Rambling & Pondering

Remodeling…. the never-ending story…

2011-11-25T12:38:00.002-05:00

It’s been awhile, and much has taken place…

to include,

wall demolition,

to drywall sanding …

a whole lot of moving stacking, moving about, looking through boxes

stacking differently…

Puppy ACL surgery,

Cabinet installation, measuring, hammering , drywall sanding,

(yep, some more)

painting, painting and painting…

handing, holding pushing,picking~up…

more looking for,

head scratching,

wondering where on earth did we put “it”…

going to Lowe’s

again, again. again

and

AGAIN!!!

Getting half way through that small project and going

You guessed it…

BACK to LOWE’S!!!

Eating out till I never wanted to go in another Cullman Restaurant in my

LIFETIME!!!

Some excavation, pouring of foundations

adding a sidewalk under

close

supervision

addition of a master bedroom and bath…

remember the old

“garage room”?

Miss Bobo does her part to keep an eye on the construction!

After all the extra crews left and it’s down to

“THE CREW”

(Mike n Me)

We are quite a bit slower…

but, in some ways this can be good…

(Power of Positive Thinking)

Finally, The cabinets are up and the stove is in place!!!

Now, if I could only find my pots and pans!

At the end of Oct. our baby girl and her fellow came through for two nights on their way to a tropical vacation!!!

How sweet to see our girl!!!

(secret thought:

“Wonder what Dan would think about staying here with Mike and letting the Momma go to the Bahamas with Carrie?…)

Oh, Well… no need to ask.

We thought it would take 3 people to put in the counter top.. but, with a little ingenuity 2 worked just fine!

Mike has now started on the electrical boxes in the new addition…

and I continue to hold, hand, push, pull , wonder where and look for this tool or that box…

Miss Bobo continues to make pretty pictures

The pups continue to guard …

all three remain a constant supply of “petting material”!

♥

Waiting at Luna's

2011-10-22T13:36:00.002-04:00

No matter how long you've been away, no matter the management Luna's is still the same... Sloppy buttery Texas Toast and all!

Our Renovation Project Finally Begins

2011-10-08T10:27:00.001-04:00

Over many years we have made plans for adding onto and remodeling our home…

A little here and a little there was all there ever was time for…

with Mike’s job always so far away and taking all his time…

In the last month…

We finally started with some of our long over due plans…

Let’s start with the kitchen…

In the beginning the kitchen was a very small area sharing space with the eating area in one room…

Very few cabinets and NO counter space to speak of…

The outside wall, in the eating area was graced with two long windows…

which while affording you a “larger” look at the yard ate up all that wall space…

So, we tore out those windows and replaced them with a short one to match the new one over the sink… giving us one whole wall for counter and cabinets…

Then we

tore out the old cabinets…

added more electrical outlets…

picked a new paint color for the walls…

Before and after color change

Miss Bo sits atop new cabinets

And

got some help putting down new flooring…

We’ll come back to the kitchen with a sink installation and countertops later…

Mean while let’s look at the old garage room…

some twenty years ago we had it closed in to remodel into a den…

(“Best laid plans of mice and men”)

Instead over the years it became first the storage room then the JUNK room…

That thing was half full…

No, not from end to end…

that way it was full..

I mean from bottom to top!

Now, here is a true confession…

I have never, ever coveted anything of my neighbors…

oh, maybe a flower bush here and there …

But, there was a time when my in~law’s had a big blue dumpster brought out to their house and began throwing things out!!!

OH… How I wanted a

big blue bucket

of my own!!!

Guess what !!!

We got one!

Me and Big Blue!

Over many days that garage room was emptied…

Yes, we found things we thought were long gone…

including someone’s

Uncle Albert…

(No, not really!)

(Sure, we even had an

old phone booth…)

Then Mike tore out the ceiling and all that old insulation

(Note face mask pulled up on forehead)

the room had been totally gutted, cleaned out and swept…

So, what did we do next?

I’ll tell you this,

while every muscle in my body has been tired and aching I have been having the time of my life!

Nothing is more fun that to set some goals,

and work side by side with your best friend to reach them !!!

Join me next time and we will continue this old house renovation!

See ya soon!

Home at Last

2011-10-03T22:11:00.001-04:00

I believe it was Twain who once said travel is broadening,

I have found this to be very true…

And

yet, it has never failed to broaden

appreciation of home.

Home

is where your heart hangs it’s hat…

and kicks off it’s shoes.

It’s so good to hear this old place

softly whisper

“Welcome Home”

♥

My Consumer Report…

2011-09-10T22:31:00.001-04:00

Awhile back I found myself mesmerized while watching an infomercial …

You know one of those thirty minute deals that says

“BUT WAIT…

If you order NOW we will not only send you this but TWO more just like it!!!”

Normally I do not give these things a second glance much less sit and give it my undivided attention…

which is exactly what I found myself doing.

Now, you might ask what could have caused such a transformation in my character…

I will change the name but let me just tell you!!!

The Mmmm, mmm Bra.

Oh, they did a good job of selling it…

bringing up every downfall of every binder ever worn by woman… and how this wonderful invention of Miss So&so’s was,

for women,

equivalent to the invention of the automatic washing machine, dishwasher, and crock pot all rolled into one…

Now in my minds eye I see this particular under garment in the same category as the hated pantyhose…

Yes, only the devil himself could have thought up such a hateful contraption .

Every single day,

the wide world over, women are terrorized by these hateful binding nuisances…

And here they were promising a day without

digging, slipping, binding bulging, wiggling, worrying,

burping,waddling, fretting

on and on with promises that no binding or any type of under garb should ever make,

yet here they did…

But, WAIT!!!

If you order now you can have not one, not two but, three… for $60.

and if you do this or that we will send you 3 more…

White, Nude, Black, Pink, Purple, Green, Blue…

Your choice,

on and on…

Well, now the skeptic in me said

“Why would I send anyone $60 for something I have not tried on…

for something NO ONE has ever improved

no matter what they claimed!?!

Then the other day in the store what should catch my attention?

In my peripheral vision I happened to see a box

that said

“The Mmm,mmm Bra”

I picked it up and upon inspection saw it was one and the same…

just one,

just one color,

just $20.

Yep, it went into the buggy…

After all they had promised……..

world peace.

The next day…

first rattle out of the box I donned this new wonder garment…

Oh, Man!

The comfort was unbelievable!

I must have exclaimed the extraordinary merits of this

most exciting discovery a million times to my husband

and how thrilled I was with it!

(a man just has no clue!)

And now to share just one more thing about the wonders of the fit and comfort of this under pinning…

late that evening upon removal

I discovered that it might have even been more comfortable had I not been wearing it

Backwards!

New Horizons

2011-08-08T10:55:00.002-04:00

~ ♥ ~

With each new dawn comes the new day.

With each day a chance for a new horizon,

and with that the possibilities of a tantalizing adventure!

Keep a twinkle in your eye,

a song on your lips

and

love in your heart!

~ ♥ ~

D.

Visit the Michael x2 Blog

2011-08-01T18:34:00.002-04:00

Michael William is visiting with Papa and Gamma for a couple of weeks …

Feel free to

take a peek at their blog

www.michaelx2.blogspot.com

Sunday was a day for the beach…

who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Can’t promise a new post for each day…

But, Mommy wants pictures so there will be several postings..

and please excuse and incomplete thoughts and or misspellings all postings are done with a lot of extra help!

as of right now..

there is a pirate in my kitchen…

YELLING something about Captain Hook and making way with me mouse pad!!!

ARRRRRRRRRRG!!!!

The Bargello Top is Finished

2011-07-17T12:28:00.002-04:00

The piecing is done…

Borders applied and mitered

To cut your borders …

measure the top of your quilt add the width of your border twice plus 2 inches…

this will be the length of your top and bottom borders

(the width is up to you)

repeat for your sides

Measure and mark with pins into fourths the quilt edge top and border…

match up pins and sew to within 1/4 inch of top edge

Apply all sides this way and miter.

Carrie’s Bargello was to be a “full size”

But, I don’t like not being able to tuck my pillows when making a bed with a quilt so I added enough for that..

Next the top will be pinned to the the backing and batting then it will be on it’s way to the hoop.

So with a lot of “supervision”

a little time and some gumption

we jumped in and proved my mama right

remember:

“You girls, can do anything you set your mind to.”

Not only could I …

but, I enjoyed it so much I’m already contemplating the design for my next Bargello!

Let’s build that Bargello Quilt!

2011-07-11T17:08:00.005-04:00

From the Start

…

Using graft paper

10 squares per inch,

each square will represent 1/4 inch.

(The vertical dimensions of each square correspond to the width of the color run strips you cut for the tube… and vary from quilt to quilt… we’ll talk about that in a minute)

So, let’s plot our design…

On your graft paper “free hand” your curved line across the page…

this will take a little practice to get it the way you want and across the page which represents the width of the bargello…

Now figure out the size of each block it requires to imitate the direction your curve is taking. Fill in graft squares to represent the width of Bargello strips needed for the design.

1. Make steep slopes with narrow vertical blocks

2. Make gradual slopes from wide vertical blocks

3. Make points with gradual narrow blocks that change direction

4. Make waves with gradual wide blocks that change directions.

Now, let’s take a moment and discuss the width to cut your strips..

First decide on the size you want your quilt…

and will it have borders?

Let’s pretend the size of your “Bargello” will be

58”x72”

and you have 9 different colors you want to use

Repeating each color run 3 times…
That's 27 strips...

with me so far?

72”(length) divided by 27(total strips)=
2 2/3” wide strips (finished)

Remember

to add 1/2 inch to size of finished strips for seam allowances… before cutting!!!

So our “pretend” strips would be cut

2 2/3 +1/2 = 3 1/6

*All fabric should always be pre washed and ironed…

this is to make sure any shrinking and fading is done before project is constructed…

It is not pretty when two or three different fabrics are sewn together and shrink different amounts …*
Now

you have figured out what it will take to get the length.

What is the width of your shortest fabric?

(selvage to selvage?)

(If one is extremely shorter than the others you can add on to it after you cut strips before you sew them together,so the strips in your tubes will be close to the same... don't worry you are going to square and trim them)

Say, your strips are 45” wide and your quilt is to be 58”
you will need 2 tubes to cover that width.

O.K. Lets cut the strips

Be sure and square up your fabric…

using your rotary cutter cut off the edge to get everything nice and straight…

be sure and check every now and again to make sure it stays good and squared.

and cut your strips…

continue cutting till you have enough strips for quilt…

Now in the beginning when we first picked out the fabric and decided on what order that fabric looked the best

we made a cheat sheet …

so we wouldn’t forget…

It’s really nice to have to look around at from time to time

put a small swatch on your sheet in the order you like and number them

this is the order you will sew them together in…

starting with one all the way through 10…

sew your strips together using a 1/4” seam

at the end of each strip turn your sewing around and start the next seam on the same end you just finished…

I found it very helpful to place a pin on that end as soon as I was getting ready to remove it from under the foot…

Just in case Miss Bobo or Thibby talked to me ,
the phone rang or I got a text…
I would still know where to start when I resumed sewing!!!

then repeat as many times as you want the color run to repeat…

mine was four

I know, I know, ironing is

NO FUN

but it is a must to iron those seams all in the same direction.

Now, sew those strips

(my 4 runs of 10 = 40)

the very first one to the last one making a “tube”

or
big circle
Be sure and iron…

next you will have to fold it carefully so that it will fit on your cutting mat and we are ready to start cutting our different sizes from the tubes…

trim off the selvage edges from the tubes

and

Square it up!

and check often!

remember, the curve you made on your graft paper? and all the different size blocks you plotted… ?

I cut each strip from my tube no more than 3 at a time so as not to get confused and pick up the wrong one…

SO let’s say I started with the 2” block..

remembering the seam allowances I cut the strip (tube) 2 &1/2”

then I cut the next one on the graft ...

So I have two tubes in my hand the first tube … and the one just to it’s right…

I’m now going to decide which block will be the top block and remove the stitching between it and the one above it..

Look

Now I have a long strip again…

the next cut tube according to my graft the colors will ascend by one…

So I will remove that stitching

and square the two strips up side by side… making sure my corners will line up and then stitch them together…

at the end of this seam I place my pin so when I cut the next one I will start at that end when I start sewing my seam…

Over and over, I check my graft, cut my tube,

check my graft, move the colors up or down, remove the stitching and pin…

sew a seam place end pin…

cut a tube…

and so we are building a Bargello

with a lot of company

and a few days

and a lot of close supervision

we are finally ready for

the borders…

but, now it’s also

the Fourth of July…

so construction will take a break and

after the fourth

(tomorrow)

we will start on the borders…

Have I totally confused you?

Or is it clear as mud?

If it's as clear as mud... don't lose heart.. I was confused till I just jumped in with both feet.. and found out this way is really ... fun!

‘s…

and our kitten, too.

The Bargello…. part 1

2011-06-27T11:33:00.003-04:00

The very beginning

of my first“Bargello”

Three and a half to four years ago my youngest daughter asked if she might be so bold and put in a request for the next quilt I would make her…

“Why sure” I told her and proceeded to ask what pattern she had in mind…

her answer was

“A Bargello”

“I would like it to be a light weight one, done in colors that make you think of spring ,in the wave pattern , I’d like to put it on my bed in the warmer months of the year.”

This sounded very nice…

A pretty Spring Quilt.

After seeing one my stomach seized and my hair stood out on end…

Somehow…,

somewhere

my family had come upon the conclusion that

“Momma can do anything…”

or at least somehow make sure it got done”

Not wanting to be toppled from any pedestals..

even if they where very short ones…

I agreed to the task…

“There’s no rush Momma” she spoke sweetly

“I’d just love to have one”

…

The first thing I did was call my sister, The winner of numerous State quilting awards …

We began looking over the internet for some kind of

instruction…

“She” ,

my sister that is within no time had made herself a bargello quilt…

upon her next visit she accompanied me to the fabric store and we picked out the ten different pieces of material that would come together to make

my first Bargello…

Decided which way the colors would come in the pattern, and then after my sister spent several days with me she and her award winning know how went home…

leaving me to contemplate

how on earth I would be able to stand up to this task…

well, that fabric sat there in my sewing room and talked to me…

It did a pretty good job of belittling me…

we got news of our grandsons soon to be arrival and I “had” to finish

his “100 Wishes” Quilt that so many people had given bits of fabric to have made for him…

about the time that was finished

the company was sending us to New Hampshire …

“Well”, I told myself, “I really should not start cutting fabric and have those moving men loose or mess up any of it..”

So I waited…

each excuse became easier…

and with each passing month

the fear of the unknown…

of cutting and not being able to piece together a pretty quilt

became humongous…

other quilts,bibs for children and adults, bowling shirts,and drum major outfits have been made…

The Bargello fabric moved to South Carolina with me and then on back down toward Savannah where it had first originated …

By now the fabric had quit talking …but had begun taunting…

I have decided it was time to conquer the Bargello…

Now for those of you that have not seen or at least known that you were seeing a Bargello Quilt here are a few pictures I have come across on the web

You figure out how to put a bargello together to get the pattern you want…

You start out with so many colors, cut strips sew them together make tubes of these strips, cut them apart and resew them together to get the pattern you want.. I have seen instructions for the twisted one, and some others but, not the wave…

Last week I said enough is enough,

went to town and found a book on Bargello

It did not have the pattern but it did

tell me how on graft paper to draw my design,

then with the help of a little math…I plotted my pattern

each 1/10 of an inch of graft paper equal to 1/4 of an inch of fabric…

The 10 colors will be

cut in 3 inches strips.

Each strip

will repeat 4 times per run

with 2 runs for the top before boarders…

and finally the work has begun on Carries

Bargello.

The fabric all prewashed and ironed was ready to cut…

Each piece was squared up and trimmed…

with very close supervision

All ten were cut to 3” wide

Next posting we will start to sew!!!

I faced my fears and found that they had been for nothing all these years!

I should have listened to my mama…

she has always said

“Why,you girls can do anything you set your mind to…”

Another Blog Up Date

2011-05-23T08:09:00.002-04:00

Be sure and check in on the

Michael x 2 blog…

http://michaelx2.blogspot.com/

An update was made last night with some great pictures made at this past Saturdays tee~ball game by Bill’s Uncle David…

See some pictures of our little future All Star!

A Quick Look at the Yucca Plants

2011-05-15T11:43:00.001-04:00

Not since Del Rio

have we had a Yucca plant in the yard…

Here is a quick look at our two

Yucca.

A Wonderful Mother’s Day in May

2011-05-09T10:22:00.001-04:00

On a bright & clear Saturday in May

we got to visit Michael and join

in on the fun of a tee-ball game!

Arriving a wee bit early we rest on the hill side till it’s time for the team to

Warm Up.

Michael looks like a pro…

So…

where did it go?

well, a pro at 4 years old.

They were all way too cute!

Wow!!!

Did you see that ?

That was a BIG helicopter !

Paying attention to the game.

Looks like we are ready for

“the show”

well… maybe if they cut it from 9 innings to three and if it’s over before bed time.

Playing tee-ball Michael runs home from third.

Joseph plays ball too !

After Michaels game we head over and watch Joseph play a few innings.

Afterwards we gathered up and headed over to see Aunt Carrie & Dan

Reservations were for

Dinner at seven for seven on the seventh at “Shebeen”

Smiles and laughter filled the air

as my children gathered around the table…

The evening had a late ending…however, it was way to short.

Early the next morning it was off to the “River City Diner” for a

Mother’s Day breakfast

Then it was time to be on the road again,

and headed back to Georgia!

An affair that began long ago………

2011-04-03T00:10:00.002-04:00

Riding up through the back country of southern Georgia today, my fascinations and daydreams seemed to surround the giant old oaks that stood in door yards and old abandoned homesteads along our way… It seems I have always been fascinated by these shade baring giants, the lives and times they must have silently witnessed… as we continued on our way it dawned on me Large Oaks have called out to my imaginings since my early childhood days playing in the school yard of McCord Elementary School…where a wonderful old tree perched on the edge of our world… sheltering us each day as we played around it’s enormous trunk and root system. Us, the small munchkins playing our games of pretend…looking for elusive fairies around it’s gnarly roots as they weaved their way in and out of the bank that headed down to the sidewalk by the passing street, playing house or school sitting in between those giant roots… Or using it’s ancient body as “base” for games of hide and seek, or to out run the “cooties” that some member of the opposite sex seemed to be continually contracting… A tree that we would hug our little bodies to it’s rough trunk in order to circle it’s huge circumference… just going from one side to the other like navigating half way around the world all along gingerly negotiating it’s unruly roots! (all this no easy task for it would have taken at least eight to ten of us to encompass it’s expansive girth)

Yes, I believe it was under those enormous ancient limbs that I first fell in love with…

Old Oak Trees…….

Happy Birthday Chloe !!!

2011-03-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

March 9th 2003

Bell’s Chlothilde Lagniappe

Chloe

10 weeks old and her first night at home…..

Chloe’s first pool…

Boudy teaches her to play..

Chloe is 5 months old…

@ 6 months old Boudreaux

is still teaching her to walk the fence line while guarding the yard…

Chloe turned two among the daffodils…

The Princess loves to smell the flowers…

just like any little girl!

She loved her big “brother”

Boudreaux

He was a good big brother and taught her well.

She mourned his passing as hard as we did.

Early that summer we were sent to New Hampshire

and Chloe got to walk on the beach for the first time.

Chloe is there to meet Michael when he first comes home…

She is such a calm and gentle pup,

just great with the little fellow!

Back in NH the brisk autumn winds and the “Beach Plums” ice cream found favor with Chloe.

December came with the first dustings of snow

and it was time to cut a Christmas tree…

Chloe's Koi Pond froze…

SOLID!

And when the snow began

it snowed and snowed and…

snowed

and snowed.

Chloe LOVED the COLD & the SNOW…

It was very hard to get her to come inside!

Then there’s the story of Chloe and Her lime sherbet…

(and Daddy thought it was his…., so why did he put it out side the door in the snow?)

The last day in February we took a van ride into Vermont…

Chloe LOVES to ride !

In March a Nor'easter

blew in

Cold, Windy, and Snow!

She was in hog heaven!

Then in May

Chloe got a little brother…

Which began a whole lot of play time…

She showed him a lot of things,

how to walk the fence line,

how to keep the pond free of Great Blue Herons, the yard free of turkeys and

the beach…

Thibby taught her

“head sitting”

and the meaning of the word patience…

She had a heart to heart with her little big sister,

and was reminded of how

Boudy had shown an enormous amount of patience with her…

and given half a chance

Thibby could turn into a really good little brother, too.

He too is older now & she still watches out for him as if he were her “little” buddy.

Happy Birthday Chloe!

We love you Princess!

In Memory of Our Boudreaux

2011-02-28T09:38:00.002-05:00

A.J's Boudreaux Patou

Always by my side.

He was my boy,

my buddy.

♥♥♥

My Sweethearts!

2011-02-14T11:43:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine’s Day

They fill my life with Love!

Tales of our Miss Bobo… The Queen...

2011-01-23T11:51:00.002-05:00

Miss Bobo…

has been ruling the roost around us for the better part of 18 years.

When she first came to our home she and her brother Boo-Boo could sit together in your cupped hands..

Although she never got to be a BIG cat in stature she has a heart and a will as BIG as any Siberian Tiger.

This little eight pound darlin’ also has a voice to rival any Bull Elephant…

When she wants her “cookies”, petting,

or is just telling Thibby how to breath properly

(according to Miss Bo)

she will open that little mouth and let out the loudest

“MEEEEEEOOOOW”

you’ve ever heard.

and if it is in conjunction with instructions for Thibodeaux…

there is usually a nose bopping to accompany it !

But, not to worry…

there are no claws to be involved.

She has learned over the years to call me…

“Maaaaaaw~Maaaaaw”

Especially when she has determined the sun has been down long enough (according to Miss Bobo)

and it should be bed time.

She will get on the bed and begin her

loud beckoning…

“Maaaaaaaw~Maaaaaaw…

Maaaaaaaw~ Maaaaaaaaaw”

I from my chair will call

“Not yet Bo.”

She will repeat her request and if turned down once again

join me in the recliner…

always checking to make sure the spaces between many of my ribs have not “grown together” by stepping in each with that small kitten paw exerting at least 400lbs pressure on her way to lounge on my chest… at which point any book or laptop is closed.

Her favorite pass times include…

Eating

her food or mine.

Exploring

for nice cozy, quiet dark spots.

Keeping a watch over me.

Petting ..

She loves her petting sections !

Playing

every so often Bo gets a streak of “kitten” in her racing about the house, sliding on step rugs & across furniture.

She found houses with stairs to be very enjoyable at these times!

Secretary

sitting either directly in front of the computer screen warming by it’s light or keeping a very close eye on the cursor…

lounging on top of the printer,

shifting weight every now and again in order to push a different button .

Sewing room helper

Sleeping

alone or with someone.

Sunning

in a window or under a lamp.

Thibby fussing

(all the boy has to do is walk in the room and cross his eyes…)

She informed him when he was just a wee pup of oh,..14 lbs at best that

she, yes, SHE was in charge…

so, several times a day

she MUST

keep this upper most in his mind.

(This apparently is very important when a pup will grow to well over a hundred pounds and the boss only weighs in at eight ! )

Through all these years she has had a constant nemesis …

It has followed her day in and day out.

On many, many occasions she finds it’s just to much to bare and must set that darn thing in it’s rightful place…

It is a hard job…

but it must be done !

Yet, it seems to mostly elude her grasp

On occasion caught for mere moments to only slip quickly away…

Someday, she will catch that tail !

That darn tail !

National Champions !

2011-01-11T08:10:00.001-05:00

Number one in class…

Number One in the Nation !

WAR EAGLE !

Back on the Blog... after Christmas

2011-01-08T20:09:00.001-05:00

When last we spoke it was

about time for the next move to

be getting underway...

I was sitting in South Carolina

tapping on these keys...

Tonight I sit in front of this screen in

South Georgia...

not completely surrounded by boxes

but, still by quite a bit of

disorganization...

On the 15th of December

the movers showed up and packed everything that was not hidden in the van or truck.

On the 16th,

they came back and loaded

their 18 wheeler...

that was a cold and icee day!

Later that afternoon

Miss BoBo, Miss Chloe,

Young Thibodeaux & I loaded

in the van & drove south...

the further south we went the warmer it seemed,

until we meandered around out last interstate interchange

finding ourselves headed due south

with a brilliant afternoon sun shinning in the windows.

One night was spent in a empty

house with an air mattress,

then the next morning

on the 17th,

pretty early,

the big truck pulled in.

The pups stayed out back...

The unloading went extremely fast.

The unpacking

well... it continues...

I will confess to the fact that during the Christmas holidays...

We all loaded up and went home to

Alabama & then to Virginia!

Felice brought Michael & Joseph

down south to visit the kin...

Our house is usually decked out

room by room,

top to bottom in Christmas decor...

However,

this year it was not to be.

As we drove into the little town

where we live,

out my drivers window I saw

with a twinkling of starlight for a backdrop

a small red sleigh being drawn through the nights sky by a team of magical reindeer...

and believe it or not but there

as plain as the nose on my face holding the reigns...

was

one little old man

white beard and all,

his clothing

covered in red..

Looking at me saying...

"You better get those puppies

home to bed."

They gave me no troubles that night,

and were ready for sleep..

When the next dawn did shine,

we saw what Santa had left

for

me and mine.

And to top it all off

it had begun to snow.

Thibby ran around ready to frolic...

Chasing the flakes as if they were falling nibbles

snapping and licking at the wet

whiteness as it fell across the yard.

That day and the next few were spent

seeing family on the fly...

oh, and "Fa~Ra~Ra"

Chinese dinner on Christmas night...

Never enough time when we are home!

Back to Georgia for a quick turn around...

then on

New Years Eve Day off to Virginia...

I must take a moment here to confess that the early morning disembarking

somehow found the camera still sitting on the table

...left behind...

Yet ,Mike took some pictures with his phone

There we had lunch out with Bill,

Felice and Michael...

then it was east to Carrie...

where we met Dan

presents were exchanged ...

All seemed tickled...

Carrie got new skates!
(I could not help myself the picture of her when she was 8 or 9 in her homemade padding had to be included!)

a late night meal was enjoyed,

then hugs were given.

Carrie and Dan
went to

cheer in the New Year

as Papa and I

retired to the hotel for a quick nights rest...

the next day it was to be

On the road again!

Sunday was "Ground Breaking"

on the new project

and Monday...

Well, come Monday we'd start

all over again.

This kinda catches us up to here...

Be sure to keep a watch out ...

I'm sure the four legged children will

have something to say on their blog

( http://www.pyrpups.blogspot.com/ )

about the move,

the holidays, and a visitor they recently had!
(psst.. but, give 'em a day or two)
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
We sure did!!!

From Our Hearts to Yours: Merry Christmas!

2010-12-13T16:55:00.004-05:00

As Christmas time

comes racing around the corner

this year I find myself

very much behind

with not a

single card addressed

or stamp stuck.

Then while thinking

what could I do in such a short time...

this was my answer.

I hope each and everyone of our family & friends

have a wonderful

Christmas

filled with love and joy!

And so from our hearts to yours

here is our card

filled with

happy memories of

the last couple of Christmases with our family.

***

A Special Date Night… The Levon Helm Band Concert

2010-11-09T15:45:00.001-05:00

Who among my generation… (and those surrounding it) would not begin a spontaneous drool when asked if they would like to go to a Levon Helm concert?

For those who did not grow up in the 60’s and 70’s

or belong to parents who did…

(as for my babies… The Band provided much of the soundtrack to their younger years)

let’s take a short peek back in time…

It began (for me) with “The Band”

Somewhere around 1968 through 1975,

The Band was one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music was embraced as seriously as the music of “The Beatles and the “Rolling Stones”

The Band held a farewell concert at Winterland in San Francisco on Thanksgiving 1976.

It was a bittersweet time for many who thought the end of the Band was too soon.

(I wanted to weep!)

They called it “The Last Waltz” which included Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and an all star guest list of peers & friends.

The event sold as a triple album & was filmed ,

becoming a historical “rockumentary”

Levon Helm is a rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved his fame as the drummer and frequently lead singer for The Band.

He is known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice and creative drumming style

He has nurtured a tradition of professionalism with a deep respect for his craft and remains genuine . He is a master storyteller who weaves his tales with a magic thread that ties us all. He beckons us to come in, sit a spell and enjoy.

Levon’s nimble drumming leaves no doubt that he deserves the title,

“The greatest drummer”,

bestowed on him by Ringo Starr.

Last evening, I had the tremendous

pleasure of accompanying Michael to the Concert Hall at the BJCC

where we attended a rare touring concert by The Levon Helm Band.

It was a most wonderful event!

The music was out of this world and a

long time dream came true!

The first act was

“Secret Sister”,

two young ladies (actually sisters) from our own Muscle Shoals, Al.

Who could be luckier?

To actually be the front band for Levon on their first tour?

Second to take the stage was

Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs

Rays voice being like some kind of candy…

smooth, thick , maybe a little sticky..

but, with a little bite…

They were very enjoyable…

but, when they brought out the horn section borrowed from Levon’s band

they proved beyond the shadow of a doubt this band could really boogie!

After Ray left the stage…

the house lights came up and everyone stretched their legs…

while the stage was prepared for the main act.

Levon’s drum kit was brought out on it’s own little raised set…

When the lights dimmed…

then a long anticipated show began.

The fact that his singing is now limited,

(due to a fight with throat cancer),

gives the rare moments when he does sing an enormous sense of gravity.

Thank you Michael for

always treating me so special

and

we thank you Levon for such a wonderful show!

Pictures of Michael W.

2010-11-03T09:56:00.001-04:00

For those who have not had a chance to see pictures of our grandson in awhile I thought I would post some his Mommy and Baba have taken... and posted on facebook ...

So for those of you who don't look at fb here are pictures of

Michael W. Hall

Baba and Michael with Mr. Pirate Pumpkin

Michael as "Buzz" & Miss Scarlett as "Tinkerbelle"

Just clowning around

On the way to a camp out...

First time fishing

with Baba

Such a happy boy!