Remodeling a Vintage Farmhouse in the Middle of the Country
Have you ever had a dream?
Something that you thought was unattainable, out-of-reach, pie-in-the-sky.
A dream that you put away on a shelf and took out only when life was at its most overwhelming. A dream that you never thought in your wildest imaginings would ever come true. And when life twists and turns as it must and you are tossed and tumbled….emerging a little rough around the edges….that dream is all you have to sustain you.Continue reading
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There are days when I feel like I spend my life with my foot in my mouth.
Not intentionally.
Not on purpose.
It just seems like “embarrassment” follows me around. Like an old familiar friend.
And although “embarrassment” and I have seen our share of good times, I thought we were well on our way to breaking up. Over. Done. Finissimo. I was moving on to a new relationship with “model citizen.” Together we were going to be unstoppable….with my foot out of my mouth planted securely on the floor.Continue reading
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In the south we have a saying that we use when don’t really know what to say.
When we are loss for words with a situation that almost needs no comment.
….but yet…..a comment is required.
So when faced with a commentless situation where it’s necessary to say something…..we here in the south will simply drawl….”Bless her heart.”
Bless her heart.
It’s the perfect saying, really. You can say so much with just that one little phrase.
Bless her heart.
I’ve said it when I saw someone at Wal-mart buying 17 dozen boxes of peeps at the after-Easter clearance sale.Continue reading
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I am not a very good step-by-step project person.
I want to be.
From the top of my head to the very tips of my Ripley’s Believe it or Not toes.
And if we had a giant blog yearbook and we could all vote on superlatives, I would want to be voted “Most Likely To Write a Step-By-Step Post.”
But I know that honor will always remain a distant dream.Continue reading
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Do you know what the number one question I get e-mailed about on my blog?
No….it’s not my recipe for hot dog pot pie (shocking, I know….as appetizing as that sounds).
Or where I got my Ripley’s Believe it Or Not flip-flop disguise.
No.
It’s how to make these book page flowers.Continue reading
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We have a family playlist for the car.
A list of songs that are true classics.
Songs that have been played for years….the lyrics memorized long ago.
Songs that only achieve their full potential when they are sung at the top of your lungs with your head moving side to side…..complete with hand motions and an occasional “Ooo Ooo.”
In unison.
Call it family bonding.
Here’s our family-bonding playlist:Continue reading
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Dear Gwen,
Can my chalkboard calendar and I ask you a favor?
The next time you happen to read this blog and you leave a comment, can you try really hard not to be so funny?
Please.
I really don’t think it’s too much to ask.
I mean I am trying to write a serious post about my flower discussions with Don Draper and how upset we are with the general state of affairs with Mad Men and you have to go and be all witty and comment-hilarious like this:Continue reading
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If you are an avid reader of this blog, you know I wake-up my house every morning.
But did I mention that I talk to my flowers?
It is such a one-sided conversation, but so totally enjoyable. I do all the talking and they do all the listening.
Currently we are having an in-depth discussion on the latest season of Mad Men…..
…..and (please don’t be a hater)…..how I am a little disappointed.
Disappointed in the new season.
I mean we had been waiting….the peonies and I.
Waiting with great anticipation for the next season to start.
Patiently waiting for March 25 and Don Draper.
You see we have been a fans from almost the very beginning. Along with the roses and the hydrangeas and the clematis and the azaleas. We were fans of Mad Men before all the hype and Newsweek covers and Today Show antics and bobble head dolls.
We adore Don Draper and Joan and Pete and Betty and Roger Sterling. Don was our hero, back when he used to be married to Betty and was living a life of amorous intrigue in the midst of a haze of cigarette smoke and 9 o’clock in the morning Gin and Tonics.
Don used to be so romantically cynical and world-weary, but yet always showed up to work looking like he was ready to take on Madison Avenue.
And now?
This season?
What has happened to Don?
Where is the Don Draper we knew and loved?
Now…..this season Don is being meekly ordered around in his newly starched shirts by his new wife as she calls the shots while oddly singing “Zou Bisou Bisou.”
A hen-pecked ad-executive.
Really?
Is this what Mad Men is coming to?
This is not the Don we know and love.
And we miss him.
And why is Pete suddenly running the agency?
And Peggy Olsen is telling off Roger Sterling?
And why is Joan divorcing from that adorable doctor war hero of hers?
It’s like they have all lost their minds.
Are we the only ones who yearn for the Mad Men of several seasons ago?
So, I think we are moving on…..my flowers and I.
And I think they are fine with it.
They were more interested in “The Victory Garden” anyway 
PS Don’t tell the flowers….but I’m going to start weeding with my toes
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