B is for...

Beach... and Balcony

The Beautiful view from my friend Margie's condo in Ormond beach. We are having a small R&R weekend, well deserved I might add. Rough week.

Beading

That's Margie working on her Bracelet. We both just took a class to learn how to make Kumihimo bracelets which is a Japanese weaving technique.

It is pretty easy to do, but labor intensive and you must, must concentrate on what you are doing, otherwise you skip a bead and your bracelet is ruined. I speak from experience. Ruined a couple! You can always redo the bracelet, but you will never get back the two hours you lost making it.  :(

This is the weaving disk. It's made of dense foam and has notches all around for the strands of beads. The bracelet is made from 8 strands. We both like to use #6 seed beads or 4mm crystals. The crystal bracelet is more expensive to make but makes a bigger statement.

This is what a Bundle of Beads looks like before it is woven into a bracelet. 32 beads on each strand. More if the beads are smaller.

The weaving creates a rope of beads. This is the underside of one I made today with a combination of pearls and crystals.

Of course, we had to have Beers while we worked, along with a plate of guac and crackers, because when we are at the beach, there is a lot of noshing and beading going on.

Here is my finished pearl/crystal bracelet, and I must say it's a Beauty!




































and another view

Another awesome idea brought to you by the clever folks at Epcot. This is a lawn chair made from an old chair and a garden hose.

Very cool looking, although I have no idea how comfortable it is. It was pretty well protected from the "masses", so I couldn't actually sit in it. All I could do was take a picture. I thought it was photo worthy.

The directions follow, and they sound pretty easy as far as DIY goes.

Just a little patience and time.

Succulents!

As I have stated before, I can kill any plant that comes within breathing distance, so I don't normally attempt to try and grow anything. I had the pleasure of going to Epcot recently and fell in love with this planter on display in one of the countries (Italy, I believe) that they had made from a 3-tiered fountain.

It was an OMG moment for all of us. I never see this many succulents offered anywhere at one time and am not sure where you'd go to buy them. But, holy crap, is it gorgeous!

My thumbs are green with envy (teehee).

The good people at Epcot were kind enough to share the directions, so I am passing them on to you. Who do I know that would even attempt this? Maybe one or two.

 

 

 

Good luck if you try, send me a pic.

soap box

No, I'm not making a soap box, I'm hopping on one.

For the life of me I cannot understand the current fashion trend of "sagging". I cannot even tell you how unsexy I think it is, and it actually makes me snicker when I see it. Don't you just want to say "pull up your damn pants, no one wants to see your skanky underwear!" Or better yet, wouldn't you love to just reach out and pull them all the way down? Well, I wouldn't really do either one of those things, but I think about doing them. Really hard. So hard, my head shakes in disgust like an old fogey listening to whipper snapper music.

I saw a video of a policeman patting down a suspect. They are trained to run their hands along the waistline to check for guns/weapons that may be tucked in them. You see where this is going? Yes, the cop said after feeling in front of this young man... "what do you have tucked in your pants?"  He replied "it's my d***". I swear, it's true. Seriously! What are you thinking? That your plaid underwear is going to make the girls swoon? wrong, wrong, wrong. It is GROSS and the most idiotic look ever invented. EVER. Do you know the roots of this trend, because I'm thinking maybe you don't. It started in prison. Male prisoners who are interested in sex with other male prisoners, wear their pants like that to show their availability. Maybe you DO know the roots.
Regardless, young man, the sight of you walking with one hand holding up the pants in the front and your legs spread out so far so they don't fall, makes you look like a penguin. A retarded penguin. Yes, I went there. So, for God's sake, pull up your damn pants. Not cool. At all.

OK, I'm done.

Thrift Store shopping

I am a shopper, through and through. I can shop anytime of the day or night and will definitely shop til I drop. I'm the person that quote was made for. Black Friday is the exception to that rule... no thank you on that nutty day. Most of the time, those deep discounts are available before and after that day, so I have no intention of fighting over parking spaces or standing in a mile long line to get something I can buy tomorrow for the same price.

Along with the rest of bloggers everywhere, I have been bitten by the thrift store bug. Mostly because I look for potential snowmen bottles, and snowmen "parts", but also because it's a cheap thrill and you can shop all day and not spend a lot of money. Or any money. Recently Jan and I had the opportunity to shop in Jacksonville on Beach Boulevard which happens to have plenty of thrift shops. Everything from Goodwill, Hospice Haven, Salvation Army, and a few more little odds n ends stores. Our focus was bottles, but we both have the ability to multi-task in our search. We each have collections of stuff my husband would call ap-cray, so our eyes are always on the lookout for those things too.

Most places are like this... organized (somewhat) by like-items, which makes your hunt easy and pretty quick. I have been in a few that were more like a hoarders living room, and I turn around and leave those.

 

 This store had a cute little collection of owls, which I like, but none of them caught my eye, so I just looked. Well, I didn't just look, I tend to pick up everything and look at it from all directions. Why? I don't know, that's just how I roll I guess.

Lots of Easter stuff in all of the stores we stopped at, some baskets and ceramic bunnies... this little guy had a sweet face.

Here are some purchases we made for bottles that will be adorable snowmen by autumn.

We will do some hunting for vintage bottles at antique malls later. They aren't usually in thrift stores, so we end up paying a little more for them than most of the other bottles. Last year we scored at a booth that had nothing but vintage bottles and they gave us a bulk price.

Fun day, Jan! Hope we can do it again soon.

Miss K

For a long time, this precious girl was "Tater". Before we knew she was a she, and before she came into our world. But now she is my sweet baby K or Miss K. 10 weeks old now. How lucky am I to have the pleasure of having my grandchildren so close. I have so many friends whose grandchildren are in other states, too far away for frequent visits. I can't imagine not getting my "sugars" from these wonderful children.

Here is Miss K looking all adorable...

and "no" you couldn't be any cuter. A sweet, sweet baby who smiles at just about anybody, but of course, saves her biggest smiles for me. Well, not really, but I like to think so.
She has begun cooing and you can tell by looking at her eyes, that she thinks she is really saying something. Of course she is.. she's saying "I love you, Gigi."

















I am having a particularly good time buying girl things for her. She is a girly girl already. She has a killer shoe wardrobe and a closet full and a half of sweet baby clothes. I decided that instead of buying little clips for her hair, I could make some. If you know me at all, you know that "some" is a relative term. When I start making something,  I end up making a billion of whatever it is.

First I must buy a bow clip, stare at it, and figure out how it is made. The ones for newborns are made with little gator clips and covered in ribbon. Like these (I found on Pinterest):

Next I must find the clips... Walmart = nope. Michael's = nope. I need LOTS of them, not a package of 6. Psssh, I laugh at 6. More research and I find out Sally's beauty supply is the place to go. A box of 100 $6.00  (yes, 100) . Score!

Ribbon? Do I already have ribbon? check.

To the craftroom... gather my supplies and go for it.

3/8 inch ribbon covers these clips perfectly. I discovered it only takes 7 1/4 inch of ribbon for each bow.

Yeah, I had all this stuff already. Except a few of the small ribbon bows I bought to use as embellishments.
It isn't difficult at all. You cover each clip with the 7 1/4 inch ribbon, from back to front, inside and out, with hot glue. Then cover with embellishments, also hot glued. So cute, I can't stand it.

Miss K will be accessorized for any occasion.

Strolling through Lowes

Ah, spring! A little early and only lasts for a short while, but it's here. Florida works like this... 30 minutes of spring (defined here by a day that you can actually open up the house because it is cool enough and not too muggy), 30 days of spring/summer, which means half of the days require A/C and the other half require heat. Some days require both: cold mornings, hot afternoons. More like Sprummer.

Then 10 months of sweltering, humid, hotter than holy hell Summer (yes a capitol S... it's that hot) followed by 30 minutes of Fall... once again we open our windows. And then 30 days of fall/winter.  Or Fwinter. Yep, more days that are half cold, half hot, with mixed A/C and heat.  Not complaining really, just telling it like it is.

On my way home from work today, I decided to stop in Lowe's and look at the flowers.  I've been seeing them from the street on my ride home and finally took a few minutes to go inside. Good decision.

Begonias, bougainvillea, hydrangea, lilies, roses, impatiens, all in their beautiful spring bloom.

If I only had a green thumb. As it turns out, I can kill just about anything I get my hands on. If it isn't me that kills it, it's one of the bazillion idiot squirrels we have in our neighborhood. I watched one bite off every single bloom of our gerbera daisy a few years ago.  The disturbing part was that it didn't eat the bloom, it just bit it off and moved on to the next flower until one by one, that stupid squirrel reduced my beautiful pot of daisies to a pot of leaves and stems.

I almost bought some flowers today. Almost. I had visions of planting the little seedlings and brightening up my kitchen view. Instead I bought a sweet bird bath. I'll post that after I assemble and set it up.

Here are some more flowers to enjoy...

 Tulip tree

 Impatiens and begonias

 white bougainvillea (gorgeous) look at that hint of pink on the petals!

and pink and fuschia bougainvillea. I'm jealous of all you gardeners out there who can maintain a beautiful yard. Happy Spring to you. I'll stick to admiring your gardens.

We're gonna need a bigger boat.

Seriously, 1975 changed my whole life. I went to a theater with friends to see something, can't remember what, but what I was boondoggled into seeing was Jaws. Yeah, Terri, you were the instigator, I do believe. We all got in line at what was a new concept - multi-screen theaters. I was chatting away, and before I knew it, had a ticket to see Jaws.

As a native Floridian, I spent plenty-o-time at and in the ocean until that moment. We foolishly used to get on rafts and go out as far as we could until our feet no longer touched the ocean floor, and would stay out there for hours! OMG, I can't believe we did that. I remember trying to read Jaws before the movie came out and ended up I throwing it across the room in complete fear. The movie was even more frightening to me. That opening scene of the girl swimming in the ocean at night (duh, what's wrong with you?!) had me huddled up in a fetal position and I remained that way for the rest of the movie. I believe I lost about 5 pounds in fear that day. That was it for me. That's all it took for me to never ever get on a raft again.

I still go to the ocean, and I would probably not want to be anywhere else on earth for a more humbling, more soothing experience. But... I do NOT get in the water. I have an unnatural and genuine fear of sharks. The water off the Florida east coast is pretty, but not crystal clear, so you have NO idea what is in the water with you. I will venture out to about the tops of my feet or on a daring day, up to my ankles. But believe me, that's as far as it goes. I swear, I have read reports of people being bitten in ankle deep water. I swear.

I am a Pinterest fan(atic) and have a board of things that are not going to happen in my lifetime. I guess it's safe to say I am not an adventurous person. You will never, ever see anything about me in the paper or my obituary (God forbid) that says "... when the bungee cord broke, or the parachute didn't open, or the roller coaster car flew off into the sky" and you will not ever see "she was eaten alive by a shark". Or a grizzly, or anything else that can eat me alive.

This is one of the pictures from Pinterest that I found for my board. It literally makes me shudder.

So bring it, summertime. I look forward to going to the beach again. Safe in the sand, and even safer... on the balcony of a condo overlooking the ocean. Cowabunga!

Phew! I made it.

Another year bites the dust. Happy New Year to all of you, and here's hoping 2012 brings smiles and contentment. It's almost time for the big six-o at my house and I am wishing it away. That works, doesn't it? Sometimes I actually cross my arms, blink my eyes while I nod my head,  just like I Dream of Jeannie did. Go away! Go away! Go away!

Christmas came and went in a flash.  I finally got some time to put it all away, although this year I didn't have my whole collection out. I have been collecting Santas for about 30 years, and have recently taken a shine to snowmen, and little Christmas trees. My photo sessions in the "before" mode are slim to none (we were way too busy getting ready for Kinsley's arrival) but I have a few...

 These are some of my snowmen in one of my kitchen cupboards. I am drawn to glitter (duh, who isn't) and vintage looking ones. Or just ones that make me smile. Sometimes it is a cute face or a sweet smile, and when I see it, I get it. Mostly I get my tchotchky stuff from TJ Maxx, and when you see it there, you better buy it, 'cuz by gawd, it isn't gonna be there when you go back.

More in another cupboard.

 This is the top of my tree. Honestly, it is so beautiful, I can't even stand it :)

I have all red and silver ornaments, and added these pops of glitter to the top. I couldn't get enough time in front of my tree to just sit and soak it in this year. I remember as a child, my brother and I playing "I Spy" lying in front of our silver aluminum tree as it rotated with the colored spotlights on it. Mom had a fabulous collection of German ornaments, and we had every color of the rainbow to spy with our little eye.

To me, there is something very peaceful about sitting and drinking a cup of hot cocoa as I look at my tree. I wish I had more of those moments. Life happens, though.

 This beauty was hand made for me by my friend Margie. It is made from seed beads and crystals and I watched her many, many hours creating these for gifts for her special friends. How lucky for me that I am on that list. This is one of 3 she gave me. Yes, 3, all different. Don't be jealous.

 I found this at a craft show in North Carolina. I think it is the first ice skate I have ever seen in person! Not surprising as I am a native Floridian. It was hanging in my guest bathroom and looked so festive. I wish I could tole paint like that, but cannot.

This little guy is one of my new snowmen. Sweet face, sweet smile, and lots of glitter. The little vintage tag is adorable too.

I found this cookie gift box at Michael's. It has 2 compartments. I love, love it and intended to fill it with homemade cookies for a neighbor. Ha! Good one. Maybe next year.

I gathered up all that I had out to get ready to store them away until next year. I put them all on my dining room table so I can see what needs to be stored in each crate. I won't embarrass myself and tell you how many crates I have for Christmas/Halloween/Easter. Let me just say, no car fits in my garage.

Remember these cuties? I think they came from Hallmark. I had 4, I think, but only have 3 now.

Goodbye, little smile makers, see you again in December.

Bucket List?

I don't have a real bucket list. More of a do-over list. I know it's never good to look backwards at mistakes, so I won't go there. My Catholic upbringing has provided me with endless hours of guilt ridden pain. But here are some things I wish I had done before it was too late to do them:

1. Gone to more concerts before these people died. I would love to have seen Elvis in concert or Michael Jackson, or the Beatles, or Frank Sinatra.  There aren't too many celebs I'd pay to see, but I'd have paid to see these. PS, if I ever get a chance to see Bette Midler, I'm in!
2. Played more with my children. As a grandmother, I am experiencing that pleasure with my grandchildren. How sad that I didn't know it was so much fun to play with a child when I was a young mother. Too much time worrying about what I thought were more important issues, I guess.
3. Danced with my father. I've posted about that before. I had very few opportunities to do that, but missed the moment to dance with him at our 8th grade dance. I was too embarrassed to let my classmates see me dance with him and have regretted that moment forever. He died too soon and I never had another chance. The song Dance With My Father brings me to my knees. Every. Single. Time.
4. Gone to college. Surprising that it's 4th on my list? Not to me. To be truthful, I'm not sure what direction I would have taken, but I wish I could say "I have a degree in...". I was smart enough to go, but poor enough not to.
5. Learned French. I took Spanish starting in elementary school through high school. After 40 years, I've lost most of that, but can understand some words. I have always loved french and wish I had taken courses, and would love to be fluent.
6. Rethought my 20's. No explanations, just sayin'.

2012 is looking like a good year, and I hope I can keep my promise to myself to be a better person, love more, laugh more, and stress less.

Partreena Chinka Pear Tree

I was reminded of my daughter's childhood recently when I took my grandsons to see Santa. When she was in kindergarten they were learning songs for a Christmas play at school. Back when you could call it a Christmas play. She would sing the songs at home, my first clue that they were learning them. She belted out the 12 Days of Christmas, only her version of the first day was not "partridge in a pear tree" it was Partreena Chinka Pear Tree. The first time I heard it, my head spun around... "Say that again for me honey." She repeated it in her version. I told her "no, it's partridge in a pear tree" saying each word slowly because I knew she had never heard the word "partridge" before. Of course, mama was wrong, and she was right, so she sang it that way until someone wiser told her otherwise. Probably a classmate. She was and is a stubborn thing and has been blessed with a child who has the same tendencies.

My son was a huge Sesame Street toddler. Loved every episode. I believe he learned his letters from it when he was 18 months old (I swear). He was very articulate, but had a few words he struggled with. He could say "cookie" and he could say "monster", but put them together and he came out with "Coochers".  Big Bird was "Beeboo" and Oscar was "Ockers".

I picked up my grandsons from daycare recently and they knew full well that we were going to see Santa that night. Little Braydon announced he learned a new song in class and wanted to sing it for me. (I love these boys with all my heart) I turned my car radio off so I could savor every word. "Go ahead, sweetie." Mind you, both my boys have a lisp when they talk so sometimes I am amused in a way that only another grandmother would understand. "I have a friend who hath a beard and Thanta ith hith name-o... Eth-A-N-T-A! Eth-A-N-T-A! Eth-A-N-T-A! and Thanta ith hith name-o." Proud as a peacock, that boy was. He smiled at me in my rear view mirror and I smiled back at him. Did I correct him at that moment? No, I didn't. Oh, we practice the S sound a lot, but in that moment, I just couldn't burst his proud little bubble.

So Merry Christmas to all of you and may you have the absolute pleasure of enjoying your family for what they are. It makes me smile out loud and brings back sweet memories of my own children's early years.