Never At A Loss For Words

Yesterday, a neighbor commented on how much he enjoys seeing the KEEP IT SIMPLE sign on our gate as he drives down our lane.

That got me thinking about all the signs we have around our house.

Whoa!

 I didn't realize there were so many!

I love decorating with words -

I guess it's the teacher in me.

I am never at a loss for words,

but for the rest of this post, I'll let the words speak for themselves.

Before I wrote this post, I had some scrap wood on hand and was ready to  paint a sign

but I'm thinking maybe, just maybe, I have enough.
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Join me for Thoughts of Home hosted by Poofing the Pillows.

Grow Your Blog Party

Welcome to Art and Sand.

This is my second year joining Vicki' s Grow Your Blog party at 2 Bags Full.

My husband asked me why I needed to grow my blog, and I explained that it is about meeting fun and diverse people to visit.

I am not sure why I began blogging in the first place, but I definitely know why I continue.

Blogging keeps me from being lazy.

In order to have topics for Art and Sand, I need to be "doing" things daily.

Last year, I titled my blog post   A Little of This & A Little of That.

The blog continues to be a mishmash of things that I love:

a little bit of decorating,

a little bit of table setting,

a little bit of furniture painting,

a little bit of crafts,

a little bit of gardening,

a little bit of life in my part of the world,

and, a whole lot of color.

To thank you for visiting, I am doing a Giveaway.

I have a bunch of these little wire baskets and

I've been busy making little quote cards to fill the baskets.

If you are interested in winning the Giveaway,  please leave a comment.

I will draw 2 names and announce the winners on February 15.

I know that not everyone loves color like I do.

 The winners will be able to request the quote cards in their personal color palette.

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Make sure you visit Vicki at Two Bags Full to meet the other participants in the Grow Your Blog Party.

Looking Back & Moving Forward

Looking back , 2013 was a "Year of Changes" for our family.

Some changes were planned, anticipated and welcomed with open arms.

 Before retirement I never had the time to do all that I wanted to accomplish and now I have all the time in the world.

One change was unexpected and brought sorrow to our otherwise wonderful lives.

We knew the loss of our precious 14 year old Dorje was inevitable, but it was a change we would have preferred not to experience.

A spur of the moment decision to mend our broken hearts with our goldendoodle Lulu brought changes both good and bad.

We love Lulu dearly, but digging up the garden, swallowing socks and stealing anything in sight are habits we hope she soon loses.

A totally unexpected change was KC leaving San Francisco and moving back to her home town.

It is a dream come true to have KC living just 4 houses away and surprising us by cooking dinner frequently.

Looking forward, we see 2014 as "The Year of the House".

Ten years ago we had this table custom built to fit our tiny dining room, but Steve has always hated the narrow and short table.

On Tuesday we bought reclaimed wood which Steve cut today to make a new rustic tabletop that will be both wider and longer.

The next home project which I plan to begin this weekend is to set up a "creative space" in the house.

I spent a lot of time organizing a creative space in the garage, but it is too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

A major home change in 2014 will be to fill in and level our cobblestone patio.

We love the look of our patio, but recently both Steve and I have fallen so we know the patio is a home improvement that must be made.

Today was spent at home making lots of little changes all over the house.

I know it's going to be a very good year.

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Housekaboodle - Meet the Neighbors Link Party

My French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell

Jennifer Rizzo - Fabulously Creative Friday

Imparting Grace - Grace At Home

Rooted in Thyme - Simple & Sweet Fridays

Shabby Art Boutique - Shabbilicious Friday

The Charm of Home - Home Sweet Home

Common Ground - Be Inspired