The BEAUTY of GRACEFUL AGING

My hubby has brought me many single roses over the years since we started courting and on our last anniversary on December 28, 2011, which was our 43rd,  he brought me another one.  Red.  Stunning. Gorgeous.

It was not fully opened and he put it in a bud vase on the counter by my laptop on December 27th.  Over the course of a few days it gradually opened up more and more displaying its glorious beauty.  You can see pictures of it then in a post further down titled "Anniversary Rose".

It's rare that the roses I've been given don't bend their head over and become "sad" looking, sometimes before they fully open.  This one didn't do that.  It stood there, tall, straight, and proud, just growing more and more beautiful each day.  I watched it every day as I could see it just above the screen on my laptop and I observed the process.

Then I noticed it starting to turn a deeper shade of red and in a slow, graceful process it kept turning color and the petals gradually drying until it was a deep, rich, burgundy red.  Still fully open and still tall, straight and proud.  I was just amazed at the transformation and decided to preserve it with spray finish and sealer and it now graces the decor of my bathroom.

This process has reminded me of the "graceful aging" of our marriage and how it has grown richer, deeper  . . . and tall, straight and proud.  We are still in love and we are still best friends!  God brought us together, gave us guidance over the years through the struggles, gave us two gorgeous children and has blessed us immensely with the "beauty of graceful aging".

The story . . . according to BRAMBLE

Boy! It had been a rough day and I was feeling like I'd been pulled through a knothole backwards!!  But, even in my morphine induced stupor I recognized my mom's voice, hallelujah!  (My mom is CJ . .the barefoot farmgirl from southwest Colorado).  Whoa!  Slow down!  Just put one foot in front of the other . . . I'm so glad to see you mom!  Why are there two of you?  I only remember one.  Whew!! Home??  I'm going home??  Oh my goodness, home!!

My mom and I just love each other so much!!!

Home. Dad. Cat. Comfort. Security. Thank you Lord!   I was home and after a while the haze started to lift and I could actually see that I had only one mom . . the ONE I knew and loved!  I could walk straight and make my tail wag and I'm glad I'm home!  A little snack and a lot of love and the cozy warmth of home!

Jeremy comes to visit on Sunday, here we are having a conversation and I'm getting some lovin' from him!

Now, three days later I'm doing really good!  My mom puts an old sock over the dressing on my leg so that I can go outside for "business trips",  to walk about a bit, feel the breeze (brrrr!), feel the sunshine and sniff!  Boy, do I love sniffing things!!   I can do everything that I was doing EXCEPT go on my long power walks with my mom!  Man, oh man!  She has to leave me behind and I just hate it!  She told me she misses me sooooooo much, but when I'm healed up better I can go again.   I know what she's doing when she sneaks her sunglasses into her pocket and sneaks her walking shoes and jacket outside to put them on.  I KNOW!!!   I have to stay in the house and watch . . . wait . . . whimper . . . worry and do all of that all over again and again until she comes back.  Well, good grief, she's gone on 4-5 miles walks . . . that's a lot of watching, waiting, whimpering and worrying!!!  When she comes home I'm sooooooooo excited to see her, so relieved she's back and I let her know.  We have the best "love on each other" fest!  Then I have to keep an eye on her, so I watch her every move, follow her around the house, get worried if she heads for the door . . . mercy me!   Mom!!!!!

I have one of mom's old socks on my right front leg to protect my bandage and leg

And, then there's the medicine!  Well, I'm being a good girl and I take it.  Mom is pretty good at hiding it in food in such a manner that I don't have to actually taste it . . bleah!  I know I have to take it so I heal up good and can get back to my normal life.    Saturday morning I got to go to town with mom in the car . . that was easy.  I love looking out the window and then snoozing in the sun in the backseat while she's in the store.  But I got a special treat when she went through the drive-in window at the Silver Bean Coffee stop  . . . they give me doggie treats!  Wowie!  Zowie!   Yup . . I got one!

I'm doing good!!   Thank you, Lord!

Anyway, I'm doing good!  Have to take extra care and "lay low" until I see Amanda (my lady vet friend) on February 7th.  Then I get to say "HI" to all the girls there . .  (YIPPIE!!! I love the girls there!) and get the stitches out and this bandage off . . . ahhhh!  That will be SOOOOOO nice!!!

THANK YOU to all of you, my friends . . and my mom's . . for praying for me, for caring for me . . and my mom!   You are all so appreciated and so special!  I wish I could meet all of you and smile for you and wag my tail!  I'm very friendly, loveable and awfully cute!   And I like people, especially nice ones!!!  THANK YOU!!!   My mom says to tell you that too!!!!  We sure love you!!!

A "Gumball" of BUTTONS!!

My goodness, I just have so much fun with buttons!   I have a collection that would make any button lover jealous, but I use them on my aprons and other sewing projects.  I use them to embellish my papercraft products which include journals, cards, tags and ATCs.  Some of the fancier ones or special ones from family collections, or even antique buttons I am pretty selfish with and keep around so that I can admire them.
I decided to put some of my colored buttons (only a small portion of my collection) in this "gumball" so that they could be enjoyed by more folks.  The "gumball" is another one of my projects and have made many of them for candy dishes, or whatever anyone wanted to put in them.  I've sold them, gifted them and have a couple I made for myself, this red one being one of those.  More fun for the love of buttons!!!!

You Light Up My Life

I'm always looking for creative projects that strike my fancy, aren't impossible or expensive to do and suit my style.   I'm putting together gear and accessories for "Glamping" . . . glamor/girl camping with my daughter and we'll be doing it in a tent and an EZ-Up canopy.  I've collected all kinds of linens, including lady curtains, sheets, doilies, tablecloths . . . much of it vintage.  Also a collection of throw rugs to throw down to make it even more comfy.

A single shade on a wineglass with a tealight is another fun thing. NOTE: the entire circle bottom of the cup will need to be cut out or the tealight won't stay lit and the cup bottom will melt.  The LED tealights could be used instead.

And, thought this project would be a fun, creative addition to our "glamp-site" (depending on it having electrical service).  So, I made this garland with a 20-light strand of  mini-lights, plastic solo cups, fabric and Mod Podge.    A very fun project and now I'm thinking about making one that is just a variety of polka dot prints and one that is just Western prints.

Light!  What a positive influence in my life!

Thank you Lord!!

Well, she made it through surgery with flying colors and is now home and we start the recovery process.   This photo taken not long after we got her back home and she's still under the influence of morphine. 
We sure missed her today!  It was just "not right" with her gone all day and our cat, Skye, was really out of sync as well, knowing "her dog" was missing.
She is doing good!  She will be fine!  I'm thankful for the Lord taking care of her . . . as I knew He would!!! 

"Certified Farmgirl" . . . awwwww!!

I add this picture of sweet Bramble in her brand new "Certified Farmgirl" bandana.   She really is a certified farmgirl too . . she takes care of our Longhorn cows, our llama, our cat, my hubby . . and me!!!  What a girl!!!!

She has surgery tomorrow . . . praying God's Hand on you my sweet friend!!!!

BRAMBLE . . my sweet friend!

This is Bramble, my 8-year old female Australian Cattle dog.  She is my best pal, partner on my power walks, a sweet, affectionate friend.  She is fun, friendly and has been the best dog.  This week she has to have a tumorous growth removed from the back of her front right leg.  Her vet indicates there are no "scary cells" in the needle biopsy that was done, but the final determination of what this tumor is is yet to be determined by histology testing.  She is a precious pal . . . I'm praying for the surgery to go smooth, the tumor to be benign, for her recovery to be swift and without problems.  We still have lots of "playing" to do and power walks to take.  Her surgery is scheduled for Thursday, January 26, 2012.