It’s going to be a great Mother’s Day…

…and not because I have been busy making 3 yummy side salads including this one, to go with the grilling the men folk will be doing tomorrow.

And not because Mr. Red Door came home with the fixings for raspberry margaritas and this pretty pink glass for mine.

And not because the torrential rain and thunderstorms we are having today are going away and it will be sunny and cool – just the way I like it.

Those are all great, but it will be wonderful because we will have four generations around the harvest table that Mr. Red Door and I made just for occasions like this! That’s the best part about Mother’s Day for me. It will be exciting to share Ang’s first Mother’s Day with her, and it’s my first Mother’s Day as a Grammy. It’s going to be very special indeed!

By the way, that’s an edamame salad pictured above. I had it for the first time at Jill’s last week and I wanted to share the recipe with you because if you like edamame (soy beans) and garlic and lime, you’ll like this! It’s easy and healthy too. Just mix and chill the following ingredients:

1.5 c shelled edamame

( I could only find them in freezer section the pods and I just popped them out. Jill found them already shelled and I know Trader Joe’s has them shelled in the freezer section)

1.5 c corn

1 c. grape tomatoes cut in half

1 tsp. minced fresh garlic

2 TBSP. fresh lime juice

2 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp. black pepper

salt to taste

ENJOY!

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So do you remember when I said we had some fun plans with family and friends for last weekend? Well I didn’t mean here Behind My Red Door – but in South Carolina!! That’s where Mr. Red Door and I went for 6 days. We left home on Thursday and got home late Tuesday – a lot of driving in that short amount of time but so worth it. Luckily Mr. Red Door and I enjoy driving with each each other and it gives us a chance to enjoy the beauty of our great country. After 2 long days of driving, on Friday he left me here at Jill’s new home in SC (where I had the edamame salad) !!

Keep in mind that this is a “before” picture …

Those shrubs across the front are now cut way down and now you can actually see that she has 2 new black rockers on the front porch along with some other prim decor and it is already starting to look like home. They will be painting the shutters and front door and she has a great project in mind to cover the glass insert in the door.

Oh and the inside … even though she is going to paint the cabinets a dark colonial red and replace the hinges with black hardware, replace all the carpeting with hardwood floors and paint the white trim a wonderful colonial color … it already looks wonderful! She has hung almost all new prim light fixtures, and made some remarkable changes to the bathroom sinks hardware and vanities in the short time they have been there. And then there are those new purchases from our frequent shopping trips and the new never before seen pieces of furniture she has made! WONDERFUL!!

Here is a peek at the “before “of the cabinets – you can see the potential with that gorgeous molding, can’t you??

And here is a “before” of the mantle…

and a teeny peek at after where you can tell it already has been painted ! No – that’s not the color of the rest of the woodwork…

Here is a teeny peek of MY bedroom when I am there….

but this is all I can show you so stay tuned!

And before you wonder and ask, NOPE - she doesn’t have an online album – sorry!

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While in SC, Jill and I made a 3+ hour drive each way to the Fayetteville, NC area to visit two wonderful shops. Our first stop was to Just Country, 5735 Aberdeen Rd., Raeford, NC at Just Country. The shopkeeper Jen has a blog ~HERE~. What a wonderful shop! A great mix of antiques and prims to choose from! Gail was tending shop that day and we both enjoyed meeting her. She had such kind words to say about Jen. Both Jill and I found some treasures – I could have taken a lot more home, but I showed remarkable restraint. I thought I would take home one of the tobacco baskets I had eyed the blog, and they were indeed gorgeous and VERY reasonable, but they were a lot bigger than I thought. I hope I am not kicking myself for not grabbing one and making Mr. Red Door leave his golf clubs in SC so I could get it home!! You see after leaving me at Jill’s, he continued driving a few more hours to stay with his folks in their home in a golf community.

The reason Jen wasn’t there that day was because she was at the Cameron Antique Fair in the quaint little town of Cameron, NC. Now it just so happens that I am very familiar with that town because my dear friend Ina lived right on the main drag - Carthage St.- for several years until moving back here in the fall of 08. Most of the year Cameron is a sleepy little town with some lovely antique shops, a tea room and the Dewberry Cafe – which still has the counter stools and counter service like an old fashioned soda shop. A few times a year Cameron springs to life when booths are set up everywhere on the main drag and it is THE place to be for antiquing. Twice a year while she and Bill lived there, Mr. Red Door and I made the trip to see them. Sometimes I stayed with Ina and he drove to his folks house in SC and sometimes he stayed with us too – playing some of the great golf courses in nearby Pinehurst and Southern Pines. Almost every time we made the trip, Ina would take me into Fayetteville where she worked at the college to a great shop she found called Carolina Window Fashions -3753 Sycamore Dairy Rd. Suite 100, Fayetteville, NC 28303. That shop was the second and last stop for Jill and I. You can follow the store blog by clicking ~HERE~ or by visiting the store’s website by clicking ~HERE~. You have to see the wonderful prim displays and antiques they carry!

Well here is where is gets really interesting and fun – I hope I don’t lose you because this just goes to show you what a small world it is and it is made even smaller by the Internet! Awhile back, long before I knew Jill would move to Columbia, SC and long before I knew I would have a reason to be back in NC, I had come across the blog Country at Heart of a gal named Kim and she mentioned that she worked at Carolina Window Fashions. I lost touch with her blog until just before this trip when I found her again! I mentioned I was hoping to visit the store when visiting Jill and we emailed back and forth and we looked forward to meeting.

Now totally separate from the above but tying into this in a moment, I have a friend Sherrie in SC who lives about an hour or so EAST from Jill, and we met online when she found my blog and she has become very dear to me. (Coincidentally and tying in to this as well, she is also very close to another dear blogging friend of mine, Jen from Taylors*Farmhouse*Attic – who happens to live about an hour WEST of Jill.) Back when Lili was born, Sherrie sent me the cutest gifts for her and more recently sent me the biggest bunch of tallow berries as seen here.

As much as I would have loved it, I knew there wasn’t time for a gathering of prim friends on this quick trip because Jill and I had things to do and she had some specific things she was looking for when we shopped, and I had scouting work for the magazine. So even before THIS trip, Jill and I already made plans for the fall when Mr. Red Door and I hope to make the trip again and we can’t wait to get together with Sherrie, Jen, and a few more prim friends.

So here is where I will tie it all together for you if I haven’t lost you all together. As I said, I told Kim I was hoping and planning to make a trip to the shop. Well then a few days before we left, Sherrie mentioned that the weekend before she had gone to a nice shop in Fayetteville that she likes to visit whenever she can. She didn’t mention the name but I remembered back when she sent me the tallow berries that she had also mentioned she sold some to shops as well – again no names were mentioned. As I was in the middle of answering her email and I was about to ask her if the shop in Fayetteville was Carolina Window Fashions, I decided to google Carolina Window Fashions and I found the shop website and the shop blog. And get this…. in the most recent post Kim (who writes the post for the store blog as well) mentioned the very sweet customer named Sherrie who had just been in the shop – the tallow berry lady! Now if that isn’t the most amazing coinky dink – I don’t know what is.

So last Saturday when Jill and I got to the shop, we got to meet Kim who was hard at work that day. She is the sweetest gal!! It was so much fun chatting in person and meeting her co-workers too. And then she presented both Jill and I each with a gift bag from both her and Sherrie! We were blown away when we saw the gorgeous pillow Kim had taken the time to cross stitch for each us and Sherrie had her include the most yummy soy candle in the Southern Home scent – from two sweet and generous southern gals. Here is another fun twist – the pillow is stitched from one of Jen’s patterns! Kim is a fan of Taylors*Farmhouse*Attic and Jen’s patterns as well! Now how cool is that? And Kim is a very busy mom besides working at the store! I don’t know where she found the time, but it really made it even more special.

Then it was even more fun when Kim put Sherrie on the phone!! Even though the connection wasn’t great and it was hard to hear with all the customers in the store, it was really very special indeed to talk in person. Thank you again Sherrie and Kim. You made the trip very memorable for me and I really look forward to the fall!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Now I know you want to see what I brought home beside dirty laundry, right?? A wonderful small old trunk, two egg baskets, an old book, a candle holder, rolling pin and masher.

My gorgeous new pillow is in an egg basket I already had and they are on top of the trunk in the dining room.

The candle holder is on the other side of the dining room and the largest of the new baskets is on the beam between the dining room and living room – at least for now!

The masher and rolling pin joined these...

and the small egg basket found a home here.

It’s always fun to bring home special treasures from a trip. Indeed, it was a lot of driving in a short time but it turned out to be a trip full of memories and special moments!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

It was so interesting to read all the opinions on FB. In my own personal and very humble opinion, it’s good and bad – depending how you use it and here comes that word again – BALANCE. For me, it always comes down to balance. I don’t play any games on it and I don’t give or accept all those applications available either. I don’t even accept everyone as a friend (so please don’t be offended if I don’t accept you as one) because for me it is more personal and intimate than blogging because unlike blogging, each of us can decide how many friends we want and how much privacy we want. I just connect briefly with people important to me and people I enjoy and I feel I can show more of Lili there as well because of my privacy controls. When there is not enough time to make a blog post, or write a bunch of emails or even just one long one, it’s great to use to make a quick update or to be updated and see that a friend’s new grand baby was born after a long night of labor for mom, or that the surgery went well for someone. In this time of my life, it works well in that way for me.

And once again, while contemplating that balance in my life, blogging comes into play AGAIN. My life has changed considerably in the 2 years since I started this journey called blogging. With a new grandchild that I adore spending time with, and with aging parents who rely on me for many things and all the changes they will be facing soon that will require more of me, and other changes in my life and commitments I have recently made, I am STILL very much mulling over that balance as well as what I can and can’t and should and shouldn’t blog about at this time in my life. Being away for 6 days with very little online time has helped make things more clear to me in some ways. I have some things mulling around in my head as far as changes I may be making in the future and you all will be the first to know when I come to a conclusion. I thank you all for the kind input but this has become something a lot bigger than I ever dreamed and I need to decide this is my own way and in a way that feels right for me. In the meantime, if you don’t see me in blogland, please don’t be concerned, I am still working on that balance and you can always find me at the APP Forum by clicking here and joining.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

For those that asked, we took the old Murano to SC and Mr. Red Door is just so good to me, and he really doesn’t care what he drives as long as it gets him where he is going so he gives me the new car. Pretty nice of him huh??

Before closing, I want to wish my mom the happiest of Mother’s Days and thank you for all you have given and done for me in my lifetime - especially for fixing me up with that cute college guy back in 1972 when I was in high school – the one who happens to drive my old car now!! He’ll be picking you and dad up tomorrow so you too can enjoy a raspberry margarita on Mother’s Day. For that and so many more reasons, he’s a keeper!!

To read my tribute to my wonderful mom from 2008 click ~HERE~

And I want to wish all the mom’s reading this a very special Mother’s Day.

The value of a life is best measured by the moments spent giving one's self, sharing wisdom, inspiring hope, wiping tears, and touching hearts. David L. Weatherford

You've touched so many lives, including mine, just by being the wonderful women
that you are!! As always, thank you to each of you for stopping by and making Behind My Red Door part of your day!

Warm hugs, Grammy Linda

Busy ~ busy ~ busy !!

And it’s not just me because that seems to be the word of the month in blogland. So many of the bloggers I follow are using it as they too are blogging less frequently and asking themselves – is it spring time

and getting back outside

that is keeping them from posting on their own blogs

and reading others as often as in the past?

Another friend questioned whether the growing popularity of Facebook

was the reason?

And yet a third opinion I have heard is that many bloggers started around the same time and at first the novelty of connecting with new people and sharing of themselves was so much fun. After time the novelty wears off because after all, they can only show so many pictures of their homes and family and town. And yet another opinion is that with blog rolls and followers lists growing by leaps and bounds, how can they keep up like they did back when they only knew of a dozen or more blogs AND still maintain balance in their lives?? Balance – yet another word that comes up frequently.

Personally, I don’t think there is just one answer – and quite possibly there are some other common denominators I haven’t even mentioned, after all blogging is pretty much unchartered territory for many of us. It’s not like we have grown up knowing the etiquette of blogging. We each have to decide for ourselves how to handle the growing lists of blogs we love and faithful followers to our own blog. As for me, all that and some keep me away from blogging as much as I did when I first started. But I know if I stop, I would miss you all so much. And so I will post here, read others and comment when I can – trying really hard to be an equal opportunity commenter - all the while sincerely hoping that my favorite blogs continue to do the same thing – because I suspect come May, busy will still be the word of the month!!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Speaking of etiquette I have a policy about accepting awards because I can’t leave out anyone when passing them along. But sometimes in life, you just HAVE to make an exception. In this case the very adorable Miss Joy – also known as Doodlebugs, sent me this sweet blog award and I accept it whole heartedly.Thank you Joy! You are a sweetheart!! Joy is also a talented dancer and I so enjoy seeing pictures of her in her pretty costumes and with her trophies. Way to go!! It brings back so many wonderful memories from when our Jen was that age and dancing.

Joy is the daughter of my blogging friend Tammy over at Country Girl at Home and they are in the process of adopting a little boy from China and my heart is so full for them and I enjoy following the strep by step process they must undertake to bring their son home. Have you ever been frustrated by all the paper work you need to do for something like buying a car? Well that is a piece of cake compared to what their family has to do. But in the end, when they hold Luke in their arms, I am guessing they will all agree it was worth it a million times over!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Speaking of piece of cake – our wonderful DIL Angela celebrated her birthday last weekend and we took Lili overnight so that she and Jay and Jen and some of Ang’s friends could go out and celebrate in style. Grampy and I had so much fun with Lili and I didn’t even mind getting up in the middle night for a feeding and some snuggles. She is teething again so whatever I could do to comfort her I was happy to do. The next morning when they came to pick up Lili, we celebrated a birthday brunch here. Family time is the best time!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~

And speaking of families, this one is gone! While we were taking care of Lili this weekend, the eggs hatched and Momma duck took her babies to water and we didn’t even catch a glimpse of them like we did last year.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~

And speaking of buying a car, that is one of the things keeping me busy this week. Remember I posted that meme ~ HERE~ ? When it came to car I said I would be ~

a brand new Murano with sun roof, CD player and Lili’s car seat in the back – and just maybe heated leather seats this time…(and just for the record I had Pearl White, Merlot Red, or Tinted Bronze in mind)

~ little did I know that the very next day Mr. Red Door would find out that his 17 year old van was beyond repair (at a reasonable price). Still, at that time, he declared that since he has a very short commute, he would drive it until it fell apart or caught fire. The man will save a penny any way he can! LOL

And so he did, thankfully neither falling apart nor catching fire, until he noticed Nissan was having some really good deals ending April 30th. So after some heavy negotiations on his part and keeping with his policy of not paying anyone interest, and with some compromises on my part – OKAY – I’ll be brutally honest - just ONE that is really worth mentioning – namely color - I am now driving a nifty new Murano with those options and then some. I have for years and years said I would NEVER get leather seats but after all, it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind isn’t it? I already love the back up camera, and the push button smart key entry and start. What will they think of next? And I feel so blessed to have such a reliable vehicle with all kinds of additional safety options to keep Lili safe when I tote her around, and a vehicle that my handicapped dad can actually get in and out of when I drive him to appointments and errands – not many fit that bill. So you can see, color is really not even an issue for me after all.

Because the most precious things in life, are not really things at all!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~

And speaking of things, the next several days should be full of good things. We have some fun plans with friends and family and I might even get a peek at a potential home for the magazine! I’ll be sure to share all that and then some when I come back here next time. In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful May Day this Saturday. The weather in NE is supposed to be splendid!

As always, thank you to each fan, friend, and follower for stopping by and making Behind My Red Door part of your day!

Until next time – hugs, Grammy Linda

A sneak peek at A Primitive Place magazine and a giveaway!!

A Primitive Place Magazine!

Tonight we are extremely pleased, very honored and quite excited to unveil the cover of our Premier Issue of

A Primitive Place Magazine

without further ado…

photo Margo Gracia/layout Ashley Lucente

Order your subscription today!

~Click Here~

In honor of the momentous event,

we are having a special giveaway on the

APP blog for our wonderful friends!

The giveaway includes this lovely
Keeping Room stitchery,

Crow’s Crown grungy candles in it’s own pouch
and a homespun birdie.
All were graciously donated by
Country Culture of Brookline, NH

To enter click ~here~ to get to the
A Primitive Place Blog for all the details!

Good luck to everyone who enters!!

As always, thank you to each fan, friend, and follower for stopping by and making Behind My Red Door part of your day!

Until next time – hugs, Grammy Linda

A Primitive Place Special Event and Giveaway!!

Good Morning and Happy Friday!!!

A Primitive Place (APP) website will be having a very special event TONIGHT!
Friday, April 23rd at 8:00 pm EST
They will be unveiling the cover of our Fall 2010 Premier Issue of

A Primitive Place Magazine!
This commemorative issue is scheduled to be released in August! If you haven't already purchased your subscription, now is the time to do it.There is room for a few more advertisers, if you are interested in getting in on this very first issue.
For more info on subscription or advertising, please visit www.aprimitiveplace.org

There will also be a very special giveaway on A Primitive Place blog tonight. You don’t want to miss this one! Click here tonight to find out how you can enter!!

Thank you all for your support!
We appreciate each and every one of you!
Thank you from the APP Staff,

Kristine Berg Doss
Sarah Post
Bonnie Lucente
Linda Rudman
Dan Weaver
Ashley Lucente
Margo Gracia
Kris Thomas
Dana Harpley

As always, thank you to each fan, friend, and follower for stopping by and making Behind My Red Door part of your day!

Until next time – hugs, Grammy Linda

When one door closes…

…another one opens of course! But sometimes we still are sad to see that door close and that is the case for many of us who are fans of my friend Kathy’s Home on the Hill in New Brunswick, CA. You see today, Kathy and Stephen close the door on the cottage they built 10 years ago as their retirement home. A lot of love, time and hard labor went into building that cottage. Stephen and Kathy did a lot of work themselves. Even as recently as last summer Stephen added a gorgeous stone patio, fence and arbor to the property. They make an awesome team with Stephen building and Kathy decorating and pulling it all together. But when they built what they thought would be their forever home, they were not grandparents yet. So living out in the country seemed right. And it was right ~ for a season or ten. But now with 4 young granddaughters and a grandson coming literally any day, living in the country is not where their hearts are anymore. They want to be closer to their family and church among other things. So today, that is exactly what is happening. They are packing up the very last of their belongings from the country and moving to their brand new town home in the city.

Kathy and Stephen so graciously allowed me to share with you some of the different seasons at their now former Home on the Hill ~ both inside and out. For all the Webshots gals who, like me, spent many happy times looking at Kathy's Home on the Hill albums, this our chance to say goodbye to the home we all fell in love with.

It isn’t just that Kathy decorated so nicely,

but it was easy to see that she put a lot of care into her home as well.

Whether it was using things she inherited from family like her grandmothers pantry…

or something Stephen built especially for her…

Kathy made us all want to stop over and share a cup of tea with her.

Kathy, So while we are sad to say goodbye to your cottage, I know many of your friends, family will be thinking of you and Stephen as you close the door on one season and open a brand new one in your gorgeous brand new town home on James Street!

I know it is a bittersweet time leaving the Home on the Hill that you put so much into, but I also know for you both the sweet outweighs the bitter because where your family is, that is where you are most at home. A new season in a new home with a new decorating style, closer to family and church – it’s an exciting new beginning for you.

And even though it was our shared loved of antiques and primitives that brought us together on Webshots, and even though for a time I will miss all the primitives that aren’t making the trip with you ~ it is because we both always agree that ~ the best things in life are not really THINGS at all ~ that our friendship endures.

Best wishes and many blessings in this new season dear friend.

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Speaking of doors, a big new door opened for our niece Jamie as she married her college sweetheart Will at the gorgeous Simsbury Inn in CT this weekend.

Jamie was a stunny bride!!

The flower girls were too cute!!Her dress was stunning!

Jamie and Will were charming as they danced their first dance…

… and we all loved the pretty turquoise shoes Jamie wore ~ what a fun twist!

The food was delicious and Mr. Red Door and I enjoyed a wonderful evening with his side of the family…

…his parents, who have been visiting from SC all week and…

…his sister ~ the Mother of the Bride…

and all 3 of our grown kids. (Lili stayed with her other Grammy and Grampy.)

Because our family is so small it is not often that we get to celebrate such a special event so we decided to make a family weekend of it. Mr. Red Door reserved rooms for all of us to stay over night at the Inn so we could celebrate late into the night.

Mr. Red Door and I had the room on the top floor just to left of the left chimney!

It looked like this inside!

I highly recommend a wedding ceremony and reception at an Inn where the guest can simply take the elevator to their rooms at the end of the evening. It really made for a wonderful weekend! And we wish Will and Jamie many many years of love and laughter together

This special week closed with a family dinner here last night. Great Grandma R had to get in some more Lili time. They got along famously of course!

We hope we made many memories to hold us through until the next time we can all be together here Behind My Red Door.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Here Behind My red Door, many actual doors will be closing as well.

Yes it is time. It really has to be done.

The bathroom and bedroom and office doors will be closed all the time now.

But all for a very good reason I promise….

Yes ~ this little beanut is crawling around!!

So now it’s time to baby proof Grammy’s house!!

A trip to Toys R Us is in order. I see gates and latches in my future!

~**~***~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

And did you hear?? A Primitive Place blog will he having a giveaway soon!!

Click HERE and become a follower so you won’t miss any of the details!!

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Thank you to everyone who has chosen to stop by. I know there are so many things you want and need to do each day with your time. I hope that you too are able to enjoy special times with those you love. Whether it is something as momentous as a wedding or even just some snuggles between the generations,

I hope you are making your days count as well.

As always, thank you to each fan, friend, and follower for making Behind My Red Door part of your day! And thank you for taking the time to comment when you can.

Until next time – hugs, Grammy Linda