Veterans Day

GOD BLESS AMERICA & ALL WHO HAVE & WILL SERVE HER! As we observe Veterans Day here in the United States let us not forget to THANK all of the men & women who are, have, & will continue to do what MUST be done to keep our country free.

When you see our flag remember what has come before. What price has been PAID!

Remember those towers? Remember those were DIFFERENT times when we thought we would be spared the terror of attack on our soil. Ask the families of ALL of those souls who lost their lives in a blink of an eye when others thought they had a right to come to OUR country & punish us for our beliefs that differ from theirs. Remember our veterans & our service men & women & PRAY that GOD will BLESS AMERICA!

Postal Bliss!!!!!!!!!!! Packages Keep Arriving!!!!!

Where have I been???? Mother has been here for TWO WEEKS!!!!! YIKES!!!! Love her but, my ears hurt & I am having serious Blog with drawl. Bottom line I MISS MY FRIENDS & all the POSITIVE, beautiful things they talk & think & create! Being POSITIVE & surrounding yourself with POSITIVE is sooooooooooooooooo very important! My mailman of 12 years retired this month & I don't care for his sub but, TODAY when she rang my doorbell I liked her a lot better! There was my box for the FALL SWAP I did with Margaret of The French Bear! Do you know Margaret & know of her AMAZING works of wonder? Oh JOY! I couldn't wait to see what was in the box! And above is the first peek.

All the little packages & those sweet vintage images to tease me.

The first thing I opened was this tiny SPARKLING gold crown with a little envelope that says "you rule". This was wrapped in the sweetest hand made hat box stamped all over.

And here is The French Bear himself wearing his crown of GOLD! Isn't he the sweetest thing? Margaret used the most wonderful fabric to MAKE him. It looks just like soft golden fur. Can you believe she hand makes these little treasures? His features are absolutely perfect in every way.

And, a box of HAND DIED buttons with a HANDMADE VELVET PUMPKIN PIN CUSHION! I just can't stand the excitement of telling you how OVER THE TOP CUTE THIS IS!

Remember the little RED Christmas package?

Well, how the heck did that image get flipped around????? It wasn't like that in the photo when I loaded it but, I have NO IDEA how to fix it sooooooooo, sorry but, turn your head to look because it is VERY cute! And yes, Margaret I BELIEVE!!!!!!!

This sweet ornament was also handmade.

MY STASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't it all MARVELOUS? Also, not shown close up is the sweet hand painted metal heart & cute decorated clothespins. THANK YOU DEAR SWEET MARGARET!

And what is this? The invitation to the Open House for Winnie & Tulula's bit bash! Theresa at Garden Antqs Vintage had her amazing Give Away a couple of weeks agao & my $50 gift certificate to her shop at Winnie & Tulula's came in the mail Saturday. Yippeeeee I know I will love that little shopping experience. Also, enclosed in the envelope from Theresa was a gift card to Starbucks!!!! Gotta love that A LATTE! Hee Heeeeeeee. Thank you so much my generous amazing friends!!!! Have a great week & I promise I will be a bit better about posting now. Hugs~ Charlene

Show & Tell Friday & Goodbye to Halloween

Here we all are having a little "cuppa" after the big Hooooooooray last week. Yes, that's all the girls telling the tales... now it's time to pack it up but, first I wanted to share a couple of Halloween favorites with you for Cindy's Show & Tell Friday (be sure & see the others girls playing this week by clicking the button on the sidebar).

My Witch Martini Glass makes me smile every time I see her melted into a puddle! See those legs with the yellow striped stockings?

Here she is setting on the counter above my kitchen sink. The silly little sign next to it says Spells & Potions (sorry it is not all showing in the photo).

I love the art of Susan Wheeler & these two little pieces are framed & hung in my breakfast area. The one below simply makes me smile. Don't you love the expression on their faces?

So Much Candy So Little Time!

Now I'm off to put the storage buckets away until next year & now it's time for the turkey's to trot out of their buckets. Hope you smiled at a couple of my goodies as I pack them away. Happy Friday & thank you Cindy for being a wonderful hostess.

Also, I wanted to thank Tiffany Marshall for my new Fall Banner. She did the Halloween one that I had & also this one for Fall. She is an amazing artist & friend. Go & visit her to see what other wonderful treats & banners she has in her Etsy shop. Also, I want to thank Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage for helping me size the banner to fit better on my blog. She noticed that part of it didn't show(originally sized at 880 & she downsized it to 660) & I appreciate her technical know how & kindness.

I Need To Buy A Lotto Ticket!

I NEED TO BUY A LOTTO TICKET that's what Bunny at I'm Just Sayin said! Well, I think she is right because Tracy from Frugal Luxuries just notified me that I had won the give away for the book she has written. I am so excited & want to thank Tracy (please stop by & see Tracy & tell her you learned about her from Charlene at My Heart's Ease) & all of the other generous Bloggers that have giveaways for all of us. I think the amazing things we are exposed to in all the different blogs & the amazing women that write them are the biggest blessing of all. Don't you? THANK YOU TO EACH OF MY BLOGGING BUDDIES! I feel so blessed to have each & every one of you in my life!

Winner of Giveaway!!!! Lucky Me!!!! Thank you Theresa!!!

I have been sooooooooooooooooooooo busy with having my mother here from Palm Springs, CA & add Halloween & I have been missing my blog time & friends. Imagine my surprise & DELIGHT when I came in to "catch up" a bit (Mom is reading a book I got her hooked on) & found out that I WON the Giveaway from Theresa at Garden Antique Vintage! I won a $50 gift certificate to her shop(go visit her & check out her wonderful BLOG & SHOP) & Starbucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did she know I love Starbucks(now I have to decide coffee or hot chocolate hmmmmmm that will be a hard one)? THANK YOU Theresa for choosing my name as your winner & most of all for having such a wonderful giveaway. It was Theresa's Blog Anniversary so a big congrats for that! And also, I have had so many visitors from her wonderful blog come over to visit & congratulate me. WOW what great folks bloggers are. I am so blessed to have everyone of you in my life! Thank you Theresa & my wonderful blogging friends!

Great Movie Find!

Yesterday I took my mother & a friend to see the movie Amelia. There are a lot of movies a girl CAN NOT take her 80 year old mother to these days! But, this was a good one. Hillary Swank did a great job portraying Amelia Earhart. I remembered things about her from history class but, this is a great Chick Flick for sure. If you have a chance take a favorite Chick & go see this movie. Have a great weekend & Happy Halloween. Gonna play with all 5 of the Grands tonight. "Honey" wanted the 4 oldest to spend the night after Trick or Treating... I said "Are you outta your mind????? Jacked up on all that candy & all that excitement.... do you see STUPID written on my forehead"? Heck NO! Enjoy!

Give Away Goodness!

I had just finished the post below & started visiting some of my friends & realized that Sandy at Quill Cottage is also having a giveaway & I needed to plug this in so you got one more chance at wonder. Sorry for the quick add in but, I didn't want you to miss this one either.

Have I got you attention now? Yes, that is $50!!!! And that is what's in store for you if you visit & win the give away being done with Angelique at Six In One Hand...

Anne at Fiona & Twig is giving away a copy of the wonderful book The Find & ALSO a $25 Gift Certificate to Anthropology. Aren't these gals generous this month????? LOVE THE GIVE AWAY LOVE!!!! Be sure to go visit & sign up!

Fireworks are the word for the day for Theresa at Garden Antq Vintage because she is celebrating a Blog Anniversary. Be sure & go join the party & sign up!

Wouldn't this beautiful Wine Box make a beautiful presentation for wine or sparkling cider for the Holidays? LuLu at Coastal Sisters would love for you to drop by & sign up so you have a chance for this beauty to come to you.

I think all the give aways I have listed run through October 31 but, check to be sure. Now I'm off to the CPA's to pick up my tax stuff & have lunch. Later this evening I pick my mother up at the airport for a visit. She is here to see all my GRANDS & go Trick or Treating with us. If I'm not around much that will be why.................... wish me luck!!!! :0