Rambling again 4/24/2013

Reminding you again of my Pinterest page. I add new images several times a week, images that haven't appeared on here yet. There are now over 8,600 and more to come. I find searching for the images most relaxing, reading a book being my first choice, but I truly love looking for eye candy when I need a break from reading. So go over there and check it out. I know for a certainty you will not be disappointed. Promise!
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Simply a vignette of froufrou items. The file folders on the left are gorgeous. My daughter gave me a set of some gorgeous ones with roses and different flowers and strawberries on them but I haven't used them as I hate to waste them! I really should use them here on my desk. I'll show them to you in the next post. What good will they do me when I'm dead?!

This is a shelf that someone made out of a chair. Probably the bottom wasn't worth saving, but isn't that a cute idea?

I really like this little scene with a comfy reading chair, ottoman, sheep skin, blankets for warmth and a table for my book or drink.

I wonder what the neighbors think when they see this kind of setting. Frankly, I'd love seeing it in my neighbor's yard.

There is no way this is feasible in our dusty area. White? Yes, I'd love it but we get some neighbor's cats on our front porch sometimes and these would be so filthy I couldn't tolerate them. And I don't want to kill the neighbor's cats. Okay, okay, I don't want to hear it from the animal lovers; I'm just kidding, okay?!

I love the colors on this chair. It's a simply plain chair but the covering makes it jazzy. Gorgeous!

I have a friend in our ward who is Swedish descent and her daughter served a mission in Sweden. Whenever I see this kind of photo I think of her: bright white and blue. I have viewed a lot of Swedish or northern European blogs and the light in them is incredible. Probably the best photos I've seen are from those blogs.

This woman and I think a lot alike. I decorated my living room lamps with big faux roses all the way around. I absolutely love them and have gotten many compliments on them. Of course, some women in Idaho—most—don't get it but some do.

Okay, I want this chair but I don't know where it is so I can't steal it. I recently bought 2 French cane back chairs and redid them with chalk paint, feather boas, faux roses and ribbons. The other two chairs I have are solid oak and covered with chair covers I made several years ago. I wanted two chairs to match and two other chairs to match and they do. But I got to thinking about it and wanted another chair decorated also. I thought of looking for one in a thrift store and then remembered I had one that I recently put out on our front porch. It has a chicken wire seat that broke. Hubs made a seat out of plywood I can put on top of it and just make a ruffled seat cover for it like the two French chairs. So I shopped th' house as I've said many times before. I'll post photos when I'm done with it. It's white and shabby-ed up already and has roses decals on it so not much to do except make the seat usable. I'm so thrilled I thought of that.

When Miss Caroline, our great granddaughter was over the middle of March, we took her to see our friend's chicken coop. She was thrilled but her Dada wasn't too thrilled when we got back in his Denali. Somebody had chicken poo on their feet and it wasn't me. We never did find out who had it on their feet. But this chicken coop reminded me of that day. My friend's coop is adorable also, but she's not a shabby chic-type gal like this one is.

Truly, I did not find this photo until after I did a very similar thing with faux hydrangeas. I love mine in an old drawer I painted white in this post here.

I've decorated many birdhouses as I love having them around the house, giving them as gifts or giveaways and love decorating them. I use fabric on them as I'm not a very good painter. But I think this one is adorable.

I think I'll next look for a ladder to decorate like this. Oh, I have one but it's just 5 very narrow rungs and are not wide like this one.

I can't wait until our peonies bloom. I love the smell and lushness of them. I only wish they had a longer growing season.

I'm sure a lot of you would like to live like this, not me. I want as many neighbors around me as I can get. But I have to admit it's a beautiful setting.

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Tidbits:

Nabisco's 46-acre plant in Chicago is the world's largest—1500 people work there.
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Linking up with:
Pink Saturday
 

Questions and Answers

Reminder: As of 7/1/2013 Google Reader will no longer be available for following their blogs. Most of us have looked around at alternatives and my alternative is BlogLovin' to help me keep track of my favorites. You can join on that. While we're disgusted and disappointed in Google's decision, it is their decision and we have to go on from there. So you won't see it after that date. If you want to follow me, just click on the button on the top right side to follow me. That's how I'm following my favorite bloggers. I hope you decide to join in.
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Hubs will sit outside in the summer. I find nothing interesting outside but inside my home is a different story. Fascinating to me. I love sitting in my home. It's comfy to me. Outside? Too dang hot for me in this desert, although, I absolutely love being in this "reclaimed" desert and can't imagine living many other places at all.
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Like most of you bloggers, I receive questions asking about certain items or posts. But how often I receive questions about a specific thing and there is no return address to which I can reply is astounding! I can't believe the stupidity of some people. Now, it's not just that, but when I click on their "Blog name"—if I can find one, which is rare even by googling the name in the email—it might not allow me to look at it to answer their question. There are also a lot of anonymous emails I get. Don't even bother because they never see the light of day around here. I'm on a Mac and I can put up a "rule" to delete them as they come in and a sound plays alerting me that it's anonymous. I could put a captcha (word verification) in to not get those kind of comments from the bots, but I hate them as much as anyone so I don't want to do that. I'm not so stupid, in fact, I'm very intelligent, to know when it's an ad and not a comment. I don't ever allow them on my blog. I also delete what I might consider nasty or negative comments. Even though I receive some nasty or negative things, I don't have to put up with it or post it and won't. I'm sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about. So, if you have a question, include your email if you're serious about wanting an answer on where I bought something or whatever it is you want to know. Please!
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Just a dreamy cottage for you. Love the brooding sky also.

A European walkway.

Roses. ;-)

An enchanting green-shuttered home.

Another lovely shabby chic living room.

I love the blue windows with muntins in them, the white curtains and the splash of color with impatiens and hydrangeas. I think it's just beautiful.

A darling place to rest just outside a shop.

I might just sit in the sun if I had this area to do it in.

This setting looks familiar but then again I post so many photos it might have been posted before, although, I take care in trying not to do it. But, anyway, this is worth repeating if so.

Another cute way to display potted plants.

I like how this homeowner displayed her dried roses. Very clever and pretty.

Pretty soaps in a bathroom sure do make guests take notice.

Red toile is always a favorite print of mine.

Where do people get these pretty bottles of lemonade?

Another way to display roses.

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Tidbit:
The best way to get husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they are too old to do it.
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Getting Rid of Stuff

Another reminder of my pinterest page. There are now over 8,500 photos/images on there that are not necessarily on here yet. If you wish to view them, I suggest you go there and become a follower as I pin on a regular basis, usually at least a couple of times a week.
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We're still working on downsizing our stuff in this house. The other day I gave some solid oak dining chairs to a friend and hubs asked if I really wanted to get rid of them and I said yes very firmly. It seems like he likes all the stuff I've bought over the last 35 years, but there is just too much and at our age; it's time. I don't want to have my kids to have to do it for us if something happened. That's not fair to them and they pretty much don't want anything. They have their own "stuff" and don't need any more. I understand that. Just a few personal things will go to them and the grandkids. I'm just tired of having so much that we can't move things around in this house. My daughter is doing the same thing at her home in California.

Nice weather the past week. Today I asked hubs what the weather was going to be and he immediately pulls out his iPhone. He checks his iPhone for the weather every day. I look out the window and the thermometer on the patio to see what the temperature is. Much easier. He drives me absolutely nuts with the hundreds of apps he has on his iPhone. If I mention something, he has an app for it. Sigh. I may take up drinking and never be sober again!!
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It's so pretty today that it looks almost like this around here. Curtains billowing in the breeze, clear skies and a beautiful day.

Everyone loves stone houses and the atmosphere that it brings to a home. This is especially cute, I think.

Isn't this decorative egg exquisite?

Our irrigation canals around here for irrigating our yards aren't this pretty, but they can come close in some areas around houses here for being shady. But I love the flowers and bridge in the background.

A quaint little guest bedroom in the French style.

A rather plain little living room but it's kind of cute with the French feel.

I like the pink in this room but it looks almost like a setting in a furniture store the way it's set up.

This room certainly asserts itself. Fabulous.

I've always loved rooms like this: huge windows, settee, ruffled tablecloth, pretty curtains on a window and a chandelier.

This is absolutely adorable. Black and white with touches of red and pink. I could live in this porch or sunroom easily. Darling!

Just a sweet dining area in a kitchen done extremely well.

This room belongs in a warm climate with its monochromatic color. Very pretty.

A fancy entry way. Two different chairs done in the same fabric to pull them together.

A cozy pink, white and gold sitting room.

What a relaxing room to dream in. French doors to the patio and a chaise lounge to sit and read. Great room!

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Tidbit:

Henry Ford's son received his first Ford when he was 8 years old. He drove himself to the 3rd grade.
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Linking up with Pink Saturday.

Some Designer Rooms

 My blog looks just a bit different as I've removed a few things. I think it was becoming too cluttered on the sidebar so I took off my Things I Love, Things I'm Not Too Fond Of, and I took off a few things under my logo so now there are only 3 Pages up there. The Google Reader Follower's list will disappear July 1st with their getting rid of Google Reader so that'll free up some space. But if you want to still follow me, do it with Bloglovin' up at the very top right. I  just wanted it a bit more streamlined. So enjoy reading.
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Are there rooms in your heart that no one is allowed to see because they may not be consistent with the design of the rest of the structure? I certainly have such rooms. They're so private that I share them with no one and hope they don't show in my face or actions in any way. They're mine alone to nuture and view from time to time to see if they need something I can give them or just want to be left alone a bit longer until I can visit them with something to add to the decor of that room.
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Most of my friends and acquaintances are kind people. I just seem to have them in my life. It's usually been that way wherever we've lived.

The woman who cuts my hair is a doll. The best beautician ever. Very talented. A good, sweet loving mother to her 2 children, number 3 expected the end of the year. But her father died last month and she told me so softly I almost didn't hear her. I wept with her. He was a very handsome young father in his 40s and she loved him greatly. She sat with him the day he died. I sat there and wept while she cut my hair. I couldn't help it because she is such a sweet, kind, loving young woman and daughter to her father.

Then a few weeks later it was time for a teeth cleaning appointment. I showered, dressed and put on makeup (since they work with 2X glasses looking in my mouth and cleaning my teeth). But just as she started she took a tissue and wiped the right side of my chin. She said, "You had a bit of makeup there." I was so stunned at her thoughtfulness I could have cried. Some people wouldn't have bothered, but Chris is so thoughtful and known me for so many years, she performed that small kindness for me. It brought me to tears later as I thought about how kind everyone is to me. I am truly a blessed woman to know the people I know in my life.

Then I read this by the President of our Church and it expresses my views rather well.

I believe in the beauty of nature-the flowers, the fruit, the sky, the peaks and the plains from which they rise. I see and believe in the beauty of animals. Is there anything more regal than a magnificent horse-its coat brushed and clean, its head held high, its gait a symphony of motion?

I see and admire beauty in people. I am not so concerned with the look that comes of lotions and creams, of pastes and packs as seen in slick-paper magazines and on television. I am not concerned whether the skin be fair or dark. I have seen beautiful people in a hundred nations through which I have walked. Little children are beautiful everywhere. And so are the aged, whose wrinkled hands and faces speak of struggle and survival. . . . Those wrinkles have a beauty of their own, and inherent in their very presence is something that speaks reassuringly of strength and integrity and a love that runs more deeply and quietly than ever before.

I believe in beauty-the beauty of God's unspoiled creations, the beauty of his sons and daughters who walk without whimpering, meeting the challenges of each new day.

I believe in the beauty of good music and art, of pleasing architecture, and of good literature untainted by profanity or verbal filth.

My dear young friends, there is so much of ugliness in the world in which you live.  But you can rise above this and revel in the beauty to be found with a little effort.
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A gorgeous dining room with pretty slipcovers over the back of the chairs.

A fantastic red-accented room.

An astounding blue room with lots of red throw in. I just love designer rooms because they show us ways to make our homes more gorgeous without being expensive if you take the time and ingenuity to do it.

A pale blue rose room. I love the coziness of the chairs around the fireplace.

Another blue room. Beautiful but it definitely looks affordable.

I love lots of chairs in a room. Most people don't like sitting three people on a sofa that is made for three people; two is the usual amount of sitters on a sofa. But I also like chairs for some to sit on also.

A cozy melon colored room with a white sofa and several chairs.

Sofas, chairs, lush pillows, lush curtains, a fireplace. This is s room I'd love.

I like chairs on the outside of the room also. Sometimes conversations start with 2 people sitting on the sidelines. I think this style is perfect.

I love this little simple white shabby room also.

A lovely blue elegant room near the seashore perhaps.

A Gorgeous dark red wall with lots of white and gold thrown in.

Gold and pink in this room. Very expensively decorated.

Simple but gorgeous chairs table and sofa

This is a bit more rustic in a french tradition but these homes are hard to come by, but beautiful however.

ve

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Tidbit:

In the 20th century, more people died of smallpox than in all wars of that century combined.
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Linking up with WOW at NMH