We are never prepared

for what we expect. 

I sit here this evening pondering over the meaning of

this quote I came across today.  

"We are never prepared for what we expect" 

Of course the first thing that comes to mind is the death 

of a loved one suffering from Alzheimer disease.  As we watch

the shine in their eyes slowly drift away,

"we know what to expect but we are never prepared!"

Observing the changes of my grand girls this Christmas 2015.

Leaving behind the age of innocence,

they have entered into their preteen years.

Giggly girls flirting with makeup and boys,

grandma taking a backseat to cell phones and facebook.

"We are never prepared for what we expect."

Love, unconditional never ending love.

A captivating love, exciting and enduring. 

The promise of love always and forever.

I wanted this kind of love,

but never in my wildest dreams

did I dare to expect it nor prepare for it. 

Thank you my precious husband.

Today is over,

 tomorrow is a new beginning.

 "We are never prepared for what we expect."

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss

you'll land among the stars.

                                     Les Brown

~Jammin Time At The Cabin~

My berry patch is full of sweet juicy blackberry's

coming up ripe for eaten, cobblers and "jam".

Time for Blackberry Jam

Last year we lost over  half of our crop to those

nasty black birds. We picked every other day, those

birds were still beating us up.

So this year we invested in bird netting, now I thought

this was going to be a waste of time.  You can just imagine

the grief it took putting that fine netting over the berry bushes, 

not to mention that at every pickin you had to crawl under it!

So far so good, the blackberry's are in tact, 

the birds are confused and I am a happy jammer!

Today I made my first 2 batches of yummy blackberry jam!

Why is it that July and Jam makin always occur 

at the same time.

Bad enough it is 95 in the shade in southwest Missouri, 

then heat up the house even more with steamy hot

 boiling berry sauce.  

My of my that savory smell, the first

warm taste from licking the spoon...

makes me giggle with delight and proud

that I still continue the family tradition

of Jammin in July.

Come December when the days are short

with a cold chill in the air, I will wrap my jars

of jam in pretty paper and deliver them

to family, friends and neighbors.

My body, soul and spirit is warm again .

Thank You for visiting today
                Connie

Playtime

We all need empty hours

in our lives

or we will have no time

to create or dream. 

I managed to find a  few hours

of playtime,

and my oh my was it ever fun.

Showing off two make overs...

Before Pic

Vintage side chair with nice lines, tapestry seat

and carved floral inset.

After Pic

Sanding to take off the glossy finish,

continued with 2 coats whitewash technique

then dry brushed on the third coat

using a latex flat white paint. 

Seat cushion covered with cotton fabric.

Since this fabric was cotton I went right over the

tapestry fabric, easy...

Before Pic

Vintage 6 leg side table.

After Pic

After sanding I painted

two coats of latex flat white paint,

sanding after each coat.

I liked the results of the whitewash technique

 much better, "no sanding after painting".

  The table top was left in it's natural finish

adding only a coat of minwax paste wax.

 

 This is a redo in progress, 

updating my guest bedroom.  

15 years ago I added the wallpaper and

floral border to grey paneled walls.

 I like the grey walls and decided to

work around the wallpaper

( I was not going to tackle stripping the paper)

"Vintage Farmhouse Country Guest Room"

As you know I like to decorate with  items

as true to the time period as possible.

The room is almost completed and will

continue to update you on it's progress.

I am still working on getting Mr B to remove

the carpeting. I know there are wood floors

or maybe board floors just waiting to be

exposed and painted a pale shade of grey. 

"One can only hope"

This is my first project since back surgery

last February.  I have to take it slow,

the ole back lets me know when it is time to stop.

I will end this post with this thought...

 

My childhood may be over,

but that doesn't mean 

playtime is!

                       Connie