Hello World!!

Hello Blog World!

It's me Linda!

I am finally back in Georgia.  Mom is with me!

The last few weeks were intense but we made it here. 

The moving container was delivered on June 2nd

Here it is empty! 

Here it is packed.  We added several more things after the packers left...of course! 

The container was picked up on June 6th

Then came the moving sale....it was only so so successful.  So much left and we finally had to get someone to clean out the remaining items.

 It was the best birthday gift ever!  I was so tired, but we still went to Outback to celebrate my 64th Birthday on June 9th

My Mom, me, Patrick, Cousin Joletta, Cousin Karen and Aunt Betty 
(my cousin Heather took these photos)

Here I am with my birthday dessert...but what you don't see in this photo is.........

Patrick (Heather's husband) trying to steal my ice cream!
We had a great time!

A few more days of closing things up with the house, lots of goodbyes and we left Texas for Georgia.  Two days on the road and finally....

I'm Home!

We toured Mom's apartment, bought some new furniture and tonight she is spending her first night in her new apt.

  The moving container will be delivered next week, but I am letting someone else unload.  
I'll help unpack boxes of course.

We do know we packed too much, but another round of editing and Mom should be mostly settled by the end of June. 

I have missed all of you so very much!
  I've tried to visit your blogs and post a few quick messages on Facebook, but I'm not sure I've ever been this tired in my life. 

I have missed blogging, and hope to return to posting on a regular schedule! 

Wishing you JOY,

Linda 

Catching Up

Those two weeks home just flew by! 

I enjoyed it so much. 

I had family time and some special Tiger time!

Tiger loves trains so much and we bought some new track to keep at Grandma's

I also bought some little trains to keep at my house

We are going to have fun this summer!

We had a fun meal at 'The White Tiger' where they serve yummy BBQ

We had a great afternoon at the park and Tiger played in the lake!  

He will start swim lessons in July!

Eating Ice Cream Sandwiches

Spent lots of time loving on this guy!

He is home and being taken care of by my sweet neighbor Donna while I make the final move with Mom!

So Yes....

I'm back in Texas!

This week is final packing and loading the moving pod.  Next Saturday will be the moving sale and then final emptying of the house and cleaning it.

So hopefully Mom, Sam the Cat and I will be on the road back to Georgia by June 11th.

Somewhere in there *June 9th* I'll celebrate my 64th birthday! 

 Whew!  I'm feeling every year of it!

Thank you all for hanging in here with me during this very stressful time in my life.  I will be so thankful to have my Mom close to me in GA and to get back to my regular life.  Hopefully I'll be back to blogging soon! 

Wishing you all JOY!

Linda

Cake and Coffee {Verismo Review}

I am back home for two weeks! 

I have some business I must attend to before returning to Texas to finish moving my Mom to GA.  While home, I wanted to take some time to catch up with my daughter Sara!

What better way then Cake and Coffee!

A few months ago I was contacted by Jessica at Staples wanting to know if I was interested in doing a product review on the Verismo coffee brewing system by Starbucks! 

I was given the complete system and coffee pods of my choice for the review.   I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are 100% my own.

I choose the champagne color and it is a bit more 'gold' then I realized but it still looks great in my kitchen.  It also comes in Black and Red.  I like that you can brew an Expresso to a Latte with this machine.  They have Milk Pods to make a nice foamy drink! 

Water tank holds enough to brew several cups of coffee.  I like how the Verismo has a cleansing cycle between cups.  

Pick youe Pod, drop in the slot and pull down the lever.  Pick the size brew and press a button!

Voila, an amazing cup of coffee!

Easy to use and attractive enough to put on a coffee bar or table at a breakfast!

Sara and I both choose Cafe Verona to drink with our yummy cake!

Coffee, Cake and a great visit with my daughter!

The Verismo was easy to use and the coffee is very good.  If you are a Starbucks addict then this is the system for you! 

Available at Staples with many coffee products to choose from. 

 I set the table with matching dessert plates and mugs.  It's good to be home! 

I'm joining

You're Gonna Love It

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

Final TTF at The Thrifty Groove

It's True! 

No more Thrifty Things Friday!

Why you ask?

Diann and I have had so many changes in our lives the last few years and the last few months we have been struggling to give TTF the attention it deserves.  We both plan to continue blogging but just need to end the weekly commitment of TTF.

Thank you all for your participation over the years. 

This week I'm sharing a little thing from my past.  As I go through Mom's treasures I've found many that I will take home with me...but I also found a few of my own! 

I was a Girl Scout from Brownies through Senior Scouts when I graduated from High School.

For most of those years my Mom was by my side as my Girl Scout leader.  We made some amazing memories during those years.

In 1967 as they were taking the photos for the 1968 Girl Scout Calendar, I found myself lucky enough to be asked to one of the photo shoots.

Here is an article that was in the local paper about some girls from my area being in the calendar.

(Side view of girl with short hair is me)

I wish I could say I was in a big photo inside but

I did make the back cover and I'm really proud of that!  It was a fun experience for sure!

As you can tell my Mom was glad to point out which one was me!

One of the few small 'claims to fame' I've had in my life!   It was fun to come across the article and calendar while going through Mom's things!

I hope you will join Diann and I for one last

Thrifty Things Friday

Thanks Diann for letting me join you and for being such a great friend. 

Wishing you Joy,

Linda

Fabric and Books...Oh My!!

Editing down your home is not an easy chore.

We were doing pretty well until we entered the 

Sewing Room!

My Mom has been a sewer all her life and a Quilter for over 20 years.  She loves fabric and books and has a large collection of both.

Downsizing is not easy!

These are the books and magazines that Mom has collected over the years.  We have found a home for the books.  A quilting shop will take them and distribute them to Quilt Clubs in the area for their libraries.  Not sure what we will do with the magazines.  

We will be making boxes of fabric to donate to clubs that make quilts for Battered/Abused Women and Children, Breast Cancer Patients and Victims of Violence.  That will leave a lot of fabric and Mom will take some with her to Georgia.

These decisions are so hard for my Mom.

It is hard for me to watch her trying to make them.

Pushing her along but not too hard.  Time is running out and we have to do this....NOW!

I leave on Tuesday for a two week visit back home.  I have to get a new Driver's License, renew my car tags and see my family!  I'll return the end of May for the final packing, moving and driving to GA!

Thanks for all the positive comments and prayers!

Wishing You JOY,

Linda