A Hint of Home

Our Snow "Children"

2012-01-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Snowmen are not a common sight in SC. We rarely get snow and if we get any it's usually a dusting.
The only ones we get to see are stuffed ones that hang out in the warmth of our house and amazingly don't melt. lol
I've had the ones above for years. The guy below just came to live here a couple of weeks ago. Isn't he cute! We had company the other night and a snowball fight broke out! Really!

My hubby thought he was so cute but I didn't want to pay the price. See his price sticker?
We found him at Old Time Pottery and turned out he was half price on clearance. I still didn't want to pay the price. Then I noticed he was damaged and hubby took him to an employee. She readily said, "Let's make him $12.50." Hubby said, "That works for me!"
Paint covers a multitude of sins! Sorta like makeup, come to think of it! lol
Before

After

He had a few other scrapes and bruises we fixed up. He's so happy we adopted him into our family!

I put out more Snowmen in the kitchen after Christmas.
Are you still with me... you may need a cup of coffee from the Keurig about now! lol

These little guys are ornaments with their face painted and a child's sock for a hat.

I have two cookie jar snowmen. No cookies but their still cuties!
Our grand daughter, who is three, was over yesterday and she kept coming to tell me when she found another snowman.

I painted this guy many years ago and hung him on the back door (to the garage). A lot of
people come in through the garage so I always have something on the door to greet them.
That's all for today. Believe it or not I have more in the dining room and outside at the entrance of the house to show. I'll same them for another time!
I hope you're having a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Joining

Savvy Southern Style &

kristens

Share Your Creations Party #22

Things Are Heating Up In SC

2012-01-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

I have tried to get a post done for a week and to no avail. I was very frustrated with trying to post on explorer with the new interface on blogger. I tried to do what Marty said but could not do it for various reasons. The week got busy and I gave up. I went over to Firefox and it was a breeze to go back to the old interface. Hallelujah! I will post my snowmen soon.
In the mean time here's what's going on in SC right now.
Lots of rally's, debates, and robocalling. We have met with some of the candidates trying to sort out who we should support.
We've met and talked to Speaker Gingrich...

Radio talk show host Mike Gallagher....

Went to a rally to hear Governor Romney......

Met Governor Mitt Romney.....

His beautiful wife Ann......

and saw Greta Van Susteren interviewing the Governor.

Tomorrow is a big day for all the candidates still in the race!

Thanks for stopping and have a great weekend!

Snowmen Tablescape

2012-01-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

It rarely snows in SC but it's still fun to decorate with "snowpeople". lol I put out my "snowpeople" after packing away Christmas decorations. I had two snowflake plates from Cracker Barrel and this is what I came up with for a tablescape.
I decided to use something a little "unconventional" for a table covering. I had a cute snowman hooked rug (clean of course) and used it in the center of the table. I have a few snowball candles from Partylite and used one for the centerpiece. On an after thought I took the clear cake plate stand away and just used the snowball on the red candle holder. I thought it would be lower for conversation purposes.
What do you think? Which looks better?

I found snowflake placemats at Old Time Pottery the other day.

I'v had the snowman glasses for several years and can't remember where they came from. The little snowman candle, at the head of the plate came from Big Lot, as did the little plate in the pic below.

The snow mitten plates are from Cracker Barrel a few yrs. ago.

Cute Mr. & Mrs. Salt & Pepper shakers. They look so happy, don't they?

Thanks for taking time to stop by! I always love it when you visit!

I'm linking to Susan @Between Naps on the Porch.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Back to Normal

2012-01-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

I finally got my tree down, everything labeled, boxed, and put away! It was up longer than usual but I didn't fret about it because I didn't get the tree up till around the 15th of Dec. That was a first! In the past it's always been up Thanksgiving weekend or before but the old Flu bug had other plans for me. So we went from this around here............... to this! It sure opens things up and lets more light in!

So nice to have everything back to normal, isn't it?

I always have to check back and look at pictures before the decorating to know where things were sitting. lol Anyone else have to do that?

I brought out the snowmen and women and I'll share them soon. Thanks for stopping by and taking time from your busy schedule. Have a great week!

Linking to Between Naps on the Porch

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-12-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!

May it be your best year ever! I appreciate each of you so much!

I'll be back to blogging after a short break!

From Our House to Yours

2011-12-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wish all of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!
From our house to yours we wish you a wonderful holiday weekend with family, friends, love and joy!

I'll leave you with a picture of our sweet grandchildren celebrating the real reason we celebrate Christmas..... The birth of the Christ child...The Savior of the World!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! It's seems forever since I've done a post! Life has a way of changing my plans. lol
We've been gone to CA visiting our daughter and family. We had a great time and fairly good weather. We loved spending time with them and doing fun things together..like going on a whale & dolphine watch.
We we returned home the nasty flu bug attacked us and it wasn't pretty! It took me a couple of weeks to start to feel normal again.
We finally got the decorating done and have been flying around like crazy to get the shopping, etc. done.

Here's a few pics I hope you enjoy of our family room. (smile)

Lots of lights, bulbs & glitter! People enter at their own risk. lol There will be glitter till Feb. '12

We have two staircases that we hang garland on.

A vingette on the countertop.

The catwalk upstairs with a small tree at the end of it.

Looking up from downstairs to the catwalk.

The front staircase.

Looks who's at the top of the landing. He's checking to see if we've naughty or nice.

Some snowmen on the kitchen counter. See...I trapped a snowman head and tucked it in with some snowballs to keep him from melting.

Here's one that got away and hopped on a candlestick. He doesn't know how close he is to

the stove though....doesn't make for a happy ending. (smile)

Thanks for stopping by! Are you all ready for Christmas or do you have more shopping, baking, etc. to do.

I'm joining Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style &
kristens
Share Your Creations Party #17

Cute Tea Room

2011-11-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

We recently had a tea room open in our area and I thought it would be fun to try while Ceekay was visiting.
If you know anything about Ceekay, you know she loves tea rooms and has been to MANY of them. Some very high priced ones, too. I say that, to say this, our tea room only charged $12.00 for a buffet that you could go back to as many times as you wanted.
The setting is in a bakery, the one that made my birthday cake, so I knew the food would be good. I just didn't know how GOOD! It's not as fancy as some but pretty enough. It's on a sun porch to the side of the bakery and florist.

They had fresh pretty flowers on the tables.

It was a bright sunny day and we could enjoy the Fall colors outside the windows.

They had a table with an urn of hot water. A sweet lady named Shirley brought us a pot of hot water and then you selected which tea you wanted.

Shirley made all the sandwiches with fresh bread baked that day. She also made the scones, which we out of this world delicious!

There were three kinds of sandwiches. Cucumber, pimento, and chicken salad. All three were wonderful.
We had a fresh bowl of mixed fruit as well.

Looks at the fresh flowers on top of the tiered tray. So cute! You can see the lemon curd and a little of the Devonshire cream that Shirley made.

Pretty wreath above the table.

Fresh flowers from the florist.

Of all the tea rooms Ceekay has been to she has never had a crumpet. Me either! Now she can say she has. Have any of you had them??

Shirley was sweet enough to take our pic. and send us on our way with a goodies box full of crumpets and extra scones. She wanted my hubby to try them and for Ceekay to have some for breakfast the next day.
Ceekay said she had never had better tasting food at any Tea Room. It was a hit with both of us! lol

I hope you're having a good week! Till next time!

Fall Colors

2011-11-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

We've had such a beautiful Fall! The trees were prettier than in some years past. While Ceekay and our daughter Andrea were here they got to enjoy all the beautiful scenery that they don't have, while living in the desert.

It was also Halloween and they enjoyed seeing my two grandchildren that live here. The house across the street likes to go all out! This couple has never had children but love to do this for the neighborhood.

Here's Jonas getting ready with Aunt Andrea's help. I made this clown outfit for her 30 some years ago. She and her sister wore it, three grandchildren wore it, 3 nieces and nephews wore it, and varies neighbors wore it. Ceekay's kids wore some of the outfits I made. Can't remember which ones. I'd say it has gotten plenty of use. lol

Sweet Ivy is wearing the mouse costume I made for my kids as well. She left home and forgot her ears. So we made her some with her hair. lol She thought her mom made a spider on her nose. lol

Patiently waiting to go trick or treating!

Jonas with the finished custome on.

Hanging out with Mommy!

I'm joining Susan @A Southern Daydreamer

Have a great week! Till next time!

Room Makeover

2011-11-13T19:19:00.000-08:00

We had a small bedroom that was a multipurpose room, so to speak. I exercised in it, sewed, painted and ironed it in. We have three other bedrooms and sometimes there's still not enough beds to accommodate family or friends! lol Besides that, I thought it was a lot of work to use a queen bed if a toddler grandchild was sleeping over.
Here's the room before we made a few changes.

Hubby used this room to watch TV in occasionally so we got him a nice comfy recliner when he retired. That stayed.

Then the change started. I asked a master builder at our church if he could custom make some bunk beds for me. He was so gracious to fit it in his busy schedule. I put a little pressure on him because I needed them done A.S.A.P. for all the company that came to town for my birthday. lol He was happy to oblige!

Here it is taking shape.

They were just finishing as I came back from the airport with my sister. The first of many to arrive.

I put my married nieces in the bunks when they arrived a couple of days later. Worked out great!

Here's the finished room. I moved an entertainment center from our bedroom into this room and got a new little flat screen TV. The grand kids will use this room to watch their movies .
The Flag on the wall is from the table in the above pictures. I had painted it 20 some yrs. ago and didn't want to get rid of it so I had hubby take off the top of table to hang it.

I put book shelves on a small wall to showcase the things that were either on the wall previously or on the floor.   You may notice the boat that was on the floor is now on it's side on the top of the bookcase.   That was Ceekay's idea.
The builder said he could make custom shelves for us instead of the ones from Target!   Hubby told him to go for it.   So more changes are a coming. lol
I made the curtains and cushions.   The hope chest I've had since I was 16.

I still can open my total gym and use the room for exercise. See, it's folded up in the corner with my exercise ball.

I had drawers built in the bottom for linen storage and for the grand kids's "things". They are nice and big!

I found the comforters at K-Mart. Notice the little captain's wheel on them.

Now I can wash twin sheets for the kiddies instead of queen ones. lol

I'm joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday & and, Carrie for Amaze Me Monday! Also, Kim @Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

My Party

2011-11-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

I want to thank all of you who wished me a Happy Birthday! Your sweet comments meant so much to me!

I walked into the restaurant where the celebration dinner was being held and was greeted by this LARGE 60 decorated with pictures of my life.
Go ahead click on it and get some laughs. You know..big hair, short hair,etc. lol

It was Ceekay's idea and she did much of the planning and came up with the theme. My sweet daughter Sarah did the foot work till her sister Andrea and Ceekay got into town to help with final touches and decorating They did a great job and I love and appreciate them so much! Sarah did all the beautiful floral arrangements on the tables!

Ceekay came up with the idea to get a 1951 birthday booklet from Cracker Barrel and use the pages out of it for the placemats. The girls got candy and toys out of that time period for favors and to lay on the table for decorations. It all was so nicely done! See my high school picture in the circle of the 60. The invitations had the same pic on them.

I can't thank my hubby enough for making it a very special evening and for footing the bill! lol

Some of the girls in my family. (from L to R)
Myself, Ceekay, my daughter Sarah, my daughter Andrea (who came from CA), my niece Aimee, my sister Barb, & my niece Jeni who all flew in from MI.

I went to the airport three times to get them all. They all came on different days and at different times. lol My poor nieces were so delayed in Detroit for about 5 hours and got in at 2 a.m.

It was sooo worth it! We had a blast and made very special memories! We laughed so hard we cried! My hubby got embarrassed at one restaurant! lol Of course, he was way out numbered these last 3 wks.

My sweet girls singing at the party. (They both have sung professionally.) God has given them beautiful voices. They have sung accross the country and in Korea while in college. They both have sung in community chorales with their symphonies.
Some of my guests requested that they sing. They didn't plan it but we all enjoyed it and appreciated them doing it!

All my beautiful guests!

I had two incredible birthday cakes!

A chocolate mocha with coconut and chocolate icing on top. YUM!

Also a pink lemonade! A little something for everyone! lol They were so moist! ( We have an amazing bakery in the area that is very popular!)

Spending a little one on one with Andrea. I miss her and wish she wasn't so far away. She and her Pastor husband are planting a church in CA. Her hubby and my two sweet grandgirls couldn't make the trip.

Sweet Sarah and her hubby.

My sweet sister and nieces.

Ceekay all the way from AZ. She stayed for another week after the others left and she flew out this morning! We had a great time!

I received some beautiful presents but none as precious as my family that came to celebrate with me.!

I've missed all of you and hope to get around to visit you in the next couple of days. I have lots more pics of things we did to share with you and a little project that got done just in the nick of time to accommodate all the company! Here's a sneak preview!

See ya soon!

Guest Post from Ceekay!

2011-11-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone from Chilly!! South Carolina! Ro and I have been non-stop for one week with one week to go! I flew in last Wednesday, her wonderful 60th birthday party was Friday. We had such a fantastic time with Ro's sister, 2 daughters, and 2 nieces. We have laughed and talked and shopped....Charming Charlies probably won't be the same!!

Some of you bloggers think that Ro and I are sisters. We are not....but we are sisters in Christ and have been best friends for 37+ years.
It is so funny, we go shopping, go to different areas, meet up, and we have the same items in our hands!

I had an interesting health issue while I was here...so if you are interested check over at My Journey with Teal blog!

We both miss our blogging....I have TONS of pictures to share. I don't know, but I think South Carolina's clocks move faster. Before we know it the day is over. So don't forget about us girls here.....we will be back soon.

Ceekay

Annual Decorating Class

2011-10-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Last night was my annual Decorating Class that I teach for ladies in our church. I always have a little pumpkin for them to take home, as well as many pages of notes.

The little piece of paper says:

Being a Chrisitian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes
you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and
scoops out the yucky stuff--including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. The He
carves you anew smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for the whole world to see.

We used pretty Fall paper goods.

I made mint tea with mint from my garden.

Hot cider is a must at this time of year. Flavored with the Wassail pkg. seen on the left. Sooo good!

I make Pumpkin Cobbler every year and it's always a big hit! I'll have to share the recipe sometime. It's soooo easy!

Everything in the kitchen...set for the event. The Keurig turned on with a variety of drinks to choose from.

Then it was time to teach. I use a slide presentation for part of the lesson.

Chairs are everywhere. It just started to rain and became a bit dark. I should have used a flash.

And, of course, the lovely ladies and their mentors.

After a large crowd, it's always nice to clean up and have things back to normal again.

There..... Much better!

It will be nice & tidy for a few days, at least. Then Ceekay, my sister, two nieces, and my two daughters will be flying in next week. What a fun week that will be. All seven of us together! Can't wait for you to get here, girls! Party time for us ! lol Lots of shopping, eating, laughing and Ceekay will do the crying, I'm sure. She is soooo sentimental! We love her though!

What have you been up to this week?

Thanks for stopping by...tilll next time!

Fall Foyer

2011-10-14T05:40:00.000-07:00

The foyer is the first thing people see when entering our home. I added a few Fall touches to welcome them.
This is the front door shooting from our family room. When you enter you see the front staircase and dining room is to the left.

I've had these metal pumpkins from Kirkland for several years. They have been in different rooms and even outside on the porch. They will probably get painted at some point because they are showing signs of age. Hey, that's exactly what I have to do every morning with makeup, as I age . lol

Hubby said the pumpkins were too plain in and of themselves and that I needed to add color or something.

So out came the picks. Much better!

A floral basket sits at the top of the landing.

My pumpkin tree is at the top on the cat walk.

A night shot coming down the cat walk.

Shooting down from upstairs you see this table and mirror behind the front door.

A pumpkin display is on the floor.

Wall art is above the door! I did this a couple of years ago. It was an easy project.

Looking way up at the chandy.

This is the other side of the foyer leading up the stairs.

I hope you enjoyed the tour and that you have a fun filled, safe weekend!

Till next time!

Joining kristens @ Share Your Creations!

Broccoli Soup

2011-10-07T05:56:00.000-07:00

Several ladies that visit my blog has asked for this soup recipe and I finally got around to taking a few pics and thought I'd share it with you!
It tastes heavenly, especially on a cool Fall evening!

Start with boiling broccoli and chicken bouillon cubes. ( Recipe is at the end of post.)
The brown color you see is the bouillon cubes dissolving.

Velveeta Cheese cubed.

Half & Half and whole milk.

Flour mixed with milk.

Add to the cooking pot.

Cook on low till thickened.

Warm some French or Sourdough bread and ENJOY!

Soooo Yummy!

Broccoli Soup: Serves 4 to 6

1 c. water
1 10 oz. of broccoli
2 c. milk
1/2 c. flour
1 c. cubed Velveeta cheese
1 c. half & half
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Cook broccoli in water with bouillon cubes. Do not drain.
Mix flour & milk and add to mixture.
Add cheese and blend on low heat.
Add half & half
Keep stirring till thickened.

I always double this recipe.
Let me know if you try it!

I'm joining Michael @Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday

Touring an Aircraft Carrier and A Submarine

2011-10-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

My brother and sis-in-law came for a visit from MI a couple of weeks ago. Being that my brother is an ex-Navy man, all he wanted to do was go to Charleston and go aboard the USS Yorktown. It was the best thing we could have done for him. He was like a kid in a candy shop! lol

Hubby is ex-Army, so my brother was showing him every inch of the ship....literally! It took us half the day to get through part of it. lol

Here it is in all it's glory! The USS Yorktown We were getting ready to cross the bridge to board. WARNING: There are a lot of pictures!

It's hard to believe so many planes take off and land on a carrier.

Even harder to realize how are military sleep in all kinds of conditions. They release the chains to lower their "beds" for the night.

The hospital had cots that were more "plush". lol

The armory.

Look at the size of those bullets.

I've never climbed so many narrow stairways in my life!

The many planes on one of the decks.

This is the catapault that propells the planes off the ship at over 100 miles per hour.

This is the hook that catches the plane to slow it down and stop it on the upper deck when it comes in for a landing.

Hubby sitting on a Gunner.

It was a perfect day, weather wise, and the scenery was beautiful!
We ate lunch on board in the officer's lounge. Not the big brass, though.

Another steep staircase. I told you I was climbing them of day. lol

I thought we were leaving the pier and the next thing I knew the guys were taking aboard this submarine......it's a whole different ballgame from the carrier!!

Can you see my apprehension????

Officer's dining quarters on the Sub.

Servicemen's dining quarters. Very small!

If you thought the sleeping quarters were bad on the carrier....look at this! The men slept with the torpedos on the same wall. Officer's sleeping quarters coming up...

Talk about tight quarters....Yikes!

The bathroom facilities were barely better than an airplane and those poor sailors they lived on the sub for months at a time.

This officer has been on many tours aboard this very Sub.

Again, I am reminded of all our great military personnel that are serving in different ways to keep us safe! You have and deserve our admiration and deepest thanks!!

Well we're heading off the bridge after a full day in the life of a sailor.

If you still with me, thanks for hanging in there! I appreciate each of your visits.

Till next time!

Lt. Colonel Oliver North and A Wedding

2011-09-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a full week already! Time goes so fast, doesn't it?
Hubby and I went to a banquet last night to support a Free Medical Center in our area.
It always has GREAT food, cute decorations and VERY interesting speakers.

Taylors Medical Center provides FREE medical care to those without insurance and gives emotional & spiritual help as well.
Notice their logo. The T is a cross, Y is a stethoscope and the R had an Rx on it.

The table had a lantern, which is so popular now, tied with a burlap bow. They used brown and gold napkins and leaves sprinkled on the table. Our speaker was Lt. Colonel Oliver North. It was a honor to meet and speak with him. He is a highly decorated veteran with a Silver Star, Bronze Star for Valor and two (2) Purple Hearts for wounds in combat.

We enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken, potatoes and veggies. An assortment of desserts followed.

We enjoyed a wonderful speech by the Colonel. He talked about his life, family, & his relationship with Jesus Christ. He then showed us footage of many brave soliders that are fighting in combat to keep us free here on the homeland.

As he said, we live in one of the few countries where we go to the tap and have clean drinking water, flip a switch and have instant light, travel from state to state if we choose, have the privilege to vote, women can drive (did you know there are countries where they can't), have amazing grocery stores with all kinds of fresh foods in them and the list goes on & on.

We are so blessed to live in America!

It was a great night! On a lighter note:

We had an outdoor wedding to go to this week. It was a little unusual, as you will see.

It was in a very wooded setting for one.....

See the groomsmen are walking from a path in the woods to the altar.......

One of which is the groom's dog! lol He wore the same tie as the others!

The bride coming down from the house.

The groom seeing her for the first time. They did their pics after for that very reason. His look is priceless!

I tried to get a close up of the goomsmen's boutonniere. It has two cotton plants along with the flower. We are, after all, in the deep south where it grows.

The dog was so disinterested by now. lol

That's what's been happening here. How's your week been going? Would love to hear about it!

Fall Family Room

2011-09-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing the Fall decorations in our family room today. It's hard to get good pics because of the light streaming in the windows.

We love the big pumpkins we got a few years ago from a drug store in the small town of Boone, NC. ( Some of you may remember that story.)

The grandkids love the big ottoman to roll around on or watch their TV shows.

I changed one thing on the mantle after I took some of these pics. Can you spot it?

Hobby Lobby had the monogramed pumpkins at 50% off a week or so ago. I grabbed one real quick!

The pics below were taken before I switched the clock for the pumpkin!

I've had my decorations up for a couple of weeks, it's just been hard finding the time to post. I know you all know what that's like. lol

The gallery wall on the right and walkway.

Sofa table with pumpkins and leaves.

I'm linking to Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow us Wednesday!

I hope you're having a great week!

Pumpkin Tree

2011-09-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

After seeing this in a Florist shop, I took an old small Christmas tree and turned it into a pumpkin tree. Ceekay was visiting from AZ and we were shopping and saw this idea! We left there and bought the ribbon, picks, etc. to make our own. We both already had trees. The shop priced theirs at $300, if you can believe it. That wasn't happening! lol I had the ribbon already and found picks for half off so my cost was under $18.oo. Huge difference!!
I put mine up in the hallway before entering our bedroom.

You can use almost anything for a topper. I chose cattails for the Fall look.

You can add Fall flowers, picks, lights, pumpkins, etc. (I used white lights instead of orange so it would be ready to switch out the picks to Christmas ones.

Daytime shot. Added a brown cloth skirt and pumpkins at the base. Super easy!

Let me know if any of you make one. Would love to see your pictures!

I'm joining Kristen @ Share Your Creations Party #4 and Liz @Savvy Seasons by Liz for Autumn Arrives Party!

Fall Table

2011-09-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

I was in the mood to make broccolli soup the other night, as the temperatures took quite a drop!
I got out the pumpkin dishes and large pumpkin cookie jar that I now use as a soup tureen. lol
Oops, just notice one of the light bulbs is out! You didn't notice, did you????

These dishes are from Walmart (Better Homes & Gardens). They are so cute and are dishwasher and micro. safe.

Black chargers, napkins and place mats really accentuate the pumpkin color.

The large pumpkin doubles as a centerpiece!

The pumpkin name card holders are from Pier One.

The salt & pepper shakers are from Steinmart. (Sorry the pic is blurry) The little acorns on the table runner are from Michael's.

I hope your week is off to a great start! Thanks for stopping by! Till next time!

I'm joining Marty @A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday & Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday!

Fall Decorating

2011-09-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

I hope you're all enjoying a little cooler weather! We have dropped about 10 degrees this week.
Still hot but more bearable. My brother and sis-in-law were here for a week so now I'm getting back into the groove around here.
Hubby offered to help me get some decorations out and we started with the outside.

Here are some pics of the front yard with his huge mound of impatiens. He plants everything with Miracle grow and mushroom compost.

Got the covers out for the rockers.

Unpacked tons of pumpkins!

Made a little pumpkin patch.

Speaking of which..... lol

These flowers have exploded and are growing up the front tree. lol They are requiring soooo much water each day, it's not funny!

Hung a pumpkin head on the tree. I painted it many years ago. He's such a happy fellow with that huge smile. lol Some have said he looks like Buddy Hackett. Anyone remember that actor??

Hope you're having a fun week so far. Thanks for stopping! Till next time!

Convention in Washington, DC

2011-09-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

Hope you all are having a wonderful week!
Our recent trip to DC was for a Shaklee Convention. Shaklee is the largest supplier of natural vitamins in the U.S. We have used their products for over 30 yrs. The U.S. Olympic teams use their products as well as the Space Shuttle program.

It was held here at the beautiful and HUGE Gaylord National Convention Center.
Around six thousand members attended.

They have amazing cleaning products. Oprah has featured them two or three times on her show. The Basic H is one of her "Favorite Things".

The White House uses the products as well.

The convention center is located on the Potomac River. Beautiful location.

We had some interesting speakers in those 4 days. One of which was Captain Mark Kelly that had just brought down the Endeavor Space Shuttle on it's last voyage. He showed a film of himself and his crew in outerspace. It showed him taking his Shaklee vitamins. So funny to see all their antics in outerspace!

He is also the husband of Congresswoman Gabby Gifford who was shot in the head in AZ last Jan. He told us she is making progress on her long road to recovery.

It was an honor to meet and visit with him.

The next day we heard from Aron Ralston. The name may not be as familiar but I'm sure his story is!
In 2003 he was hiking alone in a remote part of Utah and climbed into a crevice and a boulder rolled in on top of his right arm. He was pinned there with no cell phone for 5 days. He did, however, have a video camera and small knife. He recorded himself each day telling his feelings to his parents.

He had tried earlier cutting through his arm with a small knife but could not get through the bone. On day 5 it dawned on him to break the bones in his arm (yes 3 of them) and then he proceeded to cut his arm off........ At that point the girl next to my hubby fainted dead away. Yep, he had to hold her up in her seat so she wouldn't hit the floor.

Aron ceased his speech and the EMS were called.

Aron did get to finish after a 30 to 40 minute break. Long story short he hiked 8 miles back to his truck.

Having a mechanical engineering background, he helped design his new arm with a "claw" like hand. This a real pic of him trapped, taken with his camcorder.

He's sitting here on the edge of the stage with Roger Barnett, the owner of Shaklee, waiting for the EMS to transport the girl who fainted.

Hubby with Aron. Good time for photo- ops!

The last night was a gala dinner. In the nation's capital it was a patriotic theme, of course.

Check out the violinists.

This is the owner and his family. Roger and Sloan Barnett with their three children. They are the sweetest people.
Extremely interesting family to research.

Sloan is an attorney, consumer advocate, journalist, author, and the green contributor to the NBC's Today Show.

We are Directors in Shaklee and part of the trip was awarded to us! That was a wonderful perk and we were so glad to have the opportunity to go.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a wonderful week!

The Pioneer Woman

2011-08-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ree Drummond's new Cooking Show started Sat. on the Food Network. Did any of you see it? I think it will be a huge success for her and I wish her well.

How many of you have ever heard of or keep up with The Pioneer Woman's blog? ( http://thepioneerwoman.com/) She has giveaways that are incredible, and I mean incredible! WARNING--this post is a bit lengthy and has more pics than normal. Grab a cup of coffee. lol

She has been blogging three years and is such a hoot as she writes about her life on a cattle ranch. She's the daughter of an orthopedic surgeon who was on her way to law school when she met the "cowboy", better known as Marlboro Man and her life changed forever. She found herself out in the middle of a western ranch with cattle and hundreds of wild mustang horses that they care for. Four children later she decided to write a cookbook with recipes she has developed and feed to her family, friends, and ranch hands. They are tried and true.

I can attest to how wonderful they are! I have her cookbook.

The rest of this post is a revisit from 12 '09.

On Sunday a friend e-mailed and asked if we wanted to go to Atlanta to her book signing at Borders. I saw the e-mail after church and right before I went to a funeral in the afternoon. I called her in the car and said, "Wow, I'd love to meet her but this is such short notice!" (The book signing was Monday evening.) I told her I would have to think about it. After the funeral it was back to church for the Children's Christmas program. We came home and didn't talk much more about it. I was having company on Tues. evening for 7 people and had many things to do.

Monday a.m., Hubby and I went through the house, did some laundry, & banking and sat down to eat some lunch at 2:00. We both looked at each other and said let's leave and meet Debbie, my friend) in Atlanta. I got on Priceline at 3:00 and secured a great room for a great price (I always bid my own price) and we took off. ( Hubby was grabbing a few things and throwing them in the car while I was on the computer .)

Here is Ree Drummond's new cookbook. It's made the New York's best seller list.

Ree is a fantastic photographer and all the pictures in the book are taken by her. She loves to go step by step doing her recipes and documents them with pictures. Very easy to follow that way.

This page tells of her life and the silhouette is of her cowboy husband.

The next few pics are of the crowd gathering hours before the signing.

Here's my friend Debbie who got our wrist bands ahead of time for us so we would have a spot in line. Thanks Debbie!

Hubby and I with Debbie and the crowd.

Ree just came in and was thanking everyone for coming and making her book a success. She' s holding the mike.
Her blog has won several blogging awards in 2007, 2008, & 2009. In 2009 it was awarded top prize as Web Log of the Year.

She travels with different people. Sometimes her kids and hubby and other times friends or family members.

This is Ree and I while she was signing my book. She is friendly, and very personable and will not leave until the last customer has their book signed. They were estimating that she would be there till midnight on Monday. She started at 6:00. We actually talked to her for a few minutes, while my hubby was kidding about staying at their "Lodge". (They have a guest house built on their ranch for family and friends). You must go to her site and see the pics.

Debbie and Ree.

She had her sister and a good friend with her that night. Their job was giving out T-shirts. They thought my husband was hoot, which he is. They were calling him night in shinning armour because he ran down the escalator to catch a lady that left her camera behind.

Ree's friend starting taking our picture with Ree's sophisticated Nikon. It's a dream camera.

We were tired from our two hour drive and standing in line for two hours so we went for a bite to eat at Houston's in Buckhead.

Remember I said Hubby got a few items together while I was making priceline reservations-- wellllllllll, he forgot a few things----like pj's. I know what some of you are thinking--but I rest better with them. We ran to Target at 10: p.m. Have you been to a two story target before?

Actually, I have once before in Los Angeles. They're BIG!

We passed the Lennox Mall which is always a nice shopping experience.

We checked into the Grand Hyatt and crashed. If you haven't booked through priceline, I would recommend it. We get 4 Star Hotels that run up to $400.00 a night for 65 to 70 dollars a night. Unbelievable I know.

Some night shots of the city.

The hotel is just beautiful.

The breakfast bar was fantastic.

This is Hubby's plate, notice all the meat. lol

We sat next to doors leading outside where they had a waterfall to look at.

On the way to check out I snapped some of their chandeliers.

A lounge to relax in.

Time to drive home and for a pic of the outside.

I know some of you live in large cities and have lots of traffic and traffic lanes. We don't so I thought I'd snap a pic of the six lanes of traffic leaving Atlanta in the rain, no less.

On our next trip to Atlanta, I'd like to go to Ballards. Have any of you been there? I read about it on some of the blogs.

Thanks for hanging in their till the end.

She posted about her Atlanta book signing here and our getting to meet her. http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2010/01/memories_of_atlanta/

Hope you've had a great weekend!

Georgetown Cupcakes

2011-08-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

On our recent trip to Washington we made a stop in Georgetown. Our daughter insisted we make this stop for her. She wanted something special and we had to bring it back for her....can you guess what???
She has seen the show DC Cupcakes and wanted to try these delicious little morsels of goodness. lol

Isn't their delivery van cute?

I shot this pic through the window when they weren't open.

We were first in line and went in for our selections.

It's not a very big space but they are always crowded because of their demand!

When the workers saw my camera, they automactically started to pose. They were all so cute and sweet. No pun intended.

We came home with a dozen of these little beauties!

There is always a line down the block. No matter what time you go. lol We arrived at 9:10. ( They don't open till 10.)........ All because we love you Sarah!

Georgetown is just an adorable town. The shops, the flowers...all so cute! Look at these row houses.

We left there to meet fellow blogger Jennifer from Trading Ashes for Beauty. We had such a great time visiting with her. Her husband came later to eat with us at Cracker Barrel.
I took her a DC Cupcake. She took this pic with her camera. ( I borrowed it Jennifer...hope you don't mind)

We had to have a picture together before we started the long trip home. She is the sweetest person.

Thanks for stopping by!

Nation's Capital

2011-08-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

I've been missing in action lately. This summer has been so busy!
We just got back from Washington, D.C. We had a convention to attend. I may post about that on another post. Met some very interesting speakers.

We did get in a little site seeing while we were there. We've been to D.C. many, many times and have seen a lot of the wonderful historic sites. I used to do two shows there each year when I was painting.
I thought I'd share a few pics with you.

I love going to the historical sites and walking where our forefathers have walked. This is one city rich in the history of our great country.

We had never been to the Washington National Cathedral before and it was on our list this time.

AMAZING piece of architecture. Sooooo huge!

I took this pic for those of you who do needle work. A local group of ladies stitched this kneeling cushions.

Lots of stained glass.

It took 70 some years to be completed. Funding was a factor.

We drove by Arlington.

The Naval Observatory

The access to the White House is more difficult than it used to be. That is such a shame, since it's the people's house. It is understandable though.

Years ago we took a tour of the White House. I don't know if they still allow those or not.

We took this shot from quite a distance in a moving car. Not so good!

I'll be posting more of the trip soon!

Hope you're having a good week!

America's Tea Plantation

2011-08-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

When we were in Charleston at the end of May we visited America's ONLY tea plantation. I had no idea that there was only ONE. It seems most of the tea we drink is grown in other countries and marketed by name brand companies. Bigelow partners with Charleston Tea. This is the founder of the one in Charleston, SC

I have to say it was very interesting and educational. I had no idea that the plants look like shrubbery. There were rows and rows of them.

We were told that other countries grow their tea on hillsides for better drainage.

Charleston is flat and they had to make their own drainage system to protect the plants.

This is the machine that cuts the tea leaves. It's the only one of it's kind in the world. The other countries cannot use it on the hillside slopes. It is very tall and is actually riding above the shrubs of tea leaves. It takes only a couple of inches off and they repeat the process every 3 weeks. This way they are always getting new and fresh growth.

We just happened to be there on a cutting day. Lucky for us!

This shows the height of the machine. It rides between the narrow rows of shrubs.

See the leaves in the basket on the back of the machine.

We toured the processing plant next.

There are quite a few steps before we get the final product.

They had many different flavors and we were able to sample some of them, and of course I had to bring some home.

On many of the plantations in Charleston there is water and where there is water there is alligators.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour of the Charleston Tea Plantation and that you have a wonderful week!

Anniversary Trip

2011-08-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hubby was power washing the driveway a few wks. ago and called me outside to see his work of art. He has always been a romantic. Over our 41 years together he has surprised me with many of his art work "masterpieces". (smile)

Another of his "pieces". Done in the winter, as you can see.

He wanted to wisk me away for a few days for our anniversary, so we headed to Hilton Head Island. We stayed here at the Crown Plaza.

The Hotel had a fruit bowl waiting for us in the room.

It was nice to relax and do only what we felt like doing. The scenery is always beautiful!

For our anniversary dinner the restaurant served us this delicious dessert! It was so nice of them to take the time to personalize it, don't you think?

While on the Island we ate at Crazy Crab for lunch. Notice the very old fishing boat in the background. They were just coming in with a load of crabs.

Late in the evening when we got back to our room the Manager had a message waiting for us.
We called back and they brought us these little goodies .

They offered us champagne but we told him we didn't drink... so he sent up a variety of beverages.

Wonderful ending to a great day!

Are you all having a busy summer? I can't believe how the time is flying and it's already August!
I'll be by to visit you soon! Thanks for stopping by. I love hearing from each of you!

Kitchen Metamorphosis

2011-07-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

It's been such a busy summer with 3 wks. of company, taking an anniversary trip and projects at home. One of which was to update the kitchen with granite counter tops.
This is the picture taken before the redo. Very functional but with counter tops that marked or stained easily. We've been in our house 9 yrs. and still love the white cabinets, so we knew they would be staying. We also kept all the backsplash of white ceramic tile.

All the drawers were removed and the mess began. lol

These guys were quick and efficient!

Before we knew it the old counters were out and the new ones brought in!

We chose a black sink by Blanco made of granite. They are heavier than normal and it had to be reinforced underneath. The color is all the way through and it is much more durable than porcelain or stainless. We just love it!

Without the table under the hanging lamp, hubby put a towel on it to remind people not to run into it.

We chose to go with a black island for contrast. We extended it by 4 inches and widened it by 6.

It all came together in two days and we're back in business! lol

We had the pass-through done as well.

A closeup of the counter.

Curtains

Table

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Thanks for taking the time! I appreciate all of you!

I'm linking to the following parties:

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Fun Filled Summer

2011-07-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I had a full house! Not with cards , but with people. With just the two of us at home now, it is usually quiet around here. lol And last week it was anything but.!

Our daughter and family were here from SoCal. It was so much fun having them stay with us. It has been two years since they were here.

We have one daughter in the area and she hadn't seen here sister in a year. It was the longest they have ever been apart in their lives. At 37 and 34 they are still very, very close.

Thought I'd share a few pics from the fun week!

The girls all decked out for the 4th. The two older girls live in CA and the two yr. old lives in SC. Jonas got stuffed in with the girls this time. Hubby had them outside and he took this pic in the garage. Hence, the dirty walls. lol

My two sweet, beautiful girls.

Me with my girls.

Papa playing with the grands!

Grammy taking a turn at it.

Seems like we were always eating!

Kids just hanging out!

Even the big ones were having a good time!

All the fun is tiring!

Ready for church on Sunday.

The 4th celebration! I told you we were always eating. lol

Ending the day with fireworks downtown was a highlight for everyone!

Celebrating the big 5 for Jonas! Does anyone play Angry Birds on the phone or computer???

Jonas does! That was the theme he wanted for his party.

He even had an Angry Bird T-shirt on!

Mom made an angry bird cake for him.

We used the timer on the camera to take this pic right before we took them to the airport!

It was a wonderful, busy, crazy week and we loved ever minute of it! So sorry it had to end!

How has your summer been so far?

Pasta Veggie Salad

2011-07-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

I've had this recipe for a few years and kinda forgot about it. With company in town last week, I pulled it out of the files and decided to make it.

It is so yummy and makes quite a bit if you use a whole box of pasta or you can use half a box if desired.

I boiled tri-colored pasta according to directions on box.
Add chopped carrots and tomatoes........

Add chopeed broccoli.....

Add cucumbers.....

Mix with Ken's Three Cheese Italian Dressing and refrigerate.

It's healthy, delicious, colorful and can be eaten alone or as a side dish with dinner or a sandwich.

At time of serving you may want to add more dressing. Enjoy!

I'm joining Michael @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday and Nicole @http://www.momtrends.com/2011/07/tips-for-the-perfect-burger/

Thanks for stopping by!

Shrub and Flower Sculptures

2011-07-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago hubby and I went to Greenwood , SC for the Festival of Flowers. I have wanted to go for the last three years but couldn't seem to get there.

Even with the hustle and bustle of expecting company we squeezed it in.

I had heard it was amazing and I wasn't disappointed.

The first pic is of the elephant with a news reporter getting ready to film from that site.

Hubby said something funny and she was cracking up. This is her baby and if you look close enough you can see water squirting from the trunk.

The horse was so pretty!

I'm standing next to a sheep, in case you couldn't tell...lol

Check out this life size giraffe and baby. It is truly amazing to see these made from shrubs, flowers and grasses!

King Kong!

This car was adorable! Check out the wheels, bumpers, and headlights.

They all have drip lines running into them to keep them fresh for the month of June.

Hubby by the butterfly.

The next two were not in the town of Greenwood but look at what some talented person did!

We just saw the new Cars 2 movie with all the grands this week, so I thought I'd add these cuties!

If you ever get a chance to see a show like this you won't be sorry! Thanks for stopping!

I'm joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!

INDEPENDENCE DAY

2011-07-03T04:36:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

HAVE A FUN AND SAFE DAY WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Summertime

2011-06-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! Time sure flies, doesn't it?
The summer is always more busy than other times of the year. So much outside work to be done, gardens to tend, vacations to take, company to house, etc. It's been a busy time and hard to get it all in.
We needed to go see my mother in FL after Ceekay left, so we stopped in Charleston, SC on the way down.
Our friends had a timeshare that they couldn't use at the last minute and offered it to us. WHO COULD REFUSE THAT! LOL So off we went to stay at The Lodge Alley Inn.

We stopped at Bubba Gump's for lunch...... Went to the waterfront for a stroll....

Flowers were everywhere....

No shortage of beautiful homes.....

Or scenery....

Historic cobble stone streets.....

Old brick walls.....

Beautiful brides in alley ways getting portraits done...

And, of course, the famous Market Place for shopping.

Charleston is known for their many gates. The gate designs are also used on buildings or windows, as shown below.

We didn't want to leave Charleston without doing a dinner cruise this time around. It was a gorgeous evening for a trip around the harbour.

Since we came home we've done some projects around the house that I will share soon.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer and good weather!

Memorial Day Tablescape

2011-05-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

I found these star salad plates at HG and knew they would make a great tablescape for Memorial Day, Flag Day and 4th of July.

The silverware is from Ross.

The bowls were found at Ross and HG. The foil centerpiece is from the Party Supply Store.

I added my hubby's military picture at the head of his place setting.

Some sparkle at the other place settings.

The napkin and napkin rings are from HG.

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

Thanks for stopping. I hope you enjoy a fun safe holiday weekend!

Armed Forces Day

2011-05-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Today is Armed Forces Day and we got out our decorations for the front of the house. Memorial Day is right around the corner, too.

We pray often for those men and women who are serving in our Armed Forces to keep us safe and give aid to us in times of disaster.! We thank each and every one of them for putting their lives on the line for us each day!We both come from a long line of military men in our family! We give thanks to our uncles, brothers and of course, my hubby for their service to our great country!

I love America and am so grateful to be an American! Sounds like Lee Greenwood's song. lol But it is so true!

The flowers are exploding around here!

So what are you up to this weekend?

Recipes

2011-05-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Some of you have asked me for the recipe to a meal I served a month of so ago to friends!

This is the chicken dish on the left and garlic potatoes on the right!

The chicken dish is almost gourmet in taste. It has three different meats in it. So Yummy!...And so easy!

Party Chicken

8 chicken breasts (boneless)
1 can of mushroom soup
8 slices of uncooked bacon
1/2 pt. Sour cream
1 jar dried beef

Grease and 9x12 pan. Cover bottom with dried beef. Wrap chicken breasts with bacon. (you may need two slices per breast if they are large) Arrange on beef. Mix soup and sour cream. Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered at 275 for 3 hours.

Garlic Potatoes:

Wash and slice potatoes in 9x 13 pan
Shake on garlic salt to taste. (I use quite a bit)
Salt and pepper (I use kosher salt and grind the black pepper)
Cut up pats of butter and lay on top.

Cover with foil and bake 1 hr. at 450 or until tender. (I do a couple of layers of all the ngredients)

You can remove foil the last 10 min. or so if you would like a little crunch to them.

For dessert I served a Strawberry Rubarb pie.

Fresh Strawberries. 1 QT cut up.

Fresh Rubarb. I use a small amount so it won't be too tart.

Tapioca 3 TLBS

3/4 cup of Sugar

Mix all together in large bowl.

I shake in some cinnamon.

You will need two crusts.

After the top crust is on be sure to make some slits in the top to vent.

Make a little design if desired.

I always shake a little sugar and cinnamon on top.

Use a crust shield if you have one or small pieces of foil around the edges.

Bake at 400 for an hour or until golden brown.

Enjoy with family and friends!

I'm joining Michael Lee @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to those that asked for the recipe! I love hearing from all of you!

Entertainment Center

2011-05-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

I recently packed up the bunnies and rearranged things in the great room. This is the entertainment center.

I found these two books at HG the other day and brought them home with me. They are much larger than the average book size and I knew they would look good on top of this cabinet.

I also picked up this vase. Sorry for the blurred pic. I've had the plate for a few yrs. and it has made the round in a few different rooms. You all know what I mean. lol

I recently added the cross on the left while visiting the Billy Graham Library.

I'm joining Marty for Table Top Tuesday @A Stroll Thru Life and
Kristin @ http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/ for Tuesday Treasures

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a great week thus far!

Hail Storm

2011-05-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

I hope you're all having a good weekend! It's been beautiful here since Tuesday...that is!

Tuesday night, Hubby and I were in the kitchen getting ready to eat dinner and heard some unusual sound hitting the house. I said, " What is that! Hubby said, "Oh, it's raining." I said to myself that is not rain and ran to the window and what to my eyes appeared?????? HAIL!

One car was in the garage and the other sitting outside. Yes, it got some dings in it.

It was accumulating fast! This is a flower bed in the front of the house that was getting pounded on. We found a dead Robin laying here when it was all over. I guess it encountered a piece of hail, poor thing.

Backyard pics.

The hail was the size of golf balls.

It broke flowers and knocked a lot of leaves off the trees but did not break anything else.

Hubby went out and scooped up a couple of pieces and took these pictures. Look how jagged they are.

I know some of you have been in the paths of really strong storms lately. We've been praying for you.

I'm joining Susan @A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping and stay safe!

Tablescape Thursday & Foodie Friday

2011-05-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Tuesday before Easter Ceekay arrived and I had dinner waiting for her. I did a simple tablescape with an Easter centerpiece.

Black plates on black chargers with green salad plates.

The bunny plate was a gift from my Mom many years ago.

A simple rose napkin ring from J.C. Penny.

I made these eggs a few years back from Styrofoam eggs covered in moss.

I had Cranberry /Orange Chicken. It is a simple delicious recipe. Very moist!

Step #1

Step #2 Bake and enjoy! Recipe below.

Cranberry/Orange Chicken

Layer in a 13 x 9 pan:

8 chicken breasts (defrosted)

1 can of Mandarian oranges (drained)

1 can whole cranberry sauce

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 bottle Russian dressing (8oz) (the one that looks like thousand island dressing)

Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.... check for doneness

You can uncover for part of the time if it needs to brown a little.

Serve over rice. I use long grain wild rice.
I'm linking to Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday and Michael @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Mountains

2011-05-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

While Ceekay was here we visited many places and along with that..... comes eating at many different places. lol Here we are eating at what once was the stables at the Biltmore Estate. Yes, the horses were really kept here. I hope all has been washed down and sanitized. You can see at the end of the booth is the container that they kept water in and to the right behind the black bars they kept the feed for the horses.

They have turned it into a very quaint restaurant with excellent food.

We should have taken this pic before we dug in. lol

We had chocolate bread pudding with coffee ice cream. Sooooooo good! I've had a lot of bread puddings but not made with chocolate. I gained a few pounds while she was visiting. lol

We celebrated Easter while she was here, along with our daughter and grandchildren.

Sarah's husband could not join us. He is a policeman and was on duty---serving and protecting!

Sarah made some delicious cake pops for us! They are so moist!

The day after Easter we left for the mountains. Ceekay had not been to Boone & Blowing Rock, NC. They have beautiful little towns.

Ceekay is standing on a friend of mine's deck overlooking the mountains and valley below.

On the ride down to the oldest operating store in the country we passed this gentlemen out for an afternoon drive. A man and his dog. He told us life, IS GOOD! Beautiful horses!

Some of the scenery on the drive. Cute little log houses.

The Mast General Store is a very old country store with a wide variety of things for sale.

I can only imagine how many people have sat by the old pot bellied stove, played checkers and shopped in this quaint store.

They have the original display cases, the old post office and this old coke machine that works like a charm.

It reminds me of an old store from my past in Oak Hill, WV.

Hubby's helping himself to a coke.

Are you still with me? Sorry, I know this was long. I 'll share more another time.

I hope you're having a great week! Thanks for taking the time to visit. I love hearing from you!

2011-05-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Wishing all you mothers a very Happy Mother's Day! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Ceekay's visit to Biltmore

2011-05-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

From the moment Ceekay arrived and ate dinner, it was a non-stop whirlwind of fun and excitement!
She left to go to Florida yesterday and I will miss her.
We feasted on a chicken dish that was so moist and flavorful. I'll try to share that in the future. (So easy to do!) I knew she would be tired of flying across the country all day, so we opted to eat in and let her acclimate.

The next day we relaxed in the morning and went shopping in the afternoon. On Thursday we left and went to Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore Estate!

It was the only request that Ceekay had for her stay here. We were glad to make it happen for her.

Biltmore is the largest privately owned home in America. It truly is amazing to see and tour.

Hubby and I have been there several times but it's always so interesting to see again.

In the last three yrs. they have opened several more rooms for viewing.

Caution: I have many pics...you may what a glass of ice tea for the journey. lol

Hubby walked way out on the grounds for this shot.

This is a view when you are in the house..looking out the front.

It's sits on 35,000 acres. It's a beautiful piece of land with great scenic views.

The architecture is amazing!

The gardens breathtaking!

It was on to the Vineyards in the late afternoon! When we saw this sign, it was hard not to think of Lucy and Ethel in the grape stomping scene. lol

We went for a tour to see the wine making process.

We went through this dark, cool, stone tunnel.

Storage of the wine.

The Vanderbilts were way ahead of their time in many arenas and lacked for nothing in the way of luxuries.

This is one of the cars on the estate that Mrs. Vanderbilt drove.

Check our this sign and the outfit that follows.

Right down to the bug netting on the hat.

Their are several private homes on the property that family members live. None reside in the house anymore. There is a farm, that supplies the restaurants on the property, the vineyards, and a village with shops. So much to see and do.

They also have beautiful horses and some cows roaming nearby.

I hope you weren't too bored. I'll be sharing more of the things we did this past week in future posts.

I've missed popping in on all of you and will look forward to visiting you this week.

Thanks for stopping in! Have a great week!

A Long Time Friendship

2011-04-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! This is Ceekay guest blogging here at A Hint of Home. Ro and I thought that you might get a kick out of hearing about our friendship.

Ro and I grew up attending the same church in Warren, Michigan. I tease her now and tell her we were not friends then because we were in different classes. She and Tom were married in 1970 and my hubby and I were married in 1973.

Ro and Tom have always been into hospitality and so they invited us, a newly wed couple to their home after church one evening. Ro had such a darling little home and I wanted to start fixing up our apartment. We just hit it off and our friendship began. Ro was pregnant with her first child. When their daughter was little, a few times my husband and I would watch Andrea. We would pretend she was our little girl!

We have so many fun memories. One that we always still laugh at is one day Tom wanted to put up a swing set for the girls. "Come over and we will put the set together in an hour or so, and then we will grill and play games." Well hours later they were still working on the swing set, we put the headlights on the car to see with!!

Several years later Tom and Ro moved to South Carolina. My husband and I moved to Wisconsin. We didn't see each other for years. But we would call each other! Oh, there was no free long distance then. I would save change so I could give it to my husband to help pay the phone bills. He would say, "write a letter!". That isn't the same thing!!

Oh, we have had such wonderful times together. Now that the kids are grown we can travel a little bit more and have enjoyed seeing so many things together. Here are just a few of those pictures.

This is visiting the Hunley exhibit. I had just finished chemo.

Boone plantation 2007.

Paula Deen's restaurant.

Verde Canyon Railroad 2009.

This is this week at the Biltmore Estate

and at Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, NC. We are enjoying our time together so much! We just can't get everything in we want to do!

There is nothing like the memories girlfriends can share over a lifetime!!

2011-04-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

HE IS RISENI hope you all are enjoying this Lord's Day celebrating the resurrection of Christ with family and friends.

We are heading to church and then having family over for dinner with my closest friend Ceekay,

who is visiting from AZ.

I 'm taking a little blog break this week while she and I enjoy our special time together.

Wishing you all a Blessed Easter!

Blind Trust

2011-04-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

My hubby took a bench, that we did not want any more, over to my daughter's house the other day! Our 4 yr. old grandson loves any time he can spend with his Papa. So out the door he came to see him.
Papa saw a caterpillar on the porch and told Jonas to pick it up and that it wouldn't hurt him. Then funny Papa said, "Put it on your nose, Jonas." ( Never believing that he would.) When Jonas put his little hand up to his nose his mother ran for the camera and starting snapping. lol
The caterpillar immediately crawled from his hand to his nose and kept moving! Jonas never wavered! He was going to see how far it would crawl, I guess. lol

He was enjoying every minute of it.

I hope this made you smile today!

Loving hearing from you!

Metamorphosis of Front Yard

2011-04-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

The pansies had started to wane and had seen better days. We have terribly hard red clay here in the south which makes it hard for plants to do their best. Hubby decided to take up the old mulch and some red clay and put better soil down for the Spring and summer plants.

I mean a truck load. This is just the beginning of it.

This is the new soil and a few plants that were added.

The new mulch was delivered last Tues. It really does help keep moisture to the plants when it's in the 90's or 100's here.

Things just have to grow now! The hard work, thanks to DH is done.

This is between our garage doors.

This is the finished job . Now we wait for them to grow. I'll keep you posted!

Spring Tablescape

2011-04-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

We were traveling back from Atlanta a couple of wks. ago and stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. I saw these cute sunflower plates and brought a few home with me.

I already had the white and green plates. The white one are Jaclyn Smith from K-Mart and the green ones came from Old Time Pottery. These little whimsical sunflowers just added to the theme. They look so happy, don't they?

I picked up a few of these fingertip towels at Kohl's, to use as napkins. They were on sale and with a coupon to boot, I couldn't pass them up! The napkin rings came from Pier One.

The Beehive candle is an adorable gift from my friend Ceekay!

Sunflowers, Gerber daisies, and Honey Bees all scream warm weather is here! lol

A beehive honey jar and a little bee tea diffuser , I've had a long time.

Ceekay and her hubby sent these wonderful teas in a sweet "hatbox" to me for Christmas.

Click to enlarge any pic.

I'm linking up to Susan for Tablescape Thursday. Please stop over to her amazing blog and see many other tablescapes.

Thanks for looking at my Spring time table! I appreciate each one of your comments.

Hope you're having a good week!

Spring Cleaning a Planting

2011-04-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is what's been happening around our house. It's planting time! We are have this awful red clay to contend with here in the south. It makes it hard for plants to grow in it. Hubby got tired of this and decided to dig areas of it up and replace with good soil. ( At lease where new plants were going to be plabnted.) What a mess!

Good soil is down and ready to plant the annuals. Finally some color after the long winter.

I'll be sure to show you after pics when it's all done.

This is our laundry room. It's a separate room, no passing through it to get to the garage. No one ever sees it except hubby and me. But......I knew what was lurking in there...hiding under those two machines. lol I couldn't stand it any longer....

I can't believe I'm going to show you this. You may want to close your eyes. Here's goes! Isn't it gross???

I got hubby to pull both machines out so I could clean under them. Now that is much better, don't you think!

On to the next project I needed help with. We have 15 foot ceilings in our master bathroom, and one wall has an open shelf. Even with the six ft. ladder it's hard for me at 5' 1" to reach and clean all the items up there.

Look how dusty this arrangement is!

It looks like hubby is doing all the work and I just take pictures. lol Not really though. I'm cleaning all the items he hands me and then I give them back to him.

All clean and back together. Much better!

We've gone through six room from top to bottom so far and making head way outside, too! Whew, I'm tired just writing it. Many more rooms to go but not sure when I'll get to them because Ceekay from Thinkin' of Home is coming next week and I have to save some strength cuz.. we want to have time to party!! lol

What's happening at your house?

Pancake Breakfast

2011-04-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a wonderful pancake recipe that we were served at a B&B in NC a few years ago. I'll explain more on that a little later in the post. Anyway, I thought I'd do a little "Islandscape" and join Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday. I'm seeing spots, are you?

Just a fun little breakfast for the two of us!

We usually sit at the island for breakfast and look out this window for the entertainment that our little birdies give us. The other day we saw, for the first time, Goldfinches at our finch feeder. (click to enlarge) There were six at one time but by the time I got the camera a few had flown away.

Sometimes we see these big guys and they scare away the little ones. lol Don't miss the Bluejay on the fence to the right. I didn't think I would enjoy watching the birds as much as I do but I really am hooked now.

Back to the breakfast......I thought I would share the recipe for the Multigrain Pancakes for those who might be interested. (It's at the end of post) These are the dry ingredients needed. You need corn meal, white flour, whole wheat flour, oats, baking powder and soda.

I store them in an air-tight container. You can then measure out a cup as needed. You will get many servings from this container.

Mix well.

The liquid ingredients plus brown sugar. Measurements are below.

Mix well.

Add dry ingredients and mix.

I recommend using this maple syrup combo on the pancakes. You won't be sorry! You need Maple syrup, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest. Any other flavored syrup works as well. Heat till warm.

What's pancakes without warm, crisp bacon. Yum!I put nuts in the batter this morning because hubby loves them. You can add fruit, such as blueberries or stawberries if desired. They are wonderful just plain!

They will be more golden because of the whole wheat and brown sugar.

This recipe is from the Baird House Bed and Breakfast. Dee Dee is the owner and cook. She was asked by so many guests for her many wonderful recipes that she finally published a cookbook. Yeah for us!

I have used many of them and they are always a hit!

I'm joing Michael Lee @Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. Be sure to visit both of the blogs mentioned today but lots of inspiration. They both have lovely blogs!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and say hello. I appreciated each visit!

Heart of the Home Party

2011-04-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sheila @ Note Songs is hosting the Heart of the Home Party. She has such a delightful blog! Be sure to pop over and take a look and see other blogger's post on their kitchens.

Sheila wanted us to post our cupboards or our "drawers". The kitchen ones, of course!

This is a pic with everything closed up tight! lol

I've been blessed with lots of cupboards but I won't bore you with all the junk..I mean stuff in them.

Ok, here goes! This has our everyday plates, bowls, salad plates, glasses and in the lower left corner dishes for our grand kids, etc.

Notice the little glass cylinder on the glass shelf. I'll explain that in a minute. Oh, and there is the poison control number taped on the door, which is right next to the house phone.I keep all the kiddies cups & plates, including holiday plates there.

That little cylinder is for measuring any object's size before you let an infant or toddler play with it. It could save a life! Better to be safe than sorry, right?

Here's the cupboard I keep all my spices, coffee for the keurig, tea, etc.

I'll show you one of my "drawers", that's all though for now. This is for the kiddies when they come over. All kind of things to occupy them! lol

I hope this passed Sheila! lol

Thanks for stopping by and I always love hearing from you!

2011-04-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

All the pretty blooms are going to an end and the trees are turning green now.

Pansies are looking great and will for a little while longer.This Bradford pear is slowly turning green.

We had friends that were down from MI, escaping the winter months. They were staying in NC about an hour from us. A friend had arranged for them to stay in a home that no one has lived in but with the slow economy wasn't selling. We drove up to take a peek and spend the day with them.

Here's the kitchen. Now, remember no one has really lived in it so it has not been decorated.

It has wonderful potential for the right buyers.

Someone loaned them some furniture for the 3 months they stayed in it, but other rooms were bare.

It has 8 fireplaces! Yes, five inside and three outside. Front staircase that leads up and one down to the basement. There are front and back staircases. One off the kitchen that goes up and one down for the basement.

It has a deck on all three levels.

This one is off the main level.

You can see a little of the upper level and the fireplace there.

It's on a lake and golf course. In this community they have a Gary Player and Tiger Wood golf course. They lend their name and helped design them.

Another house across the lake.

Well, we are on our way out the gate now. The nice guard had to clear us to get in.

This community is way up the mountain and we were headed back when I saw these two guys on horse back. I told hubby I had never seen someone go for pizza on horseback before.

He turned around so I could get a pic and these guys were happy to oblige. lol

Ao we went back to the little diner/gas station and got some pizza ourselves. It was yum-o!

While we were sitting there eating facing the back of the store I saw a bunch of Emus running around, along with chickens.

I had to go out and get a pic.! lol It was dusk by the time I went out and they had gone to their shelter and would not move. They were down for the night! lol What's been happening around your house?

Bunnies are Multiplying

2011-03-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

I got out my bunnies this week and did a vignette on my mantle. These are two bunnies that I painted years ago. I thought the pattern was so cute and was anxious to try my hand at them.

The two big guys are from Home Goods. I loved their outfits and colors.

She all dressed up in her sweet dress holding her dolly. He's in his best suit toting his bucket of carrots and holding his Peter Rabbit book.

A few large ceramic eggs.

These are little wooden eggs I painted. They're the size of an actual egg.

One of the carved wooden bunnies on the hearth.

Spring wreath on the hearth made with flowers and eggs. I told you they were multiplying!

I'm joining Kim @Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays and Cindy @My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday. Please pop over to see many beautiful blogs participating.

Recap of This Past Week

2011-03-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

We had to head out for Atlanta on Wed. for an appt. at Emory University Hosp. Before we left I spotted this Cardinal at the fountain in the front of the house. He's just enjoying the beautiful day! Yes, he, because the males are always prettier. Only in the animal kingdom though. lol

He looked right at me in the window, as if he were posing for me.

On our way out, Hubby and I went to the subdivision across the main street from us to have a look at the damage the fire caused on Tues. What a horrible site it was. These are condos. Of course, they are connected by twos. In our sub, we are in separate homes.

The condos across the street from the fire were affected by the intense heat. (Notice their siding is buckled.)

There were two homes that were destroyed.

Many others had damage but survived. The condos behind this unit were melted on the outside, as well. Thankfully no one was injured and the Red Cross immediately stepped in to house these families and provided them with all they needed till they settle with their insurances. I pray they all had policies. Our heart broke for them and goes out to them.

Now were on to Emory. We arrived at our hotel which had gorgeous flowers everywhere. Their trees were turning green and pollen was HEAVY!

After viewing those homes, I felt almost guilty staying in this beautiful hotel.

I have to tell you though, that we always use Priceline and get 3 or 4 star hotels for unbelievable prices. I always bid my own price! If you haven't used them you should give them a try.

Their breakfast bar was incredible. Always a treat!

After the appt. at Emory we decided to head over to see Chick-fil-A headquarters. They are a fast food chain that have the most wonderful chicken sadwiches and fries. Do you have them near you?

Look at the name of the street that you turn into their headquarters. Cute huh? I thought these azaleas were unique curved into these speader bushes.

We had not made reservations and didn't get to take the tour that day because they were all booked. As we left the complex we saw this sign across the street.

Arrived back home and had company for dinner on Fri. Chicken wrapped with bacon on dried beef and covered with sour cream & cream of mushroom soup. Heavenly! Garlic potatoes to go with them.

Well, it was a busy week and another one has started already. Where does time go?

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Breakfast for Two

2011-03-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like whole milk right from the dairy farm. We buy our milk from a local farmer and everyone raves about it. It has a catchy name too. lol Hubby will drink no other milk now that he has tasted this kind. lol

Our eggs come from another local farm and what a difference in size, color, and taste than those from the grocery store. I know....we are blessed to have the choice of someone locally that distributes them. Our daughter picks up the eggs for me every other Wed. So fresh! Thanks Sarah!When the hens are laying (and sometimes they don't produce many) they are so much larger than the ones in the stores.

I haven't used my Rooster dishes in awhile, so I thought I would set a breakfast table for hubby and me.

My new Roo in the middle came from HomeGoods. Love that store! He was only $7.99.

My dishes came from there as well. I love the warm colors.

Cute little rooster plate for jam or "jelly".

Nothing like warm biscuits or bread. Can't forget that butter either. lol

I'm joining Susan @Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday. Be sure stop by her gorgeous blog and see other tables for inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by today. Loving hearing from each one of you!