Youth Fair

 What a full, busy, happy and chilly week we have had! The Southeastern Youth Fair has been in full swing and my grandchildren were not only involved in a number of showings and competitions but also in volunteer work to keep everything at the fair running smoothly. Believe me, there are many, many parts to this endeavor and it takes many, many helping hands to pull it all off. I guess the steer showing and auctions are the largest part because they are what bring in LOTS of money but there are so many other wonderful things as well.

Both grandchildren had a steer this year and both sold for a nice amount!

My granddaughter's steer was a sweetheart when it didn't have to move but was not a fan of the walking. It gave her a run for her money but she did incredibly well in keeping control. I can't say the same for some others. I don't know if the REALLY CHILLY weather has any affect on the animals but there were many more that broke free this year and were running and kicking all over the ring. It definitely made this old Nana a bit nervous because these are some pretty large animals. Both Presley's and Hudson's were smaller this year but many classes had steer well over 1600 pounds!

Hudson also entered the cooking competition where he presented the judges with a Bobby Flay recipe for venison steak. I hear it was pretty tasty!

We are still awaiting results but the winning/losing part of all of this isn't really important. I am just so proud of the fact that they put themselves out there, had fun and learned so much more than you would think. There are not only the things that we see, but so much more behind the scenes. The kids have logs to keep track of everything they do for their animal including how much they feed them, costs of food, how much they exercise them, comparison of muscle to fat, and so much more than I understand as well as being questioned about every aspect of what they have done and are doing. It is something they will carry with them for the rest of their lives and I was happy to be able to participate by being there to support them-although I do wish they could use some of their profits to pad those very HARD bleachers. After a few hours of sitting there, my legs didn't want to co-operate. Lol

I am giving myself the rest of today to catch up on some of the things I have neglected this week before I start to think about what I will need for our road trip next week-but, I'll be back soon with the next room of our tour. Stay safe and stay tuned.

On We Go

 I've got some time before I'm off to the 2026 Southeastern Youth Fair where both my grandson and granddaughter will be showing their steer so I thought I would continue on with our tour...especially since we have a "feels like" temperature of 38 outside-no yardwork for me today. Lol Welcome to the kitchen. I have made a fair amount of change in here since I have become addicted to the small "paintings" in places where you might not expect them.

These simple still-life pictures caught my eye as soon as I saw them in HL and I am obsessed with the colors in them. I will probably go back to the "rose" pictures for Easter and spring but then I suspect you will see these back here all the way up to autumn.

Serendipity...when I put this picture in the old carpenter's box I didn't realize how closely the vessel full of sharpened pencils would so mimic the small jar full of my mom and mother-in-law's old silverware.

The infamous pizza paddle that I spent way TOO much time looking for is home again!

I'm realizing that as I have removed some "cutesy" things I have replaced them with things that can probably stay where they are through many swaps with maybe just a simple change of what I put in them-like the small rustic vase on the right. I first bought that for use with my Valentine's decor and now with just some faux greenery, it works here as well for St. Pat's. Maybe if I start doing more of that my swaps won't continue to take me quite as long as they do.

So that is the kitchen for this year. Have I told you just how much I love green? Every room I walk into makes me feel so at peace. I don't usually add too much color for Easter and spring but I'm already thinking that it may be even less this year and I will continue to let the green reign supreme.

Off to start to get ready for the steer show. It's looking to get pretty COOL tonight-like down below freezing at some point-hopefully not while we're still there-so I'm planning to layer up and fingers crossed all goes well. I like cool weather but we Floridians aren't quite ready for that! Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

Green, Green, It's Green They Say

 Crazy days around here. Yesterday, the skies were pure blue, sun was shining and it was in the 80s. Today it is cloudy, we've had a bit of rain and we are predicted to go down into the low 30s for the next few nights! Today is definitely a "stay inside" kind of day so I figured no better time than now to get this year's St. Patrick's Day tour started.

Instead of starting on the porch as I often do, we'll head into the living room. I had to transplant some shamrocks to fill the porch urns and they're not quite picture ready just yet.

I love this thing but it almost didn't make this year's cut...until I realized just how well it goes with the rusty ceiling tile mirror. I was trying to weed out the "cutesy" but this one just can't go...at least not yet. Lol I still love that mirror so much. I found it at a Junior League Christmas Show many years ago. It is made from an antique tin ceiling tile that has been cut out and then just has a mirror attached at the back. It wasn't inexpensive back then but I'll bet if you found one these days it would be so much more because the price of the original tin tiles has just continued to increase-if you can even find them anymore.

This cutie almost didn't make the cut this year either but, I think I have mentioned before, it is one of my most viewed images. My granddaughters and I made these as gifts for family many years ago. I think I put it on my Pinterest page and someone who has a site featuring children's crafts made from terra cotta pots put it on her page and it just took off from there. She gave me credit for the project and my blog exploded for that month...and still seems to go up every time this picture circulates through "Pinterestland". Lol

Here is the updated view from this angle. I think I do have to admit that I like it better without the corner cabinet. Now I just have to get used to what still seems like a bit of an unbalance to me when I am looking at this wall straight on-it actually doesn't look so bad from this angle. Hopefully a ficus tree in that corner will fill the bill! I took down one of the wall hanging things but am leaving the nails and the one on the other wall until we see what lands here permanently. If anything is going back I'd be happy to use the same nails as both of the things previously here are made of concrete and super HEAVY. And, I'm guessing that lantern will have to find a new home as well...we shall see what my "decorator" says. LOL

This may not be a picture of a thatched roof house in Ireland but I do love the way it looks and feels...and I can pretend if I want to. Lol

I'm definitely liking this shelf better with the few changes I made this year.

So that is pretty much the living room for this year. Thought I'd give you the latest on that old corner cabinet as well...

I think I can live with this. It really doesn't seem as odd as I first thought it might and, let's be honest, I'm happy to have my photos back! Lol

I was hoping to be able to do a bit more photographing this afternoon but it is just too dreary so, I guess I'll think about some lunch and maybe find a good movie. The next few days are going to be busy but then I will have some time since we won't be going to St. Pete-sob-so I'll be back and we'll continue on with the green goodness. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Change Is A Comin'

 Everyone who knows me knows that I am not a big fan of change-unless it is for seasonal/holiday decor. Lol I am at the point in my life where I am very comfortable with how things are and no longer feel the need for constant activity or adventure-in fact, I'm not sure I ever really did. I could definitely be defined as a homebody and even though others may think I am missing out on "life", I don't feel that way at all. I love my home and all of the things that taking care of it entails. I am not a fan of travel but will do so if it means spending time with family. That being said, there's some change in the air. Some of it I am not happy about and other parts of it have got me excited.

So, when last we "spoke" I think I mentioned two upcoming trips. The first was to be next Friday which would have seen me and my three girls all staying at daughter #1's house in St. Pete for the weekend and heading to Tampa to see Barry Manilow on what is to be his last tour. Tickets for this were one of my Christmas presents. Unfortunately, even before receiving them, the date was changed after his diagnosis of lung cancer. His surgery was successful and the tour was rebooked starting next weekend. But, unfortunately again it will have to be postponed after his last visit with the doctor who doesn't think he is ready to get back to that strenuous routine and travel.

I am really disappointed because I love my time with my girls not to mention how much I enjoy St. Pete but, hopefully things will work out and I will have this to look forward to once again. My daughter said we could still come but, since she will be here to pick me up for our next trip to Charleston just a few days later, we decided to wait and maybe do something a bit later. 

And that brings me to today. Another change is in the air. I was planning to be outside today to tackle the "mess" that is live oak leaves EVERYWHERE!! 

But, as I was on the way to that I decided to take some pictures of the living room so I might possibly get the start of our tour going soon...and then, I saw all of this. This picture kind of shows how unsymmetrical my living room is. Even where the chairs are now across from the couch don't totally line up. I love this room but wish there was another way I could move furniture for a change-unfortunately, there just isn't if you want to maintain conversation areas. Believe me, both of my "decorator" daughters have tried and we all keep coming back to this. 

I put this corner cupboard here many years ago to kind of balance out the wall. I liked it because it also gave me another display area for pictures. A few years back I started hearing comments about how it really needs to go but I fought back because, after all, it is my house and I can decorate as I like. And, that went on for quite some time until the last time daughter #3 was here helping me with the new things I got from daughter #1 and she once again addressed how "married" I was to that corner cupboard and, for whatever reason, this time I saw it the same way they have and knew it was time for it to go.

Of course, I had no idea that would happen today but I decided to move it out and get a feel for what it will eventually look like. My daughter has decided that a ficus tree would look best there and she told me not to look for one because that would be my birthday gift this year.

And so, I got out my trusty "moving buddies"...

...and off we went. Moving furniture with those things is a breeze until you get to the slate in the sunroom. My intentions had been to put it in my hubby's office and offer it to anyone who might want it. And I got this far and was having a bear of a time moving it ...and then I looked up and the idea hit me. Why not try it here? That way I could still have my photo opportunities and it kind of rounded off the TV unit. Since the slate on the floor isn't totally smooth and level, it isn't as flush to the TV cabinet as I would like and I hoped a simple L-bracket would help me attach the two-except I don't have one the correct size so that is on my list and hopefully this project will be completed soon. I'll let you know if it is a "go" or not.

And that brings me back to this...

The BIG, EMPTY corner is driving me nuts. Fingers crossed that the tree will be tall enough to help balance things to my eyes! And then I guess we will address the things still hanging on the wall-do they stay or go?

And, the next change a comin' involves this area.

I have had this rug for YEARS and still like it but it does kind of fall back more into my love of Mediterranean decor and I was toying with the idea of a new rug perhaps a bit more faded and vintage looking-maybe along these lines.

Not necessarily this exact rug but along these lines...and so, I simply asked those designer daughters for some input and boy did I get it! Yes, it was time for a change and it would be another of my Christmas gifts but, only if I go with their input as to the size. Apparently, the size of my rug is way TOO SMALL. What is wrong with me that I didn't see that? Lol Of course, the larger the rug, the larger the price so that is probably why I went with what I did so many years ago.

In any case, the exact rug has still to be chosen but as soon as that happens, more change will hit!

And, as I looked at the coffee table pictures, I saw another change needing to be made...

...all of a sudden the new vase was "crying out" for some flowers so I put in a small bunch of tulips I had and I think I like it better.

If you have stuck with me this long you deserve a medal because even I am confused but then that is how I roll almost every day these days. Lol I think I am off to grab a quick lunch and then head outside but, instead of raking the leaves, I think I am just going to blow off the deck and scoop a bit of the pool and wait for the rest of the leaves to fall before I start raking. Stay safe and stay tuned and, I promise, I will be ready to start our St. Pat's tour the next time we visit.