This and That

     I want to thank everyone for their kinds words and thoughts about the loss of our much loved Nike last week. It has been very different at our house without her. After 16 years of stepping out of the shower to find her waiting outside the bathroom door for me, it seems so odd not to have her there. Many of you have asked if Zoe has shown signs of missing Nike. I can only say that she looked for her the first few hours and then she started to "party, party" with the excitement of having the house to herself. She is a wild one and we just keep hoping that between the classes she will have in July and a bit of maturing she will settle down a bit.

     We didn't have any plans for the holiday weekend, which was nice because it was so hot here that I was glad I got to spend the heat of the day indoors. We spent Saturday looking for new carpet for the living room and the three bedrooms on the main floor of our house. We haven't shopped for carpet in a dozen years, so I had to do some research to even know what I might want. The past several months with a failing dog had sealed the deal on having to recarpet the house, so we have known that as soon as we lost her, carpet would be an immediate purchase. I had a bit of "sticker shock" when I saw the prices and I had lots of confusion about what material and brand to buy after reading reviews online. We finally decided on something that we both liked (at least in the sample) and now we just wait and hope that we like it when it covers so much of our house! There will certainly be pictures in a few weeks.

     While my husband was working on outdoor projects, I finally went through some old pictures and magazines that I have collected over the years. Some of the pictures my father-in-law gave me before he died, others I had picked up at garage sales. I had way too many and finally decided that all those craft projects I thought I would do with them, weren't going to happen. I put a few things so far on Ebay and still have the postcards and sheet music to get listed. I hadn't tried Ebay for quite a while even though I should do it more often. I have to push myself to list things. Once I get started though, I tend to stick with it for at least a few listings.

     We were talking over the weekend about a Memorial Day weekend a few years back when we went to visit my in-laws, who were living in Marion, IL at the time. I looked up the date and realized that today is the 30th anniversary of that day. On that afternoon, as we drove into Marion, the sky was dark and the weather looked ominous. As I told my husband yesterday, "the me I was back then, was very uncomfortable". The "me I am today, would have been screaming and yelling until he turned the car around"! You see, we drove into what we didn't know was a tornado. As we pulled into town, we saw many emergency vehicles and assumed there must be a large fire or wreck. We soon learned that there had been a massive tornado just minutes before we arrived in town. What I learned yesterday when I looked up the date of May 29th, 1982...was that it was a Category 4 tornado. As we pulled into town that day, we still had no idea of what we would see next. We noticed some damage and figured out it was a bad storm. We arrived at my in-laws to learn it was a tornado. We soon learned that the damage was extensive and that 10 people died and many more were injured. I wanted to head for home and the officials wouldn't let anyone in or out of town. It was frightening, but I was too young to realize just how lucky we were. Yesterday I read that a car on the interstate that we were on, exploded from the storm. I couldn't believe as I read yesterday just how unaware I was at what we drove into and how lucky we all were.

I hope you all had a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

I will be getting around and visiting

your blogs in the next day or two!

    

Those Shelves Sure Filled Up Quickly! Vintage Giveaway!

     I told you that I would show you the shelves once they were loaded...it certainly didn't take long to fill them! I thought I had so much space...and then I didn't have enough. Isn't that how it always is? The sad thing is that my holiday dishes are stored in the cedar chest (you will see it later in the post) and my good china as well as my mother's china are also stored in a different room and all of my white dishes, everyday dishes and a few others are in the kitchen. At least I can see what I have now.

     This room is an interior "bedroom" in our basement. It has no window, so I wouldn't sleep in it. The prior owners used it as a home office. No one sees the room, so the furniture is just a mix of old pieces we had around the house that function to hold things. I didn't paint them because I knew they would just get scratched and battered. The bookcase holds ribbon and a few other crafty items. Old crocks work well for florals.

     The cedar chest is full of Christmas dishes. The old radio was my grandfather's, I just can't part with it. Napkin rings, paper napkins and other small tablescaping items are in the storage boxes. The shelf has Easter items.

     A few random Christmas items on the shelf and some trays, flatware and spring items sit on this old table that was my grandmother's. The large pine armoire holds more china and glassware, flatware and trays are in the drawers. The large cedar wardrobe is perfect for hanging tablecloths and runners.

     It is crowded, and not very pretty but it is organized. The extra table works well when I'm trying to pull things together for a tablescape. You can see a peek of my old rocking horse and my daughter's dollhouse that my dad built for her 9th birthday. You've seen this room before, but the new shelves really changed the function of the room.

Giveaway!



     I know I just had a giveaway, but it was sponsored by someone else. While cleaning out my dish room, I pulled out a few of the items that I love to decorate with and I'm going to send a "goody package" to one of you.

     I'm sending you some very old magazines, sheet music, postcards and photographs. My house is somewhat traditional/contemporary and yet, a few pieces of vintage paper still looks great in a vignette. If you don't want to decorate with the items...it is still fun to look at them.

     All you have to do is be a follower and let me know you are interested in my vintage grab bag in a comment. U.S. and Canadian readers only, sorry. I will pick my winner on March 11th! Good luck!

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesday