Minnie & BoBo

Here are pictures of Minnie Mouse and her new friend BoBo the Third. 2 years ago after seeing the PetSmart commercial with the cute little Dachsund and his beloved stuffed friend BoBo, I bought Minnie her own BoBo. She loves him dearly! He's purple. However he has been loved so much that he has had several surgeries to put his insides back in and seams stitched back together. Santa brought Minnie a Grinch BoBo for Christmas last year, but thanks to Maddie (our 11 month old Lab) the Grinch is missing an arm, half his Santa coat,the middle squeaker, and most of his stuffing. So I decided it was time for BoBo the Third. I'm hoping to quietly retire the Grinch. Like purple BoBo , Minnie loves him dearly and is extremely protective of him. She's moved him to several hiding places to keep him away from Maddie. Maddie has now claimed the Grinch and Minnie doesn't seem to mind at all. Now I've got to find a new BoBo for Maddie.

Budding Photgrapher

Miss T has been playing around with my camera. I downloaded some photos I'd taken and found these. I put the daylilly on my desktop. What a beautiful surprise!

Miss T's Room

Miss T and I have redecorated her room. As a tweenager, she decided her ocean theme room was too babyish. Her tastes at age 11 are more sophisticated now. What a difference two years can make! That's what I get for letting her watch too much TLC and HGTV. We made the wall art over her dressing table by stapling fabric to the back of a photo screen (given as a gift). The bed linens and Roman shade were found on clearance at JC Penney (catalog). The brown square pillow was found at Tuesday Morning. The art over the bed, teal cubes, (put under the window to form a window seat ,also great storage), teal lamps and the white rug were found at WalMart. The two small storage units on each side of the bed were found at Fred's (local dollar store). The walls were painted hemp rope, found at Lowe's. We could have filmed our own episode of Design on a Dime (HGTV). The dressing table with mirror and bench was found at Trees and Trends (on clearance of course). BTW, the bed fits in the nook without an inch to spare. Thank goodness, because she based the arrangement on the placement of the bed.
She really enjoys her room. I find myself watching TV there when she's at her dad's. It is so calm and serene.
I've added a before photo to show the dramatic change.

Gustav

The eye of Hurricane Gustav is 200 miles away, yet some of Gustav is trying to come in my garage. It is also covering my street. There has been some wind, but no more than we would have during a summer thunderstorm. Our concern right now is that the power box (electric) is halfway under water. We're hoping for a lull in the rain. That will help the water recede a bit

Going to Washington.

One of my goals this year was to go Washington state to visit my son and the daughter of my heart. I don't know why, but I've always felt drawn to this area even before they moved there. I read novels that take place in that region. I've always been interested in anything "Seattle". I "love" Starbucks! I even like a brand of coffee called "Seattle's Best". The Cinnabon and Henry's blend are my favorite flavors. Debbie MaComber's Shop on Blossom Street series are my favorite novels. My favorite webcam is the Space Needle cam found @ EarthCam.com. One of my favorite movies is Sleepless in Seattle. So when I flew into SeaTac May 21st, I felt like I was coming home.

The Puget Sound area is as beautiful and exciting as I imagined. For dinner the first evening my son and daughter of my heart prepared fresh salmon on the grill. It was absolutely delicious! The next day we drove through the Olympic National Forrest & along the Hood Canal. We headed south from Tacoma and made a complete circle which took us to Bremerton to the north. We rode the ferry from Bremerton across Puget Sound to Seattle's waterfront. Seeing Seattle's skyline from the water with my own eyes was a dream come true. After exiting the ferry, we explored the waterfront and had supper at The Crab Pot where we were given bibs and mallets before a pot full of steamed crabs, shrimp, mussels, clams, sausage and corn were dumped on the table. It was awesome!
On the drive down I-5 back to Tacoma I was happy and "full". We finished the day hanging out, watching the season finale of Grey's Anatomy which takes place in Seattle.

The next day (Friday) we headed to downtown Seattle for the first ultrasound of the new grand baby due in January. It was such a beautiful sight. Even though I'd seen so many wonderful things,looking back, the ultra sound was my favorite. After that we explored Pike Place Market, ate Thai food for lunch and attended a folk art festival below the Space Needle.
Saturday was spent exploring Tacoma. From Point Defiance Park, I saw the peak of Mount Ranier. It had been hiding behind clouds since my arrival. We ate lunch at Sushi Revolution. I had it in my mind that sushi was nothing but fancy raw fish. I was so wrong! It was delicious. There is cooked sushi and uncooked sushi . I was a little nervous about the uncooked but found that it wasn't raw after all. It was cooked by the salty brine of the ocean. Talk about misconceptions!

Sunday morning was spent at a local nursery selecting plants and a large planter for my "domh" for the front steps of their home which is a 1929 Craftsman Bungalow. Sunday afternoon, a cookout was given in my honor. I had a great time meeting my children's friends, playing games and enjoying good food.
Monday was Memorial Day. I enjoyed hanging out at the bungalow, walking the dogs through the neighborhoods, admiring all the flowers and greenery. Rhododendrons were in bloom everywhere! We attended a Mariners game at Safeco Field in the evening. I proudly wore my new Mariners t-shirt with Mom on the back. Even though the Mariners lost, it was such a great experience. The "people" watching is so entertaining!

Even though I missed my family in AL, I hated to leave Washington on Tuesday morning. The last thing I did in Washington, after saying goodbye to my children, was to buy a Cinnamon Dolce @ SeaTac's Starbucks. Delicious! After hiding behind clouds for most of the past week, Mount Rainier was in full view through the plane's window as we flew over it. It was as if it was bidding me " goodbye and comeback soon . I'll be waiting for you".
Each day since my return to AL, I've looked at my photos and thought about how some day I want to live in the Puget Sound area. Life there has so many options in so many different areas.
In the mean time, I'm trying to bloom where I'm planted. I've gotten many good ideas and examples for embracing the green lifestyle. It is more of a challenge here on the gulf coast, but I'm trying. I loved how in WA so many people walked or biked rather than drove to where they wanted to go. I hope to break out the bike this winter and drive less. The 90 degree temps make it too hard to do here in the summer. In WA recycling is the norm rather than the exception.
I always thought that Montana (where I lived for 12 years) was God's Country, but I now believe that He has expanded it further west to include Puget Sound.

Calm and Clutter Free?

It has been a long time since I last blogged. Where does time go? Here we are halfway through the year as I read my list of goals from last January's post. I thought about how many I've accomplished and how far I have to go. Today I'll evaluate the first one. The first was to create a calm, clutter free home. I've come a long way on that one,but find it is a daily struggle. It would be easy if there were just me, but I share my daily life with a husband, a tweenage girl and three dogs, one of which is a now 9 month old Lab puppy named Maddie (Madalyn when she's in trouble) and a grown son who fortunately has his own apartment. Even though they live across the country, I also share my life with another son and his wife who is the daughter of my heart. They are my go to when I need adult thoughts and conversation about anything and everything. I learn so much from them.
As far as clutter goes, I have over the months given or thrown out many things after asking myself "Do I love it?"or " Do I need It?"or "Have I used it or worn it in the past year?" I've rearranged "my" bedroom (the spare bedroom I call my sanctuary) creating a place to watch a video or HGTV and do some needlework while sitting in my rocker. I've made a cozy home office in a corner behind the door with my desk and pictures of my favorite people, places and my collection of angels. That is where I am blogging right now. My tweenager and I have painted and redecorated her bedroom to be a calm clutter free refuge. However, remember that she is a tweenager after all so clutter free is a moment to moment thing.

I find I have to really work on the calm part of the goal. People in northern parts of the country suffer from cabin fever in the winter. Because of the extreme heat here (The temp and humidity are both in the 90's!) I spend a lot of time indoors so I have cabin fever in the summer. Sure I go out late in the day or early in the morning to water plants and walk the dogs, but otherwise I run from air conditioning to air conditioning with no stopping in between! We do swim in our above ground pool which gives some relief.
As far as calm goes, that seems to be a frame of mind, which I confess is a daily struggle. I feel calmer on the days I have prayer and a Bible study and do some needlework. I am working on a project for the new grandchild due in January.

Overall, I feel like I've come a long way on this goal, but must continue to work on it daily to keep it up. I have to remember Phillippians 4:13 daily which says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".

Time Flies

I always thought that November and December were the busiest months of the year. Now I'm not so sure. February may be the shortest, but it was jam packed with occasions. Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) fell on Februrary 5th this year. My grandmother's birthday was Feb. 4th. Feb. 10-14 (Valentine's Day) was busy as I had declared this a year for making cards and gifts to show the wonderful people in my life how much I love them. I also wanted to spend more time than money. I was busy with this until noon Feb. 14. I also hosted a party for my grandchild, Miss T's 5th grade class on Valentine's Day. My dad's birthday was Feb. 19th. My husband's birthday was Feb. 26th. Between the three dogs, we went to the vet 3 times. Miss T" goes to karate 3 times a week. (I help my older son raise this terrific kid.) She is also on the karate demonstration team. So there were extra classes this month. I volunteer at Miss T's school each Friday. During this past month, my husband worked 17 straight (12 hour) days.
I am so thankful there is an extra day in this month!
Despite all the busyness, I watched several sunsets, worked in my yard, read an entire book, read a dozen magazines, did a jigsaw puzzle, saw the Hannah Montana movie, watched 2 dvds I hadn't seen, and walked my dogs (especially the 4 month old Lab puppy) daily. I was even in bed many nights by 10pm.
I also found time to slow down and dream. I already have tickets to fly to Washington (state) in May. I dream of the places I've always wanted to see and of the things I've always wanted to do. I also dream of spending time with my younger son and his wife who is the "daughter of my heart".
I made time to pray. I continue to pray for each member of my family (including the dogs), my friends and my enemies daily. It is really hard to pray for people who aren't very good, but I will persevere. I've counted my blessings. There are more than I can name. I've done some of a Beth Moore Bible study. God is showing me who I am more and more. No matter what, I know that I am His.
So, as I get back into the busyness of life, I will embrace it and thank God for an extra day.
Happy Leap Year!