Meeting Zelda

 Mr. Red Saltbox is one of these people who enjoys yard sales. He actually got me into it and not the other way around. There is something hilarious about a man who is almost feverish with glee because he got a hammer for a quarter.
 Last year he found probably the single most fantastic yard sale of all time. He came home with his truck loaded, tin coffee pots clambering to make room for the oil lanterns. Pottery precariously piled to the roof,  home spun curtains spilling out the windows.


 When he gave me "The Reveal" it was like a magician act pulling out the hankie that extends to south east asia from his pocket.
 The "yard sale lady" took a liking to him and invited him to come back with me for a "private showing." (insert wink here)


 That's when I met Zelda. She and I had met before at a very popular overpriced country store in my area that is now closed. ( Did I mention it was overpriced?) I wanted her for myself then, but not enough to pay the near 80.00 price tag.
 Imagine my delight when "yard sale lady" opened her trunk and tossed her and several hundred collectable Raggedy Ann dolls on her bed. It took a bit of coaxing..okay prying of the hands open and maybe there were a few kicks in the shin involved to get her to give it up. After the shake down  negotiation transpired Zelda and I rode home on her broom.

^^^she's like a member of the family. She has been known to take a seat at the dining room table on holidays in place of relatives we are not speaking too. 

A little of this...

and a little of that...

stay tuned my pretties...I see more photos of my halloween escapes in your future... **cackling*

Perfection redefined

~ If you feel your life is not perfect---- you need to change your definition.

 This will be a series that I will label under this header from time to time. I will even log the posts in as episodes.

 Like a bad tv show, your friends train wreck lives, tales from the ER and, you know, those Wal- Mart people **gasp** you will look on in horror yet not be able to tear yourself away.

Episode 1

Does Martha Microwave?

I'm so not Martha. I wanna be but I am the more condensed version. The partially hydrogenated, no assembly required,  where is the easy button,  express checkout, I like the outcome but not the process type Martha.

 In my efforts to be a fun and creative Mom that will imprint fond memories into my children's lives that will hopefully overshadow all my imperfections I decided we would have "Caramel Apple Making Night."

Now Martha would have planted seeds from an apple in the ground in her backyard and grown an orchard of trees.

Having 24 hour access to all her apple creating desires, she would then hustle her billionaire bootie out there and pick a bushel and wash and line them up in her perfectly designed gourmet kitchen. She would have fabulously decorated handmade apple sticks

 that she would easily insert into the apples stem side, after removing the stem with her finely crafted stem remover. She would have pre planned and made her caramel from scratch.

After that she would have the precision and intellect for knowing how to get the caramel dipped apple perfectly round and magazine picture perfect. All placed on a unique and beautiful server for maximum presentation. 

MY VERSION:

Out food shopping for the week and see a box of caramel apple mix on display in the produce section and the price is right: 2.99. I chuck it in my basket thinking- this will keep the kids busy for 5 minutes and will be a great photo opportunity!

Apples are pricey at 3.99 a bag but can't make caramel apples without them. 

In the cart they go. Apple picking taken care off. Check.

Fast forward to last night. 

Kids you wanna make some caramel apples? Tahlia- me me I wanna make them. Brianna- ***screaming loudly from the depths of her teenage hideaway aka bedroom*** I'LL BE DOWN IN A MINUTE!!!!

20 minutes later...

 Tahlia stabbed her 3 apples in the belly button.  Note to self >>>>>Microwave caramel apple mix only makes 6 apples.

Brianna makes her appearance and the fun begins.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^Notice the computer

 My presentation- so not Martha...

But yummy just the same.

Don't judge me. 

Snips of Halloween

  Halloween is my favorite decorating season as evidenced by the massive about of boxes (unlabeled) in my basement. <<< refer to "when I get to it" reference in my first post.


 I forget what I have since I have so much. Just when I think I have finished more boxes appear. 
 I think they multiply under my stairs. The downfall is the season is too short. I feel like I just get done displaying the goblins and then back they go into the dungeon to make way for Christmas.


 They seem to know this and cry out for more face time...

After all who wants to live in a box in the basement 11 months out of the year?

I swear come September 1st I start to hear scratching coming from those boxes...

My favorite spot in my kitchen is this bay window area where I set my fabulous "electric" fireplace! Love the click on click thing it's got going on.

I also love looking at my table all dressed for fall in her perfectly fitted Mum dress and bowl of orange pods. 

This little guy almost got away...

This is just a sneak peek. Lot's more ghoulish photos to come.

We are New Englanders after all...

 Living in New England requires one to tolerate the bi polar nature of - nature.


We have just come off of our high highs... 90 degree temps - summer in New England is a long coastline of beaches and only 20 minutes from the ocean where I 'm at. We bask in the sun and surf, dig our toes in the sand and enjoy this brief glimpse into what could be if we lived in the south. Just when you think you've about had enough... you have.

Summer is over and we are leveling out with my most favorite time of the year - Fall.
  People from other parts of the country actually travel here to see the turning leaves, feel the crisp chill in the air and sip some local cider.
  We are New Englanders after all and fall is ours to claim in all it's glory. We have the true red, gold and orange leaves bright and blazen reaching their peak before they actually hit the ground. Bittersweet berries grow rampant and are a popular choice for baskets and wreaths. Our weekends are an endless race to each local farm for corn mazes, pumpkin patches, apple picking and hayrides.
 We value our falls. Ask any New Englander. It's one of the reasons they stay here.  A relief from the hot hazy days and a bright spot to cherish as nature knows we need easing into the long winter that lies ahead.

I want  a "garden" shed perfectly designed and country primitive. Brimming with the bounty of nature.

The reality is the toys are as much a part of my landscape as the grass is. 

And so it goes...

  My younger daughter started all day kindergarten which leaves me with something I have not had in 5 years... time. Time to catch up on everything I randomly tossed in the closet and leaned against the door hoping it would not all come crashing out before I had a chance to "get to it." That's been my mantra for the past 5 years... "when I get to it." Now the time seems to have arrived where I am at least getting...to...it.


  So many things on the "to do" list or should I call it a "bucket list?" What's the difference anyway? Are the  "to do's" we tick off small tokens of life marked by closet cleaning and wall painting? The bucket list needs to have aspirations of "trips to China and sky diving" to qualify? I've never been a big dreamer. Opting for the simpler things in life like being loved, having a family, doing a good job at raising my kids, staying married (dare I add happily) and pursuing interests I enjoy. I will never go down in history as anything great like a famous actor, rock star, nobel prize winner or novelist. I will just be me doing my thing- scrapbooking, decorating, taking photos (hopefully they will improve over time) and documenting every day life in a blog.


  Although I am a scrapbooker, my work is more art than documentation. Hence why I started this blog.
Here I will try to capture the everyday moments in photos (which I want to get in the habit of taking more of) and writing them.  Some will make it onto scrap pages most won't. But at least I will be comforted by having "gotten it down" somewhere...before all is lost and the kids are grown and I have forgotten their names.
 Sprinkled in with this will be photography since I am now enjoying that, along with my editing and my country decorating. Another passion of mine. So if you think you might want to stay and browse- carry on. If this sounds like a bore then click on. You're in control of the remote.


Monkeys on the loose


  It's a hard life for a 5 year old to stay contained all day in a school environment, following rules, staying on task, structure, nice words, inside voice...egads!!!! When the girl gets home she needs to run wild like a lion and climb like a monkey.
 Sneakers left behind...

Barefoot and up the swingset ladder in the blink of an eye...

Lost in the world of play. Climbing to the highest peak, scattering across steadily, hesitantly but determined to do it unassisted.

Because happiness is : doing it yourself when you are 5.

This spirited child is always in motion... never stopping until her head hits the pillow...

Even without a ride...

And I watch and savor and catalog... because before long...

The magic of childhood will be gone...