'Tis a Gorgeous Day among the Honeysuckles and the Breeze

'Tis a gorgeous day here in the Honeysuckle Breeze! It is! Got lots of things done this weekend and it feels good. Got work finished which I brought home from the office. Got the downstairs cleaned. Got laundry done, grocery shopping done, and a run to the Goodwill. Got the alphabet "Z" finished as you saw the other day..... and the Red Queen got her sticker on her window....

Which meant she was ready to strut her butt on errands....

Got the dining room cleaned and discovered that the table has a "top" - do tell. Do you end up with your dining room table as the catch-all? Mine catches the mail, the junk, the purse, etc., etc.,

Vacuum run, nooks and crannies dusted....

Fresh red towels brought out in her honor.... the Red Queen (HHR to you)...

And today - the patio is cleaned - haven't done that for several years now..... in the summertime, when the living is easy (or whatever) it does get hot out there because it takes on the southwest sun. I gave up on potted flowers years ago.... but I found a new table cloth and chair pillows which I couldn't pass up...

I have had the ice cream table since the early 90s. It lived inside as my breakfast table at my apartment and then moved outside in 1994 when I bought the condo. Today -- Yes, I had iced tea with "Lady Grey" and brie and toasted chips and a peach... oh my.....

And tonight - I have to get the "back" labels done for about nine of the ATC Alphabet Cards I finally finished. This little note is for my forever friend, Elizabeth (who has a cat named Bleubeard), "Dear Elizabeth, I love your organizing skills, however, at times I forget where I organized!" Took me 20 minutes to locate these:


Yes, I knew they were grouped together, just didn't know they were in front of my nose! LOL Once the lost was found, got them babies stamped....

And now you know what I will be doing this evening.... working on some of the back of these:


and these.....


because some look like this:

Have a restful evening! I am now ready to be off and running for a very busy week starting tomorrow. I do feel rested!

Z = Zigeunerherz

Yes, my little honeysuckles, I know "Zigeunerherz" is pushing the Z word. But, hey, thanks to my bud, Patty, over at the Magpie's Nest, I came up with my Z WORD! At tea earlier this month, we were discussing the final (yes, last all-done- # 26 ATC alphabet card) card which just happened to be "z" and my find of the Italian word for gypsy, "zingaro" .... She said -- the German word for gypsy began with a Z also... and my mother's side is German and, guess what, we were off and running..... I asked her for the German translation of the phrase: The Gypsy Heart (see card above). So let us begin here in the Breeze:

I gathered my ideas together in one spot: 1) playing card already covered with sheet music; 2) image of Gypsy (I colored in her head gear with a pencil); and 3) some rusty hearts kept for a special occasion. The sheet music needed a "little" something - paint maybe? OH my, just happened to have my most FAV paints in the whole wide world available. . . Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints by Ranger are the best in the world. I really do love them and have gotten to the point of only using them when I am looking for an acrylic paint. Using the two reds with a "dry" brush, I wanted just a little hint of the paint to peek through the elements that were to go on top of the card.

Some of you know, how at times, I think I am done with a piece but then keep adding and adding. This adventure was no different. First run through ended up with adding ribbon, images, rusty heart, and the letter "z"...... but I felt......

We needed something else. Looking on my desk I found two black brads... OK, we are on to something,

Still a little flat, I felt....... so I walked away from it and went downstairs and to my surprise, what did I fine? A wee bit of "silver" the exact size I needed for her crown,

I swear to you, on a bunch of honeysuckles waving in the breeze, I DID not even have to trim anything off this bit of silver German scrap... it was the exact size. And that my little honeysuckles is how das zigeunerherz was born, her gypsy heart on her sleeve! And so in closing for today - I have to do some work from work for work..... today.... which is OK since it will make my upcoming 4-day week better! LOL..... I did get the sticker on the Red Queen and she went out in public yesterday to the grocery store and met her kissing cousin,

A bit of history according to me: the designer of the PT Cruiser ran away from Chrysler and went over to Chevy and then designed the HHR (Red Queen to you all). Could not have planned this photo if I had wanted to ... it was in the Wonderland Starz (oh my another "z")...... Yes Her Highness Royal has wormed her way into my heart and will be giving the lady bug (whom I loved and adored and in a moment of weakness traded in for The Shark one year ago) a run for her money,

Hmmmm, I think all the Red Queen needs is a little flower holder for red flowers and one red Harley?

Off with Your Head?

Oh me, oh My, my little honeysuckle breezers. We have gone mad here in Aliceland. Yes, after one year almost to the date with The Shark (my Sebring Touring Convertible) I traded it in for The Red Queen.

Yes, say good bye to The Gray Shark, and do you spy the shy queen before her test drive? Or could it be a red Shrek?

Yes, after the test drive, she became mine. I have so missed a red car that is all I had until the Grey Shark..... I never warmed up to the Shark, he was big, muscular, hard to park, and the biggest mother car I have EVER like EVER had. He drove well, the convertible was to die for (had a convertible now for 6 years)... but a "moon roof" will have to do..... Welcome home, Red:

Just a little chatting before the final paper signing:


Yes, the dear Koons Chevy dealer even bought me an ice cream sandwich. . . Hmmm, how much do you thing that little itty bitty ice cream sandwich cost me? hmmmmm, yum yum

And to make a long story short, Red Queen made it home and is parked snugly in a close-to-the-condo parking space.....

Yes, moon roof and all tucked in for the evening. Poor Oliver will just have to adjust to Auntie M not having a convertible, but I trust he will. We can always let him stick his nose out the moon roof? Woof woof....

And tomorrow my little honeysuckles, we will wrap up of our London Photo Sleeve Album - The Tower of London - oh my, talk about queens and "off with their heads!"!

Hump Days and Churches - Oh, Wow!

There is nothing more beautiful and moving than the churches in Europe. YES, we do have many churches here in the U.S. but they don't even come close to the age of those across the pond. And there is nothing quite as uplifting as making it thru the Wednesday Hump Day before an upcoming three-day holiday. So -- all the way around -- it is a glorious day here in Northern Virginia. Weather will be changing tomorrow so we will take today and run with it with the top down on the convertible. And now, boys and girls, back to the topic of churches.

St. Bride's Church, also known as The Cathedral of Fleet Street, is all history: Crypts, the Roman Way, the bombs of WWII. Here is a marvelous link to read about the history of this Church. Please note the top of the Church - yes, it looks like a Bride's Cake and from St. Bride's Church web site:

"St Bride died at Kildare on February 1st, 525 and was buried with St Patrick. This dated is celebrated as the Feast of St Bride and it is customary to carry on Bride's tradition of sharing one's bounty with the poor. A cake was also baked to serve as nourishment for St Bride as she travelled the country."

The Crypts and the Roman Way were a surprise to me as we explored the lower floor. Yes, little red Harley loved it too. I wondered later on how many cameras were on Harley and me while we took this photo as he sat on a tombstone..... (ok, I did kind of stretch gently to position the little red dog and not disturb anything....)

As you know by now, if you have been following me with this photo sleeve album, there is very little journaling. I tried to add the words using my rubber stamps and rub-ons.

This gold medieval lectern survived the "Great Fire and Luftwaffe."

One of my favorite quotes: "When you come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, either there will be something solid for you to stand on, or you will fly." Patrick Overton. Yes, believe in miracles.... because anything, anything can happen!

Have a beautiful night, my little honeysuckles! I am now headed to get dinner in the oven and come back and visiting some of your blogs.

Yes, the Kinights are still alive in ole London towne

Hello, my little honeysuckles. We are back in our series about the Photo Sleeve Scrapbook of my trip to London - for those of you who have been following it.

One premise when Ron, Betsy and I decided to visit London and Paris in one week was to see a number of sights mentioned in the DaVinci Code. This is one of those sights. Although Ron and Betsy had been to London a number of times they had never seen this church: The Temple Church.

I fell in love with the knights on top of the pole marching off to the crusades. The church was closed the day we showed up and we would not have a chance to get back to it during our trip. Another good reason to return, don't you think?

If you have read the DaVinci Code and remember, inside are 10 sarcophagus: five knights on the left and five on the right. Would have loved to have seen them. Next time. And yes, I was ripping up the book to identify the places....

Next we just went on a stroll and ended up in the Fleet Street District... do you hear Jack Ripper shopping for surgical tools? I love the English and their statues everywhere....

A pleasant surprise was to find a Twinings Tea Shop on the street we were strolling on....

Too bad the Devils Tavern was not there....... the plaque was! I loved the flower boxes...

And now into the middle of Fleet Street...... and the walkways of Jack the Ripper..... he would not recognize it today.

The text behind the photo was printed onto vellum and it an excerpt from a book about Jack.... And last - you cannot enter the City of London without spotting the Gryphon's Statue:

I loved this photo and ended up reprinting it on a transparency which you see in the top sleeve underneath the original photo. The Gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. It protects and is at the entrance to the city. Fascinating tales about the creature. Click on "Gryphon" and it will take you to the definition and tales of this creature.


Well, that is it for this Sunday. It has rained off and on. My tennis match was cancelled and I ended up cleaning and vacuuming. OH my - what a concept. I haven't done it for a while and even ended up with two bags for the Goodwill. Need to run out for some Wii tennis and then back here for dinner and a lazy evening! Got a Team Tennis match tomorrow night (the third rain-make-up game and we are hoping it won't rain!) so I might not visit with you till Tuesday. For those of you Losties out there - I hope the finale of this series is everything you hoped for tonight! I stopped watching after the third season...... Enjoy