Ch-Cha-cha….Changes

As I was saying last week….my in-laws sold their full time home and were dispersing furnishings.

We were given their four poster bed to use in our guest room; I was 'uber excited about this!

Here is my super de-duper FIL Bill taking it apart at their home last Saturday:

 Here it is the next day in our guest room. 

Do you remember when I redid the guest room…..wall paint and I painted all the furniture?
That was in March, and I knew then that this bed would be coming to live with us eventually.
I asked if I could paint it. My MIL said: Once it's in your house, you can do whatever you like with it. 

Oh, and if you're wondering where the bed went that was in here….well the obvious answer is we moved it to THE CRAFT/OFFICE/LAUNDRY ROOM!! 

I think it's only for the Thanksgiving holiday; the girls will be shacking up in here.

But, really...how nice to nap in between loads of laundry; think of the convenience!

 Hell, if we add a toilet, I could live in here!

I'm not about the pine anymore…sorry you pine lovers.
I've had a hankering to try chalk paint forever….so I pulled the trigger! Don't worry, I didn't shoot anyone with paint. 

I'm so in love…..I might just take turns on what room to sleep in during the week!

If I don't 'talk' to you this week, have a fabulous Thanksgiving. 

And remember, chew your food with your mouth closed on Thursday….don't be 'that' person!

 I'm thankful for YOU!

XOXO

The little things and a big thing or two.

Last Saturday the Coach and I made a quick jaunt to the East Coast….Coach's Mom and step-dad have sold their home!
We are very happy for them, this brings them into the next chapter of life: Retirement! They've lived in this house for 40 years; this is where Coach lived for most of his childhood.
We 'dated' at this house. We've enjoyed countless birthday parties, celebrations and some sorrow here….mostly good stuff though. 

*sigh*

Anyhoo...they are dispersing a lot of furnishings; big and small.

Sometimes the small things have the most meaning. Right?
This MUG.

This mug has been around forever; a gift from the Coach to Sue & Bill back in the 80's.
Whenever the Coach and I spend the night, we always want this for our hot cup of joe in the morning.
Sadly for me, he usually beats me to the hot cup of joe.
{I'm the night owl, not the morning owl}
Who doesn't love The Far Side? This scene is hilarious…..if you don't laugh, we can't be friends.

I'm hiding this in our house, that way I can use it whenever I wake up. Don't tell the Coach.

Coach's sweet Mom saved this jacket for him. Surely she never thought he would grow out of it.

 And really…..he's hardly grown since 1979!!!

Oh, I love that he put it on for me…..talk about a super model.

We also acquired some big things and I know you'll fall down from the excitement.
Lucky for you, you have a few more days before your fall-over happens.

Three of my people arrive tomorrow. (prayers for safe travels!)
Five of my people arrive on Wednesday. (prayers for them too!)

We have a full week of family fun. Or family. Or Fun. Ok, perhaps it will be both FAMILY and FUN.
This is the holiday for me to see my people. I love it! They exhaust me, but in a good way.

XOXO

Feeding the Hungry

Did you hear that shriek yesterday?

That was me as I was watering my garden.

LookitwhatIGrew!!!

My first cucumber!

Ozzie, said: Chillax Mama…you know they sell those at Publix right?

I declared when I put in my garden a few months ago that we would have a HUGE harvest to dine on for Thanksgiving.

Apparently, it's going to be slim pickins. I have this cucumber and a tomato the size of my pinkie finger nail.

Ummmmm….lets see how I can slice this up to share with 14-17 people.

If my guests complain, I'll send them to the soup line!

I've got some super cute and exciting things to share, but I'm running on fumes these days.

We actually turned our craft/laundry room/office into another bedroom yesterday. And we moved other beds around here and there…along with the painting of furniture too. 

Yikes. So much going on….but it's all good in my hood. 

I might be MIA in posting and/or commenting.
Don't think I've gone off and joined one of those alluring carnivals or cults {Avon}!

Happy Monday.

XOXO

Being caged in....and you may now proceed with your freak out.

Linds and I were watching one of those wedding shows this past week. I can't remember exactly which show it was....."I found the Gown" or "Say yes to the dress"? {and no to the ho}

Anyhoo someone was putting on a veil when my child declared: 

When I get married, I'm wearing a birdcage.

Me: 

What? 

Who are you....Lady Gaga?

Linds: 

NO, not a BIRD CAGE. 

A birdcage veil!

Oh, thank goodness...that would work much better for an updo as well as the first kiss. 

I don't know about you guys, but things are just a'hoppin here. 

Busy busy busy. 

I'm thrilled to see another Thanksgiving...did you know it is 2 weeks from yesterday?

IT is. 

So, if you are apt to freak out about stuff....you may proceed with your freak out now.

And if you want to, wear a birdcage. It'll certainly keeping you from eating/drinking too much. 

XOXO

Suz and Co.

Internet photos borrowed from here:
www.serendipityveils.com
hatsupply.com
lady gaga wacko photo

Ying & Yang....delivering joy.

When I catch a glimpse of this, it makes my heart smile!

I just love that they LOVE each other....I wish all critters had a soft place to land and someone who treats them kindly.

Actually, I wish that for all humans too. Imagine what a better world this would be!

It's hard to imagine that Ozzie was a castoff. Left. Forgotten. Not loved. 

And now, he brings so much joy to our life. 

And who says felines and canines don't meld?

Do you see the joy?

Simple joy. Bliss. Love. 

Happy humpday my people. 

XOXO

Suz and her critters 

The masked intruder

Remember my post last week where I pretty much outed my cats as heathens for breaking our lanai screen door?

Well, I have a confession.

It wasn't our cats breaking out. IT was a critter breaking in.

This came to a head Saturday morning around 4:45 am. {My favorite time to wake up!!!}

I had placed a few plastic tables on the ground in front of the new cat door broken screen door.

I jumped out of bed when I heard something pushing on those plastic tables.
I turned off the house alarm....I saw Cocoa staring out the dining room doors, I flipped on the lights and opened the door.

Then I SHOUTED: OH MY LORD!!!

I found a raccoon on the countertop eating the cat food and his buddy coming in for a helping as well.

{Where is Granny Clampit when I need her?}

The Coach came running at my shouting; thank goodness he was home.

Guess what? My cats didn't care. They sat/layed there and watched the whole thing.

The coach and I got the cats in and the raccoon eventually checked out of our Inn. 

Geeze. It's always something around here with animals. 

I relayed the story to Linds the next morning; all the details and about how it freaked me out.

She had only one question: 

Well, was the raccoon cute?

Me: Cutest raccoon ever!

Don't fret....we are taking steps so this Does NOT happen again.
The Busy Bee Felines are safe and sound.


I just wish the intruders weren't so cute; it makes it hard for me to stay mad for long.

Any intruders on your weekend?

Happy Veterans Day to all the Hero's in our world!

I smell a rat

Our felines have always made me cra cra crazy...but now one of them took it upon his/herself to create a cat door on the lanai.

So, now they saunter in and out as they please. 

Actually, they usually saunter OUT the new cat door and then stand at the front door to be let in. THEN they want to be back on the lanai{with their food/water/litter boxes}....
then guess what....they saunter out the new cat door and onto the front porch again and stare at me through the glass doors.

Freaks.

I'm trying to figure out which was the culprit here: was it the flip flop chewer Harley?

 Or the wild banshee Krispy?

Surely it wouldn't be our mature old, slower than molasses Maisy.  

Nahh....that girl barely opens her eyes these days.

Oh, I spoke too soon.  Maisy did open her eyes and actually got off her throne....then she sauntered out the new cat door.  Right.in.front.of.me.  

The brazin' hussy.

The cats getting out into the wild results in things like this: The reminder/sign I left for the Coach.

Wait, was Stuart Little a rat or a mouse? 

Because what I needed the Coach to dispose of certainly smelled like a rat. 

Oh, Rattatouie....that is what he had to remove from my rose bed! I get my animated critters confused. 

In other news,  my garden is going LOCO. And that is the kind of insanity I can tolerate!

Wishing you all a great weekend with as little insanity as possible....and NO rats!

XOXO

Photobombers.....always in the wrong place at the right time.

Linds and I went to the beach last week to capture some 'senior' photos.
It's a bonus that we live fairly close to the beach especially when someone leaves their keys ON the beach....and you don't notice until you are BACK home again.
{they were at least on an old dock pole and NOT in the sand}

Ironically when we approached the beach to retrieve the keys it was pitch black....and a BLACK cat sprung out in front of us....when did cats start hanging out at the beach?
Hello----this was the day before Halloween!

No matter...I didn't whine or cry or even pout. Even though I was tired from a busy week and a full day at work and no one had fed me dinner yet.

I DID capture some great shots of my girl....which will be hidden in a vault for a while.
BUT, I will share this one with the rudest paddleboarder ever.

Yeah, that guy is totally not getting a Christmas card from me. 

I waited four years to do that.

I have to tell you that I'm kinda freaking out....I'm having issues with my Mac. *shiver* I can't get all my photos to upload, and things are crashing around me....apparently I'm out of disc space? I do have an appointment on Tuesday afternoon at the Genius bar. Surely they serve good drinks at that bar....

A ton of stuff has been a'happening. Busy. Busy. Busy.

Linds had her 'senior night' on Friday night for danceline/band; this coincides with the end of marching band season. {they have one more game-'away') A BIG deal. We escorted her out onto the field....along with 48 other seniors and their families. 

I attached my long lens, adjusted all the settings on my camera, then handed it over to LoLo's boyfriend to capture a few shots from the stands. 

Yes, I AM a juvenile" BUNNY EARS"

Ha! I have a few good shots of Linds performing after this...but those are some of the photos that don't want to get  onto my laptop for some reason.

Saturday our school hosted a huge band competition....it was a full day of volunteering and a little bit of stress on my part. {Who gives me a walkie-talkie and the charge of the performance gate?} 

Our band performed last as an exhibition...and they freakin' rocked it. 

When they were done....I saw that Linds was crying...that is when it hit me:
This was the last time she would perform on her home field. Ever.

Four years....done in a snap. You'll be proud to know that I didn't cry until I was in the privacy of my car. 

 It was not pretty, the reality hit me like a rock. Both our girls attended this school and we are close to moving away from the public school mode.  yikes. 

I'm behind catching up with all of you....please don't have any fun without me.