A Barbie Doll Dream!

When Barbie dolls were introduced in 1959, I was a little girl that loved dolls! (link HERE) I remember getting some of the very first Barbie dolls and going straight to the Barbie clothes at the Dime Store to see what new outfits were there. My Aunt Wilma made Barbie doll clothes and I had quite a few of those too. I don't have dolls from my childhood but as all of you know...I have dolls! heehee! And I hit the jackpot last week when I made a quick stop at the Hospice Thrift Store.

I bought 2 Barbie Doll cases! No dolls or clothes but I'll be happy with these for now!

I have a few reproduction Barbies and of course I'll keep a look out for vintage finds.

I even called the Thrift store the next day and told the manager Jeff how pleased I was to have them! (and casually asked if they found any dolls or other Barbie things after I left. It doesn't hurt to ask! heehee)

Do you remember Midge (link HERE)

or Skipper? (link HERE)

 I've had fun doing a little research since I bought these cases!

Don't forget to take time to PLAY!!! 

I thought this would be fun for Wednesday Wee Ones

and I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today we are remembering those brave young men and women who paid for our freedom.

I was looking in my archives for a photo of a flag and found this mosaic to share.

Inverness, Florida

And these are flowers I saw on my walk at Sholom Park yesterday.

 Let's all count our blessings and have a beautiful day.

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE.

God bless America!

The 'Not so Polite' Critters!

Everybody's talkin'!

They know they shouldn't.

But it's going all around...

all around the pond! (right along the edges)

At Sholom Park of all places!

It's Froggie mating season.

But you didn't hear it here!

Whatever you think you heard...

you didn't hear it here! 

HAHAHAHA!!!

An added note...it was SO noisy! It sounded like machinery was running at the pond! The frogs were THAT LOUD! And that's a Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret and Cormorant.

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Thankful for Roses

Even though it's been hot and dry, our 'knock out' roses are blooming like crazy.

And now I have more! Hubby invented this handy dandy cart to carry plants, tools and mulch from the front of the house to wherever he is working. Isn't it great? We have thick grass and it is easy for him to pull. 

 And he is feeling really good now. Thanks again for all of the prayers. He has decreased his medication and 'so far so good'!

He planted more roses in the back along the wall that is our lanai. 

We have roses on the side of the lanai and the courtyard is on the other side.

(back of the lavender cottage, with lanai on the right of pic)

So I'm thankful for roses and my sweet hubby this week.

What are you thankful for?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

Southern Magnolias

The Magnolias are in full bloom here in Florida!

They have such huge blooms, fragrant and beautiful!

These were taken at Shalom Park. I walk there every Thursday morning after I shop at the Farmer's Market.

It's dry here but everything is green and lush...heat and humidity! 

How's your weather?

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE.

Cuteness ALERT!!! Baby Hawks!!!

Sit back and relax because I have some cute photos to share with you today!

We heard them first...crying !!

Then we looked up into a TALL TALL TREE....

and saw a nest with TWO baby hawks!

Hubby had his camera....

and I had mine...

 Click....

 Click....

Click!

 And we saw Mama (or Papa) all along the trail! (yes we finally got back to hiking)

 She even perched on a tree near the bridge.

 Looking for something to catch to feed those babies.

 Because they are CRYING! They are LOUD! And they are HUNGRY!!!

 Gotta FLY and find MORE!!!

 Aren't babies the absolute cutest?

 Red Shouldered Hawks seen at Blue Run Park in Dunnellon, FL.

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Too Busy? Too Bright?

I put the bold and bright comforter on the back of my sofa. (I spent less than $6 on it last week at the thrift store. See post HERE )

And then I put all the necessary things back in place. I sit in the center and put my computer on my lap when I blog. This is our lanai...or Florida room and it's bright and cheery. What do you think? Too bright and cheery? heehee!

Something to be thankful for today is this sweet young lady who is a new vendor at the Farmer's Market. 

(taken with my phone, sorry about the shadows)

I've been using the Mint Julep soap all week and I love it! So fresh and nice! The lemon bar is wonderful too! So sweet and fragrant!

Isn't it cute the way she packages everything?

And 2 of the presents I got for Mother's day are blog inspired!

(the item at the bottom of the pic is something to color)

Helen Phillips is one of my best blog buddies and wrote Pretty Patchwork Gifts! Her blog is HERE. She designs and makes the most beautiful quilts and softies. All the pretty colors that I love! I'm so pleased to get one of her books!

Our sweet Stephanie mentioned these journals on her blog HERE and I found the Gratitude journal on sale at Amazon so it went in my wish list. Hubby was sweet to shop on my wish list this year. Thanks honey!

Lots to be thankful for this week! How about you?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

'A Day Late and a Dollar Short' Mosaic

Well, I'm not quite a full day late or even a dollar short...but guess what?

I have a 'new' computer! It's actually an Acer netbook (that we already had) that has been upgraded to Windows 10 and a new solid state hard drive installed.  I was having trouble with my second, newer netbook so now I have a new one...or is this one the old one?! hahaha!

I'm loving it so far. It's so much faster! But we are still working on getting things installed and I just got Picassa .....just now! So I made a quick mosaic to join in the fun today.

Yesterday we hiked the Blue Run trail in Dunnellon. We parked in a different parking lot and took a natural trail that joins the paved trail. It was an adventure!

Lots of boats on the water and I liked the way the water rippled in this photo.

I hope now I can visit more and keep up a little better. My old computer had gotten so slow that a lot of blogs wouldn't fully load. And then it started crashing...which is always VERY SCARY!!!

And speaking of SCARY....

are you sure we're on the right trail?  😲

Happy Mosaic Monday everyone from Red Net #1!

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE.

Northern Parula

We hiked at Blue Run in Dunnellon this week and saw a bird that we've never seen before. Or at least never identified before. We see a lot of warblers and they have splashes of color so that's what we thought at first. 

But looking at our photos and using our ID books, we believe it's a Northern Parula! 

Oh happy day! Of course they were flitting about and hard to capture but it sure was exciting to try.

Something else we've never see there before was this River Otter.

 It swam right down the middle of the Rainbow River and under the bridge we were standing on.

 That was fun to see.

I barely caught this Ibis in flight.

And I thought this dragonfly was pretty.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

 A special Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.