A Lovely Wedding...............

This weekend Ali, Lindsay, Penny, BossyBoots, and I went to my nephew's wedding. I don't have much extended family left. My parents are both in Heaven leaving only my two brothers, three nephews, a niece, an aunt, my cousin, and two second cousins......I don't have the opportunity to see my extended family that often. So....when one of the cousin's (my or my brother's children marry) we all make every effort to be there. It is our Family Reunion.

Here's some pictures of the wedding......

Ali and Lindsay

Penny, BossyBoots, and me

 Breakfast on Sunday morning

I Love My Family!!!!

An Evening at the Estate Auction with Penny and BossyBoots

For more than a decade I've been attending antique, estate, model home furniture, and consignment auctions. For most of that time I've been searching for beautiful, rare, or unique items for my antique and collectible business. However, lately my auction shopping has been on the decline....mainly because I have taken a break from the antique and collectible market. I plan to go back some day when my youngest child gets into high school. But, occasionally, when I'm shopping for an item for my home, I head off to an auction.

 This past Friday, Penny and BossyBoots were in Texas so they went to an estate auction with me. It was WONDERFUL..............NOT so much for the dazzling items that were up for bidding, but because I WAS NOT ALONE......No one in my family wants to hang out at an auction. My husband thinks it is unbearable torture.....He can't imagine why any sane person would want to sit still for three or four hours while over four hundred or so items are auctioned off. Well...........BossyBoots is as crazy as I am because he requested to accompany me to an auction.

 He, Penny, and I went to my favorite estate auction. Here's some of the items up for bid.

A beautiful bowl from Bavaria

Two phrenology heads.......If you don't know what phrenology is, you could "google" it. I did.

A lovely Victorian parlor chair in stunning blue brocade fabric.

A beautiful print

A footstool in velvet green fabric......I actually won this. I paid $20.00!

Two planters

A handmade rug

An entire cart of concrete architectural pieces

Two curved Iron fence type pieces. I wanted to bid on these, but they were so heavy........My husband would have Not Appreciated having to get these home!!!!!!!!!!

A large piece of stained glass

This auction lasted four hours.  This did not include the hour drive there and the hour drive home. We were tired, but happy. BossyBoots bought a great box of rooky baseball cards, Penny bought a decanter set, and I bought my stool. But, most of all I enjoyed spending time sharing my love for antiques with two of my favorite people!!

Alexander is Great.................

This good-looking young man is Alex. Alex was adopted into our family when he was nine years old. He just celebrated his twenty-sixth birthday. 

As you can see from the photo, Alex is blind. It is not uncommon for some children in the Philippines to be born blind. This is thought to be because their mothers do not receive enough vitamin A when they are pregnant.

 Alex was "found" when he was just five months old. He, along with his brother, had been abandoned and left on the street. His brother was doing his best to care for Alex. A woman named Norma saw Alex and his brother from her kitchen window. She had compassion for them and took them to a government run orphanage. Alex lived there until he came to live with us. 

Alex loves music!! When he came he astounded us by playing tunes on the piano. According to the music teachers we've hired to teach Alex over the years, he is blessed with perfect pitch. Because Alex is blind, he learns to play by ear. Also, having a photographic memory doesn't hurt!

Check out Alex playing Hey, Jude.



  

Decorating With Mantels......

I love to decorate. I get my "decorating" gene and my "love to shop" gene from my mother.... She was well known for her passion in creating a warm, contemporary, and BOLD living space. She loved a traditional living room, but she could just as easily put together an African Safari kitchen complete with wild animals and jungle plants on the ceiling!! She was fearless when it came to expressing her 5" 2" decorating self!! 

So, it is for better or worse that I'm going to stick my antique neck out there with a bit of decorating advice. Some of you may think this idea is kooky, but who knows, maybe there's just a few people or even just one person that finds this decorating tip just the key to solve their decorating dilemma.

Here goes......One idea that some of you might want to incorporate in your homes or apartments is the idea of placing a mantel on the wall. You don't have to have a real fireplace...just create a faux fireplace. I have six mantels in my home, but I only have one actual fireplace. The mantels give each room a foundation from which to create ....Take a look at three antique mantels I have in my home.....

This mantel came from an architectural salvage store in Dallas.

This antique mantel is from the mid nineteenth century. I've had it for about fifteen years. I've forgotten where I bought it.

I bought this mantel from a dealer friend of mine. She found it at a garage sale.......Wow....

I sold a fair amount of mantels when I had my antique store. I would even set up an area of the store as if it were a living room complete with a mantel, sofa, chairs, desk....the whole picture..... The first action I take when decorating a room, even a bedroom, is to place a mantel on the wall. When I enter a room with a mantel my spirit relaxes.......I begin to feel at home in that space......

When searching for a mantel, check out the antique stores, but also try an antique auction or a flea market. You would be amazed at the bargains you can find. Also, don't forget garage sales. I've bought and sold mantels at garage sales. One lady bought an antique mantel from me at MY garage sale for $20.00!!

What do you think about decorating with a faux fireplace? Has anyone used a mantel to decorate a room?

Another Triathlon.......This Is Becoming A Habit!

The above group of people are gathering for final instructions before beginning The Metroplex Sprint Triathlon. Tim and Lindsay are in that group.......somewhere.

Getting ready to brave the waves.......Personally, I'm not fond of "lake water".

Swimming with all their hearts while trying to stay out of the way of other swimmers and ..........alligators?????

Soooooooo glad that part is OVER!!!!!

Okay.....I'm not goin' to lie......This is my Favorite Part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There went Lindsay Lou!!!!!!!

Tim looks CUTE in his Tri Duds!!!!!!

Giving their maximum effort to Finish Strong!!

Tim came in third in his category!! What a guy......Age is Only A Number!!

A Tale of a Love Scorned........The Legend of the Ellis County Courthouse

The Ellis County Courthouse is one of the most famous buildings in the Southwest. The building was the creation of architect J.Riely Gordon following the Richardsonian Romanesque Style made popular by Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Totally restored in 2002 the building was originally constructed in 1895 and completed on July 4, 1897. Ft. Worth architect Marshal Sanguinet was consultant and construction supervisor on the project. Theodore Beiharz and his team of German stone carvers completed the intricate stone carvings throughout the courthouse.

Now......here's the love scorned tale.......

Apparently the main stone carver for the project was a man named Harry Herley. He fell madly in love with a young woman named Mabel Frame. Her grandmother owned the local boarding house where Herley stayed while completing his work. Herley carved portraits of Ms. Frame on the exterior of the courthouse. You can see from the pictures above....she has a pleasant, sweet face.

Unfortunately for Harry, Mabel Frame did not return his affections.

Unfortunately for Mabel, Harry Herley left his displeasure for all to see carved in stone all around the courthouse. Sweet Mabel became Mabel the Gargoyle.........I can't help but think of Lot's wife in the Bible being turned into a pillar of salt!

Not only was Harry displeased with Mabel, he became perturbed with the townspeople as well. Did no one excape his wrath?????

No one knows the truth of this story.......Was there really a love affair gone wrong between Harry Herley and Mable Frame?????? There is no actual documentation of the romance.......and, later, Harry Herley married a  Miss Minnie Hodges. Whatever the truth may be, the story of Harry and Mabel has lingered to this day.

Keeping Up With The Athletic Joneses

Over the past year many people in the McGinley family have become athletes. It all started with Lindsay in 2000 when she ran her first marathon for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. Since then, Lindsay has diligently kept up her training and has run many marathons, half marathons, triathlons of all sizes and even a Half Ironman and an IronMan triathlon. She is truly an outstanding athlete.
 Then, my son, Elijah, started taking TaeKwonDo. He is just now finishing up his third year of the sport. If he continues on schedule, he'll test for his first degree Black Belt next year.
Then, Penny began running. She, along with Lindsay, completed the White Rock Marathon last October while Penny's sweetheart, BossyBoots, completed the Half Marathon. Now,Penny is in training for the Chicago Half Marathon with BossyBoots, who will run his first full Marathon.
My daughter, Ivy, and I began taking TaeKwonDo. We are finishing up our second year this summer. On July 31, God willing, we'll test for our Red Stripe.
Then.......about two years ago, Tim started biking. This endeavor has led to participating in triathlons. He's competing in another triathlon on Saturday, and is scheduling one every month. He's become a Triathlon Junkie.
The last person to get the athletic bug is our musical Alison who lives in Austin. She recently competed in a Muddy Buddy with Lindsay and is now talking about running a Half Marathon.

What is the point of all the reiteration of our athletic endeavors?????????? Well......I just want to show how one little seed can spread to an entire family. While I was a ballet dancer when I was young......dancing from the time I was eight until a freshman in college.....I hadn't really done anything physically taxing beyond a Richard Simmons exercise video after I began having children. Then....overweight, out of shape me started TKD at the age of 55. Honestly, I haven't lost weight like I wanted to do, but I'm in so much better shape. I can now make it through a hour long tough TKD class and even have energy to spare for sparring at the end. Now that I'm in the advanced class and will soon have to start "flying" with my TKD kicks, I am determined to get the weight off so I can "fly" with ease. ( I always thought the people in those martial arts movies that jumped from rooftop to rooftop were helped via computer animation. No.....they are actually "flying"!!) At 57, I'm the oldest person in my class, although there is one other 50 something person and two or three people in their forties. Yeah......let's hear it for us older folks.....We Rock!!

All this started because Lindsay decided to become healthy. Her dedication to health has had such a positive effect on our whole family, and I hope has extended my lifespan considerably. I'd like to encourage anyone out there who is thinking about becoming fit to Just Start and Keep Going.  As time goes by, your endeavors will pay off. I am so much happier than I was two years ago. I plan on staying physically active for the rest of my life. While my body is not perfect, and I am still setting new athletic goals for myself, the peace of mind I have knowing that I'm moving in a positive direction when it comes to my personal health makes life so much more satisfying.

Okay.........so, Elijah just read my post and Corrected me.  People in the movies that go from building to building do so with the aid of strings attached to their backs........Okay..........Visions of Peter Pan singing "I'm Flying" are now filling my brain. What can I say......I want to fly......I do!!!!!!