Some Beautiful Things I Received Lately That Make My Heart Sing!

Recently I helped a fellow blogger with her computer and an application that was giving her fits on her website. I made a few suggestions and she was thrilled. I was more than happy to help her as I do frequently with a lot of people because I'm somewhat computer savvy - somewhat(!). Anyway, for my help she sent the following items to me and I was astounded. I never do anything with the thought that I'll be rewarded and I am astounded at the things I've gotten for helping others.

These have got to be photos of her gorgeous garden.

The following are postcards she's had done from her paintings. Squeeeeeeal.......how fortunate am I to have received them! I spent last night painting some small humble frames to put these into and will hang them on a wall in my shabby chic family room with gratitude and honor. Thank you so very much, Jo-Anne. I've loved admiring her painting from afar for a couple of years now. They are beautiful and I only wish I could paint like that.

Plus a little tag and a sweet bookmark as I absolutely love reading and spend a part of each day with my nose in a book. Reading gets me out of this world for a snippet of time each day and I sooooo need that.

So like a wall I dedicated to Susan Rios when I repainted the house pink, I'm dedicating this wall beside the window in my family room to Jo-Anne. I framed the postcards and fun-tac'd the rest of the little cards she sent me. It looks kind of bare in this photo but it looks very pretty when seen in its entirety with the rest of the room. Isn't that always the case though? ;-)

Since I had 2 extra cards that were the same I tacked them to my laundry room wall under the shelf after I added some vintage handkerchiefs to the little shelf. I also tied a vintage hankie around an old clay pot (too lazy to paint it today) with some faux greenery (my favorite because I can't kill it!) and put that up there also.

A Tail of Three Kitties...........

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. (Sort of like today's world happenings.) But this is the tale of 3 kitties - Mandy and Ivann's kitties who live in Washington, not France...........

Hugs, Princess and Monkey

Princess is the queen bee around the ol' homestead. She loves the other kitties, but will reprimand them if they get too close, eat too much, or take too long at the water bowl. She lives for bedtime. After sunset, she hangs around on the stairs waiting for the first soul to venture up into her territory - the second floor bedrooms. The first person to go upstairs sends her running up meowing and wiggling her tail. When she gets excited she will roll back and forth on her back, alternately licking each front paw. She is definitely Mandy's cat and will sleep curled up under her Momma's chin. She also cannot stand Ivann - the kitties' dada - and has been known to pee on him when she is upset. :-) She is very petite and apparently her brain is comparably small because she seems to be the dumbest of the three cats, unable to learn anything new. She still cannot figure out how to get through raccoon-proof cat door, even though the two others have adapted completely. It's electronic and activates with an RFID tag on each of the cat collars. The door was a necessity when a raccoon took up residence in the house and could be seen exiting the house every time they pulled into the drive way.

Hugs is the large alpha male and lost his brother, Tugs, in February. He misses his brother terribly but is recovering nicely even though he is outnumbered by the feminine felines now. I think the men reading this can understand. He is usually very docile, but tends to fall asleep in heavily trafficked areas with his large orange belly exposed. He lives for food and will beg as if his life depends on it. He will eat nearly anything you give him, including wasabi, nuts and curried green beans. When Hugs wants love he can be quite demanding and will grab your hand to pull it to his head. He's very loyal and has earned the name "loyal pup" because he comes outside every time the garage door opens to welcome his parents home.

And Monkey. Monkey earned her name because of her freakishly long tail and toes which she stretches out while she sleeps. Actually, her front legs are stretched out and her head lies on the the legs. Princess and Monkey are sisters, but Monkey is much more of a tomboy. She is over confident with her abilities and will often attempt clumsy leaps and jumps that end miserably with her landing in water, knocking over vases, or falling down quite embarrassed. But she only remains embarrassed shortly before she is strutting her stuff around the house again. Since Princess can't stand Ivann, Monkey makes up for it by being completely infatuated with him. She follows him around on the kitchen counters while he cooks and will attempt to jump on his shoulder if he stands in the same place too long. This has caused holes in countless shirts, see clumsy comment above. :-)

Needless to say they go wild and crazy over catnip. They'll even stay in the rain and roll in it. Funny to watch!

Uhhhh, excuse me, I'm trying to be a lounge lizard here. Do you mind?

Oooh, ahhhh, yessssssss, chuckles under the chin, especially when you have treats for me - something like "Friskie Whiskas" or some such name.

Momma, you're ignoring me for that silly monkey!

Yummmmy, yummmmy, whisker treats.

Say what, humans........ You're speaking to ME????

This is the kitties' "Momma" - Mandy, who contributed greatly to this "Tail"!

Mosaic Monday 8/17/09

The new message board in my office that I created.

Went Shopping and Pink Saturday 8/15/09

I went shopping several days ago and found these gorgeous pink froufrou feather/down pillows that go perfectly with my walls, living room sofa and curtains. Squeeeeeeeal. I cannot believe that I first thought I could live without them. I must have had a lapse of memory or something, chicks!

And how about this darling little plate?!! It says: "I never met an indulgence I didn't like." My motto..........okay, ONE of my mottos! I have many, ya know.

~*~

Dinner at a restaurant the other night resulted in a discussion with the waiter about flying and I said I didn't fly anymore and he said he hated it also. He said with all the plane crashes he just didn't like to fly and then asked me why I hated flying now. I simply told him I've never fallen 50,000 ft. out of a Toyota Camry. He understood that perfectly.
~*~

Lessons I've Learned in Life

Do you remember when you were young and your mom or dad told you that you couldn't have another piece of watermelon? And you had to eat it right down to the white part! Do those lessons not stick with you to this very day? Mine did until a few years ago. Then I got to thinkin' about that—which is pretty dangerous if you ask hubs or any friend from my ebay group. But I did—think that is. Why did they say those things? My mom also told me I could only have one candy bar. Why? We went to the dentist regularly so there wasn't much chance of all my teeth falling out from rotting.

So now that I'm in my 7th decade of life I've been thinking on it. (Actually, I've thought about it all those years but just the last 10 or 15 I've seriously wondered what was the matter with having 2 candy bars if I wanted them. Or to just cut a watermelon into quarters and have at it, just eating the heart out of it.

Well, I've been set free, chicks!!! Yeeeesssss, I cut it into quarters and ate a one quarter of the melon but I did eat right down to the white part because I wanted ALL of it. I am also wondering why in the world this was labeled a "seedless" watermelon.

~*~

Excuse me while I find 2 candy bars..........