we entered the new building, it was HUGE—like a maze. With tunnels. And it wasn’t just professional/doctors’ offices—there were little stores, gift shops and boutiques. We finally found my doctor’s office. They told me she wasn’t there—she should be back soon. Her husband took blood from the tiger! (What???) He told us he’d have the results in about an hour. I suggested we go to Bealls because I needed some pantyhose. (Pantyhose. Of all things. I might wear a pair twice a year.) We put the tiger back in my car and drove to Bealls because it was going to be too tricky to get there by walking. I tell TLC I don’t think the tiger should go into the store with us. She assures me the tiger will be fine. TLC and the tiger go look at clothes while I hunt for pantyhose.

As it gets close to the time we need to go back to the doctor’s office, I try to locate TLC. When I finally do, the tiger is gone. She said the tiger wanted to go outside—so she let him. I totally freak out. I (kind of) scream at her: “What is the matter with you? You can’t just let a tiger roam around a shopping center. Off its leash!” I’m getting madder and madder at her and grilling her as to why she has this tiger in the first place. She then tells me she’s brought the tiger to me and MSH. That she needs us to give him a home. (We took her cat, Mortimer, as y’all know. We informed her that day we wouldn’t be adopting any more of her pets.) I say NO. NO. NO. NO. NO WAY. NO TIGER.

Now I’m in my car, driving around the parking lot, while TLC is running around screaming: “Here Tiger! Come here, Tiger!” I can’t even contain my anger at her and the whole situation. Then, low and behold, she finds the tiger. He’s lying up against the building that houses CiCi’s Pizza—and the building is up on a hill. (There is a CiCi’s at our shopping center—but it’s not on a hill.)

TLC tells me she’ll get the tiger and meet me back at the doctors’ office. She walks. I drive. Now I’m on another hill (we don’t have hills in our town…), looking for a parking spot. I get out of my car—feeling like I’ve parked in a wrong place and worried my car is going to be towed. I can see TLC walking the tiger into the building. When I get inside, it’s all changed. It’s much bigger and more confusing. I can’t find my doctor’s office now.  I can't find TLC and the Tiger. There are three older ladies (Yes. I’m old-ish. They were in their 80s and I remember I thought: Good for them! Working!) sitting at an “Information” booth. I have to interrupt them—because they clearly know I’m standing there but won’t acknowledge me. They're talking about what they intend to have for dinner that night. I can see they’re annoyed. I tell them I can’t find my doctor’s office. One of them looks over at me, in a snooty/snotty way, and says: “Go back down there to the Blue area.” I do—yet still can’t find where I need to be. For some odd reason, I know it's a Friday. I now see a clock that says it’s 3:00. I worry about the terrible traffic TLC is going to encounter when she heads for home.

It's all been too much for this lady. I wake up. I remember wondering, like we all do, if that was real or a dream. When I realized, thank God, it was a dream, I got my phone to record it. I knew TLC and I would want to try to figure out the meaning.

We thought we did decipher a lot of it. I won't bore you with those revelations. Since January? I’ve had a couple of goofy dreams—not this detailed or disturbing. I will, however, share this: If I (or TLC or MSH) need an answer to a problem one of us is having, I can tell myself to get that answer in my dreams. I couldn’t even guess how many times that has actually worked. The problem has to be specific. I’m not saying I’m as good as the Long Island Medium, okay? Or that I'm even a teensy bit psychic. Because I am not. I do think all of us get solutions to difficult situations we’ve encountered in our lives through our dreams. A lot of times we simply aren’t paying attention to what our inner self wants us to learn or understand.

I truly hope your dreams tonight are full of happiness and joy and that you have a Wonderful Week, wherever in the World you are!

ta-ta for now...Sillies...

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

TLC's Tour of Home: Part Trois

For my latest installment, I thought I would show y'all my little "sitting nook" in my master bedroom.


Our wall color is Sherwin-Williams' "Comfort Gray." It certainly has a greenish undertone, and my husband thinks the linen-esque chair, light lampshade and mirror help soften the room. I agree! (I think he's still adjusting to our green room. It's really a chameleon--sometimes it looks sage green, sometimes a pretty blue. In the mornings, when the sun is coming through the windows, it looks like a very silvery grey. I adore it and find that it is truly "comforting!")

This chair is the "Erin Cute-As-A-Button" chair from World Market. Ironically--ELC actually texted me a picture of this chair about a year ago--long before I had the perfect spot for it. She had come across it while shopping in World Market and thought it was precious! Each button is a different fabric.


This was actually purchased for our guest suite upstairs (aka: ELC's room) but I opted to drag it back downstairs to my room. (ELC helped me find the most FABULOUS leopard print chair--of course leopard print--for "her" room that will be acquired ASAP.)

My Hubby was going to hang the mirror for me--he takes much more time and is more precise when it comes to projects like that. But, alas, I became impatient yesterday afternoon and decided to do it myself. It's one that has two "hangers" on it, and those drive me bonkers! They are virtually impossible to hang straight. It is slightly crooked, but, as long as you don't stare at it too long, I don't think it's noticeable. (Definitely not enough to attempt re-hanging it.)

Happy Friday Eve Eve, Friends!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

...not her cat...


This is a picture of Little Leighton (LL) at her “first” home—the home she and her Mom and Dad just left—with the Neighborhood Cat that often appeared in their yard or at their front door. (LL was trying to act non-chalent and uninterested. Believe me, she was VERY interested in this cat.)

This Saturday morn, TLC and Her Hubby had gone to look for a fridge for their new casa. LL and Grammy were on our last ever walk to the Duck Pond. (Yes. LL sashayed around the neighborhood in her “Elsa” dress. And she looked fabulous.) As we came up to LL’s front door, there was The Cat. Like he/she was waiting for us to let him/her in—for a snack or nap or to slink around being nosy and slightly condescending. LL was so sincerely happy to see him/her. Grammy wasn’t sure she should be trying to pet this cat—so I did my best to encourage LL to simply observe.

TLC was never completely sure who, exactly, this cat belonged to and was careful to keep LL at a distance—not knowing about shots, etc. LL has, of course, grown up with Morty and has adored him from the moment they met. If you’ve followed us for awhile, you know Morty was actually TLC’s cat. Until he started tearing up her furniture and waking her (not Her Hubby) up at all hours of the night. My Sweet Hubby (MSH) and I had lost one of our two cats (to the wilds of the “country”), and were talking about getting another one, when I suggested we take Morty off of their hands/out of their house.

Some thoughts:
Don’t y’all think our feelings/opinions about cats often come from our early years and whether or not our family had a cat—or dog—or both—when we were growing up? My parents were NOT “cat” peeps. We only ever had dogs.  (In fact, my parents were borderline rude about cats.) MSH’s family only ever had cats. I didn’t dislike cats. I just didn’t understand them. They seemed “snobby/snotty” to me. Unfriendly. Cold-ish.

MSH started asking me, soon after we married, if we could get a kitten/cat. I put him off for a few months—and then discovered that I am allergic to cats! We were having dinner at some friends' home and they had three cats. One, in particular, decided she was intrigued by me and kept coming to sit on my lap. Within the hour, my eyes were swollen, red and horribly itchy. I was having a teensy bit of trouble breathing. I always carried a Benadryl in my purse. Without making a big deal, I excused myself to the powder room and swallowed one, praying it would work fast. I got through dinner and we called it an early night. Of course, after that experience, I assured MSH: “NO CAT. PERIOD.”

Our first dog was a Basset Hound. Named Junior. He was a year old. The woman who owned him owned his mother, too. Junior had gotten HUGE and rowdy. A mutual friend had known MSH had always loved Bassets—so she got us connected with this woman and we happily adopted him. Junior was mostly an outdoor guy. He had a sweet personality—you just didn’t want him to jump up on you. He could knock even a sturdy person back—a smaller person could be knocked completely on their you-know-what.

When TLC was about four years old, MSH left for work one crisp, Fall morning—via our front door—but walked back in the house a couple of minutes later. TLC and I were having breakfast. MSH was holding the cutest little Calico kitten I’d ever seen. I remember being quite confused. He swore this kitty was under our front yard bushes. By itself. Meowing in distress. Really? By itself? Fascinating. Our home was outside of the city limits—on a state two-lane highway. We had a neighbor to the right of us and two behind us—but not close to us. I will always believe MSH’s explanation was fishy. I even teased him a couple of weeks ago about the kitty’s mysterious appearance at our casa. He’s stickin’ to his story—twenty-seven years later. Hmmm....me thinks I’ll always be suspiciously skeptical…

Once TLC saw the little bundle of fuzz in his arms, it was over for moi. We had our first cat. TLC named her Crystal. I don’t remember why. Crystal lived mostly inside our home and, much to my amazement, I didn’t suffer too often with allergy issues. In fact, I doubt she ever really caused me a bad, itchy eyes’ attack. We had Crystal for about six years. One morning, after I took TLC to school, there was Crystal, ahead of me, in the road. She'd been run over, twenty yards past our house. I knew she was gone. I was devastated. I had to beg a friend’s husband to come pick her up for me, cradling her in a blanket she loved. (As always, during these kinds of crises, MSH was out of town.) We all cried for weeks.

After Crystal, we had two more cats—pre-Morty. Keegan was a female, 6-toed, grey kitty Tracey got from a school friend about five years before we moved to the country. As we were packing to move, we decided Keegan was going to need a companion—since she was going to be residing at our Barn. Cobbler, a male grey and white kitty came from another one of Tracey’s friends. He was about seven weeks old when we picked him up and moved him out to our place. He lived to be about eleven. He was a hot mess. He made it clear to Keegan that he was The Boss. Sadly, he got sick on Thanksgiving Day, four years ago, and never recovered, despite our Sweet Vet’s extraordinary efforts to save him.

When Morty joined us, he got along with Cobbler—considering they were both male. Both cats endured the adoption of our Brown Lab—Buddy Boo Bear—four years ago.  I've always suspected Morty and Buddy were a bit too much for Cobbler. Bless his heart.

I think Morty was confused—and sad—when Cobbler was no longer around, but he didn't have much time to grieve.  Buddy Bear was/is a constant challenge to, and for, him. They basically tolerate each other. Every now and then Buddy will chase Morty up into the woods behind our house. MSH thinks Morty doesn’t mind. I think it annoys the heck out of Morty. He was here first!

It is positively precious and priceless—to see LL interact with Morty and Buddy. She talks to both of them like they're human. If Buddy is blocking her exit from her (our guest) room to the rest of the house, she’ll sweetly say: “Excuse me, Buddy. I need to get out of here!” (He just looks at her like he wants to reply: “So?”) When we took LL back to her Mom and Dad’s (new!) home weekend before last, Morty was laying by our back door as we left. LL leaned over to pet him and said: “Don’t worry, Morty. I’ll be back soon!”

Cats. Dogs. Pets. Not sure what we’d do without them. MSH and I sometimes speculate we'll have no more—once Morty and Buddy are gone. We can’t bear the thought of the pain and anguish we’ve suffered in the past—losing our beloved animals that became important members of our family. Hopefully, we'll have both of these Two Sillies for many more years to come.



Go hug your cat (or tell him/her you're thinking about hugging him/her but you'll let him/her know, if you decide to hug later...cats seem to enjoy the whole "playing hard to get" routine!)! Or hug your dog! Or both! And have a Wonderful Week, Dear Friends…

Friday, June 12, 2015

TLC's Tour of Home: Part Two

When we were looking at homes, one thing I had hoped for (but it wasn't going to be a deal-breaker) was a butler's pantry between the dining room and kitchen. I was thrilled when the house we purchased had one!





I'm currently using it as my china cabinet/coffee bar and I am loving it. The cute sugar dish (behind the blue creamer) is actually part of ELC's 37-year-old wedding pottery--"Happy Talk." I've "acquired" (borrowed? taken?) several pieces. They are so special to me. The sweet flowers do make me quite HAPPY!

My "coffee" print was one I purchased and downloaded from Etsy. I had it printed on cardstock (via Walmart) and placed it in my (always 50% off) gold frame from Hobby Lobby.

We eventually want to change the backsplash (just not our style--we love subway tile and will probably find something like that). I love the glass cabinets, though, and plan to always have those.

Happy Fri-YAY, Friends! Stay tuned for Part Tres.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Camp Grammy and Pa-Pa

This past weekend, TLC had a Moms-Only-Day&Night-Away at a charming B&B, close to her casa, with old and new friends. Shopping, eating and “wining” seemed to be the pressing agenda for said Moms. So Grammy and Pa-Pa had two nights of fun and games with Little Leighton (LL)! (TLC’s Hubby and Henry took the opportunity to attend a Guys-Only-Day&Night-At-The-Lake for some much-appreciated fishing and fellowship.)

Camp Grammy and Pa-Pa’s pressing agenda included lots o’ fresh air and sunshine! The Outdoors called our names—for 48 magical hours (minus nap/night time). We spent quite a chunk o' time on the front and back porches.

Friday afternoon, we explored our place on the Ranger and hung out at the Big Tank. The catfish were dancing with happiness at being fed. They made us giggle and startled us when they jumped! We looked for armadillos and counted Cardinals, buzzards and butterflies.



We took a Field Trip to some dear friends' home Saturday morning. They have a beaucoup of animals—domestic and farm. After a good, long nap that afternoon, we played “Bubbles!” on the back porch. Our two little battery-operated bubble makers were in great working condition and the breeze was positively perfect for optimum bubble success. LL helped Grammy water her flower pots. And, yes, we watered some sidewalks, too.

We had a yummy breakfast on the back porch Sunday morning. LL adores Grammy’s (gluten-free!) pancakes…bless her itty-bitty heart. (Grammy has never cooked a turkey or roast in her over-60 years on this Earth, but she’s got those pancakes down. Carbs make Grammy giddy.)


We watched “Enchanted” twice—from beginning to end. Both times. We watched Little Mermaid (Only once. Thank you, Lord. It doesn't matter how many hundreds of times Grammy has seen a Disney movie. She cries. Every single last time. Sheesh.). We watched several “Peppa Pigs” and a couple of Sesame Streets. We read twenty books and “worked” three different times in Grammy’s office.

LL was happy to head home after lunch Sunday. (Me thinks she was pooped from the busy Camp schedule.) She couldn’t wait to see her Mama and Daddy. She slept, in her carseat in Pa-Pa’s truck, almost the entire way back (two hours-ish)—which is somewhat of a miracle lately. We always cherish small blessings.

A FABULOUS time was had by All…

Please have a SAFE and Wonderful Week, Darling Friends and Sillies Everywhere…

p.s.: TLC will continue her “Tour of Home” off and on all month long…stay tuned…

Thursday, June 4, 2015

TLC's Tour of Home: Part One

Hello, friends!

Happy Friday Eve!

I am still in the midst of unpacking one bazillion boxes. How have we accumulated so much stuff? And where did we fit it all in our previous abode? It boggles my mind.

The first "room" I wanted to feature is such a treat! (It also happens to be the smallest room, and, therefore, unable to house any boxes--thus assuring it's generally tidy.)




It's my...WINE ROOM!

(In addition to being "tidy," it's also quite empty, as you can see. We shall be filling it up as soon as possible. Wink. Wink.)

This was such a pleasant surprise when we found this home. (We plan to eventually add a wine fridge.) The Wine Room is located in...can you guess?...drum roll...our dining room! It's tres fun.

Cheers, y'all! Have a fabulous weekend.

P.S. Oh, look! It's wine-thirty.


Tuesday, June 2, 2015

June's Tour of Homes!

Well, actually, it’s just “home.” Singular. But I knew that would look odd—as a title to this post.

I’ve just almost convinced TLC to share some of the things she adores about her new casa. (For some odd reason, she thinks the fact that they’re constantly tripping over all of the boxes she’s failed to unpack to date gives her the excuse to have her Mama do another month of posts. Oh, geez. She’s really good at this guilt stuff. I’m pretty sure that’s MY job/right/prerogative.)

TLC and Her Sweet Little Family moved about twelve miles east-ish (as the crow flies—don’t get us started on how long it takes to actually travel those twelve miles…SHEESH) from their first home to a lovely, semi-small Texas town full of charm, possibility and endless opportunities. Especially for Little Leighton.

I suggested this to TLC yesterday:

Take a picture every couple of days this month of some room or area or spot in your new digs. Just a picture. Maybe give us a short explanation or two to three of your thoughts about it. That’s all we’ll ask. Cross our hearts.

I’m crossing my fingers this plea will work. I plan to use some coercion, if necessary. Possibly bribes. I’m not above either, don’t’chaknow.

Hope Y’all’s week has started in a grand and FABULOUS manner!

ta-ta for now, Sweet Peas…