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!

show me Wedneday

Hazelruthe's is hosting Show Me Wednesday and this week it's "show me your dress form". Give me any excuse to show off my girl!

Go check out the other dress forms over at Hazelruthe's here

Let me introduce you to Mrs. McGillicutty! She came to live with us April of 2007. You can read the story of how she came to be here. She's a joy to have around. She has an uncanny flair for fashion. But then if I looked as good as she does in everything she wears, I would too! She has the tiniest waist!

Emolyn's 3 months!

Emolyn's Pop-pop & Grammy spent some time with this little doll baby yesterday! Isn't she so pretty! She has the biggest, bluest eyes you ever saw! Oh and it happened to be her 3 month birthday too... weighing 6 lbs. 6 oz. and so very healthy!
We had lots to celebrate yesterday because it was also the first measurable rainfall we've had since the day Emolyn was born on Feb. 22nd! Seriously! No rain for 90 days and then we go from 110 degrees at the beginning of the week to a temperature drop of 50 degrees by Thursday! The rain was heavenly and I was one happy gal! Yes, I get crazy happy when it's overcast and rainy. And we're talking snow at the Grand Canyon! IN MAY!! I heard on the news that they have not had such strange weather patterns in 100 years! Interesting times.

Betsy McCall & Charming Chatty

One of the things I love about the blogging community is that someone will post an image that will literally stop me in my tracks and takes me down roads that I had somehow forgotten. Like when I was a little girl and the McCall's magazine would arrive in the mailbox and I would immediately flip to the last page. And there she was... Betsy McCall! I loved Betsy McCall paper dolls. I couldn't wait to see what she was wearing and to read about her latest adventure. How cool to have found this page on eBay, from the actual June, 1966 issue. Oh the hours I would spend pretending to be Betsy.
And speaking of magazines, I want to take a moment and thank my Mom for subscribing to so many wonderful, memorable magazines while growing up. We lived out in the country on a dairy farm so those weekly and monthly periodicals connected us to places far beyond our little borders. It helped expand our already vivid imaginations and give us a broader perspective of the world around us. So I called my sister Ginny to see how many magazines we could recall... of course LIFE and LOOK magazines, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, McCALLS and several farm magazines. It's no wonder I love all kinds of magazines!

A few of you have mentioned that you had a Chatty Cathy doll growing up. Well, I had a Charming Chatty doll (1962) and she was my favorite doll. She came with several little records that you would insert and when you pulled her string, she would say these cute little phrases. I adored her. You see, I was a rather chatty little girl myself (ok, still am), so it only made sense that I would have a doll to get chatty with. Well, it wasn't too long after that Christmas that one of my brothers broke the string. I was crushed. But we quickly sent her off on a long journey to get her repaired. Well, months later, after many trips to the mailbox, she was finally home... but a brand new Charming Chatty! I knew it cuz she had that brand new smell again. I can still recall that smell!
Anyway, thanks to eBay, this is exactly how I remember her. Oh the memories that girl evokes... *sigh*

Mrs. Mc & gingham aprons

Mrs. McGillicutty was so thrilled that my daughter Miranda let her wear her Princess gown after the Ultimate Princess Party. You remember the Princess Party post here, don't you?
Well, it fit her to perfection. And she may never take it off! Sorry Miranda.


You've heard the story... how I found each of these vintage gingham aprons at my little thrift store, one at a time. (for a buck each) Seriously, I would go one day and find the pink one... a few days later, the aqua blue one... and on and on. This went on for several weeks and then it tapered off. At one point I actually thought I was being set up... like I was being 'punked' or something... like it was all a joke to film me getting all excited and then they would steal my joy by telling me it was all a gag. So needless to say I started paying a little more attention to my appearance... you know, in case I show up on one of those new reality shows where they feature crazed women overreacting to their favorite finds. You gotta admit, it has potential. Hey, I'd watch it!



Anyway, I am still finding an occasional gingham apron now and again... these two being my latest. Oh and here's the other deal ... I have never found more than one of any color! Ok, a few are the same color, but totally different shades of that color. Seriously, look at all the variety of colors! I continue to wonder how this can be... I mean, all these vintage gingham aprons from the same thrift store? That's crazy! As I've said before, it does make me wonder if the same gal made em all. But we will never know.


Be sure to enlarge the pics to see the exquisite "hen scratch" stitching and matching ric rac! No two apron designs are the same either!

Mother's Day

We had such a lovely luncheon at Shawn & Nicole's after little Emolyn was dedicated yesterday. Miranda made her ever famous Asian chicken salad and delicious Bruschetta. Nicole made the best bean dip served warm and the best dessert I have ever had... a snickers pie dessert!!
We made sure to take pictures of the four generations... the two Emolyn's with father and son. (Mamaw Emolyn, Pop-pop Randy, Daddy Shawn and baby Emolyn) We sure missed Papaw.

Randy's Mom gave Emolyn the little pink New Testament Bible that they gave their daughter Patty in 1962. Patty died in 1974 when she was 18... so how special for Emolyn to have the Bible that Patty spent time underlining her favorite scripture and recording precious thoughts in the margins. What a treasured heirloom.


I was once again humbled by the outpouring of love shown to me on this special day. Just being with my family would have been more than enough. But I sure loved opening these heartfelt gifts of love!
A Grandmother's Bible! I love it! Thanks to my dear sister-in-law Etna!
An aqua hand bag! Love it Miranda! And the new hand pump soap scents are simply divine!
Take a look at the "Cupcake gift set"! An aqua silicone muffin pan... a pink silicone spatula and a cupcake recipe book! Thank you so much Shawn & Nicole! I may never use it... it just looks too cute in my aqua craft room! They also made me a picture booklet of sweet Emolyn pics!
And thank you Tyler for the "P.S. I Love You" DVD! You knew I would cry buckets watching it!
I am blessed with the dearest, sweetest children a mother could ever have. Thank you for enriching my life, for filling my life with so much love and laughter.

a penny saved is a penny...

that's not green




Mmm, not much going on this week. Visited little Miss Emolyn yesterday... all 5 lbs. & 13 oz. of pure sweetness. She is such a doll baby! Cute as a bug! Shawn & Nicole are having her dedicated this Sunday on Mother's Day. Her very first public outing. Can't wait!




Ok, so I had planned to do an Earth Day post but never got around to it. Cuz I am one gal who is all over preserving and conserving our environment. But I did want to squeeze in this little tidbit. I read the other day that one of the ways we can help conserve energy is to cash in our pennies. And why's that, you ask? Well, read on-

Most people don't give much thought to pennies other than when making change, but there are environmental costs to minting pennies from copper mining and refining involving huge amounts of power, water and carbon-dioxide emissions, Business Weekly reports. Coinstar, whose coin-counting machines turn pennies into greenbacks, estimates there is $10 billion, or $90 per household, in coins sitting in jars and elsewhere in our homes going unused. Cashing in these coins would not only provide cash to spend, but it would also help the environment.

Well, sure enough, I dug around my home and found several containers of pennies. Dumped them all in this rather large bucket along with other coins. You see, I remember reading a few years ago that pennies are getting too expensive to mint so they could one day become a thing of the past. And with Arizona being the Copper state, I thought I'd better preserve some of our state history for our future Grandchildren. But now I'm thinking that the reason pennies are getting too expensive to mint is that too many pennies are just laying around collecting dust in our homes. We need to cash them in and get them out there circulating once again so they don't have to mint more. Get it!
So we're cashing in ours this weekend. How about you?
Hey, they might help fund a road trip or your favorite charity or a dinner out. That works for me!

stunning Redwork

Take a look at this piece of art! I found this yesterday at Goodwill for 99 cents. I couldn't believe it! Why would someone let this end up at a thrift store? Someone spent hours sewing, binding and stitching these stunning Redwork creations!
Read about the history of Redwork here.


So, to you, whose fingers lovingly stitched beauty on fabric,
Thank you.
Your work has not gone unnoticed. It took my breath away. I sat in the car for several minutes just looking at it, examining every square inch. I will cherish it as though someone had made it just for me. Cuz without you knowing it, you were making it for me all along. And I am humbled that I am the recipient of this treasured gift.

I can't help but imagine you wandering through your favorite quilt shop, touching every piece of fabric. You knew when you saw the right combination. It just felt right, in your heart and to the touch.
And then you found the perfect buttons for that finishing touch. Not to take away from the Redwork, but to enhance the designs in the Redwork.
I wonder what you were doing while stitching, what you were thinking...
Did you know that someone would someday notice your perfect stitches? That they would marvel at your technique, your artistry? That they would have wanted to know you?
Well, I would have... but I am content in knowing I have found your quilt a home. One where it will be displayed for all to see... to be admired and to inspire. One never knows where ones art will end up. I am just really blessed to have found yours.
Sincerely grateful,
linda t


Be sure to clic the pics to enlarge.
Oh and btw, it's a wall-hanging size quilt.