Random Thoughts 9/1/2012

Here is the floral bucket I finished recently. Read about it here.

There was a mother nursing her 4 year-old little boy on the cover of a magazine recently. I only saw it in the news but there was a big flap over her nursing and/or doing it on the cover of a magazine. I didn't read the article of course so I have no idea what the story was about but I do think the nudity on the cover of a magazine was inappropriate. Why would someone even think to "pose" for that kind of article? I believe our bodies are sacred and wouldn't want mine splashed over the world like that. I have absolutely NO problem if a breast-feeding mom would like to nurse at my home, even without a cover over her, but most women I know cover up. But, personally, I love watching babies suckle. It's sweet to watch their little cheeks trying to get their nourishment. My granddaughter would cover up when nursing here because of her grandpa but if he wasn't here, I didn't mind it. After all, I powdered, kissed and changed that little behind many, many times. I still love patting her 32-year old bottom!

I'm supposing it's just a sign of the times when nothing is sacred. Modesty is laughed upon and I know it's going to get worse. What some people do for notoriety just astounds me sometimes.
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When hubby saw the feather boa on the refurbished lamp, he said it looked like it was going to take flight. Actually, when we turned the ceiling fan on it did blow feathers all over the living room for a while.
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Pink has always been around. It's a color for men also. I've dressed my hubby in it for many years and he's gotten so many compliments on his wardrobe. Just lately it's been held in high esteem and we've become adventurous in displaying it. It's always been my favorite color, but I'm seeing it more and more in decorating than ever. I always look for pink shirt, ties, etc. for him. He loves standing out!
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It is one of my goals to never desire a knowledge of other people's business. When I know too much, I'll start judging. And who am I to judge? I'm an imperfect human being who doesn't like being judged. Just stop it.
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Today is the birthday of one of my grandsons. He's the youngest grandchild. He's so funny. He's a teenager now but when he was primary age, he said to me, "Nana, isn't it funny that I was born on Labor Day? Labor Day? Get It?" He was such a young age I didn't even think he knew about labor in connection with childbirth. He laughed himself silly over that one. Squirt! :-)

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My favorite wall decoration—pink and white stripes, though this one does look more pink and darker pink.

Sweet window in an old stone house with white sheer curtains to let in light and bright pansies in the window for color.

An absolutely stunning display of ribbon work.

Sweet slipcovered chair. Almost looks like a doll house.

Another thatched cottage in a field of yellow daffodils.

I have a friend with chickens and a chicken coop. This isn't it, but she's going to photograph it for me to show you...real soon. Right, Stacey?!

A beautiful pink and white room. Love this one.

Simply a place to stroll I thought you'd like to see.

A neat little room with fanciful wall cubbies for displaying trinkets.

It doesn't get much better than laundry drying on the line for me. Reminds me of my kids' diapers billowing on the line while the sun bleached them white in the California sun while we mums sat in the cool shade of the grass watching the munchkins play on the jungle jims in military housing. Wistful memories.

I saw this dress and thought it was too beautiful to not show you.

Gorgeous display of crystal and beautiful deep pink roses.

A very neat way to store fabrics and art supplies. Mine will never look this great!

I swoon over this darling entrance to someone's home.

I just had cake and ice cream while creating this blog post. I think, however, you'd all like this cupcake above chocolate ones. ;-)

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Projects Keep Popping Up!

This post has turned out way longer than I intended, so settle in and enjoy. Sorry 'bout that!

You know how it is when you're excited about a new project and can't wait to see it to its fruition. That's how I've been feeling about my living room redo at the moment. Several days ago I ordered my new sofa but it'll take 8 to 12 weeks to arrive from the factory in North Carolina. I can hardly wait! But meanwhile I have some other projects in mind. I've been doing a bit of shopping. Bit?! That's an understatement! But I'm watching my pennies pretty well. If I know I can do it myself, I'll give it a try; if not, I'll think about it a lot before I buy something.

For instance, I saw a photo of a room that had 2 different curtains on one window. I mean one side of the window had a completely different curtain than the other side. Pretty neat actually. Then I saw a room that had 2 curtains on one side and one curtain on the other side of the same window. That got me thinking what I could do. So I bought the pink and cream taffeta curtains—btw, those curtains I got from Overstock.com and they are extremely well made, lined and everything—and then I purchased a french-looking floral print fabric to put with  them, a yellow background with red/pink roses and a tiny blue morning glory. I'll put one of each on each side of the living room window. Here, let me show you what I did as I just threw the yellow fabric over the rod. In reality, this looks beautiful! I also knocked over a pot with a fern in it on the table beside the sofa, knocked over a bottle you see on the shelf, had to stand partly on the sofa and table, lost my footing and almost killed my self trying to hang those 5 yards of fabric for the photoshoot. What we bloggers won't do for a photo. :-)

Okay, I got back upon the sofa and pinned the fabric up there after cutting it into manageable lengths. I also think I should take down that shelf and extend the rods out further, but the other side of that window doesn't give me the ability to do it. I may be stuck or come up with another solution. Hmmmm...I have a feeling Love Bunny is going to kill me before I'm through if I don't accomplish the task for him by falling off the sofa.

Then I looked at my chandelier shades and decided I wanted some new ones, a different look. So I purchased 5 and am redoing them also. There will be roses on them and ribbon but a bit less fancy than those on there now. I'm so excited I could just scream.

Then I got the idea of painting a tall bucket I purchased recently from Joanns to hold wrapping paper for me. (Can you tell now I've recuperated just fine from the surgery 6 weeks ago?) It was a mottled green or slightly verdigris color. I wanted pink and yellow stripes. Hubs told me that would be very difficult since it was wider at the top than the bottom. I purchased some artist's tape at Michaels, which actually looks and acts like the blue tape house painters use but with a fancier price. (Don't be fooled, chicks, get the blue tape at Home Depot.) I measured a couple of times and put the tape on. (Hubs was still giving me attitude that it would be difficult.) I had to position the tape about 3 times and let it "fall" naturally to the bottom. Several trips outside to give it light coats—I say that but I screwed up at one point and had to wipe some serious yellow drips with a paper napkin—and then I looked for my pink gloss paint and had none. I had white gloss though, so as I was impatient to see how it would look and knowing I could repaint it if I wanted, I painted it white. After about a half hour of drying I brought it inside, whipped off the tape, showed it to hubs and gloated. Here are the photos of both side. Stripes? Perfect! My first try. I tell ya, I'm on a roll!

 

Then I wanted a "wash and wear no-iron, put right back on the table from the dryer, white ruffled tablecloth."  For everyday use we have a white piece of vinyl but every single time we have spaghetti or lasagna and, since I'm a slob, there are always red splotches on it. The red does NOT come out even with vigorous scrubbing with a sponge and detergent. The problem is I want 2, 3 or even 4 or 5 ruffles on it and I have no idea how to do multiple ruffles around the edge unless the top where I would sew it on shows but I don't want that part to show. I don't know if it's even possible to do it without cutting a bit of the cloth off, putting on one ruffle, sewing the piece back on and then putting the next ruffle on the bottom. I think multiple ruffles make it a bit lovelier. Okay, I googled it to see if I can find the trick to how it's done. Here's one made from a bed skirt. This lady did one that way.

This lady did it from scratch with lots of drop cloth fabric.

 

Another bed skirt ruffle.

Okay, since I have lots of fabric from a very soft old sheet and I've already torn it into 4" pieces and I have a ruffler, I may as well make it myself from scratch. The one tablecloth on the table sitting outside I like better than the other two. I want a very ruffle-y cloth and I can do that with my ruffler. Sigh. It's just another thing to add to my to-do list. But this project might just push me over the edge!
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I've told my daughter I want a clock like this. She's a mosaic artist and can definitely do it. I love this little beauty.

What a delightful way to serve ice cream to friends! Wrap the cones in scrapbooking paper.

Cute and small bedroom.

Another house on a waterway. I believe this is one of those towns in the Netherlands, Belgium or somewhere near them that doesn't have any roads in their town. All shopping, etc. is done by bicycle or walking.

Sweet blue door on an old stone cottage.

Frosted or sugared rose.

An early snow? Beautiful no matter what.

A bouquet of roses to enchant your heart this morning.

Sweet place to sit and relax.

Another beautiful way to display your flowers—on an old rustic cart.

This is one, just one, of my all-time favorite places to have in my backyard.

Beautiful in pink satin and lace. An envelope to hold some letters or hankies.

Do you remember these? I do.

A rose-filled room. A favorite with me of course.

And I wouldn't say no to this little beauty either!

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Linking up with Inspire Me Monday
and
Mosaic Monday 
and
WOW

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On My Soapbox Today

I've been down more than I've been up lately—physically, I mean. I mentioned to hubby I've been a bit slow on the uptake when we started running out of undies. He's pretty good about reminding me though. Work has been gnawing at my heels but I've pretty much resisted. Trying to keep house is a real chore but I do manage to at least change the bed linens and vacuum and mop.
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I read an article that a school, I think in NY, is paying kids $5.25 an hour to attend summer school. Now, why in the world would they do that?! We pay taxes for them to go to school and then they turn around and give them that money to attend? My thinking is they should be glad to go for free to get an education. Education is their future. What's going on with this world? The Japanese kids go to school 6 days a week for longer days than here in the U.S. and are excellent students and have become smarter than most nations. Typical school day in Japan:
8am - 4pm: Classes at school
4pm - 6pm: Clubs and sports at school
6pm - 7pm: Time for a quick dinner
7pm - 10pm: Juku classes—extra classes for entrance to University
11pm: Back at home to do homework.
After midnight: Time for 5 to 6 hours of sleep.

A lot of our kids today are lazy for the most part, but they have so much potential and are just wasting it. I love kids and want them all to succeed. It's a shame. If you don't count yourself among the them, count yourself blessed. Please, please encourage your children. They are the future of our country.

When we've gone to our children's and grand-children's graduations from high school and college, it's been the students from other countries who are the top achievers. That's a sad comment to have to post but it's been accurate. This is in California of course where there is a high percentage of ethnic groups. I wish them all well. I absolutely love seeing kids whose parents have given up much to come here and make fruitful and successful lives for themselves. My daughter-in-law was one of those people. After all, this country of ours, the U.S.A., is the greatest country on earth.

Well, I warned you I'm on my soapbox today! ;-) 
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Good morning, and yes, you are!

Darling bedroom but I would put some curtains on that window for sure. Look at that teacup floor lamp.

Any chair can be covered in this fashion every day not just celebrations.

Imagine the hours of drawing this gown must have taken the artist.

A place so private you don't need doors, just sheer curtains.

Or a private dining area so secluded.

Vintage collection of dishes in blue and pink.

An exquisite lamp.

Another exquisite one of wood that casts the shadows carved into the lamp.

I love froufrou!

A beautiful brooch.

I was thinking of this kind of sofa/settee, but I don't think we'd like sitting on it as our primary sofa.

Creative homeowner has 3 shower curtains so she can decorate with any colors she wants.

Aaaaaaah, I do love this entrance to this home.

I'll never again look at old used cake pins the same way. ;-)

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