Two...No, Three Things...

First...ya'll are entering this thing, right?!

if not, get thyself on over to HGTV and do so...you can enter once a day, every day until the first of October, I think...

I probably shouldn't say anything because now I probably won't be the Grand Prize Winner...hah...but I'm makin' a List just in case...

Second...It Is Only 3 Months Until Christmas!!!! Can you stand it?!!!!! shriek shriek shriek...

true, I did cut the Season's Opening Ribbon around here a little early by listening the the Elf soundtrack...in July...I'm not much on Will Ferrell* but Elf is one of those movies...you know...the ones that get Funnier each time you watch them...

but before we know it, Halloween, then Thanksgiving...and then Christmas!!!!...!......

(New Year's Eve/Day is sort of the unloved holiday around here...since we have dogs and since people love to get rowdy, shooting off fireworks and firearms and sech, we tend to stay home & be in bed at our regular time...we may whoop it up by havin' Mexican Take-Out...although, I have to say, I love watchin' the Rose Bowl Parade...and I keep entering HGTV's Rose Bowl Parade contest in hopes of winning tickets out West...)

Third...do not try to put a contact in your eye when you already have a contact in your eye...just sayin'...

Oh...there is a Fourth...but I'm guessin' ya'll knew that, right? LOL...a friend gave me the heads-up yesterday (shhhhh...very hush hush...only many many thousands of people know) that Jan Karon's newest book Home to Holly Springs is due out October 30th...this kind of throws a monkey wrench into my rereading all of the Mitford books beginning on the 1st of October...now I don't know if I would finish them too early...or too late and have to wait to read Home to Holly Springs...

********************************

*like I said, Will Ferrell isn't any one I'd cross the street to say Hi to because, well, we don't know one another, but Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is Absolutely Laugh 'Til You Cry Funny...if a little vulgar...and stupid...in parts...

I Do Try...

truly I do...

my Linen Closet is freshly organized, laundered and smellin' sweet...my Pantries are also organized and filling up nicely...my Seasonal Decorating Plunder in the garage has been edited, organized and re-stored...and my clothes in my closets hang organized by type, colour and on the same colour hangers...

but keeping my bedside table lookin' nice and neat eludes me on all but the best of days...


Here at #17 life and projects are rollin' along...against his better judgment, DH agreed to paint the casing around the Newly Removed Wall Opening black...upon completion, the grudging comment "it looks better than I thought it would" brought a smile to my face :) ...if he only knew the Thoughts of Other Black Casements dancing through head...and, yes, that is Fred's big butt parked in my chair...I have lost that battle...a moment of Brotherly and Sisterly Love this evening...Henri Henri and Cynthia snuggled in our bedroom window...and would ya'll look at that mess too...DH getting ready to watch Kelly's Heroes...I'm not much on war movies...life is too tough anyway and pretty much you know how they all end...but I'll admit Kelly's Heroes has some funny moments...Don Rickles has a part and just his facial expressions are funny...like watchin' Jonathan Winters...or any other truly funny person...

plus...Carroll O'Connor plays Maj. General Colt...and I love Carroll O' Connor...the spittin' image of my grandaddy...

the new pound cake recipe I took out for a trial run...not overly impressed...but then again...I did "tweak" the recipe...and I know I shouldn't do that the first time out with a new recipe...but I absolutely could not find the box of brown sugar DH put away...so I subbed half of the brown sugar called for with white granulated and added a little molasses...and I think the big can of Crisco might have been a tiny bit, um, old (should I even tell that?)...and I cooked it 20 minutes longer than supposed to because I was uncomfortable with the silicone form I used for the first time...and I added extra vanilla...and probably should have used the Big Batter spindle...instead of the Whip spindle...

Hmmmm...guess I should be glad it was even edible...this morning I came across this large pressed tin for $5 at the thrift shop...some patient person painstakingly hand painted each little stylized flower, the little leaves and the fleurs-de-lis...unfortunately, in pretty pastels suited to a little girl's room...all for me to happen along with a can of white spray paint...

Since I'll probably be waitin' a while on that custom forged firescreen (unless I find some serious change buried in the backyard), this'll work...

DH cut out those little feet for me...and I'm planning to rub a copper glaze alllll over the white paint to highlight all of those beautiful little details...I guess ya'll can tell I haven't painted the little feet just yet...

I know...I'm the Queen of Showing Photos of Half-Done Projects...but that is just the way things work around here*...

and speakin' of Half Done...a test patch of black paint on the mantel...I'm feelin' it...

GSU's Botanical Garden held a plant sale this week...DH & I went on over...lots of people, sipping wine by lantern light, nibbling on free hor-derbies...but more importantly a nice big selection of native plants and some old pass-alongs in addition to some more easily picked up at chain stores...

We have yet another banana plant (we'll talk about DH's growing obsession with these crazy plants another day), another Century Plant (my answer to the Barren Zone out front) and our first Paw Paw...exciting stuff...

Sweet Autumn Clematis and a Beauty Bush were on my Want List but no go this time 'round...maybe the fall sale in late October...

*******************************************

Thanks for everybody droppin' and sayin' "Hi"....makes a body feel loved :) ...

*I'm a Big Believer in not tryin' to Always Present a Perfect Facade...just makes everybody feel inadequate and unhappy with their lives...I know...been there, got the t-shirt and will probably visit again...so I'm willin' to do my part in Keepin' It Real :)

HAH HAH (and a Surprise at the Very End)

...[jumping into ya'lls sight from behind the door]...I'm back :)
(fall stuff out front...I can't make up my mind how to treat the concrete slab...paint it? stain it? cover it with brick pavers?)

I've missed ya'll!...and felt like such a Bad Blog Mamma...but the back is slowly getting better and my battery recharger has been replaced...of course, I need a new digital camera because the little battery compartment cover that was cracked when I loaned to the monkeys came back with half of itself missing...so now I have to Very Firmly Hold The Half-a-Compartment Lid in place with one finger while focusing and shooting with the other fingers...

I ain't the most talented photographer in the first place...

but I persevered and I got some photos to share with ya'll...

Here is Jamie's t-shirtwell...I don't know that it is actually Jamie's t-shirt...but it is a t-shirt with Jamie's logo on it...and it is pretty darn spiffy...there are little rhinestones on the front...but I'm pretty sure that my less-than-stellar photography skills preclude ya'll seeing those...Jamie sent this along, all wrapped up pretty like she mails her items (the woman has a black-and-white jacquard patterned mailing tape...does that speak volumes or what?), just because she's a sweetheart

Thanks again, Miss Jamie :)

and this is a beautiful little cloche from HomeGoods...I try to steer clear of HomeGoods...I find myself suddenly realizing all the things I desperately truly need...like I need this darlin' little cloche...and there was the identical but monster-sized one that I just about grabbed and stuffed into the buggy too...but I managed to control myself...although I do daydream about that bigger one...
(the bottom is actually pottery not resin...)

Revisiting the kitchen cabinets...if ya'll remember, we painted the cherry cabinets this cream colour, took out the center panels to add the kitchen wire & glass...and I had to have those rooster pulls...sorry if that just falls to far into CuteNess but I ams what I ams...anyhoo...then I decided a distressed look would really work well with the chicken wire...I'm a little torn...can't decide if I like this or not...[intoning from behind my large curtained off area "Ignore all the Junk, Ignore all the Junk]

Here is the mantel we picked up from Habitat a week or two ago...just stopping by to drop off some donations when this was brought in off the truck...and naturally I had to have a closer look...DH & I had just had the conversation about how I really really really wanted a mantel up by Christmas Time...I'm sorry, but a woman just has to have a mantel decorate at Christmas...at least this woman does...try to ignore the filthy insides of the fire place...I can't decide if I want to find someone to make a curved custom fire screen or if I want to sink that money into a nice fire back...

DH suggests painting the bricks inside of the mantel's opening the same colour as I will be painting the mantel...just cream, nothing fancy...of course, that suggestion came on the heels of his opening [volley] request that "could you please not paint the mantel black?"...how did he know? ...now I'm waffling between painting only the interior brickwork or painting the entire fireplace along with the mantel...

thoughts?

the other Here Lately Big Project...we took down the wall between the kitchen-and-breakfast area and the dining area...neither eating area were overly spacious...in fact, they were just kind of awkward...at some point, I'm hoping to find a nice bookshelf to "build in" between the 2 spaces, using columns to add serving space while keep the open feel...the casing is still bare wood (as you can see on the very edges of the photograph)...I'm of the mind that it would look Fabulous Painted Black...DH is of the mind that I've lost my mind...there is one more Project-In-The-Works but I'll spare ya'll...

movin' along, I decided it is just ridiculous how I can hardly focus long enough to get through a book...I used to read allll the time...some of the Book Reading Slump can be attributed to the time I spend messin' around on the internet...but reading is something special so I'm rededicating myself to a literary life...of sorts...

ta-dah...the Fall Season Book Stack...

the List: Reflections: Life After the White House by Barbara Bush

Leaving Cold Sassy by Olive Ann Burns

Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

Get Out of that Pit by Beth Moore

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

The Heart of Islam by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Rosemary and Bitter Oranges by Patrizia Chen

The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Caroly Chute

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

on the shelf below the stack are my Mitford books...I plan to commence reading them (as is now my Fall Tradition) come October 1st...

now for my Surprise...I'm doing a Fall/Halloween Give-A-Way...of these

I've had these about 2, maybe 3? years and they've been in the shopping bag I brought them home in the whole time...I took this as a sign that perhaps some one else might enjoy havin' them around a little bit more than I have...I think I was just overwhelmed by all that glittery magical black, er, glitter and Had to Have Them...I don't really "do" Halloween since the Bird got all grown up...

I'm not sure what line they are...Wendy Addison? I wouldn't swear to it, but I think so...anyhoo...the biggest tree has a little break at the back support so he has to be propped up against something...I didn't notice this until I decided to find out what was in the Pretty Shopping Bag that had been in my office for months...and months...and months...

anyhoo...today is the the 18th, right? so drop a comment between now & the end of September to have your name in the drawing...I'll draw on October 1st and if the winner gets her (his?) name & mailing address right to me, then the pieces will be around in plenty of time to enjoy for this year's Halloween...well, unless the winner lives overseas...that might be cuttin' it kind of close...but we'll see :)

So Sorry...

I haven't forgotten my photographs...I just have 2 minor issues right now...

Issue #1...my battery recharger (borrowed by Son & Fiancee for the Con) apparently decided to go Walk About in Atlanta by itself...and got lost...so I have dead batteries in my camera and no recharger...

Issue #2...I began to paint the backside of the house on Tuesday and my back wasn't too excited about that...and then on Wednesday I drove down to Savannah for lunch & fun with a friend...and my back was even less excited about all that time in the car after already havin' remarked to me That I was Pushin' My Luck...so now I'm a little Back Impaired...

So...no stinkin' charged batteries and a painful back...

But...I expect that I'll be better in a few days after layin' around like a Beached Whale...Thank You that I'm actually not at the shore or else people would keep tryin' to drag me back into the water...hate that....

and I expect DS will have replaced my battery charger some time this weekend if he ever wants to borrow something of mine again*...

**********************************************************
A Note to Jamie of Simple Me Art....You Sweetheart...I got your package...what a nice treat & a surprise :) and the t-shirt is adorable...I plan to post a pix of it as soon as, well, see above about battery charger...

and gave me great incentive to have steamed squash with my veggie burger patty for lunch instead of those baked fries I planned to have...now if I lose that 10 lbs, I'll actually post a pix of me wearin' the shirt!

***********************************************************
*I am really cheesed about the whole battery charger thing...DH is plannin' to take down the wall between the kitchen & the dining room this weekend and I would love to be able to record that so ya'll can see! hey...maybe I'll just steal the AAs outta his remotes and/or whatever else I can find...