The Copper Boiler Found A New Use

I am lucky enough

to have two of these old

copper boilers.

The first one is in excellent

shape and I keep it inside.

It looks like this~

The second one has had

a bit of a rough go of it.

She is not quite as pretty 

as her sister...but I love her

anyway.

I wanted her to feel good

about herself.

There is nothing like a dose

of pretty to make that happen.

Here she is when I started out.

I'm sure many, many of you 

use this trick for big

planters.

I filled her with old pots

turned upside down.

They take up space so you don't need

so much dirt 

AND

they add drainage.

I fill her with my

MAGIC PLANTING FORMULA!

And, once filled,

I dressed her up real purty!

She sits next to the

steps up to our kitchen door.

Want to see MORE of my

Gardening Adventures?

Well, if you promise to wipe 

the mirror off that you husband

leaves all the "specks" on

without complaint,

tomorrow I will show you

what happened to my

BOYFRIEND JOHN...

and introduce you

to my 

SECOND BOYFRIEND.

He'll bring a bead of sweat

to your brow...

Pinky Promise!

Run For The Roses Or Make A Call

Well, you know that I

promised you roses

if you didn't shave the

neighbor's dog, right?

Are  you wondering

what kind of roses?

Here's a picture!

Any guesses?

She's a beauty, isn't she?

Sadly, she is 

NOT MY ROSE.

She is the picture that I

found on the web site

of the rose I ordered.

She is a New Dawn.

Don't you love that name?

Everyday when I wake up

I am excited for the

New Dawn

of the
New Day.

At one of our old houses

I had a 

New Dawn that I planted

that scrambled right up over

the neighbor's 

uglier than diaper rash

on a baby's butt

garage.

I would have liked to 

plant some to cover our neighbor

too, but we won't talk

about that here.

It looked amazing and it 

covered the whole side

of the garage in

2 seasons.

Now, sadly, that was BB

(before blogging)

and I don't have a picture

but it looked a lot like this.

They are thorny but beautiful.

 I thought I would like to

have another one

at this house for our fence line.

I started looking last year.

No Rose-No Where- No How!

Seriously?

I can't find a New Dawn rose anywhere?

None of the local nurseries carry them.

The online stores were OUT of them.

Same thing this year.

I finally asked Connie @ Hartwood Roses

for help in finding one.

She was my FIRST choice

but she didn't have any to sell.

She directed me online.

Did you ever hear of 

Heirloom Roses?

Well, not only did they have 

New Dawn Roses,

they were reasonably priced.

I was expecting bare roots

plants for the price.

You can imagine my surprise

when I got this box 

within 3 days of my order

being placed.

HEY-I made a shadow picture

there-it looks just like someone 

with a camera- cool!

I shoulda made the dog shadow instead.

Look what great, healthy plants

I received!

One for the front fence as

you come down into our yard,
(if you look carefully you can
see the little white tag about
halfway along the fence)

and one for the back fence

as you look towards the bay.
(It's planted by the 2nd post
from the end)

I can't wait until my own
New Dawn Roses

look like this!

Until then, I am just going

to keep watering these babies

and pray for quick growth.

Have a great Monday-
The first day of the
New Week-
A NEW DAY HAS DAWNED!

Sunday Sweet Sunday

Well, I know I promised
you pictures of roses today.
I'll have to do that tomorrow
because today I want to
show you a very
Special Sunday.

Two weeks ago today 

the three little girls

stayed for the weekend.

On Sunday morning we

went to our church.

A Community Church.

Outside the church,

on a small hillock

stands three crosses.

Every Sunday after

services you see children

of all ages running up

to hug the crosses.

Our girls are no exception.

Hmmm..SOMEONE seems

to be POSING!

Jesus loves her anyway!

Afterwards,

we headed to Perkins for breakfast.

SweetCheeks had soup

for breakfast....

of course she did!

Ria was more interested

in playing TicTacToe

and smiled whether she won or lost.

Now, our Lulu is not prone

to BELLY LAUGHING

but Papa got her riled up

and I think there was a snort

or two involved-

even though she swears she 

doesn't snort.

And, to top off the afternoon,

ROLLER SKATING!

This is MyHero's old grade school.

He skated there as a kid.

Our kids skated there.

Now our grandkids are

skating there.

Ria says that SweetCheeks

CAN'T SKATE 

very good...

SweetCheeks says she

DUSHEN'T CARE

and SKAHTING IS STOOOPID!

Don't you just love all

the little mini-dramas

between siblings?

Can you see that we give
them BEER when their
parents are not around?
That would be
ROOT BEER-
They are already drunk
on life...
although
SOME DAYS
I wish
I DRANK......!;>)

At the end of the day

they were all smiles.

They were ready to go home.

SweetCheeks said 

Yohu THIRHED ME RIGHT OUHT!

Hmmm...and I thought 

WE were the old people here!

Hope you didn't shave the
neighbor's dog...cuz I
will be back tomorrow with
the
RUN FOR THE ROSES...
which is NOT a horse race!

Transplants Are Not For Sissies

Do you think I am talking about

A Heart Transplant?

Am I talking about transplanting

A BABY

out of its carriage?

No baby was harmed in the 

planting of this old 

wicker baby carriage.

(ooops- forgot to fill the birdbath)

My friend, Fern, loves

that I transplanted her to

her new home there.

Is THAT the transplant I

am talking about?

Nope!

And lest you think I am

talking about MY heart..well,

 MY old ticker is fine.

I am lucky to have a good heart.

(yeah-both kinds-physically

and spiritually).

It's a good thing, too, 

because.....

MyHero decided that he 

no longer wants to 

CUT THE GRASS.

Lucky for HIM I do like to

CUT THE GRASS.

Otherwise, there would be

 a bigger hole being dug out

back if you get my drift.

Anyway,

I spent a couple of hours

with my boyfriend yesterday.

Shhhhh...He is the 

ONLY BOYFRIEND

I am allowed to have.

What's his name?

Well, I'll tell you but 

keep it a secret,  m'kay?

His name is John.

John Deere

He is a honey.

I give him gas to drink

and he rewards me with

faithfulness.

Yesssir-

My kinda guy.

And he pulls a little wagon along

behind him, too.

Which comes in real handy 

for 

TRANSPLANTS.

So....NOW you know WHAT

I am talking about?

HOSTAS!

I transplanted these yesterday.

How many did I transplant?

I'll tell you-

Sitting down?

 I transplanted 

FORTY-TWO FLIPPING 

HOSTAS~

 I broke 4 huge ones apart

to make 42 small plants.

I transplanted some of them

along this fence.

This is taken from our garage door

looking South.

And, I transplanted a

few plants here along the front.

And....then....I transplanted some 

more hostas....which I will

show you tomorrow.

When all was said and done

it was a good day.

A day to sit on 

the BUTT ROCK

and think about my

next plan of action.

I know-it cracks me up, too.

Crack? Butt? Get it?

Never mind.

If I didn't visit you yesterday
I apologize and will try to
get there today.

Now, if you are very, very 

good and promise not

to shave the neighbor's dog,

tomorrow I will show you my

NEW ROSES!

Cheery Cherry And Sharing A Cup Of Coffee And Oh Suds

Hmmm...

Wondering what I am talking

about here, are you?

Did you think this was a

recipe?

Nope!

Last week I got two  three
(something else came, too)

very special packages

from lovely blogging friends.

I have to tell you 

that I feel beyond guilty

when I am on the

receiving end of things.

Anyone else like that?

A good giver...

A guilty receiver?

I have a sweet friend, 

Jann Olson @

Have A Daily Cup From Mrs. Olson,

(Don't you just LOVE that name)

She had me a daily cup cuz it makes

me think of STARBUCKS!

Anyway...

Here is what I received from her.

Two beautiful red cups,

a sweet little decanter,

and a small vintage tray.

Is that sweet?

Thank you so much, Jann.

I love them!

It will be fun to have them for

all the RED holidays..

Christmas and Valentine's Day

come to mind-

plus~ we are right next to
Door County the 

Cherry Capital of the USA

and I love all things 

cheery and cherry!

The second package 

was from my dear friend, Mary,

Hope Filled Living Magazine

She sent these to me.

She has had a very hard year 

with family health issues and

lots of "things" happening

in her life.  

The fact that she saw these,

thought of me, and spent 

the time, money and effort

to send these along

speaks volumes.

Her note said that 

just because we lived far away

from each other didn't mean

that we couldn't share a 

cup of coffee...

in candle form here.

It smells like a fresh brewed

mocha.

The little girls will want

these for "tea" when

I have burned the candles.

They are almost too cute

to light up, you know?

Thank you, Mary!

They are just darling and I love them, too!

And...WHAT ELSE....you ask...
Well, my dear old friend, Jettie,
that I knew long before blogging,
Jettie's Ramblings
makes soap.
Yes she does...and it is wonderful.
I think the subtle message here
is to
CLEAN UP MY ACT...

And if the soap doesn't work to
 CLEAN UP MY ACT
I think THIS will.

See if you can guess what
is encased in the silver cross
shell.
What do you think?
Give up?
I had to ask.
It is colored pencils,
sliced cross ways.
How cool is that?!?!

I am blessed to have made

such wonderful friends along

this path of Blogland.

I hope that you, too,

find a special blessing in your day.

And, although you may not get 

a gift

in your mailbox,

there is nothing better

than the grandest gift of all-

Life!

And remember~

as you go through your day

Smile- God Loves You!

And, my parting bit 

of wisdom whimsy is

If you ARE happy..

some of you might want to 

notify your face!

Baptism of CharlesInCharge

My daughter and her hubby

belong to a Lutheran church

in the Milwaukee area.

That is where they had our

dear little

CharlesInCharge

baptized.

He wore the same gown

that his mother wore

(see yesterday's post).

Here he is getting

stuffed into the onesie.

MamasBoy is his Godfather

and was willing to be the

holder while my daughter

was the stuffer.

He looks none the worse for wear.

Here he is with BigBoyE,

Mama Mimi & Daddy BigJ.

WE think they are a pretty family.

Here is Auntie TPot & Uncle MamasBoy..

Godmother & Godfather.

CharlesInCharge is already

directing.

I think his exact words were

"Let's get this show on the road".

Did you KNOW that I am a 

master at decoding baby babble?

Well, I am!

We sat through a wonderful service.

Some of us entertained ourselves

as best we knew how.

Then came time for the 

actual ceremony.

This banner was on the altar.

Family members gathered

on the altar with the pastor.

A few words  of commitment,

A symbolic washing of the baby's head..

A lighting of a candle...

At home-he sits with the gown
spread around him...much too hot
for the coat.

And this little baby has been baptized.
Can you see the
Joy of the Lord
in him?

What a blessed event.

We are so fortunate.

He is so loved.

He is God's child.

Amen.

The Family Baptismal Gown

In 1975, when I was expecting

our first daughter,

I made a baptismal gown.

Something that would endure

and be an heirloom. 

As I stitched I hoped it 

would be used someday

for my grandchildren.

My wish came true!

It was made from an

old Vogue pattern.

I wish these pictures were clearer.

This is the top of the gown.
It is tucked and embroidered.

Another picture of the top,

embroidered and edged with

Irish lace from my grandmother's

sewing box.

The lace is thick and heavy.

This is the bottom of the gown.

It is all embroidered with satin stitch~

as is the coat that goes over the gown

I am sorry these are such 

poor pictures.

On the bottom of the gown

there are three rows that

are tucked.  

On there I have hand embroidered

the name and birth date of each child

that was baptized in the gown.

CharlesInCharge is number 14!
You can see them here.

There are no dots on this material..
it looks that way because I enlarged
the photo.

I don't know why that appears 

uneven...it is even.

Here is a close up of the edge of 

the sleeve on the coat.

And here is the dear little 

onesie that goes underneath it all.

It is pressed and ready to go.

There is a slip underneath the

gown and everything is 

French seamed.

 Enough pictures for one day?
okay..1 more....

Pop back by tomorrow

and I will have a few family

pictures of the actual baptism. 

SOMEONE

 was 

"in charge"

of someone else...

It was quite a circus~

MyHero was home sick-

in bed sick-

The main service was how the

world has gone from G-rated in the 50's

to X-rated today.

Now, lest you think kids don't listen,

halfway through the service

SweetCheeks turned to me and asked~

"Does Papa knohw all that Jeesuhs

stuff that guy iss talhking about

up there?"

I assured her he did.

He does?

Yeah..but doehs that guy up there

 efven knohw that it goes

all the wahy to Z and nott just X?

Hmmmm...not you got 

ME wondering~

Now tomorrow, if you promise not to
put a bracelet on the pet pig,
I will show you pictures of
CharlesInCharge
IN the gown!