Family Heirlooms

 

There is a cute story to the spoon in the photo above. Several weeks ago I was cleaning out a drawer and came across an old jewelry box I had forgotten about. I opened it up and along with some old jewelry from my teen years was this silver spoon. Well, it was actually black because of sixty years of tarnish. Once I cleaned it I noticed it had my name engraved on it. I found a shop on Etsy that turned it into a ring for me. Now I can enjoy it a whole new way! I didn't know who had gotten it for me so I asked my cousin if she knew. She told me that it had been her! I was so excited because I love this cousin so much and she is also my Godmother. This makes this spoon even more special. I have this vision of my granddaughter wearing this ring as an adult or at least tucking it away with her special things. I'll bet that when my cousin bought that spoon she never in her wildest dreams would imagine me wearing it as a ring sixty years later!

Family heirlooms don't have to be expensive pieces of jewelry that are passed down for generations and generations. They can be anything that is loved and cherished by the original owner or the loved one(s) who want the items for reasons that may be special only to them. 

When my bonus dad passed away in 2015, there were a few things that our family wanted to keep for very special reasons. For example, my brother wanted his WWII items. While cleaning the basement out that year, I was lucky to find his war documents. Right now they are in a fireproof box in my studio. I pull them out regularly to look at them. I also kept his gloves, a jacket, and a scarf. I wanted those items because he was always worried about everyone being cold. He loved his family so much and always wanted them to be happy and comfortable. My daughter wanted one of his handkerchiefs and white undershirts. He was the King of cooking breakfast and when the kids would be there overnight or for breakfast, he'd be in the kitchen in his white shirt cooking up a storm! Such simple items that bring comfort to those he left behind.

Another thing that you'll find in my fireproof box is the many letters and notes my kids wrote to me while growing up, and even after they grew up. Some of them are sweet and loving while some are just plain silly. But I love them!

I'm not a materialistic person, but I do enjoy looking at and holding things that remind me of a special person or time.

Favorites - This Pet Stain Remover!

In the earlier days of my blog I did a feature called "Favorites." I simply shared the love of a product that I have used. No paid promotions, just my personal opinion from my experience. I thought it would be fun to start that up again!

As some of you know, I have a beautiful little rescue pup (photo above) who has been a nightmare to housebreak. There is a reason for this. She is a rescue from an Amish puppy mill. If you've never heard of them, I suggest you google it so you can see what my poor baby had to live through for the first three years of her life. Long story short, she was used for breeding and lived in horrendous conditions until she was of no use for them anymore. Fortunately, there is a rescue group that is close in location to the Amish community and takes their "throwaways" and finds them homes. Living three years in a dirty cage, you can probably understand why we struggled with housebreaking. Fortunately, she has come a long way in the two years we've had her but still has accidents on the carpeting.

I have a very long list of items I've tried to get the smell and the staining out of the carpeting and they just didn't get the job done. But this product, right here, is my hero in a bottle! I purchased mine from Amazon, but I'm sure you can find it locally as well. I wish I would have taken a before picture but to be completely honest, I was embarrassed to do so! Her favorite place to pee was near the front door. There must have been 30 or more round spots that I just couldn't keep up with. It was embarrassing when someone would visit. Someday we may rip up the carpeting and put in different flooring, but for now I'm happy to have found this.

NOTE: I do not get paid by anyone for sharing my favorites. They are just things, places, food, etc that I truly love.

Renting Cabins - Check Every Corner of Your Room!

Now that the weather is getting nicer and the hubster and I almost fully vaccinated, it's about time to hit the road! Because of the events unfolding last year, we weren't able to travel at all. As I was looking through my travel journals (more on that another time) I was reminded of a recent trip to Tennessee to visit with family. The Gatlinburg area has always been a favorite of ours. We have family there and sometimes we take a bunch of other family members and rent a huge cabin in the mountains. Love the mountains! 

On one particular trip, we got quite a surprise when we were just getting into our room. We had just brought in our luggage and my dad and bonus mom stopped in to greet us, they were staying in the same RV park, but instead of a cabin, they had their RV. We're all sitting around chatting and I look down at the floor and I saw what appeared to be a toy snake behind a dresser. I bent down to pick it up and that's when I saw the tongue poking out. Nope, not a toy! The hubster and my father were looking for a broom to shoo it out while my bonus mom was laying on the bed with her feet up in the air screaming bloody murder. During this time I sent a picture of the snake to my then boss who is a veterinarian and an expert in reptiles and exotics. He assured me it was a simple rat snake that was not a threat at all to humans. Relief! 

The men did get the snake out of the room and even went as far as shooing it into the river. Seriously? Apparently, they weren't aware that rat snakes are quite good swimmers. Yep, it swam right back and went under our cabin. We called the park office and they sent someone out to capture the snake. They promised me that they were going to release it at the other end of the property and no harm would come to it. I mean, seriously, I think we traumatized the poor snake enough as it was.

So why am I sharing this particular story? Because the weather is getting nicer and you'll all be traveling and those that will be out in the wilderness, nature, the mountains, cabins, etc, need to check your space!

Rock Hiding Adventures

 

We have been blessed with the most precious granddaughter, and the best part is that she lives close by. And even better, she loves to spend weekends (or any time for that matter) with us. Whenever she's here we focus completely on her and we are always looking for adventures. She's an adventure type of girl! One of our favorite things to do is to paint rocks and hide them.

We hide them everywhere we can think of. Our favorite places to hide them is some of the many parks and trails we live by. We even get the dog in on the action! The hubster, the dog and I are planning a drive to Texas in the near future and I have a nice little collection to take with me when we stop for breaks.

Our hope is someone will find them and post them to facebook so we can see how far our rocks go. We were super excited recently when two of our rocks were found by two little girls and posted on facebook! But the very most important thing of all is to know that someone out there found one of our rocks and it brought a smile to their face! 

Rock painting and hiding is such a fun thing to do to create memories for your kids or grandkids. And the smiles, laughs, and creative energy is worth a million.

If you are interested in creating these fun memories with your kids, or even yourself (remember I'll be hiding some when I'm traveling without kids), here are a few tips and information to get you started.

SUPPLIES:

Rocks of any shape or size, but not too big.

Paintbrushes

Acrylic paints

Paint pens (optional)

Indoor / Outdoor sealer (I use Krylon glossy)

Please read the instructions carefully on your sealer and use in a well-ventilated area. Preferably outside.

HOW TO:

Paint the rocks as desired (see links for ideas). It's nice to put a facebook group name on the back because sometimes people like to share the rocks that they found and it's fun to see if they found yours! I printed them out on labels and stick to the back before sealing.

Remember, some people like to keep the rocks that they find and some people like to re-hide them. Maybe someone was on a special outing with someone they love when they find your rock. If that's the case, they might want to keep it for a memory. Either way, it's up to them. 

I have read that you shouldn't hide them in the state or national parks since they have the rule of leaving nothing behind but footprints. I have seen a lot of people hiding them there. Maybe if you keep them limited to a pavilion or gift shop rather than the actual trails or beaches. If you are hiding them outside, please don't decorate with wiggle eyes or anything else that an animal can ingest. Stick to paint and makers.

HELPFUL LINKS:

I love painted rocks website

Painted rocks on pinterest

Kindness rocks on Facebook

Found rocks on Facebook

Painted rocks on Facebook

Now go out there and have fun, create memories, make someone smile.

The addiction is real my friends!

So This is 60...

I recently celebrated a milestone birthday, the BIG 60! I've only been in the 60's for about two weeks but it already feels like a new adventure is awaiting me. Thinking back, my 40's were wonderful with major life changes and my 50's were even better! This gives me a reason to believe that the (hopefully) many years ahead will be amazing.

With all that said, I also realize that I have let myself slip in the taking care of myself department. OK, it's not a slip but more of a downward spiral! That's OK because for the first time in years, I feel like I'm getting back on track and back to my old (or younger?) self!

Everyone seems to have a difficult milestone birthday but believe it or not, this wasn't mine. My most difficult birthday was when I turned 30. It was horrible! I had scary thoughts and really wasn't in a good place in my life back then. Plus, that is the year I quit smoking which could have led to some of the emotions. But I quit as a birthday present for myself and I have to say, to this day it was the best gift I ever gave myself!

I had a serious talk with myself while I was walking Berta (adorable picture above) about my plans to do this. I wasn't actually talking out loud, that would have been weird, but quietly in my head. Along with about twenty or so habits I'd like to change, remove, or add, I miss my writing. I'm going back to the way I blogged early on. Sharing tips, adventures, struggles, photography, feelings, thoughts, etc. I'm sure you'll also find a few crafty ideas as well.

If you'd like to follow along (hopefully for the next 50 or so years), I would love that!