The Kindness of Fellow Bloggers

This arrived in my email box earlier this week from a fellow blogger:

"Hi, Cheryl... Just wanted to check in to see if all is okay.  Haven't heard from you for a while and was a bit worried."

Receiving that message reminded me of two things:
1. I can't let my blog go when things get busy around here, and
2. The friends I've made through this blog over the years are the BEST!

Somehow, time seems to have sped up since we returned from our road trip last month. First there was Easter.

I have no idea why I felt compelled to make 23 Easter baskets, but I did. So no blogging that week! While going through the Easter stuff, I came upon this old photo of my sisters and I all dressed up for Easter 1954. Do you remember that we all wore "Spring coats", hats and gloves on Easter? And corsages, of course.

Andi, Nancy & Cheryl, Newington, CT,  Easter 1954
"The Stunning Smith Sisters"

The week after Easter, was spent with our grandchildren. They live in Brooklyn, NY and love to come to Maine. Our granddaughter wanted to "do crafts" so here's what we did together.

Do you remember weaving potholders as a kid? My sisters and I would weave them by the hour and then either give them as gifts or try to sell them to the neighbors for 25 cents each.  Happy memories. Our granddaughter picked it up quickly and made lots of potholders to take home!

After a week with kids (fun but exhausting!), we decided to take a quiet ride up the coast of Maine for a couple of days. just to get away.

We love the mid-Coast so that's where we headed, stopping to visit friends along the way.  Our Searsport friends have goats. The baby (above) is only 12 weeks old and so cute. When she cries for her mother, she sounds just like a human baby.

Our friends also own a campground. I've offered to help out the past few years ordering and organizing the campground store. The floor is freshly painted and it looks beautiful now - just very empty. So, I've been busy getting ideas from places like Pinterest and Etsy for things we need to order asap.

I love to make things, decorate, shop, and hit the flea markets so thinking of ideas for things to sell and unique ways to display them is actually fun for me. But it has been another distraction that's kept me from blogging.

While we were on out getaway, we stopped for our first fried clams of the season. So good! And, just for old time's sake, we shared a root beer float to go with them. Delicious! Sadly, my Weight Watchers meeting was the day after we got back. Those clams cost me two pounds that I have to get off this week but they were so worth it!

On the way home, we stopped at an antique shop we like. Being downsized I try not to buy much these days but I couldn't resist these four M.A. Hadley Berry plates. I've collected M.A. Hadley since I worked part-time at the Yankee Peddler Country Store in Connecticut when my kids were little. They sold her hand painted pottery and I coveted it. I couldn't afford even one piece then so now I can't help treating myself to it once in awhile.

When we got home, I found yet another reason to put off catching up on my blog: I decided to start digitizing the thousands of slides we had stored away from our college graduation through our children's early childhoods. Remember the boxes of Carousels that seemed so high-tech back in the day? Again, I have no idea what possessed me to do this now.

But I did find this neat little Kodak Scanza on Amazon. It converts Old 35mm, 126, 110, Super 8 & 8mm Negatives & Slides to JPEG Digital Files that are saved on an SD card. Since it costs 40-50 cents a slide to have this done professionally, I figured the purchase would be well worth it. When I finish (if ever!), I'll put all of the photos on thumb drives for my children and sisters. 

And in my spare time, I purchased three trees at the local nursery (that's another story) and set up the deck (finally - we've had NO Spring in New England this year!),

Having shared all that, I still feel bad that I've let this blog go for so long. But I also feel grateful to have such good blog friends, who, although we've never met in person, share their lives with me as I share mine with them. 

And who take the time to ask if I'm OK when I haven't posted in awhile. We may live across the country from one another and differ in more ways than we know, but we are friends. 

And that means the world to me!

This post is linked to:

Grandma's House Link Party # 138 at Chas' Crazy Creations

10 Dollar Tree Bargains for Spring

Spring 2019 Fairy House items from Dollar Tree. I love these!

Now that my Valentines are in the mail, I took a trip to Dollar Tree to see what's new for Spring.
Not only did I spot some great finds, I learned that Dollar Tree has a BLOG! Who knew?  The blog is full of ideas for "hacks", crafts, decor, and party ideas using only inexpensive items from Dollar Tree.

The Dollar Tree "Tips & Ideas" Blog includes headings for "Tips & Hacks", "DIY & Crafts", "Celebrations", "For Teachers", and "Weddings". There are hundreds of great ideas on this site.

Here are 10  Bargains that I loved, some from the blog and some from the store.

1. Holiday Decor.  I love to decorate for holidays.  I confess: most of my holiday supplies come from either the Target "Dollar Spot" (see my previous post, Valentine Tablescape On a Budget) or Dollar Tree. I love the challenge of making something unique with inexpensive materials.  Here's one idea for an Easter themed wreath using only Dollar Tree items.  I'm calling it my "Dollar Tree Spring Bargain #1!"

Click here for the materials and directions:  DIY Peeps Wreath

Spring Bargain #2.  Polka-Dot Chickens

These are new in our local Dollar Tree Store. I just love them! Wouldn't they be cute in an Easter Basket or as part of an Easter tablescape?

They remind me of the red chickens on the top shelf at Brenda's Cozy Little House

Spring Bargain #3. Stylish Storage Baskets

These are simple, classic, well-designed, useful, and a perfect color . . . 'nuff' said!

#4.  Galvanizd Plant Pots

These are classics!  Use as Easter baskets, gift pails, to carry garden gloves and supplies while you're working in the yard, for BBQ items, or . . . for flowers and plants!

#5. And this time in French . . .

#6.  Cake Carriers

These are amazing. At Christmas, my DH makes rum cakes for hundreds of lots of our friends. These were perfect for "wrapping" and storing them. And, the click-clack fastener on the bottom means that the bottom and top actually stay together when carried by the handle on top. A major bargain for $1.00 each!

I remember the old Tupperware Cake carriers; I think I even had one once. But they were too expensive to give away. This does the same thing and costs less than a gift bag!

#7.  Jars.

I use jars to organize almost everything. From kitchen to craft room, they're the best!

And Dollar Tree has jars in both glass and plastic . . . 

     in about every shape and size!

Bargain #7.  Frames        

There is a huge selection of frames for $1.00 and, if you want more of a farmhouse look, click here:     How To Distress Picture Frames from Dollar Tree . The Dollar Tree blog has simple directions for distressing dollar frames.

#8. Party Supplies.

I get most of my party supplies at the dollar store. They have every item, in every color, and all for a dollar. They even have "silver" flatware and serving pieces that by candlelight could pass for the real thing . And on their blog, they have directions for lots of clever party decor I would never have though of  - like these Pinatas made from party hats! Cute and much less expensive that buying a pinata, even at WalMart prices.

Here's the link: DIY Party Hat Pinatas

Bargain #9.  Basket Bags.

These are the best! Our local library uses them for its annual "A Tisket, A Tasket" fundraiser. They're also big enough to hold a real kids (aka huge) Easter Basket. And there are two in each dollar package.

Here's how we used them at the library:

And finally, #10. Hallmark Cards

In a previous life, I owned a Hallmark Shop in Kennebunk, Maine, and I still love to send Hallmark Cards. But . . . my young grands don't appreciate them enough to spend $3.99, $4.99 and 5.99 apiece on them. At the holidays, that really adds up. Enter Dollar Tree. They now sell Hallmark Cards for $2/$1.00, Fellow grandparents: we can't go wrong at that price! Check them out.

I don't own stock in Dollar Tree and I don't even know anyone who does, but - I do know a bargain when I see one. If you're good at sniffing out a good buy (and passing over the less appealing stuff) and have some creativity, you can do pretty well at Dollar Tree.

I'd love to hear what you've found there!

This post is linked to:

Inspire Me Tuesday #488 at A Stroll Through Life
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Homestyle Gathering #5 at My Wee Abode
To Grandma's House We Go Linkk Party #126 at Chas" Crazy Creations
Thursday's Favorite Things Party at Crafts a la Mode
Flaunt It Friday #435 at Chic On a Shoestring

Procrastination

Happy New Year from Maine! I haven't posted for almost two months and I apologize to my few, but loyal, blog friends. I love to write, take photos, decorate, or go on adventures and blog about them and I've missed doing it. I promise to do better in 2019!

Winter has arrived here in coastal Maine but it has been mild so far. This is our street; across from it is beautiful Casco Bay, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean near Portland (the "other" Portland!)

With my stair project done, you'd think I would have taken a break but . . . you'd be wrong. The stairs came out so good sans wall-to-wall carpet that I plowed right ahead and started on the second floor, which houses my craft room, our master suite, and a second-floor laundry.

Which required squeezing every bit of furniture, clothing, and decor into the laundry room and bathroom while we worked on the floors. What a mess!

Here is a "before"picture of our master before the icky old aqua carpet was removed. 

We replaced it with red oak flooring. It was quite a learning process for me as there are so many new flooring products on the market today. I had no idea about the virtues of vinyl planks vs. engineered hardwood vs. laminate and so on.  After lots of research and speaking with helpful professionals,  we chose red oak engineered hardwood to compliment the floors downstairs.

We did have the flooring professionally installed and it looks beautiful. What a change!

 Here it is in my craft room, one side . . . 

And the other.

When  the floors were done, I decided to add some curtains to the craft room. I love how "boho" and unexpected these are, with their mix of colors and textures.

And since I've been reading at my craft table (and I LOVE to read), I treated myself to my very own reading corner in the newly-floored craft room. I had the lamp, bought a little C-table at Home Goods for my books, and ordered the chaise from Wayfair.  FYI: This was my first purchase from Wayfair and I couldn't be more pleased; they sent free fabric samples when I was deciding on the fabric and shipping was free and fast. If you've never seen my craft room, here's a link to a post I did about it. I spend most of my time in this room!

By the time the second floor was back together, it was Thanksgiving. Literally. I love these little bottle-brush turkey place card holders I found at Home Goods. Only $1.99 each. I gave them to my sister as a hostess gift on Thanksgiving Day. Heck, she was doing the cooking this year!

We  had barely finished all the Thanksgiving leftovers when the Christmas season got started. The first two weekends in December are "Christmas Prelude" in Kennebunkport , a great time for Christmas shopping, fireworks, and catching up with old friends.

Speaking of Kennebunkport, I have to acknowledge the passing of President Bush #41. He will be missed by all of us who he considered his neighbors. I am a liberal Democrat but knew him to be an exceptionally honest and caring man. He will be missed.

And then it was Christmas . . . .

I spent all my time making Christmas gifts and not enough of it working on my blog. 

I love this stamp. I had it made at Staples and use it to make my own gift tags, gift bags, gift wrap and Christmas cards on plain brown paper. Simple to wrap or embellish with plain old garden twine.

I found these vintage Bingo cards at an antique shop in North Carolina last March. 

With some cut and paste and a little ribbon, they made tree ornaments, a holiday banner for our fireplace, and Christmas cards for special friends.

I posted Tips for Stenciling Flour Sack Towels in August and, between then and December 25th, completed 46 (OMG!) of them to give as Christmas gifts. I found images I liked on the Internet and cut my own stencils on Mylar using an Exacto knife. 

                    The Kitchenaide mixer stencil took awhile to cut out but it's my favorite.

                                      Whew! No wonder I didn't have time left to blog!

             And then there were the driftwood Christmas trees to finish . . . 

Homemade Maine Christmas folk art with driftwood collected in Searsport, Maine.

But on Christmas morning, all of the preparation was worth it.

After Christmas Day, a walk on Wells Beach was exactly what was needed to center myself again.

For the New Year, I decided to go crazy and cut off all my hair. Really!

Here we are before; halfway before anyway . . . 

And after. 

Short, sassy, and oh so easy!

And, ever the optimist, I rejoined Weight Watchers AND Planet Fitness for 2019. 

Hope springs eternal!

Last weekend, we had a great day outdoors at the farm of our friends Survivor Bob and Peg Crowley in nearby Durham, Maine.  

The occasion was the Crowley's annual "Christmas Tree Burning Party".

So much fun and so nice to be outdoors on a mild winter's day .

Which brings me to today.

I think we're actually caught up.

I promise to be less of a blog-procrastinator in 2019.

Happy New Year!