Sunday, May 29, 2022

Our Kitty Ace

Hello friends.
I had not planned this post today.
It is with a heavy heart
that our Ace kitty went to heaven.
Born approx. July 4th 2011,
according to our vet,
he would have been 11 years old this year. 
We found him passed away in our laundry room
after coming home from working the stores yesterday.
Bob buried him in our backyard in one
of his favorite blankets.


We called him our investigator.
Any time we brought something new in.
he would get underneath it or inside it
to investigate.


He had a black heart on one side of his body,
and an inverted on on the other side.
We named him Ace of Hearts.


He picked me and was my favorite.
There were some girls at a store one year
with a box of kitties.
They urged me to come look at some kittens.
They told me they had found them
and wanted to give them good homes.
I did not want to look at any of them, but I did.
There were four lil babes in that box,
and only one kept meowing at me.
The farther I walked away, the louder he got.
I called Bob when I got into the car
and asked him if I should bring him home.
Bring him home I did. 


Peepers our other cat became his best friend.
 


His other black heart shown here.
He gave me joy to my own heart.


He loved that catio Bob made for our kitties.
In fact Ace was wondering just a few days ago
why I would not open the window they normally
went out to go outside.
Bob had to dismantle the catio so they could
install our new windows
He was going to make a new one for them soon.


Ace and Peeps are now together again.


The three amigos is what we called them when Shadow
joined us.
He was also a rescue kitty.
Now Shadow does not know what to do.
We are hoping he warms up to Tundra now.


Ace was a joy!
We enjoyed almost 11 years.
After surgery,
he had been on urinary dietic food
since he was 2.
Then earlier this year we found out he
became diabetic.
So more meds.
We did not care how much money was spent on him.
He was our kitty. 


I cried and cried when I lost Peeps.
Now I am doing the same.


We are so glad you chose us to be part
of our family Ace.

My son Matt said he was the coolest cat ever.
Very friendly to all who walked inside our home.
He will be missed tremendously.

For my friends with pets,
you know they become part of your family.
They bring us joy and laughter...
and bring a loss when they are gone.

In other news,
I hope everyone is enjoying their
Memorial Day weekend.
Please take some time to remember the reason
for this holiday.

Also it broke my heart once again to 
hear about another school shooting.
Just wish this madness would stop.

Memorial Day Blessings To All!
Janice













Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Living Room

Hello my friends!
May is almost over.
I am on vacation until after Memorial Day now.
WOOHOO!
I will be gardening, crafting, cleaning and grilling
weather permitting.

 


This is where I decided to hang Dancing Rabbits.
It looks a little wonky though. I will need to fix it.


On this wall of our living room.


Decided to snap more pics of this room.
Bob made the red cabinet in front.
One day I will look for some paint chips
that will match more of the antique red
cabinet in the back...but for now it stays this color.


View looking from our front door.


We have hickory wood floors throughout our home.


This rug is an antique rag rug.
It has a center seam as looms in 
earlier times were not this wide.



Another view.


I traded out our red chair to this
for the Summer months.


This is another antique rug.


The back for Saundra.


Finally a simple display of some of my
baby shoes just tucked in a wreath.

In other news,
Mikayla's birthday party was nice.
The weather was cool, but at least no rain.

Speaking of rain,
on Saturday morning about a half hour
before opening the store,
a severe storm rolled in.
I became concerned when the hail started.
It was the size of a golf ball,
and was pelting sideways.
So glad no windows were broken in the store or my car.
I was sure a tornado was a coming though,
so I grabbed Tundra and we hid in the bathroom.
I had no time to run over to our antique store.
Wish I did as that building has a basement.
We did lose power for a bit, but
thankfully it came back up.

Half of our front garden is now complete.
Bob is now working on getting the other
half ready by getting rid of that
invasive shrub that did NOT die. 
We call it the beast.
We are not sure at this point if we should
plant more shrubs or wait a year,
to make sure this shrub is dead.
Will let you know what we decide later on.

Hope everyone has a great day!
Thanks for following along
and commenting.
I truly appreciate it!

Living Room Blessings To All!
Janice 









Saturday, May 21, 2022

Having A Spring Fling

Hi friends!
The weekend has approached once again.
Where does the time fly?
Spring is also turning into Summer already.
Humid temps and storms,
but thankful no blizzards or snow,


I did a few Spring displays in the kitchen,
so I thought I would share. 


This is my current table display.


Various spring flowers in different containers.
Just a simple one.


My runner is a heavy checkerboard patterned piece.
A rag rug runner.


On top of the refrigerator.


Finally my Spring/ Summer pitchers.
Notice my recent wheat one in the middle
to the left.
It fit perfectly.

In other news,
tomorrow we will celebrate my granddaughters
 15th birthday.
Hot dog and hamburgers on the grill.
Hopefully it wont rain.

My mom is here with us until Monday.
More time with her.
We had Chinese takeout last night.
(she loves it)
Tonight we are going out to dinner
after we close the stores.

We had a morning thunderstorm
roll in on Friday.
Tundra was a barking maniac.
So I let him out of his crate
and he slept in our bed for a few hours.
(I needed more sleep)
Its what I told Bob...which was true.

Well speaking of Tundra,
he and I are off to Tim Horton's
and then work the gift shop.
More storms are due to come in,
so hopefully he will ne fine at the store.

However speaking of storms,
here in Michigan we do not often get tornadoes.
One did touch down yesterday afternoon
in Gaylord.
1 person lost and 23 injured is what I know for now.
The part that even scared me more was that
my sister and BIL have a summer cottage up there. 
She was heading up there yesterday morning.
When I called her she told me they were
5 miles from town when there phones blew up
with texts telling them to take cover.
Glad they are alright, but sad one life was taken.
Please say a wee prayer for that family,
and for those who were injured.

What's on tap for your weekend?

Spring Fling Blessings To All!
Janice




Tuesday, May 17, 2022

May CupboardScape

Hello friends!

May always brings me back to being
at gramma H's farmhouse when she did
Spring cleaning. 
 

As the saying goes April showers
bring May flowers.
This year it seems we had more snow than rain.

I bought these children's rubber galoshes
(rubber boots) during my annual 
antique trek last year in August.
I thought they were just adorable!


 
Added in these pussy willows and white lilacs.
Gramma H had tons of purple lilac trees.
When we did laundry outside in May.
The fragrance was addicting.
When she brought them inside
it was even more.
I so love lilacs.

         

Tucked in my tulip quilted lil pillow,
and some tulips next to it.


Gramma H would clean all of her pillows,
throw rugs, quilts and sheets outside this time of year.
Scrub brush and soap was always nearby.
along with a bucket of water.


When her soap became to small to use,
she safely added it to her soap saver.
Once full, she would take the pieces 
and put them in another container.
Once she had that container full, she would
make more soap.
Waste not. Want not. 


I purchased this Pussy Willow wreath at
Joann's at 60% off a few weeks ago.
A Spring statement it makes.


The pillows and rugs were beat
outside on the clothesline with  a rug beater.
I always had fun doing that!
Oh the dust that came out.
Needed a bath afterwards. LOL


Gramma H did not always have a washing machine.
She would have needed to use a washboard.
This wood washboard was not hers.
I purchased it years ago.
Her first washing machine was the wringer.
Oh how I hated that machine.
Almost got my hand caught in it once.


Just love the colors in this cupboardscape.
So Springy.
Is that even a word?  :-)


Snapped a few pics of some of the quilt squares.


The colors are more vibrant
in this square.


Even more brighter.


This square was missing a few of the blue.
A well worn loved quilt for sure.


The blue tick pillow is a child's one.
Old and stained.
They sure dont make them like this anymore.
My mom still does use heavy ticking though
when she needs to redo her feather pillows.

Well I hope you enjoyed this month's
CupBoardScape.
I had fun creating it for sure!

Do you have a spring ritual you do every year?

May Blessings To All!
Janice









 


 

Friday, May 13, 2022

Rug Placement

 Happy Friday the 13th my friends!
I have a friend who will not leave her house
on any Friday the 13th.
We worked together until she retired,
and whenever this day came along,
she would either call in sick or take
a vacation day.
She was that superstitious.


I am thrilled over the moon
where I decided to hang my latest rug.
My living room is mostly red, 
so this is where it will stay.
Well its on the hall wall.
My current display has my Memories pillow.
Wood hornbeam with faux fern and lavender
on top of a rye basket.
Also my newest makedo light.


Two more rye baskets.


I folded over this primitive looking runner.
I like that it is double sided and heavy.
Am selling these in our gift shop.
Get them before they are gone if you want one.


I asked Bob to raise my man picture
so the rug would look nice here.
Sorry about the glare.
It is from our window in our front door.


This display will stay thru June.


For those that love my faux dandelions,
they are once again out for the season.


The entire display is on my drysink.
I added a breadboard to the left to raise it a bit.
The two rye baskets sit inside.
Huge Wood bowls below always stay put.

In other news.


On Mother's Day my son surprised me
at the store with these beautiful roses!
They are as pretty still today.
My daughter and kids were sick with colds,
and did not want to infect me.
She called which was fine with me.

My commute to work,
is just brutal.
Am so tired when I get home,
that take out is the dinner that night.
3 hours on the road & 9 hours at work. UGH 

The only bright spot is going through the marsh.
The main road goes right through it
for over a mile,
with water on both sides at times.
It is 120,000 acres filled with wildlife.
This week I saw the swans but no babies.
Muskrats, coots (black ducks)
A goose family with their babies,
Mallards and Canvasbacks.
Still no herons or egrets.
You have to be careful as sometimes
their are turtles crossing, muskrats
and the swans.
There are signs posted saying wildlife area,
but lots of folks don't care.
I try to keep an eye out as not to hit anything.

 So sorry I have not been commenting back
to your comments.
I so appreciate them.
Will go back and respond in a few days.

Was so exhausted last night I went to bed
before it even got dark.

Well off to work at home today...
thank god.
Have a marvelous weekend my friends!

Friday The 13th Blessings To All!
Janice