I WON! I WON!

Hi Everybody! Hope your Friday has been good.
Mine was busy-we're having a big family get-together tomorrow afternoon/night. So I had lots of prep work to do. But I did manage to go out on my patio and see this gorgeous Hibiscus. This plant has a double bloom. Love the color! It's so nice to have color outside now instead of the gray and brown of winter.

I am so excited! Nancy of Lachambrerose.blogspot.com emailed me to say I had won her giveaway. I can't wait to see what goodies she sends me. This the first giveaway I have ever won. This blogging thing is so much fun. Luv, Nerm.,

SUMMER SCHOOL

Hi there! Did everyone have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend? We sure did-sleeping late, after Sunday morning church, our whole family enjoyed a wonderful cookout my poor hubby managed in the pouring rain. And I got a lot of sewing done on Saturday. All in all a great weekend.
Now on to the next project: I am going to teach Mekenzie (10 yr old) granddaughter to sew this summer! She is about the age I was when I made my first feeble attempts at dressmaking. We are starting with a simple pajama bottom pattern (link is below. I couldn't get the photo to upload to save my life) and of course, her sister feels she must have a pair also.

They both chose kitty patterned fabric. This brightly colored one is for Mekenzie and the sweet pink is for sister Madison. We'll put lots of trims and buttons, etc. on them. Precious I'm sure!





Here are the two lovely young ladies earlier this year at the Memphis Zoo.

And here is the link for the pattern if you're interested.

http://www.simplicity.com/dv1_v4.cfm?design=6641
If anyone out there can tell me how to copy and paste the picture and then get it to download , I sure would appreciate it.

May I take this opportunity to say how much I have enjoyed the blogging experience. I remember so well the first entry and how quickly we connected with others out there. It's so great to meet such nice folks with similiar interests and kind comments. Thanks to all of y'all!

I'll report back on the sewing endeavor. Be sweet. Nerm

HAPPY HEDGEHOGS!

Here's something you didn't know-I love, love, love hedgehogs and porcupines! Now I can't exactly remember when I became enamoured of them, but it's been at least 10 years or more. I can't even tell you what I love about them. It's just a quirky little thing about me. Okay, you guys, no comments about my quirkiness!!!
Here are a few rubber stamps I have:
I may be a grandmother, but I still like stuffed animals, esp. if they're porkies or hedgies. I look in every toy store I pass, in zoos, gift shops and the like. I've bought my collection all over the world as I have travelled.

Here's a shelf in my "craft/sewing" room with some of the smaller one, including Miss Tiggiewinkle from Peter Rabbit fame --you'll have to click on it to enlarge enough to see them.

Here are a few more stuffed hedgies in my bedroom. Aren't they cute, just smiling at ya!

Can you tell I live in a fantasy world? ha, ha. I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend and get some rest, eat good food, and enjoy friends and family. God bless America and all our troops serving this holiday. Luv, Nerm

GLAD TO BE HOME

I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz--'there's no place like home, there's no place like home'. I was only gone five (5) days, but it sure seemed longer. Taking my 86 yr. old mother to visit my 90 yr old aunt was certainly an adventure. It did make me feel VERY young so that's a good thing-ha.
I picked up these old (1950's) issues of Workbasket magazines. How fun is that? For those of you who don't know, they are needlecraft magazines with instructions on doilie making, crocheting, tatting, home economics, etc. The ads are hilarious. I got them for a bargain of $5.00.
My aunt lives in a tiny place called Oblong, Illinois. Population: 1600 http://www.theonlyoblong.com/. I used to love going there when I was a child to visit her & my uncle and my grandparents. They lived out in the country and owned a Porter Paint store in "town". Every summer my sister and I would go spend one or two weeks up there and it is full of memories. My aunt is the only one left and she moved into town many years ago, but we drove out to the old farm. It was sad to see my grandparents' house had been torn down and replaced with another one. It probably would have been better to remember it the way it had been.
The good news was that there's a great little quilt shop in Oblong, believe it or not.
http://www.villagestitchery.com . They have a great selection of fabrics, patterns, etc. The funny part is the store is now located in what used to be the five and dime I visited as a child. Oh, the memories of toys and candy I bought there! But fabric is much, much better-ha.




After we finished our visit in Oblong, we drove south to Paducah, Ky. This is where my mother lived before moving in with us. I grew up there and graduated high school there. We spent the night and visited some friends of Mother's.
Excitement: I got to go to the world famous http://www.hancocks-paducah.com. This is one ginormous quilt store. The American Quilt Society has its headquarters here and this store has something like 30,000 bolts of fabric! I'm sure it's not that much, but it's alot. I was in heaven. You can see what all I got between Oblong and Paducah, I'm set for quilting and sewing for quite a while


Can you tell I love bright colors? No antique, dull ones for me!

And finally, I had to get some of the Kitty Cucumber print for one of my little people. I have loved Kitty Cucumber for years and was so excited to see her in fabric. I even have a Christmas ornament of her. I am hopeless, I know!

Have I bored you all to death? Well, it was fun to kind of re-shop all my finds and bargains.

Now I can dream about what they're gonna be. Luv, Nerm

A little about me....

Ok, as most of you may know, I love to cook. Over the years I have improved quite a bit and now I consider myself to be quite the chef. I think more than anything I am best at desserts though. I have always loved them so maybe that's why they always come out so great.

I remember when I was in high school, I would watch "Father of the Bride" which is still one of my favorite movies to this day. I would always get inspired after watching it and decide that I was going to try to make a wedding cake. I would even play the soundtrack to the movie to listen to while I baked. I laugh so hard at that now because 1st) my cakes never came out looking like they did in the movie, not even close and 2nd) I was trying to make a wedding cake when there was no wedding! Haha. Poor Nerm, she just let me do it anyway though and never said how horrible it came out. I'm sure she was probably laughing on the inside though.

Well anyway, this was very 1st cook book I ever received. Nerm got it for me when I graduated high school and was headed to Atlanta to go to The Art Institute. This book is not only very funny and entertaining but the recipes are pretty good and I still use it today for some things.


I love Paula Dean and her cooking. Yes, I know she uses a lot of butter but I just don't care. It makes everything taste sooo good! I am from the South so I just can't help but love her food. I guess because it's what I grew up eating. My granny who died a few years ago, was such an awesome cook. Every time she would come to visit form Alabama, she would always bring a car load of homemade cakes, cookies, casseroles, and everything else you can imagine. It was such a treat because Nerm made us eat really healthy growing up and we never got to eat junk food. We always had to eat wheat bread with Nerm but Granny would let us eat white bread. For my sisters and I there was nothing better than Granny's homemade pimento cheese sandwiches on white bread. Haha


Over the years my palette has sophisticated past pimento cheese though and I have learned to appreciate cuisine from all parts of the world so I love to cook anything new and especially gourmet food.



Last but not least, here is my Martha Stewart Christmas Cookbook. Yeah, I know Martha is kinda of crazy and a little uptight but I like her ideas and she has some good recipes. I love Christmas more than any one I know. Since I was a child it has always been my favorite time of year. In fact, people laugh at Nerm and I because we start listening to Christmas music in October! I can't help it, it just makes us feel better. Anyway, this book has some great recipes for the Christmas holiday. Hope you all enjoy! -Kitty

OFF ON A SHORT TRIP

Hope everyone is fine and still enjoying Spring. Here it's rain and more rain. We do have a good sunny day once in a while. I feel bad for the folks in Arkansas getting all the tornadoes.

Tomorrow morning my sister and I are going a little trip, taking our mother (86 yrs old) up to Illinois to visit her sister (90 yrs old). Their mother -my grandmother-lived to be 102, so I guess good genes run in the family. Anyway, we'll have a good visit and be back on Monday afternoon. Then I'll give you all the juicy details-ha, ha!

Hopefully Kitty will keep you entertained while I'm gone. Luv, Nerm

A WONDERFUL DAY!

This was an absolutely wonderful day! The weather was perfect and I felt great! Even worked outside a little. Thought I'd fill you all in on what I accomplished last week during the down time so I would not feel so worthless.

The black yo-yo's came to me from a grandmother or greataunt. I honestly don't remember. They are very old, but aren't very appealing. I dug out some I had started years ago and decided to get back to it. Easy and fast while watching HGTV all day, huh? I'm hoping to get enough to make a tablecover. I'll keep you posted. Below you can see the variety of the reading material which kept me occupied, plus a "few"more mags. (did I mention, I have a "slight" magazine problem?)

Kermit's back to show you that his rug (see 4/10 post) also got finished. I took it outside today to really be "green", but the sun was so bright that I had to shot him in the shade. That's why he's kinda dark and blue looking. Anyway it's now done & I'm feeling proud & will put it in the bathroom by the shower. Thanks, Kermie.

A while back, quite a while actually, we were tagged by Victoria of Sweet Victoria Antiques to share six (6) words which reveal our philosophy of life. Let me tell you that really gets the thought process going. Finally all my stumbles, forays into creativity, and rational thought boiled down to this one verse I constantly repeat: "All things work together for good" (Romans 8:28). Of course, there's more to the verse, but this says it all in a nutshell. This has been true for so many situations, as far back as college days. I see it revealed in my day-to-day life and is a comfort when I don't understand why some things happen. (like last week's drug reaction). To me the basic truth in this verse is just to trust God to take care of your life. Everything will turn out the way He wants it to and for the best.

So now I am passing this onto five more blogs. Please write a Six Word Memoir that represents your life's motto.... The rules are:1. Write your own six word Memoir. 2. Post it on your blog. 3. Link to the person who tagged you .4. Tag 5 more blogs with links (leave a comment on their blog with an invitation to play).

I'm tagging these people:

Jamie

Christine

Lisa

Amy

Elizabeth

I can't wait to see what you say. See ya soon. Luv, Nerm

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I want to wish all you Mothers out there the best today on our special day. I have a great mother who taught me so much as a child and guided me along the right path. Any creativity or artistic talent I have came from her and her parents. Even now at 86 yrs. old and with impaired mental facilities, she can still paint and sew wonderful creations.
Also I have the best daughters ever. Today they treated me like a queen, cooking special treats and giving sweet gifts. The cards were so touching esp. one from my granddaughter.
I'm feeling so much better today and will make a post tomorrow showing what I've been up to while lying on the couch for a week. Luv, Nerm

Fairy With Flowers

Hi guys, sorry it has taken so long to get a new post on. In addition to Nerm not feeling well, I have been under the weather with my allergies. Here in Tennessee, the air is filled with pollen and everything else you can think of. I sneeze on the average about 15-20 times a day. Seriously, it's almost humorous. I can only hope that as I get older they will go away because it is a bit of a drag.

I am taking today to spend inside and get caught up on some chores. I have an ongoing war with laundry and it always seems to be winning. Nerm will tell you even as a teenager I struggled with this one. I guess some things never change, HAHA!

I hope you are all having a good weekend and to all the mothers out there... I want to wish you a very happy Mother's Day! I did have a few minutes of peace and quiet to get my latest painting on our Etsy account. I am already feeling productive. haha.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures just for fun. Hope y'all like her. -Kitty

Better Post Soon....

Hi everyone,

I know it has been a few days since we made a post. I was actually supposed to put one on last night but my computer was in a mood and didn't want to act right. I will however, be making one later today with actual photographs. I made some earrings and painted a new painting yesterday so I have been a very busy kitty but at least I will have a lot to share with all of you.

In the meantime, please say a prayer for Nerm. We think she has pneumonia. She is currently at the Dr. with my dad. She has had a bad chemical reaction to the medication she was taking for her rheumatoid arthritis. In addition to feeling lousy from the allergic reaction, she is pretty bummed I think that she will no longer be able to take this medicine. It is the first time she actually started to feel better as far as that goes. We will stay strong and hopeful no matter what though.

Well, anyway hope all is well with everyone else out there. It is a beautiful day here in Nashville. Sunny and 80 outside. It really is amazing. I am on my out but I think I will take some pictures today to show you all how pretty it is here. Take Care. - Kitty

BUSY WEEKEND

Aren't all weekends busy? This one sure was. Please excuse that I loaded the pictures in reverse order. The shopping was in the afternoon-the sewing in the evening. Anyway, here's the scoop:
Last night hubby and I went over to Amy's (middle daughter) house. She has a cute 1940's house. Hubby was installing a chandelier in kitchen. Of course, I forgot to take a photo of that.
It was a cheapo brass chandelier she spray painted flat black. She's outfitted it with little black shades and it looks so good. Trust me. Her kitchen has the original black & white ceramic tile countertop and backsplash. My role in this was making new kitchen curtains. Here are the old ones. Pale green like the wals.
I'm not sure who this industrious lady is, sewing her heart out!

The finished product. There is a valance at the top and another pair over the kitchen sink.

This fabric is Micheal Miller's Dandy Damask. Love the look.

Previously yesterday, Kitty and I went antiquing in downtown Franklin. This is an old Civil War town filled with wonderful old homes and antique shops. The Main Street is filled with little specialty stores. Here's Kitty striking a pose outside one of the shops.

This is store we love, having it's Spring Open House. But I only spent $10.00! What's wrong with this picture?

Here's another shot of an antique mall. Lots of goodies, but my feet started hurting and Kitty's husband was calling, so we called it a day. Pretty much empty handed.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Our weather was PERFECT-wish it would stay spring all the time. Luv, Nerm

NASHVILLE SPRING and other thoughts

I wanted to share a few springy views of my yard. Everyone is showing spring in their little corner of the world, so I had to let you see mine as well. I love flowers and beautiful landscapes, but with my arthritis I can only do containers. Which I'm not showing yet, because I'm not finished. By the time summer is here, I should be ready! I'm glad you all are so nice and forgiving.
This is a small concrete angel which actually stands under an arbor. I love concrete figures. This one is a few years old and has developed that good green mossy look.

Beautiful azalea bush. Loves these bushes-they are everywhere around here.
I know, I know, this is a weed, but, hey, it's pretty too. The Purple is a nice contrast to the bright pink azalea.

Even a little rusty pocket on the lattice look good in the Spring. Guess I could put something exciting in it.

Okay, that's enough spring for now. Let's discuss something I've been asked a few times. Why do I use the name "Nerm"? Well, now, let's go back a few years to a time when Kitty was just a young whippersnapper. We would sit on the stairs in the entry hall waiting for her carpool to arrive to take her to school. We played Goldfish, the card game, only they had all the characters from Garfield on each one. There was Garfield, Odie, and of course, Nermal, Garfield's girlfriend. Kitty started calling me Nermal. In our family everything is shortened; thus, Nermal became Nerm. I am still called this (for real). It has stuck thru the years and it seemed a cute name for our blog. Daughter Kitty was nicknamed Kitty a long time ago because she loves cats. She has a cat we rescued from a construction site when she was 2 weeks old. (the cat, not Kitty!) Kitty carried that poor cat around day and night. She even took her to school one day for show and tell! That cat is named Fluffy and she is a senior citizen. I will post a picture someday of our cats. So now you know more than you ever wanted to about our names and some of our crazy family antics. Luv, Nerm