July 5, 2010

4th of July, a New Blog Friend & Some Good News!

What a title!    I didn’t think I had enough of each subject to do a separate post for each so I’m just going to lump all these three things together into one post.

First up, our 4th of July celebration was spent at my sister’s lake house.     My mom was rarin’ to go so we picked her up around 11:00 a.m. and headed out to Lake Martin.     We just fixed sandwiches for lunch and then hung out on the pier and took turns riding in the boat.    The lake was really crowded on the 4th as it usually is but there were more people than usual because (unfortunately) the oil spill on our beautiful gulf coast has prevented many people from spending their holiday at the beach.     Late in the afternoon my sister and I started the fixins’ for a “Low Country Boil”.      This is an easy, quick and delicious way to serve a crowd.     Basically, we just put several pots of water on the stove and added some seasoning to the water.     Then when the water boiled we added mini ears of corn on the cob, cut up sausage, small new potatoes and shrimp.      After it’s done, you just dump it all into a big bowl and that’s it!    We were going to have a salad too but somebody (me) forgot to bring the salad!

Here’s a few pics of our day on the lake and our Low Country Boil supper:

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The geese swam right up to the shoreline looking for food then lined up to follow the boat….the kids got a real kick out of seeing the duck’s “feet” in the water

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This sailboat is the first one I’ve ever seen on the lake but I loved it!

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This beauty is my nephew’s girlfriend….we made her sit in the front by herself cause she made us feel old, white and fat!

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Livin’ large on the lake

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Wonder where they got a flag that big?

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The water looks  muddy cause we had tossed in some seasoning packets4th of july 2010 023

We used two bags of the shrimp

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And here’s  it is all ready to eat.    This dish takes no time at all to cook and tastes wonderful!

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Now I’m going to tell ya’ll a little bit about my new blog friend, Elizabeth Ann.      Every time I go to Birmingham I try and stop in this great little shop called Consigning Interiors.     It’s a little mini mall where vendors display their items for sale.      Back in April I noticed a wonderful little booth so I took a lot of pictures of it.     At the time I was looking for a pretty turquoise mirror and I found exactly what I wanted in this booth.     Here are some pictures I took of  Elizabeth Ann’s booth back in April:

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Above is the gorgeous turquoise mirror I bought which is now hanging in my dining room (see photo at below)

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When I was in Birmingham two weeks ago, I stopped off to check out her booth again.    I noticed she had a business card and on it she listed her blog name!     I couldn’t wait to see her blog.     I e-mailed Elizabeth and told her how much I enjoyed seeing her booth and how happy I was to find out she had a blog.     Elizabeth Ann was kind enough to allow me to showcase her booth here.      So now we are “blog buddies” and we have plans to meet sometime in the near future.   If you live in or near the Birmingham area, I highly recommend a trip to Consigning Interiors and don’t forget to stop by Elizabeth’s Ann booth and see all her wonderful items.     This week she has just restocked her inventory and redecorated.    I know she would love you to stop by her blog and welcome her to the world of blogging.

 

And finally, I would like to thank everyone who left a comment on my post about my mom’s house sale falling through.      It really meant a lot to me as I have been so discouraged with this particular buyer who is still causing problems.     BUT, on Saturday, we got a letter from our congressman who had received word from the VA that my mom is approved for the VA assistance I had applied for back in October!    This lifts a tremendous burden off my shoulders  as it means she will have now have enough money each month to help meet her expenses at the assisted living facility.    Plus she will get “back pay” from November 1, 2009!!!     I had contacted my congressman back in April and never heard back from his office so I was really pleased to see that his office had followed up on my inquiry.      We still need to sell her home but this will ease the financial burden for now.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.

15 comments:

Kim said...

Looks like you had a wonderful 4th with your family. I loved all the pix. Thanks for the link to Elizabeth's blog. I will have to go check it out!
xoxo,
Kim

Simply LKJ said...

My daughter spent a weekend at Lake Martin last summer and loved it! She keeps saying she wants to buy a house there someday (she's 16). Love low country boils!! Yummy. Glad the VA got approved to help ease the burden for now, praying you find a worthy buyer for your mother's home.

Stephanie@SweetTeaAndSunshine said...

I am so happy to hear that you have good news regarding your moms estate. I am so excited about that booth -- I will be going to Birmingham soon and plan on checking it out!

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

Looks like you had a great holiday at the lake. My Hubby grew up on Lake Martin and he still has family in Dadeville.

Thanks for the introduction to your new blog friend. I am on my way to check it out.
xo, Sherry

Cheri said...

Hey Judy,

I thought of you yesterday when we passed by signs for Lake Martin, anyhow...I will have to check out Elizabeth's booth and her blog. Next time you come up let me know, I live only about 15 min. from Consigning Interiors.

GREAT news about your momma!

Cena @ Unexpected Necessities said...

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I do read your blog, but I hardly ever leave a comment....I'm just soooo busy.

Anyway, about the flat iron....the new Chi that you were talking about sounds great. I think the main difference between the Chi and the K-Pak would be the serum. It makes a big difference.

Sorry about your mom's house. That sounds like some of our real estate transactions, lol. We had to back out on a house after the inspection due to roof issues. We were so upset because we had no where to go. Luckily we found a new house. It was a blessing, though, because the couple that bought it after we passed on it put it up for sale 2.5 years ago and it still has not sold!! We would have been stuck.

A buyer will come along and your repairs are already done!

Elizabeth Ann said...

Wow, girl thank you soooo much for the story on my blog and those great pictures! Next time I need some made of my booth I'm going to call you. I'm glad things are coming together for your mom. I'll keep you in my prayers for an answer to the house problem. I'm also going to try the low country boil! Can't wait until we get to meet face to face.
Elizabeth Ann

Rhonda said...

I am thrilled to find out about Consigning Interiors! We go to B'ham about 4-5 times a year. I am always looking for new places to stop. Elizabeth's booth is delicious!

I'm glad you got to see the sailboat. We can see Harbor Point Marina from here and I guess maybe the sailboats hang close to home. Sometimes there will be a dozen or more - it it such a beautiful sight.

I am glad that things worked out with your mom's situation.

Rhonda

Justabeachkat said...

I love love love a low country boil although I've never added sausage to mine. Question - do you cook the sausage any before adding it?

So happy that your Mom will get the VA assistance!!!! What a blessing.

Hugs sweet friend,
Kat

Kim said...

Loooks like you all had fun at your lake house. We did at ours, too, and got 3rd place in the boat parade, which was very fun. Great news about the VA money. Mother called me last night and was all excited. She said I could stop "paying her bills" and I take that to mean beauty shop, paper, lunch, other stuff I pay for. I plan on continuing doing that because I do not think there is enough left between her ALF and the difference the VA $ pays. Now if our buyer would just come through I would feel better, but nothing is perfect!

Ina Ogilvie said...

I LOVE your blog. I just discovered it. I aspire to live your lifestyle but it isn't going to happen so this way I get to "live" along with you. Loved reading about Elizabeth's shop and blog. I've already got some great ideas. Another one to take a look at is Fritz Kay Collection which is Seattle based. I look forward to your next post!!

Ina O

Chrissy L. said...

Hello - I read your blog all the time. I love it!! On regards to your moms house being sold - bury a St. Joseph statue upside down in her yard. It works!!! let us know on here!!!

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

Elizabeth Annes booth is the forst one I make a mad dash for when I go into CI. She has a knack for making something good, into something extraordiary! Love the mirror you purchased. Beautiful!
That house on the lake....I may can find out where they got the flag! :)

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

Judy,

My son's bff's grandparents own the house to the right (Looking from the lake) of Scrushy's. There's is a rustic/orangy color. It has a boathouse with trampoline in the lake. Their house sits in the little inlet to the right where his is on the peninsula. I knoew that was the area, when I saw that flag picture.

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