Prayer Updates- Smiles And Sadness-Please Keep Praying

A few weeks ago

I asked for prayers

for this sweet, young woman.

Her name is Jessica.

You can read her whole 

story here.

She is the daughter-in-law

of friends of ours.

She has been undergoing 

a grueling round of chemo

and has had a lot of ups and downs.

However, her 

BAD NUMBERS

 are dropping!

Drastically!

BUT-they need to drop more

before she is considered cured.

I am going to see her

tomorrow at a big family affair.

Please remember her 

in your prayers.

She desperately needs them.

Her good news is worth a smile.

Now, the not-so-happy news.

Viv from Out On A Whim

let me know

that her little grandson

did not make it.

Doesn't that picture just

break your heart?

You can read about it here.

God called this sweet little

child home.

And, although we know he is

in a better place,

his Mom & Dad

and all his extended family

are hurting.

Thank you so much-

I am overjoyed to know

that so many of you pray

when others need it.

Blessings and a Peaceful Saturday

to you.

I'm Down South Talking Turkey

Well,

It's not ME talking turkey

but we'll talk about that later.

Do you remember the 

beautiful home 

I showed you yesterday?

Well, I don't want to 

invade the privacy of

Mistah Jeff & Mizz B

too much so I will just 

give you a limited peek.

This is looking

from their kitchen into the

breakfast room and on into

their well appointed family room.

Beyond the windows to the 

back lie the hazy

Smoky Mountains.

This shows the fireplace

a bit better.

All native stone.

MizzB has done a phenomenal job

throughout the whole house.

The kitchen -which I am not showing-

is a chef's dream.

Here's

A small section of their main living room.

Whaddaya mean you can't see it?

Of course you can't...

remember I said  LIMITED peek?

Okay....quit whining-I'm going

to show you something else.

Ready for something special?

How about THIS for an office?

Looking towards the window.

Pretty sweet, huh?

There is a whole other wall of

beautiful built-ins, too.

I will have to set fire to my

hubby's office before they come

to visit. oh..wait..that's arson.

I guess I will 

nail a  bar across the door

and declare it a hazard zone.

Now...

Back to my original thought.

Talking turkey.

Before MistahJeff

even gets dressed for the day,

he yells, 

"Good morning, boys"

and 

Curly, Moe & Larry

meet him by the edge

of the drive for their

morning treat.

And, before you ask,

I did NOT give them code names.

The boy's names 

REALLY ARE

Curly, Moe & Larry.

That being said~

I'd say 

THE SMOKER'S GROUP

is one stooge short!

Care to name the two that

are present here?

Look how HAPPY those two look.

You would think 

"the girls" (me & MizzB)

went off shopping for the day

and left those two to manage

lunch by themselves, or something!
shheeez...

Was I Nawth Or Was I South-What's Your Best Guess?

The clue should be in the word

NAWTH.

Up here we say North...

Down THERE they say

Nawth.

Gotta love people

with those 

S'uthern accents.

Yes.You.Do.

As a matter of fact

we DO love a COUPLE of those

S'uthern people.

Yes.We.Do.

Want to know where we

found them?

We found them in this

beautiful, beautiful home.

I should have moved the cars

first, I suppose...

but you get the idea!

See this?

This is the window of the

bathroom that we used 

in the guest suite.

She put that little bird out there

to keep REAL BIRDS from

sitting there and doing...

well-you know-

what birds do.

Yes-That's what you think it is.

Who but a true friend would

be showing you bird poop?

Want to see a shutter

up close and personal?

There's a mist afoot-

another clue to where we are.

I can't tell you how beautifully

we were treated 

Down South.

MyHero and MistahJeff

go back a LONG way.

But MizB & I

didn't really know each other.

Now we do!

Isn't she pretty?

Sorry this is a poor quality

picture...but trust me-

she is beautiful-

inside and out.

I adore her.

No-wait-I love her.

I want to marry her.

oh- wait-

that's not right-

I mean I love her like a

SISTER (if I had one).

She is sweet and lovely

and has the most wonderful laugh.

Now, MistahJeff can put on

his old crudgmugeon act

but he can't fool me-

Underneath that is a 

sweet heart.

Want to see more?

Well, you will have to come

back tomorrow and I will

show you some pictures of

the INSIDE OF this

beautiful home.

It is gorgeous!

Beyond gorgeous!

Meanwhile you can take a

peek at the mountains they

enjoy each and every day.

Is that breathtaking , or what?

So...was your guess 

The Smoky Mountains?

Do you know WHY they are

smoky?

Because good old boys like

this sit out in the garage

and puff their fool heads off.

MyHero told me

Real Men Smoke.

I told him real men only

smoke butts they pick up off

the street and he should 

Get Busy!

source

Y'all come back tomorrow

cuz you sure don't want to miss

the 

REST OF THE STORY..

and it starts with this....

The First Laugh Of The Day

Is there anything

more like music

to the ears

than the laughter of

a child?

Smiles guaranteed-

This is only 

FOUR SECONDS long.

It puts a smile in my heart

& I hope it puts one

in yours!

We are still traveling and I
hope to catch up with
everyone soon!

The Best Part Of Gardening

What is the best part

of gardening?

Is it the beautiful plants

growing in the yard?

Or my sweet bicycle, Bardot?

Is it the fairy garden?

Or one lone beautiful rose?

Nope!

The best part is having

my own personal gardener

that shows up in work clothes

to water the plants.

Whew- This is hot work...

Anything else to water?

Yep! A few more that the

hose won't reach.

What a good little helper.

MyHero attached the

street number on the post.

Notice anything wrong with it?

Anyone? anyone?

Hmmmm....I think I may

have to hire 

ANOTHER GARDENER

to help me around here.

Let's see....

I am taking applications!

Make sure you show up in

your work clothes.....

Oh- My!

Wait'll MyHero sees this!

I am preparing for the scolding!

My Hero-My Hearos-

Get it? Nevermind......

Six Months Til Christmas!

Do you want to shoot me?

It's about 90º here.

Does it make you think

of Christmas shopping?

Well, being as I am usually

the last one to the

party...I wanted to be

the first one

to mention Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas,

Did you know that hunting

down the perfect 

Christmas tree can

be dangerous?

Don't believe me?

Look at this....

It's enough to make you want

to never go to a 

"cut your own tree place"

ever again.

Or..as SweetCheeks likes to

call it

That STOOOPID TRHEE PLACE.

Okay-

I am going to go hide now

before some blogger

decides to 

hunt me down

and hurt me.

Have a great day and remember~

It is never too early 

to start

Christmas shopping.

The six months will be gone

before you know it!;>)

I Scream-er- Ice Cream

The other day
I mentioned some things
I love about summer.
You know the other 

thing I love about 

summer?
Ice Cream

Well, I don't eat it

but my whole family

loves it.

Is there anything better

than homemade

ice cream?

First I mixed up

Orange Crush

ice cream.

Tastes like a 

Dreamscicle.

6 cans of ORANGE Crush Soda

2 cans Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 heaping cup sugar

Put 2 cans of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk to a big bowl.

Stir in the sugar.

Slowly pour in one can of Orange Crush.

Combine the first can of soda with condensed milk and sugar.

Continue adding 5 more cans of Orange Crush.

Add the mix to ice cream freezer.

Crank up the ice cream maker.

Mix until the ice cream is firm.

Let sit several minutes to "ripen".

Freezes well.-Makes 3 qaurts.

I dug out the old

ice cream maker,

cranked her up.

Here is where the 

I SCREAM

comes into play.

She made a few turns

and groaned and moaned.

We "helped" her run

until her motor quit.

Thankfully, the ice cream

was almost done.

Bye-Bye old girl!

At least we got this out

of you before you died.

I went to Sam's Club

and found a new friend.

Hello Baby!

You sure are a pretty thang!

Aroma (don't you love the name)

 ran perfectly and 

we were delighted with

this- 

Vanilla Custard Ice Cream

We really like the custard

rather than ice cream.

Ohhhh...This is sooo good!

It's too bad that 

no one in this family likes

ice cream!

Oh-wait-maybe 

THIS ONE does!

However,

this one 

 would rather have

a cupcake

at the local trough buffet.

If you don't have an

ice cream maker, or have

never made your own,

you are missing one of

life's special little joys.

Yes. You. Are.

A Door County Home

Well, 

I think you all know that

I have moved about a

million times.

I might have exaggerated

that by 996,986 but 

who's counting?

The last place we lived

before moving to this house

was Door County, WI.

It is called the 

"Maine of the Midwest".

When I got the latest

copy of Midwest Living

(thank you to the childrens'

Magazine school fund raiser)

the cover was lovely.

Someone,

 who shall remain nameless,

 spilled coffee on

the cover before I could even

open the first page.

But, I was drawn into the 

wonderful Door County home

featured inside-

coffee stains and all.

Here is the side facing

the bay of Green Bay.

This is about 45 miles

North of us on the

same body of water.

A wonderful cottage outside

but look inside.

I love this porch and

the pops of hot pink

offsetting the 

summery blues.

A quick peek into a bedroom...

And where do the kids play and sleep?

Is that a happy room, or what?

And...this

Vintage Teacart

 is probably my favorite.

Hmmm...teacart...

Maybe she will invite me

up for tea!

Now, wouldn't THAT be something?

pssst...I'll bring my own cookies~

We are off for a couple of days-
well, actually I am a little "off"
most of the time.
So, I will be playing catch up 
late at night-or early morning-
(if I can get online at all)
 so don't feel
bad if I don't respond right away.
I'll be around!

THESE Are Compliments?

You know,

Sometimes Someone Says

Something
to you that 

SOUNDS NICE..

and then...

there is that

follow up 

ZINGER.

Here-quote/unquote-

are the latest in

my life.

Lulu:

( said sweetly)

Nana-You have a

LOT of energy for your age.

Thanks, Lulu!

Are you HYPER because

you drink so much 

Starbucks?

Ria:

(soft little whispery voice)

I like your hair, Nana.

Thanks, Ria.

It looks like the hair on 

one of our dolls.

Really? Where's the doll?

My Mom threw it out

because its hair was

so messed up.

SweetCheeks:

(matter of factly

lightly pinching my forearm)

I must tell you that she

has a weight obsession

and has been watching me 

lose weight.

You're not so fat, Nana.

Thanks, SweetCheeks.

-pause-

Did you see the 800  pound

man on Dr. Phil?

He was this much bigger

than you are.

okay-seriously?

I am thinking of moving

and leaving

NO FOWARDING ADDRESS!

and-what the heck are you 

doing watching Dr. Phil?

The First Day Of Summer

Why did I think 

TODAY

was the 

FIRST DAY

of summer?

It was yesterday!

What do I LOVE about

summer?

Pink Lemonade Slushes!

(click on image for recipe)

I love the way the wind

ruffles the waves

out in front of the house.

I love that our

Fairy Garden

is flourishing...

I love driving across

the peninsula 

to Algoma and 

watching the kids play

in the 

BIG WATER of Lake Michigan.

I love the slow roll

of fog that wraps

its hazy arms around

the lighthouse.

But, most of all,

I love our backyard

and the faces you see.

Like 

THIS ONE

Gotta love a face like that!