YUMMY!

FYI - Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Cake recipe just posted under Food and Fun page! ENJOY!!

It Takes Two

Today is my birthday. It's also my sister's birthday. No, we aren't twins. We were born two years apart. Today would also be our two great-aunts' birthdays. They weren't twins either. Here's the part that I find really cool - We are born under the sign of Gemini, the twins, aka 2. My 2 great-aunts were born 2 years apart, 2 generations before my sister and I were born (2 of us) and we are 4 years apart (4 being a multiple of 2) and there are 4 of us in total born on the 29th (again, 4 being a multiple of 2). Isn't that the weirdest thing? I always thought it was really neat, quirky, but neat!

So, Happy Birthday to my sister, Laurie Ann and to our Great Aunts Anna & Lucy!

TODAY'S SMILE

Having grandchildren in our home has reminded and taught me many things. It's reminded me of what it is like to hold a precious little life in my arms while feeling nothing but contentment. It's also reminded me of getting up during the night to feed and diaper that precious little bundle while half asleep, but the follow-up to that is a peaceful, soothing sit in the rocking chair, humming quietly as the angel babe drifts back to sleep. I have also been reminded of what it is like to step on a small toy barefoot (ouchies!), to find a half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich clinging to the underside of a chair cushion or a cookie with a bite taken out of it returned to its box. During the day, I recall how bouquets of weeds are beautiful when picked and presented with unconditional love, while every night, I am reminded of those sloppy little nitey nite kisses that fill my heart with joy.

I have been totally re-educated and have learned so much, looking at the world through a child's eyes. I have learned to notice things as if for the first time, with excitement and joy; to really observe an item, such as a butterfly, with all its glorious colors, its dance-like fluttering and its unique pattern, instead of just seeing it fly by. I have learned that the sound of the rain on the roof can be intriguing if I listen closely enough to depict individual drops. I have been taught that firetrucks are fascinating, that birds, rabbits and other backyard visitors can be imagined to be playmates and that something as simple as a bug can be studied for hours. Bacon smells much better than the dog's food, baseball must be watched while yelling "big hit! big hit!", shirts and pants don't always have to match and shoes will actually fit on the wrong feet.

While taking our walks around the neighborhood, I discovered many of these things when explaining what they were to an inquisitive Jamison. Then, something magical happened. It was as if all of my senses suddenly became alive again. I began to pay attention, to really notice the sights, sounds and smells of the world around me. I explained in great detail, all I was observing to him and he in turn now shares much of that knowledge with his little sister. Our surroundings now have more meaning, hold more mystery and make our days that much more enjoyable.

This is something we can all benefit from, whether we have a little one to share it with or not. Walk around your area. Take note of all that is going on. Literally stop to smell the roses, watch a bug cross the sidewalk, admire a bird's free-form flight across the blue sky, take in the aroma of a neighbor's bar-b-que, listen to the whir of a lawn mower in the distance or the giggling of children as they rush by on their bikes. I guarantee you will notice things within the familiar that you have never paid attention to before and your world will take on a whole new level of enjoyment and serenity. Find peace in the day's joys for they are all around us. We only have to give them the attention they deserve. Have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping by! Hugs, Leena

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD YARD SALE!

After days of rummaging through the house, unearthing and unpacking forgotten treasures and making those "oh so difficult" decisions over what to part with, today was the day it all came together - our neighborhood yard sale! I was up early, very early. In fact, I'm kind of wondering why, after a 5:30am rising time, dragging everything out and setting up, standing out in the sun for 7 hours and putting the leftovers away, I'm still awake and haven't made it to napland? It's simple; I promised folks that I would post pictures and let them know how the sale went!

We did pretty well, despite the HUGE amount of competition in our town. It seems as though every neighborhood waited until today to have their sale! To make things more difficult, our association didn't run an ad in the paper like the others did. So, being the resourceful people that we are, we put out signs, listed items on Craig's List and brought in a pretty good crowd. My daughter bought bright, neon-colored poster board and made signs for the front and back of her car, then parked it up on the main road. Another sign went on my car right at the front of our street. BIG arrows guided bargain hunters to our location, which was very helpful since we are at the back of the community.

The weather was perfect! After so much rain, we had bright sunshine and very warm temps (in the 80's) which, while I would have liked it a little cooler, made for a great day to be outdoors! I had to attend to customers, however, and ignore the weeds I kept seeing since I was outside for so long. It seems that they are both flood and drought tolerant so I can always count on them being there until I yank their nasty little selves out of my flower beds. To guard against the sun, I wore my big straw hat which I purchased during our recent trip to the beach. I also had my trusty sunglasses and bib apron with deep pockets for money, tape, pens, etc. I may look like a goober, but I was shaded and prepared! LOL

Not exactly what you would call a yard sale fashionista, but the purpose was served - LOL!

We had quite an assortment of wares to offer - baby clothes and goods, old oil paintings from my aunt's collection, quilts, antique embroidered linens, wall sconces, craft supplies, fabric, my daughter's doll collection from countries around the world, a ceiling fan we never took out of the box, framed cross-stitch pieces, dishes - all manner of stuff.

I didn't get a picture of the entire set before a neighbor snatched part of it up and headed for home with it

I sold a white wicker patio set made up of two chairs and a settee, two of the oil paintings, an antique child's chair with a cane seat and back (I loved that piece!) and other assorted goodies. My daughter sold a lot of baby girl clothes for the tiniest little 9 week old baby girl, along with some toys and video games. We both made slightly under $100; not as much as we would have liked to make, but we cleared out some of the house and put aside a lot of the leftovers for charity, so it was a good day.

Jim and I found time to sneak off and tour the neighborhood sales (I think he was afraid that I would go into withdrawal if I didn't go to any sales today) and I bought a really cool bench, a stool to decorate and two gorgeous candle sconces. They're still in his car as I write this, so I'll have to post pics of them a little later on. Our grandson, Jamison, got a world globe that "Geegaw" bought for him and enjoyed the day playing up and down our pipe stem with the other kids, while my trusty yard sale diva was at my side. Abigail is very good at convincing people that her cuteness means they should spend more money

We plan to have another sale in the fall, when I'll drag out the leftovers along with holiday decorations from our way over-sized collection of Halloween and Christmas items. For now, I'm loving how purging some items always makes me feel liberated and my house renewed. Looking forward to next weekend's sales! Thanks for stopping by and, happy sales, to you, until we meet again! Love ya! ~Leena~

Today's Smile

This makes me laugh my head off every time I look at it. Hope it gives you a good giggle and smile too - I actually had some cow slippers much like these - LOL! Enjoy! Hugs, Leena =:)

Commoners? I Think Not!

Introducing King Jamison and Queen Abigail Rose, wearing their official and oh so royal Burger King crowns. Who says the Royal Family gets all the attention? LOL!



Meemaw brag moment - can't help myself!



Serene Setting

This picture was taken outside a restaurant where Jim and I had dinner recently. The scenery is so beautiful and peaceful, that I just had to share it with everyone. It's one of those pictures that inspires day dreams which, for me, inspires creativity. Have a wonderful day! Love ya, Leena

Today's Smile

o/~Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so~\o.

 I have no idea why this little song popped into my head this morning. Maybe because we all need a little reminder now and then. Have a wonderful day!

Sunshine on my Shoulders Make Me HAPPY!

I woke up this morning to the most glorious sight - the sun! It wasn't just barely there, peeking out from behind a cloud, it was out, in full force, shining brightly! After so many rainy and cloudy days, it was definitely a welcomed surprise. The sky is a beautiful shade of blue with not a cloud to be seen. Jamison, Sullivan and I have already been out hunting for more "helicopters" and enjoying the morning.


So, what shall I do today? Well, there's my HUGE home decorating and gardening magazine collection that I started organizing the other day. I have way too many and they were beginning to take over my bedroom, so I've put them in their own cute little holders, separated by title. The most recent issues will still be allowed to sit in a basket at my bedside, until I need to corral them. I have resisted the urge to flip through the older issues as I know that will send me into a "I have to do a project now!" frenzy and I really need to concentrate on my spring cleaning and organizing. When it comes to the beautiful pages of decorating, creating and gardening, I am so easily distracted. It's not a bad thing, just not always a timely one.


I also need to straighten out the garage. During the winter months, it seems that many items were just tossed in there and, while there is still the obligatory room for my car (I insist upon having room for it in there) it's getting tighter and tighter. I'm in one of my "get it out of here" moods, so many things will be donated or tossed, depending upon their condition. Take, for example, the Christmas deer that no longer light up. They were spared during one of my sentimental "but they're so cute" moods. Sorry; deer season is now officially open! There's also several cans of house paint with "just enough left in case I need to do a touch-up". Trust me; should I decide to paint any portion of any wall, I'm changing colors. We've been living in an almost completely white house for several years now and I need color! It's funny that, when I see it in magazines or anothers home, I love it - all white paint and furniture, but the white walls in my own home just don't suit my personality. Yes, I am a sentimental romantic who loves old, shabby items, but I'm a bit too, hmmm, eclectic perhaps? to live in an all white house. So, the paint cans will be headed over to the hazardous waste disposal. That will clear off enough shelf space for some of the out-grown baby items and believe me, I will be overjoyed to get the infant car seats off of my dining room table! I am a very devoted Meemaw but enough is enough! Little people sure do have a lot of stuff, don't they?

Add to the list the laundry, cleaning up of the kitchen, running the vacuum and, my favorite - mowing the lawn! At least it will give me an excuse to be outside in the sunshine, right? I may even sneak some time in to hit the nursery for a few pretty flowers for my porch pots, now that I think we are clear of any frost :::keeping fingers crossed:::

So, I guess I've "listed" myself into a pretty busy day, and better get a move on my mom would've said. I hope that you enjoy your day, whatever it brings, and that if the sun isn't shining in your area, some happy moment will place a little sun in your heart. Love ya! ~Leena~

Simple Pleasures, Big Smiles

We finally had a break in the weather yesterday, with the rain holding off until evening. My daughter had to take Abigail to an appointment, so that left Jamison and me with some time together. We love spending time with each other. He's my little buddy and we bonded very strongly when he was a baby and I provided his day (and sometimes night) care for his first 18 months. Even once he started attending a commercial day care, he was still always excited to see me and would yell, "Meemaw! My Meemaw!" Too cute!

He wanted to use my binoculars, so I took him out to the screened porch to look for birds. We filled the feeders to entice them to come visit and waited patiently for their arrival. Jamison was fascinated with the way the binoculars made everything look so much bigger and spied on the neighbors' flowers, a truck and a few birds in the trees, but none came onto the deck. I then showed him how those little seed pods that fall all over the place, spin when you drop them and that I call them helicopters. He had a blast, collecting them from the deck and dropping them over the edge, then imitating how they spun. We "decorated" the porch with his big sidewalk chalk (thankfully it washes right off) and arranged my sea shells into an old basket, before getting out the giant bubble wand. Jamison loves blowing bubbles and he laughs and squeals while chasing them around. We had many important conversations, sang a few silly songs and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Sea Shells and Cherub in old basket

Jamison watching the bubbles float by

Jamison blowing bubbles

It really doesn't take much to brighten a day. Sometimes, the simplest of things can have the most meaning, and sharing them with a loved one makes them extra special. I'm looking forward to our next outing, as soon as it stops raining again! Have a joyful day! ~Leena~

FYI

Just to let you know, I am without a computer right now and won't be able to post until I get one back (hopefully by end of next week) Right now, I'm at the library using their computer. It works for making contact, but just isn't the same and they give you a time limit - sheesh! Hope all are well and enjoying some nice spring weather - see you soon! Love, Leena