An Attitude of Gratitude

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!



We need to have gratitude every day!


For the bounty in our lives.....


For the beauty of the world around us....


For our friends and families (even when they are sarcastic....)

On my first Thanksgiving after starting the blog, I wrote this.....and except for minor changes due to the passage of time, it still stands. It is my fervent wish that each of you will have a blessed Thanksgiving to share with family and friends, and that you will reflect on gratitude and how you share it with the world.

EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD, I'VE ALWAYS
HAD A FEAR OF SOMEONE UNDER MY
BED AT NIGHT. SO I WENT TO A SHRINK
AND TOLD HIM:

'I've got problems.
Every time I go to bed I think there's somebody
under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy..'

'Just put yourself in my hands for one year,' said
the shrink. 'Come talk to me three times a week
and we should be able to get rid of those fears..'

'How much do you charge?' 'Eighty dollars
per visit,' replied the doctor. 'I'll sleep on it,' I said.

Six months later the doctor met me on the street.
'Why didn't you come to see me about those fears
you were having?' he asked.

'Well, Eighty bucks a visit three times a week
for a year is an awful lot of money! A bartender
cured me for $10. I was so happy to have
saved all that money that I went and
bought a new pickup!'

'Is that so!' With a bit of an attitude he
said, 'and how, may I ask,
did a bartender cure you?'

'He told me to cut the legs off the bed! -
Ain't nobody under there now!!!

Handy Hints & A Lesson Learned

Gleaned from a local newsletter (which is really just a batch of ads, masquerading as a news letter):

1. If you have trouble opening a jar lid, put a rubber band around the lid and then twist.

2. If you believe your toilet is about to overflow, quickly remove the tank lid, reach down and push the flush valve closed. It covers the tennis ball-sized opening in the bottom of the tank. That keeps the bowl from overflowing while you clear the obstruction.

Note: you can also turn the valve on the wall beside or beneath the tank to shut off the water supply (if it isn't rusted shut, like ours are).

3. Take your bananas apart when you get them home. If you leave them connected, they ripen faster.

Note: I tried this and it seems to work.

4. To avoid a burglary while you are away on vacation, luggage tags should show ONLY your destination address.

Note: There is another reason for doing that too! In the early 80's, we went to Hawaii on a company trip, and eight of us (four couples) went early and stayed on the Big Island for a week prior to the "company" part of the trip, in Maui. The flight from the Big Island to Maui was short and uneventful, except mr. kenju's luggage didn't arrive with us. Had he not had it for the week prior, it wouldn't have mattered, but for the Maui part of the trip, we needed dress clothing for the parties we'd be attending. Long story short: his luggage came back home to Raleigh, and when the airline called and told my daughter, she told them to send it back to Maui ASAP. It finally arrived, but not in time for the first few events. If we had placed our destination address on the luggage, it would not have made the return trip to Raleigh and then back to Maui.

Lesson learned!!

(Painting attributed to Valerian Ruppert)

"Sleep Tight! Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite!"

was often the last thing my parents would say to me when they tucked me in bed. Back then, I had no idea what bed bugs looked like, and if I had, I might never have gone to sleep.

Recently, I watched an episode of Dr. Mehmet Oz's TV show, where he talked about the current bed bug epidemic and with an expert, showed how you can spot the evidence of bed bugs. The advice that stood out in my mind was when he said...."When you go into a hotel room, DON'T EVER put your luggage on the bed."

Did you just get a flashback of every time you went into a hotel room and put your luggage on the bed? I sure did, and it must number in the hundreds by now. If you do that, you run the risk of transferring bugs to your home when you return.

Dr. Oz showed that bed bugs don't just hang out in the mattress, box spring and bedding; they inhabit the wooden furniture close to the bed, and they can even be in the pictures and wall art over the bed. (all together now.......EW!!!)

Go here to read all about bed bugs and how to spot them, and here to find out how to get rid of them.

Another thought just hit me: did you see the TV reports several years ago about all the germs found in hotel rooms? Bedding, specifically the coverlets or spreads, are rife with germs and (insert another chorus of EW here) semen. That alone is a good reason not to place either your body or your luggage on the bed. We had all better hope that the hotels we frequent have luggage racks in their rooms, or desks/cabinetry large enough to hold suitcases, because the floors are surely dirtier than the beds and we all know how scuzzy the bathrooms can be - even when they look clean.

Maybe we were all better off not knowing this. Sometimes knowledge is a dangerous (and off-putting) thing! But forewarned is forearmed - so now you know what not to do.

***

Thanks to everyone who left a comment about the seasonal decor on my blog yesterday. More will come in the next few weeks, and please don't feel that you have to comment each time unless you truly want to.

A Notable Quote + Christmas Decor

Door or lamp post sprays


One of the many wreaths I made (taken from an odd angle, since it was below me)


Another spray


Adam, come and get your apple.


Santa is waiting for his cookies!


Santa's Elf in a gingerbread house


The top of a crystal, pearl, white and gold tree (a joint effort by me and Rhonda)


the base of the tree above

Little scenes like this (and the one below) are marketed to people needing something to go to a nursing home or hospital. It is only about 10" wide.

A spray (on the wall) and an arrangement, all in copper and purple.


A detail from the arrangement above.


The copper spray.


A deer in a woodsy basket


A gilded deer in a table scape.


A small copper and purple table arrangement


A mid-size side table arrangement, with cardinals and poinsettias and berries


A children's arrangement (not done by me)


An over-mirror swag (not done by me)


The "Polar Express" tree (not done by me)


A detail of the ladybug ornaments on the Polar Express tree.

***

The cardinal doctrine of a fanatic's creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God.

Andrew Dickson White, diplomat, historian, and educator (1832-1918)

***

As I have driven the 30 miles to and from Louisburg, NC, over the last few weeks, I have seen some things I'd love to photograph for you; old derelict barns, the burned out shell of a former home, a really big chicken (not real) in someone's yard, the meandering stream which became a torrent during last week's rains. The problem is, I am usually traveling at 60 mph when I see them - a speed not conducive to clicking photos on the fly. There is seldom a place to pull over and get out the camera either, unless I go into someone's driveway and I 'd prefer not doing that!

The shop isn't ready for photos either, since it looks more like a storeroom than a showroom at the moment. Friday we decorated two trees and we have a third one to do when possible. The town has a Christmas parade and open house in all the shops Saturday, so we are sort of hoping that the people who do happen into the shop will forgive our tardiness in having it completely ready for customers. The shop isn't well-lit, so I don't know how well my photos will turn out, but I'll do my best to give you something to marvel over!

Saturday I am doing wedding flowers for that shop. I have worked on weddings for other florists before, but not this one, so I am hoping that he will be pleased with the style and quality of my work. My design philosophy is that "less is more", but so far he doesn't seem to subscribe to that theory. I am finding that the taste level and design standards are different in small towns than I am used to. That's not to say that cities are better - just different.

On Wednesday of next week, and continuing the day after Thanksgiving, I will be back working with Mel Day. We ordinarily decorate a country club, two city clubs, a small hotel lobby and meeting rooms and we are lucky to be doing the Governor's Mansion again this year. It is the seventh year for me, but Mel has been doing it longer. One of our accounts, a restaurant, has decided that it will have staff decorate the place this year. I have to see that, especially since their decorations are literally falling apart and they have refused to allow additions or replacement ornaments for several years. The garland and small trees we usually do for them have to be held together with spit and a promise, so I don't hold out much hope for their abilities to make it look as good as we do. It may result in a good thing though; they may see how hard it is to do and hire us back next year - and maybe they will see close up how bad their old decorations are and allow new ones to be purchased!!

CRY WOLF!

This wolf was shot recently in Drayton Valley, Alberta...which is near Edmonton about 3 hours North of Calgary. The wolf weighs over 230 lbs, smashing the previous record of 175 lbs. Wouldn't want to run into this guy in the woods. Apparently a bear hunter witnessed this wolf chase off a big black bear at his baiting station.

This came to me in an email today. It's turning out to be animal week here at Imagine, since work is keeping me too busy to have any ideas to write about.