Back on Schedule

 I'm back on schedule-sort of. The roofer was supposed to be here at 8 a.m. but he messaged me to see if we could make it this afternoon because the roof would still be wet after the monsoon we had last night. That makes sense and, since this is the first time that he has let me know why he isn't showing up, I am feeling like this might really still happen. I have been trying to connect with this guy since Sept. 18 and, quite frankly, I am being more patient than even I would usually be because he comes SO HIGHLY recommended by a friend in the construction industry. We shall see.

Any way, since I am sitting in "wait" mode, I thought this might be the perfect time to head into the sunroom. As always, there isn't a huge amount to see in this room because I like to keep it somewhat clutter free and easy to access if we want to be here.

I'm surprising myself in the fact that I still like my witch's stocking. Lol

Not really anything to say...pretty much it is what it is. I will say that I still love how much all of the old photos that are everywhere in this house get looked at and reminisced about every time anyone in the family comes by. So many memories over so many years! Siggghhhh!

I'm trying to plan the rest of my week. My grand dog is coming to stay again while my two designer daughters are up at the High Point Market and we have another football game on Friday but except for a few errands, it looks like the rest of the week will be pretty free. I definitely want to get out into the yard but I'm also thinking about some crafts. Here is what I have lined up so far.

Thinking I will do the cornucopia on the canvas and then I am just going to "rust" up the flower bucket daughter #1 gave me when I was visiting. I also snagged some beautiful, large French looking candle sticks that I have coveted for awhile. It seems like I am always the winner every time she changes her decor style. I'm still waiting for the antique piece of heavy, detailed molding that she uses as a shelf and the two beautiful French looking sconce lamps that hang on either side. They are SO my taste and, as soon as she starts to have a wall removed from her living room, they are coming my way...and I can't wait!

That's it for today. Off to do some "rusting" while I continue to wait. Fingers crossed this works out today. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Never Too Old for Toys!

 As I get older, I think I have kind of reduced my "toys". Over the years, I have had and enjoyed lots of small kitchen appliances that were specifically designed for one purpose-like a bread maker, pasta maker, etc. I have to admit that I had fun using those things over the years but, once the novelty wore off, they were mostly just large things to store...and, since we all know I have so many things as it is, storage is at a premium and, little by little, I have kind of whittled those things down in number.

And so, I surprised even myself when I ordered a new air fryer/toaster oven.

In order to get this where I wanted it, I did have to put my KitchenAid mixer down in a cabinet and I'm not sure how I am going to feel about that the next time I want to bake but, I think I will use this more often than the mixer gets used these days. We shall see. Daughter #1 has the same one and as I was down at her house for the week, I saw how often it was in use and I was sold.

I love roasted veggies and this is supposed to be the way to go in a hurry. Daughter #3 had passed along one of her original air fryers to me and I wasn't a fan of that because of the limited amount of room and the small size of each batch. This thing is larger-still not as large as three jelly roll pans full that I do often but, also a lot easier and faster if I just want one portion...so, we shall see. It also does a great job of toasting and reheating-especially pizza so the crust stays crisp-so I think I am going to enjoy it.

My next "toy" was one of my Mother's Day gifts from my girls. I have to admit that it is something I probably would never have gotten myself although now that I know that it makes the kind of ice I am obsessed with-as well as the kind my dentist doesn't mind me chomping on-I am 100% sold on this thing. I will say that I am happy I have a place for it other than my kitchen counter. First of all, it takes up a fair amount of room. Secondly, it can be a bit loud. And, lastly, it can cause a bit of a water dripping situation each time you fill it and that would have been an issue with my wood floors. I ended up putting it on top of the small refrigerator that I have in the sunroom. It's still plenty easy to get to and with the slate floors out there, I don't have to even think about drippage. Lol

Let's just say that I honestly don't know how I lived without this thing! If I am sitting down, I am munching ice!!

And my latest obsession is still the bench that I bought from Decor Steals. I showed you the pictures when I was assembling it and where I put it and, honestly, I have really not done another thing consciously to it since then...and yet, every time I walk past it I sigh because it somehow brings me such joy. I really need to think about how to add some design. Right now it has my Halloween book stack that I just sat there because I was walking around the house with nowhere else to put it and the beautiful throw that daughter #1 got me but doesn't fit perfectly in with the Halloween color scheme just thrown on as well. Let me just say that there is other Halloween decor in this room (that I will share soon) so that sad little book stack isn't totally out of theme. Lol

That's all I've got for today but I will be back tomorrow. The roofer guy is supposed to be here at 8 a.m. This is not the first time I have heard that so I'm not exactly holding my breath but I will be ready just in case...we shall see!! Stay safe and stay tuned.

Fun Few Days

 It's always fun when my brother and sister-in-law arrive for a visit. They arrived on Thursday and since they recently returned from a two month plus trip, we had lots to catch up on and then they took me to dinner at one of my favorite downtown restaurants. 

Friday was for grandson #2's football game but, since that wouldn't be until later in the day, they had me get out my "to-do" list and helped me tackle a lot of the things listed. Whenever they are here, I get so much done. Sometimes they lend their brawn but other times it is their brains. It is always nice to have someone you can run things by-especially when it comes to technology issues as none of that comes easily to me still. Lol

We were set up to tailgate at 6:30 but when we arrived a few minutes early, granddaughter #5 was there and anxious to take us over to the new barn area on campus to see her lamb and the steer she will be showing come the youth livestock fair in March. Between now and then, many hours will be spent on these animals not only seeing to their feeding and growth but also spending countless hours just walking them, "stancing" them, etc. so that they are ready to perform for judging. The FFA at their high school is a very active chapter and both of my grands hold ambassador positions. My grandson has a steer as well but, since he was already on the football field getting ready to play, we will have to wait for another time to see him begin to handle his steer.

I'm a sucker for all animals and I fell in love with this goat.

I am going to apologize for the "after" photos right now. It was a nice win for the Celtics so there were lots of people everywhere wanting to congratulate their players. Space was limited and lighting was not meant for pictures. No amount of editing seemed to help...especially on closed eyes. I tried my hand at trying to add some features but my photo editing program is just not that sophisticated and I couldn't stop laughing at one edit worse than the next so I stopped and just "went with it". Lol

This is grandson #2 with his sweet girlfriend.

The handyman got all of the rest of the lattice off of the fence and the roof guy just messaged me today that he is "on" the repair so with those two large things and then all of the things that my brother, sister-in-law and I accomplished around here, I am feeling a huge weight off of my shoulders and that things are moving along. That doesn't always happen as quickly as one would wish when it comes to construction and sub-contractors so I am happy. I got some small things done today so I am giving myself the rest of the day to relax. 

Next time I come back, I will move along with our Halloween tour. Stay safe and stay tuned.

P.S. My brother convinced me to go ahead and hang the rest of the Halloween lights that I never got to. With his help, it went so quickly and was so pretty to drive up to as I arrived home late last night. I know it doesn't look like it but the lights are all either orange or purple. Lol

And to give you a big laugh, here is the beginning of my "edits" for eyes. I thought if I started here and then went back and "knocked" this down a bit I might could skirt by but my program has very limited color choices and each addition got funnier and funnier!

Pretty sure this made your day-you're welcome. Lol

Moving Along

 Even though I started showing you my Halloween decor a bit ago, with all of the other things going on, I haven't gotten all that far so, before Halloween is actually here, let's head into the dining room.

If you peek into that far right corner, you will see that I propped up my "Old Salem Broom Co." sign that I made over there. It might not be the best place but once I decided not to use it where it has always been (in the living room entry), there was really no other place in the entire house that it could have gone-believe me, I tried. Lol

I still love my spider table runner that I found at Bombay Co. oh so many years ago!

I thought about changing this out this year but, unfortunately, I didn't think soon enough and really had no idea as I was actually decorating where I wanted to go with it, so.....

These pictures always make me realize just how much I miss the Bombay Co. I always got lots of seasonal things there...as well as a few pieces of furniture. The closest one was in Gainesville but, since I was there so often, I became buddies with the store manager and he knew my likes. He would actually call me when something he thought I would like was going on a big mark-down and then would hold it for me until I next got there. I have two of these spider lamps from there and I just love them so much! Always helps to have a "buddy". Lol

I also got two of these guys from Bombay. Back in the day, when my grands were little, they loved to take one out by the trellis for their pictures. I have so many pix where the mummy is almost as tall as they are. Sigh!!

This year I finally got one of them down off of the top garage shelf and he is in the living room now. If I remember correctly, they started off at $100 and I got them when they were 75% off! I used to have the other one between the dining room and sunroom and would fill the bowl with candy which the kids would empty quite quickly each time they passed by. Lol

Just realized as I was posting this picture that this vignette has already changed but I didn't snap a pic. Imagine the orange bowl-which I was never crazy about here-gone and my new "spookified" painting sitting there on an easel. Lol

So that is the dining room for this year. My brother and sister-in-law will be here tomorrow so maybe we will actually get a chance to sit in here. Back in the day, this table was often opened to full size and jammed with family and friends. These days, that doesn't happen as often any more but I am happy any time it does!

I ran to Walmart yesterday. Yes, just to Walmart. That doesn't usually happen but I have been seeing so many posts about the "My Texas House" Christmas things that I just had to go and see for myself. I was looking for their garland in particular. My garlands were beautiful when I bought them. I got them from a friend who was a designer and even at her wholesale prices, they were expensive. But, they were also unlike any garlands sold in stores back then.

Fast forward many years and they are not only starting to really show their age but they are so much more difficult to work with and bend than the newer ones now available and, they require so much more storage space. The only place I have where they will fit is the top shelf in my garage and that not only requires a high trip up the ladder but a lot off strength to "nudge" them into their spots. The new "real feel" garland might not actually be as pretty but they are so much easier to work with and take up so much less storage space.

And so, I went in search of two new garlands for my family room mantle. My thought was to start each one at the opposite corner of the mantle so that across the top of the mantle it would be double and full and then let the rest drape down the sides.

I really didn't think the store that I usually go to would be out even though I know they have gone viral, but they were. And, for a minute I was disappointed but then I spied another garland that actually looks more like what I want and decided to give them a try.

I gave then a quick spread out to see what I thought. I didn't even "fluff" them at all and I can already see how lush it will look across the top and I am excited...not excited enough to skip Thanksgiving decorating and go straight to Christmas but excited enough to at least start thinking about it. Lol

So that is it for today. The handyman who will be taking down the rest of the lattice off of my fence actually showed up when he said he would-not something I'm used to these days-so I'm off to see how he is doing. Not sure when I'll be back but there is more to come so stay safe and stay tuned.

Re-entry!

 I'm back and re-entry is always hard for me after such a fun trip! Not that I don't enjoy being home-I do-but, I love it when I am spending time with family and, when there are so many things going on, it is all the more fun!

We pretty much hit the ground running as soon as we got to St. Pete last Sunday. We took a few minutes to get ready and then we were on our way to Dunedin. It seems as if Kris and I are always on a quest for a lobster roll better than the last and we headed to The Lucky Lobster. There were so many lobster options that it was hard to choose but the waitress seemed to be nudging us to the lobster roll so we took her advice and couldn't have been happier. I have had lobster rolls in a lot of different places but I have NEVER had one with lobster pieces the size that we had here!

We had given ourselves plenty of time to have a nice dinner and then we were off to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater for Steve Martin and Martin Short. I didn't have a clue what to really expect but this was one of the best things I have ever seen. These two together were absolutely incredible and kept the entire audience of all ages laughing the entire show! I would definitely recommend seeing them if they are ever anywhere near you!

The next day we were out and about all day buying things for the party on Friday and then headed to a local restaurant to meet some of daughter #1's friends for dinner. This place apparently makes a BIG deal out of EVERY holiday so going with Halloween right around the corner was a no-brainer for us. Let's just say that it did not disappoint!

Daughter #2 came down on Thursday and she and her sister headed to Tampa for dinner and to see some comedian who I really wasn't interested in seeing so I stayed home with my grand dog and planned a nice quiet evening in front of the TV with a glass of wine and dinner. I won't bore you with the details but the evening may or may not have included getting locked out of the house with the dog and no shoes or phone and pretty much dressed in comfy clothes that really aren't for outside of the house. I actually thought I might end up spending the next 5 hours sitting on a chaise by the pool with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do until I got up my nerve and headed to a neighbor across the street who has met me a few times and, believe me, I was keeping my fingers crossed that she would recognize me in this state. She did. She had my daughter's number but of course, she was at dinner and had her phone off. The same thing with the call we tried to my grand daughter. I was just about to call it when my daughter noticed the calls, called back and gave me the code!

I still had my night in front of the TV with the dog and my dinner but, rest assured, that glass of wine might just have been a bit larger than first planned Lol

Friday was the dinner and paint party and what a good time we had! We all brought a "painting" of our choice and then then "spookified" it to our liking. We painted while we enjoyed appetizers and when everyone was finished with their masterpieces, we headed outside for dinner.

I'm still playing around with this a bit. I added a little bit of "autumn" to the tree but I shouldn't have because the paint on the canvas "reads" as a different shine and I didn't like it. It's funny that it was OK for everything else I added but not the tree. And so, I went back over it with brown and, honestly, in person looks OK but the camera really picks it up. In any case, I like it but should have known when to "hold 'em". Lol I still need to work on the pumpkins as well. The acrylic paint was kind of transparent so I went over it with chalk paint but still not quite right. Maybe I'll be done by the time the 31st rolls around. Lol

This is supposed to be a busy week. One handyman is coming on Wednesday to take down the lattice on the rest of the fencing, the roof guy is supposed to show (?!) and my brother and sister-in-law are coming on Thursday to give me some extra hands and will stay for grandson #2's football game on Friday. And, of course, to top it all off the weather is finally catching up with the season and it is beautiful out there!

Not sure when I'll be back but we have more of the tour to do so stay tuned...and stay safe.