This Isn't April

Let's try the Hodge Podge today where I will be linking without participating. 


1.July 15th is National Give Something Away Day.  What can you give away? Lots Will you? Not likely
2. Do you have a mantra? Please share with the class if you feel comfortable doing so. Did anyone die, which is a way of telling myself that everything (short of death) has a way of working out. 
3. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? How many times a week do you shop? Do you make a list or pray for inspiration in the produce aisle? John shops; I shop; We shop together. We both use a List. My policy is to avoid the grocery store for as long as possible. 
4. Is there a TV show you're embarrassed to say you watch? Yes. You're going to tell us what it is, right? Yes.  DWTS. Sometimes, I do have to avert my eyes or busy myself with something else to be able to "watch" this program. I do not do well with lewd and this show descends to that level regularly. 
5. A recent article listed fifteen words we should eliminate from our (written) vocabulary in order to sound smarter-
that, went, honestly, absolutely, very, really, amazing, always, never, literally, just, maybe, stuff, things, and irregardless
Of the fifteen, which word is your most overused?
Honestly, that is really just literally absolutely never, maybe never, the most ridiculous stuff I have ever read irregardless — wait, irregardless is always not even a word! What a tedious chore to figure out which word I use most often. I know this: I do not use irregardless. Who thinks of these things?
6. So apparently dying your hair gray (in your youth!) is a thing right now. It's called 'The Granny Hair' trend. Your thoughts? Your choice. My choice to laugh at such foolishness. That's okay. I laugh at the "Youth" often just as my elders laughed at me back in the day.
7. A while back Buzz Feed asked members to share the most beautiful sentence they've read in a piece of literature. A hard thing to narrow down, at least for me, but let's try. What's one of the most beautiful sentences you've ever read in a piece of literature?
Cheating here as I have been rather brief so far. I took note of this paragraph when I read Enchanted April last year...I loved it so.

 

They left the path, and clambered down the olive terraces, down and down, to where at the bottom the warm, sleepy sea heaved gently among the rocks. There a pine-tree grew close to the water, and they sat under it, and a few yards away was a fishing-boat lying motionless and green-bellied on the water. The ripples of the sea made little gurgling noises at their feet. They screwed up their eyes to be able to look into the blaze of light beyond the shade of their tree. The hot smell from the pine-needles and from the cushions of wild thyme that padded the spaces between the rocks, and sometimes a smell of pure honey from a clump of warm irises up behind them in the sun, puffed across their faces. Very soon Mrs. Wilkins took her shoes and stockings off, and let her feet hang in the water. After watching her a minute Mrs. Arbuthnot did the same. Their happiness was then complete. Their husbands would not have known them. They left off talking. They ceased to mention heaven. They were just cups of acceptance.

 

~from Enchanted April chapter 8
Oh to be a "cup of acceptance" more often. God has given me so much to enjoy.
8. Insert your own random thought here. I am such a creature of habit like those of you who have mentioned the same phenomena. When I looked back to see when I was last discussing Enchanted April, I looked in April archives. Makes sense, but no, I was last writing about *Enchanted April in July 2014.* Weird. 
You may still be able to find this movie on Netflix. I did and will be enjoying it again today!
Thanks for reading. You can find others' posts *here.* 

Stay cool now!

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All Over the Place

It's hot, hot, hot. In the 90s and humid. We are not used to this. 

Okay, I have a lot of things to tease you with. You can skip and hop around to the things that interest you because, otherwise, this post is too long for the average human to read. 

New apron in the house!! Just as my beloved Boleros are fading fast away, a Bolero-colored apron arrived on Saturday from *Susan at My Mother's Apron Strings.* Susan creates a beautiful apron to give away every. single. month. She's a busy gal now let me tell you. Between running a business, building a new home and a new treehouse, baking, and sewing, I don't know how she finds time for being so generous. Thank you so much, Susan. I love my apron and you!

*~*~*

The last time I left you, I was doing a wee bit of creating of my own. Since I've had some questions, I'll give a little more information. *Here* is the tutorial I used. Remember, I used the method (which is excellent), not the measures. I used my own measurements and a much narrower elastic — ¼ inch. 

~Scrunchy Kit~

My hair bands look almost as if they were made for little girls because they are so much smaller and more narrow. All I wanted was a covering for the elastic to protect my hair. Even purchased hair bands were damaging. I think I'll make some out of t-shirt fabric next. I follow the method to the point where the ends are joined. That's where I do the remainder by hand. The two ends of the elastic are then sewed together very securely by hand and then the opening is closed, also by hand. Just too small and fiddly for me to do on the machine.

*~*~*

Moving right along... I have been wanting to show you that I do get out and about from time to time. This is the new wedding venue overlooking the White Mountains of New Hampshire. If you look closely in that valley, you'll see me waving from my front lawn. ☺

This brings us full circle from some time ago when I showed a barn reconstruction going on and wondered what it was all about with full windows on the end looking over this scene. (If I find the post, I'll link it.)*~*~*
Saturday, my daughter invited me to a street art festival. These are some of the photos she took for me without much commentary from me.












This home on Main Street is being restored. Here's a closer look at the third story blind that looks out on the scenes shown here. What a happy little getaway.



That one gave us a chuckle...you can't see it very well, but there is also a banana splatted on the sidewalk with an outline. Quite the funny crime scene!*~*~*
Before time completely gets away on me, I must share a photo or two from the 4th of July.
2015
2015

Except for my son's socks last year, it looks remarkably like 2014.

At last, we have come to the end of this post. Blogger was trying to kill it from the beginning so I have been here for hours...hours! (☺Secret message to Jill...nope, didn't work.)

Catch you later...

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Grace Received

Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment “as to the Lord.” It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.

~C.S. Lewis from The Weight of Glory

Let's see how tight a weave I can create here this morning. Outdoors, I finally put together the arch that my daughter gave me a decade ago. It takes time, folks. Time. I rather like it and I hope to create a softening with some old sheers one day soon.

Flowers currently at the windowsill...

John considers fresh, local strawberries the best food. Say, do you all have a hull picker at your house? That's the little silver thingy hanging over the yellow colander. It keeps a gal's fingernails looking good and is so easy to use. Not terribly costly either.

Sometimes birthday gifts should have a little sparkle. This ribbon has a bit of shine. Potholders make good, practical gifts, don't you think? Happy Birthdays were in order for my daughter-in-law this week.

The grass out here is looking pretty shabby. I think my outside "room" is getting too much foot traffic since the potting bench was set up. I may have to think about this some more.

There are so many shades of white. There's the off-white in my new scrunchy and the white of the sewing machine, the cream of the thread, the white of the thread holder. Okay, I am just plain cheating with this one. I have been making scrunchies. Not the big, old-fashioned fluffy ones (though I still like them lots), but a modified thin one. You can find tutorials all over Pinterest.

More scrunchies and Words (Bell and Betsy Ross). Why am I making them? Because my hair is so miserably long that in the heat, I must get it off my face.

This photo shows just how long it is. And this photo looks nothing like me. I have sent myself through the diffuser 50 times at least. Ha!

A big thank you to *Kati* for hosting the July photo-a-day challenge. It provided me with some much~needed blog fodder.
A happy weekend to you!
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Inspirational Posts

This is the new home for those posts that others have written, which have been meaningful for me. (It formerly lived in my sidebar.)

♪ Mother's Notes~Love Song to My Life by Gloria

♪ A Crushing Blow~Sweet Tea and Sandals by Barbara

♪ Resilience~God, Mom, Alzheimer's, and Me by Linda

♪ How to Wait~My Journal Reflections by Barbara

♪ Thoughts on This Weekend's March~Creekside Cottage by Deanna

♪ It Was Father's Day~Knick of Time by Angie

♪ What Honor Looks Like~A Collection of Days by Dayle

♪ What I've Learned About Autism ~My Story, My Song by Paige

♪ Things I've Learned ~ The Fancy Shack by Kimberlee

♪ Do All Things Work Together for Good? ~Coffee Tea Books and Me by Brenda

♪ Time ~Thinking of Home by CeeKay

♪ Life and Death in a Cornfield ~At Home With The Farmer's Wife by Suzanne

♪ Don't Bury Your Heart ~God, Mom, Alzheimer's and Me by Linda

♪ Honor One Another Pt.1 ~Words on Wheels by Debbie

♪ Honor One Another Pt. 2 ~ditto

♪ Sarah and Sonja ~Bits and Pieces by Sonja

♪ True Love ~Stickhorse Cowgirls by C

♪ Share Your Burdens ~Little Birdie Blessings by Abby

🎵 The Crying Chair~Deep Roots at Home by Jacqueline

The Potting Bench

Hmmm...well now, perhaps I am feeling full of vinegar. Have just read Sharon's comment on the last post and she may have a jab  point. ☺
Re-reading my last few posts, I see that my vinegar meter really may be at an all-time high. Probably, that'll require a release of the pressure valve. Beware! My kids used to send each other cryptic messages back in the day: Red Alert was one; Thar she blows was another. So look for it any day now and let the chips fall where they may. =D
Oh go ahead, tell me what you really think...
Not today, my friend, maybe Wednesday, Friday or one day next week. 
~*~*~

Today is all about the potting bench. John  created a delight for me and incorporated two things I wanted to use. The first was my old garden gate and the other was the scalloped bit there as a shelf that had formerly been used in my kitchen to bridge the gap between cupboards on either side of the sink.

Yes, I left it the pale buttery yellow it was

You know what those are...the name escapes me. Here's an example in a vintage-style kitchen.

*This post* tells why I feel as I do about the garden gate. John's "supplies" behind the garage. 

He says that his reputation as a builder has come to an end. That's because he was using inferior material otherwise known as what we had. I tell him:  Anyone can build a potting bench with quality wood; not everyone can take a bent, sagging piece of wood and make it into something special. 
So that's the background story. This is not a tutorial. We don't do those. 

Take an old garden gate Make it into something it ain't Add a bit of this and that  Splash on a little paint  Go ahead — decorate!

Just like that! Nothing to it! 
I promise not to turn this potting bench into my Boleros...maybe. It's just that we don't have a lot to chat about these days unless...
Thanks for popping in!

Happy ~ Happy ~ Happy Holiday

Popping in to wish you a blessed, wonderful, safe 4th of July!

(We'll chat about the substitute header next week.)

Comments are closed so you can scoot!

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Mosaic Monday Offerings

~collage made with Fotor~ Another paint night to crow about...that's my daughter in the lower right corner with five of her friends. She talked them into going to a Paint Nite event.  From the smiles, I think that they had fun.
***
We're having a fun discussion about orange and red around here. 

That's a common ditch lily on the left that I call orange and a Bolero bud on the right. The Bolero may be just another shade of orange, especially if one compares it to red as below.

Boleros beside pansies beside wasp house, plates,  zucchini, and below the U.S. flag. Okay, it may be another shade of red. Whatever! 
***

Another peek at John's project. I'm starting to get excited now that it's on the homestretch. Hope that it may be finished by the 4th of July.
It's a patriotic week in North America with Canada celebrating Canada Day on Wednesday and the United States celebrating the 4th of July on Saturday. Enjoy the celebrations! 
Over and out for the week. Today, I am linking to *Judith's Mosaic Monday* and I hope to visit a number of participants before day's end.
A blessed week to you!

Wrapping Up the Wrap Around Blouse

Running just a titch late because I have been wrapping packages a little earlier than expected. Bad weather has changed weekend plans so John is off this morning to deliver his gifts.

Only one grandgirlie has a birthday this weekend, but we use the opportunity to gift the other birthdays we have already missed or will miss soon.

Now this is not a tutorial. I don't do those. They are terribly difficult. I have been reading several tutorials on this subject and I give them all a 

-C. A+ for effort, though. I did promise that I would share more today for those who have expressed interest. I am not sure how often I will be sewing children's clothes, but I would like to learn how to sew some of my own so this should have helped, even if I feel as if I have dragged myself over a mountain in low gear.

 This is the handy sewing gadget that helped me most because it provides a grid and curves, etc. I bought mine for about $10 at JoAnn's a few years ago and it is still good as new. Below you can see that it folds out. It takes the entire top of a double bed. I created my own pattern after looking at lots of patterns. 

My notes probably only make sense to me. I am spatially challenged...wish I were more like Elf cutting snowflakes, but not so much. Nevertheless, I did cut my own pattern using freezer paper wrap. I looked up children's sizing charts online and found a number of them.

Lined and ready for buttons and buttonholes!

I was hoping for lady bugs or something, but both John and I decided these would make a better choice. There are certainly many from which to choose. These red buttons were made in Italy. One of the things we did not like to see was that most buttons are made in Taiwan or China.

As regards buttonholes...practice, practice, practice. Though I prayed, The Lord allowed me to rip them out a number of times. Mercy me! I finally decided that good enough would have to do. Perfection is crippling. Nothing moves forward on perfection.

Poor Light for photos, but the finished product above and below. The grandgirlies are not twins; they are cousins.

Well, somebody had to try it on!

After, I finished the project, I found this vintage pattern. It was published in 1976. It does have that helpful pattern photo in the lower right of the pattern.

If anyone has further questions, get in touch. I'll send you more information behind the scenes, especially after I gave that grade. ;>

*Link to free pattern for wrap-around sizes 2 to 6 at Craftsy*

Would you like a sneak peek at John's project? He's in low gear, too.

Ending with some photos of the garden...

Finally, more color!

The stunning Boleros. I think they are a tomato red, but some read them as orange. They are vivid. This is the photo I used for the substitute banner just below my header. If I can't do a header in the traditional way, I'll use the new feature to add some change.

Don't forget, nothing can separate us from the Love of God. (I am feeling very sad this week because of the moral decay in my country.) The Supreme Court is not my God; The powers that be are not my God. I'm listening for the trump every day. Now go and create a beautiful weekend!