It's My Life!

 You know how at the end of the year you feel like 

everything will be changed in the New Year?

Anything is possible. 

All the things you couldn't get done...

You'll some how be able to do everything in 2020.

Then come the middle of January the cruel realization 

comes in...that this is it. 

Things go the way they always go.

I did get my Xmas down and a little winter decor up. Very little.

I'm looking forward to Valentines stuff and especially Easter stuff.

Next weekend I think Mom and I are going to hit the Home and Garden Show

at the Fairgrounds. 

I love thinking about Spring.

 I bought this little snowy fox several years ago.

It reminded me of Franklin. 

I bought it shortly after he'd had back surgery. 

I tell Franklin he's my little fox.

 I've been trying to get a good photo of him but 

he doesn't like his photo taken.

Snapped this one real quick earlier today. But he was sleepy.

He is fully recuperated from when he had 

three exploding discs in his back. That was back in 2015.

I wish he'd take it easy. I'm scared to death he'll hurt himself again.

His latest thing he likes to do is run and jump up on the bathtub 

and hoist himself over into it.

I've found him sitting in the bathtub a lot 

over the past couple of weeks.

A very silly boy.

I'll be looking for him and pull back the shower curtain and 

there he is! Crazy pup.

 The other day I decided I needed a small lamp to go on 

my kitchen counter under the upper cabinets. 

I don't have under cabinet lighting but instead 

I have two small lamps under there and they make me very happy. 

You can see a bit of one behind that image above. 

I realized the other day I need one more to fully light my counters.

Well, you used to be able to find these

mini lamps everywhere. 

But now I can't find them anywhere at all.

All the ones I am finding use regular bulbs 

and are just a little too tall.

I have been all over town and can't find a little lamp.

Then I was at JoAnn's yesterday seeing if they might 

have something when I saw these Christmas candles and thought - 

"Hey that will work!" 

Regularly $9.99 but on clearance for $3.99.

I am going to use something around the house to turn it into a lamp.

Perhaps a sugar bowl, flower pot, gravy boat? Not sure what will be the base yet

but am pretty sure it will turn out nice. I'll post when I do.

And then...I found this stove online when 

 was looking up Vintage Look Stoves.

The brand is Hollman and it's available through Home Depot.

Priced under $3,000 for a 30 inch gas. 

I might need a 36 which would be more. 

Anyway...I want to upgrade my kitchen so badly and 

this would give me the french vintage look I crave at half the price. 

Mom recently said she wanted to help me fix up my kitchen. 

That would be money wise.

But I think she means new floor. Which is badly in need. 

Definitely not a complete overhaul.

But when I think of what I want redone in there it's 

stove, dishwasher, counters, sink, faucet, and backsplash

Way more than just a floor. 

So I think just do the floor but if I just do the floor it will have to be changed again 

when I eventually get the stove of my dreams. 

That is my rational for thinking I need a new stove now. 

I hope you are accomplishing more than I am in this New Year.

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A Little Spring in My Life

 How is your spring going? 

All I can say is I wish I had more time to smell the roses or tulips for that matter.

That photo and the one at the bottom are from my Pinterest folder entitled "Spring"

Today I was off from work but went to a client's house to help 

her freshen up her french country home.

Something that is right up my alley.

We hit it off when we met last week and I knew we were on the same wave length

when I was greeted at the door by a very similar concrete statue 

to the one I have at my own door.
A large dog with a flower basket in his mouth.

truly a classic
 

The rest of the week I'll be busy coming up with a plan to freshen up her home.

That is the best part of my job as an interior designer...all the nice people I meet

and when I go to someone's home and discover I love the same sort of things they do and 

I can help them give it that little extra it needs.

That said I truly enjoy doing rooms that are totally not something I would live

in either. That is what is fun about the job...I get to live vicariously through others...at least

design wise.

 

We are having a big sale at the store right now - 60% off all floor models and 50% off all special orders. It's cause we are getting ready to redecorate the store and get lots of new things in.
Sale runs till the end of April.

Come in and see me! Or email if there is something you are looking for or if you 

need my help pulling together a room or your whole house!

So that little loveseat above? I designed it for the floor. But it sold super fast!
Can't wait to do something similar again. Of course if you need one like it...I can order
for you.

  I love that white china cabinet in this photo.
The table is already sold but the chairs are still available and so is the cabinet.
All can still be ordered too.
 
Here you can see that the loveseat was in the same room on display.
That's certainly enough about work...
I'm currently trying to get my yard in shape.
I hired a new yard guy who is someone I worked with who went out on his own
with his own landscaping company.
Need a great guy to do your lawn?...email me and I'll share his name.
He's very easy to work with and does a great job!

Last year when Franklin hurt his back...my back slider door fell off it's track and could not
be fixed.
I went without a door for about 2 months. Thankfully, the weather was mild the whole time.
But I never showed you the garden doors I got to replace the slider.
This photo was taken the day they were installed.
Mom snapped it. The deck is a mess...cause things were just pushed aside.
But it was an immediate improvement to the house.

I am loving them...but now really really want a matching pair on the back bedroom too.

The dogs are happy going in and out.
And speaking of dogs. Here is a current video taken last week of Franklin in the yard.

Very, very proud of this boy. He was totally paralyzed last August and now look at him!

He's a very happy boy again. 

I'm hushing Harvey in this video because my neighbors have complained about his barking.

Although this is about all he barks and it's for like two minutes a day.

I could go on and on about my interactions with these neighbors.

They think dogs should never bark. I asked my neighbors on the other side

if they had a problem with my dogs making too much noise and they said..

"What? We can't hear your's - our's bark all the time!"

Their dogs do bark but it doesn't bother me at all. 

It's not a mean bark...it's a saying hello to the world bark. 

Same as mine.

Anyway...we are on pins and needles here trying not to bother my neighbors on one side.

Closing with another pretty photo of spring tulips.
All I managed to plant this spring so far is some bright pink phlox.
I've always admired it when it comes out in spring around the neighborhood and this year...
I finally got a little in the ground.

Hopefully, next year it will look like this.

Happy Spring!

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I'm Back!!!!

We're Back

That's my boy...Franklin. He's a big part of the reason I've been gone so long.

I never meant to stop blogging...but somehow a few weeks turned into months.

Back on Labor Day weekend my little Franklin ruptured three discs in his back.

It was a terrible weekend. I didn't know he'd hurt himself.

It started with him limping a little on Saturday morning.

Saturday night when I got home from work...he couldn't walk at all and was in 

lots of pain. 

I rushed him to an all night vet where he stayed till Tuesday morning when I

was able to take him to a surgeon.

By then he couldn't feel his back legs any more.

He was paralyzed from mid back down.

The surgeon said there was a 40/60 chance he'd be able to walk again.

Even with those odds...I decided to try the surgery.

It was a rough go that first week.

He was still totally paralyzed but not in a lot of pain.

He had to be kept still in a pen for 8 weeks.

He was mad at me...he looked at me like..."Why had I done this to him?"

We made many trips back and forth to the vet and the surgeon.

He had a terrible bladder infection that made him even more miserable.

This video is one of the first times Franklin was out in the yard after the surgery.

This would be the first week after surgery.

He couldn't walk and couldn't wag his tail. 

About a week after the surgery he moved the tip of his tail for just a second.

That was monumental! Mom and I had him at the emergency vet once 

again because I was so worried about his ongoing bladder infection.

They had taken him to the back to try to get a urine sample and when he was brought 

back out to me...he moved the tip of his tail just slightly.

Mom and I both saw it and ww started yelling...

"He moved his tail! He moved his tail!"
We were crying and laughing and jumping up and down.

Everyone looked at us like we were nuts but it was our first glimpse that he might regain some movement.

The surgeon told me it could take 6 months...and that is about what it has taken.

Sorry these videos are all sideways. I don't know why I filmed them that way.

They looked fine on my phone but look stupid here.

But you get the idea.

This is Franklin in the backyard last week.

I'm so proud of how well he has done.

Sorry, my voice is so irritating on this video and sorry that the video is sideways.

I'll try to shoot a better one this week - turned the correct way.

I feel very lucky that Franklin has made such a great recovery.

He walks a little funny now but nothing slows him down these days.

He's a very happy boy again.

I've found now that I'm working full time as an interior designer...

it's really hard to get projects done around my house.

I did get french doors put in the breakfast nook off the kitchen.

About a week after Franklin was back home and recuperating in the breakfast nook in

a kennel...the back slider door fell off!

I had to live for about 8 weeks with no door while I waited to have one made and installed.

I had plastic sheeting up to keep out the weather. I lucked out as we had a very mild

fall and not much rain.

Mom would come many afternoons and check on Franklin during the first 8 weeks of his

recovery.

I'm so happy to be back with all of you and will be posting again on a regular schedule.

We'll talk again soon!

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Christmas Comes

But Once A Year...

 I'm going to put off Mod Mix Monday till next week.

Because...Christmas comes but once a year.

And I can't do it all. I can't even do a small part of it.

I didn't post Sunday morning because I thought my internet was down.

We had a giant ice storm and yesterday afternoon I realized I had no internet.

But I still had cable...which was odd.

So I thought I'd just wait awhile and surely it would be back up.

Sunday morning I went to church services at my Mom's church.

She sings in the choir and was very very happy that I came.

After church Mom and I went out to dinner and then I went to visit my sister, 

my brother in law and all their dogs.

When I got home...I still didn't have internet.

Time to call my cable provider and ask if it was out in my area.

So I call technical support and they tell me to look at the back of my modem

"Look for a gray wire," he says.

I find the gray wire and realize it's been chewed in two!

I was like...

"is it the skinny one?"

And he said, "No", that would be your phone.

Me: "that would be why my house phone has not worked in 6 months"

Yes, I've been paying for a phone that does not work for at least 6 months...hey, maybe a year.

Not smart.

So he tells me to check the other wire or cable and it is loose on the back of my computer....

problem solved. 

So actually, my internet was never out.

Things are always going wrong with all these dogs around.

Anyway...after that....

I was just about to lose light for taking more photos of my Christmas.

Yesterday's photos were not the best because I was losing light then too...but I snapped a few to share anyway.

I'll try again tomorrow.

One of my newer putz houses. A friend gave me this one a few years ago.

Some of you noticed the new wall color in the living room.

I am totally loving it! It's just the perfect color.

Windows are still not painted and neither is the dining room.

Here is another reason why I didn't get many photos done...Franklin.

He was running loose in the room. He and Harvey are insisting upon helping me decorate.

Light quality is not great...but I snapped this good pose of him in front of Xmas pillows.

He seems thrilled with all the Christmas going on in the room.

 There's Franklin's tail as he explores.

 Another putz house...yes this one is the same as the other.

Shannon doesn't know she gave me two alike but that's ok.

They don't sit next to each other and I love them lots.

I keep thinking I'll change one of them up but I haven't done it so far.

So hopefully, I'll get more photos shot tomorrow...and I can show you the rest...

but you never know how things are going to go...do you?....

because this is how things go here.....

Got a love him anyway.

He doesn't like pooping on icy grass.

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Crepe Myrtles

I have two large crepe myrtles in my backyard that I never trim back except for 

the lower branches when they bow down to touch the ground.

They both have gotten quite tall. I'd guess they are over 20 feet tall.

I love the bright pink color that they fill my backyard with in the summer.

Old wisteria vines weave through the tops of the tree.

I need to get up on a ladder and pull them out.

I just love crepe myrtles...don't you?

So easy to care for too. 

This year I planted impatiens in my fountain in the same shade of pink.

Franklin likes the pink crepe myrtles.

They match in color his very pink tongue!

Thanks to all of you who commented and wrote to tell me that you were viewing my blog

just fine. 

That's a relief!

Also many of you wrote asking where I got my outdoor remote controlled led candles
that I used in my birdcage.

I got them at Pier 1, of course!

They are 20% off this month.

That's them glowing in the birdcage.

Also....I tried to write many of you back and you are now coming up as
No Reply. I bet you don't know that.

I discovered recently after I switched my profile to Google + that I was
coming up as a no reply when I commented on other's blogs.

You'll have to go into your Google + profile and be sure to add your email and
make sure it shows up when you leave a comment.

I hope you have a perfect weekend!

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Easy Outdoor Chandelier

Yes, easiest outdoor chandelier....ever!

A wire birdcage becomes the perfect outdoor chandelier for my back deck.

It hangs in my redbud tree that grows up through my deck.

Chippy birdcage and led outdoor candles.

The fact that the led candles are remote controlled is even better.

A litte push of a button on my remote and all candles come on.

In other news....Franklin took over my new chair.

I would have never chosen a yellow chair for my deck but it was a bargain so yellow it had to be.

But I'm kind of loving the yellow color out there.

Just to let you know...

This weekend, all Pier 1's will give you an additional 10% off of all clearance items.

Of course I have a little pile of things I am planning on buying which may or 

may not include a cushion or pillow for this chair.

I'm sure Franklin would appreciate it!

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