I"m BACKKKKKKKKKKK!!!

Thought I dropped off the end of the Earth ? Well, I did not. I have been busy this past month. Just like alot of you, I am sure. Last minute vacations, getaways, school shopping, Doctors, and so on......

Well, Yes, I have had some of that too... But, I quit smoking Aug. 1, 2008 ( that was very hard.) My daughter turned 21 ! My husband and I took her to her first bar outing. ( Yah, RIGHT !!!) The work we planned for the house this year is almost done. We watched both Dem. and Rep. Conventions. How about that Sarah???

And I did alot of thinking about my Antekin. I have decided to close the web store. ( Kinda of). I will be offering for sale one maybe three, high quality items dear to my heart every month instead. I have thought this thru, and decided, that a special, very special item would spark a must have, than an offering of many, seen that before items.
So, keep an eye out and let me know if you are intrested.

I also am excited to share with you, I'm PUBLISHED!!!!!

Well, kinda of. I sent a pic of that chair I re-did to Country Living, and they published it. With the pic and half of my letter missing! But, I do not care. I"m PUBLISHED in the 2008 Oct. Issue!!!!

Some day, you can all say, " I knew her when!!""" HA HA HA LOL!!!!

To celebrate my one year anniversary to blogging, I will be giving away a small token, To THANK YOU ALL!!! for visiting with me. Stay tuned!!

Dona

Trippin The Big Easy

Our first vacation in 22 years with out the children. The last vacation
resulted in the birth of the first. NOLA ( New Orleans Louisiana) as
the locals call it. The Big Easy as the rest of us call it. What a
place to visit.

We stayed one block off of Bourbon Street for
five fun filled days. My husband and I toured every inch of the French
Quarter. We toured the Garden District, the Warehouse District, Downtown
New Orleans, and what is left of the Ninth Ward. It is hard to imagine
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit NOLA 3 years ago this month. The
rebuilding is still underway.

We
ate in little restaurants on the side streets where the locals eat, and
spent the nights watching the people on Bourbon Street. What a HOOT
that was.
The St. Louis Cathedral was beautiful and the antique
shops filled with wonderful French Antiques. Voodoo and cemeteries
gives NOLA its' mysterious charm, especially at night.

During the day the streets are quiet in
The French Quarter,but the night dances with lights, beer, and beads.
Yes, I got beads, but I earned them honestly! ( I picked them up off
the ground where they fell, when missed by Miss Topless) LOL I really DID!!

On Thursday night our hotel was evacuated at 2 in the morning. The place was on fire. We stood outside in our jammies,
and waited for the Firemen. They arrived 30 min. later and declared the
elevator motor and belt had caught on fire. We were allowed to return
to our rooms an hour and half later.

Sunday we headed home, the
first part of the trip was smooth flying. But with a lay over in
Washington DC. The weather was so bad all flights were cancelled up and
down the East Coast. So we rented a car and drove home. It was alot of fun. But, I am glad to be home.

To view all the pictures of Trippin in NOLA. Please Click here. or you can veiw The Slide Show on the left.

The Silent Woman ( Yea!! Right!!)

What a crazy week. After donating all my out of style clothes to the
Salvation Army, I got new ones. My daughter took me shopping. ( I paid
of course) After new everythings, I now am up to date. At least until next week, when a new fad comes out. Oh, Lucky ME!!

I
did not attend many sales this week, being naked and all. But I did
manage to talk my husband into stopping at one on the way home from
running an errand. He bought the drill press for me, He says I may need it for a project. Yea!! Right!!
Also the window pane, I'm seeing coffee table, and a wonderful old chair to practice upholstery . Then we found the sign! You know he was going to get it for me! Yea !! Right !!

I am very proud of him for coming along and being a good sport about it all.

Now on to some blogging business.
Michelle ~~~
Thank you so much for the award. It really brightened my day!!!

So I would like to pass it on to these Five Fabs !

Shawn ~~~ Who makes me dream!

Margo ~~~ Who thinks like me!

Linda ~~~ Who is always a friend!

Dena ~~~ Who reminds me of the finer things !

Lee ~~~ Who brightens my days of stories of her little people!

Deal or No Deal

Ok, here's the deal. I get home from work around 6;30pm. I stopped to
buy new bras and panties. Yes, I have been a 34 B my whole life, but
they just did not seem to be fitting just right. So, I stopped at Walmart to pick up a few bras in 34 C just to see. DAMN IT they fit just right. So my daughter says" You got new under ware." Well YES!!!! ( Husband is very happy, a boob job FREE!!!)

So she decides it is time to play " What Not To Ware"!!@!!
She goes thru my closet like there is no tomorrow. YOU CAN"T Ware this, To young, to old, To short, To what ever. Shoulder pads are a big NO!

By the time she got done removing belts, shoes, clothes, and what evers, I'll be lucky to have a brown trash bag to wear to work tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

PS. When she headed for the vintage Versace Gowns, I drew the line!!!!

So I will not be visiting with any of my blogging friends tonight. She wore me out!!!!!!!!!!And it is going to cost me a fortune at retail. I am not allowed any where near my favorite store!!!!!!!!!!! HELPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!! I had NO idea I was so out of style!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dog Days of Summer

Life is slowly coming back to normal around here. There are the sad
moments, and the happy ones. Death is not easy, one must let go and
remember the wonderful times.

Saturday Connie and I decided we
needed to escape from all that has been going on in our lives. So off
we headed. There was only really 5 or 6 sales. We hit them, and I
bought a new rug for the dining room. Much like the one I had, but
these colors are more vibrant.

When I returned home from saling,
my husband asked me to run to Lancaster with him. The dog needs a new
dog house. So I agreed, but only if we could sale on the way. He
grinned, and off we went.

I found three really nice items. Napco Alice In Wonderland from 1956. A wonderful Italian dish, NO CRACKS!!! Not even the flower petals. Also a bird.??? What am I going to do with that bird. Guess I will have to look for some more bird cages.

When
we returned home with new dog house, I decided to use an old school
desk ( had been re-paired so many times, no real value left) that I
made the dog a dinner table all of his own. Came out pretty nicely.

Week from @#$%^&*()_

It has been a week. Heart ache, family trauma, and contractors. True I
do not know what was worse. Well you do know. Having to say good bye to
a child is the worst thing possible. But,his Mother did us so proud. I
hope I never have to show the strength that she did. I will miss my
nephew with all my heart and soul. But, I can not even begin to imagine
the hurt that my sister- in -law is going thru. We are suppose to go first, not the children.

I
want to Thank all of you, for the wonderful and kind words. Please do
me one more favor and say another prayer for my nephew. All angels need
to know that their words are being heard. And Please if you have
driving age children, I know they do not want to hear this, But please
make sure to tell them you love them, even if they are not the driver.
Some how the driver is never hurt. It is always the passengers.

I
thought I would share on an upbeat, that the front of the house is
finally done. New sidewalk, old overgrown plants, trees, and whateve
rs re-moved. New door and the portico. Now, pizza can be delivered at
the front door, and guests do not need to come in the garage.

Angels Among Us

Last night, while four teenagers with not a care in the world, and not realizing how valuable their lives are, went joy riding in a convertible. As God looked down from Heaven. He knew what was going to happen, and He let it.

He had to teach 3 teenagers, families and their friends the meaning of LIFE. How lucky and needed they are .

The other family He needed to teach the meaning of Life, and how to live with an angel. You see the angel will teach the other three teenagers, and everyone else how important life is.

So you all will please excuse me for a few days, while my family learns what it means to have an Angel in our lives, as we prepare to let go of my 16yr. nephew.


Dona

Company Sales

Got ya didn't I? You thought this was going to be about selling and profits? Not today.
Connie and I headed out at the usual
time this morning. There have not been any good sales lately, being
July after all. Most people are on summer vacation. But today there
were a few., and we hit them all.I bought today for me.I
found a box full of bric a brack, trim, glue sticks, artists paintbrushes and so on. Also found a wonderful brass candelabra
(heavy as all get out),a little brass table, and a wonderful lot of
pen& pencil drawings from one of our local artists in the area.
Dennis Minch . He is from and lives in the Kennett area, I have met him
several times and he has given me some beautiful art work. So you just
know I was pleased to have found these drawings, all of the West
Chester and Kennett PA area,all signed and dated in the 1960's.

Now onto the Company, they will be
here at 3pm for a cookout. So, I have to get back to cleaning the
bathrooms. Have a great weekend! Dona

Thank You !!!

I want to Thank everyone who sent words of " Sorry for the damage
caused", but I want to let you all know, the air conditioning people
are taking full responsibility for damages caused and the replacement of
the units. Thank God! I also want to tell you all a funny story. I
don't care how old children are. They say the darndest things.

Like the insurance lady comes to access the damage to the our house. My 20 year old soon to be 21 says's "Come in." Well, the lady does. My daughter is holding our rabbit
( my son brought home 3 girl friends ago and we are now taking care of)with
the dog at her feet. And the lady looks into the library and sees the
antique bird cages ( with fake birds in them ) and says" My, you have a lot of animals. Don't you?"

My kid replies, " No. just two, the birds are not real. That's just my Mom's style. Not mine."


LOL Got to Lov Them Kids!!!!

The New Bathroom

We bought our house 5 years ago. It is a Federal Colonial. The house it
self was built in 1986. Not that old, I know. How ever the house was
maintained enough by previous owners to keep a roof over their heads
and not much else. The gardens were overflowing with all kinds of
plants. Beautiful, but never maintained, even thu they had been professionally done. Oh well, that to is a another story I will share when we get to the outside.

The
master bedroom and bath had been re-modeled to help sell the house, and
we fell in love with it. However, the second bath had never been
touched since the house was built. So we decided after many complaints
from the daughter that it was time to tackle the bath. It had the
original everything from the 1980's blue toilet, sink, tub, and old
blue flowered wall paper. A room that you truly kept the door shut, and guests were encouraged to use the master bath.

So the bath was finally done 3 weeks ago. My daughter designed
everything in it. It came out wonderfully, and she was so excited, that
we even replaced the old yucky carpet in the hall way to compliment her
new bath,

THEN, disaster struck over The 4th. You all know we
have been fighting with the brand new air conditioning system that had
to be replaced last August (not even a year old is it) The attic
handler
just repaired last week,decided to act up, and it took out the closet
in the hallway that butts up against the new bath. Water ran thru
the ceiling down the walls and under, into, and everywhere else it
could go. Needless to say, we may have to rip out the new bath, and defiantly the floor has to go. My poor daughter is devastated, but all of this will get fixed. All is replaceable and no one was hurt.