My Decorating Frenzy

I've been on a decorating frenzy for several months now but, truthfully, there is only so much decorating I can do to this house. It's our "forever/retirement" home and a smaller size so how much decorating can you do to 1800 s.f.? But I'll continue to do what I can as long as I can. I get tired of the same thing after 6 or 8 years and feel the need to update or, at least, move around some things. It will be less and less the older I get but it will be done.

But that brings me to blogs I see from time to time where the women are changing things every year or so. How do they do it? Are they that bored? Do they have unlimited funds? I don't see the need to do it every year or two. Seems wasteful to me. Also, are they never happy with what they have? I'm a happy person and love the things I do have. In our 52 years of marriage I have probably changed furniture maybe 8 times. That's with relocating to new places and homes. I don't think that's a lot. But to have the same house and change every couple of years just seems a waste to me. But I'm having to buy higher and higher sofas just to meet my butt at my age! I don't get up off the sofa as easily as I used to when I was 45. ;-)
*

A darling spot on the side of a house for a relaxing nap.

More pots of pansies.

Love this idea of hanging stuff needed to hurry out the door very near.

Beautiful roses and hydrangeas.

A queenly bed. Love the bed linens.

Pretty evening purse.

Got any extra teacups? Here's how you can display them.

Clever way to put lights up.

Gorgeous French chair, luxurious sofa and a pail of roses.

A little wire basket to hold mail.

I just loved this photo when I saw it.

You can actually buy these shoes for kids. Look up Joy Folie and check out their cute designs.

Just a cozy corner in a bedroom.

Pretty handmade chenille pillows.

Yes, I love this lamp also!!

~*~

Tidbit:

Our state is #1!
Continuing with the "N" states on what makes them #1 in the nation at. (Terrible grammar but I couldn't think of a better way to put it.)

Nebraska:
Livestock
Domestic violence

Nevada:
Gold mining
Home foreclosures

New Hampshire:
Lowest percentage of people living in poverty
Skin cancer rates for women

New Jersey:
Millionaires
Population density

New Mexico:
Lowest cancer rate
Children who drink alcohol

New York:
Charitable donations
Longest daily commute

North Carolina:
Most diverse population of salamanders
Lowest teacher salary

North Dakota:
Lowest rate of AIDS
Lowest rate of seat belt use


Sir Francis Bacon died of pneumonia. He was experimenting with freezing a chicken by stuffing it with snow.
~*~

Some very important news for Bloggers you'd better read here now!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A few announcements here for those of you who aren't aware:

You'll want to go visit my Pinterest page as I now have over 8,300 photos on there that aren't on here yet. You'll not be soooorrrrry, I promise. ;-)

Then the biggest announcement is from Google: Google Reader will no longer be available starting July 1, 2013. I suppose you won't see it on any sidebar after that. That's a huge announcement for us bloggers who have followings. You'll no longer be able to find us on Google Reader or follow on Google Reader. It's going to be gone. We, in the blogging community, have been searching for other places to find and "store" the names of our favorite blogs. I've selected Bloglovin' and it looks pretty good, nothing like GR but it will do for me as I don't follow hundreds of blogs like some people do. I simply don't have time. You could just "bookmark" them on your browser but that won't tell you if there's an update on a blog; you'd just have to click to each one daily. That's a hassle I know but there's nothing to be done about it. It's very disappointing to us who have blogs as we won't be able to see who follows us but it's also disappointing to those of you who love to read updates on blogs. But with Bloglovin' I think that it will be able to do all Google Reader does: updates each new post, you can see followers if you're a blogger. AND I'd advise you to get busy on it immediately because if you have many blogs to follow, it just might take you a while to transfer them all over to the new application, especially if you're not computer savvy.

But Bloglovin' updates every single time you post and you'll recognize it on your browser, where an "add-on"(a little white cross on a blue background) is put up in the corner. So to join and follow or be followed just click on the button up on the right just above my About Me and it'll take you to Bloglovin' to follow me or to start using it for your own followers. Really quite simple. Here is a screenshot of my browser navigation bar but it's really very tiny. You can see it on the far right hand side with the red line I put on there to mark it for you to see. Very easy. That little cross will have a number in it for each that are updated that day.

I hope this helps you. I've tested many before deciding on this one. Some are, to me, a bit complicated. This one is easy.
*

The other day hubs was home and answered the phone. I was in the potty and he brought it in to me sitting there. I told him I didn't talk on the phone while sitting on the toilet! There are some things I'd rather do in peace and quiet and not be bothered. I'm sure some of the teenagers and younger moms and dads do it as it's socially acceptable. It isn't to this woman! I want my privacy some places and the bath is one of them.
*

Blog hopping the other day from my granddaughter's facebook page. She has designers and things that she would like for her house on her facebook page. I clicked on a few things but when I went to this one blogger who is a decorator for homes I noticed she had 87,000,000 hits on her page!!! 87 million. Biggest hits on a page I've ever seen. WOW.

Then I found some really popular blogs. Here are the numbers of the most popular blogs' followers. I'd hate to see how many "hits" their pages get.
117,043
147,321
155,818
165,288
172,502
256,793
*

I love the color in this stair landing.

And in this living room.

I'd wish for an island like this one but hubs would then insist I cook more. Ain't happening, chicks!

A flower vignette with gorgeous blue bottles and containers.

Red is very "in" in this room. Love it.

Pretty entrance.

A gorgeous English garden and old stone home.

This is another gorgeous living room.

Pretty stone steps with violets.

More roses for ya!

I think this is a stunning photograph of zinnias.

Another gorgeous dining area in a lovely cottage.

And this one also!

A cute idea. Paint some old suitcases found at garage sales and stack them for a bedside table or a living room side table. I have done this before and loved it. Suitcases costs me from 50¢ up to $2.00 at garage sales. Very cheap.

My kind of porch or patio.

*

Tidbit:
The Tennessee capitol building's architect is entombed within its northeast wall.

Tidbit:
Our state is #1!
 
K, L and M states

Kansas:
Helium manufacturing
Obsolete bridges still in use

Kentucky:
Horse breeding
Deaths from smoking

Louisiana:
Affordable hospitals
Gonorrhea and syphilis

Maine:
Youngest median age
Per capita rate of asthma

Maryland:
HIgh school students who take college-level courses
Movie bootlegging

Massachusetts:
Adults with college degrees
Government health care spending

Michigan:
Navy bean production
Unemployment

Minnesota:
Per capita rate of preventive colonoscopies
Tornadoes

Mississippi:
Wetland restoration and preservation projects
Obesity

Missouri:
Sport hunting
Meth labs

Montana:
Number of restaurants per capita
Drunk driving
 ~*~

Linking up with NMH Open House Party.

Tidbits About Me

This sign was made for me; I just personalized it a bit more.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I carry a small note pad in the car (along with a back scratcher in my door pocket) so I can write down thoughts that occur to me for th' blog. That worked, but then Love Bunny thought an audio recorder would work better. I bought one thinking that for once in our marriage he might be right and that it would help me more than trying to write while driving. And it did...for a while.

Then the battery went out and I was too busy to replace it so put it away for a while until I remembered to replace it. Then once again, I forgot it for a little while. Sigh. I always promise myself I'll remember what I wanted to write down. I rarely, if ever, do! I now have the audio recorder working and am using it again. I hate not remembering things I want to blog about!

Since I've been posting tidbits recently from a book I've read, I thought I'd post a few tidbits about me.

I am attracted to anything pink, architectural details, vintage gates that remind me of my childhood, vibrant colors, soft colors, gorgeous sofas, beautiful chairs, chocolate, pretty papers, froufrou images, chandeliers, flowers of any kind and any, and I mean ANY eye candy . Not necessarily in that order.

I love big hair on women and big photos on blogs. I have very fluffy/big hair and my great granddaughter does too.

I went wild this past New Year's Eve by buying corn chips. Yep, I'm soooo exciting! Sigh...

I've had a lifelong dependency on suspicion. True!

I do have a soft heart and am a bit of a sentimentalist, just a tiny bit.

I once did something I'll never, ever admit to. ;-) Nope, it wasn't immoral or illegal.

I am a very uplifting person and try to leave everyone feeling that way. True!

I leave toast crumbs in the butter and am not the least bit embarrassed by it. Butter should have toast crumbs in it.

I once wrote to a very famous interior designer and she wrote me back. I was thrilled. That's not the norm. She was a gracious lady.

I get up in the morning and immediately put on my clothes for the day. I don't change until we go to bed at night. (Hubs changes at least 3 times a day.)

I am an excellent speller and rarely get a word wrong.

I can't eat spicy/hot food, no way. Someone will tell me, "It's not too spicy" and invariably it's too spicy. So I trust no one anymore. I also don't like hot food; I prefer it at room temperature.

I'll never be a politically correct person. I say Merry Christmas and we'll fly the American flag until we die.

I'm a very opinionated woman and that will never change.

I love music from the 60s, 70s and 80s and also love the Big Band songs from the 40s. Also, classical guitar is one of my favorite things to listen to. I love the cello and bass music and most classical music. I absolutely hate rap music and I use the term music loosely in describing it. My granddaughter likes french rap music however.

I made my great granddaughter a music CD with oldies on it and she loves it but her favorite song is Lollipop and sings it at her daycare for them.
*

Similar to my new quilted bedspread but mine has 11 ruffles on it.

More pretty bottles, one of my favorite things.

Lovely patio, just lovely!

I really like this house with the pretty tables and stone floor. No cleaning carpets!

Antlers and roses? Sure makes a cute table setting though.

Pretty homes on a street in Italy.

Yes, this is actually a cake. I can't even imagine the time and expertise, let alone the price, of such a creation.

Linens covered with roses.

Pretty hat boxes.

Lovely pearls gracing a hanger.

Beautiful pink chrysanthemums.

A kitchen we'd all love to have. Large farmhouse table with a gorgeous chandelier.

I'm not fond of mirrors but this one is gorgeous.

Pretty vintage tin boxes.

Gorgeous pink fabric. I wish I had it to make pillows.

*

Tidbit:
In 1994, there were more than 420,000 accidents caused by kitchen knives, 122,000 by drinking glasses, 29,000 by refrigerators, and 7,000 by dishwashers.
Refrigerators??

Okay, now the "I" states and what each state is #1 in.

Idaho:
Trout Fishing
Highest suicide rate

Illinois:
Pumpkins
Nuclear power production

Indiana:
elevator manufacturing
Divorce

Iowa:
Percentage of residents over the age of 85
Water pollution
~*~

Rambling Just A Bit Today

Back in the early 60s my hubby went to Haiti on a ship with other Marines and Sailors. He described the condition of that country and felt so sad for those people. Poverty beyond description to most of us. No sanitation. Bathroom duties were done right there in the street, women squatted and men stood and did what they needed to do. He said it was filth beyond anything he'd ever seen. Personally, I think it's very sad. 
*

Recently I've come across a few blogs from surfing from other blogs. The blog posts were pretty old but in perusing them further I noticed that some had abandoned the blog altogether and some had deleted their blogs—or so they thought. Let me state here and now that a blog is never deleted from the web. Once it's published, it's published forever! I'd go to the new blog site, which sometimes they'd give a new name and start over, but the old one was still there. So be careful. This particular blogger thought her old blog sounded too "down" and wanted to start all over with a less depressing blog. Well, she got a new blog but the old one was still there for all to see. I can't say it enough: Once you hit the word "Publish", it's a done deal and there forever. So be very careful what you say on a blog. You can't take it back.
*

Smile as though you make them wonder why you're smiling. I do. It will always bring a smile back to you.
*

A beautiful passageway in a European country.

A lovely English road with the homes right on the edge of the road. Quaint.

Isn't this evening purse gorgeous with its white embroidered fabric?

A blue room like this is something I could live with if I didn't like pink so much. This is beautiful.

This entry is stunning and I'd love to have it. But that chest is gorgeous!

Very bright and lovely kitchen area. Looks almost like a restaurant.

Another narrow, windy, steep road in Europe somewhere.

More thatched cottages.

Pink antique kitchen table.

Cute bathroom.

Beautiful sun room/dining room near the water.

Beautiful pillows stacked on a lovely chair.

A pretty vignette with fans and roses and ephemera.

Cute little embroidered wall hanging for a kitchen.

Looks to me like an old English country bedroom. That chair looks very substantial.

*

Tidbits:
A Danish company has given its employees free subscriptions to internet p**n sites, but what would you expect from a country that now euthanizes its citizens. Sad and horrific in my opinion.
*

Our state is #1.
Here is what the "D, F, G and H" states are #1 in:

Delaware:
Most profitable farms
Theft

Florida:
Freshwater turtles
Mortgage loan fraud

Georgia:
Best conditions of roads
Personal bankruptcy filings

Hawaii:
People who carpool to work
Highest cost of living
~*~