Greener pastures

Hi! I'm back. I doubt I have any followers left after all of this time. It's been well over 2 years since I've blogged. So I may just be blogging out in blank space...but that's OK. I don't expect my followers to keep me on their list if I don't put forth the effort to write something. To be honest, so many things have changed for me. I honestly have had too many things on my plate.

Back in September of 2016, my husband, Chatty and I decided to go to an auction. It was a Saturday and we had no plans for the day. The weather was beautiful. It was too pretty to sit indoors. Our neighborhood had gotten too busy for us over the previous year to enjoy leisurely sitting outside. Chatty's passion is re-finishing or re-purposing old furniture and junk. So we try to hit re-sale shops and auctions whenever we can. Luckily, there was an estate sale not too far from where we lived. So, we loaded up and drove on over. They each were assigned their bid numbers. Chatty was thrilled that she was able to get a couple of small things to work on. My husband, however, walked away with the winning bid on the house and a little over 9 acres of property.

SURPRISE and shock was our natural state for the next few days. Luckily, our other house had an offer on it before it was officially listed. So we closed on the one we bought a month after we won the bid on Auction and closed on the one we were selling a month after that. For a month I was packing, throwing things out, giving things away, working on Loan papers and Contracts. On top of all of that, I had to keep up with 2 part time jobs, home and family.

Once the move was made, the harder task of setting up the new house and finding a place for everything had to be taken care of. Which was easier due to the fact that the house we bought is bigger than the house we sold. When that was all done and the other house was completely sold and closed on----then came Thanksgiving. I hosted 21 people. But it was nice to have enough room for everyone to spread out in. Then of course a month later was Christmas...and end of year tax time for me and all of the paperwork that comes with that. At my age it took me a good 6 months to recuperate from all of that.  Oh and that Christmas, Chatty got engaged and was married the following April. So blogging was the last thing on my mind.

 Of course...nothing looks tailor made for this house. First let me explain, we bought a tri-level home. It's a little out-dated and needs to be re-vamped to a more modern look. Second...my other house was smaller, so my wall decorations looked skimpy on these walls. So...we just moved in and decided we would make due and slowly bring it up to speed as we could afford. It's a slow process.------My husband had to have major shoulder surgery last year. We were not sure if he was going to be able to keep his job....which was scary because I had thrown every bit of our savings on the purchase of the house so we could have it paid off in 5-8 years. So everything came to a screeching halt. Luckily, a few months ago he was cleared to work so maybe we can start making a little faster progress on getting the "look" we want.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying having coffee and watching all of the wildlife that comes to visit our property. We have been very blessed. Maybe a little frazzled...but blessed nonetheless!

Morning Thoughts

Did you ever notice the line between being judgemental and being too Open-minded is very thin? It use to be a daily struggle to make sure you as an individual were balanced and walking the line. America has not only waltzed across that line but has literally run a Marathon over to the opened-minded side. Now if we have any sense of right or wrong, we have to apologize, write a 3 page essay on why we should change our ways, and in the end, be forced to agree with things that down deep go against everything we believe. I don't think this is what our forefathers intended. God have mercy on our Grandchildren. And I hope they will forgive us for the country we are leaving to them.

Missing You!

Well, I guess interest in blogging, like Facebook, has waned a little. Remember how all of us couldn't wait to share our daily lives with each other? I haven't posted in probably close to a year or more. But I check in from time to time to see what my blogger friends are up to. The sad thing is some of my favorite Bloggers have not blogged for as long as I have...or longer. How sad!!!! Some have removed their blogs. Even more sad.

I've come to the conclusion that one of two things has happened. Either 1.)  People's lives have changed and there is no extra time to think and create a new post each day. After all, Blogging requires more thought and preparation than FaceBook. Or 2). Blogging has lost it's luster and interest and everybody has moved on to something else. I get caught up in Facebook but have noticed my friends, along with myself, are not posting FaceBook as much, either. I made a conscious decision NOT to start a Twitter account. After all, I have to have time for ACTUAL living. Since a lot of my Blogging friends are not here, it makes me wonder if they moved on to Twitter or some new and cooler Social Media thing.

But then it occurred to me that there may be some pretty sad life events that have sucked the life and happiness out of some of you. I hope NOT! I know my year has been busy. Some pretty stressful and unplanned things have happened. But nothing that has knocked the wind out of me or left me devastated.  So if you're out there, and something very sad has happened in your life and you just don't have it in you to write....just know that you are truly missed.

Oops! A little help would be appreciated.

I need advice. When I open my reading list for all blogs, it only shows me one entry for one blogger. I don't know what happened. Usually I see all new entries from everyone on my blog reading list. Underneath the one blog post it allows, it says show more. But when I click on that, nothing happens. Any suggestions?

Observations from my Coffee Table

I don't usually weigh in on controversial issues so I'm not going to defend the current Paula Deen situation. I don't know the woman so I don't know her morals or her character. I've never seen her cooking shows. I briefly saw her on a couple of talk shows during her pre-troubled times. I have some of her cookware and I really like them.

I don't agree with racial or sexual slurs on either side (no matter which side of the board a person is on). But hold the bus, I want to weigh in on the whole plantation worker issue. First of all, I doubt she forced anyone to work for her.  If she had insisted on all white servers, she would have been hauled to court just as quickly. But that's beside the point. My point is if we're going to take issue with the whole plantation issue then why hasn't  "Hooters" been shut down for exploiting women and making them dress a certain way?

That being said if this woman has used her power to bully or make people feel inferior, then by all means, make her answer for it and make amends. But good Lord, don't crucify her! After all, I'm sure there were a lot of people and companies making A LOT of money using her name.

As for her brother....well....he doesn't sound like a very desirable fellow. From what I've heard, he was the one doing the offensive things. But I notice very little of the media attention has been given to him. I find that VERY odd!

Stressed and Feeling Good

I know the older I get, the slower I get. But come on! I thought things were suppose to slow down in the golden years. LOL! Honestly, most days I like a busy schedule. And then there are those other days.......

I won't go on and on about my work schedule. Because let's face it, no one cares to hear about other people's hectic work schedules or job stresses. Oh yeah, they say they do. But they really don't. So don't go there. I guarantee you if you're the type who wants to share something other than a funny story about your job, your captive audience will listen for all of 2 minutes. Then they will go into a blank-stare mode. At which time they will start planning their day. While you're going on and on about the problems and stresses of your job, they are planning their evening meal and organizing their daily planner in their minds. The only people to offer you their undivided attention about anything work related would be your co-workers. Then you have to watch how detailed you are. Because even a co-worker will start clock watching. Besides, job related subjects are just a boring read.

Right now, we are in the process of planning Chatty's October 26th wedding. She and her fiancé (whom for future reference will be referred to as Chatster) are looking for their first home. Anyone who has looked at the housing market in the last 3 years knows it has sucked for awhile. Or at least it has in our area.

Yes, it definitely has been a buyers market. In mine and Mr. Chat's case, that is not always a good thing. When we were looking at possible home purchases for ourselves, all of the HOT deals were gone before we could get our house listed. Then we have the problem that if we sell ours, we won't be able to find the property we want to buy. Rent? Yes, we could rent until we found "THE HOUSE". But I would have to be guaranteed renting wouldn't be for longer than 6 months. It's a guarantee that can't be made. In the last umpteen years, there have been only a handful of homes and properties that Mr. Chat and I have been interested in. On the other hand....by the time Chatty and Chatster find a property they like, there's already a contract on it. Plus market prices are rising a little bit at a time. Which is a good thing for the economy. Not so much for newlyweds.

 

On the upside.....the wedding planning is on schedule.....so far. The church and reception venue are booked. We have secured the minister, the florist, the photographer, the DJ, the sound equipment and the caterers. Chatster's mom makes wedding cakes. She and Chatty are in the process of picking the cake design and the flavors. My sister-in-law is a butcher and she cooks and prepares meat. She is doing the beef.  My niece is a graphic designer. I have bought the cardstock and program paper. She and Chatty will design the invitations and programs. The unity cross is bought and stored away. The guest book and accompanying  supplies have been delivered. Chatty's Maid of Honor (and her boyfriend) have worked really hard on something very special for the dance floor. Chatty has her gown, veil, shoes and garters. Except for the flower girl, all of the bridesmaids/maid of honor have their dresses ordered. I  feel like everything is on track. I know a month before the wedding there will be SOOOOO much more to do and a lot I have forgotten. But until then, I will sit here smugly drinking my coffee and feeling on top of the game.

The Day My World Went Black

How are all of my Blogger friends doing this beautiful Spring morning? I've been peeking in on all of you. Some of you are great at keeping us up-to-date and current on news and life events. Then there are those of you who are as guilty as I am about laying down on the job and being a slacker. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Work on that, will you?

 How am I doing, you ask? In a word...... BUSY! As I mentioned in an earlier post, Chatty became engaged back in November. Folks, I guess it really is official because they're still engaged. They have set the date for October 26 OF THIS YEAR. Yes, they've been engaged since November but they only set the date 2 weeks ago. So you can imagine how busy it is at the Chat household. Mr. Chat and I had a very simple ceremony when we married so all of this planning and detailed stuff is new to me. Chatty will not be having a huge or elaborate wedding. I think around 300 guests will be invited. There will be dinner and dancing afterward. So, yeah to me that's quite the shin-dig to plan for. Of course.... anything over 6 people is a big hoopla to me.

I interrupt this program to bring you the following message: We were having TV reception problems. Mr. Chat bought a new box for the antenna. Yes, I said antenna. It's my fault that we are still prehistoric. I refuse to pay for TV programming. To me, that's wasteful. But I will allow Mr. Chat to pay for internet service. I figure with internet we get more bang for our buck...the World Wide Web, Blogger, Facebook, Kindle Fire and YouTube. What more could you ask for?.....Anyway, I digress.....As I said, he bought a box for the antenna. Our TV would work for a while then it would get really distorted. He was very frustrated by the whole thing. Meanwhile, I still had my computer to keep me entertained. He finally found the problem. The connection to the box was broken. He replaced the part and VIOLA!....he was a happy camper again. Meanwhile, the TV in Chatty's room needed to be re-set. She decided she wanted to move it to another location. There were so many wires that it became entangled. Instead of trying to follow the wire, he tugged on it, she tugged on it and they finally figured out which wire was causing the problem. Fast forward a couple of weeks. MY COMPUTER crashed. We're talking black screen. It would not let me set it back to last known working state or open in safe mode. I was not about to spend money taking it to a technician to be repaired. So I did what any novice that knows nothing about the technical behind-the-scenes workings of a computer does. I tried to fix it myself. I set it back to factory settings and re-activated all original programs. And you know what? It worked! It had a few glitches but it worked for what I needed. I was quite proud of myself. Almost cocky. It saved me money and kept me from having a complete melt down. Do you know how helpful it is to have a computer at your fingertips for planning a wedding? It saves a lot of wasted time and trips trying to locate services or products.

One night I was surfing for bargains on Bridesmaids dresses. Chatty pulled a chair up next to me. She propped her foot up on the computer tower. That's when it happened. Everything went black!!!! Same as it did 3 or 4 weeks before. The only difference was I could not get the power on. That's when I found it. The power cord had been loosened from the back of the unit. I guess it had been making enough connection to work those few weeks. But when Chatty set her foot on it, it jarred it enough to make the cord completely disengage. I didn't want to and I didn't have time to go through all of the steps as before. But it wouldn't respond to anything else. So I set it back to factory settings. I performed the diagnostic tests that it recommended. FAILED! Errors in several parts of the computer. Oh no! Shot! GGGGRRRRRRR!!!! I had every kind of jerk, tick, and shake a woman could have. Whatever!!! Many a women planned weddings long before the internet was invented. I decided to put on my big girl panties and get on with life.

Chatty and I spent the weekend running from stores to stores that were located an hour away from our house. We came home empty handed and exhausted. We've been using her Kindle Fire to look up sites that might be helpful. But I gotta tell ya, the Kindle Fire is great for her entertainment. But I'm not real impressed with using it for major things. But we were muddling along.

Last night, Mr. Chat came home with a new laptop for me. Whoop-Whoop!!!! Now I'm a happy camper, too. So happy that I'm not thinking about the fact that we could have used that money for the wedding and all of the little unknown extra expenses that will come our way. I have access to the outside world again. Isn't Mr. Chat a sweetheart? There are some days that we growl and bicker with each other. Some people would wonder what we're still doing being married after all these years. But then there are the times when we go above and beyond the call of duty that  makes me know that I would marry him all over again.

I will leave all of you fine people for now. I have to play with my new toy for awhile. I think I have Windows 8 somewhat figured out. It's a lot different than Windows XP. So if you don't see me for awhile, you'll know that I hit a wrong app or button and my world went black again!

Help!!!!

HELP! I had a small computer crash. In order to save myself a few $$$s, I decided to fix it myself. One thing led to another....I ended up doing a system recovery. Ooops..I had never backed up my system. Which meant that my computer went back to the 2007 brand new version of itself.

I lost everything. I'm not computer literate so this has been quite a challenge. I spent the whole weekend restoring security and setting up my email stuff. (But I've lost all email addresses).

My problem is....I can see all of you on my dashboard, but I can't read your posts. I mean I can some of your writing but when I click in to read the full article all I get is your pretty backgrounds but no words come through. What is really baffling is 1 person on my blogger list comes through but all the rest of you stay hidden. I can't even see my own blog.

Does anyone have any suggestions or quick fixes????? HELP!!!!!

Blowing Through

Well, I'm back. It's been awhile, hasn't it? I knew it would be. Let me give you a quick run down on what's been going on in my life.

For 10 weeks I juggled 2 part-time jobs with a full-time job. Do you know what I learned from that?-----I learned that I am NOT as young as I use to be. Whew! That sure took the wind out of my sails. Picture crossing Mario Andretti with an Accountant AND Jerry Lewis. That's what it felt like for the entire 10 weeks. Nuff said!

Those 10 weeks felt like 6 months. But eventually they were over. To say the least, I was exhausted. All I asked for was just a couple of days with nothing pressing to do. I needed some time to gather my thoughts and get my housework caught up. I had been doing the very basic house cleaning. If I could get a couple of hours with no interruptions, I needed to dig in deeper. Do you think I was allowed even a day? NO! The holidays were breathing down my neck. I was overwhelmed at the thought of Christmas shopping. But we had to get through Thanksgiving first. It gets even better! The day before Thanksgiving, Chatty's boyfriend informed me that he was going to propose to her--- and did he have my blessing?! Do you know what my first thought was??? I think it was something like, "Go away! That's my baby you're talking about!!" But I really like him so it could be much worse. Mr. Chat and I gave him our blessings. By the way, she said YES. They haven't set a date. I think they're trying to let me get use to the idea  get some things planned before the actual date is set.

The holidays are over now. Thank God!!! Last week, I finally had 2 days....(Count them. Fingers up, 1....2). TWO days to myself. The first day started like it does every morning. I sat down in front of the computer with a fresh cup of coffee. I checked my email, MSN News and FaceBook. I always finish my morning ritual by opening Blogger and reading what all of you have been up to. Just as I was going to close out and start my day, I decided to check out the Homes For Sale website. WOW!!!! I found THE perfect house. It was newly listed that morning. It had everything we were looking for. It was in a great location. The price was incredibly low for all this house and property had to offer. I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe it was a misprint. I saved the site to show to Mr. Chat when he got home from work. I decided to check my email again before closing out. A new email came in from our Real Estate Agent. She said she thought she found the perfect house for us. It was the same house I had found 10 minutes earlier. I thought it must be a sign from God. We hadn't been in contact with our realtor for almost a year. We had shelved the idea of moving. We all met later that evening to tour the house. I fell in love with it. The agent kept pushing us to make an offer. I told her that we couldn't possibly buy a house until we sold ours. Did I mention that we have not put our house on the market, yet? She informed me that I had absolutely NO time for that. The next day, Mr. Chat and I went to talk to the banker. The banker was more than happy to get us deeper in debt. That evening, my co-worker called me. I had to take a break from all personal business and pick up my paperwork. I was working on a tight deadline. About midway through my work project, our agent called to tell us that we had possible buyers for our house. Did I mention that we don't have our house listed for sale? I, again, thought it must be a sign from God. But wait! They want to see my house.....NOW?  Hmmmm...(This is the part where I sound like a spoiled child who wants everything their way). I told her that I couldn't possibly show my house for a couple of days. Wasn't she aware that I was deep into W-2s AND taxes AND end of the month AND end of the year, for goodness sake????? She then asked if I had pictures that I could send?..... WHAT???.... Yes, let me put on pearls while I glide around my perfectly clean home and snap a few photos. In all honesty, two of my rooms looked like a paper factory exploded in them. I had no time to clean them much less take pictures. I begged for 2 Days. I could almost feel the air turn to ice when I asked that question. But I had work to do so I just let the chips fall where they may. 2 days came and went. My year end paperwork was finished and filed. My house was spotless. I was waltzing around the yard and inside the house snapping pictures. I think I was even humming. (But darn! I forgot to put on my pearls). I did, however have my cell phone with me. It didn't even aggravate me at the fact that I had to stop snapping pictures and humming to look at a text message that was stubbornly beeping in my pocket. It was my Realtor. YAY!!! I thought of how pleased she would be when I told her that I had 30 pictures for her. Her text said, "The house you wanted is in contract". Her next text said, "I still want pictures of your house for the perspective buyers". I didn't even hesitate. Nope, I didn't even bat an eye. My response text to her was "If we have no house to buy, we're not interested in selling ours." Needless to say, it was a couple of days before she text me again. Surprisingly, she is not mad at me. We're still on speaking terms. She still wants to be our agent. So all is well.

Now I'm going to get a hot cup of coffee with a tablespoon of French Vanilla Cappacino added. Then I'm going to put my feet up and wait for the next big whirlwind to blow through.

How is your day going?

A Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy for the families in Connecticut. Let's stay vigilant in prayer for them.

I Apologize

I don't know what shows up in your reader when I change any of my posts. If you received a lot of updates from my blog----I apologize! Also, the look of my posts will be somewhat drab until I can get out and get some new pictures on my own camera.----I apologize!

It seems as though you can't borrow just any picture from the internet. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I like to use cartoon pictures to spice it up a bit. But according to a fellow blogger, a person can get sued for that kind of behavior. If you knew me personally, you would know that I tend to freak out at the very thought of doing anything wrong---no matter how big or small. I don't care if it's only something that can earn a dirty look from someone. So the very thought of being drawn into a legal dispute has sent me on a frenzy. I have edited some of my original posts and deleted all others. The results: 1/3 of my original posts are left. Those that are left are pretty drab and uninteresting.----I apologize!

We're A Little Bit Country!

When I was younger, my family moved a lot. When I say a lot, I don't mean 3 or 4 times. That would have been a piece of cake! No, I changed schools 7 different times. But I only went to 4 different schools. I won't even try to explain that one. (Some things should remain a mystery. It kind of makes it intriguing, don't you think?) Now before you think this is going to be some psychotic rage about how miserable my childhood was, let me assure you it is NOT! My childhood was fine. I have very loving parents. While I wouldn't advise parents to put their children through the constant readjustment that this can create. I will say it encouraged me to form my own personality and judgement. I didn't join the crowd and rebel against any establishment or persons of authority. So now that we've established that I am not harboring any deep resentment against my parents or society as a whole....let me say....it has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with this post. It's just a little background.

While I've lived a lot of places, I've never lived in a big city. I've visited various cities. But then again, I suppose it depends on your definition of city. Ok, so I've never been to New York, Chicago or LA. When I say I've been to the city, I'm referring to places like St. Louis, Nashville, Memphis, etc. Recently I was shocked to learn that most adults don't consider those places big. Nor do they consider them to be cities. Well folks, that's as big as it gets for me. And Chatty? She's been to less places than I've been. After about 11 months of marriage, Mr. Chat and I moved back to one of the towns that I consider my home town. When Chatty was born, we lived in a rented house. After 4 years, we built our house and we've lived here ever since.

The other day, Chatty and I were listening to Scotty McCreery singing "A Water Tower Town". Half way through the song, we both looked at each other at the same time. I said, "Oh wait! Doesn't everywhere have water towers?" I thought about the cities I've visited. I don't remember seeing a water tower. Chatty asked, "But where do they get their water?" Then it occurred to us and we both started laughing.

Yeah Scotty, you're our kind of guy. (But I bet you already knew that cities don't have water towers)!

Say "CHEESE"

We're trying to update family photos. Which is easier said than done. It's almost impossible to get everyone together at the same time. Each adult family member works a different schedule. On the rare times they have a day off together, the grandkids have tons of things that require their attention. Free time is precious and strategically planned. You know what they say? If you can't beat them, join them. Yesterday, the youngest twin and his wife had a day off together. Mr. Chat grabbed the bull by the horns and scheduled a day off to coincide with their day off. He made plans to take the kids to the river to splash around and have a play day before school starts. When Chatty and I finished our work day, we gathered at the house for a quick meal. Afterward, we headed to the park so Chatty could snap some quick pictures. Genius, huh?

Chatty thinks she could have taken better pictures. But I love them. The kids were wore out from their day at the river. It was close to 100 degrees outside and there was absolutely no air stirring around. It felt like being in a vacuum with an oven turned on. All in all, they turned out good and will grace the wall in our new family room. I'll share a few with you.

Aren't they cute? This is my youngest step-son and his wife.

Like mother like daughter!

He looks just like his dad at this age.

Happy little family.

Proud sister in middle.

This is the best part of being in the "GOLDEN YEARS".

This weekend the oldest twin will be here. I'm hoping the weather will be more cooperative. Hopefully, we won't come home feeling like a piece of wilted lettuce.

Going for the Gold

When Mr. Chat and Chatty are home from work, they are avid watchers of the Olympics. They like all of the sports. It's sort of a father/daughter bonding time. I'm not that dedicated. Oh sure. As I'm passing through the living room on my way to the computer, I may sit down and watch a segment. I spot the USA competitors and keep a watchful eye on them. I may even do a fist-pump up in the air and say, "GO Team USA!" But then I'm up and moving on to other projects.

Yesterday, Mr. Chat had to leave for work early in the afternoon. As I made my usual pass through the living room, there sat Chatty and the two dogs----all alone---watching the Olympics. How pitiful is that??? We all know that the Olympics is at least a two person spectator sport. Otherwise, there is one person in a room talking to and cheering at a TV screen. That seems a little unbalanced to me. To save my only daughter from looking like she was needing to be fitted for one of those fancy, white jackets; I sat down and watched the girls gymnastics and the male swimming competition.

Of course, gymnastics is my favorite Summer Olympic sport. But as I mentioned above, I root for the USA as a whole team. Yesterday, I gained a whole new perspective and appreciation for the event. I listened as the commentator gave a little background history on each competitor. I realized how much personal sacrifice each team member and their families have made and invested to advance to the Olympics. Suddenly, I was not just rooting for my country. I was rooting for an individual who earned the right to be there. At that moment, I felt like I was rooting for a young person from my hometown, my neighborhood or a young person who went to school with Chatty. Now I get it!!

That being said: there was a portion of the show that was thoroughly entertaining to me.  As a parent, I completely understand the emotions that these parents exhibited.  I'm sure this will be showed  many, many times. And depending on who will be showing it, there will be different spins, opinions and remarks. I'm sure David Letterman, or someone like him, will say something sort of humiliating about these people. But I, for one, found it to be upliftin


As far as the swim team. It was what it was. I don't know. All I kept thinking during their performance was I needed to call my mom and see if she could make a quick trip to England. She could teach those boys a thing or two about pulling up their drawers!

Chat Projects

A lot of things have been going on in the Chat House the year of 2012. I've been going "antiquing", web-surfing and browsing trying to finish my kitchen coffee displays. Chatty is re-doing the basement. She's making it more entertainment friendly. We've painted the deck. Mr. Chat finished the patio. I finally cleaned out my closets and dresser drawers. Mr. Chat just finished putting faux stone around the bar in the kitchen. I call it a bar for lack of a better name. It's a thing that sticks out from the wall at the end of our cabinet. We eat at it some times. I think it's too small to qualify as a bar. If I call it a bar, it makes it sound all fancy-schmancy. Which it's not. But calling it that "sticky-outie thing" sounds tacky. So until I can figure out the proper name for it, you'll have to put up with the bar reference. (Remember those last statements when we're finished and pictures are posted. You were forewarned. I did not mislead you).

This next week, if I get motivated enough, I want to paint the banisters on the front porch. We'll see. It takes me awhile to get started. Once I start, it doesn't take long. But I've noticed this year, ....if I take a break, it might be a week or two before I get back on the job. (Note to self:  NO BREAKS ALLOWED!!!!)

I guess my post is missing visual aids, huh? Our projects are far from being finished. But what is a story without pictures? I know! Let me introduce you to Chatty and some of what she's doing.

This is my daughter, Chatty

One of the walls displays Chatty is working on in the basement.

A start of another basement wall display.

Chatty found this table at an antique store for $5.00. She stained it. She bought a very cheap lamp at Wal-Mart, added material, buttons and lace. She glued sticks to an old coffee can, tied string around it and stuck some artificial flowers in them. I purchased the doily several months ago. All-in-all, this display probably cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20.00 (more or less).

OK...off the subject...Not a project. This is Chatty's purse and shoes. Just another dimension of her personality.



That concludes my Sunday update. I hope everyone is having a blessed Sunday!!!!

Gearing up for Christmas

Yes, the Chat House is getting in the Christmas spirit.

Come with me while I take you on a tour of what I've been up to.

Step up.

Come on in.

This is just something we threw together. I have a very nice nativity set. But we have a lot of little ones coming to the Chat house this year. I don't want too many little pieces sitting out. We have to be careful with those little ones, you know.

Next, we have some of the ornaments that are hanging on our tree. I would show you our tree. I have a picture of it on my camera. But it was taken sideways and without loading it onto my computer, I don't know how to flip it. I flipped it on FaceBook but I can't find a place to do it on Blogger. My computer is getting low on memory...whatever that means. I know it can't be good. I don't want to risk over stuffing it so I'm not taking any chances. You'll just have to look at a few of the ornaments that are hanging on my tree.

And here is my table.

I was going to use a different table setting because this set is missing a plate. But they belonged to my grandmother. I consider it an honor to display them at Christmas.

For a couple of years, my employer gave me sets of Stemware for Christmas. I think this set goes quite well with my table setting, don't you? And I found the cutest napkins to match!!

Even though I can't show you my big tree, I'll show you my table top tree.

Well, that's all I've done so far. I may or may not add more. It just depends on if another wave of creativity hits me.

My town is not doing a holiday home tour this year, so I hope you will be sharing your Christmas decorating pictures.

A Great Finish to a Rocky Start.

After subjecting you to the rantings of a chocolate-deprived lunatic, I thought I would change things up a bit and share something fun.

This afternoon I attended my niece's bridal shower. It was not your ordinary bridal shower, either. This one had a theme. Chatty and two of my nieces are very nostalgic. They love old music. They like most things from the 40s, 50s & 60s. They grew up talking to each other about old clothing fashions, old movies, old cars, etc. When my youngest niece started planning her wedding and asked Chatty to be her Maid of Honor, I suspected things would be a little different from the traditional showers and the usual wedding events. So it didn't surprise me when the Bride-to be's sisters and Chatty announced that they were giving the Bride a 1950s themed Bridal Shower. Chatty is making an album for her cousin that will be full of pictures of every event leading up to the wedding. She left me in charge of her camera for taking pictures of the bridal shower. I was so busy taking pictures with her camera that I didn't have a chance to take many pictures with my camera. But I will pick a few of what I have and share with you.

                                               Chatty applying the Bride-to-be's make-up

                                                The Maid of Honor and the Brides' Maids

                                                                        The Cake

                                                 The Bride-to-Be and her Maid of Honor

                                                     The 50s Diner the girls created

                                                             The Groom's mother

                                                                     The girls again

                                                    My sweet mom. Grandmother of the Bride

                                                   Yes, I had to get my 2 cents in, too.

And last, but certainly not least, this is a prize that I won.. I answered the most questions correctly on one of the games. I got to choose my gift. Of course I picked the Movie Night gift. It has a movie, popcorn, a Coke, a box of some kind of gummy fruit....AND 2 boxes of chocolate. You can rest assured that I won't be having another  melt down tomorrow morning! I won another game, too. I was gracious enough to donate that gift to the bride-to-be....but I refuse to give up my chocolate!!!!

Work in Progress

My blog has been pretty inactive lately. My excuse...I'm spending my free time being creative. Those who know me, know that requires a lot of concentration on my part.

Because....

1.) I'm not crafty or creative. I've spent most of my life making my house sterile, staunch and easy to clean. So this whole warm and cozy decorating is all new to me. And you would be able to tell if you looked closely and were able to see the different nail holes in my walls. Usually once I see the finished results of my created masterpieces, they look pretty awkward and child-like so I move them elsewhere.

AND

2.) Since middle age has set in, I can't chew gum and walk at the same time~~~so blogging and creating would short fuse this old brain of mine.

Speaking of changing my mind. Do you see the "Fresh Coffee" sign above? I was so proud of it when it was delivered. Originally, it was above the display below. But when my metal sign came in, I moved things around again. It was moved above the kitchen door leading out to the garage. 24 hours later, I decided something didn't look right. It was too heavy or lopsided or something for the room. Then... Bingo! It hit me. We're going to hang wooden shutters on our kitchen window above the sink. This would look perfect hanging over it. And it would be in the middle of the room so it wouldn't look so heavy. That night during supper, I showed Chatty & Mr. Chat what it would look like hanging over that window. They both agreed. It was a much better look. It would be better balanced and would compliment the shutters nicely .....Before I go on, I must tell you that it's been a rough couple of weeks at work and my mind has been on over-load (that's my story and I'm sticking to it)..... Did I sit the plaque down in a safe place until supper was finished? NO! I hung it back over the door. Did I make sure it was hanging securely? OF COURSE NOT! No, not me. That would make too much sense. Half way during supper, we heard a CRASH. It was one of those family moments. We just sat there with stupid expressions on our faces while the plaque hit the floor and broke into 3 different pieces. Most of which I had to rescue from the bottom of the stairs leading down to our basement. Hmmm. Not to fear, though! Mr. Chat applied Gorilla glue. It looks as good as new. After many years of marriage, Mr. Chat is an old pro at covering up my clumsiness genius moves. ANYWAY...I'm ordering vinyl lettering for above this door.

The spaces on the sides need something. I was going to try to get really crafty. Remember...craftiness is a new concept to me, so if I say something novice or just plain stupid, don't laugh too loudly. I was thinking about staining 2 small cheese cutting boards and putting coffee decals on them. But I've found some vinyl wall art that I think would look really cute here. Don't worry. I'm getting the removable kind just incase I change my mind.

This is just a start. I know it needs something. I took the coffee cups off the ceiling. Chatty said it may look better if I add another vase of weeds to the end. Since this cabinet is smaller than the other ones, I'll have to arrange the cups differently. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This wasn't quite what I was thinking but it will do for now.

A friend suggested a doily or a scarf added here. I haven't decided. It's on top of my refrigerator so I don't think a scarf or doily would be seen. But it would be less to dust and protect the top of the refrigerator from being scratched.

I'll be adding more periodically. With the economy and things being the way they are, I will only add things if they are affordable (or dirt cheap). Some day I hope to show the finshed product. But for now, it's a work in progress.

Mother's Day 2011

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. I know I did.

First of all...I am truly blessed:

1.) to be allowed to be a mother
2.) to have a truly amazing Mom
3.) the Lord has blessed us with good health and we were allowed to spend the day together.

Chatty and I started the day out attending church with my Dad & Mom. The Pastor delivered a wonderful Mother's Day message. When church was dismissed, the door attendant gave each mother a Woman's Daily Devotional. Mr. Chat didn't attend with us because he was making a 40 minute trip in the opposite direction to have breakfast with his mom before she left for church. Normally, I would have felt guilty for not going with Mr. Chat but we had attended his niece's wedding and reception the night before and I spent quite a bit of time with my MIL.

Later that day, Mr. Chat barbequed and we had a nice family visit......Now for the goodies:

This was delivered while Chatty was at work. She knows I prefer carnations over roses. She was disappointed because she had ordered a red and white arrangement. But I love this arrangement anyway. I'm thinking I need to buy colorful scarves to swirl around the base of  future flower deliveries. Mr. Chat and I have been married for over 22 years. We dated almost 5years before we were married. To this day he does NOT know my flower preference. Why haven't I ever told him? Because he never asked. After years of all of the presents of roses, I don't want to hurt his feelings by telling him now. However, I have mentioned it to other people in conversations over the years and he was present during said conversations. But since society says roses are the symbol of love and romance, I guess he didn't relate those conversations to his gift giving.

HOWEVER, he is the master of listening to other kinds of conversations. And he is great at finding true treasures. This is what he brought home from a recent business trip:

This will look great in the coffee theme I'm planning for my kitchen. I don't know if I'll keep it on this shelf or move it to a cabinet display. If it stays here, I'll definitely have to re-stain the shelf because the coffee grinder blends too much with this shelf.

Anyway, Mother's Day isn't about material things. It's about the love, relationships and time spent between mothers and daughters. The material things are just added perks! LOL!