Sometimes, lately, with everything that  is happening, I feel like I am in a tunnel.
I have to make sure that I bring a light with me always.
A new direction of treatment was stated last week for Caitlin.

Mothers Day snuck up on me this year.  I like to whisper in Caitlin and Doug's ears that all I need is
a bit of the day with them.  They both have the love of their lives in their lives.  So that means that
their special someone is lucky to have their Mom near them too.  The day always works out well.

We have only purchased two homes so far in our life.  Out first home was a very nice ranch that used
 every bit of space so very efficiently and beautifully.  The perfect amount of space everywhere.  We were
the happy 4th owner of a 1953 Ranch, blessed with magnificent neighbors.  We  found it for our relator.   :)
One of the wonderful features that one of the previous home owners put in was a half door for the basement.
A much nicer "safety gate"  than the type you buy at the baby stores.

It was a bit like this beautiful Dutch Door.   Our basement door had the lower half only and was not painted.
It was secure and nice looking, keeping my babies safe as it was in a fairly high traffic area.   I do love
dutch doors for exterior doors!   Ah, the scent and feel of  the fresh breezes.

The door above came from Jones Pierce Architects 

I hope that you all had a beautiful Mothers Day!


xo,
Mary

Have you ever gone to an auction?  I have.  We were expecting our first Child and we were given a tip from  my hubby's brother.  

So we went and during the preview we found THE PERFECT dresser.  

It had two drawers with pretty legs and sat low with a large oval mirror on top.

It was wonderful.  Perfect for a little ones bedroom, especially if we had a girl.

So I said I would love to have that one and we should  spend X $$ for it.

Finally the dresser came up and I gave the little nudge for the hubby to start bidding.  But he did not start bidding so I nudged more
and said "GO"  and he thought I said "NO".  So, said dresser went for the very amount that I wanted to pay for it.  We had a laugh
at  our nervousness to not move the "wrong way"  and our misunderstanding.

I do not belong to ebay however I know that many of you do!   I came across these beautiful knives just now and
there is time to get in on the bidding.  I hope that you hop over and develop your strategy and one of you "win" these gorgeous knives!
Let me know if you do!

What tales do you have of auctions?  Some happy ones or funny ones like mine?

Stop over  to see these knives!

xo,
Mary

Feeling wiped  out today ...yet,  after stopping by Tiff's and another favorite spot I felt much better.    To top it off, a friend
called in need of  tile design input, which always increases happiness when you can help out!

This photo brought back memories of my Dad.  My Dad died fairly young, and suddenly.   Well, my Dad was great!  He always
had time for us... all 6 of us.  He would whistle and sing on some Saturday evenings.   I  asked him once why he was
whistling and singing.  He said, "because your Mom and I are going out together tonight."
I LOVED that my Dad loved my mom so much.

My Dad also took us to find night crawlers at night.   I guess that is when you can find, said night crawlers.  Sure enough my sister
Kelly and I found some.  She was brave enough to pick them up, not me.

He also took the two of us, because we were the oldest girls,  to work and showed us his project he was making for our mailbox.
He took old, huge washers from the huge turbines and welded them together for a mailbox for our Mom.  It was wonderful!

The above design that I found this morning reminded me of my Dads project and of my Dad.  HIs was on a much larger scale
but still I see the link. *no pun intended   I miss him always but especially  right now.  I miss my Mom too.  She is a bit far away and lovingly
volunteers almost everyday at the hospital.   I know she would come if I asked.

So a post for Fathers... a bit early but still brimming with love.

XO
Mary

**this is a repeat post from 2007, I hope that you still like it**

Happy St. Patrick Day! Yesterday while working on some new items for the shop the radio was on, talking about St. Patrick...(please read the following with an Irish brog)....

He was actually British, kidnapped at a young age and brought to Ireland to be a slave! His duty was to tend the sheep. Tending sheep gives you quite some time on your hands. He would gaze at the grass and up to the stars and talk to the heavens. This is the way he came to know God! There came a time when he escaped form Ireland. He was able to get passage on a ship with very rough, blood drinking, roughes. Now he did not partake in these events, and he was "left to be much" of the time. After sometime they found themselves on a lonely island. With starvation looming around, these men called out "hey there Christian". The men gave him this name because of his beliefs. "If your God is so great, ask him to give us food." Christian put forth a prayer. Well no sooner did these men turn around when a small group of wild boar appeared before them. They had plenty to eat from then on and they even shared a small portion with him. Christian made his way back to Ireland after hearing God speak to him. God asked him to return for there would be no other way that he could possibly return without being killed, for he was a slave that had escaped! He had the protection of God and was able to bring Christ the Lord to Ireland! For before this there was only a small pocket of Christians near Dublin that had learned of God from traders. The Irish gave him his name, St. Patrick. Also, he used the shamrock to explain the Holy spirit in one body! Three petals representing: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
There is what I now know of St. Patrick. HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!

Flowers

~LOVELY~
How can a beautiful young girl not smile when she has her own floral shop/garden,
in her home (well, her parents home... but it is Her flower garden).





These flowers came all the way from Asrai Garden in Wicker Park!  This is a neighborhood in Chicago.
That means about an hours worth of driving and then FINDING our home!



Now these are not your everyday flowers!



This arrangement is yummy.



So thoughtfully composed and delivered.  Thank You dear friend of my daughter for your kindness,

care and well wishes for Caitlin. ;)



Thank you all for your well wishes and all of the beautiful flowers 
(which i was not able to get photographs of at their peek beauty) and such very thoughtful gifts 
you have sent to her.  


Your love and care overwhelms us.  


~Thank You~

Hello Dear Friends,

I know it has been a while.  This is not a normal New Year for us.  The New Year started with many various projects.
Some very exciting, some related to Oh Merci and others to my Faith and in helping others.  Then, Caitlin said;
come on and help me.  I love helping her with various parts of her business that she assigns me.  My helping out was
to leave her some time to create new items for you.  Just as I was getting in the swing of things... Caitlin was, we were,
hit with a medical emergency.  We have two children, 20 somethings.  Caitlin and Doug. 

We took Caitlin to the ER of the Hospital that was close to us... my thinking was hey, they may not be as busy as the other
Hospital, it is Valentines night, who wants to come to the ER then.  I wanted Caitlin seen asap.  Then we can get home safe and sound.

So I did have a bit of a crying spell when the ER Doctor said she must stay the night.  Sometimes I could position my "easy chair" correctly,
i.e. not in the way, so Caitlin and I could hold hands.  We all wanted to be with her always,  Dad, Doug (her brother), and James (her boyfriend).
Loved ones sent their love in all kinds of wonderful ways.  Caitlin is Blessed, we are Blessed.

Caitlin was in ICU from Tuesday evening till Friday evening, then ICA for 7 more days.  They were very worried also about her heart.

She has RPGN Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonepheritus, which attacks her kidneys.   My Mom, who wanted to come right down
with my youngest sister Nan,  I wish I could have a hug from them.  All of our Families are a bit away. They and all of our friends have been so very,
very wonderful, and have spread the need for Prayer.  Thank you all so very much.

My heart goes out to all of you who have already dealt with or are dealing with difficulties.  Life can change in a blink.  I am choosing to Trust in our Lord.  

You can read more from Caitlin.  She is so very strong.

God Bless,
Mary

Ringing In the New Year

                                  FOR BEAUTIFUL EYES,

                     LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN OTHERS;  

                                  FOR BEAUTIFUL LIPS,

                    SPEAK ONLY WORDS OF KINDNESS;

                                        AND FOR POISE,

WALK WITH KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE NEVER ALONE.

                                      ~ AUDREY HEPBURN~

XO,

Mary

"It's Christmas Eve!  What memories do you have of Christmas Eve as a child?
The memory that comes to my mind first is of sitting next to our Christmas Tree
in my little rocker that my Grandfather had made when I was a toddler,
singing and singing and singing ....
still singing, Christmas Carols from a caroling book we had.

Our home was filled with quiet excitement.
With 6 children we were not about to upset Santa's route by mis-behaving!
"ho ho ho"

The memories that we create are so very important for us later on.
I wish you a wonderful Christmas!

Our weather here has been more like Spring. 

Yesterday the temperature maxed at 63!

However, Thanksgiving IS just next week.

This has been a very busy Fall,

yet even so, we are looking forward to the excitement 

that all of the Holidays bring.

I have done some additions to my shop, Oh Merci.

With even a bit more to come!

So get your sleigh ready for all of the Joys of the Season!

"The Family Circus"

HI!  I have been a busy elf with a few things yet to finish up and then photos to take.
Thank You all for bearing with me, and for visiting Merci-Notes!

I just heard that Bill Keene has died at the age of 89 years.  Perhaps,  you have been
so lucky to have seen his work!  He was the marvelous cartoonist and creator of
"The Family Circus".  As a child, this was my most favorite cartoon in the newspaper.

Mr Keene was not a trained Cartoonist!  He went to Northeast Catholic High School in
Philadelphia, PA.  It was while there that he taught himself to draw.  He would use those
cartoonists that he admired to hone his skills. The Philadelphia Daily News granted him
his first published work in 1936.  He was only 13 1/2 years old!!!

When Bill was 20 he joined the United States Army, 1942-1945.  While serving, there were
a number of important things that happened to him.  He met his wife, Thelma Carne, while
he was serving in Australia and they were married there.  He also did drawings for the
Stars and Stripes Newspaper ~ Pacific Edition.

Well, they started their U.S. life in Pennsylvania, Thelma and Bill had five children
and true to many comics and comedians,  his wife was his inspiration for the "Mommy"
in the comic strip.    His Cartoonist career took off also.

It was not until 1960, while living in Arizona, that the "Family Circus"  comic strip started!  

This cartoon series was true to life for me... the funny things that happen to families as 

days come and go.  What a gift to families ~ to laugh at your day and also give thanks.

It is no surprise that Mr. Keene collaborated with Erma  Bombeck, another person who 

enjoyed the funny things in everyday life.  Some of my favorite comics of his were 

the "who did it?"  ones, where the answer is "I duno, or Not Me".  I also loved the 

path Jeffy would take when coming home from school or doing a quick errand for 

his Mommy.

Thank You Mr. Keene for all the love that you gave to us.

Visit the Family Circus site for * Mr. Keene's own take on his life!

* click on the top link "Life and Times of Bil what's is name"

XO,

Mary

Two posts in one day!  Off and running.
I am ready to introduce a new collection. This is the first piece.   I was inspired by a vintage item
I saw years ago in one of my Shabby Chic Books, by Rachel Ashwell. And then of course,
my daughter Caitlin's beautiful Light Shades!





A peaceful time of the day.



The calm of the evening.





Stop over to my shop to see more.
It is good to be back!

XO, 

Mary

OK, I know.  I have been gone a loong time.  A very long time.  Everything is fine.
One thing  I was doing was working 12 hour days helping Caitlin at my end with her products.  I loved every minute of it!

 Here is a video Caitlin sent me this morning.  I love this song, and I can actually sing it very well.   Umm, well I think so.


Raindrops from Nate Pence on Vimeo.

We have a lot of rainbows here... many doubles!

On another note.  I have something I have made,  ready for the shop for some time now.  Maybe I am suffering from some fear?
I do not know except that I am getting really good at procrastination!  Something new to me.

So I need to get a box and find out my shipping prices, then I can list it.  No car till Thursday... unless I get a visitor.

So I will , yes, I will be back this week!  Maybe even later today!!!  

Hobbes was so cute, all snuggled up in "my" chair. Hmm, never thought I would
have a chair all my own. As kids we would love to sit on the floor to play board
games or watch T.V.   As we became older we would call out "I get my spot back."
This assured us that when we returned we could retrieve our cushy seat.   I do not
know what the deal was... were there too few seats or just favorite spots?  Well,
it held the peace in a large household, where I will add we had ONE T.V. and we
all agreed on the program.  Thus when we watched T.V. it was as a family.  My
families living rooms were had fun and laughter.



No, Hobbes is not watching T.V., although I actually have seen him do this!
He has taken to snuggling into my favorite chair.

X.O. 

Mary

P.S.  I finally have photos of my latest piece!  
I will have them up within a week... sooner hopefully!

Wishing you a Blessed Easter ~

Miles To Go.... I feel this towards many things.  Do You?



I will be back again.. sooner this time.   Shooting for Thursday/Friday.
I apologize for my absences.

With Love and Kindness,

Mary

The sun is out today and above freezing!  Progress that is.
AND I spied a small flock of Red Robins!  They are early I believe,
Good news to me for Spring surly must be arriving ahead of schedule!
Oh Pretty please!

THE ROBIN is the one
That interrupts the morn
With hurried, few, express reports
When March is scarcely on.
The robin is the one
That overflows the noon
With her cherubic quantity,
An April but begun.
The robin is the one
That speechless from her nest
Submits that home and certainty
And sanctity are best. ~ Emily Dickinson ~

May the sun be shining down upon you today!

Hugs, Mary

To all of you Dear Friends ~



I wish you a beautiful Valentines Day!




The beautiful Swan Photo was done by Photographer "Mozzercork"

So gracious to allow me to use this beautiful photo!

XO, 

Mary

"Snow! Snow go away come again some other day" .  
I just recalled this from my childhood.  I do believe it is supposed to refer to rain, not snow. 

There is an upside to snow and cold weather!


mmm. Just perfect on such a day where there is 2 feet of snow outside {over night this landed in our yard!}.



Not the snow blower, that we had from my Dad and Mom {thank you Mom}

The snow.  The wind howled all night long and the thunder! wow!

But when you have this waiting for you...

A cup of very very special hot cocoa!
This is made by Andrew, the cousin of my son's Fiance'.
He is a chef and actually is one of the designers of flavors
over at Black Dog Gelato.  This cocoa was so amazing!  A creamy, velvety,
rich, thick deliciousness! I guess they have hot cocoa there also...
so when you are in the City make sure you go there!!! Cold or hot they have you covered!
Unbelievable deliciousness!!!

SECRET Ingredients!!!  {my lips are sealed}



And look what I found in my cup!!!!




links ~
Black Dog Gelato

xo,

Mary

Shop Update!

One  of my all time favorite songs has lyrics that go like this :

L ~ is for the way you look at me
O ~ is for the  only one I see
V ~ is very, very, extraordinary
E ~ is even more than anyone that you adore

Romance...  that gaze that leading men give their leading ladies in the movies (old movies)  ~ so very romantic.

I am a romantic but do not need the fuss so much.  Romance comes in so many different forms.
Time spent together noted by a special gift.

 Hearts and flowers   ~

Love is not complicated.  It is simple and pure when you get right down to it.

For simple expressions of Love stop by my shop, Oh Merci.
Merci!  :)

XO,

Mary

Hello Friends!  I have new hearts in the shop ...
better photos are needed so I am off to do just that.


A new group of necklaces will be there later today!
ooo, I must say I do love them... can I say that?

I am excited about what is happening over here ~
more on that later. :)
oops, Updating...I will see you Saturday... Mr. Sandman is calling.

XO,

Mary

Big News

My year is starting off with some excitement.




So I need lots of Inspiring visions around me.
And remembering where I started at here in the Big Web ~




And remembering some  of the special people I have met



And The Parties tht Ensued ~




Friendships forged and sealed.






Now for my news!
I am so very excited to have been invited into The Everyday Is A Holiday Design Team for Jenny And Aaron!
I am Thrilled to get started!
You can click on the "Everyday Is A Holiday Design Team" Button on my left
side bar to hop over to their place at any time ~
OR click "HERE" Jenny and Aaron to start meeting the Team as we are introduced!
Thank YOU!

XO, Mary