35 Years!

Today's the Day!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

I think it might be time to take a new photo.

This was taken a year ago....on a very windy day!

(when Penelope wants to differentiate between me and her other grandmother, 

she refers to me as the grandma with the "puffy hair".  Hmmmm.....I get it now!)

Sunbeams and a Smoker

Bill was out grilling the other day.  It was really warm and the Sun was directly overhead.  I noticed, through a window, how the sunbeams were shooting straight down on Bill and his smoker grill.

It was obviously pretty warm out there.

Sunbeams shooting down...Smoke billowing up.

Sunbeams and Smoke...putting on quite a show for us!

Thanks for orchestrating it for us Bill!

 

Thanks Ants!

We've been having a little bit of an ant problem for a few weeks.  The path they've been taking into our house takes them through our pantry, so Bill decided to clean out the pantry last week.  

In the process he found a couple things closing in on their expiration dates...including a mix for Pumpkin Bars.

So he did some baking on Saturday.  Pumpkin Bars with cream cheese frosting and nuts!!  
Oh My Goodness!  So yummy!

Thanks Bill....so glad you're retired!!

The House Is Done....

Remember this blog post?

Well look what shipped today!!!

I am so excited!

Now I just need to keep it a surprise until Christmas.

(which, by the way, is 100 days from now!)

I'll share it with you again, once it's in a frame!

Bill's Christmas Gift...The Hawthorne House

Bill doesn't read my blog, so I think it's safe to share my plans for his Christmas gift.  Is it only me...or are gifts for men really hard to buy?  Bill is especially hard to buy for...he doesn't really want a lot of stuff (he thinks I collect enough stuff for the both of us!), and he really doesn't have any hobbies.  He loves to read...but I don't love to only buy books for him!

Wouldn't you know it....that it would be "the land of blog" that came to the rescue! For several years I have followed a blog called With Pencil and Pen...it's written by an artist...Katherine Thomas.  I love her work...it amazes me. The things she can do with colored pencils absolutely amaze me! Her pen and ink drawings are stunning. I just really love all her work!!

A couple years ago Katherine started selling pen and ink drawings, on old envelopes, in her Etsy shop called PostMarkArt.  Last year, on a trip to Michigan, I took a photo of one of Bill's boyhood homes..."The Hawthorne House".  Shortly afterwards I was reading Katherine's blog and it occurred to me that she might be able to use my (not very good phone photo) to create a PostMarkArt piece for Bill. I sent her the photo and she said it would work as a reference photo! She said she could start it this Fall...perfect timing for a Christmas gift!!

Earlier this year we made another trip to Michigan and I was able to get a couple more photos of the "Hawthorne House".  Not an easy feat since no one we visit lives anywhere near this place. Luckily Bill was in a reminiscing mood and didn't mind taking a drive. Mandy was traveling with us and she had never seen the house, so there was my excuse to visit it again. 

Just this past week, Katherine sent me some photos of envelopes she had available...they were all very nice, but I kind of had my heart set on something more personal. I dug around in some of that "stuff" I tend to save and found Bill's old stamp collection. I found a "first day cover" that I'm hoping Katherine will be able to use for the drawing of the "Hawthorne House".

I like that Bill's name is on this envelope. It's addressed to his second childhood home. This photo is of "The Hawthorne House"...it  was his first childhood home.  I think everything will tie together nicely!  I also think he'll really like this gift!

Here's a look at some of the PostMArkArt Katherine has done...I made a collage of four of her custom home portraits...I know "The Hawthorne House" will be equally wonderful! 

I've got my eye on the American Flag on the School Desk piece!

Katherine Thomas...links to her work and information about commissioning it. 

Happy Father's Day...and a Birthday too!

In addition to today being Father's Day...it's also Bill's birthday! 

Mandy treated us to dinner at Long Horn Steakhouse to celebrate.

Lucky Bill got a well deserved day off from all the things he's been doing around the house. 

I think he's finding retirement to be hard work! 

Happiest of birthdays to a caring father and husband.

We couldn't have asked for more!

 

 

"Love...binds everything together in perfect harmony."

Colossians 3:14

 

 

 

Where The Grass Won't Grow!

We have a corner in the yard where grass just won't grow...this spot is in the shade

or in the dark more than 23 hours a day.

After many years we've given up on grass and decided plants in the ground, container gardens and yard art are the answers.  Our first "container" turned out to be a large one! Our old wheelbarrow!  The wheel is flat and it's rusted out in a couple spots. Bill drilled a few more holes in it and filled it with some stones and dirt.  I added the plants...a lot of them!

Some annuals, and some perennials.  I know the perennial plants will eventually get too big for the wheelbarrow...but when they do I'll just move them.  For now I want it overflowing! 

We'll also be putting in a "path" to the left of the wheelbarrow.  I've found a few ideas on Pinterest...I'll have to see which one I can talk Bill into.

The sunshine in these photos is all touches this little corner. As the Sun sets a few rays peep through the trees and warm up the turquoise squirrel!

Maybe 40 minutes worth of sunshine! That's it!

Now I just need to remember that we planted all this...don't

want to forget to turn the sprinkler on!



New Carpet

We got new carpeting in our three bedrooms...all at the same time.

We had to empty the rooms so the carpet could be installed. 

Three bedrooms full of furniture and stuff translated into a living room

and dining room full of furniture and tubs full of stuff!

 

One of the bedrooms has these pretty yellow walls. 

I think the gray carpet looks good with the yellow walls.

 

I really wasn't sure I'd like the gray carpet, but Bill really wanted it.

I really like it. He was right.

  

Fortunately he doesn't read my blog...so he won't know I said that!

 

 

Yep, the new carpet looks good in the (empty) bedrooms.  The living room and dining room...well they look like a couple of storage units right now!

 

 

Road Trip

Bill, Mandy and I took a road trip yesterday. We headed up to York, PA for the day.

One of the places we stopped was "refindings". 

I've been here once before...but it was the first visit for them.

They were very excited....well Mandy was more excited than her Dad. 

But he's a fun guy and pretty easy to get along with! 

We didn't buy very much...I picked up a few things to

create with (more about them in a future post) and Mandy found a couple little plant

pots and an old tin measuring cup (I should have taken pictures).

Even though we didn't bring much home We still saw a lot of interesting things. 

I thought Bill might like to have these letters.  I was wrong.

Mandy has been looking for a new ceiling fixture for her living room. 

This was not what she was looking for.  I personally think it's kind of fun!

I also thought this wire laundry basket was fun, and I liked the spindles too. 

Hmmm...what could I make with those?

One of the rooms we visited had some really interesting things in it. 

REALLY INTERESTING....

How would you like to have this guy staring down at you?

Here's a unique piece of sculpture (?)....Bill can't take his eyes off of it!

Then there was this shoe. Quite the fashion statement! 

I was tempted. After all, my last name does start with the letter "E".

I tried talking Mandy into this ceiling fixture. 

It seemed kind of appropriate since Charlotte and Lulu will be

having a flamingo themed birthday party next month.

But the answer was no.

There were some beautiful pieces too. Like this large piece of stained glass.

My photo doesn't do it justice...the colors are amazing! 

It's large. Probably about eight feet tall.

It's a nice photo to finish with since it's Easter week.



Cookies and Stuff!

 

This is something new!  Everything that has to be done is done.  Decorations are in place, shopping complete, packages wrapped. Lots of cookies baked...thank you Bill!  There's still a few things I'd like to do...but if I don't get to them it won't really matter.

 

Bill and I can just sit back and relax. (We can eat cookies!!)  We can do nothing.  That'll be a real treat for Bill.  This first Christmas in the retirement part of his life is very different...he worked in retail for over 35 years. Relaxing never happened at Christmas time before...at least not for him.

I work today, but then I'm off for three days.  I'm looking forward to listening to some Christmas music on the radio, Christmas movies on TV...oh, and did I mention cookies.  Oh my goodness...we have a lot of cookies!! I'm looking forward to eating them!!

It'll be nice to share some quiet moments before the family activities begin tomorrow. 
Unusual, but nice.  Rumor has it that the kitchen might still be busy though. There are at least a couple more types of cookies that Bill wants to make. Who knew that there was a baker trapped inside that retail sales manager for all these years!!

Enjoy your final preparations for your Christmas activites...
and don't forget to eat cookies!!!

******

I hope my daughter-in-law, Johanna, gets some sweet treats today too...'cause it's her birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

 

 



It's Beginning To Look A lot Like Christmas!

  This is the first holiday season in 35 years that Bill hasn't worked in retail...most of those years were in management.  Working in retail (especially mgmt.) meant working on weekends, evenings, all hours, on call, you name it!  Bill is really enjoying being away from all that.  But he has been busy with all kinds of other activities....at home!  He decorated the outside of the house last week...he said he might even get a spotlight up!!

 

 

Spotlight or not...I kind of like the house just as it is!! 

Wait until you see what else Bill's been up to!! 

Sniff.....

We had a really nice Thanksgiving Day....all our children and grandchildren....lots of delicious food....and an extraordinary amount of blessings in our lives!

 

We made an entire day of it.  I crafted with the three oldest grandkids and loved on the two littlest. Poor Caleb and Lulu.  They both had nasty colds...so they needed a lot of loving!  The guys enjoyed some football, we played some games, and ate and ate and ate!  Bill and I enjoyed it all so much.

Bill started not feeling very well towards the end of the day.  He managed to 'catch' a bit of a cold too.  Although by Friday morning it wasn't a bit of a cold anymore. Sore throat, runny nose, earache, headache, bodyaches....just generally achy and blah!

  

I woke up Saturday with a little sore throat.  It was craft show day....I got home about 3:30 PM. Long about 5:30 PM I decided to take a nap, and three hours later I woke up with some of the same symptoms Bill had.  Now we both FEEL MISERABLE!