Sweet Cheeks Birthday Party Girl

Nana,

comes the call.

Do you want to see

me (SweetCheekss) all dressed

up for a birthday party 

being held at 

Build-A-Bear?

Well, of course I do!

Ria is along for the ride, too.

Can you guess by the 

background 

WHERE we met?

Can you?

If you guessed Starbucks you

are smart.....or addicted like me.

She informs everyone 

that will listen there

where she is going and what

she is doing.

And you can see

SweetCheeks loves her sister, Ria,

and likes to get up close and personal.

She also loves her 

Korker hair bows.

You look beautiful, I tell her.

Well, I knohw that, Nana

and so does my sister, Ria.

But do yohu knohw whut, Nana?

What?

My sister, Lulu, dohes NOT

look beyoutiful!

SweetCheeks! That is NOT a nice

thing to say.

Wehll, Issss true!

She stihll has her pajhamas on

and she doesn't look beautiful

until she gets drehssed 

and combs her hair!

Nothing will do but take a
drive to her house to see
for myself.
Well, let's just take a
little look-see,
shall we?
Hi Lulu-
Open the door~
Ah...I see you hair
DOES NEED COMBING.

Well, aren't YOU pretty?

Ummm...Hmmmm..
Maybe SweetCheeks was right after all.....

Oh...don't it make a
Nana proud?;>)
BUT
You will ALWAYS be beautiful
to me!

I will be gone for the day
for our friend's memorial
service and then
down to Milwaukee to
habysit my grandsons for
the evening.
I will see you all tomorrow.

Does ANYONE know
why some comments
are not being processed
through our email addresses
like most are?
I am having a hard time
replying to some comments.
Thanks to anyone that knows
how to FIX this problem!

Talking Furniture- Black Called Me Back

I redid this piece a while ago.

I WAS going to paint it white.

However, 

after looking at it I

decided it needed to be black.

Some pieces just talk to me,

you know?

Kinda like my husband

except I listen better when 

it is "bench talk"!;>)

I

am sorry to say that I don't have

a BEFORE picture.

It was a dull mahogany color,

battered and beaten.

It had a 

PLEATHER tan colored

seat covering.

I added the applique to the back

with gorilla glue

before I started painting.

This is coated with some

black paint I had on hand.

I covered the seat with 

a greenish grey angel fabric that

I had hoarded saved for years.

I suppose you don't want to know

that somehow I managed to

put a staple in my finger?

Do you know any good words

to use in a case like that?

If not- I can recommend a few

of my own favorites!

After painting two coats of black,

I used some gold

Rub & Buff

on the applique,

on the top of the stay across

the back,

and on the legs.

I distressed it slightly on the 

legs and along the edges.

Then, I topped it with

 a matte poly finish.

Please ignore the flipped up fringe on

the rug below.  

I hate when that happens.

This cute little piece is in

my sitting room now

until it finds a permanent home.

And here y'all thought all I did

was sit on my butt and 

play on the computer.

I'm not as lazy as I look!

Hope you find some sweet

projects to do that make you

smile.

I Won A Giveaway

BEFORE

I started blogging,

I don't think I ever

won a thing in my life.

Well...being the lucky 

stiff I am

I won another giveaway.

This one is from

Marti.
Thank you SO much, Marti.
I really appreciate everything.
It was a fun package to open.

Her blog is 

ArtyMarti

subtitled

Marti's Musings.

Pop over and see her.

As the title suggests

she muses on things

both past and present....

memories of her childhood...

and things that are happening

around her now.

Here is what was in

the wonderful package I received.

There is a 

microwave blanket!

I guess I am out of it because

I never heard of these.

You can bake potatoes,

or corn or warm tortillas.

I made baked potatoes

and they were light and fluffy inside.

What else was in that sweet package?

A funky little knob...

A sachet kitty...

And a wonderful pack of 

6 handmade cards.

I thought this one was 

especially fun!

I already have a recipient in mind

for THAT card!

It is always fun to find 

a little something in the mailbox,

isn't it?

Watch YOUR mailbox...

YOU may be getting the card above...

from 

ONE TOUGH OLD

BROAD BIRD

to another-

Me to you!

Hope YOUR day is

full of sweet little surprises, too!

Spring Secrets

Short and Sweet

today.

My favorite Spring time

picture of these

3 little girls.

I call this 

SECRETS.

Sweet Cheeks, Ria & Lulu

in the dresses I made for them.

Hey- What's the big secret, SweetCheeks?

Don't you love it?

I hope you have someone

special in 

YOUR LIFE

to share a secret with...

~Blessings and Happy Wednesday~

OH FUDGE! WHAT? SPRING FUDGE

I think just about

EVERYONE

associates

FUDGE 

with Christmas.

I know that I always

make several batches

of all different types

of fudge during the

Holiday Season.

I give them to my

enemies friends to 

MAKE THEM FAT-

that way I look thinner 
enjoy.

Pretty smart for a blond, huh?

Anyway,

I have a recipe for

LEMON FUDGE

for Spring.

I'm not sure where it came

from but I have used it for

several years.

It was probably the old

Taste Of Home magazine.

It is so good that you

will be licking the pan.

You will bow down

before me because

I am 

The Fudge Queen.

This is NOT a recipe

for those 

weak-willed people

that cannot refrain from

eating the whole pan...

Nosirreeee..

Here you go-

LEMON FUDGE

1/2 cup REAL butter (no oleo)

One 4.5 oz cook & serve lemon pudding

(do not use instant pudding)

1/2 cup milk

3-3/4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Line a 9" square pan with foil

bringing it up the sides.

Use butter and heavily butter the foil

In large saucepan combine:

Pudding mix

Milk

Butter

Cook and stir over medium heat

until mixture has thickened.

Remove from heat.

Beat in confectionery sugar & lemon extract.

Pour into buttered pan and refrigerate.

Use tinfoil to lift fudge out of pan.

Cut into squares and store in fridge.

Serve to family and friends

and your skinny enemies.

Trust me-

You will have a new

Easter candy tradition.

Setting A Spring Table

Well, whilst I was

dragging the Easter stuff out 

of the basement bins,

I was also moving things

around in the china hutches.

Why?  Well, because

 we all know that

ONE THING LEADS

TO ANOTHER,

don't we?

Why-oh-why-

in the midst of all that is going on

do I do this to myself?

Anyway,

I thought it was time to 

bring out a couple of

bunnies to 

dress up the center of the table.

Look at their cute little faces!

They looked so cute there

I thought they should be surrounded

by other lovely Spring pieces.

So~ then I dragged out my old dishes

that I haven't used for several years.

Garden Party by Pfaltzgraff.

You know I have had these for almost

20 years and I still love them.

I always used them in the 

Spring and Summer months.

The ruby thumbprint glasses

belonged to Gramma Hazel.

And another little sugared bunny 

jumped in to join the fun.

It is fun to see the table all set.

A little close up of the florals.

Now-Here is 

QUESTION #1~

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK

it will take 

SweetCheeks to discover that

there are 

M&M's in the flower base

that rests just below the bunnies?

QUESTION #2~

When do you think I will discover 

that they have all been eaten 

unbeknownst to me?

Easter Bunny Alert Or Scare-You Decide

With everything that is going on here

I had decided I wasn't going to

decorate for 

Easter this year.

But....I am one of those people

that keeps busy to avoid

having to think about

things sometimes.

I call it 

"working therapy".

Busy hands-Occupied mind-

or something to that effect.

So--down to the basement

and up with the bins

of Easter fun.

First I want to show

you a sweet little

tin that my mother

received for Easter in

1924.

Isn't it cute?

There's also a "hat"

storage box that was full of

hand decorated eggs that belonged

to Gramma Hazel.

I put it in my hutch on top of

my china.  It is so old and fragile

that I don't want the grandkids

handling it.

This "tree" was made 

by Gramma Hazel

back in the 50's.

It's about 2' tall and 

sits in my kitchen window

that faces the bay.

Gramma Hazel

 also decorated these eggs

This is one of about 15 of them.

There's also this little egg

being pulled in a chick wagon

from the 1950's.

The base of the tree is surrounded

by some eggs that 

the kids have made

and by some from a

Polish friend.

I found this sweet little 

blown glass bunny a few years ago.

The little pink hat is also

one of Gramma Hazel's creations.

And this one I found in a Hallmark store.

(sorry he's a little blurry)

Can you see these little fuzz ball chicks?

They have a single feather tail 

that sticks up their back.

They are only about an inch tall.

I have two of these 

musical eggs that came from Germany.

I cut out and painted Monsieur Hare in the 1980's.

I kept one out of the many I sold.

This one, too, one of many

bunnies that went home

from craft fairs in the 80's.

These little bunnies

hang on the stairs that

lead up to the guest rooms

the kids sleep in when they visit.

And THESE bunnies look

like they are on the run!

But WHAT, pray tell,

are they running from?

OH MY!

I never SAW a money bunny before.

Did you?

What's REALLY scary is

he seems to keep moving around.

I hope he doesn't leave

coconuts instead of 

eggs come Easter morning...

cuz 

Ms.Pouty

wouldn't like that

now would she?!

Princesses And Cupcakes And Stories- OH MY-

SweetCheeks & Company

picked the winner 

of the giveaway

yesterday.

She had a little friend,

Miss S, over for

a play date.

She got all dressed

for the occasion, too!

Aren't they cute together?

They are both in 4 year old pre-school.

Lest you think 

SweetCheeks works for free

she drives a hard bargain.

She does NOT work for 

peanuts.

No, indeedy!

She works for 

CUPCAKES!

Now these might not be the

prettiest cupcakes you ever saw..

but they do taste good..

or so I am told.

2 of them were gobbled down,
on the front porch,

immediately after the

Giveaway Session
filming

 by 

SOMEONE .

Did SHE eat them?

No! She says SHE
didn't eat them...or did she?

Here is the 

"story"
(only a 35 second clip here)

Daddy is an even bigger

sucker than I am...

and THAT is saying

something!