It's A Jungle Out There Big Boy E's Birthday Bash

My daughter, Mimi, always

does an incredible job of

decorating for her parties.

Big Boy E's 

birthday party was no exception.

Her sister, T, helped her set things up.

IT'S A JUNGLE

was the theme.

Mimi drew patterns for these and

her friend's Dad cut them out of plywood.

From a distance and when in shaodws

they look pretty real.

Pretty cool, huh?

Come into the tent 

There you will find jungle table decor

The presents were set up in the shade of the trees.

He got some wonderful gifts.

THIS YEAR

We won the

Big Boy E Will Love It Contest

HANDS DOWN

See?

Oh- Yeah-Baby

We found TWO Animal Planet SAFARI toys

AND a Safari hat.

The zippered case has over a 

ZILLION PIECES.

We counted them!

What fun those will be to pick up!

Aren't we wonderful grandparents?

I thought so, too!

We had way too much food

And-oh-yeah CAKE

Gotta have birthday cake.

Lulu and Mimi made it.

Pretty cool, huh?

You know what ELSE was cool?

Water balloons-those were cool.

Except someone might have gotten hit

SEVERAL TIMES

It really cooled him off during the hot day.

His hair got all wet.

But he survived..
Even if it WAS a JUNGLE out there!

Ps-Working at  Ruthie's house today.

I should have more to show you

tomorrow.

Hang on- I will visit as I can!

Happy Birthday Big Boy E

I can hardly believe it!

Can it be?

Our little man

BIG BOY E

is turning 

FOUR YEARS OLD!

Wasn't he a baby just yesterday?

I have missed some of your steps
from babyhood to big boy 
because of distance...
but I have not missed
loving you to the moon and back.
Happy Birthay, Little Man!
Nana loves you!!!
We are gonna have fun at your house today!

Christmas In July Special Spode Edition

Still working with Ruth
getting the house ready to sell.
Tom & Ruth spent every

Christmas with us save

2 or 3 since the day we met.

They loved our kids like

their own and treated them

like family.

One of our best traditions

was always Christmas Dinner

at our house.

I always set the table with

the set of family given

Spode Christmas Tree china.

I never realized that Ruth

had china that matched.

The stinker was holding out

on me-I could have been 

eating at her house every 

Chritmas and felt right at home! 

Anyway, as we are packing

things up she said-

I have a gift for you!

It's not TOM, is it? I asked!

We both snickered.

Instead she led me to a 

cabinet filled with pieces of this!

She is giving me some pieces

I have never seen before!

WhooooHooooo!

Just call me LUCKY!!!

source

AND she has a whole set of her

Grandmother's blue Spode that we

are going to use for staging.

source

I'll show you the whole ball of wax

when we get it staged.

Meanwhile, I am out of town

today but will be around

late tomorrow.

I promise to visit when and as I can-

so don't give up on me just yet.

At least you know I talked my

way out of the trunk.

You can see that story here.

FIREKING FINDS , BELLEEK BEAUTIES, LOVELY LIMOGES

Ruth, Tom and I

hit it hard yesterday.

We got a HUGE china cabinet

emptied AND the dish part

of her kitchen cupboards emptied.

Oh!  What treasures we found!

Love FireKing, do you?

You should SEE!!!

Okay- You CAN see-

Sigh!

Love that FireKing!

FireKing not your thing?

Like my rhyme there?

A rhyme everytime

Do you like to SEEK Belleek

(there's that darn rhyme thing again)

with the shell pattern?

How about a BOX of it?

All green label for those of you

that know about Belleek.

And let's not forget the 

 Haviland Limoges.

Nothing really rhymes with Limoges-

darn and I had a thing going there-

oh-wait- Limoges- Rose-but how do 

I work that in?

Oh- yeah-One Limoges Rose plate

But this?

Service for 12+ extras

 Now- If you are very good

and promise not to make mud pies

using your good china

tomorrow I will show you

Christmas in July.

And I am the lucky recipient!

Yes. I. Am!

ps.  I probably should tell you that

Ruth used to have an 

Antique Store.

Now you know WHY she has so

many beautiful things.

Someone Was Sick

I never got to my friend's house

yesterday.

My son called me late at night

on his way home from the

ER with little CJK.

Double ear infection.

Temperature.

Not feeling well.

Poor baby.

He needed Nana for a day.

He usually goes to day care

so this is only the 2nd time

I have ever had him for

the day.

Usually, if he is not feeling well,

Mom or Dad rearranges 

their schedule to stay home with him.

That wasn't going to work today.

So...

I got him!

In spite of not feeling well

he ate pretty good.

SweetCheeks says it looks like
he has screw on hands. LOL
Did you ever notice what it says on
a Cheerio's box?

I sometimes take things literally.

Okay, Kid!
You gonna eat all those Cheerios?
Look what's waiting for you.

Yes...Yes...That's RIGHT!
PILATES!
Get at it!

Work those calories off!

Back helping my friend, Ruthie,
today.  I might show you a 
few treasures tomorrow..
Now...
Get at those
PILATES!

Shabby Chic Surprises At Every Turn

You know I am helping my

friend, Ruth, sort through her "stuff"

so we can stage her house.

We have gone through 

her 

formal living room

and

two bedrooms so far.

We have emptied closets,

emptied chests of drawers,

and emptied baskets

and storage containers.

She knew what she had but

I was smiling all over when

I discovered some of the pretty things

she had hidden away.

We have found some very wonderful pieces.

She has trunks and trunks and trunks.

These are going to auction and 

YOU WON'T BELIEVE

what is hiding inside.

I'll show you tomorrow if I can get my act together.

Love cherubs?

She has several!

The auction house is coming in a few days.

Meanwhile, we are sorting and packing.

Ruth is making some fast decisions

and I am proud of her.

It is no easy feat to let go of

things you have collected for years.

They have offered me anything I want.

They are generous like that.

But....I, too, have
SO MUCH STUFF,

but I found a few little things

that make me smile and think of Ruth.
I'll show you the BIG THING they gave
me soon-after I break the news to
My Hero....shhhhhh

As for the Mr?

Well, I told him he had to pack his

OWN DRAWERS

(literally)

cuz  I was afraid I might come across

something that looked like THIS!

Ha!  You have NO IDEA how funny

this really is....Tom in a Speedo!!!!!

Think CONSERVATIVE and MODEST.

 I am probably "in for it" when 

I get there this morning!

I hope he doesn't shove me in one

of those trunks and slam the lid shut.

Things like that HAVE been known

to happen, you know!!!!

Staging For A Sale-Shabby Chic Style

My friends, Tom & Ruth,

have been collectors

for their whole lives.

They have excellent taste

and some very beautiful things.

Things they bought AND

things they inherited.

BUT

They have way too many 

beautiful things.

Time to pare down,

bestow certain pieces on family,

and, finally, sadly, part with

some things through an 

auction house.

Because she has many beautiful

things we are setting stuff aside

to do one bedroom in

Shabby-Chic style.

Ruth has everything we need.

After the auction house comes

and takes things away we

will stage one bedroom and 

hope it will look something like

THIS-

Romantic and Sweet.

Source

In the living room are two 

GORGEOUS JASPAR PIECES

This one

AND  a matching curio cabinet.

Wait till you see what we do with 

those babies.

Bear with me this week if I don't get 

around to visit very much.

I'll be back with lots of 

pictures as we make progress.

This is gonna be fun!

And-remember-

FUN is different things to 

different people....and,

Honey, you don't get much

"different" than me.

Happy Happy Birthday To Our Sweet CJK

One Year Old!

Our little CJK is 

ONE YEAR OLD.

A sweet little spirit

with a dear little face.

What a blessing!

The only brown eyed baby 

in our "collection".

I think we'll keep him!

Romantic Homes July 2013

After this post I am only

ONE MONTH BEHIND

(being as the August issue is already here)

Anyway,

You know how I love 

Romantic Homes.

Here's a preview of the July issue.

Jo-Anne Coletti/Vintage Rose Collection

has a six page spread-

each page more beautiful than the next.

With her use of chippy white and roses

she marries photography and writing beautifully.

Here's the July Cover

Love Romantic Homes Love

First blog I came across is

Cottage In The Oaks

Daune Pitman

has some wonderful projects there.

 Next up is

Dear Lillie Blog

I enjoyed her latest

'One room three ways' post.

And, do you know

Elyse over at Tinkered Treasures-

our own 

Tinkerer Belle?

She is amazing- trust me!

Another beautiful blog by Lidy Baars

French Garden House.

Her garden settings are amazing!

Here's just a little peek.

And last, but not least,

Janet @ The Empty Nest

Her header drew me in and her

content made me stay.

I think you will enjoy her blog-

Another great Romantic Home issue.

What am I doing today?

Well, it involves reclaiming a spot in the basement

that I have all junked up.

It's gonna be a long day.

Either that OR I ain't doing nuthin'

I'll let you know tomorrow!

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

It is early morning hours here.

Yes-I am still up.

The Fourth is over and I have

washed the last dish and

sealed the last of the leftovers

and stored them.

Everyone has gone home except

for the three little granddaughters

sleeping upstairs.

 MyHero got called in for

an emergency and the house

is quiet except for the

soft little lip smackings

coming from SweetCheeks.

I thought I would check my email

before I went to bed and saw that

many of you prayed for Kurt
and many of you visited 
Kurt's blog yesterday.

I don't know if I am overtired,

or overly emotional

but by about the 5th comment

on Kurt's blog I was 

bawling like a baby.

I know you have said prayers

for people here before

but the words you left Kurt

were amazing!

I hope he was able to read

every one of them yesterday.

My heart is overflowing with 

love for all of you.

Where else in the world would

there be such an outpouring of

love and concern and caring

for a man that you have never met?

What a blessing you are-

to Kurt- to me- to each other.

Can you BELIEVE this blogging

community?

I am in awe!

I don't know what else to say-

except

THANK YOU!

oh- and I saved you a S'more.

There are NO calories involved

if you want to lick your screen.

 I hope you have a wonderful day

and I'll be around with a REAL POST later-

Happy Fourth Of July- God Bless Our Veterans-A Prayer Request

It is a day for celebration

for most of us.

We wave our flags and grill

our burgers and wolf down our hot dogs.

We stand in line for dripping

ice cream cones

and we stare at the sky

in awe as fireworks 

feed us a feast for our eyes.

We are free.

What a blessing to be free.

But that freedom comes at a cost.

A big cost.

You know, blogland is full of women,

but there are a few men out there 

that join our ranks.

One of those men makes an appearance

once in a while and leaves me a comment.

He is quite a character-and y'all know

how much I like "characters".

His name is Kurt and he is known as

The Krippled Warrior.

He is a sailor

Once a Navy man-always a Navy man.
22 years in service to our country.

He is ill....very ill.

He has stared death in the face and

beat it back more than once.

But-not without cost of limbs and

chemo and surgeries.

Today is a day to honor him and

all our service people.

Could you please find it in your heart

to go to his blog and wish him a

Happy Fourth of July.

You won't find PRETTY there

because there is nothing pretty about

what he is going through.

Say a little prayer for him to beat 

this latest medical mystery.

He deserves it.

He has earned it.

He is a warrior.

Here is the link

The Krippled Warrior

Thank you so much.

(his comments are right after the date-

on the bottom and only show up 

when you click on them)

I salute you, Kurt, for all you have

done for your country and for

my families freedom.

Bless you!

Here is my Sweet Cheeks two years ago...

on July 4th....

Taken at dusk with the sunset 

casting a rosy glow on her face-

watching the first of the fireworks set off

from our little dock on the beach.

I love this picture.

Happy Fourth Of July 

from my family to yours-
Off to enjoy my family for the day-
Love to all of you- Nana Diana

Romantic Porch Re-Do From Mess To Magic

Okay-

HERE SHE IS!
You've heard of the 
Magic of Disney?
Well-This is the
Magic of Diana!

NOW you can

BE MY GUEST-BE MY GUEST

PUT MY SERVICE TO THE TEST

Remember yesterday?

The side porch of the dining room 

started out like this!

You can read about that HERE

(it's yesterday's post)

As soon as I had my first cup o coffee

I painted the wood seat cutouts.

Look at those little suckers all lined up

and waiting for me.

I spray painted them white

and will make special pads for them later.

Meanwhile I have some pillows I made

MANY YEARS ago.

I  STILL love this fabric.

I started with this

Then, I started layering using

Wedding China  and  part of 

Grandmother Clara's silver set.

The porch gets shade early morning

but by 10:30 the sun hits full force.

I continued layering

and added plants and my big birdcage

in the corner.

Here Comes The Sun

(another song to run through your head)

I added the cherub that reminds me of my

sweet little granddaughter Anna Bella.

She would be eight this month.

Where HAVE the years gone? 

The angel has a broken wing-

imperfect like life-but still beautiful.

It is looking so much better.

I still need some sort of all weather rug

but the big stuff is done.

The MESS and the MAGIC

Now-Come on down to my house, baby-

Come on down and we will play.

(another old song-I am getting as bad as 

Suzan over at Simply Vintageous....

she's a "trip" all by herself-she has songs

running thru her head like I do...yes...yes...

she IS blond)

Anyway- I'm ready for you now!

I'll even bake before you get here.

What time will you be here?

I want to make sure I am not

sitting around in my nightgown-

Be My Guest- Be My Guest -Put My Service To The Test

Is that Disney song running through your head now?

I like it when I can pass those

"songs in the head" along to someone else.

HAVE A SEAT.

We'll chat and dine

and get to really know each other.

Which chair would you like?

Pretty lovely, huh?

What?

Oh-The palm tree?

We have palm trees in Wisconsin.

Yes we do.

They are potted plants in our living rooms.

Okay-

That is NOT my porch.
(click on photo for source)

What?

You want to see MY dining porch

off the dining room?

Prepare for a surprise!

I did NOT say it was a NICE SURPRISE!

Have a seat!

Um....So.....I  ASKED MyHero.

Could you cut me some replacement seats for this set?

Sure!  2 months later I get

FIBERBOARD SEATS

that have been left on top of

the table and are warped and moldy.

Me: Umm....These are NOT going to work here.

MyHero:  Double them up and cover them with fabric.

Me:  You're kidding right?

MyHero:  No, Diana, I'm NOT kidding.  It will STABILIZE them.

Me:  Helllloooo-You need EXTERIOR plywood!

  I can't use these.

MyHero:  Well, you could show a little appreciation for the work I did.

Me:  Yeah- Thanks a lot!

MyHero:  Your don't mean that.

Me:  You're right.

MyHero:  Fine!!!  You do it yourself then.

Me:  Fine!

Don't you love REAL LIFE?

That's what you get here!

All the bumps and warts and realities of

everyday life.

So...right now the porch looks like THIS:

Guess what?

When MyHero wasn't looking I begged his friend, Mark,

to cut some inserts for me out of

EXTERIOR PLYWOOD..

He DID.........shhhhhhhhh.....

I'll be back tomorrow

with a prettified porch.....

I'll get on that right after I finish my coffee.

Come see me tomorrow and I'll

save a seat for you!

I Hope I Don't Disappear

I am not sure 

WHAT is going on!

I am NOT ABLE to sign up

for Bloglovin'.

It says I am already there but

I can't find anything anywhere.

If I disappear think of me

as the 

Ghost of Blogger Past-

Bear with me as we hit July 1st.

I may be struggling to find

my way back!

Meanwhile-

I will be here pondering my future.

Summer has finally come to 

Wisconsin and the backyard is

GREEN!

Have a wonderful day!

ps. I THINK I figured it out.
BUT~Somehow I managed to 
"drop" some blogs yesterday.
I think I am no longer following some of you.
I was trying to put blogs into 
categories and hit the wrong
button.  If I have "unfollowed"
you by accident, please forgive me.
I will try and find you again!