I’m just faithful, thought I wanted a Canon, nah!

ok, here is the camera I want!

Amazon Wish List Link I went as far as to write the folks of Canon and ask them to send me a camera. Then I went and got all sentimental tonight about my old Kodak.

I was at the Christmas open house for The Briar Patch garden center doing my thing and videoing for their site and mine. It just didn’t feel right. I had borrowed my son’s camera cause you know–my camera is broken.

The garden center was beautiful and I’ll post about the festivities very soon. But honestly, the digital quality is not what you are used to seeing on my blog. It’s not going to be the ah ha Flowergardengirl you’ve all been loving these past two years. It just isn’t going to be pretty again until me and Kodak marry back up.

I want a Kodak. It’s a great camera. I had a Z612 before and it was awesome. I like the video quality and this Z1015Is is suppose to be even better sound and digital quality. I’m going to wait on it. I’m a patient kind of person really. I’ve even got to put some projects on hold to I get it but that’s Ok cause you know… good things are worth the wait. I am a perfectionist on these sorts of projects in case you haven’t noticed.

So that is where I am right now. I’ll be posting plenty of stuff till I get my new camera–I suppose I’ve got several thousand pictures stored on my computer that will last me a lifetime—but there was this herb farm I wanted to go interview—and there was a new vineyard to go see next week—-and there was that wreath I was gonna make on the December 6th—and my front porch was going to be just gorgeous for Christmas—but I suppose it will just have to wait huh?

Some of you wonder why I don’t just go out and buy it….well, honestly–don’t feel sorry for me—I spent my allowance on the guest room. I’d been wanting a new bed, new bedspread, and stuff for that room for 20 years. I also needed area rugs for the new house—-and so got those too. Well Mr D isn’t made of money and you just have to say no at some point or you keep on spending money. Right?

Well life is funny sometimes~~~ so I decided to tell you how funny. And I’m telling you life has checks and balances and you gotta live by the rules of karma, love, prayer, golden rules, love, health, etc~~~ I believe we need to be extra good to one another. Life has been good and hard on me at times and right now it is really good. I could afford to go right out and buy the darn thing. But I didn’t budget for it and I’ve spent too much lately. Losing a camera is a nusiance and aggravating but my kids are healthy and Mr D has an awesome well paying job. I’m struggling with it being a want verses a need. My blog is a hobby and a joy but not a living. I love ya’ll but you’ll not perish if I don’t post. I suppose. Maybe get sick?

So here is what is funny/not so funny~~~you have to be careful when you decide to have a fundraiser or be a do gooder or become a preacher or feed the world or help anyone=====cause===like they say==do not pray for patience or trials will certainly come your way………so for certain…..soon as I started Operation Christmas Child…….funny things started happening and I’ll not give you the details….but it has been a series of camera breaking episodes that has just about equaled what we’ve raised for charity. And it’s been my experience that it will happen every time cause I’ve done this before…..

So……I shall wait this camera thing out……I shall weather this…..because it is not the end of the world….it is a nuisance and that is all. More than ever though…I have really found out that I loved my Kodak. So I’m getting another sometime.  Ya’ll just have to be patient with me. Right, we are being patient right?

How I came to wear my steel toed shoes, Happy Veteran’s Day

As you see on this government building in Wilmington, North Carolina~~~there are two state flags, that of the United States of America and North Carolina. You can see that the porch ceiling has been properly painted Haint blue which is traditional and scares the ghosts or spirits away. Wouldn’t be a Southern porch without Haint blue. Wouldn’t be the South without a proper salute to Veteran’s Day.

Not a generation in my family has missed serving including me. It wasn’t a hard decision for me to enlist. I’d pretty much been tending to myself for the better part of 15 years of my 16 years in the South. I wasn’t much scared of what was out there. Yes, I enlisted at 16.

Of course I didn’t know the military was going to fit me with a pair of steel toed combat boots. Had I known that, I might of chose to stay home and inherit my father’s furniture business and moonshine habit. Maybe even get better at shifting a 454 and tuning a carburetor back when distributors were attributed to cars and liquor.

In 1976, the Women’s Liberation Movement decided women could fill every shoe a man could including combat boots. Since I had been raised by 3 mechanically gifted  brothers and one moonshine wealthy father~~~ I passed a mechanic Air Force entrance exam with my eyes shut and nose powdered.

But wait~~ just a long paused hound dog minute, the coon is up a tree a long time and nobody realized women have small feet. Here we stood ready to work on generators and airplanes around all this dangerous equipment and hangar shop doors that would slice your toes off before you could blink. So –orders were quickly made and…….somebody made a killing off making little steel toed combat boots and I got me a size 4 mens.

They were cute. They were a spectacle on the flight-line. They were not dainty. They got the job done. By gosh they made a plane fly and they made the engines roar and they made the flag wave and they made the mission go forth—and God Bless America !!!!!! They Made Me Who I am Today~~~~ FREE

HAPPY VETERAN’S DAY

The digital random thoughts of Flowergardengirl for Copper Top Cottage

When Flowergardengirl was considering the colors for Copper Top Cottage she thought of her favorite colors of fall and paired them~~~with ~~ this of all things–

~~ a rotating egg~~The above image actually spins on her computer and was created in Gimp using photos from the scenes from her back yard but WordPress will not allow that application and too bad for you~~~~Autumn is her favorite time of year. The image above allows her to look at the colors against the teal from every angle. Teal is the color of her Copper Top Cottage.

Soon the lace curtains will go up and all the treasures she’s been gathering for 50 years will purposefully be placed in every nook and cranny of her little shed. As I’m reading this back to her she’s saying this is getting way too quaint like and intense so and I should lighten the mood a bit. She says that although there’s a cute quiet side to her , she’s also a riot and that sometimes she wears her Tuesday underwear on Friday.

Copper Top Cottage will be filled with hopes of rows to hoe and gardeners to know. There will be a comfy reading chair by the stained glass window that was purchased at a salvage yard and always a red geranium in one of the windows which has nothing at all to do with the colors she has carefully planned for the space. But red  geraniums were her grandmother’s favorite and so it shall be.

The paint selection for the outside is in the  Natural Splendor line called Biltmore Estate: She’s loving the name  which is~~~‘Hidden Spring’  by Olympic Paint and is talked about in an article she wrote about HERE. One of her favorite color palettes is that of teal, deep peachy orange, and deep golden burnt umber. You can only find that in her back yard during Autumn . Right! Or does this happen in your yard too?

And she never buys a plant without considering it’s aged beauty. And she would never marry a man without considering his retirement plan.

Alaska nasturtiums are considered a bit hard to grow but they do well  in her front beds as there has never been any grown in her back beds. They love this time of year. They like the cool weather  unlike most nasturtiums which would rather see long hot sunny days I suppose~~ do you suppose?. Flowergardengirl likes the speckled leaves of the Alaska variety. She likes any speckled leaves.

Today is the first day of November and it’s so gloriously chilly. Flowergardengirl’s home is filled with biscuit breezes and the aroma of a roast in the oven. Would you like to see the leaves that have fallen and her roast in the oven? And will you please watch her later on tonight at Garden World Report. She’d appreciate it. Here she is now just before the show at her home in NC~~~~

You ask, so of course I tell! and, a peak at Copper Top

This is just real ya’ll so listen up—She’s 51? I get that a lot and it’s nice to hear it ask as a question. I know some of how you look is in how you act but a lot is in the daily care of your skin. I got the best advice of my life 30 years ago from a very harsh and abrasive dermatologist. I could hug his neck today but at the time I wanted to hand him over to my three big brothers.

He had me under one of those examining lights and was criticizing all 20 years of my life in the sun. I was told to wear sunscreen and then given the list I’ve included below for you. It was the way he delivered the message that I didn’t like. He acted like I was out to destroy my skin on purpose. So I suppose at 20, I was. Wish I could remember who he was. Funny that I took him seriously huh?

Thank you for all the nice kudos about my family in the previous post. They read my blog and very much appreciate your kind words. Now to the good stuff you tuned in to hear.

It’s easy. Learn these habits:

1. Never EVER—sleep on anything but your back. Period. That’s right, for 30 years, I’ve been sleeping on my back so that I would not create crease marks on my cheeks or nose.

2. Never go to bed with make-up on. Use a buff pad to gently wash your face with Dr. Bronners soap both AM and PM and immediately follow with witch hazel to close the pores. Do it religiously. I probably have only missed a hand full of days in all these years.

3. As for the make-up, I use a liner on the outer edges and bottom of my eyes. It’s a bit worn off in the picture above and usually is more sharp but you get the idea. I wear a mineral make-up base close to my skin tone. But in the pic above, I wasn’t wearing any base and was actually wearing Mac mineral eye shadow in a rose shade on my cheeks. Yes, you can use a powder eye shadow on your cheeks and it’s less expensive than buying a whole compact of the cheek product. I don’t have any eye shadow on and don’t normally wear any.

4. Find a lipstick of lip gloss you like. I don’t have a favorite. I try to make it favor whatever I’m wearing.

5. I always wear perfume. Always! I wear Jessica McClintock most days. If Mr. D is taking me out, I wear Very Sexy by Victoria Secret.

6. My favorite body lotion is Jergens original.

Hair: It’s time to color it again. My natural shade is dark brown and you can see how much grey is coming in. I really like Clairol Perfect 10 nice ‘n easy in the color 6 light brown chocolate shake —of course. I color every 6 to 10 weeks.

I do want to give the Benefit Cosmetics Line a try. Looks so darn cute. May have to try that Benetint Jean and Jane have an adorable story and the makeup personality sure fits mine doesn’t it ya’ll.

Allright, it’s time for a peak at what’s happening inside Copper Top Cottage—-come on….oh, I am not 5 months pregnant and do not know why I look like that. Maybe it’s those dang cookies this week.

This works for me! Marriage counseling 101

This is his mischievous look and I know he’s up to something. I’m a really good read when it comes to faces and he’s very expressive. In fact, he talks with expressions which use to frustrate me but now I’ve got it licked which frustrates him when he’s trying to hide something. Or….totally delights him like above when he’s playing around. I’m such a flirt.

This past weekend my kids came home and and ran us poor old folks to our grave. They have loads of energy. Our kids are 29, 27, and a daughter-in-law 25 who is perfect in every way. Mr. D and I have been married since 1978 and we feel determined to continue. I would love to show you the close I shot of my dil but her protective husband says I can’t so here are my brawny sons with their mom.

I’m gonna teach you in one post how to stay married and in love. Why? Cause I can. I’ve done it and here it is 1:20 am on October 20th of 2009 and Mr D is still alive. I can hear him snoring. I’ve always gotten along pretty good with him and really good with him at least twice so here is proof….

Cooking might be the way to stay married for some and it’s done a whole heaps for my marriage. I can mend a lot of evil deeds with fried chicken. But calories wear off and just like a figure, it only last till the next meal. My oldest brother had 3 good looking wives and owes them a lot of money. As far as I know they could all cook. So cooking is not the answer for every man so what is?? But here are some cookies I fixed tonight and Mr. D had several. They are pumpkin spice with maple sugar icing.

and this is my favorite cookbook,

So how do you stay married? Has mine seen nothing but lip locks and blissful contentedness? Well no. It sure isn’t cause Mr. D can cook, Lord no. He burns an empty pan. His idea of sustainable means making sure we don’t run out of microwavable potatoes. He got through college on baked potatoes and Mac ‘N’ Cheese. I look like a genius in the kitchen.

So here it is—Confidence. I do not think there is anyone in this world smarter than my husband. I admire his work ethics. More importantly, he knows that I know that.

We can struggle with finances, love, kids, jobs, family and so on….but if you give your spouse a feeling of confidence, then they will almost always become that person in the marriage.

And it will carry over to your children. You will make a lot of mistakes cause I sure have. Your kids forgive you. I’m awfully proud of my children and I’ve captured them in a few photos I’d like to share. I homeschooled both my kids for a good many years and it was fun. They went to a local school from about 8th grade up after we retired from the Air Force and settled to this area.

Here they both are, The first is my oldest at his work.He’s an engineer and builds wastewater and freshwater treatment plants. He specializes in concrete structures. He graduated from NCSU School of Engineering.

In the picture above, he’s measuring the water level in this tank. This is a new tank and they are getting ready to test the stir tubes. This was a pretty big job up in Virginia.

He looks like his father. Here he is showing his dad some drawings he did.

and below is my youngest.

He looks like momma.

In the picture below, my youngest son is shooting a commercial for a contest that he and his brother entered. It’s for Doritos.( They won’t let me show you pictures until after it’s been aired on the Doritos site) They did it last year too. My youngest son is going to school full time at UNCG to be a script writer and producer. He loves working with the camera and looks like a pro I think–don’t you?. He goes to school full time and then he also has a full time job as a medical transcriptionist for our local hospital. Both my kids are very busy. Like I said, I would show you this son’s wife but he won’t let me and I understand cause she’s so dang pretty.

And so—–give your family confidence. It’s the very best gift.

Thank you for Best Blog Design and NC awards!

Thank you to everyone for voting for me in the recent 2009 Blotanical.com awards. I very much appreciate being chosen for the Best Blog Design Award and the Best North Carolina Blog Award.

I didn’t expect the award so didn’t come up with a new design to celebrate. I’ll get right on that and earn my keep. I haven’t changed it in a few weeks so I’m due, right?

Thank you all so very much—big hugs ya’ll!

My new logo is finished! Want to see?

Hi all—- as most of you know I’ve been working on a clothing line. I also do podcasting, am an amateur photographer making cards from those photos, and will be offering a few of my birdhouses and such for sale.

So here is my new logo! As my business grows, I’ll add seasonal additions to the bed of the truck—–say like a bed full of pumpkins and mums. But for now–this is my one and only trademark.. One day I hope to own a truck like that!

My first clothing item will be a thermal shirt for women with the logo on the left front bottom of the shirt. They’ll be offered at Flowergardengirl.org

Logo designed by Sarah at Sarah Catherine Designs.

Muscadine on the Vine

North Carolina is famous for its muscadines. I go out in the woods, find a vine, and eat them till I am sick. They are very sour and will make your cheeks hurt. It’s almost time for them to ripen. I’ll be waiting! I’ll be 12 years old again and won’t share the location of my treasured tasty treats. Don’t follow! Only me and the critters know where they are. I’m not telling.