I Went to Kindergarten!

What do you do when you have 40 kindergartners
and they want to

PARTY?

Don't you love the shirt?

You paint on them of course!

Well all but this little guy, he didn't want me to paint on him.

Nope, this isn't my daughter's class, she's almost 21 years old.  This mob of cuties is my baby sister's class.  She and her co-teacher team teach a class of 40 kindergartners!!!

(Let's all stop and say a special prayer for them now.)



 I even got to have lunch with them.  Now that's a treat in its self. (I wish there was a sarcasm font.) The kids were a lot of fun, but the food....well let's just say I only had a glass of tea.

Last week Cindy, my sister, asked me to come and help the class make Christmas ornaments for their parents. While I was there I learned they were trying to earn antlers for all of Santa's reindeer, so they could have a party. 

Do you remember the reindeer's names?

You know Dasher and Dancer And Prancer and Vixen,

Comet and Cupid And Donner and Blitzen.

But do you recall The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

So when she asked me to come back and do face painting for their party I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  Plus I've learned that when you have a bunch of kids it's.....ALWAYS....best to limit their choices. 

Most wanted to be Rudolph but the little guy on the left wanted to be Blitzen.  So he got a black nose.

I always enjoy helping out in Cindy's classes and I have done it several times.  My favorite part is telling stories about Cindy when she was a little girl.  Because I'm eight years older than her I have some good ones!

I had a blast and I hope to be invited back.  I want to also say I admire Cindy and Tanya and all other school teachers who do what they do because they love children and want to make a difference in their lives.  Just spending time in this classroom one realizes that these two women are dedicated to doing just that.

Joyfully,

Elizabeth Ann

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

Yes that's a 95!

Now take a look at Nana....isn't she beautiful?

She has the most beautiful blue eyes, they are about the color of the sweater she is wearing, and she's really tiny. (She's sitting in a child's rocker here.)  Her beauty is most definitely more than skin deep.  She is the sweetest most kind hearted person I know.  She has always been young at heart and physically.  We finally got her to quit cleaning out the gutters on her house about 10 to 12 years ago.  At age 90 she bought a new house in a retirement community and she stills lives alone.



Our oldest and youngest family member.

Nana is technically Mr.EA's grandmother but as soon as I met her I knew she would be mine too. Actually anyone who spends any time with her falls in love with her.  She has many, many "adopted" grandchildren.

The Alabama family traveled to Vila Rica, Georgia to Mr. EA's cousin's house to celebrate the big Birthday.  This isn't the whole crew but we still had fun eating bar-b-que and spending time with Nana.

Grandchildren (minus one).  That good looking silver-haired guy in the green shirt is Mr.EA.  He has his Nana's gorgeous blue eyes.

Great-Grandchildren (minus four)

 Great-Great Grandchildren

 



Bentley, one of Nana's great-grand dogs.



He wanted to say Happy Birthday too!



Her daughters

She is such a ham.  She said she felt like a celebrity with all the camera's flashing.  It was like the paparazzi were there! 

She always gets so emotional when she is reading cards.  She LOVES to receive cards in the mail.  She keeps everyone of them and goes back and reads them over and over again.



Mr EA's Nana and Mother



I have known and loved this little lady for more than 32 years. I hope I am half the person she is when I'm her age.  Actually, I hope I'm half the person she is at my present age!

Joyfully,

Elizabeth Ann



My White and Thrifty Vignette

I wanted to share a new vignette I created in my kitchen recently.  It occurred to me today that it's mostly white and it is definitely thrifty. So I can participate in

White Wednesday at Faded Charm

and

Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville

Oops! it's not Christmas -  Leigh please forgive me, I'll do a Christmas one next week!

Everything here came from a thrift store or an antique store.  Nothing was expensive!

I seemed to have developed a love of white marble.  The bottom piece came from a thrift store and cost less than $3.00.  It originally had little knob like feet but one was missing so I just removed the remaining three.  The smaller piece is a cheese board I got from an antique store.  If you look closely you can see that the feet are little silver mice.  It cost about $10 which is the most expensive item in this vignette. I can't wait to use it!

I got a really pretty white marble lamp at an auction not too long ago. 

I'll share it with you as soon as I find the right shade.

The mint julep cup came from a thrift store and the mother of pearl handled knives came from Consigning Interiors and Antiques.  The little knives are actually sharp, I think they are called fruit knives.  These knives are the only thing here we don't use in some way or the other.  But to me they do have a use and that is to just look pretty!

Both the jars are from a thrift store and the spoons are from various antique stores.  Our kitchen only has two small drawers so there isn't a lot of room for serving spoons or extra pieces like ice tea spoons.  Which we use regularly so it is very convenient having them out like this.  Plus they look pretty!

Oh my,  IRONSTONE!!!  I found these little plates in two different places and they only cost about 50 cents each.  They are great for snacks, crackers with soup or salad or for a roll or piece of bread.  The scoop was only 39 cents and cute so I bought it.  Now I find that I use it for more than I thought I would.  Speaking of cute, how cute are these teeny tiny bowls?

Because our kitchen is so small everything has to have a function.  But that doesn't mean it can't be pretty.  The stainless steel table that this vignette sits on was put in our kitchen strictly for utilitarian reasons.  It gave us extra counter space, a shelf underneath that allows us to use large baskets for storage and it has WHEELS!  As it turns out I love the look of the stainless steel and the baskets.  I'm finding that I like the things I use regularly to be out where I can get to them.  Of course I can't just have them sitting out, everything is better in a vignette! ;-D

Joyfully,

Elizabeth Ann

P.S. WOW!! Leigh from Tales from Bloggeritaville really knows how to make a girl blush.  Thank you so much for the love you sent my way on your Thrifty Thursday post. I was so excited when I read it, I had Mr. EA read it while I told him all about meeting you.  Thank you, Thank you! 

Swift-Coles Historic Home

Last month while Mr. EA lounged on the beach I was out making a huge sacrifice to shop for Elizabeth Ann's.
I know that's just the kind of person I am. 

Well I noticed a sign I had never seen before:

 

SWIFT-COLES

HISTORIC HOME

------>

AWESOME!  I looove historic homes!  Darn it's getting late, oh but wait a minute we pass right by the turn off on our way home.  DONE! 

Mr. EA being the wonderful husband that he is said "sure we can go by there.  It will be fun to see a part of this area I haven't seen.  It will probably be just a shack we would drive by and be on our way".
  OH, NO SIR! 
He knew he was in trouble when this is what the drive up to the house looked like:

Then we see this:

Mr. EA:  Uhhh, that isn't a shack.

Me: Cool, there's a sign that says they give tours.

Bon Secour's Tidewater Mansion

Home Open

Tuesdays and Fridays

10:00 - 4:00

Last Tour Begins at 3:00

Admission: $5.00

Mr. EA: Greaaat!

Me: It's Friday! and before 3:00.

So, off we went:

Do you know why people paint the ceilings of their porches blue?  To keep the wasp and birds from building their nest up there.  Is that just a southern thing?

We weren't allowed to take photos inside so all my pics will be of the outside.

 



This is looking from one upper porch to the another upper porch.  Oh, wait should I say from one veranda to the other veranda?

Here's a beautiful view, whether from the porch or the veranda, beauty is beauty.

I love the huge old live oaks dripping with spanish moss and ferns growing on the limbs and trunks.

The Swift-Cole House is located in a place called Bon Secour, Alabama.  Bon Secour is French for "Safe Harbor".  I grew up hearing about Bon Secour I've even been fishing there, but I had never heard of this historic home.  Probably because it was the private residence of Nik Coles until the past several years.

If you want more info and to see some pictures of the inside go HERE.  This is very nice post on the Alabama Bloggers site written by Leigh Bratina of Tales from Bloggeritaville.

I really enjoyed the tour and our guides were very good.  What about Mr. EA?  Well he held in there and even pretended to be interested.  He said his interest was piqued when he heard the ghost story. ;-)  Thank you honey for all you endure.  He loves me!

If you find yourself in Gulf Shores or Fairhope, Alabama, try the tour.  The drive alone is worth it, you will see some of the prettiest land in LA (Lower Alabama).

Joyfully,

Elizabeth Ann

 

First things first.....

I hope you all had a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving!

I know I have been.....let's say INCOMMUNICADO...to say the least!  Over a month has gone by since my last post!  I didn't plan it that way, I honestly can't say what happened.  It just did! 

What have I been up to...............?

Mostly just LIFE, nothing exciting, but it has been enjoyable.

Mr. EA and I did slip away for a few days.

No that isn't OIL! it's seaweed.  The water was soooo calm it was like swimming in a lake.  One of the days we were there we started our day watching the dolphins and ended our day watching the dolphins!  While we were in Gulf Shores we made a new discovery, I'll share that with you in a few days.

 

I did a lot of shopping and brought home wonderful pretties for Elizabeth Ann's.

 

This ladder is from Scotland and has the former owner's name stenciled on it...DUNDEE!





I've been to several of these...

Here's just a little of what I came home with:



I love this poster.  It is an original 1971 advertisement for a bullfight in Barcelona, Spain. 



I also went to few of these...

The prices are too high on most things but I did manage to find a few treasures.

We have also:

 had a new roof put on the house

and

$2000 worth of work done to our septic tank. 

 

Now that's some good times!

You do here the sarcasm in my voice, right?

I'm getting adjusted to being a "junker" full time and realizing I have to work on my business at least a little everyday.  My blog is part of that but I don't see any of this as a job...it is really a joy! 

I am thankful that I am able to do something I enjoy so much.

Joyfully,

Elizabeth Ann