HOME TOUR 2011

Hello!!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day weekend!!

Did you go shopping on Black Friday??

I used to go but it has really gotten crazy anymore with people camping out in front of stores 2 days before!!
There is nothing I need that badly that I would be fighting crowds like that. I did go out to A.C.Moore and Michael's on Saturday morning and there was no one out shopping at that time!!!

I am STILL decorating......

Please visit my Christmas blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas, to see our HOME Tour 2011!!

You can link to it below....

Please click HERE for Part One, The Front Yard and Front Porch



Please click HERE for Part Two, the Kitchen



Please click HERE for Part Three, the Dining Room



Remember that I will be mostly posting on my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas ,
until the beginning of January....

Thanks for visiting me today and every day that you take the time to do so!

Hugs,
Debbie

HAPPY THANKSGIVNG DAY AND LADY GAGA

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!

Many of you know that I am a HUGE Lady GaGa fan!

She just opened a Christmas exhibit/store that takes up the entire 5th floor in Barney's of New York.
Barney's has agreed to donate 25% of the profits to Lady GaGa and her mother's foundation, The Born This Way Foundation, which promotes kindness and is anti-bullying!!

No matter what you may think of her, Lady GaGa is just an Italian girl from New York who loves her family dearly.
She is one of the only stars that gives 50 % of her profits to her parent's who still live in the same house and so does she, when she is in New York.

Please tune in to ABC tonight to watch her Thanksgiving Day Special and I promise you that you will be pleasantly surprised!!

To watch video, please turn off my playlist to watch these videos from her incredible special on Thursday!






HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Part 2 of our Christmas HOME TOUR is now on my Christmas blog. Please click HERE to see my Kitchen!!

Hugs,
Debbie

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and Guns and Roses!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I hope you spend Thanks giving with those you love and have a wonderful day!!

I am working Wednesday which is considered the Holiday on night shift but I will be off Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for myself, Joe , Joey , Jim and Danielle so I will be spending the day with those I love and my family is the most important thing in my life!!



I have started to share our home decorated for Christmas with all of you over at my Christmas blog, A Debbie Dabble Christmas.

Please click HERE for Part one of our HOME TOUR which features the front of our home.

I will be mostly posting on my Christmas Blog until the beginning of the year so for those of you that are my followers here, I would like to invite you to sign up to Follow me over at a
A Debbie-Dabble Christmas!

I did a Craft Fair this past weekend.


I only do 2 a year because with working full time, that is about all I can handle.

I sold 10 wreaths in 2 shows and I am amazed!

This year's Craft Fairs were the second best that I have ever done. I also have a few special orders to do so I am very pleased with how things went!!

I have talked about returning to sell on Ebay and maybe in the coming year, I may seriously think about becoming a seller again.

So stay tuned......

Last night , we went to see GUNS and ROSES with our oldest son, Joey!!
They played for 3 straight hours. But since Guns and Roses did not come out on the stage until
11 pm, we did not get home until 2 am!! We are not used to staying out that late!!

LOL!!

Please click off my playlist to view this video posted on facebook from last night's concert at Wilkes Barre, Pa..




And this is the Finale . .... with Paradise City!! Loved the confetti and pyro at the end!!



But we had a great time!!

Please remember to join me for our HOME TOUR of our Christmas decorations over at A Debbie-Dabble Christmas!!

And once again,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,
Debbie

CANCER FREE!!!!!

I just wanted to let all of my Blogger friends who thought of me and said a prayer ,that I had my cancer follow up cystoscope today and I remain CANCER FREE!!

I have hit the 5 year mark so I will not need any more scopes unless there is a problem.
I will have to go to my urologist once a year and a urine specimen will be sent for a new test that can detect cancer cells in the urine from the bladder, kidney or ureters.

If you have flank pain or notice blood in your urine, see your Doctor.

If I had not gone to the ED with right sided flank pain 5 years ago, the tumor in my right ureter would have gone undetected. Because I did go to the ED and an obstruction was noted in the right ureter on a CAT scan, the tumor was detected very early. They thought it was a kidney stone.
My Urologist was able to lazor it out and it was completely encapsulated which meant that I did not need chemo or radiation since it was Stage One Squamous Cell Carcinoma. If it had been any larger, I would have had to have had my right kidney removed.

You can only imagine how grateful I am to have been giving the Gift of Time!

Thanks so much for all of your prayers!!

Hugs,
Debbie

THE CHRISTMAS DECORATING HAS BEGUN!!!!

Yes, the Christmas decorating has begun!!

I have also changed the look of Debbie-Dabble to reflect the Holiday season!!

My new Header picture is the top shelf of a shelf unit in my Craft Room.

I have had the entire upstairs decorated for some time now but I still have to wait to share it with you because there are now boxes all over the place upstairs......

I am off all this week and it will be a hectic week.

We needed to repair our platform that we use under the Living Room tree because last year, I put my foot through it. Hey....my Dad did build it 34 years ago!!

Joe reinforced it with ply wood and now I have to recover it with white felt......

Today, I start the Dining Room. This is how I store my larger trees down in our Storage Shed.

Joe stopped at Burger King for supper on his way home with the tree yesterday and the girl in the Drive Thru commented that it looked like he had a body in the back. He said that "you never know " but told me not to unwrap the tree until today in case she wrote down his license number and sent the police to our house.........

Some new goodies for the Kitchen that I bought at J.C. Penney's .....

A Baking Santa for my Kitchen, of course!!

And who could resist this SWEET sign!!

This cupboard is just begging for a Christmas make over.......

Last year I bought these tubes of shatter proof balls at Target for 75% off at 25 cents a tube!

Inspired by all the great photos on many blogs last Christmas,

I changed this......

Into this.......
For about 50 cents....

And this.....


Into this.....
For about 25 cents...

Yes, yesterday, since it was almost 60 degrees here in Pa. , we decorated the outside of the house!!
Our tradition is to have the outside completely decorated by Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving Day night, we light the house for the first time , starting the Holiday season!

Here is a sneak peak.....

My Childhood Sled, almost 50 years old!

I have a few finishing touches to add today. I did not get it finished yesterday.
All I will say is that is has to do with lights and Joe packing away the lights for the first time last year....
UGH!!!!

Here is my Craft Room Tree which is my Shabby Pink and White tree with a touch of green.....

And now I would like to invite all of my followers here at Debbie-Dabble to please sign up to FOLLOW me over at A Debbie-Dabble Christmas, my Christmas Blog.

I will be mostly posting on my Christmas Blog for now on until the beginning of January.

I will post links here on Debbie-Dabble to my Christmas posts on my Christmas Blog.
I do plan on having a Giveaway too on my Christmas Blog so please stay tuned.

SO PLEASE join me and FOLLOW me over at A Debbie-Dabble Christmas!!

I am linking up to these great parties:

Mod Mix Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Masterpiece Monday

Amaze Monday

Table Top Tuesday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Rednesday

Open House Party Thursday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Thrifty Things Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Home Sweet Home

Potpourri Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Pink Saturday

Homemaking Link Up Party

Seasonal Sunday

Itz Festival Time Party!

Please pay a visit to all of these Hosts and those playing along!

Thanks for visiting me today and every day that you take the time to stop by!

Hugs,
Debbie

Paterno Fired!!

Yes , there is unrest in the state of Penna. today!

But was justice served with the firing of Joe Paterno?????

In my humble opinion, I say YES!!!!

If it was your child that was assaulted in a locker room , wouldn't you have wanted Joe Paterno to have gone to the Police and reported the incident after he realized that the President of Penn State University was not going to do anything about it???

As a mother of 2 sons, YES!! I would have wanted him to go to the Police and not to have remained silent.
He should be ashamed of himself because I can only wonder how many more children were molested that should not have been if the proper authorities would have been notified.

I feel that Joe Paterno should have retired years ago and now instead of leaving with dignity, he leaves in disgrace and all of his records will be forgotten and all that will be remembered is that he was fired in disgrace!

Yes, justice was served!!

I find it so upsetting that Americans place such importance on sports and sports figures.....

And I also believe that all who are arrested for rioting should be kicked out of school!

That's my opinion!!

What is yours???

Hugs,
Debbie

CLEARANCE SALES and CRAFT FAIR

First I would like to show you some recent Clearance finds!

At Wegman's Grocery Store, Joe picked up this cute Bearington Bear for me at 75 % off.


Did I ever mention that Joe does the Food shopping and always has....

He also picked up these hand lights for 88% off!!


And this witches hat for 93% off....

Weird percentages , huh??

Both were slightly over $1.00 each.

I bought this black house at Target for 50% off...


These were from Micheal's at 70% off.....


Micheal's has been running some special pre Black Friday sales on certain days...
Watch the web site for info.....

Last week I went through all of my Crafted items so I could get ready for the Craft Fair that I did last weekend...

Here is my space at the Craft Fair......

Some of my Christmas items.....

My Victorian Style crafts......

I did quite well at the Craft Fair so I am happy about that.
I sold 5 out of my 6 wreaths.....

These are some of the other Crafter's spaces that I thought you would enjoy seeing.....

Aren't these beautiful......



Lots of Christmas goodies....



This is Rose Mary who is a member of our church. She makes amazing runners and place mats....

Aren't these cute....

Many of you ask when I sleep. Well, here is an example of my schedule. I woke up at 5:30 am on Sat. morning , did the Craft Fair, packed up and came home and went to bed from 6pm - 9:15pm, got up and went to work, had to work 9 hours because of setting the clocks back and then came home Sunday morning and crawled into bed and died!!

I figure I will sleep in my next life time!

And here is a bow that I made .......
Can you guess which room I will be using this bow in???

On Friday, November 11, we will be going to see Trans Siberian Orchestra!!
This is a Christmas tradition for us....

I will then be off from work for the next week. During that week, I plan on getting most of the down stairs decorated for Christmas.

I also have my yearly Cystoscope scheduled on November 15th.
This is my check up after having a cancerous tumor removed from my right ureter. . This is my 5th year and depending on the findings from the scope, it may be my last time that I will need to be scoped.
So if you think of me, say a little prayer.....

Because of all of this and another Craft Fair in 2 weeks, I will be taking a bit of a blogging break.

When I return, I hope to be able to start showing pictures of our home decorated for Christmas.
I will then be posting most of the time on my Christmas blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas
To all of my new followers here, I hope that you will follow me too on my Christmas blog.

For a bit of Christmas eye candy, please click HERE

I also hope to host a Christmas Blog Party called "Show me your Tree" and a giveaway!!

So stay tuned.....

I am linking up to these wonderful parties:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

WOW Us Wednesday

Rednesday

Thrifty Things Friday

Potpourri Friday

Please visit those hosting these great parties and all who are playing along.....

Thanks for visiting today and every day that you take the time to visit me!!

Hugs,
Debbie

SNOW, FRIENDS,FAMILY ,FOOD ,TREASURES and an AUTHOR in the HOUSE!!!

October went out with a bang becoming SNOWTOBER!!!

We ended up with about 8-9 inches of snow here but parts of North East Pa. had in excess of 16 inches!!
Many are without power.
We are lucky that our electrical lines are underground in our development and in the adjoining Apartment Complex so we rarely lose power!!

The snow just about flattened my red tree in the back yard......

And the one on the other side of the yard.....

Bent the branches almost down to the ground.....

But none broke!!

To see more pics of the Halloween Snow Storm on October 29 , please click HERE

Everyone usually jokes that you can always count on a snow storm when I have my Christmas Open House Parties but really, who thought it would snow for my Fall Get Together!!!

Here is Joe making his famous Whimpies.

In your part of town, they may be called Sloppy Joe's or Barbecues.......



I made Guiltless Buffalo Chicken Bites and I got the recipe from Lynn @ Happier Than A Pig in Mud!!

Click HERE for Lynn's Recipe!!
I used Honey Barbecue sauce..

Then I made meatballs.......

Now I am probably surprising you by showing food on my blog, aren't I?

I know how to cook BUT I HATE TO COOK!!!

There I have said it!!

Moving on.....

This is the sunrise on Sunday after the storm......
Doesn't the sky over the mountain look pretty???

You can see that the snow stuck to everything.....

Even my pillars!!!

And there's that tree in my neighbor's yard again...
You have seen it in previous posts.....

A little bit of snow on our awning in the back......

Joe went outside to knock it off the awning.....

While I was getting ready for my Get Together....

I got the dishes out.....

These are melamine dishes that I bought at a church flea market......

I set up the counters in the kitchen for the food buffet ( remember I live in a small townhouse)..

This depression glass bowl is ready to be filled with macaroni salad......

I made up a lunch meat platter ( sorry, I forgot to take a pic)

And set up the Beverage Bar....... Coffee , Tea, Soda and Water.....

Can you see my vintage gold leaf glasses and my vintage crystal bowl filled with flavored tea bags?
You can click on pics to enlarge!!

The white mugs were a flea market find!

The table in the Dining Room was ready......

Goodies were put out.......

And the candles were lit.....

Our friends came and ate.....

The chicken bites were a big hit!! 5 lbs. of chicken gone!! The little that was left went home with my son, Jim and Danielle!! I forgot to get pics of them!! Sorry, but you know how it is when you are trying to be a good hostess and get pics too!!

I ordered penne pasta with cheese from a local Italian Eatery.


Cake breads ( Butter Rum, Cinnamon Swirl and Pumpkin Cheese Cake ) were from Sam's Club and the cranberry orange scones were from Wegman's .


Joe picked up a cake from Wegman's too but didn't think to have them write anything on it! LOL!!


After dessert, everyone settled down for some conversation....

On the sofa is Sue and Dave and on the chair to the right is my dear friend, Anne Marie, whose husband, Tony, couldn't come because he was helping Anne Marie's brother remove all the fallen trees from his property due to the heavy snow!

Sorry, Anne Marie, I caught you with your eyes closed!!

My son, Joey, with the look on his face that says, " Now, what exactly are you taking my picture for"???

I can't believe that he will be 30 years old in a few months.....

John and Lisa.....

Lisa is Victoriana Lady and you can click HERE to visit her blog

Lisa is a professional Historical Re-Enactor and gives various programs on Victorian and Edwardian fashion.
She is currently working on her first book titled " The Fashionable Victorians"...

Doesn't she look beautiful ?????

Speaking of Books,
Lisa's Sweetheart, John Grant has published his first book!!

"Final Thoughts" is a wonderful collection of amazing photos taken in various Cemeteries in the North Eastern United States.

All of us were so honored to have John personally autograph our copies of his book......

Joe and I were so thrilled to have a published author doing a personal book signing in our home!!

Sue, who is sitting on the sofa , was taking pics too! You can see her phone to the right!!!
LOL!!

We are so honored to call John Grant our friend!!

John has given me permission to post some photos of his book.....

Please enlarge these to see these stunning pictures

And to read these unbelievable " Final Thoughts"

See the rocking horse.....

Reflection on the water...



Breath taking....


John Grant's book, "Final Thoughts" , is available through Amazon and Barnes and Nobles online and will be in stores in November.

If you would like an autographed copy, you can reach John @ jtgrant19@gmail.com
and or www.johnthomasgrant.com

We are all so proud of John!!

Congrats!!

Anne Marie gifted me all of these darling Halloween goodies!! The card is an antique mourning card.

How cool is that!!

Thank so much , Anne Marie!!
Love ya!!

And Sue gifted me this Christmas tea cozy that she just started making and has already sold a dozen!!!

Look at how cute it is on one of my tea pots!!!!

Thanks so much , Sue!! I always wanted a tea cozy!!!!

I think this is the start of a business for Sue!! Maybe she will be able to retire from Nursing!!

The funny thing is that Sue, Anne Marie and I are all nurses and no, we do not work together!!

We had a great afternoon with the people who mean the most to us!!

Then I just had to show you some goodies that I picked up at the monthly half price sale at Volunteers of America Thrift Shop!!!

2 bags of these!!!


Please remember that everything was half price!!

Regular price on this baby was $3.92!

Regular price was 90 cents each!

Regular prices were 60 and 90 cents each!!


A Bag of Wood Craft Circles for 60 cents and hearts for 90 cents.....


A larger bag filled with Christmas wood pieces for $1.91


And then I saw this in the linen section and just had to see what it was......

As I took it off the hanger , I realized it was a Christmas tree skirt!!!!


Which will be perfect in my Guest Room.....

For $4.99!!!

Now, deduct half off everything and I paid a mere $13 and change for everything!!!

WHOA!!!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

Joe thought he would dress as a Mail Man and I thought I would dress as a nurse....

Oh... WAIT!!!

That is what we are in real life!! LOL!!

I actually did dress as a nurse in scrubs because I was at work on Halloween night!! LOL!!

I am linking up to these great parties:

Tea Time Tuesday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday

WOW US Wednesday

Outdoor Wednesday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Open House Party

Outdoor Fall Decor Party

Fertilizer Friday

Potpourri Friday

Vintage inspiration Party

Home Sweet Home Friday

Thrifty Things Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Homemaking Link Up Weekend Party

Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Amaze Me Monday

Masterpiece Monday

Mod Mix Monday

Please stop by and visit these hostess's and all those playing along!!

I am apologizing in advance if I do not visit too much this week. I am a vendor at a Craft Fair this weekend and I need to go through all of my already "made" items and see what I have. I also have to start to un- decorate for Fall and Halloween. I have already decorated my upstairs for Christmas and there is a sneak peek posted on my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas.

Please click HERE for the actual post on my upstairs decorations.

Soon I will be doing most of my posting on my Christmas Blog so I hope that my followers here will also follow me at A Debbie-Dabble Christmas.


Thanks so much for visiting today and every day that you take the time to stop by!!

Hugs,
Debbie