The Month of June is for Brides!

Thank you to the Creative Country Mom for the inspiration for a June post! June is the month for brides and I have some special photos to share with you. 

The photo above is my beautiful mother on her wedding day. I have this dress in my closet. My daughters tried it on as teenagers and could not squeeze into it. Not only is the waist so tiny it is unbelievable, but the sleeves (which button all the way down) were so narrow they could not get their arms into them. 

My oldest daughter married in 2001 and wore this lovely gown. 

And last summer I had her five year old daughter's photo taken in the same gown!

Isn't she precious?

Then my second daughter was married in this gorgeous gown. 

And here is the Lovely Lydia wearing mama's gown and her fascinator while clutching her great great gramma's pearls (top photo, second from the left) that her mama wore at the wedding. 

Lydia's mama wants to take a photo of her wearing mama's gown every year. What a treasure!

And here is me - in my 1970's quiana knit glory. I let my daughters play dress up in my dress and it was dirty and stained. When I needed it for a fashion show, I wasn't sure it could be saved. I sprayed it with Shout, ran it through the washer and hung it dry. It was a good as new LOL. 

Weren't we adorable? 

Thanks for going with me on this trip down bridal memory lane!

GET THE SHOT

GET THE SHINGLES SHOT      
GET THE SHINGLES SHOT

This is my oldest granddaughter after a long hard day at Gramma Mimi's Second Annual Cousin Camp last year.  I chose it because it pretty much expresses my mood right now. 

I have shingles. I thought I had to wait until 60 to get the shot (which will be September).  Even my doctor told me that. After someone I knew got shingles, I even thought about just paying for it myself. I was told it was $500. That is not true either. Our insurance will reimburse at AGE 50. My 58 year old husband ran to get the shot as soon as he saw what I was going through and paid $243 which will be reimbursed by our insurance company. I understand with certain chronic health issues can get the shot early too. 

I cannot explain the pain and agony of this goofy disease. I am on medications, one of them for pain, and last night I would have graded my pain level was a 9 on a scale of 10.  My daughter told me to quit being a hero and go to the ER for a shot. Right now my next pill is 4 hours and 7 minutes away and I am at about a 6.  Today is going better since my doctor tripled my pain meds. I slept for over 2 hours this afternoon (the first time for a nice deep sleep in four days, only to be awoken by a telephone. The rash is on my left side and is located from my waist to my knee. New patches are appearing daily. It affects the nerves so I have constant internal pain in my leg from my heel to my hip (my sciatic nerve). 

I could write forever about how painful this disease, but I also feel guilty because I know others are suffering without the fantastic support system that I have. I am the family caregiver for my own family and extended family and my dear husband stepped in the role with so much caring and compassion. I just love him so much. My children are all helping with moral support and my oldest daughter even drove from 2 hours away to drop off meals from herself and her mother in law. Whatever help I could possibly need is in place and I know I am so much more fortunate than others. 

I am angry because I cannot be around infants under the age of 1 (and I have two newborn grandchildren), pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems.  

I am angry because I had to miss our city's celebration with musicians in all the store fronts because I can't be around people. I am angry because I had to miss a monthly lunch with a group of old friends, I am angry because I had to miss a niece's graduation, I am angry because I can't attend church tomorrow (and this is just this weekend).  I am angry because I cannot swim until all traces of the shingles are gone and it could take weeks. And my daughter just bought a house with a pool. 

All this could have been avoided it if I had just gotten the shot. 

GET THE SHINGLES SHOT

GET THE SHINGLE SHOT

GET THE SHINGLE SHOT

ANNOUNCING

It has happened! It took 6 years and 4 more grandsons, but the score is now Boys- 6 and Girls - TWO!

The Lovely Lydia was born on April 19 at 4:09 p.m. weighing 7 pounds and 8 ounces. She is perfect from head to toe and we are all in love with her! 

Lydia's mama is a teacher and her birth came at a perfect time since mommy only had five more weeks of school. Mama is able to stay home with the Lovely Lydia until the first week of September when classes start again! 

Lydia's mama is my youngest daughter and partner in crime. We have all sorts of adventures planned for the summer.  My only concern is that mama has been my assistant for my Gramma Mimi's Annual Cousin Camp and with eight campers this year ranging from age 2 months to 8 years, it is going to be a handful! I can't wait! 

This is Oliver. Don't you want to cuddle him?

Lovely Lydia replaced our former baby-of-the-family as her cousin Oliver was 11 weeks old when Lydia joined us.  And Lydia is expecting TWO new cousins on her dad's side this very week!  In this family you are not the baby for long!

This photo was taken at one day old. I took my gift bag to the hospital and we had a mini fashion show while dad left for a little while to catch up on some sleep! 

I have been collecting items for a baby girl for a while. I put together a blue and a pink gift bag each time and the pink bag just kept growing and growing! About a week before the birth I threw caution to the winds and purchased the pink hair dye, just in case! I wanted to be ready.  

I love dressing my little dolls for my Christmas Card photo. Two years ago they were mini railroaders on a train and last year I dressed them in Rockabilly at a vintage gas station. My plan for this year was to dress my granddaughter as a Beauty and the seven grandsons as the dwarfs! I really never dreamed I would be the gramma of TWO princesses! Back to the drawing board! 

Fifty Dollar Bathroom Refresh

circa 1979/1980

Our house was built in 1970. I remember when the street was put in; my girl friend and I would use it as a shortcut while riding our bikes to the local swim club. I am sure I saw them building my house, it was the first one built - the "show" house. Not much of a show house since these homes were originally built as FHA homes for low-income families. But mine is a little more special with fancier soffits, outside outlets, and a few other minor upgrades. 

We purchased the home conventionally in December of 1978. House prices had risen and those original families were selling at a profit! We were just 21 years old and were married 2 years with a one year old daughter. This tiny 3 bedroom, 1 bath ranch seemed perfect, both for our family and our income. We obviously had no inkling that four more children would join us in the next few years! 

We raised five children in those 950 square feet with a picket fence and when the last one left, added a 500 sq ft bonus room to hold the spouses and grandchildren. We moved some walls, configured a new kitchen, added a front porch and a deck. Sometime in the 90's we updated the bathroom with some subway tile and a new vanity.

BUT - it is time for a WHOLE NEW BATHROOM. Unfortunately, since I retired early, the budget was not as ready for the project as I was.  My husband was on vacation last week and, while I was at church, without my knowledge or consent, began his vacation by stripping wallpaper. It was so horrible, I can't share many "before" photos!

I had really not planned on a "refresh" while we were waiting and wasn't crazy about investing any money in a room I plan to take down to the studs. Luckily my husband is quite handy and was able to patch and smooth the walls with something he had in the garage. 

And while he was waiting for that patching stuff to dry, he painted the cabinets with white enamel he had in the garage (so far this project is costing me $0). 

He did ask me my color choice for the walls. Luckily we had almost 3/4 of a gallon of paint left from our living room and luckily it matches the shower curtain. 

He also painted the ceiling which made the tiny room seem so much brighter. Then the floor. We have hot water heating pipes that are embedded in the concrete floors.  This makes for toasty toes on cold mornings but also left a brown stain on the laminate tile floor. 

Hint: Heat peel and stick floor tiles with a hair dryer for easier removal.  I actually went to Lowe's, Home Depot and even Ollies (a kind of Big Lots) looking for new floor tiles. I stopped on my way home at a Habitat ReStore and found a box of Armstrong floor tiles for $8. (project total so far: $8). 

I am so in love with this floor (until we replace it with ceramic tile). I am especially in love with the price. 

The paint color is more sage in my living room, but against all this white, it looks amazing. And can you believe how well it matches the curtain? I ordered the shelves from Bed, Bath and Beyond. They replaced the ugliest over-the-commode shelving unit and make the room seem larger. I need the shelves because I have a 3 year old and two 2 year olds that wash hands in this sink and reach for everything in sight. 

And it took me about 10 minutes to fill the shelves. The white plastic containers added another $2 to the project, courtesy of Family Dollar Store. I know the toothbrushes look tacky, but there really isn't anywhere else to hide them and put them out of reach. 

And on the opposite wall, I found this home party picture I purchased years ago and had my handy husband place it on the wall. I really wanted it on the wall with the door, but the reflection from the lighting over the sink reflected and you could not see the flowers. But I am not sure what else could have filled this space, so it all worked out. 

There you have it! $28 for the shelves, $8 for the flooring, $2 for the white baskets and the rest went for wall anchors since my husband had no faith in the hardware that came with the shelves.  I think I can live with it for another 2 years until the budget can finance the wrecking ball!