All Good Things

So I knew this was going to be a pretty busy week but I had no idea exactly how busy it would turn out to be. There was an exciting football game in Clearwater last Friday night...with a HUGE win for our side! I stayed home and dog sat but went to grandson #2's game on Saturday. Unfortunately, that outcome wasn't as positive but it was still a beautiful day to be outside with family. Then, it was back to daughter #3's house for dinner and the Gator game.

Sunday and Monday were full of Cox Cable techs...this is a long, sad story that still has no end and, quite honestly, the story that I am getting from them sounds more like science fiction to keep me quiet. We shall see how this plays out!

But then, the fun. Daughter #2 came for the day yesterday and we had a nice lunch out and ran some errands. Then, we were joined by daughter #3 and her two youngest...and this adorable creature.

This is another VERY long story but suffice it to say that grand daughter #5 - who is a bit animal obsessed - finally managed to save one of the abandoned kittens in their neighborhood. From observations of the mama cat, they are thinking he/she is about 2 weeks old. She is so cute and, so far, seems to be doing well with bottle feedings every 3 or so hours. Of course, their dog and other cat are not happy about this latest wrinkle, so life is even more chaotic over there than it usually is with 3 very active kids! Lol

And, while everyone was here, we decided to try to make plans for a small Halloween weekend at Nana's this coming weekend. Aunt Becky wants to join so it should be fun. Plus, we have another H.S. game Friday night and then MCYFL on Saturday so I may not be back for awhile. Lots of plans to make and supplies to be bought.

With that in mind, I thought maybe we should move into the kitchen today while I am here.

I am always so happy every year when this pot makes its appearance. It is one of my favorite finds. I found it many years ago at a Hallmark Card Shop.

Two more of my favorite gifts...the Witch's Brew wine glass from daughter #1 and the Halloween pot holder set made by my sister-in-law.

Cute little dangley legged witch gifted me by daughter #2.

I love the little sign that grand daughter #5 put together one afternoon when she was back in my craft room. It is really hard to see but there are two witch hats made out of twisted pipe cleaners on top of the orange blocks. I love that she just comes up with all of this stuff totally on her own!

This is another sign that she made me when she was up with my brother and sister-in-law.

So that is it for the kitchen this year. Lots of chores waiting for me so I am off. Don't know when I'll be back but I bet when I am I will have lots of pictures to share. Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

The Old Gray Mare...

Wow! Halloween 2021 is now up and ready but, I will have to admit, the only way I am truly aware of just how many bones are in my body is by the number that are hurting when I finally get all of my Halloween decor done. It is the largest "switch out" that I do and by the time it is over, I am truly "feeling"it. Lol And, it doesn't hurt (or rather yes it does hurt ) that I managed to break a toe in the process. But, I am limping around happy to have it all done and I thought maybe I would give you a peek at the beginning.

I still love my eyeball doorbell...as do my grand children. Guessing I will go through my share of batteries before the big day arrives. There is just something fun about ringing this thing and hearing the sound and watching the eyeball blink at you.

This area is pretty much the same as last year-again, because I made that sign so tall that there really aren't many other places in the house that it will fit.

Every year when I start to put out ALL of the Halloween photos I pause and think maybe I will scale down a bit this year...but then, I start looking at all of those precious pictures and realize that not only will I not be able to cull any out, if I am lucky, I will be adding even more from this year. If you hang around through the whole tour, you will see what has happened to some of the over flow.

Hazel was spending the night with me again and just wouldn't move for this picture Lol

I'm still loving that I thought to bring the droopy hanging swag into the livingroom. For so many years it was over the mirror in the family room but I am liking it so much better in here.

So that is the beginning of this year's tour. I'll be back with more soon. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Decision Made!! I Think!

I am probably the only person alive who can agonize so much over a silly little Halloween gift. I think the problem is that I have been doing this for so many years that I have literally made almost every idea out there...and many of the things I have made have been complicated and taken a lot of time. But, I think I have mentioned that even though most of my friends and family still do a lot of holiday decorating, their color schemes have changed a bit and the traditional orange and black are no longer the colors of choice. Don't get me wrong. I still get weak kneed with the traditional colors...and even more so if the decor is vintage but, I am also aware of the changes and I still want to give things that can be used. The other thing is that many of them have also scaled down. Now don't get me wrong again...LOL...I say I have but it really doesn't feel like it because I might get rid of one thing but I always seem to find another as a replacement. But, I digress.

And so, with all of that in mind, I have had a really hard time coming up with something I like and want to make this year. I showed you the first Halloween "leaner" I made but I wasn't sold so when I found the "pumpkin patch" printable, I thought maybe I would try that instead.

I followed the same procedure of printing on tissue and ModPodging onto a piece of old fencing and thought maybe just the hint of soft orange would do it for me. But, it really isn't reading Halloween to me - even though I distressed with black instead of walnut - and, I just don't have the right ribbons for the bow. I haven't glued the bow on yet and I am heading out tomorrow so maybe I will find just the right ones...but, I still don't think I will be sold.

The pumpkin patch sign is for autumn. I am going with the Halloween print. Of course now I have used up most of the wood I had cut so I will need to get out to my miter saw and get busy again. Only I could make a Halloween mountain out of a molehill. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

P.S. I think I will give the pumpkin patch sign to grand daughter #5. She always decorates her bedroom and I think she will love it. We'll see?!

What a Difference a Day Makes...or Two...or

Wow! What a difference a day makes. The summer rains have been wonderful for keeping my "lawns" green - I say that because a lot of my lawn is weed but, if it's green, I'm good with it. Lol - but they have also been wonderful for the weeds growing in the gardens. I seem to go from keeping a pretty good handle on them to being totally over-run by them. And so, with a hint of cooler weather coming through, I decided it was time to get out there and get going. The first day was mostly weeding and a bit of trimming. It took six hours and I am about 1/3 of the way done but, I always start in the areas that I see the most so things start to look better to me very quickly!

Then, the next day was ladder day. I have so many vines growing on pergolas or over trellises and, when they start to get out of hand they begin to grow up into wires. Once that happens, I know it is time to get up there and trim them down. Heaven forbid they mess with my cable or electric. Lol

In any case, that is all done for now. I have a few indoor things to get to before heading back out so all is good for now.

Since I'm here right now, I thought we would catch the last two rooms I have to show you...the guest bath and the master bath. I like my guests to have decor all through the house but in the master, I almost always just do a nod to the season.

These are the floating shelves above the commode that my son-in-law built for me.

I think this room is kind of like the sunroom...it just gets things that don't have any other home. Except that is, for the soap. I am always drawn to beautiful soaps wrapped in pretty seasonal papers. One of these days I will have to actually rip open the wrappings and use the soap. Lol

I think that is it for this year's autumn decor. I was actually just looking at my last year's Halloween and I'm getting excited to start the next swap out. The autumn to Halloween is a big one because, except for a few orange candles, almost everything else gets switched...and, I of course have TONS of Halloween. I did do a bit of down sizing last year and, who knows, maybe I might again this year...we will have to see. In any case, I'm off to catch a few things needing doing...especially making another batch of my Martha Stewart Vegetable Vermicelli soup. I love that stuff and it should keep me in food for the rest of the week. I'll be back soon. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Family and Football Fun!

This was a weekend full of family and football. Since so much of our family lives in other places, it is always so much fun when we can gather some of them together for whatever reason and, of course, football season always presents lots of extra reasons to come together and cheer on the boys.

We started on Friday night with a nail biter game at Trinity High School. Even though we didn't win, it was a good game and Harrison played well.

We always start out our night with a tailgate. Time to visit and have some fun before heading to the stands.

We headed out on Saturday morning for some fun errands and then had a nice lunch before heading home to watch the Gator game. And, before we knew it, we were off to Marion Co. Youth Football where grandson #2 and his head coach dad were playing in the Jamboree. Because it was a later game and we had a bit of cloud cover, it also turned out to be wonderful football weather.

The boys played hard, we all cheered loudly and it was a special time. Can't wait until we do it again...which will be next week. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.