Napkin Rings for Pink Saturday 9/25/2010

Happy Pink Saturday. Click the icon below to be taken to Beverly's other participants.

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I've collected napkin rings for 25 years at least. I simply like the look of them all gathered in a bowl for visual effect or as I like to call it eye candy since I'm a very visual person anyway. So after hunting in the garage attic for our garage sale in mid June Love Bunny found them and brought them down to sell. I held them back to perhaps put them on eBay or my selling blog La Maison Rose. I truly cannot abide Mr. LB selling them for 50¢ for dozens of them like he did my other thing—pillows and shabby chic storage boxes. Does this mean I have "separation" issues?!

I have rabbits, teddy bears, roses, Christmas, fabric ones, rooster, some purchased in Ireland, simple wooden ones, silver, masks, a few plain ones, some seashell ones and many that just touched my heart at that particular time.

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Showcasing the New Slipcovers and a Peeve

I finally received my new slipcovers! Now remember, these were made for another Ethan Allen sofa with the same style as my 15 year-old sofa I bought from them that they don't make any more. They just happened to have the same sort of style with an inch or two difference. This was the post where I first introduced the difference in styles. It fits almost perfectly but remember it was only $400.00 and it was custom made for the other sofa that was just a tad shorter. I'm well pleased with it. I can wash it but I don't think I'll ever have to wash the main section, just wash the cushions if they get dirty from visiting kids and grandkids.

Here I'm just starting to put them on.

I realized after taking this photo that I had knocked the ribbon tree over.

Here I uprighted the ribbon tree but the photo lighting is not as good or accurate as the above photo.

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While I'm sitting here blogging I want to add one more thing to this post. Another lovely blogger put her thoughts on her blog and gave me permission to quote her. They also struck a chord with me so here they are:
I've spoken about there being room for all types of bloggers out there. But I have one more thing to say about blogging that has to do with basic good manners. House/cottage, nesting, crafting, creative blogs are, by their nature, more cozy and welcoming than are political blogs, for example. I spoke of those bloggers who get hundreds of comments and never return the favor. I realize that keeping up with hundreds of comments on each post is impossible. We're all busy and sometimes it takes a while before we can return the visit. But when several comments are made over a long period of time and no effort is made to respond, whether by email or a visit to the commenter's blog, well, that sticks in my craw. It's rude and there is no room for that. I know it has happened to all of you. It certainly has happened to me. Those are the blogs I stop visiting.

So here's my suggestion: If your blog has become so impossibly big that you can no longer take the time to communicate with your readers who are, after all, the reason you have become so popular, then perhaps you should stop blogging. Because you've already lost the heart and soul of what made your blog so attractive to begin with.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. When I see so many ads, the heart and soul isn't there anymore.
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Ramblings

Eye candy while I ramble.

Have you ever heard of a valtrompia tube? This is one. It's a tube you bake fancy bread in. I'm going to make the Hawaiian Tea Bread with coconut and pineapple. Or I may try the Cream Cheese Pound Cake. Yuuuuummmmm. I'll let you know how good it is. ;-)



On our recent trip to visit our granddaughter and our new great granddaughter we went to the Microsoft store. Since my granddaughter and her hubby work there, they have a fun thing where you can get a badge made for the kids. We did this last thursday and got Miss C's ID badge. The man doing it was Spanish-speaking and we had to tell him about 4 times how to spell Miss C's last name which is Hispanic. We even went around the counter to check on the name and he still had it misspelled! I told him how to spell it—very slowly—and he changed it again. When we went back on friday it was still misspelled! We both were thinking of simply grabbing the mouse and taking over from there!!! How can you misspell a name that is so easy to spell??

Anyway, this is how it turned out. She was a little doll doing this whole procedure. He gave us 2 so I get to carry her around on my key chain all the time now.

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I like to think I am the operator of the loom that weaves my future but the only foot on that treadle is the foot of fate.
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I've found that the absence of fear doesn't make you brave; it's what you do in spite of being afraid. Thank you to our military, EMTs and firemen for keeping us safe while fighting the fear.
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I recently went with hubby somewhere that I'd never been before. I left him and was supposed to come back and get him. I got lost on the way back home and had to call him on his cell. He asked how in the world could I get lost when there were only 2 roads to take to get back home. I told him I could get lost on a Go-Cart track! I truly get lost a lot but I eventually find my way home.
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The closest some people will ever come to a brainstorm is a light drizzle. Please don't take that as a criticism of the person in the above paragraph! I'm truly very intelligent, just challenged by directions. :-)
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Update on Blogging

For a bit of eye candy before I begin. Look what Miss C just found—her thumb!

While here at our granddaughter's house visiting again with this precious great granddaughter, Kathleen Grace at Kathy's Cottage wrote a post about blogging and scheduling time for the other things in life, which brought up something I've been going to post about for a while but just couldn't find words to express it. I'll explain. And this is not meant to be a nasty or mean post. I wrote it with a soft voice.

I'm a stay-at-home wife, mom, grandma and great grandma and love doing it since retiring from being the highest paid woman in one of the very top Fortune 500 companies. I loved working. BUT keeping house and home for my hubby is my priority now and just because we're retired doesn't mean we have any more time than most other people. (We all find the time when we want to.) I love this even more than that job and, trust me, I loved it immensely. I have a great respect for women who stay at home with their children. It's sometimes a thankless job from other working women and the media, but it is the most important thing you can do. There is no success that can compensate for failure in the home. Just look around you.

I love blogging and don't ever see myself stopping it, although lately I had touched upon the thought, and it definitely gave me pause. I've always said I love blogging for the creativeness of putting my thoughts together to write a post, hone my photography skills, keeping in touch with friends and helping to bring a chuckle or two to some bloggers.

But we stay-at-home women still need stimulation, especially after all the kids are gone. Blogging is one of those things that I find stimulating for me. But, as I said, a few things happened that brought the thought of stopping flitting through my mind recently.

One reason was I fell and my legs and back still aren't the same. It absolutely still hurts to sit for any length of time. Plus before that I was having trouble with my arms, more specifically my wrists and elbows. My doctor and I attribute that to sitting at a computer for long stretches at a time. Like Kathy, I had to limit my time on my computer and that meant not as much commenting. I peruse almost 300 blogs on a regular basis. I couldn't possibly comment on each one. I try to hit several a day. But I love comments also and I saw the comments were going down. I wondered why. I don't think I said anything to distress or offend anyone. I try to keep them interesting, although, I'm not one to believe that my blog is the "be all/end all" for everyone. It isn't and never will be. Maybe it was because I wasn't commenting on some blogs that definitely don't return comments unless I comment on theirs. And yes, I've commented on some that do not take the time to comment—at least on mine—or even answer a question I've put to them. I believe that is just rude to not even answer a question and it has happened several times. If I can find time to visit your blog and ask a question then you should respond. I don't have any more time than you do, chicks. I try to answer questions but sometimes there is no return email address and if I go to their blog, there is no way to email them. Hence, I have no way to contact them to answer a question that is sometimes a bit private. I won't comment on a blog if the question isn't for all to see. And yes, I've probably missed a few.

I see some of the blogs that have hundreds and even thousands of followers. I've commented and even asked questions of them with absolutely no response and never having them comment on mine. I love perusing them though and shall probably continue to do so. I have one blogger who regularly receives upwards of 200 to 250 comments on each and every blog post but this sweet woman comments on my blog on a regular basis. She is either a wonder or sadistic trying to comment on all her commenters! I cannot believe she responds to each and every comment on her blog. She is a sweetheart and the funniest blogger I've ever read.

But bottom line: My blog is for me. If it delights someone and they wish to comment, I'm humbled and thrilled. I truly am. I'm not so haughty or too big for my britches that I don't get around and comment. But with my leg and arms still recuperating I simply cannot comment on each blog I follow. I love each and every single comment I get and if you comment on here, sometimes you need to awaken me and tell me to get over to your blog and comment. That truly does help me. Plus sometimes I inadvertently will not have you as a favorite on Google Reader or as a follower of your blog. Jostle my memory and I'll be over. After all, it's what keeps me going also. And if I ever quit blogging, it isn't because of anyone but me. No one has that kind of power over me but myself. I love blogging!! It's just that simple.
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N E S T

I made these a couple of months ago because I made a set of them and gave them away sometime last year. I loved the fabrics so much I made another set—this one, but I'm keeping them. I just hadn't decided where I was going to put them eventually so they stayed in my office until now.

This is the entry into our family room. People are usually stunned when they come in this froufrou house since the decor around Idaho tends more to western decor. But we're seeing more differences in decorating more and more. As everyone knows I lean toward the romantic shabby chic style.

Still out of town visiting with granddaughter and new baby.
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