Happy Birthday Eva!

Happy Birthday Eva!

For those of you who don't know Eva, she married my dad in 1973. I was eighteen then and so I don't think "step mother" describes her. Yet, she is one of my "mothers". She is very special to me. I know she misses my dad very much. I want to wish her the best birthday ever. I wish I was there to tell her in person... but "Happy Birthday Eva"!

Graphics by Judy

I am keeping score. When a person looks at as many cloudy days and wet weather as we do in Western Washington, summer is a treat. The 4th of July marks the season when we have more dry days than we do wet for a while. This week, starting last Monday, we started to see drier weather. OK, so it was a few days late in coming but everything has been late this year. What is most important is that it is finally here.

Yesterday I had more deliveries to make which took me out to Enumclaw. It was beautiful driving through the country and seeing the ranches and farms. I actually had a "song" in my heart. After I did my deliveries and before I headed back to my campus, I stopped in my favorite store there "This N That". I like to buy decorations there for the mantle. After graduations, I quickly decorated the mantle for the 4th of July in Americia decor. Now it is time to move onto making it look more like "summer". One of the items I bought there with Renee was a Barn Star. No matter what the season, by Barn Star is always on the mantle.

That is my idea of the "Good Ole Summer Time" to enjoy and relax

I didn't know what I would find when I walked into This N That. I thought I would just see what was there to decorate with a "summer" theme. I found some cute crows and sunflowers as a theme. They could be either for summer and for into fall. I go to the dollar store to get 3 dish towels that are made of cotton in the colors I need to go with my theme to make a runner for the top of the mantle. I decided on a yellow with orange and green thread running thru it (which you can't see in the photo) so it would lean more to the idea and feeling of "summer". I also bought a wooden word "Relax" that stands about 3 inches high. The two little items you see here too. The one says "Be a flower, Not a weed" Of course, I am not finished with this so I can't show you the whole mantle and it's new look. When I finish it, I will show you in a post.

Here's my inspiration... Aren't these flowers beautiful?

Jason and Sarah bought these for Aunt Butchie for her birthday a couple of weeks ago and I thought they were the most beautiful vase and flowers (the photo doesn't do them justice). They said they got them at Safeway so I am on the look out for something like them. The are real flowers too.