. . . out with the old . . .

think back . . .

{WAAAAAAAY back}

. . . to the year 1983

{if you can}

what was going on in your life?

were you even born yet?

if you were me,

you were 25 years old

you'd been married 4 1/2 years

you had two darling little girls

{3 years old & 2 weeks old}

you were moving into a brand new home

you'd just finished building

where this plush forest green carpet

had been freshly installed

now fast forward to 2008

- 24 1/2 years later! -

and guess what's still around?

but . . . not any more!

oh, happy day last week
the end of an era
out with the green
in with the ginger spice

{she was/is my favorite . . .

don't you just love girl bands?}

seriously, though, that's the

name of the carpet colorno more commercial grade

green polka dot

family room floor

bring on the neutral
you know that thing about light colors

making the room look larger . . . it's true!

imagine the enormity

if the walls weren't red!

i probably will miss the green

at christmas time

{i might miss MAGGIE, too}

i'm not sure ginger spice

will look so smashing

with all that red & white

it's a chance i'm willing to take

you know they also say

"change is like manure . . .

it stinks!

but, it's good for growth."

i thought it was just that

new carpet smell

food for thought . . .

if ginger spice lasts

as long as forest green,

i'll be 73 the next time

i get new carpet

. . . i spy . . .

the first quilt i ever attempted

turned into a fairly ambitious undertaking

{read: it gave me carpal tunnel syndrome!

my left thumb & forefinger are

still [3+ years later] numb

from holding down the acrylic template

with all my might

whilst rotary cutting

around each hexagon shaped fabric piece}

when i finally got over my

feelings of bitterness

towards the offending project,

& actually finished piecing it,

setting it,

having it quilted & bound,

i was {naturally} a little over protective

{read: if you think any child

is ever going to touch this work of art,

you are sorely mistaken}

i was wrong

case in point:

addison

demonstrating how to

look for & find whatever

"i spy with my little eye" . . .

she totally gets the concept -

you know, she tells us

what it is that she spies

& then waits for us to locate it halleigh,

on the other hand,

enjoys telling us exactly

what she "spies"

& then she proceeds to point it out

to everyone playing

tate

just likes firetrucks {& rockets}

the little game inevitably turns into

facemaking/acting crazy/laughing uncontrollably

the end

p.s. sorry you had to look at that skeleton in my previous post for such a long time. and again, thanks to all of you wonderful friends/readers who have been asking/commenting/calling/praying for/worrying about my husband. that means so much to us. the latest news i can give you is this . . . he is still recuperating from surgery {2 sites - one in his hip/cheek, and the other right on his spine [where they actually chip away a portion of vertebrae to be able to insert electronic leads into the epidural cavity of the spinal column]} which will in itself take plenty of time . also, this week, the device itself was powered up/programmed to begin the process of confusing the pain signals the offending nerves are sending to the brain. he believes he is getting some relief from the nagging three+ year old pain. hurray! soon the process of weaning himself from extremely high levels of medication will begin. this will not be easy. he has a long way to go to regain his physical strength/functionality. so . . . what i guess i'm asking for is more support & compassion as he continues down this long, hard road. it is so refreshing, however, to see a teensy weensy light at the end of the tunnel! again . . . thank you so much. we definitely feel of your strength!

. . . a BIG day . . .

say a little prayer

for my husband

as he FINALLY

undergoes surgery today.

he is going to be

the proud owner/wearer/carrier of

a spinal cord stimulator

you can read all about it here

it's kind of/really

a big deal/scary.

it just has to work!

. . . something you don't see every day . . .

blogs can be really inspiring.

THIS cute girlfriend

gave herself a challenge,

which in turn,

for some reason challenged me.

well . . . lookee here . . .

iron in the cupboard

ironing board actually folded up
two empty cans of light starch
final ten shirts looking good
and {this has NEVER actually happened before!}

an empty rack

where once hung

oh so many wrinkled items

on a sad note . . .

drew just came home from work

and he had the nerve

to put a dirty shirt

{one that needs to be ironed!}

in the hamper.

unfortunately . . .

good stuff never lasts.

. . . fine art . . .

i love finding treasures like this

after the grandkids leave . . .

artist: addison

age: 5 years, 5 1/2 months

medium: pencil

title: ice skating with frosty

. . . i wouldn't go so far . . .

. . . as to slap this on my bumper,

but i'll admit . . .

. . . some days i GOTTA

agree with this ↓ lovely sentiment . . .. . . but don't worry . . .

today's not one of those days!

{so far}

. . . end of year events . . .

halloween . . . did it

thanksgiving . . . finished

christmas . . . over

new year . . . just began

must be time for . . .

. . . autumn in arizona . . .
that period of 3-5 days

in early january
when the leaves turn golden
& fall from the trees
& during that
same brief time span,
new buds appear

fresh green leaves pop out
& johnny jump ups . . .

well . . . they jump up

time to dig out

the leaf blower & rake

{oh . . . & finish putting away

the christmas decorations}

after all . . . it's practically spring