Wednesdays With My Mom...PLUS, a bit of merriment around the house

My mom's not wearing make-up in this photo, which was very rare for her, but her beautiful legs made up for the fact. Hee-hee. : )
Today we had to go for an x-ray of my mom's spine. Osteoporosis is giving her some problems. And I always like to do something fun after Dr. appointments, so today we went to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore. My mom is a ferocious reader...loves anything to do with learning, which is one of the reasons why it's so hard to see her get older and lose some of that with age.

Mom found a book here with lovely illustrations. She called me over to see.


Next stop, to sit down in Starbucks while we enjoyed a

Peppermint Cocoa!

SWEET STORY: While sitting, enjoying our cocoa, Mom kept admiring this little puppy, below. He was sitting on top of a box on the counter where you order your drinks. She talked about how cute his expression was...how he was just sitting there hoping people would notice and admire him. She was surprised that the next few customers paid no attention to him. She's such an observer. I love that about her.

THE PLOT THICKENS: Before we left she said she wanted to use the Restroom. I took her over and said I'd be waiting right outside the door. However, I knew I had enough time to run over, pay for Santa Puppy and get back, before she emerged. Hee-hee-hee. What fun I had when I whipped the little guy out as I was saying good-bye last night. Oh the joy! My mom was adorable with her new little friend.

SOME MERRIMENT...

Ornaments: 3/$10.00 (Walgreens)
Snowflakes: 20/$4.00=.20 each (Walmart)

Holly Berry Garland: $2.00 (Walmart)




I've been doing this little number above the hallway since we moved in nine years ago. I was goin' for "Merry and Bright".

Spray above the front door

Oh.....what......fun......it.......is.......to.....................Decorate! :-D

Advent Countdown @ the House of Whimsy AND...The Nutcracker Ballet

I've been making these gingerbread man countdown chains with my kids since my oldest two were little. When I started this, I bought a miniature cookie cutter and baked them myself. Now, we just buy them in a box, but the FUN is still the same!
Pull out a very long length of plastic wrap. Cut in half, length wise.
Lay all 25 little men face down.
Pull wrap over on one side all the way down. Then pull the other side over so it looks like:

This!

Then flip whole chain over, so their little faces are facing you.

Use any type of ribbon you want to tie bows in between each gingerbread man.

Hang the chain from any hook, peg, or stocking holder.

Tie a little pair of scissors on for cutting each day.

Let the fun begin. Happy 1st day of December.

I started taking my oldest daughter, Emily, to the Nutcracker when she was about 7. It's been a fond family tradition at our house.

Here are Emily's two little pumpkins. The tradition lives on. : )
Beautiful mommy and Princess C.

Nana with Princess G.

Two little sisters waiting for their turn to speak with Santa.

Mommy with precious daughters.

The year Emily and I decided Sara was old enough to go with us. : )

These photos make me want to breakout in song:
Sunrise...sunset...

from Fiddler on the Roof. : )



Little Sara

Beautiful big Sara.

My Brother and SIL's Kitchen Makeover

My brother and SIL live an hour and a half from us. I'd been dying to see their recent kitchen makeover, so I drove the truck up there Friday morning and stayed the night.


My brother was out front when I arrived. He told me to park next to his truck so we could take a photo of our "brother and sister trucks." : )
Here's my adorable brother, Steve, and me. He's the one I told you about...remember the story about him letting me tag along on my bike when he went collecting for his newspaper route?

Love you Steve. : )

You have no idea how many photos I have with my mouth wide open.

Speaks volumes huh? : )

Hey Brother, thanks so much for the hand-me-down shirt. I'm SO stylin' in that outfit!

Okay, on to the fun stuff. Here is the kitchen "before".

Be sure to notice the soffit, which makes the ceiling very low and gives no room to display anything above the cupboards.

My brother has turned into quite the handyman over the years. He learned a lot, a few summers ago, when he helped renovate my mom's house in order for her to sell it.

Out goes the soffit.

Up goes the ceiling.

Notice the space above the cupboards now and the added can lights.

Steve did an excellent job hiding all the seams in the ceiling drywall. He also learned how to do electrical work from my mom's house.

Notice, in the photo above, the fridge placement. The cupboard above the fridge was virtually unusable because of it's location. You'll see later how they solved that problem.

Out go the old cupboards, old linoleum and carpet (which was over the eating area).

My cute SIL, Cindy.

Just can't help himself...always being adorable. : )

Love the beading detail.

Starting to take shape.

Now, the cupboards above fridge are usable. Also, that long slender pantry to the right of the fridge space is full of drawers on rollers. Smart move!

Love the molding on top!

Oooo......aawww.

Now for the CROWNING GLORY! I was with Steve & Cindy the day they picked out their huge slab of granite. What a fascinating experience. An entire warehouse full of slab after slab.

Cindy chose this one and what an excellent choice it was!!!

Up close. A thing of beauty!!

The Big Reveal.

BREATHTAKING!!

Notice the new grey flooring. Beautiful!

Great choice on the three pendant lights!

And great choice on the matching diningroom light fixture.
Way to go guys! No one deserves it more! Love ya...and... your great taste. : )