Tornado Alley

Normally you wouldn’t think of Alabama as being considered “Tornado Alley” as I have always heard that description being attributed to Texas/Oklahoma areas.    However, Wednesday afternoon multiple tornadoes ripped through our state, killing over 150 people at last count.

Sitting in our den late yesterday, we watched live coverage of this killer tornado as it bore down on Tuscaloosa, Alabama, one of the hardest hit cities.   

The daughter of one of my friends attends the University of Alabama….she was only a couple of miles from one of the streets totally destroyed but thankfully is okay.

There are several small towns completely destroyed.     

 

This same tornado bore down on Birmingham, where my son and his family live.    I immediately called him and they were all at home, safe & sound, thank goodness.

I also understand there was quite a bit of damage to the Lake Martin area where my sister and I are planning on spending the weekend at her lake house.     

Please say a prayer for everyone who has lost loved ones or everything they have worked for.  

Easter Pics and Sneak Peek at My First Slipcover

I know it’s a few days past the Easter weekend but I wanted to share a couple of photos with ya’ll. 

 

My daughter Shannon, granddaughter Taylor and my precious 90 year old mom

 

Taylor looking all grown up…this is the dress I had made for her when she was in the Miss Christmas On The Coosa pageant last year….Shannon changed the ribbon from white to this pretty green (ignore the blue wagon, still haven’t planted it yet)

 

 

My three “grands”….next year baby Cade will be able to join them for a photo.    It was hard to get them to settle down, they just wanted to say Happy Easter!

 

My sweet mama and one of her great grandbabies….baby Cade born last August (we call him Chunky Monkey!)

 

 

All my chicks and peeps for a family photo

 

 

Son, DIL, McKinley & Cade

 

 

Daughter & SIL, twins Taylor & Jackson (who is fascinated with all things DS!)

 

The girls were mad because Jackson found the “golden” egg (please excuse the pitiful umbrella….it’s now on it’s way to the dump)

 

Went inside to check on this angel…he was just about to wake up.   Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?

 

Here’s my garden gate with climbing Confederate jasmine

 

I wish you could smell it….smells like honeysuckle

 

 

I just fixed spaghetti, salad & garlic bread.    Shannon brought fresh strawberries and we had strawberry shortcake….yum!  (yeah, I used my “good” china!)

 

 

Also want to share a sneak peek at my first attempt at a slipcover.     I’m hoping to finish up this week and will post a bunch of photos and tutorial….(I’ve got to add more ruffle and  iron the slipcover but I’m pretty happy at how it’s turning out).   Oh, and those red walls??   They are outta here soon!!!

 

 

Friday I’m joining my sister at her lake house for our annual girl’s weekend….can’t wait!

Have a Blessed Easter

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Easter weekend.      

See you all  next week!

I’m An “Alarmist” and Going To The Lake

NOTE:   I STARTED THIS POST SUNDAY NIGHT AND I’M JUST NOW GETTING IT POSTED!

We kept the twins from last Thursday until Sunday and while we love those babies and every minute with them, I know now why God gives babies to young folks.     Here’s how it went down for me:

Pick them up at school Thursday afternoon, go to their house to get Taylor ready for her ballgame which doesn’t start until 7:15 p.m. (what idiot schedules ballgames for 6-7 year olds at that time of night?), get home close to 9:00…their mama said they had to have baths and hair washed because school pictures were the next day….let Jackson go on to bed since he was sooo tired, got Taylor’s bath and hair washed and in bed by 9::30-ish.    Then the fun started for me!    I thought I turned on the house alarm and went to Jackson’s room to check on him….coming out the alarm went off and it’s LOUD!     The phone rings, it’s the alarm company, I told them what had happened and everything was okay.    Then daughter calls from New Orleans (they called her) and wanted to know what had happened….then husband calls (we are apparently on their call list too) and again, I explained that I must have done something wrong so I had just turned it off.     So I got my pj’s on and went to the kitchen to fix myself some tea when the doorbell rings!    It’s the police!!!    I told him he was welcome to come in and look around that I had no idea what I’d done but that I was leaving that sucker off!     Apparently, I didn’t turn off the motion detector.    We don’t have an alarm at our house (probably should) but I hate those things!

Okay, on Friday after dropping them off at school, I raced home to get myself ready so I could pick up mama and take her to the beauty shop.    Right after we got through there around noon, I got another call from daughter who said the school had called them and said school was closing at 1:00 due to the severe weather coming through our area.    Based on what I’m seeing on the news, we escaped pretty easily compared to the total destruction experienced in many of our sister states….my prayers go out to all the families who have lost so much.

We left for my sister’s lake house on Saturday morning to spend the day.    They live in Talladega and since it was race weekend, they escape their little town and all that craziness to their lake house.   

What a perfect day for the lake….look at that water!

 

View from top of driveway looking down at boathouses

 

We got to the lake a little ahead of my sister so we drove down to the end of the road where this lovely old church stands.   Husband had never seen it and Taylor and Jackson enjoyed getting out and running around.      Most Sundays in the summer months the locals attend church in this quaint little church.    Take a look inside at how primitive it is.

 

 

Looks like someone tied these floral bundles on the pews last fall

 

 

Sweet alter

 

Collection plates

 

So primitive but so beautiful in it’s simplicity

 

We went outside and walked across the road to an old cemetery.    It was hard to read the headstones but most looked to be in the early 1800’s!

There is an outcropping of old stones all around the church and in the cemetery.    I snapped a couple of photos of Taylor so I could send them to her mama’s phone.

 

My angel baby….she’s growing up way too fast.     (She picked out her own clothes for the lake and I certainly wasn’t going to argue with her!)

My sister and her husband had their grandson who is 4 so we had two 6 year olds and one 4 year old….let’s just say my brother in law makes a mean margarita and we needed one by late afternoon!     At the lake, it’s all about eating and we snacked on stuff all afternoon.    It was real windy and cool on the lake  but we finally got the boat out around 5:00 to take the kids out for a ride.

Here are the two boathouses

This is my brother-in-law’s latest toy he got last year

My sister backing up “her” boat….my favorite, the pontoon boat

 

Looking up at the side deck from the boathouse

Then out on the water…..it was really cool, the kids had one coats under their lifejackets and we had a couple of blankets which we very much needed on the water

Here’s my sister ….we have such a good time together

My big man Jackson….he loves riding on the boat

 

Taylor wanted to take off her lifejacket but she knows anytime we’re at the lake it stays on when she’s around the water

 

 

 

 

 

Their mama and daddy got home around 3:00…just in time to take the kids to the Easter egg hunt at their church.    I headed home and husband and I sat outside on the back deck getting some much needed rest!    We noticed how much work needs to be done to the yard before next weekend when we’re having all the family over for lunch.   

That’s about it for me this week.    I hope everyone has a wonderful week and please keep everyone that might have been affected by the deadly tornados in your thoughts and prayers.

Dear Lillie–I Love You!

Unless you’re living under a rock, I’m guessing you know the gorgeous blog Dear Lillie written by the lovely Jennifer.      I love everything about her blog, from her beautiful home, to her photography and last but certainly not least, her most photogenic-in-the-world little girl, Lillie Annabelle.       Recently Jenn posted about her Easter egg topiary and when I saw what she’d done to a “rainbow bright” egg topiary, that set the wheels in motion as I remembered I had one very similar in my Easter stash.     When I finally talked husband into getting my Easter decorations down from the attic, I dug through all the containers until I found my egg topiary.     Jennifer’s is a little different from mine but I knew I just had to try and copy hers….it was so adorable!

 

Here’s what Jennifer’s looked like to start with…

….and this is the final result!

 

I can’t believe I can’t find a “before” picture of my topiary but it was very much like Jennifer’s except the eggs weren’t as close together.    Jennifer said she just sprayed hers without taking off the eggs but I went ahead and removed the eggs then had a hard time trying to place them back “just so”….I  winged it and then filled the empty spaces with faux grass.

So without further ado, here’s my “Dear Lillie” version of my own egg topiary…

 

I set up a little Easter tablescape on the dining room table by putting the topiary in my existing urn and surrounding it with my book bundles (made by moi!) and a sweet cream colored bunny. 

  

I set the table using woven charges, topped off with white chargers from Kirklands (they were originally gold and I sprayed them white at Christmas) and white dishes.    On top of the plates I added my linen napkins and some silverware.    I’ve misplaced a fork so one of the place settings is incomplete (which drives me nuts!)

 

A few close ups

 

I found this grass in Wal Mart while down at the beach this past weekend.    I like the green with the all white.

That’s about all the Easter decorating I’ve done inside and it will probably be all I do.    Sometimes “less IS more”!

Hope you enjoyed seeing my copy-cat egg topiary.      It was super easy and I only had to buy a can of spray paint and the grass.     Please be sure to visit Jennifer’s blog for some inspiration and eye candy.    She is due to have another little girl in a few weeks so wish her well in her delivery!

.