“A Month of Letters” Challenge

I was so excited when I visited Becky’s blog,

Becky Povich: Writer Searching for Bliss 

last night and found out about this challenge!

Here’s the challenge from Mary Robinette Kowal:

“In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs.  Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.

Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

All you are committing to is to mail 24 items.  Why 24? There are four Sundays and one US holiday. In fact, you might send more than 24 items. You might develop a correspondence that extends beyond the month. You might enjoy going to the mail box again.”

I’m going to make a REAL effort to write a card, letter or postcard every day in February!

It’s something I love it do…but don’t always take the time anymore.

Do you love to write and receive letters?

This is the website to read more about it…

Mary Robinette Kowal !

Would you like to take part?

Would you like to receive a note from me?

Look at the top left hand corner above my photo and click on Lavender Dreams to get my email address and send me your mailing address.

You don’t have to take part in the challenge to get something from me! Just send me your address!

I’m excited! Who wants to join me?

( Maybe I should buy some Valentines, too ♥ )

Winter Bunnies “Mosaic Monday”

‘I’m a Little Bunny’

(Sung to the Tune: I’m a Little Teapot)

I’m a little bunny soft and sweet
Here are my ears and here are my feet
When I’m in the garden, I look for treats
And nibble on all I like to eat.

My girlfriend, Pat sends me paper dolls every year as part of my birthday gift. She makes them and they aren’t paper…they are wooden!

I look forward to this gift every year… I love them!

This year I got a big bunny…

and a baby bun bun!

I’m joining Mary at the dear little red house

for Mosaic Monday.

We see a lot of squirrels in the winter but not as many bunnies. Where do you think they go?

Annie Oakley Action!

Who remembers Annie Oakley?

When we were kids, we played Cowboys and Indians…yes, even the girls! (my cousin, Richard always wanted to play ‘War’ but I didn’t like that game)

I wanted to BE Annie Oakley! I had the guns and cowgirl hat and everything!

My sweet cousin Cindy found the Annie Oakley Golden book a few years ago and gave it to me.

I have a Golden Book collection. You can see a ‘few’ of them here, on the bottom shelf.

So did you ever want to get on your horse and ride after the bad guys….the bad guys in the black hats?

I’m joining Corey with my Little Vintage Story Books post! And adding a quote from my girlfriend, Kaybe from The Essential Beachcomber. "A cowgirl faces life head on, lives by her own lights, and makes not excuses." - Dale Evans (my favorite cowgirl)

Enjoy your day!

Let’s round up some rustlers and

throw ‘em in jail!

(I don’t think I could shoot anyone today!!!) heehee!

Thrifty Living Series “Getting to know us better”

I hope everyone has had a chance to visit the other contributors in this series! (they are listed below)

We will all be learning so much from bloggers that live in other parts of the country and how they face their challenges.

My husband and I retired a few years ago but we did not quit working. We are working hard in our community as volunteers. It’s a busy lifestyle that we enjoy. We’ve both been blessed with good health so we are energetic about helping others and living the ‘give’ way.

But of course we have to be careful with our spending. And we are constantly discussing ways to save money. We keep an eye on the services we need. We have cell phones, but no land line now. We have cable tv but not the extended plan, anything we can do to cut back in the areas that are negotiable. And we change things up when it becomes necessary.

We love living in Florida where the cost of living is lower than many other states. And it provides us with a climate that helps us stay healthy. We can walk or ride our bikes and stay in shape. It’s also easier to grill our meat (for healthier meals) and buy fresh veggies and fruit.

I know there are challenges for all of us but as we get older, it’s even more important to NOT worry about things. There are many resources out there for us to take advantage of. I don’t have all the answers, but I love to research. If you have something specific to tackle (in the over 55 age group), I would love to know about it and see what we can do to find answers.

Be sure to visit the other contributors….

Brenda of Cozy Little House

Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Elaine of Sunny, Simple Life

Jen of Muddy Boot Dreams

and come back next week for our posts about saving on gasoline usage.

I’m hurrying as fast as I can….

FINALLY…

a good parking place!

(Gopher tortoise photos taken at Canaveral National Seashore)

Remember…getting older is GREAT! It sure beats the alternative! ♥

Lots of pretties!

I’ve won some of the most fun giveaways lately!

I did a scavenger hunt on Etsy and won a box full of goodies from Out of the Box Samplers!

The bath bombs are wonderful and I love getting things from so many of my favorite shops on Etsy. There’s a scented Rudolph soap, pretty notecards, scent sticks and a dishcloth. I even have some gift certificates to use! Those are the BEST!

I won a wonderful giveaway at Décor to Adore and Laura sent me a surprise box of gifts and also let me choose something from her Etsy shop.

Don’t you love her card?

 

I chose one of the Journals!

Oh, you have got to check these out!

They are so beautiful and creative!

And most of my readers know how artistic and creative Cindy from Whimsical Musings is and how happy we are when we have something she has made!

Isn’t this little pink baby shoe perfect? I love it!

Thanks to everyone that has sent me sweet gifts to enjoy!

I love giveaways, having them AND entering them! It’s FUN! ♥

Thank you sweet ladies for these treasures!

I only have one outfit to wear!

I hesitate to show my “Day at the Beach”

because I KNOW this is the outfit I

wear every time I go to the beach!

But baggy shorts, a tank top and a thin linen shirt work best when you are serious about walking and picking up shells! Oh, and a baseball cap!

We had so much fun on the Canaveral National Seashore.

It was in the 70s and gorgeous!

(I think my hubby is gorgeous, too!)

I’m anxious to get caught up on your fun so far this week while I get caught up on the laundry!

We are enjoying temps in the 70s all this week…

.such a great reason to live in Florida.

I’m afraid to ask you what your weather’s like

but I would love to know!

Thanks so much for all of the sweet birthday messages! I had a wonderful birthday at the beach!!!

I can’t wait to rinse off my shells and show you what I found!

I’m sending you all some warm sunny hugs! ♥

Mosaic Monday goes to sea!

When I see something beautiful,

I take more than one photo!

We saw this pretty sailboat on the Gulf Coast last weekend! How nice of it to pose for me!

I’m joining Mary at the dear little red house

for Mosaic Monday!

Do you take lots of photos when you see something you like?

Some Birthday Fun!

I’m taking the weekend to have a little birthday fun!

Who knows where it will lead but I’m sure I will enjoy it!

I treated myself to something special from Etsy.

I searched Etsy for a ‘heart banner’ and

found the perfect banner for my window at Robinhill Quilts!

(she sent me a pretty strawberry, too!)

And later I found out she had a blog so I visited her at her blog HERE !

Do you like this special touch in my dreamy bedroom?

The hearts are cut from an old quilt

…

but not the one I’ve been working on!

I’ll have the ‘latest’ news of the old red quilt SOON!

So enjoy your weekend!

I wonder where my birthday dress is and my white sandals

and if my mother can trim my bangs any shorter!!!

See you back here in a couple of days!

♥

I’m sure I’ll have some photos to share!

Thrifty Living 2012 “Welcome”

We're starting a new series today -

Thrifty Living 2012

In this series, there will be five women sharing the individual struggles they face economically with their families in a particular region.

Each week one of us, Brenda, Claudia, Elaine, Jen, Diane (that’s me)will be featured with a topic on how we are living thriftily in the year 2012. The rest of us will provide our own paragraph or so on how we apply that thrifty tip to our own lives.

We run the gamut. Brenda is the only single family household. Claudia and Don live with their two dogs in New York. Elaine and Dean have a small daughter and grown children in Southern California. Jen and Gar have just relocated to another part of Canada and are looking for their first house. Ron and I live in Florida and are retired.

Brenda of Cozy Little House

Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Elaine of Sunny, Simple Life

Jen of Muddy Boot Dreams

Diane of Lavender Dreams

Welcome to Lavender Dreams

and to our Lavender Cottage…

where I hope I can share with you ideas about living a quality life as a retiree on a limited budget.

My husband and I had our own small business for many years and when it came time to retire we looked for a place to live that would have a warm climate and lots of interesting things to do. We could not afford a house on the beach. We live in the center of the state but we are in driving distance to the things we enjoy doing.

I’ll share some of the challenges of living on a ‘fixed income’ and making it stretch. When we retired, the economy was in much better shape so now we face the problem of our expenses being so much more than we had planned. Who knew a tank of gas or a loaf of bread would go up so dramatically!

We spend our time like many of you do. Even though we don’t work regular jobs, we have taken over some responsibilities in our community that we do on a volunteer basis. We enjoy the work but it has become more ‘full time’ work (without pay) in recent months. It’s a blessing to be able to contribute to our community though and we benefit just as much as anyone else does!

So how do we stretch our money to take care of our expenses now AND in the future? And still have some fun along the way? Tune in to this series on Thrifty living! And if you have anything in particular you would like to discuss, email me your ideas. Any questions? Just ask! We want this to be helpful for everyone that visits our blogs…and for us as well!

We’re all in this together! Let’s have some FUN!

My “Word” for 2012

I’ve given it a lot of thought and even looked back in my journals to see what I’ve chosen for the past few years.  I know it sets the mood for the whole year! Last year I chose Serenity!

So even though I can think of a lot of beautiful words, I’ve decided it is my year for “Create”!

I would like to create a home that is more comfortable and easier to take care of.

I would like to create a healthier lifestyle.

When I look at all of my sewing stash and art supplies, I know I want do more ‘creating’ artistically this year.

And I would like to create a sense of peace and harmony at home and on my blog.

This is the perfect word for me this year…

CREATE!

My photos were taken on the Gulf coast yesterday afternoon.

I am joining the lettered cottage for

 

Have you chosen your word for this new year?

A ‘Beachy’ Mosaic! (and shell ID)

I took everything out of my kitchen window

cleaned it and then rearranged it just a bit.

I love having lots of my favorite shells and a few tiny boats

and cutesy beach things to enjoy in the kitchen.

And here’s something for those of you that love seashells.

The last time we were on the beach here in Florida,

I found this tiny shell and haven’t been able to identify it.

It’s 3/4 of an inch long and has these distinct marks on it.

I think I might know what it is but I’m not sure.

Is it a variation, I wonder? It’s the only one I found.

I’m joining Mary at the dear little red house

for Mosaic Monday! I hope you will, too!