Monday, September 28, 2009

An 'Almost' Goose Chase

Sometimes when you go shopping it's a military maneuver; you know..."hit it and get it" as my Darling Boyfriend says! That's mainly the way he shops, but there are also times when he'll happily look around (just not all day!).  Sometimes when I'm shopping (usually alone!) I'll tend to drift in the vicinity of the garden stuff (if it's in season that is!), and of course the bake and serve ware. I just love looking at all of the pretty bowls and baking dishes!
Well, the other day I was shopping for some clothes and strolled over to the kitchenware area. I turned a corner and found the prettiest hand painted veggie / cracker tray, and there was a cute little flower-shaped bowl that matched. They were just so bright and cheery, and really perfect for entertaining. I was all set to get both pieces, and I noticed that there was a fairly large chip along the top of the rim. I passed on buying the pretty little bowl, but I did get the tray!



Of course I still wanted that pretty little bowl, so I called around to all of the other store locations.  I was just starting to get disappointed, and beginning to think that I would have to settle for that chipped one, as I called the last store on my list. Would you believe that they had not one, but four of them?! So I asked them to please put all four of them on hold for me, and they were happy to do so. I showed up with bells on to pick up my four little prize bowls! It's sometimes the smallest personal victories that can really make your day!  Aren't they all so cute?




As long as I was there, I just had to take a look around to see if by chance they might have any other accompanying pieces. I did find one more piece that, I think, will set off the whole ensemble. Take a look...

Oh...one last thing...did I mention that they were all on clearance?  I wrapped up the entire purchase for $13.87.  Major score!
~~Diana

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Happy Birthday

In a small rural Midwest community, a baby boy was born to a farmer and his wife.  He eventually became a farmer, a soldier, a husband, a father, relocated to the Big City, retired, a grandfather, and a year and a half ago....an angel.




Happy Birthday Daddy...

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Bright Splashes to Lift The Spirits

I thought I'd take a little time to share some of the things that I've grown in my gardens. Life's too short not to enjoy the color and fragrance of flowers! I try to keep my flower gardens blooming on an ongoing basis, so as one stops blooming, others take over. For me it's a true spirit-lifter. My mother, and both of my grandmothers (and many aunts) were avid flower gardeners, so I was happily born into it.

The weather this summer has been really strange though, and not really the sort of weather that makes your bedding plants want to thrive. It's been pretty tough on my flower gardens, and I'm having to water once or twice a day. We've gone from near-drought to flooding, to 40 degree nights in August (yes...in August!), and then back to more drought. Right now we haven't had a drop of rain in 2 weeks, so it's back to the drought thing again.

Think I'll get my truck washed today...that usually does it.

I've got an enormous Saucer Magnolia that's a real head-turner every spring. I planted it in 1989 when it was below my knee. It's now at least 12 feet in height, and I've topped it several times. For the last few years, it's been putting on a small second blooming (10 or 12 blooms) later in the season as well.
This was taken as it just began blooming. With threatening weather on one horizon, and bright skies on the other, it provided wonderful lighting to show off the blooms.
How lovely. I so look forward to seeing this every spring!
It's so enlightening to see new life and glorious colors popping up everywhere with the coming of spring. I've got these tidy little crocus clumps tucked around the corner of my garage. They've multiplied so much that I need to relocate some of the bulbs! They're even popping up in the midst of my peonies and hyacinths. They are fairly tough little guys and they don't seem to be intimidated by the other plants at all.

Aren't sunflowers amazing? I remember driving through Kansas and seeing hundreds of acres of sunflowers in a full riot of yellow. What a striking sight!! I always try to have a few around here (if the critters don't get to my seeds before they come up!).
I was a very young girl when I came across these beautiful flowers randomly growing in a field. I had no idea what they were, but I thought they were so delicate and pretty. I just HAD to bring them home for my mother, so I ran back to get a shovel and a bucket to dig a few up. She still has them growing in her yard today, and it's been over 35 years now. 3 years ago she thought it would be nice for me to have some in my yard, so we divided them, and now I have them too. Over time I learned that they're a native wildflower called Spiderwort. There's so many varieties and I'm not sure which one we have, but they are just so cute.
I'll have to do another post sometime about my other flowers and gardens. Have a lovely day, keep a smile on your face, and a flower in your heart! Diana

Sunday, September 13, 2009

First Glance

Well here's my first post on my brand new blog. I've been reading several wonderful blogs for a while now; just sort of quietly reading along and not really contributing. So I started thinking I should make my own blog too and join in. I don't really have any idea where this will ever end up, but I'm planning on sharing some random thoughts , stories, pictures and few laughs along the way. Just the trials and tribulations of my wacky, goofy life. Thanks for joining me!

I like to do projects around my house. To be honest, some of this is done more out of necessity than sheer joy though! A while ago (well alright, several months ago!) I wanted to re-insulate my wooden back door. No biggie right? Smart thing to do, good for the environment, yadda, yadda, right? I also wanted to figure out why the back storm door was gaping along the bottom of one side...


Look at that gap!!


I have to tell you that when snowstorms blow at certain angles I actually have accumulated several inches of snow between my storm and interior doors because of this crazy gap! Not to mention that the door hinges (inside the room!) actually get frost on them! Not just a little frost, oh no. If it gets cold enough (and it does here!) the frost sometimes gets to 1/2" thick!! So. Needless to say, we are well overdue for some new insulation here.

My son and I leaped into action and removed this copper flashing that went around the perimeter of the wooden door. Really not very insulating stuff, but it was there when I moved in and I never made it a priority to replace...until now.

So far, so good.

Well...anybody who owns a house will tell ya...if you think a project will be simple, it won't be. We had picked out some really nice insulation and I was excited to finally get this project off of my To-Do list.

I'll give you the condensed version here...we ended up making 3 trips to the local home supply store and buying 3 different types of insulation. We even trimmed 50% off the thinnest insulation we could find (if you look very closely, you can see this newly "trimmed" insulation - it's around the area that the wooden door touches when closed). We learned that there is no insulation on the market that's thin enough to actually allow us to close the door! Well, with much effort, and by bracing one foot on a nearby wall, my son was able to eventually muscle the door into a latching position. After watching this crazy series of events unfold, my Darling Boyfriend is convinced that I am a raging lunatic I am going to need help with this project.

So, after having a back door that really hasn't locked or even latched for months, I'm having beautiful, brand new interior and exterior doors installed tomorrow! No more frost, or drafts, or snow! Oh, sing from the highest mountains!!

Now, all I need to do is find a nice magnetic curtain rod for the window...