Some photos just beg for blogging....

...know what I mean?? (KWIM??)

Tomorrow is my son-in-law Johnny's birthday. He's a great husband and one of the GREATEST Daddies I've met.

So, first off, Happy Birthday Johnny.

Now, since becoming a member of this family, you probably know that we (I mostly) need fodder for my blog.

And some of my family have provided me with LOTS of fodder. Lots..

But I haven't heard much from Johnny.....until I saw these photos.....

DISCLAIMER: The photos are not what they appear to be or what I am going to make of them - they were just toooooo funny to pass up!!

These photos were taken at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Brook Branch Park...

Ella: When do I get to play with the drum, Daddy?
Johnny: Not now, Ella, it's Daddy's turn...

Ella: When do I get a turn??... when do I get to play Daddy? Huh????

Johnny: In a minute, in a minute - I think I've got the beat....be bop bam be bop

Ella: I don't think this is fair...I wanna play the drum...This is not fair...

I'M TELLING MOMMY!!

MOMMY - DADDY WON'T LET ME PLAY WITH THE DRUM!

Johnny: OK, Brandi ..I hear you....

Ella: Geesh, whadda you so grumpy about..I just wanted my turn...

Kenny Rogers-after-plastic-surgery-look-alike-wanna-be: Can't we all just get along......that's better Johnny...now you both can play with the drum!"

Kenny Rogers-after-plastic-surgery-look-alike-wanna-be: All together now......Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya Kumbaya ...

Ella: I love you Daddy...

Johnny: I love you too Ella...You're my 'butterfly girl"

Have fun...and remember, if you are a blogger, know a blogger, are married to a blogger or married into a family that has a blogger...you could be ......................blogger-fodder..

-me

Ew Ew Ew!! I have a "TaDa to show you!!

OK, remember the navy-ugly-blue desk we picked up for a song?? La la la....

Well, not really a song. Can't sing.... Just finished watching "American Idol" so I guess I have singing on my mind....can't dance either.. just so you know..as I watch the ending of "Dancing with the Stars"...which is probably why I watch cooking shows, huh??

So, are you ready for some bragging???

Here she is, Elizabeth, before her make-over....

Poor old girl! Just needed someone to love her. And make her beautiful again...and give her "scrollies"....and glass knobs, which you can't see...

Isn't she lovely? I am so glad to have her in my room.

Mr. B doesn't quite agree with me though. He saw her prior to the while antiquing - just a fresh coat of the Robin's Egg Blue -and liked her- then saw her today and thought she needed painting all over again. Poor guy, just doesn't get "Shabby Chic"....and I "think" I'm OK with that....

We are going to put casters on the legs so I can move it around the room some...Elizabeth...not Mr. B...

Oh, and here's my bestest buddy, patiently waiting for some good lap time....

"Are you done taking pictures yet, Mommy??"

OK, Braxie, let's go sit on the sofa for a while.

Have a great Wednesday and "talk" to you all later..

-me

Since when...

....did the criminals decide to wear grandma clothes??

Where was I when this happened?

Do we shop in the same stores??

Almost every night we hear the description of some perp (TV lingo for "perpatrator"..) and what to look out for...

"The suspect was last seen wearing blue jeans, T-shirt and a hoodie."

Well, were they wearing crocs, too??

That's apparently the only difference in what they wear and what I wear on an almost daily basis.

I guess this could be good news..I could probably run in and rob a 7-11 and they'd think it was some kid...

Oh, who am I kidding...I could never...............................uh........RUN into a 7-11.

Depending how long I had been sitting, I'd kinda half-limp-half-waddle in...

So I guess the description of the thief would need to include "ran out of the store with youthful exuberance......"

I'd be limp-waddling out, trying to answer my cell phone and find my keys to the "get-away-Hyundai"

Oh, and another fashion upset this week - my sun hat. It's is TOO BIG..

Are you kidding me???

How does that happen?? Did I loose weight in my head??

How does one loose weight in the head?

It sort of sits on my ears and I have to tuck them into the brim....real atractive..oh yeah...

The "woes" of summer are upon me. And it isn't even a week into spring...

It's gunna be a l-o-n-g summer....

-me

Sunday's almost gone...

..and Monday will be here in a few short hours.

I'm kinda looking forward to Monday.

I know all of you are thinking, "Well that's because you are UN-employed, Missie!"

And you'd be right...however, that's not the only reason. The DESK.

Yep, my bargain desk. I started sanding it today. And stopped sanding it today. It's hard work.

And the sander is LOUD..and it's Sunday...

So, even though we had good weather today for working outdoors, I decided to put away the tools and start again tomorrow...Monday.

Some of you have asked what I did with the frame that I found my SURPRISE surprise in.

Well, here it is....

OK, so I used puzzle pieces, brads scrapbook supplies and just sort of layered it on the frame. I like the outcome. Now I just have to figure out what to put into it!

So, tomorrow I will work on the desk again, send out resumes and try to not enjoy staying home on a Monday with you having to go to work.....teehee....

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday...

....I Love Saturdays. So I'll say it three times. Saturday, Saturday, Saturday...

So many people out and about in their yards - not like during the work-week when you may see them rushing to or from their cars.

Now they are out in the yard, willing to stop and chat while I walk the pups. One woman tells me of her husband's hip replacement - one tells me of his day of fertilizing the yard, several wave as they ride past on their bicycles. Other dogs out for Braxton & Lulu to say "Hi" to...

Washed the windows on the outside. Love the look of fresh, clean windows while the sun shines.

Had the young neighbors over for dinner with their two boys, Oliver & Brahm. Good thing I had a bag of Matchbox cars that I picked up at a yard sale - kept them busy for quite a while. I think it's important to have toys around - too much to expect them to act as if they were "little adults". They are wonderful, energized little boys.

Tomorrow I am planning on sanding my navy-ugly-blue desk we picked up while thrifting. Here are some "before" photos....

But, here's the best part of this find....Yes - it was $12.oo !!

I'm going to paint it Robin's Egg Blue and we're adding a decorative scroll on the back as that's the part that will face outward when looking into my room.

We got some simple glass knobs and I will line the drawers with pretty scrapbook paper. I'm very excited because this will be my first attempt at re-finishing a piece. Look for "after" photos soon!

I want to buy a glass top for protection as well as a showcase for photos, etc. similar to what I have done with an old coffee table in the back room:

This was so much fun to fill with old photos - and I can change them to display new-old ones too!

And I have always wanted a hand. A hand? Yep, a hand....

Ah huh, I do have the "2 GI hands" (God Issued) , but I wanted one to keep rings and things on and I found this one at Home Goods.

It's kind of flimsy, but I really love it. I added the pink ribbon and the "remember" rub-on. I like the way it turned out, I just wish it was sturdier.

Well, that's about all I've got for today. Stay tuned for the updates on my desk - I think it will be perfectly-wonderfully-wonderful when I'm all through!

Have an awesome Sunday, Sunday, Sunday....

-me

SURPRISE!! surprises are the best kind...

You know, the ones that you have no idea about?

I suppose that's what the word "surprise" is supposed to mean.

Maybe it's the unexpected surprises that I like.

But if the surprise was expected, would it still qualify as a surprise at all??

Oh bother...my head is starting to hurt with all these questions.

After all, I told Mr. B I could do either a physical or a mental in one day - and today I did both.

It's supposed to be.....either - or...

Not both...not on the same day. My mind/body connection isn't geared to be mind/body all in one day.

So if you ever need help moving, just don't ask me to name the 50 states, OK?

Oh well....back to surprises...

I bought an old frame at a thrift place - just to use the frame. The picture was, I think, off of a calendar. Not the best of art...but probably the best they could do for the money. Maybe they were poor and wanted a little beauty, and all they had was an old calendar for the drug store, when they were still called 'drug stores' and not pharmacies...well, that's a sad note....not the drug stores thingy but that they were too poor. Now I feel badly that I took it apart... like it wasn't good enough for me...and "art" is soo subjective...what one person loves is, well, not probably what I'd love....

Anyhow...

When I took apart the frame, took off the glass, then the calendar page, I found an old paint-by-numbers dog picture.

(no, it wasn't an expensive, rare, oil-painting that I could re-sell for a small but decent fortune...or a wad of old confederate money or stocks and bonds...just a paint-by-numbers dog)

But, I really like the dog - I feel like I have won a prize...... or gotten a surprise...

a SURPRISE! surprise.

It may not look like much - especially if you don't squint one eye and look sort of with your head tilted...and kind of in the dark...but I LOVE it.

And I couldn't be happier if I'd have won the lottery!

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................ahem...

Oh, who am I kidding?????

Of course I'd be happier if I won the lottery, but you get the point. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Go out there and find some luck for yourself, OK?

-me

Here I sit and I had no idea......

...that we were in the middle of some "livestock uprising" right here in my neighborhood...

Let me tell you what's been happening - right here. Right in our little Main Street park...

I was walking the pups earlier this week when I spotted a piece of wadded up paper at the park.

I walked right past it.

Yes, I know, I know. I should have stopped to pick it up - and I have, on other occasions, picked up trash that the children have left and quickly deposited it in the trash cans. I have... But not so on that day.

Why?? I 'll never know.....

So, today it was frizzleing - you know, freezing drizzle, then it turned to out and out snow.

In April.

Right on our brand-new-never-been-even-turned-on air conditioning system...don't get me started....

We again spotted the paper . Only this time, the cold winds had pushed it open and blew it against the fencing.

We finally saw the note. And the picture... We were unprepared for what we read...(I had to take the note home and iron it...Yes, I can iron - I just really REALLY don't like to...

Our beloved Harmon - remember Harmon?? My sister Kathy adopted Harmon while she was out here for Mr. & Mrs. P's wedding??

Here's his photo. Happier times. You can see him among the salads and rolls in our prep area before the rehearsal dinner with granddaughter Emily in the background....bygones...

Anyway, seems he was being held captive, in some odd extortion plot.....see for yourself..

First off, who is this "Farmer Brown" dude?? And technically, we're not zoned for "barns".....

And the cows?? Could they be the same ones Kathy milked??? Were her hands THAT cold that they now needed electric blankets?

....and what are they doing with typewriters?? No wireless connections, no keyboards in the "barn" ??

Oh, and just how do they type? "hunt and peck"?? They don't even have peckers?? I mean beaks....

Well, just to ease your mind, Harmon is back - safe and sound.

Seems the demands were met, accoring to the other side of the page...I mean note...and is that Chicker and Ophelia I see under the electric blankets??????

Darn tootin' it was a 'good deal' Farmer Brown. We got Harmon back......

His neck was broken in the mishap, but they put a brace on it and said he'd be fine after the 24 hours the glue needs to have a "permanent bond"....thus the painter's-tape-neck-brace.

Just so you know - Utah is no place for cold cows. They get mean. They get demanding. They get electric blankets....

Carry on, little duck-Dude....carry on...

-me

ps - I really found that book-page in the park - weird, huh??

Cherry Blossoms and Sewing Walls...

....and all things spring!

My daughter Brandi and her little family - hubby Johnny and daughter Ella Ireland live in New Jersey.

Newark to be exact.

Johnny has a very important job with the city in Mechanical Engineering.

Ella has a very important job of being 4.

Brandi has a very important job of keeping up with Ella & Johnny.

Tough job.

But she does take the time to look around and see what's happening in her area.

They are always having some sort of festival - and all are beautiful and full of great smells and foods and cultures.

Ella is getting a well-rounded education in the diversity of the world. I am very grateful for that. Brandi & Johnny make sure that Ella participates as much as she can.

That brings me to the Cherry Festival in Branch Brook Park...

This beautiful park is only minutes away from their home. On a good day one can walk to it.

This is an old postcard I found on-line when the park was young...1904

And this could be a postcard from this past week-end's festival.

That's Ella. And a cherry tree. With blossoms.

A canopy of cherry blossoms...as far as the eye can see...

And here is Ella, her very first festival and now, her 4th...with wonder and amazement that we all have in the beauty of spring...

I have my sewing machine on a shelf next to my printer. I've had the sewing machine for a few years and have only used in a very few times, and that is in the very recent past.

Why you ask? Well, maybe you didn't but here's why anyway...

I apparently opened the box when I first got it and promptly lost the foot pedal and cord.

Don't ask.

For over 2 years I searched. Finally gave up and decided that I needed to see if it could be replaced.

Well, wouldn't you know it, by the time I looked into it, it was out of date. Out of stock. Non-replaceable. Kaput. Zilch. Nada. Nope.

But, the repairman took pity and I think he may have gotten a laugh when I told him I had never, I mean nev-er, used the brand new machine, and found one that could serve the purpose.

I was now a sewer. Yeah..no...wait..is that sewer, like with rats and water??

Ewwwe no! I meant a SEW-er..

So, I took an old pattern and used it as wallpaper, sprayed adhesive on the back and pressed down this little collage - the shelf it sits on just seemed so ....white...before.

So there you have it...Cherry Blossoms and Sewing Walls.

Oh yeah. Guess what cleaning up my art room brought me? Yep. My foot pedal and cord.

Found it just where I put it to be safe....BWAAAAHAHAAAAA!

Whaddaya know...

-me

Clarifications from yesterday's post...

Seems I might have led some of you to believe things that were, in actuality, as they appeared in the post.

Mr. B said so.

He was very concerned that you would all think in the very first photo where Lulu was "smelling the dandelions", that she was, in fact, smelling our dandelions.

They are not. We do not, as Mr. B so eloquently pointed out, have dandilions...

So that takes care of photo #1.

Now on to photo #6 - that's really not the name of that tree-plant-thingy. I do not now, nor have I ever known the name of that tree-plant-thingy. I made it up.

Complete fabrication. I am currently enrolled in a "don't-make-things-up-that-you-don't-know" program.

I am not doing well in the class....

Photo #16 - his name is Oliver. He lives next door and his Mom raised 2 chickens I have previously talked about in the context of "chicken-sitting". Chicker & Ophelia. As to what he was doing to the chicken, all I can say is that he and his brother Brahm have taught the chickens to "jump for grapes" and to do the "steady dance". (More on that in another post...) What Oliver was attempting to teach Ophelia on this date is yet to be disclosed to me.

Now, on to tonight's post.

(please note the complete change of persona here...)

WOW! I got mail! :-) Yeppers I did...from Ireland...Pam & Angie (White O'Morn Cottage & The Old Schoolhouse) sent be a lovely book that tells about the very area they live in and where they have so graciously taken me on a virtual tour of. What sweethearts!

Aren't those postage stamps pretty? They are a gift in themselves. Thank you from my heart...

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, my son and his wife brought me this little night lite. Remember the post about my new monkey bath-mat? Well, here his accompianment...

Am I lucky or what?? Don't answer - it was hypothetical...

So I decided to make some banana-nut bread since I had some very ripe bananas sitting there.

When I was working, I would have just thrown them away...but, oh no. Would June Cleaver toss them? Would Donna Reed not make use of them? And wouldn't Martha not only make banana bread, but would have dried the peels and used them to make dog collars or place mats or tarps or a sundresses or something.

I just made banana-nut bread...

And, yes, those are walnuts and chocolate chips. Hmmm...Turned out pretty yum-O if I do say so...

Well, that's all the news from Main Street tonight.

Say your prayers, say "thank you" and do something nice for someone - we'll ALL benefit from it..

-me