Jeannie Marie & Company

 My sister helping Mom with yard work during her visit.  Not many will fly 2K miles to do a bit of yard work! As for me....I'm taking a short break to play.    

For sixty two years Karan and I have shared a birthday week, but we haven't celebrated together more than once or twice in the last forty years.  Living a thousand miles apart and raising families kept us both busy and I believe it has been at least twenty since the last time.  But tonight we celebrated in a big way! Mom, the guest of honor, and Bill and I arrived just in time.  We were persuaded to pose by the tourist trap and Bill took our picture to record the occasion.  We hurried in though because there was a storm a brewin'  Bill and Michael swapped sea stories as we dined in the open air deck off the marina Real sea stories....Karan and Michael have just arrived home from a transatlantic cruise. Overhead mermaids swam adding to the watery atmosphere!   Suddenly just as we finished our dinner the heavens just opened and it POURED rain!   You couldn't see across the marina...it was like a white out!   We waited out the drenching rain by dodging stray drops

 I was out thrifting yesterday and I found a rack with lots of scarves but only a few that I thought were worthy.  As I pulled each one off the rack and placed them in the basket, they all seemed to go together. When I run into this I can't help but feel that all the scarves I chose were from the same closet.  Someone who liked what I like now.  Someone whose group of scarves has not been picked over yet. Are they vintage and part of an estate?  Are they being weeded out to make room for the new?  Were they donated by accident?  Hmmm...I'll just put my BEST scarves in this box...oops...where did that box go?                       I was inspired by JoKnows blog to do a post on my scarf finds this week.  My favorite by far.   I love the water colored flowers, the slightly stiffer fabric with the ironed in wrinkles.  The muted colors.   This was chosen because it will be just right with a sweater I love to wear. The tweedy look.  The colors are great, but it's the tin

Back in April, while my sister was visiting from California, we five took a day and all my sisters and I went to lunch with Mom and went thrifting. We spotted a new thrift store really close to my house and stopped in.  We weren't expecting anything because it was in a very rural area and somewhat hard to find, but it did have a big sign out on the highway. It turned out to be a great shop, packed to the rafters and beyond.  Patty bought a teapot, Mom found a book.  Karan found something I really coveted at the time, but now I've forgotten what it was!  Haha.  Janet found some things for her house.  But I didn't find a thing I absolutely had to have. Then I spotted it.   It was on the way out and this table was outside the building, with a very wobbly leg and looking pretty sad.   But I liked the lines.  And it was only $8.00!  I liked the shape of the leg And the detail on all four sides was really nice.  Underneath I could see it was good solid wood.  Maybe maple?

It was after 8:00 PM and I was expecting it to be dark outside. We were walking out of the church and I was marveling at a brilliant sunset when I noticed someone looking up the other direction.  I turned and stunned to see a beautiful rainbow over the church.  It was a double rainbow.  My phone camera didn't pick up the second arc very well but when enlarged you can see it..   I stepped back and tried to capture the full arc.  This was looking east and it appears like it's broad daylight.  Again, the strange thing is I was expecting it to be dark when we left.  It was a shock to come out of the building facing west to be almost blinded by a brilliant orange sky full of clouds.  The sun had just gone below the line of clouds and illuminated them.  The whole sky was orange gold. Then to turn and find this huge rainbow in a blue sky. It only lasted for a moment.  We walked to our vehicle and as we were driving away, the sun had already dropped below the horizon and the clouds

 I'm sending in cookies to a friend who has been laid up for a few weeks so was busy all afternoon baking these: Pucker Up Orange Zesty Cookies 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 egg 2- 3 fresh oranges to make 2 1/2  tablespoons orange zest and 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice After all cookies the cookies were baked I made the glaze. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and orange zest with your fingers until the sugar is saturated with the zest. (so yummy!) Cream the butter and orange zested sugar together then add egg and orange juice. Blend completely.  Slowly add the dry ingredients until mixed.  Roll dough into smooth round balls. Bake at 350 degrees for about 11-13 minutes or until very lightly golden on the bottoms. Don’t over bake!  You don't want to dry them out.   After the cookies are all baked it's time to

I have always loved egg rolls and spring rolls and never looked into how to make them.  I loved the crisp outside with it's deep fried goodness and decadence.  Then Ruby joined the family and became famous for her Lumpia.  I love meat filling even more than veggies so Lumpia became an instant hit with me. Ruby would fix it for the family when we all got together and would make a huge platter full. I always wanted more!  It's a process that can get very old when you are the cook if you make too many or make it too often.  It's also a little pricy when you add in the dipping sauce. I'm not good at deep frying and it's not good for us.  With all the left over oil after frying only one dish, it  seemed such a waste if you have to throw it out.  I found a way around that.  First, I used olive oil. This is much, much better for you than other oils.  Secondly, I could save and reuse the oil making popcorn.  A healthier dessert/evening snack for us.  So I bit the bullet

I've been a mom and celebrated now for over forty years on this special day of days.  Even after my daughters had children, it was still the grandchildren's privilege to provide the special day for their moms.  I always felt very celebrated along with them.   Our Family   July 4, 2010 Kyle's birthday!   My kids have always given me a wonderful day, and this year as well!  They thoughtfully sent me tickets to our local dinner theater!  This is one of my favorite things to do and I'm so excited!  I had a phone call from each one of the four and spent time with them that way, individually this year.  I feel very, very blessed. But this year after a crazy year of changes, I am now my mothers neighbor, friend, daughter all rolled into one! I wanted to make the day very special for her.  She has always been into celebrating in a big way every occasion!  I've been the lucky recipient of her fun spirit over my childhood years.  After marriage, my husband and I lived

These houses were in the same neighborhood in New Port Richy, FL as my previous post colorful houses .  They are a totally different style, but even more extreme.    Someday I will learn to hold the camera straight, but in the meantime, I'm taking photos from a car window as Bill drives by at his pace...with me saying...stop!  Slow down!  Back up!  These crooked pictures will have to do until the day I go alone and PARK the car and brazenly stand in front of the house and snap really good photos.  I think I can make a clean getaway before the police show up if I limit my photos to three sides and stay off the lawn. The first house below boasts a pink flamingo mailbox, a bright yellow candlestick lamp and a brightly painted front pathway. In addition,  if the multi-color painted house wasn't enough to attract attention, the pleathora of whirlygigs were going around like mad actually made the house even more visible.   I especially loved the Cheshire Cat on the