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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

A Return to Normal Upstairs after Christmas....

 






 

 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
Just a reminder, I will be posting on Wednesdays and Sundays every week so be sure to check back on those days to see a new post......
 
 
Today I have one of those random posts that  I do before switching to a different Holiday or Season's decorations...
 
But first, a few Personal Notes...
 

 
The other day was National Love Your Pet Day!!!!
 
I found these cute pictures of a shitzu like Azumi.....
 
 
And a Yorkie like Faye....


That day I decided to take a few pics of our 5 day a week morning excursions down the street to our son and DIL's house to take our Grand Pups out as Jim and Danielle go to work for 3am....

Here they are waiting for us in their crates when we open the door!!!



Their crates are perpendicular to each other.....

Faye takes Joe for a long walk and I take Azumi around their parking lot and grassy areas....

Azumi waiting for a treat after coming back from doing her business....


 
Then we wait for Faye and G Pop to come back ....
 
She is quite the cuddle bug and loves to snuggle as I scratch her belly.....


 
Faye is back with G Pop and waiting so nicely for her cookie for being a good girl and doing her business....


 
Then Faye has to hop up in G Pop's lap for some kisses while Azumi waits patiently to be picked up for her turn....

 
They have to block off the shoe rack as Faye will make off with shoes that are bigger than her....
 
G Pop has to pick up Azumi as she is too small to jump up for now...


 
We go out one more time and Faye takes G Pop one way and Azumi and I go another way.....
 
As I hold Azumi, waiting for G Pop and Faye to come back.......

 
She snuggles into my shoulder!!


 Azumi gets very cold and gets the shivers so they held off taking her to get groomed....

She looks like a mop and I have to clean off all the leaves that she picks up just by walking around outside!!

 This is her "mop" look.....
 
 
 
 Yesterday, she went to Pet Smart for her first hair cut and here she is now!!!!!

 
Sweet Mother!!!!


Will you look at the sweet face!!

She is half the size!! 

And we can finally see her paws and ears!!

They did a great job!!

Today, the poor little thing is getting spayed...

But then she will be home with her Mama and Daddy til next week as they took off to care for her...

I wonder what Faye thinks of her sister now????
 
 
 Not too much food to share since Sunday....

I did make a sentimental favorite on Monday for dinner....

Shake and Bake chicken.....
 
Joe bought these flat thin sliced chicken breasts at Sam's Club a while back and has not seen them since....

 
I used a generic Shursave Shake and Bake and added Chicken Griller Seasoning to it before I shook the chicken in the bag....
 
 
 
When it was done in 20 minutes....
 

 I served it with a package of Knorr's Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes...

And Joey and I dipped our chicken into Sweet Baby Ray's Chicken Sauce that Joe bought at Big Lot's....
 
 
No, Joe does not dip anything into anything....
 
I say this was a sentimental dinner because Shake and Bake Chicken was my Dad's go to thing to bring to every Family Affair....

Others brought dessert or a salad and my Dad brought a vat of Shale and Bake Chicken which he loved to cook and eat!!!!

My Dad loved to cook and after his construction accident that left him disabled, he did the majority of the cooking, having dinner on the table when my Mother came home from work....
 
 
 
He also taught himself to bake and made better apple pies, using the apples from our tree in the back yard, than my Mother did....
 
I learned how to cook a lot of things from him....
 
 
But I never shared his love of cooking....
 
I always say that I know how to cook but I truly HATE to cook!!
 
He even taught Joe how to make lobster which Joe makes for New Year's Eve and other special occasions!!!

 
My Mother used to get so mad and embarrassed when I would tell people that I hated to cook as she took it as a reflection on her!!
 
 And what would people say and think, God Forbid???

I never really cared much about what others thought and would say and I still don't....

My Dad passed way on 2/26/1987

 
 This picture was taken a few days before he died...
 
My Dad taught me so much more than how to cook....

 You can read about it HERE and HERE
 
One thing he taught me is "Never let anyone use you as a door mat"!
 
And I never have whether they were family or friends....
 
Because of him, I am the strong, independent person I am today....
 
And I always still hear him whispering in my ear, "That a Girl!" 


Tuesday was 2/22/2022!!

Now to most people the number 222 means nothing to them but it is my Angel Number.....
 
 
 Why 222?

It was my parent's address number and after my Mom sold her home 3 months after my Dad passed away, I started to see 222 all over.....

On license plates on cars in front of me, waking up in the middle of the night at 2:22pm, hearing good news and looking at the clock and realizing that it was at 2:22pm, etc...

Yes, Joe played 222 on the PA Lottery Daily Number and even won several times....

Sunday, 2/22/1987 was also the very last day I saw my Dad alive....

My parent's had come to watch my sons, who both had chicken pox, so Joe and I could attend his Grandmother's 80th Birthday Bash at his Uncle's Bar and Restaurant....

Little did I know that day that 4 days later on Thursday, my sister would find him dead after no answer when she tried calling him in the morning...

Ironically, 2/22/2019 was the very first day of my unplanned early retirement....

It was on 2/21/2019 that I would have an appointment with my Ortho Surgeon to have supposed fluid aspirated from my knee...

After not being able to do so, I was told I could no longer work ( as I could hardly walk by then) and scheduled for Knee Replacement surgery at the end of April....

I knew I was never going to return to work as I was only 6 months short of my planned early retirement....
 

I was definitely on the right path then as I resigned from my job in August after my medical leave was up , never having to go to work again!!!!!

And as I sat down at the computer to start this post the other day, I looked down in the right hand corner of the monitor and saw that it said

2:22 PM
2/22/2022

Thanks, Dad!
 
 As I hear "That a Girl"! whispered in my ear!!


In my last post, I shared 2 Winter Tablscapes!




 

 


Click HERE if you missed it!!

We are predicted to get snow, ice and then maybe rain on Friday with temps. in the low teens for the morning over the weekend and into next week so Winter is far from over here in NEPA!!!!



After I finished decorating the downstairs for Winter and Valentine's Day, changing it over from Christmas, I slowly started to take down Christmas upstairs, converting it back to normal....

I only change the decor upstairs for Christmas and not for any other Holidays....

I started in the Craft Room first as I wanted to set up an extra table to do some crafting on.....

I will share some before as decorated for Christmas and then the after photos in each room....

Above the large shelf unit that holds tubs of supplies at Christmas.....


Now....


 
Here is where I display a tribute to my family.....


 
My Paternal Grandparent's....
 
 
 
 I gave the Mother mug to my Mom for Mother's Day one year....
 
 
 
My sons gifted me this glass Mother's plaque...
 

 
 The large picture is my parent's Wedding picture.....
 
 
 
 
 
 My Maternal Grandparent's
 

 I am told I look like my grandmother who passed away when I was only 2 years old....

I sure am built like her though!!
 
Over on the other side of the room, is a Tree that stays up year round as I love the glow of a Tree lit in the evenings.....
 
This is it decorated for Christmas.....
 
 

And now, decorated for Summer.....


I will be doing a whole post on how I decorated this Tree for Summer in the future....

When I decorated the Dining Room for Halloween, I had moved the stunning Miniature room box that my FB friend Angela had created for me, here on a shelf in the Craft Room....




You can read all about it HERE

When I first received this amazing gift, I wanted all to be able to see it all the time so I displayed it on top of the Dining Room hutch even though it was a miniature created to look like my Craft Room.....



Now I moved it where it should be displayed.....in the Craft Room!!


I have a battery operated puck light above it to shine down on it.....


And for now, 2 of my Thomas Kinkade Pink Ladies on each side of it....


 
After Easter is over and the Dining Room is set up devoid of any Holiday decorations, I move the Thomas Kinkade Pink Ladies down into the Dining Room.....


Under these wall shelves, on top of a shelf unit, at Christmas.....


Now......


A tribute to Joe's family....



Joe gifted me the Wife plaque when we still bought gifts for each other....

 
Joe's parent's Wedding picture....
 

 
 And Joe's Paternal Grandparent's Wedding picture to the left of Joe's parent's one....


 
 This lamp is one of a set that was my Mother's....

 
 
The other was on the other shelf unit that I already showed you....
 
 Those 2 sweet figurines were gifted to me by my friend Anne Marie and I loved them so much that I decided to keep them out year round....
 
 
 
That is Joe's maternal Grandparent's Wedding picture....


I bought the tea set at a church Flea Market.....


 
A shelf by my sewing machine at Christmas with a picture of my sons, screaming on Santa's lap.....
 
 

Now.....



A small table by the door at Christmas...



Now....


Again, one of my Mother's lamps...

I embellished the shades on all the lamps...

Next, I packed away Christmas and cleaned the upstairs hall....

At Christmas.....


Now.....


I display my Lusterware dish collection in the upstairs hall.....


I leave the greenery, music sheet ribbon bows and gold berries up year round....

 
At Christmas....


Now....


 
 
 
 
 

 

At Christmas....

 
Now....






The other side of the hall by the Bathroom and Craft Room.....
 
At Christmas....
 
 
 
 Now....
 

 
 I display the blue Lusterware dishes here...
 
 
 
 
 
 At Christmas....

 
 Now....
 
 
 
 

 I bought this shelf at Salvation army for $10 and out a fresh coat of stain on it....

At Christmas.....

 
 Now.....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Next, I packed away Christmas in the Bathroom....

At Christmas.....



Now.....


Who says you can't have a tea pot and tea cup in the Bathroom.....



The tea pot is vintage where the tea cup is not.....





And by the sink....

At Christmas....


Now....


I finished with the Sitting Room which I decorate in a garden theme....

Here are a few sneak peaks as I will be sharing the entire room in a future post....







 
I also packed Christmas away in our bedroom but all that involved was taking down my Victorian Lady Tree and moving a lamp back on to the table and taking down Joe's small Pittsburgh Tree so there is nothing really to share in that room...
 
 
I worked yesterday on packing away all the Christmas things that I left out in the Den as part of my Winter decorations....

I only decorate the China Cupboard and the area around it in the Den for Saint Patrick's Day...

I was still working on this at 10 pm last night and hope to finish this area today.....



I will be sharing more of the China Cupboard decorated for Saint Patrick's Day in Sunday's post....
 
When I finish this area, I will be packing away all the Winter decorations, cleaning the Den and returning it back to "normal"...

But I DO  hope you will join me on Friday, the 25th for a Rudolph's Day post over on my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas!!!
 
 
I will be sharing how I am already planning for next Christmas by doing some crafting already.....





I will be posting a link to that post here on Friday....

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

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:
 


Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

18 comments:

  1. Aw, the dogs are so precious! I loved reading about your family. I always feel like your home is a fun vintage shop that I would love to explore! You have so many things to see and enjoy there.

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  2. Who could resist those adorable dogs? I agree with Pam -- the family stories are such fun!

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  3. I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this post! Of course your decorations are as gorgeous as always and the grandpups are over the top adorable! But I really loved the pictures and stories with your parents. What a special date yesterday was for you! I absolutely despise cooking too though I can. Thankfully, Larry loves it and he is great at it. My Dad started cooking after his first stroke and he made the most amazing Hungarian dishes. When you share the stories about your Dad I'm always struck by how much he reminds me of mine. They were so much alike! So from one Daddy's girl to another, thanks so much for sharing today!

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  4. I love those family photos too! I think the older I get, the more I appreciate the photos of those who came before. I have copied some and put them on the windows of my china cabinet where I point out "who is who" to my grandkids. I think the best part of Ancestry to me is the family photos that others share.
    How wonderful that your dad still shows you how much he cares. You had such a wonderful relationship and it still continues on! It makes my heart sing for you.

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  5. I have said this before…and I will say it again…”the more I learn about your sweet, sweet Dad…the more I love him!”

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    Replies
    1. Nina,
      Thanks again for stopping by and for your kind comment...My Dad was the best!! Stay safe, healthy and happy, my friend!!
      Hugs,
      Debbie

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  6. The dogs are just adorable Debbie. I enjoyed reading about your family. I look forward to seeing the St. Patrick's Day decorations. Enjoy the end of the week and weekend.

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  7. Good morning!
    I am always here but do not always comment but I have to today.
    After reading yesterday’s post I went to bed. I go back and forth reading your blog. This blog is the ONLY blog I do that with.
    It brings me such calm and peace. Anyway I had a dream about you. I don’t know if it was completely made up in my dream or not.
    In this dream you had a beautiful tree in honor of your father. It had pictures of him in lovely little frames. Also it had tiny little cooking
    utensils all over it. Also fancy glass birthday cupcakes.
    Now here is my question, have you ever done anything like this? A remembrance tree or a birthday tree? Maybe I completely mashed a lot of things together and made a dream or maybe you have done this kind of thing? Well if you never have but like my dream you are welcome to the idea.
    Maybe I will do one for my home in memory of my father. I miss him so much as I know you miss your father. But aren’t we BLESSED to miss them!
    Not everyone had a father worth missing.
    Until next time
    Blessings to you 💜
    Minnie

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    Replies
    1. Minnie,
      Thank you so very much for your kind words about my blog..They touched my heart...I LOVE the idea about a Tree decorated with small picture frames with family photos in them...Great idea but no, I have not done that but I have used tiny Kitchen utensils ornaments in my Kitchen and on a small Tree in the past....I also have used cupcake ornaments on my Summer Tree in the Craft Room. I just remembered that on that same Summer Tree in the craft room I do have 3 tea pot picture frame ornaments with 2 having a picture of my Dad , holding each of my sons and the other one has a photo of my Mother in it....and you are right, not everyone has a Father worth missing....Thanks so much for always stopping by and I am so glad to hear that you enjoy visiting! Take care, my friend!!
      Hugs,
      Deb

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  8. Always fun catching up with you, Debbie! Your house looks lovely in any season, it's always fun to peek inside..and that pup haircut it the sweetest!! Thanks for the smiles today!! Hugs!!

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  9. Hi Debbie! Oh, I do love seeing the old photos. You're so cute standing in your kitchen! Now you know you're putting us all to shame starting on Christmas! But those little dogs - simple adorable!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  10. I love Shih Tzu's! Those are so cute!

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  11. I am loving seeing these old photos and hearing more stories about your dad. My mother always hated to cook too so I took over for her when I was in high school (until I moved out sometime during college). I bet it feels great to have parts of the house back to normal after the holidays.

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  12. Debbie, the return to normal is stunning. I love the green paint in the room. How soft and pleasing it is. The "girls" are so sweet and darling and Azumi with her hair cut is precious. You must have a lot of fun with them..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  13. Debbie, I love the tribute to your family! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

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  14. Your grandpups are adorable. I have a Morkie (Maltese & Yorkie) that's 3.8lbs. She was the love of my life but began having severe seizures a few months ago. She now takes 2 to 3 meds, but she's incredibly skittish and barely lets us get near her anymore. It breaks my heart because she always sat on my lap, all day, as I worked on my blog. She'd herd me to the door when it was time to go get her brother off the bus when he was too little to walk from the bus stop alone. She slept with him. She's only 5, but I think we're going to have to put her down soon as she's still having 3 to 8 seizures a day. She doesn't jump up on the chairs or couches with us anymore, so she can't be having a good quality of life. Especially since she won't come to us and runs sideways when we come near or she hears a noise. It's heart-breaking. Enjoy those grandpups thoroughly! I can tell that you already do though lol! Your dad sounded like a good man. I love your stories of him. Love those old pictures of your parents' and grandparents' weddings. I wish I had some that old to display. I love the clothing style. Gorgeous!

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  15. Your dad sounds amazing. I love it when women can say that dad gave them a gift of a strong mind and independence. When my dad passed away I asked for his cotton handkerchiefs. I keep them in coat pockets and they are always there to remind me of how he conducted himself. It always gives me strength ;)

    Thanks for sharing at the FWF party. I love these kinds of posts.
    Hugs,
    Rachelle

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  16. There are some neat pictures. I love your little doggy!

    Thank you for sharing at the Sunday Sunshine BH

    Laurie

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