BITTERSWEET ROMANCE

I LOVE BITTERSWEET!

For my 50th birthday

(don't ask when THAT was)

my family and friends

threw a huge bash.

My brother came from

out East and friends from Florida

and around the area showed up

to surprise me.

One of the things that

surprised me most was

this watercolor that

my friend, Carol, asked

an artist friend of ours

to paint.

When Carol said she wanted

a painting of Bittersweet,

Lois Christensen, the artist,

about fell over her easel laughing.

WHO would want a picture of

BITTERSWEET? Lois asked.

When Carol said it was for me..

she "got it".

Hmmm...guess SHE knows I

am a tad "off-kilter", too!

Here it is! It hangs in my

foyer/hallway in our

temporary digs.

I see it several times a day

and always smile to myself.

A close up

So, when I dug out an old

Better Homes & Gardens

magazine for October

I was tickled to see an

article called

Bittersweet Romance.

I think every Fall decorating

should have a bit of

BITTERSWEET in it,

don't you?

I love this table with a

bit of bittersweet color on it.

And look at these pumpkins,

wrapped with bittersweet.

How cute are these for

place markers?

Aren't these votives sweet?

I also found a bit of

BITTERSWEET

color in the shot of this room.

Maybe just a tad

TOO MUCH

of saturated color for me!

And, where is the

BITTERSWEET here,

you ask~

Well~ It is

BITTERSWEET

that my own backyard

looks

NOTHING like that!

It is also BITTERSWEET 

that so many things have changed

over the years.

My dear brother is gone-

never to experience another

Earthy fall.

Lois Christenson is gone and has

 her easel set up somewhere

beyond this realm.

My friend, Carol, has moved away

and I miss her.

My friend, Stan, that flew in from FL

has passed over and his wife

is in an assisted living situation.

Life is surely

BITTERSWEET, isn't it?

And, yet, we solider on, don't we?

In a perfect world,

all the people we love would stay

safe and sound and forever young.

In this world,

we accept the reality of life and

move forward as best we can.

Just so you know that I don't mean

to make this post a downer 

(because I don't feel "down")

I will leave you with this.

Unfortunately,

I DON'T live in South Carolina

and I DID NOT have

WINNING LOTTERY TICKET

in last night's drawing-

so, to all those I promised to

"share the wealth with" if I won,

I apologize.

Hmmm...maybe this IS a 

BITTERSWEET DOWNER POST

after all.

Have a GREAT Wednesday!

FALL HAS FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP.....

Whew!

Just so you know right upfront
I lied about the 
"I can't get up" part.
How I WISH I COULD sleep in.
Apparently my DNA is tied to the
whirling dervish rather than
a fat lap cat.

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind.

Fall is finally here,

after a long hot summer,

 and the leaves have started to fall.

I have been putting bits and pieces 

of FALL around here.

They will stay up until the day after

THANKSGIVING.

(except for the Halloween stuff)

This is the little slate I painted

when my kids were little.
These are the youngest three-
my older son was "too cool"
to dress up anymore.

I sold a lot of these slates back when

FOLK ART CRAFT SHOWS

were popular.

This is the only one I have left 

for Halloween.

Love this soft side of fall.

I will do some overall pictures this weekend

of the new place and I will post them

this coming week.

I found an opaline pumpkin that is gorgeous!

I have never seen one like it

so I need to get a picture of that 

on the blog here so 

YOU CAN SEE IT,

too!

On the last warm nights of autumn

the kids liked to go down 

to the beach by the bay.

Their Mom took these pictures.

SweetCheeks said they are 

MAGIC PICTURES.

Cooler nights bring

sunsets like this!

Oh!!! How I miss this view.

I hope to have some sort of 

water view when we figure out

where we are going.

We have fall colors all over.

Wisconsin is a wonderful place to 

take a drive to see colors

like this.-

Or this-

However,

Please remember-
DO NOT TEXT 

while driving...

or in MY CASE-flying!

The kids say I have found

the perfect sign for my

front door.

I need to hang it there this weekend.

Wonder if I should paint

The Witch Is Out

and turn it over when I leave?

Nah....let 'em be scared!!!!

HAVE A WONDERFUL

FALL WEEKEND!

A TRIPLE PRAYER REQUEST-LAUREN & DEVON & NIRA

There are so many needs out there

and I am happy that I am able to

pass along the names of those that

need prayer(s) and uplifting.

I never in the world thought 

I would be doing this--but I am and 

I feel honored that people 

can use me/my blog to reach others.

Please pray for Lauren's family.

(Simply LKJ blog

Lauren's mom has Alzehimer's and

is in very poor physical shape.

I believe she is in a hospice setting

at this point.

Her dad is struggling with the decline

of his wife.

You can read about it on her FB page

HERE

To make matters worse,

Lauren's hubby, Mark, has had to have

some facial reconstruction because

of cancer and the surgical procedures

performed on his face.

Lauren is such a dear person

and my heart aches for her and 

all she and her family are going through.

Also-

Please pray for Devon.

He is a young teen suffering from

brain cancer and is fighting

for his life.

The link to his

Aunt Kristy's page

is HERE.

She is an advocate for him and

keeps everyone updated as to 

what is happening.  

He needs lots of help and his

medical expenses are way

beyond what any family can 

afford to pay.

And, last but not least,

Please pray for my friend, Nira.

Here is a bit of what she 

wrote in a group that I belong to-

we have been online friends for

well over 10 years

I had the appointment with the surgeon yesterday and it is not good news. The tumor has spread to a couple vital veins in the pancreas making surgery impossible. I will be seeing an oncologist next Monday and will start chemo to shrink the tumor for now. But it's only to give me a little more time as surgery will never be on the table due to how the tumor has spread. I am mostly upset with the fact that this tumor has been there for more than a year, and was only discovered in late August by the bozos (name removed). If it had been diagnosed earlier it would have been operable. The tumor was the reason for the stricture in the bile duct. Now it has also created a stricture in my stomach where it empties into the duodenum. Food backs up and makes me feel full when I'm not. Surgeon said that while doing chemo they will do procedures to make me comfortable, such as putting in another stent if needed for the stomach to empty as it should. Pain control will also be discussed. So that's it. I am dying. Not a wonderful thing to think about, but it is what it is. Sorry to be a downer today. (name removed) is flying in Sunday  He wants to accompany me to the oncologist. Not sure what he thinks being there will do, guess he just wants to be able to ask his own questions.

Please pray for all three of these

families-not only for healing

but for peace of mind and 

acceptance of life's journey.

I you don't believe in praying, please

send best wishes and healing thoughts

and wishes to these people and their

families.

I don't understand why people we know

and love have to suffer like they do.

It is heart-wrenching.

Love to all of you that continue to 

support and uplift people you 

often don't even know.

To end on a happier note-

I will be gone for a few days 

next week to visit my daughter

and her three kids while her hubby

is out of town.

I can't wait.

Oh-and they look

SO angelic here, don't they?

Remember--

LOOKS can be DECEIVING!

They are!  After all, 

I look "nice", right?

See what I mean about looks?!

Have a wonderful weekend.

PRAYER REQUEST FOR JOHANNE TURPIN

Many of you will probably 

remember Lucille.

She was an avid follower

and visitor of blogs

in the past.

She reached out to me 

this past week and told me

about her daughter,

JOHANNE TURPIN.

Johanne has breast cancer

and after surgery they are

treating her with radiation and chemo

to make sure they got any stray cells

that might have been in her lymph nodes.

She is anxious to be done

with treatment and wants to

get back to work.

Lucille did a lot of praying for

MyHero when he went through

his cancer treatments

now she is asking that you please

pray for her daughter, Johanne.

Sadly, she understands the depths,

the highs, the lows and the fear

that tags along with a 

cancer diagnosis.

Please pray for her peace of mind

as she tends her daughter.

If you are NOT a person that prays,

please send up good wishes and 

good thoughts for healing and 

peace of mind.

Thank you so much!

I hope you have a wonderful

Sunday!

A SURPRISE WEDDING! AND TWO SHALL BECOME SEVEN!

WOW!!

Nothing like giving the

FAMILIES of the 

BRIDE & GROOM

a surprise!

Everyone was told that the party

was an honorary fete for Glen's 

25 years of service with the
FIRE DEPT

and an

ENGAGEMENT PARTY

to follow the 

honorary presentation.

LIAR, LIAR,

PANTS ON FIRE!!

When people walked in the door

here is the sign that greeted them.

This was made by Tara's oldest daughter-

ALANA---

this girl that has lots of creativity.

The next clue was the "altar"-

My new son-in-law

and my daughter are both

super-talented and artistic....

a match made in Heaven.

Tara did all the florals with help

from her sister and a friend.

Two little nephews and a niece

carried/tossed flowers down the "aisle".

Tara looked beautiful

In spite of the fact that she

was unable to wear the 

gown she had commissioned to have made

for the wedding, (long story-don't ask),

she bucked up at the last minute

and ordered a dress that

worked for her.

Her dad (MyHero) married them.

That is my WHITE HAIR on the left-

with CJK (ringbearer)

on my lap -not a wiggle out of him

as he watched the wedding unfold.

Afterwards, during the presentation

of newly wed husband and wife,

Glen gave a very emotional speech.

He was adopted and

found his birth mom 2 years ago.

Both  moms were right in the front and 

get along beautifully.

He also recognized his ex-wife, Sue,

the mother of his boys.

He thanked her for 

her part in his life and

paid tribute to what a good mother 

she has been to their boys--

 a testimony to the fine man

he is.

There was a first dance....

And a sweet moment where both had

something to quench their thirst.

Our friend, Jessica, 

sent me all these pictures 

this morning.

THANKS, JESS!!!

She is the one to the right 

and my other daughter, Mimi,

shows off her red head on the left.

What a blessing to have Tara's 

high school friends attend-

Rachel to the far left- her hubby,

Jessica (blond)

Mimi and my youngest son, Ryan,

Kristen and Jess (in front) taking the selfie.

It was a wonderful, wonderful night.

However, as much as I would like to

SIT ON MY BUTT ALL DAY-

I am off to pick up coffee for everyone

and help with cleanup.

ANOTHER SURPRISE!!!

oh wait....

NO SURPRISE THERE!

When the professional photos come through

I will share some of those with you, too....

and you might even see one of me if

they do enough photo-shopping so that 

I look like Loni Anderson....

just sayin'------

Have a wonderful blessed Sunday.

Where are those blogging friends

when you need work done?

Clean up crew volunteers?

ANYONE? ANYONE? ANYONE?

THINKING ABOUT DECORATING FOR FALL-YEP---STILL THINKING

I am one of those weird people

(..I hear those of you that KNOW me..)

Anyway, I am one of those weird people

that STILL keeps notebooks of ideas.

Yeah, yeah--I know all about

Pinterest and the internet but

there is something satisfying to me

about sitting down and looking through a

BOOK OF IDEAS.

I have one notebook for each season..

(well- Christmas has 3 or 4 binders)

These are all I loose leaf 3 ring binders

filled with page protectors full

of inspirations and ideas.

Being as it IS Fall now..

I pulled my

PUMPKIN COLORED

notebook out.

Yes! They are colored for each Season-

White For Snow/Winter.

Red For Christmas.

Pink for Little Girl Ideas.

Blue For Little Boy Ideas.

Yellow For Easter Ideas.

Green For Gardening/Outdoor Ideas.

And a slew of white ones with

typed cover inserts.

Well, you get the picture.

But for Fall

(and Halloween)

I dug out the Pumpkin Colored binder.

Here are a few of the images I have saved.

These are pictures of magazine pictures

so don't expect award winning 

photography on my part...ok...

no whining about it either.

I have always loved window boxes..

and I like the earthy simplicity

 of this one.

and a  white pumpkin surrounded by Fall gatherings...

A peek at a birdbath that is

Closed for the Season

(poor birds)

And the path of pumpkins

that leads you through an arbor..

And brings you home to this..

A place to spend an afternoon,

or an evening,

or a life time.

I have had these images for many years

and don't know WHERE they are from...

but Thank You to the people

that photographed these.

Now..

Please excuse me..

I am headed to Starbucks...

I hear they have a

NEW COFFEE..

(edited to add-new for the 

FALL SEASON-it's been around for a few years)

I'll pick one up for my daughter..

cuz I don't do sugar...

Can you say..

Pumpkin Spice Latte?

Now wipe the drool off your chin

and get busy (did I SAY you were lazy)?!

Hmmm...would that be what they mean

by the pot calling the kettle black?

You KNOW you need to get ready for Fall!

I do, too...

(if you are already done I DON'T want to know about it-m'kay...like I don't feel bad enough already?!)

Have a wonderful mid-week day & evening!

A QUOTE ? YEP! A QUOTE-AND THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

My lovely friend, Sheri,

over at 

Red Rose Alley
suggested this would make a
good quote.

So, I thought I would post it
here for you.
I believe this is
especially relevant to those
of us that are downsizing
and trying to adjust and adapt
to the changes.

Just thought I would share it
with all of you.

Hope you all have a
WONDERFUL WEEKEND!