After the Fun Comes the Clean Up

Well, after several weeks of doll house construction, the craft room/ office was just a disaster.  And I have spent all winter casually "throwing" things into the craft closet without making an effort to organize.  Lately it has been impossible to even walk into this "walk-in" closet.  I didn't take a photo of the closet or the room because they were such disasters, they might give you a nightmare.

But, I spent the weekend cleaning up the office and the closet.  It about finished me off, but I did it!
Believe me, it took all week end, and I was mighty tired by Sunday evening.  But it is a very satisfying feeling to have it finished  Here is how the closet looks now.....Ahhhhh.

Don helped by staying out of the room and watching the golf tournament.  Oh yes, there is a televised golf tournament every weekend.....from Thursday to Sunday.  Shown below is the proper and only way to view a golf tournament.

Actually, he did help.  He fixed all our meals...yum....and carried out all the trash that I threw away.

The Swedish Chalet Dollhouse

I have just completed this pretty little dollhouse.  I think it may become one of my favorites.

I bid on this dollhouse on the Goodwill auction site, and was successful in getting it for about $7.00.  Boy, was that a lucky buy.  People have caught on to the bargains on this site, and have been bidding the items up to some pretty high prices.  I guess everyone was busy over the 4th of July holidays and forgot to check the auctions.

This is how it looked when we picked it up in Indianapolis.  It was dingy and dusty.  The front had these hidden wires for electricity that ruined the front when they were taken off.  However, it was really solid wood, sturdy, and well made.  It had been built by the Brio Toy Co.  in Sweden in the 1960's.

I have had a wonderful time with Don's help.  I sprayed old furniture all white and made new cushions.
I have made rugs, lamps, flower arrangements, books, etc. etc.  I papered all the walls and added hanging pictures that I made.  All together it was such fun, and is a delight to look at.

Our Neighbors, The Doves

This spring and summer we have been serenaded with the lovely songs from Mr. and Mrs. Mourning Dove.
I know it is supposed to be a sad song, hence the name "mourning dove", but I think it is a lovely peaceful sound.  I am always happy when we have doves living in our yard, they are such sweet birds.

I guess they are monogamous, and remain loyal to one mate all their lives.  They have become a symbol for happy marriages.

When Taylor was here last week and trimmed some large shrubs for us.  He made a discovery while trimming our large forsythia bush.  He was trimming away, and suddenly saw this nest with Mrs. Dove and two babies sitting in it.  Awww, he had trimmed away most of their protection and shade.  However they remained in their nest until this week.

Now the babies have taken their first tentative flights and seem to be living mostly under a shrub right beneath the bedroom window.  I watched today as Mother Dove flew down, gathered them to her, and fed them whatever was in her beak.  They are so sweet.  I hope they stay safe and grow to full adulthood.  I'm afraid they will choose another yard for any future nests, since we so ruined this spot for them.

Our Very Own Valet Service

This week we have been house and cat sitting at Debra and Rod's.  They were attending a food bloggers conference in Italy.  From all the pictures and writings, they are had a wonderful time.

We had volunteered to take them to the airport in Indy, and then to pick them up went they came home.
Today we drove down to pick them up.  Their plane was to arrive at 7:30 pm, allowing us an easy and safe time to drive the interstates around Indy.

We chose to go 9 to Greenfield and had our supper at the Bob Evans there.  I know, I know, we eat at Bob Evans in Anderson ALL the time, but it was closest  to the I70 on ramp, and we know what we like on their menu.  And, indeed, supper was delicious.

Then we drove 70 to 465 and had no problems circling Indianapolis via downtown.  We made excellent time, and arrived at the airport a little early.  Rod had instructed us to wait in the cell phone lot where he would call us when they arrived and were ready for pick up.  The "new" airport is so nice and easy to access.  There was a convenience store right at the cell phone lot.  Don went in and bought  ice cream and coffee for us.  So we enjoyed dessert and coffee while we watched the beautiful cloud formations, and the planes coming and going.

 It was a really fun "date" !  And before long Rod called and they had arrived.  So we picked up the world travelers.

They were very tired, having been up for 24 hours, but had many stories about their week.  We made it back home in an hour, and they were very happy to see "home."

Janie's Birthday

Today is sister-in -law Janie's 83rd birthday.  And the very best present you can give her is time to spend with more and more cats!  She does love cats.  So, since we are cat and house-sitting this week while Debra and Rod are in Italy, we took Janie on a birthday trip to pet the cats.

The cats were ever-so-sweet, and Janie declared it a perfect birthday party.  We ended the evening with birthday ice cream cones.  Janie, I hope you have many more happy birthdays.

Izzi's Dollhouse

Today was such fun.  Young Izzi Stewart, my friend and relative, came to decorate and furnish her very first doll house.  Her Grandma Jan Bronnenberg told me that Izzi


 had made such a cute little shoebox room last spring.  I saw pictures of it and knew that Izzi had talent and would love to do a doll house.  Then I found just the perfect bright yellow doll house at a rummage sale.  I knew that it had to be Izzi's.

Don and I brought it home, cleaned it up, and made some needed repairs.  Then I gathered together my inventory of furniture and accessories.  So today Izzi came for her first afternoon of work.  She became so excited that she decided to forego any paint and wallpaper (the house looked fine inside).  So by the end of the afternoon she had it all furnished to her satisfaction.

Now all she has to do is wait until they move into their new house in a couple of weeks, so that she can take it home.

Happy Fathers Day

Today is Fathers Day.  I celebrate, thankfully, having these two dads in my life.  I have always been lovingly cared for.
Above you see my Dad holding his grandson, Randy.  He did love his family very much, but took his job quite seriously.  He worked so hard to support his family, that it was hard for him to relax and have fun with his children.  I think he had a lot more fun with his grandkids, and he admired the kind of father that Don has always been, and the way that Don so thoroughly enjoyed his children.
We have all felt so securely cared for with Don as husband and father.  But, at the same time,  it has always been a lot of fun.  We have had many laughs.
Debra and Rod took their Dad out on Saturday evening for supper.  All the Smiths made a fun conference call from Cincinnati on Sunday, and the Hollomans came for a fun visit, complete with butter pecan ice cream.  Two dips......Dad's favorite!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 57th anniversary.  It is hard to believe that it has been that many years.
Well, actually, if you count the 3 years that we dated, we have been together for 60 years, since we dated no others during that time.

We went to Sahm's restaurant to celebrate, and had their chicken cashew stir try.  It was delicious, as you can tell by the clean plates.  We actually shared one dinner.  They graciously allow you to do that.  Their servings are so ample that we can never finish a whole meal.  Half a meal is just fine.

The waitress had been married for two years, and she couldn't imagine being together for 57.  I told her it is all in choosing the right person. We were certainly too young to do that when we married at almost 21.  But, we have been lucky that it has all worked out.  We have worked hard, but always had a lot of fun and love to go along with the hard work.  We are so thankful for that!

Please, Don't Shoot!

Today I had shot #4 of the series of five injections to lubricate my knees.  The idea is to fill in the spaces where the bones of the knees are rubbing together and to thereby avoid having knee surgery.

Dr. Schick does a very good and painless job of giving these injections.  He first puts  in a numbing shot, and then does the injection.  Really, you just mostly feel the pin prick of the needles.  He puts the shots in the outer sides of the knees.

Today Dr. Schick was on vacation, so shots #4 were given by a young lady physician's
 Please  assistant.  Well, she said that she was trained to put the shots into the front of the knee, and she did not
give a numbing shot first, just sprayed on some of that "freezing" stuff.  Well, let me tell you, those shots hurt like the very dickens.  And I was left with two knobs on the front of the knees.

If she had given me shots #1, there would have been no 2,3,4, or 5.  Please hurry home,
Dr. Schick.

The Very Good/Very Bad Day

Today we met Jan and David Bronnenberg at Anita's Kitchen in Pendleton, and enjoyed a delicious lunch and lovely visit with them.
The three of them all had the famous breaded tenderloin sandwich that is Anita's signature menu item.
I was stuck having soup and cottage cheese because last night I broke a tooth.  It is not totally broken bus is wiggling back and forth in my mouth.  When we leave Anita's we are going directly to the dentist's office so that Dr. Busing can take care of the catastrophe.

And what a catastrophe it turned out to be!  He broke the tooth right off at the gum line, and then had to literally dig out all the roots.  He was very good at controlling the pain, but it took him a good, long time to complete the job.

When I got home, my jaw really began to hurt as the deadening wore off, so I took two of Don's hydrocodone tablets.  Believe me, then I felt NO PAIN  anywhere.  I pretty much dozed through the rest of the day and night.

Dr. Busing even called the next morning to see if I was doing okay.

Okay...and glad that is over.

Mothers Day

Mothers Day celebration was just as delicious and fun as it looks in this picture.  This family is always good for quite a few laughs.  We actually enjoyed the Mothers Day dinner on Saturday evening, and then we really took it easy on Sunday.

Dad had the usual good breakfast treats ready, a lovely card, and treats all day long.  He carefully instructed the kids that they should give me pink flowers for the yard, because that finished his gardening projects.  I did receive just beautiful flowers, and our yard and porch are the prettiest they have ever been.

I am a very lucky Mother and Grandmother!

A Delightful Visit!

A couple of Sundays ago we had a lovely surprise visit from my niece, Karen Green, from California.  Karen is the daughter of my eldest brother, Jack.  Jack passed away about two years ago, and I had only seen Karen one other time about nine years ago when she came to visit her son, Stirling, while he was studying at Butler University.

Stirling and his wife, Sabrina, also came along for the visit.  This was our first time to meet them, and they are such a charming couple.  They both studied ballet at Butler and went on to perform professionally in Maryland.  They have now moved to Carmel, Indiana where Sabrina works as a ballet teacher, and Stirling is an automotive journalist.  They are also busy trying to establish a new professional troupe in Indianapolis.

Karen in a talented artist and published writer.  She was on a trip from CA to NYC  where she will be having another gallery showing and finishing a new book.

I shared pictures of her relatives.  Karen had not had much contact with her Dad.  She is very interested now in his pictures which I gave to her to keep.  Randy, Rod, Janie, and Taylor all were here for the afternoon, and were able to meet their cousins.

What a delightful afternoon!

A Wonderful Gift

This week we received our monthly gift from the "Fruit of the Month" Club, our Christmas gift from Randy and Elaine.

Every month has brought a delicious box full of a different kind of fruit: grapefruit twice, pears twice, and now strawberries.  They have all been quite delicious, but the strawberries are quite spectacular, large, sweet, and juicy.  We have had strawberry shortcake with every meal:  angel food cake topped with vanilla ice cream and strawberries.

Thanks to Randy and Elaine for a gift that keeps on bringing pleasure.

Our Little Slice of Heaven

I told Don the other day that I wasn't too worried about heaven because I have already been there....sort of.
When I sit in my very own special reclining porch chair and look north, this is what I see.
And you can see that Don has been busy enjoying and working in our yard.  He has made it very beautiful this spring.

The surprise flower bed has been busy surprising us with whatever decides to pop up.  And the neighborhood bird population entertains us with jolly pool parties.  They are so funny when they are bathing.

Don has cleared out all the old shrubs from in front of the porch and planted new shrubs and added flowering pots.  He has decided on pink this year, and informed the "kids" to buy me pink flowers for Mothers Day.  He believes in getting things organized!

I have already received one pink potted flower from Randy and Elaine.  He brought it when he came last Sunday from Cincinnati. AND he hadn't even gotten the message from Dad.  He just made a lucky guess at what color to buy.  It IS a beautiful planter.  I love it.

Lilacs happen to be one of my favorite flowers.  These are miniature lilac bushes which were here when we bought our house.  They were tiny, tiny when we moved in, but have grown nicely over the years.  Ahhh...
love the fragrance.

Our goose "came here to roost"  the summer that a pair of real Canadian geese decided to make our yard their home.  We enjoyed watching them, but didn't enjoy the mess they made.  Don couldn't stop laughing when Mr. Goose chased me back into the house!  I wasn't about to mess with that guy.  That next week Taylor and Don came riding back home on the riding lawn mower with the plaster goose.  They found it in someone's trash.  They thought I needed her to remember my scary goose moment.

We feel so fortunate that we get to live here in this beautiful spot, and with a lovely porch from which to enjoy our slice of heaven.

Getting To Know You

This Sunday we had a surprise visit from my niece, Karen.  Karen is the daughter of my oldest brother, Jack.
Jack passed away about a year and a half ago, and he had lived in California since the 1961.  I had not seen him in all that time.  I did see Karen when she was a tiny baby, right before they left for California.

She is a charming girl, and we all loved getting to know her.  She was here visiting her son and daughter-in-law who just this year bought a house in Carmel, Indiana.  They came along for the visit on Sunday, so we
were very happy to meet this adorable couple, and to know that we have new relatives living so close by.

Stirling and Sabrina are both professional ballet dancers.  They graduated from Butler University and danced professionally with the Maryland Ballet Dance Troupe.  Since moving to Carmel, Sabrina is teaching at the "Performers Edge" Dance school, and Stirling is a Automobile Journalist, driving and writing about cars.
They are working to create a professional ballet company in Indianapolis.
Randy, Rod, Aunt Jane, Taylor, Don and I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and we are thrilled to know these relatives.  We can't wait until we can all get together again.

Off to Cammack - For Lunch and Shoe Repair

Friday was a beautiful day, so Don and I made a two-purpose trip to Cammack.  Purpose # l was to
take a sandal to the only shoe repair shop I know of in Indiana.  It is Quinn's boot sales and shoe repair.
While Mr. Quinn resewed the sandal strip, Don and I went to Cammack Station and had our lunch!

While eating lunch three little boys and their accompanying adult came in for lunch.  They were so cute and lively that I had to take their picture as they sat on a Coca-Cola bench awaiting their order.

I asked permission before taking their picture.  It turned out that Jenny, the lady they were with, was not their mother, but their baby sitter.  And the boys are not brothers, just friends.  But they were having such a good time on their field trip.  We really enjoyed meeting Jenny and her three charges.