Full Steam Ahead

If there is a cuter birthday card to be found, I don't know where to find it. Oh my goodness!

That is not to say I didn't enjoy all of my cards, but boy oh boy, Cheryle knows how to pick them, doesn't she? Papyrus is the store, if you are wondering. Hand made, no less, with real stitching on the seat and handles. :)

When last we met we were looking backward, but as we all know, there is no stopping time, thus, we are moving forward into the New Year full steam ahead. Jonathan and Alissa left on the 2nd, stopping to pose, at my insistence, for a picture at the airport. Aren't they cute?

Packed in Jon boy's bag were these little Japanese bobble head dolls I bought at that estate sale where I purchased all the vintage fabric. In case you've forgotten, these two love birds went to Japan on their honeymoon to satisfy Jonathan's love of all things Japanese.

As a reminder, the Fischer Price little people were modeled after these kind of dolls, minus the bobble head. Or, so I'm told.

On Jim and Kathy's last day at the market I bought one of their orchids because it is just so darn interesting. As a second reminder, if you are in the market for an orchid, make sure to buy one with buds remaining as it will last much longer if you do. Mine still had three buds, with one yet to open two weeks later.

A new year means a fresh start around the house. Because the weather was spring-like, a winter cleaning seemed to be in order. Bruce did some serious paring down in his garage, and tackled his stamp collection, housed in our bedroom closet, next. More like a consolidation. As you know, I love looking through old stuff, and this time was no exception. Remember Montgomery Wards? I have no idea what came in this old box...

If you had asked me if Bruce was still collecting when we were married, I would have probably answered no, however, the evidence is before you that he was. Furthermore, I would never have been able to tell you what street we lived on in Huntington Beach either. To that point, I only remember how much I disliked living in a condo with a one year old! After six months, we rented a home in Lakewood, California, and for some reason I do remember that street name---Eccleston. Maybe it is because I was slightly happier there, and maybe too, because I did my home pregnancy test at that house which proved to be positive. The one thing it did not tell me was, that instead of one baby, I was having two!!

I'd also forgotten B did his best to turn me into a stamp collector; below is the fullest page in my book.

I'd completely forgotten all about it. Perhaps I enjoyed it back then? Presently I am actually now enthralled with these stamps as they are quite the history lesson. And, I suppose, they still are, but the current stamps are not nearly as lovely as the ones from the past which were engraved. Proving that a person changes little over a lifetime, imagine the patience it took to not only soak these off of envelopes, but then count them!!

There were not one, but TWO bags like this. Today I am always remarking on Bruce's patience about tasks, but why that is so is silly because I know he's been that way forever.

The carpet in our bedroom looked like a cheap motel, or so I told Bruce, because of the poor job the carpet layers did two years ago. Stretching and tacking were not their things. So, for the second time in two years, Bruce mostly emptied our bedroom, and instead of the guest room hosting guests, here's what it looked like on Saturday.

While we had an empty room, and a willing man stretching the carpet,  I rented a carpet cleaning machine for the first time in my life, and now we not only have flat carpet once again, but it is clean to boot. Woo hoo! Team work in action. While I had it, I did the other bedrooms, as well as the big rugs in the living areas, and I could not be happier with how it worked.

The market was lovely on Sunday with very warm temperatures--scads of people were out enjoying the weather.

I take a lot of market photos, and I like them, but I really like the one above. This dog was one of the scores of dogs that you see every Sunday. The monkey lady was there along with her companion sporting the giant snake circling his neck. Yeesh!

We had a snow egret visit the yard the other day. Bruce called to me in the back of the house, and of course I had to grab a camera, and do a little stalking...

Another big change is the moving of the bird feeder to the front yard outside my kitchen window. Previously this one was in the back yard but in another major overhaul, well maybe not major, but big enough, B has moved the kayak back into the holding area with his canoe. With the removal of the nearby bird feeder we are hopeful the squirrels will not be caught chewing the kayak again.
It took several days but my cardinals finally found the new location.

Now, if only the painted bunting would do the same!

Time to bring this to a close as I am heading downtown to witness the big same sex wedding day. Equal marriage rights have come to Orlando, and as it turns out I know TWO couples being married. Oh happy day!