HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

No, blog friends, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. Just needed a break. I want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas!!!

{ yes it is! }

{ Thank you... }

A million thanks for all of the prayers for my mom. She is stable and at home, but it will be touch and go for awhile. She is old and frail but certainly a fighter! Much love to you all who sent well wishes!

{ My mom... }

Please pray for my dear mother. She is scheduled for heart surgery tomorrow morning. She is in a very weakened state, and chances are high that she won't make it through. She's in Arizona and I'm in Oregon....I haven't seen her in two years. Not sure if I can deal with this alone.

{ I LOVE this }

For sale on Etsy..HERE.

{ Thriftin' fun... }

Not much in the stores these days, but we go anyway. Thought I would share a couple treasures I found recently.

 

Sweet white chenille bed jacket for nighttime reading sessions in bed.....

Pretty plate and candle stick that I made a cookie plate out of......

A really pretty cotton sheet that's destined for a quilt backing. 

This is so pretty..reminds me of Greengate.

This BEAUTIFUL hand painted tray for $2.99!

And speaking of thrifted sheets, here's valance I made from a sheet for our dining room window....

Lovin' it!!!

What treasures have you found lately?????

{ Not to be outdone }

Yesterday morning I took a photo of my craft room. It is my New Year project, because right now it looks like a hurricane aftermath. It's a small room, and things just get 'shoved' in there and not properly put away. I planned to post said photo for all the world to see to motivate me to 'git 'er done'. Then I got called in to work an extra shift. When I got home at 10'ish last night I decided to blog hop for awhile before turning in. Visited my good friend Deb at Garage Sale Gal and what did I find?? SHE is working on her craft room and hers looks about the same as mine!! LOL!

Here's my pic......

Heinous, isn't it? I'm embarrassed. It's got to be totally rearranged 'cuz I'm out of room. Taking out the table because I really don't 'do' anything in there. I drag my projects out to the kitchen or dining room table, so it's basically going to be just for storage. Doesn't help that it's also our home office. I need to put all of my fabric back in totes and off shelves 'cuz I'm tired of kitties using it for napping places.

Anyway, that's my closet skeleton. Hop on over to Deb's blog 'cuz she's giving away some of her 'stuff' that she's culling from her craft room. I just might do that as well, but don't hold your breath! It's going to be awhile!!!

{ To all my blog buddies... }

Get picture Scraps @ orkutscrap4u.com

{ I'm speechless... }

{ Our Christmas }

 Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was very nice. Had a special Christmas Eve dinner at my nephews home. Turkey, Prime Rib...the works! They have a very lovely home and it was nice to have the family together.

  

My sweet Grandnieces

Christmas day was spent in my jammies! Hubby slept til noon, as he works a graveyard shift 7 days a  week. The puppers knew it was Christmas and Bailey couldn't wait so he stole a present and took it under the bed to unwrap and gut the stuffing out. Silly little boy!

This may be Violet's last Christmas with us so I got LOT"S of photos of her with her pressies!

 Violet

 Bailey

Hope the New Year brings you all you want...
and be Safe!! 

{ My Christmas Card To You... }

{ A Shelter Dog's Christmas }

'Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,

Every shelter is full. We are lost but not found.

Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare.

We hope every minute that someone will care.

They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,

"Come here, Max and Sparkie. Come fetch your new ball!!"

But now we sit here and think of the days

We were treated so fondly. We had cute, baby ways.

Once we were little, then we grew and we grew -

Now we're no longer young and we're no longer new.

So out the back door we were thrown like the trash.

They reacted so quickly. Why were they so rash?

We "jump on the children," "don't come when they call,"

We "bark when they leave us," "climb over the wall."

We should have been neutered. We should have been spayed.

Now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made.

If only they'd trained us. If only we knew...

We'd have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too.

We were left in the backyard, or worse - left to roam.

Now we're tired and lonely and out of a home.

They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye...

"Maybe someone else will give you a try."

So now here we are, all confused and alone

In a shelter with others who long for a home.

The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat.

With so many to care for, they can't stay to chat.

They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer.

We know they wonder how long we'll be here.

We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads

Of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.

Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears -

Our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.

If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the inn,

Could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?

We count on your kindness each day of the year.

Can you give more than hope to everyone here?

Please make a donation to pay for the heat

And help get us something special to eat.

The shelter that cares for us wants us to live

And more of us will, if more people will give.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHELTER!

~ author unknown ~

{ I am PO'd }

I am so mad. Made a double batch of sugar cookie dough. Same recipe I've used for years. It's dry and crumbly and a fight to get rolled out. Didn't really notice the bad texture till it was out of the mixer. I have four 'slabs' in plastic wrap waiting in the fridge to be rolled and baked. Any suggestions as to what I can do to help it out?

GRRRRRRR.........

{ Christmas Dishes )

Been wanting some pretty Christmas dishes and finally found what I want. Could only afford two dinner plates and two salad plates right now, but I can always add a few at a time.

Been doing a little decorating. Still need to by a few craft items to finish a couple of projects. Will share pics when it's complete! AND we're hitting all the thrift stores on Friday, so I'll be sure to share my goodie finds...if any. Pickin's have been slim lately.

More anon...

PS: Still have some Hollyhock seeds...a little bit of springtime! Email me if you want some!

{ Have a happy, hoppin'... }

TURKEY DAY everyone!!

 

{ Harvesting Hollyhock Seeds }

 Who wants some????

Email me with your name and addy and I'll stick some in the mail for you!!! 

Please put 'hollyhocks' in the subject line!!!!

{ Sneaking back in... }

...to Blogland with pictures of the Hollyhocks I grew from seed. The ONLY thing I've ever been able to grow from seed!

AND, to everyone who worried about me and sent help, we made it through. A million thank yous.

~big sigh of relief and gratitude~

{ Wishin' and Hopin' }

... for some warmth and color to show up soon!!! I'm so down in the dumps these days!! Last week was a killer! Spent Tues, Wed and Thurs passing a kidney stone. I know! Yikes! My third go-around with those demons and this was the worst!! Went to work Friday and ended up with a migraine. Good grief! Came home Monday and all of our cable was off. Couldn't pay our bill. Got it turned back on yesterday, and now I have a killer head cold!! When will it end????

Took a little walk outside to get some fresh air, and LO! and Behold! Found some greenies!!!

Sweet bulbs peeking out!!

All of my roses are budding out!!

And the pretty little violas, of which I have thousands it seems, are showing their darling little faces! Won't be long now! Can't wait to get my hands dirty!!! How about you????

{ How often do you see this? }

(Click to enlarge)

This little girl brought her pet chicken in to shop with her at the Rite-Aid where I work. It was so cute that I thought I would share. Bock Bock Bock!!!

[ Dreary, snowy day off... }

...so I have decided to sit and read today! My most favorite books in my collection are my vintage books. I collect Victoria Holt, Phillipa Car, Norah Lofts, Phyllis A. Whitney..among countless others. Recently I finished Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart.

From Amazon.com : Mary Stewart launched a world full of romance readers, and she invented romantic suspense. In this beautifully written gothic, Kate Herrick, a young widow in war-torn London, returns to her family home of Rose Cottage to retrieve family mementos for her Gran. When Kate arrives, she finds that the mementos have mysteriously disappeared. While looking for answers to age-old family mysteries (her single mother supposedly ran off with gypsies) Kate rekindles friendships with neighbors, kinsman, and old childhood companions. The bittersweet memories that Kate examines help her to redefine herself as a widow and as a young woman with a great need for family ties.

I enjoyed Rose Cottage very much, so I decided I'd give another of her books a go. I have decided on Thornyhold.

Also from Amazon.com: This old-fashioned gothic romance is as good as they get. When Gilly's witch aunt leaves Thornyhold to her, a house in the middle of the woods, Gilly finds that she has inherited far more than she realized. Along with the house comes a cat, a still room filled with herbs (and a missing recipe book), an attic chamber with carrier pigeons (who have secret messages), and an attractive neighbor whose young son offers the sacred and unique blessing of friendship. But Thornyhold possesses far more than even these simple offerings. The place itself seems to convoke otherworldly gifts as well: Gilly cultivates the abilities to heal and to foresee the future once she makes Thornyhold her home.

Sounds like the perfect book for a dreary, snowy day :-) What are you reading these days???