Memorial Dry

We can never thank all those who gave their lives so we might have freedom... and we take that freedom for granted all too often.

Many times we confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day.  Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor those who lost their lives in war - protecting our freedoms.  Veterans Day is a day to honor all those who served.




I'm old enough to remember World War II (I know, older than dirt), and as a family we were so blessed that everyone who went, came back. My Dad and two of his brothers and 4 uncles on my mother's side.

Today we remember - and honor - those fallen!!!!!

Today I choose JOY!

You know, we can be tired, grumpy, unhappy and generally miserable - it's really up to us - or in my case, it's up to me.  Doesn't matter what has happened, doesn't matter if someone has been "mean" to me, disagreed with me or whatever.

I can be mad.... I can be one of the above, or I can "choose" Joy!

It's all about choices.  We choose to love, to hate, to be mad, to be hurt.... and on and on.  Don't let others control your emotions!  I can only "get my feelings hurt" if I allow it.  And, I choose to NOT allow it.

I designed this cross stitch pattern to remind myself - the finished model hangs in my living room just to remind me lest I relapse and forget.

So.... "Today, I choose Joy"

Is it time to 'garden'?   I try, I buy marigolds and petunias and a couple of begonias at Lowes and that's pretty much my contribution.  Plant them in pots on my deck mostly.  I can see them and it makes me 'feel' like I have a flower garden.

Everyone has elephant planters or stands, right?  Probably not as many as I have though....

And no, this isn't nearly all - but enough about elephants - that's a whole other post.

The entire yard already needs mowing/weed eated😼 (is eated even a word?).  I just haven't had the time/energy to get it done.  And no worries - it'll still be there waiting on me.

I've been transplanting monkey grass from the back to an area in front that I really want "filled" with something.  Have to do it a little at a time, and while the ground is still soft and wet.  I've got a good start, and so far all that I've moved looks like it's still alive - another plant that's hard to kill.  I'll wait till what I've planted looks good before I'll share pictures of it.

Have I mentioned that I am NOT a gardner!  I love looking at the pretty flowers and plants - I just don't love working on them.  Never enjoyed getting dirt under my fingernails - but sure love the pretty flowers.

Change is good...

....or so they tell me.  I'm not crazy about change, but I've sure seen my share of it in my lifetime.  So I didn't quite make Sunday, but I'm 'close'... workin' on it!

Anyway, that's another story.  This story is about my recent living room change.  I've lived in this house for almost 28 years and there haven't been too many changes during that time.

I've had two 'vintage' (nice word for old) chairs against one wall in my living room for a number of years.  They came out of my mother's house and while they served a purpose, they didn't necessarily serve the one I wanted at this stage of my life.  Couldn't find a picture of both of the chairs, but this gives you an idea.  The other chair is this one's twin and sits to the left on the other side of the cute little yellow table.  BTW, that's my cute granddaughter sitting in one.

So what did I change - the chairs have been moved upstairs, the clover table to Ariel's left is now in the office and the cute yellow table has traded places with another table on the other side of the room.  The fan has gone to fan heaven.

And, in the place of the chairs..... drum roll please.... is a comfty futon that I can lay down on if I get tired and want to lay down to watch tv without going to bed.

The futon is a story in itself.  I've had the frame for years.  We originally bought it used, for my office years ago.  It lived in there for quite a number of years, then moved to my sewing room, then moved to storage when I got a nicer futon for that room.  Bear in mind, each time it moved to a different place it had to be completely disassembled - it wouldn't fit through my doors assembled.  It's really a pretty frame - metal with 'sleigh' ends.

So, when I made this momentous decision that I wanted a sofa/futon/bed - something - in my living room I remembered the frame.  Now, I'm cheap (I actually prefer frugal, but...) so even cheap sofas they were more than I wanted to spend.

On top of that - this was a job what was definitely above my pay grade.  Enter Jeff (my oldest son).  Now, he lives a gazillion miles away in St. Louis, but he does come to Alabama every few months to check on me.  So, on his next visit we checked out the frame and found what we thought were all the pieces (turns out they were all there).  And, made a trip to Big Lots where I bought a new mattress - not the best one, but not the lowest priced one either.

The color wasn't anything I was real excited about - actually a beige about the same as my love seat, but I fixed that with a green sheet.  Add lots of pillows, rearranged a couple of tables and I have achieved an acceptable look.

It's actually pretty comfortable and I may just enjoy it some later today.  You understand that I don't get to lay on it alone.  Koda is always happy to keep me company.🐕💖🙂

Okay, I'm trying to get the hang of this weekly posting.  Thought I was going to try it for Monday, but think I might change that to Sunday (most of the time).  So, here I am again - 2 weeks in a row.  Let's see how long I can keep this up.  And, what do I talk about...

Well, today it's dogs.  Apparently not everyone is an animal lover like me.  I actually encountered two women the other day who said they were not "dog people".  That's a foreign statement to me.

See, I have Koda.

He's my little companion (though he's grown a little since this photo):

Guard dog:

Snuggler:

And all round sweetie:

I never even heard of a "Pomapoo" before I got Koda - pomeranian/poodle mix.  I was familiar with poodles and I don't see much of that breed in him.  Apparently his personality is also pom.  But I'm not complaining.

I've been asked if he's a rescue - the answer is "Yes, he rescued me" 😃

Happy Monday Morning!!

Trying to get organized and set some priorities.  Life has definitely gotten in the way lately - and I've let it.  So much going on I haven't had much time for me.😏

So, here's a new cross stitch design I've recently published.  Friends & family know I'm a coffee addict - so this is perfect for me.  The chart is available in Iris Originals Store - my online shop!

My laptop is driving me crazy and I really don't want to have to invest in a new one right now.

So, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

See you next week (hopefully)! 😁😘

Giant tree cut

One of the huge things in my life in 2017 was having to have a HUGE oak tree cut.

They had already trimmed off some of the really big lower limbs before I got there to take this photo.

My son and I together couldn't reach around it.  I hated for it to go, but it was dead and close enough to the house that if it fell... well, you can imagine where it would have gone. 

The pictures don't do justice to it's size.  He was using a chain saw with the longest blade I've ever seen and it still didn't go all the way through.

The tractor could just barely lift one of the center sections to move it.

They insisted I stand on the trunk that was left.  It was indeed a big tree.

I don't really know for sure how old the tree was, but I know it was a big tree when I was a kid - and that was a lot of years ago.  I'm guessing it was at least 100 years old.  I almost cried when it came down - but was so thankful they were able to drop it in the opposite direction of the house.