Best Laid Plans

 When last we talked, I told you I had a slew of errands to run today and I didn't know when I would be back again...and here I am. I awoke this morning ready to set out to run those errands and, hopefully, find some new treasures and craft supplies. And I was just about to get ready to do just that when I noticed that one of the valance rings had slipped off its holder on the very long window in the sunroom. And, since those things can then drop off in domino fashion, I decided to get a stool and fix it before it went any further. And that is when I saw this!

There have been 3 posts that were wobbly and needing replacement for a number of months. This is something that the muscles in my family usually do-they have actually replaced others in the past-but everyone has been so busy that it just didn't happen. We talked about it this past weekend and it was scheduled to happen after lacrosse season. Unfortunately, I guess it can't wait now and it might also be a repair now larger than the "muscles" in my family can fix. My daughter called a fence company and I am waiting to hear from them. Unfortunately, I guess a lot of fences went down yesterday because of the winds. I think I posted that our winds weren't at all what I had expected. There may be a few hunks of Spanish moss down in my yard-that is it-no branches, not even the usual twigs that come down in every rain. But, I guess they got the fence.

And so, because I am on standby for the fence guy, I didn't feel comfortable leaving the house because I seldom hear my phone ring when I'm out and about. And so, no errands today. I also didn't want to start any projects that I would get in knee deep just in case he would be coming by. And so...what to do? and that question is what led me here:

Do you remember the packing materials that I got when I ordered some candles?

I kind of got Easter basket vibes from them. They are sort of like a peat pot but larger. And so, I thought I would see if I could do anything with them because I'm thinking ahead to Easter decor and know I will definitely need two similar, small things to go in the new living room shelf. I found those adorable images and blew them up to what I am hoping will be the right size.

And then, I mixed up some paint to kind of look like a basket color.

And while I was waiting for them to dry I thought I would just download the new pictures I had taken and come in and start this post. Well, have I told you how much I truly dislike change?!!!? There are SO many new things to learn every day just to keep up with the essential technology to live life doing things you have been doing all of your life but now they must be done with technology. I have come to accept that but why, as soon as I learn something and finally become comfortable using it, do the powers that be have to come in and change everything?!!

Let me explain. When I had to get a new computer, I had to get all sorts of new programs that were very different than what I was used to. The most notable was my photo download and editing programs. I have to be able to use those to be able to post this blog. My grand daughters were showing me some things on the computer this weekend to make my life easier and I was grateful. And then this morning as I was trying to download my new pictures, the access button that is always there, wasn't. I thought maybe we just somehow removed it and it could come back. I tried everything I could. And finally, in a panic, I texted grand daughter #3 to ask her. She got on her program and after a bit of investigating decided that there must have been an update-which makes sense because I had used the program the old way several times after we were on the computer this weekend so I should have realized that we didn't remove anything! In any case, she was able to see where I now have to go to start the download and I am working again and good! Thank goodness for younger minds who actually understand how these things work because I know just enough to be dangerous. I actually got myself to the right page at one point but I didn't have the camera attached then so the new little icon didn't pop up. Lol

So now I'm off to grab some lunch and then see how I want to finish these things-or even IF I want to finish these things?! Lol

I am back-two days later...and the title of this post is even more apropos. I ended up heading out to do my errands yesterday after waiting at home all day Thursday for the "fence guy". My daughter said both he and the handyman knew what to do and could do it even if I wasn't there, so off I went. And, before I go any further, let me say, sometimes some good "retail therapy" is just what the doctor ordered. I will say from the get-go that these photos leave MUCH to be desired. I was totally exhausted at this point of my day but wanted to get some pictures before putting things away and then sitting down for the evening. I snapped all of them without once looking to see how they looked-my mistake but....The first picture is my stash. I got some decor items, some craft essentials and then just some things I thought I might want in the upcoming months. I got a late start because my girlfriend called right as I was leaving and we ended up talking for over an hour. Then, I hit $Tree, Target, HL, Walmart and Publix. In the old days, that would have just been a drop in the bucket but, these days, that wears me out! Lol

I spied this cute bunny board in HL and then grabbed more of those pretty frames from Walmart as well as a few others. I also grabbed some more of the scrapbook flowers since I gave my bunny to my daughter when she was here this weekend. She saw it and liked it and I didn't think I cared...until it was gone and I decided that I need to make myself another. Lol

I picked up that very inexpensive green pillow in the Target Dollar Spot for $5 and thought it would be perfect with some of my other smaller St. Pat's pillows-actually wish I had gotten two. Then I grabbed the small egg planter thingie. I am not a fan of the arrangement but I like the bit of gold to add to my new "gold" obsession so I will probably redo it soon. I think I will need to know where I am putting it before I know what to do. And then, I was looking for a large gold bunny and there were none in the places I stopped so I grabbed this big guy at HL and figured I can paint him and he will be perfect. I did find the smaller gold bunnies at Target and the medium sized silver one-jury is still out as to whether he will maintain his silver status or bow to the gold. Lol

I found the cute wood bunny tray from HL, some small real touch tulips from Target and new clock hands to try to fix my family room clock that fell off the wall and is no longer working. Everyone says I don't really need a clock there since I have my phone next to me most times but I am a creature of habit. Even though I know that that clock no longer works, I must have looked up at it a thousand times since it broke.

 

I grabbed a pink candle holder at $Tree as well as the inexpensive Easter pot holders. I have much prettier pot holders but I don't like to use them because they are so pretty and so, I rely on these. Lol I also grabbed the lemon plates and napkins from HL. I just thought they were so pretty and I will hopefully get a chance to use them this summer.

So, this morning I decided to get back to my little project before I had to get ready for another unexpected something. But, as I looked at the "basket" that I had been working on-I wasn't done with it yet but I liked the way it was headed-I was thrown off a bit by the proportion of the image to the basket. And then I thought about blowing up the image but it was already on the cusp of blurring from the previous "blow -up" so I grabbed some peat pots and first painted two a light sage green and then painted one in white. After a bit of debate with myself, I think I have decided that I am going to continue with the green peat pots and use the others for something else.

 

And now on to my next "best laid plan" gone awry. Lol

I thought I would have today to do what I wanted-seems that none of the needed people will be here for the fence, etc. until Monday-when I got a message from daughter #3 asking me what I was bringing to the bar-b-que today? Bar-b-que? What bar-b-que?? I guess either she thought she had already told me-which she didn't-or this came up rather quickly but it seems as if the families of the boys' lacrosse team will be having a bar-b-que in the tailgating zone of the field before today's game here at home. Honestly, I thought his Saturday game was for his travel team-which I don't generally go to because they're far away and LONG! But, no, we're at home today and so I am now off to make some Paula Deen brownies which are always a favorite and then get ready to head.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get back to my "best laid plans" and I'll show you how things turned out. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.

Happy For Some Rain

 We are getting just a small bit of that storm that is blowing across the country. Others are having horrible wind and tornados but we are really just getting a small amount of wind and a much needed rain. I love rainy days for so many reasons! It definitely gives me "permission" to stay inside and not worry about garden chores and it means that I probably won't be leaving the house unless I really have to because I'm not a fan of driving in rain and, it also usually means that I won't be cleaning because, to me, nothing really looks or feels clean on dreary, rainy days. So that pretty much means I am free to do anything I want without feeling guilty that I'm not crossing things off of lists. Lol And so today I thought I'd take you into the sunroom and then give you a glimpse of a few other things that my over worked mind has come up with. Lol

These shamrocks need a few more days of TLC after just being dug out of the garden and they will be beautiful. I thought about repainting the pot but decided I liked its "rustic" look. Lol

I honestly can't believe I'm still hanging this "subway art". This stuff was so popular a number of years ago and I think I made one for almost every holiday-wonder why this is the only one that seems to have survived the cut. Lol Maybe it's because there just aren't that many St. Pat's crafts out there.

So that is the sunroom-simple as always. But, yesterday my mind somehow got going on "gold". I don't actually use a lot of gold in my decor but it is all the rage this year and I have to admit that I like some of it. To me, it's a natural for St. Patrick's Day because of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow so I guess I use more of it this month than most. And so, I spied this pretty tray that I bought so many years ago in a boutique decor shop here in town. It was made in Italy and one of those things that spoke to me. I have used it in various places but most recently it has just been in my bedroom on a chest.

I happened to see the rim of gold and decided to bring it out into the family room because there was already a number of gold accents there from the St. Pat's decor.

This is one of those cute chargeable lamps. My daughter had one and after using it so much during our power outage in the last hurricane that went through I decided to pick up a few for myself. This one actually came from Walmart and has a number of different settings and light intensities. I think they said it will "burn" for 6 hours when on.

These are just a few of the things in this room that have gold accents and I'm sure I could have found more. I think the things most of them have in common is that they are a burnished or antique gold. I think that must be why I like them. I'm going to be running some errands tomorrow and I think I am going to be on the lookout for some gold bunnies for my Easter decor-just enough to make a pop. 

And then as everyone was leaving this weekend, we noticed this. It has taken many years for this to happen. They are finally meeting in the middle and they are BOTH blooming. The one that gets the most sun is doing better but I am just so excited because this was exactly what I had in mind when my brother and sister-in-law helped us rig this up. The leaves took a bit of a hit in our frosts because I only covered the roots this year. They're taking longer to come back but the blooms are gorgeous!

And then just a couple of random pictures from the lacrosse games the other night. Both the girls' and boys' teams played a team from Gainesville who are always very good. Our girls took a loss but not as large as we thought and, considering that they are just starting out, they played well. The boys were actually ahead at one point but then things got "real" and they too lost but were actually very happy with the way they played. It was freezing as we sat there for four plus hours so we didn't hang around to see the kids after so, no pictures with them but a couple of them on the field. The TCHS Celtic mascots showed up for this game and the bagpiper accompanied the boys' team on to the field. That is always exciting because you don't hear too many bagpipes in person these days. 

So that catches you up on me-if you were at all interested. Lol Tomorrow will be busy and then my hopes for the whole weekend are to hit the outside running. I think it might be safe to finally cut back everything hit by our cold weather and I am chomping at the bit to get to it. Not sure when I'll be back-maybe if I find some treasures tomorrow I will share-so until then, stay safe and stay tuned.

Breathing Again!

 As I have said a few times already today, "today is the first day of the rest of my life". Yesterday was my birthday and it was the end of an incredibly FULL and FUN week, I'll tell you more about that at the end.

But, for now, why don't we head into the dining room?

So there is a change on these shelves. I have mentioned before that I have a hard time decorating these shelves-don't know why. They should be like any other shelf but, never-the-less... 

My brother and sister-in-law brought me the Irish flag home as a souvenir from their trip to Ireland. My plan had been to fly it out front replacing the decorative flag that I have there that they actually gave me as well. And, that decorative flag was the first flag I got starting me on my current "flag collection". Lol But, best laid plans...I fly my flags on a dowel hooked into my fascia but that requires a casing at the top-which this flag doesn't have. It does have two grommets but the flag itself is thin and the grommets too far apart to support...so, to make a very long story short, I decided against flying it outside and decided to use it as more of a banner in the house. This is where it is for now but it might find another home if I ever get time just to sit and mull. Lol

And then, this happened. I used to do a lot of vignettes like this back in the day when I displayed my teapots and teacups. But then one day I had had my fill of that and didn't do any more until...I was just perusing Pinterest as I often do when I started to see a lot of this kind of decor. To me it is reminiscent of an Irish cottage feel and I decided to drag out anything I had that was green. Of course, we all know that green is my favorite color so there would probably be no way I could put out everything I wanted-and I couldn't-but I like this. It gives me a chance to display the shamrock and lily-of-the valley bone china that my dad used to buy for my mom when he was working out of state in areas where he could find these. And then, I have my daughter's and my "Irish" cross stitch pictures, the books that I painted green, the green jug with a few shamrocks and the cute little tea set that I bought years ago and have absolutely no recollection where I found it. Most of the vignettes that I saw also featured a vintage post card. I had this one already printed from something else I must have been doing so I popped it in and I love this shelf now. I don't think I will continue to fill it this way but it just feels right for St. Patrick's Day.

I changed up this area as well this year. I had the shamrock bushes and the pip berry picks to use somewhere and they just looked nice to me in a favorite PB vase. Then the two little jugs and the small framed pieces and I was good. I also used the doily that my mom made so many years ago. It is now glittered in gold and I love it. I had so many doilies and didn't know what to do with them all after she passed away so I started trying to make something using them for each holiday to give to family. Martha Stewart was actually the inspiration for this as she did the glittering on doilies in one of her magazine posts. I just thought the gold worked well with the St. Pat's theme so here it is for now. It does tend to move around from theme to theme so be on the lookout for where it might land next.

The sign propped against the lamp lost its home when I got the shamrock print so here is where it landed for this year. It is actually another thing that I was going to find a better place for-just haven't gotten there yet.

So that is the dining room for this year. Now to fill you in on the last ten days. I already caught you up through grand daughter #5's lamb showing and auction. That was followed by two more lacrosse games for her, one more for her brother, all of Hudson's showing of his steer where he took second class in the highest weight class of the show, his auction, his showmanship, his tractor driving competition, the arrival of daughter #1 and grand daughter #4 with grand dog Bennett, a fun happy hour at daughter #3's new office, dog sitting for Bennett while Kris and Liv were up at UF and then my birthday celebration. I had the time of my life but, I'm definitely feeling my age this morning! I have lots of pictures but I'm just going to post some of them-and probably not in the exact correct order but I just want them here for posterities' sake.

Just look at that sweet face!

That was a BIG steer and he handled him so well. I'm very proud of his second place as he is a "city" guy as far as where he lives and doesn't live on a ranch as so many others do. He has to keep his steer at the barn at their school and has to go back and forth from there twice a day to feed him, exercise him, etc. as the kids who have their steer on their own property have so much more time with their animals. It is a commitment in any case and these kids do a great job. The fair goes on for over a week and the kids work about every aspect of it-missing school with the school's blessing as it is a school FFA group but, still expecting their grades to remain where they are all while they are also practicing or playing lacrosse every day! I'm not sure how they do it...I guess age may play a factor. Lol

This is Hud's girl friend who also showed a steer and took grand champion in her class.

And this was my view for three days. My handsome grand dog constantly wanting to play.

And then suddenly the week was at its end and we were here. We were missing a few of the gang but I either got to face time or talk with each of them so my day was complete. And, of course, that very HEAVY coconut cake from Wright's Gourmet Deli in Tampa doesn't hurt!

I had more than enough hot air to take out those few candles!

The girls did a wonderful brunch full of my favorites-fruit salad, huge muffins from The Mill in G'vlle., funeral sandwiches, hashbrown casserole, three kinds of quiche and, of course, the cake!

This dog just loves people and being close. There were four people squeezed onto that couch and he just had to get up there in between! Lol

And, while I was dog sitting, my daughter and grand daughter were being feted at UF Law School. All of the students accepted were invited up for a two day get-to-know-you session. Liv still hasn't committed. She has been accepted at three schools so far but is still waiting to hear from others. That being said, I think she may be leaning ever so slightly more to UF which, of course, makes all of the family very happy. Can't wait to have another Gator in our gang!

So that is it for today. Both grandchildren have a lacrosse game at home tonight so we are happy to all be in the same city for a change. Not sure where the rest of the week will take me. I have so much to do to catch up on things I have let slide not to mention a few errands...and more games...so I'm not sure when I'll be back. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.