Happy Thanksgiving!

Too all my blogging friends,
have a very blessed Thanksgiving
with your loved ones.
Safe travel for those who will be on the road or in the air.
See you again soon!
XOXO,
Lallee

Mittens, Kittens, and Yarn

I have seen so many beautiful fingerless gloves on Flickr lately, especially the colored striped varieties inspired by the talented Lucy of Attic24. I wanted a pair for myself in autumn colors to wear when we visit our son in NC.

Speaking of yarn, I had to show you this cute photo and caption. When I'm not reading blogs, you can often find me reading LOL Cat captions at Can I Has Cheezburger. I get my daily LOL there.

I added texture to the next pair. I'm not liking these as much--too chunky looking this way. I made them too large so I will most likely be frogging this pair. For those who don't crochet or knit, that means ripping (ribit) it apart.

Let's look at another caption. I can't stop myself. LOL cats have their own way of talking......and spelling.

Last is my favorite pair of fingerless gloves. I'll be putting these in my Etsy shop.

Yarn and cats can be like peas and carrots you know. Let's LOL one more time. Sometimes I worry my yarn closet will look like this.

I hope you've had a good LOL for the day now. If you need more you can visit here.

Thank you so much for your kind comments about Maggie (last post), and your welcome to Eko. They are so appreciated, and my son says thank you too. I look forward to meeting Eko soon.

XO,
Lallee

A Sad Goodbye and Happy Hello

I have been putting this post off since August, hoping for a new ending.....and not emotionally ready to share with you. I'm still not ready really, but I need to.

If you've been visiting Lallee's Cottage for a while, then you know Maggie our grand Scottie, who is owned by our oldest son. Sadly, Maggie disappeared from home suddenly one morning before her breakfast. Just gone into thin air in a matter of moments, not to be found. The not knowing and lack of closure has been difficult, painful, heartbreaking. She had a microchip so we still hold out vague hope. You never know.

We all miss Maggie. She was a man's dog, all rough-tough Scottish Terrier through and through. A boy and his dog. Memories to last a lifetime.

Born in the south on a Christmas day, I had to add to her name despite my son's shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Maggie Magnolia Mistletoe. Grandmothers can do what they want, right? She joined us at our house every Christmas.

I called her Maggie Moo. She is shown here with Baggins.

This is one of my favorite photos of Maggie with Oliver. I always pretended she was whispering sweet nothings to her boyfriend. The truth is they were more like siblings, and she was probably telling bro Oliver that all balls were hers as long as she was visiting.

She liked to take my chair on her visits too.

As the time of Maggie's loss went by, our son was finally ready to find a new pal. He wasn't ready for another Scottie. I was so happy to know he was getting another companion. He researched carefully and came home with a very lovable Pit Bull Terrier. Forget all the connotations this breed name carries. Mr. Eko (named from the series Lost) was temperament tested before adoption. Eko has yet to meet a person, dog, or cat that he doesn't like. To quote my son--not a mean bone in his body. (There are no bad dogs--just dirty rotten owners.) Eko and his siblings were rescued from living life chained outdoors and being poorly fed, and who knows what else.

Would you like to meet him? This was his shelter pic that first lured my son to go check him out. That one ear up--one ear down pose would have tempted me too.

He's now a very happy puppy in his forever home don't you think?

He loves his new pal Gus, and vice-versa.

He loves to play in his new yard--chain free.

Eko, keep watching out that front door because company is coming for Thanksgiving, and we can't wait to meet you!

Thank you for letting me share both of these special dogs with you. If you'd like to see more photos of Maggie, here is a slide show of my son's wonderful photography. Maggie, we will never forget you.



XO,
Lallee

Office Reveal

(I've had trouble with font size for this post and I have given up the wrestling match with blogger, so if there are several sizes I apologize!)

The office redo is complete apart from the ongoing tweaking. I'll walk you through the changes. This is a his and her office. Mr. H actually comes to work here every day. You should see him on casual Friday ;-)

This is the her side. Our new desks are from the Christopher Lowell collection found at Office Depot. We're very pleased with the quality. The new commercial carpet is working much better for us.

The framed prints to the far left will get painted black. I'm already accessorizing the top of the hutch, but not in these photos.

Below the TV is a stand that holds my printer and scanner. They always get so dusty so I think I'm going to keep it covered with the fabric. I like how it covers up the clutter as well. The white cable concealer going up the wall will be painted to match the wall color. We also used that to run the cables across the room. It is placed on the front of the base board (right side of printer stand). You don't even notice it, so it was well worth using.

I had not added any curtains when I took these first photos. I have looked at that bare rod for four years at least! I'm a major procrastinator when it comes to sewing.

Now lets look at his side of the office. Ignore the placement of the prints on the wall. We'll get around to redoing them some day so they are balanced better. The cabinet to the left of his desk is for all his files.

Yes, he uses all the computers while he is working. The desk top photo on the large monitor is a favorite photo of mine. Our oldest son took this of his dad on one of their many fishing trips. It will get framed and go on the wall soon.

Over the closet is a print our youngest son gave his father. It's 'The Swamp' where our Florida Gators play--undefeated so far this season. Rah, rah!

Here's just a little bit of the details on my desk--ever changing, I'm sure. I almost didn't get the hutch, but I'm so glad I decided to! The Lab photo is beloved Murphy, who we still miss. The little creamer is hiding my paper clips, and rubber bands are in the green glass.

My little Mary Engelbreit statue stands guard for when I need an attitude adjustment.

My desk is never without my favorite pencil holder.

Here are the curtain in progress. First, I hung painter's drop cloths, which are made from cotton duck cloth. I see why these have become so popular for drapery use. They are a lot of fabric for a small price--$11.00 each for 9 x 6 feet panels. I'm using them to get the full length to the floor since I don't have enough of the floral fabric.

Right now I'm just trying this look out before I sew any edges. What I think I want to do is add black fringe (which I can't find) to the bottom of the fabric, and then a stripe of it near the bottom of the beige. I think this would bring them together for some continuity. Another thought is to add a strip of solid black fabric to the bottom of the floral so the length would come to the bottom of the window instead of just above. This may not be happening until the first of the year when the schedule calms back down post holiday however.

Thank you so much for taking a look! I have zero fall decorations in the house....but the office is done!

The Winner is........

Thank you one and all for stopping by
and entering my give-away.

I'm working my way through visiting each one
of your blogs.
XOXOXOXO!!!!!

Welcome to all the new visitors!
I hope you will visit again.

The winner of this....

....and the other goodies was chosen by using the
counter at random.org.

And now, what you are waiting to hear.....

the winner is #30!

Kathryn, your package will be in the mail on Monday.
Enjoy, and I hope it keeps you (or one of your grands)
cozy this winter.


Coming next on Lallee's Cottage:
The office makeover.
Did you think I forgot????
No way!

A Thank You Give-Away

This thank you is way overdo! I have appreciated your support for my crochet work whether it be via your compliments, your comments, and/or your purchases. Selling publicly was a BIG, BIG step for me. Unbeknown to you, I used the profit from my Etsy sales to give an additional donation to my church for the building of a beautiful youth center. This wonderful facility was completed this past year. Many students from our community enjoy fellowship there and hear the gospel of God's love for them. Thank you so much!

As a small token of how much I appreciate you, I would like to give away this crocheted afghan made in cheerful cottage colors. It's a small size to keep your lap warm or decorate your cottage.

Some extra goodies will be added to it too.

To put your name in the hat, just leave a comment in this post. If you don't have a blog identity, you must leave an email address. I will keep the drawing open until Thursday, November 12; midnight, EST.

Again, thank you for your visits and comments.

I couldn't have done this without you!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

A Wedding Weekend

We spent the weekend in Orlando to attend the wedding of a couple very dear to us. The bride was as beautiful as I expected, and the groom was as handsome as ever. My youngest son served as the best man. He looked very dapper too......and I forgot my camera! All the photos were taken with our phone.

We stayed at a beautiful resort where the reception was held. Are you always eager as I am to see what your room is going to look like? I was not disappointed.



The weather was beautiful, as was our view from our 11th floor room.

We partied like we were 20 years old and woke up feeling like 80 years old. LOL No regrets. It was a grand event to celebrate. We would not have missed it for the world. Wishing the bride and groom God's very best blessings for their marriage.

I have the office to finish putting back together, tons of files to sort through and toss. Hello Monday. How was your weekend?