February 8th Is Very Special Because…

it’s Jimmy’s birthday.

He’s the awesome guy I married.

He built that closet.

I think the centerpieces look real nice around it.

Too bad they’ll all be whisked away Saturday to the grand gala.

Oh well, we may buy 1 or 2 of the 30. Plus, I can always make more. I still have plenty of the fixins.

Kelly customized her ornaments. Pretty cute, eh?

But back to the honoree of this post — the guy who built this room in his spare time…

He’s built quite a few rooms here in his spare time.

And remodeled all the others.

Now we’re remodeling the remodel!

Jim’s like, way, waaaay awesome, in case I never mentioned that.

Quite the drywaller, trimmer.  And conversationalist too.

Also a person of EXTREME cuteness, as you can easily see.

Pretty decent framer…

Now…

Some of you might exclaim, “Ahhhh, Jannie’s so awesome to make her birthday boy such a special post.”

But the the truth is, Jimmy is the awesomer of the two of us, in oh so many ways.

And always will be.

Happy Birthday, Jimmy.

Love, Jannie
xoxooxoxoxoxoxo
xoxooxoxoxoxoxo
xoxooxoxoxoxoxo
(and many more where those came from!)

A Young Ghoul Orders Salt Water Taffy — a poem

A young ghoul applies her make-up

in the rear-view mirror while perched

on the centre console of Mom’s car.

The young ghoul alternately mans

the Haunted House, bounces, runs,

skips, laughs and cartwheels around

with her friends for 4 hours, while

the mom, altho a freak downpour

had destroyed her fluffy hairdo

during set-up, manages to flit socially,

then enjoy her 1-hour shift at the

food table, eat a bunch of excellent

assorted homemade sugary crap,

2 pieces pepperoni pizza, 8 mini packs

of gluten-free gummy bears and one

raspberry Izze (heavenly) natural soda,

then goes home to wine, a relaxing bath

and hugs with the loving car-dealer hubs,

who actually did pop in for a while at the

carnival, as he does to all school things.

He is a very very good dad and person,

like another good dad and person I know,

who’s a very talented writer, and so witty!

And here is that Jimmy last week, laying

some pine flooring in the house entry…

which looked like this a few months ago…

a house additon he built himself.
 
(See the railing up the stairs now!?? Yep — Jimmy’s been a busy bee.)

(End poem of inspired by photos of Kelly last week at her school carnival, and by thoughts of her awesome dad.)

She wants to be Santa for tonight (if I can find her dress) the one she wore at age 5 in this photo…

(Bought with a cute little matching hat at a post-Christmas sale for $20 when she was 4.)

Bought BIG, and has fit quite a while!

But where is it now?

Somewhere.

If she can’t be Santa tonight, there’s always her vampire plan.

[Edit.  I found the dress!  I found the dress!!  Last place I looked — with all the Chirstmas stuff!  Whoo-hoo!!!!]

So… lots more photos to come in future happy posts.

If you liked this poem, many ghoul-and-succubus-with-a-twist-of-chocolate-and-cheese stunners can be found often over at my favorite poet’s…

Thank you!

And a very Happy Halloween to all of you — my wonderful blogging guys and ghouls.

🙂

xoxo

love, Jannie

P.S. Tuesday (possibly Wednesday) I’ll announce here via a short video who wins The 7th Letter! If you’d like a chance at winning it, I’ll still accept entries until noon Texas (Central U.S.) Time on Tuesday November 2 on that post.

Then…

I’ll climb My Other Wine-Drinking Tree to draw the winning comment from my pink John Deere cap — while singing, of course!!!

Speaking of winners… you 6 CD winners they’re not yet mailed, but will be in the next 2 to 9 days!

And a box of practically new, but mis-matched socks will be sent for Christmas to another awesome dad / blogger / human.

🙂

My other wine-drinking tree…

xoxo

(All pix here taken with my iPhone 3GS, except the Christmas dress taken with my old Kodak.)

How To Hide Unsightly Cables

Hard to believe that last week the above corner looked like this…

And hard to believe (for me anyway,) how that corner has morphed since 1997 when it looked like this…

And uncropped…

Jim built the room with his own two hands, as many of you know. 

Then we remodeled it.

He built 3 closets last year, in anticipation of it one day being the master bedroom.

(I’ll show you the whole updated room when I get my better camera, the iPhone can be so finicky with lighting.)

I got lucky with the light in this photo…

(Yes, that’s the exact same photo as the first one in this post.  Just saving you some scrolling time. )

🙂

(Those are Kelly’s nunchucks hanging from the closet door handles, in case you were wondering.)

(And that’s her guitar in the corner.)

Anyway…

I was SO grateful when a brainwave recently hit on how to hide that jumble of cables, modems, chargers and such.  The ugly cords had been hidden behind a sofa before Jim built the closet last year.  But the sofa’s too big for that spot now.

What, oh what, was a Jannie to do?

Remember last year when I felt all awesome because I’d transformed one corner of our dining room into a little oasis for myself…?

Well… life being life — in just 13 short months, my little dining room oasis had, as of last week, evolved into a bit of an unwieldly mass…

Time for a revamp anyway!

So…

I nipped the table, moved it to where the tv and Internet come into the house, put the table cloth back on, and voila — cords all hidden.  Whoo-hoo!!!

I think it’s a cute little spot now.

And I think I should show you that “after” shot one-more-once. Third time’s always utterly more charming.

🙂

Kitty LOVES it, as you can see.

Next tidying project — the dining room.  20 boxes and bags of treasures there to sort — I kid thee not!

(And funny — but I’ve noticed my tidying / decorating goes much faster when I get my nose out of the computer.)  🙂

Posted with Love, by Jannie,

xoxoxo

But wait — two more life updates before I let you go…

1.) In songwriting… I’ve settled on some pretty, simple guitar work to go with my new “Sail A Child” and I’m so happy — one part of the guitar reminds me a bit of the Zepplin’s “Goin’ To California.” 

1.) Our Broken Arm Girl had her follow-up X-Ray yesterday and got the go-ahead to resume gymnastics and Kung Fu!  Whoo-hoo!!! Just no backyard trampolines until after January 20th when she gets her next X-Ray. 

xoxoxo (again)

Oh, and I put all pix in this post as JPegs, and not PNGs, so hopefully they managed to load a bit faster for a few of you who mentioned my new big photos were taking a while to open?

Toodles!

xo

Behind The Hanging Quilt Jumble: Mystery Revealed

Friends, I had to put all the stuff from Kelly’s bedroom redecoration somewhere to sort it.

So why not the front room?

But I’m proud to announce the jumble of yore now looks like this…

Well, the kids aren’t still standing there. (Not that I know of. I think they’re up in the tree house. Or running around with paper bags on their heads. Or spraying the cat with the hose.  Poor Kitty.)

On those shelves are 36 sets of kids’ books (anywhere from 3 to 24 books per set) I’m putting on eBay! That’s how I’ll pay for My Amazing New Camera!!  Whoo-hoo!!

What view of our house is that exactly? Great question!

Those two white posts off yonder are in the in-progress breezeway addition, at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the “final living room.”

Long before the addition, there was a window where that archway is…

After the addition was “dryed-in” we took the window out.

And of course, here’s how our entry looks now.

But back to the interior…

Where those not-so-pretty (yet functional) shelves are, our old fireplace once stood.  There’s a skylight where the flue was.

The door in the distance that leads into the new garage will one day will be trimmed out, as will the archway.

Spindles and railings will grace the two posts.

And we’ll have REAL flooring in the entry instead of that plywood!!!

Oh yeah, and we’ll also finish and enjoy the room at the top of the stairs.

That quilt I hung 5 years ago to help keep the wallboard dust from the main part of the house? Gone — as of a couple months ago!

It’s actually a very nice quilt my godmother made for me. I have it draped over my toes as I recline here on the sofa with my laptop.

And I’m sipping hibiscus tea.

In my kitty ears, of course.

Below… I’ve PaintShopped in the type of cabinet I envision for that space.

To repeat — I have PaintShopped that cabinet in.  It is not really there!!  🙂

Perhaps I’ll have one like it some day. Good-used off Craigslist maybe.

But if I never do, what do I really care?  A lovely armoire is just a thing, and things come and go.

But blogging buddies last forever.

Now… how ’bout a slightly different angle of how things currently look inside our front door…

Don’t forget to look here again, to see those 2 windows and the door from the outside!

The untrimmed window is where the old front door was.

Jim did ALL the work, including the floor tiles, himself.

Got it all?  I bet you do!  You are very smart.

Whoo-hoo!!

Posted with love, from Jannie Banannie.

xoxo

What Would You Title This Post?

A fourth summer angel sashayed into our midst yesterday!

(She also co-starred here and here.)

Also yesterday, one super-awesome dad decked the deck out in this surprise furniture. 3 little chairs, umbrella with stand, and white wooden table from Lowe’s — $45 total.  (One more angel seat needed.)

And just who could that super-awesome dad be?  Hmnnn, I wonder…?

.

Watermelon umbrella with watermelon snack — how perfect!

Even the broken arm kid’s cast is kinda watermelon colored. Thanks, broken arm kid!  Color details make this blog the frolic it is.

And broken arm kid?  Thanks for being born — this blog post would’ve never appeared if you hadn’t.

But wait!  What about the super-awesome dad? Who could he be?

This guy?

Yeah, that’s him!  The guy who built the tree house for the broken-arm angel two years ago.

Let’s zoom in on this handsome dad…

Ahh, so cute!

What a guy!!!

He pretty-much rocks.  And deserves a slice of watermelon.  Or two.  Or three!  Heck, that man deserves a whole watermelon patch all to himself!  A huge field of it!  With a ride-on garden railroad running through so he can survey his melon dominion without ever having to leave the comfort of his engine car seat.

(View the tree house interior here.)

Ummm watermelon!

Ummm summer!

Ummm life and love.

I likes this!  I likes it A LOT!!!

You had any watermelon lately?  Or ridden on a garden railroad?

And seriously, what title would you give this post?

With love and funsterment from Jannie,

xoxoxo