Wishing For a Special Vacation

Things seem to be settling down so now I am wishing I had a month and a ticket.

A Work in Progress

So the cornice board and curtains are finished but there are several other projects to be completed in the tiny bedroom I have been working on. I made the bed cover but still need to make a dust ruffle, refinish a chair, make the covers for it and find a lingerie chest. While working on this project I have been collecting accessories for the room and I had to share my favorite new item. Once the room is complete, I will post a room photo. Right about now the best shots of the room include a sewing machine, assorted fabrics and pillow forms scattered about.

Planting Seeds and Hoping For Sunflowers

I planted some sunflower seeds over the weekend and I am anxiously waiting to see if little sprouts pop up. Sometimes the birds find the seeds before they ever get a chance to germinate but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I bought some sunflowers to put in my dining room simply because they make me feel happy.

Can't Wait For the Weekend

Have you made plans yet? I hope to keep working around the house. Friday night we are going down to a neighbor's for a small outdoor gathering. Thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of the cozy outdoor area where we are going. Our neighborhood is what I call a front porch neighborhood. Most every house has a porch and we really do hang out on the porches. On Monday for those not traveling, we will be having a "chillin' and grillin'" cookout. Three-day weekends are the best.

Chicken Salad, Lemonade & Girlfriends

Why don't we have more ladies luncheons? This past Saturday we had a going away lunch for a friend who is moving to Houston. We met in a lovely French bistro in Roswell and had the nicest lunch celebration. On my drive home I wondered why we don't have more of these type gatherings. During the week I have plenty of opportunities to go to lunch but conversation is normally centered around work or it is a working lunch while everyone watches the clock. The most pleasurable thing about Saturday's lunch is that no one appeared to be in a hurry and that is how it should be.

Now I am determined to plan a girlfriend event for this summer. Please feel free to share any party ideas you might have. I have friends who have had parties with a purpose (a fundraiser for a cause), a manifestation party, personal improvement party, spa party and a good old fashioned tea party. Whatever kind of event idea emerges, I hope there is a place for Skip & Go Nakeds on the menu! (See Susan Branch's Summer Cookbook)

Playing On Ebay

On an earlier blog you read about the decorating that we have decided to do after living in our house for over 2 and a half years. Well I didn't get much sewing time this weekend so I decided to turn my thoughts to accessorizing in the room. A couple of weeks ago I found the beautiful decorative wall bracket you see pictured so I decided to look for an item on ebay (plate maybe) to hang above the wall fixture. Shopping on ebay can be fun but it can also be frustrating. This weekend I have lost on every bid that I have made! I do have my limits and I do a fairly good job of sticking to the limits but this weekend...call me a cheapskate. By the way, I bought the wall bracket at an antique market and from the moment I saw it I loved it. But of course I love almost anything with flowers.

Home Economics

I have come to realize that Home Ec is/was totally misunderstood. Most of you know that I was a Home Economics Education major. Yes, I can sew, cook, garden, make a home, cane chairs, refinish furniture, raise children with an understanding of child development, etc., but today I attended a luncheon with a program that helped me understand why Home Ec is dead. I went to a YWCA awards program with hundreds of attendees along with dozens of women leaders present. During the two hour program several beneficiaries of the YWCA shared their testimonies highlighting some of the life-changing programs developed by the Y. I was totally offended by one presentation by two young girls who said their moms told them to take Home Ec but they preferred math and science. They didn't have to be homemakers when they could be engineers or scientists. Home Economics is a science - or did someone forget to tell these girls?

Anyone who majored in Home Economics will tell you that classes in nutrition and diet and disease are not simply fluff. While most folks getting an undergrad degree have to take biology and chemistry classes, Home Ec majors were required to take the pre-med chemistry series. For some reason it was important for us to understand HOW soap was made and how it chemically bonded with grease. This can be important when trying to clean up a greasy dish or pan. As a Home Ec major we studied time management and motion in order to be more efficient. In order to graduate, we had to live in the Home Management house with our teacher, planning parties and entertaining, planning, shopping and preparing all meals (on a budget), working on home projects, cleaning the house while taking a full course load (and being observed and graded on how well we handled the stress of it all. Talk about multi-tasking). Meanwhile the science majors enjoyed a student's life. Home Ec folks were required to study the wiring of appliances, take art classes, finance and budgeting classes, demonstrations and presentations, child development, the exceptional child and counseling. I can't imagine a more well-rounded curriculum. I left Berry College feeling so confident knowing that whatever I decided to do, I would be able to do. What a shame that today's generation doesn't know or understand what Home Economics really was.

It is with great pride I say that I'm a Home Economics major - just wished the major still existed. The photos are of Catherine Cottage - my Home Management House residence. It was a log cabin built by the boys of Berry Schools. To learn more about the cottage, click here http://www.berry.edu/alumni/thecottages/catherine.asp
Just imagine handwaxing floors and walls and caning chair bottoms while going to school. It was a wonderful experience - what I wouldn't give to do it again! Long live Home Economics!!!

Where Did Time Go?

Just can't believe these precious little people are grown. So hard to realize how much time has past since this photo was taken (but then again look at the decor)!

Home is Where the Heart Is

Storms were terrible last night and at about 4 a.m. the sirens sounded so we headed to the basement. The interruption of sleep threw my schedule off a bit today but we still managed to get most of our tasks completed. Earlier in the week I had bought fabric to make some new things for one of the bedrooms that up till now has not gotten much attention. Yesterday I made a comforter and today Hassan got the board cut for the simple lambrequin/cornice for the window so next week we will work on getting it covered and mounted. I still have to make a dust ruffle, sheers, pillows and cover a chair bottom. It has been a while since I've gotten enthused about home projects so I can't wait to see how this room turns out.

Today most of Mother's Day was spent outside. Zein was here to help get the beds cleaned, lined and weeded. When we finished I went to get a manicure to get the dirt out from under my nails. I am thankful for the weekend and the wonderful day. It felt good to get so many things accomplished at home.

Mother's Day

Tomorrow, regardless of the weather, Zein will be working in the yard. His work in the yard is my gift for Mother's Day and I look forward to it each year. Rain or shine we will be getting some spring cleaning done in the yard and then we will have a cook out to celebrate the day. Sami and Mimi will set aside some time to call and it will make my day a very special one. I hope that each of you reading this post are blessed with children who have big hearts. Happy Mother's Day.

Flowers - Is That All You Can Talk About?

I was speaking to someone today and I mentioned that I had a blog. This person quickly said, "No point in reading your blog. My guess is, all you write about are flowers." There is some truth to that. To me there is such excitement in watching plants and trees grow and bloom. I think of flowers as the lace of our beautiful earth. They add beauty and grace to our landscape.

Today two of my friends shared really sad news with me and immediately I thought of sending flowers. While a bouquet of beautiful flowers cannot change a sad situation, flowers can serve as a symbol of many things.

This time of year we all start to think of summer, vacations, lemonade and the smell of freshly cut grass. In my mind when this time of year rolls around I think of picket fences and geraniums. Yes, here I go talking about flowers.

What are you thinking about these days?

Mother's Day Already

This weekend Hassan assembled my Mother's Day gift and I have already ordered the roses that will adorn the pillars. Please note that blogging is less frequent because ... it is spring! Next time I hope to post pictures of the four baby robins that are living in the nest on our front porch. They are so sweet.