Me on Monday

Recently, I was looking from something in my old Camp Fire stuff. I found the binder that held the information of all the beads I earned. It was always about learning something new or doing extra work. 

So many of the entries made me laugh.

"I was on time for all lessons for 2 months"--well considering I was 11 years old AND all of our lessons were in the same room (no moving around), I couldn't NOT be on time. 

I don't know what keeping "programs, games and publicity" means. But I did it. My mom would not allow me to record anything I hadn't done. 

The one that cracks me up is "I served as a telephone committee of one." Is it even a committee if it's just a single person? And why the heck did I ever need to form a telephone committee? I'd love to know what was in my little brain.

Apparently I was crafty at a young age--just 10 in these posts. Oh, and I guarantee that I read to my little sister(s) more than 6 times. After all, when I was 10, I had 3 younger sisters.

This shows that I never had any money for very long! Seems like my money was spent before I earned it! And then there's my grammar--"I took an act of part" rather than active! At least I was trying to sound smart!

OMGosh! I guess my inability to sit still for long was obvious here as I "rested completely for 5 minutes two times a day for 2 weeks!" Resting for only 5 minutes is hardly worth the time it takes to settle down! 

I guess my volunteer work started early too--making dolls, cartoons and puzzles for the hospital. And, of course, I went to Mass. I had to--no choice in that. Still, I was happy to earn a bead for doing it. 

I guarantee you that I read more than two books. I was always reading--constantly when I was little. But I guess this bead was for reading recommendations from my teacher.

I also enjoyed seeing my little girl penmanship. I love reminiscing--which is exactly why I scrapbook! I'll share more of these pages some other time.

Here is my Camp Fire vest with the beads. The patches were for selling Russell Stover candy. Each color represents a particular number of boxes. The red, white and blue beads signified each act of citizenship--I don't remember all of the things I had to do to earn them, but I know some had to do with the flag and folding it properly.

Gosh, I can still remember what most of them stood for: turquoise=frontier; brown=outdoors; orange=home; red=sports and games; I can't remember green and yellow. The large beads represent 10 small ones. My mom sewed them all on.

Our Camp Fire councils were really fun. Basically a party once a year where we received our beads, sang and had good food!

Camp Fire Girls was a huge part of my life. My mom was our leader. I started in 1st grade and went through 10th. After that, we had jobs and boyfriends. Basically, life moved on!

Something for Sunday

Today, I have some "odds 'n ends" for you--a bunch of random stuff.

1. This is my sister, Janice. She has recently gone to an assisted living facility called Delmar Gardens in St. Louis. She is in the memory care unit. As you are reading this, I am there visiting her! 

I'm happy to see a smile on her face!

2. I made this as a surprise for Connie's granddaughter, Analise.

We went to her beautiful wedding on Easter weekend. 

3. Speaking of weddings, I added Jordan and Robbie's portrait to our wall.

We're running out of wall space! And, we still have to address our Scrabble wall in the rec room. We need to add Robbie. Then we have the new baby--our first great grandchild due any day now. Next, Mitchell and Emily are getting married next year. Sooo, we're thinking about waiting until then as adding the new names will require taking everything down and re-configuring the entire wall.

We can easily add Robbie with Olly's "O"--but when it comes time to re-configure, we're going to have to figure out all of the new letters we'll need to add. That also means, that we may need to add or subtract some of the letters we already have. Years ago, when we first did this, I found a website where all I had to do was put the names in and it would generate several configurations. I cannot find that now. The thought of trying to figure it out on my own seems sort of impossible--even though Scrabble is my game!! I'll have to let you know how it goes.

4. When we went to the beach, Butch had to address the showers. Stephanie and Nicky were there the weekend before us and reported that there was little to no water pressure.

The shower heads were clogged. We ended up calling a plumber. He told us that there are actually 3 filters in each shower head. He recommended just replacing them--which is what we did. Luckily Butch is so handy--he can do just about anything.

5. Speaking of Butch, I thought I'd add this throwback picture of the early years--when he was a tv repairman.

Not great quality, but you get the idea! Also, I have to add--even though he is so handy, he cannot fix tv's now-a-days. Actually, it's a shame to say, that it's not even worth trying to repair them. TV's are cheap, so it's always replace rather than try to repair. Not great for the environment, but--as everyone says--"it is what it is!"

6. And last, but not least, I got a sweet text from Elizabeth. I love it when she shares the nice reviews and comments she gets from her clients. This one is so good that it makes me want to drive my fine, limp hair down to Atlanta to see what she can do with it!!

Scrapbook Saturday

So. On Monday, Nancy, Connie and I went to see Michael. It was soooo good! Of course, I have always been an MJ lover. When I got home, I decided to find a layout I did quite awhile ago.

I did this layout for an ABC album in 2011.

While I was searching for the layout above, I found a second layout that I completely forgot about! I did this one in 2008. The King of Pop!

I still agree with every word I've written!! I love Michael Jackson!

Friday Funnies

Ten Things Thursday

How about some pretty table settings for spring? I do love a beautiful table. 

I think this one is going to be in the new White House ball room.

Love this overlooking the pool.

Okay, this one is my favorite in its simplicity. I love the vintage hobnail butter dish and the pink depression glasses.

Blue and pink is a gorgeous combination. That's a lot of plates--4!! Love those pink goblets too.

Great napkin fold--especially for Valentine's Day.

Love the individual florals.

Adorable! 

My mother had these plates which now belong to Jordan--if we could only find them. Really, we don't know where they are!

Pretty teapot arrangement.

Love anything outdoors. Again, what's with 4 plates? Looks pretty for sure.

Which one is your favorite? Do you like to set a pretty table?

What I Buy Wednesday

About twice a year, I go to the liquor store to stock up on gin. I love a good gin & tonic! 

On our first book club trip to England--8 years ago--we went to Nottingham for book club at our member, Diane's house. Her husband, Gren took us on a tour. He introduced me to Sipsmith lemon gin. I loved it! I had never heard of flavored gins before--now I'm hooked.

Our local Total Wine has a huge selection. There are so many choices:

From left: elderflower rose gin, cucumber and lemon, rose flavored, indigo gin.

Gray Whale contains 6 California botanicals!

Another botanical, blood orange and grapefruit. I haven't had these brands, but I do like the blood orange and grapefruit.

There's even Irish gin made with potatoes, Sevilla orange and Rangpur lime (I've had the lime and liked it).

Italian fig and laurel, California orange, Sardinian citrus, Brazilian pineapple, and plain Irish gin. I have never had this brand nor, these flavors. They are kinda' pricey for me.

Both of these are just regular gin. 

I have no idea what St. Andrews love gin is, but it's pretty.

Now this cranberry and blood orange sounds interesting.

This is an assortment of regular gins--ther are so many! I would never pick Mr. Pickles.

More regular gin. 

More flavors. But now, let's talk about the bottles. 

I am just as likely to be attracted to a beautiful bottle as I am to what's inside!! So many choices. 

So, without further ado, here's what I actually came home with:

I went ahead and bought the Malfy grapefruit and lemon. I love both of those, although I still prefer the lemon Sipsmith, but that's hard to get here. I've also had blood orange gin and like it too--this is a new brand that I haven't tried before. And finally, the Wild Roots is grapefruit and cucumber. That sounds really interesting. Plus, how cool is that label? I'm a sucker for it all!!

I had planned to take one of these bottles with us to the beach. Instead, as I was putting these away, I saw this one:

I'd forgotten all about it. I don't even remember if I was the one who bought it. Persian lime and orange blossom. This is the bottle we took with us to the beach. It's delicious--even Butch agreed--very refreshing. It's very likely I bought it just because of the brand: Bathtub Gin. Sounds like something right out of the "bootleg" era!

So, what are your thoughts on gin? Do you have a favorite? 

Travel Tuesday

Today, my travel post is for anyone coming to Nashville. These are some really good tips to remember to help save some money on Broadway.