Home Rules

I have a plaque that has a list of home rules on it. I kinda like the rules. Here they are:

If you sleep on it.....make it up
If you wear it......hang it up
If you drop it......pick it up
If you eat out of it.....put it in the sink
If you step on it....wipe it off
If you open it.....close it
If you empty it.....fill it up
If it rings.....answer it
If it howls.....feed it
If it cries.....love it

What do you think? I like the last one best. Do you have one you want to add to the list?

Another question.

How long does it take a person to remember that they moved the wastebasket in the kitchen to another place?

Vintage Thingies Thursday - Wash Bowls and Pitchers

I'm participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday hosted by Colorado Lady. Go visit and see who else is posting their vintage thingies.


Do you remember using wash bowls and pitchers?

I don't, but they are beautiful and I've always wanted one.

I recently acquired two of them.

This large blue and white one has no markings on it, but I believe it to be old. The bowl has crazing on it. I love the flowers on the pitcher.




This smaller white one is old. I don't think the bowl and pitcher are a match, though. But, I don't care, I love it anyway. I like the small size of it, because I don't have a lot of extra room in my house. I also love old scarves and I placed this pitcher on a pretty embroidered one.



I'm thinking the next time our water is turned off because there is a leak in the neighborhood's lines (which used to happen a lot), I just might fill up the pitchers and use them for what they were meant to be used for.

Do any of you have memories of using these? If so, I'd love to hear them.

We're In The Top 5!

I signed up for a weekly newsletter from Reader's Digest.
They always send very good articles my way.
The latest one was about the deadliest roads in America. And, to be fair it also listed the best roads in America.

Well, guess which list West Virginia ranked highest on. . . you are right! It wasn't the best roads list.

However, I was surprised to see that the WV Turnpike wasn't on the worst 7 roads in the nation.


I absolutely hate driving the WV Turnpike! Well, I don't drive it, my husband does. So maybe I should say, "I hate being a passenger in a car on the WV Turnpike." We just drove down it last week and I posted on my writing site about that trip. It was the worst drive I had ever taken on it. The drivers were so reckless, it is no wonder there are so many accidents on that road.

There used to be a tunnel on the turnpike. It was named the Memorial Tunnel and it was kind of neat driving through it. My mother went on vacation with us sometimes and she hated going through that tunnel. They closed the tunnel down in 1987 and carved a road through the mountain beside of it. The bypass cost 35 million dollars, took 3 years to complete, 10 million cubic yards of earth were moved and in the process 300,000 tons of coal were taken from the mountain.

Here is how we did on the Readers Digest lists:

Most Dangerous: Montana, LA, SC, WV, Arkansas
Best: Kansas, Wisconsin, Montana, NM, Utah. . . #43 WV

You can go here to read the article and see how your state ranked in the listings.

How did your state do?

You can go here and read about the West Virginia Turnpike: "88 Miles of Miracle."

Now, if they did a list of the most beautiful highways to travel in the US, I think we would rank in the top 5 there, too!

Spring Chores

The weather is beautiful today! But, along with the nice weather comes the chores.

Charley pruned the grape vines.


I dealt with the berry vines. What a mess!


Plants are are popping their heads through the dirt!

If you look close, you can see the first white shoots of Hosta emerging through the earth. They aren't very colorful yet.


The red leaves of my Bleeding Hearts are pushing up.


My spreading Poppies!


I transplanted this flower today. I'm not sure what it is, though. Do you know? It grows from very large round bulbs.


I almost complained about the heat. I got hot working outside! But, I didn't.

I just wish the flowers would wait a little while before pushing up through the earth, because I'm sure we'll have many more frosts before the hot weather. I hate it when my flowers get bit by the cold.

How about you, are your plants popping through the dirt, yet?

Travel Souvenirs

When my husband was in the Navy, he bought souvenirs in most of the places he traveled. They were in his parent's house until recently. We brought them to our home this week.

He was stationed in Puerto Rico, and he sailed on the USS Leahy DLG16. When they weren't steaming out in the ocean, the Leahy was docked at Norfolk, VA.

Here is a souvenir pillow from Puerto Rico. Isn't it beautiful? It goes perfectly with our chair.



He bought beer steins made in West Germany. He believes he bought these in Greece. The one on the left winds up and plays music.


While he was in Greece, he also bought handmade Greek vases. The ones on the left are made of spun copper.



My favorite items he bought were alabaster items handmade in Italy. Here are candlestick holders and a small birdbath with tiny doves around the edge of it. He bought these when they stopped at Naples, Italy.


My very favorite alabaster items he bought were two lamps. Here is a picture of one lit up. See how the pattern of the alabaster shows when the light is turned on. I just love the lamps!



They docked at the piers of Barcelona, Spain, and like all the other sailors, he felt compelled to go to a bull fight. Now, before anyone says anything about the cruelty of bull fights, I totally agree. I feel sorry for the bulls, too. Here is a large tapestry he brought back from Barcelona. It is huge and covers the entire length of the couch.


I think these are what they called banderillas.


I will never get to go to these places, so I'm glad he brought back souvenirs of his travels home with him. Now, I just have to figure out where I'm going to put them all.

Our little house in the hills of West Virginia is getting a little crowded.

Pot Holes!

I hate pot holes. My husband hates pot holes.

We zigzag down the road trying to avoid the pot holes. It is impossible. You swerve to miss one and you hit another. We sometimes find ourselves driving down the middle of the road.

I attempted to take some pictures of pot holes. Aren't they pretty?


Pot holes are everywhere!


There are a lot worse ones. You are on top of them before you realize it. So I missed taking pictures of a few doozies.




Sometimes I wish the highway department would just roll up the road and start all over.



Don't you?