Coming home

Tennessee is a great place to visit, but it's time to get back home. This has been a wonderful week...seeing my new granddaughter, playing with my grandson, visiting with my son and wife.....I've enjoyed every minute. Now it's time to hit the road again. I don't want to come back to the cool weather and the beginning of fall. Jenny tells me that I don't have to go..I could just stay awhile longer, but after a week I'm ready for my old routines and my house. More pictures will follow when I get home. Today was a great birthday..we celebrated with lunch at the Olive Garden and then a little shopping. Believe it or not.all I bought were a few candles at Target. I looked at a lot of pretty things, but since I don't need anything and am trying a new rule at my house "Use what you have" I'm not bringing much home this trip. Adios, Tennessee

more fun with family

Chris gave me a Wii for my birthday along with a wireless router which he will have to set up so that I can view Netflix movies on my tv at home. Meanwhile he showed Sean how to play the games.

Sean really misses Chris since he went home today. He played so much with Sean.

Baby Sara is so beautiful but everytime I snap the shutter she seems to move. Here she is sitting outside and doesn't like the sunlight in her eyes, even though she is in the shade.

Chris is so good with children. They all follow him around like the Pied piper. He is so much fun and gets down on their level to entertain them. He's a great daddy to his own children, who are 19 and 15.

Family time

It is great to see the family. Sean loves his baby sister. Of course, I held her every chance I got, She is a wonderful baby.

GOODBYE AUGUST, HELLO SEPTEMBER

Goodbye, summer. Even though the temperature here is still 80, September has arrived. This has been the hottest summer on record for a long, long, time and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it (even the extremely hot days that I couldn’t sleep for lack of a cool breeze). But my favorite season is coming up. I love the crispness of fall, the colors of the changing leaves, the smell of cinnamon and apples, and the layering of sweaters. Is it too early to get out my fall decorations? The stores are already putting out Christmas ornaments. I hate to say goodbye to the flower gardens but even they are hanging their heads these days, worn out by summer’s blooming. 

Out with the pinks

In with the fall…..

What is your favorite heirloom?

Three hobnailed vases are my favorite heirloom. My father always came in from outdoors with some flower or branch and mom put them in one of these small tabletop vases. I know I got my love of vignettes from seeing something always on display in these vases. Every time I put a stem in one I think wistfully of them. Please leave a comment and tell me about your favorite heirloom.

Always a project

I’ve heard about people who have everything done….but that’s not us! There always seems to be some project, indoors or out, which is on the “to do” list. I thought that retirement would be a relaxing, sit on the porch swing and read time, but find that my days are filled with “projects”. I’ve had a terrific summer…but have gotten things accomplished too. My latest project was redecorating our bedroom. I’m almost done and very satisfied with the results. Don’s latest project was expanding Sadie’s fenced in area so she would have space to run. Today he is putting up the gate that he made so he can get his riding mower inside to mow.

 
How do the blueberries look? The other day I was sitting outside and looked up at the patch and Sadie was eating the blueberries off the branches! No wonder we didn’t have many….LOL!

We have a baby!

We have a baby! last night at 7:45 Sara Madison Karrasch was born in Knoxville, TN. She is 7 lbs 9 ozs and 21” long. Since I have 2 sons, and 3 grandsons I welcome a girl to the family!

FUN AT THE LAKE HOUSE

mORE CHANGES

There, doesn’t that look more balanced? I think Peggy abhors a vacuum.

I’m also trying this in the “hole”. The Venus is a charcoal drawing that I made in art school.

HAPPY 88TH BIRTHDAY, MOM

I talk a lot about my in-laws and there’s a reason for that. They are the best family and we are lucky to have them. last night we went to Rose’s in Eldred to celebrate her birthday and say goodbye to brother Tiger and his girlfriend, Barb, who will be moving to Kentucky next week. We will miss them and our card nights.

Bedroom Redo

The bedroom is really coming together now that I am getting art work and accessories in the room. The curtains are hung and the tiebacks in place.




To the right of the bed I hung this artwork. On the upper right is a watercolor painting I did inspired by my trip to France. The oil painting I acquired at a sale and to the right are pictures I took in France. 




I decided to use the birdhouses on the dresser.

Doesn’t this side of the room look barren now? Hmmm……

GOOD PHILOSOPHY

I saw this on another blog and it hit home with me. So much of how we feel about ourselves comes from what we look like on the outside. And who is 100% happy with the image they see in the mirror each morning? We are so critical of our flaws. We wouldn’t criticize our best friends the way we do ourselves. It’s time we accepted ourselves and loved us for being the person we are. We should always feel pretty.

THINGS ARE A CHANGIN’

 
There are a lot of changes going on at the Karrasch place. Sadie has a new and improved back yard. In this picture you can see how Don moved the fence way back to the woods so Sadie can have more running room. She seems to enjoy the extra space.

There are changes in the bedroom too…new paint, new duvet cover, and new curtains. Now it is time to accessorize. Should it be bird houses or a horse?  What do you think?


This gives you an idea of the plaid Austrian valance that I found at JCPenney’s today. Don’t mind the way it looks, I just pulled it over the sheers. Tomorrow I will get a proper rod for it. That flower arrangement at the right side of the bed will not stay there either. I have to redo it and it will go on the other side of the room.


Looking good, don’t you agree?

New Bedding, new room

Here’s a sneak peek at the new bedroom. Don finished painting it after I took down the border which was around the wall (like a chair rail). It really isn’t as yellow as it looks in these picture, more of a cream.  I searched all over Erie for proper window treatments, but didn’t find a thing that I thought was appropriate. I hope that I don’t have to sew my own like I did in my living room and kitchen. I guess that’s the only way to get exactly what I like. Now I’m looking for art, pillows, and accessories. I think I found a picture I liked at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Don’t you think the furniture would look better with an antique ivory finish? I do. I’ll never talk Don into that.LOL. 

Eat, Pray, Love

What a great evening. My friends and I went to see the new Julia Roberts’ movie: Eat, Pray, Love.  The scenery was beautiful and the story although slow moving in places was entertaining. Afterwards we ate at Applebee’s. It’s so much fun being with the girls!

FISH PARTY 2010

It was a beautiful night for a party…the temperature was just right, warm with a slight breeze. It was time for our biannual walleye fish fry.

Our friend, Bill, picked corn from his garden and Scott and Dan got busy husking it. 


It took Don over an hour to fry all 15 pounds of Walleye. He drenches it in cornmeal and dips it in a beer batter. Everyone just loved it, even non fish eaters licked their chops.


The courtyard was set up with tables all ready for the guests.


Kay is cutting the cherry pie as Lynda looks on. Carol is deciding among the varied desserts.


Yrsa and Linda are gabbing away after finishing their plates. There were so many good dishes…we loved the zucchini and squash casserole, the fruit salads and calico beans.


Dan’s Bradford friend, Samantha, came and later they went to the races.



Don is talking to his aunt Sue. 

 
We all had  a great time!