Mimi Mine

There are a few things happening in my back yard. The first is a fragrance so divine that it would be very difficult to ignore, even if I wanted to. I fell in love with this fragrance many years ago as a resident student at boarding school. Let me tell you the story of how I discovered the fragrance. I had been excited about the prospect of attending a boarding school. I had never been away from home alone and thought it would be a positive experience--an adventure. I have to admit that it ultimately was a very good experience  and one which helped me to learn how to deal with all sorts of people, to mature and learn how to be independent in so many ways. Upon arriving, however, I found myself thrown into totally different surroundings, living in a room with three sets of bunk beds with five other girls!  The six of us girls shared a connecting bathroom with another six girls in the other room. Twelve of us and one bathroom. Living in what had once been a private mansion...

Most of my readers probably know how much I like to go to thrift stores in search of treasures of one kind or another. I keep my eyes peeled for that certain item that I have my heart set upon. It  can take months or even years to hit the right place at the just the right time to find it--that thing I have been searching for without having to give up an arm and a leg to make it my own. I post today about one such item I have been looking for. A week or so ago, I stopped by a little shop that I sometimes forget about. It is tucked away in an inconspicuous place and I glanced down and spied something that looked very much like something my heart had been desiring. It was sitting on the very bottom shelf of one of the displays. I figured it was a flimsy reproduction of some kind. I reached down, expecting to quickly lift it up to check it out. To my amazement, the thing was heavy--very heavy! I finally managed to get the thing on to a higher shelf, more at eye level, so I could exam...

Of all the gifts I have received over the years, the ones that are hand-crafted are the most significant and special to me. It's not that I do not appreciate every single thing that any friend or loved one gives me. I certainly do. Because I am a person who has spent a lifetime  creating things myself, I understand how much thought and consideration, time, effort and materials are poured into the process of creating . There is something very unique and endearing about gifts from the heart and hands, even those made by the little children in our lives. Bragging is not something I do much of, at least not on myself, and I am not starting now. However, I think it will be acceptable if I brag a little on my beautiful, generous and fabulously talented friend. If you have visited my blog a few times you might remember that my friend, Harriette, and I spend a lot of time together, doing the things that we both enjoy so much. Sometimes it is going to our favorite thrift stores and ha...

 I have long found carriage house or lantern style lighting to be very charming. Some people might refer to the style as Georgian. The appeal for me is the old world charm such fixtures exude. To me, the lantern style fixtures go well with the French Country aesthetic and I am quite partial to that style. The ones I so much admire are often painted black and sport lots of sparkling glass "windows" or panes of glass.  Though I adore the style, the retail price for most of these beauties is much more than I care to pay. So, I  was keeping an eye out for something that would have the characteristics I had been looking for and still be achievable at a price I was willing to pay. Some time ago, I was perusing a local thrift store and spied a light fixture that had lots of potential. It was, however, not black but a shiny brass one. It was in very good condition and, at around 22 inches in height, was a perfect size for my family/living room. The fixture had six l...

Do you like cookies? Most people do enjoy a cookie every once in awhile and I am no exception. There is nothing quite like the fragrance of goods freshly baked in one's own kitchen. Cookies are one of those treats that are especially fun to make when you can share the experience with one of your favorite grandchildren. Kids love to help while baking is being done and my Sophie is no exception. Of all the desserts classified as cookies, Snickerdoodles are one of my absolute favorites. For some reason, I have never actually baked Snickerdoodle cookies. That is, I have never baked any homemade Snickerdoodles, totally from scratch. I have bought the ones that are in a plastic tub (some of which are even already pre-formed individual portions of dough). You may have purchased these and they can be stored in the freezer. Now, mind you, those are actually pretty good. At least, the ones I have had experience with have been good. For the past week or so, I have been guiltily thinking a...

It has been ages since I last posted on my blog and I really miss posting and visiting others on a regular basis. It so happens that I have been having a lot of pain and discomfort in my hands for several years and it has become more intense and debilitating in recent months. I have been severely limited in my ability to do many of the things I like most to do. Being one who puts off going to see a doctor until it can no longer avoided, I kept hoping things would get better and things only got worse. I finally broke down and went to see the doctor who had performed carpal tunnel surgery on one of my hands years ago. I was thinking (hoping) he would probably tell me a there was a quick fix for whatever was ailing me. It was a real let down to hear that I have arthritis in both hands and in one hand there is no cartilage  between the thumb and index finger at all. In his words, "bone is literally touching bone in the joint." Any surgery to try and correct the prob...

I attempted to write this post earlier and somehow managed to publish the post before it was completed. Therefore, I am giving it another shot. Please forgive if you inadvertently received the fragment of the first attempt. I hope that doesn't happen again as it is very disconcerting, to say the least. Today, I would like to share another place that is near and dear to my heart. Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens is a wonderful place to visit and has been named among the top ten zoos in America by TripAdviser in May, 2012. You can read about that  here .  We have been visiting Riverbanks for many years and, as with many places we know and love, we have watched it evolve. We began taking the eldest of two daughters when she was very young and she is now in her early forties. We now have the privilege of taking our five grandchildren, more often to the zoo than to the gardens because, like most children, they love seeing all of the many animals. There are very large mammals,...