My New Aquisitions

Acquired some goodies lately...

feast your eyes on this...a giant poster of Barnum and Bailey circus

and this...a bag o' buttons

both of these items were givin' to me by Brenda in exchange for me cleaning out her closet...easiest score I ever made.

and I purchased these items from a yard sale....an Autumn table cloth

this black enamel cake plate cover

and this dainty hankie with the letter N embroidered on it

I had time to made this pillow from a little lawn flag that I purchased from Kholhs for $1.00. I already had the fabric and I just recovered an existing pillow I didn't care for

now, I'm on the lookout for a little stool...just small and high enough to....let's say....milk a goat or something of that nature.....stay tuned~

Autumnal Equinox

It's finally here!! My favorite season is upon us and I can feel the crispness in the air and smell the pumpkin pie baking in the oven.....NOT!!! Although this summer has been pretty pleasant considering we live in sunny southern California, it's still not cool enough to start baking and unpacking my sweaters...but I have managed to decorate a wee bit and let the Autumn colors surround me and enticing me to get ready for my Season of choice and my food of choice too!

the corn stalks that I saved from our corn harvest this past Summer

and of course the corn husks too!

It's not Fall without acorns and nuts

and even some dazzling fruit

Yep!! Autumn is always welcome here...in fact, you can stay as long as you'd like...I'm just sayin'

Let it Rip

Can I just say how much I despise carpet? I HATE CARPET!! Which is why I ripped out the carpet on the lower three
stair treads going down and Eric ripped out two more on the staircase going up

going to extend the hardwood flooring to these treads...gonna be hard being that the floor has been in for 16 years

but if anyone can do it...Eric can...he's the man

Stealing Rednesday

Just a little splash of red from my living room on a vintage red and black lacquered tray. My neighbors climbing rose bush hangs over my back fence...so a clipped a bunch off. Hey! Possession is nine tenth of the law...right?

UPDATE: regarding 11:11
Last week, I was having breakfast with my friend Cathy and while in the middle of having a great conversation, she suddenly stopped and urgently asked me what time I had to be at work.I told her 11:30. She then reached into her purse to retrieve her cell phone and looked at the time....She blurted out "Oh man, it's 11:11 we should go"...........need I say more?

My Purpose

What is my purpose? I've been half joking with Eric and some friends lately about how I don't have a purpose anymore. It seems that the past almost 17 years my life and schedule has been dictated around Raquel's life and schedule and now, it seems it's coming to an slow grinding halt. Not once did I complain about taking her or her friends here or there, running around at the last minute because she needed something, making sure she was on time or where she was suppose to go, fulfilling every need pertaining to some sort or event or activity...in fact, I enjoyed it...I had a purpose.

Don't get me wrong, I know I have another daughter and 3 grandchildren, but they don't live with me and Meredith is busy fulfilling her purpose with 3 squirrely boys and the truth be told...I can only handle them in small doses. I truly love them but if my purpose was to go insane...then I'd spend more time with them. My husband half jokingly says that now my purpose is to tend to him. I know he trying to be funny, but he spent 31 years on this planet before he met me and he did quite well for himself. He doesn't need or want me to cater to him...except when he's sick and you know ladies, when that happens we need to alert the press.

But I digress...

So now that Meredith has her own family and although Raquel is not gone yet, she's pretty much doing for herself as far as tasks go and Eric is on auto pilot , I have to start thinking about where I fit in and how my relationships have shifted and change to accommodate this evolution. I now understand when people talk about the "empty nest" syndrome but it doesn't make it any easier. I have my hobbies, my 2 hours of work a day, my friends and my smarts and creativity...somehow, I'll figure it out...if menopause doesn't make my head explode first...

I'm just sayin'

Flash back Rednesday

So, when Raquel was 5 in 1998 and in Kindergarten, the class made hand prints with paint and at the time I didn't know what to do with them. I didn't want to discard them and I felt that if I tucked them away somewhere, in time, I would forget them. It seemed the universe moves in mysterious ways. Elizabeth, my MIL, gave me Eric's hand prints made from some sort of chalk outline from his Kindergarten class back in 1965...he was also 5 years old at the time too.

So I decided to laminate both of them and place them above my stove, on a little ledge against my red stove hood...and so that is my contribution for Rednesday...tons of more redness in the future.


BTW...apparently I didn't have hands or my teacher wasn't that creative...I'm just sayin'