my Noritake china

Randy has been spending hours every night since his Dad passed away, scanning old family slides that date back to the 40's. We're talking colored slides! It has been both healing and nostalgic as Randy relives his childhood. Randy's Dad was in the Air Force for 26 years and they were stationed all over the world. They lived in Japan from 1950-1952... before Randy was born in 1953. While in Japan, Randy's Mom bought her beautiful Noritake china. I fell in love with it the first time I spent Thanksgiving with Randy's family in 1978. They always used the Noritake china for Thanksgiving.

Several years ago my dear Mother-in-law gave me her beloved china. She knew I would cherish it and eventually pass it on to my daughter Miranda. I especially love the gravy boat. And isn't the Thanksgiving meal all about the gravy! Seriously, you load up your plate and then proceed to smother it all in gravy. And this gravy boat rocks! Oooh, pardon the pun.

And I simply adore the cream 'n sugar bowl set. Love the curvy design.
So today, I got them out of the boxes in the garage and placed them in these cotton quilted storage bags I found at my little thrift store for two dollars! When I went online to see how much these bags would cost... ya, over $50.00!
I am hoping to remember to use my Noritake china more, now that it is stored in the house, in my red hutch.

who knew...

You know how much I love a good deal. Well, I just had to share my latest.
Our 19 year old son Tyler is uninsured. So when it became apparent that he needed to have his left ear checked, I didn't quite know what to do.... Urgent Care or our family Doctor. After making a few phone calls, I found out that it would be about the same for either one, if you pay cash. So I chose our Doctor. Good call.
A week ago today, while Tyler was in San Diego as a counselor for our H.S. church camp, a huge wave slammed against his ear and he hasn't been able to hear out of that ear since. Well, the Dr. and his assistant worked on his ear for over an hour, removing tons of wax from his ear, finally revealing a real bad infection. And when I say tons of wax, I mean wax the size of tiny pebbles, and just as rock hard! Tyler has the cell phone pics as proof! Rather gross.
But here is where the smokin deal comes in. I leave the Dr. office with two prescriptions. I've never had to comparison shop for prescriptions before. I mean, you drop off your prescription, you pick it up, you pay your co-pay.
So, first stop, Walgreens. I am quoted $80.00. I can't remember if that even included the $20.00 for the discount uninsured card so I could get this 'deal'. I ask the gal if it pays for me to drive around and see if I could get a better deal. She whispers under her breath, "Costco". So I'm off to Costco and get this... $45.00 out the door! Ya, baby! A smokin deal or what! I love Costco!
So, after a couple of days of antibiotic, Tyler is off for another two weeks of church camp. He can hear. All is well. Thank you God!

So, our plans while Tyler is gone is to work on our back yard. I know, in 110 degree heat? Yes.
We are planning to take down the white picket fence and remove all that's growing inside the fence and put down pea gravel for a cute little seating area. And you see that tree in the middle? That will stay. It started growing from a seed that blew in our back yard a couple years ago. I love it. It couldn't have landed in a better spot. Provides the perfect shade for our granddaughter when she comes over to play.
Hope your weekend is cooler than ours.

Happy Anniversary Shawn & Nicole

These brand new parents were married four years ago today. What a special day. What a special couple. They bring so much love and laughter to everyone around them. And now they have a little girl that completes their little family. Emolyn is so blessed to have these two as Mommy & Daddy. I can honestly say, they are the best parents!



Oh, and my granddaughter is 4 months old!
Emolyn Kate weighs 8 lbs. 4 oz. and is as cute as can be!
"Happy 4th sweet Emy and Happy 4th to your Mommy & Daddy!"

aqua 'n pink odds 'n ends

Yes, that would be an aqua bustier lamp up there. Oh but does it ever look sweet at night. ($2.99 at Savers)
And I finally found me a ceramic hand. I think they look so cool. And mine has red nail polish. Even cooler. (99 cents)


Recently found the 'made in England' tin.
Love the color and design. (99 cents)


And today I found the pink ceramic princess phone that holds my Tinkerbell pen and a notepad. How cute is that! I am thinking it's vintage because it's quite a heavy ceramic. (69 cents at Savers)
In case some of you are wondering what those three miniature baskets are. They contain rain bonnets. The yellow and green ones were freebies at our Jackson County Fair in Wisconsin back in the 60's. Then I found the pink one at a yard sale last year for 10 cents!! What are the chances I'd ever find another... especially a pink one! I was beyond thrilled! (be sure to click all the pics to enlarge)
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
It's 113 degrees here. But it's OK. Really. It's a dry heat. No sweat.

my wedding dress

Hey, it's SHOW ME WEDNESDAY!!
Hazelruthe's is hosting "show me your wedding dress" this week.

Randy & I were married Aug. 25th, 1979. And after all these years, I still wouldn't change a thing about that day. (Ok, so maybe Randy's white tux would have to go) But I loved our wedding! And I especially loved my dress. I still love it! I remember it costing $100.00 from Diamonds on Central here in Phoenix. It was the first dress I tried on. It was perfect. It still fits me, but after carrying my 3 kids high, it's rather tight around the rib cage area.

Ok, all you young whipper-snappers out there, get this... our entire wedding cost $600.00! I know, hard to believe, but true. I have all the receipts to prove it. Randy's tux, his ring, the flowers, cake, everything! Randy's brother Barry was our photographer and my wedding band was Randy's Mamaw's ring when she married in 1914. And my sister Kathy made the bridesmaid dresses. Oh, and about those bridesmaid dresses... I'd like to think I was quite the trend-setter back then because my bridesmaid dresses were just below the knee. You see, I am so dang practical that I wanted to be sure my girls got to wear their dresses again. And again they did! My sister Ginny gave me her dress and I wore it for years!
If you want to read more about our special day.... click here.

night-blooming cactus

I couldn't resist. My neighbors night-blooming cactus are in bloom. So after grabbing my Sunday paper from the driveway, I was back out snapping pics by 5:30 this morning. In my pajamas.
This particular cacti only blooms at night and quickly closes up by morning. It's now 8:00 and the blooms are almost closed up. They will shrivel up and die but several new ones will present themselves tonight. And what a spectacle they are! The bees would agree with me too! Be sure to clic the pics to see for yourselves.

I love weddings

I love weddings! But what I love about weddings these days is that anything goes! Weddings are unique to the couple and who they are. You can go to a wedding and come away knowing them better than you ever thought you did.




Caleb & Kali's wedding was SO them! Beautiful, playful, natural and authentic. The wedding took place on the 14th green of the Munde's Park Country Club golf course. What a gorgeous day! I am continually in awe of the beauty of our great state of Arizona. 450 of Caleb & Kali's closest friends came to witness their vows and celebrate their union. What a fun day!

Miranda and Tyler enjoying the festivities before we head on back to Phoenix... to the desert... to the heat... to our long hot summer.
Miranda did all seven bride's attendance hair for the wedding. She did such a great job! Be sure to go on over to Miranda's blog and check out her pics here. Oooh, and check out the awesome gift bags!

I know that everyone came to love and honor the bride and groom... but, well... guess who showed up and sorta stole the show? Ya, my granddaughter and that cuteness thing again. Shawn & Nicole had more fun parading their daughter around during the reception. Not only was this Emolyn's first road trip but her first official public outing and her first time outside! What a little show-off! What a little lamb!

Tyler's musical creations

Ok, all you faithful readers out there. Do I have a treat for you!

Check out my son Tyler singing on his My Space. You will be as surprised as I was to hear that my 19 year old son Tyler is literally singing every single part you are hearing on every single song. He plays the piano. All of it. I had no idea he was that talented! Sooo proud of him!

Yes, I know I am his Mother and a tad bit bias but I do believe he will, quite frankly astound you, as his Dad and I were when he sat us down and played us these musical creations.

My personal favorite is "Larger than Life". He even makes all the musical instrument sounds himself. Waaay cool!

Click here and crank up the sound!

my little cupcake

** Edited below.
Gotta show you the sweetest cupcake ever. Ya, I thought you'd agree. Oh and we found out that on 6.6 she was 7.7. Yup, Emolyn (at 15 weeks) weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz. on June 6th! How easy is that to remember!
We went over to Shawn & Nicole's Friday night to celebrate Shawn's 26th birthday but needless to say, Emolyn stole the limelight. She's like that. But who can blame her, with all that cuteness and all.


And here we have Emolyn's Aunt Miranda telling her niece all about the wedding she was going to be attending the next day up in Flagstaff, AZ. Emolyn's very first road trip. Miranda went into great detail and Emolyn hung on to every word... especially the part about the bride looking like a Princess. Emolyn knows all about that. Being a Princess and all.

The birthday Daddy and his little cupcake plum tuckered out from too much party. However will she survive all the wedding festivities. Well she did. And let me tell you, what a celebration! Check back for some precious pics from Caleb & Kali's wedding. And yes, once again, Emolyn stole the limelight. It's that cuteness thing.
**** You must go over to Shawn's blog and read about their first day together with Mommy back at work. Too precious. Too funny. Go here.

weekend up north

We had the best weekend up north with our dear friends Marshall & Cathy and Terry & Nancy. Here we are hiking around Lynx Lake near Prescott. What a welcome relief to get out of the heat and enjoy the cool weather with friends. And it was just what we needed to get us inspired to start exercising. We hiked as a group on Saturday and then Randy & I got up early for a walk on Sunday morning. Then we hiked South Mountain here in Phoenix Monday morning (2 miles) and again this morning. What's up with that! Well, it's called "over 50 and out of shape"! We have no choice. I am already feeling sooo much better about myself. Last night Randy grilled salmon and grilled vegetables. So healthy good. Sure pray I stick to our plans to get healthy and fit.
Randy & I are taking this week off... working on some home projects. A doggy door cut through our kitchen block wall, hanging our new arcadia doors (that we've had for two years), cleaning out the garage, reorganizing the guest room (which we now call Emolyn's room) and various landscaping projects. Fun stuff. I'll keep you posted.

Emolyn pretty in pink

My granddaughter Emolyn visited her great-grandma Emolyn last week. Emolyn's Mommy Nicole and I loved watching the two Emolyn's bond. And what a treat for Randy's Mom to have us spend time with her, as she is missing her husband of 65 years deeply. Randy's Dad would have been 86 years old on May 31st.
And isn't our little Emolyn just a doll! She's smiling now and let me tell you, she takes my breath away. I love her to pieces!