Bella

Remember Bella?

Bella was 9 months old on May 1st. We had her spayed this past Friday. I was a nervous wreck all day, because, after all, my baby was having surgery. She came through fine.

As you can see, I wasn't the only one worried about her. Logan was worried about Bella.

And Rachel was worried about Bella.

It's amazing how attached you can get to a dog!!

Handmade With Love

We are in the very slow process of cleaning out my mother-in-laws home. All the time we spend selecting and arranging things in our home for our pleasure and then one day we are no more and our home is dismantled and our things are dispersed and it is sad. But this is not meant to be a sad post. This is a post giving honor to my wonderful mother-in-law, Denise.

My dear MIL devoted her life to her family. She loved her home and took great care and pride in everything in her home. She did not work outside of the home, but worked so diligently inside to make it a haven for all who entered. There were many things Denise loved to do, but needlepoint was one of her favorites. She had many pieces she worked on so lovingly and I want to periodically share some of Denise's special things with my blogging friends.

This piece below hung over Denise's television in her living room. I am going to hang it in my office at work. It will give me peace and comfort knowing that something that was so special to Denise, something she spent many hours working on will share my workday space with me. Isn't it beautiful?

Can you imagine the time spent working each stitch? I love it and I will so enjoy looking at it as I go about my day. I spend eight hours of every day at work. It's nice to have special memories from home cozy it up a little bit.

Pretty Painted Roses

On Saturday, my friend, Hope, and I went to a craft show at the South Florida Fairgrounds. I used to go to this particular craft show whenever it was in town and inevitably, I always found something to bring home. My favorite vendor was "Sweet Dreams". Linda and her husband, Walter, work together to make a variety of items with very pretty pink roses. I could never leave without buying something from Linda and Walter.

This clock is one of my early purchases.

I've always kept my Snow Babies on this pretty little shelf. I love the creamy white against the pale pink stripes.

I couldn't resist this birdhouse.

My absolute most favorite item is this rocking chair. This is an old chair that I inherited when my grandfather passed away in 1991. It always sat in a little area of my grandparents kitchen and it was where my grandfather would sit and listen to "nana" tell us stories of her youth and falling in love, or where he'd sit and watch us bake cookies, or play hangman. My nana loved pink. As a little girl, I was amazed that a grown-up liked pink as those were the days of "harvest gold" and "avocado". But everything in my grandparents home was pink, including my grandfather's little rocking chair. I was thrilled when I found that no one "claimed" this chair when my grandfather passed away.

Through many years of use, the pink was faded and worn. When I finally decided that it was okay to change the look of this family heirloom, I commissioned Linda and Walter to refinish it with the pretty pink roses that I've always loved. They did a great job, I love it and I am so happy this little rocking chair is mine!!!

Having not been to one of these craft shows in a couple of years, it was a real pleasure to go on Saturday. I was very happy to see that Linda and Walter were still there, still making things with pretty pink roses. Not that I needed another clock, but this was Saturday's purchase.

It was great to see my crafty friends again. It's always interesting to see the many ways we connect with people in different places and spaces.

Finally Had Time to Make Something

Life has been a bit out of the ordinary lately and I haven't been able to do any crafting. I was very happy to sneak a little time this morning to finish up my mom's birthday gift. It was such fun! Here is the before picture.


And here is the finished product.

I am so pleased with how it turned out and I think my mom will love it. It was such fun to make and really did not take that long. I can't wait to see what she thinks.

Thought I'd share some pictures of the Palm Beach shoreline on a recent evening. It was so peaceful and serene.

This is why I live here . . . because it's not always hurricanes and hot, steamy weather.



It's my little corner of God's big, beautiful creation . . .

As the sun goes down on another day, the moon will light our way . . .

Hope you have a great week!!

To All Mom's . . .

Hope you enjoy the day!

May Day

My mother-in-law passed away on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 7:30 pm. I am so happy that I went back on Thursday night to tell her my feelings. I was going to go home and talk to her on Saturday because I couldn't be there on Friday. My brother-in-law encouraged me to go talk then and not wait. I could barely get out what I wanted to say as I was crying so much, but I told her how very special she was to me, all the wonderful lessons she taught us all by the way she lived her life and the beautiful memories I will carry with me forever. I thanked her for all the love she has given and assured her I would do my best to take care of things when she was gone. I told her I wanted to know she was okay, but please . . . do not come back and visit me. She loved that!

And so a beautiful life goes. We are here one minute and gone the next and our legacy lives on for those that love us. My mother-in-law was a unique individual in that she told it like it was, oh the stories I could tell, but her unconditional love was everlasting and that is what I will always remember and hold close to my heart until we meet again . . .