Not only the days, but life itself lengthens in summer. I would spread abroad my arms and gather more of it to me, could I do so.
~ Richard Jefferies
Monday morning began with breakfast out followed by an hour of bike riding in the cemetery then an idea for a picnic at a local animal farm. (More on that tomorrow.) It wasn't the most comfortable picnic hence Sam's car seat. John and I were wishing we had a portable car seat in no time.
We love the ability to be able to drop everything and gather in such summer moments. I wish the same for you...
When the ditch lilies thinned, I brought the hanging pot of calibrachoa to the front garden. It provides some color in the sea of green and is appropriately named "Confetti."
Join Mary at Little Red House for more mosaics. And, if you've never played along or made a mosaic, feel free to ask, there are many wonderful programs. This week, I used two: Photoscape and PicMonkey.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:38–39
Just a little ring to let you know that the odds are looking very good...you know, whatever that may mean.
Did you watch the opening ceremonies from London last night? Oh my. I suppose that such events must be very big, complicated affairs. I don't think I understood a lot of it. Must be that I am growing old. In fact, the last Olympic Opening Ceremonies that I truly enjoyed were in Atlanta—1996. Now that was awhile ago.
Added to my lack of understanding was the fact that NBC went to commercial every four to six minutes. I was ready to tear my hair out as I had waited so long to see the USA and those much maligned outfits. They did look pretty awful. Did you notice how large that Ralph Lauren logo was? Bet that there were a lot of fashion savvy athletes who were not impressed. My kids would never wear such an outfit with a designer logo that huge. Well, that's what happens when the outfit is a gift from the designer and made in China.
Okay, that's enough of snarky. I need a cup of coffee. Hopefully, the excitement of the games will more than make up for the opening ceremony.
Do you enjoy watching the Olympics? Have a favorite? Mine is synchronized swimming I kid you not.
Five years ago, at this very time of day, I began what has turned out to be one of the biggest adventures of my life — I posted in this blog for the first time. That was 1,414 posts ago.
What's up with the title? Well, on that first post, I described myself and you, if you blog, as narcissistic. Blogging=Narcissism was my belief. I might hedge about that statement today for I have learned that the great majority of bloggers are the most generous, helpful, creative people I know.
In times past, I would have said "know" using quotes. I don't bother with quotes anymore because I feel as if I know many of you better than I know some members of my own family. It is a privilege to visit with you and to learn more about your life, your corner, your family, the way you cook, create, and dream. I have been especially blessed by those who openly share faith and values and what the Lord has been teaching you.
Let's talk about creativity for a moment. I used to say that I didn't cook, bake, knit, crochet, sew or go (anywhere). I just pretended to do them here. I can not say it anymore. Initially, I may have tackled more projects so I'd have something to discuss, now I really do all these things and I enjoy them. Immensely. And I owe it to blogging and you who read and link and pin and visit over and over again.
~A Sampling~
If you've been reading here for any length of time, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you just showed up today, thank you for taking the time to read this post.
To my oldest and dearest blogging buddies, I hope for more years of blogging — five more? (By then, I'll have used up all my Picasa space and will bid a fond farewell.) Speaking of which, how long do you think blogging in general will continue? Do you ever give a thought to how long you will blog?
No farewells today. I thank God for the joy of blogging and for the joy of getting to know you better.
(This is a secret giveaway open to all bloggers everywhere. A comment is the key—no hoops to jump, no word to get out. A winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon at this time. Shhhhhh...) ETA: 3:41 Saturday Comments are now closed... Winner to be announced soon. Barbara at Two Birdies and a B! Edited to Add: Barbara discusses her win *here.*
A warm thank you to all for the lovely comments and for participating...
I was standing waiting to pay for my groceries when I noticed the bucket of flowers on the end of the belt. "Are those roses really only $2.99?!" I asked the teenage clerk.
"Yes, but don't get those. They're not as fresh. There is a beautiful bouquet of watermelon red roses on the other register."
She eagerly skipped off to grab the bouquet she was talking about. Now they were lovely, but not quite what I had in mind. I tried to explain, "Those roses are fresh and perfect and uniform and these are growing old and shabby and have layers of depth and color." She looked a bit crestfallen. Then I encouraged her to buy them for her mother. She said, "Oh, I've been thinking that I should."
Here are mine...
~Old and Shabby with Layers of Depth and Color~
And somewhere in town, I hope that a bouquet of watermelon red roses sits on a mother's table — a gift from her teenage daughter.
It is 7:01 in the morning as I begin to type this post. This is a test to see how long it takes me to fire one off.
No fleas in my bed this morning. Thank you so much for all the good advice. I have started to employ some good tips. I'm especially concerned for poor Molly as her skin is already dry and so her weekly bath is all that she can tolerate. I've made up a little squirt bottle of lemon water, which I hope will eliminate some discomfort. Ahhh the unique aromas of vinegar and lemons fill the house. =D (Good heavens! It's 7:07.)
I've already been out to water three areas in the front yard this morning by hand carrying my half gallon pitcher. I can't haul that hose around again. It is an unwieldy snake of a thing. Three pots down, five more to go. The morning glories are not as vigorous this year as last —I am blaming the hordes of Japanese beetles.
Don't know if you were without Site Meter for three days over the weekend; I was. When it came back, you'd have thought that I had just installed the thing instead of five years ago. I followed everyone around and peeked through the bushes at where they were and how long they had been there and just what it was that they wanted to see. It was that way that I discovered once again what I've always known...I rarely tie up loose ends. I probably have a hundred or more, though I'll solve just this one.
"I had a little bed mate this morning," I said to John.
"The cat?"
"Noooo, a flea."
"What'd you do with'im?"
I demonstrated with my pointer and thumb pinched together.
"That won't kill one."
"I know. Then I got the bottle of alcohol and a tissue and wiped him into that. Then I flushed him down the commode."
Overkill? I don't think so. It's a terrible summer for fleas — something about all that rain. The dog and cat are on their second *very expensive* treatment from the vet and the house has been bombed from top to bottom. My bed mate must have found a safe harbor during the blitz.
This means war except I can't treat either pet for another three weeks and I can't bomb the house again for another few weeks. I know all about vacuuming often, but what else can I do? I've been Googling and have found all manner of homeopathic remedies, though I'm wondering if one of you may have the definitive, yes-it-really-works answer. Oh, and just so you'll know. Neither pet is an "outdoor" one. The cat never goes outside and the dog only long enough to "go." I have treated the yard a few times as well, but it doesn't seem to be working.
***
I'm working to keep my sunny side up and am really helped when you share a funny story. John and I have laughed so much over Happyone's Sunday post that I have to share. No reason for you not to be giggling, too.
It was fun to be on the road again a few days ago taking a day trip for the first time in ages. John drives; I take photos. Yes, we did stop at the frozen custard stand. If you ever make it to my corner, this is a must stop.
This is Scarborough Marsh just down the way from John's boyhood home. He has some stories about the marsh including that the TransAtlantic communications cable was buried/is buried in there. I don't imagine that it is as important today as it once was.
Just some silly photos taken while the car got a good scrub. Love the colors.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
~Psalm 11:3
Is Christ our hope, our consolation, our security? Then only through Him will the soul be carried through all its difficulties and conflicts. ~ Matthew Henry
I'm going to put last things first today. On Thursday, we went to Portland because I had a few things to find for the room that shall not be discussed and John had some shopping to do for two little great-grandgirlies. Can I just say that it's a lot of fun to shop for girls? It is. Not that shopping for boys isn't also fun. It is. All good. And I didn't even get to do much except for holding up this or that and saying, "This one? That one?"
He chose simple green cotton dresses for the twin cousins whom he'll celebrate at a birthday party today in the bosom of his family. I smile just to think about it and how delighted he will be by their antics. They are three and one — darling ages. They are certainly beautiful little girls.
***
We had a nice Thursday and were home early in the afternoon. I so love turning the corner when the familiarity of the neighborhood hits and I have that little pang where I realize how right it feels and what a blessing it is to live here in this place.
Well, no, not this place; this is my neighbor's home still wearing the patriotic buntings and looking fine. Notice the open door to allow the beautiful dry air in. No need for the AC lately.
This is the place; this little sage green haven with its postage stamp lawn and tiny garden. It is enough.
Looking up through the bee balm to the room that shall not be named above.
For Mosaic Monday, I'll be sharing the earlier part of our day.
Are you up to anything fun or exciting or both this weekend?
Just a few things to share this morning. I see you nodding. Of course. That's what we do here in Blogdom.
How about a cup of tea and a piece of cinnamon toast while we chat? Do you like this tea pot? I do. It's made from the words that I used this week on my blog. Terri shared the site earlier this week. You simply use your blog's url to create something fun. Check it out and see what you come up with.
Dolores shared something pretty cool at her blog Moving Forward with Alzheimers. It's a video where a dollar is contributed to Alzheimer's research with every viewing. If I can help by watching a video, I'm thrilled. I hope that you may be, too.
And I said that I wasn't going to talk about the sewing room again. What a liar I am!
No one can develop fully in this world and find a full life without feeling understood by at least one person. ~ Paul Tournier
This post concludes my ponderings on the sewing room.
...and a low rumble of approval swept across the land
What have I learned? A lot. I have learned that I like colors because I like candy. (Not to be confused with "eye candy.") You think I jest? No. Oh no. Serious time has been spent thinking about this connection. The more colors (and, presumably, the more candy) the happier I am.
I do not surround myself with "beauty" so much as I surround myself with the things that remind me of beautiful people.
Such as this puzzle assembled over a cold winter by my grandmother's friends who wanted me to have it to remember them by. I do. And it makes me smile every time I stand there to iron.
And here's the beginning of the craziest patchwork ever...polka dots and country cows and florals and checks all dance along together.
Thank you for another wonderful Note Card Party! It surprised me because July is a traditionally slow month in Blogdom. Mr. Linky will close at 10 a.m. just in case there are any last minute linkers. See you in August!
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Welcome! It's been some kind of crazy hot, hasn't it?! Thought that recycling these first two images of drinks featured at Suzy's Ice Cream Social in former years might be pleasing. (BTW, Suzy @ Kitchen Bouquet is planning an Ice Cream Social for the weekend of August 18 and 19. It's a lot of fun and a great way to share a favorite drink or ice cream concoction.)
Not sure about this first one, though. That orange looks a little radioactive to me. =D It was first featured *here.*
Everyone wanted to know how I managed to balance the ice cream container on the coffee can. (Easy—it was empty!) First featured *here.*
Now I am ashamed that I ever posted this one...what a sloppy whomping mess. However, it sure was tasty and the recipe link is provided *here.*
And this is the joy of loading up images in the month between parties as the rootbeer was featured just last Saturday. I needed a fourth photo of a cold drink and this filled the bill. I do think my picture taking skills are improving a squeak.
Before anyone worries about citing where you found your photos...not necessary unless you wish to.
If you have any questions, you will find the directions in the Note Card Button provided in my sidebar and you are always welcome to email me...addy in profile.
Day Two of Cleaning the sewing room and progress is being made. Right. Once in a blue moon, things come together in there. I've been able to determine why the room isn't working as well as I'd like and why it falls into such a state. I need some things to help facilitate order and so my list is growing.
On Sunday evening, John invited me to a movie at church where we saw Seven Days in Utopia. If you find it on the IMDB, you'll see that the reviews are not the greatest; however, don't let that stop you from seeing it should you have the opportunity. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.
It's about a golfer who is struggling with his game or it's about Every Man and his place on the stage called Life. Anyway, at one point the golfer is asked why he grips the club the way he does. The question wasn't meant as a criticism; it was meant to get the golfer to be clear and intentional and know why he does things in a certain way. This hit home with me. How often I float along without knowing why I am doing what I am doing!
So can you tell that I've been thinking about that very question in the mosaic above?
My gift at the end of a long afternoon...much better than flowers or chocolate!
***
Note Card Party link-up will be ready between 8 and 8:30 this evening. If you've never participated, I hope that this will be the day. See you later!
Perhaps a white hot one... Whatever it was, it was an embarrassment. You may think that you are the only one who ever has a mess. Nope. One of the drawbacks to an upstairs room that no one ever sees is that THIS can happen.
~A Tidy Southeast Corner...fabrics stored on a drying rack and a peek into the far room.~
As a result of watching Dawn at The Feathered Nest and Sandy at Quill Cottage show their tidy studios for Where Bloggers Create 2012, I felt inspired to get things straightened and sorted. I started by moving some furniture around, which always seems to get me motivated. I managed to get the fabrics sorted and my sewing table cleaned and that's where I ran into trouble.
I got sidetracked by the view...
And my little ideas...
If you have vintage pillowcases, you know that they do not fit standard pillows of today. I like to use them to make caddies as I've shown before. This one came in perfect for the end of my sewing table. Did you know that an old makeup brush works very well at cleaning little bits of fluff from your sewing machine? Yup.
I thought about the little things I'd like to share such as my mother's baby shoes hanging in the window along with her little coat upon the wall. I wrote in careful print on the bottom of her shoe...My Mother's Baby Shoes with her name, her date of birth, and her place of birth. I thought it would be good lest someone someday might wish to know.
~a new placemat binding~
Then I began finding projects that had been tossed aside and it seemed that, now that I could get through the room, I ought to work on them. (I note that Dawn is working on projects in her newly cleaned studio as well. Thing is, she waited until it was clean first. I've sort of just taken off sideways.)
Oh dear! What's to become of my poor little sewing room? Stay tuned for further details.
***
Hope to see you tomorrow evening between 8 and 8:30 where you can sign up early for this month's Note Card Party, if you'd like. I am so looking forward to your posts this time out! Mine may feature ice cold drinks. Just sayin'...
