Wednesday, February 19, 2014

With a Little Help From IKEA!

How perfect is this Rug for a little Girls
Room.....Ikea.... of course... for a mere
$39.99
Purchased for Miss B awhile back
for her NYC Bedroom....
with space at a premium....

and a minimum...
it was a bit overwhelmed in this bedroom
of a typical 6 year old...
So with Grandma in town for the week..
We decided it was time to
Re-Decorate!
"Translation"
she has too much crap and it was time for a
Major Overhaul....
Major is an understatement....
This Kid owns more toys and "stuff" then
FAO Schwartz...
so it was time to purge while Miss B
was with her Dad....
Our Plan was to re-do the whole room before
She came home on Monday.....
Working last evening until 12:30
We were pleased with the results...
Kids... it seems... love to collect
tiny doo-dads...McDonald's toys..
Gumball toys....little plastic things..
Just general junk...
And we...the parents...and
Grandparents contribute to this
Mess...

If she never got another toy or
Stuffed animal...I don't think she
would even notice..
It was time to get rid of the Pee Wee Herman
Playhouse plastic furniture...
The metal tiered rack which at one time
was thought to be a good idea for
the sake of organizing..
Dis-regard the luggage....That is mine..
We tried to get the Cat to read the Ikea
instructions....after all there are no words to read
Just pictures to follow...
We figure it was something the Cat was
capable of doing....
Here she is asking...
"I see all the screws...where's the Allen wrench?"
Her attempt at pretending she's asleep...
and ignore us...
Only she forgot to shut her
Left Eye....
So the Mom stepped in and assembled
everything...
From her new desk chair...
To a brand new girlie pink desk...
To an 8 sectioned Cubby unit...
Daughter has been building
Ikea furniture for years now
and is really an expert.....


But it's grandma who has the eye for
furniture placement....so first up....
After removing all the crap from the room
Was to move the bed against the window..
This opened up the entire space...
 
Next came the Cubby Unit....meant to stand tall...
For safety reasons we decided to have it lay
horizontally...two rows of four cubby holes...
We went with orange fabric containers for
Four of the spots...
We added the infamous "Dead Bears" because they
are so colorful and a few family photo's...
The Bears were daughter's....
Next up was new bedding......
Ikea also....$29.99 for the Duvet Cover
and striped pillow case...
We decided to keep the book rack...
and with so many stuffed animals...
We piled them in the corners...
But neatly inside of large laundry
like containers....
The pink chair was all of $12.00
The pink and White desk was $79.99
Above the desk is Sophie's Name
made with advertising letters
from signs in Europe...I showed you all the ones
daughter made us a few posts back...
She photographs interesting single letters off of
signs and then turns them into names..
The letters came from France and Amsterdam...
The large picture with all the faces also
came from Ikea...It's actually a fabric remnant
That daughter stretched over canvas..
We picked up the desk lamp...the shade is also
pink and orange dots...
About $20 for both...the base and the shade..
The top of the existing dresser was cleared off
(all the junk was thrown out)
making a spot for some more animals...
Our whole basic theme was...
Color...Color...and more Color...
We fit more stuff in this unit then you can
Imagine..

One of her favorite things when she first
saw the room was the big "B" bookend....
After all she is "Miss B"...
The room was not big enough to fit two of the Button
Rugs...
We found this very cool looking hooked rug
at TJMaxx....another $39.99 Buy...

I said we were going for a Color Theme!!
B loves having pictures of herself in her room....
Ikea mouse...

$7.99

She spent the whole day sitting at the desk...
And yes...that's an I-Pad you see...
A gift from Grandpa...

The Whole Gang
What a difference
A little
organization
Makes...
Miss B approved!!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

How to Detect Early Alzheimer's.......It's all about a Horse.

I need to paint a picture for you of where we
Live so you can decide for yourself in which
direction my life is headed....
You have to drive by two horse farms to get to
our house....
Oh it's lovely....especially in the Spring and Fall.
I Fell in Love with the Road the day we went to look
at the house with our Realtor...
I had Grand Plans to get a cute bike with a little horn
and a wicker basket on the handle bar....
of course a big straw hat....
I've been told I have a face for hats...
And then....
The county decided this beautiful iconic setting needed...
Speed Bumps....or as they call them here in the
South...
"Speed Humps"....
So the bike idea went out the window when the Boss
said I would have to wear a helmet....

That wasn't happening....
Big floppy straw hat or Nothing!!
I drive down this road every single day.....
Over those 9 freakin speed bumps...

(embellished for effect there are only 6)
The only thing that keeps me sane is looking
at those beautiful horses in the
pasture....
Aren't they Handsome....
See the white and tan one...
Some days he's standing...some days
He's sitting down....some days he's actually
lying on his back....You know like the Dead
Horse in Animal House....
I like to think of him as the "Boss" of
Horses...Because.....the Boss always says...
"Why stand when you can sit...why sit when you
can lie down...."
But....I do realize the horse is Alive and Well
and certainly not Dead....
even though he may look that way on
Occasion....
I have the common sense to realize this....
Or so I thought.....
Here is the other horse pasture....
Actually just some one's large back yard...
One Lone horse...
For argument Sake let's call him
"Mr Ed"....
Mr. Ed has been here as long as we have....
I see him every single day just like the
other horses only he has no one to play with.
He normally wanders the large fenced in
area and that is normally what I see him doing...
 
Until this past week...
Doesn't matter what time of Day or Night...
there he is.. standing in that same spot...
Staring....
He looks like he's put himself in
"Time Out"...
I have seen him there when I'm going and when
I'm coming home...
10:30 in the morning or
6:00 at night....doesn't matter...
Never moves....
You do know where this story is going
Don't You??

Yesterday I passed by...and there he was..

Same spot....not moving.... my first
Thought Was....

OMG....it can't be that the horse finally died and
the people had him Taxidermied...
Hey....don't laugh....we are in the South
where there is a taxidermist on every corner...
This actually went through my mind....
And here I am admitting it...
Second thought popped into my head....
The Horse did Die but they missed him out in the yard
So they went and bought a phony Horse
To take his place....
I thought perhaps the people really loved this
horse Or they thought it would just be fun
to see what the neighbors

would do...
This thought was warranted
because....
After All we are "those people"
With the Dummy Board of our dead Golden Retriever
On our Front Porch...

A fake horse is exactly what we 
would do...
The damn horse didn't move a hair for a whole week!!
What would you have thought....
This Horse Looks Fake....Does he not???
And...
If you have ever seen my house you 

know
Taxidermy animals are not unusual....
We Have seen in Person

Napoleon's Dead Horse...
And...
This is what a Taxidermied Horse 

Looks Like..

So I Finally got out of the car 

And I took his picture..
still no movement...

Until I got up close...
He blinked his eyes...
Must have been the flash :)
I sent it right off to the daughter

She confirmed
that it does indeed look like a Fake horse..

Nope......
He's Alive....I figure he is standing 

There hoping for
an invite from the horses down 

The Street...
Like a bad kid that no one
wants to play with..
I felt better that perhaps it was just a moment
Of excitement With the Thought that we too could have
our own Stuffed horse to go along
with the Buffalo head and yes...your seeing that
right....
Killed and stuffed right there in Aisle 5 at
FAO Schwarz on Fifth Ave....
Our new Leopard head...
Only temporary until I find a real head
to replace it....I hung it as a joke....But on
second thought I better take it down before
Daughter visits next or she will be having me
committed for sure...

I am hoping that it was just one of those
"Brain Cloud"
Moments and that at 63 years old my mind is
Not starting to stray....
So you make the call....
Early Alzheimer's.....or
"Just Plain Nutz".....

At least I didn't hear him talk!!



Disclaimer.....
this post although 100% true was meant to be lighthearted
No disrespect for people with Alzheimer's or friends who
have family members with this awful disease...
I was talking to the "Big Boss" a few years ago
when he called to say he was afraid the snow fall during the
night was going to kill his tomato plants...
It was August....
shortly after that Daughter went to visit and his
Home was sweltering hot and his fridge was filled with
food that had gone bad...
I contacted his primary care doctor and told him
our concerns....I knew something was very wrong..
The doctor said...
"It's none of your business....he's a grown man and if
this is the lifestyle he wants there is nothing
you can do about it"....
I couldn't believe his words......
Less then 2 years later....He woke one night
seeing dead people on the ceiling in his bedroom....
He died one month later...

From....
Alzheimer's/Dementia
And nobody ever diagnosed it.....
At 89 he was still driving every day...

So watch out for friends and family who make odd
comments...or do strange things...
Except for me of course.......
Hopefully if my mind goes I hope I get to keep
my sense of humor...

Me and My Dog...
 Can always entertain at the Old Age Home....

Monday, February 3, 2014

Downton Abbey meets Downton Atlanta.....

Today was the long awaited
Downton Abbey
luncheon hosted by ex-Flour Power Blogger
And my good friend Joyce...
You know the history of me and Joyce..
the antics in Ikea...
embarrassing anyone who
happens to join us for a shopping outing
or a simple lunch...
We usually turn things into a circus...
Two 60 ish Yankees that love to
have a good time..
representing both Jersey and New York...
You know if there is going to be a
Theme Party...
We will be the ones to show up in
Costume...
Here is a lovely Hostess with the Mostess...
or in this case the Hostess with the Dog...
Lady Joyce...
love the cane.....
Of course there is one other crazy in our
Group...
Lady Rose...
They dressed up for a formal event...
While I...being the more causal type...
"Translation"....I don't own any fancy clothes....
Came dressed for a ride in the country....
Any excuse to wear a hat!!
Isis......
actually a Dummy Board of my old dog
"Sissy"....
When not out partying...
Sissy resides on our front porch to keep away
strangers...
Daughter painted her...
We were greeted at the entrance with
various photos from the show...
There is every body's favorites...
Anna and Mr. Bates...
Each place card had a photo
of one of the shows characters....
Here is the unhappy
Lady Mary...
Will the tone of her voice ever go back
to normal or is she going to talk
like a man the entire rest of the season...

Joyce's famous Cheese Straws...
I was responsible for eating 3/4's of
this plate....
They are addictive...
All the food had a name..
Ina Garten's recipe for Stuffed Ham and
Cheese with puff pastry...
if you have never tried this it is simply
Fabulous....
good hot or cold...
We had a great salad with pecans....
apples....with an apple vinaigrette...
Along with Mac and Cheese and
Hot Chicken Salad...
Enough said...
the dessert table!

Lady Sybil's Sweets...
Chocolate mini-bundt cakes to
Take home!!
Lady Cheri made these wonderful
Gingersnap cookies..


a hostess gift for our hostess...
The Downton Abbey
Edwardian Cooking
Cookbook.
Lady Joyce with another
hostess Gift...
When we get together we love to
give and get gifts...

Lady Cheri........
Lady Rose.....
With a personality and a laugh as Big as...
........her jewelery.......
from left rear around the table....
Lady Denise....who I failed to take an
individual picture of....Sorry Necie!!
to Lady Rose...Lady Sandie....and
Lady Cheri...
We were missing today...
Lady Linda
and Lady Cheryl...
we missed you guys and hope you can
join us next time..
Lady Sandie...
Mincemeat pies...

The Perfect Finale..
Lady Edith's
Leftover Wedding
Cake..
Love the X
over the grooms
Face!
Joyce even decorates in the Guest Bath
Asked why these two were
Hanging on the mirror
in the bathroom...
Her answer..
"They Stink"
makes sense.
Better then having them
on the
toilet...
Behind the
Bathroom Door..
"Branson always
ready to drive"
Don't forget
the Mink!
Out of character...
She is her own
Character...
With the party coming
to an end...we
asked when the next one
would be....
Joyce informed us that we will be
attending
Lady Edith's
Baby Shower...
when the time comes...