Painting the INSIDE of the Kitchen Cupboards!

Cleaning and organizing the kitchen cupboards is a great project at this time of year.  I started to do just that at the beginning of the month.

In the process....I looked...really looked at interiors of the cupboards!
YIKES!

The melamine laminate has the scratches and scuffs that come from normal use over time. The original white has become dull and yellowed.

I decided that they need a fresh coat of paint.

"I Recognize that Voice"

I seem to have been blessed with a distinctive voice.

I often have people say to me that they weren't sure they recognized me....but they knew it was me when they heard me speak!!!
 

HMMMM....I am not so sure that having a distinctive speaking voice is all that great.
I am sure that having a distinctive WRITING voice is something to aspire to!


I want to give a shout out to a couple of my favorite bloggers who have the most delightful "voice" in their writing.
Yes...the content on these two blogs is terrific....but the WAY they write is what makes them exceptional!  Every post usually makes me laugh out loud!

Things To Do With Travel Photos!

Are you old enough to remember....?
Back in the day....
We actually used FILM in cameras!

 It cost bunches of money.....and even more to get developed!
AND....you usually took very few pictures....and were stuck with them whether they turned out or not!

I remember rationing how many rolls of film we would use on a vacation.  Four or five rolls of 36 pictures was a pretty big extravagance for us!

 Then....along came the Polaroid!

Instant gratification.....but kind of lousy quality!

And Still.....super expensive....especially if your photography skills (or your subjects) were not up to par!

Too funny that all of the Instagram photos are a take off on the old look of polaroid prints!




Enter the 21st Century and Digital Photography!

Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Great Kids Books

Next Monday is Martin Luther King Day!

In honor of the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I usually share a list of my favorite read aloud books that encapsulate the ideas we celebrate on our day of recognition of the life of this American Hero. 
Here is a link to one of those old posts. 

This year I decided to go out and look at what kind of lists that other "experts" have put together.
WOW!  There are so many great titles....and I am happy to see that many of the books I recommend are included on many lists.

Relishes to Relish!

RELISH is my 2016 word!

That is all about taking time to relish everyday things.

HMMMM......relishing below zero weather can be a bit of a challenge!

How about......?

• there are a lot of birds at the bird feeder when it is this cold 
• my car has a remote starter
• I save money because I don't go out shopping

Of course, relish can be a noun as well as a verb!

My Bargain Buy in NOLA!

A highlight of the our trip to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago was the afternoon that the Sweetwater Daughter, The Grand Boy and I spent browsing on Magazine Street.

We needed some retail therapy and some time away from "the men". When we heard about this six-mile-long stretch from the Garden District to Uptown that has some of the best antique stores, art galleries, craft shops and boutiques to be found anywhere in the city we made a PLAN!  Mr. S. dropped us off and we began our stroll!

Use What You Have Winter Mantle

January is my "Use What You Have" month!

January is such a great month for organizing, making TO DO lists and generally getting life back in order after the holidays.  

It is time to take the challenge to stay out of stores and not buy "ANYMORE STUFF"!          Sweetwater is full of STUFF!   

The look on this little guy's face pretty much says it all!  

My One Word- Relish!

Hello All and Happy 2016!

What a fabulous and busy few weeks this has been!

All the holiday excitement and then a week long trip to New Orleans have kept me away from blogging!  Sorry about that....but now I am back!

Those posts that people write about "just one word" for the year have always intrigued me.  I have decided to jump on that bandwagon this year.  

My "just one word" for 2016 is: