Sure 'Nuf...

The last couple of days were absolutely a PERFECT Spring example. 70degrees. Clear skies. Just beautiful.

Then today...gloomy - a bit chilly. Not too bad, just not the same!

Perfectly gloomy mood too. Last night, I had to put Max Cat to sleep. I'll save all the gorey details, let's just say she had a very bad accident that at her age - about 16 years - she just couldn't survive. Not sure what exactly happened, only that she must have lost her balance or something??? I'll never know, but I do know that she is no longer suffering. Goodbye Max Cat. Your presence will be missed. Have fun chasing those birds in Kitty Heaven.

A little change.....

How do you like the new blog colors? I like them so much better than the pastel blue. Much more my style than the washed-out blah....

So, today was absolutely the most beautiful Spring day! Upper 50's, clear blue sky and the sun shining in. I opened the blinds to let the sun in the house, opened the sunroof in the Mitsubishi and didn't even have to wear my Winter jacket!!!

Oh how I love SPRING. I'm realistic, however, and know that tomorrow the weather could change drastically, with temps dipping low enough to require the fireplace and the rains will certainly pour from the sky. Oh well, today was my favorite day - Saturday - in my favorite season and my favorite temp! I'll take it. Even if it's only one day here and there until Summer.

The warm weather is getting me thinking about the upcoming events - tag sales, second-hand finds, treasure hunting. Oh, how I love a good treasure hunt. I always seem to find something that I must have. The last couple of days, I've been thinking seriously about starting a bi-annual greenhouse sale. Maybe one in the Spring and one in the Fall. I can just picture the greenhouse chock full of all my finds that have been given a second life and looking for a new home.

Can you just picture it in your mind too? Hand-stamped price tags, thank you notes, stationery. Hand-sewn Christmas stockings and gift bags. French country style furnishings. Oh, it could be so fun. For me at least. I have SO many collected treasures I could share. Maybe serve some spiced cider and hot chocolates with dainty decorated cookies - pastels in the spring and gingerbreads in the Fall.

I just know this would fill the need to create and to share at the same time. The boys aren't little and needy anymore and if I plan my days right - like get up early (I know that's a stretch, but I could do it!!!) and get my business manager duties completed more effectively...This might just be the ticket.

I'll take inventory first. Muck out the Greenhouse. Paint it cottagey and paint the canning kitchen cabinets with chalkboard paint. Maybe I would hang some little clear twinkly lights. I could even put up and stencil some slat wall board with some fun quotes to hold merchandise. I'd work there during the year - it has air conditioning and is plumbed for the pellet stove. Heck, it even has a bathroom already! Perfect to hold a sale twice a year.

Maybe I could even grow some plants to sell. It IS afterall a GREENHOUSE!!! Wouldn't it be fun to host a garden party. Growing little pots of posies and then getting together for posie-swapping party? Little decorated cup cakes. Mini-sandwiches cut in fun shapes. Fresh squeezed lemonade with strawberries and a sprig of mint. I can just picture giving everyone a custom made, personality apron to wear. OK, so maybe that's a stretch, but I think it would be a blast!!!

I'm sure I won't sleep tonight thinking about all this. Patina Marie and Company - in case any of my friends want to play too. But, even if it never, ever happened, daydreaming is FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!

Happy Saturday! May all YOUR daydreams keep you awake too!

Be My Valentine. Then. Now. Always...

Today I celebrated the 25th Valentines Day with my REAL sweetheart. Sweeter than any pastel candy heart and much more
"conversation"! My P.S., I LOVE YOU!!!!

I can't believe it's been that long. Pinch me. Has it really been a quarter-century? Was it that long ago that I was 15? Guess so, cause in just a handful of weeks I'll be 40! 25 years of emotional BLISS with my soul-mate. My best friend. Happy Valentine's Day, Honey. I LOVE YOU - Forever.

A long time ago, and I was hopeful that we didn't have that "bond" just because we spent so many times apart. We'll for the last handful of years we've been together everyday - work and play - and we are still just as happy together.

I read another womans blog the other day, and she said she was married, raised three kids and then when "empty-nest" season came along, she found herself alone. Instantly alone. Her "soul mate" left her. I don't want to be that woman. 50 and alone. I want to rock in the rocking chairs together. I want to continue our dream together. To keep on planning for our future. Even if the future somehow always ends up being now.

Only a few more years until our three boys leave us with an empty nest. Maybe it's just the whole turning 40. Maybe it's that Ty has already moved and Kyle is determined to be right behind him - but I seem to be thinking about this more and more these days. Way back when, I used to think that we had something so special that it couldn't possibly be real or last. But it has lasted, and I'm just as happy now as I ever was. And the best part? My P.S. tells me everyday that he is just as happy and wants to grow old (or continue to grow OLDER) with me too! Thank you for being MY VALENTINE -today and everyday!

I did it ......

I did it. I took the plunge! I cut off my hair!!!! We'll actually, I paid to have someone else cut off my hair.

It's above my shoulders in a cute little one-length bob without bangs. Just a bit below my chin. Not so short - I think/I hope - that it makes my square face look like an over-wide pumpkin, but kind of sporty. Right now it's in a fabric headband and the ends are a bit flippy'd up. I feel like a little girl ready to play at the beach on a hot summer day. In just a few short minutes, I went from Shania Twain-like long, layered locks to a dark-haired rendition of Cameron Diaz' hair-do in The Holiday - not exact, my hair is a little thicker/fuller.

Tomorrow, I'll blow dry it to curl under and accentuate the under-cut at the ends. I'm hoping it will be easy to care for. It certainly takes alot less shampoo and much less effort to wash. NO more long pony tails. I'd be hard-pressed to get 2" tails at best.

Heads or Tails...Heads with Tails...New, Sporty, FUN!!!

Like Father, Like Son....

Way back when, I was hoping to have a daughter. But now that I've been a mom of three boys for over 20 years, I'm so VERY glad that I have all boys.

Just look at the oldest and youngest men in my life - Phillip and A.J. If you could see the photos of them at the same ages, you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart.
The only real difference, is that A.J. has greenish eyes, like me, and Phillip has beautiful blue eyes. Those blue eyes that I fell in love with back when I was 15 and he was 17. Wow! That was a long time ago.

Funny, A.J. looks like Phillip. Ty resembles my Dad. And Kyle has features of mine. Although, after seeing a few photos of Phillip's uncle Joe as a teen, Kyle has some of his features as well. Guess it's inevitable when you share genes, eh?

Hats off to all the good-looking men in my life - All Four of You. I love you beyond measure.

Good Luck Ty....

So, my little boy, Ty is in Austin now. He called tonight to tell his dad and I all about his first day at Saab. Seems he was on time - even early for work. Imagine that! Couldn't get that boy out of bed on any day for school and he had a 50% tardy rate when working for us - yet got 99% perfect attendance at tech school and now is on time for his first "real" job!???!!!

******I wish him well! I miss him, but am glad he is out there on his own at age 20 and has a good job with the opportunity of a career ahead of him.

******On a lighter note, most of the valley snow has melted, it was almost 50 degrees today. I actually see the first bulbs starting to sprout in the yard. Spring is coming....Spring is coming.... YEAH!!!! Soon, it will be late Spring and Grants Pass will be in full bloom. Spring is my favorite. Just coming out of Winter. A close 2nd is Fall. I just love those colors. Pastels of Spring. Vibrant earthtones of Fall. I love it here!!! Just wish Winter wasn't SO long.

******I checked the weather in Austin online today, and it was like 79 degrees.But, on the flip side, I 've been told it can get extremely HOT there. I lived just North outside of Austin at age 5 or 6, but all I can remember about the weather were the intense hail storms - the size of golf balls and the hurricane winds. Kind of scary and surreal at that age. Maybe, it wasn't as bad as I remember, but I think I'll stick with the one or two lightning storms we have here every year. They are also intense, but I find it very cool to sit out on the upstairs deck overlooking the valley and seeing the lightning.

******We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Another Snowy Day.....

So, I haven't posted in a long while. We got sick, my friends got sick, my co-workers got sick, even some of my customers got sick. The flu. Head colds. Achey joints. Sore eyes. Dizziness. Like an epidemic. Everyone is down for a week or more!

I can't wait until Spring and Summer to arrive. Kind of "sick" of this cold weather. It rains and snows, yet the weather is dry. Chapped skin, chapped lips, chapped noses. Ready for some good old fashioned sunshine. Phillip is right, Washington ruined winter for us. Too much rain and lack of sunshine for too long. It's a nice reprieve after a long, hot summer, but after a couple of months, I'm so ready for a nice, clear, warm day.

Dreaming of a tropical island...gotta get that passport so we can travel somewhere exotic. Until then, I keep drinking my hot chocolates and basking next to the fireplace.

Stay healthy!!!