Dog in Need

Luigi is a good dog, strong, protective, caring, loving and overall a big baby!
He was a breeder dog, both parents are show dogs and he's never been fixed.
Imagine my suprise when a black girl dog somehow got into our backyard and my sweet little Luigi was struck by Cupid's Arrow! He was begging us for food for her....he never shares his food with anyone! EVER!!!
They played together, sniffed each other, she would even nibble his neck (I swear I am not making this up) and he would gently put his paw on her back. They chased each other, chased birds, barked at our neighbor together. (He's usually a very quiet dog but he followed her cue and started barking too.) THEN....... oh yes, then..... Sierra walked in the kitchen, looked out the window and saw......oh yeah...... the Mountain Dew, as we call it in our house. My Luigi was now a stud-muffin! I didn't like it very much. He started going crazy for her.!

We found where she was coming in from and Emil fixed it the other day, so she hasn't been back. Luigi is heart broken. He hasn't eaten much. He cries constantly. And I mean constantly.... morning, noon and night. Luigi will do ANYTHING to come inside. Last night he CRIED to go outside in the pouring rain to go sniff the fence where she was on the other side. Then he ran back and forth, up and down the fence crying for her. My dog has turned into a love sap! Imagine that!!!

Three or More Tuesday - Lacquer Boxes

Cindy at My Romantic Home is hosting another Show and Tell Friday. I have been so busy this week I had to double up on my postings and I also entered this post at.....

Tam at The Gypsy's Corner is hosting Three or More Tuesday. This is my first time entering.

I thought I would show my Russian Lacquer boxes. I have many, many Russin trinkets large and small all over my house.
These Russian boxes are intricately handpainted and can cost several hundred of dollars. These are those....lol. However I think they are all pretty and I love collecting them.
This one depicts Snegurochka, the SnowMaiden. You can't really tell from the photo but the bottom of her dress and the snow is a glittery white.
My goodies inside the box...

This is a landscape box. It measures about 3x2x1 inches.

It has a beautiful delicate gold scolling along all four sides and sits on four little feet. The goodies inside this box. That is a Russian ring in there that is also handpainted and has the same gold scroll painting all over it.

This box shows a couple. They are dressed in very traditionaly Russian folk clothing.

I love the gold work on this one. I don't know if you can tell but it's tiny leaves on that vine.

The goodies inside this box.

Another box with young lovers painted on it.

This one does not have any gold painting on the sides. And I have nothing inside it. It just sits on my dresser with the other ones.

Thank you so much for stopping by my first Three or More Tuesday entry. I hope you enjoyed it! Stop by The Gypsy's Corner to see everyone elses trios!

Also, stop by and see Cindy's Show and Tell Friday here. You won't be sorry. Cindy always has the most beautiful decorations and everyone that joins Show and Tell Friday always have the most unique and cutest posts. It's always a real treasure and you never know what you will find!

The Tooth, The Whole Tooth & Nothing But The Tooth

Today I was driving with Lena just talking about nothing really.... songs, Superstar, Stardolls.....just things. Then out of the blue she asks me, "Mom, when you get your... ummm.. do you.... you know.... when they come..... ummm... the wisdom teeth.... do they make you.... ummm... ok.. when you have your wisdom teeth.... do they make you ...you know... tell the truth?" How very sweet/cute/innocent is this? And how long had she been thinking about this. So, of course I told her the truth... I had mine taken out when I was 17 and they never had a chance to grow all the way in, so I don't know if they make you tell the truth.
I has asked her earlier if she had brushed her teeth. I left to go to work at 5 AM so I wasn't there to see if she did or not. She told me yes.. then after the wisdom teeth conversation she told me she really didn't brush her teeth. I couldn't pass up the opportunity.... I told her I guess her wisdom teeth are already starting to grow.
Soooo.... with her childhood innocence point and center I thought I'd post some of my favorite photos of my almost nine year old baby!

She loves trying to play the guitar. She even bought a beginners instruction book and tried to teach herself. Bless her heart!
My little baby loves to cook. This has to be one of my all time favorite pictures of her. Will she always love to cook? Will she take what I have taught her and cook for her family? Will she remember these times we've spent together in the kitchen? And if so, what has been her favorite memory?

On my bed while I was trying to make it. It never fails, everytime I make up my bed she jumps on it and tries to hide in the covers like our cat Charlie does.

In the kitchen again. Is she really looking at the batter or is she bored?Goodness I hope she wasn't bored. I don't want any time that we spend together to make her bored!

With her sister who she often times calls "My CC." They fight like cats and dogs but love each other even stronger! And I am thankful for that!!

I was photographing this pair of lamps I bought at a yard sale to post on my blog and she popped in the picture. She is always saying and doing silly things like this! I love her crazy randomness. I hope she always stays optimistic and happy and conjovial!

These are my favorite pictures of her. Sleeping like a little angel. My little angel. She's wearing my t-shirt. She always wears my t-shirts after her showers. Sometimes when I can't find them I look in her drawers and sure enough there they are. Of course she is accompanied here with her mimi (blanket) and her Purple Luck (bear.)

She asked me take this photo of her. She was playing in her room. She was supposed to be cleaning it but as she says, she needed a rest, which of course was making a fort with her curtains and pillows and ultimately making a bigger mess than it was originally.

I hope she always finds joy in simple things. I hope she always smiles and stays positive.

I love my little baby so very much. She has the sweetest arms and hands and heart. She has no shortage of hugs and kisses. I hope that never goes away.

And I hope that CC lets me make a compilation of pictures for her too.

I have been wanting to update my mantle with fall decorations. I looked at many different sytles online and found pretty much what I was looking for.

This is the before... just a combination of candles, matryoshkas, vases and a Russian doll.
A view from the right side...

New decorations....

The middle...

This set of candlesticks was given to me by my MIL.

I love hiding pinecones in my arrangements.

The finished product...

I still think something is missing. I can't figure out what it is. Do you have any ideas?

Thanks so much for visiting my show and tell. I can't wait to hear your suggestions !

I can't wait to stop by your blogs and see your wonderful things!

Today is Rednesday!

I just found Sue's blog, Sue Love Cherries, and I am so happy I did! Today is Rednesday! Soooo... I remembered that I still had pictures of my "mama" that is at my mom's house. You can read here about these Russian Tea Cozies more and see pictures of my other ones as well.




Mom keeps this one on top of her fridge. She is by far our most favorite!

They are quilted under the skirts so that they can be placed on top of the teapot to keep the water or tea hot. I love them! Each one has such character! I bought all of them on eBay.

I hope you liked my "mamas." I can't wait to see what everyone else has posted today. Thank you so much Sue for hosting this!

Fall Mantle Complete...I think (lots of pics)

First..... thank you everyone for your nice comments. I am getting better. Much better. I am taking my meds that I am supposed to for allergies.. and guess what.... it's getting better. But thank you so much for your kind words. It was nice to turn the computer on and see your well wishes!
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Ok. I realize this will be a super long post. And it should probably be in two posts. I might revise it later. However.. it's mostly pictures. Yay! This is my fall floral arrangement. It has the browns and golds that I love and match my decor. I like a hint here and there of maroon. Not too much. Just a tad. I also placed pinecones in the arrangement. I love pinecones.

See the hints of maroon?

And the pinecone...

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Now I have been going on and on about how I want to update my mantle and throw a little fall in there right? I finally did it!

The before.. right side and left side. (My before... scroll down for the after.)

The center of the new and hopefully improved mantle.

The centerpiece was actually a small wreath that was $1.99. I placed it on top of the foliage and then slipped a stem of faux flowers (only $1.00) inside. See my pinecones hidden in there?

I added some brown sparkly ribbon. (Another $1.00)

My mother-in-law bought me this set of candle sticks. They had been on the floor beside the fireplace but after fixing up the mantle I thought they belonged there better.

The after.... what a difference! I still think something is missing! I can't put my finger on it. If you have any ideas, please post it and let me know.

Papa Bear really likes it. He said it's very "fall." Well.... that's what I was hoping for. I hope I got it. I still think something is missing... do you? What would you add/change?

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This little birdie is back... I don't remember if I blogged about this before but every winter this little birdie family comes and spends the winter in this column on my porch. I think this winter I will make this a cute little birdie house and put out some seed and water for them. They fly away when we open the door but when the mama and papa birdie leave, we pull up the chair and peer inside at the eggs.

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When I got off of work today I checked my cell phone and mom had sent me a message asking me to meet her for lunch at Incredible Pizza. Lena had been wanting to spend the night with her anyway so I went home, loaded Lena up and we met her there.

Forgive the way I look. I was hungry, hot and tired!

We sat in the Home Front section. I think that's what it's called. It's set up to look like an old fashioned home complete with old drawings and black and white reruns. Today "Bewitched" was playing.

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Hootin' Anni sent me this wonderful "moon." I was so excited when I saw a message from her because I went on and on about this wonderful witch she made so I was hoping for some pointers on the witch....or maybe one for sale.... nope! I got mooned!! She definately got a laugh outta me. Mom, if you are seeing this... I'm sorry! LOL!

Soooooooo...... if you are here and reading this..... consider yourself mooned. I'm not tagging anyone specifically. Just everyone generally! So... if you have the courage to do this.... right click ... save and repost to your blog...tagging any and everyone you want!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Wednesday. Two more days ...we can do it!