HAPPY BLACK FRIED-DAY!

SHORT AND SWEET

Kinda like me--

Oh! Wait- I mighta lied about that

I am 

TALL & NOT-SO-SWEET!

I am trying to figure out if I can get 

a drive in to go see some special people-

It's about a SEVEN HOUR drive 

FOR ME-

They can make it in SIX HOURS because

they don't know where all the REST STOPS

are along the way.

Don't you LOVE the expression on Bright Eyes face?

Have a great

BLACK FRIDAY

and I will see you the first of the week.

You know why?

NOT!

I am actually dragging out my

CHRISTMAS STUFF 

this weekend

if I stay home.

I won't be in the stores today

because.....................

Have a wonderful weekend, folks!

A THANKSGIVING POEM FOR MY BLOG READERS

Poetry has always come easy to me.

My girl cousins and I listened to a lot

of poetry growing up.

Both of our fathers read poetry to us

so it is second nature to me.

Are my poems perfect?

Nope- Not even close

 but they are heartfelt.

Here is the one I wrote last night.

Thanksgiving

Oh! The memories of Thanksgivings past,

When I was just a child,

When the days spread out forever,

And I could just run wild.

I remember early morning sun

Upon the kitchen floor,

And father hurrying across the room

Going out the old screen door.

He would go to do the milking 

Then come  in to eat his fill,

Of Thanksgiving dinner lovingly prepared

In that house up on the hill.

My little grandmother always came,

Bringing the mincemeat pie,

I never ate a single bite of it

Cuz I didn’t want to die. (smiling)

My Uncle came along with her,

And another Uncle, too,

A cousin tagged in here and there,

When they had nothing else to do.

Oh! Then the years just marched along

And God took some family home,

The Thanksgiving table got smaller,

As other members began to roam.

I never dreamed when I was a child,

That the day would come to be,

That the old homestead would all be gone

And the only family left would be me.

So, gather your family close, my friends,

As you celebrate -I say-

Remember to give Thanksgiving,

For the love & riches you have today.

By: D. Diana Kosmoski ©2017

I hope your day is 

FULL OF BLESSINGS

and for those that do not have family

to spend the holiday with

I wish you 

peacefulness  and  joy

as you celebrate alone.

I'll celebrate with you in spirit......

THREE THINGS IN THEIR HAPPY PLACE----NOT!!!!

Short and Sweet

because I am at the 

VA this morning

and working this afternoon.

Sadly,

This is NOT the happy place

the THREE THINGS 

are visiting.

Nope- they are not here!

Sometimes when MOMS of kids work

they need a Nana to shuffle

their kids around for them.

Take for instance-

going to the 

DENTIST/ORTHODONTIST.

Can I see a show of hands from those

people that like to go to the 

DENTIST?

You can put you hands down now

you liars.

THING ONE:

NO PICTURES, NANA!!!

THING TWO:

Yes, I see you there, Nana.

THING THREE.

Forgot her book but will read anything

she can find-including, but not limited to,

toilet paper wrappers.

Now-

How would you feel about visiting a dentist

that had a waiting room like this one?

Hmmmm...

Now just IMAGINE that your

GYNECOLOGIST 

followed suit.

yeah....

Sorry- no pictures of that waiting room

are available.

Use your imagination.

You all have a GREAT day now,

you hear?!

BREATH OF CHRISTMAS HOUSE TOUR

Every year

I treat my daughters and

daughter-in-loves

to a day with me!

Ha! As if THAT is a treat-

they only go to humor me-

Yesterday was the day!!!!

Every year in good old

 Green Bay, WI

there are 5 or 6 houses

decorated by florists and designers

that are open to the public.

The money from the tickets goes

to a local school so it is a win/win

type of holiday undertaking.

All fall it has been 

WARM and we have had 

ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS.

Surprise-

Yesterday we woke up to

HEAVY WINDS &

FREEZING TEMPS.

Nothing like living in the
FROZEN TUNDRA.

We start the morning with a
STARBUCKS coffee or latte or chai-

I am sharing a few pictures from the
BREATH OF CHRISTMAS website.

Every florist and designer tries to
OUTDO LAST YEAR's 
competition.

Each designer puts their best foot forward-

As a result-
We all get all kinds of ideas
to say nothing of having fun.
Oh- and 
I DO SO LOVE WHITE ROSES.
As a side note- after 42 years of marriage
MyHero FINALLY figured out that I love
WHITE ROSES--now, I'm not saying he is a
SLOW LEARNER or anything but you can
read into it whatever you want.

Loving this, too-

Did I mention they decorate outside, too?

Thanks to my sweet daughter-in-law
I have a trio of those beautiful
candles that look like real flames.

image
Did you know they make
TAPERS, too?
Somehow I missed seeing those before 
this year.
Yes- I am 'out of the loop'-
thanks for asking.

image
It was a 
WONDERFUL DAY-
even if 'the kids' did make fun of me
for RUSHING from house to house.
Hey- What idiot wants to stand outside in
FREEZING TEMPS
longer than they have to--
that's what I want to know.
(not that I am calling THEM 
idiots, you understand)

We finished up with lunch at
A'Bravo-

A'Bravo
Another year of tradition.
The only sad spot in the day is that 
my youngest daughter, Mimi,
was not here to enjoy it with us.
Nope!  She was home in 
Carmel, IN, with her sweet
family-having her own little walkabout.
Do you think BrightEyes is saying
"Come on-Hurry Up, Mom?!"

TRUMP CONTROVERSY PALES IN COMPARISON TO THIS ONE! What is IN and What is OUT?

You all know I came back to blogging

after being gone while

MyHero was dealing with 

his health issues.

As I was visiting blogs I noticed some things-

or rather, the absence of some things--

What happened to
BURLAP?

It used to be that every blog I visited had

SOMETHING made out of BURLAP.

I am seeing less and less of it-

some days I go without seeing any at all.

How can that be?

image

What about 

CHALK PAINT?

I am still seeing it but it seems it has lost 

some of its unsanded waxed luster.

Is that true?

I read a report that says

RUSTIC is on the DEMISE

much like "country" from the 1980s-

it is taking its place in history.

Can that be?

image

BRASS IS BACK?

What?

Right after I got done spraying all my 

BRASS PIECES 

Hammered Bronze?

image

SO-Tell me--

What do YOU think?

IN?

OUT?

Doesn't matter-

you like it and are keeping it

no matter what anyone thinks?

I never got into the 

burlap phase because I am allergic to 

something in it.

It makes me itch like crazy--

so if it is OUT then I am ahead of the game.

I have done my share of

CHALK PAINTING

and plan on keeping my pieces...

but I don't have a lot of 

RUSTIC DECOR.

It just doesn't work in this house.

You know what I think is

ALWAYS IN FASHION?

Pretty!

I love pretty and I think it 

never goes out of style.

AND

ACCEPTANCE is ALWAYS

in style.

I can accept anything anyone loves

because it is their choice...

Kind of like a husband...

Your own may drive you a bit crazy

but it YOUR CHOICE and 

you can keep it at

YOUR HOUSE.

I got my own problems,

ya know what I mean?

So-lay it on me-

tell me what YOU think!

If you are inclined to 

ARGUE WITH ME

please do so at your own risk.

Just know-

I will NOT be accepting invitations

to air my views on

Fox Network.

Thank you!

ps- While you all are mulling over
forming an opinion I will be
OUTSIDE putting up my 
lights while it is warm outside.
Saturday we hit the
DEEP FREEZE!

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!

AND THE WINNER IS----BRIGHT EYES!

My daughter, Mimi, 

IS NOT A PAGEANT MOM

at all.

So-

Bright Eyes had

NO HAIR PEOPLE

NO MAKEUP PEOPLE

NO EXPENSIVE DRESS

NO COACHING

She DID have

PERSONALITY 

POISE

and

SHE IS FUNNY

(imagine that)

Mimi said that she had a

RUNNING COMMENTARY

while she was on stage.

As they introduced the other little girls-

Judge: And Sarah's favorite color is PINK.

Bright Eyes: No! MY favorite color is pink.

At two years old they call out your weight 

(which is one reason I would NEVER be in a pageant-even at two years old)

Judge:  And Sophia weighs THIRTY POUNDS.

Bright Eyes-looking at her:    OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!

Psyching out the competition,

do you think?

Whatever she did.

SHE WON FIRST PLACE

in the 

TWO YEAR OLD DIVISION.

Sorry for the quality-

It's a picture of a picture....

Hmmmn...

We may have a brand new 

HONEY BOO-BOO

on our hands.

I told my daughter to 

BE PREPARED TO DRESS UP

like Honey-Boo-Boo

and her mom.

I think a little pink number like

this might be nice,  right?

image

And that's all I'm gonna say 'bout that

although I could say a whole lot!

Have a great upcoming week!

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!!

image

After volunteering at the 

VA CLINIC

for a couple of years

I have a whole new appreciation

for our servicemen and servicewomen.

I love the older veterans.

They are so proud and even though they

may be feeble physically

their pride burns strong and hard.

There are some hard moments

as you watch them struggle to walk

to their appointments;

they are often too proud to

ride in a wheelchair.

AND there are some tender moments-

a son holding his dad's arm

on his way to treatment-

a daughter doing the mechanics

for her mother who is unable

to check in on her own-

all part of their every day life.

If this picture of an elderly vet 

hugging a young vet that has lost his arm

doesn't put a lump in your throat

or a tear in your eye

you might not "get it".

image

I will never ever take our freedom for granted

and I hope you don't either.

THANK YOU VETS FOR PROTECTING

OUR COUNTRY.

THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING 

OUR FREEDOM.

BUT- MOT OF ALL

THANK YOU  FOR PROTECTING

MY FAMILY.

GOD BLESS YOU TODAY AND 

EVERY DAY!

Show your support and if you see 

a veteran today,

shake his or her hand and say

Thank You!

You'll be glad you did!

PLEASE GO VOTE!!!

I am at the 

VA CLINIC

this morning-doing my little bit

to honor the veterans.

I wish you could see some of the

men and women that come

through the doors here.

It would make you weep

but it would also make you proud.

Do yourself proud today-

GO VOTE!

If not for yourself--

for our service men and women.

Your vote DOES count!

YES!  I am NAGGING YOU

to 

GO VOTE!!!

God bless America-

After this is all over-

-right or left-

we are all still Americans

and need to stand together

UNITED

NEWS AND MORE NEWS----WHAT'S GOING ON----Where DO I Start?

Remember I said in my last post that

THE TIMES THEY ARE A'CHANGIN'?

Well, they are!

Bear with me as I sort through

WHAT TO DO.

I don't want to keep you all guessing

and wondering what is going on with

Nana Diana

First off-

NO!  The house DID NOT SELL YET!

SO-What is the news then?

I am going back to work.

After 5 years of retirement-

almost to the day-

I headed back to the work force this week.

(more about that in a later post)

This opportunity came up out of the blue

at the end of last week-

right after I had announced that 

I was going to

OPEN MY ETSY STORE.

That puts me in 

A QUANDARY!

WHAT DO I DO?

What do I do about 

ANNA IRELAND VINTAGE?

I started listing stuff

these last few days.

I am guessing I have 

about 400-500 items to list.

So far, I have about 45 listed-

This is stuff that is just sitting out and 

never got packed away as I was

purging and packing.

I am honestly asking myself

HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE

to take care of an

ETSY SHOP

if I am working for someone else?

The learning curve where I am going

will be a long one, I am afraid.

After I am trained I can pretty much

set my own hours...

BUT

I can't do that yet.

At this point, 

I think that I will

have to wait until after the first of the year

to open the Etsy shop.

IF the learning curve is not as steep

as I think, 

then I will open it and just sell the stuff

I have already listed 

and not list anymore until the 

first of the year.

I am one of those people that when I say

I AM GOING TO DO SOMETHING

I carry through and do it----

partially because

I hate disappointing people!

That being said,

I know I can only spread myself so thin.

I am starting a new job,

I am hosting a big crew for

Thanksgiving,

I am keeping the house ready for showings,

AND

I want to keep blogging....

To say nothing of keeping tabs on MyHero...

and that in itself is a full time job.

Okay- one more time...

THAT is a TRACTOR..

It does NOT float!

I thought you learned your lesson after 

this fiasco....

 SO--

SOMETHING HAS TO GO

or at the very least

get put on hold.

So, bear with me, will you,

as these next couple of weeks

play out.......

Thanks-I am hoping you all

will understand 

MY QUANDARY!

Now-

Would you like your smile for the day?

This little boy, CJK, likes to EAT!

He ESPECIALLY likes TREATS!

This was after a little

get-together at his school.

AND

They got to pick a favorite animal at school

to color in, to name,

and then they wanted to know 

ONE FACT 

about the animal.

As you can see....

the kid is already crazy warped hysterical

giving his teachers a run for their money.

 Yep!

That's My BOY-O

(one more reason to not be stressed out all the time-

I want to enjoy these little kids

while I can-and while they still want 

to hang around with Nana-

Age 10 seems to be about the cut-off date for that!)