My Bottle of 'Boos!'

I have more than ONE bottle but THIS is my bottle of BOOS!!

I saw this idea on a friend's Facebook post and she said she found it on Pinterest.

My version is not as elegant but it will have to do!!

I have it on the kitchen counter but it REALLY lives on the top shelf in our bedroom and serves as a light in there since I only had a 50 count strand of Faerie Lites!

I MUST buy TONS of the 20 count ones after Christmas when they are on sale.

The 20 count makes a PERFECT wine bottle light!

I used stickers from Hobby Lobby and some dimension paint to do the writing.

I did it in black and then went over it again in white so it would show up more.

The Pinterest one was on a frosted glass so the black really popped!

It is a tradition that I do fall crafts with the grand kids every year.

Since this is the QUADS very first fall....... I did most of the work for them!

However, they did THEIR part with pictures on the back of the blocks!

In order of birth.......

Trystan Lee

Kailey Lee

Harrison Lee

and Logan Lee!!

Since this is October I have another annual tradition I do with my art.

I always paint two Santas.....one for me and one for our Fort Worth Family Chinese Christmas Exchange.

Last year I started the Santas at Mineral Wells State Park while on a camping trip.

We stayed in a screened shelter and I made a pretty good start on them!

This year I simply set up a studio outside the camper under the gazebo.

Yesterday afternoon I got ALL of one based in and some of the second!

As soon as I got home from Amber's this evening I started back on the painting!

Now they are BOTH based in and after drying for a few days I can begin working on them in earnest. I need to have them finished by Thanksgiving so I can take one home with me the next weekend. I plan to leave it and have someone draw a number for me so I can still participate in our family Christmas tradition since I won't actually BE there this year!

It was Christmas morning last year that Amber announced to the entire family that she was expecting quadruplets. No one was surprised when she announced she was pregnant.....but no one expected her to say, "Not ONE! Not TWO! Not THREE!! But FOUR!!!!!" NEXT Christmas the quads will all be there! We wanted that to happen this year but we didn't understand about preemies back then and the 'Lock Down' from Fall to Spring!

While I am in here happily playing on the computer guess what Louis Dean is doing???

He is outside playing music with a fellow camper here at the RV Resort!

He is in HOG Heaven!!

I better get busy with my housework so I will be ready to light our evening fire and sit out this October night celebrating......

Life....Friday.....Health....Happiness....Art....MUSIC!!!

Happy Fall Weekend, Y'all!!!

CELEBRATE!!!



Simple Abundance - A Daybook of Comfort and Joy

I love this book by Sarah Ban Breathnach!

I am a journal keeper and have kept to a routine of reading and writing daily for many, many years. I continue to write in my Country Diary every morning after a quiet time of reading the Bible. Every day I read a Psalm and chapter of Proverbs in addition to a little devotional book. THEN I read my special copy of Simple Abundance.

The reason it is so special? My niece gave this book to my Mother in 1998.

(She had a stroke in 2005 and can no longer read like she could before.)

Mother loaned it to me in 2000 and I just never gave it back!

I read it through every year. The author has written other books but this one is my favorite! Thank you, Leah!!

My life is abundantly blessed!

I have so much for which to be thankful!

Just look at all these little baby toes!!

Oh, how I LOVE Baby Toes!!!

I can tell just by looking at their feet which baby is which!

Amber did a 4 month photo shoot with the quads the other day!

These are the 'Grandma' pics I snapped!

You will have to check out her blog post on them when she gets it done!

She is so creative and talented!

Not only am I blessed to be here with the quads so much of the time -

I have this awesome husband who loves my family as if they were his own blood!

He loves me and has even embraced and supported my love of 'debris!'

That's what he calls all my decorations!

I have tried to cut down and back - but I can't!

He said he did not marry me to change me - so he enables me!

He feels the same way about his music - music is his passion - and I totally support HIM in THAT!!

We're even blessed with our critters!

Can you see Maggie's tail under the chair?

She was peering out the camper door - UNTIL I tried to take her pic!

We have Lucy and Maggie here in the camper with us and they have adapted very nicely!

We are also blessed with this great spot in an AWESOME RV Resort!!

That's the rec building right across from our camper!

To the left is the pool complete with hot tub!

We sit out in our little make shift gazebo and watch the moon come up nearly every night!

As I drove back this afternoon guess who I saw walking along the side of the road?

We are simply living an ABUNDANT life these days!!

"I am come that ye may have life and that more abundantly."

John 10:10



Our Fall 'Gazebo!'

We are all dressed up for fall outside our campsite!

The canopy makes this space more usable for us. Kind of like an extra ROOM!

When cold weather arrives - if it ever DOES! - we can lower the back side for further protection from wind and rain. Right now we leave it open so the air will flow and keep it from being a regular hot house!

I know it looks like I'm setting up for a Fall Festival!

I brought from home one of my favorite fall paintings. I painted it several years ago but I still love looking at it. We bring the canvas in at night and when we're not home.

The RV park is a gated community and has park hosts that drive around on a golf cart keeping watch over things.

But then we have Spider Man on guard as well!

Louis Dean had the bright idea of putting him in charge of the ceramic grill we use so much.

I love getting to see all my fall things!

Our campsite is towards the front of the RV Park - right across from the Rec building

so we get a lot of traffic going by.

It just makes me smile to sit out there after we get 'home' in the evenings.

We've had several other residents stop by and visit.

Just about every afternoon Louis Dean soaks in the hot tub!

He's so cute!!

Then in the evening we sit out enjoying the night sounds.

We're not watching much TV these days. I accidentally programmed it to Spanish channels! Finally changed that and now we get lots of Asian channels!

I did locate NBC and ABC but scrolling through all the others is not easy!!

I enjoy camper evenings. We have all the comforts of home and not as many responsibilities. I still have 'Damage Control' to do every day when I get home. More so on the days he is home alone! Tuesday and Thursday we are BOTH caring for the quads while Amber works so those days are easier on - housework wise!

For the most part at night we simply sit. Then we go to bed.

Not a bad life at all!!



My Mother's Surgery and My Sister's Bathroom!

It doesn't seem appropriate to have had such a good time on Mother's surgery day!

Even Mother was smiling!!

My mother is such a trooper! Her positive attitude on life has held her in good stead!

My sister, Deanie, is sitting in the corner. You can BARELY see her!

She said, "NO pics!!" I try to respect the privacy of my family when requested!

While I won't say too much about this I do have to tell you what an amazing person Deanie is!! While suffering from some health issues of her own, taking some pretty strong medications which made her feel even worse  and when she SHOULD have been home in bed - she was right there making sure Mother received the best care possible! Mother can't always speak clearly and for medical situations Deanie is her 'voice!'

This is Mother waiting for the doctor to arrive. My wonderful sister in law, Michele, joined us so we made a party of four including Deanie and her husband, Charlie.

The surgery went very well and by 5:00 we were back at Deanie's.

She has THE most comfy guest room and it has been Mother's for the last week and she will continue to stay here until she goes for her follow up appointment.

I stayed with Mother while Charlie and Deanie went out to dinner.

I can't tell you how wonderful it was to just sit up beside her in bed! She reached over and took my hand and said, "NOW!! TELL me!!"

That means TALK! So I did! I told her all about the quadruplets and the sweetness and particulars of each precious baby! I told her all the horror stories of our trip down there with the camper and the first bumpy days when we didn't have hot water - or ANY water - and the microwave went out and all the hilarious things about fitting in to such a small space. Trust me - it was funnier telling her about than when we were actually living it!! We laughed and laughed!!!

We will forever laugh about her time in the recovery room! She wanted to close her eyes and kept lifting her RIGHT eyelid and pulling it out and then pulling it down......kind of like she had something in her eye. I could NOT figure out what she was trying to do! I said, "Just close your eyes and rest." She said, "I'm TRYING!!"

Then she reached over to her LEFT eye (the surgery was on the left side of her face and it was still numb!) and said, "OH!! It's THIS one!!!"

It was fun being with everyone. Nita (the sister Mother lives with) came by after work so I felt like I had seen quite a bit of 'Family' that day.

I had wanted to stop by and see Levi, Sam and Faith ( 3 more grandchildren) on my way home but it was pretty late by the time I left Fort Worth and they had a concert to attend that evening. We have made arrangements to get together with them on my next trip home.

That was the part about my Mother's surgery!

NOW to my sister's bathroom!!

This is the sister with The Fifties Kitchen!

Every room in her home is unique and while she requested me NOT to take HER pic - she did give me permission to take some of her bathroom!!

I love her collection of perfume bottles!

She has clever witty sayings!

Isn't THIS a good rule??

I should start hanging MY evening bags on MY bathroom walls!!

Interesting things EVERYWHERE!!!

I remember these! Leave it to Deanie to actually HAVE one!!

ON her wall! IN her bathroom!!

Now my sister, Nita, can tell you the story behind these ladies pictured on the tins.

She told me but I can't remember except it was something about WWII and airplanes.

I'll have to take more pictures of Nita's house in October when I come back.

Talk about collectibles!!

She and her husband have some awesome things!!

From dinosaurs to Watt pottery to WWII silk fringe pillow covers to vintage toys to YOU NAME IT - they've GOT it!!

Deanie has lots and lots of pretty things.

I, on the other hand, have lots of STUFF! Pretty stuff but still STUFF!

I have some amazing sisters and I am very grateful I am not an only child!

I told Mother, "It's a good thing you had more than ONE daughter!"

I have to say - it's been so nice to be home for awhile.

Babies and the elderly are both 'time sensitive.'

Neither stage lasts long enough!

I'm happy I get to be in both worlds!



Creating a Cozy, Comfy CAMPER is HARD WORK!

We have been working hard on this camper restoration project.

There were times when I looked at the whole thing and thought it was simply impossible to make this into a clean live-able place. Louis Dean has been amazing - as always! I have said it before and will say it again - there is nothing this man cannot fix!

Had Amber not had quadruplets and had she and Mike not lived in the Houston area, well, we would never have had the motivation to tackle the job of turning a neglected and damaged trailer into what will become our 'Home Away from Home!'

But she DID, they DO, and we ARE!

We still have a LONG way to go but not nearly as far as we DID!

We have accomplished a lot. LD has repaired the damaged floor and I have cleaned and scrubbed and decorated around a great deal of debris.

At least now we have ONE side of the camper where we can sit in comfort.

We are enjoying the challenge of decorating and outfitting (as much as we can!) with things we already have. I have made dozens of denim quilts in my time so it was just natural to use recycled denim for the cushions and curtains.

MY side of the table is where the LOVE pillow is.

That's my decorated hammer hanging on the jean curtain.

At least I will always know where to find it!

I've added more wallpaper border and framed posters.

I am using the same principle in decorating the camper as I have done for my house -

MORE is always BETTER!!!

Every wall must have something on it!

The theme of coffee, chickens, rustic country things and whimsical touches pretty much evolved on its own.

As you can see - we still have many things to do!

Drawers and doors and floors - not to mention the BATHROOM!!

One of the bunks is done up in frills and lace for a GIRL guest!

(Like my grand daughter, Faith!)

I used leftover wallpaper from years ago!

I was surprised the pre pasted paper would STICK - it was THAT old!!

It made me happy to pull this lacy comforter out of my linen closet!

It is about 25 years old and as the lace would tear I repaired it with vintage bits and pieces as well as some doilies and ribbon roses. It became a real labor of love and holds lots of memories for me. I have changed styles and bedding over time. We now have a queen size bed and this is a full size comforter. It will work for this bunk just fine though!

I mean to paper the top bunk in a blue print and make it more appropriate for a BOY guest! This will be a project for later.

Our main goal now is to get the vinyl flooring down.

Louis Dean is covering the wood with roofing felt and will put the vinyl on top of that.

He's using a section he salvaged from an old house he was working on some years ago. This is a LOW COST restoration!

We plan to cover the vinyl with rugs to cozy it all up!

I have been discouraged at times but then I remember all the things we have done.

Things that looked impossible.

Like last year's bedroom redo.

And my bathroom the year before that.

If I can 'picture' it done - I'm there!

Right now I am 'picturing' us all comfy and cozy in our cute little camper.

The coffee is brewing and I am getting my journal out to write.

The air conditioner is humming, the cat is purring and the dog is still asleep.

I'm looking around at all the prettiness of the camper and remembering when we started and what a mess it was in.

We're getting there! Step by step!