Wordless Wednesday

My goal for 2009 is to sponsor a Wordless Wednesday. I've searched the blog rolls and haven't found one that I would want to link to, so I've decided to just create my own! Drop back by early next week and join me for Dixie's Wordless Wednesday... the first of 52 Wordless Wednesday's in 2009. I have listed subjects for January and February. I'll put the first post up by 9pm cst Tuesday, January 6th. I really hope you'll join in.

Yep, I'm not too Wordless this Wednesday... but from now on... I'm there!

Just looking for a little peace and quiet on Wednesday, down here in French Lique!

Precious! What are you doing?

"Watchin' the ballgame! Go Spurs Go!"

Happy New Year 2009!

2008... the year in review...

Cindy at "My Romantic Home" is hosting a "Year in Review" party, so I've decided to attend. This is my first year blogging from French Lique and I've enjoyed sharing Ricky's and my little escapades. I've decided to pick one photo from each month for my year in review... which is not quite a year yet... but hey... who's counting.... right? If you'd like to look back with me and read the accompanying post, just click on the name of the month, and you will be transported in time.

A year in review... right here in French Lique...
In May, I introduced French Lique to the world... well... the blogger world anyway...

In June, we adopted Roxy (left) and Pepper (black poodle) from a local no kill shelter. Pepper went to our youngest daughter in Dallas. Roxy is ours and we love her. They cost a little more than anticipated once we had everything done... but they were well worth the expense. Precious (right) loves them, especially Roxy, her new sister!

In July, some smuck broke in to our home to steal our new TV, but thanks to the heroics of my brother-in-law, Ernie... they only got away with my jewelry... All of my jewelry... I was sad, but God said, "it was just stuff"... and I felt better... still miss wearing some of those pieces though!

In August we celebrated my LOVE of Brussels Sprouts! I like blogging about eating food... not cooking it... just eating it!


In September, Ricky finally finished restoring the old lawn tractor he purchased on eBay. The same tractor that created the December road trip!

In October, the debates were at the top of my list... my confusion list... I didn't like either one of these guys! I was so glad when the elections were over!

In November, there was so much going on! I got very prolific in my postings and put up nearly one post per day. My favorite... when I finally began my home office declutter project. To start; the desk. I've begun to "reclutter" now... I think there's a New Year's Resolution here somewhere!

The first part of December, we had snow in south Texas!
But the very best part of December this year, was that I got to see my sister the week of Christmas... thanks once again to that darn lawn tractor!

A short walk down Memory Lane, my first year posting from French Lique...

PS... you're invited back for the first Wordless Wednesday celebration next week!

Happy New Year! My first Tablescape Tuesday!

Today I'm joining the fun at "Between Naps on the Porch" and posting my New Year's Eve table scape... Ricky said "Hey, what's with the table?" to which I replied... "I'm getting ready for New Year's Eve"... then Ricky said... "What are we eatin'?"... Ricky... not impressed... oh well...

I use this table cloth everyday... it was my grandmothers and is a little tattered in places, but, I love it and I think it's very romantic...

The place mats double as chargers with a vintage crystal Anchor dinner plate and a Fire King opal white with platinum rim salad plate... I also like to put freshly ground sea salt in the little individual vintage "salts"(lower center of picture below).

See my little "LOVE letters"?
I decided to use vintage Wilender Pink Dogwood napkins and silver napkin rings... I think the gray shadows in the napkins look nice with the silver and platinum accents...
and decorate with my newly found faux mercury glass candle holders, bowl & balls, and tree...

Bling-Bling...

and now here... with the candles lit and the lights turned low... maybe Ricky will like it better when I get my apron on... Ha! we'll see...

Getting ready for a romantic dinner with my sweet hubby (who really is romantic... most of the time)... down here in French Lique...

PS... you're invited back for the first Wordless Wednesday celebration next week!

The after Christmas sale!

I was disappointed that the few antique/junktique trips I've had a chance to make this fall and early winter have not yielded what I was looking for... Mercury Glass... I've looked for old ornaments or candlesticks... a bowl... anything... but nothing... until now...

I did a little after Christmas shopping at Target... and looked what I found... okay... it isn't vintage.. but it's pretty...

Beautiful footed bowl to which I added some silver and pewter decorative balls...

and a beautiful candle holder and candle... I'm still looking for another one or two to complete the look... but...

I think this is a pretty good start to my New Year's table scape... lots of glitz and glam down here in French Lique...

A few of my favorite things... for Holiday decorations...

My Nativity... which has about 40 pieces now...

a little 1940's vintage angel and tree... "only for rich city folks back then" my 78-year old mother-in-law told me this year... but she loved it too!

and my ever-expanding Christmas Tree collection... these are a few... I spread them throughout the house in little vignettes...


and a new favorite this year... a goofy motorcycle Santa ornament from some close friends... in commemoration of Ricky's new mode of transportation ... so funny.. thank you friends for your thoughtfulness... we love you too!
Decorating was very-very minimal this year. In fact, the mini-tree went up Christmas eve and the rest... Christmas morning while Christmas dinner was on the stove!
No more road trips Christmas week... Ricky has tentatively agreed!
Enjoying Christmastime here in French Lique...

Christmas Poodles... only in French Lique

Precious does not enjoy being a girlie-girl... she's lived here on the farm all her life... and she considers herself "Daddy's little farm doggie"...

So she got out of that Christmas garb pretty quickly... she had things to do like help pick winter veggies outside! (note her dirty little paws...yep... farm poodle)

Roxy on the other hand...

Prefers the role of "Mama's little house doggie"... and thoroughly enjoys wearing her Christmas collar...

Toy French Poodles... the best farm doggies down here in French Lique!

Musings of Christmas...

Christmas seemed so hectic this year! That little roadtrip to North Carolina to pick up tractor equipment really pushed us to the brink of Christmas meltdown... but... we made it.

Ricky's family usually has various get-togethers... today was the last one tied to Christmas. We had a wonderful time visiting family and seeing our two great-nieces, including the newest family member, Kelsey (she lives with Mom & Dad in California!). The truth is, I was so exhausted, I couldn't wait to finish up and get back home where I tidied up the kitchen and then plopped down in my recliner with my poodles for a Hallmark moment... uhhh... movie... There we sat, the three of us... cuddled up in a blanket for two solid uninterrupted hours... DEVINE!

I hope to catch up with my blogging this week, before the new year. Ricky got me a great new camera,(yep... the pink Sony Cyber-Shot.... swwweeeeettttt!)
and I've taken a ton of pictures... but now I've got to figure out how to download the darn things... oh well... I should be able to handle that one... right?

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and plan for a wondrous New Year! That's what going on here in French Lique!

Merry Christmas from French Lique...

Merry Christmas to our Family and Friends... You enrich our lives and give us wings... Love to all... Dixie and Ricky

Dixie won't be posting Christmas Day, so she left this message for those of you that stop by. God Bless You and Keep You in the Palm of HIS Hand.

Roadtrip... the end...

We actually had a very uneventful trip. One wreck on the road... a couple of delays due to construction... rain... but only if I was driving... hummmmmm...

I found that some of my favorite things to photograph were road signs....

bridges...

and BIG RIG loads...

We only made one side trip... in South Carolina - we went to (according to their billboard sign) "The World's Biggest Flea Market"... we dubbed it... "The World's Worst Biggest Flea Market"... don't waste the side trip...

Blogging on the road... a good diversion... but not what it's cut out to be...

Glad to be home back in French Lique...

Roadtrip to be continued

I'll be catching up tonite. We got back to my sister's home in Mississippi on Sunday night and left this morning. During that time, we've had no cell and no internet service. She lives so far out in the boonies... they can only get dial up...and you can't blog very well on dial up! So I'll catch up tonight, when I'm back in French Lique. Until then, here are some pretty pictures I took Sunday evening of the Alabama sunset, and some US Airforce Planes writing in the sky... enjoy. More later from French Lique...

"X" marks the spot! We couldn't help but wonder what these boys were up to!

Wedding Anniversary

Today is our wedding anniversary. This morning, we woke up at my sister's house near Forest, Mississippi... We had a yummy McDonald's breakfast, and took off on our road trip again. Right now, we're between Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia.... and as long as I'm with Ricky, I am home...

We made it to Cherryville NC, picked up Ricky's farm implements about 7:30 pm... then Ricky said... "Well, it's our anniversary, where would you like to go to eat dinner?"... as we were passing Aunt Sadie's Diner in Cherryville. "Looks like as good a place as any to me." I told him. So, we had dinner at Aunt Sadie's, from the buffet bar... Steak & Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Cornbread, Rolls, and Peach Cobbler for dessert... "yum-yum!"

We sat at the little diner style table with my laptop, made reservations online to stay at the Fairfield Inn in Gastonia, NC, ate our dinner and mapped out our route on Ricky's new GPS.

An anniversary to remember... here in Cherryville, North Carolina... it's nice, but it's not French Lique!

The RoadTrip has begun.... Day One

We set out this morning on our road trip to North Carolina... the first glitch... our GPS has decided we should go to Dallas via IH35, then I20 through Shreveport, Louisiana to Jackson, Mississippi. We don't go that way... we take the southern route across I10 East through Houston, Baton Rouge, Louisiana then north toward Jackson. So much for GPS. We left it on for a while, but it kept giving us alternatives to get over to IH35... turned it off... annoying...



Traveling through Houston, we took the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes though Houston... the only way to go through Houston during rush hour, and are heading for the Louisiana state line.... 7 more hours to sisters.... more later...



ps... you know that little bell that goes off on your GPS every time you exceed the speed limit? well ours appears to be going off a little too often... Ricky may turn the darn thing off again. He just told it to "shut up"...

Just after crossing the Lousiana state line, we stopped for gas here...

THANKS FOR THE WARNING...

They didn't warn me about the man that would be in the ladies room pretending the toilet was a urinal! I walked in on him... oops! walked out... check the sign on the door... yup... "ladies"...

When he walked out, there I stood, arms crossed, glaring... "sorry ma'm" he said... "well, if you're going to use the ladies room, why not lock the door next time?" I scolded in my best irritated Mom voice.... hummmmmp... guess he won't do that again...

Which was right next to this...

The first casino across the Texas state line... Wow... just makes you want to run in there and pull the handle on one of those "one-armed bandits"... or...
You could just drive through for a daiquiris!

Guess they don't have any laws in Lousiana about driving and drinking... but no thanks.. it's a little early... on to Baton Rouge...