Annual St. Patrick's Day Party

Last night was our neighbor's annual St. Parick's Day party...and this year it was better than ever! It seemed like there were more people there this year than the past few years. Cars lined the sides of the street...making it a little hard to get down the street...but most of the neighbors were at the party...so we didn't care! hahaha
It had rained about 4 inches the two days before the party...so everyone was happy that the clear skies returned...even if it was a little windy! (by the time it was dark...there was not an open spot on the street to park...there were cars everywhere!)
Ra was ready to enjoy the party.
It had been a long week...the Saturday before the party we were all at our neighbor John's funeral (Sat the 6th); then Ra's son Tim and Angela were expecting the birth of their first child. After 3 days in the hospital.. ..induced labor, and various other things "to get things going" Savannah was born Wednesday night. Everyone is doing well and relieved that the baby is finally here! She is a beautiful baby!
On top of it all Ra had to work every day...so it was a busy week. Luckily she had her sister Janice, cousin Monica, and Pilar, Heather, Maggie and a couple other friends and relatives helping. Bill down the street peeled 30 pounds of potatoes, Martha next door mashed them...some of the younger kids set up chairs...it was a group effort...that's for sure!
It was fun. Janice and the crew decorated the house from top to bottom. Flags out front, shamrocks, leprchauns,and every green thing you could imagine scattered around the inside. Ra said she barely had room to sit and have a cup of coffee the morning before the party!haha The backyard had ballooons and lights and more flags and banners.
The dinner buffett was set up outside on the patio...inside was the dessert table!
It WAS like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! hahaha My favorite...sheet cake from Publix! they have the best buttercream frosting!...my neighbor M (name withheld to protect the innocent..hahaha) who works at WalMart said even she and many of her coworkers get their cakes from Publix when they have parties...they're the best!
now they have these little mini cakes...perfect size for a few people...I can't wait till the next time I need some cake...it's perfect! I loved this little Leprechaun! (notice the picture frame in the background...with a photo of the new baby granddaughter)
Ra's sister Janice...setting out the food...she was quite the organizer! She had everyone keeping things hot and making sure all the platters were full all night long!
All the usual items were on the menu...Corned Beef, Cabbage, Irish Stew, Colcannon (sp?), Shepherd's Pie, Boiled Potatoes...(Brenna and Megan's favorite) Irish Soda Bread...





The Bagpiper and drummer...they played off and on all night...
there were dancers...mostly kids...but some adults



Ra's daughter, Maggie, her cousin Monica (from Ireland), and another friend Terry, Heather and Pilar.... who helped with many of the preparations
this banner says it all

Going, going GONE!

I had the day off today...unfortunately all it did was rain all day long...(almost 4 inches in the last 48 hours)...but the kithchen demo is underway.
After I finished emptying out all the cabinets...last night,,,,John decided he was going to start taking off the cabinet doors, etc...and as these things usually go but then one thing led to another........
and the stove top was out and gone.....
then the oven was gone........
the sink and window sill and backsplash were gone.... John cleans as he goes :)
John...working away
he had help from Mark for the first hour 7 am! to 8 am then Mark was off to another job...so was John for awhile...
then John came back and one thing led to another
he decided he could save the $ our friend would charge for total demolition..and keep damage to the (old) plaster walls to a minimum by doing it himself
the refrigerator icemaker was disconnected and then it was moved into the dining area
and then this is what was left....
the walls were empty....
the other side....
now it's empty and clean (for the most part...clean of thedemo trash anyway)
next week...Mon or Tues...the new cabinets will be in.
One thing about John...when he starts a project...it gets done! and quickly...no messing around! The electrician stopped by today to work out final details and then the plumber stopped by for a few minutes to help get the dishwasher, etc. out. So the project is well underway and next week we'll start putting things back together. Normally I would have left the area for the day...but the rain kind of limited my options...no walk...no bike ride....even Kiena and I barely got a walk in...in the rain...not Kiena's favorite conditions...but it was fun to document the project. More to come.....

Calling all Doll Lovers

It took me approximately 3 hours.... 1 1/2 on Saturday and I finished it up this morning...but the display is in!
For the most part I was working on it while the Library was closed...making it much easier to spread everything around...but I finished up this morning and enjoyed the comments as I put the last minute touches on the display.
It's nice to create something that people enjoy....there's no doubt about it...but I had a lot of fun taking everything out and having some place to put it on display. Right away I had a couple of ladies looking and telling me about some of their own favorite dolls and the clothes. One woman told me about a bride doll she had..complete with dress and veil, mink cape, etc. She told me she still has it.... by the way she was older than me! haha
Girls of Today...one of Megan's and one of cousin Anna's....I used the beach theme for them...happened to have a "surfboard" wall hanger on hand...perfect size for a doll's surfboard! It's the Melbourne Beach Library after all!
Another Girl of Today...this one in her skating outfit...complete with cast on one foot and her crutches.
Samantha with some of her clothes andher brass bed. Mini Rebecca doll with two mini menorahs...(one from Anna and one of the new ones the goes with Rebecca)
Addy has some of the cutest clothes...it was a toss up whether to put her in her(my favorite) school dress or something different since she wore the school outfit last time I did the display. I went with her Birthday dress and her fun lunch pail
Molly and Emily
Addy up close..
Kit and her school things

some of Felicity's things...Noah's Ark toy...doll...etc

Kirsten in her special winter coat and scarf...
and lots of cute dresses
Josefina and a few accessories
one end of the display case...Kirsten,and another Girl of Today (Brenna's) in her school jumper, cute boots and little backpack (from Aunt Sandy) and even a little Library Card (from Anna's collection) and Felicity
It was fun to be at the Front Desk and watch people stopping to look at the display. Mostly girls and women...but even some men...and one made a point to give me a thumb's up! I will know every doll lover in town before the 5 weeks are over!

Kitchen Update

Once upon a time....back in March 1993....this is what my kitchen looked like.
We bought a house that was built in 1957(?) (I'm pretty sure) and it was sort of like walking into a time warp. The color of the carpet,the tile and the light fixtures my brother David loved them! My bathrooms were sturdy and well made...but one was a sort of "peach" and gray combo and the other was maroon and a sort of sea foam/aqua?green. (Our realtor friend said "I love these bathrooms...they remind me of cheap hotels I used to stay in down in Miami Beach"...He meant it as a compliment...but that wasn't really the look I was aiming for...if you know what I mean...cheap Miami Beach????? I was told by John that the bathrooms were solid as a rock and there was no way he was going to do anything with them...but we would paint the kitchen cabinets.
My brother Mark , John and his Dad went to work fixing up the cabinets. They were solid wood...and still in great shape...but the "floors" of the cabinets...were a little worn out...so they reinforced them with plywood. They also fixed the counter tops. We started with tile.(of course)( and then later graduated to granite.) Once we got them fixed up
our Friend Jim "the Painter" came and made them look like new!. He sanded and prepped, re sanded and painted them...until they really looked great. A creamy ivory white for the cabinet faces with gray/blue; then I added my blue knobs, painted the walls a very light blue gray and John added the back splash....and that's what we've had ever since.
In 2004 when we got hit with all the hurricanes and lost part of our roof...forcing us to tear everything in the back of the house out...down to the studs...we rebuilt the "master" bathroom. John designed it and it looks SOOOOOO much better than the old green/maroon combo!
Once we got the bedrooms and back bathroom redone...it was a year or two before we moved on to remodeling our other bathroom. It was so nice to update everything...more electrical outlets, new tile, new lighting....new decade!
Recently we decided to go for it and redo the kitchen cabinets. John has been working with a friend who does cabinetry and after working together on a couple of remodel projects...I think John decided it was time to go for it! Over the years we have updated appliances, counter tops, etc...but this will be a complete overhaul of all the cabinets. It was time to repaint things were looking a little worse for the wear and thin gs were getting worn out. Now I will have cabinets...with drawers! pull out shelves, etc...I can't wait....no more climbing around in the cabinets trying to figure out what exactly I have in there! And as you can see in the pictures...it will be nice to have cabinet doors that close and stay closed...without rubber bands!
MY old wooden cabinet (from Penney's way back when)(1980's)I have always kept napkins, tablecloths etc in will be finding a new home.somewhere else...like the garage..it was really looking old lately.(pictured above...kind of mangy looking!)..now I will have a little corner cabinet added on to the end of the counter...with some storage room and a little open shelf for.."nick knacks" John's words I'm not sure what nick knacks he's referring to....we'll see.
Other than the fact that I will have to empty EVERYTHING out of all my cabinets in the next week or two so this project can commence...I am kind of excited...I was not thinking along the lines of all new cabinets...although a new coat of paint and a new cabinet to hold the linens did cross my mind This will be exciting!

rumors

It's funny how rumors get started and take on a life of their own......one of my brothers was recently in the hospital. He thought he had an infection...it turned out to be a abscessed cyst that had the potential to be very dangerous...even fatal.
Fortunately the Drs were able to remove it and they've been working on keeping him infection free ever since. The first couple of nights....no one (his friends) really was aware of the situation...then the word started getting out...and that's when we started laughing (what else are you going to do?!) about the diagnoses "on the street". The first one was that my brother had a "flesh eating bacteria"...okay...not even close. A couple of days later...(and maybe the time frame was part of the reason for the escalating "problems"...because he was in the hospital for 13 days!) ....the next report was that he had had a cancerous tumor removed and had lost a leg! Geez...how do people come up with these things!....I don't think any of the people making these "Reports" actually well obviously! went to the hospital to visit my brother...or called to hear what was going on....Oh well... a least it was good for a few laughs.....because he was pretty "sick" and there is always a potential for infection/complications.....so the comic relief was good. Now...he's back home...trying his best to take it easy and let his body heal.....which is going to take several months. Everything seems to be going well...so we are happy for that!