Overdue Christmas Wrap Up

I have to share with you what Dianne gave me for Xmas. She is the most amazing gift giver ever. Oh and, she actually made the cow pattern pants and the cowgirl outfit! And she customized the back pocket of the cow pants with Maxine's name! YEE HAW!!! (Hint, hint...We need a pony, Grandy!) So without further ado...here it is!

And, Dianne gave us the cutest little hand crocheted pink cowgirl booties! They are just amazing but didn't photograph so well. And did you notice the adorable frog hangers she gave us. They are peaking out of the tops of the clothes.
So a BIG thank-you to Dianne for all the Xmas goodies!!!

JAPANESE???

Well, Dianne had this fun little test on her blog. She took it and it said she should learn to speak French...which she does. So I took it to see if I should learn German which I took in high school. Nope. Not German. Not French. Not Spanish. Not even Chinese. Japanese. Yep, Japanese. Japanese??? I should learn Japanese? Huh? That's crazy. I will have to see what our friends Osamu, Kayo, and Hiroshi say to this. I'm sure they will ROTFL.

You Should Learn Japanese

You're cutting edge, and you are ready to delve into wacky Japanese culture. From English to eating contests, you're born to be a crazy gaijin. Saiko!

What Language Should You Learn?

And for what it's worth, I find the word "Engrish" in this little graphic offensive. I'm not sure why I even put this on my blog but here it is. I may have to delete it later. Oh, but that does make me think about my favorite movie. Lost in Translation.
Update: Thanks to Di I have corrected that offensive little word to now read English.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED....well sort of.

The goal for my project in Alabama for Pre-Xmas was to have the remodel and addition at a state where my Mom could have her 35th Annual Cookie Swap and our Christmas dinner at what was my grandmother's dining table in the newly remodelled house (which used to be my grandparents' house when they were living). Well, we pushed and pushed and pushed til we couldn't push anymore. We just had to settle that the house was ready except for ....the kitchen cabinets...oh and her bathroom cabinets. Everyone really worked beyond the call of duty...except the cabinetmaker who I choose to call out. Yep, no kitchen cabinets. {The cabinetmakers are Nixon Cabinets in Athens, AL.} My mom and dad were and are still angreeeeee to say the least. Who knew it would take 3 years to build kitchen cabinets??? But that didn't stop Christmas or the Cookie Swap. We set up a temporary kitchen island which was an old store counter that my grandfather had given me from his feed and seed store. We made it our Snack Bar for the Cookie Swap and family gatherings. Our snacks were served out of 7 galvanized buckets lined up down the feed and seed store counter. As for Xmas dinner, we cooked and heated food next door and brought it over. Well worth the extra effort and hassle! We moved in the basic furniture and then the drapery lady came in for her installation. Then the most amazing upholsterer delivered his masterpieces! That was the best Christmas present ever...for my mom and me. Upholstery pictures to be posted soon.


Mom on the left and Joy(the Cookie Swap co-hostess)
on the right standing at the table with the wassail
and vintage Santa mugs. Located in the
breakfast hall looking towards the office loft.



Striped hall looking towards library.


The cabinet-less kitchen loft with Snack Bar.
Notice the stainless steel tool cabinet we are
using as temporary storage. Vintage industrial
lights salvaged from a New Orleans warehouse
and restored Pre-Katrina.


The store counter from Pop's feed and seed store
AKA The Snack Bar. Located approximately where
the kitchen island will be. Cast iron column
salvaged from old warehouse in Memphis.
Mike(BIL) seated and Jasper(nephew), the
cutie-patootie.

So, now that the mission is somewhat accomplished, we are ready and waiting on Maxine's referral. The soonest we could hear something would be Jan 24th. So it could be anytime from a few weeks to a few months. As everyone knows that is involved in IA, you just never know what the CCAA will do and when they will do it. So Fingers and Toes Crossed for Good Luck!!!