Daredevil Stella!

Stella had been behaving so well! Except for dying herself blue. I was really starting to think that I didn't need to worry about her. Seems like I should have been paying more attention!

My son Jared, with whom Stella is quite impressed, asked if he and Stella could go to the libary. I certainly could think of no reason why not, and it seemed like a nice outing for her.

Here is our beautiful library. I think it is so beautiful and it even has some stained glass windows! It is in a lovely location on the banks of the Maumee River. Unfortunately, the close proximity to the river means that it sometimes floods the downstairs!


The library is on the list of historical sights.


I think this knight's arm holding a light is very cool. I am not sure of the significance of this.


My son decided to take Stella to see the park in which the libary sits.


Here was her first look at the Maumee River.




Here is the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers where the Auglaize flows into the Maumee. These are pretty good sized rivers!


The park is the site of the old Fort Defiance where men fought during the Indian Wars during the Revolutionary War, I believe. Maybe it was even before that time.


Stella took a picture of Jared near another monument marking the site. He is such a cutie. I can see why Stella likes him so much!


The only things remaining of the fort are these cannons. This cannon overlooks the Maumee River.


And this one overlooks the Auglaize. I used to live about a half mile downriver from here on the opposite bank.


Stella was very impressed by the cannons.


She wanted to take a peek inside the cannon.


Then she wanted to crawl inside! Little did I know that some mischievous thoughts were beginning to tumble in her little head.


She had a daring plan in mind. My son, being only 16 and a bit ornery himself, was only too willing to help. He found a tiny crash helmet for her. He even added her name, and made sure that it was a pink helmet! You know how our Stella loves pink.


Stella climbed inside the cannon again.


Then Jared fired the cannon. Oh my goodness!!!


Success!


Was she going to make it safely to the other side of the river?


At least they had the presence of mind to have rescue vehicles waiting on the other side just in case they needed help. You will have to click to enlarge the pic to see them.


It was just about that time that I heard of their misguided plans. I hurried to the park on the other bank of the river. Can you see the cannon to the left of the steps and flagpole? If you click the picture, you can see them.


Frantically, I searched for our Stella. Oh, where could she be! I hope she didn't end up in the river? Can she even swim? Oh dear!

It wasn't long before I was hearing faint cries of "Yahooo! Wheeee!" I quickly ran toward the sound, and here is where I found Stella, her pink parachute caught in the tree. Of course, I rescued her right away!


Our silly Stella! Just look at that goofy excited expression on her face. She said it was such a thrill to be shot out of the cannon. Never mind that my heart nearly stopped at the thought of her doing such a stunt!


Once I got her back home, she was sternly scolded, though it broke my heart to do so. My son? He was banished to his bedroom for the rest of his natural life.


You know Stella though and that you just can't stay mad at her for too long. It wasn't long before we hugged and all was well again.


I sure hope she doesn't try anything else like this while she visits!

Stella and the Red, White and Blue Monday

Stella and I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Memorial Day! In honor of this holiday, I am doing a red, white and Blue Monday! For a list of other Blue Monday posts, go visit Smiling Sally's blog.

In honor of Memorial Day, Stella decided she wanted to search for flag themed items around my home. First of all, she spotted my Goodwill flag bucket containing faux red geraniums. The blue candle sits on a wooden Americana holder which I found at a garage sale. The arrangement is on top of a star covered placement which I purchased for about a dollar or so when our local K-Mart had deep discounts for its closing.


Stella said that Memorial Day was a wonderful American holiday, but as she is from England, she wanted to remember British soldiers who served for her country. She asked if we could post a British flag. Why of course, Stella!


Stella spotted this little God Bless America picture right next to the front door. You all know how much she likes teddy bears!


Stella really liked my Americana themed arrangement and my candles which spell Kady.


She hopped right up onto my big picket fence flag.


Stella thought that it was quite an honor that I had this flag which as the oldest child in the family, I received at my father's funeral.

She had so much fun looking for all the Americana!

She also had fun laughing at me over my broken van window. Yes, yes I did do something pretty stupid. I had my lawnmower in the back as we had to go mow the lawn at Bonnie Lane, and when I went a little too sharply around a corner, the lawnmower handle came crashing into the window. It is now covered with a black garbage bag and looking pretty ghetto. This little accident did not happen at a good time since I am unemployed.


This traffic ticket (in blue) also came at a bad time. Yes, it was my fault, but I really didn't know that I couldn't turn left onto the street the library was on! Apparently I am the only person in town who didn't know this.


Well Stella wanted to do something on her own for Blue Monday, and said that I would be surprised!

But nothing prepared me for this!

Oh Stella, what have you done! You're all blue!!!

Stella said that she thought it would be fun to paint herself blue. No no, dear! That can't be healthy! Well the Blue Men do it! Yeah, but they get paid pretty well for it too.

Thank heavens that a nice bubble bath returned her to normal! I guess I better keep track of her a little more closely.

Thanks Shelia for letting me borrow the picture from your blog!

I also want to thank all of our servicemen, both past and present for their service to our country. Thanks to my brother Dave for serving in the Army during peace time, thanks to my father for serving in World War II, and to my grandfather for serving in World War I. Thanks also to my daughter's father who served in Vietnam, and my former father-in-law for serving in the Korean conflict. You are all appreciated.

Have a very special Memorial Day Blue Monday everyone! I hope your day was spent with family and loved ones.

Come back tomorrow for a shocking Stella post!

Stella at Swan Creek Candle Company

My daughter returned to Toledo on Thursday. I hated to see her go home, but she wanted to start unpacking all the boxes I took to her in her new apartment. On the way there, we passed the Swan Creek Candle Company. I have always wanted to stop in there, and asked my daughter if we should make the little side trip.

Swan Creek Candles are well known in this area. Believe me, they smell absolutely delicious, and I like the idea that they are made right there in Swanton, Ohio. They ship all over the country, and even to England and Ireland! I have purchased their candles before and they are wonderful.

Stella, Tara and I decided that we had to go on in.


There was a pretty fountain out front.

Stella said that since it was such a hot day, that she had to fight temptation to jump on in that water!


Cute lawn sculpture and a pretty metal gate.




Once inside, we were knocked nearly delerious by all the wonderful smells! You could smell those candles even before walking in the door. They had many displays of candles, including this huge unit of candles in jars. Tara had to check it out.


We were all smelling the candles too. Heaven!


Here are some of the beautiful displays. You can click on any pic if you wish to enlarge it to see the detail.












Oh these candles smell so good, you could almost eat them! They sure look good enough to eat!


Besides candles, there was an antique shop. In yesterday's post, you saw the sweet pink furniture.

Here is the chandelier from that setting. I thought it was really beautiful until I saw the $300 price tag.


This butter server was exquisite! I would love to have taken it home with me.


Stella wanted to be photographed in front of this windmill since my daughter lives in the Toledo suburb of Holland. She said all she was missing were little wooden shoes and some tulips.


I was very frugal and ended up purchasing only 3 votive candles in scents of vanilla cotton, vanilla and caramel and mocha chocolate. I intend to go back once I have a job again. If you'd like to visit the shop, or order online, you can check out their website here.

Have a relaxing Sunday! Stella's adventures start heating up this week and you will see just how adventurous, daring, and a little bit naughty she can be!

Pink Saturday/ Stella Shops for Pink!

Stella told me that she just loves pink! While we were out shopping this week, she pointed out some beautiful things in pink. Isn't she just the best helper? And she has exquisite taste!

As always, you can click on any pic to enlarge for details.

Here she is with some pretty vintage dishes. Even the canisters have a band of pink in them!


These transferware plates were spotted at TJ Maxx on the shopping trip earlier this week with my daughter. So pretty! Even with the discount prices, still just a little out of my reach.


Stella and I thought these were extra cute, and there were matching dishes.




While this pitcher isn't pink, I just thought that she shell shape was most unique! Stella said she thought it would be nice with the pink dishes too. Yes, it would, but I think I would like it better with a sea blue, sand colored and white beach motif.


When I took my daughter home to Toledo yesterday, we stopped in a candle shop, and spotted these sweet furniture pieces in pink. The cradle was lined in pink toile. How precious!


Stella, my daughter and I all went gaga over this girly arrangement.

There will be more in tomorrow's posting about the trip to the locally renowned candle company!

To see more Pink Saturday posts, go visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

In upcoming Stella posts, she resorts to some naughtiness! I guess she wanted to have some adventures, so stay tuned!

Tablescape Thursday/ Stella's Teddy Bear Picnic

Today, Stella and I stayed close to home. After such an exciting day yesterday, we were both a little tired. However, we both found the energy to create a tablescape for Tablescape Thursday. Stella was a great help!


We decide to have a Teddy Bear Picnic! Sorry for this picture being a wee bit squeezed. I had a better picture, but somehow it didn't get downloaded.

I purchased the picnic basket a few years ago at a friend's garage sale for only $20. It contained the red gingham tablecloth, the plates, cups, and silverware. All I had to provide for this was the guests and a few accessories!

I liked the different colors and mixed them up for some variation. Bandannas make cute napkins. I got the red one at Goodwill for $.55, and the blue for just a couple bucks at Walmart.




I made the napkin rings from a small section of an cardboard paper towel tube. I applied wood glue on the surface, then added twine which I had on hand at the house. The daisy buttons are from Joann Fabric and glued on.


Here you can see some of the contents for our picnic, including grapes, wine, and a loaf of bread. I would have added a chunk of cheese, but didn't think to get that at the grocery store.


This teddy bear belonged to my daughter when she was a toddler. From the scratched eyes, torn ear, and frayed nose, you can tell he was well loved. I think that she named him simply Teddy. I thought he was just too cute to put into storage with most of the other stuffed toys.


This is a bear that I got years ago through a Country Peddler party. I sure did love Country Peddler, but they went out of business years ago.


These little white mums looked like daisies to me. The pot is wrapped in a white bandanna and secured with twine. It usually sits on my painted black end table.


This cute pitcher was a Goodwill find for only $3. I loved the litte red roses, and the touch of red is just right for this picnic. The teddy bears and Stella enjoyed the fresh lemonade that I slaved over using squeezed lemonsCrystal Light.

You didn't think they were going to drink the wine, did you? No, that's for ME!

Stella had so much fun throwing a picnic for her new teddy bear friends!

Everyone had a great time.

For more Tablescape Thursday posts, please go to Susan's blog Between Naps on the Porch for a full list.

Happy Tablescape Thursday!

Oh, and be sure to check out my two previous posts about Stella's adventures here in Ohio!