BEACH TIME

Me:  I just can't believe you are 19

BoPeep2: I can't believe we are in Santorini

Me:  You've worked hard, studied hard, more hard school soon...let's enjoy!

BoPeep2: What do you think is going on in that boat out there?

Me:  Hey, maybe it's Tiger Woods!

BoPeep2:  I can't believe you ate an octopus tentacle 

Me:  I can't believe you almost hit a bus on your Vespa

BoPeep 1:  I can't believe you are 3

Baby bo Peep: I can't believe we are in Galveston

BoPeep1: You've been a good girl and you deserve it...lots of hard stuff ahead

Baby bo Peep: What do you think is going on in that great big ocean out there?

BoPeep1: Hey maybe there's a  tiger shark!

Baby bo Peep: I'm hungry can we eat a corn dog?

BoPeep1: How about an apple?  They don't fall very far from the tree

COUP DE GRAS LIFE LIST#97

My French Country Home

takes a day to consider the opportunity to create a list about the things we find important enough in life to be included in a list.

My list is full of silly, predictable and serious matters.  Because of her writing, which you will find very moving indeed, I re-posted this one... Coup de gras #97.  It is a very special memory...

After spending his 39th birthday weekend taking me to check off my Life List #97…seeing Neil Diamond in concert, buying Betty an Audubon squirrel and hummingbird, and me a pair of khaki capris and a jar of Reflections Ocean Body Scrub…

"Brian, I have good news and bad news…which ya want first?"
"Bad," he replies.
"I was mistaken, Neil Diamond was not on my life list after all."
"What’s the good news?"
 "This is probably my one chance to replace #97…learning my prime numbers…
with something more suited to my style."

Well…Holly Holy!

Holly Holy…is the way he began his concert.
Our seats were just above the stage and far enough behind him to watch him interact with the fans that were front row- up close- personal-DE-VO-TED. We blended in with the crowd around us…some 70+, some young like Brian who didn’t have a clue who ND was, and more than likely got dragged there by some insistent person such as myself and BFF Denise.
 But somewhere during the concert, I began to realize what an incredible.INCREDIBLE, and I do mean INCREDIBLE…gift this man had been given and how at the age of 67, he was still sharing it.
"I am a man of faith…I am a man of God…I am a man of song…"
and it hit me…

We all have been filled with an incredible gift. We all have a stage that rotates. We all have a back up band. We all have an audience and our very own sphere of influence. We all have fans who walk 3 miles in 3-inch heels to see us. We all have those who go without supper to come listen to us instead.

We all have those who have paid a huge price to sit on our front row.

What do we do with our gift however humble it may be?
How do we use it to reach out to those reaching out to us?
Those who will benefit from our integrity. Our dance. Our song. Our life.
What music do we write each day of our lives that plays a message loud and clear to those who are placed in our path by God’s divine and perfect plan? What will those people walk away from our concert knowing for certain?

I may not be Neil Diamond and after his concert believe there are none like him…but I left being significantly touched by a simple man from Brooklyn, who has spent a lifetime giving others incredible joy, doing a thing that comes easy for him…

"…And I can, yes I can be a man of peace

Plant it like a tiny seed

It grows a little when you give

And gives you back when you're in need …"

And in mathematics I can mercifully retire #97…which btw…is a prime number!

JENA LEE

There's just something kind of cool about your son marrying a girl that shares your name.

I am Gina Leigh named for my Aunt Virginia who they called "Gina"

Her name is Jena Lee

spelled differently pronounced the same

when we meet n greet it's with a hug and a kiss 

I say:  "Hi Jeeeennnnaaa Leeee"

she says:  "Hi Giiiinnnnaaaa Leeeeighhhh"

Texas Style...consonant cluster,  lots of syllables

April 18, 1988

born this day to be a daughter, a sister, a friend and a wife 

and the mother to my sweet little grandchildren someday

Miss Jena Lee

(smiley face xoxo)

I am so so so so stinkin glad you were born!

TEENIE WEENIE CLOSET PROJECT

When we moved the stairs at 822, we created a bit of a closet dilemma in Coach Been's room

I first thought this would be perfect for my Christmas tree.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?  

Who wants a tree in their closet? 

I spent the weekend creating something mysterious behind this wedding veil lace curtain.

The door is odd and I still can't figure it out..this will work for now.  

One lavender wall with hand painted gold leaves and twidly doos

Just perfect for a tiny little dressing room for the new bride to apply her makeup on the big day

NOT...she is my tomboy

Track, golf, cross country, basketball, swimming and boyfriend shorts.  Her first day of school she wore a Lakers ensemble.  And she broke her arm.  I'm not kidding.

oh how precious..and she's about to marry a coach

these are her best friends and mine too!

My mother

a nude for the mood

I was appointed by Governor Bush to serve on a state committee.  While I would never hang this in my living room over my mantle, I am proud of it.  But really, I just like the gold frame and this little closet held all kinds of artwork that we just didn't don't have a place for yet.  I have another nude from a fairly well known artist that I might put between these two pieces of glass and store away this old memory.

 "The Director"

how appropriate for her, just ask Coach Been

I used some extra grass cloth and will have a glass cut for the space

The first thing Mattie Bride will do is 

clear the foofoo

but I can look at it and enjoy it for at least another....let's see...

75 days

BIRDS ON A WIRE

google

It's worse than texting and driving this thing I do around this time of year

I am so ready for spring and planting season to be here for real that I find myself looking above as I drive down the streets...looking and finally seeing!

We plant flowers and veggies when nature tells us it's time

when the chives bloom

when the mesquite blooms

and when that cute little mosquito eating bird finally gets here in mid-April from its winter vacation down south

google 

You just look up one day (today) and here they are...sitting on a wire scoping out the town

google

They say they go back to the same nest and raise more than one family

they are a messy poopy bunch

but this is how I lulled my children to doze off at nap time...watching them grow outside their window so quickly, that in a few short weeks they can barely fit inside the nest

A barn swallow nest is good luck

I hope I have one here this year!

RED BUD

No...not the Orson Welles Citizen Kane Red Bud

The tree, red bud...my favorite

We have planted a red bud in every house we've lived in

I love the heart shaped leaves, the pretty spring blossoms and the textured bark

and I am jealous proud of all those pretty red buds I see on B Street

This is an oak clump

With Indiana Fieldstone

sadly...some of these old old elm trees will die off but we are planning ahead.

They looked so big while we were standing at the nursery selecting them and on the trailer in front of our yard, but look small compared to the tall elms.

This weekend is Mattie peep's bridal shower...we should have our sod in by then and our front yard will look stupendous!

Tomorrow we are going to hear Bill Clinton at WTAMU

the Monrovia truck comes in at Love & Son and 

Wednesday I will plant the flower beds with some silky boxwoods and knock out roses (thanks LKB)

Sod by the weekend

maybe it will keep folk's eyes off of this

google

and maybe before the wedding we will be on to this!

Today is a new day and I have reason to believe

MY SINK IS CRACKED

Well...hell's bells

For those of you in reno projects you know the cost of those apron farm sinks that are so popular these days.

We had planned to build a new home but when 822 fell in our lap,
plans changed but ideas remained the same.

In our waiting waiting waiting time we spent many hours ebaying, internet searching, estate and auction browsing and purchasing things that were really months too early to purchase.

Our wonderful rough cut quartz apron sink was one of them.

We wanted something a little bit different and this was IT!

It sat in a crate in our garage for a very long time.

Today, it has been in place for just about a year.  It is cracked.

One day I saw a big puddle of water on the floor and thought it was due to snow coming from my window box behind the wall.  As I investigated further, I realized the puddle was coming from my sink and with further investigation...realized our quartz sink had a bitty crack.  When I googled crack repair there were several sites, so this makes me assume the issue is not unheard of.  Actually I filled the crack with super glue and it worked perfect...it just gets a little dirty from time to time and that's when I bleach it.

Other Options:

Go back to the company which would be fine except I will have to remove this sink from beneath our

set in stone GRANITE to replace.  I might consider this option after

1. Wedding shower for hubby's work mate's son in May

2. Meet and Greet for State Representative Candidate in May

3.  Baby Bo Peeps Wedding in June

So...I got to thinking about how much I love imperfection..seems like I even blogged about it once upon a time and thought this might be the time to put my money where my mouth is.

Introduce possible scenario if we were to purchase this house with said sink

Hubs:  That old quartz farm sink is cracked

Me:  That quartz sink is unusual...look how thin it is and how you can almost see the sunlight through it

Hubs:  It's cracked

Me:  You know, I really think I could live with it...it's part of what make this house so interesting and soulful. How many dishes do you think were washed in that old cracked sink?  Can you just picture the people who lived here before us standing right here in this spot..washing radishes from the garden, filling a pitcher full of water for backyard roses..wondering about what will be cooked for supper

Hubs:  It's cracked

Me:  I like imperfection.

Hubs: It is cracked

Me to peep today...entire above imaginary conversation

She to me:  Uh huh

Me to me:  My quartz sink is cracked and I have had enough time to come around to loving it, crack and all

I think I'll keep it...and wash my radishes.....

and other garden veggies that I will be growing that will keep my mind off my sink

and bringing in my pretty pink cabbage roses and filling my old silver pitcher with them

and thinking that this house has plenty of cracks in plenty of places and I have much more important stuff to worry about right now

Man...I really love cracks!

TEX KOPKE'S FLEA MARKET

I graduated highschool with Tex.  He retired at an early age as an accountant for Atmos Energy.  He always was a brainiac.  He came back home to care for his mom after his dad was killed in a tragic auto accident that left his mother in need.

I really like and admire him.  I always have.

He has taken our old furniture store and filled it with booths that are full of the most interesting things.  I think his sister combs the garage and estate sales in Amarillo and you just never know what you might find. He has a Flea Market the 1st weekend of every month.

I have a booth..sort of a cheap way to store all my things I don't have room for in my garage and if they sell great..if they don't I will bring them to 822 later when I'm done with my reno.

This is what I bought last weekend...ha...I go in to pay for my booth and always come out with some great finds!  Something isn't quite right about what I just wrote?  How do I have room for it?

oh well...

Today it is raining and I hurt my neck trying to move an old heavy mirror purchase (not shown) off my ipad cord so I am piddling with purchases and my camera.  Some fun stuff...almost as fun as arranging my soap.

Do you spy the little copper jello mold?  I did polish it a bit.  Lots of the white dishes came from Tex Kopke's Flea Market.

I love to buy one-sie or two-sie dishes and glasses (Hint:  if you care if they're chipped use fingernail polish..yep it even comes in green, purple and turquoise these days and is better than a white chip)

Ok..I'm going to pretend I'm Delores at

Vignette Design

she creates the most amazing table-scapes that leave me so inspired.  I know one thing I'm missing

my iron

I bought these really pretty plates..just two of them and put with things I already had..so sweet and springy

I like blue and pink together and I really like pink and silver

(even my table cloths come back heavily starched...maybe I will buy an iron next month)

I have lots of bumble bee and garden stuff

the flatware has bees on it..it's what I use everyday

but the main thing I was looking for when I went to Tex Kopke's Flea Market this time was this...

I have a little bride getting married this summer and she shall have a very fancy picnic basket

I love to make these whimsical gifts for new brides..

a basket

two dinner plates

two dessert plates

two wine glasses

vintage silver for two

table cloth and napkins...as pretty as you can find

a bottle of fine wine with a corkscrew

and a sweet little vase to put in some wildflowers found on the picnic

To Bride

with love from

me~

SAD EYES

google

Do you believe in something higher than yourself?

I do and I like to refer to Him as 

GOD

A while back I wrote a blog about SAD EYES...it was about a young man near me who was convicted of killing a person who I believe might have been to help him die because he was already dying and in great pain.

Still...he was convicted to life in prison and his photo was on the front page of one of my online papers.

I could not shake that face.  For one thing, he reminded me a great deal of someone I know and I wrote about him belonging to a mother and a family and how life can just deal you such a hard hand in the blink of an eye. He was only 27.

Anyway...because of the cookies in blogland...from time to time his sad face would appear in

"You might also like" and it would make me

sad

all over again

so I deleted it

Gone.

Except...from time to time it keeps popping up and that's when I go back to make sure it's been deleted and I can't find it to delete...it's gone.

today...it was there again...those eyes so sad...so I'm thinking...

OKAY GOD

...you gave my heart some tugging for him for a reason

he is in prison..probably not having a very good time of it

so even though I have deleted him from here, YOU have not deleted him from me

YOU put his face in front of me for a reason and the only thing I can do for him is say a prayer

so I will

because I think there must be a reason, a very interesting one

 and if there is one thing I love about YOU

it is your amazing mystery

RECAP

I was thinking about my life list

 and how long it's been since I've even looked at, much less marked anything off of it.

So I was doing a recap

I got born

I got baptized

I rode my bike up and down Barkley Street because it had the neatest sidewalks and lots of shade

I got educated

I got married

I had 3 kids

I got divorced

I employed myself

I got married

I have been lucky enough to travel to lots of wonderful places

I had a precious granddaughter

which leads me to today

I don't think being a girl scout was on MY life list

but it did help me to always be prepared!

For the unexpected

I did not expect...or did I????

Our home was very nice, lots of room, to die for outdoor kitchen, beautiful established yard

Paid For

 Fun and far away vacations often

but for the last (almost) two years we have lived in

an old rock house and our discussions have turned to

Pier and beam

centered drains

rafters

sprinkler heads

"I'm not sure we can do that"

...you get the idea

our dollars have been spent on

plumbing, wiring, wood, cement and dirt

I have gone from a pretty easy life where I was marking off the life list

to falling in bed at night

jealous annoyed because the plumber was at someone else's house

so tired from raking dirt before the rain comes

and wishing wishing wishing for a new plate glass window and a Moen faucet

I doubt I ever get to go to China

and for sure not before the temples are under the Yangtze River..so why go at all?

Nope...

but if I remember correctly on my life list..#110 is this

die happy and at peace and spread your ashes in a place you love

I have never been more tired and sore and blistered

but I have never been more in love and full of love than I am today

in this old rock house

with crooked walls and a good man

and a sprinkler system that is just about ready for some

G.R.A.S.S.

and a redbud tree

oh yay!