My life is to make everything around me beautiful.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

More Memories Of San Diego

Just in case you've missed my Pinterest page, you might want to go there and see over 8,100 photos posted there, just click here. And also, I'm only posting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from now on unless something extraordinary comes up. I'm leaving weekends free.
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Our granddaughter, her hubby and their 2 girls have been here for eleven days and we have loved having them here. Do I even need to say how tired this ol' lady is having 2 great-granddaughters in the house? One is 3 1/2 months old, one is almost 3 years old. Caroline is a pistol and keeps us hopping.

She also loves perfume!

When she saw the perfume she had to smell every single bottle. Her favorite is Cabriole, which is close to her name so we call it Caroline. She runs around with bottles in her hands most of the time. Hubs was afraid it would spill but I've tightened the caps and tried to retrieve them when she was loosing interest in them and put them back.

Then the other day I caught her in there. She had moved the chair in our bedroom over to my dresser and got up. A few days later, we went in there and she wanted to see the perfumes—on a wicker tray—and I told her she'd seen them enough. Well, that little chick got the little pink ladder I had sitting in my bedroom over to the dresser and climbed up it herself. I cannot believe her problem-solving skills! This will serve her well later in life. She's really, really smart, but we all think that of our progeny. Right? This kid is something else though. You tell her something and she does NOT forget. We've had to hide things from her because of that.

Then there was the melt-down at Michaels. She loves craft stores. But she cheated herself out of some craft items by melting down so we had to leave the basket of items behind while we took her home to bed. Then she saw Target and told her mummy to go to Target. We asked her why and she replied, "Just trust me. Go to Target, mummy." We didn't! 

They're leaving tomorrow so we're going out to Jack in the Box tonight for salads or whatever they want. I love those kids!
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We lived in a house on West Mountain View Drive in San Diego during the mid-1960s and loved it there. The family across the street was also a Marine family we knew. I introduced them to baked beans and they introduced me to...well, let me explain.

We were going to have a BBQ one weekend and I said I'd bring the baked beans. This family was Hawaiian so she said they'd bring teriyaki chicken. It was absolutely fantastic and that's how I make it to this day. Chicken marinated for hours in soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Then put it on the grill. That's it. Better than any bottled sauce ever.

She said her kids didn't like baked beans. I made them anyway thinking they can at least try them if they want. They did and loved them. I had to give her my recipe for baked beans then.

Then one day while my kids were playing with hers I sat and talked with her in the kitchen while she was making something for their dinner. As she prepared it, she gave me a piece to eat. It was fishy tuna fish with some vegetables and rice wrapped in seaweed. I gagged. Luckily, I had a napkin to wipe my face and surreptitiously wiped my mouth and discarded the food into the napkin. I thought it was horrible but I'd never say that to someone. I then excused myself to go home and throw it out. Quite embarrassing actually. I love fish but this was very fishy-tasting tuna. I can't stand it if it has a strong fish taste. That's why I'm not eager to taste something from someone's kitchen anymore. I just say no, thanks, I'm not hungry and let it go at that.

This couple had 4 kids and she became pregnant with her 5th. When I asked her what she was naming it, she said, "Zelda, because it's our last one." I thought she was kidding; she wasn't. ;-) Lovely family.
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Love this little living room. Just cozy enough for me.


One of the most darling wreaths I've ever seen created! Oh my.


One of my ideal patios to have.


Who makes these gorgeous cookies? Stunning bows, roses and flowers.


Sigh...


These can't be real cupcakes. How did they make the pearl centers?!


I'd consider this one of my favorite kitchen tables.


A darling handbag.


Frilly pink gloves.


Gypsy, BoHo or Magnolia Pearl? Beautiful!


Another adorable kitchen...for people who like to cook. Not me!


I've done a similar thing to my entry into the family room, but I'm thinking of doing it to the living room into the dining area now. It just needs something more.


Another gorgeous living room I love.


Just too cute for words.


I thought you'd like to see this picture frame. Isn't it cute and unique?
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It would take a jumbo jet about 120 million years to fly across the Milky Way galaxy.
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Linking up with NMH Open House Party.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Helping Other People

I read today in the news that a person was arrested for shoveling a neighbor's driveway snow. I'm going to have to limit Love Bunny's doing this for some of our neighbors with his snow blower. I don't want him to get arrested! For heaven's sake, what is happening that we can't do service for our neighbors?

A couple of weeks ago a widow in our ward was without water for 3 days before she let anyone know. One of the men from the ward went over to see if he could help, but he couldn't see anything wrong with her water heater, so several other men went over and tried to help for a couple of days. So far the only thing they could think of was her pipes. One of the men went under her house and put on a device that warms up the pipe where he thought it was frozen. So then hubs took over some water in our Igloos so she'd have some water to drink and wash up. Then the next day she called hubs telling him her yard was flooding with water. (She's out of city limits and has a well.) Now, we have had a great deal of snow and temperatures have been below zero at night and only in the teens during the day. A pipe underground broke and hubs was going over to dig it up and fix it. Now, hubs is almost 72 and in greater shape than most 40 year old males. But shoveling for almost 6 hours in temperatures in the single digits can definitely be hazardous. Finally it came down to they had to call in a professional to fix her problem. These men were trying to save this elderly widow a great deal of money but in the end it was just not going to work. But in our church Service is a big deal. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."  We'll never stop helping people if they need it. I'm so lacking in that department but I try my best to do what I can.

He's such a funny man also. He changed his clothes to go over a few days later to take more water to her. I said, "Can't you just take water over in your knock-around-the-house clothes?" Then I remembered she loves cats. I asked, "How many cats does she have now—15?" He quipped, "Oh, that's probably just the porch cats." Sometimes he's a riot!
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Isn't this a gorgeous room? I certainly love it. That chair by the ottoman is something I may be looking into also. ;-) Ethan Allen, here I come.


Absolutely darling tiny vintage kitchen. I'm betting it's somewhere in England though.


The pink striped pillows and crochet lace coverlet are divine. How pretty!


I absolutely, positively loooove this color!!!!


I make the best cake with pineapple and coconut. I call it my piƱa colada cake and it's a rave among my friends. Very moist and delicious.


This looks like a place in Boise we viewed when walking the streets of a neighborhood a few years ago.


See how cute you can make your lamps with some handmade folded roses. Lots of pizzazz!


Reminds me of Virginia when hubby and I were first married.


You can't begin to imagine how I should love having this kind of patio. Unfortunately, we live in the dusty desert with lots of open farmer's fields around. Just not feasible for us.


A cute idea for a hubby to make. Looks easy and can store a lot of tapes if you're a crafter.


I also think this is a beautiful room but I think I'd get sick of the trees in the house after awhile.


My great-granddaughter, Caroline, thinks sprinkles are a food group!


Another gorgeous room I love.


Cute idea for crayons. I put mine in a box. I think I'll bring them out and put them in pots according to their hues.


A gorgeous patio, pool on the ocean. I thought you'd like this one!
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Tidbits:
A study published in an issue of Journal of Urology estimated that 600,000 men in the United States are impotent from injuries to their crotches, about 40% of them from bicycling.
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Friday, March 8, 2013

It's Near That Time Of Year Again

It's near summer and already I'm getting the heebie/jeebies. You who have read me for any length of time know what that means: camping season! I hate it!

Now, last year when we brought the camp trailer over from the storage place and it had gotten ruined by mildew from the rain somehow getting under the tarp or the weather had deteriorated the tarp, it was just about a total loss. Okay, okay, so I was jumping up and down with impish glee and, perhaps, wishing hubs would just trash it or sell it as-is just to be able to get rid of it. But nooooo, he decided to order a new canvas covering to the tune of $800.00 and fix the wood inside the metal shell, picking the rotted wood out small piece by small piece. Does this man never run out of energy?! Sigh. Then came the painting part. He still needs new decals but we'll forgo them for a while I suppose. He's a-hankering to get 'er out in th' wilds of Idaho. Pffffft!

Well, I may take a 2-night trip with him, but the older I get the harder it is to sleep on those 3" foam mattresses with my hips. I know some of you understand. And also, some of you think I'm nuts. Why would I want to leave the comfort of my air-conditioned home with my computer, thick foam queen-size bed, refrigerator, TOILET to go to a camp site with 90° weather, skunks, bears, no phone, have our food in soggy water because the ice only lasts two days and he usually drags me along on a 3 or 4 day trip, sit on a folding chair, not be able to read past 8 pm because it gets dark early in the mountains? If this appeals to you, you need serious psycho-counseling.

Last summer our daughter and her hubby bought an RV. They said we could use it if we wanted or come down to California and go with them to the coast or lake. I could have popped her for encouraging her father even more. Plus she's decorated it all in Hello Kitty! Need. I. Say. More? Hmmmm? I knew you'd understand.
 
With that being said, below are some cute caravans for your perusal. If I could have one in my back yard and never go anywhere in it, that would be fine with me. We could "play" camping and come into the house when I get tired of it.

Why did God invent camping trailers? Actually, I think this is one of satan's tricks to make wives miserable. Yeah, that's it.
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Another gorgeous porch in red and white stripes.


An efficiency apartment or loft done extremely well and beautiful.


A beautiful porch overlooking a beautiful ocean.


The next few photos are trailers or caravans depending on where you live. Actually, I prefer caravans because it sounds a bit more elegant than trailers.

Isn't this adorable in red?


This looks like something out of the 50s and so adorable.


The owner of this caravan is a gal after my own heart. She's bold with color and accessories. Who would have thought antlers in a froufrou setting? Love it! Perhaps her hubs needed something signifying a man lives there too. ;-) Hubs would understand this.


Another red one with aqua walls.


One of my favorite ones with all the different fabrics in it.


Can't you just see this in a shabby home? Darling.


Fields of hydrangeas.


This is a home in Russia with an indoor pool and waterfall.


The colors may blind you but it's certainly cute.


I'm not fond of the smell of lavender but it's still gorgeous growing in fields or around a home garden. We have huge lavender fields just down the road a bit from us. All the seniors want their photos taken in it for their senior year photo.


Is this glam and glitz to the extreme or what?!


Another gorgeous porch for you to see.
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Tidbit:
Studies show that your favorite foods are likely foods your mother ate when you were in her womb.
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

A Book I Read

If you've read my blog for awhile you know that I am not a chick flick-type chick. I love action movies and books. After all, I'm married to a retired Marine and my son is a former Marine and relatives are Marines also. My brother-in-law is a professor at the War College in Pennsylvania.

I read a book several months ago and started laughing immediately. Now, this wouldn't be remarkable except this wasn't a book of humor; it was a murder mystery. Let me tell you about it.

These 2 guys—cops— are looking for a certain bad guy. The main character, one of the cops, in the book—let's call him Bill—goes into an old barn where some bikers have their Harleys and asks for a certain guy. Of course, none of the bikers will give their buddy away since this is obviously a cop looking for one of the bikers. They act tough, talk tough, threaten Bill, and then they hear a noise.

Somewhere outside the door someone is humming the Ghostbusters theme. The bikers seemed a bit confused at that. Then the door bursts open and in walks this guy looking like a ghostbuster with a flame thrower. (I'm laughing so hard just typing this I can hardly type.) He points the flamethrower at a wall of lockers inside the barn and incinerates the whole wall. The bikers try to look and sound tough and then the ghostbuster turns his flamethrower outside the door where their Harleys are and incinerates one of the Harleys. They give up their friend faster than slick on snot. (Forgive me, but I love when the bad guys whimper!) Then all but the one wanted biker get on their Harleys and get out of there faster than a 747 jet airliner. Bill and the flame throwing ghostbuster—a cop also— look at each other and Bill said: "Was it something we said?"

I laughed so hard I barely made it to the bathroom. I loved that book! :-)
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This dining set is adorable. Love the way she has enchanting pillows on the chairs.


Who could resist such a lovely florist?


A darling home with roses-covered picket fence.


This could be a place on a side street of Carmel.


My absolutely favorite food—donuts!


Sparkly covered boxes.


Another darling cottage with pond.


Simple eye candy.


Love these rose wreaths.


Not sure what it is but it's cute.


A place to dream and dream about.


Beautiful decorated bottles.


I know it's not usually snowing this time of year, but isn't this scene gorgeous?


A secret place.


I'd take this chair in a heartbeat!
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Tidbits:
Hot dogs take more than 20 years to break down in landfills.
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Linking with NMH