My Good Life in Nebraska

Burns Night. I love me some Haggis!

2012-01-25T23:53:00.001-06:00

January 25 is Burns Night in Scotland. My best friend is from Scotland, only here for 3 yrs. now. This delicious plate is compliments from Helen. Robert Burns is the man we acknowledge on this day. I love my friend and her traditions.

Best Christmas Ever...and 3 New Foster Puppies.

2012-01-07T20:12:00.000-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve. at my mom's down the street from us. My nephew Brandon brought his girlfriend's family. This photo is of her sister and family. Don't you love my Nathan over to the right there? He still has his "No Shave November" beard. I told him it's December. He said that it keeps his face warm. Makes sense as he's a Jimmy John's bicycle delivery guy...in NEBRASKA!

Christmas Morning was MARVELOUS w/ our little grands here. Dorothy is 2 (left) and Della is 4. The fellow talking to Della is my 19 yr. old son Zach. How do you like our tv/fireplace? I told Greg (23 yr. old step son) that we have a real fireplace (same room), he snapped back, "this is better". Hilarious, I love that kid so much.

SOMEBODY got in to Nana Cindy's lotion by the bed and made her hair all pretty with it.

The Doctor Kit that Santa (us) gave the girls was a big hit. Here they are w/ their Mom and Dad.

My mom and dad came over for brunch and then board games. The sun was blinding my mom (we have no window coverings facing the meadow to the west) so, she got her sunglasses. This game was a lot of fun, Fact or Crap. My husband Jim is to the far right. He wins nearly every game we play (MENSA) but I won this game by a landslide.

New foster puppies. They just turned 6 weeks old. Tinker, Evans and Chance. Below is Chance.

Chance is on his back here, Tinker and Evans are playing.

There is nothing like having puppies. These guys are THE most people oriented ones that we've ever had. They look in your eyes and love to be held. Gonna be big though. Hope you're all having a good weekend. As for me, I'm seeking serenity.

The ALL TIME best bread ever! Seriously, I can't stop baking.

2011-11-14T20:08:00.000-06:00

I am in the pits. Dark dark days in my personal life. So, what do I do? I Bake! I've make 12 loaves of this bread in the past 3 days. Good thing we have an extra freezer. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas. Yes, bread. Hey, at least I'm not eating them all. Weird thing though, tonight I was at a meeting and talked w/ someone after the meeting who has similar "darkness" going on. Guess what she did all weekend? Yep, she baked. Also, her husband piped up and said, "And she made big delicious meals each night too". Guess her stuff is darker. Pray for us. Meanwhile I'm Baking On!

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

Rated:

Submitted By: Nita Crabb

Photo By: LynnInHK

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ready In: 3 Hours

Servings: 36

"This honey wheat bread is proof that wonderful flavor, texture and aroma can be had if you just follow a straightforward game plan."

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45

degrees C)

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

1/3 cup honey

5 cups bread flour

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

1 tablespoon salt

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2.	Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3.	Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

Inadvertantly Funny Store Name

2011-09-27T18:09:00.001-06:00

Hello all! We've had a super busy summer and I am still out here. I read and love all of your blogs! We were in Tabor, Iowa gassing up and I saw this funny name of a Drug Store, funny to me anyway.

Stoner Drug, yep!

And then, here is one from Central Nebraska.

The Love Mortuary

We had gone over to the tiny town of Riverton, Iowa to see a former foster puppy, Chuck. He was my first and all time favorite. Well, that is until we got this fat Third-hand dog to foster (we were her known 3rd home) named Lily. I loved Lily so much, I couldn't imagine her being away from us. So we adopted her!
Chuck is BIG and very active now. A far cry from the sick little puppy he was when we had him last year.

And then, here is our Lily, who cost me $130 yesterday on account of a split nail. AND, we were good dog owners and just had her nails cut two weeks previously.

I love my WeeWee (Lily) but, she's not wee...she's 82.5# as of yesterday.

So, more later, sooner than later I hope!

Dumped Puppies Betsy and Tacy

2011-07-11T18:35:00.000-06:00

We live by Omaha, if you haven't heard, it's flooding. Large sections of I80 are closed as the Interstate is underwater! Unbelievable! We can only cross the Missouri River at downtown Omaha and at Sioux City Iowa (which is 2.5 hrs. north of here). Anyhoo, there has been some opportunistic dumping of puppies and kittens by Hwy75 which is now a very slow/bumper to bumper road. At least these little creatures are getting picked up and saved.

We normally foster larger dogs so, it was a treat to have these two. Betsy (black) and Tacy (black and white) are a Chijuajua/Rat Terrier mix. I adored these two.

They were 8 wks. old when we got them and TERRIFIED of people. But, when we'd bring the big dogs to them, they went nuts....loved the big dogs. After two weeks they are adopted or almost adopted. In the time we had them, they grew to love people and wanted to be on our laps all of the time...well, IF they weren't exploring the back yard. Not to worry, there are no hawks around right now.

Jim said, "we should've named Tacy "Bessy" instead. She looks like a little Holstein cow". I sure do miss them. So, our newest foster is an 8 month old Doberman puppy. And he is huge...but a big clumsy puppy. We're actually watching him while that foster family is on vacation in Colorado. They took their family dog and the other dog which is also a foster. But, this guy is way to young and needy. I really had no idea that Dobermans were this huge. Well, time to go and love him up!

Summer and It's Real Meaning.

2011-06-15T20:31:00.000-06:00

Nowadays, our free time is tending to and nurturing a foster dog here and there. The black one int he back is Brodie, he belongs to my friend Helen. We had him for two weeks whilst she and her husband were back in Scotland. She's a recent transplant. I was happy when she came back after 2 weeks and was happy to be home. Brodie is a 2 yr. old lab/pointer. The puppy in front is my all time favorite foster, Sophie. Sophie is 12 weeks in this picture. She may go to her forever home in the next couple of days. I heard she was full pitbull, uh NO. She's boxer and horse or Great Dane.

Here's Sophie by my groovy lower oven. I love her so much, I hope her new family would let me dog sit if they ever travel!

We are Family Reunion nuts. This photo is from a small town in Nebraska called Creston. It was the Rolfs/Glandt Reunion. There was a 7th generation kid there. Mostly pretty old people but, ohhhhhh the stories! And pictures. I took a scanner and got quite a few. We meet every other year so, will scan some more. We're committed to getting as many photos copied and stories recorded. For instance, Wilhemina Rolfs Glandt had 14 children. Seven lived to adulthood. The 5 little boys are buried up there and the two little girls are buried by Omaha. Interesting to me, and a few others I guess so, we'll keep doing it.

Seven of us traveled to Creston for this Reunion. My Mom and Dad, me and my 18 yr. old son, my brother's 28 yr. old son, my sister and her 8 yr. old daughter. Oh how we love road trips. On the way home, Brandon (my nephew) got this to nosh on.

If you read the Ingrediends on the Tijuana Mama it says "Mechanically Separated Chicken, Pork...did that make for some hilarious guesses.Three days ago was another Family Reunion in Our garage. This one was for the Koch Family in Nebraska. Again, another fun and interesting day. We pulled out all of the vintage tablecloths for this one, good idea, huh? Well more later.

Bye, bye Gall Bladder!

2011-04-19T12:56:00.001-06:00

Happy Days! My gall bladder is gone and I am feeling so much lighter. After a year of pain, confusion and fatigue, I'm suddenly made new! I'm typical for our family, not self aware and a high pain tolerance. We just keep on keepin' on and end up in the ER on account of an acute attack of something. Sigh. I'm healing from the surgery and am grateful for the life I can have ahead of me. A life of balance, single tasking, awareness and doing the next right thing.
I heard something funny on the radio the other day. A mother had called in to some political show talking about all of the taxes taken from her and given to others. In her case, she wished she had the $ to do with as she pleased, to give it to her choice of charity. Her daughter turned up pregnant in the girl's Soph. year of college and this mother said that she went and got three jobs to deal with it. But, I thought she said three "dogs"! In my mind I thought, perfect. Having three dogs would keep my $ and attention tied up and my pregnant adult child would be responsible for herself and the baby if she decided against adoption. Well, that's not what that mother meant at all. She meant she had to have those jobs to help her daughter and grandchild.

I smiled as I thought of my own circumstance. We have a young alcoholic in our family who has left quite a lot of destruction in his path w/ his addiction. Before Al Anon, I was killing myself trying to make things right. Eventually I realized I had loads of love and nurturing to give and it was like poison to my alcoholic son. What was best for my son was for him to be responsible for his own life and consequences. So, to do what I love most, I started fostering dogs. I give the sympathy and care to a truly needy creature that is helped w/ my attention. Thank God for growth.

BRING ON THE PUPPIES!

Our Latest Foster Dog, Halle

2011-04-14T19:15:00.000-06:00

Halle was our latest foster pup. She's a 6 month old Rotti and we were her temporary foster home. Somehow, we had her several months, but we didn't complain.

She was completely unsocialized when we got her. She was quite a bully about finding her place in the pack. But, I guess that's typical of Rottweilers. She was also frightened of people. After a few weeks, she was perfectly socialized and we grew to love her. These photos are from the day we took her to the Omaha Dog Park.

Lot's of greeting going on! Halle was especially interested in this puppy, probably because she's a puppy too.

And more greeting!

When we were fixin' to leave, we had to retrieve Halle from this group, every Rottweiler at the park was there...and a Doberman. Interesting to me, how like breeds do associate with each other at the dog park.
Last but not least, Halle w/ two of her new masters, she was adopted last week. We miss her but, they are the perfect home for her and were so excited!

And, tomorrow I get my lousy gall bladder out. I look forward to feeling like a healthy human being again!

Still Kickin' It In Nebraska

2011-02-22T19:10:00.000-06:00

Yes, I've been a little isolated or lazy or something. I'm still here, reading your wonderful blogs. That's the very best thing about blogger, YOU guys!

We had this really awesome foster pup named Otis. We got him when he was 4 weeks old. He was found in a landfill of an adjacent county. He was the only living one of some dumped puppies...literally dumped. We had him for 11 weeks and it was very difficult to let him go.

He's the first foster pup that Zoe let bond w/ her right away. It was sort of a God thing in my opinion.

Oh yeah, my dashboard Jesus is really happy the Packers won the Superbowl and will probably sport his Cheesehead for the rest of the year...or two.

When you foster dogs, there is never a shortage. The dog on the left is my folks elderly lab. Lying next to her is Lily. She's a 2 yr. old lab mix. She was adopted out a year ago and last week the family turned her back in. I'm not exactly sure why but, YOU GUYS!...she is the nicest foster we've had to date! I love her!
Such is life in our neck of the woods. Oh, and I have a neat project that I've started...

I'm painting this old dresser of mine. True to form, couldn't decide a color. But, have settled for the white. I'm leaving the dresser top as it is and painting the rest white. Good Times!

Some Retro Christmas

2010-12-04T23:24:00.000-06:00

Just foolin' around w/ some vintage tree toppers and lighted stuff from the 40's and 50's.

Really, just goofin' and playin'.

Still need to hide the wires and such...or not.

And, the obligatory photo of our foster pup Otis and Zoe. Thank God that Zoe is the best dog on earth...at least the best dog on earth under our roof!
Happy Advent people!

Sometimes It's Good to Escape

2010-11-20T16:49:00.001-06:00

Although my life is full of fuzzy puppies and darling little kittens,

I still find a need to go to a happier place.

As an owner of a 4 yr. old Lab, our life is pretty good. Dogs make everything better. The little puppy is a 4 week old, our newest foster. He was found at a county landfill last week. His three littermates were there too, although dead. We'll foster him several more weeks to help him grow up and learn some more good dog manners from our Lab. I was able to gladly take him from the rescue group as we'd just gotten home from another cruise.

We went on the Carnival Dream to the Western Caribbean.

It was a "Halloween" cruise so, got ready w/ a proper pedicure!

We took my husband's 85 yr. old mother with us! She did great. This picture is when we're leaving the group on Halloween night. I was taking her back to her cabin so she could turn in and I was heading to bed myself. I was SO tired every night that I went to bed when she did!

We rented a cab at Cozumel and went to Paradise Beach. I wish we could cruise twice a year. Once a year doesn't seem enough to me.

This bird bit and I was freaked out! One of the employees put him on my arm. He was beautiful, entertaining to watch.

When we came back to the port at Cozumel we sat at the most crowded raucous bar. It was full of cruise ship passengers who were drinking and dancing. We stopped in for a beer sat at an outdoor table. The view of our ship was so pretty. Hopefully, I can post sooner next time but, day to day life seems a struggle. As usual, I am looking for balance and serenity in my good ol' Nebraska life. I hope that you have some measure of those two things!

2010-08-17T20:29:00.000-06:00

Our last two fosters were Shih Tzus. Hamish was 4 monthsold and found his permanent home right away. Angus was 3 months and found a home after 2 weeks. He was hilarious. I never though much of the breed but, am now a fan! They are not like any breed I've met. I felt like I had circus dogs...big circus dogs in little bodies.

The really interesting story behind them is that they were bought undercover from a hush hush Puppy Mill auction. The rescue caught wind of a Puppy Mill in Saunders County, Nebraska that was liquidating. So, they attended the auction undercover as breeders. I happened to call Cari (the gal who runs the Rescue that I foster for) while she was at the auction. She spoke in hushed tones and said, "Cindy, you just wouldn't believe it...it's so sad. But, every Rescue group that I know of is here". They bought the little males that no one wanted...paid $50 or $60 for each of them Many small breeds were represented. I think it's great that they did this. The adoption fee just has the $ paid at the auction tacked on. The breeding females (proven producers) sold for $700-$800. So sad.

She said there was security there and signs everywhere: "No Pictures". Some PETA guy was taking pictures w/ his cell phone. He wasn't so sneaky as they saw him and took his phone. He started to argue and they tazed him 3 times! The Saunders County Sheriff came (was called by the creepy auction people) and got his phone back and said they had no right to taze him. SO very weird.

So, when I got Hamish and Angus, they'd never been handled by humans before. What a fairytale it was around here for those several weeks. They went from frightened little creatures who cowered all of the time to boisterous boys! Thank God for all of his Creation. But, Boooooo to the Puppy Mills. People! Please rescue your pets or buy from a private home breeder....ask to see their facility before you get a special breed if that's what you want. Please spay and neuter. Sermon over.

Two new Foster Pups...

2010-07-25T23:56:00.000-06:00

The photo was taken w/in the first hour they were here. I put them in the kennel to control their area and give them nothing else to do but sleep. More on these two Rescues later!

New Foster Pup Dennis

2010-07-05T21:02:00.000-06:00

We are still mourning Chuck going to his forever home. But, he has the best new mother Rebecca. She's my fb friend and I see and hear updates about their family life.
We now have 7 week old Dennis. He's a purebread Chocolate Lab.

This kennel is in our bedroom, the first night that Dennis was here, Chuck was a rock and pillow for him.

That little dog was exhausted for days after he got here. He was a stray from South Dakota...dumped by a bad person (who's identity is known). Covered in fleas, worms, staph infection...and many bites...oh yeah, very little and only 5.5 wks. old when found. Their pet rescue was full but, she called her friend in Nebraska who runs "No Pets Left Behind" in Omaha. Keri (Nebraska) said, "All of our foster homes are full but, there's this one foster mother 'Cindy', she'd be the one who might take him". Boy, does everyone have my number or what?

So, I am focusing on the canine rescues and praying for my human children. Sometimes, that's all some of us can do. Now don't panic...my sons are 18 and 22. I stay out of the way, love them regardless and pray. Some of you know what I mean more than others. Don't worry, I don't have an attachment disorder to my human and most important children. Have a great week!

Our foster puppy Chuck has been adopted...

2010-06-29T19:51:00.000-06:00

8 weeks ago we took on two foster puppies, Chuck and Carli. Both the most incredible beasts. Both loved other dogs and people. Carli was adopted right away which was odd as it was Chuck who had the most inquiries.

She was 6 pounds at 8 weeks and he was 10. You can't be really blue w/ puppies around.

I know that lots of dogs sleep like this now and again, Chuck slept like this all of the time! He was always near our yellow Lab, Zoe.

At 14 weeks, here is Chuck with the new foster puppy Dennis. Chuck is 25 pounds here and Dennis is 6#. Dennis arrived last Saturday and Chuck went to his Real home on Monday. They were instant friends because...well, that's just how Chuck is. Oh I miss him.

I had house guest on Sunday (and many relatives), so...here is Dennis with the little girls. Meanwhile, Chuck is out of the frey.

When Chuck is tired, he sleeps. Oh, I miss him.

Chuck is a Kennel Guy, loves his kennel. He was more than happy to share his kennel with Dennis the night before he went to his home.

Before Chuck went to have his "nutter butter's" removed (that's what my 11 yr. old nephew called it), Jim took a few pictures of what Chuck and I always looked like together. Seriously, 100% of the time...when I held him, this was it.

Don't look at me...I slept terrible...look at Chuck. He knew I loved him. Excuse me, I need to cry.

PUPPIES

2010-05-10T20:23:00.001-06:00

For whatever reason, I'm less happy now in this glorious spring than I was during the worst winter in Nebraska history.

I've found that I'm alone most of the time...empty nest right now and St. Jim is on the road 5 days a week. I am such a good citizen and an extremely responsible person that I knew if I volunteered for something, I'd follow through on it....and do it well! So, I volunteered to foster puppies for a pet rescue. I suppose that sounds extreme but, had to do something extreme to change my feelings.

In the first place, I knew that it would get me outside and keep me outside. I have a few hundred square feet of garden's in the back yard, and I've gotten so much exercise and sunshine this past week weeding and tending. The puppies play around me when I'm out there....it's great.

Zoe, our 3 yr. old lab is famous for her funny personality and great dog manners. The good citizen part of me thought that she would be such an excellent mentor for puppies and rescue dogs.
Also, we have neighborhood children around here every day now! We've always been "that" house (the one where children are drawn to)but, now I have the joy of children in my space as they bubble with delight while playing with the puppies every day after school.

My parent's older lab, Brie, was here to meet Chuck (above) and Carli. Brie had knee surgery 4 weeks ago, hence the shaved leg.

I could watch them for hours but, they ARE only 7 weeks old so, do sleep a lot.

Enjoy looking at the rest of the puppy pictures, it sure has lifted my spirits having them here! Oh! And to all you mothers, hope you had a nice day yesterday.

2010-04-29T17:44:00.000-06:00

My father-in-law died several months ago. So we left Nebraska for the great state of Wisconsin. Since my camera is also a piece of jewelry, I'll share a couple of highlights from our 4 day Funeral Trip. Below is a picture of a Jaguar Limo we saw south of Des Moines, Iowa.

My husband Jim is a saint, seriously. He deserves to have the two most adorable grand daughters. The little one below is Dorothy and Della is in a later picture. My father in law (August Kasten) was a wonderful man. A great husband, father and friend. He was a farmer in his younger years, then a Postmaster. They are Wisconsin Synod Lutheran so, the funeral was really meaningful to me as it had all kinds of theological stuff in it.

Dorothy was fighting sleep so, I used my Trick and she was out in a minute. (NO, I didn't rock her to sleep with a rock). Then my 17 yr. old son asked, "Can I hold her"? Here is a precious picture of that.

We took pictures galore as everyone was there. My mother in law Shirley is in the center. The back row is John, Cindy, St. Jim. Front row is Myra, Shirley and Judy. These people are hilarious! Look at John's face! We're going on a cruise together w/ these jokers and some spouses next fall. I can not wait. My Jim has the kindest face, doesn't he?

We stayed at Cindy's house (yes, my husband has a sister also named Cindy. What's stranger is that I have a brother named Jim). Since we were there over the weekend too, we hit the local GoodWill. Does anyone else do this? I take pictures of really interesting strangers. Jim saw me zooming in on this guy...I looked up and winked at him. He turned on his heels and walked away fast! Hahahaha!

My Mother In Law was opening a gift, the little great grandchildren gathered around. Can you see Della's hair? I had made a big deal about fixing her hair real "beautiful". She let me do that and grinned and wore that all night! I love messin' w/little kids.

Well, that's all I have for now. I just had to put something out there as I miss you guys! Hugs!

Caribbean Cruise Memories

2010-02-13T21:54:00.000-06:00

The third island that we docked at was St. Kitts. I hadn't heard of this place before and am now so glad that we got to see so much of this island country! When we got off the ship, the first thing that we saw was the shops that were typical of these island ports. Diamonds! Thought it was funny that the van there said Ministry of Finance. So happens, the tour we joined up with was organized by this young man's aunt! It was his 21st BD and he was in our tour van. We had a fantastic day!

The first thing we saw of real interest on our private island tour were these goats in a graveyard that we drove through!

And more goats! We asked the driver 'who's goats they are' and he said, "nobody's"!

These egrets are not native to St. Kitts. They "blew in with a hurricane once".

We were making our way to Brimstone Hill. There is a fort up there from the 1600's that the British built.

There were a group of men sitting near here...drinking.

Check out the plate on our van! Heeee!

This was just fascinating! We got to go all through it!

As St. Lucia had one beer...Piton. St. Kitts had one beer....Carib! And it was good. The gentleman to the right was our tour guide. We had a blast!

After the fort we went to the beach to snorkel. The sand was black. The water had a much lower salinity than St. Lucia. I don't know how that works but, St. Lucia's water was much more bouyant.....everyone was commenting on it. I was nervous snorkeling there as there were many of those black spikey sea urchins!

This ship was docked in the bay where we were swimming. It's a luxury cruise ship I guess...real expensive and fancy. That's all I know about it.

Here I am in the Caribbean waters by St. Kitts. I can FEEL what it felt like with my memory! It's nice having a vivid memory in this frozen wasteland of Nebraska.

St. Lucia, Lucious!

2010-01-28T21:23:00.000-06:00

The second island we stopped at on our cruise was St. Lucia. We made the most memories here. We went on a private tour with a St. Lucian named Herrod Stanislaus! Jim and I were with a family from Indiana (who happened to have the cabin across the hall from us, what are the odds?) and a family from Maryland. I had talked to both wives and agreed to join up with them for this tour on the boards of Cruise Critic.

As we were riding around the mountainous roads in our tour van we caught site of our ship. This is a beautiful island, a lot of rainforest.

We stopped at a banana farm. These are all exported to England. They were smaller than what we get around here. He said in the U.S., our bananas are imported from South America.

Meg from Maryland was a doll! Only 16 but, seemed to be my sister from another mother! We had the greatest time. The bananas were sweet, seemed to taste like the bananas that I remember from childhood if that makes any sense.

St. Lucia has ONE beer, yep. I don't know the details of how commerce is there but, just the one.

And the beer is named after the 2 mountains/peaks that St. Lucia is fameous for...the Pitons.

The Real Piton's on St. Lucia

Cindy and Rick (Meg from Maryland's Dad) drinking Piton Beer! Oh yeah, I can always hang with the men and am not ashamed of it!

Herrod told us that the island has many snakes. This fellow wanted money for the picture...gave him a dollar. There is also 40% unemployment in St. Lucia, no welfare and families take care of families.

Meg's response the the fellow with the snake! One difference between us, I'm not afraid of snakes!

We went to Herrod's private home for a cajun meal made by his mother. It was incredible!

Mrs. Stanislaus, our chef! It was the best meal we had on our 8 day cruise. That is really saying something if you've heard about how good cruise ship food can be.

Some of the men teasing me, telling me how to pose.

And last (for now) is the Hotel at Marigot Bay. Marigot Bay is where the original Dr. Doolittle movie was made. The restaurant there is called Doolittles.

Living in the Past

2010-01-24T19:15:00.001-06:00

Ya know, I do what I have to. We saw the sun for a few hours this morning, even blue skies...NO clouds. After lunch, the clouds came in quickly, fog appeared and snow showers! a.k.a. little pieces of sunshine...nah...didn't work...I'm blue! I think in my 51 years, this has been the longest stretch of overcast/foggy/snowy/drizzley/cloudy/sleety/grayey/gloomy/dreary days in my life. Weeks since we've had a sunny day I tell ya! So, going back to the Caribbean...I took loads of pictures so, I have to do this for my sanity. Take what you like, leave the rest.

This was at St. Maarten. We went on a Tiki Snorkel Hut tour or something. My first time snorkeling (St. Jim's too) We loved it and are now buying our own snorkel gear.(cruise next Oct. with 4 ports...all known for good snorkeling) He's holding MY Rum Punch. Any photo you see with Jim holding a drink...it's mine. He doesn't drink but maybe one drink a day on a cruise.

Our ship, the Carnival Miracle at port in St. Maarten. I took this from the water taxi after we left our snorkeling sight. We didn't get to see any of St. Maarten but, am so glad to have had such a great first snorkel experience. It's so easy, I'm so glad that I gave in to the peer pressure and did it!

This is a building with stores and such at the port in St. Maarten. There was a quicky mart in there where I bought some Bloody Mary Mix...I like that spicy stuff on deck in the morning on cruises...only then. These areas are extremely secure and fenced off. You need your ship ID to get back in here(port area) to get on to your ship. If an unauthorized person jumps a fence (don't see how, they're 10ft. tall or so with barbed wire on top), they'd be met with military intervention (I've heard stories on the Cruise Critic Boards...my favorite source). Many islands subsist only because of the cruise ships and or tourism dollars, so, the governments have a priority to keep us safe.

Little retail tents...selling souveniers/ clothing/hats...I bought sunglasses at one, a bracelet at another. Rum aplenty...cheap island beer...cheap in price but, good! And again, clean and safe!

See the beauty of St. Maarten behind the shops?

See the happy girl? That's where I am mentally! More later! I DO have some good fun pictures. Took SO many at St. Kitts and St. Lucia because we did excursions in vans with island guys. Awesome!

Yearning for the Caribbean!

2010-01-23T17:53:00.001-06:00

We went on a cruise the week of Thanksgiving '09, you could tell who the northerners were at the Ft. Lauderdale airport . Like us, they made a beeline for a place outdoors with sunshine. I wish that I was soaking it up now. I'm trying not to exaggerate but, I think that we haven't seen the sun for weeks here!

I was just a few feet from that guy, found my place in the sun!

Heading out to sea on the Carnival Miracle. Excuse me, I'm about the cry.

I was exhausted, but SO happy to be on board to start our 8 day cruise! My St. Jim is hilarious. He can do just a subtle thing in a picture with his posture or eyes that crack me up because I know him SO well! Anyway, he cracks me up in this picture!

Of the 2,600 or so passengers on the Miracle, this guy caught my eye. He wore a skirt. Some of you who know me well won't be surprised that I made sure that I met him. His name is Michael, he's 40, traveled with his sister and her husband, he's been on 17 cruises AND has crystal blue colored eyes!

More later! I need to cry about our weeks of clouds and fog and grey......

Wistful Thoughts of our Cruise

2010-01-10T23:04:00.001-06:00

We went on a Cruise Thanksgiving Week 2009. So many fond memories. Once I get out of denial regarding our current situation (12 foot snow walls), I'll post more.

A White Christmas Was Nice but, Enough Already!

2010-01-09T20:07:00.000-06:00

Two weeks before Christmas we had a blizzard and at least 12 inches of snow. December 23rd was rain and then sleet. So, I had some lovely pictures from that night!

And then it snowed beginning Dec. 24th in the morning. Nearly every church cancelled their services. We didn't, oh noooo, not us stubborn german Lutherans! Well, we only had the 3PM service, which was great as there were probably 600 people there (the place was about full!) in spite of the horrible roads, I saw many visitors and folks from other churches. It was awesome!

That night after we left my folk's house (live 5 houses away) we kept driving (4WD truck) and went all over looking at Christmas Lights. Everyone was home with their twinkling lights as a blizzard was a comin'.

Same angle but, taken today, January 9th. So, we had that Christmas Blizzard. Then we had another one Weds. of this week. That's three blizzards! 1975 was the last time some of us oldtimers remember this much on the ground.

This is in our neighborhood, mostly elderly people. But, nearly every youngun (under 70) has asnowblower and I don't think anyone has to hire as these men go out in groups of 2 and 3 and do each other's and then the homes of the single gals or elders.

This is my parent's home. Five houses to the south of them is our home.

Our home. Hey! How many of you have seen the following picture? It's gone out across the country, even among pictures in the Wall Street Journal.

The man on the left is Steve Sempeck. He's the owner of the buses.....and the owner of our town's bowling alley. It burned down on Jan. 7, '10. Extreme cold temps. Brutal. the ice is from the firefight!

I'm standing by the pin setters taking a picture of where the lanes were. Gutted.

So sad.

The gentleman in the dark coat was an employee, his gal is to his right. I chatted a while. He doesn't know what he'll be doing. He also had 6 of his own bowling balls in there. She was crying, her mother played in a legue there and had bowling balls in there too. I told them I had been praying for the owners and the employees since I heard about it. The owner said he'll rebuild, and to tell my mother, "we'll have her bread pudding too". Every time my Mom eats there she has to have their bread pudding, she's obsessed. Small towns. We all know each other, or know someone that they know.

Although sad, I heard so many positive affirmations and lots of gratitude. Oh, the place closed down early the night the fire started on account of our THIRD blizzard of the season. So, When that Diner (IN ELKHORN) opens up again, I'm there, for a chicken dinner and bread pudding!

Merry Christmas from Nebraska

2009-12-23T23:20:00.002-06:00

Here's a shot of our 1970's lights at the end of our driveway. I put colored bulbs in there for the holidays. Look at all of the ice on the pine needles....it's been raining all day! What a mess. Less than 2 weeks ago was one of them there blizzards so, the snow is left from that. We have a large locust tree in our front lawn, see the effect of all the ice on it's branches at the top left part of the photo? I think this is so pretty.

This little crab tree has berries for birds, I thought since they hadn't eaten them yet that it might be a mild winter, HA!

Our living room tree, looking in from the outside.

Our front stoop...see the wetness? Rain all day......look out for ice tonight! 27 degrees overnight and possibly 10 inches of snow tomorrow, or more. To the left is my $1 auction cement lion. An old barn door leaning there (from my first husband...does he know me or what!? He gave that to me last yr. and we've been apart for 15 yrs.) Great '70's double doors. And, real wreath's on the orange

wooden doors....

Looking in our Dining Room windows, I have a tree decorated in all vintage stuff in there.

Sure wish this could really show the gorgeousity of the snow right now. We had that foot of snow with the blizzard several weeks ago, but it's rained all day so, looks like an icing everywhere.

Our white pine has at least 100 pretty places on it with the ice.

Merry Christmas. Most likely, we'll be snowed in for our first Christmas in my memory. I'm 51 so, that's sayin' somethin'. Pray for my OTR husband's journey home tomorrow. Pray for my son's and their demons. Most of all, pray for me....I need it.

Who Does This?

2009-12-16T13:40:00.000-06:00

Who does something like this? Not the average person who's getting fit and trying to simplify their lives! Sometimes I get an idea and go to the extreme with it. I've always picked up vintage candy and nut jars, I can find them for .25-$1 when I'm junking. So, this is actually a reflection of the craziness. Yes, it's true. The more anxiety/drama/trauma that I have going on...the more I escape through decorating or attempting to have my environment "perfect". Ha! Not so perfect for my weight loss. But, it sure is pretty!

Has anyone tried Hershey's Mint Truffle Kisses or the Cherry Cordial Kiss? They're really good.

I love the old jars.

The old canning jars with zinc lids are just as pretty to me.

I have noticed something unexpected though. With so many choices of sweets, I notice that I'm barely indulging, thank goodness.

Back from Sabbatical

2009-12-15T17:06:00.002-06:00

Hello Darlin's! I'm back, been on Sabbatical.

I still have a lot on my plate, but I will survive. My wonderful husband (St. Jim) and I went on a cruise before and during Thanksgiving. I knew it was a good sign when we saw Phyllis Smith from The Office in the Atlanta Airport. I was SO excited. Not only is she one of my favorite characters/actresses, The Office is the best television show of all time! I kept edging away (didn't want to be rude and take a lot of her time) but, she kept engaging me in conversation! We laughed and hugged (sometimes initiated by her) and conversed for at least 15 minutes! She was with her mother and a gentleman friend and they were gong on a cruise themselves (Norwegian Cruiseline I think). They had never cruised before so, had a lot of questions for me. Her mother was very sweet (maybe nearly 80yrs. old?)....and I chatted with her for a bit too. We talked about the plot line of The Office and both of us weren't real happy with Stanley having an affair. And then she said, "And he even brought her to the wedding", referring to the wedding between the characters Pam and Jim.

Well, I'm tired and thinking of how I can get back in the blog routine. I've missed you guys and will be back more regularly asap. I want to tell you about our cruise and holidays! Hugs, Cindy

Cindy and Joanie's Great Junk Adventure Part one

2009-10-06T17:27:00.010-06:00

Almost 2 weeks ago my friend Joanie and I went on the '09 Nebraska Junk Jaunt. That 300mile garage sale in the center of our state. We started at the southern point and went north.
One of the first farms we stopped at was in the process of remodeling to become an entertainment venue/steakhouse too I think. Photo op. for us.

In their barn was this WONDERFUL sink. Thank goodness St. Jim wasn't there....I probably would've bought it but, didn't have the nerve being without my man. He's so analytical...if it's possible to use...he'd let me know right away.
Click on the picture and I think it'll get bigger so that you can read. Several of the pictures are worth doing that with!

In this part of our state you could drive 10 miles between towns. In between were rolling hills, meadows, fields and waterways. Many spots had markers where there once was a town or church or something. So, we saw this marker (I stop at ALL hysterical markers), and then found the graveyard associated with it.

Eye candy for me, really...love this old stuff. This is part of that former church's graveyard.

This was a really large monument. Look at the countryside and cornfield next to it.

We went on to Burwell where a friend of ours has a cabin for weekend use. Debbie took us to Calamus Reservoir...we ate pizza on the beach.... wildflowers and prarie grass on the sand.

Joanie with the blanket that we sat on for dinner. We each had a beer! Wild women, I know. ONE beer, hahaha!

Isn't Debbie pretty? She's that pretty on the inside! She and her neighbor were up there for the Junk Jaunt too! We had 3 other friends out there among the thousands but, never connected!

Here we are at Calumus after our pizza! The sunset was so pretty. And we were so tired after a day of junking.

Earlier in the day we saw some interesting places in small towns....if you look closely, you'll see brightly spray painted christmas deer by this house. They're trying to keep up with the Joneses display in the next picture.

Something that we don't have in eastern Nebraska (where most people in our state live), mobile homes amongst houses in town. Around here, mobile homes can only be in a Trailer Park.

The vistas are breathtaking. Nebraska is a beautiful state if you can get off of I80!

Sumac was changing there 2 weeks ago already...it's just starting to change here, by Omaha.

This was typical of a lot of the farms or ranches that we stopped by. Stuff for sale leaning against barns and sheds.

It was so much fun seeing the stuff...thank goodness I already have so much, I was only on the lookout for real treasures.

I liked these chairs. But, only bought the leftmost brown one, which was the roughest. For the $5 pricetag...I can sand the heck out of it and spraypaint. As you see, most of the sales are at farms or extremely rural places. We bought a box of vintage Christmas and since it had several breakables, I was working on the tailgate picking out those to wrap. Joanie came up to me and at the same time we saw a mouse IN the box and SCREAMED! Not even thinking of the 30 or 40 people by the barn selling and buying! Lots of laughter on their part. Just some of the free entertainment on the Junk Jaunt. Then the poor little mouse hide in front of our front tire. It was not easy getting him away and towards the ditch.

Believe it or not, I'd packed work gloves just in case we had something really heavy or rough to pack. Couldn't find them so, it took some time but, we got him away from the truck!

I'll post a couple more times about our adventure. I was exhausted when I got home several days later....but SO glad we did it!

Junk Jaunt Nebraska, 300 Miles of JUNK

2009-09-20T20:18:00.004-06:00

My dear husband, dog Zoe and I went on this Junk Jaunt last year. Lot's of people had their dogs with them. Above is Zoe in our Hotel Room....too much time on my hands...
This year Jim is going to hold the fort down and I'm going on the Junk Jaunt with my girlfriend Joanie. We're meeting friends along the way. Fun fun!
http://www.junkjaunt.com/

Just in case you don't know...Nebraska has a lot of farms and ranches...especially in this part of the state. Jim is observing Zoe seeing cows for the first time.

This place was great! Awesome stuff all for sale and leaning against their barn!

This was a little place in Cairo, NE...my favorite town. They are actually named after Cairo, Egypt! There are Camels on their town sign. I bring my camera along when I like things and then I can copy.

My two favorite chairs of all time. Bought them at some farm for $10 each. There were aqua ones too and another white one. I wish that I bought several more. They are SO comfortable!

I bought these $5 each. Heavy...beveled..leaded.

Very memorable. Bought hybrid pumpkins here and a delicious watermelon. This was near St. Libory, NE....they're known for Melons.

http://junkjaunt.com/locations/locations_st_libory.php

This is some of my junk at home...Oh, I love my junk.

Oh! The Hisorical (hysterical) markers. Don't you just love them?

I paid $5 for this old park grill. Jim cleaned it up and it's down by our firepit. We could only imagine that it was stolen from somewhere...but, assumed they came by it legit!

I'd never normally get to these small towns. Priceless architecture and or names of buisnesses! I think that this was in Dannebrog.

Home of Roger Welch

http://www.agriculture.com/ag/files/welsch/roger/index.html

The REAL Blue Collar Labor Day

2009-09-12T16:22:00.008-06:00

Oh Ha-ay! We went floating on the Elkhorn River on Labor Day! So Blue Collar for a "classy" bunch of folks. Below is your charming hostess Cindy. I have the best tube (we're buying more of these this winter) and towing the floating cooler. In the cooler was bottled water, Dr. Pepper, Ziplocs holding cell phones and car keys.

If you've never done this...just try it once. It is SO relaxing.....mindless.

Then there's my saint of a husband Jim....MENSA.Uh huh...he's fully dressed AND wearing shoes. Hahahaha!

There's a RR Bridge a mile down from where we put in. That is my eldest son Nate clear up on side of the bridge. Nate says it's 30 ft. I thinks it's closer to 80 ft. Nate is 6'4"....National Honor Society type....and DARING.

Yeppers, that splash is him hitting the water in the next picture. I was praying to the GOD OF MY UNDERSTANDING right before that.

The next picture is the husband of my dear friend Arlene...he's also a Jim. Lexus salesman...but, not just any salesman....TOP salesman in the midwest....like 8 states. The owner of their dealership died several months ago and that man was like a father to Jim. He's been grieving hard. I heard him say at least 20 times..."I could've been doing this all summer....it's FREE." ....told you...it's SO relaxing!

I'm going to frame this next picture and hang it as it's in my top 5. And...give a copy to Arlene and Jim. One of the best parts of this picture is Malcolm with his joyous smile behind Jim. His mom (my sister) didn't go with them us this time (she was the day before though)...she thinks he REALLY enjoyed himself the second day. Actually, he enjoyed himself both days....and a lot. Malcolm too, is gifted. (remember the theme here...Blue Collar and "classy" people)

There's Nate and TJ...Jim's (Lexus) 16 yr. old son. TJ found an architectural piece on the river bank...that's a whole other death defying story. TJ is in all AP classes and is an accomplished dancer and HUGE Husker fan. If you look close, they had a blue football floating that was thrown back and forth for an hour and a half. And folks....remember, it's a big river with billions of gallons of water....because the next picture might freak you out.

Uh huh. DEAD animal. Beaver maybe? I was screaming! One of our tubes was loose and floated near it and stayed there. River currents are funny.

No matter.....we're going back again and again. Maybe not this year as it's becoming cooler. Have a great day!

A Blue Collar Labor Day Weekend with "Classy" People!

2009-09-08T18:07:00.007-06:00

The best way to start a Labor Day weekend is with a Nebraska Cornhusker Football game! My brother in law Oudious took my 17 yr. old son Zach and their son Malcolm, 10. Oudious played for Nebraska in the 70's. Malcolm is wearing the actual jersey that Oudious wore in the day. Don't they look thrilled!? I asked O about the shirt color and he said something about, "I HAD to wear red, now, this is what I'm wearing". Sheesh. Be a sport.

They had a great time! Apparently with Oudious' former player status and the U's desire to suck up to alumni, they had PRIMO seats! Below is Malcolm wearing his new Husker gear that they got at the game. Oh yeah, Malcolm is pretending to pick his nose, typical 10 yr. old boy! By the way, Oudious is 6'2" and Zach is 6'....Malcolm is only 10 and look how tall he is!

There were many redneck aspects to our weekend. First of all, we camped in our own back yard. My sister (Oudious' wife) and their kids slept in the tent on the left. O slept in his "perfectly good bed" at their home. So, guess our "classy" college professor bro in law still had his standards. Our tent was the one on the right.

Nate kept our firepit going. We spent many hours around it.

We grilled out for every meal. There was lots of play with the dogs....as usual.

Zoe slept in our tent...of course...

My sister's family dog whined til he could come in too. His Name is Bo and he's a beagle/basset mix.

My poor husband, squinting at the really bright red eye reduction light.

Oudious came later on Sunday night, eating his hamburger with an audience.

Isn't that a pretty picture....warmed by the fire? Wait until you see the next post regarding the MOST redneck thing that we did.

Autumn is around the Corner and some Estate Sale stuff.

2009-09-01T19:15:00.004-06:00

My camera turned up missing! My house is tidy and I know where stuff is! We've determined that it was a visiting interloper (oh, suppose those 2 words don't go together)...friend of my 17 yr. old son. Can't prove it but, we're pretty sure...
So, I have a new camera...much to the chagrin of many around me. I like it. Nothing special, a Sony Cybershot 10.1 mega pixels and 10x zoom. But, sooooo much better than the abducted camera. Also, that kid can't even use the one he jacked (although I assume he's pawning it anyhow) as I have the charger cable.

Nate started a fire in our pit tonight. Doesn't that smell like autumn to you!? Oh, I love it.

Zoe just isn't so sure about it. (my wayward camera would've shown pure black with this shot)

I went to an estate sale and got this stack of booklets for $1. Whoever put them together was smart and put the one on the right on top and banded it together.

This was the 1st page...oh, booklet put out by some "Rice Council". I came skipping in the door with it to show St. Jim...he grinned.

Another fun thing about estate sales are the regional things that you'll see. (I live in Omaha).

Oh, I love the old ones...not just for the graphics but, for the recipes that I remember from my childhood and then can replicate.

Actually, thinking of mounting this in a frame to use as holiday decor.

This is on the inside cover. The booklet was put out by our Natural Gas company...Peoples. Yes, it was Peoples Natural Gas! My husband could not believe that when we met in 1999!

This booklet was in the stack. I was thrilled as I'd bought a box of 18 canning jars with lots of vintage lids at the same sale for $4 and didn't even know that this was with the booklets! Someone used it for a coaster OR to set canning jars on. I've canned 3x this year! I haven't done that since 1991...I think that things are turning around for me as I'm becoming who I was...which is who I think that I am.

Well, Cheerio! Love you guys....a lot. Cindy

Painter's Drop Cloth Is the Only Fabric That I Need

2009-08-23T10:59:00.009-06:00

Hello Honey Bunnies! I've been real blue but, a fellow blogger (G-Man) kicked me in the pants and I'm puttin' somethin' out. So, here it is!

I believe that it was Olive Rue that sparked my interest in Painter's Drop Cloth. I have a huge drop cloth pictured above. You can see my husband's lower part in the background AND parts to our whole house vac. and the dog in the dining room. Ah...who cares. I just can't keep it all together let alone tidy up for pictures.

Three and a half years ago this looked ok...trendy...but, don't like that in my dining room any more. This is one of six chairs of my Grandparent's (Bevelheimer) dining set from the 20's. The wood was rough...refinished it and then recovered....see below.

It's really pretty in the dining room now. Oh, and don't mock the marble floor, I love it and I'm stuck in the 70's so, I'm happy in this environment. (Can you tell that I'm blue? All cocky and stuff)

I'm really hasty, impatient and sloppy. I just stretch and staple and cut.

If you look real close at the screw holes, I've put toothpicks in (blue party toothpicks) to line up the holes for the screw.

This is almost embarassing. These two chairs are from our master...the first one I found in a dumpster and spraypainted and covered the seat. The second is a folding chair that was $4, it had a yellow pleather seat and was beat up wood. Sick of the seat cover already. The recover is somewhere below in this post.

These two folding chairs were a $1 each at a garage sale. If you look close you can see the '60's sort of vinyl on the one on the left. The one on the right is after I recovered it with the drop cloth. Oh, and the ever present whole house vac. attachments. We DO have a lab so, that's just how it is around here.

When I took the screws out to recover the $1 1960's folding chair...it like, exploded! There was some sort of tension! My 17 yr. old helped me put it back together after I covered the seat and back. Whew!

So, TAH DAH! There they are! I'm feeling some control with more matching things around this joint! Now for some Serenity and Hope inside this joint! God...Grant Me the Serenity...

ALL Better Now on the--What? Why?

2009-08-11T19:11:00.003-06:00

Where has everyone gone? Everyone that I follow...it appears that I'm all of a sudden not following them. And any one who followed my little blog....they've disappeared. Why Blogger? Please tell me that you guys are just glitchy tonight!

Every thing is hunky dory now on my little blog!!!! My beloved followers are back but, most importantly....the ones that I follow are here. My life is looking up!
On a not so happy note...a first cousin has died suddenly and strangely. I sing at the funeral tomorrow. Sad on so many levels. More on this later. Love you guys!

A Fruit to Die For, Pluot

2009-08-05T17:33:00.004-06:00

PLUOTS:
Pluots are a cross between and plums and apricots. The pluot is a new fruit that was developed by Floyd Zaiger in the 1990s. There are several varieties of pluots with colors that range from pink to red. The pluot is sweeter than both of its parents, the plum and the apricot.

I saw these at Costco today. They were $8.49....they were SO very good! Like the sweetest plum ever but, tastier!

It's interesting that it's a plum/apricot hybrid. When I was a child growing up in the Nebraska countryside, we had two orchards. and a plum hedge. The apple orchard was large and untended but still yielded hundreds of good apples. The apricot orchard was very large too. My siblings and I remember sitting in the apricot trees feasting on them. Lots of folks aren't the apricot fans we are. I can say I really know what an apricot tastes like. And the pluot doesn't have an obvious apricot flavor. But, it's a delicious interesting flavor and the apricot must have something to do with that.

I'm holding one in my hand here, they're good sized and have smooth skin like a nectarine.

There is a pit in the center and they are juicy with pretty red flesh.

My 17 yr. old son Zach loved it. I ate two but quit before the 3rd as I thought I'd regret it later. The pluot is my new favorite fruit!

Facebook | Cindy Rolfs Kasten

2009-08-02T23:28:00.000-06:00

Facebook Cindy Rolfs Kasten

Auction, Estate Sales and a Dumpster

2009-07-26T18:56:00.007-06:00

Here he is! My $1 lion. I caught the end of an auction and spied this guy on a cart. His arm was broken off , the plaque and the arm were on the cart with him. No one bid on him, I wanted him but, always wait and act so nonchalant. I had that "ho hum" face and raised my number. I try never to get excited just in case someone else thinks that I know something. A security man helped DH put him in the truck. At home, Nate the giant took him off the truck for us. He said, "that must weigh 200lbs."! Saint Jim bought some landscape adhesive and fixed his arm. Haven't named the lion yet. He's second hand and I LOVE him. Jasmine was the name of the lioness in Second Hand Lions...maybe something related to that movie?
Next, does anyone ever wonder what other's work areas look like? Or do you all even have work areas? We have a large shop but, I TRY to leave that for Saint Jim. I have the workbench in the garage...besides, I've taken over the whole garage itself. I spraypaint outside when it's calm...on a stump. I knew there was a reason that we didn't have that removed when we took that Cottonwood down.

You can see the crate of spray paint on the ground, the drawers have tools and refinishing stuff, frames here and there as I paint them a lot....am always picking them up cheap for future projects.

I picked up this 1960's thingy at an estate sale for .50 cents. One day while vacuuming I thought, I'm painting that aqua!

There it is drying on my workbench. Nearby are frames that are now black. Against the wall is the starfish picture that I bought from OliveRue! It's going in one of the frames.

Here's a picture of the holder and bowls. The little dog cracker holder was at an estate sale, $1.50...it'll all be so much fun on my retro deck the next time that my girlfriends are over for wine and cheese.

Next picture:

Little cow for .25 at an estate sale. He can hold toothpicks. Next to him is a little travel S&P, .50 at an estate sale. I love that. When we travel by car, I like to skip restaurants and picnic in small town parks...that will be perfect. The little S&P's in the background were .50 for all. Nice when having a cookout with multiple tables.

And then, I can't just leave something in the condition that I got it in. I have these cast iron vintage looking stars.

Now all clean and new...in MY colors.

Below are some things...before I messed with them. The pink radio is from a dumpster down the street. It works...not to worry. I only cleaned that up. I had the cast iron bird and the spoon and fork for a little while.

Little bird likes being white now.

The fork and spoon are white and best of all, baling wire hangars.

This is a recent $5 purchace from an estate sale. I totally envisioned it painted black...and leaving the vinyl as it is. My 21 yr. old (Nate the giant) said, "NO, I like it the way it is"! Hmmmm.

Finally! I Have My Camera Back. Frog in the House.

2009-07-18T20:37:00.005-06:00

This lady had my camera for a week! You can see by the glasses that she's not a regular person. And look at that slobery baby, I still have days like this.

So, our cat was making a racket around a fan in our house last night. My 17 yr. old checked it out and said, "There's toad in the fan"

So, I had him bring it out on the deck where I was, poor thing, I thought he'd be better off escaping out there! Then I remembered how the 21 yr. old brought a FROG in and put it in our fish tank several weeks ago. By George! It must've been him! He can now escape the not so great indoors.

Hi you poor little sweety, hopefully there'll be more insects out here for you to eat!

Awwww! You have some nice color!

Not to worry, as I sat there lost in my blog reading (I love you guys!). He was gone within the hour. Such a quiet and stealth little guy. I imagined him hopping around our gardens gorging on whatever it is that he gorges on. Godspeed frog! And now that my mother...uh, that lady 4 houses away has returned my camera...I will get around to showing you my estate/auction stuff from last week....it's good.

Oh! And Renee at Cottage Lifestyle (http://cottagelifestyle.blogspot.com/2009/07/gifts-from-garage-sale-gal-and-award.html) gave me an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE award. Some of you know that I have a program in Al Anon. This means the world to me as so much of my recover IS having an attitude of gratitude. So, for me today, I am grateful for all of my family and their love. I love them just as they are! I love her blog too!

Our Staycation in Nebraska-Old Market, Wineries and a 7 yr. old's BD

2009-07-10T13:54:00.006-06:00

We had a marvelous 7 day vacation at home last week! Our brother (DH's brother John) and sister-in-law (Karen) from Ocala, Fl visited us. Little known, there is a lot to do around Omaha, Nebraska. We may have touched on half of what we wanted to do. In the eastern most part of Omaha is the Old Market area. It was built up more than 100 yrs. ago, every thing business and industrial was in this area. Fortunately for us, it has never fallen in to disrepair and has been converted in to shops and restaurants. The first photo is in an antique store there. I love the frosty windows with the vines growing across them. There are vines on so many buildings down there. All of the Streets are still the original brick.

These two guys were priceless! They looked almost like twins. Wish I had gotten my camera out sooner, they even had matching earings and both were eating ice cream cones. We were sitting at an outdoor eating area of a microbrewery....a place called the Upstream. You can not go wrong eating there. A large Farmer's Market is across the street from the Upstream, every Saturday. It was so festive and affordable and had a lot of ethnic vendors with so many special things. I will go back again.

One day we went to Nebraska City to visit the winery at Arbor Day Farms. Karen and I bought a glass of wine (happy hour, $2.50 a glass, have you EVER heard of Happy Hour at a winery?) John is very silly, that's him emptying his glass with his back to us! I'm on the left.

This may surprise some but, my favorite thing in Nebraska City is not wine. Don't judge me! It's a Whispering Bench on the Grounds of Arbor Lodge.

I'm pretty dorky and have the simplest of pleasures so, I don't expect people to appreciate all that I appreciate. But, they were VERY impressed with this. It's on the verge of being spooky, with 60 ft. of this curved bench and a quiet whisper, if your eyes are closed...you would swear your partner is sitting right next to you! Crazy, even during the busy days of falltime, we don't have competition to sit and whisper to each other here. This is a picture of John and Karen trying out the Whispering Bench for the first time.

Here is John standing by the statue of Grover Cleveland in front of the Whispering Bench. John is really funny. I'm rabid about history and Historical Markers. It wasn't too long when he'd see one he'd say, "Hey Cindy, there's your hysterical marker!".

There is a new Pedestrian Bridge in Omaha. It links Omaha, NE and Council Bluffs, Iowa over the Missouri River. There are many nature things around the base of it on the Nebraska side. We bring all of our houseguests there. My husband Jim is walking on the left, John on the right. John and Karen are also the relatives that we go on cruises with. Can't wait for our cruise in November.

Last but not least, it was our little designer Alex's 7 th birthday on July 5th. Here she is with her silly dad (my brother in law) and my mother. She's itching to come back to my house and organize and decorate a bit with me! I'm so glad that we have another generation in our family who loves to junk and paint and decorate. Life is good!

Alex Arranges the Fireplace Mantel

2009-06-30T06:41:00.002-06:00

My little sweetie niece helped me with housecleaning. In reality, she reorganized all of my junk displaying places. She's six years old and LOVES art and color and design. I had a copper "hope" ornament hanging somewhere else in the house. When she spied a large white Fransciscan platter that I had with other china she put them together on the dining room table and said, "I think this should be here"...in the middle of the table. So, that's where it is. Believe me, I need the reminder to have hope. She has further filled this out with crystal S&P shakers and a metal bird.

Alex went searching in the garage for other items to put in the house and found a really old electric fan. She cleaned it all up (yes, she's 6) and took it out to our covered deck. Here's what she came up with. The child even went out to a garden to get the daisy's. She liked the daisy's because they pointed every which way and that they looked like the other stuff out there. By this she could've only meant simple or vintage. Those 3 metal stars were here and there, she stacked them and leaned them against the house like that.

The mirror below had been on the mantel. I took it down to clean and when she saw me pick it up she said, "You're not going to put it back up there are you"? I asked why, and she said, "I think that it should go by the door. It has hooks, people could hang stuff on it when they come in.". Believe it or not, as much junk as I have, there was nothing on this wall to the left of the double front doors. Perfect. This was a chippy old buffet mirror found in my grandmother's cellar (the one who owned the aqua Franciscan china), it was going to the trash heap...thank God for my intervention. It's very heavy and I'm the one who added the hooks.

Below is the mantel that Alex did. She chose every little thing and where it went. One of my projects is to paint the bricks...so much painting, so little time...I have six year olds to play with! The two little cat planters were found by my older son on a walk in the country....trash heap. Anyway, regarding that, Alex said, "you know, like hickory dickory dock...cats, mouse!".

She saw this Monet print that I'd just bought at the GoodWill. It's one sold in museum gift shops and large...11x14 I think. She picked it up, put a finger to her chin and closed one eye saying, "Hmmmm, I kow what this is......IMPRESSIONISM"! I stood there staring at her and calmly said "yes, it is". It's not just an impression, I know that she's awesome".

Our Unexpected Designer

2009-06-29T15:08:00.005-06:00

We have a 6 yr. old niece who spends large parts of her day outside swimming, playing with other children,her dog Bo, and obviously wildlife. Here she is pictured with a toad that she kept for a few days as a pet. But, when she's not outside, she's in the house creating art. Up until last year, I couldn't get her to color with me. Now she is into BIG art projects and they have size and dimension and perspective and whatever else budding artists do. She tapes paper together and makes practical murals...uses pencils, markers, pastels and whatever she can get her hands on.

I'm not much of a decorator but, when I clean house, I often undecorate the glass shelves and fireplace mantel and rearrange it. Alex was over (she loves to do things with me) and she started making suggestions on what I should do with the things after I cleaned them. I'll show you the glass shelf area today.

She wanted the picture frame put on the top shelf because it was big and then, she wanted the smaller picture frame put in front of it so that it "looks like it pops out". Yes, describing a 3-D look. (the picture frame was a gift and I haven't put anything in it yet).

She put the mirror on the bottom shelf (well, I did...it's heavy), stacked the books, put the word GRACE in front as, "then you have the reflection and IT looks like it pops out too". Oh my gosh too cute. And what's fun is her large vocabulary.

This is kind of my favorite. I had the little planter sitting there and then she said, "get the planter down" and she put the two glass insulators in it because, "it looked too empty". And then she wanted the round black wrought iron piece to the right of it with the mirrored star in front of it so that it "popped out". I could just eat her up!

Well, there you go. Alex's Design!

In the next post or two, I'll show you what she did with the word HOPE that I had hanging in that empty black frame to the left.

My Retro Table Setting if My Grandparents Were Here

2009-06-22T08:19:00.005-06:00

On days like Father's Day, I can't help but think of my Grandparents, especially the ones that lived in the town where I grew up. My grandmother wanted me to have her china. It's the Franciscan Coronado pattern in matte aqua. I have a huge collection, 27 place setting. I've put a 6 place setting away for each of my sons. Since I love to antique and junk, I've picked up many pieces of the other colors: white, yellow, rose...mostly matte, but I do have a few gloss.
So, since we only had 15 people coming for supper, I had time to goof. HA!

I set the old farm table in our kitchen as if they were coming for lunch. If only they were.

While I was setting the table, I was thinking of the type of things that my grandmother served. She always had bread and butter on the table. Grandpa, being the German that he was, was always served some stinky cheese. She served milk for the drink, and they always sat down at a set table to eat, even when he was gone and it was just her. Meatloaf was big, a vegetable and potato. She always had vegetable gardens, so this time of year, she'd have the neverending bowl of cukes & onions in vinegar. Sigh, I miss them so.

I remember stopping by one afternoon when she was 90 or so, she was working in her lawn. She had a shower cap on and was wearing one of my grandpa's long sleeved shirts ..and a pair of work gloves. It was kind of a warm day but, she was smart. I'm the gardener that she was but, end up covered in scratches and itchies after yard work. She sometimes cut flowers and brought them in but, mostly enjoyed them outdoors...she had about an acre, with many gardens, me too.

Above is the type of glassware that my former inlaws had in the 50's. It's called frosted grape and is real common. But, I like it for it's nostalgia. The "runner" on the table was an estate sale find. It has 'Barney Cafe' embroidered on it. But, it's sewed in a loop so, I believe it was hung on a dowel for use.

Last but not least, I bought these retro decorations from Olive Rue. If you saw the rest of my 60's kitchen, you'd get why I have them. My sister liked them. We all had a big laugh about the parents on "Everybody Loves Raymond" and their kitchen with these.

I hope everyone had a good Father's Day. We had 6 fathers here. My Dad, my two brothers, brother in law, husband, and my first husband. It was a terrific day that ended with a campfire thanks to my 21 yr. old son. Good Times!

Painted Buffet

2009-06-13T07:42:00.003-06:00

I bought this little buffet last week at a garage sale for $5. I imagined it painted white. Also, I thought it'd be perfect on our covered deck to replace a couple of crates that housed a lamp and such .

I had one of those common brass lamps from the 80's, and spray painted it white. I put this picture on facebook and a picture of the lamp with a wicker shade. It was a 50/50 vote. But, even the red voters thought that the wicker was more appropriate for outdoors and went with the 1950's sort of look. The red adds so much to this corner but, there is a lot of other red out there.

Ah yes, the fun turquoise interior. I just can't help myself.

This is a good place for the aluminum this summer. I actually use this stuff when I entertain. Last summer I had 5 girlfriends from HS over. Everyone brought a bottle of wine and snack, I provided iced tea and iced water which was served in the aluminum. This summer, the top of the buffet could be used for the wine serving which would avoid some of those big wine spills. One of our friends is an actress and singer, she talks with her hands a LOT. And every single gathering, she knocks her glass over. I'm not kidding. At a party the month before that one, she broke 2 glasses. Which was really funny to all of us as we're 50 and were not having a "Partay". Needless to say, I was at Target shortly after that and saw that they sold acrylic wine glasses. I bought one just for her and of course, when she knocked it over at the party with the 5 of us, we laughed til we cried. SO! the buffet will make that cleanup easier as part of the stuff will be on there and not the table. OK, you know this mess that I just wrote, I talk like that. It may annoy you, but, that's one thing my friends like about me.

So, this is how it looks for now, but I will change it through the summer depending on the occasion and my mood. I really like all of my vintage stuff and like to rotate it around. Have a great weekend! We're having a family reunion here on Sunday.

Cautionary Tale about spray paint!

2009-06-10T07:35:00.003-06:00

Good morning! It's a beautiful day here in Nebraska. Since I'm an impulsive and fast moving person, I always have cautionary tales. This is my latest. On account of it, I have a new system. I'm keeping the spray paint lids, writing on them with a sharpie the Brand, type, color/finish, and what I used it on. Lots better than keeping 100 cans around...besides, it's hard to find a place to write on with the cans. Oh, I'm sure some of you have actual files or something. Doesn't work for me...too impulsive.

Just so you know, there is a lot of difference between these two paints...and colors. Heirloom white was in my head because I use it a lot so, needed more to change or add to my last project. But, my memory was wrong! See below!

I'd actually used the Painter's touch, yikes!

See the pretty auqua interior? I'd painted that middle divider that color and changed my mind as it looked weird!

I'll finish this job correctly and do another post on how I'm using this little buffet on my deck. Having fun now!

By the way, it was so hard to choose but, below is my favorite post of the week! Awesome! Wish I had a shabby cabinet like she shows in her blog!

Southern Hospitality: The Shabby Cabinet

Leigh, Nebraska...a family reunion of sorts.

2009-06-07T08:34:00.006-06:00

My great-great grandfather's name was Joechim Rolfs. He and Able Huch had 5 children: Jochin, Claus, Christian, Peter Louis and an only sister Wilhemina. My paternal grandfather, Louis Peter, was the 5th born child to Peter Louis, who was also the youngest. My great great grandmother died 3 weeks after his birth of blood poisoning. This was in the year of 1900. Normally, a local aunt would've taken my grandpa to raise him. But, the closest aunt (Wilhemina) had a bad year in 1888. Three and 1/2year old Mina died, so did Dora-2 1/2, 9 month old Maggie. In 1885 she lost 1 yr. old Louis T., and in 1897 six month old Bennie died. So, having lost 5 children to that point, she was VERY heistant to take little Louis Peter. So, that's how my grandpa ended up 70 miles away in the town we're from now...Elkhorn, Nebraska. The story doesn't end there though for my great great aunt Wilhemina. She and her husband Peter N. Glandt lost their 8 1/2 yr. old Peter J. in 1901 and 5 1/2 yr. old Chris B. in 1906. BUT, they'd produced 14 children SO! There were 7 surviving children. I'm sorry for the crazy writing here but, you're lucky you don't have to have a conversation with me. That's even worse. Now I'm curious and need to do sort of a table on births and deaths here to really SEE the difficulty that they had.
Wilhemina born 1860 married to Peter N. Glandt who was born 1859
Born to them were:
1883 Christina born (d. 1933)
1884 Mina born
1885 Dora born
1887Maggie born
1888 Lena born, (d.1973) &Mina, Dora, Maggie die@ 3 1/2, 2 1/2 & 9mo
1889Elsie born (d. 1941)
1891 William born(d. 1962)
1893 Peter J. born (d. 1901@ 8 1/2)
1894 Louis T. born
1895 Louis T. dies@ 1 yr.
1896 Alvina born (d.1987)
1897 Bennie born and dies at 6 months.
1898 Josephine born (d. 1977)
1901 Chris born.
1902 Florence born (d. 1995)
1906 Chris dies@ 5 1/2 yrs.

So, what's the big deal? Well, this family reunion that we went to that was called "Rolfs-Glandt" Reunion...it only had Glandt decendents. Only people who descended from the one sister, Wilhemina, were there! My sister, niece and I were the only Rolfs there...at least anyone descended from any of the brothers. It was SO much fun there and I was amazed...with our love for geneaology we were able to give them some good information. We assemble again in 2 years. My job is to make a visual family tree...which will be fun. God willing my Dad will be with us then. He had every intention of going but, found out out of the blue that he'd had a heart attack at some time or another in the past couple weeks and needed a quadruple bypass...which was today! He's doing really well as of this writing.
After the Reunion, we went to the local graveyard in Leigh and walked up and down the rows. Yes, we're fans of the cemetary...any old graveyard around and you'll see us stopping there. So, here's a couple of photos! These are taken in the Lutheran Cemetary in Leigh Nebraska.

This is a unique marker of a child's grave.

His Name is August, he died June 11, 1888 att he age of 1 yr. 10wks. 6 days

Little representations of child's shoes and stockings on the top.

Here's a picture of us below...taken at the reunion. My sister is on the left, my niece Alex and then me on the right. One of the ladies there was teasing us when we first arrived. I was questioning...how are WE related as everyone there had the name Glandt somewhere in their family tree. She said, "oh! Are you here under false pretenses?". We laughed and laughed. Later whe she saw me she inquired again if I'd figured it out and I said, "I think that my sister, niece and I are the only Rolfs here...that we're the only ones descended from a brother". And again this funny woman turned to me and said, "we try not to let too many of them in". Her name was Nadine and was in her late 70's and hilarious. I'll never forget her and look forward to the year 2011 to meet again. Meanwhile, we have each other's e mails!
Forgive my kookoo blog today but, I'm pooped from spending the day at the hospital.

I Shopped at a Garage Sale, Something new for me!

2009-06-04T15:13:00.004-06:00

You all have inspired me to actually go to a garage sale and browse with an open mind. I've normally been a GoodWill/Antique Store/Estate Sale sort of person. I've always felt like I was somehow eavesdropping at garage sales. I changed my mindset, went thinking, "these folks want to get rid of their stuff...and they want money for it. I want stuff and I have money." So, today I spent, $13.50 on the things pictured below.

The rug is for our covered deck that I've posted about. I've already put it out there and really like it! Pictures of that on a future post.

This little cabinet was $5. I can see it painted some shade of white. I may put it on the deck instead of the two crates that I have out there. I have a lamp and radio on them right now.

The garage owner said whoever owned this metal thing used it in the bathroom to hold things. I might line it with moss and use it for a planter OR paint and use in one of our bathrooms for washcloths and towels.

This little tray will go well on that newly painted deck, as it's summery, blue, white and turquoise out there!

Ok, this is a door stop I think. At .50 cents, I'm painting it white...

So, all in all, that was fun for me and I got better deals than I may've at a thrift store! Thanks for the inspiration all!

June is here!

2009-06-01T16:12:00.004-06:00

First of all, this is the most lush and aromatic that this shrub has been in the three springs we've lived here. I LOVE it! We think it's some sort of a honeysuckle plant. I spent so much time pruning and cleaning it up last fall. I thought, "well, it may be rough next spring with all that I've done to it, but will be better in the long run". Well, it's better in the short run, we didn't have to wait!

Last spring I was at a garden center. You know how they have the area where the plants are super pathetic because they were missed in watering or are just root bound or something? Sometimes they're free, or a dime, or quarter. That's how I got these two lupine plants. I LOVE every thing about them! I like the leaves and the colors are fun.

This is the purple lupine. I like it even better than the fuschia one. To the best of my memory, I think that each plant was a quarter!

My sister's family has a new member. His name is Bo. They got him three days ago. A co-teacher of hers has a toddler and new baby and just can not give him the home they think that he deserves. Those people got him last year from the Nebraska Humane Society. What is sad to me, he was already 3 yrs. old then! So! He's lost two homes! Poor Bo! I'm announcing right now, if my sister and her family gets rid of him, he's mine...I'll be his forever home! He's 4 yrs. now and a mix of beagle and basset hound. Yesterday, she brought him out to meet his canine cousins.

So, pictured here is my husband Jim, My dad Delmar, My folk's Lab Brie, Bo and our Lab Zoe. Bo had a great time with his new cousins...at times yesterday we were all laughing 'til we cried. It was a joy seeing this "Lost Pup" have a renewed zest for life in his new family which includes other dogs. We're one of those familys that are also each other's friends. So, our nieces and nephews have sibling relationships with their cousins. In spite of addictions and alcoholism, our lives are good and worth living with the tools of AA and Al Anon. Amazing what a year can mean to us all of us after just a few are in recovery. Life is great!

Smiling in Nebraska

2009-05-24T18:42:00.016-06:00

I'm in such better spirits. We are a family who loves to get together for Memorial Weekend...and not just once. Today was our second cookout and tomorrow will be the third! In between, we visit graveyards and I like to antique a little. This scarf was in an antique store that I went to in Omaha. It has the state seal of Alaska.

I went with my sister and her two children (my nephew and niece Malcolm and Alex) to a very large graveyard to visit their paternal grandfather's grave. He died when my brother in law was 15. Long before any of us knew him.

They cleared the area, cleaned the stone, planted some ganzania. It was so sweet to see the care that Malcolm in particular took.

I took a picture of these because I want Jim to make a few of these for me (they'd have to be cheap, wouldn't they?) and I'll paint them red/blue/ white...affix them to our home somehow...for the summer.

I'm still blue but, making the best of it!

2009-05-19T19:05:00.004-06:00

Thank you to Lynn at http://lynnslovelies.blogspot.com/ for this award! You've made me smile!

One thing that I've learned, regardless of life's roadblocks and speedbumps, keep living! We went to a few Nebraska Vineyard/Winerys and tasted wine, even drank a little wine.

This is at Big Cottonwood Vineyard and Winery in Tekamah, Nebraska. Jim's paying, he had a pop here. As a professional driver, he can't have any measurable b.a.c. or he loses that license. This lady was the mother-in-law of the owner. She was so cute...and deliberate. I enjoyed talking with her. I wish I took a picture of the cheese platter she put together for us. It was 2 blocks of cheese in their package with a mish mash of crackers! Tasty though!

This is at the Silver Creek Hills Vineyard and Winery in Tekamah. We were doing the eastern Nebraska Wine Tour (my name for what we did) because Jim's sister and bro.-in-law were our houseguests for the weekend. They hail from Manitowoc, WI and enjoy Winerys.

This sign was on the wall at the Loess Hills Vineyard and Winery. The owners of that were really fun! "Live A Good Life. And in the end, it's not the years in a life, it's the life in the years". I took that sign as a sign!

Friday night.

2009-05-15T20:49:00.003-06:00

Hello all! I keep hitting speed bumps in this journey I call life. Ok, I know it's called "My Good Life in Nebraska". But, lately...things aren't so charmed, let alone good. It's ok, one day at a time, right? So while I sit on my deck and meditate on serenity...I'm going to post some random photos that happen to be in this laptop.

Ahhhhh! Our cruise from a year and a half ago. My stepson Greg. and my son Zach. I love this picture. Greg REALLY didn't like me when I married his Dad. We had a big blowup the first few hours on this cruise. The next morning, I called him to our cabin, humbled myself and apologized. He was profusely sorry, we hugged and have been adoring each other ever since. My son Zach is to my left there. He broke his arm right before the cruise. He says this was still the best vacation of his life. Zach is someone I'm so proud of for his work on his character.

This is my ridiculous husband Jim. He is so funny! He's a MENSA member, for those of you who don't know, that's the really smart people's club. His sense of humor may seem slapstick...but it's really genius. This was 2 months ago when we were in Florida at this brother's home. We were fixin to leave for Ormand Beach for the day. He walked around the corner and told me he was "ready"...I had to take his picture.

Our dog Zoe is in the foreground with the burgundy collar. My parents now own Zoe's mother Brie. Brie is the one with the green collar. But, my folks, in their 70's...are never home so we have Brie a lot. Imagine that!

Here we are in Ocala, Fl...on that Florida trip. It was our Sister and Brother-in-law's 25th wedding Anniv. (2nd marriage) and we gathering to take a group picture. I took one of us quick. I guess I like this because Jim is super quiet...like a mouse. But, he is smiling so big here and being a bit silly. I love seeing the little things in him.

We were in the airport on the way home from Florida and Jim snapped this picture then did silly graphics. I like it too as he a man of so few words but, always manages to display his feelings.

2009-05-12T17:08:00.002-06:00

My new antique white painted walls. The tinted glass table will have a table cloth on it.

My 21 yr. old son who was the 10 yr. old Poppy Painter for one of my other posts came out and quickly rearranged the whole thing and it's perfect. I am going to put the ficus on the lower patio and go with a large tropical plant in it's place.

Looking out from the living room.

I really like it. So, next will be things for the wall!

Time to Repurpose Things for the Deck

2009-05-11T13:25:00.005-06:00

This heavy oak drop leaf table sat on my Grandma's enclosed front porch for years. I sanded as much of the paint splatters off of it as I couldThen I decided that I like it looking like this. This set sits in our living room right now. Am thinking I'll put this on our deck when Jim's finished painting out there.

The waiting room chair is something that I picked up on the Nebraska Junk Jaunt (300 mile Garage Sale) last fall. I love it so much and regret not getting the auqua ones too. The green chair is something that my Mom picked up from an estate sale and I've always admired it. She gave it to me for my birthday yesterday!

Here's a picture of the table and one of the chairs that's out on the deck currently. Poor picture, I know.

Mother's Day & Deck Priming

2009-05-10T15:14:00.004-06:00

My Mom, Dad and Me. I was born on my Mom's 21st Birthday, May 10th 1958. My Dad's birthday is May 17th so, we celebrated all 3 birthdays today too.

My sister Candy and her children Malcolm and Alex.

Alex, Candy, Oudious and Malcolm today at my Mom's.

Here's my Saint Jim priming the ceiling of our covered deck.

Our furry child Zoe, taking a nap at Jim's feet.

Coverd Deck with a View (before pictures)

2009-05-09T12:33:00.005-06:00

This is our cluttered deck, the view here is looking in to the kitchen.

More clutter on the deck, view looking in to the living room and reflecting the View of the hills.

Another view in the deck of the ugly paint color. I'm going to paint it a lighter color with some shade of blue for the cieling.

View of our deck from the living room looking out.

I'm standing in the kitchen looking out to the deck for this picture. I'm also ridding the deck of 50% of it's stuff. So! This will be finished tomorrow or the next day or the next, or the next.....

Lilac Friday (show and tell)

2009-05-08T14:02:00.008-06:00

These are part of a 50 ft. long lilac hedge on the north side of our home. I told my husband, maybe we can sleep out here for a while! It smells so good here.

They're so pretty!

They're 4 different colors.

I wish they weren't so short lived.

So, I'll have multiple bouquets of them around the house for now!

What's on My Wall Wednesday!

2009-05-05T19:09:00.006-06:00

The first thing on my wall is in the upstairs guestroom . It's three pictures framed by my mother for me. The picture on the left is of my maternal grandparents on their wedding day, then my parent's wedding picture, then my paternal granparent's wedding picture. I really love this and now I think that I'll move it to an area where I will see it more often!

This is hanging on the wall of our Master bedroom. It was painted by my oldest son Nathan when he was 10 yrs. old. He got some kudos for this in eastern Nebraska. This is most likely my favorite wall thing in the house.

About 9 yrs. ago, I was antiquing in southern Minnesota and found this vintage Lavoris pamphlet, I remember it was $1 and I had to have it. I framed it and it hangs on the wall of our main bathroom.

Springtime in Omaha

2009-05-04T07:10:00.006-06:00

These dark pink blossoms belong to the Prairie Flame Crab tree in the front yard.

The first things we can put out here is the pansy...which is really a "tuffy".

I have tulips everywhere. I find if I take pictures of the tulips this time of year, I can determine which colors to add to the beds in the fall when I plant bulbs. My other challenge is to stagger the blooming time. In this one bed, I have fuschia and cream colors early in the spring. By the time the purple and dark purple came out, the lighter colors were spent. This fall, I'll search for late blooming lighter colors.

Several years ago I planted the Prairie Flame Ornamental Crab....Love it's dark pink blossoms.

Help me out here, is this a Verbena shrub? It's THE most aromatic spicy smell in our yard.

FREE 2 BE FRUGAL: Drop That Wallet, Fathers! Free Mother's Day Gifts Found!

2009-05-01T15:35:00.000-06:00

FREE 2 BE FRUGAL: Drop That Wallet, Fathers! Free Mother's Day Gifts Found!

chairs that I changed

2009-04-30T20:36:00.007-06:00

Someone gave me a dining set with a hutch. I went hog wild with the chairs. The captains chairs, I left the backrest the original color. The chairs were all black. Lots of compliments in person...But, not sure about the cushions.

I've painted a lot of vintage folding chairs but, decided that I really like the black most of all.

The next 2 chairs are a walnut colored sort of chair with a straw sort of seat. I sanded them down outdoors. I like doing most of my refinishing in the spring or fall as conditons are best then here in Nebraska. I spray painted them white and took a sander to the edges as I liked them way better roughed up. Hey, here at our house, they'll end up that way anyhow.

Some spring flowers...more to come

2009-04-30T17:01:00.002-06:00

These are from a few days ago. Daffs and tulips in Nebraska.

Grape Hyacinth

I can do what I want!

2009-04-30T07:01:00.003-06:00

I know it's not Mother's Day yet. But, we're oredering gifts or at least thinking of them right now. I was born on my Mother's 21st birthday! May 10th 1958. Here's a picture of 6 month old me and my fancy mother.

My mother was/is a strking woman. You can see her obvious style with the glasses in the picture. But also, she was 6 feet tall and quite an example of power in our growing up. She had 4 children in 5 years. Typical of the 50's and 60's. She had my brother Jim 14 months after me. Oh and yeah, he still adores me like that. Haha.

My sister and I had many issues being raised by this perfectionistic young mother. But, many years down the road, we know she did the best she could and her motives were always out of love and a desire that we have a "perfect" life and that was achieved by us being "perfect". No need to go in to the damage caused.
Today we live 4 houses from my parents and the center of our social circle is our nuclear family. I had a party several weeks ago with my High School classmates. My Mom and Dad were invited...along with my sister and her husband and children. Eclectic group of folks and me joking at one point, "Oh yah, my Mom comes to all of my parties", much laughter after that.

At this point in my life, after all we've been through the past 3 years, I had a desire for all the points of my life to converge...hence the seemingly mismatched party invite list. And it was a smashing success. God is Good. All of the time.

Estate Sale Find

2009-04-27T07:01:00.004-06:00

I found these 4 soup cups at a garage sale in my neighborhood 4/$1. I like smaller heavy dishes...great for portion control.

We are using our newest find as a little side table right now.

I saw an estate sale sign on Saturday and made a quick right to find it. I ended up at an incredible sale. It seemed to be the contents of an Old West Museum but, it was someone's condo...guest condo I heard. I'm not exaggerating. It was museum quality Western items.

Things under $50 were half off. This little stool cost me $6. I was thrilled.

Only the alcoholic can set himself free

2009-04-26T08:31:00.002-06:00

"Help me to find peace of mind within myself by uniting myself with God's power and guidance. That is the spiritual way out of my difficulties-the only sure way." ODAT

April 26 ODAT
My share in the job of rehabilitating myself is to study and practice the program, to meditate and pray, to attend meetings and to help others to understand and live the Al-Anon way.
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow...upon them shall the light shine." (Isaiah)

4-26CtC "With the help of this program and my Higher Power, I take charge of fashioning, shaping, choosing what kind of life I will have."
4-26 HfT
Humility can lead to a full, open experience of life. Am I willing to be more humble? "...Pride often makes recovery difficult..." ODaT p.326

aa

2009-04-25T06:34:00.003-06:00

When a young family member of mine goes to a Young People's meeting, I go to an open AA meeting nearby. As far as I can tell, have been the only non alcoholic there. At first I didn't feel like I deserved to be there. These people are all so amazing and their stories inspiring! It's like I was peeping...into their souls...with the things they share and reveal. But, the overwhelming warm and welcoming nature of everyone is so comforting. Have 2 young alcoholics in the home, I feel "at home" with them. I NEVER thought I'd say this but, I am so grateful for all the alcoholics in my family and extended family. If not for them, I never would've found myself at AlAnon. That's all I got.

Hi

2009-04-24T16:51:00.001-06:00

Hi, My name is Cindy......very grateful member of AlAnon!.....

That's it, that's all I have to say today. Oh! And, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Oh, and please multiply the above by 100, ok? Thanks.

found things, repurposed for my pleasure

2009-04-22T19:54:00.003-06:00

I found this old wash stand at an antique store in Mankato, MN when I was just getting to know my husband. It was $40 I think. That was around the 1999. He owned an old Victorian home there and the main bath had no counter, so we put it in there for his teenage daughter to use. It had been painted a light yellow and was fine for it's purpose. Jim and I married and we're now on our third home. I painted this to match our kitchen now.

It holds my collection of restaurant ware and anything else I feel like putting in or on it. The drawer has all our cork screws and wine serving things so, when we entertain, that's where the wine bottles sit. The old brass lamp is something my grandparents always had, nothing special but, I like it. The cook book was purchased at the Nebraska Junk Jaunt last fall for $1. I actually liked the colors of the cover. The green lemon jar was from a tag sale in Omaha, again, $1. The BIG jar I got at an estate sale for $20 and the lemons inside: Pier One. I bought the reproduction glass drawer pulls at a Target too. So, that's one of my favorite "found" and repurposed things!

A confusing landscape problem for me.

2009-04-19T19:05:00.000-06:00

In the back of our home is this one hill/wall. It is a hill that turns in to a wall by the patio. But, it's such a weird corner and it's too high by the patio. So, today we started diggin...well, mostly, my 21 yr. old son was digging. We did some sculpting but, the I told him to leave it as I need more input regarding this.

The little tower of stones is what Nathan did when I suggested we "clean up" and leave it for a while.

So, just wondering, any thoughts?

Looking down at this area from our covered deck.

Walking with my Scot friend Helen

2009-04-14T21:23:00.000-06:00

This was a beautiful day in Nebraska. It was 63 degrees! And sunny! My walking pal Helen and I walked 6 miles...and talked the whole way! What good medicine! She's from Scotland and we have the most marvelous time chatting and are often startled at the similarity of our lives, pasts, and presents! I thank God for this friend and her devotion to walk. It may be what lifts me from this depression once and for all. The other issue being my stress eating. It's one part of my reformation that I still don't have a design for. It will come.

2009-04-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

I want to be able to go here mentally when life gets hairy.

2009-04-02T15:19:00.000-06:00

March 31, 2009

2009-03-31T13:38:00.000-06:00

My, I've been gone a long time. I wish my life was less emotional. I think it's emotional because I continue to have expectations and that's not good.

Home from Las Vegas

2008-04-10T16:12:00.001-06:00

Della, Tim and Beth

2008-03-31T16:40:00.000-06:00

Zach

2008-03-26T15:59:00.001-06:00

Easter Sunday

2008-03-24T16:25:00.000-06:00

The Sunset from Easter Sunday, and Malcolm's eye.

Zoe

2008-03-23T10:49:00.001-06:00

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T10:37:00.000-06:00

Alex and Uncle Jim, too many jelly beans I'd say!

Candy's eye

2008-03-23T09:55:00.001-06:00

Ok, Candy's eye, NOT mine

my eye again

2008-03-21T18:45:00.001-06:00

march 21 sunset

2008-03-21T18:42:00.001-06:00

OK, Zach's eye

2008-03-21T18:12:00.001-06:00

More eyes

2008-03-21T18:09:00.001-06:00

Jim's bluish eye....if there's a second eye, it's Zach's.

Happy Good Friday!

2008-03-21T17:59:00.001-06:00

This eye is Nate's. The other eye is mine. Waiting for the sunset so, here's something meanwhile. ......need to take a picture of Candy's.

March 20 sunset

2008-03-20T18:57:00.000-06:00

We might need to cut these trees down....or I need to walk to the other side of the tree line to get my picture. FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

2008-03-20T18:45:00.002-06:00

Maundy Thursday

2008-03-20T17:26:00.000-06:00

Half of the time, I don't even know what day of the week it is. This is why I need to Simplify! Oh! Another favorite family member!

I wonder if I can catch the sunset again tonight?

sunset 3-19

2008-03-19T18:46:00.000-06:00

I got to thinking. Even though it is cloudy, the sunset was still there...

behind the clouds. So, I sat on the deck and there was an opening in the clouds just before the sun set. Isn't that what God is? Even with all of the clouds in my life, I must remember that he's there, whether I can see, sense, feel him or not.

One of my favorite family members!

2008-03-19T17:52:00.000-06:00

Weds. of Holy Week

2008-03-19T17:42:00.000-06:00

It's overcast so, can't watch the sunset. Dog's asleep. May sit here and contemplate my place in life. Are my parenting days over? What will I do to take care of myself from here on out? Am I right with God? Right with my husband? Sigh. I just want to be right! Or, ok anyway.

March 17, 2007

2008-03-17T10:50:00.000-06:00

Me and the dog. Raining out. Thinking of organinzing paper clutter for taxes. That's it.