~~End of Summer Texas Evening~~

Just after supper & world news we head out the back door to spend some time outdoors to do projects & just to enjoy our gardens, our animals, & to take a walk through our woods ~

Our spring chicks are nice big hens now & have just started laying ~ every new warm egg we discover is like finding a jewel! Some of them are Americanas that lay colored eggs - I love the blue eggs ~ Our Rooster Butterscotch has a funny crow but he's a big & very pretty "woosta" ~ Unfortunately we've lost so many hens, roosters, & our huge pet turkey that we loved so much to raccoons that come out of the woods.......but this spring TZ covered the top of the pen & so far they are safe & sound. Our new baby turkey gets to leave the coop to follow TZ on grasshopper hunts - he heels like a dog & never leaves his sight ~ if he loses sight of him he makes a huge ruckus until he's back by his feet. Our second baby turkey is so wild we had to chase him all over the woods to get him back ~ so he doesn't get to do grasshopper hunts anymore.....lol

Our chihuahua Cookie follows turkey while Cabo pushes the croquet ball all over the yard with his nose. He never tires of this & barks at the ball the whole time ~ he does this inside the house too with his tennis balls. Our cat Kharma lazes around but almost every night catches a frog beside the pond ~ I have to chase him till he lets it go ~ I love the frogs & we have them everywhere this year because we have had so much rain.

And our girls Violet & Vanilla Bean are LaMancha goats - very funny looking because they have no ears.....well, really they do but you can't see them - they look like they're wearing earrings.....but they're very pretty girls & very sweet. The full moon this week has been so pretty - last night TZ hung our new/old $5 garage sale porch swing from the big bois d'arc tree by the pond ~ nice little nights in the country & hope you're enjoying your end of summer nights too - they're almost gone ~ But I DO love Autumn & it's almost here!

~~Just a Tiny Sparkly Collection!~~

I love Fridays ~ my big day to go to town! I work at home on ebay Monday through Thursday but when Friday rolls around I ride the 35 miles to town with TZ, drop him off at work, & then head to my mom & dad's for breakfast & then off to the garage & estate sales with my mom. I look forward to this day all week long like so many of you do........to go in search of treasures! I never get tired of garage sale-ing & love the "thrill of the hunt", never knowing what lies ahead. My top priority is to shop for ebay - but of course I always find things I can't live without & little additions to collections. And after lunch I spend the afternoon shopping at all the thrift stores in town and there are so many good ones!

My little pin collection is one that I can always add "just one more" because they're so tiny & I also find them very cheap at garage sales. I've collected pins for years & just recently have found quite a few clear rhinestone pins that I wanted to put together in a special place ~~ I was very excited to find this pretty pink lacy fabric mannequin display & knew it would the Perfect Pink Pin Place!

The pins to the front on the mirror - the swan, pink bird, dog, heart ~ are pins I've had since I was a little girl....I wore the birthstone heart pin on my Easter dress in the 5th grade. The tiny petit point roses pin was made by my grandmother years & years ago ~ the blue "Lady" belonged to my aunt. And of course just about everything else on this vanity dresser came from a garage sale, estate sale, or thrift store - including the dresser! Hope you all had good treaure hunts over the weekend too ~~ Have a great day!

~~Middle Name Game!~~

I was tagged to play the "Middle Name Game" by Suzanne at Painter of the Past!
I never give much thought to my middle name but I do have one ~~

L ~~ Lucky that I have a short middle name!

Y ~~ Yellow Squash is my favorite veggie!

N ~~ Not organized enough but working on it!

N ~~ Never have a bad day ~ I'm a happy girl!

A cute & funny thing - two other girls that Suzanne tagged & played the middle name game are also "Lynn's"! What a common but nice little middle name ~ I think it's used alot because it goes with anything! I will tag anyone who wants to play ~ I'm sure there are a lot more Lynn's out there!

~~THIS is AWESOMELY "NICE"!~~

Wow - Awesomely Nice ~ "NICE DOES MATTER" and I'm THRILLED that this award came to me from Wanda from "Excuse Me While I Buy This Junk"! It's amazing how many NICE people have come into my world through blogging & how wonderful it is to find another new blogger friend! Thanks Wanda!! ~~ Each one of you that I've met since blogging is "THE Nicest" so I pass this along to all of you ~ even though most of you already have it ~ you deserve it again & again!

P.S. I'm real proud of myself - I finally just this minute figured out how to do a link in the middle of a post ~~I think everyone knew that but me! Now if I could just figure out how to make a header & why it's so difficult for me to line my posts up nice & pretty like everyone else does ~ picture - words - pictures - words.....nothing goes where I want it to!! ~ I think I finally did that here but it wasn't easy!
I still need "blog school"!!

Hope all of you have a WONDERFUL SUMMER DAY!

~~Just ONE More?!!~~

After a wonderfully happy family reunion things are falling back into place & into a daily routine again. I'm happy to get back to work with these gorgeous red roses & baby's breath sitting on my desk ~ a sweet surprise from TZ ~ they smell HEAVENLY!

Does anyone have a collection that you say "just one more"?! I have collected talcum bath powders for years, all of them from garage & estate sales and none have been over 50 cents ~ usually they are a quarter!.....so since I find them so cheap I can always add "one more"! My little powder shelf is overflowing & although I don't think I have room for "one more"......the next time one appears at a sale how could I pass it up?...lol I'm sure when I find one I will have to make room. My little cubby powder shelf is in the corner of the bathroom and not only do I think they just look pretty, I actually use them all. I love picking out different ones to use & they all smell so good ~ never have I found one I didn't like and never have I found two alike! Next time I find one I will have to "just say no" or find a bigger shelf!

~~From the CURB to the COTTAGE!~~

I fell in love with these daisy chairs! They came from the curb - can you imagine anyone throwing THESE away?! Now I love them even more since I gave them a new life. I went through my fabrics & picked 4 to choose from.....it took me forever to decide ~ but I'm happy with the one I chose. I made a purse from this same fabric last year & love the bright colors. I've been using a stool when I sew so one will be my sewing chair.......the other one will go wherever I can find an empty spot in my crowded cottage! ~ maybe in the kitchen. I'm off to my mom & dad's in Denton today ~ this week is my family's yearly summer reunion - my sister, neice, and nephew fly in today ~ my oldest son Ryan is in Denton & my youngest son Eric drove up from Austin yesterday ~ & my brothers will be here for the weekend. Many happy times ahead to make new family memories!