This Week At PINK SATURDAY...

This week at Pink Saturday, we all were invited to a special party. We were asked to share a special story of inspiration or perhaps even a miracle story. OR we could just go ahead with sharing our “normal” Pink Saturday. I decided to do a bit of both as you can see below. Why did Beverly request this of us? Well, there is a really great story circling the web about Colette, who received a room makeover…a miracle healing room makeover and this is a way to pass it on. By participating, Colette’s story can continue to inspire others and perhaps even help to raise money for other makeovers. I do hope you will check it out at: http://www.katillacshack.com/

AND thanks to Beverly for bringing this to our attention. To see more Pink Saturday and uplifting stories, please check out: http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

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And Now...

On this Spectacular Pink Saturday, it is my honor to pay tribute to my son, who is, without a doubt, one terrific human being and a fantastic comic/graphic artist. Even through the difficulties and disabilities of muscular dystrophy, he keeps a positive attitude and shows fortitude beyond his years. He has a great sense of humor as you can see in his Kat Nap comics and keeps us in smiles daily.

With that said, I would now like to introduce you to Kelly from kat-nap.com. Of course, she just so happens to be my favorite kat in the kat-nap series so far. Kelly isn't the first female feline but only few know of the first. Perhaps “Maggie” will be featured some time in the future.

In the meantime, please feel free to mosey on over to http://www.kat-nap.com/ and find out which kat might be your favorite.
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And here are some proud moments for me as his number 1 fan:

Two years ago: Kat Nap bookmarks were created and passed out at the 2008 PAX convention. You could also find them at a local comic book store.

One year ago: Kat Nap cards were featured in a new card game at Wagon Webcomic Battle. The first set has already sold out. We hope the new revised set will be available soon.

This year: Kat-nap is officially published in Cat Odes and is now available for purchase. Here is what is says at kat-nap.com: Cat-Odes! which features an exclusive Kat-Nap comic is now available at http://dapshow.com/product/cat-odes.
This book is great – especially for all you cat lovers out there but what is really awesome is that 75% of the proceeds go to the ASPCA! I give a holler out for that!

New pins will be given out at PAX 2010! Yes, there are still bookmarks available and will also be given out there as well.
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Now please enjoy your Pink Saturday and don’t forget to take time to indulge in the simple pleasures of life! ttfn! : )

Here we go again

Yes, it's time to get back to the house renovation again! If all stays on schedule, the bathroom will be started on Monday. In the meantime...more decisions! Oh boy - my favorite thing to do...Not! Actually, it all began very well. Vanity, medicine cabinet, and cabinet have already been selected. Shower, counter top, and window sill WAS selected only to find out the choices were discontinued. SO...back to the drawing board we went. Today the final decision was made so I thought I would share that with you. It was a tie between two but yellow won out. The images that follow will show you the first choice that was discontinued - all the way to the last and final choice. Feel free to let me know what you think.

I love the natural simplicity of the above choice. Unfortunately the marble was discontinued. This only took me five or so minutes to make a decision on, so - go figure...it would be the choice I couldn't have, right? Do you know how difficult it is to find a replacement for something you really wanted to begin with? Well, I found out. There wasn't anything to compare it with so we really had to just start over.

Although this is a beautiful pattern and color combo, I was really hoping to find something a bit more feminine and perhaps swirly. AND if I couldn't go "natural" tones then I wanted to find something in a soft color palette. Oh, and just so you know...the more solid color samples are for the floor of the shower.

And here is the final decision. It is a yellowish cream background with dark brown, tan, yellow, and blue veins running through it. It is really growing on me now and I'm looking forward to decorating the bathroom when it's completed. If this was your bathroom, how would you decorate? Would love to hear some suggestions from you all.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the cabinetry! The vanity, mirrored medicine cabinet, and cabinet need to be ordered but they are in an oak finish. I do think this choice for the counter will look nice with the oak cabinets. I sure hope so because I really don't want to have to go back to the drawing board again. AND there is one more decision I need to make. What will the sink look like? I'm sure I will be able to find a standard sink - I'm just not sure from where or what size/shape yet.

I will be so thrilled when this project is finished. I hope to take some time off for the fall/winter holiday season that is fast approaching. All the other reno's will have to wait till spring as far as I'm concerned. Hey... a girl can dream, right?

August Pink Saturday

Here it is...another week gone by and another Pink Saturday missed!?!

Then again...it's still technically Saturday here and I've spent most of today working with my photos in photoshop...so...I'm just going to go ahead and share what I have finished so far...before Saturday is over. Hope you enjoy the flowers from my gardens!

The image above shows the most beautiful zinnias I've ever found. I absolutely love them in pink! Fortunately, I took a few pictures of them in full bloom. Unfortunately, they are not as beautiful now since the slugs found them and decided to feast on them. Uck!

I've always been very fond of dianthus and these are certainly lovely in their multiple shades of pink! If there are any fairies on my property, I think I would find them buzzing around these dainty flowers from time to time. Perhaps I just don't spend enough time outside to see them yet. They would have to be very careful showing themselves though. I'm not sure what all the four legged creatures would do if they saw them. One could only hope they would all get along.

Ahhh...my pink geraniums! Another flower I would think fairies would like. I know the hummingbirds like these as well as the dianthus. The tiny little birds gave up on their feeders for these tasty treats! With summer finally here...we can expect this to keep blooming for quite some time. I am sure the hummingbirds will appreciate that.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend, that life treats you well, and that you had a fantastic Pink Saturday with many more to come! I actually have a plan for next Saturday! : )
Check out more Pink Saturday at: http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Here's a little peek...

Some of you might be wondering what I've been doing since May. Yes, I just noticed I haven't added a new blog post since then. Well, here's a sneak peek of what we've been up to.

Starting with the new kitchen design as you can see below required not only cabinets but counters, flooring, sink, and appliances. This was quite a large project for me since I've never done anything like it before. There were many delays and obstacles throughout but I'm happy to say...this job is finished! Yay! Oh, and I absolutely love the finished product!

Here is a look at what the upper cabinets look like. They are constructed of maple and stain finished in hazelnut. They really are beautiful cabinets. I had no idea that there would be crown molding at the top until they were installed. What a lovely added feature, don't you think?

Almost everything under the counter top is drawers. These drawers are solid, dove-tailed, and have a self glide system. The drawer pulls are brushed nickle with a slim rope edge...just enough to give a very slight Southwest charm. You can also see some of the counter top and flooring in this image. Since the cabinets are light, we decided on a darker stone finished tile and counter.

Here you can see the earth-tone carpet which ties in with the masculine earth-tones of the kitchen. There are flecks of burgundy, dark green, and dark brown to spice it up just a bit. And...our new reclining sofa which my grandson told me to purchase. Little to say, he didn't have to tell me that twice although it took me two trips to the furniture store to decide for sure. It really does look great on the new carpet. Can you tell I'm trying to ward off others from enjoying the comfort of the sofa? Or did you just miss that snake curled up on the corner? Oh, don't worry! It's not real! LOL

Ok, so now it's time to go outdoors, don't ya know? It's mid summer and the garden isn't finished yet. It was about time we did something about that so first we found some lovely hanging baskets. My daughter actually found these for under six dollars and believe me...they are huge! What a deal! I found one for under six dollars too but she beat my deal by 49 cents.

It was also time to start filling some of the deck planters. We found a few unusual plants at the nursery and added them to our better deals from the local stores that were closing out their garden centers. I just can't pass up the few plants that need a bit of TLC...ever. I think everything deserves a home, don't you? So here are a few of the many planters we filled.

Now then...it was time to clean up and fill the largest garden, which I call my kitchen garden, since I can view it from the kitchen. The first pic shows the placement of the plants while the second shows them all planted. I can hardly wait to see how they will all merge together in time.

From back to front there are hydrangeas, asters, zinnias, Martha Washington's, and geraniums. On the right, there are two wooden planters housing miniature dahlias. The large blueish green plant on the right is a well established sedum. Not sure if the birds like the bird bath or not. There haven't been many around due to my lack of feeding them. Perhaps the flowers and the new bird seed will coax some of them back.

The large projects are finished. It's summer and it's time to have a little fun. Although we always ask for warm and sunny for an outdoor party, you never know what you might get so we set up our mosquito-proof gazebo just in case it should rain. It also provides a great place for all the food. Well, it can't be a fiesta without food, right? And there will be plenty of table space for the enchiladas, chimichangas, taquitos, chili, chips and dips (SW, of course) And the margaritas! Ole'! So now all that's left to do is decorate for the Fiesta! We have red hot chili lights, a glittery red chili to cover the outdoor light, some umbrella lighting, sombreros to wear for fun, and some decorations for inside the house.

Here are some of the decorations set up in the house. Beautiful flowers from my son-in-law, a miniature pinata, some maracas, and the ceramic sombrero to hold the salt for the margaritas.
It getting closer to Fiesta day. Now it's time to start cooking.

Unfortunately, this image did not turn out well. The dancers didn't have time to flatten completely by the time I took this picture...but I'm sure you get the idea, si?

I do hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into the festivities going on here. It has been quite a journey for us and I am ever so thankful this part is finished. I will be even more thankful when the remaining rooms are done and I can return to my art therapy. I sure miss that as well as all of you amazing creators out there. Hope you all had a terrific weekend!