Mary Anne Carter
Mary Anne has her own blog now
May 6 2012

Flower boxes

by Mary Anne

This is the time of year when I enjoy going to different nurseries in the area and see what beautiful window boxes they have on display and for sale. One of my favorite ways to make my own house more attractive is by lining the sides of the porch with flower boxes that are filled with blooming annuals.

My favorite way to do that is to take an empty windowbox and put some peastone or gravel in the bottom of it, then take the purchased annuals (still in their flower pots) and set them inside the window box. Pack them as tightly as possible, and then fill in around the pots with cedar mulch. My grandmother taught me this method when I went up to the farm to visit her in the summertime, and every time I prepare the window boxes I am reminded of the good times I had with my grandparents on the farm. This method is quick and easy to do, and by swapping out the annuals as they fade I can keep the porch looking pretty for a very long time.

Categories: Around the House, Fun, Garden, Life, Shopping, Tips & Words of Wisdom | No Comments »

May 6 2012

Why do fashion designers hate women?

by Mary Anne

More and more I have been wondering why is it that many fashion designers appear to hate women? I’m not referring to sexual preference in the romance department, I am talking about how ugly so many of the “new” fashions are. By now it should be fairly obvious and well known that horizontal stripes make a person look fatter than they really are. So why, then, are so many clothes that arjumpsuite for extra-large people available only in horizontal stripe patterns? For example, I enjoy going to different discount websites and take advantage of some of the savings that are offered there. Some of the products are great, and I’m glad that I have bought them. But some of them are mind-boggling ugly as – well I can’t really think of a good description of ugly that I can type on my blog and keep it family oriented!

For example, this morning I saw a “fantastic deal” on this jumpsuit. Hopefully the photograph that I’m including will show up. I just can’t imagine how anyone in their right mind would find this jumpsuit appealing, and yet according to the website, the jumpsuit is sold out. I’m wondering if it was sold out because a lot of men that have no taste whatsoever thought that they would buy this as a Mother’s Day gift for their wife, hoping that the wife would be thrilled to pieces. I pray that my hubby has enough sense to never buy anything like this for me! The horizontal stripes on this would make my legs look so fat, and the entire rest of my body too! What do you think about this? Would YOU like to wear something like this?

Categories: Computers and/or Internet, Life, Opinion, Shopping, Tips & Words of Wisdom | No Comments »

May 5 2012

Dressing up the cluster mailboxes

by Mary Anne

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really paid a lot of attention to cluster mailboxes up until now. Seems to me that they have simply been very Spartan and utilitarian in design. After all, how can you really make a group of cluster mailboxes visually appealing? Well, today I saw some photographs of some cluster mailboxes that had been accessorized with finial tops and decorative pedestal wraps and they looked like they were part of a Victorian themed amusement park.

You may think that I’m being a little bit crazy here, and to be honest I would normally have to agree with you. But when I saw these mailboxes all gussied up like that my mind wandered to memories of wonderful vacations that I had spent in luxurious surroundings. Thoughts of Norman Rockwell settings of a time and a place when life was less frenzied, and more serene. Odd, I know, but there it is!

Categories: Around the House, Life, Memories, Opinion, Shopping, Travel | No Comments »

May 5 2012

Silly little toy

by Mary Anne

Have you every played with one of those silly little toys that looks like hundreds of dull nails in a perforated board of some kind, with a clear piece of glass or plastic on one side so you can make the nails go up and down in different shapes? I can’t remember when I bought this little toy for my now-adult son; I’m thinking it was probably when he was around ten or so. The toy is one of those things that people will play with for a short period of time and then pack it away forever. Well, yesterday I was sorting through the boxes of “junk” that my son cleaned out from his room. I wanted to see how much was actual “trash” and throw it away before moving the rest of the stuff down into the dark bowels of the house that we call “the basement.”

Well, I came across this silly little toy and for some crazy reason I pulled it aside and put it beside my computer keyboard. Every now and then it catches my attention (it is bright yellow) and I stop and play with it for a couple of minutes. Then I think to myself “what a complete waste of time this is” and put it back down. I can’t decide whether to give it to a thrift store like Goodwill, put it in “the basement” or throw it away. Somehow the pack rat in me keeps whispering in my ear that I should create a toy chest of odds and ends like this so that if and when company comes over with some kids that get bored I can pull it out and let them play with it. I wonder if they would think it was totally lame or if they would like it. What do you think?

Categories: Around the House, Family and friends, Fun, Life, Opinion, Shopping | No Comments »

May 5 2012

Every home should have a fire resistant safe

by Mary Anne

Every home should have a fire resistant safe. Important papers, such as life insurance policies, vehicle titles, copies of wills, and stock certificates all need to be protected from the possibility of being lost if the unthinkable happens and the house catches fire. Sadly, there may even be times when one family member needs to lock up other types of valuables to protect them from dishonest friends, family, and even service personnel.

Back when I was a newlywed, my husband was taking classes to become a paramedic he brought home some special vials that had hearts on them, and a big heart shaped sticker to put on the refrigerator door. He told me that the idea was people that have medical conditions that emergency response personnel should know about where supposed to put information about that condition in the vials and put the vials in their freezer. The emergency response personnel were trained to look at the refrigerator door for that heart sticker and if they saw it that they would look in the freezer for that medical information. Part of the reasoning for this was that freezers are insulated and would resist burning in a house fire, so that would be a great place to keep something important.

From my point of view that’s a good idea, except that my refrigerator doors are always filled with magnets and shopping lists – I’m not sure that anyone would see a heart sticker on it! But that was back in the 1980′s and I don’t have any idea if the rescue people still hand those out or not. And my hubby at that time is now my ex-hubby and I’m not very inclined to call him up just to ask him about it, so I may never know.

Categories: Around the House, Family and friends, Health, Life, Memories, Opinion, Shopping, Tips & Words of Wisdom | No Comments »

«Older Entries
Newer Entries »
 
Scrappy Theme by Caroline Moore | Copyright 2012 Mary Anne Carter | Powered by WordPress