Mom

My oldest brother Joe sent this to my mom for Mother's Day. It's artificial, but it sure looks real. I've explained to her that she doesn't have to water it. I'm going to have to keep an eye on that because I think I would even be tempted to do so it's so realistic! Isn't it pretty?

I had my second IPL treatment yesterday. This time, it was a male doctor. I told him how horrible it was sitting through the first treatment so he said he would count for me. One-Two-Three ZAPPPP! That made all the difference in the world, I tell you. I guess I just don't like the anticipation of each zap. During this treatment, I could smell hair burning. WHA??? When I asked what was up with that, he said he was a little more aggressive than some and had turned the zapper up a bit. He had zapped a few of my eyebrows (less to pluck) and a few hairs at my temple. No biggy.

Left is before any treatment.






Right is after second treatment.

I can see a noticeable difference this time. Yea! The connect the dots are still there, maybe a tad less pronounced. I was informed by the male doctor that he will use a different "head" on those next time. (Of course I brought it up after I was out of the chair--duh!) He took more time than the female doc did the first time, probably because I was spazzing out each time she zapped me, giggle. She probably wanted to get it over as much as I did. Special attention was taken to my upper lip area this time (not on the lips, mind you) because he said that IPL helps with collagen growth. Ok, go for it doc! I'm here for rosacea, but hey, knock yourself out! Overall, I'm happy. I have two more sessions spaced a month apart. I am told the results usually last a little over a year. Good for me because I just despise putting on foundation. If this can help alleviate wearing makeup for a little longer, I'm all for it.


Oooh, a big thunderstorm is heading our way, the first of the season! Yahoo. Time to go wait for it. Love thunderstorms!

Rock On!

My brother John sent this to me. I can see our mom rockin' out at the ripe old age of 83. I have to admit, this brought tears to my eyes (hormies, geesh). We are so fortunate that she is such a happy and loving person. She's doesn't have a mean bone in her body and that sure makes it so much easier caring for her. When I get frustrated with things, I remind myself how lucky I am. I try and count each day with her as a blessing.

Thanks brutha for passing this on.

Bring on the Summa!

My flowers of the month (Christmas present from my brother) are gorgeous. Kind of a French bouquet of sorts. Lots of colors, with delphiniums disbursed here and there, my fav.

And then the fruit-of-the-month arrived the same day. YUM! Pineapples. Mom is checking the ripeness here. They were perfectly ripe. I cut them up and gave mom some and we ate. They were both gone in a day! I used the three little pineapples that were in mom's flowers of the month bouquet. Aren't they the cutest! These were the sweetest pineapples. The best I have ever had were in Puerto Rico, and these come in a close second. Wish I had some right now to nibble on.




Frankie went to the vets yesterday for a bath, his vaccines and a look at his right ear. He had a lot of muck in it which turned out to be an ear infection. Poor baby. He never whimpered or let us know he was in any pain. Aw. He's now ready to travel to Riverside with us in a couple of weeks! Yahoo.

This morning, I talked with my childhood friend Pam. It's always so good to hear from old friends. We talked for-ever! I am trying to gather the three of my bestest friends to meet me at Riverside this fall for a girlfriend's retreat. I think I'll wait to arrive there and get some ideas and then put a time frame together. They will be coming in from Maryland, Virginia and Connecticut. The thought just makes me giggle with glee. I haven't seem Pam since the kids were little, so it's been a good ten years, I think. It's only been maybe three or four for Amy and Kel. No excuse there since they live in the DC area; and Lord knows I've been back there a few times! But, the last few trips home have been all about getting mom's things in order and left me little or no time to visit. I can't wait to get everyone together to reminisce about days gone by and just to gab about absolutely nothing.

Speaking of Riverside, we just heard today that Raphael is coming to be with us at Riverside this summer! We are all so excited!!

Summatime is on the brain!

Room with a View

Here is Peli Fru Fru. I was excited to see that what I thought were pilings across way in reality are trees. Look at all the new growth. This seems to be the hot spot for pelicans as they always fly in to perch here.


It was a lovely weekend at Riverside. I hate to admit it, but I hunkered down and painted the bedroom all day Saturday. When I say all day, I mean, all day! Good thing I wasn't on the clock. It took me over eight hours to get 99.9% of the work done. We had the bedroom furniture being delivered in the "afternoon" so I had little choice but to get er done. I started about 10 a.m. painting the recessed ceiling white. What a difference. It sure makes the room cozier. These people were paint crazy, I tell you! They had even painted all the registers and air returns. (Of course, I replaced them all with new shiny white ones--beautiful!) I had to begin in the middle of the walls where the bed was going on one side and the armoire on the other. I fell in love with the color--Sherwin Williams' Stucco--immediately. Anything was better than that green everywhere, OMG! Just looking at these pictures makes me cringe. About the time I had started on the armoire side, the bedroom stuff was there. And, of course, after my crash painting to get the side walls ready, the armoire was too big for only two med to carry up. You'd think they'd know about this stuff. Oy. It will have to be delivered when we return and they are adequately prepared. No worries.


The hub, kid and Rootie all took a little boat ride after they got all their chores done. They looked so sweet heading out. I hear Roo dog did well her first time in a boat. I sniffled and felt sorry for myself as they rode off. Not really. I was kind of glad to see them go. hehe.

And now, the moment I've been waiting for, a finished room. Well, not quite finished but getting better each visit. What a joy it was waking up Sunday morning to a fresh color. You will note the little step ladder on my side of the bed. Uh huh, Miss Shortest Legs in the World couldn't even get up in the bed (especially after working all day--up and down that ladder!!) We had to go out on Sunday and find a stool of some sort to help the old woman up. Poor me. We found this great teak ladder that flips into a chair. How convenient. And, it matched the walnut wood in our other furniture. Go figure.

This is the only piece hanging on the walls. This was my Christmas gift from the hub. It actually looks a little lost in the pic but it looks really nice in person. Really.











Here's the hub's side of the bed. I wanted the larger of the two night stands, but in light of the ladder being needed, I opted to switch with him. Oh well. We just can't have it all, now can we? Grin. And this is the fabric swatch of the curtains I want to hang. It pulls both colors together beautifully and will tone down the blue quite a bit. I can't wait to do the calculations for the cost of those babies! Ka-ching. I think I'm liking the shutters alone much better! hehe.



And here it is, dun dun dun, the room with a view. This is as we were leaving, so all the bed clothes are clean and waiting for the next visitor. Sigh. Wish it were going to be us. We have a friend staying there while his floors are being refinished. Lucky him. I'm already pining for our home away from home.

Heading South for the Weekend

Heading down to Riverside today. Couldn't wait two more weeks. grin. Actually, some of our furniture arrived and we're going down to have it delivered. Come Memorial Day weekend, I just want to kick back and have it done when we arrive. I found a nice color from Sherwin Williams, Stucco, to paint the rest of the bedroom. You can picture that color, just an easy pale taupe. Look forward to getting that done Saturday morning before the furniture arrives, NOT! Wish Jeanie lived nearby (as in I Dream of . . .). Anyhoo.

My crown and filling replacement went without a hitch yesterday. The worst is always the Novocaine. Ouch. After that's done, it's just the chore of keeping the mouth open for over an hour. I feel it in my jaw this morning, but that's about it. Glad that's behind me.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

Crowned Queen?

Tomorrow, I receive my new crown. I cannot wait to show it off. Um, errrr, sorry. Wrong kind. In actuality, I am getting a crown on one of my teeth. Lovely. Wish it were the other kind.

I went to the dentist today after putting it off for, um, six years. (But who's counting, it could be seven.) Oh dear.

To make a long story short, I have normally been pretty good about going to the dentist at least once a year, every six months if needed. When we moved here (uh, like in 2001), I set up my first appointment like a good little girl. Took all my dental records to the new place. Sat down and let the hygienist poke and prod and give the usual lectures about this or that (basically humiliate me). Then they escorted me to an office. I thought "Hmmmm, this must be pretty bad." And then the dentist came in. She looked at my xrays, charts, numbers, etc. and said, "Well, you will need this and you will need that" and then got up and walked out. They then gave me my chart to check out and told me I could make an appointment to have it all done on my way out. Wha? I thought I was there to have my teeth cleaned. Oh no, it was just a consultation, a $200 consultation! Of which my insurance did not cover. "Guess that's how they do it down here in Nashville," I sneered. Of course, I never went back. And I told anyone who asked about dentists in the area to stay clear of that one, fersher.

Like I said, I do try and take care of my teeth. I brush, I floss, I pick, I gargle, I even buy things overseas that the FDA has not approved over here to take care of my gums. But that many years in between check ups, well, you know, kinda makes one nervous. I had no idea what to expect. This time, however, I did my research on GOOD dentists in the area and the hub has been seeing this one for a couple of years, grin. And I finally broke down and called to make an appointment, like yesterday. "An open appointment tomorrow, eh, really?" hehe. I bit the bullet, so to speak, and took the appointment. I am here to tell you, mostly all is well.

My gums are in better shape than they have ever been; albeit places are a bit recessed. The hygienist suggested I am "trying too hard" to keep them in good shape." Hmmm. I have never been told that I am working too hard on my teeth. Wow. "A little gentler with the tooth brush and the floss." I felt like doing a little dance right there in the chair (but I contained my composure, of course, and just grinned ear to ear--one of those really toothy smiles). No cavities, no gingivitis, no gum disease. It was a good visit. "Oh, I do see a crack on your last molar . . ." Wonderful. Stop grinning stupidly now. Great. Thought I had already passed GO and collected $200. Darnit!

Guess when my appointment is? Tomorrow. Also will be removing an old filling and replacing it. Joy.

Hey, it could have been worse. A LOT worse! I am not complaining! Now, tomorrow may be a different story. I'll tell you then. But for now, I'll only give you a big ol' cheeky GRIN.

May Day in Merryville

The Children of Merryville at the Maypole

What better place to celebrate the arrival of the merry month of May than in Merryville. The Staggs family always does their lion's share of the May Day festivities there. Unfortunately today, Mrs. Staggs has informed us, it is raining in Merryville and most celebrations will be held indoors. To that I say, yippee! It is always an honor to get invited into the lovely home of the Staggs' family. There, you will find joyous music to fill your soul, delicious foods to fill your belly and always the best company you will find anywhere in this fine land.

I dug up some pictures of May Days past and look what I came upon. Here is the young pre-Mrs. Staggs being crowned Miss May Day. Oh my, is that a young Mr. Staggs crowning her? Could this have been the beginning of a courtship? Let's ask, shall we?

I don't remember the ladies here, but I do remember the skit "A Midsummer Night's Dream" being performed some years back. I'm sure Mrs. Staggs will be able to put a name to the faces. I have to giggle. I do, however, distinctly remember that silly donkey head getting stuck on that poor woman's head until a sweet gentleman had to cut her out. I remember it being a very hot May Day; and when the head was finally removed, the poor young lady was as red as a fire bucket. I think she quickly recovered when the young man patted her with his cool hankie. Aw yes, love is always in the air on May Day in Merryville.


And who is this? Could this be Mrs. Staggs and myself? No telling what we were up to with those sheepish grins on our faces! I'll never tell.

What wonderful memories. I'm off and on my way to Merryville. See you there!

Happy May Day

In Honor

(click here for banner)

A Good Day for a Fair

Franklin is having it's Main Street Festival this weekend. The weather is picture perfect. Just beautiful. We went out last night to go to the amusement area but it wasn't in it's normal location. Hmmm. (Didn't think to look on the river front!) So we just went and ate the normal fair fare consisting of Italian sausage with onions and peppers and those potato chips they make fresh--talk about grease! We sat and listened to the live music coming from two stages at each end of the blocks. One had a Latin flair and the other was playing the old funk music that got the body (booty) moving. The hub, kid and I had a great time. The teenager was supposed to go with his girlfriend; but when we called him to see where he was, they had decided to go to the movies instead. Guess they prefer the darkness of the theatre--hehe, remember those days, when holding hands and an arm around your shoulder was to be done incognito. Lawdy.

I got up this morning, ran some errands and then headed downtown to check out the early-bird booths. There were some wonderful new exhibits, which always delights me. I was in and out before the crowds arrived. I "don't do" crowds much. At least, I try and avoid them whenever possible. I cant' tell you how excited I was to find on of my all-time favorite artists exhibiting in our little fair this year. I first found Jeri Landers when I moved to Tennessee and went to a fair in Rugby, TN. If you remember, she is the artist who does amazing scherenschnitte, (previous post here). Her whimsical artwork and use of animals reminds me of another fav, Jan Brett, who I also had the pleasure of meeting at a book signing here several years back. I was happy to see Jeri had published her book and, of course, picked one up. The illustrations in this book are amazing! I look forward to sitting down and reading it later today.


I got this little piece specifically for Riverside. It will go with my other artwork that I seem to be collecting there. It is entitled Home and Hearth and is by an artist named Emily Allison. I wasn't able to find any links to her online, sorry. Of course, I had to have it because my favorite number is 3! I loved the jacks embedded in the wood and the tape measure . . . oh, just everything about it is fun! (Just like Riverside!!)

I purchased a couple of fun magnets made by Rhanna Nyman, a fiber artist who combines her artistry with her grandmother's poetry. She had a beautiful display but, unfortunately, she does not want any of her work on the web in fear of it being used. Lordy, I sure am glad I asked if she minded if I take some photos. I try and remember that rule of thumb. There are just some artists that do not, under any circumstances, want their artwork online. And so, I can't show you anything of hers, which is a shame, because it is beautiful stuff, really. Oy.

The hub and kid went back out to the carnival today, since we couldn't find it last night. In the meantime, I finished planting my wave petunias and potted some plants for the porch. The beds still look pitiful, but I'm hoping in a month's time, the will fill in. I also put the ferns out on the top deck yesterday. Let's hope it stays warm from now on so they don't turn into the rest of the greenery around here--dead.

OH, oh oh, the kid's best friend is going to be on Desperate Housewives tonight! I think it may be the opening piece where he's going to ride his bike to Mrs. McCluskey's to ask her a question. Dun dun dun. We are soooo proud of him but miss having him here in da hood. He's in the original hood of LA, the little actor that he is. Sendin' a big ol' shout out to Masta J!

A Little Trivia

At three minutes and four seconds after 2 a.m. on the 6th of May this year, the time and date will be:

02:03:04 05/06/07

This will never happen again.

Too cool. Thanks Aim for sending that to me!

The Weekend is Here!

The hub made it home safely from Chicago, and we are just about to kick it back and start the weekend. Sigh. Such is the life.

The sunset is just lovely tonight. (See the two hot air balloons in the bottom left-hand corner?) It's a little cool this evening, which I am loving. We'll have plenty of hot days ahead, so I am savoring the chill.

I finished a cigar box today and a couple more ATCs. I actually brought this Cuban cigar box back from Geneva last year. We went into a fabulous (two story) tobacconist so the hub could get some Cuban cigars (still illegal here in the states). When I saw the boxes, I couldn't help but tell the lady what I did with them--hoping she'd give me some, grin. She did. I lugged those things (empty, of course) all over Europe! Silly me. But I'm glad I did. They are extra special.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I still have some flowers to plant.

This Little Piggy Went to Market

And this little piggy stayed home. I actually went out and had my little piggy's done today. Once a year (it seems) I get a really good pedicure--you know, the one where they use the razor to sling shards of dead heel skin all over the salon? I chose a color from the new OPI "Australia" collection--"Koala Beary-y." Too cute. I told the manicurist that I wanted to get a job naming these colors. How fun would that be? My other favorite colors are "Cha-Ching Cherry" and "Cajun Shrimp." Now, I can finally wear my sandals without my boot jeans covering up my heals, ew. Remember my post from last year. I still crack up when I see that. I hope my heels never look like this, ew (again). Always worth looking at though to remind us to keep an eye on such things. Like, gross me out. hehe. Perhaps a mailing is in order. Hmmmm.

The skies were gorgeous this morning. We never did get the rain we were threatened with. However, last night, we did have scattered thunderstorms. I was so excited! I love the sound of rain and thunder.

And this, my friends, is part of a swap I am working on. I won't give it away, but this is only the secondary part. I won't ruin it with posting a pic of the main piece. Will have to show you that later. I have had so much fun doing this though. Really had the mojo going tonight. The only part I despise is the mess I create while creating. Oy. Look at this! It looks familiar, doesn't it? The hub is out of town, so I'm going to finish up tomorrow adn leave everything where it is. I should get some ATCs done while I have everything out. We'll see.


Well, it's nappy time down south. Nighty nite, ya'll.

Now that it is totally over, I can show you the entire piece. I added a little removable ATC that sits inside the egg.