Author Archives: Dianne

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About Dianne

Domestic goddess, wife, mom, gardener, paper and collage artist, geocacher, local traveler, cross stitcher, baker, crafter, Facebooker, blogger, decorator and photographer.

Time for DIY

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Brian is patching all these lovely ‘mouse holes’ that the electricians left behind the oven. He gingerly had to pull out the appliance as the countertop is jammed against it so tightly. Hmmm…maybe I should wax up the sides before he comes home with the patch kit? ; )
This is my contribution to DIY-so far. I am trying to spackle over that horrible residue of the 46 yr old adhesive that had been holding up an ugly backsplash. You can see it showing above the countertop there. This is the first layer. I will have to sand it a bit and probably add another light layer of spackling. The adhesive for the tile (a sheet show on the countertop) will be white and cover that unappetizing old stuff. The spackled wall be be painted blue to match the upper half. I can’t wait to get these projects out of the way so I can accessorize the kitchen’s new look.

Copper and Purple

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This is a gorgeous one isn’t it? I don’t know it’s name, but I did write it down when I planted it. The ‘Night Owl’, a deep, deep purple is about to open and it’s magnificient.
My basket of purples. Love the bi-color petunias and the tall orchid-like plant. I swear I will learn more of the names, but I usually go by what I like and what worked the year before. I found an article about weeds-the ones around the bottom of the white basket are ‘Creeping Charlie’ and the ones that the neighbor gives me is plantain.

Flat tops

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Dear Recipe writers,
When you develop a recipe called ‘Chocolate Chip Muffins’ that only has about 6 ingredients in it, why not make sure you get all the directions right, pretty please? In fact, you should have said how much milk to add and how much batter to fill each muffin cup with. Why not use butter instead of veggie oil? This seasoned baker tried your blasted recipe twice to try out her new mixer and oven. She is quite disappointed in the results. And when you say- ‘These muffins are requested for breakfast every day at our inn’, you get said baker all interested in trying these flops. One thing-they taste better than they look. Said baker didn’t open the oven door once and even blamed big footed son for walking around the kitchen like an elephant. Live and learn and find another recipe!

Monster Hollyhock

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Holy cow! This hollyhock is quickly approaching 5 feet! It must like it there next to the evergreen. A plus is we get to see it everytime we open the front door! Watch for flower photos. This is called a Chater’s double and I don’t know what color it is.


Here’s the same plant (extreme left) kast year when I brought it home from the garden center. The other plants didn’t make it.

Dusty, sticky pages

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I brought home my photo album last night. Mom had it tossed in a box and I asked for it. When Sean was little, I redid it for her and she had it and the boys’ albums on a shelf in the living room for a long time until she stuck them in a box. So many of the photos are fading away because they are polaroids. I will have to scan them and tweak them in Paint Shop Pro because I have no negatives of these precious shots.
I love seeing the photos of me in clothes that I had made in size 10 or smaller. Those were the days. : ) I did a good job on a top, a dress (for graduation) and a gown (I wore to a senior dinner).
Not much is new. I was sent replacement doors for a cabinet and drawer front. The drawer looks like the one I have now and the cabinet door isn’t in my kitchen. The inspector guy just can’t seem to get it right.
The outside is a dust bowl. I hope it rains soon. And my house needs a good cleaning! I can only do so much and since my flowers are my top priority, I am working outside! Who says the men who live here can’t push the vacuum once in a while? Sean will, but Bri rarely does. And because they have good upper body strength, they do a great job.


You can see my beloved ‘Mom mom’ in a few photos with her hair in pin curls!

How did they build Titanic?

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These were taken with my camera phone as I had forgotten my digital camera. The show was excellent. I know the music from having the Broadway show CD. I’ve been interested in the Titanic since the movie. We did get married on April 14th too (when it sank). In fact, the guy that boards at mom’s house mentioned this to Brian and me on our wedding day.
We’ve seen quite a few Titanic related exhibits and shows-ones down in Atlantic City and Orlando and now the musical.

Mom and me outside the ‘box office’ after seeing the musical This is the same theatre we use to go as kids. I remember standing in a line that wrapped around to the corner when we went to see ‘Star Wars’ back in 1977.
This is the stage-you can see the capital’s wheel in the middle. There were metal steps and a platform there, so the scenes were mostly in different levels. The opening scene showed the cast looking at the ‘floating city’ stage left. Many of the cast members played both 1st and 3rd class passengers.
Sean had a young lady about his age sit next to him. I think they were the two youngest people in the theatre! Mom and I got a kick out of that. We had a ‘red hat’ group of ladies in front of us and the rest of the audience was mostly elderly.
We went down the street to The Iron Hill Brewery and got nachos, salad and pizza for dinner. Sean and I had my mom cracking up by singing different things to her in the same music as the show.

Going to see Titanic the Musical

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I just ordered tickets for a matinee showing of Titanic in my hometown for this afternoon (local production)! Sean and I are taking mom. He doesn’t seem that thrilled that we have to leave here around noon to pick up mom for the 2 o’clock show. Yes it takes us that long to get ready and out of the house. I am excited because I love the soundtrack from the Broadway show. I’ll check in tonight to let you know how it was.