Category Archives: decorating

Dec13

Sneak Peek #2

Posted on Saturday, December 13, 2008 by Dianne

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We are a bit out of focus-gotta get Bri to use that camera more. Plus Mr. Cosmo didn’t like posing with his hat on, the poor guy!
Used ornaments I haven’t used for years! Well you’ll see a portion of them on Monday. I found a big box of those ‘bubble’ ornaments at the Goodwill last year-about 18 of them for only $2. I was going to make photo ornaments-maybe sometime down the road, but I like them so much the way they are too. I actually have two more big crates I didn’t look in yet! I know the one is the Victorian stuff. I plan to go through and donate some of the ones I was looking at today, just not my style anymore.
I have a terrible tickle on the right side of my throat-not all the time, but enough to be annoying. I think that’s where I have post nasal drip-drip. As soon as I get out of the dust, I’ll be better! Happens every year (and I worn a dust mask the last few days).

Dec12

The tree is up-the tree is up!

Posted on Friday, December 12, 2008 by Dianne

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Brian got the tree out of the attic and it sets up quickly. I had trouble locating the multi-color lights I planned to use. Over the past few years, I’ve done pink and white, white and blue and red and white, so this is back to our ‘traditional’ look.
I met my mom at the Farmer’s Market, which was crowded and then thinned down. First I stopped at the TD Bank and got $117 for the coins I had. It kept telling me I had a lot of coins-no kidding! I split it up and saved $50 for Bri, but used the rest at the market. What a great feeling! I got mostly stocking stuffers for Sean. I have to watch what my mom picks up, so that makes me a little nervous. Got lots of yummy candies and Amish made salads, etc. for tonight and the weekend. We had pulled pork on rolls with fruit salad tonight. It was so much better than what Ruby’s passes off as pulled pork (I had it last Saturday and it was all dried out on top). Mom bought us half a chocolate cake-yum! I bought a little red poinsettia that looks like it has pink spatters on it and a new Christmas cactus-one of my favorite plants.
While in the end store I saw someone who looked familiar. I asked if she had gone to my high school and she said yes and I asked what year and she said ’77’! It was Lynn my old classmate shopping with her daughter. It’s so ironic as I am friending so many of my old chums on Face Book and Bri and I just went to that get-together last week. : ) I told her to come next time. She was a brain and great tennis player in high school.
I got an ornament exchange from Peggy in NC today-a great surprise! She sent a penguin made out of a light bulb-adorable!

She makes soap and lotion from her goat’s milk, so she sent me some. I’ll have to take photos tomorrow. I have her ornies almost ready to go. I had to make a few too.
Tomorrow I’ll decorate the tree-can’t wait. I hope my back holds up!

Dec11

Sneak peek

Posted on Thursday, December 11, 2008 by Dianne

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Close up of snowmen display, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

You’ll have to wait until Monday to see everything. Everything isn’t up yet-not the tree until the weekend. I like to leave our tree up until ‘Little Christmas’-January 5th or so. It’s not real anyway.

We are getting pounded with rain, that cold drenching kind. We were going to a diner tonight, but Bri just went through McDs. Maybe next week. Right now we hope our basement stays dry!

May meet my mom at a farmer’s market for stocking stuffers, etc. tomorrow.

It was definitely one of those days to take a nap-which I did while trying to watch Ellen. I cuddled up and 15 minutes later the show was over. Try to go to her website and enter the 12 Days of Christmas giveaways. Today they all got Kindles-the portable readers-I was so jealous! Rachael Ray has some good giveaways too. Regis and Kelly are giving away a car in January, but you need to collect 7 of the 10 clues to enter.

Stay warm and dry!

Dec8

Now where is that?

Posted on Monday, December 8, 2008 by Dianne

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I spent way too much time looking for things today. I had a rebate offer to complete and looked everywhere except the most obvious place, a little receipt basket I use before the receipts go in to storage. Please don’t ask about the receipts that I was going through last week-ok-well…I gave it up for a while. I’m halfway done though and need a container for the ones I have rubber banded and separated.

I don’t know what I did with the handmade calendar for December that I made last year. I remember taking it down and folding it up-that’s it. And my only Santa cross stitch pieces are MIA. Gotta look harder.

Mom continues to improve, though her eye hurts. She is bummed as she hasn’t done any shopping. I told her to get out some catalogs and shop that way! She seems to need the tactile sensation of handling the merchandise. Once a shopper, always a shopper. I helped Bri to set up a Amazon account and he did pick out things off my wishlist. I already got my new car coat today-a pretty lavender with a chartreuse lining. I tried it outside in our cold weather today and it felt good.

Slowly decorating….hope to get the tree up over the weekend.

I had a little mishap Friday- I tried to climb on a child’s chair I have at a old-fashioned desk to adjust Christmas lights in the front window, slipped and made a 4″ bruise on my right leg and have a groin pull-lucky me. It bothers me enough to make me feel grouchy. I will hang in there.

Bri’s car is in the shop-it needs a major tune-up! So I won’t have a car tomorrow either. He could have taken it for a tune-up months earlier, but had to ‘wait’ until it had a hard time starting. Bummer.

Oct23

Welcome to the Autumn Gathering!

Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2008 by Dianne

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Welcome to an Autumnal gathering hosted by Artsymama!

(Enjoy the links I added too)

No need to ring or knock, I’m expecting you!!

Isn’t this a silly tin bucket?

The coleus is just starting to fade and wither, but looks pretty on the step next to the faux pumpkin. I love to carve pumpkins, but haven’t done one in years. Maybe I will this year!

If you look through my front bay window, you’ll see a tower of pumpkins and Casper the Friendly ghost!

I have an antique hutch with some cute figurines on it to the right of the front door. The one holding the pumpkin cookie cutter is an Annalee.

I wrapped some leaves around my Nancy Noel painting to give it a special look for the season.

I saw this sign at Michael’s and had to get it since I live on the west end of my road-the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’

I have this sign on the other side of the bay window

Under the Treats sign sits a Scarecrow I made 14 yrs ago and little Valentino the Webkinz frog dressed in a Boo Sweater

This is actually a demitasse cup holder, but I added faux pumpkins and coppery ribbon I found at the Dollar Store

This is the fireplace mantel. I have three mosaic urns on display for autumn, two on the mantel.

I cross stitched the middle of this wreath back in 2001

I saw this idea in Michael’s so I added some glitter to a faux white pumpkin

I’ve had this little Anne Geddes pumpkin baby for years. My son was born a week before Halloween, so I keep this on display all year long. That’s Sean in the background. My mom gave me the glass pumpkin.

I purchased this awesome Halloween Book from Tootie over at Honey Girl Studios (the link is to her site All Hallow’s Eve). and love it with my orange and black glass mushrooms. I have a small collection of mushrooms since I live near ‘The Mushroom Capital of the World’

This a Halloween tree on table next to my special book. I have many Art Trading Cards that I made stuck in its branches. The tags are by Tootie.

Here’s what it looks like lit up showcasing a tag I bought from Tootie (from a set)

I have a small collection of owls. I know I have an owl cookie jar somewhere too! I cross stitched the box lid.

Casper looks spooky and cute all lit up!

Here’s my bay window. I have glass pumpkins that I added orange lights to. I have a few crystal pieces that made the window glow.

A little trick or treater in my Halloween tree

More orange glow

Thanks for visiting. Happy Autumn and Happy Halloween!

The End

Oct16

Show & Tell #14

Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 by Dianne

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Foodie figurines on kitchen windowsill, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

I have a cute collection of figurines on the front ledge of my kitchen garden window. Seeing Kelli’s last week made me want to show you mine (in a way, I didn’t dust the shelf)! Many are Enesco items like Mary Moo Moos, Cherished Teddies and Blushing Bunnies (eBay has tons of these). Zelda’s Wisdom is the dog with the chef hat on with the wooden spoon in her mouth. I always admired the saying wrapped around Zelda’s base-‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of kitchen’.

I love the cow selling lemonade and the Dairy Queen bovine-all of them!

They make me smile when I see them, hope they make you smile too.
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Also made these ATCs (Art Trading Cards) over the last week. I call them ‘Seasonal Duos’.

Sep25

Show and Tell #11

Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 by Dianne

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Stitching girl, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

This is one of the several porcelain dolls I have around my home. I got her at least 10+ years ago and she sits on top of my hunter green roll top desk in my living room (I forget her name). She is a stitching girl (opps-where is her needle!) She came with a little stitched piece that had a few letters of the alphabet stitched in it. I found the little basket of flowers I did several years ago and swapped it with the piece it came with.

Since I love cross stitching, she is very dear to me. She has gorgeous auburn ringlets. I love the little pinafore she is wearing too.

Behind her is one of our ‘Tree of Life’ prints. We have one for Brian’s birthday month-March and mine-November. We’ve had them for over 24 yrs.

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My mom is still here. She is staying in Sean’s room. Yesterday really wore her out and she napped for 2 hours during the afternoon. She’s not use to all the fresh air and 2 hours of walking. I made a pot roast for dinner and even roasted a butternut squash in a dish in oven along with the meat. I have her eating more. I know if I lived closer she would weigh about 20 more pounds. Brother #2 is suppose come out and get her on Saturday. He hasn’t been here in many years.

I’m proud of Sean for getting help writing summaries for very dry reading material. He usually sends me stuff to proof, but since it was over my head a lot, he got help on campus. He sent me his latest paper and it was very good, I didn’t touch it. Yes!

Sep8

I have Scrambilitis!

Posted on Monday, September 8, 2008 by Dianne

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I had one of those nights where I was looking at the clock every hour and getting up. I couldn’t figure out if it was something I ate or drank-I did have that McD’s sweet tea earlier in the day and green tea for dinner. Then it dawned on me that I sat on the floor after dinner for about 45 minutes sorting out my paper goods. I can’t do this anymore, I did it anyway and I’m sure that’s why I felt funky-that and PMS. And it doesn’t get better as you get closer to 50, it gets really strange and you wonder what is inhabited in your body sometime. Anyway, all night, thanks to Facebook’s Scramble (I have a word IQ of between 99 and 101) I was doing words in my head-ten-tent-taint-faint far-fare….you get the picture. Ugha! That was awful. So I couldn’t turn my brain off. Maybe walking around the Mushroom Festival would have helped, but I decided not to go.

I’m thinking a lot about my mom and FIL too. Mom’s a little snippy. I was coming down tomorrow so Colleen can do my hair, but my brother’s friend lost his mom last week and they are going to the funeral. (the lady felt like she had heartburn for 3 days, but she also weighed over 250, but none the less, that is scary stuff). I said to mom that while she was having her eye surgery, I’d run to get my hair done first. She’s only 5 miles away at the hospital and she said she’ll be there 3-4 hours anyway from 9:30 (when the surgery is suppose to take place). I know they are never on time from my experience with the biopsy last November. So mom said I’d have to call the short procedure to see if she was ready to go home, in a snippy way. I think it will work out.

Not sure what I’m doing today-need to wake up!

Here’s what I did on Saturday, inside during all the rain:

I added some fall garland, leaf candles and some aluminum pieces I had. My mom gave me the little Holly Hobbie recently. I also had bought the candle in front of the mantel clock and was trying to figure out where it would look nice. I love those mosaic pieces I found on deep discount at Value City a few years ago. There’s a string of 5 flickering lanterns that don’t show up well here.

Thanks for everyone who offered help with chosing a tv. It sure isn’t an easy task!

And Jennifer and whoever may have signed up for the J. Holdsworthy meeting at the SS, I signed up too! Yeah!

Aug11

Finally some rain

Posted on Monday, August 11, 2008 by Dianne

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Bri kept telling me it was going to rain-he must have known. I did go out and water my plants as it was so nice and cool for a change. I had more energy to do so as it wasn’t humid. I also picked a few flowers to photograph in these cute little vases I have. I’ll share on I photo shopped as a ‘sneak peek’ for Saturday’s Photo Hunt:

I love that Paint Shop Pro!

Ever have a pretzel from ‘The Pretzel Factory’? They are pretty good and we got 10 for $5 plus chocolate and cinnamon dipping sauces. I believe the yeast plays havoc with your digestive as we all took Rolaids. Or it was my homemade tomato sauce (?), but I added a pinch of baking soda to it to help with the acidity. The sauce was good (tasted so fresh) and while we ate, it poured outside. We needed the rain so badly.

My shoulder area is better, but I’ll still go see the chiropractor tomorrow. It’s not my only issue. My neck on the left has been hurting off and on and my knees aren’t that great. We’ll see what happens-never been to one before! My uncle was teasing me-saying that first he’ll use the little rubber hammer, then a metal hammer and I better watch out for the tongs! He had a good laugh, which was music to my ears.

I’m sorting out my papers and craft stuff, or I’d show you a photo of the desk. Bri couldn’t believe it was messed up already. I had to take a break. ; )

Was a bit teary-eyed to see the American male swimmers on the relay team (Michael Phelps was one of them) take the gold a little bit ago! They were hooting and hollering!

Jul29

Still sorting

Posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by Dianne

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They say it gets worse before it gets better. I have things scattered all over the place now that I emptied the tea cart this morning. Brian’s small collection of beer steins, some bar stuff (we hardly even drink); vases, and other things that had no business being there. We have used the cart for over 24 yrs. It gets dusty. You can’t see what’s on the bottom shelf. When I took it away, it really opened up the space! I think the next step, that’s after I clean everything, will be rearranging the china cabinet. Did I tell you I hate the china cabinet? It was given to me by the in-laws when we moved here as she was getting a new one. It’s 60s-70s Early American, I can’t stand that chunky stuff! I want a white one to tie in with the kitchen cabinets. One of these days.

Bro #2 cat got out of his apartment and was missing. I’m not sure what the kitty status is today. I know bro stopped at the SPCA to see if anyone picked the cat up. He is really a scaredy cat to the 1st degree. I told him that when our mostly housecats get out, they always come back. It helps that I was sitting in the lawn crying for Cosmo. He couldn’t stand that. But our first cat Jade was declawed. We had to leave her out as we went to a picnic. When we came home, she was up against the back of the house waiting.

Bro #1 is losing one of his oldest pals from cancer. I guess his pal is about 54 like he is. When I think of his friend, I see him smoking. #1 spent the entire day with his pal in the hospital on Sunday. So sad.

I was bored and sneezy yesterday-so I made this:

I am pleased to announce that one of my photos is being used on Schmap-an Orlando travel site. If only I would get paid. : ) It’s the guitar fountain from the Hard Rock Hotel. We did stay there, but had some room issues…I won’t go into it here. It’s totally a great place, but they should keep pets out of the rooms.