Where O Where…

…have I been? Around the world and back it seems like. After spending 9 days in New Orleans helping Holly and Richard pack up all their belongings, then back home for a few days, then meeting them in Jacksonville, FL to help them unpack for 5 days……We are tired and beat!!! And now this week is dedicated to Bible School by helping out in the craft room with LOTS of kids!! Thank the Lord I’m able!   I do feel so behind in visiting with you all and missing out on your posts. My inbox was flooded and people were beginning to wonder what was going on! Thank goodness for Facebook as I tried to keep family and friends updated when I was able to get to a computer.

Our children are so proud to leave New Orleans in their past…it’s a nice place to visit, but they did not like living there. With their backs to Louisiana they headed out with smiles on their faces and Holly’s Murano loaded down, to include their three kitties and her new puppy as she followed a huge Penske pulling a small U-Haul trailer driven by Richard and his dog. What a site!!!  They made it as far as Tallahassee FL, stopping there for the night. Old friends of Richard’s family took them out for a steak dinner that night before they headed out again the next morning for Jacksonville. We rose really early that same morning to meet them in Orange Park (outside of Jax) to help unload. There are still boxes to be unloaded as I type this because of the cleaning we had to do inside and out of the house and Holly wants all the walls painted before hanging any pictures. You can only imagine their excitement going from a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment to a BIG  house of over 2,000 sq ft.!! Talk about room to breathe!

Now for the reveal of the surprise that I painted for their new house... This initial “H” for their last name is now hanging on their front door.

Now you know the old saying "It’s a small world after all"…well it’s so true! From my postings on Facebook, a high school friend of mine had read about Holly and Richard’s move. Long story short…she lives in Orange Park also!! She came looking for the moving van on the street I had mentioned and found us! We had not seen each other in 30+ years. She welcomed the newcomers to the area by bringing us supper that night…fried chicken with all the trimmings down to dessert, sweet tea, paper plates and plastic forks!! She also provided Holly with addresses and phones of places she would frequently visit. How awesome is that? It also turns out a friend that Holly grew up with lives in the area too. They had not seen each other since Holly's wedding shower almost 4 years ago.  We all went out to dinner on Friday night and enjoyed some good steaks on Jackie’s wallet!! Awesome again!! Orange Park/Jacksonville has some wonderful friendly people living there!!

I also made this group of four 8x10 canvases for their Florida room which will have a beach theme when completed. They will hang inside of a large shabby frame over a vintage bookcase on one wall. These are decoupaged vintage photos from magazines and scrapbook papers, along with sticker letters. The paper flowers and large buttons give it some dimension and the brown ink gives it that grungy look.

 And here are Holly and Richard standing outside their new home…for the next four years anyway. Richard is stationed at Cecil Field with the US Coast Guard where he is a boat engineer. He will also be doing tactical training for helicopters pilots who will be chasing boats on water. He will be driving the boats running from the choppers! Note the yellow ribbon tied to the tree on the left. Richard’s sister is still in Afghanistan, due to leave and return home to the states mid June. Gosh it’s almost mid June now!!!!

This is Holly and her new baby…Willow... a Malti~Poo, which is a mix of a Maltese and a miniature Poodle. She is so cute and smart and Holly adores her….she treats her like a baby!! This pix was taken after a long day of working and unpacking so please excuse the looks….we were tired and Willow looks a little dirty from playing outside. She really liked the little pink plastic flamingo that I bought and put in Holly’s back flower bed near the bird bath. She thought it made an excellent teether for her baby teeth. Pink flamingo you ask? Well it’s a Florida thing…everyone has to have a least one! Haha…..

Holly and Richard live about 5 hours from us here in Alabama now, which is closer that NOLA and it’s a much easier drive, so we look forward to many visits back and forth!

Thank you for all the anniversary wishes…I hope we make 31 more years!

It's good to be home and settled down for a while.

Welcome to summer!!

Ever Changing

As many of you know by now, I love vintage, old, antique, and retro.
I love a good junk or thrift store! Yes I do!
I love to photgraph old houses, barnes and other buildings.
Things from days-gone-by are my love.
They reflect the past; tell stories, and illustrate the ever changing times.

 As I passed this fairyland house while shopping the 502 Miles of the U.S. 11 Antique Alley Yard Sale one year, I came to a sudden stop, turned the car around quickly, stopped and jumped out…I stood mesmerized at its beauty and the story it would tell. My imagination ran with thoughts of the people it raised, gathered round in each room, working and playing. I pictured the work that had to be done to keep up this place, make it run, and support its families. God’s beautiful nature outside just adds to the scene. A small church sits to the left in the foreground next to the road making it a place I would love to live in….out in the rural country…quiet and serene. I clicked photos for a good 20-30 minutes or so…trying to capture its true splendor and glory. Oh what I would have given to go closer and even inside this home. Needless to say among my great yard sale finds of old and vintage; I found this place…a place of the past bringing beauty to the present.

17/30 Today I am grateful for the past…all things old, vintage, retro and antique!

PS: plus yard sales, thrift stores and junk!

Note: My photo has been worked with an aged, painterly look using textures, etc…

Fall Fashion Week...

The start of this brand new week, after a very busy weekend, has been rather gloomy. It is very overcast with a good promise of some much needed rain. The leaves are doing their change for the season…beautiful golden and red outfits they adorn as they make their descent down the fashion runway to the ground to join the acorns and hickory nuts.

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree”  Emily Bronte

Our weekend was filled with family and friends…from a huge family reunion with lots of great home cooked food, and later with a birthday celebration for my MIL who turns 87 today.

Happy Birthday Nannie!!

Our motley looking bunch....and this is not all of us either!
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  Another birthday was celebrated with friends as their grandson turned the BIG ONE! Such fun to see a little one tear into the cake with their little hands and wrinkle up their nose until that sweet taste passes over their tongue. They grin from ear to ear and then clap for themselves because they are so proud of what they have done! So funny!

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I think this will be the first time we have ever had treat-or-treaters at our house since we built it years ago. I am so excited. Our young neighbors at the end of our cul-de-sac will be celebrating their daughter’s 2nd Birthday this weekend with a Halloween themed party. They have let us know that they will be having a hay ride with all the kids on board and will be stopping at each house for tricks and treats. It is going to be fun! Lots of kids, lots of candy, lots of fun. I finished getting all the decorations in place and everything looks festive and fun, can’t wait!

I love this time of year when things are changing. The colors of autumn are beautiful and the decorations are fantastic with all their quirky, kooky~spooky, and whimsical humor and brilliant golden colors. Most of what I have up will last on into the Thanksgiving season, a few will be replaced with turkeys and pilgrims!

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Side note~Holly and her MIL made it through their drive to Vegas safe and sound and she will be returning home this evening. 30 hours of driving in two days! They prevailed through heavy fog, bumper to bumper horrible traffic, high winds, and crossing the new Hoover Dam Bridge 900+ feet in the air in the dark Saturday night!

I’m sure they looked like the very modern day Thelma and Louise with a dog in the back seat as they cruised along jamming to the tunes and taking in the western scenery. Thanks to those of you who said a prayer for their safety. The sky will be full of angels this evening when Holly’s flight leaves Las Vegas headed for New Orleans where her hubby will be waiting.

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor,

summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all."

Stanley Horowitz

Hoover Bridge photo from Google

Short and Simple

Since my last post was such a long rambling of chatter…

I’m going to keep this one short and simple.

What I’m likin’ today~

Packing

The thunderstorms this morning

6 hours of reading while hubby is driving

Hugging Holly

Hugging Richard

Hugging the kitties

Sleeping in Louisiana tonight

My pink rod and reel

Excitement
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Later alligator!

Photos are from our last fishing trip in Louisiana...

We Went Junking

"Summer Zinnia"

Yep…Me and the bestie! We made a whole day of it…an adventurous road trip. We set out on a mission to the Santuck Flea Market in Wetumpka, Al.  It was huge, but much to our disappointment it was not the type of flea market we were looking for. No old junk!!!! It was mostly cheap new stuff from China in boxes…anything from hand tools, rope, and plastic jewelry to bras. Yes I said bras…tons of them, new in clear packages! I found myself more interested in the baby goats, rabbits, ducks, chicks, and pot belly pigs!
They were too cute!

After walking around in the heat and sun for a good while and not buying one single thing, we decided to leave. After lunch we had a conversation with “Surely”…Becky’s GPS…asking her where thrift stores and such were in the area. Bingo! Wetumpka Flea Market was in the direction we were headed. It’s a large-inside-air-conditioned-flea-market! I was in heaven. Booth after booth of glorious junk! After making purchases of clamp lid glass jelly jars, books, old tins, and various other cool items, we were on our way to the next destination…Eastbrook Antiques and Flea Market. Now this place is huge and pricey!! Three levels of great shopping but our momentum was wearing down fast. With the purchase of only two items, an old Dr. Seuss book and a vintage syrup dispenser, we headed off again. This time it was a thrift store….found more small clamp lid jelly jars and books. They had an old Brownie movie camera that was in very good condition and actually worked, that I really would have loved to add to my collection, but I just could not bring myself to pay the $35.00 for it! My loss!
The next place on our list was closing in 10 minutes so we didn’t even go inside. But it’s on the list for next time! After a nice supper in Montgomery, we headed south again toward home, chatting all the way. All in all it was a fun day…

Of course a day spent with a friend is always good!

Last night I purchased these on E-Bay!

They are so stinking retro cute! I love them. I think I was obsessed with jelly this weekend!
Now if I could just find some jelly spoons…

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We are having our 4th of July celebration today. My parents are coming over and the 4 of us will be doing the grilling thing…baby backs, chicken, seasoned potato halves, and corn all cooked on the grill. Cucumber salad, peas, and fresh slices of red tomatoes are among the extras with the red white and blue dessert to top it all off!

Holly and Richard are celebrating today since he had to be on duty all weekend! We are together in spirit though many miles separate us on this wonderful holiday.

I hope each and everyone of you had a blessed weekend!