Christmas Pink Saturday

Hello All and Merry, Merry Christmas!



Isn't this just the sweetest and merriest? I am the happy and surprised winner of this sweet set from Cindy at http://artbookstea.blogspot.com. I have already enjoyed a cut of my sugar free hot chocolate and a cup of Cherry Vanilla Honey tea! Thank You! Thank You! Cindy! It sat right by me while I sewed, something I haven't been able to do for a couple of weeks with all the busy of Christmas!
Be sure and visit our dear friend Beverly who is the hostess for this fun Saturday event....you will find all the other pretty Christmas blogs to enjoy for this week. ♥
I still can't grasp just how swiftly this year passed. It wasn't the best of years, but it wasn't the worst and we seem to have somehow survived. Now we are looking forward to our Christmas dinner together and already planning for 2012!
Many Warm And Wonderful Blessings to Each Of You!
Jil
♥

Pink Saturday

It's Pink Saturday again and Christmas is drawing nearer....Be sure to visit Beverly's to see all the lovely pinks and pretty Christmas decorations, too!

We woke up to snow this morning and while it won't last, it is pretty as it sits on all the branches and the roofs. The cardinals were by to try out their freshly filled feeder and of course a squirrel had to try, too. He couldn't figure it out and so went on his way....lol! He wasn't hungry enough to try to figure this anti-squirrel feeder out. As we get deeper into winter and they get hungrier, they finally are hanging by toes to get a few seeds.

I did minimal decorating this year, just enough to say Christmas.




The balls with the roses go back more than twenty years. They were my mothers and I remember when she found them at the grocery store, of all places. Little then, did I know how much roses and pink would become a part of my life!

With my mug of sugar free hot chocolate, I am going to go strolling through all of this Saturday's pinkness..
Warm Thoughts....
♥ Jil

Pink Saturday With A Little Snow

Hello All and Welcome! This is our day to immerse ourselves in PINK and have a little get away from the daily grind....sit back and relax and have fun as you roam through all the pinkalicious blogs found over at Beverly's

Yes, it snowed. Not much, but enough to make everything white and COLD! Brrrr! winter is here.

It has been a quiet week just working on things like spraying a green Christmas tree white. I found one, but it was quite expensive and more than the budget would allow, my ingenious husband said he would be happy to spray paint the one we have. At first I wasn't sure....after all I really wanted that pretty one in the store. Sometimes we just have to do with what we have and so, I took him up on it. When you spray them, I have learned several spray cans later, it will never look as white as the white trees for sale, but it is pretty with its dark shadows. It is still in the garage as I am letting it "air" before bringing it in to get rid of that awful paint smell! When I have it up and decorated I will post it for you to critique. ♥

Aren't these just the prettiest quilted ornaments? I found these on eBay at an old friends and a friend to many of you, too. Kathy Flav. I immediately thought how pretty for our Pink Saturday ..... so shabby and sweet and romantic country,too. She has many pretty things listed, so why don't you take a minute to run over and look...
KATHLEENS CELTIC COTTAGE

And, here is what I have been up to ...




This is listed at my < Website > where we have lots of pretties and lots of pretties marked down...hope you will come browse.

It is December now! Isn't it hard to believe! Have fun with your shopping and decorating and party going and 'til next time
♥ To All Of You Dear To My Heart Friends
Jil

Hello All My Blogland Friends ♥ I hope you had a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving day and are enjoying all the left overs! I know I am. I had a turkey cranberry stuffing sandwich for breakfast. MMMmmm!!! Hubby? He opted out for a traditional breakfast. I told him he was a sissy. lol!

This is our day to celebrate pink, so go to Beverly's and you will find all the wonderful blogs to put you in a PINK frame of mind!

Just a little reminder to hop on over to SHABBY COTTAGE SHOPS BLACK FRIDAY SALE Our sale will last through Monday. You find so many treasures that you will not find at the mall and many shops are offering Free Shipping, too.
Here are some new ornaments I just finished and they are at my WEBSITE

I have to tell you a little story about my roses....Yes, I make them from clay, mixing colors and having fun doing them, but .... you will never see my finger prints on them. I had a job where I had to be finger printed and this was done at the Police Station. They tried and tried in vain to get a copy of my print. Each finger was carefully rolled in ink over and over...supervisors were brought in, but all to no avail. My print can not be lifted as my lines are too fine and shallow. Now, if that will just hold true for my face as well I will be a happy gal!

The leaves are mostly all raked and the big machine with the vacuum on the back has come down the street and sucked them all up for the city's compost pile. I took a couple pictures before they were swept and raked up as I thought they were so pretty scattered about....I wished I could leave them that way, but we had to take advantage of a warm 60 + degree day! :(

I keep our burning bushes very trimmed because of the space, but they were pretty anyway with their pinkish red leaves....


Our beautiful holiday season has begun! I wish for all of you a season full of happiness and joy ♥♥♥
Jil

Pink Saturday With A NEW Computer :)

Hello All...
Goodness, it has been a while since I posted! You would not believe the wildy busy days we have had and just when I thought all had calmed down, something else would come around the corner. I thrive on busy, but when it gets to the point that you find your shoulders up around your ears with stress and a throbbing headache to get everything done before the end of the day, well, that is just way to much "busy."

And to compound things, I have had lots and lots of computer issues, but no more. I have a new Dell with dual cores and I can not begin to tell you how heavenly it is that when I sit down to do something, EVERYTHING WORKS! I am not used to that!!! The printer works on command, the computer does not freeze, the pages do not roll, Photoshop behaves! Oh, I feel like a Queen in command of her realm! Thank you Debie our leader at Shabby Cottage Shops, for guiding me to what I needed and thank you to my hubby who tries to always see that my needs and my wants are pretty much covered! How did I get so lucky!

This being Pink Saturday, you better get yourself a cup of tea or coffee, or like me, a Dr. Pepper and pop on over to Beverly's where you find great gals sharing their beautiful pinks today and have a little downtime enjoying all the pinks.

This is about half of an order of cupcakes and cookies that I, Whew! finished and shippped. All their sweet pinkness was pretty on the table. I always feel so relieved when a project is finished and on its way! :)

A pretty and practical canvas bag with handpainted roses on each side....see more of this one and others at THE RUFFLED ROSE

Paris inspired cream stockings with handmade muslin roses and a touch of bling....

I am off to go visiting. It will be fun to see what you all been up to since I last posted!

Happy Pink Saturday and have a great weekend and Happy Thanksgiving! I know I can hardly wait for our dinner and then snacking on the left overs with turkey and cranberry sandwiches! Yummmmmy!

Jil!

Autumn Pink Saturday Fun

Hello Everyone And Happy Pink Saturday! Are you enjoying the fall colors? I know I am. Especially where there is a large grouping of big trees and there are lovely soft colors all mingling to give a tapestry effect! Greens, bronze, golds, wines, peaches and reds. I think it is the most beautiful sight.

Before I go any further....be sure and go to Beverly's to find all the blogs showing not only their pinks, but their fall colors as well....it should be a marvelous show!

**And, I am a proud and happy member of Shabby Cottage Shops. We are having a truly Pinkalicious Christmas Shoppe event with many adorable shops offering so many wonderful things for gift giving and for yourself....I invite you to visit every day to see the featured shop and to hunt for the hidden Christmas tree to win a $25.00 gift certificate as well as to enter in the Pink Present giveaway that will have something from all the participating shops, of which the Ruffled Rose is one. Just click on one of the buttons at the top or the sides of this post.....happy shopping!**

I would have more pictures to show, but my computer and I are at odds and I now have Vista and that changed how I edit pictures. I am slowly getting it, but I do not like it! When they have a program that works, it hate it when they make changes that are not as efficient!

Santa, are you listening? I need a new computer, printer and camera! Really I do!

So, here is a picture or what I have done on our porch. I found this old window a couple of months ago and I never got it dry brushed with white and now it will have to be a spring project, but this window will be decorated for all the holidays and the seasons.....I am looking forward to planning for each window dressing change!




Sending warm fuzzy hugs....
Jil

PINKALICIOUS CHRISTMAS SHOPS OPENS TONIGHT

Hello Sweet Friends.....I want to invite you to come to the opening night of our THE PINKALICIOUS CHRISTMAS SHOPPE It starts at 6:00pm EST tonight.

You can visit the first shop featured here... MARY'S COTTAGE TREASURES

There are many shops in this event and every day one shop will be featured to you to browse to your hearts content.

There will so many beautiful things to choose from for all of your Holiday gift giving as well as for you!

See you there!
Sending Pinkalicious Hugs!
Jil

A Beautiful Fall Pink Saturday

Hello, again, Pink Saturday Peeps! I hope your week as been fabulous in every way! The weather is so perfect.... in the high 60's and 70's here, so each day it is a toss, do I work in the gardens getting them ready for what will be coming, we won't mention the "S" word..... or do I keep my nose to the grindstone working on my sewing, etc. Oh, yes, and keeping the house clean and hubby well fed! lol! :) You know I would not trade any of this for anything! I am happy the Lord has given me all He has and so when I feel over burdened, I try to slow down and just say "Thank You." Life is far from perfect, but I feel thankful for what I have been blessed with!

I thought I would share some fabric with pretty,pretty pinks....I have this out looking and thinking what I will do with it....What do you see made out of this? A pretty tea cozy perhaps?

And I just had to share this beautiful Chintz teapot and cup of tea.....I adore china in the chintz pattern and especially when it is in these heavenly colors....

And look at these dainty little sandwich rolls.....I am not an okra fan, but these look quite yummy and with the little ham sandwiches very enticing on the pretty chintz plate.

Happy Pink Saturday, sweet friends. Remember to dash on over to Beverly's for all the other Pinkalicious posts to enjoy!

Smiles and Hugs....
Jil

Fabulous Product And Pink Saturday

Hello Friends....I want to introduce you to an old friend of mine and an old friend to many of you from eBay a few years ago. JannyKathleen. Jan is a fabulous stained glass artist and designer. She also creates the most scrumptious Christmas stockings, pillows and so much more with fabric. She sold fabrics, too. The beautiful ones we all love. And, she is the nicest person!!!!

The last few years she turned her creative talents to developing a bath salt from the finest of ingredients.....one that had a lovely scent to relax, was silky to our skin and very luxurious. Well, she did all of that and more. I am in love with her product and after using it, will never consider any other bath salt in my tub!!!

Do you hate the rocks that all bath salts are? How many times have you uncomfortably sat on them? Not with Essential Bliss! These salts are ground fine so that the moment you put your toe into the water, to when you sit down, there is only lovely fragrance with soft foamy bubbles and silky wonderful water you never want to get out of.....
**Click On The Picture To Make It Larger To Read The Pretty Packets**

Above are the pretty and generous sized packages with all the delicious scents....so hard to choose just one.....
Do you see the 25% off coupon?? Well dash on over to visit her BLOG and take advantage of the coupon for the celebrations of her opening and visit her Etsy store where you can choose the packets, wonderful stocking stuffers, or the jars....wonderful gifts, too.
I just visited her Etsy Store and found she has a 50% off, one time only, coupon for your entire order. What a deal with Christmas fast approaching!

And, with this being Pink Saturday...don't forget to visit Beverly's to find all our pink and wonderful participants.....and leave Beverly a comment to say "Hi."
With Happy Thoughts....
Jil

~Autumnal Equinox And Pink Saturday~

The first sign in our beautiful Maple tree that Fall really is on the way and Geraniums blooming happily unaware on the porch below...

Hi All.....Welcome to Pink Saturday and the first day of Fall....The Northern Hemisphere's Autumnal Equinox of this year and .... did you know the reason we are a day late this year? It is because during the month of July, the earths rotation was a bit slower....somehow this will make Spring one day sooner and an extra day of Spring is always a good thing! And, did you know that this is the only day of the year that earth is straight on her axis and all the countries will have the same amount of light and darkness? Aren't I just a book of information? lol!!
We mustn't be late to Pink Saturday, so be sure to buzz on over to Beverly's to find everyone's posts.....thank you Bev for this special PINK day!

And, if you would like to read more about this amazing phenomenon,the Fall Equinox, here is the link to the National Geographic site to read all about it..... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/110923-autumnal-equinox-northern-hemisphere-first-day-fall-2011-science/ it is truly fascinating. I am going back to read it again, as I am a bit confused about the difference between the equinox and solstices....

Did you all have a good week? I hope so.....here are a couple of new things I was busy doing this week and you can see more of them at MY WEBSITE


Click on the pictures to see them larger and with more details....

I am getting ready for the Fall holidays and Christmas. My sewing room has patterns and fabric all stacked and ready to go...a busy gal I will be!

Wishing you happy Fall days 'til next time....
Jil
xo

Hello Pink Saturday Friends......I hope this was a great week for you and you are ready to stroll through all the sweet pink blogs. You know to run over to Beverly's to find everyone....Be sure and leave her a comment so she knows how much you appreciate this event! I know I do! Thank you, Beverly!

Another quiet week. Nothing wrong with that!! A little yard work, a little painting, a little sewing. Just a little of this and that. And, quite a few little naps. Mid afternoon rolls around and I find I have heavy eyes that a little shut eye takes care of. Do you suppose it is "Fall Fever?" lol! :-) With Christmas coming I am going to have to really step up my working and my cutting table is stacked with patterns and the fabrics I will be using.....my painting table is ready and waiting.

I have been working on spoons and have some listed on my WEBSITE Here is one of them. The pretty spoon rack it is hanging in was done by Celestina Marie and, of course, is not for sale. I will never part with it and in time it will go to one of my Texas granddaughters, Jacquelynn along with part of my collection of pretty and unusual silver spoons. Many belonged to my grandmother on my dad's side of the family.

Some of my Zinnias. Somehow, I only purchased seeds for the petite Zinnias. I love them, but I wanted some of the luscious big ones, too. I will have to be more careful in reading the seed packets next year! I was late in planting them because of our chilly and rainy spring, but they are in glorious bloom now! Along with the Morning Glory's!

Aren't these laces pretty all piled on one another? It is a little stack of beautiful vintage Southern Belle runners that I am deciding what to do with....

I hope you had a nice little visit....I am now off to make my Pink Saturday rounds!
Happy Pink Saturday my sweet friends!
Hugs!
Jil
oo
I have linked to Cindy's
OH-LA-LA PARTY

~ONE NATION UNDER GOD~

Hello and Welcome my Pink Saturday Pinkies...When you leave my post, run over to Beverly's to find the list of all the wonderful blogs and their show of PINK...





And, let us never forget the horror of September 11, 2001 and all those brave, innocent souls that perished at the hands of evil. God Bless America and keep her safe and free from the radicals that are trying to change her.



God Bless America,
Jil

~42 Years And Pink Saturday, Too~

("T" for Tom and "J" for Jil )

**Click on pictures to see them with more detail** )
Happy Pink Saturday everyone! Guess what! Today is our 42nd wedding anniversary....42 years! WOW! Those years cover a lot of territory....they started when my first four children were small and now they are grown and have families of their own. We had one of our own and her oldest is almost 17. Some are empty nesters with one, right now, in the US Border Patrol Academy and others in college. My oldest granddaughter is on her way to Cambodia to work for a short time with missionaries and learning to live off the land....she wants to see and feel another culture....I pray she will be safe in this dangerous world of today and especially in that part of the world.....with hubby's job in Federal Law Enforcement, we have lived in many places in our amazing country....he was overseas for long periods of time on special narcotics assignments and I was at home trying to keep the home fires going with nine children....did I say we were a blended family?

These years have had their up and their downs like all marriages do....I have to say that all the downs probably came from me...He feels quarreling is a waste of time, that through communication and patience all things can be worked out....well, almost all things...I am an Irish gal and not so patient, very emotional and extremely quick tempered, hard headed and excitable as he likes to say.....I am better now with age, more mellow I believe...I hope....I am blessed with a very centered man....intelligent and knowing who he is....kind and patient. He has been so good to me and mine. I came into this marriage with way too much baggage from the volatile first one and he just quietly is always there through stormy weather as well as all the beautiful days.....he is and will always be my hero!

Today is also our celebration of one of our favorite colors in the universe! PINK!
Please pay Beverly
a visit to find all the other blogs you will want to visit and I hope you will leave Beverly a little comment....without her we would not have this grand event!

I was thinking I was out of pinks to show you, when my eyes fell on my set by Laura Ashley from over twenty years ago...I am not sure if they even make this any longer as we do not have a Laura Ashley store anywhere close and....do they even have stores any longer?? I used to frequent the sweet one in La Jolla, California often....I had all the beautiful accessories for the bathroom, including the shower curtain in roses with the matching balloon shade and towels edged in the same fabric.... I have always loved roses!!!


Soaps from a dear granddaughter...see, she knows my colors!

Sweet sentiment stones found at The Cracker Barrel a couple of years ago...

Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend, my dear friends....the last "Hurrah" of summer...where did it all go???
See you soon!
Jil

Summers Sweet Pink Saturday

Hello My Pink Saturday Friends....Here is the link to Beverly our hostess with the mostess for doing this for us faithfully each week....you will find all the other great blogs to visit and be sure to leave Bev a comment too, to tell her how much we appreciate her!

What a lazy summer week this has been....the cicadas are singing, the zinnias finally blooming and the watermelon and all the fruits and veggies from the Farmers Market simply delicious....




A bowl of saved rose petals....so pink and pretty.

Heavenly summer days and believe me, I am enjoying each and every moment as I watch the evenings slowly becoming shorter, I know that Fall is just over the hill...
We leave a little earlier in the evenings, now, for our two mile walk on the boardwalk by the St. Claire River, and when we finish our fast walk we enjoy sitting on one of the many benches and watch, hopefully, for a freighter to come steaming by. They can come in from the Atlantic and go through the St. Lawrence Seaway to a chain of magnificent Great Lakes and rivers to get to the Mississippi and out into the Gulf of Mexico. I always dream of getting a ticket on one and taking that journey...having a bag of books I never have time to read and maybe some needlework....I have put it on my bucket list. lol! The weather on the Great Lakes can be fierce, though....many freighters have broken up and sunk through the years in wild storms....like out on the oceans....infact, under our Blue Water Bridges lies in extremely deep water, a freighter that sunk there many a year ago. There were no survivors and the ship lies intact on the bottom where other freighters and super tankers travel over it.....that tells you how deep it is.


Looking North to the bridges, we are where we turn around and walk back....it is a mile each way...it is such a pretty place to walk and so much cooler on a hot evening. This is the St. Claire River and on the other side of the bridges is the mouth of gorgeous Lake Huron.


This has been a week of worry, too. One of our darling granddaughters, our Miss H. came down suddenly, and I mean suddenly! with pneumonia last Friday. She is not improving as she should.

She went back for more x-rays a couple of days ago where they showed she was worse, not better. Her meds were changed and yesterday she texted me the congestion in her chest is starting to break up and she was feeling bored, always a good sign, so I pray she is on the way back to her healthy self....this young lady had been running three miles a day in prepartion of her schools soccer season. She wanted to be the fastest on her team as they run those three miles a day in practice. I know she is anxious to get back to it and I hope she knows after this illness she is going to have to be very, very careful to pace herself and not play in the rain or it could all come back on her...Today she has an early morning appointment at the doctors where her Mom is going to ask for another chest x-ray. I hope they find that she is improving...She is a very precious girl.....I have found I worry as much about my grandchildren as I do with my own....I am sure all you Grandma's can relate!

Have a wonderful summery Pink Saturday! I am always overjoyed when I read your sweet comments and now I am off to leave you some!
With Loving Thoughts to my blogging friends....
Jil
xo