Stair Makeover!

My niece Robyn and her husband bought our old farm house when we had our home built next door.  This  staircase was enclosed with a door going upstairs. They took down the wall, to show the banister and enlarge the dining room.  That left a gaping hole under the stairs, perfect for storage.  Robyn told Jay how she wanted the hole enclosed, and he built this fantastic shelving unit complete with a perfect size door for access to the space. Robyn had him put a glass doorknob that was on one of the homes original doors to open it. It turned out beautiful!  The original pinewood floors were uncovered, and refinished. Not bad for a home well over 100 years old!

Pampered, or Spoiled!?

Mitzi, thinking Ken sat his milk down just for her.

 Mitzi is such a unique cat.  She is the queen of the house, being the only female animal.  She also has the attitude. Mitzi feels she is entitled to do whatever she pleases, whenever she pleases.  Ken and I get a kick out of her antics, calm, gentle and loving one second, and a super brat cat the next.

 For some reason she will not drink out of the community water bowl.  When Mitzi is thirsty,

she jumps in the sink, then sits there and cries til I come to turn on the water.

That's our spoiled girl.

Estate Sale Find

Yesterday, Ken and I decided it was time to get out of the house and leave the cabin fever behind. 

 We went to an estate sale, but being the last day we had no hopes of finding anything. But lo and behold, this beautiful vintage vase was sitting there just waiting for me. Everything was 75% off, so along with several other great finds, which I'll show later, we spent very little! And this vase was the crowning jewel for me.  What though, could be more gorgeous than my vase?

A gorgeous vase filled with gorgeous flowers!  

And with the help of my favorite florist, it is now a beautiful centerpiece!

A Gift for Me!

 I was coming out of Joann Fabrics

and the woman in the car next to mine

asked if I'd like some flowers.

 She had bought some for a friend and didn't like the carnations

in the arrangement so she took them out

and put them in her trunk.

Loving carnations myself, I gladly took them.

The little bud vase I bought at a the Pawzaar.

It holds the carnation buds perfectly!

Andy sitting on my shoulder looking

quite regal, I think!

Up North Fun

While at Jay's, my sisters went into his sauna.  I have an aversion to 170 degree  heat, so I went in long enough to take some pictures.  Because of  the attire, my sisters would kill me if I posted those!

My brother went in later.  With a sauna, you go in for so many minutes until you've had enough, then go out in the cold. Or, as he did, go into the frozen pond.  Look at the steam coming off of him! Since your body is so hot, you don't feel the freezing water, and it's not for that long, only til you feel a tingle. Then you go back in. I've been told a good sauna is 3 repetitions of this. The benefits of a sauna are many, I just am not that adventurous!

My sister Marti taught Claire how to waltz, and she picked it up so quickly!  Claire was a natural!

She really enjoyed all the fun moves.

Great job Miss Claire!  And your teacher!

Home From Vacation!

For the past few days, my sisters and I have been up north visiting my brother and sister-in-law.

 As always, such a fun time!

If you are a regular visitors to my blog, you know of 

my brother, Jay. (or Jim to anyone else but family!)

I am totally blown away constantly by his talent.

These are two of the birch bark baskets he creates. 

The carvings into the bark he does on the fronts

are just beautiful.  He was getting ready for 

a show in Novi, MI, the Outdoorama.

This deer and her friends were outside the back porch,

 so beautiful up close.

Friday night was home made pizza night! 

My sil Cheryl makes the most

awesome pizza!

She didn't do too bad a job tossing either!

Saturday night, we went to see my brother play drums with his band. 

It was the first time in years I've seen him play.

He's been a professional drummer since he was 17, playing in dance bands. I guess you could say, Jay is a Jack of
all trades, and master of all!

It was Mardi Gras night, and we got beads for knowing who sang the song

 "Kix" by Paul Revere and the Raiders. 

Needless to say, we had a riot!

No, Snow!

Tomorrow we are expecting 6 to 10" of snow!  

Gee, can't wait!

As for my Dr. appointment, I have

agitated arthritis.  Or is it aggravated!?

Either way, eventually it should stop hurting.

He gave me a steroid shot, right in the joint!

OUCH!  

Maybe tomorrow I'll go stick my bare foot

in the snow.