The end of Cub Scouts

 

Den 12 Crossover - Arrow of Light

I'm washing Hubby's Cub Scout leader shirt for the last time.  He asked me to "mothball it", meaning clean it and put it up forever.   No more den meetings at our house with busy Wednesday nights getting dinner served and cleaned up, the flags out, the water buffalo filled, the patio cleared off, Bubbie dressed, the scout box and other supplies out. No more "base camp" at the start of the next school year. We can tear down the play scape and re-landscape the back yard, and get rid of these folding camp style chairs that are falling apart from years of use. I will sew the last two patches on Bubbie's brag vest and mothball that, too.  I will sew The Arrow of Light patch on his Boy Scout uniform.  I will print up the photos from the last few meetings and add them to his scout photo album.  And Hubby and I will sigh to ourselves that we gave the boys a firm skills foundation with scouting, and readied them for school and life.

Gina

In the front yard...

 Photo #2 - Moon Rising over Rustown!

...this is what the moon looks like through the oak tree.  I guess I could have waited a couple of nights til it was fuller; I  still might.  Then, I'll just add another on to this post.  A moon can be full, just like a life. Right?  Even tho it's not the moon that's changing the scene, but the Sun and Earth.  OK, I know I'm not a rocket scientist!  I just like pausing outside of my front door in the evenings, noticing such things..

Thrifting and splurging

Today I had a good time at Thrift Town, rolling the aisles, listening to retro 80's muzak. I did happen upon these items;  a Hawaiian shirt for Hubby, a long sleeve Eddie Bauer tee for me in my favorite color, a nut grinder and this cute dish. I spent a whopping $5.37.  Whoo-hoo!  I also decided to make this pic my first of 100 photos:

Melissa's Rose - Photo #1

When we went to my sister's house on Christmas Eve this was blooming next to her deck.  In December.  I think it's a sign.  You know - stop and smell the roses, or some such.  While you are busy with your life, unexpected beauty may be right in front of you.  

                       Gina                                            

What's in my make-up bag (drawer)?

There's a cute site called Chic Critigue that's doing a give-a-way with this topic.

Here is what I use when I can spend a few minutes sprucing up:

Maybelline Great Lash mascara in Brownish Black.

Revlon Powder Blush in Berry Rich

Covergirl Outlast Smoothwear eyeliner in a dark brown

Revlon Colorstay Mineral Make-up in Light Medium

 That's it.

I like the au naturel look most of the time.

I am against coloring my silver hair.  And I love fragrance - scented lotions, soaps, sprays. The way you look every day is a direct reflection on how you feel, so do you!

Gina

Lunch with my girl

It was a little too quiet today at my house so, The Girl came home to have lunch with mama. OK, not really.  she's having lunch with whomever she is texting. And in between bites, she is socializing. with me.

me:   "Honey, can you let me take your picture?

You look so pretty today.

I love that your eyeshadow matches your shirt."

her:   "No, but at least I will

put the phone down for 10 seconds.

Then I shall announce to you that I work til closing tonight,

grab my Sonic uniform, and hit the door.

As I pull out of the driveway I shall treat you to my loud boom-boom muzak."

*sigh*

Gina

Nuts to you. And me.

Today I am going to focus on getting these jobs done that I have been putting off.  Why did I agree to buy 5 lbs. of slightly cracked pecans?  I must have been nuts.  I've had these suckers since right before Christmas. So it goes without saying, I guess, that we had nut-less stuff to eat over the holidays, except for the few I bought already shelled.

I will give myself an hour to finish up this job. then the rest of them will go into the freezer. 

Gina

From blah to brown...

Or, not brown - "Gaucho".

(but at least its no longer green!)

The room seems darker, but that can be resolved with lighting, and this area has big windows.  It's not like we hang out in this room, but that might change once the new comfy furniture gets all settled in.  I like it.  It's calming. Natural. 

Happy 20th Birthday

Spencer Austin

I've always liked this picture of my oldest.  It was taken in Kindergarten.  He had a rough time there, but this picture shows a warmth and sincerity in his eyes, a sweet face, and a little boy who is trying hard to do what is asked of him.  This is a boy who was was kissed often, cherished and loved.  And he still is, even if he's a big 20 year old!  We have high hopes for you and are proud of what a good kid you turned out to be, and we love you very much!

Gina

Green around the gills

That's what this color of green reminds me of...it's a little sickly.  It used to be so pretty in here - I forget the name of it, but it's a Martha Stewart color and the darker version of it is under the chair rails.  However, with the new furniture colors and curtains it's just not right. The light in here makes it look mint green.  
Not pretty.

Also, I hate the arrangement of junk on the shelf.  Way too much stuff.  Plus, we now have little to no blue in these rooms, so that lampshade has got to go. My plan is to paint the walls of the living room nook a sandy color. I think it will look good with the furniture and a couple of things I want to leave on the shelf.  All of the family portraits cannot stay. Nor the Bundles of silk flowers in Hard Rock Cafe drink glasses.
Nor that wrought iron thingy on the wall.

I do have a fair amount of crystal stuff that,  if I place strategically, might look nice.  Ever notice how one change to a room seems to spawn about a dozen others?

Old Faithful

This is one of the few times you will ever see or hear me actually saying something nice about the van.  Because, really, it gets 13 miles a gallon and drives like a school bus.

Except for times like these when I  absolutely have to have it to move something.  This orange couch?  9 ft. long.  (If it hadn't fit in the van I was tempted to saw it in half.)  The upholsterers charge $100 to pick it up and take it to the shop.  But I have this van and I have Firstborn.  I could take the seats out, hoist the sofa up in there, drive carefully, and buy him lunch.  So I did! 

Now we wait for the fabric to come in.

Gina

The living room chairs are done!

Before

After!

Firstborn and I picked up the 'new' chairs today and what a difference new fabric made!  Of course, this means the couch looks even shabbier, but not for long, as I have plans to drop it off at the same place this week. The chairs were threadbare in places and quite dirty.  The new fabric is softer and more neutral so we won't have to match the couch exactly, and it will coordinate beautifully with the cushions. Tomorrow I will take them a couple more yards of fabric to make arm rest covers when I drop off the couch. 

Gina

Cannary Motto

At first I wanted to call this my motto.

Then it occurred to me that it could apply to the rest of my family members.

So maybe I should call it the "Cannary Family Motto".

Maybe if we all relax and and keep moving in the right direction, 2010 will be a successful year.  Not that it wouldn't have been anyway.

But maybe we'll just save ourselves a little sanity.

And actually have fun in the process of moving through the year.

A good day to cook (and eat!)

It is ridiculously cold and windy outside and I am homebound, by choice, for the day.  What better way to spend it than by working my way thru my new cookbook. 

So far I have made the meatloaf, which was wonderful with bacon and a sweet ketchup-y sauce on top; Olive Cheese bread which was very rich and incredibly good, served with homemade potato soup; Oatmeal Crispies cookies full of chocolate chips and pecans;  and for lunch today we are having Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich made with onions, lots of butter, and cubed steak.  I also plan on fixing Prune Cake and the pan fried pork chops for dinner.  I don't mind being "stuck at home" as long as I can cook up something great!

Pine flowers

I really love pine cones.They are so like flowers and look really neat nestled among the china in the dining room or on the mantle.  It's a nice homage to winter without being too Christmas-y.  The tree we cut in Elgin this year had many of  these 'babies".  They even still smell like the tree itself and sniffing them reminds me

of the great Christmas we had!