Trash or Treasure?

A few weeks ago...

"...One man's trash...is another man's ...maria's...um...I mean...man's treasure."

Joining Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday meme

for this week's "T" post!

Next door to the dental office I work at, there was a flooring shop. I don't know the particulars, only that they were relocating.   During lunch, I noticed there was a huge rubbish bin and a few men filling it up with odds and ends floor samples, shelves, light fixtures...

I had to ask... if all that was going to the dump. 

It was, and they said take what you want...

So, in my scrubs, during the last few minutes of my lunch break...I am picking through and setting aside some wonderful "treasures"!

My sweet hubby got a call from me to please stop on his way home from work and pick up some wonderful stuff for me... (I drive my mini so there was no way I could put a shelf in there).

Now I have to say that My Handsome Honey is Mr. Organizer and has been working diligently in our garage, going through boxes and getting rid of stuff that I tend to hold on to. (He has been doing this without my help, cuz if I were going through the boxes and stuff in the garage, I would be "saving" more than I should).

Well.....there was a whole lot of stuff that those guys at the flooring store were still tossing over the next few days! 

Two days later, I was off of work, but drove by to see if there was any other treasures to discover.

Here's my trusty little workhorse...

 I do admit that as I was driving back home, I did wonder how low to the ground I was with all that heavy tile!!! The mini rides low already!

The passenger's seat was full, as well as the back.

There were about 30 back boards of tile samples...I'm thinking some of this could be used to do mosaics.

And...there were two full boxes of 20 -8x10 tiles each.

Aren't these two tiles gorgeous? ...these and some of the other unique ones could be used in-laid into a table top. ...or a wooden box cover.

Here is the shelf that I had my hubby bring home in his truck, along with wood floor samples.  The shelves have some other tiles that I had hauled home in my mini...there are about 60 or more tiles!

And then there are the back boards with carpet samples...all which are bound and ready to use...

See? Here is one of them at the door to our garage from inside our laundry room.

Now...this one was a carpet sample on a display that was to simulate stairs. 

(I think that my Handsome Honey had about enough of all my treasures! And the fake stairs was the last straw! haha)

So, I said that I would take it apart and bind the two unbound edges.

So...with a lot of muscle and handy-dandy wire cutters, I was able to get that off the fake stairs.

Gee! They secured that thing on with a bazillion heavy duty staples!

 ...but ta-dah! I had success!

Here it is in front of the drawers that I keep some of my art supplies in. (You can see that each end still needs to be bound so that it doesn't unravel, but it is really plush, thick and beautiful.

I just put it here temporarily, just to see how it looks. After I bind it, I dont know where I will put it.

Here is a close up of that carpet sample that I got off the fake display stairs.

 The flash made the color a little different... 

...the actual color is like the previous photo.

Here it is from another angle.

You can see the hand woven rug, by the front door,  that my Handsome Honey bought when he was deployed in Iraq.

Oh..here is a close up of the beautiful, hand-woven rug from Iraq.

...so...thank you for stopping by to see some of my "finds" :o) What would you do with a bunch of tiles?

 My hubby is pretty patient with my "finds"....but to a point! If they don't become something"useful"...they will have to go! :o)

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Here are some recent orders:

This monogram for Erin and her hubby Chris is under what I call "Calligraphics". Each initial in the monogram is composed of the name that the initial represents. 

This Delta logo was drawn for Bret, who works with Delta airlines. This is the current Delta logo.

Please check out my facebook art pate and I'd love if you become a "fan" by liking the page.

& Next week I will finally post the instructions on the cathedral quilt. If you have any suggestions or short cuts, please do come by next week and leave a comment. 

Thank you for visiting and your kind comments. :o) 

I will be sure to return your lovely visit.

My Sweetie and Some Savannah Sites...

This past Saturday was my Handsome Hubby and my 29th Anniversary...

So...my Sweetie "surprised" me with several sweet surprises...

 I found this set up the night before, after I got home late from work.

In the morning I woke up and took another picture of it, before he woke up and I made breakfast...

Beautiful bouquet of roses, a perfect card, and yummy Lindor truffles chocolate.

After breakfast, we drove to downtown Savannah...and parked and walked past some gorgeous homes like this one...

This was the Armstrong family home...

& later the home of Armstrong Junior College, it was also known as being the antiques showcase for Jim Williams, of which the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" tells the non-fiction story of how Jim Williams was aquitted for the murder of Jonny Hansford.

The walkway towards the Forsythe Fountain...

I love how the tree limbs with Spanish moss arch overhead.

 (Close up view of the fountain)

 Next, we walked around Monterey Square...

The city of Savannah, Georgia, United States, was laid out in 1733 around four open squares. The plan anticipated growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid; additional squares were added during the 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1851 there were twenty-four squares in the city. In the 20th century three of the squares were demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving twenty-one. In 2010, one of the three "lost" squares, Ellis, was reclaimed. (info source: Wikipedia)

Most of Savannah's squares are named in honor or in memory of a person, persons or historical event, and many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques, and other tributes. The first squares were originally intended to provide colonists space for military exercises.

Monterey Square is the site of Mercer House. The house, and the square itself, were featured prominently in John Berendt's 1994 true crime novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The square has been used as a setting for several motion pictures, including the 1997 film version of Berendt's novel.

Monterey Square (laid out in 1847) is widely considered to be the most picturesque of Savannah's squares. All of the surrounding buildings but one (the United Way Building) are original to the square.

The square also is home to Congregation Mickve Israel, which boasts the only Gothic-style synagogue in America, dating from 1878. 

(I would love to take some other weekend walks around the other squares and take photos of the many beautiful church buildings.

Since my husband is of Portuguese/Spanish/Irish/French descent, I found it interesting that those who were original members were of Spanish-Portuguese descent.

Here are some of the beautiful row houses around Monterey Square.

Next, we went to see more sites down by River Street...

The Riverboat ready to roll...& see the original cobblestone road?

My hubby and I were guests for our son's (Heartbreaker) Riverboat dinner cruise when he was recognized for Academic Honors in High School several years ago. It was so much fun.

Oh! This operating trolley rides the rails...

 ...in front of the many gift boutiques and eateries.

This statue is a tribute to Florence Martus (1869-1943), a Savannah resident who used to live along the river and waved at the ships as they sailed by.

 On to Broughton Street, a few streets from River Street...

with more super skies and beautiful old architecture...

This is the old KRESS department store (now the home of several shops).

Dave's mom worked in the Hilo, Hawaii location Kress store when she was young.

 This is the Marshall House on the day that we walked along Broughton Street.
(In 1999, $12 million dollar restoration returned the building to its original purpose. The inside is gorgeous and my photo doesn't do it justice. If you would like, you can see the Marshal House photo gallery.)

The Marshall House was the first Savannah Hotel built in 1851.

Go to this link: Marshall House - for more on its history.

This is a photo of it back after the iron veranda was added in 1857.

(photo credit: Marshall House.com)

 My Sweetie and I stop at the Melting Pot on Broughton Street. He had a "surprise 3:30 dessert reservation"...
When we lived near Nashville, I had always wanted to go to the Melting Pot, but we never did make it.
He had 3 roses(to represent each of our children) on the table waiting. And the owners (3 brothers-we met the oldest brother who was very nice and the middle brother-a talented artist whose art graces their establishment) and the very friendly staff had an anniversary card for us.

It was yummy! We look forward to coming back.

 Later that evening, we went to one of the malls...and decided on dinner at Macaroni Grill.

Oh! In the mail, yesterday, was an anniversary card from our younger daughter Girly~Whirly...and in it was a gift card to the Melting Pot! Hm...can't wait to go back...

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Joining Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday meme

for this week's "S" post!

Also... I found and am excited to join with Sew It's Finished, a blog of quilters with UFOs (unfinished  object) committed to getting them completed.  I know that I will be inspired, motivated and learn from these talented quilters. I have said before: I am a novice quilter (but also realized, that with all my UFOs),  oh dear! I should be considered a "professional UFOer"! (I really, really want to get some of these done, for our future grandbabies :o)

I hope to get that tutorial of the cathedral quilt up in a couple of weeks.  Please excuse me if my terminology may not be quite right, but I will have some photos to help show what I hope will be an easy explanation. My dear friend showed me how and if I can do it, any one can :o)

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Here are a couple of past orders:

Michelle ordered this one for her little one's 1st bday...Happy Birthday!

"...can you do characters like Mickey? Baby Geo's room is all Mickey Mouse sports, I was thinking of taking a pic of the baseball one..."

This one was an order from Lauri for her brother who has collected Donald Duck memorabilia for years.

"...I'm a good friend of Kristen's.... she gave me some work of yours for our first daughter "Addison"...its just gorgeous! Thank you so much for your hard work.
I have a twin brother that LOVES! Donald Duck..."

This is the Donald Duck in Black and White, before I added the color that she requested.

 I had to take a photo of it after the color was added, since our scanner does not scan in color. And my camera photo kept reflecting the light off of the color, so the colors here are not as vibrant as they are in actuality.

Please check out my facebook art page and become a "fan".

Thank you always for your visit and comments! I will be sure to return your visits. 

R is for Review, Recipe, & Remembering...

I was so excited for the opportunity to Review a product for CSN! 

I am enjoying Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday meme

And this Review coincides so perfectly with the letter this week..."R".

First, let me share a few things about my experience with CSN...

---CSN has an amazing line up of products! (Whew! It was sooo hard to decide what to review!)

---I have purchased other items, since first hearing about CSN. (...and I am very pleased with what I have gotten so far.)

---One of the first items from CSN was through a wonderful giveaway that I had won. I had a little difficulty with the code (more likely, it was due to my computer-geniousness...um...more like my lack of...)   

...anyways...well...CSN's customer service was awesome! (I actually got to speak with a real-live human being...not a computer prompt!) ...and my problem was quickly resolved.

---and fast, fast, fast! Did I say fast? Each item came incredibly fast!

...so, here (on a bright and sunny day...yay, for a sunny day) is what was delivered at my front door...

I ordered it on Sat-Jan 22nd.

...it was shipped out on Tues-Jan 25th.

...and I got it on Friday-Jan 28th!

(It took longer trying to decide what I wanted than it took to arrive. haha)

 It was like opening up an unexpected surprise! 

Can you guess what it is?

It didnt seem like it had lots of protective packaging...but it arrived safe and sound, in perfect condition.

Do you know what it is yet?

 It's the Nesco / American Harvest Square Dehydrator.

(Oh! If my Handsome Mister Safety man was home when I took these photos, you would not have seen the packaging to the far left - that was partly on my stove top!!! oops! :o) 

& another surprise: I lifted the bottom rack and found:

 ...it came with this recipe & instruction booklet and spices.

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My mom would send us jerky (along with lots of other home-made goodies), no matter where we were stationed in the military.

And for one of our anniversaries, my parents bought us a dehydrator. I used the same one for years and years...but this past Christmas break, I realized that the second batch of jerkey seemed to take longer.  I had made the jerkey for our daughter (Girly~Whirly) and son (Heartbreaker) to take back to college with them.

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I couldn't wait to try it out.

...so my hubby bought a rump roast that Friday.

& the next day, I marinated it for about 10 hours in the fridge.

I didnt use the packet of seasonings that came with the dehydrator, but used my mom's Jerky Recipe.

These are approximate measurements, cuz my mom was a wonderful "to-taste" kinda cook. 

(Oh, How I wish that she was still alive and I could give her a quick call about her recipes, and everything else!  ...and just to hear her sweet voice!)

My mom's Jerky marinade Recipe:

2.5 lbs of roast (sliced thinly)

1.5 cups shoyu (Hawaiian pidgen for soy sauce)

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp (or more if you like it hotter) cayenne pepper

1 Tblsp garlic

1tsp (or 2tsp... an estimate) of liquid smoke.

There was a little bit of sound as it dehydrated... 

but overall, it was pretty quiet.

 Our old dehydrator was round, but I like the shape of this one, it seemed easier to lay the meat slices in the square shape.

The only "negative" thing about this dehydrator would be that it only came with 4 drying trays (you can order extras from Nesco).  The 4 trays were perfect for the 2.37 lbs of sliced meat that I had.

The size of the trays were quite large. (I love my kitchen, but in our next home I would love to have a large farmhouse style sink, so that I could put large pieces in to soak). 

(You can also see the "fruit roll" sheet that comes with this dehydrator for making fruit rolls. I placed it on the the very bottom to catch any drips so that clean up was easier.)

And here it is-fits perfectly on the bottom shelf :o)

 I divided the jerky for our 3 kiddoes and my hubby shipped them off with a few of their things for Valentine's :o)

 Happy Valentine's Day! 

& 

...looking forward to our 29th Anniversary this Saturday!

Maybe a dessert stop to the Melting Pot in Savannah!!!

(*hint, hint*)

Although my sweetie is highly trustworthy regarding military affairs, things like...top security clearance, etc... when it comes to surprises like gifts, he can't help but give little hints about something...

So, last night: 

Mr. Hawaiian Hunk(my hubby of almost 29 years! :o) : "So, what's the name of that place you keep mentioning?"

Me: "...oh...what place... (yeah right, I have talked about this for some time, off and on...)...the Melting Pot?"

Mr. Hawaiian Hunk: "Yeah, what time is that place open?"

Me: "...OH! I can find out! (in my head, I'm thinking..."Yes!")

Mr. Hawaiian Hunk: "...well...I was going to surprise you, but since you got it out of me..."

Me: "hahahaha! what? You brought it up!" (He cracks me up! I love him and his "surprises"!)

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(As you may have noticed, I manage to get one post up a week, so some of my posts share a little more than I initially intended).

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Here's a few flashback memories and photos to add, 

as I join in with Alicia's fun Friday Photo Flashback.

When we were stationed in Hawaii. We had 6 year old Girly~Twirly, 3 year old Girly~Whirly and I was pregnant 6 months pregnant with our son Heartbreaker. Pretty much, especially in the first and second trimester of my pregnancy, I could only manage to eat and keep down- Taco Bell bean burritos. Our 8th anniversary dinner was with our little girls at Taco Bell :o)

(I tried to find a photo of that, but it must be with the Rubbermaids of photos waiting to be put into albums!)

so...here is one with all of us and my hubby's parents at the Honolulu airport, when they were going to fly out to visit his mom's dad in California. I guess the girls wore their Mickey Mouse hats to get them ready for Disneyland :o) 

I'm about 4.5 months pregnant...able to still wear regular clothes, since I really wasn't eating anything but those bean burritos.

At my in-law's home in Hilo, Hawaii...after the wonderful surprise baby shower they hosted. I'm about 8 months pregnant. 

Girly~Whirly, me, our nephew, Girly~Twirly, and my Hawaiian Hunk.

It was Easter the same time week that we were with his family. 

I definitely look like I am over my 1st and 2nd trimester of only eating bean burritos!

(Hm...maybe I can blame how huge I look on my tent style dress! haha)

Back at our military home in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii...

9 months pregnant...

This was the night before Heartbreaker was born.

With our Girly~Twirly and Girly~Whirly.

And thank you for stopping by and reading through this long post.  I will be by to return your visit.

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One LAST thing...I try to post past orders on every post.  

I've had lots of past "R" orders, like a Racoon, Rhinoceros, Radiology, Raiders, Radios(antique)... but thought this post was way too long already.

So here are two that begin with the letter "R".  

Thank you to these soldiers for their military service & their families for their support! & Thank you for the families who thought of these as gifts to their loved ones.

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Oh... also...thank you for your kind comments regarding my last post about the Cathedral quilt I am working on. I had a few contact me regarding info on it and asked how I did mine. I have a very dear friend who is an excellent quilter, that showed me how she did hers 8 years ago. If I can do it, any one can do it. It is a matter of taking the time to do. I will share how she showed me in another post...

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*Ok, this truly is the very LAST thing*

--- please do take a peek at my facebook art page and become a "fan" by hitting the like button. I humbly ask for you to help raise my fanbase...so that hopefully others will learn more about the art that I do with names.