Springtime hits the Brew & Browse

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!
We have tons of vintage china to pick and choose from to create a lovely tea table

Lots of different ways to make the perfect cup of tea...not to mention many other goodies

Bunnies and chicks, a sure sign that spring is in the air!

(you can click on any photo for a close-up)

Lots of lovelies

I worked pretty hard on this little booth

Miss Eula is peeking thru to say "Hey Goodlookin' "

Happy Saturday friends,

I have been spending lots of time prepping for the new look at the booth at the Brew & Browse and this past Monday and Tuesday I worked hard to create a little masterpiece of "WOW". I sure hope it does the trick and stuff just flies off the shelves....Someone (who could be so evil?) actually pulled off Miss Eula's eyelashes!!! So I have her "behind glass" and hope she will be safe! They are a rough crowd out in Fuquay.....

The weather is very dark and rainy here in NC, that's ok with me, I had no big plans and so my dh and I stayed in all day doing house-type stuff and eating good, sensible food! I go to see my sweet little Dr. Zhang this month and hope to have a good report from her...she is ever famous for telling me once..."You not dead yet!" and the ever popular, "It's YOUR body" keeps me a tried and true patient of this good Dr. At the ripe old age of 60 you tend to think that your number is up at almost any sign of aging....or not, I mean a cough, or a bump and you think....awful stuff. I thought my red face was roseacia...but in fact, it was a day in the sun last St. Patrick's day....*whew* I really do think we boomers need to get a group going so we can compare notes and situations and suggestions....I mean there's a "What to expect when you're expecting", a "Your One Year Old, and on thru your teenager", why not a "What to expect as you're aging"...???? I mean, what is after menopause? Do you take SS at 62, or hold out to 66,67,68???? Sell your house and go on a cruise, stay put and just be happy to have a roof over your head. Count on your kids///don't count??? Tons of issues way too numerous to mention and that's the problem, we don't mention. I read blogs daily discussing pros and cons of budgeting working versus stay at home moms, food co ops, homeschooling versus public versus private schools, vacation planning with toddlers....oh there is a wealth of good fun info out there if you are YOUNG and raising a family.......hey, what about US??? I guess there is no fun left? Well, if there is we better hurry up and find it and while we are at it, let's share with others......PLEASE. I do not want to be an AARP--NO WAY, but I do believe there are many good days/years ahead....let's talk about them you empty nesters out there, got an questions? or answers or advice?????

I AM WAITING

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cathy

A winter walk in the park

Hello friends,

Well, I did it! I made my video of our friend Fiona's walk in the park. It is here if you want to take a look. I admit, it is all dog, but kinda fun. Fiona is 10 and she has been taking almost daily walks in this park all her life, so she has come to believe that this is HER PARK. Usually we go during the day on the week instead of weekend and so we hardly ever run into other dogs...she actually likes that....she is a Princess, I guess. At any rate, it is rainy and miserable here today in NC and I am not getting out, neither is Fiona....so we will take our "walk" vicariously.

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cathy

Do You Remember????

This is Zion in his 2nd grade classroom on Grandparent's Day (not the official day in Sept., but a special day at his school)
This is me and Z

This is what I brought to share with his class....the red booklet is my mother's autograph book from 1934, a photo of my mother and her mother, and Kit, an American girl doll "from the 1930s. I thought the children might connect better when they saw the Kit doll....

Hello everyone,

I promised some photos and here they are. The visit to Zion's class was very very nice. The other grandparents looked like grandparents, I always don't see myself as looking old enough to be a grand....but, that is just denial, I am sure.....the grey is there, more and more all the time...The children had questions to ask us and everyone shared memories of their childhood and how things had changed over the years....Change is inevitable, we can not count on anything remaining the same except love, deep, true, steadfast and eternal. There was much love in the room. Lots and lots of memories too. The most popular item brought to share was a bag of cool rocks....that Grandma knows her stuff!!!

I firmly believe we have to talk to each other, share our memories, relate our history. I remember vividly my 8th year....don't know why, but it is right there in the front of my head. Milton Moore, Brownies, the cafeteria, the greenhouse on Elmwood (not the color green, but a garden center that grew and sold plants of all sorts), Glenda Tally, Bobby Brooks, Paul Farmer, Gary Shelley, Amy and Nancy Sultzbaugh, Mike Donahue, Freddy Delriso....just to name a few...cannot remember my 3rd grade teacher's name tho.....I got the 5th disease that year. We always wore dresses with petticoats and shoes and socks, no tennis shoes! We played 4-square and dodgeball and lots of jump rope. I loved Captain Kangaroo and Rocky and Bullwinkle and the Three Stooges. I loved school. I didn't worry much about stuff altho everyone was a bit concerned about an atomic bomb and we did have drills for them as well as fire drills, but the idea of them actually hitting Milton Moore, well, seemed out of the question! We lived lives of bliss and innocence....played outside way past dark, never feared, ate whatever we wanted and never wore any kind of safety equipment. We did scratch our knees, bleed, loose skin, get scabs and bruises.....part of childhood, no one thought a thing of it, and we also got spanked.

Well, enough of memory lane, just got started and wandered away....My memories of those times are for the most part, happy and make me smile. That's been a long time ago and times passes so quickly, it almost seems like yesterday.

Share your memories with someone real soon, time is flying!

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cathy

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Hello everyone!

This is my sweet little valentine's day gift from my wonderful husband! (wh) How very lovely of him to do this as I hate spending $$$ on flowers which just dry up and die in less than a week!!! This little cutie will last forever!!! I have added her to my "collection"

Paul and I have already done our laundry at the laundromat....and then I fixed a wonderful breakfast for us....we are planning a movie and then dinner (at home). I hate to eat out on Valentine's day....Mother's Day....Easter....Father's day.....4th of July....well, you know, holidays! Hope your day is special in some way.

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cathy

A little crafting

Hello everyone,
Spring is in the air.....off and on that is! One day it is 70 and the next the high is 40. With swings like that in the temperatures it can only mean one thing...at least here in North Carolina...spring is on its way!!! The past two mornings I have been woken by the chirping of a very loud Carolina Wren and I have seen my first Towhee and Robin too!!! Daffs are pushing up and buds are out on the dogwoods....I was wandering through one of my favorite shops....Garden Supply....they are the masters of display marketing....saw the large letters spelling NEST and fell in love, but wait....they cost over $40, well over. Remember, I am living within my means these days, but I thought to myself, "I can do that!". I headed right over to Michael's and bought the paper letters and began creating. The photo above is of the process almost done....I embellished with ephemera (that's do-dads and what-nots in laymen's terms) and below is the almost finished project. I still have a wee tiny nest and 3 itsy bitsy blue robin eggs to attach to the E...they will be in my little shop at the Brew and Browse after Valentine's day....my spring theme is going to be "FEATHER YOUR NEST". (gotta have a theme)

Covering the letters was not that hard, but it did take some time. I had all the supplies on hand already, which made the project cost effective!

Here's the back of the letters...they look nice too, just not embellished.

I went back to Michael's and bought letters for TEA and hope to get those made also, it is rather fun to do, hope someone will think they are "gotta haves".....they will be much cheaper than $40!

Tomorrow I am invited to Zion's 2nd grade class for Grandparents Day. The teacher is hoping we can share a bit of ourselves with the children and help them to connect to the fact that we were once children, just like them! I am taking my mother's autograph book that I somehow acquired and is a treasure to me. In this book are autographs of her school friends, neighbors, cousins, aunts, grandmother and parents.....my grandmother and grandfather writing to their little 7 year old daughter....my mother....Zion's great-grandmother!!! I will take my Kit, American Girl doll as she is from the 30s era and the girls will be familiar with the doll....and I have a picture of my mother and grandmother at that age along with a recent photo of my mother....I will encourage the children to begin an autograph book and perhaps 75 years from now, they will be sharing with their 7 year old great grandchildren!!!! Ah, the circle of life!

I will take photos and share, I promise.

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tts,

cathy

Get Happy

Good morning everyone!
So, the news is all bad???? Turn off the TV and radio....don't read the paper (if you are one of the 10 in America who still do!), ignore it all people!!! It is just plain bad for ya! I have a song here that will give you some solid encouragement and lift your spirits in all the right ways. I am so thankful that I believe God. Most of the time it is quite easy for me, and in those times when it is hard, well, somehow He gets through to me, hauls me up and out of dispare and well, it is just good, that's all I can say. When things get dark, I get excited, because I KNOW God has something in store for His people that will literally amaze them. Shock and Awe. What a way to live. So, in this current "economic crisis" I am just anticipating something so over-the-top awesome that I am on the edge of my seat!
Thank you Awesome God!!!
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cathy

Friends

We had a wonderful day of browsing....at a huge antique "mall" full of hundreds of booths! We spent close to two hours there and didn't see it all! But Linda got a great wrench, Joyce begain her vintage silverplate collection and I got a great frame (see above!). Then we headed to Pinehurst for tea at Lady Bedford's...perfect-o!

We ate the whole thing!!! Plus I had the best creme brule with fresh raspberries....

A day, well-spent. Oh, and did you notice...no heavy coats and that clear blue sky???? We have enjoyed a lovely winter in NC this year.

Thank you Joyce and Linda!

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cathy