It's My Birthday and My Wish For You...

My Dear Ones, you may see this post and say - she's lost it, she posted this Saturday. Well, I did, but I just wanted to share and tell you - It's My Birthday today! Yes, yes, I'm olden today - 58! I will not be posting again until after Thanksgiving but I will be popping in to see you all when I can.

Again, I want to wish you all the most wonderful Thanksgiving and I know I'm so very blessed!

My Dearest Ones! I am just so blessed right now in my life and just wanted to share with you! God has been so good to my family and me and I am just shouting His praises!

I have so much to be thankful for, as so many of you do too! I have a wonderful family who loves me and I love them with all my tiny heart! My daughter and son-in-law are going to make us grand parents for the first time in March! What a longed-for blessing coming to pass! My son and his wife are happy and blessed along with my grand dogs! My Dear Mother has almost recovered from her fall last Christmas and is living in a wonderful retirement home about five minutes away from me! Blessed again! We have a home, and the sun room that doesn't leak anymore! :) Hallelujah! I have clothes on my back that are a tad be looser! Hallelujah!

We are blessed to have food to eat and I eat a lot more than I should! :) I have a wonderful little church to attend and I am blessed to be able to play my Note Songs for God and the congregation each Sunday.
I am so blessed to have found Blogland and all of you, my Dear Ones, to share my daily life with. You are so precious to me and I truly consider you my friends. You allow me to come into your homes, share your family and pets with me, cook me food, show me all your new found treasures, share how you did this and that, share your joys and your sadnesses, join with you in prayer for so many things. You're there for me when I need you and I just love you all for that.

I am blessed with health! Praise the Lord. A little over a month ago I started having some pain and went to the doctor and was told I had Shingles! Oh, my goodness, I thought only the oldest ones had shingles, but no, that's what I had. Let me tell you it was very painful. But I took the medicine and rested, slept and blogged for many many days. Dear Ones, yesterday was my best day yet! My energy has just been zapped. I can't do much for any length of time or I get so tired. But yesterday I actually went to visit my mother, the grocery store and even decorated a tiny Christmas Tree! I'm shouting to the rooftops!

I've had a lot of time to think and decide what is important in my life! I'm just so thankful for my life and how my God loves me and is healing me. I'm so thankful my Shingles are almost over and I can go be with my dear daughter without danger to my grand baby to be! I'm so thankful I'm going to feel like cooking Thanksgiving dinner for us. I'm so thankful I'm going to feel like decorating our home for Christmas. I'm so thankful for my Mr. Precious being so sweet to me.

And Dear Ones, I'm so thankful for you! You all are so special to me and what a blessing you've been to me. I want to wish each and every one of you a wonderful blessed Thanksgiving! We all do have so much to be thankful for, not just during this season, but always.

I love you all!
You are a bunch of sweetie,
Shelia ;)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song~

Give Thanks

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son


And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
~sung by me!

Tablescape Thursday ~ A Little November Romance

Hello, Dear Ones and welcome again to Tablescape Thursday! This is a wonderful day for all us dishaholics and is hosted by our Most Marvelous Diva of Dishes, Dear Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. I send my thanks to you, Susan, for this lovely day. Now make sure you pop in to see her so you can visit others who love to play with their dishes.

Now so many of you are showing your Fallen tables and your Thanksgiving tables, but if you know me I seem to dance to the beat of a different drum sometimes and that is what I'm doing today! I'm showing a little November romantic table.

My little romantic table is all based around this beautiful napkin ring. I love this napkin ring~actually there are four of these little lovelies. You may ask...can you love little musical instruments napkins rings? Well, you bet your flats and sharps you can!

Just look at the beautiful violin, trumpet and harp! Oh, I must tell you...I was gifted! My friend Dear Sweet Gloria from Happy To Be sent me these napkin rings! She said she saw them and thought of me. How kind, how generous, how precious is this!

So a little package came and inside were these beautiful napkin rings! I love them, Gloria! Thank you so very much. Now there was a little card and on the envelope was written 'Picklepoo'. Well, I know you thought I was so elegant and all, but that was my name from Rate My Space. Gloria still calls me that! :) Now don't laugh...but you can smile a little! :)

Okay, now on with the November romance. I always come into the breakfast room when I want a more intimate little setting. So here we are.

I'm using my Blue Garland china by Haviland. I have many more serving pieces to this set but most will just stay in the china cabinet. I have set the dinner plate and soup bowl upon a creamy white charger and then all of these dishes are sitting upon a white tablecloth covered with a thin lace tablecloth.



I'm using some crystal glasses and wine glasses I've had for many many years.

I just love crystal, don't you? Can you love...yes! Yes, you can!

Here are the little butter pats, bread plates or coasters. You can use this little piece the way your tiny heart desires. Don't you just love this? I'm using some little butter knives I found a while back from a thrift store. There are no markings on them, but I love them just the same!

Since we're being so elegant and all, I wanted to use my tiny little salt cellars with the tiny spoons!
Of course I haven't put the salt in yet. :)

I'm using my recently polished silver plate! Oh, I just love this set! Can you love olden recently polished silver plate? Why, you bet your achey little tiny fingers you can! This pattern is called "Treasure" by Wm Rogers from the 1940s.

Now to the centerpiece. No pumpkins, Fallen leaves or orangeness for my little table today but sweet white roses ~ faux ones, or course. I love my faux roses and my faux roses love me!


This sweet napkin ring is the center of my November romantic table. Pretty soft white with roses, crystal and silver plate. Can you hear the music? Oh, I can and it's so sweet to my tiny ears!

Again I want to thank my Dear Sweet Gloria for sending romance my way! Hope you've enjoyed my table today! I'll be popping in to see yours really soon!


Be a bunch of sweeties,
Shelia ;)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song ~

Color My World

As time goes on
I realize
Just what you mean
To me
And now
Now that you're near
Promise your love
That I've waited to share
And dreams
Of our moments together
Color my world with hope of loving you
~ sung by Chicago

Autmun on the Island and a Makeover

Dear Ones, I want to thank Justine at Stupid is as Sister Does and Connie at Living Beautifully for all of their help to make my new blog button work. These gals know everything - I know nothing! Justine finally just did it all for me. Thank you, Dear One! Pop in for a visit and tell them I sent you!
Now if you would like to take my little new button with you ~ please do! :)

Hello, Dear Ones! So many of you are sharing all of the orangey colors of Fall in the areas where you live. Well, that is what I'm doing today!


I got out early to catch the sunrise just for you!

I wanted to share some Fall colors too! This is the color of Fall in the Gulf of Mexico! Blue! Isn't it lovely?

We have lots of little visitors to our island - the pelicans. I just love these awkward looking birds. I played with the background for this mosaic.

So I hope you've enjoyed seeing a little island Fallness today!

***************************************

Now to a tiny makeover...now bear with me, I said tiny! :)

See this olden tray? I'll bet most of you would have just passed it by. Well no no Nannette, not me! I fell in love with this big olden wooden nasty looking tray! Yes, I did!

When I got this olden tray home I flipped it over and found these words on the back. Hmm...
I was all ready to paint. See, I can spray paint too! But decided I would tape over the writing and I would get down to finding out about my olden tray later after a good ole paint job.

Look, my olden tray painted Ivory to look, well, olden. I decided to distress my tray. This was my first time at doing this and it was fun. Now don't laugh at me, so many of you take huge furniture pieces and go to town distressing. But, Dear Ones, I have to start small! I liked the way it looked and decided to spray a sealer on it.

I must tell you I went right to the internet and found out about my olden tray. This is an ad about my olden tray from the 40s 0r 50s. Now my Dearest Tiny Ones, sit down and I will tell you a little story and you know how I love to tell you little stories! :)

Once upon a time, in the olden year of 1926, the first pop-up toaster was born! The "Toastmaster" brand toaster was sold for $12.50 and its ad promised "perfect toast every time - without watching, without turning, without burning". I'm so glad someone thought of all these functions we all take for granted today, aren't you? :)

From 1933 to the 1950s times were a lot different than today. These earlier times were full of stay at home moms who were busy with their families, participating in clubs, parties and ladies groups therefore the need for this accessory. Well, we still have stay at home moms doing the same thing today, but I'm talking about more on the lines of June Cleaver and Donna Reed. You More Olden Like Me Ones know what I'm talking about. So the "Toastmaster Hospitality Set and the Toastmaster Hospitality Deluxe Set" was born! Doesn't this just make you all tingly inside? ;) Making life easier for us ladies was their motto!

A typical Toastmaster set would include a wooden hospitality tray along with a Franciscan jam jar set or waffle set. The waffle set consisted of a batter bowl, a syrup pitcher and chromium ladle that would measure exactly enough batter in one scoop. The jam set would have one or two jars with lids and a small plate in which toast could be held. Of course sitting in the middle of the tray would be either the toaster or the waffle maker. Some of the models included a toast cutting board and little relish trays. Oh, wouldn't it have been marvelous if my olden tray had had all these things intact?

Don't you just know every bride to be would have this Hospitality Hostess Set on her gift list? This would make such an impression on her guests as she entertained. I'm sure she was just a dreamin' of the day she would have her Hospitality Hostess Set. :)

Now fast forward to today...

I had to add a touch of oldeness to my tray with a little doily my grandmother embroidered and crocheted around the edges. Isn't this sweet? She would be so pleased to know I just cherish her work and use it in my home.

Ta Dah!! Here's my olden recently painted to look olden Toastmaster Hospitality Set, minus the toaster.

I thought I would set my tray for tea time using a pretty white tea set and lovely little tea cup and saucer.



I think it gives me a little feel of olden elegance to use these tiny little sugar cube tongs!

Does this spout on my tea pot remind you of a beautiful bird? I think it does! :) Do you think this was on purpose?

I added two little crystal serving trays filled with little tasties for my tea time. Well, I know you're seeing lots of lemons but hey, I had a couple ripen on my tree early and I wanted to share them with you. Aren't these slices so juicy looking? I just had to have a bit of cheese! We love cheese!


Since we've had a little bit of cooler weather, my tiny knock out roses are beginning to bloom. I just had to cut one and show you. So tiny and sweet and pink!


After my tea time, I reset my olden recently newly painted to look olden tray with another little tea set just to look at! Those red roses were given to me by my most precious Mr. Precious! I had to share!

I've had so much fun today joining in with Blue Monday hosted by our Dear Sally at Smiling Sally, Mosaic Monday hosted by our Dear Mary at Little Red House and Met Monday hosted by our Dear Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Please go visit them today and see all the wonderfulness a Monday can bring into your tiny life.


Be a bunch of sweeties,
Shelia ;)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song~

Somewhere That's Green

A matchbox of our own
A fence of real chain link
A grill out on the patio
Disposal in the sink
A washer and a dryer and
an ironing machine
In a tract house that we share
Somewhere that's green

He rakes and trims the grass
He loves to mow and weed
I cook like Betty Crocker
And I look like Donna Reed
There's plastic on the furniture
To keep it neat and clean
In the Pine-Sol scented air,
Somewhere that's green

Between our frozen dinner
And our bed-time: nine-fifteen
We snuggle watching Lucy
On our big, enormous
Twelve-inch screen

I'm his December Bride
He's father, he knows best
Our kids watch Howdy Doody
As the sun sets in the west
A picture out of Better Homes
and Gardens Magazine
Far from Skid Row
I dream we'll go
somewhere that's... green
~ sung by Audrey from the musical 'Little Shop of Horrors'

Would Somebody Check Me Out?

Hello, Dear Ones! Well, shoot, this little button has been a booger to me. I have had some lovely advice, but I've decided I'm just going to ask you to copy and paste it on your blog if you want it. My friend BJ at Sweet Nothings has a wonderful post today about what slows your blog down and the text in the box for the little buttons is one among other things. So...will I be awful if I just ask you to copy and paste and you all know how easy that is.

Forgive me for not being techy. If you know how to do stuff you probably just thumb your tiny little nose at me. But just love me and don't hate me!! :)

Love you all,
Shelia ;)




Hi Dear Ones. I've seen so many of you have the darling little Blog Buttons and I wanted one too but didn't know how to do it. Well, I've been trying. I've just worked on my little Note Songs button but need to know if it works!

Would any of you copy the text in the Grab My Button section and paste it in your side bar and see if it works and then let me know. I've been just trying so hard and really don't know too much.

I would appreciate it and I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Tablescape Thursday

Hello, Dear Ones and welcome again to Talbescape Thursday hosted by our Dear Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. If you want to see many lovely tablescapes and obtain some great ideas, pop over to see her.

I've set a Fallen table today and my inspiration comes from my darling little Rooster jugs! That's Rooster with a capital "R"!

If you visit me very often, you've seen these little darling ones. Mr. Precious and I bought these little jugs about ten years ago in Italy. Now don't be scared when you look at that dragon ~ just look at that precious little face! I saw them and it was love at first Rooster sight. I blame these little stinkers for getting me into my Rooster phase.

I'm using an appropriate charger today and layering plates...

I was in TJMaxx and saw these dishes that matched my Rooster jugs! I only bought four plates~ you really don't want to have too many dragons in your home! :) No no Nannette.

The next plate is from a set of four I found at Pier One last year. Perfectness of color, don't you think? Then I found these little darling bowls at my stop at TJMaxx! I think we'll start off with a tiny little fruit salad.

I'm using an ecru colored table cloth along with chicken napkins I made. The napkin rings I found at Marshalls and they are a pale yellow and a pretty blue. The brownish glasses were purchased from WalMart and the silverware is a few years old and is Onieda.

Now I must tell you a little story and you know how I love to tell you little stories. A few years after our visit to Italy, I was out on a shopping trip and popped into Tuesday Mornings and guess what my most gorgeous baby blues spied? This glorious soup tureen that matched my little Rooster jugs! I did not waste any time. I even passed GO without getting my $200! That was a mistake, wasn't it? :) I popped that little thing into my cart and headed right up to the cash register, grinning all the time! I was just thrilled!

I knew I would use this tureen for my centerpiece today.

Just have to have the romance candlelight gives to my table. I also wanted to make another mosaic. :) Well, I made it just for you! :)


You know how I love my faux flowers and my faux flowers just love me to death! I popped some Fallen looking fauxs in my tureen and my floral centerpiece was all ready!

Here's a close up of the base of the tureen and the underplate. I think they're very Fallen looking, don't you?

I just had to show you the pretty little lid with the pear knob on top. Don't you just love it? Actually, this tureen being from Italy, even though I bought it from Tuesday Morning, it is Italian...:) I would have thought they would have put a lemon on top. Oh, well, I have a lemon tree in the yard... I know, I get sidetracked very easily. :)

See the little matching footed stand? Yep, just perfect with my Italian pieces and a perfect spot for a gourd. This was an alive gourd from last year and I killed it! But it was an accident, I promise! I poked it away in a cabinet and just ran across it this year and it had dried all out for me and I was thrilled, well not because I was a gourd killer, but that it still looked great! Look at those cute little stripes! I just love this stuff! Can you go to prison if anyone knows you've killed a gourd? Shh...don't say anything about this, you did not hear a word! No no Nannette! :(

We had some nice sunshine today so I raised the blinds just for you and so Chloe Dawn could see out! :) I just can't ignore my little fuzzy face. Just to clarify ~ if this is your first time to visit me I'm not saying I have the fuzzy face. The fuzzy face belongs to my little black mini Schnauzer, Chloe Dawn. Just making sure you understand. ;)

One more peek at my Rooster jugs. Did you see that? Did you?

Oh, shoot! You just missed it! The little baby jug just winked at you. What a little doll, um, I mean, what a little Rooster jug!


I thought I would show you my Little Richard covered with more Fallness. Little Richard is an old buffet I got from a friend named...can you guess? Richard! Yep, I'm very original like that! Okay ~ you can see I have the tea pot too ~ again, Tuesday Morning and a little matching tray. I also have an olive oil bottle, but decided I wouldn't show you that since olive oil doesn't go well with hot tea! :)

On the other side of the room I have this olden server. I found this little darling at an antique shop a few years ago and only paid $150 for her! I was so excited. It's scratched up and all, but I love it and just think I'll keep it this way ~ character ~ and you know I love character especially since I am quite a character myself! :P

Well, there you have it, Dear Ones, my Fallen table. I've been missing from TT for about the last month but I'm so glad to be able to join all my Dear Dishaholics again.

Be a bunch of sweeties,
Shelia ;)

I'll leave you with a little Note Song~

A girl went back to Napoli
Because she missed the scenery
The native dances and the charming songs
But wait a minute, something's wrong
Hey, mambo! Mambo italiano!
Hey, mambo! Mambo italiano
Go, go, go you mixed up sicialiano
All you calabraise-a do the mambo like a crazy with a
Hey mambo, don't wanna tarantella
Hey mambo, no more a mozzarella
Hey mambo! Mambo italiano!
Try an enchilada with da fish a bac a lab and then a
Hey goombah, I love a how you dance a rhumbah
But take a some advice paisano
Learn how to mambo
If you gonna be a square
You ain't a gonna go nowhere
Hey mambo! mambo italiano!
Hey mambo! mambo italiano!
Go, go, Joe, shake like a Giovanno
Hello kess-a-deetch-a you getta happy in the feets a
When you mambo italiano
Shake-a Baby shake-a cause i love a when you take a me
Mama say "stop-a or I'm gonna go to papa"
And a hey ja drool you don't a have to go to school
Just make-a wid da beat bambino
It's a like a vino
Kid you good a lookin' but you don't a-know what's cookin' till you
Hey mambo, Mambo italiano
Hey mambo, Mambo italiano
Ho, ho, ho, you mixed up Siciliano
it's a so delish a ev'rybody come copisha
How to mambo italianoooooo!
'Ats nice!
UNH!
~sung by Rosemary Clooney