October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

At my last routine Dr's visit I mentioned my left breast had been aching

I figured I would be required to get another mammogram to see what was going on.

I had surgery in this breast when I was a Senior in High School due to a lump, but all was OK.

It was a benign cyst.

But much to my amazement he did an EKG.

I told him it wasn't my heart, I just had an ache in my breast.

He said "humor me"

I could have dropped dead when he said my EKG was abnormal

and I needed to see a

Cardiologist!!!

I had the big C on my mind not heart problems.

Needless to say I was shocked, then concerned.

I told him I was too young and why would I, of all people,

have any trouble with my heart?

Heart problems weren't in my family,

Cancer was.

He said with all the years of severe stress I had been through

that it has probably taken a toll on my heart.

Yes, I have been diagnosed with PTSD but my heart??

OK, now from concerned to scared.

But after what happened the other day,

I know I will be OK....

While waiting at a stop light (in the big city)

the kids and I heard a sonic boom!

Or at least that's what it sounded like

(does anyone remember those?)

The van shook like we were having an earthquake,

 like someone had dropped a humongous boulder on the roof!

After catching our breath,

 T said the big rig that had just turned by us had blown a tire.

OMG! I think we were deaf for the next hour!

We stopped at a store and while there

an employee dropped a pallet.

I jumped about a mile!

OK is someone trying to give me a heart attack!!??

But I was fine...shaky but fine, we all were.

So I figure if those louder than loud noises

 didn't do any detrimental damage to me I was gonna be OK.

So while October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

lets not forget our hearts too!!

BTW, I see the Cardiologist on Monday ;)

♥♥♥

Etsy Cottage Style Cottage Colors Party!

Etsy Cottage Style 

This month's color are browns...chocolate, caramel, coffee, toffee, tea...

did ya notice right away my mind goes to candy and caffeine?

What can I say? ;)

My favorite brown is my Grandmother's Tea Pot.

She used to use this iridescently dark chocolate pot to heat her water in.

Perfect for one cup of Tea.

No that's not steam coming out of the spout.... 

It's the tip of Fox's tail I found while on a walk in the woods

in Kodiak Alaska while we lived there.

yeh, it may be gross to you, but it's a Treasure to me.

AND it's brown too!! LOL

A friend of mine was going to toss these beautiful frames.

I grabbed them, of course!

Men!!

To the caramel frame I added a photo of me...

To the weathered brown frame I added a photo of my sister

Too Sweet!

xoxoxo sis!

♥♥♥

Late Bloomers

Flowers and Gardens and Weeds! Oh My!

This weeks Fall garden/flower parties:

Fishtail Cottage.

Tootsie Time

Rose Vignettes

Fall is here and there are few die hards that are still or reblooming right now.

I hadn't had Wax Begonias for a long time until

 I bought these at the beginning of the year.

I forgot how hardy they can be.

Even in pots that sporadically get watered!

Dark purple Mum from last Fall is about to burst!

Lilac Lantana makes for a great and pretty goundcover.

Good old fashioned Morning Glory reseeds itself and

makes for a lovely early Fall show.

The Garlic Chives are in full bloom and the breeze will carry their seeds everywhere

The wild Roses are blooming lightly

Didn't have time to pick a bouquet...

see all those bags?

Those are just from half of the fence you see.

Yes, Fall cleanup has been started!

Please ignore the hoses....

my back was hurting too bad to retrieve them!

LOL

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

♥♥ Happy Gardening ♥♥

♥♥♥

One of Maxine's best ever!

BAIL'EM OUT!!! ???? Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now, we are trusting the economy of our country, our banking system, our auto industry and possibly our health plans to the same nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey?!"

"What the Hell are we thinking?"

The Dog

It's just dawned on me !

My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day.


He has his food prepared for him. He can eat whenever he wants.
His meals are provided at no cost to him.
He visits the Dr. once a year for his checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise.

For this he pays nothing, and nothing is required of him.
He lives in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger than he needs,
but he is not required to do any upkeep.


If he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up.
He has his choice of luxurious places to sleep.
He receives these accommodations absolutely free.
He is living like a King, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever.
All of his costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a living every day.
I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick ...


I think my dog is a member of Congress!

Halloween Shares

New Halloween shares from Dover Publications

Enjoy!

^^-^^

''

Fall in the Garden...No Really I fell in the Garden.....

Garden parties this week:

Fishtail Cottage

Tootsie Time

No I didn't get hurt...

maybe my pride....

but I was by myself so that was good.

I was tugging on a Sunflower that need to be pulled.

I'd been working at it for a bit when I gave it one big heave

and I did a Jack from Jack and Jill.

Yup, head over heels!

I won tho! LOL

 

The Tomatoes are still producing

albeit slower.



The ones on the left are Sweet 100

on the right is a Heirloom Variety called

Black Cherry.

I picked up the plants at a Plant Sale in the Spring.

Last night T and I heard a thud thud thud...

I opened up the curtains to find a Dove banging

 it's head on the patio roof. 

It just couldn't find it's way out...

the roof isn't that big but every time it got to

an edge would turn around.

One time it hit really hard and fell to the ground.

T and I went out to check it.

Poor thing was dazed.

There was no way we could just leave it sit there,

wouldn't be safe with all the neighborhood cats around at night.

T picked it up and set it in the Silk Tree (Mimosa). 

T got the camera and snapped a few shots.

It was very calm...

or maybe I should say dazed.

It stayed for a few hours then left.

It must have gotten disoriented and confused.

But all better and back with the family

♥♥♥

Makeovers

Remember this vintage picnic basket?

It was in pretty bad shape

Kinda dirty too

Here she is all made over!

Given a shabby white paint job on the inside,

blue on the inside

I had kept a birthday card my sister gave me...it had the prettiest dragonfly on it.

I knew some day I would do something with it....

I finally did!

I just snipped the sweet images and adhered them here and there.

It doesn't show up in the photo but I used a light blue paint pen to make swirls

here and there on the top.

It will be used to store my silk flowers.

They will be safe, dry and stay clean.....

sometimes very hard in this house!

I've always wanted a mannequin...

let's face it,

if you don't already have one you want one too!

When my friend Dawn heard,

the next time she visited

she brought an old adult one

for me that she had.

Thank you so much Dawn!!

I've had it for a while and using it regularly.

I've been wanting the adult to have more definition

as she is a shell.

She had a broken leg that I taped for stabilization.

I had an idea.

Didn't know if it would work,

but felt it was worth a try.

 

I have a pile of filling bags from garage sales.

I always pick them up when I see them

mainly because they are usually 10-50 cents.

I decided to start with an old blanket.

I shaped it to fit inside her shell and taped it in place.

Then I used the filling to fill in her legs, arms, and neck.

It was all secured with tape to hold in in place.

Once secured, I covered the back with tape.

Trimmed around the edges...

and decoupaged the whole thing with and old vintage sewing pattern I had.

I really like the different shades from where the pieces over lap,

makes it look older to me.

Now I can use it to display my latest jewelry....

or an old dress I Love....

(I know it needs to be ironed, I was in a hurry!)



Or both!

♥♥♥