Day Fifty Nine 2011

My hubby Neil celebrates his 60th birthday today. Here are a few photos of him through the years.

~~HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY!!~~

Day Fifty Eight 2011

My hubby Neil celebrates his 60th birthday on February 28, so of course his family got together (a day early) to make sport of him and inflict torture on him to mark this major milestone in yet another completed trip around the sun.

His airplane-shaped birthday cakes were made by my daughter's good friend and consummate cake baker, Tammy, who, I believe, outdid herself this time. Kudos to Tammy! That cake was to die for. And for those of you who don't know my hubby, his passion (in his old age) is building and flying remote controlled airplanes, thus the airplane cakes.

No, that is not Elton John in those glasses. That is hubby Neil blowing out his candles while grandson Elijah sounds the trumpet and granddaughter Shelby ends the birthday song with a flourish. Hope he made a good wish. Probably had something to do with airplanes.

He got lots of birthday cards and what this family calls "flat presents" meaning gift cards/cash. Neil enjoyed receiving them all and had a great time celebrating the BIG SIX O.

Happy (almost) 60th Birthday, Neil! Wishing you all the good things you deserve on your birthday and every day. I love you!! (PS-expect more torture on your actual day of days tomorrow.....)

Day Fifty Seven 2011

I still have a wooden bowl full of mini pumpkins from last October because they refuse to die. And I can't bring myself to toss them in the garbage can, which is where they belong. Well, this one is finally showing signs of decay. Or maybe it's dessication. I do have two or three from years ago that I let sit in a dry place until they looked like tiny shrunken heads--with stems. I know. I'm kinda strange that way. I may hang on to this one. It looks promising. I'll keep you posted. Or not.

Day Fifty Six 2011

Self portrait of me, freezing at the Nashville Flea Market this afternoon. Would loved to have had my scarf and gloves.

I like old cameras. Guess I've always had the picture-takin bug.

Saw lots of weird things at the flea market--like deer heads in a wash tub. It's sad to me that these once beautiful animals ended up like this. I'm guessing they came from an estate sell.

Old dolls always creep me out for some reason. I think it's the staring, glazed-over eyes. This was a ventriloquist's puppet, which will probably haunt my dreams tonight. Neil and I always find interesting stuff at the flea market. Looks like it will continue at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds for all of this year. We hope the city or the state comes through and saves the place.

Day Fifty Five 2011

Rainy day here in my town. I used my little macro lens for my cell phone camera to take this picture of a tiny raindrop that was hanging onto one of the chairs on our deck. Lots more raindrops headed this way later tonight. I don't mind the rain, but I could do without the storms.

Day Fifty Four 2011

The Buttercups are blooming! They must know something that we don't know.

Day Fifty Three 2011

Grand daughter Shelby brought in a little tomato from her school lunch today. She thought it was cute. I was playing around with my macro lens for my cell phone camera and took this picture of her tomato. Up close and personal. This one is for my sister, Ann, who can't wait for spring so she can plant her garden. At lunch today, she was saying that it's almost time for tomatoes. And BLTs!

Day Fifty Two 2011

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;

To-day the glint of green is there;

Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;

I know no thing so wondrous fair,

No miracle so strangely rare.

I wonder what will next be there!

~L.H. Bailey

Tulip sprouts are popping up in my backyard. Don't they know it's still winter?

Day Fifty One 2011

We had to scrap our plans to take the Grandpeeps roller skating again today since their parents came back from their trip earlier than we expected. Daughter Kelly and I took granddaughter Shelby for a quick trip to Dolce Cafe. Shelby had never been there before. She got some hot chocolate and loved it. Snapped this pic of her with my cell phone camera in the Solaris color setting. Isn't that the look of love? Dolce Cafe does have very tasty drinks. Nice way to end our weekend together. Now, look out, here comes Monday.

Day Fifty 2011

Neil and I enjoyed watching our Grandpeeps Shelby and Elijah at the skating rink this afternoon. They are spending the weekend with us while their parents are out of town.

Elijah likes to skate, but I think he has more fun playing the arcade games at the rink.

Headed over to Cream City Ice Cream Shop for some frozen treats after skating. Elijah was so worn out, he almost fell asleep in the window seat.

We finally got a chance to check out the Cookeville Depot Museum. It's usually closed when we go for ice cream at Cream City,which is just across the street from the depot. Lots of cool railway memorabilia from a time long gone and totally lost upon these two, who would rather climb around inside the train cars than look at vintage steamer trunks and train schedules.

Daughter Kelly came in this afternoon and demonstrated her jump rope moves from back in the day. She's still got it! Good times! Great Saturday! Hope yours was, too!

Day Forty Nine 2011

Grand Peeps Elijah and Shelby are jumping for joy because it's TGIF! Elijah and I swept off a bunch of dead leaves and limbs from the trampoline this afternoon, and he busted a few moves for the camera. Shelby did Jump Rope For Heart at school today. She's learned a lot of jumping routines, just like her mom did back in the day. She's really good at it! They are spending the weekend with us while their parents are out of town. Happy TGIF!
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Wishing my son-in-law, Jerry, a very Happy 33rd Birthday today!! Love you!!

Day Forty Eight 2011

Having some fun with perspective and my kitty cat Buddy, I took this picture with my cell phone camera set on the Solaris color setting and using my fish eye lens for cell phone camera. Pretty funky. Hope you found a way to amuse yourself today, too.

Day Forty Seven 2011

"Of winter's lifeless world each tree

Now seems a perfect part;

Yet each one holds summer's secret

Deep down within its heart."

~~ Charles G. Stater

Day Forty Six 2011

Grandson Elijah's class had their Valentine party today at school. He brought in his big decorated envelope and dumped his goodies on the couch to inspect the heart-shaped sweets and Valentine cards from all his classmates. He was thrilled with all his candy (the cards, not so much). What kid wouldn't be? When you're that age, that's what Valentine's Day is all about.

Day Forty Five 2011

Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. Love is not proud, rude, self-seeking or easily angered. Love does not keep a record of wrongs or delight in evil. Love rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Of faith, hope and love, the greatest of these is love.

~~First Corinthians 13~~

Wishing everyone a Happy Heart today!

Day Forty Four 2011

Coffeehouse Peeps met at Poet's On The Square this afternoon for some tasty drinks and some lively conversation. Topics of discussion ranged from Bieber Fever to summer road trips. We were rowdy as always but that's okay because it's that kind of place. I always enjoy our crazy fun times at Poet's! I heart you all!!

Day Forty Three 2011

My sweet peep daughters gave me a gift certificate for Best Buy for my birthday recently. I browsed around their online store and landed in the MP3 players, and I thought how cool it would be to have a microscopic iPod Shuffle. So I promptly spent my gift on this tiny gadget that will store a good deal of most of my fave tunes. I know. I'm the last person in the galaxy to have one of these. But it's the latest generation (which means maybe they've worked out some of the bugs). I ended up with the silver one because, well, I really didn't think to check out any other colors. That's okay. Daughter Kelly assures me that silver is 'sleek' and will probably sell better than say a pink one if I ever want to get rid of it down the road--when I've gone completely deaf from the music screaming into my ears from those little ear buds. How cool is that?!

Day Forty Two 2011

Here is my hubby Neil carefully and meticulously affixing the stickers on the Tonka truck toy that came with our grandson Elijah's Happy Meal at McDonald's for lunch today. Neil tried to get Elijah to place the stickers in the appropriate places on the truck so it would be all decorated and look cool. But Elijah couldn't have cared less and scurried away to play on the indoor playground, leaving his grandpa to finish the job (which he did). Kids always find a way to have some fun, and some of them never grow up. Happy TGIF!

Day Forty One 2011

I'm not sure what kind of bird this is, but he has pretty wings. All the birds go nuts over the peanut butter. This feeder was empty before the morning was done. The sun melted what little snow we got last night even though the temps are still in the freezer.

Day Forty 2011

Male cardinals are always a vivid shot of color on a gray winter's day. This one was busy snacking on seeds. I snapped his picture as he suddenly flew away. He looks frozen in mid air--a distinct possibility on this frozen day. It's snowing again.

Day Thirty Nine 2011

Who could possibly wrap his teeth around the giant BBQ sandwich from Stroud's BBQ here in town?

This guy, that's who! Nephew Chris joined me, my sister and brother for lunch with my mom today at her place. We try to get together once a week. We always bring our own lunches and have a good time yakking and laughing about stuff. BTW, he ate the whole thing.

And then all of a sudden out of the blue the kitchen served up an unexpected treat for us--a big brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cherry on top. Not too shabby, huh? Chris couldn't eat all his after swallowing that huge sandwich. Hey, lesson learned: you always save room for dessert. Even if you don't know dessert is on its way. I'm just saying. Good times, peeps! See you next time at the 'side.

Day Thirty Eight 2011

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ~Hal Borland

Buttercups, Jonquils, Daffodils. Doesn't matter what you call them; they're sprouting in my back yard.

Day Thirty Seven 2011

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
~~Matthew 5:13


The collector in me really likes an old salt crock. These are some I've picked up over the years from the flea market, junk stores and antique malls. I have another smaller one not in this lineup that I actually keep salt in. These were very inexpensive (needless to say, or else they would not be sitting on a shelf in my kitchen), but I have seen some that cost hundreds of dollars, I suppose simply for the fact that they have survived a hundred years or more, which instantly makes an item more valuable. One thing's for sure, I've never seen a Morton's salt box for sale at the flea market.

Day Thirty Six 2011

Hubby Neil was in destroy mode today as round two of our ceiling renovation began. After uncovering some nice vintage bead board in one half of the room a couple of weeks ago, we were hoping to find the same on the other side of the room. No such luck. It was very disappointing but not too surprising to find the other half of the ceiling covered in plywood. There are two separate ceilings because our big old living room used to be two separate rooms way back when. So much for sanding and painting. I guess that would have been too simple. So on to Plan B, which is...we're not sure. Neil is tilting toward Sheetrock. Stay tuned. But don't hold your breath.