Dog Show Sunday

Bull Terrier smiling

 

It has been a blue moon since I have been to an All Breed AKC dog show. I used to be an avid dog show fan, at least the ones in our area. But as life happens, interest change.

Usually my Sundays have been quiet affairs, hanging around the house in my pajamas and  fleece socks, reading the paper. But I decided to mix it up a bit so Jim and I took Katie to breakfast first and then to Jim Willis Park for the dog show. It was a gorgeous, crisp fall day, not a cloud in the most blue sky.

Beddlington Terrier

Afghan Hound

Border collie

Saluki

These photos are not in any particular order. Just to give you a glimpse of the show and dogs. And remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A Doberman Pincher

Black Russian Terrier, new to the AKC

Black Russian Terrier Puppy

Corgi, Pembroke maybe?

English Springer Spaniel, Clara

 I am not here to see who will win, I just like to see all of the different breeds and talk to the breeder and handlers.

Could be a dog lover

Don't hate me because I am beautiful

 I had one of these gorgeous dogs once, named her Scarlett.

Don't know what dog this is

This show thing bores me

Halloween Witch

Handsome fellow

Look at those eyes, she is smiling...Belgian Sheepdog, Turvurin maybe

Can't remember this breed, makes me think of freckles

One of the many vendors

Waiting for the command

Sure to please

Saluki winning best of breed maybe?

I am so sleepy

Got to stay clean for the judges

Patience...Husky

Sweetness

I can't take this anymore....a Portuguese Water Dog

Beauty Queen

Portuguese Podenco, New to AKC

Poodle of course

Border Terrier, Pooped

Saluki Hounds

Thanks for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the show!

Peace and love,

♥Charlotte

What about Christmas?

 

For the last two weeks, there has been an emphasis on Halloween on the new ABC show, The Chew. And I mean everyday. Please don't misunderstand me. I like to have fun as much as the next person. And I don't really see harm in children going around trick or treating. But I wonder how The Chew will handle Christmas. It is not politically correct to use the J word anymore. (Jesus Christ) How did this come about...a rhetorical question!

My family has been in this United States at least since the 1700's and have always worshiped God, the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. What could possibly be offensive in that?

Go here for The Chew


When Father John gave a homily on All Hallows Eve, another name for Halloween, I began to wonder about the origin of the holiday. It apparently began as a Pagan celebration called Samhain.

When Christianity spread to Europe, the Pope was displeased with the people celebrating this pagan holiday so he combined it with All Saints Day on November 1, a holy day of obligation. At that time the children and adults would dress as saints on October 31, All Hallows Eve.

Go here for History of Halloween

 Halloween  has really become a money maker for retailers who sell spooky decorations and costumes. While these are being sold in late September, Thanksgiving and "Holiday" items also line the store aisles. We are allowed to say "Happy Halloween" and " Happy Thanksgiving" but not "Merry Christmas"?? I say "Bah Humbug" to that!

Just my two cents.

May the Lord, Jesus, bless you with peace and joy today!

♥Charlotte

Bring back that loving feeling, please God

I am not sure when it happened. It was a gradual thing. Dear bloggers, has this happened to you? My one big passion for 3 years has been photography. I have loved all aspects of it from composing and shooting and editing the final product. Actually, I lived and breathed photography, day in and day out. This is disconcerting and depressing.

So, why does that happen? I sure don't have a clue. Of course,  i have picked up some other interests but none like taking pictures. Maybe it is like writer's block and will reappear some day. In the meantime, I will continue to read your blogs to get inspiration. Sigh....

But it is better to have loved and lost than never having loved at all. :o)

Peace, love and joy to you,

♥Charlotte

My re-do of my $1.25 coffee table

Well here it is, friends. My coffee table bargain. I didn't think I would ever get through! I ran out of Old Ocher Chalk Paint so put some on an index card (actually my hubby did it) and took it to Lowe's to match it in latex paint. They didn't quite get the right color and I didn't realize it until too late. We need better lighting in the garage. Sigh..




I don't have the distressing down very well either. But I will try again soon with some old tables that a friend gave me recently.


There are so many talented people out there in blog land. Here is one who was my inspiration for the writing on the table:


Go Here


I had searched all over the web to find instructions on how to get lettering on without doing it free hand. Katie had the best solution. She uses graphite paper that you can get at Michael's. I had Kinko's enlarge my script to fit the table.

 I took this off before I took a picture




  You have to really be careful with the graphite paper. It transfers really easily and if you press in the wrong place, you will have a lot to clean up. I know. I did.

 

This is how it looked after tracing each letter. Later I filled in each letter with a black paint pen. It was just like coloring in a coloring book.

This is the before picture.

After. Whaddya think?

 I am linking up to these parties.

Thanks for visiting. Please come again!

Peace and love,

♥Charlotte

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I am rich! And coffee table update

I have lived in poor situations, like when I only had a dollar to get a cup of coffee and a cream cheese sandwich on raisin bread for lunch, when working in NYC. 

And I have lived in great abundance; feasting on caviar and champagne and going about in limousines and traveling to great places, meeting "important" people.

Now, happily I am somewhere in between. But when the pay check comes in, I get a kick out of getting my supplies at the dollar store. I have always looked at liquid soap as something for rich people. I know, I am behind the times. So getting some bottles for a dollar each thrills me. I am not hard to please. It makes me feel rich.

Growing up the eldest of ten children, I rarely had anything of my own. My father was in dental school; mother worked as a registered nurse. There was not much money in our family. Dinner was usually cooked by my Dad, as my mother would be on her shift.

Sliced fried spam, scrambled eggs and peas and carrots are what I remember. That and some sort of sandwich spread of salad dressing with pickles on wonder bread. 

And for some reason, I craved the front yard dirt. I read now, that it has something to do with a mineral deficiency.

Clothing was handed down from my cousins, which we were happy to get. Once a year, mama would buy us each a dress and a pair of shoes. I hardly wore mine because I wanted to keep it "good". What a waste. But habits die hard. I still have a hard time wearing something new before hanging it and admiring for a while.

So you see, I am delighted to go to the dollar tree and have some riches for my own enjoyment. It makes me happy!

"for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing  plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me."

Paul: Philippians 4:11-13

Coffee Table Update

I hit a snag in my table redo. After painting and sanding, I got out the glaze and accidentally put in on without diluting it. It grabbed in certain places and I just didn't like the looks of it. So I sanded it back down and repainted.

See where it kind of settled in looking patchy?

I sure never thought that this would take that long but I guess sometimes it will. I am working on it today.

Hope you are having a good weekend! Take care.

♥Charlotte

My $1.25 coffee table

Have you missed me? I have missed you! I thought that after I got this table I would amaze you at my first attempt to really refinish a piece of furniture. I just didn't think that it would take this long!
First of all I must tell you that Jim and I went out garage sale hunting 2 weeks ago around closing time.and found the table above and it was half price. The original price was $2.50. We picked up this treasure for $1.25! It is very heavy and I don't think they wanted to drag it back into their house.

As you can see, it is very heavily scratched and has a heavy varnish on it. So I started right away to sand the top, a LOT! Jim found that it would be easier to just take the table apart so that I could get to the bottom shelf easier. So far, I have painted the bottom shelf, "Old Ocher" by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Because I had some left over from my last project.

Here is another view of the top.

Today, I will complete the legs and then get to distressing and finishing it up. In the meantime here are some photos of the seasonal changes:

Did I disappoint you by showing you just "before" pictures of my coffee table? I am sorry.

Please come back later and I promise, it will be worth it. At least I hope so. :o)

May the peace and love of Jesus be with you all today!

♥Charlotte

Out of my comfort zone, again.

 

My good friend, Barbara, scheduled a birthday celebration for the folks at Cameron Hall, an assisted living facility in Canton, GA last Friday afternoon. Since another friend from her church was not able to help her, she asked me to help out.

 Old people have always kind of scared me. Don't ask me why. Maybe it is the fear of growing older and being sick and infirm. I don't know.

And I thought that the place would be dingy, smelly and depressing. It couldn't have been farther from the truth. This place was clean, bright and cheerful. What a pleasant surprise. And the residents appear to be well cared for and happy.

 

The ladies had all just had their hair washed and set just for us. Barbara asked me to shoot their pictures to later take to them as a party favor. So here they are.

Here is the father of one of my friends. He suffers from Alzheimer's so he doesn't remember me.

                                               She was just so sweet.

     

About one half of the residents use a walker or wheel chair. Good thing that it is all on one level.

The word on this couple, who sat apart from the rest of the group, is that they are "sweethearts". Awwww....

 

Barbara brought the ingredients for coke floats (Diet Coke, sugar-free ice cream), balloons and birthday cards. And while they sipped on their drinks, a volunteer came and played old tunes on the piano. After she finished, the gentleman in the above photo took over and started playing out of a Brahms music book. He sounded like a professional. He also sat alone but was chatty when we went to take his picture. He later invited us into his room to see his mother's artwork. Her style reminded me of Maxfield Parrish.

This lady was tickled that I noticed her manicure. Pretty red nails!

 

Look at that dazzling smile...lady in red!

Another sweet lady.

Too cute in his Hawaiian shirt!

The two love birds (remember the sweethearts) requested that i take separate photos for their families.

 

I think she may have been a Southern Belle in her hey day.

 

After all was said and done, I have to say that visiting with these lovely people was a blessing to me. And I hope that we brought them some happiness too. I think we did.

Thanks for visiting me. Have a good week my friends!!

♥Charlotte