Painting Boxes

 

I bought this when my sister was down. Pretty but kind of "fake" looking. It's a sturdy box though and for 2.99 I couldn't pass it up.

Here is where I am at with it right now. H is into pink so I decided she can have it. I have decoupaged some pink paper on the inside bottom and she wants the little blue bird painted on the sides. The bird and the paper don't really go together but it's what she wants. So, I guess, it's what she is going to get :)

After painting this sweet little thing I was in a major paint zone. I REALLY wanted to paint something else. I started digging around in my garage and came up with this....

Very much in need of a make over! I believe everyone in the neighborhood heard me give a WHOOP when I found it. It came to me by way of my Mom. She got it by way of a Jr. High wood shop. She used it to keep some of her own little tools in it. 

I knew immediately what color I wanted to paint it but after that I was a bit stumped.

 I decided I wanted to keep the decoupage thing going, so I went through some of my scrapbook paper. Nothing jumped out at me. I was starting to get frustrated!! Finally, FINALLY, I remembered that my Dad has saved a whole bunch of old maps. Genius! I found the right one....a map of my hometown. I pulled my scissors out and got to cutting and gluing.

I just used the map on the top and then used the adds on the back of the map to decoupage around the sides. I was so much fun reading the adds and remembering the places of business. I'm not sure how many of the places are still there. Hmmm, maybe not any of them. I'll have to check on that. The little brown spot on the handle is where my Dad carved his initials. Apparently, he had a  stint where he used his little wood burning tool on everything!! Fun fact: I lived in the upper left area of the map.

I decided to stick with the tool box idea and scrounged around for all my tools to fill it up!! I don't seem to have as many tools as I thought I did. I guess I need to do some more scrounging and/or shopping to fill it up!

It was another beautiful day here on the Gulf Coast. I spent most of the day piddling outside and crocheting some fingerless gloves for my Aunt. I hope all ya'll had a nice Monday too.

More of Last Weekend

Here are a few more pictures of last weekend.

 The donkeys live in the pasture surrounding the cemetery. Seriously, who can walk by donkeys and not give them some love? 

 This isn't one of my relatives but I just love how it is written all in Czech. There were several like that. I have always been fascinated with these.

  

This was the side porch where the bathroom was. There was NO heat or air in the bathroom. It was just kind of tacked on at one point. I really hated taking baths in the winter time. Especially since they only had well water and we could only put about 3 inches of water in the tub. As a kid, I really hated it...then as I got older I realized that my Grandmother had to live with that EVERY DAY. For the entire time she lived there she didn't have central air or heat. She had gas heaters...it amazing that the house never caught fire. Wait...my cousin did once...or rather her night gown. It could have been really bad. Thank goodness it wasn't.

The house was built sometime in the 1880's

I'm not sure when these pictures were taken and exactly who they were...I have it written down somewhere....I'll look for that a bit later. You can tell that this was before some of the other bits of the house were added on. The barn, in the background, is still standing as well.

It is just so fascinating to me that I've walked in that same house. I love history, especially when it pertains to me personally. I would love to have a blue print of the house but I really don't think they ever had one. I think they just built it then added on what they needed. 

At one point, they had 300 hundred acres. Cotton fields. Now, it is down to just 2 acres. When my Great-Grandmother died in 1982 there was 7 acres( I think, don't quote me or anything :) ) and that was divided between all her children. My Grandmother got the house and the 2 acres because she stayed there to help take care of her mother. Everyone sold theirs off right away. That house was all my Grandmother had.  When she passed away in 1992--about 5 days after my first daughter was born--she left the place to my Uncle. Of course some brothers and sisters weren't all that happy but he had been living with her and taking care of her his whole life. When he passed away a couple of years ago he left it to my cousin. He and my Aunt are keeping the place up as best as possible. I'm just happy I am able to still get there every once in awhile to re-live some good memories.

Last Weekend

Alrighty, I think I took enough time off. Time to get back in to things :)

Well, Christmas was good. Did everything a person is supposed to do over the holidays. Visited people who needed to be visited, went to all the required Masses, baked the right amount of goodies, etc. All things Christmasy were taken care of!

As January hit I was forced to look back at my resolutions. I pretty much stuck with most of them. Well, maybe, just a little bit. So this year....no resolutions! I'm just going to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. We are just going to see what happens this year.

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier or not, but my husband was laid off from his job about two weeks before Christmas. Yeah, I know, tough break. He is still looking and it's been kind of hard on him. If ya'll wouldn't mind throwing a prayer or two up I would appreciate it. I'll do the same for ya'll!!

Last weekend my Mom and sister came for their yearly visit. It was supposed to be this weekend but my sister had to work. While they were here we had lunch with my Dad's sisters and went out to the old home place. Oh, how I have love that place. So many memories. My Aunt let us take home some, I mean a BUNCH, of grapefruit, lemons and oranges. After we left there were still gobs on the trees. We also went to the cemetery across the street. Just about any past relative I have is buried there. It was such a beautiful day.

 This is the front yard. It's not easy to see but the yard has little rolly hills. That's because they used to be farm land and the rows are still barely there. We played many softball and volleyball games in this yard. Not to mention all the other games us kids just made up.

 The grapefruit tree. I never ate these as a child. But now...all the time. I am going to try and save some seeds so I can start my own tree.

 Looking at the front of the house. It looks so small.

 Looking at the front again. It looks rather haunted doesn't it? It used to have the BEST front porch. It has all but disintegrated now. We had a blast on that front porch. We would always want to sleep out there but would always chicken out because the cemetery was across the street :)

These were taken out at the boat dock/pier. The pier wasn't there when we were kids. Nearly every weekend we would come down and set off fishing from here. I am so grateful to my parents for giving me those experiences in life!

I have a few more pictures that I'll probably post a bit later. Right now I'm off to get ready for Mass.

Hope you all are staying warm and have a Blessed Sunday.

Merry Christmas

Today I will be baking( not sure if the girls will be helping me out) and cleaning and gathering all things to pack.

The day after Christmas we will be heading to the in-laws for a couple of days. On the way we will stop at R's house to do a wee bit of Christmas with her. Looking forward to that.

We have someone to come over and feed the pets, etc, but I am a bit worried about the two cats being left alone. Egads, Simba will not leave Bella alone. I think I may have to put away all breakable things before I go :)

I had a great birthday. C gave me a duraflame heater. I know, I know. Not what you would expect for a 50th gift. But one VERY much appreciated. I've been wanting one for awhile now. It's really cute with its fake flame :) I LOVE it! He also drove nearly 45 minutes to pick up my birthday cake. Oh, and was it good!!!

All in all, a very nice birthday.

Don't judge me too severely on my little drawing. It has been years since I really drew anything. At one point I was going to major in art. It will take me awhile to really get back into the swing of things. I printed some vintage Christmas pictures to copy as best I could. I have always had a bit of a problem with proportions :)

Merry Christmas to you all. Praying that ya'll have safe travels and happy times.

God Bless

50

This is what I woke up to today. I'm just going to say it....one of the things I am most proud of my girls (and there are many) is that they have a sense of humor. A lot of people may think this isn't all that funny....more creepy than funny. Oh, but it fits right in there with my odd humor.  I nearly woke the house up with my howling laughter. 

H stayed up late last night making muffins for my birthday and left this sitting on top of the container. My girls always used to ask me what I wanted for my birthday and I would always tell them to make me something....to draw me a picture. One of them finally listened :)

The reason H made this- ahem- lovely birthday card is because not to long ago we sat down and watched Psycho. She had never seen it and it had been years since I had. Now, Psycho has a special place in my heart....WHAT? Um huh, a special place. When I was in 4th grade my friend has a sleep over with about 6 of us girls. For some reason--it was the 70's --her mom thought it would be a good idea to let us watch this movie. We screamed and laughed and all had to sleep with one of her stuffed animals. Would I let my 4th grader watch this movie...no. But then again when all my girls were that young they wouldn't watch ANY kind of scary movie. H is finally getting to where she will venture out and watch scary stuff. She is trying to gear herself up to watch Steven Kings IT. Geez, louise, that one scared the pants off me. That is until it got to the end and it was nothing but a giant alien bug. To this day I hate clowns and gutters.

S ? Nope, S hasn't ventured out into the scary move realm. She'll do the sci fi kind of scary but that's about it.

So, 50. 

The big 5.O. 

It sounds so weird. Growing up I never really imagined myself much older than my 20's. 

It's not really bothering me. I don't feel like I'm 50...except the wear and tear on the body. Mentally, I am still in my 20's. Some would say teens and others would still say younger :)

Today I am going to keep it simple. C went into town to pick something up for me--even after already buying me a present the other day. You've got to understand. C and I have never really given each other presents. So when he gets me something, it really means a lot to me. I think he might be picking up a birthday cake for me. Oh, fingers crossed. If it's from where I think(hope) its from, it will be a GOOD one. And he will be picking up some shrimp to boil later. What fun...a good cake and some boiled shrimp--obviously not too close together.

Hmmm, maybe I'll get the family together and make them all watch a movie with me. Or play a board game. Or make them play Farkle--a dice game that no one will ever play with me ( I usually beat C so that's why he doesn't like to play).

I know that I am going to have a great day so my birthday wish is for all of you to have a blessed day today as well!

Ah, I can't forget that today is also the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Happy Feast Day Mary!

Another Jaunt to Texana

H and I took another trip to Texana Park on Monday. We were going to go on Sunday but S didn't feel like going so we decided to wait til Monday morning. 

We arrived just before 9 am. The temperature was perfect, in the high 50's. Not too cold but just cool and crisp enough for a sweatshirt.

We walked about 3.3 miles in just under 2 hrs.

We only saw one deer at a distance. But we got to see a hawk at the end of our walk. We also saw several types of wild fungus that I had never seen before. For some reason I was really intrigued by them. They were just, plain ,foreign looking to me.

I wish I could name each of these and wow you all with my fungus knowledge but nope, I am completely fungus illiterate. 

I love the green ones. They really are quite beautiful.

 I found this tree fascinating because that one branch that is coming down at an angle to the right, isn't a branch. It was a completely different tree that grew into the other one.

I just love the hawk. He stayed there for quite a bit before he flew off.  

All in all we had ourselves a great walk. While the weather is nice, I really need to plan more trips out there. My goal is to eventually walk the entire trail system. At one time :)

Thanksgiving Is Nearly Upon Us

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us

. I had a lovely day yesterday at Hobby Lobby getting some of their fall stuff on sale. And yes, I even bought a few of their Halloween stuff too. I, also, found some pretty cool stuff for Christmas at Goodwill. 

What I am working on right now is painting some of the little $1 ceramic Christmas houses for a Thanksgiving village. I bought some brown, yellow, and orange spray paint. Yes, I know that they didn't have those kinds of houses back at the original Thanksgiving but I'm going for cheap decorations here!

So far they are turning out cute.

We are planning on staying home this year. It will be just the four of us. Nice and simple again this year.
We'll be having turkey, mashed potatoes, broccoli salad, sweet potato supreme, pea salad, brown and serve rolls, cranberry salad, green bean casserole. Wow, as I write it out that sounds like an awful lot of food for just four people :) At least I won't have much cooking to do over the weekend! OOhhh, I can't forget the dessert. Pumpkin pie and pecan pie. Not to mention any other pumpkin thingy H decides to make all week!!

On the following Sunday, the girls and I have a baby shower to go to. My husbands niece is having her first baby. We are all excited.
We'll be able to drive to R's house and pick her up to take her too. It's a bit out of the way but it's worth the extra miles so she can go too!

Hoping ya'll have a very Blessed Thanksgiving!