I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Friday, May 15, 2020

Summer Patriotic "Mantel", 2020


Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

Today, I will be sharing the first post showcasing my Patriotic decorations in our Living Room......

But first, My Personal Notes.....

I know a lot of people can not wait for Hair Salons to open up.......

I am lucky that I made the decision 5 years ago at the year of 57 to stop coloring my hair blonde and go Natural.....

Luckily, I have gone to the same stylist for over 25 years at J.C. Penney's in the Mall 5 minutes from our home....

Even though my last hair cut was on March 8th, she styles my hair in a cut that grows out well.....

However, I was getting a bit of a tail in the back so I decided that since it may be another month or so before I may be able to get a professional cut and I since I am way too old to have a pony tail, that I would trim the back of my hair, sides and bangs.....

So here is how it looks.....
My eyelids were a bit swollen that day from my Hashimoto's Auto Immune Disease so I apologize....
I do far worse in the heat of the Summer months with swelling of my eyelids, hands and ankles...
I am happy with the way it looks and I think I should get a bit more time out of it.....
 If you are looking for a really terrific idea to celebrate a child's Birthday during this time of social distancing, our Niece Renae came up with a great one for her daughter Carly's 11th birthday this past Tuesday......

In place for the Movie Night and Sleep Over with friends that was originally planned for Carly's birthday, Renae organized a Scavenger Hunt with Carly's friends.....

Carly received a clue that lead her to a friend's house where she found a puzzle piece in the mailbox and another clue, leading her to the next friend's house......
 She was met at the mail boxes by her friends......
 With gifts.......
 Posters......
 And cards made by her friends!!
 And even balloons!!!

It was great fun, not only for Carly, but for her friends and their parents!!

When she got home, she put together the puzzle pieces collected at each house ......
 And they spelled Happy Birthday, Carly!!!!!
 Renae had made them and distributed them the day before!

 Carly with all her Birthday goodies!!!!!
 She was thrilled!!!!

And Joe was able to check and see that she was able to get the cake that she wanted......
 A whipped cream icing cake from Wegman's.......
 When Renae originally called to order the cake, they were not accepting orders so Joe checked on it for her.......

Here it had something to do with the Governor's orders which were being lifted the day before Carly's Birthday which allowed Renae to order the cake she wanted for her Birthday!!!!
So even though she did not have the Birthday that was planned.......
She still had a great Birthday with friends and family......

Her sisters Caitlin and Cortney pose with Carly on her Birthday!!!!

As I mentioned in my last post about choosing your attitude and how you see things during this time......

You can choose to Shine and not be "stuck" at home......
 Or you can choose to be Invigorated at home and not be "Isolated" at home!!!
It is all a matter of one's perception......

 Renae and her girls are Shining Bright during this time even though she is recently widowed, a single Mom of 3 daughters and currently not working as she worked for the local School District......

Click HERE to read that post if you missed it.....
 
This week, I finished packing away all the Easter decorations.....

I enjoyed how the house looked decorated for Easter so I was in no hurry to change it......

But since I did not get to decorate last year for the Patriotic Holidays of the Summer because of my knee replacement surgery, I was getting excited about doing so this year......

That is the beauty about decorating for different Holidays to me......

When I start to get bored with how the house looks, I can change it up easily with different Holiday decorations!!

I only decorate the Living Room differently for the Summer months......

First, with Patriotic decorations.......
And then after July 4th, in an "Under the Sea" theme until Labor Day.......

This is the first year, that I am keeping this 7 ft. slim Tree and platform in this corner of our Living Room up year long........

So this is the first time that I got to decorate this tree in Americana decorations!!
I still need to decorate underneath it but first we need to put the air conditioner in the Living Room window......

I wanted to keep up the peach lace curtain along with the new aqua drapes that I put up before Easter so I just pulled back the peach ones after I cleaned the window.......
It should work nicely with the air condioner in the window.......

I will have central air conditioning in my house in my next life time!!!

I am almost finished with decorating the Living Room and over the next few posts, I will be sharing those decorations with you.......

Today, I am sharing how I decorated the top of our TV Entertainment Center for the Patriotic Summer Holidays.......
I like to treat it as a mantel even though it is not......
A fellow Blogger sent me this Patriotic Banner several years ago,that she made......
 I am quite embarrassed to say that I can not recall who sent me it so PLEASE, if it was one of you, let me know so I can give you the credit you deserve!!!!!

Update: it was Sherry, over at The Journey Back!!!  Thanks, sherry, for reminding me it was you!!
 So cute......

And oddly enough, there is even an aqua streamer on each side, matching my new aqua drapes!!!
Love the red and blue quilted squares........
I think it looks perfect here, don't you??????
Okay, let's take a look at the top of the TV Entertainment Center.......
Let's start on this side......
An Avon Fostoria cobalt blue George Washington goblet bought for 99 cents at Salvation Army many years ago.....
George Washington......
A candle holder I made by gluing a Dollar Tree vase and candlestick together......
I simply taped a flag to one of my battery operated LED candles before placing it in the candleholder.....
I bought this Patriotic cup cake dish at The Christmas Tree Shop many years ago.....
One of my Liberty Blue dishes......
I bought these Patriotic Carolers also at The Christmas Tree Shop.......
One of 2 Liberty Blue dinner plates......
Thomas Jefferson........
This belonged to my neighbor Elly......
One of three Trees in the Living Room that I decorated.......
I bought this small white Tree in J.C. Penney's several years ago......
I topped it off with a bow made from ribbon bought at Dollar Tree......
And red and blue ornaments bought at after Christmas sales over the years.....
In front of the Tree.....
More Patriotic carolers.......
An Avon cobalt blue Mount Vernon Creamer.......
Again bought for 99 cents!!

An Avon Betsy Ross decanter.......
Bought at a church Flea Market......
On the right side......
George Washington......
 An Avon Martha Washington Fostoria cobalt blue goblet.......
Martha Washington.....
Another candleholder that I made.......
Another Patriotic cup cake dish.....
I strung a set of battery operated lights through out the display.......
I hope you enjoyed seeing my Patriotic "Mantel".....
My Patriotic decorations will stay up until the week after July 4th......

In my next post, I will be sharing how I decorated this Tree.......
For the first time ever ........
With Patriotic Decorations........
For several years, I decorated a 6 foot white Tree.......
But the white Tree bit the dust last Christmas........
So I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay Safe, healthy and happy!!!!!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


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11 comments:

  1. Miss MerryMay 15, 2020 at 6:19 PM

    Okay, I am overwhelmed with the hair cut. You are the ONLY person I have seen who decided to pick up the scissors and achieved perfection!!! Holy Cow!! I might just use your photo as a muse if I ever go back to a salon! You look terrific!!! And so does your hair color! Wow!

    We have had some drive by birthday celebrations, too! And I think every time we head to or from a doctor appointment we see a birthday sign that asks us to honk! We always do. We do take different routes to the doctor and home from the doctor just to get a change of scenery.

    Love the patriotic theme. Our town has cancelled our huge 4th of July parade and celebration and people are very cranky. I don't know why we just can't all decorate our porches and drive around and admire them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. annies homeMay 16, 2020 at 1:52 AM

    oh my goodness what an action packed post this is so fun to look at all the great pictures and read about all that is going on. First of all the patriotic mantel is awesome so patriotic red, white and blue and perfect for all the summer military and patriotic holidays. Second you are super beautiful love the hair cut I cut my own hair some time back and well... it surprised a lot of people as I went from waist length hair to neck shave. I love your hairstyle looks awesome We are learning quite a few different ways to celebrate that is for sure. Love the drive by birthday idea Once again thanks so much for sharing and if you find time come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. R's RueMay 16, 2020 at 1:33 PM

    Beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  4. Louca por porcelanaMay 16, 2020 at 4:56 PM

    Precious celebration to Carly and great photo of you! Stunning blue and white dishes. I also love those blue cobalt pieces.That birthday cake is beautiful and looks yummy!Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AllysonMay 17, 2020 at 10:41 AM

    I enjoyed seeing all of your patriotic decorations. Love the carolers!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Art and SandMay 17, 2020 at 11:27 AM

    I stopped coloring my hair 3 years ago so that isn't a problem, but I was scheduled for a trim just days after the SIP order so my haircut is long overdue.

    We went to a 70th birthday party the other day - a drive by with lots of honking and fun cars.

    Your post reminds me that I need to get bring my red, white and blue decor down from the attic.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble ChristmasMay 18, 2020 at 3:23 PM

    I accidently deleted Leanne's comment so I copied it from my email.....
    Hi Deb - you did a great job with the haircut (you might be able to do your own cuts permanently!) Our hair salons are open, so I had mine cut and coloured last week after 10 wks of staying away and it was nice to be tidied up again. Loved your granddaughter's birthday party - there are some fantastic ways people have gotten around lockdown and still created fantastic memories.
    Very impressed with all your patriotic decorations - we don't do stuff like that in Australia, so it's always interesting to see it pop up on US bloggers pages - you are far more nationalistic than we are!
    Leanne's Blog is Cresting The Hill....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lowcarb team memberMay 18, 2020 at 5:03 PM

    You certainly did a very good job with your hair cut.
    Lovely to see the birthday celebrations.
    Your patriotic decorations look very good.

    Enjoy the week ahead.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joanne May 21, 2020 at 5:45 PM

    Your hair looks fabulous! I don't dye my hair either and with my style the length isn't a big deal at all so I'm not all that anxious about salons opening up either. Though ours should be opening up real soon (as they were told they could open yesterday and then 24 hours before that was rescinded). The mantle is so festive and just perfect for both Memorial day and 4th of July. Thanks for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kim | Shiplap and ShellsMay 25, 2020 at 2:09 PM

    Your hair looks fantastic! Loving Carly's fun birthday! And those blue and white ironstone plates are amazing! Thank you for sharing with Charming Homes and Gardens Debbie! Pinned.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Donna @ Modern on MonticelloMay 27, 2020 at 11:43 AM

    I am also leaving my patriotic mantel decor up all summer just because I like how it looks and it is perfect combination of red, white, and blue to last until Labor Day - just like all the things you have done in your home. The quilt garland is really pretty and different for a garland. Thanks for visiting this week and sharing with us. #HomeMattersParty

    ReplyDelete

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