This weekend was a family weekend for my hubby & me. His 3 kids came into town for a visit, between work and school obligations. We were very happy to see them all & it was good to catch up with them & see how they are doing. From left is Ben (21), my hubby, Peter, Nick (19), and Stacy (23). The 2 older ones are still in college in Louisiana & the youngest (and tallest) just graduated from the French Culinary Institute in NYC, where he is still living & working. He said he is really enjoying living up there & loves the fast pace of the city. He’s cooking at one of the top up and coming restaurants, from what we hear.
We made homemade pizza on Friday night & it was a big hit. I used a storebought crust (called Mama Marys & it was very good), with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, & kalamata olives. It was great!
Here we are in the middle of our feast. See we’re eating on the new plates.
One of the main reasons the kids came home this weekend was to visit their grand-pappy, Peter’s grandfather. He is the patriarch of the family & we’ve just found out recently that he has cancer. They aren’t quite sure about diagnosis yet, but it looks like it may not be treatable and at 97, it could be quite a battle for him that I’m not sure he’s willing to tackle at this stage. I love this picture of him & Peter’s grandmother, who they called Mammie. A lot of Peter’s family got together a few weekends ago for a mini-family reunion & one of the grandaughter’s put some pictures together on a CD & gave them to everyone. I just thought this was such a great picture of a young couple starting out in life. What a dashing pair they were!
They built this home here in B’ham back in the 1960’s & he has now outlived 2 wives in it. It’s a wonderful ranch home in an established area of town with lots of trees & woods. He’s a horticulturist & loved working in his yard. Peter tells me he has a lot of fruit trees here on this property & he used to walk around it with his grandfather telling him all about the plants & trees that he was growing.
This is the winding driveway coming up from the road. It’s a beautiful piece of property. I hope somehow they can keep it in the family when Pappy is gone. We don’t know exactly how long he has left, so everyone is trying to make the best of it by visiting him often. It looks like there won’t be too many months left to do that. So, on Saturday a few cousins & us stopped by for a visit with Pappy. He’s a very gentle, sweet man who is still very vibrant & sharp.
I thought you’d enjoy seeing an older Southern home that was decorated in the 1960’s, I’m sure & looks like time has stood still. The livingroom is very stately & elegant.
Nice furniture & colors.
And the diningroom with the floral wallpaper & vintage table, chairs & china cabinet.
Along with the sideboard & an oil painting of someone…not sure who that is.
And here are the 3 great grandchildren with their Pappy. For 97, he is an amazing man. He still drives his Lincoln Town Car (even though everyone would love for him to hang up the keys!). He always remembers names & greets everyone by their name. He has made me always feel welcome just in the 2 short years that Peter and I have been married. He made a mark in the steel industry many years ago & has been a pillar of this community for a long, long time. So, that was our weekend. These moments are very precious, as we don’t often know how long our loved ones are going to be around. We need to take the time while we have it.
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I did manage to get out to just a few sales very early Sat. a.m. before anyone was up. It was a clothes day. I found all of these gently used pieces for $9.00. This is a beautiful black 2 piece sweater set.
Banana Republic long sleeve shirt.
Gap striped tank top & the solid blue one is brand new with the tags still on by Jones New York.
I loved this Gap jeans jacket. It is practically brand new. Remember, everything was $9…not a bad deal at all!
Lastly, this is one of my favorite finds! At the last yardsale I went to today, I found this pretty custom made valance which is going to go in my hubby’s new office. He has already got his new desk filled with his computer & printer & stuff & is enjoying sitting in there. My mission will be to decorate this space on a budget. I wanted something on the windows & this valance will be perfect. I already have a rod stashed away that I bought last year at a yardsale, so I’ll probably paint it white & hang this on rings. It matches the blue paint in there perfectly. And it was $1.00! Can you stand that?? I asked him what he wanted on the walls in there & he wants Alabama football stuff, so that is what I’m going after now. I’ll be on the lookout for some memorabilia, so this will be a sports-themed office. Should look pretty with the blue, since AL colors are burgandy red & white.
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I did manage to get out to just a few sales very early Sat. a.m. before anyone was up. It was a clothes day. I found all of these gently used pieces for $9.00. This is a beautiful black 2 piece sweater set.
Banana Republic long sleeve shirt.
Gap striped tank top & the solid blue one is brand new with the tags still on by Jones New York.
I loved this Gap jeans jacket. It is practically brand new. Remember, everything was $9…not a bad deal at all!
Lastly, this is one of my favorite finds! At the last yardsale I went to today, I found this pretty custom made valance which is going to go in my hubby’s new office. He has already got his new desk filled with his computer & printer & stuff & is enjoying sitting in there. My mission will be to decorate this space on a budget. I wanted something on the windows & this valance will be perfect. I already have a rod stashed away that I bought last year at a yardsale, so I’ll probably paint it white & hang this on rings. It matches the blue paint in there perfectly. And it was $1.00! Can you stand that?? I asked him what he wanted on the walls in there & he wants Alabama football stuff, so that is what I’m going after now. I’ll be on the lookout for some memorabilia, so this will be a sports-themed office. Should look pretty with the blue, since AL colors are burgandy red & white. Busy weekend, but a very good one! Hope yours was too!
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Rhoda,
Beautiful family. So sorry about grandpa. He looks amazing though.
97 is amazing in itself.
Glad you had a good visit with the kids.
Love your finds as usual, especially the valance.
You have a great week.
Rosemary
What a lovely family. I certainly enjoyed meeting your dh’s grandpa and seeing his beautiful home. I’m so sorry that he’s not well.
Sounds like a great weekend! He looks great for being 97. I love your pics and what great bargains you got. I love checking on mondays with you to see what you got, it always amazes me.
Sorry to hear about hubby’s grandfather and his diagnosis of cancer. It’s wonderful his Great Grandchildren came to see him. He must be loved!!
Great yard sale finds, as always 🙂
Blessings!
Great post and great photos!
What a lovely home and how wonderful that everyone is still visiting Peter’s Pappy. We tend to put our elders aside and not give them the time they need. My dad just turned 93 and had cataract surgery on Monday last. He’s doing so well. My prayers are with your Granddad (in-law)in hopes that no matter what decision he makes, it’s the right one for him.
I am so sorry to hear about your sweet FIL but he has surely lived a grand and glorious life hasn’t he?? And he is so well loved…
What a special way to spend a weekend…the best!
And you still found some wonderful things!! You ARE the Yard/Garage Sale Empress!
Hugs,
Sue
It was nice reading about your weekend. I didn’t realize you’d only been married for 2 years….still a newlywed!
It was good to read about Pappy. Yes, enjoy whatever time he has left with his loved ones.
Take as many of those generation pictures as you can…yes they were a charming in love couple…
Oh Rhoda, I am so sorry to hear about your FIL. He looks amazing in the picture. How nice that everyone was able to get together.
You got some amazing items while shopping! But, the pizza is what caught my eye – it looks scrumptious!
Penny
rhoda, thanks for sharing about peter’s father. he looks amazing. i too have dad 88, ill and our time together seems shorter with every visit. was this not the greatest generation! what are we going to do without them.
what a beautiful home he built.
and your buys are always incredible. just how many sales do you visit on a given weekend to come up with such great things?
~janel
Looks like the weekend was a great time for everyone. Pappy looks quite happy to have all those kids there for a visit. I’m sorry to hear about his illness, but I hope he has years ahead in spite of it.
Doesn’t that house bring back memories from way back when! How sweet.
Donna
Looks like you had a great weekend…and those clothing bargains!! What a lucky lady!!
Linda