Ramblings 10/31/2012

Our hearts went out to those on the east coast enduring the hurricane Sandy. We have relatives in Pennsylvania, Cape Cod, West Virginia, Virginia and New York. They all told us they were hunkering down awaiting the fury. We have faith in God that they'll be protected. It isn't easy having to wait out Nature's fury but it has been this way since the beginning of time. If ye are prepared, you need not fear. And hubs and I are temporally prepared. I need all the help I can get spiritually though. And I'm working on that! But we pray several times a day in this house and truly anguish over the loss of lives. Our hearts and our prayers are definitely with you. I have no doubt that members of our Church will be the first to be on hand with provisions. As we understand it, trucks from Salt Lake City are awaiting entry into the devastation. God bless you all.
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I haven't cooked breakfast for years, and I mean years! Hubs does it on Saturdays and Sundays. He does it mostly for himself as he's afraid I'll break the yolk in his fried eggs. Heaven forbid! He's come unglued over this happening and refuses to let me touch his eggs anymore. Now, consider the fact that we can take out another egg and replace the broken one, but that's not good enough. Hence, he does the breakfast on weekends. During the week, it's breakfast cereal or just toast for us.
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Recently, there was a headline on a news site on the internet (the only way we get news) and it told about a man who won a roach-eating contest. The prize was a python. (Yeah, I know: WHY???!!!) Anyway, I finally read it later in the day and told hubs about it. He asked me why I'd read something like that. My answer was: I wanted to see what STUPIDITY looked like. My expectations were not disappointed when I saw his photo. Gag! Ooooh, and the python? Went to his estate. Truly!
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Hubs is a really good hubby. If I get some candy for a present, he'll not ask for any. Oh, I offer it and sometimes he'll take some but he always says it's my gift and I should enjoy it. I have to tell you these thoughts are not reciprocated. He always will share with me. So I have to give him some and make him take it. After all, I can't eat a whole box of candy...well, okay, not easily then. :-) But recently I had a great hunger for Turtles, the chocolate pecan ones. He got a couple of double Snickers bars. He ate one and put it back. Then, all of a sudden it was GONE. I warned him! He's a forgiving kind of guy though. (I have no control over chocolate, none whatsoever!)
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For those of you who are young, and I'm using that term loosely as we're in our 70s, there is romance after 30. Yes, there sure is!
~*~

This looks a bit bigger than a traditional garden shed but I think it's cute.

A city high-rise patio with plants growing and a place to sit and relax.

I have a "branch tree" that I hang little glitzy balls and things people have given me on it. Much bigger than this one but it sure makes a statement on my plant shelf.

Another romantic bath.

Lovin' the colors here.

Even a Chinese- or Oriental-style dining room can be made up-to-date with pink and white.

Besides the roses, I also like the chair.

I just had to show you this dress with these magnificent rose-type sleeves. I think it's one of the most gorgeous styles I've ever seen.

Lilacs and vintage rustic bottles make a beautiful vignette.

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To me this almost looks like a room in a house in Australia. It looks like their style.

Just a lovely colorful spot and yard.

This says it all.

Exquisite staircase with a dining alcove.

More pink flowers in beautiful containers.

Sweet kitchen I could live with also. ;-)

~*~
Linking up with Open House Party.  

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A Story About Cotton Sheets

First of all, yeah, yeah, I know, another "first of all" but I think you'll like this one.

I have had so many bloggers email me and ask about my photos. Now, I am NOT going to give my sources; you'll have to figure out your own sources. But I will tell you that I'm in the process of loading a lot of them to a website for you to view. I have well over 14,000 of them so far. I only post about 15 on each blog post. I truly want to share with you and you can grab any you want. I don't care one bit. I am truly, truly excited to share with you but it will take me a long time. So I'm dedicating the time in putting them somewhere that you can view them without all my talking; although, many of you like the stories as much as the photos. I'll let you know when I have a good amount uploaded to the site. I can do that a lot faster than a blog post. But trust me, it's going to take a while to do them. Just keep reading and I'll tell you when.


Oh, and another thing. I just had surgery on my left hand last week and am having to curtail my keyboarding for a bit till it heals, but I'm scheduled out for several weeks so not to worry.
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I love cotton sheets. My daughter even bought some 600-count cotton sheets for one of her guest rooms for when we visit her. They are worth the money. I will only buy cotton for my bed. My feet especially can tell the difference. They are the best and, therein, lies a story.

I told this to a "thrifty" friend of mine about 12 years ago. Thrifty meaning cheap. ;-) Loved that woman but she was cheap. She would always, and I mean always, buy the cheapest brand, something I wasn't used to. I mean it's not my deciding factor with a lot of things, especially sheets. She had purchased 50%  cotton/50% polyester sheets all her life.

Anyway, she heeded my advice and finally got some 100% cotton sheets. She put them on her bed and when it came time to wash them, she did. She called me and said, "How do I get the wrinkles out?" Well, for me, wrinkles weren't a problem. I said she could iron them or just put them on the bed. I could tell over the telephone she was disgusted, having never thought of wrinkling. I just take mine out of the dryer, fold them as carefully as possible and put them in the linen closet. (And, yes, I used to iron them, but gave that up about 10 years ago.) I think she threw them in the garbage! I would have bought them from her. What a waste. But I love the cottony feel of them on my body and, yes, I can tell the difference in the 100% and the 50/50. To me, it's a no brainer! She moved away right after we moved to this town. I doubt she's ever forgiven me.
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This was one of my favorite rooms during the 90s. I don't know why as I'm not a person partial to brown or beige but the yellow walls just entranced me. Plus the black of the coffee table was beautiful. Just a very elegant room.

I've stated before how I love this kind of shower, one that doesn't need a door or a curtain. I love the whole design of this bathroom.

This is a house owned by Sister Parrish, one of the foremost designers of the last century. (For those of you younger people, that's the 1900s, not the 2000s!) I loved her casualness of an elegant room. Absolutely divine! She gave me so many ideas my head just swam.

Even back in the 1970s, 80s and 90s people wanted an elegant/rustic getaway.

When I saw this photo in a magazine I wanted immediately to have a spot in a room like this.

Plus, even back then, women wanted an elegant outdoor room to entertain.

It was even back then I recognized the beauty of leather pieces in a room.

Pink was "in" by several innovative women. I could see the future of that color back then.

This was one my one all-time favorite rooms also. I loved the pink, red and yellow together. It would be years before I caught the "vision" though. ;-)

Here again, the vivid reds and yellows brought into a room by the innovative use of a collection of magazines. All in all, a lovely, festive and cutesy room.

Coming upon the Christmas season, I thought I'd show you just a few photos from a Christmas room in the 90s.

How about that lighthouse? Is that cute or what?!

Lucky is the person who can have a room dedicated to the colors of the holiday season all year round. Same room as above.

I've always adored this tiny cottage kitchen area.

With this photo I caught the "animal skin" craze. I started making pillows with leopard print fabrics. Remember that? Sigh...

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Keep calm and glitter, glow or sparkle! ;-)

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
~*~
Linking up with WOW. 

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Ramblings 10/27/2012

Ramblings today.

Finger-tight has a whole new meaning when you're married to Love Bunny. Now, he is the strongest man I know. He and my oldest grandson have no idea of their strength. They just don't have a clue. When being hugged by our oldest grandson, who is 28, it actually hurts. He always apologizes, but at 6'4" his hugs get my upper back just under the arm pits and it hurts so bad I always have to tell him to back off. Hubs doesn't do that to me, but if he grips my ankle to apply lotion to my feet or puts my socks on my feet (I know; I'm spoiled!) I have to tell him to stop. He just doesn't realize how strong he is.

Recently I had him help me with some curtains on a rod that slips into some brackets that have a tiny screw to tighten it. I had to reposition it later in the day and couldn't get it to unscrew! I called him in to do it for me. Same with lids on jars and bottles. Always too tight! Today I was refilling the salt and pepper shakers in the kitchen and dining room. After filling, I turned to him to put the tops back on and pulled my hand with the salt shaker back and told him, "Nooooo, I'll never be able to get it off again if you do it." You have no idea how many times I have to go outside or to another room to find him to get a lid off of something he's put back into the refrigerator. While it's frustrating, I never have to worry about someone attacking me because he'd have broken limbs before I could even shout for hubs to help me!
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Have you ever had someone you know come to "just drop off" something? I actually hate that. They usually won't come in and there are times I'd love to chat with that person. It's always when they're on their way to something with kids. I think that's becoming the norm in the world. I have only one or two friends who'll come over to just sit and chat. It's much needed in society today. So when you have a chance, visit with that person; don't just "drop off" something.
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Do you miss the old-fashioned dust mops? I do. I have a Dyson vacuum cleaner, a Swiffer for dry floors and a Swiffer for mopping floors. I told Love Bunny about this recently—missing the old dust mops—and he said to go buy one. Well, we did. Now, they aren't the triangular ones with yarn for dusting, but the long oval one I bought does a nice job of getting the dust bunnies from under cabinets, something my Dyson can't do due to its height. I love dust mops. Makes me feel like I'm a real woman! LOL
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Do you remember when ice cream used to come in little squares or rectangles wrapped in cardboard? Hubs brought this up recently and I had forgotten. We have so many memories that kids today will never know or have the sweet memories or experiences we had as kids. I feel sorry for them, actually.
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Have you ever seen such a pretty colorful patio?

More beautiful bowls, thermoses, cups and vintage, rustic scales.

Bowls filled with spools of lace, a candle in a champagne class, lace and a rose in a milk bottle. Darling!

Pretty table centerpiece of roses.

Love this lamp shade!

A pretty entry way.

This just reminded me of an old house we used to live in. This is quite cute though.

Lovely garden shed.

Just some pink and red eye candy I found adorable.

A cute place to sit in a back yard. Look at the "pool"! I may try to duplicate something like this next year in a shady corner of our back yard. I love this.

Now, this could be a place for sleepovers for a teen or it could be 3 sisters in a room of their own, but it certainly has a lot of pizzazz.

A play area for a little munchkin.

I should think this is somewhere in another country from the looks of the stove.

A peaceful bedroom.

No, you'll probably never have a home like this but it's fun to look inside something this beautiful. I think this hallway is about the size of my entire house! ;-)

~*~

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An Ivory Soap Story

That bar of Ivory soap in the third photo brought back a memory to me.

When I gave birth to my son, I was extremely ill, not expected to live actually. But after 9 days in the hospital bed hooked up to IVs and given about 21 shots a day, I started feeling better. I think on the 9th day I was able to see my new baby. I was also allowed to take a shower even though I was extremely weak.

Since I had come to the hospital after 3 attempts at labor and being sent home, they kept me the 3rd time. There were 9 doctors in that examining room looking at every single part of my body, even my fingernails. I was in serious trouble. My kidneys weren't functioning properly and I was dying. I rallied after about 9 days and the doctor even bought me a Coke. It was so good to be able to drink something. My new baby and I went home on the 11th day. Hubs had taken care of our 11 1/2 month old daughter and had her potty trained and broken from the bottle. He's a miracle worker. And yes, she was potty trained at 11 1/2 months old.

Finally, I was able to get out of bed and look in the mirror. Ghastly! Then, the thing I needed most was a shower. Coming in as an emergency, I had no personal items with me when I got in the shower so I washed my hair with the soap they had in the hospital—Ivory. Have you ever washed your hair with a bar of Ivory soap? Trust me, it doesn't work well. My hair felt like it was coated with something. The first thing I asked hubs when he came in to visit was, "Bring me some shampoo." It was horrid and when I washed it later the next day it felt wonderful to have clean hair. Every time I see that soap I think of that incident in giving birth to my son. I still love the smell of that soap and don't even know what kind of packaging it has now, but I never used Ivory after that. :-)
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Another beautiful rustic village entry way somewhere in Europe.

We're heading into this season so I thought I'd show you what cottages look like with snow-covered roofs, stone fences and grounds. I don't think they get much snow in Great Britain.

Remember when Ivory soap looked like this?

Always beautiful roses for you.

A tropical veranda overlooking the ocean.

Laundry hung and drying on the line.

A quaint European kitchen. I like the all-white cabinets and the splashes of pink and blue. Looks like a cake!

I cannot tell you how many times I've tried duplicating this ribbon rose. Many!! I'm not giving up though, just have to find more ribbon.

Real candy for "eye candy" today!

A beautiful white lingerie laundry bag.

Prettily wrapped packages awaiting transfer to the recipient.

I like this sign. It's darling for a kitchen.

The purple rug drew my attention. My great-granddaughter's room is pink, purple and brown. She's drawn to purple like her mummy. :-)

I know I am. You are also, trust me on this one.

If only my school lunches were like this, I might have eaten them instead of the cafeteria fare. I'd pack a bologna sandwich and to this day, I cannot touch bologna. Plus the beautiful packaging makes them even yummier.

~*~

Linking up with:
At the picket fence.
 

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