Day Dreaming 1/28/2012

I sit here a little part of each day helping people with their genealogical pursuits and directing them to those who can help them find answers. While it isn't very exciting work, I still love doing it. Turning the hearts of the children to their fathers is a work needing to be done. Yesterday I had 68 calls so it kept me quite busy, but I am a woman who can multi-task. (Snicker and snort! It got a tad crazy for a while there but I persevered.)

I read a few blogs and one that caught my eye was Claudias on trying to be frugal in an economy that is trashed at the moment. She is a sweet woman whose blog is delightful to read. But the post I was reading specifically struck me as she is doing all the right things. I am also doing what I can in today's economy but there is something else that needs to be addressed. That is a "change of mind/attitude."

I, like so many of you, have dreams of gorgeous homes, gardens, clothing, but that isn't my reality. I have very much come to grips with never having the gorgeous homes seen in articles. However, that does not prevent me from having a lovely, small, neat, decorated home to satisfy me until the end of my days. I truly don't lust after the vain and sparkly things of the world. (Okay, maybe just a mite.) But I'm truly happy with what I do have. Most of all, I'm happy for a man who has loved me for over 50 years and sticks with me through the thick and thin of life. That is the greatest treasure I can think of.

So, let's dream a little and look at some photos I've seen on the internet. These might just inspire you to do one tiny little thing to make your home more beautiful in a frugal way. Oh, and there will definitely be more photos as I had to create a new album in Photobucket just to hold all the photos. So far over 400 with many more to come. I'll try to comment on each one to try and generate your mind to be creative. If there's one thing I'm good at in life, it is inspiring people to their greatness. ;-) So come along and daydream your way into a beautiful life.

Mismatched chairs. You don't have to have all chairs matching. Look how creative this homeowner was. And did you notice the chandelier? Cute!

A great view can accomplish much towards what you don't have to put on walls—pictures.

Cheap garage sale or thrift store finds can go a long way with a bunch of flowers toward adding ambiance to your home.

Now, if I could only get Love Bunny to go for this kind of camping I'd love it: Throw down a foam mattress and near to a toilet that I wouldn't need a flashlight to find!

This could be any home if it wasn't for the high ceilings. The furniture is slipcovered and quite lovely, but this can be done with very little money, just without the expanse of windows. Also, your utility bills would be lower I'm sure.

Instant and inexpensive ambiance: flowers, ribbons, one smashing pillow and pitchers!

Isn't this photo fetching?

Right after I help a church member pack up to move her belongings I'm coming home and going to make one of these for every doorknob in my house. I've done these before but given most of them away. But it adds so much ambiance to have these little pockets hanging around, don't you think?

Okay, I'm off to pack. There will be more of these photos...lots more! Now, go and help someone else to dream and be more than they thought they could be.
~*~

Pink Saturday 1/28/2012

Welcome once again to my favorite day of the week for blogging. Go visit with Beverly at her blog for all the wonderful pink items that will fill your heart with joy. You can then visit all the participants. Enjoy.

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I'm feeling just like the old Lily Tomlin character, Ernestine. Remember her, the very prissy telephone operator? I'm not prissy, but I'm sitting here with my headset on connecting me to a phone while helping people connect with their Family Search. I AM LOVING THIS!! It is just so much fun to listen to people's problems and trying to help them...while I can blog. Who knew this would be right up my alley?

While sitting here I can surf the net finding lovely photos to share. While I won't do this every single day, as I prefer to post photos I take, I will do it periodically and sometimes with comments and sometimes not. It depends on how busy this phone line is. Today, not so busy.

I love this old metal room divider. It is gorgeous, open so that views aren't obstructed and certainly my style of decorating. Be still my heart. If only I could find one cheap, but I doubt they're cheap anymore. But I use a set of lace curtains to frame our family room from our dining area. It shows nicely. It's feminine, in style with my home and takes the hard edges off the archway.

Pink walls, white trim, pink sofa, red chair. It all spells beautiful to me.

My kind of room, feminine, soft, white and pink and a gorgeous french door.

We have an old trunk similar to what this looks like, but it's really a USMC field desk that hubby acquired many years ago. It's been painted burgundy, gray and white, the last color being white, but it is sitting out on our front porch just waiting to be given away to the thrift store. After seeing this delightful arrangement, I may just bring it back in and use it in the family room as a coffee table. I'd need to apply a new coat of paint though.

What grabbed me in this photo was the lovely ruffled tablecloth AND the french chairs. I want some french chairs from Ethan Allen but I just hate to spend the money right now. While sitting here I decided to peruse Craigslist. What is it about "oak dining chairs" that sends Idahoans into a swoon? Yes, I'm a transplant from the San Francisco bay area and love it here, but oak seems to be the furniture de jour here in Idaho. There is a plethora of oak dining chairs but nothing in french, shabby chic or anything remotely that I'd want.

Now, this little chest reminds me of one I found somewhere, can't remember exactly where, but I painted the sides and then added a lovely roses fabric to the drawers by dipping it in starch and just applying. It's held on there for the last several years and is still doing just fine. A cheap pizzazz-y redo! This one, however, looks like it is done with fancy papers. I absolutely love what she did to this. Darling

I think I'll leave you with just this for today.
~*~

A Dreary Day in the Desert

It's a very cold day here in the Idaho desert. I took hubby in early to leave his truck for a lube and oil at our mechanic's shop, then went back to pick it up and the streets are slick with ice from the rain yesterday. I was going to have lunch with a friend today at a new French cafe downtown but it wasn't opened for lunch in the winter except on Fridays. We had to go to another restaurant and it was delightful to spend a couple of hours with a friend who is just a few years older than my granddaughter, who is 32. We just seem to connect and that's what I'm telling you chicks: Old women can be fun, charming, humorous, silly and a whole lot of giggling went on!

But for now just feast your eyes on these little gems of photos. I have plucked many off the internet to show you so they'll be smaller than my usual. I really like large photos to show you. I hate the tiny ones some bloggers post. I want to see them large! But nothing to be done about these. They're lovely and I'm in a hurry so I won't leave much commenting, just let you look at the eye candy and swoon.

I will be doing something similar to my patio in a few months though. I love this type of decor on a patio.

~*~

Winter Is Finally Here

Oooooh, what's a girl to do today? It's snowing like crazy out there. I took these photos of our street just a few minutes ago.


I'm just sitting here answering the phone for my mission and being the comic relief for these people calling in. I'm so glad they seem to like it when I chuckle along with them. This Mormon girl ain't dull for sure!

Anyway, I thought I'd do a blog since it seems to be a slow day for callers seeking help with FamilySearch. Just a few days ago I was complaining about the lack of "winter" around here. The first snow is natures assertiveness training and she's really dishing it out today, chicks. Love it!

So now I'm waiting to see these again in the spring.

Later on today I'll sit and do a little bit of this: reading.

I've already done some of this this morning.

And if the weather keeps up like this, then I'll be doing some more of these coffee filter roses to put in little pots around the house.

And I'm eating these at this very moment! Yum.

But if I go out today I'll definitely need one of these.

~*~

Heydon Hall Doll House

Heydon Hall has one of the oldest doll houses in England. Queen Anne gave it to her goddaughter in 1696, so it is over 400 years old. I thought you might like to see it, especially if you're an admirer of doll houses or if you have one and love to play with it or furnish it as so many bloggers are doing. It really is quite darling and unique with its nine rooms. Well, just take a look at it and I'll keep quiet for once. ;-)

~*~

I love seeing kids in school; it means they're not taking up road space or roaming around WalMart trying their best to be cute by shoving a 6' skinny male of 17 into a shopping cart and trying to be cool. Sigh...
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Okay, I'll now explain the comment from an earlier post about Mormon girls and casseroles.

Mormons are known for having a lot of children. There's a sound reason for that and I shan't go into it here, but I agree with the reason. Anyway, to make their budgets stretch they make a lot of casseroles. Don't misunderstand me; I love casseroles and there is nothing wrong with them. But young, strong men want meat, unless they happen to be vegetarians, which few are, at least that I've known.

The daughter of a friend of ours who was mother to 7 children served a lot of casseroles so that is what this daughter learned to cook. They were from Idaho. The daughter married a young man from California, who grew up on a cattle ranch. As a newlywed she served a lot of casseroles. One day after several months of marriage he asked her if they could have just meat and potatoes sometimes. She was flabbergasted as she hadn't had much meat with so many boys in her family.

I'm a convert to the Church so we ate meat at just about every meal. I do have vegetarian meals though, but not much, as my hubby also thinks meat is a staple. But I've never done a lot of casseroles to stretch a meal. This is what I meant: mormon girls from large families know how to stretch meals to go further. There was never any disparagement meant here. I am a Mormon.

My granddaughter is a vegetarian and her hubby is not. I know how to plan and cook for her. She'll eat anything I cook except meat, and the utensils I use for meat cannot touch her veggie burger or vegetables. My hubby—her loving indulgent grandfather once flipped her veggie burger with the same utensil as he flipped the meat and she looked at him in horror, and he promptly threw away the burger and got her a new one, put it on the "clean" side of the grill and cooked for her. No problem, He and I love this kid. (We're going to feed meat to Caroline and let her make the choice when she's older, but my grandson-in-law is very much a meat eater and loves for me to visit and cook.) I suspect Caroline will also love meat because she hasn't refused anything put in front of her so far. Gorgeous Granddaughter, GGD, (as we call her and will refer to her as such from here) will feed her baby food with some meat in it though. GGD made this choice when she was 5 years old! I was amazed. But she and I would go out to lunch at Emporium/Capwells' lunch room and, since I love vegetables, would order the steam veggies with cheese sauce. GGD, at 5 years old, would order the steamed veggie, Perrier and cheesecake. Get my drift here? We always knew she was going for high expectations in her life and she has not failed us.
~*~