The Blue Hour

Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch recently posted about a neat phenomenon called "The Blue Hour." Each morning and evening there is a small window of time when the sky appears a deep royal blue when captured in a photograph. Susan discovered it entirely by accident when she was taking pics on her porch and did some research to learn more about it.Down in my neck of the deep South, the evening Blue Hour occurs between 7:58 p.m. and 8:32 p.m. daily........... Pretty neat, isn't it? In order to get the best quality shot, be sure to turn off your flash and set the camera on night shot....... When I took these photos, the only thing I could see in the viewfinder was the light of the bathroom window.......

The photos below were taken before I turned off the flash..... I was convinced that no picture would appear without the flash but much to my surprise the image appeared....

The Blue Hour is still visible but not so pronounced with the flash on.

Pretty neat, huh???????????

Sunflower China

Woooo hooo! I'm getting more prompt with this tablescape stuff. Thanks, Susan, for hosting Tablescape Thursday. Please visit Susan at www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com. I stopped in at TJ Maxx yesterday afternoon with my BFF Kim and found these cute sunflower plates on the clearance rack, marked down to $2.00 each. Kinda hard to pass up such a bargain, don't you think? DOUBLECLICK ON THE PICS TO SEE THE DETAIL! I pulled out my artificial sunflowers and red dessert plates and had the beginnings of a charming new tablescape.... Here's a bird's eye view.

Sure wish I had some red glasses to accessorize with. Wouldn't that be beautiful? But alas, I'm just a single gal on a budget still trying to refinance this darn house of mine....

If you haven't tried to buy or refinance lately, a word from the wise..... Pay your bills on time and work on improving that credit rating. Even though I NEVER made a late mortgage payment in 27 years nor ever one single late car payment, my ex wasn't the best at his bills and the old credit rating isn't pristine. Not bad, but certainly not pristine. And oh what a fuss the bank is causing as a result. I could string that guy up by his toes, and I'm not talking bout the mortgage loan officer either!

This whole refinance thing has been going on since September now. They told me I needed a property settlement and I got that, only to be told they needed final divorce papers. Grrrrrrr! So now I'm going with a different company that says divorce papers aren't needed. Hello??? I knew that all along.

Please forgive me cause I digress..... Here are the beautiful sunflower plates on black glass chargers. Doesn't that make for a sweet tablesetting?

They coordinate beautifully with the red dessert plates that also came from TJ Maxx.... I sure wish they'd quit advertising so much on TV cause the lines are unbelievably long these days.....

Some day I'll be able to afford to entertain with my pretty dishes.....

HAPPY TABLESCAPE THURSDAY!!!!!!!

New Dishes for Tablescape Thursday

Posting my tablescape early this week because I have a hot date tomorrow evening.... ;-)
I'm linking up with Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday. Being a single girl on a budget while this divorce thing happens, I've been doing my best to stay out of the stores. But TJ Maxx was just calling my name last night and I gave in to temptation....
Doubleclick on the photos to see the detail. Aren't these bird plates by Royal Stafford just charming? They match my kitchen decor so perfectly that I couldn't resist. And oh what a steal they were...... The plates were $3.99 and the cute salad plates were $2.99. How can a girl with any amount of shopping savvy pass that up????

I mean really, passing them up would have been a huge mistake..... Don't you agree? The colors matched the stripes in my patio umbrella so well that I decided to do an outdoor tablescape.

But then couldn't wait to see them on my kitchen table, so you have some shots of that as well. ;) SMILE ;)

Here are two of the plates on display. The walls are gold, not brown as it appears, not sure why that happened. BTW, check out my carefully weeded and mulched flower bed in the background. I love springtime so!

Okaaayyy, back to the outdoor scenery. These cool, breezy spring days make dining outside so refreshing after a long day of work. And speaking of work, there are just 36 days until summer vacation!!!!!! Woo hoo!

Here's a good shot showing the details of the design. I wonder what kind of bird that is. Any bird watchers on board?

I think I went a little overboard on the photos.....

Here's one last shot of my tablescape. Isn't it lovely? Anyone care to join me for dinner?

Seeing Double

I had a great visit with my son and D-I-L and my two sweeties on Easter Sunday. Aren't they just the most adorable girls ever? Haylee had her tonsils and adenoids out last Monday and this marked her first time outdoors. Before long, she was running sprints across the yard with Brookie....... til Mommy reminded her she wasn't supposed to get overheated for a few more days.

That's Haylee on the right. She's always weighed less than Brooke, but she hasn't been eating much and has dropped more weight. She was a very good girl throughout the entire ordeal.....

More documentation of trying to keep a four year old from getting overheated. LOL

The Easter bunny sure did well with these blowup animals. They were a hit with the girls. This Easter marked the five year anniversary of their daddy's diagnosis of advanced cancer. They weren't yet born and mommy was on bedrest at the time. What an awful, stressful, anxiety-ridden time that was! But here we are five years later with a healthy daddy and two beautiful healthy twin girls!!!!! Now THAT is something to celebrate!

Easter Tablescape and Three or More Tuesday

I got the inspiration for my Easter tablescape from this blue and purple scarf from Target. Don't you think it makes a nice tablerunner? I wanted a soft look so I bunched it up so it would drape nicely. The bunny figurine is acually a candleholder, but I preferred it holding an egg. Thrifty people find ways to be resourceful..... LOL The milk glass dishes belonged to my mother and she passed them down to me shortly after I moved into my new home. All those empty cupboards bothered her, can I tell you? I have place settings for four and want to expand to six or eight so that I can enjoy them in my dining room as well. The bunny cupcakes came from Pier 1's Easter clearance sale. Aren't they adorable? They are very realistic and look good enough to eat. Doubleclick on the pics to see the detail.

Here's another view of that cute bunny sitting atop the cupcake.... The marble bunny standing guard in the background came from Tuesday Morning. Thanks, Joe, ;-)

My kitchen table was my great aunt Clara's. It didn't have a durable finish on the top and after several water rings appeared, I painted it flat black as a temporary fix. Several years later, I've grown to really like the look of it. One of these days I'll get around to stripping the finish and redoing the entire table. One day..... ;-)

I picked up the tall bunny for a song off the clearance table at Old Time Pottery last summer. It's amazing what great buys you can find off season. The smaller bunny is fashioned from an old wooden spool. I've had it for years.

Here's a closeup of the bunnies and apothecary jars filled with pastel eggs. Do those eggs qualify for Three or More Tuesday?????

Did you notice the basket of bunnies in the last picture? Believe it or not, those bunnies are fashioned from a cotton garden glove. Each finger is stuffed with batting to form the bunnies' bodies. Here's a better shot of them. Those bunnies have been around since my kids were babies. My sweet mother-in-law made them many years ago. Now they stand guard over the grandkids....

Here's one last shot of my Easter tablescape. Hope you enjoyed it. I love to read my comments so pllllllleeeaassseee leave me one. HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!!!!!

Can You Say Fleur de Lis????

I got out today for a while with my BFF Kim to do some Easter candy shopping. Stopped for a bit to meet my sweet daughter at the after-hours clinic to have her checked out..... terrible sore throat that I was sure was Strep, but turned out not to be. Feel better soon, KK! On the way back home, I decided to stop at The Royal Standard, one of my favorite stores. I've been staying out of the stores due to the tight budget.... But low and behold, there was a TENT SALE going on. I had admired these pretty napkin rings the last time I was in and guess what????? They were on sale for half price - $1.00 a piece!!! Twelve napkin rings later I was headed home feeling ever so smug. ;-)Aren't they beautiful? I just love anything Fleur de Lis. It's a French symbol that's always been around but regained its popularity after Hurricane Katrina. It's also the symbol for the New Orleans Saints, our NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

Who dat?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Three or More Tuesday

Do three or more orchid blooms count in this contest????? I'm so proud of this plant --- doubleclick to get a better look. I nursed it through last season's blooming season and all winter long after the blooms dropped off.... And look at it now!!! It makes me smile every time I walk over to my sink.... HAPPY THREE OR MORE TUESDAY!!! Don't forget to hop on over to visit Tam and see more Three or More Tuesday entries.