WELCOME BACK TO TWO GOOD BLOGGING FRIENDS!!!

Many of you know 

Rebecca from

A Gathering Place

She is our multi-talented friend 

that has always made beautiful 

look easy.

She has been healing for over a year

since her accident and is 

BACK IN THE BLOG WORLD.

Please pop over and tell her Hello.

It will mean the world to her.

AND

 I hope many of you also remember

Bonnie from

Creative Decorating On A Budget

She has done an amazing job over the years

of making her home look great 

on a strict budget.

She would take on huge projects

WHEN HER HUSBAND 

WAS OUT OF TOWN...

Don't you love her already?

Pop by her blog and tell her 

Hello and Welcome Back

when you have a moment to do so.

Your laugh for the day from

Charles In Charge:

Charles In Charge:  Mom! Is there green ice cream?

Mama Mimi:  Yes-Pistachio is usually green.

Charles In Charge: You mean like the Pistachio of Liberty?

Mama Mimi:  Yep!

Gotta love it!

Have a great day!  

MARCHING TOWARDS SPRING-

All Wintered Out!

I don't know about you but I thought

February would NEVER END.
Then March 
ROARED IN LIKE A LION.

We had several inches of snow.

Snow that glitters like diamonds-

so bright and dazzling 
that it would hurt your eyes.

Feathery soft,
white as an angel's wing.

coating every surface with 
shimmery sequins.

As pretty as it is, however,
I am not a SNOW person.
No.I.Am.Not.

I am MARCHing towards Spring.

I am always  TIRED of winter!

Tired of snow!

Tired of cold!

Tired of the frozen tundra.
Give me snow for Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day and then
take it away----please----

I am MARCHing towards 

St. Patrick's Day with my potted Shamrock...

the plant of  my father's mother

and her mother before her.

Other years found me
 MARCHing to the sink
 to wash the 

Irish China that my girls gave me.
However,

As we are preparing to downsize,

I let the girls arm-wrestle over

which one of them would "inherit" the

IRISH CHINA

they had gifted to me a few years ago.

Before this morning is over
 I am  MARCHing myself 

right over to 

STARBUCKS...where I will 
WALTZ IN

and order a latte.

A drink to warm my bones.
 While my heart 

longs for Spring,
my body is stuck with a
Dreary Winter Day.

I was thinking (that's dangerous)

and I told MyHero I might order 

him a nice little

LEPRECHAUN SUIT

for Saint Patrick's Day.

I'd been looking at costumes
 and I thought I 

finally found the right one.

I was all set to order until I saw that it said-

COSTUME ONLY!

DARN!!!!

I am back home but will only
be here for a few days
before going to visit
my daughter and sweet grandkids.
Oh! Look!
One is dressed and waiting for me
on the steps already!

Have a wonderful Monday.

FINISH IT UP FRIDAY-Really Random!

I WAS going to do a 

CHRISTMAS POST TODAY

but decided to clean up 

my picture files a bit.

LUCKY YOU!

You get to look at all this 

RANDOM CRAP STUFF

Some fall pictures of my daughter's kids-

BigBoyE, CharlesInCharge& BrightEyes

Can you tell who the 

GOOFBALL in that family is?

Hint- It's the oldest one!  lol

Looking for a cute little 

CHRISTMAS GIFT 

for a grandparent, godparent, mom or dad?

I stole borrowed them from the internet

but the TREE I spotted on 

AnnMarie-Musings of a Vintage Junkie's blog

Can I get a HAND for those ideas?
....nevermind....

Wouldn't those make cute memories?

My son was traveling for the week and my

daughter-in-love walked into the bedroom

and found our little CJK holding 

A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING

of him and his daddy 

taken a couple of years ago.

He was missing his Daddy and 

those wet spots are where his tears were

dropping onto the paper.

Doesn't that make you want to weep?

Look what a little CHUNKER he was! LOL

To comfort himself he sleeps with

HIS DADDY'S TEDDY BEAR

from when he was a little boy.

Not so chunky any more!

Speaking of CHUNKY!

Chunky peanut butter anyone?

This "little girl" is 14 now.

Look close-

That is not a SUNTAN on her legs!

She is going to kill me...

but she will probably wait until 

AFTER I buy her Christmas present.

She slathered herself with
PEANUT BUTTER
but refuses to eat at the
WAFFLE HOUSE
when we travel.
Her sisters make up for her.
We stop for waffles-

What do you want girls?
STEAK & EGGS...
Seriously---do I look like an
idiot-$15 for a 
WAFFLE HOUSE steak and eggs?
Milk is extra--
$50 later and we are on our way!
Maybe I won't get them a
Christmas present this year~

Speaking of Christmas presents

I will finish with this.

Yeah- You go right ahead and do that.

As for me---

I would be afraid of finding 

POISON in my COFFEE

if I did that!

I don't put

ANYTHING

past 

ANYONE

ANYMORE!

Have a wonderful weekend.

I will be back later with

some more

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

so -quit your whining!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TWO GRANDKIDS!

It's a crazy week here-

or I'm crazy-still trying to figure out which it is.

Anyway,

Today is the 5th birthday of 

CHARLES IN CHARGE.

He was a bouncing 10#3oz kid.

He looked like he was 2 months old

when he was born.

LOOK how cute he is NOW!

On top of being cute

he is funny and kind and loving.

Happy Birthday, Charlie.

Yesterday 

 we celebrated the birthday of our

17 year old granddaughter,

Aleena.

Isn't she a beauty?

Guess what-

In this world where you hear all the 

HORRIBLE THINGS

about teenagers

she doesn't fit the mold.

She is a GOOD kid-

with good morals and a loving heart.

We need more Aleenas 

in the teenage world.

Love you both to the moon and back!

We have two more birthdays

in the next 10 days.

Somebody snuggled up tight

on some cold February nights.

And that's all I'm gonna say

'bout that!

Home Again- Home Again- Jiggety- Jig

It seems all I did for weeks

was work getting the house

ready for sale

so it was fun to get away.

MyHero held down the home fort

while I was gone.

I started out going to 

CARMEL, INDIANA

to watch my grandkids for a few days

so Mimi and her hubby

could go back to Jamaica to celebrate their

10 year anniversary.

It is a CUTE TOWN but 

the monkeys that live there are

even cuter.

CharlesInCharge goes to pre-school 3 days a week.

BrightEyes has one 2 hour session a week.

 Listen, BrightEyes, you are too little to be

showing your legs off!

Put your skirt down!!!!

BigBoy E has homework and does it

as soon as he gets home from first grade.

He loves school -notice he is smiling as he does

his homework!

One day little 

MISS BRIGHT EYES

and I picked up some flowers for her

Mama's homecoming.

She's a happy little soul!

She's even happier since she was

INTRODUCED to

WHIPPED CREAM @ Starbucks.

Mom?  NOT so happy about that!

#Love being a Naughty Nana#

Leaving there I headed back to my 

childhood home in beautiful

BRADFORD COUNTY, PA.

The Susquehanna River runs through the state.

My home would have been on top

of one of the mountains above the valley.

This was the view from our house--

which burned many years ago.

From the church you can see seven counties

(or so they say).

I visited with my dear cousin, Marguerite.

She is 86 and just a riot...seriously...

she could get me in a lot of trouble 

IF I would let her.

Her favorite line is-

"Come on Di-Di"...

that never bodes well for me!

This is Jane (as we always called her) 

and her beautiful great-granddaughter, 

Portia.

Doesn't Cousin Jane just look like trouble

waiting to happen?

I went to the first class reunion I have

ever attended.

It was a two day affair.

I gave a copy of my book to the classmates

that did not already have one.

We did not have a very big class.

I didn't get many pictures there-

I was too busy talking.

So---lots more to share- 

my granddaughter on homecoming court,

a quick trip to the UP to see the leaves,

a pumpkin patch visit with CJK...

BUT

I won't bore you with all that today.

Hopefully--next week I will open

an Etsy shop to dump sell

some old crap wonderful treasures

that you might want to look at.

I have the shop set up BUT

I need to take pictures and get it

ready to go.

I'll be back......but you knew that...

Meanwhile....

you all be good.

I will be practicing for my big night

later this month.

IT'S FRIDAY and Guess Where I Am!!!

Did you guess where I am?

Well, I might not be there 

by the time you read this

but I will be there 

by nightfall today.

I am headed south to 

Indiana.

South to see my daughter, Mimi,

her hubby, Big J,

and these three little dumplings.

Look at that baby hugging that pumpkin.

I want to see some action up close and personal.

Things like THIS!

That kinda looks like my hair 

 in the morning when I get up!

Have a 

GREAT WEEKEND!

Now if you are good-

I will be back here bright and early 

TUESDAY

to show you some inside Fall decorations-

Just wanted to mention.

Hubby and I are still on the 

WHOLE 30 FOOD PLAN.

So far, so good.

We are halfway through it.

HOWEVER-

If I do happen to feel hungry I just 

pull this image up and I lose 

my appetite.

Please feel free to copy and use this, too.

It works better than any diet pills.

Pinky promise!

You DO remember

Richard Simmons, don't you?

That might be the ultimate

"vegging out"...

Have a great weekend-

See you Tuesday!

Finish It Up Friday- Five Fotos For Fun

I am getting to the point where my

photo albums are getting cleared out.

That might be good or bad...

So Here We Go:

Let's COUNT shall we?

-ONE LITTLE BOY-

CJK

on the dock to nowhere:

That is using the Waterlogue application.

Here is what the original looked like:

Two Little Sisters Loving Each Other

while they wait for a snack after a hard

dance practice routine.

SweetCheeks  and Ria

Two All Togged Up

for a wedding.

Big Boy E & CharlesInCharge

THREE Little Schoolgirls

on their way to the car..

I promised to only show them from the 

knees up. 

I LIED!

Someone could NOT find their shoes!

How DOES that happen?

Lulu, Ria & SweetCheeks

The FOUR FINGER GRIP!

Little Miss Bright Eyes

And one more cuz she is
SOO CRAZY CUTE!

Now- I want you to go out and enjoy 

your day!

Here is

FIVE IN A ROW!

Don't be all sedate, stuffy, and safe-

be a little daring!

You just never know what might happen!

Yeah- That would be me...

I can hear my name over the loudspeaker now....

Poor Little Sick Boy-Charles-In-Charge & Big Bro & Baby Sis

The other day Charles-In-Charge

was doing this-

This poor little 3 year old is 

NOT FEELING WELL.

Poor little guy.

You can tell he has a fever-

look at those pink cheeks.

Sleep is a good thing when you are sick.

That is something I have a hard time doing.

Looks like he has it nailed.

Sometimes the boys nap together.

Isn't that sweet- two little brothers

all snugged down for a nap?

You already know everyone in the family 

is gonna get "it" anyway, right?

However, Big Boy E, 

isn't sick.

After a nap he is good to go.

They are sliding down the "hill" 

by the snow bank next to their drive.

The perfect size "downhill"

for a little Miss's first ride.

I wish she was a happier child!

We don't let MyHero go sledding.

We feel he is safer on a bike.

image

You all have a safe day out there.


ps.  Don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight.  

FINISH IT UP FRIDAY- 5 Random Things And Blocking A Blogger

I am still cleaning up my picture files.

They are looking better all the time.

Soooo...here we go....some

RANDOM PICTURES

to keep me on task.

Here are BigBoyE, CharlesInCharge 

& Bright Eyes.

Looks like Ethan is the only one that got the

SMILE for the photo memo.

See that striped sweater Charlie as on?

Keep that in the back of your mind.

Their Dad's (Big J) favorite Christmas decoration

is every man's dream 

(and every woman's nightmare)

It stays above ground for exactly 30 days

before it is deep-sixed to the basement

to wait for next year to roll around.

My daughter is a smart girl.

She knows how to pick her battles.

Every little girl needs 

TWO PINK HATS.

Bright Eyes is no exception.

One for her solemn look and one for smiles.

I wanted to give a little belated Thank You 

to my friend, Louise, Cards by Louise

She is just such a sweet lady 

and keeps herself busy making cards.

SweetCheeks could not wait 

until Thanksgiving was over

so she could eat the Hershey Bar.

I saved the Pilgrim and she

saved ate the candy.

Now---remember I told you to keep that

red & white striped sweater 

stored in the back of your mind for later?

You can bring it forefront now.

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE pictures

of SweetCheeks in

THE RED & WHITE STRIPED SWEATER.

The family had just cut 

the Christmas tree down and she

was trudging along behind.

Upon hearing her yelling they turned around

and this is what they saw.

She was caught in the bushes 

and didn't know how

to get out.

I laugh EVERY. SINGLE. TIME I see this picture.

SweetCheeks still DOES NOT think it is funny.

I think I am going to have to buy her a

SENSE OF HUMOR

for Christmas!

Have a great Friday.

I finished a lot of my projects yesterday 

SOOOO I hope to take pictures of the

DINING ROOM REDO 

and post them tomorrow.

edited to add:
Do you ever get those crummy comments
where there is tie-back to someone's blog
that you would NEVER promote in a
million years?
Did you know that you can block followers?
I just took 5 or 6 of them off.
Of course, your follower count goes down
but that doesn't bother me.
I never realized I could block them.
IF you want to know how and don't know
I can do a quick post about how to do it.

That's it- I'm off to eat ice cream
and watch soap operas like
Love Is A Many Splendored Thing.
~(is that even on anymore)~

Finish It Up Friday- Five Fotos (or 6 or 7 or 8 or is it 9) For Fun!

Still working on purging my pictures.

I had planned on doing all

OLD PICTURES

but I couldn't resist these taken

this week at my house.

#1- Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?

It's little CJK

Let Nana whip you up a nice meal!

#2-

GREAT MEAL, Nana

Good to the LAST DROP!

Wait- What do you mean you think I lied about

COOKING A nice meal for the kid?

#3

The truth is out!

The box is a dead giveaway!

#4

Look! Look!

Look what you can do with a Happy Meal Box.
Who needs the toy inside?

#5

AND- Who needs prescription glasses?

Not this one!

Uhhh-Ohhhh.

The family clown

(famously known as SweetCheeks)

is being out-clowned.

Methinks I see trouble brewing!

Cheer Up!

Here's your little cousin giving you a 

CUTE LESSON!

Nano-Nano, Nana!

~remember Mork & Mindy~
Doesn't your heart ache for the loss of 
Robin Williams?

uh-oh--another hiccup, SweetCheeks!
Look who ELSE is getting cuter by the day!
Baby Bright Eyes,. Big Boy E & CharlesInCharge!

Don't worry, SweetCheeks,
you will always have a special
spot in my heart!

Happy Fall-Y'all.

Have a good day AND

thanks for smiling at the "littles" in our family.