~WITCHY WOMAN? WHO...ME?

YOU have not seen me with my hair hanging down.  I aways have long hair  but I wear it up and hanging down, well ...yep...witchy woman! :)

 

I really DO like this little witch...but she hates me in "blue jeans" which I am forever in....and her smile makes me edgy.  As you can see, Scarecrow doesn't like her much either.   I think it's that ..grin!   

 

 

 

Ahhhh...now this Witch...we are great friends!  I think it was love at first sight.  She is in the living room and has her very own chair....for now.  She loves flowers.  Maybe that's why I love her. 

 

 

Yes, I think, or rather I know, that decorating is a sort of therapy for me.  I'm not saying it's for everyone because of all my friends, none of them are like me. 

I just love fabric sculptures.  I cannot imagine what it takes to do one of these.  Each is done by an artist.  I am sure there are probably patterns but as with everything, every artist has a different take on a sculpture.  The fabric is stiffened and it must be so hard to make these.  I don't even know how they are done and now I wish I had asked each of the artists. 

It's interesting what appeals to some and not to others. 
 

I bought these scare crows last year and they are fantastic.  Such detail. When I unpacked them this year...(wait...maybe it was the year before that I bought them!)  No matter.  You would have to hold them..feel their weight...they are amazing.  No drawn on faces...all lovely embroidery work!

 

 

 

Here is a photo of the pair of them sitting together in our dining room.  The artist that made these did NOT scrimp on quality.  Love these...

 

My crow on a stick!  He is so rustic and he sits above my sink and watches me wash dishes. 

He LOVES shiny things so I have to put the silver away...otherwise it disappears.  :)

 

  



 Witches are a favorite of mine.  I collect them.  This little sweetheart (she HATES it when I call her that) sits on an old suitcase on a drum table at the end of our couch in the family room.  I have to laugh at this old Witchy woman...did you notice she has my hair?  I wonder if we are related?   Don't answer that!! :)

 

Thanks to all of you for ...just being here!

Love and hugs to all,
Mona 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





~A WORD I REFUSED TO SAY...

The word "cancer" was one I would never say.  I didn't know why, but I didn't even want to look at the word.  Perhaps I knew that one day, it would be in my life in a huge way. 

It has robbed me of two wonderful, apparently strong healthy  husbands in a matter of days, my great grandmother, two Aunts, my parents, two dear friends and now plagues someone in my life that means the world to me.   Our family is in holding pattern.  Watching, waiting, fearful...hoping ...praying...

 

Our morning paper was PINK this morning...and this feeling of thankfulness that people were fighting, people cared and the proof was right in front of me.  And all of you out there...those of you who have continued to keep our family in your prayers, you have NO idea how it makes me feel. 

I know you would fix it if you could.  Make it go away.  That's what I want to do, make it all go away, but just LOOK at how folks are keeping hope alive...doing all they can.

The only other thing I would ask for, dear God, is a cure! 

 

I thank God for people like you!

 

My love to all of you,

Mona

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



~IS IT THE HEAT?~

I promised my self that I would not buy a single new thing this Halloween, but, I could not resist this overlay of webs and spiders!  At first I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it...but the size of the piece and the fact that all the edges were so nicely finished...made it perfect for the table. 

 

 

Sometimes when I see photo's of homes, I often wish they would back away so I can get the full scope.  We have a lot of windows in this room and the light is very bright all day.  I've tried darkening the photo's but I don't like the colors not being true...thus, the glare. 

This painting is a favorite Halloween decoration of mine.  I believe I showed it last year and I looked forward to getting it out this year.  The every present daylight glare takes away from it but it's still beautiful to me.   The woman who painted it is a wonderful artist.  I wish I could buy more from her.

She's never very far from my feet.  My constant companion, and I've a feeling that her time alone with PH while I was in Georgia, helped do a little bonding.  Mele came into this marriage with me four years ago and it's been a long road.  She lost her Master when Frank passed away and my heart broke watching her wait for him by the back door.
 
When we came to this new life and new home, I counted on her sweetness, faithfulness and loyality to win PH over.  I sort of think it has.  He still does not pet her or give her any attention but I can tell he likes her, if only a little. 

I adore her.  She was as big as my hand when I got her.

I've been very meloncholy lately.  I love Fall.  I've waited for it but of course it signifys a sad time of year for me. 
Would you believe...that we are expecting 109 degree's on Monday and Tuesday and maybe that is what is a bit depressing.   :)  Ya think????   :)

My love to all,
Mona



 



~IS IT BETTER TO BE EARLY THAN NEVER?~

  It takes me DAY'S to decorate and it seems  as soon as it's done...it's time to take it all down.  That's why Halloween goes up early for me.
And besides...
Joyce @ October Farm said it was just fine to do it early!  Thanks Joyce.  She inspired my mantel.  :)
 

For the past week I've been trying to catch up on housework and get my Autumn decorating back on track before it's to late..and to day I made a huge dent.  Finally.

It's good to be home!

Our fireplace mantel is an really an old coral post.  I found it on a ranch that belonged to a friend.  It was burned by a forest fire and had to be cut from the barbed wire.  We hauled in home in my truck and cut off both ends to the length we wanted and began to sand. 

I love the results and it came with me when I moved back home.  

It's all decked out for Halloween and I am not changing it ANYMORE.  :)

 

 

I've had this hutch for at least 37 years now. 

 

 

Nearly everything on this hutch was gifts from one of my daughters.  Brambly Hedge dishes and books. The pumpkin tea set. 

 

 

The book ends I've had so long I cannot remember when I got them.  They aren't a set.  I bought the cats at two different times and just ended up using them as bookends. 

Oops!  I forgot to tie my black and white checked ribbon on my cloche. 

Coffee table decor is not my strong point.  Nope, not at all!   The skull?  I don't know...

We were at Target..and suddenly it was in my basket.  ???  Sheesh!  Maybe I should change that.

 

 

 

 I got lazier as the day passed...can you tell?

 

 

Living room.  This room isn't really the easiest to decorate for Fall. 

 

I admit to trying black at the windows..but...it sort of spooked me.  I'm living in a haunted house you know.  You didn't know that?  Let me tell you about it some day.  It's been a real adventure.   Honest!

 

I am so please to have gotten a post done...finally!

 

Love to all,

Mona



~THINGS I CANNOT SEEM TO REMEMBER~

...or rather ONE thing I can never seem to remember...ever.

 

When we left Atlanta, the leaves were just beginning to blow softly across the highway.  I cannot even begin to discribe how I felt leaving.  She promised me she would come to California soon.  I believe her.  She does her best to come to visit often.  She always has.

My eight year old great granddaughter and 11 year old great grandson greated me as though ...as though I was someone they knew and had missed very much.  Two sweeter and loving children I have never known.  Tiny two year old great grandson was shy...but ended up giving me sweet little  kisses on my cheek.  I hope they remember me ...I hope, I hope!

 

The thing is...I cannot ever seem to remember to take a camera with me. 

Why is that??   I am sad because when I arrived in Georgia I remembered my forgotten camera sitting at home on my desk.  The story of my life.  WHY didn't I  just put it in my handbag??   I am still mad at myself.  I don't understand when it was so very important.

 

Sandy took lots of photo's and has promised to send them to me. 

Our stay was wonderful.  Her home is gorgeous.

I didn't know that my daughter loves to paint.  How could I have not known that??  She has her own light bright studio over looking the yard upstairs. 

It was a wonderful visit. 

 

I was happy to get home, of course, but much of my heart I left in Georgia.  I wish you could put daughters in a suitcase and bring them with you.  :)

 

I guess that's all I have to say.

 

Love to all,

Mona

 

 



~FINALLY, THE DAY IS NEARLY HERE...~

Finally, I'm going.  Only one more day and we board the plane for Atlanta. 

I will feel better when I can hold her.

 

I want to be with my daughter....yesterday!

 

 

I will be back after the 11th of September.  I know I won't want to leave her. 

My love to all,

Mona

~TRUST ME ON THIS..~

 

It's been four years now, four long hot summers...NO...let me take that back and say it's been the entire four years I 've lived here.  It doesn't matter the time of year.  cold, rain..name it!  I have been on one long and miserable battle with ANTS!  

I find them crawling in inch wide swaths across the driveway, garage floor  (right up the tires to....who knows where as we do not eat in the car) ...they are in our bathroom, all over the kitchen counters, in the cupboards crawling on my dishes (now that REALLY makes me furious!) and just a few days ago, on my stove and in my pretty red Kitchen Aid coffee maker.    My bathroom, PH's bathroom (did he get angry or upset AT ALL??  Oh, heavens no! 

 

Enough was enough.  The last straw was the coffee maker!  I love my morning coffee and I DO NOT want ants in it!!  So...I made my last plea.   I said:

"Sweetheart, ( I said softly) ...we have spent hundreds of dollars over the past four years on Pest killers.  I have risked my life, NO, honestly, I have risked my life spraying those little monsters, and I simply cannot take it any more.  They crawl over poo poo ( ok, so maybe I didn't say poo poo because I was very frusterated after all) and I went on to say, ...and they eat dead things and now they are crawling all over our entire home.  It's simply NOT healthy...(and at this point he looked a bit pale.  I mean this is the man who rides his bike 13 miles a day and likes being healthy!)  ...and, I said, it makes me sick to my stomach..so PLEASE, PLEASE call in the professionals.  I am pleading here."

 

Silence.

 

Have I ever menioned that my husband is very, very stubborn?  Well, I am mentioning it now!

 

I smiled and then (as per my blogname) I WHISPERED SWEETLY, "I simply cannot take this anymore."   I think tears were dripping into the dishpan.    Please remember, I have "suggested" getting help many times!  Have I mentioned that my sweet husband is very frugal???  I kissed him gently on the cheek and went back to washing the dishes. 

 

Yep, that very day he called in the big guns and on this Monday they came out!  Nothing has made me this happy since I found out there really WAS a Santa Claus.  :):)

 

 

*********

 

The man said it would take at least three days to see real results.  From paths going up our walls over our fences, in the dogs dish (forgot to throw that one in!) it is down to just two nasty little critters this morning and that was out by the street. 

They will be coming every two months..and if there is a problem in between all we do is call and they will come right out.

 

Thank you to my sweet and patient husband.  Can't they be just so neat sometimes?   I guess it just has to be their idea.  *smirk*

 

 

My love to all of you,

Mona

 

 

p.s. I couldn't take the name of the truck...but...I am not affiliated with any Pest Control company at all.



~DANCING AS FAST AS I CAN..

Yes, I can bake and this pies proves it..but..I seldom do it anymore. 

Within the past couple of weeks, there has been another step added to the dance.

I'm not exactly running out of breath..but it's rather taken my breath away..just a bit.

Before I go on, I recently realized something.  My computer ..or rather my provider of the internet, was down, and I got so much done that it actually, truely,  amazed me.

I thought that by just posting less, visiting less, that I would get more done..in the back of my mind I knew the computer was there. 

It wasn't just the computer I was addicted to, it was all of you out there.  Women I could share with, who seemed to appreciate what I loved doing the most. 

Homemaking

Exchanging ideas

Sharing your everyday lives with us...to a certain extent.

...actually a wonderful world that I am sure all of you have discovered to some degree.

I LOVED it.

I didn't want to do anything else...and in the process of being stuck to my chair a lot..things were taking a back seat but I didn't realize it.  What I did do, was things I could take photo's of and share.

Not scrubbing the toilets, etc. (NO cleaning lady once a week in this household, though heaven knows I'm beginning to wish for it.) 

My new....Kindle Fire

On my desk, out on the patio, in bed, cuddled up on the living room couch, on the front porch..and yes, you could take it to the restroom with you, if were of a mind to do that..

I would tell you I wouldn't do that..but it's just not true!  I would.  I did! :(

Newspapers, movies, books, magazines....

etc. etc. etc.

I cannot even begin to imagine what PH and my late spouses would think of how quickly technology is speeding along. 

And now?  I am already thinking of an Ipad.  Yeah...now how's that for learning a lesson?  Not...too good, I know.  I have been watching movies, as in the above photo, Wuthering Heights and more ...in every spare moment.

Downton Abby, Mad men...you know? 

In short, I've been unfaithful to you.  LOL 

Whee!  I feel SO much better.

I guess I needed ...well...a little confession is good for the soul they say. 

THEY are right!

Love and hugs,

Mona   :)



~THE EARLY BIRD...

I am beginning the Fall season..coming soon..with a pretty arrangement for my front door by Kristin's Creations. It matches our new house trim and you KNOW how that is!

I know, I know...it's a bit early but I agree with Joyce @ October Farm, the dearest of bloggers and bestest of chef's.   Fall is here and then it's gone..and it is my favorite time of year.  So I started by adding a bit of color to the front screen door. 

This set of plates I found at an Estate Sale last Friday.  The pretty butter yellow is perfect for my Fall fireplace..yep.  :)  T'is that!

Not a single flea bite..perfection. Bordallo is such a lovely line.

Oh, it will change...it always does, but it's a beginning. 

...and also at the same sale..this big pretty flower pot.  Doesn't everyone need a big blue and white flower pot?  Indeed they do!

...so home it came.

These little concrete bunnies...ohhh so sweet.  Got a weakness for cottage bunnies!  They were tossed in for free... (it pays to be charming..  :)

And lastly (by now I was hungry for breakfast out!)  this very heavy garden stone. 

Now..

here is the surprise.  When we got home and unloaded the trunk of the car..we piled everything gently on the top of the washer to be washed before bringing it into the house etc.  The garage door closed...and in the darkened garage I was started to see the butterfly glowing a beautiful translucent pale green...   For two dollars (and I thought that rather steep but wanted it) I think I got a wonderful deal! 

Right now is graces my front porch where is glows softly at the edge of the ferns.  Soooo pretty..

My love to all of you,

Mona

~DAWN, baby of the family~

Dawn, my spiritual one..

My lucky number seven!

Dawn flirts with the world...she has since birth..

Dawn, my beautful hippy "lady" and free spirit.

Dawn and her daughter and my granddaughter, Wrenna.  Both adventurous, both lovely.

Here is to the waning days of summer..

Many hugs and lots of love,

Mona

~AIR CONDITIONING..WHAT AN INVENTION..~

I remember my mother telling me that one summer when they were visiting relatives in Kansas..they wrapped the children in wet sheets to keep them cool. 
*******
In Jacksonville Florida my children sprawled on sheets on our living room hardwood floors one summer so they could sleep.
*******
Have you ever seen seven little kids standing in front of a huge fan in Sears.  One with the streamers flowing from it...silent...just standing in the cool air not talking.  Just in bliss??  I have.  My own. 
Yep..our window air conditioner broke down and we drove to Sears for a new one...it was  miserable.
The year was summer of 1972, our last year of being a Marine Corp family.  Miserably hot and muggy.  Tons of bugs..BIG ones! 
*******

Our internet service has been down since Saturday..it just came on this afternoon. 

AT&T  said it was out all over the country?  Really?? 

*********

No summer vacation this year.  We stayed home..enjoyed the cool house, feetsies in the soft carpet and cool floors...drank ice tea, indulged in popcicles and pretzels and cleaned, read books and relaxed.  (for the most part)

Boring?..not a bit of it! 

Saturday outings, long chats with the kids, visits from neighbors..it's been nice...indeed it has.

Oh....and kept the plants alive.  :) 

I found these little moss covered one inch clay pots on ebay.  The tiny liners under each of them are so cute.

I could use them on the front porch of the doll house ...but I think a second Fairy Garden is coming soon.  Still...they really might look cute in the wheelbarrow garden...

If I sound ...a little confused, it's because I sorta am. 

The thing about getting..."older" is that it's your time of life to indulge in your favorite pastime.

I found this little quilted teapot tassel with beading in my favorite shop...I ALWAYS find something wonderful when I visit Lucy's shop Vintage Flair.  A second hand shop..or thrift shop...I call it the Beauty shop! :)

I also found this little velvet bird.  Sweet! 

Hmmmm..yes..ok...

A fresh Ivy in an old clay pot

Take away the book ends..

Add crocheted doily to cloche, a crystal pitcher and some faux silks

....an new/old crochet runner ...all starched and ironed.  EVERYTHING from garage sales!..ok..so not the ivy, but the pot it is in.

I like it...

but...

I AM SO READY FOR FALL!!!

Any questions?  Anyone?  Anyone???  :)

Lov'n hugs,

Mona



~....IS ANOTHER WOMAN'S TREASURE~

Our Saturdays are usually (if it isn't horribly hot) our day to treasure hunt.  This Saturday was party time at our home for Ireland's (my sweet Granddaughter) twenty second birthday..so Friday found us going to an  estate sale on a lovely street, just a few doors down from my son's home.

This is something I normally do not like to do as I dislike the "crush" of people.  I have gotten past the creepy feeling that I first experienced.  I hope when I die, that someone takes the things I love and treasure and cares about them.  Of course I know that won't always be true, but with so many children and Grands...I doubt there will be much left. 

So...here is what I found in a very, very short time..

 This is two pieces...and perfectly adorable.  On the back is says "Old Abbey"

Then "Limoges/France"  At the Estate sale I paid $8.00 for it.  NOT a single flea bite!

I love these AND they still have the corks in them after all these years!

NIPPON is on the bottom of them.  Sooo sweet.  Price?  I am not really sure but I think they were $4 or  $5 for the pair.  Somehow I lost my reciept.  :(  Most I remember though but for some reason these I do not..

A complete set of hand embroidered very large dish towels..the kind I love..$6.00.  Little fat puppies on each of them..with the day of the week.  The size?  36 X 36!  Yippee!!

I have just washed and treated these linens, so they have not been starched and pressed..

(I should have waited...I know..  :)

The hand work on the little roses is exquisite and I know took SO much time.

The size of this lovely linen cloth is 55 X 55.  Wonderful to layer onto a crocheted tablecloth.

I am not familiar with the stitch used on the roses and buds..but the thread looks wrapped.
Lovely!   I just finished pressing this cloth and it is gorgeous.
I paid $3.50 for it.   I would DO it again! :)
I will take good care of it!

Two nice sized cotton dishtowels.  Wonderful to line baskets for bread.  Starched and pressed they are wonderful.

This little yellow and white crocheted pot holder..all alone and crumpled at the bottom of the heaped up bed.  It now graces my kitchen..:)

We had fun.  Howard didn't find a thing he wanted.  He always looks for books..and guy stuff.
Nothing turned up.
The things I passed up...I could shoot myself for.  For example..a weather vane...wonderful but at $25 I thought it too..much..BIG mistake not taking it, and also a complete set of lovely old silverware for $50.  I went back later in the day..and of course they were both gone..however..I did find

I found this little concrete (heavy)chipped nosed baby bunny in the yard and Karen (the Estate sale lady) threw him in for free!  :)  I think he is sweet as heck!

I am so far behind in  posting..and the time is flying by..If I have not visited in awhile, believe me there are good reasons, but  things are beginning to calm at this time...

 

I am reading two books right now.  The biography of Vivian Leigh and Georgiana..another biography. 

I am very choosey about biographers..."just the facts ma'm.  JUST the facts!"  :)

Love and hugs,

Mona