I just love my collection of Toby Keith Albums. The latest one I downloaded from Rhapsody so I can listen to it at the computer – though I’ll probably buy the actual album as well. His latest album is That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy Below is a widget that will allow you to listen to clips of the album. Hope you enjoy them.

I live just outside of Chicago and am wondering if we are ever going to see Spring. It’s early Saturday morning and the temp is 30 degrees and we’ve got a storm warning for tonight and tomorrow for snow. And in Colorado it’s snowing like crazy and then there’s all the flooding in Minnesota.

Is it too much to ask for about six weeks of nice 72 degree days with no tornado warnings? Well, I am a dreamer.

I missed out on Pink Saturday today – but will be back next week. I wanted to get a digital SLRs like the new one my son got – a Nikon. As always, he wants the fancier version, so we’ve worked out a deal where I’ll buy the one he’s had for a few months (and know it works well – see the past Blue Monday) and then he’ll buy the camera that his buddy bought and realized it was too much for him. Then, if I can find it, we’ll give Tom my old digital camera so he has something.

Oh, and on a happy note – my son was going to put together just my new dinning room table and then do the chairs on Sunday, but once he got going he realized how easy it was and finished the job. So, now I have my new dinning room set all put together. I’m still getting used to it – but it’s a lot better than the harvest table I had in the dinning room. So, I should be able to get some pictures of it up this week.

One of the big problems I have with my dinning room is – too much furniture. lol The area for the dinning room is about 10′ x 11′ and I’ve got two sideboards and a curved glass front cabinet (all antiques.) Then in the corners of the room I’ve got two small tables (done by my friend Debi) with two Seraphim angels on them (the huge ones.) Now add to the a table and four chairs – it’s a very tight fit in there. I’m hoping to see the two antique sideboards and get a sofa table or something else for where the bigger sideboard is.

Anyway, it’s taking time, but I am finally getting my place set up the way I want. Next big purchase – a new sofa.

Last weekend my son was in Florida to visit with my parents. One of his favorite things to do is go to the beach and take lots and lots of pictures. I’ve chosen a few to feature here. Needless to say I’m a bit biased, but I do think he’s a good photographer. He’s had a “natural eye” ever since he was a kid of about eight and I lent him my Canon SLR while we were on vacation in Door County. One of these days I’ll have to scan those and then post them.

One of these pictures was taken on his way to the beach and the rest were taken when he was at the beach just about sunset. There’s one photo with a little boy in it who saw Dave with his camera and just had to do a “fancy” dance for him.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

It’s Pink Saturday again at Cottage Dreamer! Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for once more hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

This week I’ve got a free set of (mostly) “Pretty Pink Tags” that I designed awhile ago. I used some of my favorite die cuts to create these tags. If you do use them, I’d love to see what you come up with.

Click the above image for the PDF file – it will open in a new window. You will need Adobe Reader to view this file. It’s free and can be found HERE

These work very well being printed on cardstock and then could be embellished.

For years I’ve been a fan of Kim Jacobs artwork. I’ve purchased her yearly calendar for well over 12 years and have often purchased her daily calendar and other things she’s produced. I buy the calendars directly through her – which means I get them personally autographed to me.

The current month’s painting is of a beautiful nursery. I love the colors – a pale blue and yellow. My studio is yellow and I’m going to use her color pallet for designing the rest of the room.

Kim has just come out with a new book. It’s a must for any cat lover.

CLICK HERE to see a page from the book.

And here are some samples of artwork from past calendars:

I often take a bit of time to look through Kim’s artwork and dream of living in one of her beautiful cottages.

CLICK HERE if you are interested in more of Kim Jacob’s work available at her website.

Enjoy your day and set aside some time to dream.

It’s Pink Saturday again! Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for once more hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

This week I’m once again sharing something painted by Debi Coules with her gorgeous roses. I have stopped fighting my obsession and just given in to my love of beautiful boxes. One of these days my “day room” will be done and I’ll have a place to display them.

Here’s some pics of the wooden box:

See you next week!

This past weekend was a very special day for my son and two of his closest friends. Erik and Jen celebrated the christening of their daughter, Natalia, in the church that Erik’s dad used to be the pastor. For my son, it was a special day because he was asked to be Natalia’s Godfather.

The Friday night before the baptism, he was over for dinner and I asked, “Did you get her a gift?” To which my son gave me a look like “huh?” lol So, I proceeded to tell him that it was appropriate to give the baby a gift. I suggested something like a silver rattle or maybe an engraved silver cup (two things I had received many, many years ago when I was christened.)

Well, Dave did better than I suggested. Dave got the baby a simple gold cross with an adjustable chain so that when she’s old enough to start wearing it the necklace will grow with her. He said there were a few fancy crosses that he looked at, but he liked the idea of the very simple cross. I guess I did pretty good raising him. Oh, and if you’re familiar with their commercials, “He went to Jareds!”

I got a call from him on Sunday. He’d gotten to the restaurant for the lunch before the rest of the party. He had a few questions. He asked, “So, who do I give the present to?” LOL I told him to give it to Jen. Then he asked, “I’ve got the cross wrapped, but it’s in a bag, do I just give her the bag?” By now I was grinning at the questions my son was asking. He may be in his 30s, but he still asks me for advice. So I told him, “Take the present into the restaurant, then take the package out of the bag and hand it to Jen.”

Needless to say Jen and Erik were thrilled – though in the picture I have below of Natalia and the cross it appears she’s kinda tuckered out from all the excitement. Isn’t she just adorable?

Here’s a picture of her in her christening gown.

And here’s a picture of my son, Dave, with the God Mother (sorry I don’t know her name. Will ask Dave and add it later.) And I also need to get a picture of Natalia wide awake.

It’s my son’s birthday today. Just wanted to say “Happy Birthday” to him. It seems like just a few years ago he was my “little boy.” Now he’s in his early 30s. He’s down in Florida visiting my parents for about five days. I get to stay home and “puppy” sit Bootsy.

When I was in grade school, our class always had a field trip to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry once a year. For me, one of the highlights was being able to see Colleen Moore’s Dollhouse. It was an enchanting few minutes to be able to see this fantasy wonder. I could have stood there for hours just looking at it, but sadly, there were others who wanted to see it as well, as the group had to keep moving – though at a snail’s pace. Some years we would be lucky and there would be few people around and we could take out time.

One of the things I remember the most was walking in and seeing the garden of the Fairy Castle all in blue light to signify night. In the garden were many treasures of fairytales and nursery ryhmns, one of them being a weeping willow tree that shed real tears and held the “Rock-a-bye baby” in a cradle within its branches.

Here’s a video that I found on You Tube:

CLICK HERE to see the feature that the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has on the Colleen Moore Dollhouse.

A link to a book about the Dollhouse on Amazon:

Within the Fairy Castle: Colleen Moore’s Doll House at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Tags: Blue Monday, colleen moore, fairytales