Wonderful Printers Drawer

My sister Sally and her husband were here this weekend visiting. We always have so much to do...to talk about...to share. She told me about a very recent purchase of hers and happened to have a photo of it on her computer. Long ago we all had printers drawers.....Did You??? Of course they sort of went out of style...so mine is long gone....but in case no one's noticed they are having a re-birth in popularity....a little different this time around. She found this online at a trendy Mercantile store up north somewhere. She (Sally) has always had an affinity for HANDS

and has a nice collection of different sizes of hands. Well....this small Printer's Drawere has a tiny little hand in it....among other unique things. Now I am on the hunt for a small printer's drawer...and some small items to fill it! We are going to Renninger's Antique

Faire this weekend in Mt. Dora, Florida so that will be my mission!!! Wish me luck!

Extreme Makeover...Middleburg, Florida ...2011

Well...we have had an exciting week here in Northeast Florida. ABC's Extreme Makeover was

in town....Middleburg is the town...a suburb of Jacksonville...to make over a very needy family's home. The single mother is a teacher and much-loved volleyball coach at the Middleburg High School. She....in the last two years has adopted three girls....ages...12....14...and 18...their parents both died of drug overdoses. This amazing lady had always wanted children but had never married...so she graciously stepped up and wanted to take these 3 young ladies into her home.

She lives...or lived in a manufactured home...the local community wanted so much to help her but when analyzing the home felt it was in need of too many repairs. Unbeknownst to Miss Prewitt...the teacher...the fellow teachers decided to nominate her for the Build of Extreme Makeover. Her story so touched everyone...I guess there was not a dry eye to be found.

My son Mike was one of the project managers responsible for building the new home. The area is beautiful..full of trees...but mostly trailers and manufactered homes...Everything is donated...the builders time...material...everything connected to the project is donated...down to the last nail. My daughters...Melanie...Patti...and three grand-daughters were able to attend as VIP guests to observe the whole process. For anyone familiar with the show it was an amazing experience. There were roughly 3000 community volunteers who pitched in and built the house in 106 HOURS!!! I witnessed it and was just dumbfounded! They worked around the clock. While there as a VIP guest we were fed every day by different vendors...TGIF Fridays...

Chic-fil-a...among many others. The builders were well-fed from various restaurants. For anyone wondering...yes we did see TY!!! My daughter Melanie spotted him and said there's TY!!! I know his walk. He was trying to be incognito!!! Following are some of the photos

we took. The show will air on Mothers Day...a fitting tribute to a self-less lady who deserves

this!

Mimi's Birthday!

Well....I had another fun birthday in Florida with all three of my children!!! Now of course

they are NOT children anymore...but I will always think of them as that! Melanie came down

to visit for about 10 days so she was here...plus Mike and Patti and her family. Of course Logan...Mike's little guy was there also. We had a great dinner and a very yummy cake that the girls got from a Cake Lady! It was the highlight of the party!!! Will share some photos from

that evening! The next day we had a repeat of the same thing...more good food and finished

off the cake!

Random Photos

These are a few photos of my Florida family...just random shots of this and that!!!

Enjoying the sunshine!

We feel so fortunate (my husband and I) to be able to come to Florida and escape the cold at this time of the year. The main reason we come is to visit two of our three grown children (the third lives near us in Kansas City). And of course our grandchildren....Patti and her husband have 3 girls....Mike has a 6 year old son Logan. So we get to spend quality time with them.
We have a small condo about a mile from each family....a good bike ride to either place. Florida is nice and flat...so bike riding is one of our favorite things to do. While the weather has been rather cold it is not nearly as bad as the midwest. The beach is a short block from us and hunting for shells and sharks teeth is another fun thing.

Something for Suzanne!

Suzanne is a longtime friend who I recently did a couple of art shows with....(grammar??) We really enjoyed doing the shows and may try a few more...She is very creative and has a workshop/studio in her basement that must be seen to be believed. I told her she should give tours and charge admission! It is like Dickens Curiosity Shop! Before I left to come to Florida (to escape the cold)
she gave me a wonderful flower pin....may show in another blog....and 4 wood boxes that I guess she was throwing out. When I got settled here in Jacksonville....I decided to wood-burn and paint one for her as her birthday is Jan. 18. Love the way it turned out. I also dug through her throw-away pile and retrieved a large book of fabric swatches....so I lined the box with a couple of those....also am working on a purse from the same swatches. "One man's trash is another's treasure!!!! as the saying goes!" I hope she received by now....it was fun to create...it could be a sewing box...button box...I called it an anything box!!!

3 special Miniature rooms for 3 special granddaughters!

I want to share the gifts I created for my 3 granddaughters for Christmas.....Since they have everything I might want to buy them I decided to make them these little room setting Shadowboxes?? Not sure what else to call them....they are 3 dimentional
behind glass with little things that are pertinent to what they are doing now. Tennis...more tennis.. guitar....loving their pets...etc. I have made several of them....for my sisters...a friend...they are so fun to make as I truly get lost in a miniature world. Needless to say they are a true labor of love. It takes a full day just to create the doll...plus all the handmade furniture and little signs.