Not today after all…

Life is unexpected, but that’s what makes it fun.  Bulletin board has to wait, sorry guys, I know, I know, I PINKIE swore, too.

Later…

My bulletin board is finished!!!!!

This has taken way too long, but it was such fun.  And yes, I’m the queen of overkill, so there is a lot of stuff on it, but I do love it.

All my favorite things right in front of me on the computer, so now I can gaze up and look at them anytime I want.  Lots of smiles to look at.

But we all know that bulletin boards are never finished, and I’m missing some friend’s pictures, but I’ll add to and take away when I have time.

You want to see it?  Just for all of you, I not only have pictures, but detailed instructions in case you love it, too, and want one.  Coming this afternoon. 

Pinkie swear…

~ jan

Tis the season…

The kids just left, the house is too quiet now. *sigh* It was such a good visit, despite the gawdawful temperatures that have turned my Home Sweet Heavensville into Hellville, we had a wonderful time.

I won’t even go into how nauseating this heat is, you’re all right there with me.  We had so much fun, despite the fact that we were prisoners inside the house.  Even the fireworks weren’t as enjoyable as past years.

We did have Posey County cantaloupe, pictured above, which is the best fruit you’ve ever put in your mouth. It’s grown nearby in sandy soil, prolific, despite the draught this year, and the flavor is absolutely amazing.  Deanna just loved it, it was so refreshing…

We did venture out to the movies and actually saw something that we all enjoyed, The Lucky One.  It was so good, here’s a trailer if you’re interested.

John helped us all week,  it was wonderful to get things done.  Best of all, he and LC built my bulletin board, which is totally fabulous, imo.  I took lots of pictures while they were building it, and I’ll post soon.  It turned out better than I thought it would, and I knew it would be great, the fabric just totally makes it!  I’m so excited.

We had great food, too, I posted recipes for White Wine Sangria and Lemon Raspberry Muffins on Jan CAN Cook.

But for now, I’m going to eat lunch, kick back and just do nothing.  Then I must finish up the new header.  I’m almost there…

~ jan

George W. Bush, a great humanitarian…

Strip away the politics, look at the picture for what it is.  Such a kind man, doing such good work….

And no, I didn’t vote for him, but somehow I don’t see our current president doing this with white children post presidency.  I know what you’re thinking, and trust me, I’m the first to admit that race shouldn’t factor in here, and it doesn’t at all in my eyes, and I would think not for 99% of the women that read this blog,  but I’m just sayin….

And don’t worry, I’m not going all political on you, this, and my prior post, are just a coincidence, pinky swear ;o)

~ Jan, getting real this morning…

Medicare Supplement Insurance just went up by 37%

Hubby has Mutual of Omaha supplemental Medicare plan, it’s a highly rated plan with good coverage, and it costs him $101 a month.

His insurance agent called yesterday, they just raised the premium to $138 per month, that’s a 37% increase, and I’m afraid that this is just the beginning!

THANK YOU, PRESIDENT OBAMA 

Happy July 4th…

John and Deanna came yesterday to spend the 4th thru the weekend with us.  She brought me the loveliest flowers from her garden.

Veggies from her garden, too.  I sauteed squash, onions, and peppers in bacon drippings last night.  It was wonderful!

I went to the woods yesterday, and picked Abby’s very, very favorite flowers, Queen Anne’s Lace,  put them in a Ball Jar with red food coloring, just like Mother used to do.  John had a big smile on his face at the memory.  This morning they are starting to turn orange, I’ll post another picture once they are colored.  We’re visiting Lindsay and Ryan later this month, I want to color some for Abby, too.

They brought Petunia, the bunny, it was too hot to leave her at home.  They had just come in the house, Izzie is fascinated with Petunia.  She just lays and gazes at her in her crate, and Petunia inches up nose to nose with Izzie.  Aren’t animals the most wonderful thing?

And that’s our July 4th so far.  It’s another scorcher, already 95 degrees at 11 o’clock, so we’re obviously not going to be picnicking by the river to watch the fireworks like we normally do.

But, oh how I love having my family around me, so we’re in for a fun weekend.  John picked up my fabric for the bulletin board, so the guys are going to build it for me.  More pictures to come.

Keep cool and have a wonderful holiday!

~ jan

Sirius Radio, Escape, Channel 69

I have my neighbor, Marti, to thank for this one.  She asked me this spring if I listened to "Escape” on Sirius Radio.  I told her I did, and I really thought I did, but I was so wrong.

One day I went to their station list, realized that Escape, Channel 69, was not what I was listening to and tuned in.

Well, first of all, you have to realize that I’m a huge fan of elevator music, but this is so much more, O!M!G! it’s a wonderful station.

The channel is described as "easy, Instrumental and vocal favorites and the great popular melodies popular over the last sixty years.”  I listen to it all the time, and last weekend the family was sitting in the living room later in the evening, Escape was playing, and Lindsay loved it, too.  It’s so relaxing, just a great mix of music.  So, if you’re a Sirius Radio person, and don’t know this channel, give it a listen.  It’s a goodie.  Pinkie swear it is!

~ jan

Now I understand why old women wear “dusters”

If you’re older than dirt like me, you remember dusters.  In fact, on any hot day you can go to Wally World and see old women still wearing something similar.  Dusters, housedresses, they used to be what women wore in the summer.

And now I get it, I really do.   After days of wicked heat, and more to follow, even in an air conditioned house, I don’t want anything touching me.  Now I’m not about to wear a housedress, so I’m living in my nightshirts right now, willing the doorbell not to ring.

And now I’m wondering if all of those old women wear underwear with their “housedresses?”  Ewwwww, what a thought, but I bet a lot of them don’t.

Actually the “dusters” in this picture are pretty cute.  I guess I’m being nostalgic, I think I actually had something similar to this way, way, back in the day when I was just a girl.

They probably sell these things at Sears, and even though it’s so ‘friggin hot I’m miserable, I think I’ll take a pass.  But give me five years and who knows…

Pottery Barn Bulletin Board for a Fraction of the Cost…

This one is $149 + $21 shipping, hubby can make this easily with great fabric for under $50!

And since I couldn’t handle being inside any longer,  we went out this morning, and trekked to our local fabric stores in search of fabric, because I’ve decided that now is the time to put a bulletin board in the sunroom behind my computers, something I’ve wanted to do for-ever.

I found the above one from Pottery Barn that I like really well, but I don’t like the price – $149 + shipping.  It’s so simple, hubby can make this for me, no problem.  It’s big 48x36, which is what I want, a great big one so I can put all my treasures on it.  I even have a clock to go inside it, and it’s much neater than the one in the picture ;o)

But what do I need for the bulletin board base, cork maybe?  Well, thanks to online shopping, I found this Designer Tack Bulletin Board in stock at our local Menards for $12.99.  How cheap is that?  It’s 48 x 32, just a bit shorter than the Pottery Barn 48 x 36, but it will work fine.

It’s great, push pins will dig into it nicely, it has no frame, which is what we want, since LC will build me a frame for it out of 1.5” boards, then we will attach the fabric by stapling it to the back of the frame, and I will end up with something looking similar to the Pottery Barn one, which is like a painting stretched on canvas, with no wood showing on the edges.

Depending on the fabric, I may need to line it with drapery fabric liner to add body, but I don’t want it puffy, so that’s yet to be determined.

And now for the fabric.  There is tons of linen at the fabric stores, the prices are cheap, but, let’s kick this up a notch.  Here are the choices that I’ve narrowed it down to.

This fabric is called Document, and it comes in beige with chocolate letters, like the above picture, or…

It also comes in this taupe and charcoal combination.

And then there is this fabric, Love Nest Cedar, which is awesome because it not only has script, but it has birds on branches, and this bulletin board will be right by  my window, where the finches feed.

So, even though I like the second fabric, and love the birds, I have to decide if I need to buy the first fabric, because the background color is similar to my walls in my living room, or the second color, which seems to match the sunroom better.  I love the birds but they are too fussy.  Oh decisions, decisions…

Okay, let’s talk money.  So far I have $13 plus tax invested in my tack bulletin board from Menard.  A yard of this fabric is $17, (it’s 55” wide, so no seams) and I can buy it at The Fabric House in Nashville.  Then LC has to buy boards to build the frame, that will cost approximately $10.  The only additional expense will be if I need to buy fabric to line this, and that’s cheap, $5.00.

So, my total cost to make this will be under $50, I’ll save at least $120 by not buying the one from Pottery Barn, and I think the french script will be a better look for my room than the plain linen.

However, you could do it with the plain linen or burlap and knock off even more money, because linen/burlap is around $5.99 a yard. 

Now my very favorite bulletin board is this one, I just love this, it’s also from Pottery Barn but no longer available.  It’s too rustic for my sunroom, but some of you might like to try and duplicate it.  It’s just so cool! The rusty bars are just drapery dowel rods that they’ve spray painted with Old World Gold/Bronze Paint.

So that’s whats going on in my little corner of the world.  It will take a few days to accomplish this, I’ll post pictures afterwards, and we’ll see how this all shakes out.

Weather is cooling off today, it’s only 105 degrees. 

~ Jan

Sally Field looks great without plastic surgery!

Sally Field is 65, and she looks great with long hair.  No plastic surgery either she says, her neck is going a bit, but she looks amazing.

Jan, don’t even go there.  Sally Fields is a size 2, that’s why she looks good with long hair.  No way can I grow my hair out, I would just look old(er).  But I do miss it, I loved long hair.  *sigh*

However, we do both have the same necklace.  She wore this necklace all the time on Brothers & Sisters, not the longer chain, the shorter one.  I bought one that looks just like it a few years ago, and I’ve worn it all the time since.  Why can’t I just be content to have the same necklace?  I’m never going to be a size 2 and be able to grow my hair out.  The woman doesn’t even have bat winged arms, for gawds sake.  How does she do it?  The hands look old though, the hands never lie.  Oh for Pete’s sake, she looks fantastic, I need to quit picking her apart!

Cute little dress, too…

I’m such a goof-off today. Um, pretty much EVERY day…

 

What I should be doing…

• Building a new header for The Dish, this one has been up too long
• Putting on my makeup, straightening my hair
• Organizing my jewelry drawers one.more.time, I’ve put this off forever!
• Folding laundry from the dryer
• Posting a blog entry to Jan CAN Cook

Instead I’m…

• Eating dill pickles and swiss cheese
• Reading about Katie Holmes divorcing Tom Cruise, no surprise there
• Looking at the finches on the feeder outside my window.
• Wondering if they are having trouble finding water
• Cuddling Maggie
• Playing around on Pinterest
• Figuring out which book I want to read next
• Thinking about just one more piece of cheese

I am so worthless.  I am!!!!

Oh well, Scarlett will do some of this tomorrow.  It’s too hot to go anywhere, who cares about the makeup and/or the hair, and it’s getting late, why bother getting dressed.  Hey, I’m the queen of justification, I can justify anything. 

But I really do want to build a new header, really I do!  The rest of it, not so much…

Let’s talk about the wea-ther!!!!!!

Everybody is obsessed with the temperatures right now, and for good reason, it was 107 degrees yesterday, forecasting triple digits here for the next few days.  106 today, and then a gradual cooling to 100 by the 4th!!!!

YIKES, YIKES, YIKES, it’s hot!  Luckily, did I just say luckily???? we have no humidity so the heat index is aligned with the actual temperature. But the lack of humidity is because we’re in a severe drought situation, so that’s not good either.  The grass is straw, poor hubby is dragging hoses all over the yard, watering tree’s daily, our wonderful spring and early June have gone to hell in a handbasket!

My friend Nisha’s daughter, Mandi, lives in Scottsdale, and Nish said yesterday that she didn’t really mind the heat, that it was like being in Arizona.  And I’m thinking, Sweet Jesus, why would anyone want to live in Arizona?

You walk out the door and it’s like a furnace blasting you in the face.  My body was instantly hot, I was in a foul mood, too.  I will never understand why people “voluntarily” live in the desert, but then I don’t know why we “choose” to live in this climate either.  I would ideally like to spend my summers in Wisconsin, my fall in Heavensville, winter anyplace but Florida, I’m not a fan of wrinkle cities, and spend spring back in Heavensville.

But it isn’t a perfect world, people have jobs, so they live where they need to be.  Hubby and I are retired, but we love Heavensville, we have roots here, my good friends are here, and they are like family to me, so we stay.  I don’t want to leave my cozy little nest and go away for a season, I love having all my things around me.

So, when we have these record high temperatures that we’re having now, I just don’t  stick my head out the door from 10am until 7pm, that’s my only coping mechanism.

Bun-Bun is in the sunroom with me again today, Deanna and John are visiting over the 4th and will bring Petunia, who will join Butterbean (in a separate cage, of course ;o) no rabbit hanky panky going on in my sunroom! We have to take care of the furkids, they can’t cool off like we can.  The M&M’s are lazing their days away, drinking iced water, oblivious to the heat until they go out to potty, which happens pretty quickly, I might add, even they have no desire to stay out and sniff the grass straw.

Stay hydrated my friends, and Jan, quityerbitchin, and just be glad you have a cool house to live in!  This too shall pass…

I have company in the sunroom today…

Temperatures today are forecasted between 107 and 111 degrees, much too hot for a little bunny rabbit with his fur coat on to be outside, even if he does have a shady house.

So I moved furniture around in the sunroom, and Butterbean is spending the day with me inside.  He’s currently eating his litter box, oh my, I didn’t know rabbits were so noisy!

Should be an interesting week, as it looks like he will be visiting me daily for awhile.

Stay cool and wish me luck.  Egads, he is LOUD!!!

Around the neighborhood…

It was such a pretty morning, I was out and about, enjoying the day, tomorrow they’re predicting 106 degrees, same on Friday, as well.  Our neighbor has a sunflower peeking over his fence, there is nothing more cheerful on a summer morning than a sunflower in full bloom.

It’s so dry in Heavensville, we spend our days watering trees and flowers.  We haven’t had rain since March, except for two days last month and the conditions are severe. 

I love the birds, and was listening to the mockingbird sing his song while I drank my morning coffee.

The fields are filled with butterflies, I thought of sweet Abby and wished she was with me.

And so it goes, just trying to live in the moment and not think ahead to the sweltering days that are ahead of us…

Abby came to visit this past weekend.

Oh my, she’s so precious.  Every month she changes so much.  She talks nonstop now, and entertains all of us with the things she says.

P-Pa bought her another dollhouse, a great big one this time, and he bought her a Little Tykes Kitchen.  She was excited with both of them, but it was the binoculars he got her that captivated her the most.  She constantly walked around looking thru them, often bent over, telling us she was searching for “clues.”  She has Rapunzel Crocs, pink ones, that she picked out herself, and she thinks they’re wonderful.  She also loves necklaces, so she was all decked out in the things she loved.

We took countless rides on Milly, and we went “really, really fast” and we squealed and laughed and sang as we rode along.  If I do nothing else with this grandchild, I want to instill a love of nature in her.  I’m doing a good job so far, we went to the woods, and she smelled the flowers, and touched the leaves.  We watched for birds, and listened to their songs, it was such a good time.

The Queen Anne’s Lace was her very, very favorite and she told everybody she saw that they were her very, very favorite flower.  Mother would have smiled if she knew that, Queen Anne’s Lace were her favorite, too.  She would pick them, bring them in the house and put them in a Ball Fruit Jar that was filled with water and food coloring.  Then we would have blue, yellow, red, all different colors of flowers.  I need to do that for Abby, it would be fun to relive that memory again.

She continues to love the iPad, it’s her other very, very, favorite thing.  She’s such a big girl, she sits now and plays on it by herself, and if I try to help, she says, “No thank you Grammie, I’ll do it by myself.”

She enjoyed tromping through the grass with her Auntie Trisher.  They found butterflies and dragonflies, and she was so excited, pointing them out to me.  She also wanted to see Mr. Bunny Rabbit, but he didn’t cooperate and come out to visit.  Later in the day she did get to see a rabbit, he was eating by the side of the road and wasn’t phased at all by the little girl on the golf cart giggling at him.

She says the funniest things.  She was getting ready for bed, Mama and Daddy weren’t fast enough for her, so she grabs her blanket, takes off down the hall yelling, “Cmon team, let’s ROLL!” 

She now likes the dogs, too and wants to pick Maggie up and carry her around.  She calls them both “Pal.”  She says “Hiya Pal” or Whatcha doin’ Pal?”  I ask her Mom and Dad where she comes up with these things, and they just shake their head.  Who knows, but it sure is cute!

They were getting ready to leave Monday, and she came to me in the sunroom and said, “Grammie, I’m going to cry.”  Abby always tells you first, before she cries.  I sat her on my lap and asked her why and she told me “I don’t want to go home.”  Oh my, talk about tugging at the heartstrings.  I told her we were going to come visit soon and she shrugged her little shoulders, and just wilted, then gave  a big sigh and said in a little voice, “okay.”

And we will see her soon.  Lindsay’s due date is August 24th, so we’re going to visit next month and give her a little break.

The key to organization IS containment…

I preach this all the time, organize by containers and you eliminate reduce clutter. 

I always have a ton of things on my ottoman, the magazines slide off in the floor, or Maggie jumps on top of them and scatters them to the winds, they’re messy, the clickers get lost, my cell phone gets buried under the clutter, I can’t find my iPod, you get my drift…

My buddy, V, has a big basket on her ottoman with all of her items in it.  Soooooo, yours truly had a moment of enlightenment and realized that I needed to do the same thing.  Rectangular ottoman = round basket, and round ottoman = rectangular basket.

Easier said than done.  I searched all over Heavensville for a round basket that would work, and found el zippo.  So I ended up with a rectangular one, angled it, and it fits the bill.  You would think baskets would be easy, but they aren’t!  It’s hard to find a tray basket that is a workable size, I did however, find one that I loved at Pier One for $59, but I didn’t love the price, so I ended up at Trees ‘n Trends and found a workable one on sale for $10.

I don’t think baskets are as popular as they once were.  I’ve been a fan since I was a girl, loved them forever, but I seldom see great ones anymore, just the samo.  Pottery Barn has the best ones, but they’re pricey and then you have to pay shipping charges, too.

Now I’m practicing what I always preach, the secret to organization IS containment! 

And speaking of, I have the ultimate, I did this earlier in the week, but that’s for another post.  Check back and see what I’ve been up to.  This is my best idea yet, well almost…

Hope it’s cooler in your part of the world, we’re sweltering here today.

~ jan

Happy Father’s Day to a wonderful Dad!

There is no greater joy in life than watching your child father his child.  Ryan is such an amazing Dad to Abby.  He’s so gentle and kind with her, he always stoops down to her level to interact with her, and she just soaks up his attention like a little sponge.  His patience amazes me, he always takes time to play with her, to guide her, to answer her constant questions.  It tugs at those heartstring just to watch the two of them interact.

Nobody one can set her off in a fit of giggles like her “Da-Da.”  Nobody makes her eyes light up like he does when he enters a room.  I feel to blessed this Father’s Day to have, along with LC, raised such a wonderful, good person as my son.

Happy Father’s Day Ryan, your mom is so proud of you!!!

You MUST try this Banana Nut Cake, SERIOUSLY DECADENT!!!

Holy Schmoly, this recipe is fantastic! If you like Banana Cake, you will love this.  I just posted the recipe on Jan CAN Cook.  Link here…

And yes, I took this picture, click on it to enlarge and see every morsel in glorious detail. Don’t you want a piece right now????  Sure you do, umhmmmm……

~ Jan, grinning wickedly…

Drugstore Alternative for Smashbox Photo Finish, Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel

 

This is definitely the find of the year, ladies!  In fact this might just be my best find, ever!  Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer is the most amazing product.  You put it on your skin, and it smooths your skin, fills in pores and your makeup glides on like silk.

I’ve used it “sparingly” for several years, ever since my friend, Barb, told me about it.  It’s a wonderful product, but it’s a tiny bottle, and it’s also spendy.

Barb and I were at lunch last month and she was talking about how her last bottle cost even more than the $36 we used to pay.  Now the prices have raised to $42, and that’s for that tiny little 1 ounce bottle.

So the quest was on, I searched online to see if there could possibly be an alternative that would work similar to the pricey Smashbox Photo Finish.

Well, it only took a few minutes, people were raving about Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel, sold for chafing and irritation of underarms, breasts and the bikini area.  They said that the ingredients were identical, except for a couple of vitamins that Smashbox threw in, and that it works exactly the same for a fraction of the cost.

I found it at CVS with the feminine products, way at the bottom of the shelf, and it was $8.50 for 1.5 ounces. 

So I snapped it up, brought it home, and the next morning I took it for a spin.

I opened the container, squeezed out a pea sized pearl, put it on my face, and O. M. G. it was exactly the same as Smashbox.  EXACTLY.  Same look, same feel, I applied it and my skin felt like silk, my makeup just glided on, I was absolutely thrilled with this find.

Bottom line, 1 ounce of Smashbox Photo Finish – $42

1.5 ounces of Monistat Gel – $8.50

Pretty cool, huh.  $8.50 and it’s a larger amount then Smashbox by .5 ounces.

When you apply it, put a pea sized pearl in your hands, warm slightly and apply in a downward motion on your face.  Don’t apply in circles, as it tends to ball up just a bit when you do this, or at least Smashbox did, just apply in downward strokes.  You will love the way it makes your face feel.

This is one of the best ever finds, treat yourself this weekend.  You won’t be disappointed, pinkie swear you won’t!  And shame on Smashbox for charging such an outrageous price for the same product ingredients that Monistat charges so little for.

And, if this gets your wheels spinning just Google “drugstore alternative” for any product that you buy and would like to purchase cheaper.  You never know what you might come up with.

Happy Saturday!!!

~ Jan

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood….

The mimosa, the tree of my childhood, is in bloom now.  I love the fern like fronds, the fuzzy blooms, they take me back to when we had one in the front yard.  It was next to a rosebush, and I have not so fond memories of riding my Western Flyer Bicycle down the hill by our house at full speed, the chain coming off, and me crashing between the rosebush and the mimosa tree, yelling at the top of my lungs for mom to come rescue me.

The wild blackberries are starting to get ripe as well.  Of course I plucked the ripe one and ate it, that’s what old(er) country girls do.

I hope it is as lovely a day wherever you are this sunny Saturday.  I’m going back outside, it’s too pretty to stay indoors…