~ Iffy~

 My goodness.. spring has been iffy, at best, where we live.
We'll have a warm day, then a cold day when it's chilly enough that I end up turning on the fireplace. Also, we've had a lot of wind this spring. Tons of wind!
For a bit, I thought that I'd never see the brunella bloom again, or the tulips for that matter.
Now that things are greening up and looking beautiful, my heart is happy that spring is finally here and summer just on it's heels.

 We've stayed pretty busy.... we replaced the light fixtures in the kitchen. The previous light fixtures were a bit too contemporary for my taste, and the new light fixtures are more 'country' or 'farmhouse' and simple.

 I've been making summer crafts....

 and spring crafts......

 and making over furniture.
That little chest of drawers was given to me years and years ago. Our youngest son helped me cut the 'skirt' off of the chest of drawers and helped my add the 'feet'.
Then, I cut a piece of wood and replaced one of the drawer stops, and gave the entire thing a paint job.

 Distressed, and stenciled and sealed, it's a great additional storage piece.

The entire project, including the cost of paint, and the stencil, came in at under $20.00. A real bargain for a nice storage chest. The 'feet' we bought at ReStore and adapted them to use on the chest. Originally they were furniture 'feet' that were for couches, or side chairs I imagine. At just a dollar a piece though, they really were a great buy!

Also iffy... my ability to keep my blog updated. I have good ideas for posts, and then I run out of time, or fail to make time to download pics, and write and publish a post.
Guess I'm too busy soaking up the warmer weather, or maybe I've outgrown my desire to blog?
It's iffy.

~ New year... new opportunities! ~

 Hello friends,
Can you believe how quickly the new year is approaching?
Never in all my years, can I remember a year that has gone by as quickly as this past year.
Maybe it's getting older..... I've often heard that as we age, time goes by faster.
Hmmmm.... it's something to consider ....
I have big plans for the coming year.

 In years past I've tentativly made 'New Years' plans, or resolutions, whatever term you want to use.
But, last year I put 8 strips of paper rolled up in a tiny little bottle.
Eight resolutions for the new year.
A few days ago, I took the cork out of that tiny little bottle and I read over my goals for this past year.
Happily, I accomplished each of my eight goals!
Maybe there was a little genie magic in that little bottle!
 What ever it was, having that little bottle filled with those slips of paper was just the reminder and just the motivation that I needed to work on my goals this last year.
Guess what? Tommorrow night, I'm going to write down some new goals for the coming year on little strips of paper and put those little written reminders in my teeny little bottle.
  Just a little reminder in the coming year of the things I want to work on.

 Also, I took a few minutes and downloaded some pictures off of my little camera:
* Deer in the meadow. They are still digging through the snow and munching on a few of the pumpkins left over from Halloween.

 *Pictures snapped on the way back home from Santa Fe.
In the Monument Valley area of Utah.
Gorgeous red rocks.

 * Near Moab Utah.
Love the turquoise color of these rocks.

*Hole in the rock.
Gosh... we should have stopped.
I saw a sign here advertising  ~ Camel Rides.
Oh well.... maybe next time.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!!
Hope that this one is the best New Year yet.

~Reasons to smile today...
~The days are getting longer now, and that means more sunshine each day!  Perfect for a girl like me that is 'solar powered'!
~ Having my sweet husband home for a few weeks. Nothing better than spending time with my best friend and sweetheart!
~Buying paint and trim... getting an office and the family room re~painted and decorated. Love the fresh clean feel of a newly painted space :)