May Day May Day

Hello friends and happy May. How can I even being saying that? A third of this year is over!!! April was an especially busy month for me and that is why I didn’t post anything last week. Work and life took over, just the way it does, and it was a little crazy.

Going back to a week ago, I went to an estate sale and although it had been going on for a couple of days there were still lots of good items. The drive through this neighborhood on the lake was beautiful. The houses were just unbelievable. The yards immaculate. I am sorry to say it made me a little judgey about my own house. When I went home and started to complain about my house and how the yard looked my husband quickly reminded me that most of those people have gardeners who tend to their yards and decorators who decorate their homes. I guess he’s right.

Everything at the sale was 75% off and I did find this platter that looks really old. I just liked the design and different colors.

I also found these two metal spoons. They are heavy and very well made.

Last week was my Birthday and my thirty third wedding Anniversary. I got married on my Birthday. I know, I know, why you may be asking did you do that? I thought it was really different and yes it has proved to be. My husband and I sort of share the Birthday as well as the Anniversary and we have a double celebration that way. We had Birthday cake at work and then my family had a small birthday party for me at our local favorite Mexican restaurant.

Me and hubs. Sadly I didn’t get to keep this hat HA!

***This is me and my niece Michelle. I am wearing the Tiara my sister got me. We have a joke about me thinking I’m a queen. So she got me the Tiara. I love it!!!***

I made my husband one of his favorites, Peanut Butter Pie, it is full of Reese’s peanut butter cups and lots of other good things.

So lots, too much actually, of great food and treats but I guess that is to be expected at Birthdays and Anniversaries. I have been over indulging lately. Too many late night work hours and having to grab whatever is handy to eat. That is a bad pattern for me and I know it.

I also had a dental appointment last week and I saw this adorable basket in the reception area. My dentist had gotten it at a craft sale. I love it!! I think I will try to make one. I love all buttons and have a couple of jars full. I think this is such a cute idea.

Work continues to be so busy. Almost never a minute of down time. It is always like that this time of year. It’s hard to come home late and try to be creative. I just haven’t even had the energy to put a blog post together.

Over the weekend I did a lot of yard work. I bought some flowers and a couple of rose bushes. I got all of them planted and cleaned up some of my flower beds that were looking really bad. Of course then we have really cold temps, this morning was only 40 degrees F here. I guess this could be Dogwood Winter but I heard someone else mention Locust Winter so who knows. I do know I am ready for some warm weather. Consistently.

So what have you been up to lately?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Hello Monday!!!!

How was your weekend? I had a long weekend. I was off on Friday to take my sister to her chemo appointment. She has only one left now. She is doing great!!!

On Saturday I went with a friend to Athens to eat Chinese food. We also went to Dollar Tree. They had all of their Easter things 50% off so I bought some extra plastic Easter eggs. I like to make baskets for Easter and I will put these up until then. I buy so much of this stuff when it goes on sale. I don’t think I have ever had to buy anything for a holiday at the actual time of the holiday.

I have a large bush in my front yard. I am not sure exactly what it is some type of boxwood but it is over twenty years old and it is mostly dead. We, my husband and I, decided to cut it out and put something else in its place. But when I cut all of the dead branches away there was still a lot of greenery left. I read that older shrubs like this can be more susceptible to disease and bugs and things that can cause them to decline. I noticed that it hadn’t been draining well so I cleaned out all the dead leaves and rot from around the roots. I am going to give it some time and see if it starts growing again.

***So you can see quite a bit of green. We will give it some time and see.***

I got out my mini chain saw I got for Christmas and used it on some of the other shrubs and trees around the yard. To be so small it is really quite powerful. Well to me anyway.

While I was working in the yard I noticed the kitties were quite fascinated by something in the yard. I went to see what it was and it was a huuuuuuge snake. Only a black snake but he was big!!! The kitties would not leave him alone so that he could get away. I finally distracted them enough that he was able to get through the woods and head down to the lake.

Over the weekend I made Watergate Salad or Pistachio Delight some people call it. It is so light and fluffy. Only a few ingredients are needed; pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, cool whip, and miniature marshmallows. You can garnish with cherries or add additional walnuts if you like. I hadn’t had any in years. It’s a favorite dish for family reunions and church socials. I don’t think it’s just a southern thing but I ask my friend from Ohio if she liked it and she said she had never heard of it. I love it!!!!

And finally my irises are blooming. I was afraid they weren’t going to bloom again this year but they are. My nephew and his wife took the entire bucket full I had thinned last week. I was glad they took them. As I mentioned they originally came from the house where I grew up. My mama planted them. Now they are spread out among several family members’ homes. That would make my mama so happy.

How was your weekend? what plans do you have for this week. It’s my Birthday week and my wedding anniversary. I actually got married on my Birthday. But that’s a story for another time.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Hello Monday

Hello and happy Monday. How was your weekend? I hope you had a wonderfully blessed Easter Sunday and that you were able to spend time with loved ones. Half of the weekend, Saturday, was rainy and cold and Sunday was sunny and beautiful just in time for Easter get togethers.

On Saturday Mark and I had to go to Cookeville Tennessee. Cookeville is about a two hour drive for us. It did take a little longer because the weather was so bad. We went to visit my brother in law who was in the hospital there with a broken hip. It was a fairly short trip other than the long drive. We stopped at Red Lobster for lunch. I had a gift card left over from Christmas. We also had an opportunity to drive through the downtown area of Cookeville and it was just so nice. Lots of little shops and antique stores. I will definitely be going back when I have more time to spend.

***While we were driving through Cookeville on Saturday we came upon this awning. I’m not sure what significance the bicycles have but it’s very interesting.***

Saturday also marked the one year date of my sister Pat’s passing. She was very sick and we knew she wasn’t going to get better but it was so hard letting her go. It’s hard to believe it has been a year and yet in many ways it seems like so much longer.

***My sweet sister Pat. She had the most wonderful personality and everyone loved her. She made friends everywhere she went.***

Easter Sunday was fairly quiet. My nephew and his wife came to eat a late lunch with us. I bought a large spiral ham because Mark likes lots of left overs. I made sourdough bread from my bread starter. I had to make the bread on Saturday and then it rises twice and was ready for baking on Sunday. I was afraid it wouldn’t rise very well on Saturday because it was so rainy and cold but it did. You never know it can be so fickle.

***Ready to bake. The bread rose nicely.***

Black jelly beans are one of my favorite Easter candies. And the sad thing is you can only find the black ones around Easter time. I made sure to stock up today when the Easter candy and decorations were 50% off.

When I got to work this morning a coworker’s mother had made these adorable Easter Chick Pretzels. She left some on my desk for me.

***Aren’t these adorable? They were yummy too.***

I didn’t finish the fabric carrots that I started. I totally ran out of time and just didn’t have the time or patience to do them in time for Easter. I put them in a project bag and will work on them again next year. At least all the fabric is cut and ready to be sewn. I may pull them out in the winter to work on them.

So into the work week we go, are you doing something fun and exciting?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Weekly Catch Up

Last week was a very full week it was also numbing and heartbreaking with the news of another school shooting in Nashville on Monday. So close to home. Mark and I had to go to Nashville on Tuesday for a four month check up for him. We always leave out around 5:00 AM and it takes close to four hours to get there. We gain an hour when we hit Central time so that is always nice. However the traffic was unbelievably bad probably worse than we had ever seen it. It took almost four and a half hours to get there. We barely made it in time for the appointment. It was surreal driving into Nashville knowing what had taken place there the day before. I am not sure exactly where the shooting was or how close we were to it. It’s just horrible. We decided not to do that drive on the same day as the appointment again. It’s just too exhausting. Next time we will go over the day before and spend the night it is not so stressful that way.

Mark’s bloodwork was great but we got bad news that his doctor is retiring in July. We knew it was coming but what a blow. We have been with this doctor since the kidney transplant and we love him. He gave us his cell phone number when we started seeing him and we have called him a couple of times with concerns. He always answers or gets right back to us.

Work continues to be so busy. We have been closed since January because of construction and we are trying to get back open this week. I have been so focused on this and my mind in a thousand different directions that I actually wore my house shoes to work on Friday. I noticed it when I got into town and stopped at Walmart. I noticed when I stepped out of the car it felt weird and I looked down and had my house shoes on. They are pretty beat up and look bad. Luckily I have a pair of tennis shoes that I keep under my desk at work. I put those on.

Our work days are usually so busy it is hard to have lunch with any of our coworkers. We take turns eating lunch. On Friday one of our team members made us a shrimp boil. We were all able to eat together and it was really nice and so delicious.

I had to work on Saturday so I had only one day off over the weekend to get a lot of things done. I am making some carrots for Easter. Our local Walmart has had a sale on fabric because they are remodeling their fabric department and doing away with the large bolts of fabric. Look at these colors I think they will make some adorable cloth carrots. I got the idea from a fellow blogger. You can check out her blog, Little Red House Blog and how she did them here

I cut several triangles to make the carrots. I may have gone a little overboard on the number of cuts I did. I don’t know how many carrots I will make but I certainly have enough fabric for a bunch of them. I am going to use the green yarn for tops. I will show the finished piece when I get there. I hope it is before Easter. If not I will have a huge supply for next year.

A few more Walmart finds at their big craft supply sale. These burlap bolts were only $1.50 each. The Pioneer Woman fabric was $5.00. I am going to make cushions out of that fabric. And the little buttons were $2.50 for the entire bag. All of that will go in my craft closet until I get ready to use it.

On Sunday I took a nice long walk around the yard and woods. Lots of things are blooming and it is just so pretty. The Azaleas are blooming!!!! I first thought that I was seeing a humming bird on the azaleas but I googled the picture in bug finder on my phone and it is a type of moth.

Busy times and I come home exhausted. But that is just the way it is for me this time of year. What have you been doing? Are you enjoying spring and being outside?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!