Happy Anniversary To Us!!!!!

They said it would never last!

Update!!! I wrote this 7 years ago. We made it another seven years!!! 50 YEARS!!!! 

Best decision I ever made.

Oh my look how young we were - over 40 years now! We were married quickly - and nooooo- I wasn't expecting- that sort of expecting anyway. I wasn't expecting that Jeff was being drafted on the day we planned to get married.....so we married in the middle of the VietNam war in a big hurry. And then they weren't drafting married men.........

so we stayed civilians............ and we were so happy just the two of us and our Mustang and then Uncle Sam sent another letter and we decided to ...........

have a child and become hip 70's people with long hair, big glasses and mustaches so we had a beautiful son and stayed civilians Then we had another son and a lot of years passed and we were safe from the draft!!!!!
And the years flew by and we got older and I'm so grateful that I have the love of my life to grow even older with. I wouldn't change a thing.So this is my little love letter to you, Jeff. Happy Anniversary. Love, Nancy

PS Love that Jackie Kennedy pillbox and I was into toile before toile was ever cool! Wish I could have found our AFRO hair pictures! Wish I knew how to use the scanner correctly!!!!!!

Scrappy Jessi's Toy Party!

I totally forgot ScrappiJessi's big toy party I signed up for. So here's my sad story. I should never have signed up for this because I think I was toy deprived as a child. Look......here's my story - I was apparently happy the first few years and then at five I had to learn to.........Share!!!!!!It was awful. My sister had cool cowboy boots and look at me - I'm barefooted! She had a puppy and there I am again - emptyhanded. Then to really top it off - she got a horse! I should never have signed up for this toy party I'm really getting depressed. So I just had my dolly and my big wheel tricycle and my favorite book.....
I've kept it all these years and it's my bible that I live by!

I'm sure if my sis was still here she might just tell a different story and she might be right but nahhh....I like mine better.

Click on the picture to see my sad story up close!

Click on the title to go visit ScrappyJessi's fabulous toy party then visit her friends to see their cool toys.

Memory Blessing Rings

This is a Memory Ring and its just a wonderful place to keep the cards and keepsakes that you receive. Jeff makes these rings for me out of copper wire that was his grandfathers! It's a fake one - I made the MR but all those cards are my sisters......I'm not nearly that popular.

I just got these listed in my etsy store- hopefully in time for Mother's Day. They aren't pink but they look it. It's hard to get a full view of these.
The little tag reads: To you I give the blessing ring. Each time you are remembered in a word or action, place it on your ring..." A card, a letter, a token, a Bible verse, a photo...punch a hole in it, string it on your Blessing Ring.

Here's one made using handmade paper (not by me even though I'd like to take credit because it's really beautiful!) in soft browns, white and ecru.

Oh yeah, now I find the picture of the tag that explains it all.

This is a special order and it's just about my favorite ever.......Lots of tags with the brownie "smile" song and promise andthe cutest little poem ever!!!!!!!

These are some that I made for a birthday order. They are watercolored and handlettered and sold. Yea!
Here's a little grouping of some that are also sold but just to give you an idea of different types that people ask for.It takes me forever to get halfway decent pictures of this stuff. I do believe I could use a basic skills photography class or a new camera! For now it's nap time Sunday for us all, right??? Nancy

Highlights from Relay!!!

Too Many Bags

Relay for life was a big success. Where were you guys??? I missed you. Thank you Judy and LaVerne and Kim for your auction items and driving up from New Braunfels. LaVerne and I stayed the entire night and Jeff came at 6am to take the tents down.
Just look at this lovely tent! There's Team Captain Candy and hubby Jeff rigging our campsite with tall bamboo so we could be seen from Chicago.


Here's our Award Winning Campsite - ahem - voted grand champion 1st place winners!!!! (Not to brag or anything)


Do not ask me why my husband is wearing a skirt - he is such a dork. (My son does not dress in girl clothes so apparently this little quirk skipped a generation)

3a.m. Can you see the icicles hanging from the tent? The temperature was low 40's but the windchill was about 30 below zero - honest. It was freezing.
The little drag queen and his friend the other drag queen. He raised over a Hundred dollars. See that ample bosom? It's full of $$$$$$$$. (My grandson is in the short dress and I am posting this completely without his permission) Sad to say he did not win the Ms. Relay for life contest.Our team raised about $3000 and the collective goal for the event was $125K and guess what???It was $140 thousand dollars. Isn't that wonderful? I like the slogan I saw on the ACS website -

It's Not about the Money - It's ABout Finding a Cure!

Tea by the Sea

Look at this lovely package that arrived in the mail last week. My partner Heidi (in Artsy Mama's Vintage Party Swap) knew that each year my friends and I spend a few days having "Tea by the Sea". So in keeping with that she put together this amazing tea party! What a beautiful handpainted box, delicate teacups adorned with shells, sailboats floating across a vintage tablecloth, and a sweet little book on friendship.
She found this wonderful tray with a couple of ladies taking their - Tea by the Sea. Tucked inside the box is a delightful assortment of teas and vintage molds so I can make Madelines plus a beautful china teabag holder shaped like a shell. See the ocean sky peeking out behind it all - that's the pretty tissue that everything was wrapped in and then all tied up with those sweet ribbons and tagged with those beautiful little tags she made.
With it came this fabulous assortment of antique papers from old ledgers, sheet music, and journal pages recorded by a teacher many, many years ago. Everything is so wonderful - I'll be putting pictures here when we get all set up at the beach. Thanks so much Heidi. You must have spent forever finding such perfect things and I love everything! Big Hugs - Nancy

Relay for Life

Tonight I'm going to be here:

So this morning I got busy doing this:

Making these:My team captain Candy is a pro at this - she has laid in supplies that should get us through the next month! Thank you Candy for all your hard work and making it fun for us at the same time. So we'll be walking all night long!!! I'm on the Jungle Love team if Donald Trump is reading this (or his bird, LisaLaughs!LOL) and would like to donate a little something. I'm walking for my sister who died a year and a half ago and for my husband who is one of the few people who paid attention to symptoms and was diagnosed very early. Get a colonoscopy!!!!!! My grandson is dressing in drag for the Ms. Relay for Life Contest (all guys). Looks like all that playing beauty shop when he was little and letting him do eye makeup (Hey - on me not him - what kind of a grandmother do you think I am)(Again, don't answer that!) and fixing my hair has paid off!!!!
My absolutely lovely "Tea by the Sea" swap pictures just do not do justice to what my friend Heidi sent for the Vintage Party Swap Artsy Mama hosted so I'm retaking those this weekend. Meantime, thank you, Heidi, I just adore everything.

Okay - which one of you guys got into my cookies? Have a wonderful Friday! Ohhhh - go ahead and have one!

Lovely Birdhouse NOT For Sale

Remember this? My $1.00 bargain? Well it had a makeover - a little paint, some new legs, dermabrasion, and now it looks like a new Birdhouse! My hubby, Jeff, made it into this wonderful church! It's so delightful that it's levitating! Well, it looks like it anyway.

It is for sale for $200 but please do not buy this birdhouse because it looks great in my living room and I want to keep it. Also, lets just keep that between us and I will tell Jeff I am trying really hard to sell it. So here's the front.........
The legs are old porch posts. (Ignore that shabby looking shed in the background - it's getting a makeover this year, too). Here's the back done with old Lutheran hymnal pages, and a vintage teapot lid.....
The base is old blue and white broken china - a little teapot and another lid. It weighs a ton so shipping is out of the question. So most likely only people in Austin could buy this - maybe only a Pflugerville resident - someone on my block who wouldn't want something like this anyway. This side has glass and brass knobs - hmmm - I could hang a big tassel there.and this side has old buttons and what? my old new stock clock hands from Round Top. You know, that's my china and teapot, too.And my buttons. I bought those porch posts too. Looks like I have about 99.99% ownership of this anyway. I just love my new birdhouse. Thank you Jeff!!!

My Memoirs (In Six Words!)

Okay, I've put this off all week. My silly friend Shannon over at Faith and Chocolate has invited me to play the Six Word Memoir that represents your life's motto.... The rules are:
1. Write your own six word Memoir.
2. Post it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who tagged you.
4. Tag 5 more blogs with links (leave a comment on their blog with an invitation to play).

I have no problem writing but give me an assignment and my mind goes blank. So I thought and thought and found out that all my memoirs would contain either five words or seven words. Then I thought some more and here's my deep philosophical memoir.

Laugh a Little Every Single Day!

Can you believe it took me five days to think of that? It's true though, laughing is just about my favorite thing to do. I feel a jillion times better after a take your breath away asthma inducing laugh. And it's only a phone call away - I can call my friend Barbara about almost any problem and she can always match my sad story and pretty soon we're laughing about it. In truth that's how we came up with the theory that is my real memoir but I couldn't fit it into six words: You might as well enjoy today because tomorrow it's gonna get worse. Hey, that's sort of Prepare for the worst, Expect the Best. Nope - seven words. We were laughing (see) about that one day and someone said "Don't you think that's a little depressing?" Uh, hello - NOOO! Who's the depressed one here? Oh well whatever works for you. In keeping with my motto/memoir who more fitting to tag than my new swap partner.

1. LisaLaughs (doesn't she have the best blog name?) my new swap buddy.

2. My friend LaVerne at Riverside Studios . Another laugher but she doesn't need the "it's gonna get worse.....because she sees the bright side of everything!!!!!!!!Where's the incentive to enjoy today in that????

3. Heidi at Dreams Intertwined. I saw pictures of her and her friends laughing at Chuy's. Smiling and happy with their margaritas!

4. Sarah at Gypsy Mermaid Life looks happy. No wonder - She probably lives like a contented Mermaid over there so close the coast.

5.

5.

5. hmmmmm - I can't tag Shannon because she tagged me! So I'll tag LaVerne's friend ----------

5.Victoria - I Think I'm An Artist she can come visit my blog and see LaVerne smiling and drinking wine.

My online social life is looking up because last time I did this I only had four blogger friends! Now if I can only remember how to link!

Have a laugh filled weekend, thanks for playing and leave a message if you like to laugh! Nancy

Birthday Party at My House

I hosted a little birthday luncheon at my house today for four of my dearest friends in the world. Two are sisters, two are friends from preschool, three of us are friends from high school...one of us was used by another just to meet my other friend from grade school so she would have a high school boyfriend and eventually a husband but I won't mention any names. Did you follow that? I know that adds up to about 12, but no, there's only five of us and we all went to high school together. The sisters, Barbara and Judy, have birthdays on the 17th & 18th and Patty's is a couple of days after that. So we always celebrate birthdays together. Then LaVerne and I share our birthdays a few months later. Anyway, since I had my house all fixed up for the party I thought I'd share some pictures of my home. Here's my living room with some of my religious things I've been buying on ebay.



This picture is fuzzy but a little vignette I put together in my entry hall. Springy looking don't you think?

How did this get in here? That's me trying to get the table set.......While Jeff, my husband was putting some finishing touches on the mashed potatos.

Here's the birthday girls. I gave them these pop up garden hats for their birthday. Honestly - they love having their picture taken. LaVerne my other friend was just smiling away even though she wasn't in the picture. What a cheese ball.

Here's Patty showing off her new bra.
I, on the other hand, didn't wear my bra because I had washed it and it was still drying.

And noooooo, we are not at Buca di Beppo! Okay, maybe we were. But all the birthday stuff is true and they have been my friends for over forty years and I am the luckiest person in the world to have these wonderful women in my life. Happy Birthday Barbara, Judy and Patty. Love, Nancy & LaVerne