Friday, November 4, 2011

...and so I open.



For as long as I can remember, my sisters, my mother, and I have always dreamed of opening a store. Preferably together, but all of us would have accepted alone if that were the only option at hand. Being that we are all two hours away from any sister in all different directions, alone, sadly, would appear to be the only option for us, if any. Thankfully, I am the one who has been able to step into "storehood" and open an actual shoppe. This is bittersweet, because in my mind, our store (the five of us equalling "our") would have been similar to the tea room we all love and adore. There would be food, crafts, knick knacks, and who knows what all mixed in. We would all be there, happily chatting with our customers and each other, enjoying the fact that we were able to realize a dream come true. In reality, my store, Perry's Paradise, does not have food, sisters, or a mom....it only has me and also the PiePie...at least in support, at best in the store. Thankfully, it also has Debbie (and not my mom, Deb), who takes photos and fills the room with her cheerful presence whenever she is around. Being here with her is easy; sharing a room with her is comfortable. I'm so thankful for the friendship we have and that it *works*. (You know what I mean, right?) So there you have it....I am officially a store owner! I've shared with you the welcome on our door, which the rain promptly removed, which I promptly replaced with indoor writing utensils rather than window paint outdoors! I was able to practice my mirror writing skills, even, as I drew the new "welcome" and hibiscus for our visitors....it's not every day that I get to practice that skill! I will be showing you around our store and inviting you in to see what we have to offer as the days go by, but I will also be sharing every day life with you (including the things that the Nanna comes up with, as always) as we go. Stay tuned! There is a lot of eye candy in a very small place for me to share with you!


Today's quote comes to us from Mark Twain: "Apparently, there is nothing that cannot happen today."


See you tomorrow!

Monday, October 24, 2011

At Long Last.....

...I am here to blog. I dunno why, but even though I *think* about blogging every day, I don't *think* of something to say every day these days. Sorry about that! However, today's post is the grand post of all posts because it is the sneaky peaky of the store.....and I *know* you all want to see that! (If not, don't bust my bubble, K? Thanks.)

This is just a collage wall of some things that I thought were deserving of a wall in our store....just because I said they were. That and because I love to mix up a bunch of things that don't "match", but yet "match". It works...and I like it.


Here is a little look-see of my desk....I loved her when I first layed eyes on her, and I love her now that she is cleaned up, yet still old, and she will remain all mine. Again...because I said so.


That's it for now....but stay tuned for tomorrow's episode...I will be showing off our mascot(s) and who knows what else!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Just Sayin'




Dear Mom and Dad,



There are some things that have popped up in my recent expeditions that have brought to my attention that I need to thank you for a few things. Stay with me here....



1. Thank you for teaching me to have a need for people even when you don't need to use those people.



2. Thank you for teaching me that it is ok to lean on shoulders as much as I need, but it is not ok to stand on those shoulders in order to get what I want, or where I want to go.



3. Thank you for teaching me to look out for others first, then myself...not vice versa.



4. Thank you for teaching me to have respect for people I love, and in turn, they will respect me.



5. Thank you for teaching me to be a pleasant person to be around, and on that note, thank you for teaching me that it is true that the best makeup a girl can wear is her smile. (Dunno who to attribute that to....it's not my own.)



6. Thank you for teaching me that being snide and snippy and sarcastic is not becoming. Ever.



7. Thank you for teaching me the Golden Rule...do unto others as I would have them do unto me.



8. Thank you for teaching me not to be lazy, but to jump in and get the task at hand done, and with a smile.


9. Thank you for loving me when you had to teach me these things, for it has taught me to love my own children while I try to teach them those same things.



10. Thank you for just being you for me.



I love you.....

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

All I need to know about life......




.....I learned at Motown Pizza.


1. I have great friends that care about me lots!


2. I have muscles in the backs of my arms that I never knew that I had!


3. Perry's Paradise is (and will be) well-supported.


4. Strawberry pizza pie is really good stuff.


5. I now know why old people "shuffle" instead of walk. Just sayin'. (And I'm not even old yet.....)



Saturday, September 24, 2011

Senior Escort, Homecoming 2011

My baby boy, all grown up..... ...as the Senior baseball escort of one lucky young lady! (Not prejudiced in any way, nope not me....just sayin'!)

If you'll allow me just two minutes to be a bit nostalgic, I would like to reminisce. I'll try not to over-run my time slot.

It seems like only yesterday, I couldn't wait to find out if I was having a boy or a girl. To be cliche, I really wanted a healthy baby, but to be selfish, I wanted it to be a boy. After all, I had a girl, and the "perfect" family, that was at least ideal to me, was a mom, a dad, a brother and a sister. Anything else was just extra fun, but having both a boy and a girl was something I really wanted. You can imagine how excited I was to find out that I was going to have a boy. The name-selecting process began....nope, not that one because it reminds me of so-and-so. You wanna name him what!?!?! I don't think so! What do you think of this...? That might be a contender. And so on and so forth. I knew that I wanted my son to have his dad's middle name, so Allen was a given. When we ran across "Kevin", we knew it was the one. End of story, nuff said. We had our name: Kevin Allen Key. Next, it was time to daydream about the baseball player we hoped to have. (One of the commonalities his dad and I had, for sure.) I can clearly see his photo in his little baseball sleeper, then one in his baseball onesie, sitting up. Next comes the one with his Little Tykes weeble-like tee, big chubby red plastic bat, and a huge go-get-em-tiger smile....then a photo of him in his dad's old high school jersey, jersey touching the floor and short sleeves made long on such a little body. I remember the phone call we got asking if we would be interested in coaching a tee-ball team, and so we did. I can name every team he was on, every position he played, and I may have lost count of all of his home runs, or "touch downs" as his Memaw would call them. I remember standing at 3rd base, for this was the base I coached during games, hearing the lookers-on talk about that "Kevin Key kid", and I remember hearing their questions: "Who is that kid playing 1st base?" Or "What an awesome pitch! That kid has a great arm!" And all the while, they didn't know that his mama was right there, listening to them, proverbial buttons popping off her proud chest. I remember vying for the number 6 jersey each year at all-star time, because that was his number, no matter what. (It was also his dad's number, which made it all the sweeter.) I have so many memories of this boy and that sport called baseball. I could write a book. (I suppose you are thinking I am well on my way, right?) I remember how serious we took each game, and I know now that perspective changes as I watch his very younger sister play her tee-ball games as a MUCH more mellowed-out mom and fan than I was all those years ago. I remember telling him to never think he was the best, but to always work towards being the best. To always remember there is always something to learn, and to never think he knew it all. The day that he thought that, I would tell him, would be the day that in all actuality, he knew nothing. I remember telling him that we did not have a "name" and that if he wanted to play ball as he went through the leagues and then on into high school, he would have to play well enough to make a name for himself so that he could not only make the team, but so that he could have playing time. I remember how he would go out with his brother and use sticks and rocks to play ball. I remember how they would stay for hours on end, throwing and catching, pitching and hitting; Kevin and Wyatt....a force to be reckoned with. I know now that all those hours of sticks and rocks, sweat and blood, games and practices paid off. I know that time has flown as he was accepted to play on his high school team as a Freshman, played as both a Sophomore and Junior, and is now anticipating the start of his Senior year as a starting player. I wonder where all the time has went from all those yesterdays until today....could it really be that my son, my baby, is head and shoulders taller than me? Is a Senior and will be graduating and moving on to whatever God sees fit to deliver next in his life? It was only yesterday that he was at bat, smacking that ball right off the tee, dreaming of the day when he would have the power to knock one over, stand and watch as it went out, the jog around the bases, and now, we're here, experiencing just those things. I'd like to think that I enjoyed every sweaty minute of the road from there to here, and I know that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, for those moments on that field, watching him learn not only about baseball, but about life have shaped my son into the person that he is today. Oh, how very proud I am of that person, and I'm not just talking about his madd hott baseball skills, either! :) Kevyboy, your Mama is prouder than proud of the person you are, and looks forward to seeing what you do during the next step in your life, for I know you are a mighty force to be reckoned with, and you will do great things for many people. I love you more than you could possibly know. <3

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A True Story

There once was a girl with straightened hair, so therefore, no curl. And she had an encounter with a squirrel....read on:



As I was leaving the house this dreary, rainy morning to get to the cardiologist where I was hoping not to hear dreary news, I decided to go the "forbidden" way to get there, and sure enough, Someone was watching, and Someone had a little fun with me. He put a car in front of me that went no more than 20 mph alllllll 3.5 curvy, wet, trecherous miles out to the highway. (Note to self: follow PiePie's rule and do not take this road!) We *finally* get to the end of the road (so much for my extra time to get there early....this 8 minute drive just turned into 18 easily) and just short of the stop sign....maybe 20 feet or so....she slams on the breaks for no apparent reason, leaving me to slam on mine...and hydroplane....and *right* when I knew I was going to hit her, I didn't. (Thank you, Jesus!) Out from under her car comes a squirrel, and before I could complete the thought of something like this: "REALLY!?!?!?! Did you REALLY just almost cause a wreck on these wet and nasty roads because there was a SQUIRREL in the road?!?!?!?!?" (I am not a promotor of roadkill, mind you, but I was always taught that if something runs out into the road while I am driving, I am to hold on, slow down, not swirve, and just go with it....and yes, with nothing behind me, I would have done the same thing....) So back to the story...piggapancake...no sooner could I get my thoughts organized and quit being angry that she really just tried to kill me by making me rearend her over a SQUIRREL when I look up into the highway, and there it was.....the squirrel who got ran over anyways.

I hope you're not the squirrel, either! I'm happy to announce that my day ended better than that, with sunshine, even, and super-great news from the cardiologist!!!!! Thanks to all of you prayers out there for all of your prayers!


And now, I'm going to do this:



G'nite!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Yup.....

...it's been a while! I've been so busy with life that throwing in some creativity has been a bonus, and sleep has come so quickly! I've decided to make up for it by sharing three projects with you I've done just today, actually, that all involve flowers.....sort of.

This is the granddaughter's time out bench....these are the sides....the top is boring, because it's a time out bench...but I couldn't leave the sides without a touch of Abby.....sorry for the terrible photos. Don't you just love that HUGE "diamond" in the center of the one on the right? That baby is literally 2 inches in diameter! Totally gaudy and perfect in every way!

OK, so this is a sunshine, not a flower....but it could be a flower, not a sunshine...at any rate....this is the new shirt design for the first "Perry's Paradise Presents...." done for a select charity for a select reason each time there is an event. The plan for now is that we will have a semi annual sale here in the back forty that involves as many in the community as will participate, and I do plan on badgering them until they finally cave and just say YES! It doesn't really matter if you are even near or in the same state as we are....if you love the design, please buy a shirt! All proceeds of 50 shirts after the sale of the first 13 will go to http://www.facesofhopetn.com/ to help combat Austism. Please email me at complexandcolorful@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing one.



Last, this old stool is a purchase I made last weekend at the fleamarket simply because the PiePie and Honey forgot to throw in their chairs and were there allll day. It was a last ditch effort because I couldn't find anything else. I wasn't too fond of it because it was old and dirty looking, but it was sturdy, and I needed a seat. PiePie painted it this burnt orange color for me to match the color in the twine used as the "seat", and I painted the huge hibiscus on it. From the beginning, it's what my brain calculated when it was this stool. It's pretty hard to paint on that stuff and be accurate, but I like the final result, mostly. The diamond in the middle covers an "oops" of black that globbed all together.....but it's growing on me. Let's just be thankful for 2" diamonds that fall from the sky just when you need them! :)



I'll try to be more regular.....

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Just another Sunday in Paradise.....

and I've been up since 6:00 with the Nanna Baby. And that is OK. We've cuddled, taken care of our puppies, Ranger, Joe, and Lula. Lula is the most "hobnoxious" one.....she is good "friends" with our rolled-up newspaper.

I can't believe how it seems so fall-like now, just within a week or so! At one moment, it was hot, hot Tennessee summer time, and the next, I see leaves falling and you can almost just feel it...fall is in the air! I'm loving my pumpkin ribbon on my copper sampler.....the colors, again, to me are fall!

You've heard a bit about the new doggers on facebook, if you are a friend of mine there, so you should see this awesome-cute picture of "Little Eddie". Isn't he the cutest? We brought him and a pair of Bostons home with us last weekend when we went to SELL dogs! I guess we got it backwards!I have a secret....I'm working on my dream. Something my sisters and I have talked about for a long time....as long as I can remember. And Mom, too. I'm actually doing it. Living my dream. (Thank you, PiePie Perry!!!!!) You will be hearing me talk about that, and you will be getting hints both on here and on facebook, so if you are not on facebook, you need to be and look up Perry's Paradise and click the "like" button. You also need to friend me personally by typing in "Abby Mark Perry" and there will only be one that comes up....us!

Pay attention; there's a lot of great stuff happening here at PP!!!!!













Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Just Catchin' Up.....






















Anna loves Kindergarten....we'll see how long that lasts.




















Fall seems to be in the air....even though it is still hot and humid around here.

















Anna definitely has the coolest backpack of all. (And the coolest mom, as far as I am concerned.)















Baby Aaden will be swaddled in this blanket if he ever decides to make an entrance into this world.....
















These seem to be a very popular gift.....but they are hard to find.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Loving This



I remember how my Gramps would sing, "...with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she will make music wherever she goes!"


See my rings? I love them all. I'm dealing with a lot of health issues right now, and they cause a lot of swelling. Bah humbug. The PiePie had a heat stroke a month or so ago, and lost a ton of weight. That is his wedding ring on my thumb. I love to see it there; I love what it stands for. I would love it better if it were on his finger, not on my thumb...but it is what it is. If you look close, you can see my emerald and diamond band. He "proposed" to me with that band, if you could call it that....since I "proposed" first. That band was my Martha's band, and she gave it to me. It is one of my prized possessions, and it snugs on my ring finger just right. Yesterday, I found "Bully" and had to bring him home. He fits with my Martha ring and even though he is a Bulldog, I like to pretend he is a floppy-eared Boxer. One can have a perfect world in one's head, correct? Correct.


What kind of rings do you have? Do you have any that are keepsakes; that are special? Tell me why. Please.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Funny....

I saw her photo today....I made this card for her....














and I was talking about her yesterday. I miss her. I know I'm not the only one. I hope I can always keep her attitude, which would be that of the sentiment of the quote I used.


If you have the opportunity to help do anything that helps fund cancer, please do so. This might be the donation of your time, not just the donation of your money. It might be to encourage a friend or family member that you have who is running for the cause, participating in something like this: www.sherrysrun.org. It might be to buy a shirt where the proceeds go back to the cause. It might be to donate an item for a silent auction, or to decorate a hard hat that will be donated and auctioned (wonder who will be doing that?!?! lol), or it might be to sell the tickets or take up the money or serve a meal. Who knows? As long as we are all working together, all those little things add up to a great big thing, and that is helping to find a cure for a disease that wreaks havoc on so many individuals, and ultimately, on whole families. Not only does it help find a cure, but there are also so many other parts of being affected by cancer that need the time and money of others. Please seize the opportunity to help make a difference!


Sarah...I will continue to try to make a difference, all for you, Babe!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Ceiling Fans = Fun.

So, I have painted a few ceiling fans in the last two years. I've loved every one of them equally as much, yet differently than each other, sort of like children.

This is the second-newest one that I've done, and the newest one belongs to the brother of the lucky recipient of the zebra blades shown here:
















These blades took me at least 6 hours each to complete, as they were very tedious....yet looking at them together, all different yet the same, reallllly makes me happy.

I'll try to remember to take photos of the newest one...it's black and white houndstooth for a room decorated in an Alabama theme....

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Wowza.




















I know I promised to continue on with my post about diabetes...but, to be perfectly honest, I think it will have to be a series that I write when I am able...meaning, sometimes, I can, and sometimes, I can't. Weird, yes. Me?....yes. Especially when I already wrote it once.

So, tonight, I am going to share with you that I have been creating a ton of new things for the Perry's Paradise Party that will be held in Lebanon at The Bull and Whistle this coming up Monday....I've put a huge amount of effort into it, and I hope that it turns out even better than it is in my mind....which is pretty dang good! :)


Right now, my living room resembles a tornadic path that was created by a whirl of wind on steroids....not even your normal tornado....but the Oz kind. For real. Let's see....these are a few of the random things I see, and this is *after* I've taken out a lot of things to my building: a window pane, a wooden cow, a smiley face helium balloon, a lamp base that will at some point contain a flower, a red cup like Pizza Hut used to have, a few canvases in various states of done and un-done, a roll of wrapping paper with the UT Vols theme, a stock pock...the 5 gallon kind...1, w, 3, 4....I think I can see 4 pairs of shoes. I see one dog, but there are two in here somewhere. I see a roll of tickets like you get at the carnival only these are pink and say "wish" on them. And this, folks, is just a random assortment of items that I can see. Yep, it's true.

The fun part is that I have taken a lot of photos to share with you, and that will happen asap....and in the mean time, I'll leave you with...well, something I can find already in existence on my hard drive. :) And, the winner is Ms. Kindergarten herself.....

Friday, August 5, 2011

Dear Diabetes,

Oh, Diabetes, how I could talk about you for hours on end! I've had so much experience dealing with you, and while I don't mind being someone that my Jesus thought was stubborn enough to deal with you, I do mine that you wreak havoc on so many lives, including many of those that I know and love. For 25 years now, I've watched you as you have made people sice, and I have fought you tooth and nail to keep those I love healthy. I have learned about you, and if I had my heart's desire, I would be counseling with those who are affected by you, but after all my other student loans I cannot pay for, I am not able to continue having an education to work with those people. Drat. Let me rephrase that....with people in a job where I would be paid. I sure do work with people now....and have since my early teens, who are family members of mine. I do not like you. Just sayin'.

Not so fondly yours,

Abby

I want to share with you, in a rather long post, how diabetes has affected my life, and the lives of those around me. However, after working on it for three days, Blogger ate everything except that which is above. I'm more than a little upset. I'll post this for now, then do another episode tomorrow, when I'm not disgusted.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Kindergarten....

So, I'm hopeful that Mrs. Shelia will be Anna's teacher this year....she taught Kate, Kevin, and Makayla, as well as Monna, and a few others in between. :) We'll find out on Tuesday if that happens or not, and that will be Anna's first day of Kindergarten, for real. But at any rate...here is her "1st day of school" photo....isn't she just too adorable? Wow. I have a college Freshman, a Senior, and one in Kindergarten. Not to mention the Makster, who is now an eighth grader....

































Tomorrow's topic will be "Abby on Diabetes" or some such title dealing with Diabetes, and then the next title will be about "Abby's Dreams" or some such title dealing with dreams. :)


Nighty night.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

"Hello, Beautiful!"

Somehow, I managed to get onto the subject of furniture and painting with my friend who is also my hair magician. She told me about this terribly ugly piece of furniture that she had and how she wanted something done to it, but it was SO UGLY....Here it is, but this is after the 1980's bad peach flowered mirror-a-ma-jig that was in the frame. Hideous.


























Here she is painted. Looking better...






















Stand on your head, and check this one out...even better yet.....but not quite there.....







































And finally.....here she is in all her flowering glory.....








































with a close-up of her new framed piece.....
































Isn't she grand?????




It would have been hard to let her go, except she went to such good hands where she will be appreciated, and I know this, because she gets told, "Hello, Beautiful," every morning....what more could a girl ask for?




Do you have an ugly piece of furniture? Let me know and I'll be glad to help you out with it...email me at complexandcolorful@gmail.com or perrysparadise@gmail.com. Friend me on facebook by searching "Abby Mark Perry" or "Perry's Paradise".




Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Today....

Today, we went to the fair to watch the grandbabies in their beauty pagents. I could ramble on this subject for quite some time, but I won't bore you with my thoughts on the subject. Suffice it to say I was happy to be there because that is what they were doing, but I could have thought of another way to spend the evening whether I was them or me. OK, I said I wouldn't rant on that. So.....I will say that it was an enjoyable time....we got to watch them, see some other people that we haven't seen in a while, sweat some, sweat some more, and watch Anna "catch" a fish on her first ping pong ball throw. (This was a very exciting moment in the life of Sally Sue Perry, to be sure.) Then, we walked around and she ended up choosing to ride the ferris wheel as her one ride....and she enjoyed it a whole very much. It was fun to watch her tell her Bubble all about it on the phone, complete with the circular hand motions whilst bubbling over about her ride, and how she wasn't even scared. What a trooper!

I'm tired today, so Anna's experience at the fair and the photo below will have to be the bloggy blog for today.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Mostly Flowers

So, here is a glimpse of some of the fun that I had today:

I've been meaning to make this Mingo chair for quite some time now, and today, it happened. When I saw the 'mingos on this fabric, I knew it was going to be a seat cover for this chair....it's wayyyyy better in person.
















And the canvas is an 8x10, has a wooden flower (or maybe resin) and a glass knob (functional...love this) as well as a vintage glass leaf that was found this weekend while we were out perusing.....I'm really liking this one.



































This is the center of a flower....and I will show you the rest tomorrow, but this is a surprise for a friend, and I don't want to give it away before she sees it.















Last but certainly not least is this glass rose knob that goes on the table that I think I showed you last night....the red and blue one...















isn't she perty? :)

Black and White? White and Black?

Either way....here are a couple of fun b/w things I'm loving these days!

This is my *new* vintage clutch....it's made out of something that is reminiscent of the old-time telephone cord stuff that is curly, and beads...maybe a hybrid of the two, LOL. Anyways....it's perfect in every way, and I'm pretty positive it was never used until I loaded it down yesterday. This was found at a yardsale this weekend, and it was shove whatever you can into a sack for $5....I got three more vintage handbags and a few other things.....$5 bucks. SCORE!!!!!












Next, this is one of the drawers I am working on for a girl who is re-doing her room. The drawer is baby boy blue, or powder blue, only brighter. The liner is black/white/grey stripes. I realllllly likey. :) And wait til you see the drawer pulls, and wait til you see them in the dresser when it's finished!!!! I'm oh, so very excited!
















Just because I'm nice that way, I'm going to show you where the drawer(s) (there are two) are going...remember, it's not finished yet....but isnt it fabu?



Sunday, July 31, 2011

Orders galore, Batman!

Holy beejeezers...I've got custom makings and orders all over the place right now, and I'm lovin' it! Now, to stay caught up.....but today, I made a huge dent. This is just one of the things that I've done today......

Here is the before.... And here is the during.....

and you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the after.....bwahahaha!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Goosey Gander

So, here it is in all its glory.....ready to go to the Butter Churn on Monday....

It's on a 16x20 canvas, and it's ready to hang on the wall....vintage Home Interiors couple, a little paint, and some attention from Abby, and look what you get! What do you think?



Friday, July 29, 2011

At Perry's Paradise....

the Tide is rolling in..... The Nanna has been reunited with her long-lost brother.....




And there are little Amish people with geese who will be spending the night in my living room, excited to let you know about their new home....




Do I have your attention? Thought so.

To be continued.....

Thursday, July 28, 2011

This....

is my new necklace. I've worn it a couple of times, and gotten "some plenty of it" compliments on it... isn't she grand??? Go to www.shelbilavender.com to see more of her creations....she's got one-of-a-kind things you are guaranteed to find nowhere else!


Monday, July 25, 2011

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs....

....even in Bethpage! Here is the next step....I ended up deciding it needed two different images....I'd hate for people who drive that road every day to have to see the same thing coming and going! :) I still have to go back and do some highlighting, write the hours and days, things like that....but this is the major gist of it. What do you think?

...and I had a list of other schtuff to yack about, but now, my brain is empty...or as Kevin used to say, "empFty," so that's all you get today. :)



Sunday, July 24, 2011

Just Exciterated!

I had such a nice day today...I love when that happens. I got to spend some time with the family, some friends that I don't see often enough, a "son" I raised but don't see in my "new" life, and some other family that I don't see nearly often enough. I also got to spend some quality time (much-needed) with the PiePie...never a bad thing. The best part about that was that it was to do some looking/shopping for Perry's Paradise...and things are coming together quite nicely if I do say so myself! We had lunch/dinner/supper, whatever you wanna call it, at Chili's, made a trip to the GW for some pillow cases, where we found some oh-so-everly-awesome ones, and then rounded the day off with a cage for our THIRD indoor Boxer in this tiny house (I know, I know....thanks Boo and Adam for that), and then an unexpected trip to the Boro to pick up the Nanna....and not a moment too soon, as would be said by the ever-famous Tim McGraw. She's been complaining for a day or two, so Mom tells me, about her throat....and the photo below was taken right before she burst into tears to tell me how bad her throat was hurting. I tried to get another, but to no avail.....The fun part about getting to get the Nanna (other than missing her and getting her back here to "PiePie's Paradise", as she calls it) was that I got an unexpected treat of seeing the neices!!!! And the sister!!!!! And the Brother-In-Law. Plus, I got a photo of the triplets up there. Betsy and Rodney went to the mountains, and look at the prizes they brought back for the girls!!!! They were so very proud to show off their shirts! By the time we got home, Anna was running a nice-sized fever, and crying endlessly about her throat, and cried herself to sleep. I suppose a trip to the doctor will be in order for tomorrow, along with the seven million other things that will have to be done on the "day off".

Now, on to the other reason I am excited.....CREATIVITY! We went today to the flea market so I could pick up some odds and ends needed to "make" as I call it. I love "making", as you know, so this was the ideal day of fun for me. Unfortuately, the PiePie and his heat stroke left us in conditions that were not as desirable as possible, but I think we made the best of them. At the last person we visited, I found this rock, and the "A" was "blasted" into it....and I loved it....but it isn't practical to have an "A" in your yard or otherwise, even if your name is Abby or Anna without it seeming self-gratifying and weird, so I resisted. Plus, it was $25.00. However, I did tell him if he could come up with a "P"....I would likely be the first in line to purchase is, and I'd be there next month to see what he had. This is the same place that I bought a tiny set of four wooden chairs. They are old, and wood, and chippy, and perfect. I will just be sanding them down smooth so as to cause no splinters, then sealing them off with a coat of Poly so as to keep the lead poisoning at bay. Then, they will be making a trip to the Churn, along with the child-sized rocking chair we purchased, and a few other goodies that we found there. This is not all...I have (at least to me) a huge announcement to make for Perry's Paradise (friend "Perry's Paradise" on Facebook by clicking the "like" button, please) that will be happening tomorrow, so stay tuned. For now, I must go and visit Never-Never Land, because once again, morning will be here all too soon.

G'nite, friends!