Sunday Cheer

Brrr!  Oh,, I know a girl who got up in the middle of the night. The furnace was blasting, and she was soooo miserable.  How many clicks down did she do?  It's hard to tell, but oh, the temperature in the house, combined with the sunless drear?  Her Mom got up feeling PRETTY FRACTIOUS!

So, up with the furnace, and in with the yummy roast beef, carrots and lone potato!  I guess I forgot to get potatoes, but I managed to scrounge ONE from the bottom of the refrigerator crisper.  My son eats sweet potatoes anyway, so Mom and my son's friend can duke it out!  Ha Ha!

Yesterday was a big clean out day.  Had a lot of fun.  Yep.  I think it's a giant hoot to take a big black trashbag and go through drawers and stacks and simply give all that old stuff a big shove into the nether regions of "out to the dumpster."  It was eight drawers in my mother's room!  We went through them carefully and stowed many a treasure, including a kind of wobbly-eyed antique doll...  But after we secured the "treasures," we decided to pitch several items of clothing that had never been worn in the last decade.

I found a mother lode of pantihose.  It seems Mom stashed pantihose for the myriad of things we believe pantihose will solve.  There were the few for wearing, the few for wearing, and the few for wearing.  Then there were the worn and clean, waiting to be called to action to tie up tomato vines (which we sadly do not have,) to stuff a pillow (which we usually use fiberfill), or to maybe rob a bank...  (just kidding!!!)

I wouldn't be surprised if we found 40 pair!  But I didn't count, of course...  Anyway, the funniest thing happened.  My sweet sister/cousin came down last night bringing the beautiful box you see here filled with the beautiful ornaments you see on the tree above (for an early Valentine!)  She is sooo sweet to me and brings me all kinds of baubles and sweet things.  We share a love for Valentine's Day, for sure.  One of our favorites was an Open House we hosted when we had a shop together.  It was an icy, blustery, nasty day outside, but we had such fun with our special candles, special Valentine offerings, and wonderful refreshments that we didn't even notice.  Several very brave souls ventured forth to make the day super special.  I often miss my shop, and having one again in a different location is never far from my mind.

Anyway, while she and I were sitting in the kitchen having a cup of coffee, it hit me that we could pull a prank on my Mom.  I told her to come in and ask if Mom had any old pantihose that she could use for a craft she was working on.  I knew two things.  Mom HATED to throw things away and believed at any minute those pantihose could be NEEDED desperately.  My sister/cousin is a wonderful artisan and crafter who does indeed utilize many things in her wares...

Oh, the look on my mom's face was PRICELESS!  She had that mouth wide open, eyes shooting triumph and irritation at me...  She didn't say anything but she thought MUCH.  It was so funny I laughed so hard and so did she and my sister/cousin.  Nothing like a good gotcha! on a Saturday afternoon.  Needless to say, Mom was an excellent sport!

I sent my huge, HUGE grocery list by text to my son today.  I had every intention of going myself, but just decided to cook a little more slowly and to simmer some things and the time just got away from me.  He doesn't seem to mind being our personal shopper at times.

Yes, you all know I got a new camera!  Ha ha...  Well, it's just plain fun to take a bunch of photos and cram them all on here.  So, please bear with me.  I'm sure I'll settle down in a few weeks.  So far, I've been experimenting with focusing the front and swirling the back...  I asked for this little jewel.  It's a Canon Rebel something or other, and it's WHITE!  My mom bought it before she fell and tucked it away as a surprise.  I was definitely very surprised.

Have a wonderful, wonderful Sunday... and a good week waiting in the wings....

The photos are Mom and Dad at their wedding, and again at their 50th party which my son and I gave them in 1990.  Theirs is a really sweet romance, and I love to think of it on Valentine's Day.

My Lang teapot and canape plates were new last year, a gift I purchased with some birthday money.
They make me think of my Gramma, born in August and in love with pretty red poppies.

I made the Valentine collage for my dad because he was a telephone collector extraordinaire, and I thought this would be a fun gift.  It sets the scene for the holidays and gives me a special smile because I know how much he loved it.

Whimsy and Hugs!