A Shower for a Soon to be Bride...

A new month is upon us...

Here we are already in the fifth month of the year.  And like always,  May seems to bring with it a whirlwind of activity.  It's always a busy month with school wrapping up and all that comes with it.  Track season it at it's peak.  Youngest daughter has two meets left.  One this week and one next week for the state meet.

I always look forward to this time of year, and then I remember that Spring weather isn't all that great.  It's been windy, blustery and dry.  We carry a big duffel bag with us to track meets.  We pack it full of everything from hats to sweatshirts to blankets.  It can be really hot when the sun is up but once it goes down the blankets come out as it can get really cold with the wind blowing.  All that aside, we really enjoy track season and watching our youngest compete.  I think I'll miss all of this when we're empty nesters so we're trying to take it all in now that we still can.

Something else that's been taking up my time is an upcoming wedding for a young couple from our church.  They are two very sweet and kind people and the groom also happens to be my husband's nephew.  My husband will be marrying them later this month, and as you can imagine, there hasn't been a shortage of things to do and plan for.  

A couple of the church ladies and I hosted a shower for them this past weekend.  I spent several days last week setting up.  I don't know if you can tell but I went with a lovebird theme since it's Spring.

Has anyone noticed how hard it is to get people to come to showers?  Women don't get excited for that kind of stuff anymore.  I think it's become too easy to buy a gift online and not have to show up for a party. In past years women were more eager to participate in that type of thing but it's not that way anymore.  Even within church circles it's hard to bring them in.  The digital age has definitely changed the way people "socialize" anymore.  But maybe that's a topic for another day.

We had a pretty good turnout in spite of all that.  I think there were about twenty women and a few children.  We served a light luncheon that consisted of chicken salad sandwiches on croissants with fruits and veggies on the side.   I made a fancy pink pineapple lemonade instead of the traditional punch and also set out a dispenser of water with lemon.

Regrettably I did not get a picture of the food.  Once the people started arriving I forgot all about my camera.  That's the way it goes I guess.

I wasn't going to do any table decorations to keep costs down but I found these Pansies at WM for fifty cents each and thought they'd be perfect.  A brown paper bag and some string finished them off nicely and they also went well with my Spring theme.

As you can see the bride received several gifts.  Most of them were kitchen stuff for cooking and baking but there were a few other things in there for other rooms of the house.  I think the funniest gift she opened was toilet bowl cleaner.  It was thrown in with a stack of bath towels.  It was a cute idea.  The bride got a good laugh about it.

I have missed you all and I am looking forward to slower days ahead.  In the mean time, I'll just check in as time allows. 

xxxooo

Better

 It was alright to begin with, but now it's better.

I picked up this nifty little plant hanger at Burlington one afternoon while I was in the big city getting my six month mammogram done.  I had been wanting to hang a plant in this nook for a while.

I planned on making a plant hanger out of  yarn.  Ravelry has several cute patterns for crochet hangers.  But when I saw this one at the store I bought it knowing it would save me the trouble of making one myself.

Besides it was only seven dollars which is only a couple dollars more than what crochet patterns cost these days.  And it was cute so I went with it knowing I could tweak it once I got it home to make it more "me".

The cord holding the bowl was just knotted here and there which made it hang crooked.  It came apart really easy and in the trash it went.  I only saved the wooden beads.  Three simple chains holds everything in place.

I think Mr. Fox approves.

And I do too. 

 I know it's not a masterpiece but not everything has to be. 

 Simple is good too.  

I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend.

Happy new month of April!

Story of a Happy Green Tray...

I was only going to look.  

I promise!

I made a stop at our local charity shop yesterday to drop off a bag of food.  They have a food pantry there and about once a month I go in there to drop off a small bag of  groceries.  

Well you know I can't leave without making a quick round.  I spotted this vintage tray in the kitchen aisle.  It was in the corner under a few other plates but I have a trained eye.  I know to look beyond what's on the surface.

It was a little scuffed and scraped but in all fairness, it has been around a long time.  We all tend to get a few love lines on us when we've been around a while, right?  So I wasn't going to hold that against it.  Besides, it was marked 99 cents.  How can you walk away from a bargain like that? 

I payed the pretty girl at the counter (my daughter...yeah, she works there) and happily brought it home with me.

I think it fits right in.

I think it fills this little corner with the right amount of Spring cheer.  It reminds me somewhat of my moms kitchen of days gone by.

Retro vibes,

White and yellow daisies,

and on the first day of Spring...

Oh no, I could not resist it's charm...

So now it's mine...

And I am happy.

:)

Work Spaces...

When you share your small home with four other people,
your work space is anywhere and everywhere. 

At my house you'll find baskets of works in progress
tucked away in various corners around our home.

Many things started.
 None of them finished.

These things take time don't ya know.

Leaning towers of yarn stacked against a wall.

An array of grannies spread out on my desk.

Odds and ends everywhere.

Full skeins, loose ends, hooks, scissors...

I have to keep close what I might need.

 Messes tend to happen when something creative is in the works.

But even in this sometimes crowded house, no one seems to mind.  They're used to mom having her yarn all over the house.

Although it's not all messy.  Most of my stuff is neatly put away in plastic drawers and tubs in one of my closets.  But when I'm working on something I like to grab what I need and keep it out until I'm finished with it.

 Sometimes it's days. 

Sometimes those days turn into weeks.

 That's when a craft room would come in handy. But it's not to be.  Not for me anyway.  At least not right now.  Every room in this house is taken.  This little abode is completely full.  One of these days I will have my craft room.  One of these days...
 when this nest is empty.

 In the mean time I will do my best to be content with the small spaces I have.  Because as much as I love my yarn, I love my humans more.

Including this little fur ball.

A Strand of Hearts...

Here it is the beginning of March and I'm still in heart making mode.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I made a few of these during the Valentines holiday and decided to whip up a few more to turn into something.  A garland seemed like a practical use and since I'm in charge of the nursery at our church, I knew this would be perfect there.  

Disclaimer: 

This shelf is up high on the wall and I hid the ends so there are no strings left hanging. 

 Little hands can't reach it anyway.  I had to stand on a chair to hang it up there.  

 It adds a lot of color and cheer to the room.

Instructions aren't really necessary as these are fairly easy to put together.  There are many free heart patterns online.  Simply make as many or as few as you like, crochet them onto a chain strand and find a place in your home that needs a little happiness.

If you'd still like to see a pattern, follow my
link  here.

Family Life

Two doctor appointments

Two dentist appointments 

a holiday

Prom

and a new car

all in the span of one week.

 When my kids were little I used to think life would slow down when they got older.  But that hasn't been the case.  We are just as busy now, if not more.

Every week life throws us a different set of  tasks.
Some weeks are slower, other weeks are fuller.
But we manage to get through them,
just like we always have,  just like we always will.

Although sometimes on the full weeks I'd like to sneak in a nap or two.

Youngest daughter attended her junior prom.  She's not much for flaunt or frill. She and her date kept it simple with classic black and gold.
You can't go wrong with that combination.  It's elegant and timeless.

Who says you have to follow trends anyway?

Valentine's Day came and went.  Many flowers were bought.  A dozen roses to be exact.  Sent to dear sons girlfriend of two years, by him of course.  I also recall a giant teddy bear and a heart full of chocolates.

I  opted to buy plants for my two daughters.  This one for our oldest.

This one for our youngest.

Oldest daughter P purchased a new car.  She was still driving her first car that she got on her seventeenth birthday six years ago.  An upgrade was in order and it was comforting for her to have her dear old dad be there to do the negotiating.  That's what dad's are for after all.

The car is not new but it is new to her which is just as good.  Low miles, good price, 30mpg...
and the bonus is the alien green color.   So very New Mexico.
👽👽👽👽👽👽👽

Chicken Pot Pie...
comfort food for this family of five.

In the mean time, I'm out of my curly hair products.  I've squeezed every last bit I could out of them and I haven't  made it to Walgreens to pick up some more.

So while my hair may be a little frizzy and the balance in our checking account is running low...

this week's needs have been met,

 my heart is full,

and I am content.

♥♥♥♥♥


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Love is Giving ♥

Will you be my Valentine?

♥♥♥♥♥

Do you remember those Valentine cards we used to exchange in elementary school?  They always had that phrase written on them.

Be my Valentine!
♥♥♥♥♥

And there was always some kind of candy taped to them too like a heart shaped sucker.   It was so much fun to pull out our cards and read them one by one from the cardboard box we decorated with red construction paper.  Only to be followed by a party with homemade goodies.

Ahhh, Valentine's Day was fun back then.

In high school I was in NHS and every year we baked sugar cookies  and sold them to the students as a fund raiser.  They were big heart shaped cookies and we sprinkled them with sparkly glitter.  There were three different colors.

 Red glitter meant I love you. 

Pink glitter meant I like you. 

And the third color meant we're just friends but I can't remember what color it was.  It could have been yellow or maybe white.   

We sold them for only a few bucks each but the neat thing was that the cookies would be delivered in secret.  

((Secret Valentine))

We did the baking the night before in the school cafeteria.  The students had all week to place their order and when they did they gave us the locker number of the person the cookie was meant for.  We baked hundreds of cookies (seemed like it anyway) and sprinkled them all with glitter.  We knew exactly how many of each to make.  And when the baking was done we walked down the hallway sneaking cookies in peoples lockers.  

The next morning if you were lucky you would find a cookie in your locker, maybe even two or three, and then you spent the entire day wondering who sent it.  The suspense was big, especially if the cookie was a pink or red one.  A lot of whispering and giggling and note passing went on that day.  More than most other days that is.

☺️

A lot of fun Valentine memories.

School wasn't all that bad I suppose. 

There were fun times thrown in there too.

Hubby and I will celebrate Valentines day tomorrow on Thursday which is our regular date night.  Tonight for the family I will just serve Bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwiches with a side of Kale, cranberry and pecan salad and for dessert I am making angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream.  Nothing fancy but it's a church night so I have to keep it simple.

It's always nice to receive a valentine but LOVE is GIVING.

Why not bless someone today with a heart shaped glittery sugar cookie?

 I'm sure it would make their day.