Happy New Year

Here's our Betsy again, modeling her new jean jacket for us.   

Christmas Betsy

It was a very very nice Christmas at Judson and Rachel's.   Our Betsy is growing up so fast.  She's smart and pretty and so much fun!

Vintage Greeting

My friend Raye Ann sent this card to me in 1979, back when we were in college and living across the street from each other on Royalty Court.    The inscription says:   "may love and caring be part of your new year. . . merry christmas".   She could always make me laugh.  And  she's done it again with a card from 30 years ago!

More Flowers for Work

These went to Karen, who wanted them for her mom and her sister. 

Annual Tradition

This  little red basket goes to medical records every year.

Last Sat Before Christmas!

I'm wrapping presents today.  Still have a bit of shopping to do, but it's been nice to be at home.  The little garland is one that PJ and I bought on one of our flower shop tours. 

Thank You Gift

This one went to Jo-An's parents, who have been so nice to let us use their dock.   Mark  has had a great time catching fish after fish!

And here's a close up of the vase treatment.  Lots of hot glue and beaded wire holding leaves, twigs, and bits of pine. 

Christmas Cookies

I found this recipe for cookies in last week's paper and they were really really good.  Cut them as small as you'd like--they're little crispy buttery almond bites. (PJ gave me the crocheted dish cloth when we were at the craft show.  Love it!)

Mack

My sister PJ and her family lost their beloved golden last week.  He was a great dog and he loved them all so much.  They rescued him years ago when his original owners couldn't take care of him.  He was a lucky lucky dog to have landed at Powers Pond and I know PJ and the boys and Jeff felt they were lucky to have him too.   

Here he is celebrating at Jordan's high school graduation. 

And here's an older picture of him with Jacob, I think.  Mack was happpiest when he was sitting right on top of you, getting petted.  He just adored his family.

Thinking so much of Mack and PJ this week has made us think of our goldens that we have lost and how thankful we are for the goldens we have now.  We will miss Mack, but he lives on because he is a golden we loved and who loved us. 

Love a Golden is where we rescued G Dog and Lilla.  We're writing them a Christmas check in memory of Macky Mack.  Love  love to my sis and all.

Saturday Bouquet

Dressed Up Cyclamen

My friend Chele gave me this blooming plant.  It's so pretty and I had a great time adding some fun things to dress it up. 

While I could have given you a picture with a  much less cluttered background, this one shows you why I need flowers  at work! 

Maxwell

I'm still finding pictures from my Michigan trip.  This is Maxwell, PJ's cat. Isn't he handsome?    He was really good to pose for me.  I kept a little clipping from a newspaper interview years ago.  It was about a pet photographer who  said that he quit photographing people and turned to pets for one very good reason:  "Because cats never complain they look fat in a picture."  Same with flowers.  You never hear one complaint from a daisy. . .

Mama's Pillows

This is a picture from my mom's booth at The Town Peddler.   She makes the sweetest little  pillows! 

A Little Vintage Tree . . .

This is a little tree that Larry Green's mom crocheted for us years ago.  Larry worked with us at the hospital and he was a wonderful chaplain to all of us.  He was also Mark's fishing buddy and they made several trips to Minnesota to fish up there.    He's retired now and lives in Indiana.  But his mom's tree makes an appearance every year and makes us think of him :-)

Another New Blog!

Just started a new blog for Petals & Co, this great little Rochester IL flower shop  I have to confess that I love these blogs and each one of them is special to me.  I hope you'll enjoy this newest one and go out to see Michelle and her staff.  They are friendly and fun and the shop is full of gorgeous flowers!

Christine's

After our flower shop visits, we went to Christine's Cake and Pastries.  Beautiful, delicious works of art!

 It was fun to see people picking up their birthday cakes and anniversary cakes.    That place makes people happy!

Unfortunately, the commute would be terrible and I'm under (WAY under)  qualified.  I can't wait to  visit my Michigan peeps again!

Michigan Saturday

On the recommendation of my brother-in-law Jeff, we went to Blossoms in Birmingham.  Great idea--super nice flower shop.  Love this wreath!

I'm including this picture of me because I know my sis will not be happy that I posted a picture of her.  She's beautiful, but she doesn't like to have her picture taken.  Anyway, you can tell I'm happy here.  It was a day with family and flower shops! 

The staff at Blossoms were getting ready for their open house the next day.  We peeked in the back to see what they were making.  Great centerpiece in the foreground.  Maybe I'll try one of those!Aren't these tapers cool?  Stay tuned--I'll post some more pictures from that fun day.

for the office

This one went to hang on my office door at work.  I should remember to keep something there, because it definitely makes a difference!

Monday Night Poll

So what cha think?  Does it look better with the heart tilted as in the previous post, or do you like it better straight?  I had it tilted at first, then got to worrying that it looked like it was just crooked.  Maybe I'll just change it up every few days!

Saturday Wreath

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's  a picture,  taken from Rachel's facebook page, of our Betsy.  Love her flowers on the table in the background. We have so many many blessings to count today. And of course, Betsy and her little brother Kyle  are at the top of our list.   Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  And may you have flowers on your table too.

Dixboro General Store

This was one of the fun places we visited while I was at mama & PJ's in Michigan.  You can check out their website here.  BIG love!The valance was PJ's pick.Upstairs. . .

and a whole herd of deer!

Thanksgiving Week

This week leading up to Thanksgiving always fools me.  I think I have plenty of time to get my grocery list together, to actually go to the grocery store, to cook,

to get the house clean(er), and be all ready and put together in time for Thursday.  And then on the Monday before, I'm shocked to find that I have so much to do and just three short little days. . . Happens every year and I'm always so surprised!  And then I remember, oh yeah, this is what I always do.  It's a tradition!    But this year I have  beautiful roses on my desk at work to remind me to count my blessings.  A really good antidote for panic. . .

Open House @ Petals & Co.

Love this little gem of a flowershop in Rochester, Illinois.  Michelle and her staff are warm and friendly and their designs are just beautiful!  They've invited everybody over for their open house this Saturday and Sunday.  I'm hoping to go back on Sunday, so maybe I'll see you there? 

Ready, Set, Decorate!

Here's a link to one of my favorite blogs, At Home with Jodi Duncan.  Jodi is a talented floral designer  in Southern Illinois who makes you smile with her upbeat personality and energy!  And just in time for the season, she's giving us some of her tips for decorating a perfect Christmas tree.

Now where's that polymesh?  I know it's here somewhere. . .

Michigan Trip

I had such a good time with my mom and sister and all the family in Michigan.  And of course, I took a few pictures!  Here are some shots from our visit to The Button Lady in Dixboro.     Her shop is full of antiques and she has the stories to go along with them! 

Monday Monday

Here's a shot of the artist Peggy's raggedy anns traveling in a vintage suitcase.  She told me the story of how that suitcase traveled to Peoria with her, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents while they were searching for work in the 1940's.  And speaking of suitcases, I have one to unpack today! 

Apple Dumplings

  I feel so thankful that we're all healthy here.  It was a nice day with my mom.   We made these apple dumplings--with two sticks of butter, so you know they're good! 

4 apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
8 oz. mountain dew

Peel and core apples and slice each apple into quarters.  Roll each apple quarter in a crescent roll and place in a 9 x 13 lightly greased baking dish.  Melt butter, add sugar, and stir slightly, leaving the mixture grainy.  Add vanilla, stir and pour over apple crescents.  Pour mountain dew around and down the center of rolls.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

We thought raisins would be a good addition too!

At Home With Peggy & PJ

My Detroit trip has been extended for a few days. Tomorrow I'll go out to the craft mall with my mom, who's getting ready for her show on Saturday. It's nice to be here with her and with my sister and the rest of the family. I've got lots of great pictures of our adventures to share!

PaPa's New Favorite Picture

Mark is loving this picture of Betsy, who has figured out how to OWN the kitchen counter!  It's a whole new world!

Wednesday Begonias

These begonias are still going strong, even if it is November.  I babied them all summer with water and food, but they've been on their own since Labor Day.  Of course, it's rained almost every day since then!  But we've had some beautiful sunshine this week.  I love late bloomers!

November Already!

Best Costume