By Lynn, on January 24th, 2012%
Happy Tuesday, dear friends. Another photography challenge became real to me this morning when I tried to photograph a black linen dress! My!
Yesterday I had to run out for some errands on my lunch break. While out, you know my van headed right into the Goodwill parking lot! I still just cannot figure out how that happens! But I decided to just enjoy it (not that I had that much extra time) and make a quick walk-through and see what jumped out at me. I spied a linen shirt in there about a week ago but did not get it, and I had decided that if it was still there I would get it. I had already tried it on for size. Then, whoa!, I saw a lovely black linen dress hanging close by, actually out of place from where it should have been, and I snapped it up, knowing it would be perfect even without trying it on.
Again, not the best photos, but here you can see the ruffles and the slightly-disheveled-but-still-dressy look.
It immediately occurred to me that one of the millinery pins would be fabulous on this dress!
I apologize, dear readers, that the quality of these photos just does NOT do the dress justice! But here you can see the size of the dress. I will certainly wear a layer under it, as it is a bit short for my taste, but I have tried it on since getting it home and it will work great that way! And the size is PERFECT!
This last picture may be the best one of all! Natural light or flash, it did not seem to matter, the texture of the fabric combined with all that black just did not make for a good picture. There’s gotta be something I could have done differently. Will try to have it figured out before I get the dress ready to wear and model it for you!
Now, friends, I have been remiss in my photo-taking of THE ALICE TREE. I was sitting here having my coffee this morning when Annie announced to me that she was severely disappointed at not having had her picture made by THE ALICE TREE and put on the blog. Come to think of it, she has cozied up to the tree several times and looked longingly at my camera! I cannot believe I didn’t notice it!
So here she is. Isn’t she lovely? She’s a good girl, learning to behave better and better every day. 
In closing, since we have had so many G.W. Boutique fashion posts of late, let’s have some quotations about FASHION and BEAUTY.
“Love is a great beautifier.” ~Louisa May Alcott
“So many women just don’t know how great they really are. They come to us all vogue outside and vague on the inside.” ~Mary Kay Ashe
“I think knowing what you can not do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that’s good taste. ~Lucille Ball
“There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.” ~Anonymous
ENJOY THIS DAY
By Lynn, on January 2nd, 2012%
I wanted to share with you some Vintage Magic that is right in downtown Hillsborough, North Carolina. Have you heard of Hillsborough? If not, you might want to look it up somewhere and see all the Revolutionary War history that resides in little historic Hillsborough. Anyway, they have a great little shop called Vintage Revival. Here are some WONDERful pictures from my Christmas shopping visit there.
Every room was magic! Dine with me here?
The bright silver was reflecting every little twinkling light!
You know this was one of my favorite little spots, right? Yeah? I love it! I really want to make a vintage dressing table area for My Princess of the Universe.
What do you think of the colors on the wall. The light blue and the brown in the CHICKIE print? I like it! I do!
And the very GIRLIE GIRL chandeliers! Oh my! I want one or two or ten.
NOEL. NEST. JOY. Yeah. JOY JOY JOY. Every corner was brightly lit and there was MERRY music playing.
Love the old cabinet and the YELLOW color there. Ahhhh. Bring me color! The vibrant WHITE of JOY. The REDS of LOVE. Every SHADE! The BLUE of CONTENTED CALM. The OLD YELLOWS and GREENS of TIMES PAST where the spirit of our ancestors still teach us things! COLOR ME HAPPY!
Bright lights? Pink? Crystals? Be still my heart! I am in love!
Now, dear readers, you know it would not be right if I did not share my G.W. Boutique finds and maybe a thought about hair.
“Petticoat” 3.00. Cotton skirt 3.00. White blouse 3.00. Flower pin made from a silk flower.
Sometimes I want a high ponytail, or even just a ponytail, but if you have long hair you know how hard this can be! The weight of your hair pulls the ponytail down. And the hair hanging down gets tangled up!
Maybe I can describe this.
- Pull the hair up high like you are going to put it in a ponytail.
- Twist it around tight as if you were going to put in a bun, going around only one time.
- When you get the hair around one full time and back at the top of the “bun”, reach your hand through the bun (loop of hair) from the outside and pull the long rope of hair through.
- Pull tight and pin the bun part all around the sides with bobby pins.
This keeps the hair up high enough to not get so tangled on the back of your shirt all day. It will stay up!
As I work this morning, I am thinking of the timeline/goals for THE ALICE TREE, for those who are joining me! We have to read the book, you know! Or at least parts of it!! Today I will put together a SCHEDULE. The TREE needs to be up by the end of the second week of JANUARY 2012 so we can enjoy it! Because you know in February we will have a Valentine Tree.
Enjoy this day!!
JOY
WONDER
By Lynn, on December 30th, 2011%
I wondered about a post title, yes I did, in looking for something that made sense. But why should anything make sense, since we are going on an adventure to build an Alice Tree and make January the month of Alice in Wonderland? I figured welcoming someone to the end of a month was every bit as good as welcoming someone to the beginning of a month!
Come closer, friends, and let’s talk about December coming to an end! It has been a beautiful month indeed! We have had lovely weather on many days, making it seem not so winterish, but then other days with evidence of Old Man Winter’s frosty breath on the grass and our windshield. We have had food and warm beds at night and friends nd family. Is there anything else in this present life that a person could want?
Lavender, perhaps?
And lavender we’ve got! I want you to know that my Princess of the Universe bought me the most beautiful Crabtree & Evelyn lavender gift set. It smells delightful! Reminds me of the lavender in my Little Wild Garden.
All items have been lovingly removed from the box and placed in my bathroom. (Hear that? My bathroom? With lots of counter space? New bathroom? Bright, white, and no leaks or hard-to-clean fixtures.) I digress. The box is being used to hold things that will be incorporated into the Alice Tree.
Oh, look! The bun-buns are SO excited over being included on the Alice Tree! Thank you to the readers who suggested it! Lily. April. And others, if you thought it and didn’t speak it, or if you said it and my mind has already cleared out and is onto some other bunch of words whirling around in my head (as is so prone to be the case).
These little bun-buns are playing hide and seek behind the roses.
Anyhoo… Where were we?
Oh yes! I am absolutely flattered that Michaela thinks so much of me. Actually, I am humbled.
Thrift store shopping continues. Ah, G.W. Boutique, I love you. In honor of Alice Month, I have pinned on an Alice brooch.
Old Navy dress 4 dollars; striped turtleneck 3 dollars. Black leggings — an old wardrobe staple bought new a few years back.
BEAUTY TIP, ANYONE?
When winter weather gets here, it seems my skin just won’t stay moisturized. Really. I feel that fair, freckled skin is prone to dryness and wrinkles anyway, but the winter cold combined with the dry heat going on inside just wreaks havoc!
Enter the avacado. Every morning, I peel a slice to eat and peel up a slice to put on my face. I mash it up and smoothe it over face and neck, leaving it there until it dries. I then wash it gently away with warm water and pat my face dry. You’ll have to try it to know how good it feels. And eating avacado, well that’s not hard!
Avacado has a strong anti-aging antioxidant called glutathione. Glutathione increases immune cells and breaks down bad fats.
Of late, I have really been trying to snack on healthy things when I am in the mood for something sweet. Sweet potato fries with honey. A smoothie made of yogurt, bananas and frozen strawberries. Yogurt with fruit stirred in. You get the picture.
I have to admit though, I have a weakness this time of year…
Looks like it might be whipped cream on top of hot chocolate, but it is actually whipped cream on top of coffee. Yeah. With cinnamon sprinkled on top. Since I live in WONDERLAND, why not also pretend that I have My own Starbucks right off my office? Actually, I am trying not to do this 10 times a day. Just one. Or two.
Well, dear readers, tag making is in progress. I have cut handmade tags which are currently being readied for the Alice Tree. I think this will be a major learning curve. I do . I am wondering if Michaela’s school would want to see the Alice Tree when it’s done. Maybe I am asking for a lot of work to have to haul this thing to her school.
A girl can dream.
And I say, dream big, or go home!
Here’s to this day. Enjoy this day!
OH, AND PS!! Here is a website with Alice in Wonderland, including illustratrations from various illustrators! It’s a treasure! Alice in Wonderland.
By Lynn, on December 28th, 2011%
“Only an ugly thistle,”
I heard you say
Of a pretty purple blossom
Beside the way.
But that was before the pastures
Were bare and brown,
Or Frost had cut with his sickle
The flowers down.
Here now is this self-same prickly
And ugly weed,
But its tufts of purple blossom
Have gone to seed.
And forth from their dingy covers
Come lovely things –
The tiniest of creatures, flying
On silken wings.
These are the seeds, and hither
And thither they go,
Light as the downiest feather,
White as the snow.
Loitering, or blown and drifted
About the air,
They make dull days in November
Seem almost fair.
~Clara Doty Bates
I read this earlier today in a very, very old children’s book called Seashore Chats, published in 1898.
I could not help but think of my own life — marriage over, buckets of tears left behind, and a garden of 23 years overgrowing from neglect these days. But on the winds of change (yes, they are a blowin’) I see the tiniest, most beautiful seeds.
You see, life is precious. And we only get one of them. Are we to be selfish with our lives, saving every last ounce of energy and time and thought for ourselves? No! But when a person becomes so sad and so drained as to have no peace, and when little ones are caught staring hard at their mother, wondering if she’s okay, then self-preservation must begin. That is when it should begin. That is when it does begin.
And what are seeds, except self-preservation? There are so many lessons in the garden, dear friends. I am humbled and amazed at the lessons that are indeed there!
And, dear friends, it does not take disaster to bring out the delicate seeds of beautiful change. Seeds of change can take the form of better eating habits, commiting to daily outdoor walks, or vowing to speak in a softer voice to one’s children. Seeds of change are beautiful!
My “flower of the day” today is not a thistle, but a white silky rose, pinned to a white Ann Taylor sweater, a recent thifty 3-dollar find. If I see perfectly clean and delicate silk flowers at the thrift store, I buy them up if they seem to match my purposes for them.
You can take a bloom apart and use as many or as few of the petals as you want. Put a smaller flower (paper flowers are good) inside and pin it all to your sweater with a safety pin coming from the inside of your sweater. Just be careful and don’t get stuck!
Another recent thrifty find, which I am absolutely LOVING, is this long (sweeps the floor) denim Arden B. skirt. I should have photographed the hem (or lack of one!) because it is the type of skirt that looks as if it had been hemmed and then it was all let out. Very cool. A few strings. I love it!
Perhaps I should learn not to swing all my weight onto one hip right before the flash. Sorry! I really mean it! Sorry! But I did want you to see the lovely V-shape set into the back of the skirt, so I am including this picture anyway! It’s a very pretty and flattering skirt! Skirt = 4 dollars.
Here is wishing you joy and wonder, and delicate seeds of change!
And now…
I accept your dare! The Alice Tree will be! The month of January is Alice Month at Rose Cottage! More lights! Alice tags, Alice tarts, Alice roses, Alice ornaments! It will be quite the tree! You are invited to join me! And we will share our trees come the end of January!
Enjoy this day!
By Lynn, on December 7th, 2011%
Sometimes I suprise myself when I find a new ray of sunshine in my life. Where were you, sunshine, all those years? I looked hard for you but always found you only indirectly. You were shining on The Little Wild Garden, you were, and that, in turn, kept me alive. Maybe I should be glad you were not shining on me all the time. For something had to make me move. Something. Anything. And find again the girl inside me who was dying.
Yeah, I am amazed every time I see a little bright spot in my life. A new, fun dress. A big flower pinned on for good measure. Something that makes me laugh. Doing something that reveals a part of me that was hidden from me and I had forgotten about.
I don’t want to make this blog a ME, ME, ME blog, but I am full of things I could share about women who give too much. Isn’t there a book about that somewhere? Ah, well. We must balance taking care of ourselves with laying down our lives for a friend. It is a delicate balance, friends, and one to examine in our own lives every day. I find that praying for widsom helps the most.
Do you love being a girlie-girl? (Well, of course not if you are one of my male readers.) But if you are a girl, are you a girlie girl? In a vintage shop the other day, I found these very dainty little hairpins with what looked like ivory roses on them. Even something so tiny makes me happy!
Yesterday, on a French country looking scrap of fabric, I dried dozens of handcut tags for the holiday season. Every little break yesterday, I tended these tags.
I tended these tags. I hummed Christmas carols. I thought of what to make next. The artsy side of my brain was happy.
And I ended up with 62 tags, ready for selling and/or using.
All covered in sparkly dust.
Pink sparkly dust, no less. And also sprinkled with some invisible fairy dust, left over in my thoughts from The Little Wild Garden.
This morning they are packaged into bundles of 5 and are ready for distributing. Don’t you LOVE making things this time of year? Oh my!!
I guess you are wondering about my latest GW find? Reference dress at top. Right at 3 dollars, give or take a few cents. Also, the desk I am leaning against was a find on the same day. I had been looking for EXACTLY that, to put the doll house up on, because a certain fatso spoiled rotten beagle of the universe (who shall remain nameless) had been chewing on doll house furniture. $9.99. And below, see the new, lovely, Victorian looking lamp for my mail/bill desk. $4.99.
Let’s enjoy this day! Let’s sing! Let’s twirl! (Put on something pretty!) Take care of yourself.
By Lynn, on December 3rd, 2011%
I am trying to do better. Yes indeed. There are so many new things ’round here I want to show you, and I am going to try to start posting daily again. I really am. I feel like The Little Engine That Could. I am chugging up the hill and workin’ it out! Soon I’ll be moving at a good speed. I can feel it!
Let’s start with this very Victorian Christmas wreath I made this week. Oh, I love it! Makes me want to put my coat on and stand outside in front of my own front door. Yessiree.
There were so many Christmas odds and ends at The Scrap Exchange when I was over there, and I just happened to have a wreath that needed some sprucing up! 
In addition to the wreath I already had, I picked up another wreath while at The Scrap Exchange and it got decorated too! Two wreaths. Oh my. So happy am I! Pictures of the second one coming soon.
I am thinking that one is for my door and one is for selling. Who doesn’t need extra money for Christmas? There is a local store in an old house, full of vintage crafts and Shabby Chic sort of decor, and I think they might want it. I really do. Maybe they would want even more than one! (Where’s the extra time gonna come from??)
I think I can! I think I can!
As far as Victorian fashion, you know I love it, and even though this dress is more 1920s in style, maybe, the pin stripes made me feel oh so Victorian!
Black shirt underneath. Black leggings. Black leather cowboy boots (again). I love it! And I thought the Christmas brooch was a good touch of red, too.
And you can see my little journal, opened up right there beside me.
I am trying to surround myself with things that make me happy. This includes what goes into my journals every day. It is so easy to bring myself down. It almost comes naturally. (Stress does horrible things to a person’s mind and spirit.) It is clear to me these days that the more I “force-feed” myself things that are lovely, the better I feel.
Enjoy this day. I am on to my work desk. Type, type, type. But the apartment is cozy warm. I have strings of lights in the windows. There’s a pretty goblet full of candy canes sitting on the bar at the kitchen. My work area is full of new fabric scraps, bits of paper, lots of ribbon and string. It’s all good.
“Whatsoever things are lovely… think on these things.”
Enjoy this day!
By Lynn, on November 30th, 2011%
It’s crazy how time goes by for me now!! I find myself thinking, “oh, it’s been a couple of days since I posted, so I need to update my blog,” and then I look at the calendar and it’s been a week!
It’s work, I tell you! 40 hours a week keeps a person busy. Add to that my GW fashion runs. And cooking. And just looking for Lynn. And you understand why the days run together!
I continue to take silly pictures from the GW dressing room. I mean, what else is a camera phone for?? And I think you all like the GW Fashion Report. I mean, I hope so, ’cause you are getting a ton of it!
Bright colors are making me happy these days. I need bright. I do. I think the dress above is just the ticket! With white tights and my black leather cowboy boots! Not sure about the gray shirt underneath, but was just trying that on for size. (I bought both the dress and the shirt.)
Another pretty find was this black silk and polyester dress with beautiful ribbons tying in the back! Another great find (at under 4 dollars) for the holidays! Yay.
And while we are talking YAY things, I want to show you my bible verse jar. It is something I have wanted to do for the longest time, and being at the apartment Rose Cottage has finally brought the peace and quiet to implement it.
A few years back, I found a blank journal at the thrift store for a dollar. At the bottom of every page was a bible verse. I knew right then…
I recently went through, tearing pages out and cutting the verses from the bottoms of the pages. I then folded each little verse and dropped them all into this beautiful jar, tied with an antique-y ribbon adorned with a glittery tag.
Now, folks, this does not take the place of bible reading. No sir! But on busy mornings I can send John and Michaela out the door with a bible verse. Or at suppertime we can share a verse. Or while I am working in the kitchen and they are doing homework. You get the picture.
Actually, let me go pull a verse for you…
I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever, Every day I will bless you, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Psalm 145:1,2
Now. On to the topic of food.
Am I still loving my steamer? Golly yes! But how about this liver, baby!? Well, I found out last night that John and Michaela both should be on their respective track teams because they both ran after one bite. Really, really fast. Amazingly fast. I heard Michaela say GROSS before she tore out of the kitchen. Actually, I don’t force them to eat things they don’t like, but I am not cooking something different. So take it or leave it.
I was craving liver. I got this grass fed beef liver at a local fresh market, so I know where the meat comes from, and all this was only 2.00. I am sure we won’t have it all the time. Not after last night’s reaction. But sometimes. The frozen corn was put into the bottom layer of the steamer and set for about 28 minutes. Once down to 15 minutes left, I put the tray of frozen asparagus on top and covered again. (Watch the steam; don’t get burned!!) When the timer stopped, all my veggies were done. Just add butter.
Last but not least, this is going to serve as a real journal today. I simply must record my dream from last night but I know I cannot write with a pen fast enough to get it done before I have to work, but boy can I type! (Reference picture of typist above.)
I dreamed last night that Michaela and I had driven to the coast. To a beautiful hotel. A fancy hotel with a person waiting on us much of the time. He was a very nice man. He seemed to know I did not really have enough money to be there but he never said a word. We were only supposed to stay for one night but we ended up staying for four. By accident. How does anyone do that? In the kitchen in this room we had (and I don’t really remember how the room looked, by the way) there was a sink with a garbage disposal. Someone had left a bunch of very large red and green tomatoes on the vine and I found them. In that bunch of tomatoes was a very large, very bright green spider, looking really like a black widow, only it was scary green with red and black markings. I decided to plunge the tomatoes and the creature down the disposal, but I knew in the back of my mind that there was also money left behind in the tomatoes. I plunged them down anyway. I kept wanting to get the money back but it was gone. When it was time to depart, I somehow had a bulldog that I set up on this fancy side table in the hotel hallway. I nearly knocked over two things but caught them before they fell and put them back. Immediately the man was there again. Friendly as ever. As I was leaving, I remembered to show the man that someone had also left a bunch of tomatoes in the windows. Somehow I am not sure if they had money or not. Next, Michaela and I were in the car, speeding along a narrow road along a rocky coastline with sea water crashing and rolling down below. All I needed was a kerchief around my head and Elvis in the next seat and I could have easily been in a 1960s movie. Anyhoo, I missed my turn and realized I had gone way out of the way. The dream ended with Michaela and me turning around and heading home, with me explaining that we had not really had the money to stay for four nights.
Me and my dreams. Any clue as to what that all means?
As far as the spider, I am wondering if somehow this picture of me got tangled up in my dreams. It is the typing picture with the color inverted. My son John said it is so scary that he thinks it should not be on line. So I won’t put it here, but I will let you click if you want to see. Nothing evil folks, just lil ol me with colors inverted. Scary Lynn. It was late when I edited these pictures, so maybe I took the colors with me to my dreams. Also, I have been so focused on my foods and what I am deficient in, maybe I am looking for something in tomatoes, where I found both a spider and money! Go figure!!
Have a lovely day! Enjoy this day! It won’t be ’round again!
By Lynn, on November 22nd, 2011%
My oh my, have I been horrible again. Every day I think about you all, my dear friends, but then I find myself at quarter to 10, knowing I have to log in and type. The break midday brings errands and trying to cook, pay bills, keep the apartment clean, etc. Life is certainly busy. John has finished driver’s ed and we have taken him to get his permit. He is driving me around. I spend some free time at the old house visiting with Joseph — times when it is just the two of us and I can help him out with things or we can practice karate. Sometimes he comes over here for a night. Here I go again, promising to blog more. And it’s not an empty promise! I mean it! I really do! The days just run together, but I miss you!
Comfortable clothes? Yeah, still dresses. Oh, I love dresses! Nothing like a dress and some sort-of heels with ankle straps to make a person feel happy! When I say comfortable, I think I mean that I am buying things that I might not have brought a year ago. I know that my style is still fundamentally the same — girlie girl, somewhat eccentric, layers, dresses, you know the drill — but now I am enjoying adding some shorter dresses (nothing too short!), different style hats (I have always loved hats, but have you ever seen me in a ball cap?) I am just having fun in the process of healing. It has been a very, very good thing, and I know now that the door I walked out of is closed behind me. The only way I could think to describe it to people I have spoken with is that I fell as far as I could before I opened my parachute. I came to my senses right before I hit the ground. And I cannot go back.
Maybe one of the most healing things I have done was to get back to my karate. Doing regular physical exercise has been good for me. (Now, I just need to get back on the treadmill! It’s been about three weeks! Yikes!) I am now working on knowing all the curriculum to test again around early spring for my next belt. It is a wonderful diversion, and I get to be around others (including Joseph) and the exercise is always good! Not to mention, you just don’t realize how your dominant side rules your body and mind until you take on a sport or artform that requires you use both sides of your body (and thus mind) equally! And that’s all I’m gonna say about that!
I promise that I will soon take some pictures of some thrift stores when I visit, but knowing that you wanted to see some of that, I snapped a picture with my phone, while I was sitting at a stop light, of downtown Durham, on my way to The Scrap Exchange. Love the trees! It was gray and drizzling that day, but something about this intersection made me happy!
And speaking of The Scrap Exchange, I always shop there, want to come home and be creative, but then it is work, work, work. Seems like I get home just to have time to put things away, and then crafting must wait until another day, but so far the days are not coming. I long to make dolls and pins, and make the wildly funky pink skirt that I see in my mind (from scraps), but the days just don’t work out. It’s so busy right now! Soon, though, I will get my mind wrapped around my new life and I’ll settle how to have that time.
Now, don’t get grossed out. I have had comments on this photo and what it looks like, but dear friends, this is a picture of mussels, which I just cooked for the first time. Olive oil, onions, garlic, tomato paste, white wine, and oh my they were SO GOOD! And full of B12, which I desperately need! Symptoms of B12 sometimes plague me — numb foot during exercise, numb or burning tongue, canker sores, depression… Can we say that again? Depression? Anyway, mussels have a ton of B12. It’s amazing how much different I felt the morning after eating my fill of mussels!
And as far as cooking, I tend to eat good because I love salads and vegetables, but John and Michaela are so out of the groove that we lived in at The Old House. There, I cooked for six people and was married to The Hunter-Carpenter. We ate huge crockpots full of venison, dried beans, cornbread, homemade desserts. I drank herbal infusions. Joseph kept gallons of sweet tea made all the time. We drank a gallon of milk a day. I picked fresh greens for our salads. Venison, beans, greens. And lots of it! Get the picture?
But here? I am not cooking for six. Small amounts of meat burn in a great big crockpot. I just could not get my mind settled to cook for us. I was throwing out leftovers, burning stuff, but I have found something that works. A friend kept telling me about how a steamer works, so I bought an electric steamer. It has two trays, and I can cook entire meals for the three of us, and it is so easy!
Last night we had scallops, asparagus and mushrooms in the steamer, and then at a friend’s suggestion, I sprinkled parmesan cheese over the asparagus and mushrooms after cooking! The mussels cooked on the stovetop in the meantime! It feels so good to be getting settled into where I am right now. There are days that I feel so sorrowful over what might have been and over having to walk away from something that in my heart I had bound myself never to walk away from, but…
The other day I was able to spend some time with my three sons. We gathered around Daniel’s new (to him) truck. It was good to be with them all at one time. They laughed and cut up (and argued a little as brothers will do), and I hated to part with some of them again, but all feels well and they are finding their way too right now. (Love Joseph’s hat!)
I cherish this time with John and Michaela, especially knowing how quickly the years fly by and just how “overnight” your children leave the nest.
Annie-wise, absolutely nothing has changed. Unless, of course, she has simply become more rotten. If that was even possible!!
She gets an abundance of attention! She is so spoiled! Yesterday at the thirft store I found her a winter coat. Oh my. Pictures coming soon.
So, here we go again. Work calls. I have spent my break with you this morning, something that has helped me more than anyone here! I need this outlet! It’s such a cleansing thing to write. If only I had more time for it!
Enjoy this day. This very day! Every single minute that is good and “just right” is a minute to keep in your heart and not let go of!
By Lynn, on November 11th, 2011%
So yesterday I was off work, and of course you know I had to hit at least one Goodwill. I found the prettiest combo! Oh my, a brand new Abercrombie shirt that falls off the shoulders (ahem, I will wear a tank under it) and this gorgeous retro-looking pink skirt with netting and faint polka dots! The Abercrombie shirt still had the tags.
I think I will wear it this evening to go out for dinner! Today I will be working and trying to eat good foods and using my breaks to get all of my clothes washed and put away! I love working from home!
In other news, I have another teenage son on the roads.
He is doing very, very well. I mean, he really is.
But I am afraid I still look like this most of the time. Yeah. And I am constantly blurting out “st…” (short for stop, and catching myself just in time, so as not to alarm John).
I found so many more things yesterday on my outings! My bill/mail desk is now organized and I will soon share pictures of what I did on that. Found something old and funky yesterday to help in the process.
Off to work and enjoy the day!
You, enjoy this day. xoxo
By Lynn, on November 3rd, 2011%
My dear sweet readers, you might be glad to know that I have come down off of my soapbox. (Ahem.) I’ll try not to call anybody Dude, or do any YELLING in this post. However, I will likely continue to jump and dance around the apartment Rose Cottage, and pick on my children. They were both so tired of hearing me say in a gruffy voice this morning, “Yo mama’s got the swaaaaaag goin on,” that they both cried out, “MAMA!!!!” before we left for school. And it was not a “rootin’ for you” kind of mama, but a “mama we’ve had quite enough!” So I have calmed down, for the moment.
I just had to show you my latest denim skirt find from G.W. Boutique. The belt buckle sold me. Well, that, and also that it is long and fits great and is in excellent shape and goes with just about everything.
Boy do I look like my daddy.
But I digress.
Well, so what. I mean…let’s just do this. (You can click to enlarge, but you gotta prolly hit the back button to come back.)
So, yeah, but I love it. He was a good dad. For sure. Oh, he was not without his faults, but are any of us?
And now I have a son who wears my dad’s dog tags and reminds me so much of my dad. My dad would have loved this boy! Well, he would have loved all of my children. And, sadly, he never really knew them at all.
I named the picture above, “driving around smiling.” That’s what I am trying to do! Life is just too short to frown. I am trying my best to make this my creed. And I have so much to be joyful over!
Enjoy this day! It won’t be back!
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About Lynn
I am the mother of four delightful children: a 23-year-old son, a 20-year-old son, a 17-year-old son, and a bright and bubbly 13-year-old daughter. I share an apartment home with my 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. My little home on the internet is called Rose Cottage because of my love for gardening, roses, and all things romantic and Victorian. Welcome.
I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I do medical transcription from home. My hobbies include making sweet little dolls from clay who are named and have their own stories to tell. I also make old-fashioned brooches. These are for sale in my Etsy shop.
For 13 years continuously, I homeschooled some or all of our four children, but the time came that our homeschool had to be closed. It was the end of a beautiful chapter in my life. I will always be a strong supporter of homeschooling and I will continue to review books and maintain my homeschool website, The Healthy Homeschool. The Players
Lil Ol' Me
Son Daniel, 23
Son, Big Joe, 20
Son, John, 17
Daughter, Michaela, 13
Annie Fatso Beagle
My Symphony
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
What You Do Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
Contact Me 
I would  for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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