I Go to the Soft Places of My Heart

First of all, I have a tutorial on my sidebar on how to do a screenshot if you are interested. Just look to the right and it's down just below my blogging tutorial. Lately, while helping several people with the new blogger interface I really needed to see what they were seeing on their computers. It just wasn't going to work any other way. They didn't even know what I meant by screenshot so I helped them. Doing that made me think about others who don't know this wonderful tool. So take a look if you have any interest in knowing about it and how to do it on both Macs and PCs.
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I am also going to tell you in a few days what I am going to do about the New Blogger Interface. I think it might be of some interest to some of you so stay tuned.
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Whenever I need soothing or contemplative time, I go to those places in my heart that are soft. I have a soft heart but I also have a few hard areas. I try to let the soft be the dominant place but that isn't always the case. Life happens. People can be cruel and unthinking. I certainly am guilty of that. An evil presence can seep in at times. I try to ignore it but it isn't always possible. I'm working on it however. A book will always calm my soul, no matter if it's a thriller, spy, espionage or humorous. Reading always gets me out of myself. Perusing photos or magazines (which I buy less and less now because of prices) can really affect my sereneness.

Then a lunch out with a young friend can sooth the hard edges away. We're thirty plus years apart on the outside but we're the same age on the inside. That will never change with me. I have more experience but I'll always be 25 years old in my heart and head. Girl talk always excites me to no end. I prefer one-on-one with friends. More than that and it gets too complicated and frenetic or frenzied. We sit and chat for two hours while eating and just have a relaxing time. We call it "Girl Time."

Blogging is another way of soothing my soul and touching my soft places. I can spend hours in this romantic office putting pictures and words to paper. Okay, in this case, typing words to computer and uploading pictures, but it's the same outcome: it soothes me.

So, where do you go when you need soothing? I'd truly love to know. Could it be somewhere that looks like the cottage below? This beautiful place would definitely do it for me.

While beautiful, this is not a style I'm fond of. I don't care for stylistic art, which this painted wall is. I like the reality of a flower, not stylized.

I saw these recently on Sears' website and am thinking of buying them. But first I'll ask myself the question: Do I really need them and are they worth the money and can I live without them and not be sad? It depends on the day what my answer will be however. Maybe...and maybe not. But these are the kind of porch/lawn chairs we sat on with my grandma.

I have a fence gate like this but I doubt I can bring myself to dismantle it to achieve this look somewhere in my house or garden.

While I love the look of these french bistro chairs. and in this particular chair, the paint color also, they are absolutely not comfortable to sit in for any length of time.

Cute way to organize some things.

A place many of us would like to go to soothe the soft places in our hearts.

What a unique way of decorating your walls.

While I love the setting, if I did this in my backyard, the neighbors would run screaming from theirs it would be so traumatic for them. ;-)

The cane back chair is what drew me to this photo. Pinkaliscious!

Hubs just about a half hour ago informed me he's making me waffles for breakfast tomorrow. Sweet man!!

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Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you run out to save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

This message was brought to you from a personal experience one day when our son was in his 20s, came home and just happened to sit and listen to us talk about the old days. He sat there fascinated for hours listening. He loved it and told us he'd never heard the stories before. POP! Wow, all of a sudden we weren't so boring anymore. He's now 49, been married for 25 years and doesn't find us boring at all now. Funny how that happened. {Wink}

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Photos courtesy of tumblr and pinterest

New Blogger Interface

After my fiasco with the new blogger interface on Saturday, I’ve decided to use the HTML part of the blogger interface. Now, just enjoy the eye candy because I’m not through with my template and am not going to go through the whole mess about the new interface until I solve a specific problem. But there is a way to get the old interface back for the time being. It’s in the photo at the very end of this post. At the moment I’m trying to help several bloggers and I just can’t help many at the moment. I’m extremely busy trying to solve my own template. ☺

Why couldn’t we have had this cutie?

French Bread and "I Wants"

First of all, let me say that about 2 hours after I finally composed that post/rant yesterday and stressed out majorly, I looked under my "Options", which is that little thing up in the right hand corner that looks like a wheel and the drop down menu had an option for "Old Blogger Interface." I just about cried, let me tell ya. I was so happy. I hope it stays because I love it. Even that post yesterday looks differently from all the other posts, mostly because of color that is available on one and not the other. A better selection is on the old blogger interface. What can I say other than I was stressed out big time! And now I can add embarrassed to my rant. Sigh...
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And I'm also having a giveaway on the 29th so if you're interested, you'll need to be a follower to win. I just think it's fair to give my followers first shot at something. And trust me, you do NOT want to miss what I giveaway if you're a froufrou, shabby chic, romantic kind of chick.
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I want a new whatever (insert choice here).
I want new furniture/whatever for some of the rooms in my house.
I want a designer patio.
I want a Lexus/Cadillac/SUV/Maserati (insert your favorite one here).
I want MY way.
I want my kids to be popular/good (insert choice here).
I want my kid to be a championship "whatever".
I want a prestigious house.
I want to win the lottery so I have everything I want.
I want a gourmet kitchen.
I want a cottage up in the mountains or seashore.
I want a bigger, newer computer.
I want designer dresses and suits.
I want to be thin and sexy.
I want to be rich.
I want to go to France or England or Italy.
I want a pair of Christian Louboutins or Manolo Blahniks.
I want a huge diamond ring or necklace laced with diamonds.
I want a bigger truck.
I want a boat or yacht.
I want a maid.
I want a fancy chandelier.
I want to go on a cruise.
I want a new sofa.
I want new dining room furniture.
I want to be popular and have people love me.

Two kids were talking and the first one asked the second one if he could have anything in the world what would it be. The second kid said a peanut butter sandwich. The first kid said, "What?! A peanut butter sandwich? I'd like a planet and my own rocket ship to go there and conquer other planets." His list went on with several other things wishing he could have. Then the second kid said while holding out his hand, "Yeah, but I have my peanut butter sandwich."

Do you recognize any of the above? I certainly do with 2 or 3 of them, but I'm here to tell you none of this stuff will make you happy. NONE of it!

This is going to sound trite, but there are millions and millions in this world that don't have a toilet, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, a stove, electricity, cars, a mommy or a daddy, toilet, homes (and that's not just the homeless in our country), heat, air-conditioning, washing machine, much less a dryer and sometimes not even a clothesline but hang laundry on walls or laid on stones. Books? Some people have never even heard of them.

Be happy with what you've got and be happy you've got it! I've found that that is the true measure of being happy.
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One of my passions or weaknesses is french bread. I love it slathered in butter and warmed just a tad. Actually, I could eat a whole loaf by myself. It's one of nature's perfect foods...after donuts of course. ;-) My opinion, so don't argue with me about it.

This bath is lovely but I've tried growing vines in my house and it just doesn't work for me.

Love, love, love these chairs. UPDATE!!! I just found them online in RED! Beautiful!

Where do people find such cute things as an antique wash pan with flowers in it? I think it must be a decal.

These little boards are becoming quite popular. I have at least 5 of them in my home.

Beautiful vintage tiles in a bathroom. Looks to be in Europe.
Another great idea for a patio. I think I could do this on my front porch though. I just may ask Love Bunny to do it this spring. We already have the elements to do this so no need to buy anything new.

Beautiful old wallpaper.

Laundry day elegant style!

Nothing can compare with roses for a lovely table setting with gorgeous china.

This is another example of a gypsy caravan. The style is becoming very popular. It's a bit dark for my taste though.

Another bottle style you can decorate and not have to throw away. Start saving bottles and jars, chicks, and making them gorgeous to display around your home.

Just as I've done with this bottle when I finished using the perfume in it. I just didn't have the heart to part with its memories and throw such a beautiful bottle out, so I re-purposed it as a decorated bottle to display on a shelf in my living room.

I found this room interesting.

I'm thinking of doing new covers for my chairs in white canvas or duck. I want white this time instead of the prints I did 5 years ago. I think they'll look more elegant.

Would you just look at this pink thatched cottage?! I think it's adorable.

While the ivy draped all over the roof and sides is gorgeous, that roof will rot faster than a speeding bullet if left unchecked. It absolutely destroys roofs so don't do it! Unless of course you're filthy rich. Then be my guest and go right ahead. ;-)

In Ireland, some of the houses are absolutely built right up to the road. We stayed in a B&B where this was the case. Loved it though.

Ireland has the most gorgeous windows in the world along with lace on just about every one of them. They sparkled no matter if it was raining.

Would you look at that snazzy chandelier?!

I am an amateur photographer, very amateur but I never, ever thought I'd love it so much when I had an old Minolta film camera back in the 80s. I loathed taking photos then because my foot usually appeared in the photo...don't ask. ;-) Now, I absolutely love taking pictures with my Canon Rebel XS and editing them in my iPhoto. And if I could have gotten my Canon in pink or even this color, my heart would have leapt with joy. Sigh...
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A castle may be a man's home but it's the queen that cleans it. I made this sign and put it on our garage/laundry room door. He didn't even notice it! Absolute truth!!

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Photos courtesy of tumblr and pinterest.