BUTTERFLIES!

So 2 weeks ago we went to a local mall that had an indoor butterfly garden set up.

Did you know they TICKLE when they land on you??!!

And when they "lick" your nose it REALLY tickles!!!!

They gave us these little q-tips soaked in gatoraide to "catch" the butterflies on...not that we needed them!!

Sugars has recently become afraid of "bees" which means any flying thing. She really didn't care for the butterfly tent, but gradually got used to the butterflies....so long as they didn't come TOO close to her.

This is definitely too close for her taste!!

Of course, now she can't stop talking about how she "loves the butterflies!!" So I guess all's well that ends well on that note!

They had a couple of feeders set up.

And blooming flowers along both sides and down the middle of the tent.

But most of the butterflies seemed to like the high areas that weren't in shadow.

And the taller you were and the longer you stood in that area....the more butterflies would FIND you....

Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of the top of your own head??? Especially when trying not to move around to much and disturb the visitors??

Sonshine was the only one of my 3 who was able to "catch" a butterfly. You have to be very calm and patient.

Approach from the front....

Let him climb onboard....

Voila! one caught butterfly!

This guy landed on my shirt so I was able to get up close and personal with him.....

I didn't know their bodies were spotted too!!

Fun Day out with Mom!!

Next Monday we're going to the Dallas Arboretum! So stay tuned as our fun summer unfolds!

Help!!!!!

Something's eating my lillies that JUST BLOOMED!!!
I've never seen these bugs before.





These things are all over my blooms!
WHAT IS THIS PEST AND WHAT DO I DO TO KILL THEM ALL!!

Autism is Fun!!!

Can anyone guess what this is??

Here's a hint or two......

Seems that ice cream sandwiches are much too messy for Gator boy (go figure!), but he thinks they're waaay yummy if he can eat them with a spoon!!

Riding Horses.

Anyone new here may not be aware, but both my boys have Autism. And Autism is quite fun to be around! One of the fun things we get to do is to visit Tara and Eddie every saturday for equestrian therapy. I missed the first, but got the second ride of the season on "film" and am posting it here for you to enjoy!

This was Gator's second time on a horse ~Bella, Sonshine's second time on the tall Paint ~Dakota (he's scared of heights...it's a BIG deal!)



Why equestrian therapy?? Well, here you can see Sonshine's typical posture.

And yet, magically, when riding it changes to......

The more those muscles are used and strengthened the more we're seeing big changes in his ability to stay upright.

Of course, it isn't all fun....we work our whole bodies on the horse, stretching and holding hands up....

and out.....

and back.

Then we turn around and do it all backwards! to work an entirely different set of muscles!

I LOVE this pic!!

this is fun mom!

Meanwhile, Suars is busy chatting up all the other animals at the farm.

She was scared of the "goat who thinks he's a dog" and this is the closest she's gotten to him so far. Give her another two weeks and they'll be best pals!




Napping in the sun!

That looks like so much fun we'll do it too!

Using all those muscles is hard work and flat wears us out!

For more information about our equestrian therapy check out my other blog posts about it.

The Final Post about the Tartan Thistle Bed and Breakfast.

Hello folks, and welcome back to our tour of the Tartan Thistle Bed and Breakfast!

This is a 3 part post. If you missed the beginning, Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here.

For this part of our tour we shall journey up that beautifully carved staircase and take a peek at the second floor. As I said before I was the only guest on the second floor and Karen was nice enough to leave the other rooms open so that I could wander around at my leisure and bask in the beauty of my getaway! There are nice pictures of each room and a description of it's accommodations on their website so I'm not going to duplicate that here.


This lovely lady greets you at the top of the stairs.
Isn't she just a doll?!


Hanging in the hallway is this gorgeous bedspread.

As you can imagine, I spent a lot of time looking at this.

As a matter of fact, the love seat in my room faced the door and this hung directly across the hall from my door. So most of the time my door stayed open where I could look up and see such gorgeous handiwork.

Karen told me they found this beauty on eBay. Here is what is known of it's history:

Started in 1914 and finished in 1951! That'll keep you from giving up on all your UFOs!

Some of the rooms were more "girly" some more neutral. I was overwhelmed with girlieness in the Tower room. Pink lace curtains on the brass 4 poster bed. Frills and ruffles everywhere! Even the lamp was dressed in her finest!

This room also boasted this gorgeous hand sewn and hand quilted Double Wedding Ring quilt!

Can you guess what it's draped over?

In the Moors room I found this! And I sooo badly want one for myself now!

Can you tell what it is? Here, this'll help.

It's a very short tapestry footstool. Only about 4-5 inches tall. Perfect for resting your feet on when you don't really want them "up" but don't want to sit with them on the floor either!

And now, for my little piece of heaven for the night. I stayed in the Tartan Room.

A key to the front door and a key to my room and I'm on my own! In my teacup is the 4am Hot Cocoa I told you about....mmmmmm.....

I'd say that the Tartan was the most "masculine" of the rooms. I thought my husband would probably be comfortable with it's decor, whereas he'd probably be nauseous if left in the Tower room for too long. This is a part of the beauty and charm of this B&B. Everyone can find a room to their liking.

When Karen heard that my plan was to sit and sew all night, ever the accommodating hostess, she brought this floor lamp and set it up by the love seat for me. Even going so far as to change the light bulb from a softer pink to a bright white light!

This is the little writing desk with chair next to the bed. I tried and tried to get a good picture of the top of that chair there are beautiful flowers carved into it but none of my pictures came out. Incidentally, this lamp just made me laugh! I had one that looked almost just like that growing up....except it WASN'T on a writing desk. Can anyone guess what kind of lamp that is and where I might have used it??

And then.....my oasis!!

The pictures all came out dark, but that, friends and neighbors, is a very large claw foot tub! (the sink and toilet are on the other side of the room) It was soo long that I had to keep my feet on the faucet to keep from drowning! Pure bliss let me tell ya.

I had to wait till sunrise to get a good pic of this pretty window.

Can you tell how tall that lamp is?? Downstairs the ceilings are 13 ft high coming down to 11ft on the 2nd floor. The doors must be about 9-10 ft tall. I wish I'd gotten a good picture of the carving in the door frames.

I had a wonderful retreat! It was peaceful and beautiful. To calm the soul and delight the senses!
Everyone should spend a night here!

And yes, I already have plans to go back!