~FACING THE FACTS...~

Ok, I cannot paint...it's just a fact....I am NOT an artist, but by gosh I can color in the lines...yes I can! 

I found this  garden sign at a garage sale on Saturday..I bought the nice iron (though faded) post for a dollar because I know they can be pricy and the nice lady threw in the faded sad looking sign. 

As usual, I forgot to take a before photo and I had already begun to repaint and refresh when I remembered.  You can see the difference in the leaves etc.  It had all faded to a rather interesting stonish gray color...

At first I thought I would throw the sign away..but decided against it and  instead of spraying it, I decided to just follow the lines of the raised design.  I like the way it turned out..but..as usual, I keep wondering if I should have painted a colorful background.....oh well... maybe next time.

See the before and after?

I left it the grayish color because the stone in front ...is gray..still...I keep thinking...

It's sort of difficult to see so you may want to enlarge, but the metal post the sign is hung on is a very sturdy piece, adorned with leaves etc.  It was faded too and dusty black so I spray painted it black enamel..and it turned out really pretty.

So...project finished.  Home projects have been something to keep my mind off things.

My daughter Sandy is, of course, not out of the woods..but she has a fantastic attitude, a family that is very supportive and she has her faith.  Again...thank you so much for all your prayers, sweet comments and emails.

I knew there were wonderful people in the world, but never did I expect to find such a loving and supportive group of people as I have found in blogging.  I thank God for all of you every single day. 

Love,

Mona

~THANK YOU SO MUCH...~

I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their prayers during this time of crisis in my family. 

My daughter came through her surgery, has her sisters and family by her side.  It was wonderful to see her smile. 

I will see you soon.

Much love,

Mona

~HOW GREAT THOU ART..~

Dear blogging friends,

I won't be posting for awhile.  At this time I am not certain when I will return. 

I have alternated between praying and crying, usually both much of today. My precious daughter has had devasting news about her health and our family is in shock.  This is my eldest daughter Sandra.

I cannot think of anything but her right now.  I cannot concentrate on everyday things for more than a couple of minutes.

Please...please..pray for her.  Please hold her for a few moments in God's healing light.

I pray to God that He carry her and her little family and all of us on the frightening journey we have ahead of us.

My love to all of you and my wish is that you have a glorious Easter.

Mona

Sandy at age 2 years

See my sidebar for my daughter today..

~HAIR~

Those of you who don't grapple with their hair..probably won't be interested but...

3" with tiny Amethysts .  Look closely to see them.

...my hair has always been an issue with me..always, except for just twice in my life I have had long hair.  Sometimes to my waist.  At this time it is only about half way down my back.  You see..I feel..insecure without my hair. That's the honest truth.  I feel..naked. 

However, with age my hair has thinned and is not the nice thick dark brown mop it used to be. 

I've been told that older women don't wear their hair down and to be honest here...it can be a little witchy looking.  But since I am determined not to have my hair permed into a little silver cap which is lovely but just not me..I prefer my hair to be worn like I swore as a young woman I would wear it when I got old.  Just like Grandma's.

Patient husband took this so it's a wee blurred.  See?  I have NO pride.  I didn't even comb my hair first.. :)

This is how I usually wear my hair.  UP! 

BUT...they cannot take my bangs away from me.  I wear them softened but it is a youthful thing I hang on to with both hands!  I mean...it's all I have.   Everyone needs something of their younger days.  The Lord only knows everything else I have is gone! 

Here is a clear picture of it.  I LOVE it!  Very Victorian. 

My Grandmother wore hers long and up in a bun.  When I was a little girl she would take the big pins out and let me brush it...and I was in heaven.  It was white.  Pure white.  Mine still has some of my very dark brown, nearly black, hair in the back.  Not much, but it is there.

Fall leaves.  4"

I have this one with four smaller leaves in bronze.  Wonderful for Fall.

(excuse the blur..it's not our fault.  We are old and shakey  :)

This is my only Western one.  It is 4"

This one is just lovely in person.  My photography does not do it justice.  It is 3 1/2 inches.

ALL of my hair clips have the FRENCH clasp.

4" of loveliness! :)

It took all my courage to buy this one as I am not a huge lover of spidey's..but LOVE Fall and Halloween!

And...well...it went well with straggly, thinning hair!  I admit it is one of my very favorite ones.

A rose is a rose is a rose.  Even on a barrette!

And...there are many more.  See that little one on the far left...the black and Australian Crystal one?

That tiny barrette cost me over a hundred dollars!  Yes, at a DEPARTMENT STORE that I won't name.

I quickly went to hand crafted ones...and have noticed as with everything..that my taste has changed over time.

So..there you have it.  My secret passion is hoarding barrettes. 

Hugs..and I hope you still love me after this...post.  LOL

Mona

~GARAGE SALES AND DAUGHTERS..~

Yes, that's exactly what I mean.  Garage sales and daughters make for smiles! 

You see, I have daughters that love beautiful things..but...department stores or...those exclusive little places that dwell in the Orange Circle in Orange County, California.  If you know California and Orange County, you know exactly what I mean!

Soooo..last week when lovely daughter #3 (the department store Queen) called and asked if I was going to the garage sales... and could she go..you could have knocked me off my computer chair with a sledge hammer.  (I got that talk from Nezzy, but, I don't think I got it just right!)

I told her to be ready by 7 AM and by golly, she WAS!  We picked her up and off we went. 

All we heard all morning long were shrieks of joy and elation coming from the back seat!!  That girl was beside herself when she loaded up on Antique linen's for just a few dollars...and to be honest, I can't even remember everything she bought.   DVD'S of movies she had missed...you know...just tons of things.

(I only got ONE piece of linen out of all that, BUT, it was more fun to watch her and show her things and what to look for and how to bargain..and I must say, she caught on VERY quickly. 

So....question.

HOW DO I SNEAK OFF WITHOUT HER???   *giggle*

My first find was this darling little rose red teapot.  MY favorite red!

$1.00

Target napkin holder 50 cents!

Four beautiful napkins in Easter colors...25 cents each!

And this was the one piece of old linen that I hung onto.  It was $4.00 but worth it.  It is 37"x37" and is made from an old feed sack and still has the print on it.  So soft and not a single flaw.  PERFECT. 

Silver plate tea set...  BEFORE 

AFTER  and I paid $3.00!  Yes, for all three pieces!  :)

I tell you, the EASTER BUNNY couldn't have out-hopped me!  Of course I saved my HAPPY HOPPING until I got to the car!! 

A tiny Gerber baby spoon!  BEFORE

AFTER. 

Actually this was free because Daughter #3 got a whole pile of silver for $3.00 and this was what I salvaged!  (Need I say she out "hopped" me??)  :)

I almost made her get out and walk when she screamed with delight that a few of them were REAL SILVER and not plate.  Ah well.... *sigh* I was happy for her.   No..really...I was!!!

And last but not least...this sweet little rooster 25 cents! 

He is exactly 3x3 inches.  So darned cute!  He looks big in the photo but he is very small! 

And there you have part of the story. 

The rest is that on Sunday, daughter #3 took daughter #2 with her and back out they went.  I'm glad I didn't have to be in the car with them.  You would not believe what they bought! 

Yes, I went quietly out  later when my headache went away.  Alone.  lol   Well, I took Sweet Husband but he is only interested in wire, tools and CD's..

NO problem!  :)

Hugs,

Mona



Sunday's last minute finds!

50 cents

25 cents

50 cents!  I do LOVE books and always have a couple of them going.

Brand new in the box.  50 cents!

$3.00!  Sweetie Pie was delighted! 

So..second day Garage sales can be...great too. 

The end of the story is that when the girls left my house they had arms loaded with thing.  But then they always do!  Don't you just love having daughters?  LOL

Me?  Absolutely free! 

Hugs!

~FINALLY...IT'S DONE..~

....NO rain and it was all finished in time for Saturday's yard sales...

Painting this sofa table is something I have put off for months and months...actually for three years.

I was afraid.  Afraid I wouldn't like it...afraid it would look awful..or I  would do something wrong..but I finallly got my nerve up and it's all done. 

Well, once again I forgot to take a before photo..but...at least you can see the stark difference painting this sofa table made. 

It was a nice shabby chic piece in a sort of French Country room...my family room, except mine is not really what you could call  French Country.  It just things I like.  Just "stuff"...

...and here it is all done and back in place!  I love it! 

Isn't it amazing what a difference a bit of spray paint can make?

Please s'cuse the cord...I don't think my photo's through before I take them. 

..ho hum...

Every time I go in the room today I am going to be all..puffed up with pride...

and you KNOW what they say about that!  So...be kind...ok? 

(but then you ALWAYS are!)

Love and hugs...

Mona

Oh...yes..my garage sales...I'll show you tomorrow.  What a story I have to tell you...you know how daughters are...  never mind..I'll tell you tomorrow!  :)  

(or maybe Wednesday) Ok?

..more hugs..



~HAVE YOU EVER DONE THIS?...

I had a dream last night.  It was very real.  My home seemed to be filling up with water.  I looked down and I was ankle deep in water.  My children (they are all grown) were little again and sloshing around...water kept coming in and getting deeper and deeper.  I worried about my babies. 

Suddenly I saw a baby laying on it's face in the water and just KNEW it had drowned and tried desperately to get to it...and when I grabbed it up and turned it over...it was a doll.  Just a ..doll and not my baby.

Something is going on here folks.

Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night and thought of someone, some blogger friend that you have not visited in days, that you have come to like very much, had a blogging relationship with that you cherished?  Have you gotten up and made your way through a darkened house to your computer..turned on the light..turned on the computer visited that person?  I have. 

I have stopped my work and rushed to visit someone that popped into my head that I had not visited for several days.  Fear dogging every moment that you had hurt someones feelings?  I have. 

I have actually felt a bit of relief when I am away from home and can't blog. 

Please don't misunderstand me..I LOVE blogging.  I love all of my blogging friends and enjoy putting a post together. But..at times it has become work.  At times I have let other things go way too long. 

I've gotten ill and even from the hospital I  worried about those that might think I am ignoring them.

I see blogs that have..way more followers than I do and sometimes I have seen so many comments on these blogs that I wonder how they have time to ever return all those visits...and of course you should.  That is just good blogging etiquette

All the blogs I follow, or try to follow...I cannot ever visit them all..and this concerns me. 

Another thing is that I love finding new, interesting and informitive blogs...but I know full well that I cannot keep visiting them...it's ...just...too...much!

Have I made a mountain out of a molehill ?...probably.  But I don't think I am the only one that goes nuts sometimes trying to keep up.  I think we all do.   

I am addicted to this blogging thing...it is a really nice, interesting, informitive part of my life and I cherish my blogging friends.  I wouldn't give it up for the world...but..I worry.

Love and hugs,

Mona  :)



~I LOVE A PARTY....~

Our "Cupboard" party that Shelia @ NOTE SONGS has been promising us. 

No kitchen cupboards for me...it's a long story..but once I had the cupboards of my dreams.  All painted a lovely white and glassed in completely around my kitchen.  When I move after my husbands death, I had to leave all that behind..and start again. 

One day...perhaps I will have my pretty cupboards again..but...for now...this is my favorite.

We bought this hutch when my youngest daughter was two years old and she is now 41.  We also bought the table, a cross bar tressel table that is  in the garage waiting to have the top refinished...

The houses on top of the hutch are ones I collect too.  I never collect dozens of anything really.

The right hand drawer was always full of ribbons for my four daughters hair..I bought it by the yard in every conceivable color and pattern and each morning they got to pick out the ribbons of their choice.  A nice "old person's" memory! :)

Those little lace shoes lined with delicate silk are my own baby shoes from when I was tiny.  Jeremy Fisher is my favorite of Beatrix Potter's characters...I collect them..the rest Peter Rabbit, etc. are in the living room cabinet that belonged to my mother.

Very small cross stitched framed pictures are some of my garage sale finds.

Oh NO!  It came out blurry!  I am having the worst time...never mind.  You can see it well enough..

Just....stuff.  Playing with the display shelves have never failed to be fun for me. 

When I was in my 30's and had almost nothing to put in my hutch...I still loved it.

Oops!  :) There are some of my Beatrix Potter collection!  I thought they were in the living room cabinet!

Ah well.  My memory is not what it used to be! 

So...there you have it...MY CABINET contribution, such as it is... :)

Love and hugs,

Mona

THANK YOU, Shelia, you little sweetie pie...that was fun!! 

~SPRINGTIME IN CALIFORNIA..~

I thought I would join Tooties@ TOOTSIE TIME for Flaunt You Flowers day. 

I do wish I had some lovely and amazing ones but I am not really a avid gardner...just a wannabe one.  But I've discovered perrinials and love them.  Just whack them back when they begin to fade..and back they come..

~FRONT YARD~

My favorite on going project...Carnations this time...a red geranium...nothing fancy..but...here's the thing...

I need to learn to keep tabs on what I plant...some sort of way to keep track of the name of my plants..because...I have to just hope you recognize them...such as...

...these.

This is my favorite fern I think..at least for my planters.  At Lowe's I have seen them labeled as Asparagus fern..but I know them as Foxtail ferns.  I wonder which they are.

Last week I dug up the old ferns and replanted them and replaced the with the Fox Tail fern...

I can't wait to see them when they are mature..full and lovely.  What a beautiful frame for that big stone.

By the way...I just wanted to say that the stone is very REAL.  They hauled it in on a truck and with great effort pushed it off the truck..and here is where it fell and here is where it stayed.  I just recently pulled up all the Red Apple that was doing nothing and added nothing and began planting this little bed.  Son in law put curbing around it to protect it from the grass... 

BACKYARD...

..these in my back yard by my OLD wheelbarrow.  We still have to spread our mulch and get this years annuals in...lots of work to do.  LOTS!

Our two White Birch tree's  and at the far end our new plum tree.. I have to wonder if I will ever pick a plum from it...but...at least someone will. :)  And that's neat!

Do you see those rooftops??  Well, we are hoping those tree's hide them one day... :)  Wishful thinking?  Probably!

Just a struggling Southern California back yard...but..our green is nearly all back now...

Ok..I think that is some lavendar I planted last year.  LOVE that stuff...

Would you look at that GRASS??  Sweetie just mowed it yesterday.  I wonder if he missed spot?

Perhaps he was afraid of mowing down the Lavendar, bless his little heart!

The gardeners out there can see the work  I  have to do...and though my flowers are unremarkable...they do speak of Spring...and that is what is important.   My bulbs have already faded...perhaps they will give anothe show.  Maybe?

And by the way...it was 96 degree's here yesterday.  We sweltered!!  And warm again today!

Love and hugs,

Mona