My Valentine's Day Flowers

Don has always bought flowers for me on Valentine's Day, and usually he buys roses. These are the roses he bought for me this year.

I have received every kind of roses from him... like the ones that completely collapsed the very next day or the ones that were delivered smashed and I refused to take delivery of them because of what I knew Don must have spent on them...

..and then there were these beauties..which in my opinion are the most beautiful roses I have ever received..because.. you see.....these pictures were taken today... 6 days past the day he purchased them!!!

Rough Day...

My birthday is March 17th. Did I ever tell you that? Yep - that's right .. on St. Patrick's Day...and on this next birthday I will be 50. Now that is significant for more than just the fact that it is the big 5-0 for me.. It is also the date that I could leave Continental Airlines with Early out. Like Early retirement with lifetime flight benefits. In the back of my head I always thought that this would be the time that I would venture out and do something a bit different career - wise ...

That is no longer an option. Our health insurance is with my job.

In a mere 17 days Continental Airlines will effectively become United Airlines...the largest airline in the world. I work in a very specialized department with only 1 other woman and today we found out that we will be responsible to handle the operations of 2 additional departments along with the agents of those other departments trying to learn our function as well...all in 17 days. There is also a very large possibility that our little department will be given to the United Airline counter parts. That is hard on me because I love my job.

Today was EXTREMELY stressful... to the point of tears..

When I got home, I let out a big sigh as Don hugged me. He too had a rough day. He was not feeling well and having to fight off chemical induced depression.

I could not wait to slip into a nice hot tub of water. When I started to run the water, I noticed that the water was not draining. I turned it off to investigate. I grabbed a tool we have to clear out a clogged drain. My heart sank as I realized it was Don's beautiful hair that was clogging the drain. The drugs he has been taking since October are taking their toll.

deep breath....

sorry guys .. I am feeling sorry for myself this evening.

"Everything works for good for those who love the Lord." This has been my prayer today.

Kisses...

The right kiss...

..at the right time..

..by the right person.....will leave your breathless!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I'm Still Here..

.. it is just hard to blog this time of the year since it is dark when I leave for work.. dark when I get home and on top of that, I am a part of the whole Continental Airlines merging into United Airlines project... and WOW.. have I ever been busy at work.

Don is doing pretty good. He caught the flu and it took him FOREVER to get rid of it.. but he did. He still gets sick from his meds and then he has some days where he says he feels almost normal. I love those days!!

Anyway - just wanted to say hi!.... HI!

Bad News..

..from the neighborhood association meeting.

A very long story short.. although we live on a farm (we have 26 acres) we do live on a developed subdivision of sorts where the smallest amount of property you can have is 15 acres. Anyway - one of the developers has not released the deed to the common areas. Common areas are the lake and the roads. The association will not have to retain a lawyer to move forward. One of those common areas runs down the boarder of our land. It should be at least graveled..if not paved. Without something down on the ground, building on the site where we plan to put our home would be difficult - if not impossible. The least amount of ground that needs to be worked on would be roughly 750 linear feet.

To sum it up, the association does not want to invest any money into any area that is considered a common area until the issue of title is resolved. While I understand that... it sure puts a huge damper on our house plans. We can assume the cost obviously... but to get something put it that is at least 'presentable' will cost THOUSANDS...


sigh...

I think this is one of those things that the Lord is going to have to work out for us.

One of My Friends..

..is a hair dresser and she highlighted my hair. I love it!For some reason... and I am NOT comnplaining mind you... when my friends hair was turning grey, mine started to go from blonde to dark brown...??? Every year it gets darker and darker.. I missed my light hair - so thank you Erica for making it pretty again!

How Funny..

Look what is up for sale at our local antique auction house.....not that I will be bidding on it. I laughed though when I saw it since I had recently done the post.

French Rugs

Did you know that my Mother was an Interior Designer? I think the thing that impressed me the most is that she could please a client who had the total opposite taste. After all, anyone could help you decorate who has the same likes and dislikes as you. She inspired me.

With that I want to share what I learned about antique French rugs.

Old, even gently warn rugs, give a room instant Old World charm. In Europe, rugs are passed down from one generation to the next and just get better and better as they are used.

AUBUSSON RUG
Aubussons are flat-weave wool tapestry rugs with a central medallion and floral motifs in muted pastel colors, originally made in France in a town of the same name, from the 16th to the 19th century.



SAVONNERIE RUG
Savonnerie are woven rugs but have a thicker pile than Aubusson carpets do. They were made in Paris starting in 1628. Designs created by court artists included floral arrangements, military and beraldic references, and architectural motifs. This one takes my breath away!


Authentic Savonneries are much more rare than Aubussons because they were made exclusively for the French Court and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. At the time of production, Aubussons were considered the "poor man's rug," although today they can cost well into the high tens of thousands of dollars.

To Be Perfectly Honest....

Want to know a secret about me? You may be shocked. It may cause you to look at me differently. Do you still want to know?

I HATE SLIP COVERS!!!

I always have ... and I can venture to say that I always will. I think they usually look sloppy and no matter how expensive, they just do not fit the same way new upholstery does! I am not going to post any pictures. My intention is not to hurt any ones feelings because I know that slip covers are the IN thing right now.. they are chic, trendy, cool looking...

Blech - I still don't like them.

There .. I said it..

Whew.. You know, I kind of feel relieved.


Opps - wait a minute...

I have one more thing to confess...

I hate all white rooms...

They look cold, hard, antiseptic, as if I am waiting for the smell of ammonia to hit me at any time.

Okay - so maybe this has something to do with the fact that I grew up in a family that was in the medical profession... and well - WAY BACK WHEN I was a child.. all procedure and operating rooms were stark solid cold WHITE..

So, as I plan our new home.. that is just 2 things I doubt you will see in any of my inspiration photos.

I'm just sayn'....
Please don't hate me.

A Wendy House

A Wendy House is a small playhouse for children, often replicating the main house on the property.

The name derives from a small house built for the character Wendy in the play Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie.

Recamier..

..is a lounging sofa made popular in the Regency period (1811-1820) characterized by a visible wooden frame and curving arms usually decorated with brass inlay. One arm is always higher than the other, making it perfect for reclining.

The chaise was named after Madame Recamier, who would receive male visitors while stretched out on the chaise.


I am not interested in buying this type of chaise, but wanted to share it with you because the story is facinating!

Cremone Bolt

I have been neglecting this blog and instead paying more attention to my Riding Aside Blog... well that is about to change. You see a lot is going on other than with my riding and I would love to share it with you.

First of all, let me say that Don has now completed the 12 week term of medication called Incevic. He has only been off of it for 1 day, so not much to report..other than he is glad to be done with it. He still has to continue taking the Riboviren and the Interferon injections for an additional 9 months.

I am sure you can tell we are taking our sweet time about building the house. We are in no hurry, which gives me a lot of time to research and ponder every single detail. I have been trying to educate myself (mostly through other blogs and books) about certain Interior Design styles and with my love of antiques, I have started to research and learn a lot. There are so many things I have seen in really old homes that I would love to incorporate into ours...So today I thought I would show you just one thing I have learned.

A Cremone Bolt is a device applied from top to bottom to the surface of a window or a door suround that locks the door or sash into the frame by a turn of a knob or lever.

Do you remember seeing these? My Grandparents had these types of locks on their French doors that led from their master bedroom onto the enclosed sun porch.

My Heart is Already Ready..

...for Spring!

Auction Treasure!

I TRY very hard not to buy stuff at the auction... unless I know specifically where I can use it in the house we are going to build. We already have a lot of lovely furniture that belonged to my parents and grand parents that I have inherited. With that said, this is the latest thing I purchased at an antique auction!

It is a huge 12 x 17' wool hand knotted oriental rug. It is used and needs to be lightly cleaned .. but it is really really beautiful!

It has just a touch of red... and I believe it will go nicely with my Mothers 2 wing backed chairs (currently in storage) .. and all to be used in the library / study.When I purchased this rug and measured it, I had to call our architect to tell him to increase the size of the study by a few feet... just to the rug will fit! The original purchase ticket was still on the back of the run and it said .... $10,000.00

Want to know what I paid for it?



Are you ready?



Are you sure?



Hold on to your seat....



I paid $250.00 for it!

Belated Happy New Year!

Thank you for your well wishes. I am feeling much better now!

Also wanted to give an update on Don. He is only 1 week away from completing a drug called Incevic. Incevic is one of three drug therapies he is on for the treatment of Hepatitis C. While he must continue to take the Interferon and Ribiviron for an additional 9 months, the omission of Incevic should help him to feel better. He now tells me that if he had known how severe the side effects were from the 3 drug combination, he does not know if he could have faced it... as the side effects have been HORRID...much to gruesome to describe! Please continue to lift him up in prayer! HUGS!!