A PINK Christmas Tree For SARAH~

I have been considering, since last Christmas, to have a special Christmas tree to honor my precious Sarah at the holiday time. Sarah liked the color pink, just as her big sister does, and so we went for a pink Christmas trees search today. We found this one at Walmart, a complete, artifical pre-lit tree,  all PINK. I had a hard time finding pink, a few other stores did not have that color. I had to have pink.

The ornament in the front, was made in 1994, my mother had that made for our tree. The one behind it, I found on eBay. I keep trying to find more Sarah ornaments, sometimes when you want something very badly, it is harder to get. Just out of reach.

This one is my favorite, she loved that her name meant Princess in Hebrew.

A glittery-silver dance shoe. She loved to dance, and boy she was a awesome dancer.

I am going to add to this tree every year, I am going to try to find a Britney Spears ornament, as when she was a teenager she idolized( to my chagrin), Britney. I am also going to put some pictures of her on some homemade ornaments . Looking at pictures of her, is very hard for me lately. It is almost as if I am stabbed in the heart when  I see her image.

I have also been rounding up some vintage Chalkware and plastic angels to place under the tree.

Plus disco-ball ornaments. Trying to add all the elements that make up my daughter, and cover a small pink tree...is difficult, yet comforting.

The S from her door as a child, that my young son found.

A snow baby.

A blue butterfly like I saw in Edisto Beach , the morning of July 12th, 2010, on my walk that Sarah and I always took.

A bracelet with her name, one of the items I search for often.

Here is a picture under the tree, of Sarah to the far left, my mother Sarah, me, and my oldest daughter in 2007 ( or 2006, can't remember exactly), at a birthday celebration for me. My mother died the following April 2008. Our Sarah in July 2010. She and Sarah are buried next to each other.

Here is one of my very favorite pictures of my children, minus our youngest son born 12 years later, on our old front porch steps. Sarah is in the middle, she was the baby of the family. They all are so precious.

Sparkily pink star.

More pictures beneath the tree. Sarah to the far left bottom picture. This picture was taken two weeks after my mother's unexpected death. A few days before my oldest's daughter's wedding. Life can knock us around  can't it ? The good with the bad, we have to take it as it comes. How God tries a human soul.

More vintage angels among the memories.

I added this post, to possibly help someone else who is grieving during the holiday time, to make themselves a tree, to remember and include their lost loved one in their holiday still. Whatever color tree...they make them in all colors, whatever style you choose, that represents their spirit. Include their name and hobbies, and likes. I plan to add to this every year. Being without my beautiful daughter in my life, it will be a year and a half since her death next month, is still a daily struggle. There is not incapacitating grief, it has changed to a deep, painful hurt, that is part of my soul. I know it is seen in my eyes, as I have had people tell me so. I also know, I have to find and show joy, to help my other family members still enjoy their lives.

Maybe you want to remember someone special, irreplaceable to you ,over the holidays. You can go buy yourself a little tree and decorate it with things they loved during their lifetime. This small action has helped me a little. I  walk pass this little pink tree in my home, and I smile thinking Sarah would have loved it.

Many blessings to you all, hug your loved ones, be thrilled and grateful to be able to gaze upon them, tell them you love them...every chance you get,

Gina

Tim TEBOW's Courageous Stand~

This was posted on my daughter's facebook page. A man not afarid to express his faith, his love for  Jesus. Very rare for a man who is not in the ministry to do so.

Bless someone today, Gina



STAND~ by Rascal Flatts

Here is a song to help anyone today who is having a hard time with life. With work, at home, with your health, with inner struggles, with wanting to give up and quit. Remember to not give up on anyone,  especially on people you love, and even yourself. Remember to Stand today.

Turn up  the volume and enjoy.

My VINTAGE Thanksgiving Centerpiece~

I'm going to be busy , like many of you tomorrow, preparing a large Thanksgiving feast for my family. I wanted to stop tonight, and show you my very neat vintage,Thanksgiving centerpiece I will use on my table tomorrow.

I'm not setting my table tonight, but I did make a flower arrangement from some flowers my husband and young son bought me today. Plus my vintage chalkware pilgrims and turkey.

I have been around antiques for decades, and have not seen any chalkware pilgrim statues before. I was thrilled to find these, and was drawn to them because of the Bibles in their hands.

Hers is small.

His looks like the large family Bible.

They are both 1940-50's time frame. Leaning towards late 40's.

Now Mr. Turkey is 1960's. I have some fragrant pine cones to put inside him tomorrow. My son has been sniffing the little pine cone bag many times. Smells like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and holiday time.

I love the colors in the older vintage turkey planters.

Aren't they lovely flowers? I had enough leftover to do a small roses vase in the bath. It was my husband's idea to buy the flowers, while my young son picked them out. Good team.

I only arranged them.

These pilgrims look good from the front side and back. So perfect to have pilgrims at my table for Thanksgiving. I may use them for Christmas too.

I wish so much, for everyone to enjoy their families tomorrow. Know that you are blessed to have their very presence in front of you. Look in their eyes, listen to their stories, ask them about their hopes and dreams. Watch how the light shines on their hair, show interest in their life, respect their opinions, hug them with deep love. No one is perfect, but your loved ones are oftentimes doing their best, right at this moment in time. Be a blessing to them tomorrow, especially when you don't feel like it.

Love strong,

Gina

Laying a Charming Brick NON-Perfect Accent in Your GARDEN--DIY guide

Well here we are now, me and my Hercules, extending my small brick accent center in my garden further out. I want to eventually have a brick pathway leading out of the garden center, but I have to have enough old clay bricks to do that. Which I don't.

My son helped dig up the monkey grass and lambs ears that I transplanted, and then collected the brick from around the house and brought it over. While Maxine did this...

Fought with an old plastic plant container, she took it around the yard, threw it up in the air, watched it drop and caught it and ran herself dizzy.

You can see here we are extending the brick I already have, you will need to shovel the dirt as level as you can.Use a flat-head shovel to prep your area. If you are like my husband, you would get a level out, have sand ready, do it EXACTLY perfect. Or you can do it like me. I believe it is called eye-balling how level something is, or as my husband would say half-as++##!!** not-perfect, if you get my drift. NO CURSING on my blog though!! I call it charming, just like they did in the 1800's in Charleston, South Carolina. That is where I see so many im-perfect brick garden accents.

What I do is dig up, with a trowel or my husband's spackling tool,( a straight edge mortar trowel,)  the dirt to a level just above where the other brick is to meet. Bricks, rocks, pavers, etc., sink with time, so it needs to be a bit raised, maybe 1/2 ins. where it meets the other bricks. Smooth it straight to lay the brick.

Usually you have a pattern going, I started with this straight line of bricks, until I layed them all out and found out I had a basket-weave pattern, straight line in front of that,so I then wanted another basket-weave going behind me. Straight, basket-weave, straight, basket-weave ( about 2 feet each time). Dumb-bunny had to rip them up and start again. All the dirt in front of me has to be smoothed out, and then used to cover up the bricks as we go.

I like to tap( tap fairly hard) my bricks together , to tighten them up. I hit them at the top and sides.Everytime you lay one, you may have to add or take away dirt from the ground to level it. Keep tapping them to settle them.

And I have to deal with Maxine trying to kiss me while I am down here. The original center of this brick area, I laid out about 7 years ago.

I love the old clay bricks. The different colors are beautiful to me.

Here we are laying them out straight, my husband showed up and got to take some pictures of us. The bricks that I am holding,the one up top is concrete, the lower clay. Clay bricks are almost always larger than concrete. Lowes, Home Depot only sell concrete bricks that are supposed to resemble clay bricks. I discard the concrete, sometimes only  use them where they cannot be seen in parts of my garden. Clay bricks are infinitely more charming.

I loved my son helping me.

We took the straight design out and the laid then in the basket-weave pattern, two side by side, and then two on top. The cracks here we will fill with sand and dirt.

I started this garden with a basketweave pattern, then plain straight lines, now basketweave again . I like to see mixed patterns, only two usually, in a brick pattern layout. Over and over, going about 3 feet apart with each pattern.

It is coming along, once you do this, get up and stretch and stomp on the bricks to settle them. I ran out of plain clay bricks, did not use the ones with the holes in them. I then bordered the brick with more brick on their sides. One day I want to keep them going to make a path out of my garden.

Now normally, I would get sand and swish it down with my hands into the cracks. I have no sand, I was not getting in the car to go get sand, and I only had my Hercules son for another 30 minutes. So we made do with leftover dirt from the yard. Always make do in life.

Just spill it, sprinkle it , as heavy as you like, all over the bricks.

Then you just rub it all over the bricks, and it falls into the cracks.

You can do this as many times as you like, 2-6 times. The dirt just keeps settling into the cracks . Doing this over a period of weeks is good.

Then brush it off. Next step...

Then you water down all the excess dirt with your hose. You can do this as many times as you like. I only have done it once. Each time you add dirt and, and then water it down.It compacts your bricks into the ground.

Miss Spaz -kisser was lounging and looking regal watching us.

The fountain isn't centeered here, but I did move it later to center it. Still looking for new fountain.

So here we are, an uneven, but very charming brick center area. I suggest using only old bricks, no concrete ones, only clay ones. Oh, and hopefully you have a Hercules somewhere you can hire to help you...

Go make a brick accent for yourself. Go find you a Hercules/muscle-guy somewhere around. I was so  very sore after that day, I had not worked in my garden for months. Wishing for a time when I was younger...enjoy your days folks.

Bless someone tonight,

Gina

Ps. I have been unable to leave comments on many blogs I read. I am unsure if something is wrong with Blogger, but wanted the writers of the blogs I read to know.