It Happened So Quickly

Happy Sunday Evening

Sweet Friends

One day I was minding my own business

Serving time at jury duty

And the next thing I knew

I had signed a lease to open a space

At a local Antique/Gift Shop

WHAT??

Well, I had been thinking about it for several years

I had my name in (waiting list) at an Antique Mall

But I really hadn't prepared or gotten too excited

Because wait lists can be months long

And, quit frankly, I didn't think it would happen

Until, at least, after the first of the year

I got called to Jury Duty last Wednesday

After all of the panels had been seated

They didn't need me, so I was released for the day

I stopped by one of my favorite little shops

Just happened to talk to the owner

And, 15 minutes later, I had signed a lease

And told I could move in immediately

I had to go into overdrive to get something put together

I didn't have a shelving unit or anything

Found this wonderful gnome display at a yard sale Saturday

Didn't want the gnomes, just the shelf

They all came home with me

I guess they will be in my space in the spring :)

I had to cut one part of the unit off as it was a bit

Too long for my tiny space

I spent last night hand painting it

And this morning taking it to the space

And setting up just a few items

As you can guess

I have LOTS of work to do to fill up the space

And create some pieces for Christmas

But, it's a start to a MANY year dream

Actually, this is really the first thing I've dared dream about

Since losing My Mark almost 6 years ago

Happy Week Ahead

Blessings

Exhaustion ... A Good Thing

Hello Sweet Friends

There truly is a Good kind of Exhaustion

It's when you've physically worked hard

See Results

And, at the end of the day,

You can close your eyes with a smile on your face

Last week was Rough

A flood in the house

Lots of hours / days with plumbers in and out

Frustrations and Confrontations

I was exhausted

But it was Not a good exhaustion

It was stress filled and emotional

BUT GOD...

Friday evening I met a few friends

At Radiant Church in Surprise

And enjoyed a wonderful night of laughter

And even a few 'healthy' tears

A cheerful heart does good like medicine

Proverbs 17:22a

We enjoyed the humor of Anita Renfroe

And the ministry of Connie Marquart

It was a Blessed Night

Saturday I spent the morning with my mom

We visited and then I went and got her groceries

As well as bought her prescriptions

Saturday afternoon I took Matthew

To do our own grocery shopping and a few other errands

He need a chair for his room

After hitting all of the stores we stopped at Goodwill

And found the perfect chair for just $10 - YAY

My bottle brush bushes are bursting with blooms

I am really enjoying them this year

Today was Filled

This morning I cleaned up the front yard

Let's just say that the plumbers left a big mess

That needed to be tended to (not by them)

I also pulled weeds and watered my Vincas

5 loads of laundry have been washed, dried and put away

2 bathrooms have been cleaned from top to bottom

That's what needs to be done after a flood :(

The pool is completely drained and ready

For me to clean it and all of the filters and such next weekend

I made dinner and now I am ready to close my eyes

Put my head on my pillow with a smile on my face

Lots done

Many check marks on my list

And happily starting a new list

With NEW items to do

Feeling Exhausted

Feeling Happy

Feeling Accomplished

Feeling Blessed

God IS Good

Blessings to you as we begin a new week

Filled with opportunities to Smile

Live and Find Joy in the little things

Days of Labor

Hi Sweet Friends,

I hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful 
Labor Day weekend
I hope you have had plenty of relaxation with family and friends

I have been SO busy the past few days
That I haven't really taken many photos
Of the list of tasks I completed during my
Not so relaxing Holiday Weekend

Saturday had me working in the morning at the office
After I came home, I had promised my son
That I would take he and his friend to Bookman's
Of course, they wanted to go to the store in Phoenix
A much longer distance than the one in Mesa
So, off to Phoenix we went
Once we left there, we went grocery shopping
And I came home to prepare dinner for them
My sister called so I met her at Hobby Lobby
Was so nice to visit while shopping
We don't get to hang out together very often
We promised to do it again next year - LOL

Sunday had me at my mom's 
I took her shopping (2 1/2 hours in Target)
She doesn't get to shop very often
Then we got lunch and headed back to her house
I came home in the late afternoon
Picked up my oldest granddaughter and took her shopping
I had promised to take her to Michael's 
To get all of the supplies she needed for her art class
I love spending time with her
We were talking about community service
So we decided to go by the office to feed the fish
I had her do it, her 5 minutes of community service for the day

Monday - today - was my day to get my yard cleaned up

The weed eater got a full workout

As did my arms :)

Three large black trash bags were filled

And taken to the curb

I'm so thankful that it was only about 

100 degrees today

And that the skies were a bit cloudy

And it was rather humid

Because, it could have been so. much. worse!!

We have bulk trash pick up this week

So I knew I really needed to get the yard taken care of

I gave away a patio table with a fire pit

To my dil's sister - so nice that someone can use it

Some of the other items we are not using

Were put out to the curb as well

I'm hoping someone will come by and get the bigger pieces

Otherwise, they will get picked up with the garbage

I am realizing how tired I am
Even while typing, my arms are starting to ache
Must be all the weed whacking I did

So my Labor Day Weekend
Hasn't offered any rest or relaxation
But it did offer some time to help a few people Shop
Hmmm....Maybe it was relaxing after all :)

Praying you have been blessed
And have found bits of JOY in your day

Blessings



There's Always Something To Do and Someone To Love

Hi Friends,

I thought you might be tired of seeing my Pool Wall Reveal

Check it out HERE if you missed it

So, I figured I had better put up a new post

I've been a busy girl since finishing the Wall

Thursday is granddaughter day

This past week we did art work and made pictures

K~Baby happily using scissors

 

And created a fun picture

Love her sweet face

 

 K~Bel was focused on glue and strips of paper

She also found the paper punches

And some fun stickers

 

K~Bug is always looking to create a card

 

She made this one for her Aunt

But I couldn't post until After the party

~~~~~~~

Since the pool wall is complete

I decided it was time to attack some of the 

Very Over Grown Weeds

When I saw some sticking up over my 6' gate

I quickly moved to get them down

As to NOT get a 'nasty' gram from my HOA

 Some of those weeds were 7' high

You can see that the 8 pool filter cartridges are still there

Bulk trash gets picked up next week

So everything will be placed on the curb next weekend

The weeds got so bad

I could not even come out my side garage door

 

Luckily this is the side yard that nobody sees

However, now that we are swimming it needs to be clean

 

After many hours of hoeing, shoveling, and raking in the 108 degree weather

This side is 90 % complete

 

And this side is 90 % complete as well

Now I just have to wait for the pile to dry out a bit

And bag it up for next week

~~~~~~

Another fun thing I had the pleasure of doing

Was to do a photo shoot of my nieces oldest daughter

She will be 10 in a few days

And loves Softball

So her mom wanted to get a few nice photos

I only took 142 so hopefully she can find a few she likes

Here are just a few I edited last night

 

She's an amazing young girl

And a great subject to photograph

~~~~~~

If you are not following me on FB or Instagram

Then you didn't see this

I found this Super pretty Christmas Quilt

Queen Size

On Clearance at Kohl's

With my regular discount

I walked out of the store with it for only $14.72

Ummm...Yes, I think I will

Well, that's it this weekend for 

Something to do, Someone to Love

May you be blessed this week with

Finding Joy in the Everyday things of Life

Life is Always Full

Hi Friends,

After an entire week of 

Loving and Giving

I woke up this morning with a bit of a migraine

I think I was dehydrated

But, I have so much more on my list

That I just needed to get to work

I have a project I've been wanting to work on for about 2 years

So, I decided today was the day to Start

It's going to take a Loooonggg time

It has to do with paint

Blue paint to start with

 

And these tools

 

I'm not an artist or a painter

I'm just a girl who Loves the beach

And since I have a pool

I had this crazy idea to paint a beachy mural

On the wall behind my pool

 

I wish I knew someone who has a paint sprayer 

That I could borrow

But, Alas, I don't

SO, I am painting the back wall by hand

 

 And yes!

It's a big wall

MUCH more painting to be done

I could only muster 6 hours worth today

My body is tired

And my hands, back and shoulders feel 

Like they are going to fall off

Next weekend I'll finish the base painting

I hope

And then I'll start the mural

In the mean time

Matthew has a friend coming over tomorrow

And will be staying all week

I have to work too

So, I best get my house in order

And try to get a little rest

I've got mural planning to do........

Have a super Blessed Week!

The Tools

Here are just a few of the tools
That I used over the past 2 days
I AM EXHAUSTED.......

For some reason

I think I Like RED :)

However
My front and back yards are clean and tidy
Mowed, trimmed, blown, sucked, hosed
Rocks have been moved
Trees have been trimmed
Pool have been brushed, scooped and cleaned

I sure hope I don't get ANOTHER
Letter from the HOA :(

And now...

Or, at least tomorrow
I am going to enjoy the above waters

With some of my Favorite Peeps

In my own little piece of Paradise

Happy Memorial Day to All
Remember those who have sacrificed the most
Who have given their lives
Who are (even today) serving our country
Both near and far
For our freedom
Never forget!!! 

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