Finally Spring!

HAPPY 49th BIRTHDAY!!!!

to my friend Julie at 47 and Starting Over

I hope you have a wonderful day. 

I do apologize for my absence the past two weeks - I am the planner for one of the biggest conferences my agency hosts - around 500 health department-type people for a 4-day conference.  I have been doing the conference for about 12 years now, so it almost runs itself.  But there are some things I have to do and they wind up being all consuming.  But the conference was last week - it was very successful and now I am back to my normal life.

I have lived in Ohio my entire life,  so I am not one to really complain about winter.  It's a fact of life. I'm not 5 anymore, so if I truly disliked the cold and the snow I could pack up my suitcase and head to a warmer climate.  But I have a warm house, plenty of coffee and lots of quilts to hold me through.  (Though I must admit that I HATE wearing shoes with backs in them, so it's difficult to get me to wear boots - even with a foot of snow).  I am SO done with winter this year. The heavy snow we got smooshed down our shrubs in front of our house. Shrubs are pretty resillient and should bounce back - but not ours - the snow broke 2 of them in half. So it looks like we'll be pulling them out now. We had lots of heavy snow on the roof, so when it started melting, we had water running in our basement laundry room. We have a 2 story house - the water from the melting snow was running down our stove & vent pipe and continuing all the way down between the walls to the basement. So I guess I am complaining - a little.

I was more than thrilled when I saw this two weeks ago! 

The first sign of Spring - these two little, brave crocuses were peering out around our mailbox.  They have since been joined my many more of their brothers and sisters.  The weather is supposed to be more normal this week. Over the weekend I was able to open the windows and air out the house - that's such a nice feeling after being closed up all winter.  It also makes the cats very happy.  So hopefully where you are the weather is lookin' up - get out there and enjoy some of that sunshine!

DIY (Monday Giggle)

Tax season means different things for different people. I have been lucky enough to enjoy a hefty refund the past several years and while I really would like to spend it on an exotic vacation I have been spending it on housey stuff.  (Though this year I have set aside enough to buy C a large screen TV he longingly looks at for his birthday next week.  But ssssshhhhhh!  don't tell him it's going to be a surprise.)  But most of the the money went to a new HE washer & dryer (our washer was who knows how old and it has been making a scrapey noise for the last few months)  and a new water heater (the old one was probably the original for this house and you could barely get a gallon of hot water out of it at a time). The washer and dryer were delivered and setup last week.  The water heater was different - it was a DIY project.  C is very good at home improvement and is neat about it.  He spent most of Saturday installing the water heater.  It's fantastic to have enough hot water to take a shower.  But as I was watching C work on the water heater - I was thinking about my most recent ex and his attempts at home improvement.  While sometimes he was good at it, most of the time it was a disaster. He always made me "help", but really I was just there to yell at.  I remember once the kitchen sink was clogged - and we unclogged it by cutting the pipes apart with a saws-all.  I'm not a plumber, but my grandfather was - I don't ever remember him unclogging drains with a saw.  Anyway - I ran across these pictures - they remind me of some of the ex's projects.

Yep - the ex definitely had a hand in these repairs.... Scares me!!

I watch WAY too much CSI...

OK, so yesterday morning I went out to my car to get in and go to work and this is what I found:

Notice anything missing??  During the night someone knocked off the driver side mirror.  All that was left was the base and 3 little wires sticking up!! 

The housing for the mirror was found about 30 feet from my Jeep and the mirror part was laying somewhere in between.  That meant that whoever did this was going at a pretty good clip down our little cul-de-sac.  I couldn't believe that they didn't knock on the door and say they had had an accident (ok maybe it was the middle of the night) or at least leave a note - they just hit my Jeep and took off!!! Morons!!  It particularly pissies me off because in October there had been an incident over our extra car.  (Refresh your memory by reading this post)  To please the neighbors I parked the extra car in the driveway and have been parking my Jeep in the street.  Now the neighbors who had complained about my car have a little truck parked on the street, it hasn't been moved in 2 weeks.  And my Jeep is the one that got hit.  But I just decided to cut my losses and call al local junk yard to see if I could get a mirror and have C put it on for me.

When I got home from work I was walking in the street where my mirror had been laying earlier.  I noticed a couple of pieces of white plastic and THIS little gem: 

Do you see what I see????  There is writing on that piece of mirror. That's not from my mirror. I took the little piece of glass in the house and showed it to C.  After thinking about it for a while I threw on my coat and told C I was going to take a little walk and see if any of our neighbors had a broken mirror. (He looked at me like I was crazy). At first I didn't see anything but then as I was heading back home - I saw a white Jeep sitting in a neighbor's driveway.  I walked up to it and noticed the passenger side mirror was broken.  I pulled out my little piece of glass and BINGO!?!?  It fit into their mirror like a puzzle piece!!! So I went up and knocked on the door. A lady answered the door and the following conversation took place:

Me:  Hi! I am LeeAnn I live down the street.  Is that white Jeep out there yours?

Lady: Yes,why?

Me (with just a tad bit of cockiness to my voice): Well your Jeep was involved in an accident last night. My driver side mirror was knocked completely off my Jeep. And your Jeep did it.

Lady:  Huh?? Well, my (moron) son drives it - let me get him.

Me:  Did you have an accident in that white Jeep last night?

Moron Son: No (did I really expect another answer)

Me:  Well you have a broken passenger side mirror.  It got broken when it hit  my mirror last night.

Moron Son: (as we were walking out to the white Jeep - him in his bare feet) Oh, that mirror has been like that for a long time. (he didn't know about the little jewel in my pocket)

Me: Oh really?  (taking the piece of glass out of my pocket and holding it up in place) Then, can you explain why this piece of mirror that fits in this spot on your mirror was laying in front of my house today???  

Oh, the look on that poor moron's face - you're BUSTED pal!!!!!

Moron Son:  Huh!  What do you know, it sure does.  My girl must have done  it and not told me - she was driving it.

Me:  Well, as I see it you owe me a mirror.

Moron Son:  I'll gladly pay for it. (Could that be because you don't want me to call the police? Can you spell "hit and run"?)  When you know how much just let me know. (I bet he thought I'd go away and forget about it)

Me:  Ok - I got one from the junk yard- it was $64.05. Would you like stop by my house and drop off a check  - I'll show you the bill.

Moron Son: No,that's OK.  I'll pay you now. 

He went back in the house and brought out $70 cash and gave it to me for my mirror. 

I was floored!  But I was also very, very proud of myself for finding that glass and being determined to go find who it belonged to!!! Sometimes I have a temper - but I was diplomatic and calm about it.  But then, I did have have the upper hand and I knew it, so there was no need for me to make a big scene. If the Moron Son wanted to take issue or debate it - all I needed to do was let the police sort it out.  I did a happy dance all the way down the street. C was shocked too when I went back in the house and laid the $70 down. I honestly can't believe it was that easy.  I knew watching all those police shows on TV would pay off sometime.  Just call me CSI LeeAnn.

And the Winner is......

I am so excited to have taken part in my first One World One Heart Blog Event!  The event attracted around 1100 bloggers from all over the world.  This was the 4th year for this event, and I think it is a popular one.  I hope so because I would love to participate in it again next year.  It was so much fun traveling around, visiting so many wonderful blogs and meeting so many wonderful people.  I'm worn out, but it was SO worth it!!  Thanks to Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian  for organizing this event.  It must be an undertaking of monumental proportions - but oh my! It was fantastic.

OK on to business at hand...  The winner of the spoon bracelet is.....Britt from Stitchety Grub.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Thank you to everyone for visiting my blog, commenting (I had OVER 300), and entering my drawing.  Now it will be back to regular programming!!

Comfort Zones and A Love Story...

Heeeeeyyyyyyyy!  I saw that title on another blog!!!  Oh wait - I know...That's because I am guest-blogging  at my very good friend Julie's blog over at "47 and Starting Over" . Please click on the link back there or on her cute button to the right and read what I have to say over there.

Don't forget to register for the One World One Heart Event!  It ends February 15th.

One World One Heart Giveaway Blog Event!!!

I am so excited to participate in the One World One Heart Blog Event. I found out about it by wandering around another favorite blog the other day.  I'm just sorry that I didn't know about it sooner- I almost missed it.  Anyway -  it was started by A Whimisical Bohemian in 2007 (thanks Lisa for coordinating all of this!!).  For a full description of the event, you can check out her blog post by clicking the button to the right.  This event is intended to bring bloggers from all over the world together and make new friends.  But there is more.... each blogger that is participating in the blog hop is offering a giveaway of some kind.  Many of them are handmade (you know how much I love that!!) Hundreds (last count I had was 1025) of bloggers from all over the world are participating. So, hop on this magc carpet and go for a blog ride and who knows, you just may meet a new friend or two!

Now on to my giveaway!

I am going to giveaway a bracelet.  I made is bracelet from 2 vintage silver spoons. It has a heart charm with 3 Swaroski crystals and a toggle fastner.  I love old things and I think this bracelet is great and hope you do too!!

If you would like a chance to win the drawing for this bracelet please leave me a comment on THIS post along with your blog address (& email address) so I can visit you too and I know how to contact you to let you know you have won. 

If you become a follower of my blog - I will enter you twice!!

The event ends on February 15 and I will be drawing for the winner then.  If you enter that day, please make your comments by 6:00pm EST. I will announce a winner that evening!  GOOD LUCK!!!

So, come "travel" blogland with me as we take this magic carpet ride. Maybe we can make some new friends together!

Love of Old Things

I know I have mentioned before that I really love old things - I'm not talking about C (he's a bit younger than me anyway).  But I love antiques.  I think I got that from my grandma, she loved antiques and had a house full of them (many of which are now in *my* house).  One item that I have that I think is particularly interesting is my living room "end table".  When people visit I find them spending time looking at this table and its contents.

My "table" began its life as a trunk.  This trunk was part of the furniture that came with my stepfather when my mother married him - he had used it for years as a table (so unfortunately, I can't claim this idea).  I always marveled at it and thought it was so pretty.  After my stepfather passed away, I acquired the trunk (that was back into service as a trunk) and recommissioned it as a table.

It's just an old trunk with the tray in it - we haven't modified it or painted it.  The trunk is covered with leather and has the original leather straps on it.  It's a bit worn, but that adds to its charm.  The tray inside is made of fabric and after years of wear it has become flimsy.  So C reinforced it so it wouldn't break or rip when we put stuff on it.  We have a piece of safety glass cut to fit the opening and when placed on it - makes the table top.  It makes a WONDERFUL area to display things.  See, isn't that a really cool idea!?!

  

I have lots of things down inside it. The tray is wrapped with a quilt - you know how I love them!  But the quilt in the trunk is special - it was made by my great-great grandfather (yup, you read that right - grandFATHER).  We have lots of other special items in it - there's an old Bible that my mom got when she graduated from high school, 2 pairs of baby shoes - a bronzed pair that were my mom's and a pair that belonged to C's dad, we have a china-faced doll, my stepfather's Mickey Mouse watch, C's first eye glasses and case, some old keys, an old light bulb, an electric insulator, an old tape meaure and some old scissors, just to mention some things.

I really love this table, it has so much potential.  It can be changed to match the seasons, though I have not been so ambitious. I do put forth some effort during the holidays. At Christmas, we cover the quilt with that white cottony, sparkly stuff and place some antique Christmas items in it.

I just felt the need to share this with you.