Tally Ho!

We’re going to London!   This will be a celebration of our 10 year wedding anniversary which is in October (2013) but we’re not going until February 2014 so I have a whole year to plan!    I’m so excited.   I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go to London (and Europe) and when I started talking about it late last year it was only wishful thinking.    But unless something hugely unforeseen occurs, I’ll be in the Motherland a year from now!      And since my brother-in-law is a Delta pilot, he’ll be flying us over first class all the way baby!    One little problem….I’m terrified of flying!   I have to take a prescribed medication to even get on the plane but my sister has assured me that the time will pass rather quickly with Champagne and a long nap!

She brought these books to me to check out…looks like a lot of reading will be in my future!

 

 

So many places I want to see over there.    Now I’m going to ask anyone who has been to England for your input on places to go, things to see, where to eat, etc.   We will have a little itinerary but it never hurts to have lots of good ideas.

Now for a little situation I’m having which is waaay off the subject of my trip.    We went on vacation last week to Vicksburg, MS.   We took this same trip a few years ago and loved it and just wanted to get away for a few days.    I’d been having trouble with my left knee and last Tuesday night while coming out of a restaurant, my left knee “popped” and I couldn’t walk.    I had to be put in a wheelchair to be taken to our car!      Scary, I tell ya.    But strangely enough, earlier that day I was on Facebook and my friend Kat had posted she had just been diagnosed with a Bakers Cyst.     Just out of curiosity I looked it up and it sounded exactly like what I was experiencing.    So when the knee “popped” on me I checked into it further when we got back to our room and sure enough, I was experiencing most of the symptoms it talked about.    So we had to cut our vacation short and come home.    I went to the doctor on Friday and had an ultrasound which confirmed the cyst.    Now I’m going to an orthopedic on Monday for further treatment.       I’m hoping they will drain it or whatever because it’s pretty  uncomfortable to walk on for any length of time and since I’m my mom’s caregiver, I still have to get out and take care of her needs.     Have any of you experienced a Bakers Cyst?   I’d love to know how things turned out for you if you did.   

 

I’ll be posting a few pictures from our trip later this week.    We visited the hauntingly beautiful Windsor Ruins in Port Gibson, a town that Gen. Grant said was “too beautiful to burn”.

 

 

   And since we were soooo close (wink) we also drove over to Monroe, LA to visit the Duck Commander….any Duck Dynasty fans out there?    I can’t believe I’m admitting it here for the world to see, but we LOVE it!

 

Happy, happy, happy!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

I hope your day is filled with love!

Burlap Runner

I’ve been wanting to make a burlap fringed runner for my dining room table for a long time.    A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time.     After measuring the length of my table (70”) and taking into consideration the “drop” of the fringe (I wanted it to be about 8”-10” long) I cut my burlap.    Basically, I cut the burlap in 1/2 which gave me a width of of approximately 23” x 78” long (this was the length of my table plus 8” for the drop).    That’s where I made my mistake.   The fringe starts just at the end of the table instead of dropping down 2-3” BEFORE the fringe starts…does that make sense?    You’ll see what I’m talking about below.    But even with that “mistake” I’m happy with how it looks.    I do plan on making another one the “right” way and using this one on my kitchen table….luckily it fits that table just perfectly!

Enough of my jibber-jabber…let’s get to the pictures!

I painted my dining room in these neutral colors back in 2009 and still love it – which is a record for me!!     (You can read my original post here)  It was my interpretation of the “Something’s Gotta Give” dining room.   It’s the first room you see when you come into my house and it’s so calming.   I love the play of dark and light with my white ironstone.       I’m still happy with my drop cloth drapes too!

 

We keep the two ladder back chairs in there to have extra when we have company….I don’t like them in there but they do come in handy with company.    I think I’m going to put them out in the storage room and bring them in when we have people over.

 

Here’s what I mean by the drop being too short…I wanted the fringe to start about 2-3 inches BELOW where the burlap falls off the top of the table.   

 

 

My granddaughter Taylor was with me one day at Michael’s and she picked out these white pieces and greenery.     That girl knows what her Mimi likes!

 

 

 

I ordered these slipcovers from Ballard's several years ago and they don’t quite fit my chairs so I just folded the top over like a little flap….I can live with that.

So there you have my latest little project.    Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world.    Hope you all are having a fantastic week!

 

Linking to these parties:

Coastal Charm

 

 

here

 

 

here

Update on Ethan

There is breaking news that  the kidnapper is dead and little Ethan is alive.   Details are slowly coming to light.    Ethan turns 6 years old this week and this is the best birthday present he could get!   I believe his birthday is Wednesday.  (You can read the back story here).   Here is a link to the breaking news.

Ethan has been taken to a local hospital for evaluation.   He has been reunited with his family.   You may be able to follow this on the Nightly News tonight….it’s on here (CST) for more in depth coverage.

If you are interested in sending Ethan a birthday card or well wishes here is the address:

Cards for Ethan 

c/o Lt. April McDaniel

400 Headquarters Street

Napier Field, AL 36303

It is also requested the cards be signed inside with the city and state from which they are sent.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your prayers for the safe return of little Ethan.    Praise God for the good outcome for this precious little boy!

Prayers For Ethan

I was going to post about my latest project but it seemed so inconsequential compared to a situation that’s been going on locally for four days.    On Tuesday a man entered a school bus in an attempt to kidnap some children.    When the bus driver tried to stop him, the kidnapper shot and killed him.    A little boy, six years old, fainted and the kidnapper took him off the bus and entered his underground storm shelter with him.    The news has reported the child has Asperger’s and ADHD.    Can you imagine how frightened and scared this little boy is?    His name is Ethan and I would ask that you send up a special prayer for his safe return to his family.    The parents have been able to send him his medication and some coloring books and the authorities are speaking with the kidnapper and Ethan through a PVC pipe in the ground.     Some people are leaving their porch lights on until Ethan is returned to his family.

No one knows what the motive is for the kidnapping or shooting.    Please keep this family and little Ethan in your prayers.