More weird things about me??

I have been tagged again to tell you 7 weird or random things about me! This time by Betty at Betty's This and That. I think this is about the third time I've done this meme but I just keep coming up with more weirdness, not to mention random-ness!! Lots of that going on with me. Anyway, ya gotta have rules in every game...right? Unless, of course, you make up your own game with no rules! I've been know to do that too! But, since this wasn't my game, I'm going to play nice. So here's the rules:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Ok, I did cheat a little..I copied Betty's rules from her page! :o) Here again is some of my weirdness:

1. I have always had strong nails and could grow them easily but I never liked long nails!


2. I always peel my apples when I eat them. I can't stand to bite into an apple peel. It makes me shiver and get chills. Sorta like the fingernails scraping on a chalkboard, which by the way never bothered me at all!

3. I am the youngest of 6 children. My next youngest sister is 6 years older than me. I grew up with my nieces and nephews who felt more like my siblings.


4. I love to eat cake batter. I always loved to "sop the bowl" when my mother made a cake but I could never get enough of the batter. Dave and I once made a chocolate cake batter and ate almost all of it. We were sick!

5. I like for people to look me in the eye when they talk to me. I don't trust people who don't! I feel they have something to hide!


6. I can write backwards about as well as I can write forward. I don't know what this skill will profit me but I have it! I do it to entertain the grandkids. I write something and tell them it's a secret code. They have to have a mirror to read it! I guess I do use this skill...to entertain!!

7. Now that I'm older, I hate getting dressed up to go out. If I could I'd wear my PJ's 24-7. I'm all about comfort!

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Ok, that's it! Everything else about me gets even stranger so you better not ask for more! I'm just kiddin'. If ya'll really want to know I'll tell ya!

Now for the fun part...I get to tag 7 people. I'll tag some of my new bloggy friends, but if any of you have been tagged before you don't have to play. But, hey, I know I can't be the only one that can list 21 weird things about themselves and still think of more, can I??

I tag:

Lisa at A Place to Land

Jo at Bits and Pieces

Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner of the World

Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Ruth at Whispering Oaks Cottage

Mike at Rambling Stuff

Adrienne at With A Grateful Heart

Most all of these new but already dear friends showed up on my blog when my little Josie was sick to tell me they were praying for her. I had never met them before but they were praying for my baby. How that touched my heart! Claudia is a new blogger in our community and such a sweet person. I just met Jo who lives on a mountain..I like that about her! :o) Please go over and visit each one of them...oh, and don't forget to tell them Hope sent you!

Most of you already know my sweet southern belle friend, Betty, but if you haven't met her you don't know what you're missing. Thank you, Betty for asking me to participate.

Be grateful for the morning dew...

Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way; Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day; Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do, For round about you there are men less fortunate than you. Be grateful for the growing trees, the roses soon to bloom, The tenderness of kindly hearts that shared your days of gloom; Be grateful for the morning dew, the grass beneath your feet, The soft caresses of your babes and all their laughter sweet. Acquire the grateful habit, learn to see how blest you are, How much there is to gladden life, how little life to mar! And what if rain shall fall today and you with grief are sad; Be grateful that you can recall the joys that you have had.
Edgar Albert Guest (1881 - 1959)

Happy things..

I called this morning to check on Josie and I'm happy to report that she had a good, restful night. Mommy and Daddy are a little tired from being at the hospital, worried and losing sleep but doing better today too. Thank you again, my friends, for your prayers.

On another happy note, I want to share Dave's new find (my new treasure) with you. He found this little enamel top table at the flea market at a great price, as usual! He thinks it needs to be painted...I think it just needs to be scrubbed and left looking chippy. What do you think?



Usually when you find a table like this it's just that..a lone table. This time there was an added bonus...two little white chairs with the matching red accents.



The chairs had been covered with the red and white checks which I think says "farmhouse"!



Our kitchen is not big enough to be an eat-in kitchen but this table and chairs are small enough to fit plus we will have extra seating if we need it. I think it will be nice when spring comes and we can have our coffee here at this little table in front of the open window! Ahhh...Spring....

Good news...

Josie is going home today at noon!! Praise the Lord! I talked to my son this morning and he said she was doing great! I know so many of you were praying for her and you'll never know how much this has meant to me. What a great prayer line all made possible by blogs and blog friends that I've met here. It never ceases to amaze me! Just a couple of examples: Yesterday Jennifer sent me an email and prayed with me in the email! Then I got a comment from Karen saying she was praying for Josie. She asked me to stop by when I could and see her newly decorated blog. While I was having my morning coffee, I stopped in to see, and found that Karen was praying right there on her blog for Mary's daughter and for Josie, and I wept..a sweet release to me! Such an humble prayer that I know came straight from her heart to God's ears. While Karen has had some hardships of her own recently, she unselfishly cares for others. To me this is what Christianity is all about. We can sit on church pews Sunday after Sunday, but if we aren't uplifting each other in prayer or just a simple word of kindness along the way, what good are we doing?

A new bloggy friend, Betty at Country Charm, that I met just recently has given me
an award. She is a sweet lady and has become one of my daily habits! :o) Thank you, Betty, for this honor and for thinking of me as a best blogging buddy.



I want all of you to know you're the BEST and I want each of you to have this award. Please take this award and know that even though I'm not naming you all individually,
it comes from my heart and I ask God to bless my Bloggy Friends.

Prayer needed for Josie

Update on Josie:
My son called earlier this evening and said the doctor had ruled out RSV or the flu. He thinks now it's just some sort of virus. He said they tried to start an IV to keep her from dehydrating but after sticking her 6 times, couldn't get one started! They gave her Pedialite in a bottle which she drank and kept down. She is a breast fed baby so the fact that she took the bottle is a miracle in itself. Then later this evening my son called my daughter and said they put her back on milk and she was keeping it in too. They are keeping her overnight just to be on the safe side but may let her go home tomorrow if nothing changes.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers. I knew I could count on you to be there for me. I know some of you had already visited my blog and commented before I posted this prayer request. Please continue to pray for her that she will keep improving.
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Saturday evening my son called and said they needed my help. The baby had been awake all night on Friday night and they hadn't had any sleep. I went up there and spent Saturday night with them. She had a lot of gas and was sneezing some. After I got there she seemed to be fine and slept 5 hours straight. When I left there yesterday she was fine...no temperature, not fussy, just resting good. Then last night he called and said she got worse and had a fever of 99.3 and was vomiting. He said she sounded congested too. They talked to a nurse practioner and she told them to keep a check on the fever. If it went to 100 they needed to take her to the hospital. They made it through the night okay but took her to her pediatrician this morning. My son just called and said they were putting her in the hospital to run some tests because she may have RSV.

I ask that you please pray for my baby. When they are that young you don't know what's wrong and it's scary. I know I can count on you all. I have 2 grandchildren out of school for the holiday here with me today so I'll go to the hospital later on. He's going to keep me informed and I'll try to let you all know something as soon as I can.

New surprise...

I had a very lazy day yesterday..too lazy to blog even. I did manage to visit around a bit and leave comments. I seem to have eaten way too much chocolate! (Rubbing belly)

I had another surprise waiting for me at Karla's blog, Ramblin' Roads. Karla has frequent book giveaways at her place. This time she picked me specifically! Here's what she had to say:

Now. This particular book is for a very specific audience, so I have to admit I chose the winner for it based on who I thought would be most interested in it. And the winner of Rattled is... Hope at Second Time Around. She is a new blogging friend and she has a brand-new grand-baby!



I was telling her that it has been 8 years since I took care of a baby so I'm going to need all the help I can get and I so appreciate Karla for thinking of me! If you go over to her blog you can read all about this book. Tell her Hope sent you! Oh, and you might just want to leave her a comment..you never know when you might be the next winner!

Through Karla I also found the Ozark Country Parson blog, who just happens to be Karla's Daddy!! I always enjoy reading his Sunday Sermon notes and devotionals. I know you'll get a blessing when you visit him, just as I do.

Thank you again, Karla. I look forward to receiving this book.

From my heart to yours...
Hope

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MY PACKAGE FROM PEA HAS ARRIVED!!

I am so exited to share this with you. My package from Pea's giveaway has arrived here in VA just in time for Valentine's Day! Dave went to the post office and came back carrying a package. He put it on the table and was ready to tear into it and I yelled, "NO! I have to take pictures!"



Then I let him tear into the package while I took more pictures:



Look what came spilling out of the box...pink petals and a red envelope with a red rose!





Just look at the pretty tissue paper with the pretty hearts edging:



Dave and I both oohed and aahed as we took each goody from the box. Then I arranged them all on my old sideboard to try and get a good picture. Believe me, the picture doesn't do justice to all these treasures!



Let's see, there was the cutest little bear holding a red heart box, little sundae candles, pink roses floating candles, a sweet little key chain with a glittery little purse attached, a pair of soft, warm socks with hearts on them, a box of maple cream cookies, a package of french vanilla truffle hot chocolate mix, Peeps hearts..strawberry creme flavored and a package of party napkins with hearts!! I will be enjoying all these treats for days to come..if I limit myself and DH!!

Then I opened the little red heart box that the bear was holding. More surprises! There was something wrapped in cellophane and I spotted a little card stuck in the top that said, "Made by Pea"! I knew instantly what it was:



Pea's wonderful homemade assorted chocolates!!



I had to sample one right away...oh my..melt in your mouth chocolate with nuts inside:



Is your mouth watering yet? :o)

Of course, Dave felt like he was also entitled to sample since he brought the package to me:



Then he sampled again, and again..telling me each time what flavor he got..until I made him stop! "Save some for later...savor them a little!" (Which in Hope speak means..get out of my chocolates..they're all mine!! LOL)

Last, but certainly not least, was a little hand-written, heart-shaped note from Pea.



Pea, I can't thank you enough for this wonderful package and for totally making my Valentine's Day so very special!!

Most of you know Pea already but if you don't you MUST visit her fun blog. Besides having fantastic giveaways, Pea is just an all-around good friend and Canadian neighbor. Thanks again, Pea, and I do hope your Valentine's Day is as sweet as you've made mine!

This Old Kitchen

The first time we toured our old house, the kitchen was such a mess. The make shift counters were falling apart, the drawers were hanging in different directions. The old farm sink had been a beauty in its day but had started to rust through in places where the enamel had chipped off. The whole thing was a big mess. Actually the whole house was a mess. Dark paneling on every wall plus dark curtains left hanging on windows just added to the cave-like quality. Depressing!

I remember that day clearly. We had a friend who was here from Hungary and brought him with us to see the house. He walked around with his camera snapping the whole time. He would look around, snap a picture, then look at me shaking his head and say, "Oh, Hope!" On to another room...snap a picture..shake his head, then, "Oh, Hope!" That's all he ever said during the tour. The lady who owned the house and had lived here was there with us, so I would whisper to him, "It's okay, I can make it nice, you'll see!" He was here just long enough to help us slap some paint over the dark paneling, rip down the dark curtains and move in, all within a couple of weeks. He was amazed at the change in such a short time.

I wish I could share some of the before pictures but I got a virus on my computer and lost them all. You can't really appreciate all that we've done here without that evidence. So just trust me when I tell you...it's come a long way, baby! We began by tearing out the counters and old sink. We were working with a budget of...ZERO, ZILCH, NADA!! DH was about to be sent to Atlanta for RR training and we had to rush just to get moved in before he had to leave. A friend of ours was having some remodeling done on his kitchen including new cabinets. So I called and asked him what he was doing with his old cabinets and he said they were in the yard ready to be hauled away! We told him to hang onto them and we'd be right there. So we got some lower cabinets and a stainless double sink for free! We kept the original upper cabinets which were painted with white, flat ceiling paint! We installed the new/old free ones which were wood color and with our trusty Lowe's credit card we got a new counter top. We lived with the two-toned cabinets for months then finally got around to deciding on a paint color. We added new brushed nickel hardware to help to match up the upper and lower cabinets.



It's hard to get a good overall picture but you get the idea. You can see the upper cabinets that reach all the way to the top of the 9 foot ceiling! I'm 5' 2" tall so all the shelves are useless to me except the first one, plus there are only 2 sets of cabinets. Most old houses had none so I guess I'm lucky to get that many!





The double windows over the sink are very high too as you can see. They do let in lots of light but I can't look out!! We do have a long window on the side though. We added a bead board backsplash and painted that. There was plastic over that part before to keep out the cold!!

Then there's the big white elephant, otherwise know as a refrigerator! We would like to figure a way to disguise it but since it's a necessity so we deal with it! There is a doorway coming into the room from the laundry/mudroom and another doorway on the other side of the white elephant going into the dining room.



You can see the corner of my stove in the third picture. It was just sitting there all by itself with no cabinets, range hood or anything. We recently bought one of the over-the-stove combination microwave and vent. We had a small upper cabinet left over that we weren't able to use so we put that over the microwave. We haven't finished that area yet so I'll show pictures later when we do. We also want to do different flooring later on.

We have lived in our old home over 3 years now and each room is still a work in progress. I'll try to do a room by room as we finish projects.