Warning

Hello, my name is Jingles. I am an indoor cat.

During the day, I like to hang out on the balcony.

But at night, I want to be inside with my people. Sometimes they go to bed and forget to check on me. Sometimes they leave me on the balcony all nite.

I'll show them!

Note to self: In order to avoid damage to potted plants, make sure Jingles is safe and sound inside before hitting the hay.

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Please head over to Art & Soul by Deborah to enter her giveaway . She has two archival prints of her beautiful watercolors up for grabs. Tell her I sent you.

I'm off to bed and Jingles is sound asleep in the kids room. Many blessings, Tammy

Terrific Tuesday

Beautiful weather and blue skies!

Lunch with Leslie. Fun and food!

Tea with Sheryll. Friendship and conversation.

Flowers for both using my decoupaged coffee cans. I placed a recycled glass jar inside and filled it with water for the flowers.

Hope you are finding some time in your day to do a little relaxing!

Peace & blessings, Tammy

All is well

Good evening dear friends. I would like to thank each and everyone of you for leaving such sweet well wishes. I saw my doctor yesterday for test results. It seems most of what I am experiencing is due to hormonal changes (I guess Sam is right - everything is hormonal). Cholesterol, triglycerides and sugar levels are perfect. My father had a triple bypass when he was 45 and I've always been afraid I would follow in his footsteps. I am so glad I took my health seriously 5 years ago, lost weight, and started eating properly. I feel so much better due to those simple lifestyle changes. Still waiting for some further test results, but don't think they are going to show much. What can I say! I'm 44 and things start to change.

The nurse saw this pink ball of yarn in my bag and the next 5 minutes was a discussion of crocheting and embroidery. My doctor is from Romania and said that she used to crochet many, many moons ago and that she also was very good at embroidery. The Indian nurse said she never learned any craft but that her sisters were very good at it. I find it so interesting that a ball of yarn can bring about such comradery. I was greeted by a lovely full moon when I left the clinic.

And today's weather was perfect with blue skies and lots of sunshine. Jingles was very happy to spend most of the day on the balcony.

The days are just speeding by and I'm afraid Spring Break is going to be over before we know it. Hope all is well in your part of the world. Many blessings, Tammy

Earth Hour

Our school signed up to actively participate in Earth Hour and encouraged its students to do the same.
Last nite, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm it was lights out.

We lit candles

one by one

and did our part to raise awareness for the need to conserve energy. I wonder how many families here actually participated. Conservation does not seem to be at the top of anyone's list.

But we can do our part. One person can make a difference.
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale

Peace & blessings, Tammy

Happy Pink Saturday

Hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend. It's a slightly dusty day around here.

 I'm continuing to decoupage all the cans I spray painted. Also had a wicker wreath just laying around so wrapped some lace and ribbon around it then attached a little rose that I pulled off an old box.

The card on the right with such a lovely springtime image was given to me for my birthday and is just too beautiful to hide away. Small decoupaged cans will be filled with colored paper strips and chocolates for Easter.

Crocheted flowers are easy to make and will be used in some future project.

I've started single crocheted squares with the yarn Jodie sent me. I was inspired by a project posted by Gloria at Crochet Galore. You can check out her post here. I've not combined crochet and cross-stitch before so will be working on that during this week of Spring Break.
Blood tests were taken care of early this morning but will take nearly a week for the results to come back. Tomorrow I see my doctor about the other test results. Sending sweet wishes your way for a most beautiful day! Blessings, Tammy

Friday thoughts

“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal.”
Elbert Hubbard

I know it is really not a good idea to take pictures while driving but the sunset last nite was magnificent. This picture truly does not do it justice. Today we actually had a rain shower out at baseball that delayed practices by about 15 minutes. The rain was a welcome sight but tonite, high winds and some dust. Never know what tomorrow will bring. Hope you are having a fabulous Friday. Blessings, Tammy

Joy in a Box

Joy is a heart full and a mind purified by gratitude. (Marietta McCarty)
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Today I received a package in the mail.

It took 6 weeks to arrive.

But it was worth it. A beautiful doily fashioned into an envelope and tied up with the most lovely ribbon then adorned with a safety pin holding a collection of wonderful charms.

A Bright Birthday
May all your hours be gladsome
And filled with Joy untold
And everything your heart desires
This day for you unfold.

Beautiful cards from a beautiful blogger.

Sweet images, a calendar, lace, buttons, crocheted goodness. I LOVE EVERYTHING and am so honored to be gifted with such treasures.
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In my first months of blogging, I remember stumbling onto Jodie's blog Everything Vintage . I took a tour through her studio given by the lovely Sophie and was mesmerized by her work area, her writing and her humor. Having lived in Louisiana most of my life, I felt a connection to this Cajun girl who has the ability to make me laugh my butt off. I've oohed and awed over her beautiful creations, photography and crafting genius, and shared in her sorrow when she lost her father. This girl just makes you love her! I know that anyone who has "met" her, real or virtually, feels the same. She's a girl who pays attention to detail! Look what else she included in my birthday box of goodies! MY FAVORITE ...

Red Heart yarn! Love, love, love it! JODIE you are ONE OF A KIND and I love ya! Thanks so much for my fabulous surprise package! It came at just the right time because today started our Spring Break. We don't go back to school until April 5th. Woohoo!!!!

I hope that you are all having a terrific Thursday! Wishing you many blessings, much joy and beautiful friendships! Tammy

Over and Done!

I had put it off long enough ...

I told the technician that I felt like she was making a panini. HA!
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Lately I've heard so many stories, from here and from the States, of folks being misdiagnosed, especially for cancer. When they are properly diagnosed, it's almost too late. Apparently I have two "echofree fibrocysts" on the right side and some calcification on the left. My cycles are off big time and heart disease is rampant on my dad's side of the family, so Saturday I will do a blood test to check my hormone levels, cholesterol and sugar. It's certainly much better to be certain than to think what if?
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"Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well." ~Marcus Valerius Martial

Wishing you health and happiness, Tammy

Tea on Tuesday

Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses has a tea party every Tuesday so please stop by her place for a cup of friendship and a chat.
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I came to Kuwait the end of 1994 and for the first 6 months, we lived with my husband's parents. My mother-in-law only spoke Arabic and I only spoke English so we couldn't converse, but we could share a cup of tea and have breakfast together.

On mornings when the men would go off to work, she would fix a breakfast tray which would consist of many food items that I had either never eaten before or had never had for breakfast. Pita bread and olive oil are staples in the Arab diet. Olives, cucumber, boiled eggs, zaatar, sliced tomatoes, haloumi cheese were all things that we would share. It was all very fascinating to me.

I have fond memories of that special time even if I couldn't talk with my mother-in-law. It was her way of welcoming me and food was served with love. She has been gone nearly 5 years now. She succumbed to cancer in June of 2005. A year and a half later, my father-in-law had a heart attack and was gone. Among their belongings was this old tin that was filled with old black and white photos. I never even knew they had so many pictures as there were never any on display.

Love this picture of my mother-in-law because it shows a woman so different from the one I knew.

Tea is a big part of the culture here. It is served with breakfast; after meals; with a sandwich in the evening; when visiting friends.

Often served in small tea glasses like this one.

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~Author Unknown

Thanks for stopping by my corner of the world for tea today! Have a beautiful day! Tammy

Mother's Day and Meatless Monday

Hello out there! Hope you've had a great start to the week. Yesterday was Mother's Day in the Arab world. My husband was in Dubai for the day on business and came back with these frames. They look like old Arab doors but open up and a photo can be placed inside. The dried flowers on the right used to be bright red blooms on my balcony but the heat and dust got to them and this is what was left.

Over the weekend I picked up these two cookbooks dedicated to vegetables. Half price which made buying them even better.

I probably mentioned before that I am vegetarian. It happened sometime in May of last year. Not really a conscious decision. More of a progression of where I am in life. It's hard to explain. My husbands says it is hormonal. He thinks everything is.

My 11 year old hates most veges. And my family thinks I am making them suffer by not cooking meat anymore. Oh well! I thought I would share one of my favorite, easy meatless meals. It's not from these cookbooks, but it is one that I use over and over again as it takes little time to prepare and is healthy and nutritious. It's a complete meal when served with a side salad and garlic bread.

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Lentil & Spinach Pasta

2 TBS olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 (19 oz) can Progresso Lentil Soup
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach
1 (16 oz) pkg ditalini pasta (or any small pasta, preferably whole wheat)
salt & pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese to serve

Brown onion and garlic in oil over medium heat. Stir in lentil soup and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in spinach and spices. Simmer. Cook pasta in separate pot. Drain. Mix pasta with lentil mixture. Cover and keep warm for 20 min. Serve with parmesan cheese.

I hope you give it a try! Wishing you health and happiness, Tammy

Upcycled Tin

Sunday Salutations! I finally got to work on some tin cans and coffee cans that I've been saving for quite some time.

Love the image on this coffee can. Sweet birds and nests welcome Springtime. On the backside I put a quotation.

I spray painted the cans yesterday and left them to dry. When I went out to get them today, I found the sweetest little half portion of a baby bird eggshell.

Unfortunately, I set it on the dining table and in all the jumble of my papers and cuttings and gluing, it fell and broke into pieces. It's amazing how fragile those little eggs are.

I printed images that I had saved from many sources, but unfortunately cannot remember exactly where they all came from. I'm sure some are from The Graphics Fairy. Clearly Vintage has great images to share. And so many sweet bloggers post their own for others to use.

"Happiness comes from spiritual wealth, not material wealth ... Happiness comes from giving, not getting. If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we cannot stop it from coming to us also. To get joy, we must give it, and to keep joy, we must scatter it. (John Templeton)
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I wish you all happiness and many blessings! Tammy

Happy Pink Saturday

Good morning! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Today's weather is so-so.

My geraniums are still blooming although they are covered in a light layer of dust as is everything else around here.
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Yesterday while we were out I picked up a few magazines.

I don't buy magazines much anymore as they are so expensive but decided to splurge. Since I had no other obligations or responsibilities, I thought today would be a good day for crafting, reading, cooking and a little cleaning (very little).

I found this one while I was out this morning. Can't believe I actually found it in Kuwait.

And the Robins Eggs for Easter which are almost gone. Now I'm having sugar overload.

I love free days when I can truly "Dwell in possibility."

Wishing you many blessings, Tammy