Mary's Kids

I took this picture last Saturday at Gary's sister, Sue's birthday party and came straight home and worked on this page...I knew how I wanted it but it took several efforts until I decided this was it. It was so great that all the brothers and sisters could be there. I think we are all trying to make that extra effort and cancel other things to make it a point that the family gets together. The last two years have been hard on "Mary's Kids". Losing LeeRoy year before last and Dennis last year...we never know how much longer any of us will have.


Background is from Kyra's "Skyhigh" kit.

Pigeon Forge Devastation

I thought about posting pics, but decided against it. They are heartbreaking. I'm sure you all have heard of the tremendous fire in Pigeon Forge that obliterated 35 or more cabins, and if you've ever been in one of those cabins...well let's just say they are all breathtaking. I feel so sorry for the property owners, some who lived there year round and some who rented them out.
So...would you believe that exactly one week before the fire, we made reservations for a cabin in Black Bear Ridge (where the fire started). We received confirmation that the beautiful cabin we had reserved was one of the ones destroyed by the fire.  Daughter-in-law Dawn and I spent weeks looking at pics of cabins and had finally decided this was the one for us!! We picked this one because it was off Wears Valley Rd, which leads into Cades Cove (my favorite place to spend time). When making the reservation, which by the way, isn't until May 19th, we paid half down. Received conformation today that we have been relocated and upgraded to a luxury cabin at no extra charge. They told us the web site to go to see pics of the cabin and location to see if it met with our approval...It definitely does and we can not wait for May to get here. Spending a week in this beautiful area is really something we are looking forward to.

Parlor Entertainment

Entertainment in the parlor tonight provided by Gage and after a couple of
juleps...he may sound pretty good. lol.  The first picture just amazes me.
He watches Papaw play and he tries so hard with the left hand to do the chords.
Now, I'm not real sure this is a real chord, but to Gage it is and right now that's
all that really matters. Second picture he is strumming and thrid picture, he asks
Mamaw, "did you like that?"  Yes, Gage...Mamaw thought it was beautiful!!!

Kit used is "Country Boys & Girls" by Blue Velvet designs.

Our Little Valentine

Today was Storytime at the library so Gage and I went and had a great time. After the story lady read the book and we did a marching around the room with out little instruments, we made valentines. Gage informed me right off that he was making a valentine for Papaw...Those two are like peas in a pod, bestest buddies. Mamaw on the other hand is the kisser of boo-boos, the cuddler when it's nap time, the one who drives the car and follows the directions (given by Gage). I realize our town is small, but this kid is only going to be three next month and I really believe he can give directions to anyplace in town that we need to go. After we left the library, I made a quick stop at Walgreens and Gage looked at all the stuffed animals in the valentine section, picked up a few, gave them hugs and put them back on the shelf. I was surprised, cause I fully expected to have to purchase one. The one thing he picked out and would NOT leave the store without buying was a 59cent pencil with a big heart 'un-racer' on top. I said why do you want a pencil and he said so he could draw stuff with...you guessed it...Papaw! Oh, yeah, I did have to purchase two bags of M&M's...one for him and one for...well you know who!!  It's amazing, the love these two share for each other, makes my heart swell with pride!
The kit used here is by Kyra called "Falling in Love".

Ohhh...

Wow...I'm so glad I've gotten into the habit of leaving the Parlor door unlocked. Look what my 'fairy blog mother' did while I was gone this morning. Thank you so much, Miss Boots. You seem to know just the right time to 'pretty up' our blogs. I hope you sat down, put your feet up and enjoyed a toddy after all your hard work.

Sorry I wasn't home...

Well, there is no pic to this post...it has been brought to my attention that I have had company and have not been around..did I not expressly tell you that if I'm not around you are to help yourself to the toddies...that's the way we do it here in the south. Bring Miss Gerri with you, she knows how it's done! lol.

I knew it had been a long time since I've posted but I had no idea that it had been two months! Guess I owe you all an apology..I could give all kinds of excuses, and most of them would be true..I've had the flu, ran a temp of 103 for several days, now Rhett has it. Kevin has changed shifts at work so Gage is here from 7am to 4pm. Not that he is any trouble, as long as I DVR Bubble Guppies every day. I have watched Polar Express until I have every word memorized. Also we have to watch the Grinch daily (not the cartoon Grinch, gotta be the real Jim Carey Grinch). Doesn't matter that Christmas has come and gone, these two movies play daily on my TV. Sick or not, you watch them.

So, in looking for something to post, I discover that my new external hard drive is empty..no scrap kits to be found. When my old external drive was acting up, I saved everything on CD's. Problem is, I can't seem to find the CD's right now. So I start looking through my "stuff". I find everything except what I'm looking for. I came across a DVD I did for Cory from birth to 12 yrs. old..he is now 17. So I spent and hour watching baby pics of him and crying my eyes out. He has grown up way too fast...graduating in just a few months. This brings to mind that I need to add pics to update his DVD. Then it dawns on me that I haven't even started one for Jay, who is now 15. How did I get so far behind?? So I spend another hour scrounging through old pics and then nostalgia sets in..looking at pics..stopping to bring old memories to mind...yes Miss Boots, my mind if filled to the brim and overflowing with memories.

Well, I did manage to restock toddy makings..so pull up a chair, make yourself a toddy...would you make me a double please!?!?!?

Yea, he looks so sweet...

This can be the sweetest child you would ever want to meet...notice the key word here is 'can'. He's only 2 1/2 but I fear we have already gone overboard on the spoiling. Is there anyway to reverse this syndrome? LOL. As long as everyone does as he says, all is right with the world. But say the NO word and the neighbors think we are killig him. I don't recall his older brothers being this way. Some one please tell me it will pass! OK... so this doesn't happen every day, but pretty often. His dad picks him up at 2pm every day some days he's fine with it...other days, he leaves kicking and screaming "I want to stay at Pap's house!" Hey, I think I just hit on the whole problem here..the word spoiling and the word Papaw!!!

Such A Big Heart

This is Cory. You all may remember him from pages I did when he was younger. Those of you who have FaceBook pages have seen him recently. I made this page because I didn't want to post it on FB because I think he doesn't want to make a big deal of it, but me, being the proud Mamaw, thinks it deserves recognition.
Last week, several of the school clubs met and decided that they would adopt an angel from the Salvation Army angel tree. A teacher went and picked the angel info from the trees and the clubs met and chose their angel. Now, the clubs are going to use their fund raiser monies to buy gifts for their chosen angel. After all the clubs has chosen their angel, one little 3 yr. old angel was left over. Cory went to his homeroom teacher and asked if it would be ok if he took the angel himself. Teacher said yes, if you're sure you want to take on that responsibility. Cory assured her that he was. This big hearted 17 yr. old guy spent his own money, to the tune of $170 to buy presents. Gifts included several outfits, shoes, socks, winter coat, gloves, and 5 toys. When he took the gifts to school yesterday to get them ready to wrap up, his teacher cried. Needless to say, his parents and Papaw and I have cried several times when we think of him doing this. We are so very proud of this young man, who is a senior this year and holds down a part time job sometimes putting in nearly 40 hours a week, while maintaining a A and B average in all subjects. Thanks for reading all this, I just think he is sooo AWESOME!

Remember The Good TImes

I know y'all have seen this picture several times
before but I came across this lovely QP by Linda
using Kyra's beautiful kit called
Remember the Good Times and I thought this picture
was perfect for it since it was the very last picture
taken of my dear sweet Mom and me.
Thank you Linda (of Random Thoughts At Linda's Place
and thank you Kyra for the beautiful things you create.

Elvis Has Left The Veranda

Ok...after a 'gentle reminder' that there has been an awful lot of partying on the veranda, I had to ask Elvis to leave the veranda. Now, with that being said, I have no idea what I am going to post next because I have been a very lazy scrapper since Facebook and Kindle Fire entered my life. Don't misunderstand, I have taken a billion pics..just haven't scrapped any of them yet. Soooo...have a julep (or two), put your feet up and I'll be with you soon.
HUGS,
Miss Scarlett

Elvis Presley - Trying To Get To You - 68 Comeback Special ( HQ )

OK...not your normal blog, but I have had this song in my head all day long. I sent the link via Facebook to my niece who, after spending many of her early years with me, turned into the "second" biggest Elvis fan. (with me of course being the first biggest fan, lol). This clip was from his '68 Comeback Tour and ya gotta admit at that time he was a real "hunk". lol Anyway, since y'all are of my generation I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!! LOL REMEMBER TO SCROLL OVER AND TURN OFF MY PLAYLIST..then grab a julep and sit back and swoon with me!! Party is on Miss Gerri!

Simply Miss Fluff

Not a lot of scrapping done to this one...I love the profile shot and had no idea how I could improve on it, so it's just simply Miss Fluff...who takes my breath away!

background and element by cuddlebeez.

Thank God I'm A Country Boy

You have no idea how hard it is to get a pic of this child!! He is either in constant movement and I end up with a blur which no one can make out or once in a great while he will say "cheese" and immediately turn his head away from the camera. sigh.. On the other hand, I have new pics of Miss Fluff that I will post soon and believe me...no prompting from the photographer is needed. She has this posing thing down to a fine art! LOL.

The kit for this pic was "Spring" by Aprilmouse.

Interview with Mamaw

http://youtu.be/A2tLySzQxzs

Spring Has Sprung in TN

Oh, my!! I am a very bad blogger...and friend. I haven't been blogging since winter. Truth be told, I was dreading changing my background and header. I don't find that fun at all. Still don't have the header. I can't seem to get it just right. Miss Boots..?? maybe when you find a spare minute you could help me out...pretty please.

There's been so much going on here with Rhett being sick, trying to keep up with a very active and independent 2 year old, and my Mamaw Sally passed away last week at the age of 102. She would have celebrated her 103rd birthday in May. I am going to post a video that my cousin did of her on her 100th birthday. No one knew he did it until last week. We are all so thankful to him for doing it and keeping it a secret until just the right time that we needed to hear it. Bless her heart, she has lived in Ohio since I was a little girl but she never lost her southern dialect. She is actually my step grandmother, but she is the only one I ever had and she never used the 'step' word.

Ok..can't blame my lack of blogging on Rhett and Gage completely...it seems there's this thing called Facebook...boy, it can sure use up your time before you realize it!! LOL. I guess now that I've got my background changed, I should probably go and get rid of the Christmas music. Will be back soon...
HUGS to all,
Miss Scarlett

It's A Southern Thing !

Oh how he loves his gravy and biscuits! Gage is a typical country boy when it comes to breakfast. He has this for breakfast at least twice a week! It's probably fattening (well look at me, I KNOW it's fattening, LOL) but I figure he has sooooo much energy that he burns off the calories before the day is over. Yep, using that left hand..(Daddy is so happy) but sometimes uses the right one also..don't think he's quite made up his mind yet. Anyway, we aren't going to encourage one over the other. I know back in the 'old days' people would try to discourage using the left hand, but we have two left handed children and 2 left handed grandchildren and they have done just fine. Thank God that when Kevin had is accident at work, it was his right hand.

Well, enjoy the toddies, (all you want) and the music and be careful out there on the road...people are wild these few days before Christmas.

Background is "Starlit Dreams" by cuddlebeez.

Ready For Snow!!

I'm always amazed at how little it takes to make this little dude happy. He got a new 'Boggan (as we call them here in the south, lol) and mittens. He spent the night with us last night because it was snowing and we didn't want him to have to be out in the cold to come to our house this morning. First thing when he got up this morning was to find his 'boggan and mittens..such a big boy now, he insists on doing things his way so he proceeded to put on the 'boggan and show me what a good job he did. He did allow Paw to help with the mittens and then climbed up on the couch with Paw and said "CHEESE".This was a rare occasion because he is normally not the little camera ham that I would like him to be. Usually I have to beg, plead and bribe him to stand still long enough to get a pic. lol.
I'm so glad y'all keep stopping by the parlor, though I haven't been a very good hostess lately but the door is always unlocked and toddy makings are always available. At least you can warm up and listen to some music while you're here. I promise to try to do better!!

Many thanks to Miss Boots for the lovely Christmassy blog background.

Those of you who are on Facebook know how I have been spending my time for the past few months...Gage! Well, I can't blame it all on him..I do enjoy a good game of scrabble now and then with FB friends and family. lol. Actually, I haven't been in a very crative mood in quite a while now, but now that cooler weather is setting in I thought I should at least get the parlor ready for company. You know the drill...if I'm not around feel free to mix up a hot toddy and sit a spell.

Sylvia's Page

Miss Sylvia sent me this page a couple of days ago and I just wanted to share it with y'all since she doesn't have a blog. See how tiny she is!! I look like a cow beside her! Sorry I don't know the credits for background and elements.
Also sorry I haven't been on the veranda very much. Gage is keeping me pretty busy these days. But I have been keeping the juleps stocked. I hope everyone is doing well and staying out of the heat. Just because I've been away, doesn't mean that I love y'all any less. We are all FOREVER FRIENDS!! Maybe when the snow starts flying again we will have more time on our hands.
Love and hugs to all,
Miss Scarlett

Friends

What a great way to start the weekend...visiting with dear friends and sharing a great country breakfast. (yes, Miss G, for Gage and me that included GRITS, lol). Doug and Sylvia stopped overnight in Kingsport on Friday and we met them for breakfast Saturday at one of my favorite places..Cracker Barrel. After our meal we sat on the porch in the rockers and talked, and rocked, and talked some more. lol Gage was just a little shy because he didn't know them, but he did give Miss Sylvia a great big hug before we parted ways. Sylvia wanted me to send her love to you all and we talked about how great it would be if we could all get together sometime. Funny how you can become such close friends with some who you've only met online. We all know how that works..because I think of you all as some of my dearest and closest friends. We have laughed together, cried together, prayed for each other,and watched each others families grow. That's why I know you all are blessings sent from God and I treasure each and every one of you.
OK...before I get all mushy..let's all have a julep or two! (Sylvia says save some for her, lol).
PS: Sylvia is so tiny that I look like an elephant beside her, LOL.