Strawberry Summer

Welcome to Table Scape Thursday!

A special thank you to Susan at Between Naps of the Porch

for playing hostess to us today!

Today's theme...

 A strawberry inspired lunch for two!

I started off with my faithful and true silver chargers.

(OK, they are the only chargers I own!)

Added my mossy green

silver rimmed Pottery Barn metal plates...

(bought these on clearance too many years ago to count)

I finished the setting with my wide rimmed rose print bowls.

(I found these two several years ago at TJMaxx.)

I simply wrapped a spoon in a napkin and "dressed" it up with

a wide piece of bright green "Christmas" ribbon.

My plain wine and champagne stemware...

added the perfect amount of sparkle!

Plus provided a great way to serve my fresh strawberries!

Grandma Friend's mossy green tureen will hold

plenty of savory soup!

A petite white pitcher to hold some

yummy cream for our strawberries!

Every meal must end with a little chocolate...

Cupcake anyone!

Of course, topped with a fresh strawberry!

Delightfully...delicious!

One for you and ...

one for me!

Thank you for joining me today.

You are special!

Table Top Tuesday

Happy Monday!

or in our house today...

happy library day!

Our library basket is running over!

So many good books...

So little time!

I am posting this to Table Top Tuesday

over at A Stroll Thru Life.

A special thank you to Marty our wonderful host!

Have a wonderful day!

A Summer Scape

I am so happy that I get to play along with

Tablescape Thursday today!

A special thank you to our hostess Susan at

Between Naps on the Porch!

Today's table is all about simple and summer!

Starting with my silver chargers...

I layered my white "rose" china plate...

Topped the china plate with one of my glass bubble salad plates...

Topped with a "rose" china salad plate...

Finally ended with a cut glass coaster

just the perfect size for a sweet cupcake!

The final product!

Coffee to accompany the dessert!

My wedding flatware!

Set upon our white chipped painted kitchen table!

My centerpiece is simple as well...

my bubble plate cake stand topped with

a glass dome...

bejeweled with  vibrant pink hydrangea petals!

Just add cupcakes!

A sprinkling of petals for small pops of color!

 Sparkling crystal stemware...

A view from the side and ...

...one from above!

Thank you for joining me today!

The Tale of the Two Bags!

First, I want to send a special thank you to

Jeanette at Starting Over for this wonderful

surprise I received in yesterday's mail!

I just love my beautiful, handmade mirror!

Many, many heartfelt thanks!

Second, I have a sad tale to tell...

Remember when I went with Wayne to his 1/2 marathon

in Indianapolis?  We were getting ready to drop him off at the

starting gates, when I reached into my purse and

came up with something

" slimy "and "slightly" smelly on my fingers.

Figuring that my hand sanitizer had leaked,

I didn't give it much more thought... until...

As Elyce and I were getting ready to park to observe the race..

I actually looked in my purse and let out a "small" scream.

I am warning you...

the next two pictures are not pretty.

If you are at all prone to be sick at gross things

please scroll fast over the next two photos.

To everyone else brave enough to see...

this is what happens when one forgets an orange

in the bottom of one's purse..

It rots!

(Yes, I too thought it looked liked a dead mouse, hence the scream!)

Needless to say, I had to part with this thrift store purse.

Trust me, the smell was horrible!

Being stuck in Indy without a purse I grabbed

an extra sling bag (you know the kind you get for free)

 and proceeded to use this as my purse.

No, we don't even own a Saturn!

I'm almost embarrassed to admit, but I used

this "bag" as my purse up until last Monday

and then only changed it because I was on my way to a funeral.

That's about two months!

This bag was the perfect size to carry my wallet,

my sudoku book, a reading book, even a water when needed.

So I thought why not reproduce this "bag" in a fabric version.

So using what I had around the house,

Madison (my daughter) and I came up with this!

Just as functional, much nicer to look at!

So we both could have a bag...

I went back to the "fabric warehouse"(my basement)

and made this one too!

I added a contrasting liner to this one!

Can't wait to use my new bags!

So the moral of this story....

Do not store Oranges in your purse!

Have a great day!

Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?

Today was a great day for an "educational" field trip.

So we loaded up the car, picked up some great friends

and took off for Georgetown, Ohio about 40 minutes

southeast of Cincinnati.

Our quest...

to find and visit Ulysses' S. Grant's

Boyhood Home

School House

and then travel back up the Ohio River road

to his birth place home.

Above is Ulysses' Boyhood home.

(Zac, in blue, toted his skateboard along for the ride)

A few interesting facts we learned today:

1. Ulysses S. Grant was not his given name.  His given name
was Hiram Ulysses Grant and was changed
due to a clerical error upon his entry to West Point.

2. He loved horses and is the only US President to
be ticketed and have his carriage impounded
for exceeding the carriage speed limit!

3. He was an accomplished artist!

4. Later in life he lost everything in a bad investment.
Mark Twain convinced Ulysses to allow him to write
a biography, which was published a short time after Ulysses
death.  The royalties, in the neighborhood of 1/2 a million,
from this book allowed for financial freedom for Ulysses's wife.

5. And most likely he was buried in Grant's Tomb!