HAP-POE HALLOWEEN-Come See The Giveaway I Won!!! It's Spooktacular!

Do you LOVE 

Edgar Allen Poe?

Did you read him when you were young

and find his stories horrifically macabre?

I did!

I think I was about 10 or 11 when I read

THE RAVEN

for the first time

(ah-maybe THAT is what's wrong with me)

and from there I went on to  

The Telltale Heart and

The Pit & The Pendulum.

and then the rest of his works.

Well, guess what?!?!

I WON a book that contains four of his best stories!

It has POP UPS

 I signed up for this give away over at

Vera's Row Homes & Cobblestones Blog

I hardly ever sign up for giveaways because I 

am so richly blessed already...

but...POE?

Oh!  I had to do it.

Now-not only did Vera send the book~

You should SEE the packaging!

Sadly, you can't!

Why?  WELL-because I was 

SO EXCITED to get this baby that I 

TORE ALL THE WRAPPINGS OFF

before I photographed it.

I know- 

BAD BLOGGER!

But here is what was in the package.

I tried to neaten it up a bit for you.

Two copies of his original works on velum.

The Raven & Annabel Lee.

and oh- Vera made wonderful tags

and there were cards in the package-

The pops up are quite "spooky"

Thank you SO much, Vera!

This is a GREAT addition to my library.

I am reading it tonight.

I have been saving it for 

HALLOWEEN!

My 12 year old grandgirl, Lulu, 

was here and asked if she could read

The Telltale Heart.

I let her.

She said- Well, that is weird, spooky.

Not scary spooky like movies today.

You got that right, Lulu.

There will never be another

EDGAR ALLEN POE.

He was scary before scary was cool.

Personally, I think he is a little 

SCARY LOOKING 

myself...but that is just a personal opinion.

Hap-POE Halloween to you.

Watch out for 

THE RAVEN

that might be over your head 

while you are out and about.

image

The chair is empty but the 

legend lives on.

source

BOO

Last chance to sign up for the giveaway

Sweet Cheeks will do the drawing tomorrow.

I am in Milwaukee today visiting some

babies and their Mama & Daddy.

Catch ya later!

God Really Did Make Blue Pumpkins

Okay- I mighta lied a little---
OR---let's put it this way---

God gave us BLUE paint so that
we could make
OUR OWN BLUE PUMPKINS.

So-Here it is!

Here is my very own 

BLUE PUMPKIN

that I painted with Annie Sloan 

chalk paint.

I know-I know-

some of you will say---

That woman is crazy-
You may, or may not, be right about that!

While he might not have made a BLUE one
 I am pretty sure He never made a 

BLACK ONE EITHER..

but someone in the

Retail World did!

Pretty ugly, huh?

I am working outside doing clean up today
so I may be a tad scarce.
Make sure you come back tomorrow
for a POEtic POEst.
Some of you smart ones probably
picked up on that

So while I am out working
 I want to leave
you with this
REAL INTERVIEW
that was in the newspaper.

Well, there you have it!
You don't have to get
"all dressed up" if you are just
going to the
Dollar Store!
However, make sure you
ARE DRESSED UP
if you are going to
WALMART!

Of course, underwear is always optional.

Here is an example of someone
DRESSED UP for Walmart.

ps.  You still have time to sign up for my giveaway here.
You're gonna love it!
Drawing is Nov.1st.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

I see that people all over 

BLOGLAND

do something called 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY!

Well, SHUT MY MOUTH...

and tell me what you think of THIS!

Oh- SweetCheeks is gonna kill me someday!

Yes- those ARE 3D glasses!

There's A CAT In My Window

Well, there used to be 

REAL LIVE KITTIES

around here.
AND they sat in my windows.

Yes. They. Did.

Here's the thing of it-
we were DOG people
until we got our first cat.

LOL-Who knew we would like
having a cat?
I had them as a kid but never as an adult
until I was in my 40s.

Today I am reduced to having 

A PICTURE OF A CAT

on the back wall of my kitchen

above a bookcase that holds

all my DREAM books and cookbooks.

It's by Steve Hanks.

Isn't that a perfect Fall picture?

Thing is- I leave it up all year long.

Yes I do!

This picture has lived in FIVE HOUSES with me

and I always find a spot for it.

I am not kidding when I say
I took 50 pictures of this
and, sadly, this is the best I can get.
Flash bounces off the picture
and there is no way to direct light it
without that same bounce.
Daylight was even worse!
So-here is what you get, folks!

Awful-absolutely awful
but you get the idea.

We had to have our last kitty put down

about 4 years ago.
She was sick and there was no fix for her.

Our little MistyCat.

I still miss her.

She looked a lot like the cat in that picture.

Now- DOWNSTAIRS in my 

Laundry Room I have another picture.

I will tell you that I did not know these were

by the same artist until about 2 weeks ago.

duh....mmmeeee

This print has lived in SEVEN HOUSES with me.

Usually in a library area.

Today it acts as a "window" over the

washer and dryer.

One day I really WILL show you 

that room!

SO-No more kitties for us right now.

We hope to be traveling more in the next year

and can't take kitties with us.

AND I don't think it is fair to leave them behind...

and/or alone.

Plus, my daughter and son-in-law are so allergic

that they start sneezing when they hear the word

CAT!

Isn't she cute?

You've heard of the HORSE WHISPERER?
She's the CAT SNEEZER.

Sometimes when she's here

I call,

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty" 

just to see her start hyperventilating!

YEP!

I am THAT Mom!

Aren't YOU glad  that YOU aren't 

related to ME?

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

I will be outside washing windows.

No rest for the wicked!

Edited to add:
I may be a bit scarce today.
I have to pick 3 kids up from school.,
feed them, make sure they do their homework
and  herd take them to dance.

Before & After - Come Sit With Me In My Little White Sitting Room

Get yourself a sedative
this is a LONG post!
Matter of fact, I think it is the 
LONGEST POST
I have ever done.

I don't do a lot of pictures of my house.

It's just not my thing, I guess.

I do pop in little bits and pieces sometimes.

This house had been on the market 
and sitting vacant

for three years before we bought it.

It was the "cleanest" pre-owned home

I had ever seen.

But- it was dated.

AND it was a tri-level.

We rehabbed this house from a

tri level and made it into 
a functioning two story.

It was a long journey and one I won't tell today 

BUT

I will show you bits and pieces of my little

sitting room.
This is my little ESCAPE from life.

This is to the left when you enter the foyer.
It is not a big room
12x13 - I think.

I ended up with rose colored accents
in here by a fluke really.
It started with the leaded glass window
that was damaged 
and came out of another house we rehabbed.

This sitting room used to be a dinette.
Here is what it looked like when we started.
This was taken standing in the same spot.
We removed the door and window and replaced
them with a big bay window.
The wall to the right was solid.
We put in a wood burning and/or gas fireplace.
The fireplace is the centerpiece for this room
and for the dining room on the other side of the wall.

Side-by-Side

The foyer used to be the old kitchen.

Too much to tell in one post...lol

SO- we will just settle on this sitting room!

This is a close up of the bay window area.

The porch you see outside is off the dining room 

that is on the other side of this room.

The wall color is a very light cream.

The chairs I have had for almost 20 years

and I still love them.
I did crackle before crackle was cool~

The little table belonged to Grandmother Clara.
The crocheted topper was a gift from my
cousin Marguerite that visited last year.

Along the other wall is the two way fireplace.
This is solid stone and was carved out of
8 or 9 different stone samples.
It was a model used to show what a fireplace
would look like in the different stones.
When I tried to order one they no longer
made them.
I said what about the model?
They said NOTHING MATCHES..
You don't want THAT!
Yes- Yes- I do.
They gave it to me for a song.
I painted it and it looks great!
Let me tell you -they did a little whining when they
had to off load this thing at the house.
IT WAS HEAVY.

The picture above the fireplace was a
gift from my kids.
The crystal candelabra belonged to
Gramma Hazel.
The lamp in the corner has a cream and rose colored silk shade.
That was in Grandmother Clara's piano room.

Gramma Hazel & Grandmother Clara
were mortal enemies.
It all started with a hat purchased for 
their children's wedding- don't ask.
I love that their things are all intermingled now!
They are probably both spinning in their graves.

The walls look yellow here but in real life
they are a very, very light cream.
The rocks on the hearth 
are from my son & his wife.
One is a huge amethyst and one is petrified wood.

 That little TV is the one I painted white here.
(I know- I know- who paints a TV)
 I escape in here at 3pm to watch
Dr. Phil and blog.
The guest cottage sign is from
Kris @JunkChic Cottage.

The little bookcase was my daughter's discard.
I fixed the back piece and now
it holds my gardening books.
I planned on painting it till I hauled it in here
and noticed that it matched the old window frame.

The doll was made for me by my friend, Ruth.
She was an excellent dollmaker but gave it up
several years ago.
Pouring those molds is hard, heavy work.
She sold at doll shows all over the Midwest.
Her dolls always had the most beautiful faces.
She has her little witch hat on for Halloween.
Sorry- this is taken through her veil 
and so a bit obscured.

This is looking towards the front porch.

This is the same view taken when we 
purchased the home.
As you can see there was no porch there
when we started.
We replaced the windows in the same opening.
and now the sofa sits in front of them.
I will tell you the "sofa story" another time.

Side-by-Side

MyHero actually bought me some roses.
hmmmmm....wonder what's up with him....
That book is one I won 
from Ron @ Uptown Acorn.
His house is featured in the book.
I love it!!!!

Here are some bits and pieces in the room.
The rose art is an original pastel that I have had for several years.

The children by the beach 
is a giclee canvas- a gift
from my kids.

The piece in front of it I found at a shop
several years ago. 
I like that the kids 
are headed in the opposite direction
of the kids in the painting.
That sculpture weighs at least 20 pounds.

The little church is an original (or so I was told)
by Charles Buchanan.

The sculptured marble plate belonged to 
Grandmother Clara.
It was meant to be mine because the image is of
Diana-Goddess of the Hunt.
yep-that's me all right!

Odds-n-ends
Pillows I love

and
Heisen footed bowl-Grandmother Clara
Silver tray-Gramma Hazel
snicker-together forever snicker
yes-I AM evil

Oh-My
I think that's enough for one day.
Don't want to put you on sensory overload.
Oh wait- the piano shawl on the coffee table?
That is from Gramma Hazel, too.
Lucky me.

And just to keep it real.
To the left just inside the opening
is my scanner and printer.
That is NOT pretty-but it  is functional.

Speaking of functional.
I love it when someone climbs up into the 
garage attic FOR me!

Don't fall, MrFunctional MyHero!
I might have a few more jobs for you.....
Notice the suspenders?
Those are to keep his pants up
cuz he is so skinny they are falling off
hahahahhahaha
Hope you all have a great Monday.
As for me?
I'll be hiding after MyHero sees this post.

PRAYER REQUEST UPDATE ON LAURA

I think I told you that Laura is a 

VERY PRIVATE person.

I think there is a certain security

that surrounds you when you are 

used to being a private person.

Well-

Cancer takes that security away

and Laura asked for prayers.

On Thursday I got an update from her.

I asked permission to see 

what I could post as an update.

 She replied that I can

post anything I wanted to post.

So, I am posting this email from her

because then I won't have to explain things 

second hand.

If you get queasy reading about blood

or details you might want to skip 

this email and just pray for her.

Just wanted to warn you.

I, again, got home from the hospital yesterday (Wed.).  At about 2 am Tuesday, I started coughing up large amounts of blood.  I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life.  Anyway, a trip to the ER (1/2 hour away) and they slapped me into the hospital almost immediately.   I was really, really down about it because I had just been discharged on Friday and here it was Tues. and I'm back in again (I've spent 29 days in the hospital since the 24th of August).  I had stopped coughing up blood for a while so nobody really knew what to think, but they all seemed worried or concerned.

Everyone loves to hear positive feedback, even Prayer Warriors, and I think all of you wonderful people who took the time, on my behalf, to pray need to know that GOD really does hear your prayers.

Now here's the really cool part..............only GOD could take a bad, scary negative experience like that and turn it into a positive.  Hours later that day (Tues. afternoon), all the drs I have (my cancer dr., my lung dr., my primary care dr. and an infectious disease expert) looked at my recent x-ray, taken in the ER that morning, and compared it to one taken last week and all came to the conclusion that my latest x-ray was much improved over the one earlier.  Could it be that the coughing up of that stuff could have been needed to help get rid of the cyst & infection I am still fighting?  Apparently it was, but even the drs. were baffled.  I'm on these 'horse sized pills' (antibiotics) and the drs were expecting me to get rid of the remaining infection through coughing, but didn't imagine it would take the form it did.   Soooooo.........my scary, bad experience turned into a really good outcome.  Isn't GOD great?  All those prayers everyone is sending up for me are really working!!!  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! 

I was told yesterday, before they released me, that I could resume chemo next week (if all goes well) and I'm looking forward to it because it was working before this other stuff got in the way of the treatments.  Please keep praying that I stay well and don't catch anything else, or for a full cure if you feel led to ask for that.  Thanks so much again!

Hugs and love,

Laura

Please, Please, Please

continue to pray for Laura

whenever you have a moment to do so.

Romantic COUNTRY Fall 2014

You know I usually do a review of 

Romantic Homes magazine.

Well, another little magazine that has 

come a long way is

ROMANTIC COUNTRY.

No I AM NOT selling these magazines

or getting paid to promote them.

I only promote things I like-

for no compensation.

Now this feature in RC is called 

BLOG SPOT

French Essence.

Kelly has a blog called

The Essence of Home

and I have followed her for a long time!

She moves her things around a lot so her

home always looks fresh and "new".

I love Kelly's style.

Doesn't this look comfortable?

See the plates on the open hutch doors?  Cute!

Also in this issue is

Laurie @ Heaven's Walk.

Under the header of 

FARMHOUSE

the article is titled

 Life Is Beautiful

I found Laurie right after she started blogging

and it has been fun to see all the changes

she has made over the years...from..romantic

to shabby chic to nordic to prairie style with a boho attitude.

Her porch is charming...

as is her kitchen.

I wish they had featured her gardens here.

They didn't so I dug up a picture myself.

A third article is titled

RENEWED RANCH

with a subtitle of 

Reign & Shine.

The homeowners are Kathy & Jason Hepton

but I can't find a website connected to them.

But---their house is just lovely.

Isn't this a pretty dining room?

And here is a bit of their kitchen.

I love the touches of turquoise in there.

There is a feature called

PLAYHOUSE.

Little Girl Dreams

has a 2 page spread.

Christine Torda had this built for her daughter, Birdie.

This is one shot of the interior.

Under the heading of

DECORATE

is an article

Naturally Bountiful.

I am sure you can still find this on the newstands.

I saw it at Barnes & Nobles this weekend.

The cover looks like this.

I think that cover picture is from

Miss Mustard Seed.

So there you go!

Fall is sliding towards winter so 

thought you would enjoy seeing this before

the snow flies.

AND-in case you DON'T remember

this is what winter looks like on

the road in front of MY HOUSE!

I just can't wait!

(oh- I am SUCH a liar)

Don't forget to sign up
for my giveaway here.