Melony's Whimsy Daisy!

Clean Sheet Monday...again.

Well, if it all goes south on me, I've got clean sheets to crawl between tonight. I finally put away the flannel sheets and got out the cotton ones. We have a California King bed, and you don't just find these size sheets anywhere. Bob is 6 ft. 4 and needs the extra length of the bed. Anybody have a good source for pretty sheets in this size where I wouldn't have to auction off my first born to purchase them? I bought the below set new at Canton, Texas. They have a gigantic huge flea market the first Monday weekend of every month. The sheet dealers said once we slept on these sheets we would never want to sleep on anything else. I wouldn't go THAT far, but they are fine, and fit our bed.  

 

Remember, it's Clean Sheet Monday...not UNwrinkled Sheet Monday!

Buying clothes on the cheap for a big, tall guy is also a challenge. I've decided I would rather spend the money on a nice XLTall shirt and not have belly showing. Not an attractive look on a man or a woman. This man works hard and deserves to have shirts that fit even if he's tall. I found a new source for Tall Guy Shirts...western stores! I have also discovered that the George Strait brand runs tall so cowboys can tuck in their shirts and if they're bullriding...their shirt won't slip out at an embarrassing moment! If you are a local blog reader and this is of any interest to you...Baskins is cheaper than Cavenders.

 

The Gladewater Rodeo has a Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night for Breast Cancer Research and so I got Bob a pink shirt and decided I would get one too. He gets pink plaid and I will sport pink roses. In the same shopping center I discovered a new thrift store, Hope's Closet, and found another shirt with lavender flowers for 3.99. That is my kind of price and I'm almost positive I've seen this brand in Dillard's and Macy's.

Now on to the continued tour of my sister's Jill's house. I will move into her dining area. She has a fireplace across from the table where they eat family meals. I love the colors of the vintage print in the middle of her mantle. Beautiful rich pink, yellows, blues, and purples. She paid $3.00 for it at a thrift store called Helping Hands. I cannot visit her without running in there and trying to help my hands to some treasure. 

Next to the mantle is a little wicker sitting area. Jill used lots of vintage fabric with my favorite being the little quilt hung over the back of the settee' in an old-fashioned green with pinky flowers. The quilt on the wall is one she made herself. Don't you think my sister has a good way of blending old and new fabrics for a very cheerful look?  

I mentioned Jill and I both decorate with a sentimental touch, as I'm sure many of you do too. In the next picture you will see a sign she painted "Count Your Blessings". Each summer we would get to spend time with our grandparents in Arkansas. They lived in a tiny little rock house that looked right off the page of an old story book. We spent lots of hours listening to stories and singing together. We have sweet memories of our Paw-Paw singing this old hymn in his rich baritone voice..."Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done..." He would always assure us he counted us as blessings. I like how she incorporated these words into the dining area as a sweet reminder of her blessings, and I can't see these words without thinkin of my Paw-Paw!

 

The tour of my sister Jill's house is not finished, so please come back and join me as I show you a few more cozy little spots in her home.

 

Jill and her blessings...her husband (Robbie), Mallory, Grant, and Preston!

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Clean Sheet Monday!

Monday started out with the usual "yucks". I love being a stay at home mom.  Addressing the yucks is part of the job, so this isn't a complaining post. It's more of a eat-the-squishy-English-peas-first, so-you-can-enjoy-the-macaroni-and-cheese on your plate kind of post.

I don't have the Fly Lady routine down at all. My first picture will make that quite clear- if you are familiar with the Fly Lady. She has a great philosphy about not going to bed until your sink is emptied of dirty dishes and scrubbed out. That way you will be greeted with a clean sink in the morning. It's a great idea, but I don't always pull it off. So here is the ugly "English pea" Monday morning Before picture.

 

and then the macaroni and cheese After picture. So much better, isn't it?

 

Yucky squishy pea picture below...and apologies to all of you who LOVE English peas.

and then cheesy warm macaroni and cheese After picture:

 

Ugly green pea pile of towels:

and now, the nice, sweet-smelling, folded and put away macaroni and cheese picture:

Getting the English pea portion of the day out of the way allows me to have a little fun. I found a 99 cent Retirement Fund bank at the Goodwill for my husband who...

1. gives me a hard time over my fondness for Goodwill and

2. schools me often on the seriousness of retirement savings.

I figure I have made us both happy with this purchase, and have been so nice to include twenty three cents to get him off to a good start!

 

Then, I took two packages of pink Valentine hearts from the Dollar Tree, threw in some pink colored felt into an old vase, and stuck a bow on the front, to make a quickie arrangement. I sat it on an old hanky, along with an embroidered frame with pictures of my two oldest boys when they were little, and a vintage teacup with a candle. I am now a satisfied woman, and have clean sheets to look forward to tonight on this dreary, cold, rainy Texas evening!

 

Wishing everybody clean cozy sheets for this Monday night!

Clean Sheet Monday!

 

According to this cute little birdie planter, ten after ten is the time to do something. Monday is my clean sheet day, but it hasn't happened yet. I decided to take another small bite out of de-cluttering my house and took a look at a couple of book shelves that were overflowing.  

I realized if someone didn't know me and were to judge me only by my book selection, they might walk off a bit puzzled...or AFRAID! I found myself walking down memory lane as I sifted through the books, but also a little befuzzled at some of the titles gathering dust.  

There is no way I can ever get rid of any book by Corrie ten Boom, Francine Rivers, Elisabeth Eliot, or this old-fashioned sweet author below , who is definitely worth a read.  

Today would have been my 29th anniversary with my late husband, Kent. After he died I was given or purchased so many books on death, heaven, grieving, and widowhood. Some were helpful for my broken heart. Most were not. God and time have been the healing balm. Happy memories remain on the shelf of my heart.

A one year wedding anniversary will be celebrated with my wonderful husband, Bob, next month, so today was a very appropriate day to move this book below off the shelf in hopes that someone else might find some encouragement in its pages. I am making new happy memories for my "heart's" shelf. God has been so good to me!

 

The book below MUST go back on the shelf! My fascination with retro 50's style decorating is still in full bloom. How could anybody not smile when they see these pictures? Haven't we all contemplated a train theme for our dining area at one time or another???? hmmmmmm....

   

Then, there are the other stages of my life on the shelf. Lots of books about parenting, organizing, simplifying. (Apparently none of them sunk in.) This book will head to Goodwill. If I haven't figured out how to be a stay at home mom after 20+ years, I have issues no book can fix!

 

Yes, there was a chicken period of my life as the book below will attest to. There have been several very unsuccessful attempts to become a chickenmeister. I had to laugh at the Victoria's Secret coupon I was using as a bookmark. Maybe my mind just never was quite in the right chicken place for true success.

This one is a total mystery. Out of five kids, perhaps, someone was thinking of taking up a new hobby. I can't imagine who, how, or why this was on my shelf! Off it goes...

I am now the proud owner of one little clean shelf in my house. Almost as good as clean sheets!

It is just BEGGING for some vintagey junkey goodness to fill it up!

Clean Sheet Monday!

Monday has rolled around again, but Clean Sheet Monday makes Mondays not so bad...if everything else goes south...we can still look forward to crawling into a soft bed with clean sweet smelling sheets. Tonight we will sleep on green-apple-colored flannel sheets to celebrate the cooler turn of the weather here in North East Texas. 

The little handmade mouse couple was sent to me by a lady in England who was very late in sending me an order. Although I wasn't in any hurry, she included the pair as a way to say I'm sorry. I think they are so cute and have often been so glad she was late in getting her mail out! 

ODE TO the DOLLAR stores 

There are dollar stores, and then there are DOLLAR stores! Some around here are sort of dirty and unkept. Sometimes the clerk is visiting on the phone, or doing her nails, but I can usually browse around in most and find some little sumpin' to take home. Not just anything, but some little sumpin' that truly is a good deal. I have found a great Dollar Store located by Target and Kohls and the Bible Bookstore. The Dollar Tree is clean, well stocked, and organized. The clerks are friendly and helpful. I love the craft stuff situated throughout the store. Here is my latest scoop of craft goodness. If anybody needs wedding decorations, these stores seem to carry lots of cute stuff for what???? $1.00!

 

I am especially liking the pink velvet ribbon with little beaded flowers. It has a victorian vintagey look to it, which I like. I am on a lollipop making binge right now...fake ones with felt and beads and buttons. These embellishments will be so much fun to use. I even found some glasses to put the lollipops in for display. What did they cost???? $1.00, of course! They have been sprinkled with glitter today and are drying as I type. 

 

For the first time in nearly a year, I have television again. I enjoy the computer so much, I'm afraid it won't get as much attention as it once did. My kids have learned to cuddle down with a book, or go outside and enjoy the world. I'm hoping we can practice moderation and discipline now that the boob tube is back in the house.

Happy 50th Birthday to my friend, Marty! His wife, Debbie, has been such a good friend to me through many years. In our younger days, we would take off to town to shop with our newborns in tow. We'd pull over in some store parking lot and breastfeed our babies in the car. We would never miss a beat in our conversation. Now, Debbie and Marty are grandparents! I love this couple. Marty has helped me out in my widowhood years with things that were beyond my abilities. He spent many an hour killing fire ants on my 13 acres before my daughter's wedding. That's a true friend! 

  

I really don't think Marty looks 50 years old.

Happy Clean Sheet Monday to you!

 

Clean Sheet Monday

Yes, Clean Sheet Monday has rolled around once again. It is my day to change sheets with this theory in mind: If everything else in the day goes poorly, there are clean sheets on the bed to look forward to!

As usual I'm dragging my heels, but did make a great deal with my husband. He brings home homemade tamales for supper tonight in trade for a good cleaning on his bathroom. Actually, we both would have done this for each other without a "deal", but it helped in the motivation department for each other.

 

Sometimes I can't believe, a vintage girl like me, agreed to this modern bedroom that is my husband's taste. Fresh clean sheets make it livable and enjoyable! It's a love thing!  

I can always go and sit amongst my "junk", as he calls it, if I need to.

 

Happy Monday to all!