A Story About Cotton Sheets

First of all, yeah, yeah, I know, another "first of all" but I think you'll like this one.

I have had so many bloggers email me and ask about my photos. Now, I am NOT going to give my sources; you'll have to figure out your own sources. But I will tell you that I'm in the process of loading a lot of them to a website for you to view. I have well over 14,000 of them so far. I only post about 15 on each blog post. I truly want to share with you and you can grab any you want. I don't care one bit. I am truly, truly excited to share with you but it will take me a long time. So I'm dedicating the time in putting them somewhere that you can view them without all my talking; although, many of you like the stories as much as the photos. I'll let you know when I have a good amount uploaded to the site. I can do that a lot faster than a blog post. But trust me, it's going to take a while to do them. Just keep reading and I'll tell you when.


Oh, and another thing. I just had surgery on my left hand last week and am having to curtail my keyboarding for a bit till it heals, but I'm scheduled out for several weeks so not to worry.
*

I love cotton sheets. My daughter even bought some 600-count cotton sheets for one of her guest rooms for when we visit her. They are worth the money. I will only buy cotton for my bed. My feet especially can tell the difference. They are the best and, therein, lies a story.

I told this to a "thrifty" friend of mine about 12 years ago. Thrifty meaning cheap. ;-) Loved that woman but she was cheap. She would always, and I mean always, buy the cheapest brand, something I wasn't used to. I mean it's not my deciding factor with a lot of things, especially sheets. She had purchased 50%  cotton/50% polyester sheets all her life.

Anyway, she heeded my advice and finally got some 100% cotton sheets. She put them on her bed and when it came time to wash them, she did. She called me and said, "How do I get the wrinkles out?" Well, for me, wrinkles weren't a problem. I said she could iron them or just put them on the bed. I could tell over the telephone she was disgusted, having never thought of wrinkling. I just take mine out of the dryer, fold them as carefully as possible and put them in the linen closet. (And, yes, I used to iron them, but gave that up about 10 years ago.) I think she threw them in the garbage! I would have bought them from her. What a waste. But I love the cottony feel of them on my body and, yes, I can tell the difference in the 100% and the 50/50. To me, it's a no brainer! She moved away right after we moved to this town. I doubt she's ever forgiven me.
*

This was one of my favorite rooms during the 90s. I don't know why as I'm not a person partial to brown or beige but the yellow walls just entranced me. Plus the black of the coffee table was beautiful. Just a very elegant room.

I've stated before how I love this kind of shower, one that doesn't need a door or a curtain. I love the whole design of this bathroom.

This is a house owned by Sister Parrish, one of the foremost designers of the last century. (For those of you younger people, that's the 1900s, not the 2000s!) I loved her casualness of an elegant room. Absolutely divine! She gave me so many ideas my head just swam.

Even back in the 1970s, 80s and 90s people wanted an elegant/rustic getaway.

When I saw this photo in a magazine I wanted immediately to have a spot in a room like this.

Plus, even back then, women wanted an elegant outdoor room to entertain.

It was even back then I recognized the beauty of leather pieces in a room.

Pink was "in" by several innovative women. I could see the future of that color back then.

This was one my one all-time favorite rooms also. I loved the pink, red and yellow together. It would be years before I caught the "vision" though. ;-)

Here again, the vivid reds and yellows brought into a room by the innovative use of a collection of magazines. All in all, a lovely, festive and cutesy room.

Coming upon the Christmas season, I thought I'd show you just a few photos from a Christmas room in the 90s.

How about that lighthouse? Is that cute or what?!

Lucky is the person who can have a room dedicated to the colors of the holiday season all year round. Same room as above.

I've always adored this tiny cottage kitchen area.

With this photo I caught the "animal skin" craze. I started making pillows with leopard print fabrics. Remember that? Sigh...

 *

Keep calm and glitter, glow or sparkle! ;-)

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
~*~
Linking up with WOW. 

Ramblings 10/27/2012

Ramblings today.

Finger-tight has a whole new meaning when you're married to Love Bunny. Now, he is the strongest man I know. He and my oldest grandson have no idea of their strength. They just don't have a clue. When being hugged by our oldest grandson, who is 28, it actually hurts. He always apologizes, but at 6'4" his hugs get my upper back just under the arm pits and it hurts so bad I always have to tell him to back off. Hubs doesn't do that to me, but if he grips my ankle to apply lotion to my feet or puts my socks on my feet (I know; I'm spoiled!) I have to tell him to stop. He just doesn't realize how strong he is.

Recently I had him help me with some curtains on a rod that slips into some brackets that have a tiny screw to tighten it. I had to reposition it later in the day and couldn't get it to unscrew! I called him in to do it for me. Same with lids on jars and bottles. Always too tight! Today I was refilling the salt and pepper shakers in the kitchen and dining room. After filling, I turned to him to put the tops back on and pulled my hand with the salt shaker back and told him, "Nooooo, I'll never be able to get it off again if you do it." You have no idea how many times I have to go outside or to another room to find him to get a lid off of something he's put back into the refrigerator. While it's frustrating, I never have to worry about someone attacking me because he'd have broken limbs before I could even shout for hubs to help me!
*

Have you ever had someone you know come to "just drop off" something? I actually hate that. They usually won't come in and there are times I'd love to chat with that person. It's always when they're on their way to something with kids. I think that's becoming the norm in the world. I have only one or two friends who'll come over to just sit and chat. It's much needed in society today. So when you have a chance, visit with that person; don't just "drop off" something.
*

Do you miss the old-fashioned dust mops? I do. I have a Dyson vacuum cleaner, a Swiffer for dry floors and a Swiffer for mopping floors. I told Love Bunny about this recently—missing the old dust mops—and he said to go buy one. Well, we did. Now, they aren't the triangular ones with yarn for dusting, but the long oval one I bought does a nice job of getting the dust bunnies from under cabinets, something my Dyson can't do due to its height. I love dust mops. Makes me feel like I'm a real woman! LOL
*

Do you remember when ice cream used to come in little squares or rectangles wrapped in cardboard? Hubs brought this up recently and I had forgotten. We have so many memories that kids today will never know or have the sweet memories or experiences we had as kids. I feel sorry for them, actually.
*

Have you ever seen such a pretty colorful patio?

More beautiful bowls, thermoses, cups and vintage, rustic scales.

Bowls filled with spools of lace, a candle in a champagne class, lace and a rose in a milk bottle. Darling!

Pretty table centerpiece of roses.

Love this lamp shade!

A pretty entry way.

This just reminded me of an old house we used to live in. This is quite cute though.

Lovely garden shed.

Just some pink and red eye candy I found adorable.

A cute place to sit in a back yard. Look at the "pool"! I may try to duplicate something like this next year in a shady corner of our back yard. I love this.

Now, this could be a place for sleepovers for a teen or it could be 3 sisters in a room of their own, but it certainly has a lot of pizzazz.

A play area for a little munchkin.

I should think this is somewhere in another country from the looks of the stove.

A peaceful bedroom.

No, you'll probably never have a home like this but it's fun to look inside something this beautiful. I think this hallway is about the size of my entire house! ;-)

~*~

An Ivory Soap Story

That bar of Ivory soap in the third photo brought back a memory to me.

When I gave birth to my son, I was extremely ill, not expected to live actually. But after 9 days in the hospital bed hooked up to IVs and given about 21 shots a day, I started feeling better. I think on the 9th day I was able to see my new baby. I was also allowed to take a shower even though I was extremely weak.

Since I had come to the hospital after 3 attempts at labor and being sent home, they kept me the 3rd time. There were 9 doctors in that examining room looking at every single part of my body, even my fingernails. I was in serious trouble. My kidneys weren't functioning properly and I was dying. I rallied after about 9 days and the doctor even bought me a Coke. It was so good to be able to drink something. My new baby and I went home on the 11th day. Hubs had taken care of our 11 1/2 month old daughter and had her potty trained and broken from the bottle. He's a miracle worker. And yes, she was potty trained at 11 1/2 months old.

Finally, I was able to get out of bed and look in the mirror. Ghastly! Then, the thing I needed most was a shower. Coming in as an emergency, I had no personal items with me when I got in the shower so I washed my hair with the soap they had in the hospital—Ivory. Have you ever washed your hair with a bar of Ivory soap? Trust me, it doesn't work well. My hair felt like it was coated with something. The first thing I asked hubs when he came in to visit was, "Bring me some shampoo." It was horrid and when I washed it later the next day it felt wonderful to have clean hair. Every time I see that soap I think of that incident in giving birth to my son. I still love the smell of that soap and don't even know what kind of packaging it has now, but I never used Ivory after that. :-)
*

Another beautiful rustic village entry way somewhere in Europe.

We're heading into this season so I thought I'd show you what cottages look like with snow-covered roofs, stone fences and grounds. I don't think they get much snow in Great Britain.

Remember when Ivory soap looked like this?

Always beautiful roses for you.

A tropical veranda overlooking the ocean.

Laundry hung and drying on the line.

A quaint European kitchen. I like the all-white cabinets and the splashes of pink and blue. Looks like a cake!

I cannot tell you how many times I've tried duplicating this ribbon rose. Many!! I'm not giving up though, just have to find more ribbon.

Real candy for "eye candy" today!

A beautiful white lingerie laundry bag.

Prettily wrapped packages awaiting transfer to the recipient.

I like this sign. It's darling for a kitchen.

The purple rug drew my attention. My great-granddaughter's room is pink, purple and brown. She's drawn to purple like her mummy. :-)

I know I am. You are also, trust me on this one.

If only my school lunches were like this, I might have eaten them instead of the cafeteria fare. I'd pack a bologna sandwich and to this day, I cannot touch bologna. Plus the beautiful packaging makes them even yummier.

~*~

Linking up with:
At the picket fence.
 

A Story About A Moose

Moving to Idaho from the San Francisco area was certainly culture shock. Don't get me wrong; I love Idaho. Love it here. It was still a culture shock and we had a friend, who worked for a huge bakery, send us "Care Packages" of french and sourdough bread for awhile. Then we started seeing the brands we were familiar with inside the stores. But there were cultural differences we had to overcome.

Idaho is an agriculture state. It's also known for hunters. Now, we're never hunted and have no problem with people who do. We're all in the "food chain" somewhere and some of our friends hunted to feed their families. Personally, I do not like deer, elk or moose meat. It just isn't my thing. I'm not crazy about meat but I do like it and a good steak is my idea of a good meal, especially Applebee's asiago peppercorn steak.

But one day we had to go visit a family we knew from church and I had never been in their house before. It was a manufactured home on some very small acreage. Mom was a nurse and Dad was a middle school counselor and coach and they had 5 boys if I can recall. I felt sorry for the mom with 5 kids and all boys. But she handled it quite well. She got daughters-in-law and granddaughters after the boys married.

But our first foray into their home was a huge culture shock. We entered through the family room door, which was set up very masculine with a huge TV and all chairs and overstuffed sofa arranged in front of it—typical of a sports-loving family. We aren't into sports in any way, shape or form. I do, however, know the difference between a football and a baseball—one is round and the other is oblong.

As we proceeded through the dining area and into the living room—which actually was the hubby's office—I came face-to-face/nose-to-nose with a moose head that stuck at least five feet out into the room. I started quite visibly when I almost ran into it. Upon looking around I saw all the walls were covered with dead animal heads. As I said, hunting doesn't bother me. But coming face to face with so many animals was stifling in that small area. It was definitely a man's house! I think the mom was used to it and didn't care about the decorating too much. There was absolutely nothing feminine about that house at all. Boggled my mind. I think I was traumatized for a couple of hours but I got over it and declared I'd never hunt if the occasion every arose. It didn't! Thank heaven.

As I've said, we moved from that small town of 5,000 people to a medium-sized town of about 90,000 people. Let me hear it for big towns!! We never looked back. ;-)
*

Another cute cottage in Carmel.

A beautiful entrance somewhere in Greece or the Mediterranean.

An attractive but unusual bedroom.

Oooooh my stars!!! I loved this color combination when I first saw it. Gorgeous.

A tub of beautiful posies.

You'd never have to worry about cleaning the shower walls, just sand blast them. :-) Big enough for two and no shower door is my perfect shower.

A cute little step stool.

And cute curtains also.

Pretty door. I have decals on all my doors also. Love this style.

Lovely table setting using blue and pink together.

This little craft room is sort of incongruous with the deer head in it, but cute nevertheless.

A beautiful southern-style home I thought you'd appreciate seeing.

Cute picnic area on someone's porch.

A magnificent kitchen with white shabby chic cabinets!

Pretty roses pillows and chenille on an old wicker chair.

~*~
Linking up with SSS WOW
NMH Open House Party.