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Friday, May 13, 2011

SIMPLE SPRING SMILES

I don’t know about y’all, but when Blogger went down, I felt a little lost and disconnected! I did get a few things done around the house, but I kept feeling like there was something fun and exciting going on, and I couldn’t get connected to it! As the hours drug on, my imagination took over..what if Blogger never comes back; what did I do BB (before blogs); is this an attack by foreign powers to drive a LOT of people crazy all at once; how will I ever find out what exciting things my friends are doing? Each time I saw that “Blogger is Currently Unavailable” message, I imagined even more horrors of living without blogs. (I won’t list them all here, because if I did, you might contact someone to immediately take me to the “funny farm”!)

I’m tellin’ ya, panic was setting in. After calming myself with a chocolate candy bar, I realized that there would be anarchy in the world if Blogger disappeared. (After all, surely there were millions of bloggers who felt the same loss that I was feeling~well, maybe a few bloggers felt it!) That is when I calmed down enough to be disgusted with myself~for being so addicted to Blogville AND for eating a whole 3 Musketeer (and also, one of those “nothing but sugar” candy orange slices)! So, in my self-disgust, I rationalized that I had lived without blogs for a lot of years, and I could surely do it again.

But, thank goodness I didn’t have to find out if I could do it again! I might have had to clean house, iron clothes, and go to bed at a reasonable hour! Whew! I am soooo relieved! Now I can go see what wonderful things my friends have been doing while Blogger, so rudely, interrupted us, and I can get on with this blog post.

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I love Spring! It doesn’t take much to make me smile in the Springtime.

There is something about flowers popping up where they don’t belong that brings a Open-mouthed smile to my face. I’ve always liked that old saying ~ “bloom where you are planted”, and I’m reminded of it every time I see these flowers between our bricks (which obviously need a good cleaning and leveling!)

bricks

Lately, seeing sunlight coming into my home really makes me Smile, since this Spring has brought a lot of dreary rainy days.

wndow

This little white picket fence picture, crafted by my neighbor with dried pansies, makes me Send a kiss.

pansies

All of the blooming flowers make me Laughing out loud, but especially the peonies. Each Spring, I plant a “cutting” garden. When the flowers bloom in the cutting garden, I hesitate to cut them to bring in the house, because I enjoy seeing them in the flowerbed (I know, I’m crazy). The only flower I don’t hesitate to cut is the peony, because I know that the weight of the flower will soon bring the flower to the ground, and it is more beautiful in a vase than bent over on the ground outside.

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Turtles sunbathing in flooded waters bring a Send a kiss.
TURTLE

And so do birds watching a “walk-in” movie that we can’t see. (I took this photo from the front window of our car. In other words, we were about to run over these birds, and they were transfixed by something and didn’t move!)

birds

Our dog, Elsie, watching the birds flit about, brings a Rolling on the floor laughing.

lc

Every time I look at our big antique Hunter Zephair fan, it reminds me of my childhood, and I smile. This fan, along with several others like it, hung on the walls in the cafeteria of a local school . We purchased this one (which still works great) when they remodeled the cafeteria, and now I wish we had purchased all of them.

fan

Although it holds no memories, our bright red, reproduction table top fan also makes me Smile. (Yes, we do have central air conditioning, but there is just something about a table top fan that makes me feel so laid back. I love to just relax and enjoy the breeze and the sound of a table top fan.)

red fan

A surprise gift from a favorite friend definitely brought a Open-mouthed smilesmile to my face and will continue to bring Laughing out loudSmileRolling on the floor laughingevery time I look at it. Isn’t this the sweetest garden sign you’ve ever seen? I Red heart it! Thank you so much Sweet Sarah.

bunny xng



“We’ve started restoring the posts that were temporarily removed and expect Blogger to be back to normal soon.”

Their definition of “soon” is a LOT longer than my definition of “soon”!

“Blogger is back now. We're still working on restoring some of the data.”

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I am linking to:

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Please go visit the other blogs that are showing their favorite things. Thank you for coming to visit me. laurie


35 comments:

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

It's been interesting...that's for sure! And really does make you stop and think! I'm glad to be back looking at my favorites list! Happy weekend ahead! ♥

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Laurie I felt lost also without blogger...so glad it is back. Love all the things that are making you smile because they make me smile also!!! hugs, Linda

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I think you are one of the few who are working, I'm not back on yet but at least there is hope for me!
I think I may have to actually clean out my closet today. Love all the pictures. I do like it when plants grow through the cracks. Have a nice weekend.
(I was able to comment so that is good)

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Yeah, whatever blogger! My two posts are gone...are they coming back??
I am so addicted to blogging that I would be lost with out it.
I love the flowers between the blocks. Enjoy your weekend and maybe by then, blogger will be All Better!!

Diann said...

OMG! Ditto everything you said regarding Blogger! LOL what a disturbing 24 hours. Anyway, yeah we are back! And a perfect Spring post!

Carol said...

I felt the same way, Laurie! My post from Wednesday has not come back yet, so I recreated it. I don't think I could live without blogging! ; )

Smiles,
Carol

Robin said...

I've been going insane without Blogger! So glad they are finally up and running and I am one of the fortunate one's who's last post wasn't totally deleted!

I am completely in love with your Peonies! They are beautiful!

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Enjoyed seeing your signs of Spring.
I should have got more done when blogger was down - but didn't,
Thanks for hosting again this week.
Enjoy your weekend.

Anonymous said...

I love having plants come up volunteer here and there like your sweet yellow flowers!!

Taking a break from mad cleaning to enjoy a few of my favorite blogs! Great way to energize!

Have a great weekend Laurie!

bee blessed
mary

Lynn said...

The flowers between the bricks look really neat, I know they're work though... I have lily of the valley and spearmint fighting for space in my yard! Happy Weekend Laurie:@)

Stephanie ~ Angelic Accents said...

Gosh, you gave me the giggles. But I wasn't giggling when I rewrote my ENTIRE post! Hope I didn't do wrong ~ now what if my orig post shows back up? I've linked to your party and I'm having a party soon that I'd love for you to plan on joining!

Big TX Hugs,
Stephanie
Angelic Accents

The Charm of Home said...

I love your old fan Laurie. Really pretty peonies too. Thanks for having us.
Sherry

~ ~ Ahrisha ~ ~ said...

Hi Laurie, I had the same feelings of missing visiting my favorite blogs today. Thank goodness it's all fixed. Thanks for hosting the party.

lvroftiques said...

Laurie I thought I was going to lose my mind!! I hadn't been active on the blogs for the last week so I was trying to play catch up with everyone when "poof" no blogger! And my newest post that took me darn near forever was missing as well. Sooooo I hear ya my friend! Yeah sure we got by doing useful things before blogger *winks* But I wanna sit around on my bum and read em all day long when I wanna! LOL!
OK nuff bit$#@en. I LOVE your new blog header!! And those peonies are glorious!! All the other things that make you smile make me smile too but especially that beautiful Elsie of yours! Vanna

Kathleen said...

It was a looong time wasn't it?
When those cafeteria fans are on can you smell bologna sandwiches? :)

I love those flowers growing through your bricks. Of course today I was out spraying ours so the grass doesn't grow through!
I use that Olympic Deck wash on our brick steps and it came out great. They have it at Lowes. Don't even have to do it this year!

Sarah said...

Laurie, it was a strange feeling to be disconnected from Blogger. I kept checking back till I went to sleep. Then when it still wasn't up this morning I thought the same thing, my definition of soon is different from Blogger's. LOL Just shows how dependent we all are on modern technology. Like when we loose power! ;-)
We can all be pretty impatient!
Thanks for the thoughtful mention. I know this sign has landed in a beautiful garden. Oh, to have my own "cutting" garden. That would indeed be a dream!
Happy Weekend! ~ Sarah

Susan Freeman said...

Hi Laurie! I felt so cut off. I never realized just how very much I love blogging! I kept checking to see if it was back up. I was so happy when I had to go over to my Mom's and meet with her and a landscape planner. Mom does not have an internet connection ~ YET. When I came back home it was back up and I did a happy dance!! Bentley looked at me funny. So glad to be attending your fun party and thank you for being our lovely hostess!!

Lots of love,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo

FABBY'S LIVING said...

OMG! I thought it was a punishment, for something I had done in life!, when my blog fell, I really believed it was just mine, or I did something wrong...than when it came back my last post was gone! Thank God everything is back to normal, I felt like I lost a leg, or something! I'm so happy to be at your lovely party and thank you for hosting it! I love your post.
Hugs
FABBY

Diane said...

Well, my last post is still missing in action!

So, here is the one before it. Still waiting to see if the the other one returns...

Thanks for hosting!

xinex said...

Your flowers are gorgeous, Laurie but I love your bunny crossing!..Christine

Scribbler said...

I just love your vase of peonies. I have planted them over the years, but here at this house, I haven't had any luck. Your pink ones are just gorgeous.

Sweet Bee Cottage said...

I love that you have flowers growing in your brick patio. We just have weeds growing in ours! So glad our little blogging community is back! I ended up spending too much time on etsy when blogger was done. Had to get my fix in somehow! :)

Savannah Granny said...

I love the old Hunter fans. Yes, they are comforting and bring back memories of lazy summer days, before air conditioning. How did we get along.
I just can't imagine those flowers growing in the sidewalk. Do they come back every year?
Thanks for hosting, Ginger :)

Jacqueline said...

So glad everything is back to normal! Having watched the Facebook movie on an airplane, I had more knowledge about how bad it is for them to be down and that was a super long time! Made me worried!

My Cozy Corner said...

Hi Laurie,
I love joining your party on Saturday. A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS is the so much fun. This week was nerve racking indeed. My post is a tribute to my very good friends that I will be traveling with to England next month. We have been planning this trip since September 2010. And blogging is a great way to express my feelings toward them. Thanks again for your great party and have a wonderful weekend.
xo
Betty

Beeutiful by Design said...

I love all your photos but especially the fans - I too love the nostalgia of the fan in summer time. Jennifer

Candy @ The Little Round Table said...

Great fans! Quick thanks and then I'm off to try and re-group after the Blogger fiasco. Let's NOT do this crash and burn thing again!

Candy

vignette design said...

Hi Laurie,
Yesterday was weird with Blogger down. They took my last post away which I worked so hard on. A rewired vintage lamp. Eventually they restored the post, but not the comments. I too felt discombobulated! What if Blogger disappeared or what if they lost all our posts!
I just went shopping with my BFF and tried not to think about it!
Love all your spring photos, especially your dog watching the birds. She is beautiful! Have a wonderful Saturday and weekend! ~Delores

The French Hutch said...

hi Laurie, I think there were many people upset with the blogger issues, and all feeling exactly like you. Oh well, guess we have to smile at ourselves.
I like your little blooms mixed in between the bricks, looks charming. All of your photographs are so interesting and amazing. Thanks for hosting your party.

~Emily
The French Hutch

The Tablescaper said...

Laurie:

It was so odd having Blogger down. I had set aside a bit of time to do some blog visiting and then it was a no go. Very frustrating. Glad it's back and that we could share in your Spring.

- The Tablescaper

Ginger said...

Just popping in to say hi and see what you have been up to. I love the little yellow flowers coming up between the bricks. And I like that the bricks are not all even, makes them quaint looking.
That picture of the white picket fence is really neat, as is your lead glass window.
Ahh, Elsie, what a pretty dog!!!
Seems like summer already here in Vegas. The spring was very windy.

CHERI said...

I had just spent the l-o-n-g-e-s-t time getting up a post and then "poof" it was gone...I about croaked. Sure glad they got everything fixed. Like you, what would I do without blogging? Love the little yellow flowers in the bricks and I "covet" the BUNNY CROSSING sign...I need it for my yard to go with all my other bunnies:) Just a note....some of your pics are so large I can't see all of them...is it just me???

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Hi Laurie! I spent my blog-less time with Little League! lol Love the photo of the pansies between the bricks! Love it! Happy weekend!...hugs...Debbie

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Hi Laurie,
Your post made me smile! You are so cute and so creative!
I love your garden pics and the fan pics make me feel nostalgic. Oh and your peonies are fabulous!
My MIL has several peony plants they she planted 40 years ago...no lie. And they are doing amazing still and the flowers are just outstanding! And how did you do that amazing header? Love that!
Hugs friend,
Cindy

Oh and so sweet of Sarah for sending you that amazing garden sign.

The Tablescaper said...

Thanks for being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

- The Tablescaper