Happy 85th Birthday, Daddy!

Today, eighty five years ago,
my daddy, Robert Alexander,
was born!

Wow! 85 years!

That's a very long time ago...

imagine all those decades

and all that has

come to pass in them.





Here he is as a Naval Aviator.

Of all the things he enjoys,

 remembering his Navy days

and his Navy Pals

is one of his top "likes".

He left Tulane University for the service.



When he was gone in the Navy for my first birthday, he sent me this drawing.
I still have it!



My favorite remembrance of him was in my eighth grade year.

He had been taking pictures

 (he has been a professional photographer for over 60 years)

somewhere and while driving through a town he spied a department store

with a mannequin in the window.

The mannequin had on a pink dress.

Long story short...

he bought it for my eighth grade graduation dress!

Right size, right color...hit the bullseye dead center.

I was delighted!



Here's the dress, second from the right.



When I was a senior in high school, I was co-Editor of the high school yearbook.

I was also taking a Home Economics III course,

and in those days we had "home" projects that were due every six weeks.

Another long story short...

I had an annual deadline AND a reversible vest due the next morning.

We had both completed at 8 a.m.

Daddy sewed the vest.

(I hope my home ec. teacher, Mrs. Davis, isn't reading this.)

Daddy gets up every morning with something to do.

He never just sits (I think that's genetic.)

After a Burger King breakfast...he's out and about.

Always on the computer, taking pictures, doing something..

He just purchased a saxophone (he played many years ago)

and has formed a quartet to entertain his friends at his apt. complex!

I could go on and on, but I will part with this...

Daddy, thank you for all you have done for us over the years.

We love you and wish you a wonderful day today!

Happy, happy 85th Birthday from us all!

Fairy Tales....

Today the Coach and I drove to the edge of the Delta to see the progress of my sister, Leslie's,

Fairy Garden

 

Welcome to the Fairy Garden!

. (Notice hand built ladder being tested by its builder.)We all agreed it is great.

To understand our fascination with all things FAIRY...you must know that

our grandparents (on my father's side) lived in a fieldstone house surrounded by huge old oak trees.

Grandmother was somewhat eccentric (imagine that!) but had a great imagination. We spent many fun

hours at that house roaming the yard and poking in the abundant little doodle bug holes that were

 around the bottoms of the oaks. There were tons of acorns, feathers, sticks, seeds and assorted other

enchantments that led to stories of fairies, gnomes and benevolent birds and such.

When we spent the night with Grandmother,

Leslie and I slept in the "guest" bedroom at her house

and it was grand to us!

The bed was a  four poster "pineapple" bed with the most wonderful feather pillows

and a pink satin feather quilt! You felt as though you were sleeping on a cloud.

Before we'd go to sleep Grandmother would read some of

the poem Hiawatha to us and then tell us stories about the creatures in the oak trees..

.(I personally liked the story about the little pink bird who lived in the pink house and used all pink china...)

So when Leslie called to tell me she was making a fairy garden in the shade of an overgrown bush in her front yard, it did not surprise me one bit.

I felt you'd like to see bits and pieces of what is under construction.

 This carefully constructed house is one of the centerpieces of the garden. The entire garden is only in its infancy...there are so many possibilities and we spent quite a while discussing them...

even though it was rather warm. (Remember she's the outdoorsy one...I prefer a/c.)

However, when it comes to fairy business, even I will hang around outside.

Here is another house with a frightful cat at its door.

(My sister has always loved cats as much as I detest them. She once trained one to leap out from under the couch and scare me senseless every time I walked through the living room. I hear you laughing, Leslie.) 

This little kitty seems to be as ferocious as those she trained so long ago.

We moved the American flag..it's scale was wrong.

Notice the angel on the left...she's also

afraid of said kitty.

So she just sits aimlessly outside the house as if waiting on the beast to leave the premises.

 

Another part of the garden is the Lily Pad...which is currently under construction (oh, there's that flag again)and hasn't been landscaped as of this morning. (The vintage wagon was an early Christmas present from a friend's mother.) My nephew said that the Lily Pad sounds like a bar...which is just might be or it might be a tea room for the fairies...they've got to unwind somewhere..

My contribution was the frog...I'm the realist in the family.

This is Leslie's rendition of a fairy topiary. I like the pennies...and the touch of pearls.

There are other little parts of this fairy town but they are still under wraps...the wooden fence that runs all around the area...at night there are tiny white lights that light the path of the fence and outline the various structures....metal scrolls outline the wood fence...very fairy-ish. Ferns and woodland flowers must still be selected and planted. Paths must be installed and blue glass pebbles added to a coming water feature.

Mulch is coming in by the yards and more structures will be added in the trees... LIKE  MAYBE A PINK BIRDHOUSE WITH A PINK BIRD WHO USES ALL PINK CHINA!

Now, you might think we are loony...

but I am now past 62 (see below) and she isn't far behind...so we are to that glorious phase in our lives where we don't really care if anybody thinks we are loony...

We are carrying on a family tradition of looniness and fairy loving, 

My Blog's First Birthday!

It's my blog's first birthday!! In honor of that, I'd like to take a minute and say THANK YOU for putting up with me for a whole year! It took a little leap of faith to jump out there and begin writing...I've never done anything like this before...at least not in such a public way...

But it has been great fun and I've met and learned from some of the nicest people in the world...Bloggers! I had a goal of 200 Followers...why? I don't know, it just sounded like a good round number and even though I haven't quite met that challenge, it's ok...because the ones I do have are loyal and supportive. THANK YOU FOLLOWERS! You can't imagine how heartening it is to work on a post and have somebody read it and comment. I try to comment back through email, but some people have it set so nobody can send a return email...if you haven't heard from me then that's the problem...(set your email so we can correspond..it's more fun that way!)

Posts have ranged from coffee filters to back porches...from lipstick woes to getting older... from room makeovers to wedding rehearsals...and there's so much more to say and to do! The posts with the most hits were these:
1. Valentine post

2. Back porch makeover

3. From dinged up to blinged up

My favorites were, surprisingly, all humorous!

1. Thanks For the Memories
2. Grandchildren Say The Darndest Things
3. How to Wrestle An Alligator
4. The Whole Enchilada and Chicken Daddy
5. To Laugh With Mother One More Time

If you see an asterisk * by a post, that's my Humor sign!

You might enjoy browsing through the archives during the beginning months of 2010..I was on a roll with humor for some reason. Life's too hard not to have a sense of humor, I say.

I've even kicked off a new business venture, that of helping people about to sell their homes "declutter" and ready them for a smooth sale...I also LOVE to go into your living space and look at it through fresh eyes and re-purpose what you've already got!! Very little outlay of cash is involved. As I wind down my teaching career, I am launching a new one...at the ripe ole age of 62! What a fun time in my life!

Thank you for being such an integral part of my past year. Your thoughts, comments, prayers and friendship have meant very much to me. I sincerely mean that.

I will be linking to Pink Saturday....come join us...

May your life be rich with friends just like you,

Madame Alexander Birthday

Last year for my granddaughter's tenth year Family birthday dinner, we used a Madame Alexander doll theme. It was close to Easter, so bunnies played a small part in the scheme. I used my very vintage china, milk glass glasses and all the 8inch dolls made "the cut" except for Little Red Ridinghood...she just wasn't dressed in the right colors..sorry LRRH.


Four vintage napkins were the foundation for the centerpiece. Angel hair Easter grass filled in where needed. That's the prettiest stuff made! I have all different colors!



Happy Birthday doll was at the top of our list of invitees. Look at the tiny package! So sweet!

Naturally, our first doll acquisition, Tinkerbell, was invited. She's been around a very long time! She helped by waving her wand and wiggling her nose to get everything placed just right!!

Dorothy's ruby red slippers and the fact that she wanted to bring a dog almost kept her from being invited, but since we needed four dolls to balance the centerpiece, I relented and let her attend.

Last, but certainly not least, Gift From Grandma, attended. The tiny crocheted vest and sateen checked dress were too much for old grandma to resist!

I have a sneaky feeling that the eleventh birthday will have to be a little more "contemporary" so I'm enjoying this while I can...hot pink has rocked her world...uh, oh.



I felt a special card should recognize a decade of existence, so a little mixed media canvas was in order. This was tons of fun to do and has endless possibilities! Try one!!



My cupcake "wrapper" was corrugated cardboard, cupcake itself was smushed tissue paper that had once again been ModPodged to death, background was tissue paper, lots of acrylic paint and a black and white photograph of Gracie completed the card!

We hope you enjoyed our tablescape ideas for a special girl!! All I can say, is they grow up VERY quickly...better use "cute" stuff while you can!

I am linking to Between Naps on the Porch (Tablescape Thursday)...see button on the right..

Blessing and joy to each of you,