A picture is worth a thousand words....

I've been in a picture taking mood these past few days....so bear with me. It was just Alli & I on Friday....since my other girlie is off visiting her boyfriend in PA. They usually have a blast looking for cute little old men in Walmart, but today we saw these two in CFA. We were sitting in just the perfect spot so Alli could discreetly snap a picture of them to send to Ashley.

I took a picture of this sample scarf hanging in Michaels. I loved the pattern & thought with a picture I just might be able to re-create this on my own.

Since we didn't meet anyone & since Jon didn't have to work (meaning I would have to be at home to take him) we had time to run by the music store. Always a treat for Alli. She says she needs a ukelele now.

There was a pesky salesman there this time that just would NOT leave us alone when we came out to the piano section.

I ran across a treat for myself at Target. I've been wanting a 'sturdier' pair of flip-flops with the leather looking straps. And it seems they are usually always made just for the men & even the smallest men's size is too big/wide for me. But.....I found these in the boys' section. They were an X-large & fit perfectly & they were on Clearance! Gotta love a good bargain!

A few more grannies added to my bathmat stash.

This one turned out a tad bigger than all the others. I've been aiming for a 7" square. Not sure if I can make it work in the overall  project or not, we'll see. If all else fails, it'll make a nice dish cloth.

Here's the five I have done so far. I finished off another one tonight, but it was too dark to get a good picture, so will wait to share that one.

Today after church, it got really dark back over Paul & Lisa's house, but was still sunny out front.....as the rain came POURING down! No one ever saw a rainbow....kind of odd, but anyway. I caught Alli sneaking around behind the 'Bug Tree'. She just couldn't resist playing out in the sunshiney rain.

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Continuing to count beautiful blessings......

*chicken strips & tater wedges from Walmart for lunch today*BD party for Sarah tomorrow*Got to talk to Ashley the other night....she's having a wonderful time*movie time with Alli Friday night....'Soul Surfer'*



 

Fun Science Experiment

I love things like this. Chris was telling Michael this morning about something he had seen online....where you could light a crayon like a candle & it would burn for about 30 minutes. Well, don't you know that you could immediately see the spark in Michael's eyes....& know that the wheels were turning in his brain. He went right away to scrounge up a few crayons. I told him to make sure that he peeled the paper off first.....but that was a mistake.....because the paper is what actually helps it burn.

Here's a youtube link that I found demonstrating the experiment. BURNING CRAYON.

One thing I noticed was that in the video, the guy had a hard time getting it to light & Michael didn't have a problem at all. I think because Michael held his at an angle & the match was able to catch the paper along with the crayon & that helped it burn right away.

It was really pretty cool.....but it didn't burn for 30 minutes. Ours only burned for about 10 minutes. Michael put it out right after I snapped that last picture.....so it probably would've burned about 5 mins. longer if we had set it up (like in the video) or put it in some kind of holder. Anyways.....it was a really fun spur-of-the-moment science experiment. I really do think this is the BEST kind of learning ever!! Jon even had to give it whirl when he got up & heard about it. ;-)

Cats & Grannies

Charlie cat was acting frisky...rolling around out on the dryer where he likes to sleep.

And Miss Gibby-Girl being her usual prissy little self under the Dogwood tree this evening.

 

Today's granny square....

The three I've gotten done so far. I like the blue one the best, I think. Which one is your favorite?

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Continuing to count beautiful blessings......
*hearing Roger crow*warm sunshine, coffee & Jesus time on my swing--perfect combination*dew drops on the grass--so pretty in the sunlight*Hooky time*supper in the crock pot so I don't have to heat up the kitchen*watermelon*Clay is going to pick Jon up at 11pm so I don't have to!*



New Hooky Squares

Well, here's the beginnings of my new bath mat.

Actually, I did the orangey colored/cream one first & I worked on the flower one yesterday while our power was off & I had nothing better to do. We had a storm come through yesterday afternoon. Nothing bad at all, but of course living out here in the boonies as we do, it doesn't take much for us to lose our power. We have learned that if it's calling for any kind of a storm we always make up extra tea & we always keep spare jugs of water out in the pump house. Because when we lose our power, we lose our water too. So, we were prepared with the beverages.....but it put a crink in my supper plans. I had chicken & stuffing in the crock pot cooking for supper. But of course it had only been cooking for about two hours when we lost power. We finally realized when Clay was leaving work, that no matter what, we wouldn't be eating chicken & stuffing for supper.....so he ran by Pizza Hut & picked up some pizzas & we ate by candle light. I stuck the chicken in the frige & will finish cooking it tomorrow. We finally got our power back on right before 10pm last night.
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The girls & I went to town today & met Maw for lunch at La Carreta. Always a favorite. We didn't have alot of time to piddle & shop because I had to get home in time to take Jon to work at 5pm. We did manage a little time in Target & I was happy to run by Michaels & pick up some more cotton yarn that they had on sale.......to add to my stash for my bath mat. ;-) Now, to find some hooky time.

After supper this evening, Ashley came out to sit with me on the swing & before ya know it, Alli had brought Charlie outside & plunked him down on the swing with us.

Isn't he a handsome fellow?

He didn't want to sit still for very long, but Alli managed to snap a few pictures before he had had enough.

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Continuing to count beautiful blessings.......

*electricity*clear sunny days after the rain*new yarn*leftovers for supper...no cooking*God's healing power*a nice cup of hot tea*

Terrific Tuesday

A little more of what we've been up to this week.

 

 

Alli had been looking on Pinterest trying to find a picture of a crocheted headband that she wanted me to make for her. She never came up with an actual picture/pattern but I told her I was sure I could come up with something similar to what she was wanting, no problem. Well, in the meantime she disappeared upstairs for a while with my sewing basket & when she came back down later......this is what she had been up to. She made this nifty little red gingham headband with some scrap material she found. It's adorable & looks SO cute on her. Now she's wanting to plunder through some of Maw's scrap material to see what she might be able to find. I told her these would make wonderful Christmas gifts for all the girl cousins/friends.

It was another rainy day here yesterday. Michael called me to come here & look yesterday morning. He had gone out on the back porch & Charlie (our cat) was standing up at the back door just staring out. When Michael looked to see what Charlie was looking at, he saw this little guy.

And this is the lovely sight from my front porch yesterday evening after supper. The rain had quit & the sun came out.......

It was SO pretty glistening on the still wet trees.

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And as for our summer learning......this is MY new project that I've got stuck in my craw. This beautiful Granny Square Sampler made out of cotton yarn.....to be used as a bath mat. I'm in love!! This would look SO perfect in this ole country house of mine.

I'm on a mission right now of finding the perfect Granny Square patterns that I want to use. Then I'm going to check & see if Michaels or ACM has any sales or coupons this week on their cotton yarn. I can't wait to get started!! Like I NEED another new project?! But hey.....that keeps life interesting. You know I wouldn't ever want to get bored.

 

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Continuing to count beautiful blessings.......

 

*Thankful that Chris & Jon both went in to work at the same time this morning....so they could ride together*Clay is feeling some better & took Michael to play golf today (Clay is going to caddy....not play)*quiet  peaceful house* time to work on some crafty projects.

Learning to Celebrate!

I finished up yet another Joyce Meyer book......I tell ya, I've been on a roll here lately.

This one is all about finding joy & learning to celebrate the everyday blessings in your life.

So, yesterday as I took Jon to work....celebrating this new summer job that God gave him.....Alli & Rocky decided to ride along. Rocky LOVES to go for a ride....he's such a D.O.G.....loving to ride with his head sticking out the window, sniffing the air, fur blowing in the breeze.



After dropping Jon off at work, we celebrated the lovely summer day by getting a McDonald's icecream cone (an icecream cone instead of a cookie). And the price added to the celebration....only $1.07 for two cones! Yay!!

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And even though it IS summer break, I thought I'd share some of the learning we've been doing around here.

We have enjoyed learning all about the cicada bugs. Watching them come out of their holes at night & even sitting on our front porch watching them as they emerged from their shells. God's creation is surely amazing!

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Then one night, for some reason, Michael found some old flash cards about the states/capitals & they started quizzing each other with those. It was really fun. Ashley was smoking everyone though.....but I must say, I came in a close second. ;-) Then we started switching it up by asking the capital & having the person tell you the state. That was a tad bit easier. All of this led to Ashley wanting to go out to the library & getting books on the presidents & first ladies that she remembered reading when she was younger.

 

Micael especially has been enjoying these. He loves reading about all the presidents & he's even been trying to memorize them in order. Ashley had them all memorized at one point.....even all the first ladies. I love to see them having FUN learning!

Hooky Projects, Happy Mail & a Garden

Just a few dishcloths that I recently finished up....two were knitted & the bottom one was crocheted.

Michael brought the mail up day before yesterday & handed me, not just one, but TWO letters! Wow.....what a treat. One from Sandee & one from Miss Carol. Can't wait to write them back.

After working & tinkering & piddling on our tiller....getting it to run just a little bit before it conked again....we had given up the idea of having a garden this year. Until Maw let us borrow her tiller, that is. Jon got busy yesterday afternoon & tilled....then after supper, Michael & Alli went out to get our plants in the ground before the rain came.

They put in squash, tomatoes, watermelon, cataloupe & some peppers. We didn't get any seeds in the ground yet, but when we can, we will add some green beans, corn, cucs, etc.

 

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Continuing to count beautiful blessings.......

 

 

* quiet time & coffee in the mornings* there was ONE bird in a tree out by the garden that totally put on a show for me yesterday morning.....so cool*Happy mail* new plants in our garden* rain on those plants to help them grow*Jon's first day of work today at Food Lion*Lots of leftovers in the fridge.....which means NO cooking tonight....we will have a smorgasbord for supper! *

Art & Gratitudes

Thought I'd share a few of my recent art journal pages. Nothing spectacular.....just for fun!

Just a fun doodle with lyrics from Francesca Battistelli-- 'The world is watching you everyday...the choices you make say what you are & who your heart beats for.'

Doodles & gratitudes....

A doodle drawing I copied from a magazine.... Seems I've been doing lots of doodle-y pages here lately.

I don't know if this one is finished or not.......'Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.' Psalm 141:3

Just some fun background layering.....with a few Friday gratitudes in the bottom right corner.

And last but not least.....I stamped with red acrylic paint & the paint cap. Came back later & colored in some of the spaces with my water color crayons. We'll see where it goes from there.......

 

 

Continuing to count beautiful blessings.......

 

*lunch with friends on Friday*Jon got hired at Food Lion & started his training yesterday*Hay bales*Honeysuckle*Target clearance/sales*19 baptized at church Sunday morning* nice gentle summer rain*sitting on the front porch with Alli telling stories* coffee* BLTs*Joyce Myer books....my obsession right now*my hubby is feeling better....after being sick for almost a week now!*

 

Tell me what you are grateful for!