White Wednesday - New Beginnings ....

Dark winter night

brightened by

WHITE

on the kitchen

windowsill.

A bit of sparkle

banishes the gloom

and

plays well with others!

The Haeger vase

just waits for

spring flowers.

A shell beacons

me to

a sunny summer beach.

The faithful

cyclamen

embraces winter

and makes me smile.

She wears a bit of

jewelry ....

an old silver fork

with

blooms of its own.

The kitchen counter

respelendent

with mercury glass

and white roses

is in dress rehearsal.

They have a

secret surprise.

It's going to be a

great year!

Hugs and here's to celebrating all the possibilities of the New Year!

SAMMY GIRL

note: this is the FIRST post with my new computer. None of the programs or files would transfer (yet!) ... but I had some pictures in my camera.

It's TIME ....

CHRISTMAS

has come and gone ...

and I hope you had a

jolly good time!

The NEW YEAR

blossomed

along with the

paperwhites ...

right on cue!

(Seriously!

They opened on

New Years' Eve!!)

And now it's time to

drop by one of our

favorite stores!

There are lots of goodies ...

... you never know

... who is watching ...

whom ...

This little monster

came by for a visit.

Isn't he

FIERCE!?!

He

and his

precious cargo

(YEP ... the

$25 gift card

for my

"Monster Giveaway")

Is off to see if he

can gobble up some of

Oma's Oliebollen

at Sew Pretty.

See where he's headed

and tell

Annelies "hi"

here.

(Please send me your address

so he can mapquest

his route!)

THANK YOU

to all the blogging

friends and angels

who visited for this event

and allow me to

come by and

visit with you.

May your

NEW YEAR

be filled with

joy and singing

and harmony with

friends and loved ones.

Hugs and thanks for being you!

SAMMY GIRL

Falling for Fall

Mmmm ...

Just back from a trip to Washington.

No, no, no ....

not THAT Washington!

That trip is NEXT week, silly!

But THIS Washington ...

AND GUESS WHAT?!?

While I was away,

fall happened ...

on both coasts.

It reminded me

how much I like fall 

and it's bits and pieces.

Here are a few

just for you.

Leaves from Sandy and Joe at

Rhubarb Reign.

They are not in the Northwest ....

but a great blog to visit.

These luscious lovelies are from

Auntie Joy.

She had a great time at Art Camp while I was gone.

This one is from Florence's blog

Essences of the Past.

(And it sounds like I missed a 

GREAT primitive sale while I was gone!!)

And don't you love this one from Noteworthy Musings?

And this one too?

Carole had some great getaways.

It's nice to take a few minutes

to catch up with

what people have been doing ...

I LOVE

our time together.

So many more to drop by and see ...

and comments to reply to.

WHEW!

But first a quick look

at MY own bit of fall 

in my dining room

Preserved leaves from Safeway

artificial blooms (on sale) at Michael's

salvaged curly willow in

an old ironstone pitcher ...

And look closer ...

my own

PUMPKIN MAGIC WAND!!

from sweet Martha at

Vintage Trifles!

Time to get back to work! ....

Hugs and hopes for a fabulous fall!

Sammy Girl

ps .... found the PERFECT shoes to go with the pumpkin magic wand but they didn't fit .....

Going Out - LONDON part 1

Two posts before leaving.

Didn't happen.

BUT

we did leave on schedule.

REALLY!

No worry about missing the plane.

We got out of town.

PDX

Portland International Airport

Home base for our travels.

They have FREE

WiFi

so everyone could check e-mail.

But no time to post.

Long layover in Philly.

Didn't take any pics.

One airport McDonald's looks like

every other one.

At Heathrow we saw

a gaggle of girlfriends

from Denmark

(or Sweden, I forget)

who had stolen away the

bride-to-be.

Tiara - check

pink sashes - check

weekend in London - check

lots of laughs and smiles

for this happy group.

Once checked into our room

I wanted to go out.

To the balcony.

The one off our room.

Breeze felt great!

Across the street was a

private park.

We could go as guests of the hotel.

(After a cash deposit for the key!)

The Pink Princess and I

headed down the stairs

and across the street.

A rose beckoned

over the iron fencing.

There were paths to wander down.

Hydrangeas in bloom

A lovely greenhouse.

With more hydrangeas.

And a tennis court where

two friends were spending

some time together.

This private park was the

PERFECT

URBAN OASIS.

Families playing and picnicing.

And off in a corner ....

Friends were setting up a table

that was exquisitely lovely.

To celebrate the

BIRTHDAY

of a friend.

PLEASE IMAGINE

it's a party for all of you.

My next post with be

# 50.

Hugs and here's to going out and having fun!

Sammy Girl

Note: no signature today as on a different computer. Here it's 9:30 and time for shower and bed -- no time to read posts.

Happy Friday!

Just a quick hello.

I am out of town.

Like that old song

"V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

we're gonna have a ball..."

Am I the ONLY one who remembers that song from the sixties?

How about "Quarantine"

'bout a guy in quarantine with a sorority ... 

sixteen girls?

"We've all got spots ... we're covered in red dots!"

Huh?  Where was I ... 

Or, more to the point, 

where am I?

We are at the BEACH.

*sigh*

Wanted to share with you a wonderful place ....

where awesome things exist.

BESIDES the beach, that is!

It's pretty good!

Seriously!

It's Pretty Good is at

Itsprettygood.com

Lots of cool pics with no text outside the images.

Take a look-see and have fun.

Or sing old unknown songs from the sixties ...

Or go to the beach.

Here's wishing you a happy friday!

In BLUE or PINK!!

images from It's Pretty Good

Hugs and have a great weekend!