My Love

Happy 21st Anniversary

April 29, 1989

"High Noon"

People usually cry at weddings, but crying from laughing so hard?
Who knew priests did stand-up comedy?

It's always been about the music, right sweetie?

So kick back

and let my playlist take you back in time

to those simple days when it was you and me

and all we cared about was getting tickets

to the next big concert.


Remember...

The first time we met ~ The Oakridge Boys and Judds in Manteca

A chance encounter ~ Kenney Rogers in Fresno

Our first date ~ Randy Travis in Fresno

Admitting we REALLY liked one another ~ Returning from the George Strait concert with my little sister and brothers pretending to be asleep in the back seat of the Pinto!

Fireworks (literally) ~ Chris LeDoux at the Hanford Fox Theater ~ set the stage curtains on fire!

Getting lucky ~ being plucked from the nose bleed section of Arco Arena and given front row seats by one of Garth's road crew after working late and not being able to change into our western duds, having car trouble, and driving the old pickup with no AC 125 miles in the middle of August.

So what do you say?

Dinner at Bubba's

where the country music is loud and clear?

It will be just you and me...

and the kids (back to reality),

you know how much they like the mechanical bull.

A Rednesday Gift

Wednesdays are REDnesdays at It's a Very Cherry World. It's a time when we can all share our favorite red items with Sue and see how others use the color red too.

This little tote with it's matching zippered pouch was a surprise gift from my friend Tammy. She has a wonderful Ebay shop where she sells totes, pillows, blankets and more. Don't you love those red roosters and hens? You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see how cute they really are! She included them when I ordered a couple of larger grocery totes from her. Wasn't that really sweet? Hmm, I wonder how she knew I liked reds and yellows, not to mention roosters?

Can't you picture shopping the farmer's markets with this summery sunflower print?

Don't let this sweet floral pattern fool you. It's a workhorse, with reinforced stitching to make it nice and sturdy.

See what I mean? That's a couple of 2 ltr. soda bottles and there's still room for more.

And just because she really is extra sweet, Tammy included a set of stationary she made with vintage kitty images. Of course the kitties have red bows!

Please visit Tammy's Ebay Shop, Prims and Pretties by clicking here. She makes all her own items and there is love in every stitch!

The Generosity of Bloggers

I got home from running errands Monday just in time to meet my mailman. He had not one, but two packages for me. Even though I was expecting them, I was once again tickled by the sweetness and generosity of our fellow bloggers.

Denise Marie, from What's Blooming at Beagle Run Cottage, sent me a beautiful card with personal sentiments inside. I had won a giveaway for her 100th follower and she included several wonderful items in the prize box.

That's me with my perfectly coiffed hair in my spotless laundry room tying perfect bows on my fluffy guest towels that my kids wouldn't dream of soiling. Hey, a girl can dream right?

Just look at all these sweet (marshmallow bunny lollipop -yum!) things. I know my daughter will want them all! She has pink and green in her room so the Bloom sign will probably find it's way there. The bunny tassel is all mine though! Those little chenille tendrils are the softest little things! They look like pipe cleaners but they're more like soft little ropes.

The variety of materials in this tassel is scrumptious! You'll be seeing this hanging around my blog for a long time. Thank you, Denise Marie, for a wonderful little reminder of our "blooming" friendship!

I'll leave you with a sneak peek at what came in the second package. More on these great items and the wonderful friend who made them soon.

Weekend Routine

Start by doing what's necessary;

then do what's possible;

and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

Saint Francis of Assisi



Working on the necessary this weekend.

Stylish Finds and a Yellow Butterfly

After last week's self-analysis about stuff the last thing I should have done is gone treasure hunting. I can't even blame it on impulse shopping because this one was a lot of work! In our area, United Methodist Women's estate sales are the place to go for stylish thrifty finds, or stylish expensive finds depending on the loot! People start lining up hours ahead of the opening. By the time I dropped the kids at school I had to park several blocks away.



While patiently moving through the house shoulder to shoulder with mostly women, I overheard a man on the phone with his wife. He said that he had found a couple of things for himself and was heading home because it was as crowded as a rock concert. Then he says, "No, it's all guy stuff, nothing really here for girls." Several of us "girls" looked at each other then busted out laughing. He nearly knocked us over heading for the door!

Just look at that list. It didn't even mention the tables full of fancy white ironstone. There were three soup tureens. Three! All with matching lids and ladles. It was all I could do to pass on them, knowing how much joy they bring to so many of you. But they weren't on my list. (See, I'm trying!)

This was though! I was hoping to find a small hutch or bookcase for storage in my living room. The glass was already out and replaced with fabric. I'll switch it out with some from my *ahem* stash. Yea, a no sew project. I actually found it on my second trip of the day. I had left but gone back to check on a painting that someone else had requested be held for them. It was gone but the place had cleared out a bit so I decided to check out the back bedrooms that I had never even made it to the first time. I also had chairs on my list.




Woo Hoo, coordinating chairs. I'm telling you, the lady of this house had serious style! So much of what she had is popular again, even the colors. Unfortunately, they're not my colors so these will be slip covered. Did I mention I don't sew well, and that I'm a procrastinator, and that a lot of my clutter is unfinished projects... Hubby knows. Which is why there was dead silence on the phone when I called to tell him I'd be by work to switch the van for the truck.

After a few seconds he says, "um, where are you?"

"Around the corner at the bank." Oops! More silence. Okay, I had started out with limited cash so I would stay in my budget. The chairs were only $15 each but the "perfect" hutch put me a little over.

So after stealing hubby's truck I made my way back for the third time. I had left a deposit and got lucky with parking. I hadn't noticed the fertilizer spreader in the truck so I had to move it to the cab. Then I remembered the tailgate release is broken and you have to use a screwdriver to push a lever way over on the side while lifting the handle at the same time. I dug through some tools in the cab but couldn't find one that would work. One of the volunteers running the sale finally went to get one from his car. In the meantime I made small talk with the poor man holding the hutch on the dolly.(It's small but heavy!) I mentioned I might paint it. He says, " You mean re-stain it." Um no, paint it, white. I really felt bad for him, it was killing him!

I thought about the lady who had lived in that house. Everything she had could be seen on today's home decor blogs. Somehow I didn't think she'd mind. In fact, I thought she would get a kick out of it. After I unloaded and finished taking pictures I noticed a large yellow butterfly on the lilac bush. When I started blogging I shared a photo of a yellow butterfly. A dear blog friend told me it's a sign someone has passed. It was fluttering so slow I couldn't help but put my hand out.

It landed on me!

Do you think she knows about the white paint?

I do.

Rednesday ~ Trend Setting

I'm finally getting to link up to Rednesday again. Woo Hoo! Please visit Sue when you're done here to see what everyone else has shared. Her place is always so Cherry... and cheery too!

The Clutter Cat is on patrol, gently reminding everyone that this spot has been reclaimed as usable space. When I clear out enough room in the office this set up will be moved in there. You want to see the office? Too bad, I have a little pride left. I'll share it when it's been reclaimed too!

So this is the corner I shared last week. Much better don't you think. Karen, from Some Days are Diamonds gave me great ideas on getting office paper work organized. Yes, that is a dish drainer holding my files. The beauty is the files stand up, stay separated, and can easily be read and accessed. Plus the limited slots make you simplify your filing and keeps it manageable. If it's not easy, I probably won't get it done! I wanted to give you a link to Karen's cute set up but I couldn't find the right post and she's off to an artists' retreat so I'll ask her when she gets back. Oh, and if you look real hard you'll spot some red in this corner!

I couldn't resist this last photo I found while cleaning. What a trend setter! I know you all love red polka dots! This is me in about 1st or 2nd grade. I'm pretty sure mom made the dress but I'll have to ask her. I still have to wrestle those cowlicks into place every morning. By afternoon they're back. If only feathered bangs would come back in style, I'd be rockin' them!

Happy Rednesday!

Dawn

What's a Mom To Do?

This morning my daughter and hubby were eating breakfast together while I was in another room. I heard hubby say, "Next time use your fingers instead of your fork." Now, I knew she was eating waffles with syrup so I'm thinking what the heck is going on in there? Then I hear her sweet little voice saying, " You like syrup, don't you Sunny?" Gotta love them all, even if hygiene isn't their strong suit.

My daughter and I saw " How to Train Your Dragon" tonight and loved it. Part action/fantasy, part father/son coming to terms, part dragon whisperer. We were the only two in the theater because we chose the 2-D version. We had such fun! I still thought it was great. 3-D would be spectacular!

Perspective, A Happy Ending

Perspective is a funny thing.

Things aren't always what they appear.

Let's play a little word association game. If I said, "perfectionist" you might say, "neat freak". But is there any chance you would say "hoarder"? Not likely. The thing I've been most struck by on the shows about hoarding is that for many it really seems to be rooted in perfectionism.

One lady spoke of her dish collection (gasp! I hear all you tablescapers holding your breath. LOL!).

She bought tons of dishes. Even though no one could possibly come to dinner at her house. Even though she barely had room to make dinner for two. Even though those two had to eat in separate rooms. Why? The dishes were a symbol of the perfect dinner she would make for her family.

The need for that perfect family dinner was so strong it affected her perspective. She could no longer see the stacks of things in her kitchen that actually made it dangerous to cook. She could no longer see the precarious path from the front door, to the one spot to sit, to the stove. All she could see was the Norman Rockwell moment those dishes represented. So the dishes became more clutter.

The good news is she was making progress with the help of her daughter by the end of the show. But it made me wonder.

Where is the point that the perfectionism which drives the "neat freak" to be critical and controlling becomes the perfectionism that drives the "hoarder" to be lackadaisical and disconnected?

I received an advertisement for the Real Simple magazine in the mail recently. It had a Finnish proverb that said, "Happiness is the point between having too little and having too much". Well that makes it real simple! I hung it on my fridge with a bunch of other clutter.

So..I guess it all depends on your perspective.

Any one want some tea?

Have you ever...

brought home old fabric or wall paper books thinking you'll use them for...something?

held on to an item because someone else has one?

put away the nuts only to find 4 more cans in the back of the pantry?

been smitten by something that wasn't the direction you were heading

felt the adrenaline rush while treasure hunting?

kept friends at arms' length because your housework wasn't up to par?

given your kid the present you wanted but never got?

brought home a bathtub just because you could?

thought about bringing a 50 lb chunk of concrete into the house so no one would steal if from the spot where it's sat for 50 plus years?

stopped on the side of the road to pick up friends?

felt like life was passing you by while you're looking for the key?

Hubby and I watched a few episode of TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive recently. When the narrator said compulsive shopping was part of the problem Hubby laughed. When they came to the part about possible genetic causes I laughed. We're in big trouble.

I really enjoyed all your comments on the last post. I'm sorry I haven't been by to visit yet. I've been making plans to make sure we don't end up on that show. I got a glimpse of the light at the other end of the tunnel, and it was coming from a fellow blogger's halo! There are angels among us!

And just so you know, Mona, I will save what is truley important and treat it that way. And Garden of Daisies, your imagery of a "dead cat under mountains of garbage in the living room" should keep several of us from continuing to brake for yard sales!

Hugs

Dawn

Ripe for the Pickin'

Recipe booklets from the attic.

For some reason lately I keep getting comments about pickers. Even my mom and dad have mentioned the History Channel's "American Pickers" show to me recently. So after a long weekend I settled down in front of the TV last night to see what all the fuss was about. I gotta say I loved the show.


I asked Hubby if those guys were to show up here, could I start making deals or tell them to come back when he's here. His answer? "Tell them to leave and not come back." He said it with a smile but I know he was serious. Oh, he would love showing them around but sell something to them? Never.

I also watched TLC's "Hoarding: Buried Alive" last night... More thoughts on that later.
Hugs,
Dawn

Vintage Chocolate Posters from the ...Wash House?!

Ha! You thought I was going to say from the attic didn't you?

What do you mean you already knew?

Buddy told you yesterday? Humph!

I wondered why the key board was full of seeds!

I was quite surprised to find a gem like this out there.

But before you go getting jealous,

and saying it's not fair I've got an attic and a wash house,

let me give you a dose of reality...

from the door...

to the farthest corner,

the wash house is stacked to the rafters

with stuff

and dust

and cobwebs.

Ewe!

Now I love chocolate as much as the next girl,

probably more,

but I'm not dressing up

in a pink bunny outfit to get it.

Now this is better.

Make him work for your affection!

Santa Baby, flattery will get you everywhere!

And if all else fails,

whip up your own little love potion

and hide it in a box of chocolates!


No calories were consumed in the making of this post,

a few dust mites, maybe!