Little Things Mean A Lot

This summer, my parents are moving to a new home. It’s a bittersweet experience for all of us. The new place is a charming little cottage on Cape Cod – so thatโ€™s the happy part.

But they have lived in the home from which they are moving for close to 56 years. They raised six children there – me included! ๐Ÿ˜‰

So many happy memories in the old place . . . we’ll miss it quite a lot, but it was time for them to move on.

Recently, we all joked about how on earth we could move the “family growth chart”, which is simply a narrow strip of wall where, for a lifetime, my Dad has presided over the measuring of each one of us. In the earliest years, it was my siblings and I who were asked to “stand up straight”, as we backed up, heels against the wall, and he marked our heights with a little line, drawn in pencil, and then added names and dates.

The years flew by and eventually we were bringing husbands and wives to visit. Dad would always encourage them to have their heights recorded alongside our own. It was a family tradition by then, and we all enjoyed watching the growth chart – GROW!

Finally our babies arrived, one by one – his grandchildren! And they in turn were added. None of us ever considered this little bit of graffiti to be undesirable. Here was a case of where it was definitely ok to write on the wall!

Somehow, we are going to have to come up with a way to transport this strip of wall to the new place. A growth chart might seem like a little thing, but to us – it means a lot!

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Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Just a reminder that the GIVEAWAY for July (click here to see it) is still running and all comments for this month count as entries.


Today’s question is:

~Describe a schoolyard game that you played with your friends when you were a kid.

or

~Write the first few lines of a song you remember singing while jumping rope! ๐Ÿ˜€


Hugs,

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Wedded Bliss

And they said it wouldn’t last. (Just kidding.)

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Thirty-eight years ago tomorrow . . .

[ I was in kindergarten. Why are you laughing? I WAS! ๐Ÿ˜‰ ]

I was lucky enough to marry a man who has made my life happier than I ever could have imagined. I’m sure in a dictionary somewhere – there’s a picture of him right beside the words “great husband”.

He’s been my best friend, a loving father for our kids, and the perfect partner through whatever life has sent our way.

If you were to ask him, I’m sure he’d say the same thing about me . . .

Isn’t that right, Dear?

Dear??? Isn’t that right?

Seriously, we’re so lucky. Please celebrate with us . . .

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and a slice of cake all around! ๐Ÿ˜€

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Gallery Wall

I have to admit that we have a rather eclectic decorating style at our house.

We’re a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll . . . oh no, wait! – that’s Donny and Marie. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Did I just date myself? (LOL) If you’re too young to know who they are, you could google them.)

One connecting thread in our decorating, though, is our love for vintage items. When we first moved into our home, we decided to make a “gallery wall”. We began with old prints in interesting vintage frames.

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Eventually, we included a treasured collection of very old family photos from several generations.

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Over the years, we’ve even added a few contemporary pictures, and this blend of “old and new” is on display in our front entryway. The arrangement continues to expand and it’s such fun to be able to enjoy photos that would otherwise be stored in boxes and albums.

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You may prefer a more modern, or a more formal, or perhaps a more whimsical look!

The best thing about a “gallery wall” is that it can feature all the things you love in whatever โ€œthemeโ€ you choose.

I took a quick look online and found a cool link (click here) with nine different versions of a gallery wall. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of them!!!

How do you decorate your space? ๐Ÿ™‚

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The Circle of Life

We live in a rural area and enjoy the variety of wildlife that we frequently see, but our favorite outdoor “friends” are the large snapping turtles that use our yard as their crossroad.

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Each spring and autumn, we have a ringside seat to watch the turtles as they migrate between a small pond across the street to another one in our back yard.

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They spend the winter with us and then travel back across the street for the summer.

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We get such a kick out of seeing them slowly creep across our yard on their seasonal journey.

Snapping turtles are quite large and have a lifespan of at least 47 years.

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With their prehistoric look, it’s easy to believe turtles have been around for over 200 million years and were roaming New England’s landscape even before the dinosaurs!

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Kissin’ Cousins

Yesterday, I was visiting Shelley’s blog and saw that she had posted the sweetest photo of herself as a little girl! It inspired me to search for one of my own.

In today’s world of digital photography, where we can easily have staggering numbers of pictures, it’s hard to remember that time – not so long ago – when photos were an expensive luxury!

Here is one that I treasure . . .

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Click and click again to enlarge

My cousin and I are close in age and I’m guessing that we are around three years old here. We’re sitting in front of the house where I lived. My Aunt, the little boy’s Mom, gave this picture to me several years ago. I had never seen it before then. She told me that right before the photo was taken, she asked my cousin to give me a little kiss!

Hope it brought a smile to your Wednesday. ๐Ÿ™‚

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