thank you card signed by geronimo

i was on vacation for a couple weeks so it's been a long time since my last post. i have a bunch of photos to load from my phone to my computer, but i have a few to share now.....

suzanne & i went to pennsylvania for my niece's wedding. suzanne was the maid of honor. more about that later.

while we were gone a friend's son took care of geronimo. geronimo had fun with "his boy" --- he played with him twice a day. my friend said some days when they would come back in the evening, geronimo would just lay there with a look on his face as if to say, "i'm worn out from this morning, boy. you run around the yard & i'll just lay here & watch you." ha ha ha!!!!!!

along with his payment, i wanted to make a special thank you card for sam & geronimo helped!!!

here's the front:

snd geronimo "signed" the inside:

i had him stand on the inkpad & then put his foot on the card -- he did it perfectly!!!! geronimo's a stamper!!!!

update on the mustached man

so i walked into church this morning & there he was.

No, not HIM!!!

mr. married mustache man was already there, but he was sitting in the row in front of mine.

yes, i have my own row.

everyone knows that that row is mine!!!

i said yesterday if he's really married, he best not sit next to me, and he didn't. and then i found out later from my friend joyce who knows EVERYTHING (her nickname is "info babe") his name & yes, he is married & his wife has back problems that's why she doesn't come to church with him.

ok.

ok, God. NOW You can send mr. UNmarried mustache man to church & he can sit next to me!!!!

more about mustaches

it's no secret that i love mustaches.

this is my favorite mustache:

a few weeks ago a friend at church left a gift for me -- mustache napkins!!!! thanks, lorraine!!!

the other day another friend gave me a present -- mustache napkins!!!!

she also gave me some mustache pushpins for my mustache corkboard!

another friend texted me & said half price books has mustache pushpins & magnets!!!! those are the same pushpins laurie gave me!!! she also made me mustache magnets!

lorraine also gave me a mustache recipe holder --- it's hanging on one of my kitchen cabinets & i used it the other day when i was making a texas sheetcake for work. she wrote "love, sam" on it!!!

(that's my mom's recipe card for texas sheet cake -- i love that card!! and the cake is really super good!!)

my secret sister at church gave me a mustache card for my birthday -- it's so cute!!!!

i found a huge mustache magnet at hobby lobby!!!!! i put it on my fridge!!!!

last sunday in church this guy with a mustache sat next to me. there were plenty of seats available & mustache man had to sit next to me. his mustache was pretty cute, but HE HAD A WEDDING RING ON. WHY?????? why did you have to sit next to me, mr. married mustache man? where's your wife? why hasn't she come to church with you - i've seen you at church several weeks now but you always come alone. if you're really married, PLEASE DON'T SIT NEXT TO ME MR. MUSTACHE MAN!!!!!!

tomorrow is sunday -- we'll see if i sit alone or with a mustache man!!!

it's june already

can you believe it???? didn't we just have christmas?! i was in hobby lobby last week & they already have christmas decorating stuff out!!! ridiculous!!!!! in MAY???????? retail keeps pushing it earlier & earlier. pretty soon it'll be out all year long!!! i love christmas & i craft for christmas, but i don't want to do it or see it in MAY!!!!

i went to wimberley over memorial day weekend. it ALWAYS rains in texas on memorial day. right on schedule this year!!!! we had a good time despite the rain. we went to "my yellow house on the hill". it doesn't appear that they've done any work on it since i was there in december. this time i went with gary & cindy & we checked out the WHOLE house -- all 4 floors!!!! there's living area on the "ground" level & 2nd floor & then there's an attic that's completely floored & below ground level is what appears to be a media room, bathroom & multi-car garage. there's a huge pile of reclaimed wood sitting outside by the garage doors. if they use that wood for floors, it's going to be gorgeous! i wonder what the story is on this house. i'm going to go see it every time i go to wimberly to see if it's progressing or not. (i forgot to take my camera with me though - dang it!!!!)

i came home tuesday morning. left there at 8:20 am & got home at 1:30 pm. a trip that normally takes 2.5 hours took 5 hours!!!!! sometimes the rain was so bad that you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you!

going to work wednesday took over an hour because of flooded streets.

i made the most fantastic meatloaf the other night!!!!!! i used to cook pretty good but since everyone's gone these last few years i haven't cooked much & sorta forgot how to do it!! since i've had TV again after many years, i've been watching cooking shows like the pioneer woman, trisha yearwood, etc. the pioneer woman is an old friend of mine -- seriously!!! i read her blog way before she was famous!!!!!!!!!!!!

on one episode of her cooking show she made bacon-wrapped meatloaf. i changed up the recipe she used a little bit & it turned out so good!!!

i baked it on the broiler pan so it didn't sit in grease. there's nothing more gross than greasy meat!!! but where was pioneer woman when it was time to clean up the broiler pan?!?!?!!! some friend she is!!!

come back, amanwithacircularsaw.....i can cook!!!!!

goodbye cows

(it was time!!! look at that raggedy edge by the kitchen!!!)

hello beadboard!

i've updated the dining room! with the homedepot gift card the guys at work gave me a few weeks ago i ordered beadboard wallpaper. i've wanted to do beadboard in the dining room forever but have you checked the price of real wood beadboard???? ex.pen.sive. i checked out the martha stewart beadboard wallpaper on line & read all the reviews about it & decided that was the way to go.

the cows & green checked wallpaper have been up for many years -- i can't even remember how long. probably close to 12 years or so! it's been through a lot - including a friend's 4 year old son who drew a red X with a sharpie marker on EVERY single cow!!! thank goodness for those mr. clean sponges --what are they called? i can't for the life of me think of what they're called!!!! oh yeah! mr. clean magic erasers!!! when i saw what he had done it was MAGIC that i didn't choke him!!!!!! i banned him from ever coming to my house again though! (he also put bug killer in my peanut butter. that kid couldn't be left alone for a minute. shoot! he could do something bad right in front of you without you realizing what he was doing!!!)

but getting back to the dining room.............

so i took down the old wallpaper & border on a saturday night (the package from home depot came on friday). after ripping that 1st piece of cow border off, there was no going back!!!

sunday afternoon i put up the new beadboard wallpaper. it was soooo easy! it wasn't prepasted so i rolled paste onto the wall with a paint roller. so easy! i'll never do the water mess kind again! this wallpaper is sort of "foamy" with the board grooves indented in, so it's different from regular paper wallpaper.

then it was time to put up the chair rail moulding. i don't know how i get myself into these predicaments! i started to put up the moulding -- 1st pieces no problem. then i came to the corner & had to do a 45 degree angle. got out the mitre box & cut a 45 degree angle. wrong!!!! there are 2 types a 45 degree angles. the wrong one & the beveled one. i needed the beveled one! there was no way i could cut the beveled angle. the wood was too wide for the mitre box & there was no way i could hold the circular saw with the plate on an angle AND hold the board (on the dining room table that i was using for my "saw horse" -- i put my quilting mat on the table to protect it though!!!) all by myself.

i prayed outloud "God, i can't do this myself. why do i get in these projects where i need a man to help & i have no man? God, i need a man!"

just then, suzanne & her boyfriend justin & his friend jacob & his girlfriend nicole walked in!!! i said "thank you God for sending me 2 men!!!"

the boys helped me do one side & i fed them pizza for dinner. (they had got there around 9pm & it was almost 11 by the time they we i was done with the one side! [i told them i was going to take FULL CREDIT for putting up the moulding AND cutting the 45 degree angles!!!!!!!!]) they said, "you don't expect us to do the other side TONIGHT do you?? you can do that side by yourself, can't you?" i said "heck no!!!!! i can't do it by myself! it took 2 of you to do that side! there's no way i can measure right, hold the saw at that angle, hold the board & cut by myself & have it right!!!!" "i need y'all to come back tomorrow. i'll feed you dinner again. what do you want?" you never heard "lasagne" blurted out any faster than they did!!!!

so they came over monday after work & i we they finished the other side. then i caulked it all & a few days later i painted the wood & the wallpaper. painting the wallpaper helps to strengthen it. the walls are white & i painted the chair rail & the beadboard white. i LOVE white beadboard!!!! i like the all-white dining room! it sure makes the room look bigger!!

i still have my large cow pictures on the window seat & my cross-stitched cow hanging on the wall.

it looks like a country farm house dining room now, not "grandma bessy's parlor"!!!!

what a difference between the old & the new!!!!! another of those "why did it take me so long to do this" projects!!!!

i took one of those quizzes on facebook that's supposed to tell you what kind of a house you should be living in.........guess what i got?!

yup! a FARMHOUSE!!!!! what else??!!!!! i have another "farmhouse project" i want to do - i'm getting anxious to do it!!!! maybe later this summer........ but i need a man with a circular saw......anyone know one?! (i do, but i don't think he wants to help.)

and tonight i thought of ANOTHER project for this summer!!!!! not gonna be able to do it til after june though.........maybe......!!!!