I am a Victorian Soul, live in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion, with my Hubby Joe, who is 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 LOVING 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!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Early September Bit of This and That.....

 

 

 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!!!!

I want to give a Shout Out to all those who worked on Labor Day providing Essential services...I will not list them because I fear that I may forget one or two and I do not want to leave anyone out....

I also want to give a Shout Out to all those women out there who are working to support their families......

I was one of them until just a year and a half ago.....

When I was in 7th grade, my Dad became disabled as the result of a construction accident and it was my Mother, who started working at the age of 16 as a sewing machine operator in the Garment Industry, who became the only Bread Winner at that time before my Dad was able to receive Workman's Compensation and then Social Security Disability.....

She remained the Primary Bread Winner and continued to work until the day my Dad passed away when they were both 67 years old.....

She did regret continuing to work part time even though they were both officially retired and encouraged me to try to be able to retire early, if possible and not make the same mistake she did because tomorrow is not promised to everyone.........

Since I truly have very little memories of my Dad working, I do believe I learned from my Mother's strong work ethic and it is because of her, that Joe and I were able to retire early at 62 years of age.....

In this situation, I did heed her advice....

I only added a few American Flags to our Front Porch and Yard as decorations for Labor Day this year.....


Yes, we are Proud to be Americans even though our Country is in such a sad state right now.....

As in past years, I am glad I went with a red, orange and yellow color theme when planting my flowers in the front of our house.......

 

 It will make it easier to transition to Fall decorations later this week when I pack away Summer and get out my outside Fall decor.....

 The Flower Bed under the Living Room window......

These 4 Impatiens that I planted in each of these urns have exceeded all expectations!!!!!!

So have the Begonias planted in the flower box between them!!!!!

Looking down the side walk in front of our townhouse.....


I have to admit that I worked hard keeping these flowers watered during our 2nd HOTTEST Summer on record so they would still look decent into the Fall and I hope to keep them as long as they hold out, having to replace them with only a few mums.....

Last night, we were talking about seeing a lot of grasshoppers around for the first time in a number of years..... 

When I went to take the flags in that I put out for Labor Day, I noticed this little guy....

When I moved in closer to take his picture, he moved around trying to hide from me......

The Sun was going down.......

I love the colors on him......


I left the flag out there for a bit and when I came back, he was gone!!!

Now on to the saga of trying to get a new refrigerator......

In this POST, I shared the story of trying to get a new refrigerator during a National Major Appliance Shortage......

Lowe's was able to move up the delivery date from OCTOBER, to this past Sunday morning between 9am - 11 am......

Saturday, I worked hard clearing a path for them to take out the old and bring in the new......

Moved all the pots on the front porch that were in the way.....

Even rolled back this rug......

Moved the chairs out of the way.......

Pulled up the area rugs down the hall way to the Kitchen.......

 Emptied out most of the Kitchen Hutch and moved it out of the way......

Emptied out what was left in the refrigerator as it was still running but shutting off for longer periods of time......

Pulled it out and cleaned behind it so I would not be mortified if I waited and let them pull it out!!!
 
I must confess, it was not that bad back there!!!
 
 
Okay, so we were all ready.....

And Lo and Behold, they arrived right at 9 am!!!!!

But when they took the new fridge out of the box in our parking lot and I saw them call Joe over to look at it.......

My heart sunk as I knew there was a problem......

So I went flying down to see what it was and it was what the delivery guys called a "significant" dent in the back corner area of the one side......

They said that the insulation could be affected and if it was them, they would refuse delivery but if we wanted, 10 % would be knocked off the price if we chose to accept it as is......

NO WAY!!!!

I was not going to take the chance of it not running properly because of damage and then having to wait to get another refrigerator.....

They told me to call Lowe's as they thought they saw a few more of this style refrigerator in the back and they would deliver it tomorrow......

I called, got put on hold, was told a message would be givin to the head of Delivery services.....

I told Joe to get his butt down to Lowe's ( it is right next to our development) and talk to someone...

Long story short.....

They found another fridge in the back just like the one we bought and we were now rescheduled for delivery at 8 am on Labor Day morning.....

They once again showed up promptly at 8 am and I held my breath as they took this one out of the box......

ALL was GOOD!!!!!!

Here is the new one we bought sight unseen, only looking at the model online because I was desperate for a refrigerator......


You can see I am very limited in what size I can get and this one is taller but not as wide and I love several of the features it has including the recessed handles on the sides.......

I do have to give Kudos to Lowe's because I feel they went above and beyond so we did not have to wait over a month to get a new refrigerator.....

This is my 4th refrigerator in 42 years!!!!!!

Major appliances are now only made to last 5 - 10 years....

So if you even think your refrigerator is dying, order a new one now because you may have to wait 2-3 months if none are in stock.......
 
Because of this whole fiasco, we moved our Labor Day Cook In to Tuesday afternoon as Joey was off on Tuesday from work and Jim and Danielle are home from work around 1pm as they go in very early in the morning hours...... 

We did enjoy a nice afternoon with our family on Tuesday., celebrating Labor Day....
 
Here is Joe, in front of the new refrigerator, sporting a new mask he bought......
 
 
 He thought I would enjoy the "Zippered mouth" on it since he knows I frequently wish his mouth was zipped shut!!!!!
 
Especially when it comes to Politics as he is a die hard Republican and I am an Independent...... 

Need I say more???????

 

I am surprised he did not buy it for me as he frequently tells me I have a Big Mouth!!!
 
LOL!!
 
And that, I do!!!!

In a previous post, I shared what our bedroom looked like after I gave it a deep cleaning.....
 



 Click HERE if you missed that post......
 
I also mentioned that there was a crack in the corner of our bedroom near the ceiling.....
 
 
That I repaired like my Dad taught me how to........


I did not include this corner in the other post because I did not have it finished at that time.......


Joe had bought a small sample jar of the paint I needed, matching it to the original color from paint that was dripped on the paper of the can that dried up to something as hard as a brick!!!!

Here is the corner, repaired and painted........


I think my Dad would be proud......


In this corner, I have a few "Mother" things.......


As a Mother of 2 sons, I love these Victorian Mother figurines, holding their baby boys......


Below the shelf are 2 Norman Rockwell Mother's Day plates.....


Also in this corner is a table that I found a few years ago by one of the dumpsters in our development......


I rescued it and painted it blue.......

On the side of the table is a large vintage jug filled with flowers.........

Under the window is my Mother's Lane Hope Chest......

When my parents bought new furniture for their bedroom, my Dad antiqued it white and grey to match their new Mid Century Modern bedroom furniture....

I was going to paint it blue but when my Great Niece Carly, who is 11 years old, expressed an interest in it, I decided that it will be passed on to her.......

I might paint it an antique white though to match my Mother's bedroom furniture that my Dad antiqued for me as a teenager that is promised to my Great Niece, Caitlin, Carly's sister.....

On top of the Hope Chest, is Rose, a form that I decoupaged and embellished......

A Silver Tea and Coffee set........

A display of vintage perfume bottles and gloves.....

In front of the Hope Chest is one of the rugs that was previously used in the Dining Room.....

So now you have seen this corner therefore completing my mini tour of our bedroom.....

I took advantage of some of the Kitchen being ripped apart to make way for the new refrigerator.....

I brought down the Fall/Halloween decorations from the attic for the Kitchen and over the last few days, was able to get the Kitchen decorated for Fall/Halloween.....

Here is a few sneak peaks .......

New this year, I decided to do a Halloween display in the Kitchen Hutch to match the Tree in the Kitchen.....

Last year, I made all the ornaments for this Tree using items bought at Dollar Tree......

The Hutch now decorated with a few Halloween things.....

Some I had, some are new...... 

Other areas in the Kitchen.....

 

 





I will be doing a few posts on the Kitchen soon......

I will also be sharing what I chose as My Word of the Month for September......

So I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, 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......


I am linking up to these parties:


15 comments:

  1. I always love seeing the lively colors of flowers in your yard. You are way ahead of me on fall decorating! I did make 2 fall wreathes for my booth this week, tho. Boy, it didn't take long for that fridge to grow a collection of magnets!! My fridge is covered--some magneets holding 20+ year old snapshots of kids! I hate my poor old fridge--which is 30 years old but I need to investigate new ones. The idea of a bottom freezer appeals to me, but we shall see! I usually try to repot my begonias (didn't plant any this year) and bring them in before frost; my Babci (grandmother) always had a pot on her galley kitchen windowsill. I have some that I successfully wintered over that never made it outside this year! They and impatiens thrive in my shady yard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy,
      I wish I had a garage or basement where i would be able to bring in some flowers over the Winter but no such luck..I actually took a bunch of magnets that iI collect from the different places we traveled or the kids have traveled to off the refrigerator and I am now looking for another place to display them!! Being of Polish descent, I am familiar with Babci...Joe's 2 grandmothers went by Ba Ba.... Thanks so much for stopping by!!
      Hugs,
      Deb

      Delete
  2. Deb, I couldn't help but comment on you front yard. My goodness those flowers are huge and so beautiful. I think this years flowers are the prettiest I have seen. You know how to grow them! It all looks so gorgeous. They should last for another month. Shouldn't they?

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  3. Hi Debbie, wow your flowers in the front yard look so pretty. It's great that everything worked out with getting the new refrigerator. I like how festive your kitchen looks decorated for fall and Halloween. Hope you have a great day and weekend.

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  4. Oh Debbie, I'm so glad you were able to get your replacement fridge so quickly. No, you don't want one with a dent -- even if it worked fine. They're too expensive not to be perfect!

    Love that garden!

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  5. I am a die hard democrat. Tell Joe to keep that mask on and ZIP it up! The next few weeks will be a nightmare as an Independent having to live with a die hard republican. You have my condolences. Haha ......on a brighter note, I am thrilled you got your new fridge. Also, your flowers look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lynn,
      The last 4 years have been a nightmare living with a die hard Republican!! LOL!! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your sweet comment!!
      hugs,
      Deb

      Delete
  6. Your home is seriously beautiful. You should have tours and charge a fee. So much interesting goodies in your home. I do love the zipper mounth mask. And lastly your repair job gave me such a giggle, but it works.

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  7. Those Victorian mother figurines caught my eye! They are wonderful!

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  8. Your flowers are gorgeous, Debbie. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

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  9. Hi Debbie, Your flowers are so pretty, and I enjoyed the "walk" through your house! That lamp on the right side of the hallway photo - the white lamp with the pink flowers- I have had that very same lamp since I was a young girl! It was so fun to see it in your photo! Thanks, as always for joining the TFT party, and have a great rest of your week!

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  10. You are such a resourceful person to do your own repairs. I learned a lot from my father being an only child. - Margy

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  11. So glad you got your fridge installed . It looks fantastic especially in its fall decor. I love the lamp on top. I think I may copy you and put a little lamp on top of my fridge. Lol. The black Halloween truck looks awesome in your truck. I am loving mine too. Have a great week, Debbie. Hugs, Melisa

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  12. Debbie, your garden flowers are just so inviting. Seriously, I have NEVER seen a home as beautifully colored as yours. Your wall and your table are full of memories and treasures. Its such a relief that your fridge is finally here. Have a fantastic week.
    Naush (Meraki Link Party)
    Doodle Buddies

    ReplyDelete

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