My Friend Tracy Latham is having a Birthday Today 9/18/2015

Look who's having a Birthday!! Tracy Latham!! Let's all Celebrate with Her!

I feel like we were Sisters From Other Mothers!

 I certainly couldn't love her anymore than if we were Sisters!

Now if you know Tracy, she has a HUGE SWEET TOOTH!

 So a cake with her Face on It is certainly apropos! Tracy you have to share!!

Oh My God!! Look who has stopped by to give Tracy

a Birthday Kiss!! It's The Bieber!! (no tongues)

Tracy you Glamour Girl, I know you say you aren't, but not by this picture!

I'm wishing My Friend Across the Pond (Crewe England) The very Happiest of Birthdays! Love you My Friend! Have fun on Your Special Day Tracy!

Life Just Keeps Sucking the Time Outta Me!

Guess I'm turning into a Once a Month Blogger! But honestly my intentions in the beginning was to have a productive and active Blog. You know when I started Blogging, all the Bloggers I followed, were like the old HGTV days. I mean it was all about Crafting, Gardening, Home Cook'n, Life Happens Stories...like Design on a Dime, Carol Duval, Christopher Lowell, Room by Room, Decorating Cents, Aileen Crafts and so many others I can't seem to pull out of My brain right now, but you get the Idea. Now, if I go to a Blog site, nothing but Advertizements, PopUps and not even a Header. Not so much fun, but I'm sure the Bloggers are making money off of all this. And Kudos to all the Girls that have Recipe Blogs, I really don't know how they do it, responding to all the--Well I used pecans instead of walnuts, and added in pineapple, I also used an egg substitute and whole wheat flour and topped it with coconut--do you think it'll turn out?? God Bless em..then they have to kindly reply, Well Doris it should be all good...BUT PLEASE TAKE MY NAME OFF THE FU*K'N RECIPE!! THIS IS NO LONGER WHAT I SHARED!! FOLLOW THE D*MN RECIPE BIT*H!! Doris please let Me know how it turns out, thanks for your suggestions. LOL

In the last Month more things have happened than I can shake a stick at! All house related! New Electrical panel being installed, Gardener trimmed all trees overhanging house and clearing big areas on the south end of garden (that I never enter), new Insulation put in Attic, got Carpenter coming next two weeks to replace T 1-11 siding at front, replacing sliders out to screened room with French doors..on and on and on..

And to top it all off My Granddaughter leaves in about 6 days for College, but even though she'll only be a couple of hours away, it's like Grandmothers are the last to be seen, if at all, just so much they have to attend to. Grandson will turn 21 in October, he is in his Fourth Year of Life guarding at Neptune Beach, also going to College to be a Civil Engineer, will be transferring to Tallahassee soon. Time marches on.. Talking of Marching on, Fall is right around the corner, I think this was the shortest Summer ever. Maybe it's because the kids return to School earlier..These are a few pictures of My flower beds, The last looks of Summer..

 The last of the Society Garlic and My Donkeys Ears Succulent sprouting babies that grow on its Ears.

                                              Coleus and Christmas Cactus on the side yard.

                                             One lonely bloom on a Volunteer Vinca.  

                                      Ornamental Peppers and Bromeliad blooms fading.

                                    Mexican Firebush and Volunteer Vinca  blooming their hearts out!

Front Door garden area, Coleus, Vinca and Papyrus, this area will be cleared out for Autumn Crotons and Ornamental Cabbage. It just didn't seem to last long at all..

Fourth of July!! 2015!!

I just can't help saying it..."TIME IS FLYING BY"!!  I mean July..really.  Oh and can you say "Hot as Hell"! Man the heat came on this year, early and with an agenda..to make you sweat! But I am swallowing all my words, cuz I love Florida, and I really do love the heat, because the alternative is the COLD!! UH no LOL
Looking forward to the Fourth, invited to some parties, and will head down to the Beach to watch Fireworks over the Ocean with the Family. Honestly I could watch them all night, even the ones going off in driveways and being set off in the streets..just all good..even the Sulfur smell..it's just so exciting!  I love wearing the glowstick necklaces, last year I got the glow earrings! Now this year I've got the Bracelets and the big dome rings! Ooo gunna  be fun!  I'll also put some on my bike, just weave in the wheels and wrap the handlebars...yeah I'm a kid!!
Just finished decorating My Mantel for 2015! And the theme is "Celebrating with Fireworks"!


Does it look like Fireworks exploding!
The only Memory that I really have of California, My Birth State, Is attending the Fireworks over the Pacific Ocean! I had to of been maybe Three years old, Mom had sat me on a stone wall, and the Fireworks began, I've never heard them as loud as those were , and the Roar of the Pacific is like no other! I grabbed her slacks and held on so tight! Scared..but couldn't take my eyes off that glorious site! When it was over I looked up to see My Moms face, and soon found out the slacks I held onto was not my Moms!! A total stranger!! LOL  I didn't even realize that someone else had sat down next to me..Wow to be mesmerized like that again.. So that must have been my first falling in love with all that sparkle!
When we lived in England they had a Firework that was called a Catherine's Wheel, it looked like a spiral, kinda like the mosquito repellents we got at the Drive-ins to light in the car. Well these you nailed to a wall, then lit, and it spun around like mad sending out the sparkles in a gorgeous spray with every spin. My Dad would nail them to the wooden garage door. Loved Them! My other favorite is the Roman Candle! Oh Man holding that stick, just knowing all that power would be shooting out any second...squeeeee! Thunk Thunk with each burst, shooting across the yard, and up into the night sky, each a different color...magic I tell ya! One time we had ones shaped like Army Tanks, and when lit they would roll forward and shoot sparks out of their guns! Oh and who doesn't love the big fountains that explode with sparks flying up high,  and all this accompanied by  the loudest whistle in the world! Gotta cover your ears!
Ahhh..I hope you have a safe and fun Fourth of July, Celebrating Our Independence! Light a few Fireworks..you'll be glad you did!

Well the Hot Weather is Not Waiting for Summer!

Hi All! Hope everyone had a Splendid Memorial Day, We had no plans for this long weekend, just letting Wayne have two days off in a row was special! We usually just have the Sunday together, so we chose to just rest up. Went over the the Daughters to visit just a bit, celebrated a belated Birthday of our Son in Law Scott, and of course always fun seeing the Daughter and the Grandkids. June 3rd Kingsley Graduates High School ! Now that is still something I'm trying to comprehend! Then she leaves in August for College..wha??
Alot of my Friends are going through this too..damnit the time is just going too fast. Grandson Evan will be 21 this year!! Come on.!!..stop it..
We are already in the throws of Summer heat, 90 degrees in the screened room!! We went to the nursery a couple of weeks ago to get a few plants, annuals for their blooms, but the pick'ns were slim! I ended up with Marigolds, Petunias and Coleus, and they were on the skimpy side! And it's May! The thing is, I've planted them and they have stayed the same size, not spreading out being all nice and full like they usually do.. disappointing. Don't know if the early heat is to blame, but the gardener in me will keep trying! Thought I would put a few of my Garden Pics up for your sheer enjoyment! LOL

 Oh and I forgot to mention the prices!! What is on my bench is $13.00!! Y'all do know I Mosaic, well I did this bench years ago and it still looks fantastic!

 Looking through the Heart in my Gate toward the side yard.

 My PomPom Shrimp plant is blooming, I have about four of them throughout the yard, just such a striking bubble-gum pink.

 The yellow Hibiscus is from my Daughters yard, this bloom is the size of a lunch plate! Beautiful  The Lavender Althea Patio Tree is just loaded, bloom'n it's little heart out!

One of our Kitties, Dixie Boy, rest'n in the Screened Room. Only one Day lily Bloomed this year, but I managed to get this pic before it was gone.
Monday is June the 1st, wish I was a child again, Mom, Me and My Brother heading to Midland City Alabama to spend the Summer at my Grandmom Vera's small farm. Most times it was just the three of us traveling from Florida or Virginia, depending if Dad was out at sea on the Ship, serving with the Navy. We always seemed to arrive at two in the morning, Lord driving down those two lane country roads at night, never meeting another car, Dad would have the Brights on so we could see, and when I say pitch black I mean it,! not a light to be found! Our eyes fixed on the road ahead, straining, afraid a cow or something might run out of the  rows and rows of tall corn! Kudzu Vine covering everything like a carpet, even taking the shape of an old farm house that was abandoned. On one trip, Mom looked over at Dad "Good Lord Jimmy! What's that Smell"? We had passed through a Skunk Cloud!! Whew! even the windows down didn't help! We all laughed the rest of the drive to the farm. It was always fun for us kids. I can remember in the morning I would get one of the stick brooms, and then find a spot to "sweep out" my playhouse. I would find a cool spot under a tree, and start sweeping until I got down to hard pan, take the loose sand and pile it around the edge, making the outline to my rooms, then dash around the yard and get the small chippy blue painted rocker, the small pot bellied stove, bricks and a plank to make like a shelf, then I would find discarded Mason Jar lids, and they would be my plates!  Ahh so much fun, cuz now I got to spend the rest of the Summer "Not" letting my Brother in my house!! LOL! Grandmom would get me a small flour sack , with the prettiest flower print, about the size of a tea towel, fold it in half, then roll it up, take a piece of string and tie it tight,about three inches down from the top of the roll, then she would whip stitch in some eyes, nose and a mouth, then fluff out the rest of the roll, and that was my Dolly for the Summer! Awesome! I have so many fun memories, kinda makes me sad.. But now we all  have this Summer ahead of us to enjoy! I just need someone to whip me up a Doll. ♥

Missed April! But I'll Catch You Up With May!

May Day, then Cinco De Mayo (that we spent at an Irish Pub!), now Flower Planting and Mother's Day!  Also my Granddaughter Kingsley turns 18! wha?? It's very stressful as she Graduates in June, and then in August, off to College. How did all this happen? I took her shopping for her Birthday , she said she didn't need any new clothes or shoes...?? now who turns down FREE clothes and shoes..well she said she really would like new make-up, so off we went. It was just a wonderful day of sharing, and you don't get those too often, ended our afternoon with a trip to Dairy Queen for IceCream! and the best chat ever..

 Ahh I wanna be 18 again! Well actually I'd love to go back to the age of 33, and from that day forward I would just say NO!

                                                                Brain Freeze!

 Here in Neptune Beach we have had a glorious Spring, this Mother's Day weekend it is predicted to be 92 degrees! I baleeze that is Summer weathah!!  It has taken me so long to get all the beds weeded, for one reason I waited too long to plant and mulch, so all the weeds came back and I had to do a repeat performance. Ahh but there is nothing like working in the garden.The problem  is that I have trouble with my right knee, so as I'm weeding I have to do the bend at the waist, with my legs spread eagle, making my ass stick up in the air!! As to not offend any passersby, I make sure said "ass" is always facing the house!! Avert your eyes!! LOL Just a little Southern Decorum..

Things are really quiet in the garden, the Cicadas have not started their endless Summer singing yet, but I did hear one the other day..soon enough it'll be a cacophony of sound!  The top picture shows my Ligustrum Patio Tree blooming it's little heart out, I love the aroma, the bottom picture is a weird plant, the leaves are sawtoothed and it has these fuchsia blooms that just hang all over it. I just don't know the name, but it is over three feet across and about as high!

 18 inch stepping stone I designed and mosaiced about 12 years ago, African Iris are in the forefront.

                                    My favorite Alamanda, cuz it blooms all summer long!

   Close-up of African Iris 

 Shrimp plant blooming, my back side yard is loaded with these! Very prolific plant,  but they do love the sun!
Well we have two birthdays in May, Kingsley and my son in law Scott, Graduation in June , then enjoy the summer...but dreading August..oh I'll be posting all along too. So chat with ya soon!

Easter is Here! well almost

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday, what a beautiful Holiday. When little it was the best, all the kids at Church would get to march in carrying Palm Fronds, waving them in the air, don't think we really understood the true meaning, but for some reason you felt Glorious! So funny how the older we get, the more we think of all the fun times, not so much focusing on the lousy vignettes of our lives, meloncoly.
Well I have been putting up my Easter decorations, kinda waiting till the last moment. Doesn't seem as much fun, no one comes by to see them, not like when the Grandkids were young. Now all are grown, and we go to our Daughters to celebrate. When "The Daughter", as Wayne calls her, was young it was such a fun day, the family would come over, Mom and Dad and The Inlaws, all for a cookout and of course to watch Tiffany hunt for the eggs, snapping pictures like mad. This activity was followed by a very American cookout of HotDogs cooked on the grill, Baked Beans, Potato Salad and of course my Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Icing, topped with pastel sprinkles. Now that's what I'm talk'n about! Great memories!

I did manage to flood the house with Easter Decor, got my Mantel finished, using basket eggs, spring flowers, ceramic rabbit and blue metallic mesh ribbon.

Set up a Vignette on the Dining Table, using Moms candles with pink roses, and a cloche covering one of her ceramic eggs, everything else are thrift finds .

Love this picture of our Cat Dixie Boy sleeping at the end of the coffee table, next to some of my paper mache rabbits.

Put a few things in the Family Room, one is my little Easter Tree, the Grandkids used to hang the ornaments, but now I get the fun! I put it next to another paper mache rabbit and a tiny tea service for one.

I love my Mellow Yellow Rabbit! I gave this to my Mom when I was about 18 years old, you can tell I'm a teen of the 60"s! Oh and the cute metal wire Carrot with the little white picket fence..too cute!

Last pictures are of Monica our Maid, wearing the visor I decorated about 10 years ago, we were invited to ride on a friends boat to the St Augustine Blessing of the Fleet, and I surprised all the girls with an Easter Visor! Monica is holding a wire egg holder with some of the ceramic eggs I've collected throughout the years. Our Dog is wearing her finest jewels and one of my visors. Doesn't she look proud! LOL

Well I guess you've been flooded with enough of My Easter Pictures, but sharing is part of the fun! Hope You and Your Families have a wonderful Easter Sunday!

House of Hearts

Isn't this fun, that this year is passing, just as fast as last year! Here it is right before Valentine's Day! Won't you  be Mine? Usually the Hubs and I really don't exchange gifts on this day, we do give each other cards, but don't tell the Hubs, I've been sneaking in the same card every year for the past 5 years! Well it says just what any other card would say, and I do put it in a new envelope! The only part of the card that counts is the signature saying I Love You, am I right?! And so far he hasn't caught on. grinzzz

Just finished putting up the Valentines decorations, I just loaded up the House with Red Hearts! I always start with the Mantel.

This year I just loaded it with Red Hearts, Red Heart Felt Garland, Red Heart Metallic Garland, Kiss Me Pillow next to my Moms Moss Angel, Heart Ribbons, Hearts spilling out of the tiny drawer along with a little Red Bird and of course Hearts Galore!

                                    Red Glitter..enough said.

This Moss Angel was my Moms, it never comes off the Mantel no matter what Season ♥♥♥

Hearts spilling out of the the tiny drawers, you can't tell from the picture, but the drawers have tiny  porcelain green leaves applied to it, so unusual, I love it.

 Front entryway chest with a Big Red Heart, and Heart Cellophane added to existing arrangement, along with a Heart shaped Candy Dish.

 Dining Room and Living Room with Red Hearts Too!
Well I am done spreading the Love! Hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day!
Check out My Board on Pinterest called Mantel Fetish! I'm on under the name Rena Designs.