Some Easter Imagery

Hello friends!

Well, just a few more days 'til Easter...it just doesn't seem possible.

Over the weekend I went shopping for goodies for the Easter bags I was putting together.

No matter how old my kids/grand kids get, I will probably always get them Easter goodies.

I get the cheap $1 store gift bags and fill them full of the things I know they like.

~

Of course, I had to get something for myself too...

...and peanut M&M's are my favorite.

Now of course you and I both know that no matter what seasonal color they come in,

they all taste the same, right?

Then why is it that I could swear that the pastel ones taste better?

Aren't they just such beautiful colors?

And so springy?

There's just something about the lovely pastel colors that so pleases my eye.

So how crazy does one have to be to have a photo shoot with a jar of M&M's?

 I've either got to be a little nuts (pun intended) or desperate for blogging material.

Sometimes all it takes is a bag of candy to inspire me :)

Sharing at:

 

Roses of Inspiration

A Little Florida Sunshine and a Few Good Fences

Good afternoon, friends!
I want to start out by thanking each of you for your kind words
and uplifting thoughts regarding the loss of Hunter...
...they mean more to me than you will ever know.
~
So our trip south didn't start out the way we had planned...
...life is just like that sometimes.

To add to that, Delta lost our luggage (along with about a dozen other's on our flight)...

...you know, that one suitcase with everything important in it.
They were finally able to track it down.
It went all the way back to Raleigh then to Atlanta...again...
...and then finally made it back to Panama City...again!



It arrived by courier late the next day...
...and I must say, getting a shower and some fresh clothes never felt so good!
Really, Delta??
~
But one look at these beauties and all was right with the world.
 



 

They bordered everyone's home in the neighborhood where Jim's sister lives in Sandestin.
Each bloom was about the size of a tennis ball!

Throughout their lovely neighborhood, the redbuds were also in full glory.



Some of you may remember that redbuds are my most favorite sign of spring...

 

...and around every corner, I had to get a few more shots.

 

 

Please bear with me...

 

 

OK...I'm finished now :)

~

We went to visit Jim's younger sister, Theresa and her husband, Steve,

and to surprise his older sister, Dianne for her 75th birthday, also visiting from Ohio.

She frequently visits Theresa, and we had kept it a secret from her that we were coming.

She was beyond surprised to see us and tears of joy flowed freely.

 

Happy 75th Birthday, Dianne!

Here are some other photos from our visit.
There are a few Good Fences in some of them :)



Here's the sun setting over the bay at Sandestin...

 

...and a fisheye view of the same...

...and sunrise the next morning over the gulf on Miramar Beach...

 

 

...the morning fog lifting off the water.



It was still kind of dark for great photos but I liked the reflection of the little guy below.



Someone from the day before left some very unique sand sculptures.
Can you name this familiar object from the 70's??

 

And of course, most everyone recognizes Sponge Bob...
...as unfortunate as that is :(

 

Still, a very talented individual...

 ...leaving their mark that they were here for Spring Break 2015!

~
The next day we made a short trip down the coast to the Seaside Community.
It had been nearly 25 years since I had first been here and couldn't believe it was the same place!
Back then, a few pastel colored homes and a cute little post office were the only buildings here,
along with a breathtaking, wide open, unspoiled coastline.
I couldn't believe how much this community had grown and it kind of made me a little sad...
...way too many houses, restaurants, shops and wall-to-wall people for my liking.
But it must be Mike Huckabee's cup of tea.
This is his permanent residence, just a few miles down the road.

 

We literally were within a few hundred feet of his front door.
Not much security for someone who may be running for President of the United States! :o
~
But I was able to get a little peek of the beach by standing on the deck of a restaurant.

 

The sand looks like granulated sugar...

 

...and even though we had overcast skies, the water was still that lovely aquamarine hue.

 

Ah...now there's a good fence!
~
And here we all are, in all of our glory..haha!

 

So our time in Florida came to an end and it was time to return to reality.

 

It was a great day for flying and Dianne and I were seat buddies as far as Atlanta...
...and here's a lovely shot of the back of Jim's head, a few rows up :)

We said our goodbyes to Dianne in Atlanta as she headed back to Dayton.
~
We were very glad to see our little buddy, Oscar when we returned,
and he was certainly glad to see us!
Not only had he never been to the kennel alone without Hunter,
he had never known life...period...without him for almost six years.
Anyone who has ever had a dachshund must know that they are all about themselves.
I can't really tell yet how much Oscar misses him...or not.
I have caught myself calling out to Hunter a few times since we returned home.
~
And by the way, it's the little stinker's birthday today...he's six :)

Happy Birthday, Oscar!
~
I hope I didn't bore you you enjoyed your little trip to Florida :)

 

Saying Goodbye

The past several days have been a whirlwind.
I'm still trying to take it all in as I look at his sweet photo...
...it seems like a movie that I just watched or a dream I just had.

We lost our sweet Hunter last Wednesday evening.

He was a tiny puppy when he came to us...about 9 weeks old.
~

The week had been stressful enough...
...we were due to fly to Jim's sister's home in Destin, Florida the next day.

I had almost everything packed up, including all of the dog paraphernalia for the kennel.

Just as I was able to sit and catch my breath for a moment, Hunter became very listless
and suddenly began having what looked like a grand mal seizure.

He had never had a seizure before that I know of.

~
We were noticing more and more that he was beginning to show his age.

He would have turned thirteen in September...

...but even though he seemed to be failing a bit—having good days and bad,

it had been a good day for him...eating, playing, running, etc.
~

I could have never imagined how the evening would end.

 Around 9:00 PM I found him cowering in the hallway.

I picked him up and he immediately started flailing about and crying out.

As everything started to unfold, my mind began racing with thoughts,

knowing we had airline tickets and couldn't cancel our trip...

...but at the same time, where would we board a sick dog?
And how could we even leave him anywhere in good conscience?
~

I googled seizures in dogs and read that they can be quite common,

 and most of the time the dog will recover quickly as if nothing had happened.

This was my prayer and hope for Hunter.
But God had another plan.
~
Eleven o'clock would find me lying on the couch and cradling him,
wrapped up like a baby on my chest, watching him breathe his final breath.

As I write these words five day later, it is all just so surreal.
Hunter had lived his last day.

But God's timing is never wrong, in fact it is perfect.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.    Isaiah 55:8-9

This was Hunter's favorite thing.
~
With heavy hearts, we boarded our plane for Destin.
I'll share more about our trip later.
~
So since I haven't read a blog for nearly a week,
I must now try to get caught up!

Sharing at:
Mosaic Monday
Roses of Inspiration

 

What's Going On???

It's happening more and more.

 

 

It seems everyday after making comments on blogs that I visit regularly,

only a moment or two later, I receive an email in return saying something like this:

 

It started out with just one or two.

Now it seems others are being returned on daily basis.

 

And the thing is, the bloggers who are "no-reply" may or may not even see the comment.

They would have to go directly to their blogs and each individual post in order to see it

since the email notifications aren't getting through.

 

Is this happening to you too?

And if there any techies out there, any idea why?

 

 I just thought I'd put this out there and see what kind of feedback I'd get...

...or NOT. 



The Compromise

So you know we had this log cabin once upon a time...

...anyone who reads my blog knows this.

It was filled with plenty of old, rustic things....

...and several dead, hairy things as well.

Every log cabin needs a few dead animals gracing the walls, don't you think?
No??

If dead animals or hunting or anything like that is not your thing,

I'll excuse you from reading any further...and I'll hold no hard feelings :)

 ~

When you have a husband and two sons who love to hunt,

it's just something you get used to.

I will tell you that every one of the dead animals (well, almost every one)

 was also eaten as meat...even the wild boars.

By the time the third one came about, we had learned how to cook it properly.
It was actually quite delicious. 

~ 

But this post is not really about shooting or eating wild game.

It's about what you do with your husband's special trophies...
...when there is no longer a cabin wall to hang them on.

Here is what has become of a few of them...

Doesn't this look like the perfect place for the wild boar heads?
(I see many of you shaking your head yes)

Some of you are probably thinking the trash can would even be better!
This is where many of the things from the cabin still remain...in our garage.
Well, let me tell you, this guy's gonna have to find another place to sleep...soon...

...that old rocker that he's sitting in will be getting a make-over this spring!

"And that goes for you too, buddy!"
I'm planning to paint these kitchen chairs black and bring them inside.

For some reason, I found this photo funny so I thought I'd just throw it in as a bonus :)



And then there are those antlers hanging above the garage door...
~

Everything else hairy in nature was sent to live with one son or the other.

Adam, my Tennessee-mountain-man-son has a rustic home just perfect for these...
...although he has yet to win the battle of hanging his prize deer above their new mantle.

I have been given the task of convincing his sweet wife that this is where it belongs.
I actually agree with him...it would look awesome there.
I mean, there will be a bear rug on the wall (when they get it hung)...
...why not a lovely deer above the mantle?

~ 

But then there was one trophy in particular...
...this one was a gift that Adam presented to his dad several years back.

Don't ask me why this was such a special buck...
...he certainly couldn't have been the biggest deer in the woods with a rack that small!

The only thing I know is father and son shared special memories while they were hunting it.

Adam cleaned, mounted, shellacked and had a special plaque inscribed saying:

When we were going through the things that we brought back from the cabin,

Jim quickly grabbed it up and firmly stated "This one's going in the house."

OK...really?...yeah, we can take it in the house...and I'll stash it in the closet.

And I did just that for a while...until he found it.

"What's this doing in the closet??"

 I gave him some excuse about it being in there temporarily...blah,blah, blah...

"I want to hang this up in here." (meaning the living room)

Not only was there no real room to hang it,

I just don't think a deer skull/antlers goes well with my decorating style...
...whatever that is...

 ...so he forgot about it again while I lollygagged once more,

this time, poking it down inside of a large faux plant.

I don't know how long it took him to see the antlers sticking out...

...but it wasn't long enough.

Here we go again.
I wasn't going to get out of it this time.

 So the other day while he was working, I thought I'd be a good wife and surprise him.

 It was really the only free spot on the wall to hang it...

...I even tried to dress it up a bit to help it fit in.

 

It just wasn't working for me.

He came home and after a while I said, "Notice anything different?"

He said, "yes...I did...thanks".

I was still not happy but, hey, you're supposed to please your man, right?

So somewhere, probably on someone's blog, I saw this idea...



I found this vintage frame years ago at Goodwill that I had stashed in a closet...
...gave it a little face lift (pun intended) and...voila!

What do you think?
You really don't have to answer that...just humor me.
(gee...my walls really look yellow in these pics!)

I'm still not a huge fan of hanging a deer skull in my living room,

but this, I think I can live with.

That's what's called compromise.

That's what we do :)

Have a splendid weekend!