Dozens of Tablescapes

Do you ever go through your old photos and think to yourself 

"I had forgotten about that"?  I was just going through my Picasa Web

albums and found lots of old tablescapes and thought I would share them

with you.

One of the wonderful things about being a blogger is that you record

moments and creative endeavors that you may not have otherwise.

So many tea trays and tea tables ….

In various shades of blue.

And in every room of the house ….

Out in the garden ….

And on a porch swing ….

For holidays ….

And grab and go lunches too ….

A market basket full of goodies ….

Or apple picking days ….

Enjoying the crisp days of fall ….

And in miniature too ….

I have enjoyed sharing all these tablescapes with you!

Tablescape Thursday

What's that Bentley?  Where are the dog tablescapes you ask?

We need to work on that don't we ;-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Sleep Your Wrinkles Away ;-)

I think I have finally stopped having sleepless nights.  This is a good thing

because lack of sleep depletes energy, makes one irritable and causes

wrinkles.  And who wants that?  I sure don't.  So, in order to get a better

night's sleep I have been turning off the TV.  The television is on in our

room at night and I have decided to turn it off and read for a bit instead.

Success!  When I read something light and fun I drift off to dream land

so peacefully.  

Now here is what y'all really want to know….  how to get rid of

wrinkles.

One of the things that has helped me to sleep through the night is a sleep

mask.  Although our bedroom is pretty dark at night, there are still those

pesky little lights from electronic devices.  When I block out every tiny bit

of light I sleep through the night.

I was looking for an additional sleep mask when I came across this one.

First of all, let me tell you that I am not being paid to write about this, it's 

just something that I want to tell you about.  This is the iluminage sleep mask.

It claims that the copper infused fibers of the fabric will help to soften

the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes after thirty nights of

continuous use and continued improvement over time.  The company 

backs this claim through clinical independent double blind placebo results.

I just began the thirty day trial last night.  I will let you know how well

it works.  They make a pillowcase out of this copper infused fiber also,

but I will wait to see how well the eye mask works before I spend money

on the pillowcase.

Speaking of pillowcases, I purchased a silk one a couple of months ago.

The first night I used it I felt like my head was slipping off the pillow, but

now I love it!  My pillow stays cool all night.  Love that!  When I wake up

in the morning I don't have "bed head".  I can't tell you how much I am

loving that.  It also keeps my shoulder length blonde hair nice and shiny.

It's a win, win.  See, here is my silk pillowcase ~ it's the white one.  

So that's it for my beauty tips.  Wishing y'all sweet dreams tonight and

let's all sleep our wrinkles away!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Starting Over ~ Yet Again

I have a miniature African Violet that sits on the window ledge over my

kitchen sink.  This little violet has been with me for many years now.

I purchased it at the Boise Co-Op.  It has witnessed many things in

my life, the death of my father following his long battle with

Alzheimers.  The big decision to move away from the home we loved

for many years and up root our lives from Idaho to Texas.  The

sale of our business.  A business that the two of us created from 

scratch.  Packing up two households and moving to Texas with my

Mom.  And finally her death last year.

When I first bought this violet, it was tiny but full of blooms.

It was so precious and at first I really nurtured it.  Then after some

months had passed my schedule and my life became chaotic with

the responsibilities of work and aging parents.  I began neglecting

this dear little plant and it began to wither.  At first it stopped

blooming and then the leaves started to shrivel.  The plant was

sad and dying and it was my own fault.  I gave it a little water

and then went out and bought another miniature violet that was

hardy and vibrant and full of blooms as this one had once been.

When we moved down to Texas, I put all of our house plants 

in the back of our truck because of course they were not going

into the dark moving van.   They made it through the three day

trip down here just fine because I was careful to make sure all

the plants were hydrated each evening.

I gave both the little violets a new home on my kitchen

windowsill.  I knew they would be happy there because that

window has a northern exposure and although they would

receive lots of light, they would never suffer through the direct

rays of the strong Texas sun.  Both prospered.  Both bloomed.

But one day I noticed that this particular little violet was not

doing very well.  It was overburdened by heavy leaves so I

gave it a trim.  Still the violet was not happy and was listing

to one side and it's blooms were shriveling and falling off.

I realized that once again, this little plant needed some special

attention, so I trimmed up the bottom leaves and repotted it to

give the plant a better footing.  Just this morning I noticed

new little leaves growing at the top.

This violet is a metaphor of my life.  It's been a rocky road.

Parts of me have shriveled and died from upheaval and

neglect.  I don't think that all hope is lost, but it's time for

me to cut away the burdens of heavy heartache, straighten

my spine and grow in a new direction.

I am starting over ~ yet again.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

I Lost My Blog Post ~ Sorry

If you were looking for my blog post about my floral vignette, I am

sorry to say that I lost it.  I had written a post for another day.  It was in

draft form and when I decided to delete it, I deleted this post by mistake.

I linked up to several parties and those links will now lead nowhere.

I have been rather upset lately and have been doing stupid things.

Sorry.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley