Rivers Living

A New Look Coming

2010-06-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

I hope you all will bear with me as I try to make a change.....I know change is not always an easy thing but I am feeling real bored with my header and title.

The one thing I wanted to do was add some background color and some different paper but I have not figured that out yet.

I did my first post this morning so if you have time, check it out.

I think this will get you there http://www.Praisesfromtheporch.blogspot.com

If you come by my new site please leave a comment so I will know if anyone is seeing it.

Thank you and have a great and creative day.

Time in the Yard

2010-05-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

It won't be long now, yum, home grown tomatoes.
These really will be "vine ripe". Don't you just love it in the stores when they say that and the very tomatoes they are talking about are still green? However we, or maybe I should say HE, since my husband insisted on putting so many plants in this small space that we had allotted, will know better next year.

When we moved up here from the Keys we brought several sea shells, coral rock, glass floats,net and all of the stuff you see to decorated homes by the seashore. We are a good two hours from the ocean but I have a small place in the yard that holds all of the nautical items.

This is just a few of the beautiful roses that are on a bush that our daughter bought when she was up here for a visit two summers ago. As you can see it is almost to the top of my clothes line post. It had about twenty roses on it at one time.

This is our lazy Manx, trying to catch a nap under the rocker on the front porch. When I called her name, she rolled over and looked at me as if to say,
This better be important" !

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So not much in the way of art going on here, maybe when it gets a little hotter and I feel I must stay in the A.C. Hope you all are being creative and having fun.

from generation to generation...

2010-05-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

In my last post you saw a picture of my daughter and myself on the beach. This is her daughter and me behind her, one of our trips to Illinois. In the next picture you will see my great grandmother, and this girls children which are my great grandchildren. If I count all of the mothers in between these two, there are five. My grandmother, my mother, myself, my daughter, my granddaughter, and her two children. I feel so BLESSED !

Praise ye the Lord, Praise O ye servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord.

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised.

The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,

who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth!

He raised up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill:

That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.

Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 113 HAPPY MOTHERS DAY BE BLESSED

Daughter & husband from Illinois

2010-04-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

ONE OF THE MAIN OBJECTIVES FOR THIS TRIP, OTHER THAN TO VISIT US, WAS TO GO TO THE BEACH. SINCE WE HAVE LIVED HERE FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS AND HAD NEVER BEEN TO ST. AUGUSTINE, NOW WOULD BE THE TIME. IT TOOK ALMOST 3 HOURS TO GET THERE. WENT TO THE BEACH FIRST.

DID A LITTLE SITE SEEING, WE DID NOT RENT THESE, WE RODE THE TROLLEY, BUT YOU KNOW HOW IT IS, BOYS WILL BE BOYS!

AFTER A DAY OF PLAY WE GOT DOWN TO SOME SERIOUS TREE CUTTING. FIRST WE MUST TALK ABOUT IT, MAKE SURE IT IS GOING TO FALL WHERE WE WANT IT TO AND NOT ON THE POWER LINES OR THE HOUSE.

AS YOU CAN SEE, JOB WELL DONE. THIS WAS NO SMALL TREE. WE HAD IT TOPPED ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO AND IT DIED SO IT HAD TO COME DOWN.

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ALL IN ALL I'D SAY IT WAS A PRETTY FUN TIME, JUST TO SHORT. WE CRAMMED A LOT INTO THREE DAYS. HOPEFULLY THE NEXT TRIP WILL BE A LONGER STAY.

Not much time for the art room, the big show is tomorrow I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a BLESSED day and enjoy LIFE.

Making pin cushions for a show

2010-04-23T19:31:00.001-07:00

These pictures are all out of order and I am to tired to fight with it. Some of these have a few last minute details to fix, a tuck here and a stitch there but for the most part they are finished. I did all four today. I will be taking them to a craft show right before mothers day, along with some polymer clay beads, and some other things that will make good gifts for the ladies.

Trying to keep my mind off of April 21st. Twenty five years ago today my mother left this earth. They say time heals and it does but it does not make the memory go away. Some years are worse than others, for some reason this year has been real hard. If you have lost your mother and you were close you know what I mean. If you still have your mother you should cherish the time together and let her know how much you love her.***************************************************************************

So the nest is empty again, daughter and her husband have gone back to Illinois after a brief stay with us. We packed a lot into those few days. I am waiting on some pictures to share, we had a day in St. Augustine that was a lot of fun.***********************************************

Of course these pictures are out of order.....the first one and the fourth one are the same.

I wanted to show the tops of these two so you could see the fabric better, it might require a click to enlarge to see it better.

We are having absolutely the best spring weather that anyone could have and I am really enjoying it. I hope wherever you are it is just as nice.

Be BLESSED and THANKFUL for each and every day.

The yard, cats and some art.

2010-04-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is part of our back yard...the wisteria is really full this spring, I just wish it would last longer. You can not see the vibrant purple color in this photo, the dogwood is also in bloom. How can you not like spring?
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Did another two pages in journal #4. The gold paint almost looks like ripples or wrinkles.
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These are my three out door cats, this is Salu on the rail, and Buddy is the black and white one, and Sweetie is the manz. This is our "needs to be cleaned" front porch where they all like to hang out. The porch is on my "to do" list.

Last this is another piece of material I have been painting on. It will be folded in half and the right hand side will be the front. I sewed this picture of a lady on and will use the sky to write on. I am not done with it but just wanted to let you know, no matter how much yard work and house work, THERE IS ALWAYS TIME FOR ART!

This just might be my last post for awhile, as our daughter and her husband will be here in less than two weeks, guess with that thought I better get busy. BE BLESSED and enjoy spring.

Something new

2010-03-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

I tried to get these pictures to load at the bottom of this post but it did not work out that way so......this is three more pages I have added to art journal # 4. This first one is just papers the next one is painted and the last one is a combination of paint and a picture that was already a part of the book.

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A NEW PROJECT

AS IF I HAVE NOTHING TO DO ......I should be finishing my spring cleaning but where is the fun in that? Instead I have been working on a birthday gift that is coming up June 3rd. I forgot to take a picture of this little book (5 1/2 x 71/2) before I tore it apart. I wanted to try painting on fabric so I cut several different types and started with no project in mind. I added the writing and I sealed them, then sewed the little pieces on. At that point I knew it would be the cover for a book. The book has four different kinds of paper in it and the pages are all blank. My pastors daughter Amanda wants to be an artist, she is a fan of lighthouses and Thomas Kinkade. It is the first book that I have removed the pages and added my own. This has made me want to make another book, only this time I want to do it from scratch. This one has about 25 blank pages she can sketch, or keep notes, even paint as I used some water color paper.

So what have you been doing?

It is very hard for me to stay in the house when it is so nice outside.

Be BLESSED and be creative.

JOURNAL #4 and a clean work station

2010-03-24T10:50:00.001-07:00

SOME OF THE PAGES HAVE BEEN COVERED WITH PAPER INSTEAD OF PAINTING.....
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THESE TWO PAGES HOWEVER WILL BE A COMBINATION OF PAINT AND PAPER. THE PICTURES OF THE BIBLE AND THE FOUNDATION WILL BE USED, JUST NOT SURE WHERE OR HOW YET.

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THIS LAST PICTURE IS OF THE WORK TABLE, IT IS ALL ORGANIZED AND CLEAN. WE ARE HAVING OUR OLDEST DAUGHTER AND HER HUSBAND COME STAY FOR A VISIT AND THEY WILL BE USING THIS ROOM SO I WANTED TO CLEAN UP THE AREA. WE BOUGHT A NEW SLEEPER SOFA, IT WILL BE DELIVERED TOMORROW, HOPEFULLY IT WILL NOT CROWD THE ROOM UP TO MUCH.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG HERE AND PART OF MY DAY HAS BEEN SPENT WORKING IN THE YARD. HOPE IT IS LOVELY WEATHER WHERE YOU ARE.

CAT UP HIGH...

2010-03-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

CAT ON THE FINISHED PERCH. THIS IS SWEETIE, OUR MANX. SHE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT SEEMS TO LIKE WHAT WE BUILT.
THE NEXT PICTURE WHICH YOU CAN NOT SEE THE CAT CLEAR AT ALL IS SALU, SHE IS THE ONE THAT WE DID THIS FOR. NONE OF THEM HAVE YET TO GET UP THERE ON THEIR OWN.....SO IF THEY DO NOT USE THEM I GUESS WE HAVE SOME PRETTY COOL PLANT STANDS!

Cat is on his menu

2010-03-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

THIS IS SALU, SHE IS ONE OF THREE CATS WE HAVE OUTSIDE...SHE HAS A HEARING PROBLEM. LAST SATURDAY NIGHT WE HAD A GUEST, AROUND 11:30 P.M., HE WAS UNINVITED, AND HE LOOKED LIKE THE PICTURE BELOW....SALU WAS NOSE TO NOSE WITH IT WHEN I RAN OUT TO SEE WHAT WAS MAKING THE AWFUL SOUND. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD A COYOTE? IHAD NOT. I RAN IT OFF AND LOCKED HER IN THE SHED. THE OTHER TWO CATS WILL NOT LET ME LOCK THEM UP, I HAVE TRIED AND THEY ESCAPE. I WENT ON LINE TO LEARN ABOUT COYOTES, I DID NOT LIKE WHAT I READ. SO THIS WEEK END WE WILL BE ADDING SOME PERCHES TO OUR FRONT PORCH, WHICH IS WHERE THE CATS LIKE TO HANG OUT.

THIS IS MY IDEA OF A GOOD COYOTE, THE ONES BELOW. NOW IF YOU LIKE THEM AND YOU ARE OFFENDED, I AM SORRY. WE ARE GOING SHOPPING TODAY AND GUESS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO BUY BESIDES THE WOOD AND THINGS WE NEED TO BUILD THE PERCHES, THAT'S RIGHT ......A 4/10!

THIS IS SWEETIE, OUR MANX. SHE IS PRACTICING HER POLE SITTING. I TOOK THIS PICTURE THROUGH THE KITCHEN WINDOW. ONE THING FOR SURE IF A COYOTE GOES FOR HER, SHE WILL PUT UP ONE GOOD FIGHT.

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THE INFORMATION I READ SAID THEY TRAVEL IN CIRCLES OF ABOUT 19 K FROM THEIR DEN, SO WE FEEL CERTAIN IT WILL BE BACK. AND THIS TIME WE WILL BE READY.

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Sorry I have had no time for art these past few days, maybe by the first of the week.

I hope spring has sprung where ever you are. It has still been cool here and we have had some rain but you can see some signs of spring popping up. BE BLESSED

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOUG

2010-03-13T04:08:00.000-08:00

THIS PICTURE WAS SUPPOSE TO BE AT THE BOTTOM BUT I AM NOT GOING TO TRY AND MOVE IT AGAIN AS IT KEEPS GOING AWAY???
ISN'T SHE CUTE? EASTER IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER AND I THOUGHT IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR AN EASTER BONNET THIS MIGHT WORK.

FOR SOME REASON I AM HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THESE WORDS TO GO WHERE I WANT THEM TO. TODAY IS OUR OLDEST SON'S BIRTHDAY. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW HE CAN BE 50 ...... I KNOW I AM NOT OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE A CHILD THAT IS 50. WELL I WAS ONLY 16 WHEN HE WAS BORN. IT SNOWED THAT DAY AND WAS A VERY COLD SPRING. SO HAVE A GREAT DAY SON. YOU ARE VERY BLESSED.

NOW DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD, OR YOU WILL BE LATE FOR CHURCH , OR WHEREVER YOU MIGHT GO ON SUNDAY MORNING. SHE IS A GREAT IMAGE TO USE IN COLLAGE OR WHATEVER SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE HER.

NOW TO ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS , YES THE JOURNAL THAT I JUST FINISHED WAS COVERED WITH WALLPAPER, IN FACT ALL THREE THAT I MADE I USED WALLPAPER TO COVER THEM. IT ALREADY HAS GLUE ON IT AND IT IS SO FORGIVING AND SEEMS TO HOLD UP GOOD.

AND THE OTHER QUESTION WAS: WAS THAT MY LAST JOURNAL. OF COURSE NOT!!!!

IT MAY BE AWHILE BEFORE YOU SEE MUCH DONE IN IT AS OUR YARD IS IN GREAT NEED OF ATTENTION AND I HAVE YET TO DO MY SPRING HOUSE CLEANING.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A BLESSED WEEK-END.

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The Last of Journal #3

2010-03-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

A FRIEND SENT THIS TO ME ON LINE, I THOUGHT THE PICTURE AND THE WORDS WERE JUST TO GREAT NOT TO SHARE.

THIS IS THE INSIDE OF THE BACK OF THE JOURNAL THAT I HAVE BEEN SHOWING YOU. I WANTED TO SAVE A LOT OF SPACE TO WRITE ON, AND MAYBE ADD ANOTHER PICTURE.

YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THESE PAGES FROM BEFORE, BUT I HAVE SINCE ADDED THE PLANETS ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE.

AND LAST THE OUTSIDE OF THE JOURNAL WITH A BOOKMARK. SORRY I CUT THE TOP OFF OF IT BUT I THINK YOU CAN GET THE IDEA.

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DELIGHT THYSELF ALSO IN THE LORD AND HE SHALL GIVE THEE THE DESIRES OF THINE HEART. PSALMS 37:4

A big THANK YOU and a make over.

2010-03-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

First let me show you the post that had the word fragrant spelled wrong. After MANY layers of paint I finally cut out the letters and glued them on. I do not like the sloppy job I did of outlining them and the words at the top need to be outlined so I will work on this a bit more.The word "memories" is at the bottom of the page.
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NEXT I WANT TO THANK MY VERY BEST FRIEND JANET FOR POSTING THE POST CARD I MADE HER AND ALSO A BIG THANK YOU FOR THE ONES THAT CAME BY TO SEE MY BLOG AS A RESULT OF HER POST. I TRIED TO GO TO EACH ONE BUT MY DSL WAS ACTING UP AND I'M NOT SURE I COVERED THEM ALL. IF I MISSED YOU I'M SORRY AND PLEASE KNOW YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO COME BACK ANYTIME.

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FINALLY THIS IS WHAT I DID WITH THE PICTURES I POSTED THE LAST TIME. THE GOOD LOOKING GUY IS MY OTHER HALF AND THE PRETTY GIRL IS "ME IN MY FANTASY". NOW YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH THAT.....I JUST CAME FROM (JUST ME AND MY ART) AND IT IS PLAIN TO SEE MOST OF YOU LOVE IT. you will have to enlarge to read, also plenty room left to write on later.

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Well this journal is just about full, I will try and show you the cover and anything else that I may have missed. It looks like the weather is finally beginning to show signs of spring so there is much to do in the yard and the spring house cleaning is still waiting on me. I know we are all so busy but do not forget to share a smile and a kind word with someone, we can make a difference in someones life.

Saturday setback

2010-03-06T04:41:00.000-08:00

HERE ARE THREE OF THE PICTURES I AM WORKING INTO MY TWO PAGE LAYOUT IN MY JOURNAL. TODAY WE ARE INVITED OUT FOR DINNER AND I HAVE LOTS OF "THINGS AROUND THE HOUSE" TO DO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY CALL IT "HOUSEWORK" ! IF YOU CAN USE ANY OF THE IMAGES FOR ANYTHING PLEASE FEEL FREE TO.
I JUST DISCOVERED A MISTAKE THAT I MADE, IT CAN BE SEEN A FEW POSTS BACK. OUR DAUGHTER (THE SCHOOL TEACHER) FOUND IT..... IT WAS A MISSPELL OF COURSE, SO NOW I WILL HAVE TO GO BACK AND TRY AND FIX IT. WANT TO PLAY A GAME? SEE IF YOU CAN FIND IT.....

Saving money...

2010-03-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

You can save a lot of money by staying home! I am really having fun with this journal. It is not going just as I had planned , but then what in this life does? So what does this mean? I guess it means there will be a journal # 4. I had intended to keep this one "all scriptural" using a lot of thoughts about God, my walk with him, and quotes from his word, and there are a few pages along that line. But somewhere it took a turn and other things came to life. So when this is finished, and it almost is, I think there will be still another journal. I find this a very satisfying way to do some art work and really record a part of myself. To all of those out there that have done this sort of thing, you understand. I do not know where the stopping point is and am not to concerned about that right now.

This second page is for you Janet, or I guess I should say for us.....I have spent the whole morning putting it together, I had the background done and the rest just fell into place. Sorry it isn't PURPLE.

Friendships so dear are a rare thing indeed!

HAVE A GREAT FUN FILLED DAY

first pages of March

2010-03-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

These first two pages are finished and they were so easy to do as I kept 95% of the original background. The temple on the left and the high rise buildings of the city, with it's caption, "temples to God and Mammon".....NO that is not real money, well it is but it is copied. Honey said I could go to jail for counterfeiting money, but I said it is not to spend but it is for art, at which he just shakes his head as he is leaving the room.
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This is just a background but it is one of my favorites and has plenty of room to journal as soon as I figure out what I want to say.
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Another background with lots of space left to write on. I'm thinking about putting something that I have written, maybe a poem.

So that is it for today. We are having lots of rain, and very high winds. A true month of March so far. I hope it is a beautiful sunny fun filled day where you are and you are creating a masterpiece

or at least having fun.

three more pages

2010-02-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to leave more background showing... all of the letters and the bird and the other picture came out of magazines.
The next one did not have an angel in the plans but when I looked at the shape the paint had taken I knew it was wings. The word girls got cut off from the picture on the left. Of course that is yours truly with the bear. Since I am making this journal for myself it has a lot more "spiritual" stuff than the other two did.

This last page has a scripture quote hope it can be read if it is enlarged. I'm just about ready to put the cover on the book and then I think I will put the paints away and get out my sewing machine. Needing a little change. I have starting on my spring house cleaning but it is going real slow. Maybe a few more nice days like we just had and I will be able to get into the swing of it. I'm ready to open the windows and let in some fresh air.

Be blessed and have a peaceful Sunday.

Flappers & freedom

2010-02-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

As you can see there is plenty of space to write on, that will come later. The colored picture on the left is me, the one on the right is honey and I in the Keys, our kids took us out fishing and it was a beautiful day, we even caught fish. There is an older post that tells all about it, around Thanksgiving 2008.
The picture of the flapper girl head lifts up and the next photo shows what is underneath. I think it would be great to be that FREE, how about you?

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This last photo is a free bee! Hope you can use her in something.

And YES it is STILL cold!
So now I'm off to see what you all are up to. Have a great day, and be kind to someone.

Kind Words

2010-02-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

First let me say thank you for the kind and encouraging words, and yes "having fun" should be the most important part. Do you ever get the cart before the horse? You know, do something and then later think, Oh I should have done it this way. That is what happen on this first picture. I had already put the picture of my grandma
on the left only to wish later that I had switched them. There I go again looking for perfection!
Sorry about the glare (again) on this second picture, it is a real mixture of real and fantasy. Both of the black and white pictures are of my mother, younger in the back. The Camilla bush on the right bottom is really in our back yard. Not doing so good this year because of all of the below freezing weather.

This last picture is of a work in progress, I will show it again when it is done.

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I hope the sun is shinning where you are....
it is here and thank God for it,

the temperature however is in the 30's.

At least we have no SNOW.

stuck in scrapbook mode....

2010-02-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

THIS IS ANOTHER UNFINISHED DOUBLE PAGE. HOPE EVERYONE HAD A VERY NICE VALENTINES DAY. SINCE IT FELL ON A SUNDAY THIS YEAR I SPENT MOST OF THE DAY AT CHURCH. MY EFFORTS AT MAKING AN ART JOURNAL IS NOT GOING THE WAY I WANTED IT TO. I KEEP DOING "SCRAP BOOK PAGES"

THIS SECOND ONE HAS BEEN PAINTED, I HAD WANTED A HILL OF BUSHES AND FLOWERS AND A BACKDROP OF TREES BUT I THINK THE TREES SHOULD BE TALLER?????? ABOUT THE ONLY THING I LIKE IN THIS IS THE SKY AND THE COLUMN.

THIS LAST DOUBLE PAGE IS ABOUT MY LOVE OF CATS AND MY GRANDMOTHER. I FEEL CERTAIN SHE PASSED IT ON DOWN TO ME. AND ONCE AGAIN THIS HAS A "SCRAPBOOK" LOOK ABOUT IT. I AM HAPPY WITH THE PAINTED PAGES BUT THEN THEY GET ALL COVERED UP. THIS IS THE THIRD ONE OF THESE ALTERED ART JOURNALS I HAVE MADE IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, MAYBE I JUST NEED TO CHANGE DIRECTIONS AND DO SOMETHING ELSE FOR AWHILE???

GOT ANY SUGGESTIONS?

CITY GIRL

2010-02-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

WHEN I SAW THIS PAGE OF THE BOOK THAT I AM ALTERING INTO AN ART JOURNAL I JUST KNEW I WANTED TO KEEP IT AND USE IT. IF YOU CLICK ON IT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TELL IT IS DOWNTOWN NEW YORK, AN OLDER PICTURE. I THINK THE TIME FRAME GOES WELL WITH MY FLAPPER GIRLS.
SINCE MY AUNT IS THE ONE THAT LEFT THE FARM FIRST AND WENT TO THE BIG CITY, MOST OF THE PICTURES ARE OF HER. THE ONE ON THE LEFT HOLDING THE KITTENS IS MY MOTHER.SHE FOLLOWED AFTER HER SISTER BUT THE CITY WAS CHICAGO, NOT NEW YORK.
THE NEXT TWO PICTURES ARE JUST A COUPLE BACKGROUNDS THAT I DID, STILL WAITING FOR THE SUBJECTS TO COME.

I STAYED BUSY TODAY MAKING BOOK MARKS, 40 OF THEM TO BE EXACT. WE WILL HAVE OUR MONTHLY LADIES MEETING AT CHURCH TOMORROW NIGHT AND I HAD TO HAVE THEM READY. THEY WILL BE FILLED OUT WITH PRAYER REQUESTS AND THEN EXCHANGED. OBJECT IS FOR YOU TO PRAY FOR THE ONE YOU GET. I DID NOT THINK TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THEM IN TIME FOR THIS POST.

HOPE EVERYONE IS STAYING INSPIRED AND HAVING FUN.

Free images & some journal pages.

2010-02-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

IT HAS RAINED HERE MOST OF THE DAY, SO MUCH FOR MY SPRING CLEANING I WANTED TO START. IT IS DAMP AND DREARY, A GOOD DAY TO PLAY IN THE ART ROOM.. SO THAT IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING. I WANTED TO SHARE TWO IMAGES THAT COULD BE USED IN MAKING VALENTINES.

ALSO A PART OF A PAGE I MADE TO BE USED IN THE JOURNAL AND THEN LAST TWO PAGES I HAVE PAINTED FOR BACKGROUNDS. IF YOU ARE A GWTW FAN YOU WILL RECOGNISE THE DRESS, IT IS THE ONE SCARLET WORE TO THE BBQ.

THESE WORDS CAME TO ME BEFORE I EVEN FINISHED THIS MUCH OF THIS. I'M NOT REAL SURE WHERE IT WILL GO FROM HERE BUT I WILL POST IT AGAIN LATER AFTER I ADD SOME MORE TO IT.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS BEEN FINDING THEIR PATH IN THE FIELD OF ART. HAVE FUN AND BE BLESSED.

Page Plans

2010-02-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how to get rid of this glare... I thought I was getting it because of magazine paper I was using but this is all paint? This is just a background that I plan to use the picture below on, with some other things. I liked the girls from the 20's but I wanted to put them on a different background, so I used a picture that was taken in Utah by Cat's husband.

Now if this don't make you laugh maybe your laugher is broke.........have a great day.

Picture of winter scene compliments of "Baumcat's" husband.

Last of the 2nd, and first of the 3rd.

2010-02-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

BOY HOW THE TIME SEEMS TO FLY BY! I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS IS THE SECOND DAY OF FEBRUARY ALREADY.
WE ARE IN REVIVAL AT CHURCH AND I HAVE BEEN GETTING HOME KIND OF LATE SO BLOGGING HAS TAKEN A BACKSEAT FOR A FEW DAYS.
SORRY ABOUT THE GLARE, IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN WHEN THE PAPER IS GLOSSY. THIS IS THE LAST PAGE IN THE SECOND JOURNAL. THE NEXT TWO ARE A COUPLE OF UNFINISHED PAGES IN THE NEW ONE. AGAIN THERE IS A GLARE ON THE GIRLS HEAD. MY PLAN IS TO GO THROUGH THIS NEW BOOK WITH BACKGROUNDS FIRST AND THEN GO BACK AND JOURNAL LATER SINCE THE BOOK IS FOR MYSELF. I DID GO AHEAD WITH THE PURPLE PAGE AS I KNEW WHAT I WANTED TO SAY BEFORE I EVER PAINTED THE PAGES. SOMETIMES THOUGHTS FLOW WITH WORDS AND THEN AT OTHER TIMES I JUST GET COLORS. DO YOU FIND THIS HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE WORKING IN A JOURNAL FORMAT?
WE ARE STILL HAVING SOME PRETTY COOL DAYS AND RAIN, BUT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WILDFLOWERS THAT WILL SOON EMBRACE THE ROADSIDES.
SPRING IS IN THE AIR AND WE HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR.

I FORGOT TO MENTION ON THE PURPLE PAGE THE PICTURE OF THE GROUP OF PEOPLE LIFTS UP AND THE WORDS TO THE SONG, "People Need The Lord" ARE WRITTEN THERE. ALSO IF YOU DOUBLE CLICK TO SEE THE PAGES BETTER PLEASE FORGIVE THE CLUTTER AND NOTES AROUND THE EDGES.

ANOTHER PAGE

2010-01-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

THERE IS ONLY ONE PHOTO TO SHOW YOU ON THIS POST. I HAVE FINISHED THE JOURNAL AND I HAD TAKEN PICTURES OF ALL OF THE PAGES, HAD THEM IN MY PICTURES PROGRAM, READY TO POST ON THE BLOG
AND THEN WE HAD A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR OUR PASTOR AT CHURCH SUNDAY AND I TOOK SEVERAL PICTURES, WANTED TO SHARE THEM, DOWNLOADED THEM, AND IN THE PROCESS I MANAGED TO OVER RIDE MY OTHER PICTURES MAKING THEM GO AWAY?????? NOW I GET TO TAKE THE PICTURES ALL OVER AGAIN BUT I CAN NOT DO THAT UNTIL I EMPTY THE CAMERA AND I CAN NOT DO THAT TILL I GO TO WALMART AND HAVE SOME PICTURES MADE, SO THEREIN LIES MY DILEMMA. I LIKE THESE PAGES BUT THERE WAS NO ART WORK INVOLVED, IT WAS MORE OF A SCRAPBOOK STYLE. I KEPT THE PICTURE OF THE ORCHID EVEN THOU IT WAS A BLACK AND WHITE ONE, I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY PRETTY. THE COVER IS ALSO DONE AND I WILL SHOW THAT LATER ALSO.
IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT JANUARY WILL BE OVER IN A FEW MORE DAYS. HANG ON ALL OF YOU SNOW BOUND BLOGGERS, SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

Second set of journal pages

2010-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

MY LAST POST I MEANT TO SHOW THE OUTSIDE OF THIS JOURNAL AND GIVE IT'S SIZE, 8 1/2 x 11 1/2
THE LAST ONE WAS 10 X 14 I THINK THE LARGER ONE WAS EASIER TO WORK WITH.
AS YOU CAN SEE I HAVE NOT COVERED THE OUTSIDE YET, I LEARNED WITH THE LAST ONE TO WAIT SINCE THE BOOK GETS HANDLED SO MUCH IN THE ALTERING.

I THINK THESE TWO PAGES ARE MY FAVORITE IN THIS GROUP, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE IS A BEIGE STRIP ON THE LEFT TO WRITE ON AND YOU COULD USE THE FACE AND IN BETWEEN THE OTHER WORDS ON THE RIGHT.

THIS WAS FUN TO DO. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE TEDDY BEAR PICNIC SONG BEFORE?

AND LAST THIS IS A "YOUNG" DAUGHTER, WHO JUST TURNED 41 YESTERDAY, THE 22nd. AND LIKE A LOT OF US WHEN WE HIT THAT TIME IN LIFE WOULD ASK......HOW CAN I BE THIS OLD, WHERE DID THE YEARS GO ?

Hope you are enjoying these pages. I think I have one more journal like this just waiting for me to finish this one! It will be for "ME" and will have a lot more writing in it.

Second Journal

2010-01-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

As I promised, some of the pages from the second journal. All of the art work is done for the most part... if I find a picture that I like I will add it to the top right hand side where the vellum is. It lifts up to show the verse and a place to journal. I plan to leave some places for daughter to write so it will be a combination of both our thoughts.
Since this was a book on orchids you will see several pages left pretty much like they were. Most of them have blank spaces for the writing. In this one we have granddaughter on the left and my mother on the right.

As you can see there is a lot of room on these pages to write or even add a picture if that is what she wants to do. This is my grandparents and myself in the bath.

This last one has a pocket on the right side, the picture lifts out and is on a gold ribbon so it is attached. Baby Mia in the basket on the left. The lined paper on the right is to journal on and there is plenty of space on the left side. I try to use light paint over the dark so it will be conducive for writing.

ALL OF THESE CAN BE SEEN BETTER BY THE DOUBLE CLICK !

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I will try to post a few of these every day till you have seen it all. It was a little hard to get going on this but once I did it came pretty easy.

Amusement...

2010-01-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF THE TV......LENNY WAS WATCHING AMERICAN IDOL SO SINCE IT WAS NOT THE USUAL SHOOT EM UP VIOLENCE I DECIDED TO STAY IN THE ROOM. THESE TWO PAPERS WERE JUST LYING THERE MINDING THEIR OWN BUSINESS AND I SAW A PENCIL ON THE TABLE BY MY CHAIR SOOOOOO.
NOT SURE HOW YOU WOULD TITLE THESE, CARTOONS ?, DOODLES ?, THE WORK OF A CRAZY PERSON????? WHATEVER, IT IS ALL I HAD TO PUT ON HERE FOR NOW. YES, I AM WORKING ON JOURNAL # TWO AND IT IS GOING PRETTY SLOW. INSTEAD OF SHOWING THE PAGES ONE AT A TIME I PLAN TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE WHOLE THING WHEN IT IS DONE.
SO THAT'S ABOUT IT FOR NOW, KEEP SMILING, AND MAKE THEM WONDER WHAT YOU ARE UP TO!

THIS LADY ON THE LAST PAGE IS MY FAVORITE. SHE WAS THE LAST ONE I DID, MAYBE IF I DID TWENTY OR SO I COULD COME UP WITH A GOOD ONE.

GUIDANCE

2010-01-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

WHEN I MEDITATED ON THE WORD GUIDANCE,
I KEPT SEEING "DANCE" AT THE END OF THE WORD. I REMEMBER READING THAT DOING GOD'S WILL IS A LOT LIKE DANCING. WHEN TWO PEOPLE TRY TO LEAD, NOTHING FEELS RIGHT. THE MOVEMENT DOESN'T FLOW WITH THE MUSIC, AND EVERYTHING IS QUITE UNCOMFORTABLE AND JERKY. WHEN ONE PERSON REALIZES THAT. AND LETS THE OTHER LEAD, BOTH BODIES BEGIN TO FLOW WITH THE MUSIC. ONE GIVES GENTLE CUES, PERHAPS WITH A NUDGE TO THE BACK OR BY PRESSING LIGHTLY IN ONE DIRECTION OR ANOTHER.IT'S AS IF TWO BECOME ONE BODY, MOVING BEAUTIFULLY. THE DANCE TAKES SURRENDER, WILLINGNESS, AND ATTENTIVENESS FROM ONE PERSON AND GENTLE GUIDANCE AND SKILL FROM THE OTHER.MY EYES DREW BACK TO THE WORD GUIDANCE. WHEN I SAW THE "G" I THOUGHT OF GOD, FOLLOWED BY "U" AND "I". "GOD","U", AND "I" DANCE......
GOD, YOU, AND I DANCE.
AS I LOWERED MY HEAD, I BECAME WILLING TO TRUST THAT I WOULD GET GUIDANCE ABOUT MY LIFE.
ONCE AGAIN I BECAME WILLING TO LET GOD LEAD.

I HOPE YOU LEARN TO DANCE THROUGH YOUR LIFE WITH HIM.

A good book, & a warm fire....

2010-01-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

NO ONE IS GOING OUTSIDE TODAY! THIS BELOW FREEZING WEATHER IS NO FUN FOR MY PEOPLE.......I ON THE OTHER HAND KIND OF LIKE IT. I DO NOT DO THE OUTDOORS! I AM STRICTLY A HOUSE CAT. NOW LETS SEE WHICH ONE OF THESE GOOD BOOKS DO I WANT TO CURL UP WITH? BOY AM I EVER HAVING A BAD HAIR DAY, I THINK IT IS ALL THE STATIC ELECTRICITY.

FOR ALL OF YOU IN THE COLD, .......REMEMBER A FEW MONTHS BACK WHEN WE WERE ALL SAYING, "IS THERE NO RELIEF FROM THIS HEAT?"

HERE KITTY,KITTY !

2010-01-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

IN THIS TOP PICTURE I USED THE RUINS
FOR THE BACKGROUND. USED THE LION PICTURE NEXT, SAT THE ANGEL IN PLACE,
THEN REMOVED MIA AND ONE OF OUR CATS, (NOW IN KITTY HEAVEN) AND PLACED THEM ON THE BACKGROUND. I DID NOT SHOW THE ORIGINAL PICTURE OF THE ANGEL BECAUSE SHE CAME FROM A PAGE WITH SEVERAL OTHERS AND THAT IS IN ANOTHER PROGRAM. THIS PICTURE WILL GO INTO THE JOURNAL BUT THIS IS NOT A FINISHED PAGE. I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY DOING THESE PAGES THAT I ONLY HAVE ONE IN THE JOURNAL DONE SO I AM WAITING TILL I GET ANOTHER ONE DONE TO TAKE A PICTURE . THESE PICTURES GOT ALL TURNED AROUND BUT I THINK YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY.

IS ANYONE ELSE FEELING LIKE THE DAYS ARE JUST FLYING BY OR IS IT JUST ME?

I CANNOT BELIEVE EIGHT DAYS HAVE GONE BY THIS FAST.......

AND BEFORE I CLOSE I MUST SAY, " HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS" TO ALL THE OLE DIE

HARD FANS.

Pages in progress

2010-01-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

THESE ARE A FEW 0F THE PAGES I WILL BE WORKING WITH IN THE NEW JOURNAL THAT I AM DOING. THERE WILL BE WORDS ADDED AND OTHER PICTURES, PROBABLY SOME STICKERS AND OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS. THIS ONE ALREADY HAD A CAPTION BEFORE CHRIS MADE HER SUGGESTION TO LET THE VIEWERS COME UP WITH ONE....AND NOT ALL OF THEM WILL HAVE ONE. I WILL SHOW SOME OF THE FINISHED PAGES LATER.
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. I went to bed at 9:00p.m., I really do not care if the ball fell or not! so what else was I suppose to do, honey went to bed at 8:00!

Give it a name ...

2009-12-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

I AM STILL TRYING TO PERFECT ADDING IMAGES TO MY BACKGROUNDS.....I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN YET. CHRIS SUGGESTED
THAT I DO NOT PUT A NAME ON THEM BUT ASK THE VIEWERS WHAT THEY WOULD PUT AS A CAPTION, SO HERE YOU GO, NAME THIS PICTURE!
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It is hard to believe that 2009 is over and we are about to jump into 2010....
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I PRAY YOU ARE BLESSED THROUGHOUT THIS COMING YEAR WITH GOOD HEALTH AND PROSPERITY, AND THAT GOD BE FIRST AND FOREMOST IN ALL THAT CONCERNS YOU, THAT YOU GROW SPIRITUALLY, THAT YOUR TALENTS MULTIPLY, AND THAT YOU ARE A BLESSING TO ALL THAT YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Looking Back

2009-12-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is one of my first attempts at creating some art with a message, using a combination of photos. The old house is a borrowed picture, the older
couple is my grandparents, the eyes belong to one of my grandchildren, the flowers are from our back yard and I do not remember where the butterfly came from. Making this was a lot of fun but very time consuming as I am still learning. Hopefully I will improve with time.
When I had finished it I wish I had included some type....the words LOOKING BACK would have fit at the top on the right....oh well, next time.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

HOPE EVERYONE GOT WHAT THEY WANTED FOR CHRISTMAS. SANTA CALLED ON HIS CELL PHONE EARLY LAST NIGHT AND SAID HE HAD THE FLU, HIS SLED WAS BROKE DOWN, AND THE REINDEER WERE ON STRIKE!
NOT THAT WE HAD A BAH HUMBUG SPIRIT AROUND HERE BUT CHRISTMAS SEEMED TO GET HERE BEFORE WE HAD THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY ALL ATE. SINCE WE WERE NOT HAVING COMPANY AND WE WERE NOT GOING ANYWHERE I DID A VERY MINIMAL AMOUNT OF DECORATING. I REALLY THINK THAT IS A MAJOR KEY, GET THE TREE UP RIGHT AFTER THE PILGRIMS LEAVE, LET THE CHRISTMAS MUSIC RING ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE, BAKE SOME GOODIES, GET YOUR CARDS OUT EARLY, AND IF THAT DON'T DO IT.....YOU GOT A PROBLEM, THE BAH HUMBUG SPIRIT HAS HIT.
WE DID NO GIFT EXCHANGE THIS YEAR, HONEY HAS BEEN OUT OF WORK, BUT WHAT WE DID DO IS THANK GOD THERE WAS NO CANCER AND ALL OUR NEEDS ARE MET.
SO WITH THAT SAID, I WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. WOW 2010 ALREADY !

journals

2009-12-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

The one on the left is finished.....all of the pages I have been showing you are in there. The other one is a little smaller, and not quit as many pages but I think it will be a good one to use.

I have already started working in it, just laying down some background stuff....I will post the pages as I finish them. It may be awhile as we are going out of town for a few days so I will be taking a little break. Hopefully I will be home and able to do a post for Christmas. If you are looking for any good (FREE) Christmas images try http://Lastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com

Something new going on there every day, love the site. See you all when I get home.

TREES,TREES now you see then, now you don't!

2009-12-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well here are the pictures of the forest across the street from us. At this point they had already cut a big path down the middle but had left a few rows by the fence.

This picture was taken today, as you can see they came up to the fence, in fact so close that a tree took out our power line and we were without for an hour or so.

This picture I got out into the road and took the picture looking down the roadway. All of the nice trees you see in the background will be gone soon also. The good news is the owner is not going to sell the land for anything like a development......but the bad news is he is not sure what he wants to do with the land so it will probably not get replanted any time soon. I am so sad to see these trees go.

Mine and Others

2009-12-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

I HAD SOME PEOPLE ASK ME FOR A FEW OF THE PICTURES I USED IN THE ALTERED BOOK THAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON SO I THOUGHT TODAY MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO POST THEM AS I ALSO WANTED TO POST THESE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS. I TOOK THIS PICTURE IN OUR BACK YARD THIS MORNING. THIS BUSH IS CALLED BY DIFFERENT NAMES, ROSE OF SHARON, CONFEDERATE ROSE ???? THE NEAT THING ABOUT IT IS THE FLOWERS OPEN WHITE AND THEN TURN THIS LOVELY PINK.

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CASTLE PICTURES,

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THIS HAS SUCH POSSIBILITIES,

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AND FINALLY THIS ONE OF THE WOODS, I HAVE NOT USED IT YET BUT I KNOW I WILL. SO THERE YOU HAVE IT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COPY AND USE ANY OF THESE.

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TODAY IS A SAD DAY FOR ME, THEY ARE CUTTING DOWN THE PINE TREES ACROSS THE STREET FROM US. I HOPE THEY PLAN TO REPLANT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IT IS SURE GOING TO SEEM STRANGE WHEN I PULL OUT OUR DRIVEWAY TO SEE EMPTY LAND INSTEAD OF THE TREES. I'LL TRY TO GET SOME PICTURES TOMORROW. SOME THINGS I REALLY LIKE "CHANGE" BUT NOT THIS!

I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT MY ELEMENTS 7 PROGRAM, ANY IDEAS? I NEED HELP!

When she said " I Do"

2009-12-05T03:46:00.000-08:00

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS THE ACTUAL DAY AND THE "ONE TO FORGET" AND THE REST IS JUST FOR FUN. THE ONE OF TOM THE TERROR AND HIS WOMAN IS A REAL PHOTO, BY THAT I MEAN IT IS NOT ONE THAT I WORKED OVER. THE VICTORIAN DRESS ON THE LEFT IS ONE THAT LAURA FOUND IN THE VICTORIAN TRADER AND THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS PRINTED AND COLORED BY ME. IT IS FROM A GROUP OF PAPER DOLL DRESSES I HAD SENT FOR A WHILE BACK.
THE "ONE TO FORGET" IS THE SMALL ONE AT THE TOP ON THE LEFT, DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A VERY HAPPY BRIDE.....MAYBE THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN HER FIRST CLUE
NEXT SPRING SHE WILL BE CELEBRATING THEIR SILVER SO I GUESS AFTER 25 YEARS HE IS A KEEPER. NEXT SPRING HONEY AND I WILL HAVE BEEN TOGETHER 45, NOW THAT WILL CAUSE YOU TO THINK ABOUT HOW OLD YOU ARE!

Thursday pages

2009-12-03T19:41:00.000-08:00

WE HAVE SOME FANTASY GOING ON IN THIS ONE ! I FOUND A GREAT SOURCE FOR PICTURES OF FLOWERS, THOSE SEED AND BULB CATALOGS YOU GET IN THE MAIL. I HAD A FEW GOOD PHOTOS I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU BUT I FORGOT TO MAKE A NOTE OF WHO THEY BELONGED TO AND SO I HESITATE TO POST THEM. IS IT ENOUGH TO SAY THEY ARE NOT YOUR OWN WORK OR MUST YOU STATE "WHOSE THEY ARE"?
CAN YOU BELIEVE I'M RUNNING OUT OF PAGES IN THIS BOOK, I HAVE TWO LEFT TO PAINT AND ONE THAT I PLAN TO WRITE ON. SO IT TOOK ME ABOUT THREE MONTHS TO COMPLETE IT. ALTHOUGH I AM NOT TIRED OF DOING THIS I THINK I WILL GO TO SOMETHING ELSE FOR AWHILE AND LET MY BRAIN REST. DO YOU LIKE TO STAY WITH THE SAME THING OR KEEP TRYING NEW THINGS?

TIME

2009-11-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

SORRY ABOUT THE GLARE, IT IS BECAUSE THAT IS A PICTURE OUT OF A MAGAZINE AND IT IS GLOSSY. ALSO DEPENDS ON WHAT TIME OF DAY I TAKE THE PICTURE. I AM SURE YOU WILL HAVE TO CLICK TO READ THE SMALLER WRITING. THE PICTURE OF HONEY AND I ON THE LEFT WAS TAKEN IN FRONT OF AN OLD HOUSE WHERE WE HAD AN APARTMENT IN ILLINOIS BACK IN THE 60'S (CAN YOU TELL BY THE HAIR)? THE OTHER PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS MY MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG. THESE FLOWERS WERE SOME OF HER FAVORITES AS SHE SAID SHE KNEW WINTER WAS ALMOST OVER WHEN THEY CAME UP.
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING AND THAT ALL OF YOUR LEFT OVERS GET USED ! OURS WAS NICE AND QUIET, HOME ALONE WITH JUST THE CATS,THEY EVEN HAD TURKEY.

Romance

2009-11-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

Not to much in the way of painting on these pages, I painted a brown background and left the top of the pages with the sky showing. The picture of us at the table took three different pictures, now is when I need my new program, Photo shop Elements #7. I have it installed HOWEVER it is going to take awhile to figure it out. The main thing I want to do is make a photo transparent so I can drop it onto another photo. So anyone out there that knows how to do this I sure could use some tips.

Hope everyone has a very BLESSED and HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye, and above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye THANKFUL. Colossians 3:12, 15.

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

2009-11-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

This is probably my lest favorite of all the pages I have done. You can not see much without enlarging it.
Guess what? My photo shop program came today and I installed it but I will not open it or try to do anything until after church tomorrow. Now how is that for discipline? I can hardly wait, I have also joined a group at Digital Whisper and I'm very excited and anxious to learn from those that have been doing this for awhile.

So I will keep this short and maybe be back to post something tomorrow.
BE BLESSED and have a great day of rest.

One I forgot I had done.

2009-11-19T05:50:00.001-08:00

Now I remember why I did not post this, it is not done....I wanted to add some journaling on the left hand side, oh well at least you can see the art part of it. Well I must get busy, I hear the yard calling me. Check out the last post for that.

After checking with Webster I have found there is no such word as "journaling" what a shame, I like it......so I guess to be correct I'm to say journalizing, hmmm, well you know what I mean, right?

Before and After Yard

2009-11-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

The big tree on the left in the first picture is the same big tree in the second picture. This is our yard out behind the house. Our three acers has a lot of woods on it and if you are not careful the grape vines and the thorny vines will take over. The water oaks drop nuts and start new trees so we had a "forest" of small trees all tangled up in vines, what a mess, it was almost impossible to walk through. The best way to deal with it is down on your knees with hand cutters as you see honey doing here. We hand cut the ones that are to big for the weed eater. So there you have it, this is what I've been doing instead of ART!

And which do you think I would rather be doing ?

Church in the country

2009-11-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

These pages were finished last week, not sure how I missed posting them. Honey has been laid off from his job and he has decided it would be a good time to catch up on "clearing the woods" so that is what we did Saturday and today. He worked Sunday, but I went to church. So needless to say I will not be spending much time in the craft room. I took a few before pictures this morning and by the end of the week I should be able to show you what we are doing. I did not have the heart to cover up the church on the right so I worked around it. Me in the pink dress was down in the Keys, gray suit, up here at a conference.
Me at the well, was taken a few years back at the "Holy Land" in Orlando. Next best thing to going there. If you live anywhere close and have not gone I would recommend it. The song on the left is my favorite praise song.

Sitting in the sun on Sunday

2009-11-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

The black and white cat is Buddy, he really is to big for this basket but don't tell him. The gray cat under the table is Salu, she is deaf and so she sticks real close to her "Buddy". All three of our outdoor cats are adopted strays that came wondering up out of the woods, scared and hungry. Sweetie, our Manx is not pictured here but she has been on previous posts.
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The following two pictures are from the altered book I have been working on, I will keep the "junk yard" and the "sky" pictures and cover the rest.

On these two pages I had planned to keep the very top showing the sky and the tops of the mountains. I plan to paint over the other 3/4 of the picture. I am finally running out of pages, the book is almost done. Perhaps I will go back and add some thoughts to some of the pages.

Something a little different

2009-11-12T05:06:00.000-08:00

I decided to try a different technique with my pages. I don't think I will stop here, this is just a foundation, just not sure what I want to do to it next. I really do not want to cover the pictures up, anyone have any suggestions for me?
This one the only thing I might do is paint around the edges of the eyes...I have no clue why there is a white spot, it is really another picture of eyes. The book is really getting full. I think there are about three more double pages left to do.

Monday Morning

2009-11-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

This is the last two pages, this one has writing you can not see unless you click on it.

I am very partial to these colors right now for some reason.

After clicking on this image I see that the right hand page looks fuzzy, the page is not like that so it must have been the angle that I used in taking the picture.

Keeping this short and sweet today as I need to get it together and go shopping......not my favorite thing to do but as I remember growing up it was always wash day.

Do you have certain things you do on Mondays ?

Pages and what is it?

2009-11-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

I do not have a digital program that I can work with so putting myself on this bench and behind this wall of stone was done the hard way with copies and cutting and layering. This picture was taken before I added the journaling (is that a word) anyway I included the scripture in Luke where it says, " I go to prepare a place for you, etc. " That's where I want to live, my mansion.
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This is a picture I took in my yard this morning, these flowers were some more that came up on their own, I do not even know what they are called.

And this.....what is it? It must have been made by a spider, most unusual I thought. Has anyone seen one of these before?

The 50's

2009-11-05T03:09:00.000-08:00

I had a lot of fun doing these pages....in 1950 I was seven years old. The two girls on the left page are Janet on the right and me on the left. It was our 5th grade school picture. It was 1956 and I was thirteen in the picture at the top of right had page.

My first husband had a ford like the one on the page and that is what I learned to drive in. He was a very good and patient teacher. I was just a teenager, sixteen when we got married. The best part of that relationship was the three beautiful children that we had.

So what were you doing in the 50's?

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p.s. some words got added to the last post, the Gone With the Wind pages. My daughter Laura reminded me that I had not included Rhett's famous last line to Scarlet, also when she said, "oh Rhett, won't they be just pea green with envy?" Well fiddly de, I can't think of everything......

Gone With the Wind

2009-11-02T08:00:00.001-08:00

If you know anything about me at all, you would have known it was just a matter of time till I got around to doing a "GONE WITH THE WIND " page for the altered book that I have been making. Of course you will see a few different faces in some of Scarlett's dresses.....the main star being Laura, who also shares a passion for this movie.
This was so much fun to do and I tried to show as much painted area as possible, using a dark color is not good to journal on. I had a lot of other favorite pictures but there just was no more room. Oh fiddly de ! I think I'm heading to the 50's next and some good ole ROCK & ROLL
oh well I'll think about that tomorrow.

Sunday's Saving Grace

2009-11-01T03:33:00.000-08:00

His oath, his covenant, his blood,

support me in the raging flood.

When every earthly prop gives way,

This still is all my strength and stay.

If Jesus undertook to bring me to glory, and if the Father promised that he would give me

to the Son to be a part of the infinite reward of the travail of his soul; then, my soul, till God

himself shall be unfaithful, till Jesus shall cease to be the truth, thou art safe.

When David danced before the ark, he told Michal that election made him do so. Come, my soul, exult before the God of grace and leap for joy of heart.

A MERRY HEART DOETH GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE........

There is GREAT JOY in serving the Lord.

Do you have anything to rejoice and dance about?

Ahead or Behind?

2009-10-28T13:03:00.001-07:00

Which is it, I'm not sure? Anyway I have two pages to show you today. However I did take this picture a different way than usual. I stood the book up instead of standing over it. Not sure that was a good idea as I see bubbles in the pink rose, I had not noticed that before.The picture on the right is one of my favorites, it is a four generation photo, me being the youngest. Again not much painting, however I did do the sky and all of the green.

This next one is the one that I had such a hard time doing. Every time I would start to do it I would turn and go a different direction and end up with something different than what I wanted.Yesterday I received a glorious package in the mail from my dear friend Janet, it had two old bibles, lots of papers,(one I used in this picture) and some of her wonderful art work, two ladies, titled Friends.....I love it and thank you so much for being such a wonderful source of inspiration. Laura here is the picture you wanted me to use, hope you like it. Also has a photo of aunt Helen when she was young, she loved roses like you do.

Can you tell?

2009-10-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

I guess I am just a scrapbooker by heart! There is really paint under all of those pictures but I just got carried away.... The top has a gauze layer that I painted beige over the pink and this was suppose to be something entirely different but I followed my creative instincts and this is what happen, it was not planned.

You will have to click the picture to read any of the writing, and I forgot to add the words over the bridge that I wanted to include. It is an old one in the Keys.

I do not know if I will get back to the craft room, we have company coming, then Thursday I will be at the church helping with ANOTHER chicken & rice dinner, fund raiser thing....I believe if EVERYONE would GIVE as they should we would not have to have these. Oh well, the bright side is that we have some great fellowship. What are you doing to keep busy these days?

More Paint

2009-10-26T14:57:00.001-07:00

These pages have more paint and less pictures. There was nothing to much as a theme, just some added random thoughts as I went. Usually I have something specific in mind but this time I just started painting and made it up as I went. I found a few new ideas in applying paint, not all of them worked out like I had hoped. So tomorrow I think I will be working under the sea.

I hope everyone is having weather as nice as we are. I really should be out working in the yard??

Childhood Toys

2009-10-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Oct 23....What a special date !
My eldest daughter and my youngest granddaughter share this birth date. So I must take the time to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to both my girls.
These pages were a lot of fun for me as they reflect some of the things in my childhood that made me happy. First when I was real small my grandfather built me a rocking horse chair, it looked a little like the one I painted. My favorite book when I first learned to read was this little Golden Book about the kittens that could paint. Maybe some seeds were planted there. I never had a doll house but always wanted one. As I got older I had a new bike that I was afraid to ride so my father gave it to my cousins. I spent the summer with them and they taught me how to ride "their bike". I think I was the most pleased when I received my roller skates and case. Somewhere in all of that came the paper dolls. My friend Janet, (you all know her from the Lavender Loft) and I spent hours upon hours drawing them. So as not to be denied, I think I now have more toys than I did when I was a child. Isn't being "older" just so much fun?

Free Images

2009-10-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Barnes Hollow poem

2009-10-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had pages with a poem my grandmother wrote so today I wanted to do pages with one that I wrote. One of my trips to Illinois, to visit children I stayed with Laura and she lives in the country. All of the houses on her dead end road are on property that at one time was owned by her next door neighbors, the Barnes. There is a sign at the beginning of the road that says, Barnes Hollow. The picture of the river is where my son-in-law goes fishing. The picture of me on the road is actually taken from another picture of me when we were working in our woods here at home. Then of course we have the cute picture of the great grandchildren. Sorry about the glare (from the camera) on the picture of the spooky old building. It is here in our town.....I would love to go exploring in it but
it is posted NO TRESPASSING. Don't you just love old deserted buildings, I do.
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I wanted to add a couple of photos you might want to use but I know blogger will put them where I do not want them so I'll add them separate.

Grannys poem

2009-10-21T04:49:00.000-07:00

These two pages were probably the hardest for me to do as I painted most of them. I wanted a clothes line to hang the quilts on to go with the poem my grandmother wrote. Her birthday was in May and she loved spring so I wanted the spring blossoms. Are any of you old enough to remember the first wash machines? I sure do. I was "helping" my mother do the wash one day when I was about four years old. I was washing my dolls dress and when mother was not looking I decided to run it through the wringer but I got my hand in there and it mashed a ring on my finger. Mother could not get it off and my finger began to swell so she grabbed me up and ran to the fields where my dad was plowing. He had bolt cutters on the tractor and he cut it off. Needless to say I was not allowed around the wash machine anymore. The older I get, the more meaningful my childhood memories are to me. Can you recall some of those "Good Ole Days" ?
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I just looked at this picture (up close) and it is a little blurry, hope you can make it out ok.

2009-10-20T04:39:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun doing these pages as they are full of things I really like, flowers, lace, writing paper and pens. The paper in the upper left hand corner is a scrap of wallpaper that was used on the largest wall of my computer room. The two ladies in the hats and gowns is my self and oldest daughter.
I have given this book a lot of thought and I think it needs to be called an altered book instead of a journal. The pages that I have been doing remind me more of a scrapbook than they do of any kind of "journal keeping". Whatever title you put on it I have been having a lot of fun with it and expressing myself so I guess it really does not matter what you call it. The whole process has me investigating other avenues of expressing myself with books, paint, paper, etc.
So my question to you is "ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET" ?

What is it?

2009-10-20T03:46:00.000-07:00

Can you see the little yellow things ? This is a lambs ear plant in an old crock on our front porch. The other day while we were having our morning coffee on the porch I happen to notice this.....went for the camera, of course to capture "what ever it is". Got a little closer, Oh, I see, it is

MUSHROOMS. I have never seen bright yellow ones before, have no idea what kind they are, but they were kind of pretty. Maybe I'll do a bit of research to see if I can figure out what kind they are.

I finished two more pages but I failed to download them to the computer soooooo, I will try to come back later with those. Have a great day.

Latest pages

2009-10-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

This page has a few pictures taken when we lived in Big Pine Key, in the Florida Keys. Honey doing what he liked to do most, fish. Our youngest daughter with her daughter above the sunset. Oldest daughter with her daughter and myself one of the trips they came to the Keys. Sometimes I miss it but mostly it is the loved ones that we left behind that are missed.
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These two pages are about my grandparents on my mothers side. Myrtle and Fred Hartman. On the left, a very young Myrtle with a friend in the buggy, and then both grandparents when they were older, this is the way I remember them.
The right side has me as a child, that is also me by the barn, taken many years after they were both gone. We made a trip back to the old farm, no one was living there, and it was pretty run down but since this barn held a lot of fond memories for me I wanted this picture taken. My grandfather farmed when I was small and he always used horses, he never owned a tractor or a car. He loved horses, so do I, and now it has been passed down to our youngest granddaughter. She takes riding lessons and his quite good with horses.
I am very blessed to have a lot of good memories.

Postcards & journal pages

2009-10-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

I promised some vintage post cards so this is three of my favorites. Please feel free to copy them is you can use them.

This one reminds me of something my mother use to always say to me, Gail you have got to slow down, take time to smell the roses. I'm working on it!

I like this girl with her basket of fruit, and since it is that time of year I thought she was very appropriate.

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This was my last two pages in the journal. There seems to be a glare on the paper on the left and that is where I have written a few lines. It says, "My dear sister, Wish we could spend more time together I really miss you and our talks. Tell mother hello for me and keep the teapot warm." I love you. The larger picture of the left is my aunt and the smaller one is my mother with myaunt behind her. The two girls in the circle on the right are my two girls.

Pioneer Day 2009

2009-10-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Pioneer Day in the Mayo park in downtown Mayo. With it being the first part of Oct. you would think it would be a nice day with the sun shinning, but it was in the 90's, can you say HOT ! There were different bands and a lot of food booths, a few rides, several crafters and lots of people. That is honey riding on the gradall, his boss is driving. I did not take pictures of the log truck, or the milk truck, or the "mud bog" truck, I know you are sad and sorry to have missed those!!!!!! You must remember where I live. There were no pretty floats and only a high school band but there you have it. And can you believe they do this EVERY YEAR?

Tomorrow I will try to post some more old photos or post cards for you to copy and hopefully two more pages in my art journal. Hope you are having a great Columbus Day and for those that have to work, maybe a day off.

Latest journal pages

2009-10-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

Since this is my first journal of this type I am concentrating more on the pictures than I am the words. I figure I can always go back later and add words. I took two separate pictures this time as they did not flow together in color just in thought. This first one is a little about death so I used birds of prey.

This second page has some thoughts about truth, knowledge and what we are free to believe. The writing on the paper on the left is out of a bible written in Khmer. Most of this can be seen better as we know by clicking on the picture (for details).

This is the latest two pages. I do not know why the big bird at the bottom looks like it has white, it does not, it is all that bright blue, must have been a glare from the camera.

I did not stay at the thing in the park very long, it was sooooo HOT! I did take a few pictures I will try and post them tomorrow, it is almost dinner time and I have NOTHING in mind. You don't suppose it is because I have been in the art room all day??????

Old pictures & A Good Report

2009-10-10T03:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more old pictures that you may be able to use in some of your art projects. Again these are no one that I know. I do have a picture of a distant relative on an old bike some what like this one. Unfortunately a lot of my old pictures were placed in a scrapbook ...this was before I knew to make copies and use the copies!!!!

And the good news, Yesterday we had to go to the VA for the last time....for a long time. The doctor said everything looked good and the incision has healed quite nicely so honey can resume his normal routine, just take it slow and work into things gradually.

Today is a BIG day around our little town...it is the annual Pioneer Day held downtown in our park. I'm off to get ready, honey is going to be in the parade, so I must take pictures. Hope you all have a great week-end.

Old Cars

2009-10-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

After having such a good time on Elizabeth's blog, WOW! she has soooo much good stuff on there, everything from receipts,to vintage prints and she is glad to share. What a blessing. You can see her blog here http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/ . Anyway I cleaned out a closet the other day and found some old papers, post cards, and photos that I had saved. Yes I am guilty of being one of those people that save EVERYTHING! So I decided to share....please feel free to copy any of these that you can use.

I did not want to overwhelm you with pictures so I will try and add a few at a time.

Hope you can use these.

Thought I should add a little note about the people in these pictures.....I do not know them. These pictures came into the store years ago, (Salvation Army) and I think they were mostly taken in Florida, however there were NO NAMES.

Latest Art pages

2009-10-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is the latest pages, most of this was inspired by the little "dancing lady planter" in the lower right hand corner. It belonged to my grandmother and then my mother and they both kept it on their pianos. However I do not have one nor do I play. My mothers went to my eldest daughter, she plays. Two of the pictures are of our granddaughter M. she took dance for about three years.
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These pages reflect my love for cats.......some of this is my own art work and some of it is pictures that I have taken over the years. Plus three sets of cats that belong to L. our eldest daughter. The picture of me holding the two Manz was taken at our eldest son D.s house.
So this is what has been keeping me off the streets.
This Friday is another trip to the VA hospital, maybe our last as we are expecting them to release him. Finally..........PRAISE THE LORD.

star of Texas

2009-10-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Can you say a little to much Miracle Grow? I know they say everything from Texas is big but.....these are xanthisma or (star of Texas). In the past they have reached the heigth of about four feet, this year I put a lot of fertilizer on my hydrangea not thinking about the daisy looking things that had come up on their own right next to it. They shot up about ten feet or more.

This is a shot of them from the porch. I planted a few seeds a few years ago around on the other side of the porch but they seem to have a mind of their own as to where they wanted to come up. Next year when they pop up out of the ground you can believe I will be doing some transplanting.

And this is my last three (outdoor cats) still have one in the house. I had to have Sarah put down while honey was in the hospital. She was 25 years old. Sure do miss her, she could hardly go but she would follow me all over the yard. She lost her eyesight and there just was nothing else we could do. Sorry this picture is so dark, not sure what happen. Sweetie the Manx is in the rocker, Buddy the hunter is on the other chair and Salu is getting a drink.

Hope this nice weather we are having will stick around for awhile.

Before and After

2009-09-24T09:09:00.001-07:00

Somehow I knew these pictures would show up backwards.....so you are going to get the after first. By after I mean, honeys surgery. Since we have been pretty much housebound I have found a different way of expressing my self. This was a book on Montana, size about 10 x 13 . So far I have covered the front and back and painted and collage eight pages. This is yesterday and today's work and is one of my favorites. I'm not sure if you can read about the apron or what I wrote, but maybe by clicking the picture.

Next comes the before surgery, when my pastors wife, her daughter and her mother and I all went on an antique hunt. All I bought was a piece of bark cloth. We had a great time. Tried two eating places, what you never do that? Had great sandwiches at one and even greater dessert at another. Saw a lot of "stuff" and this really neat old furniture. I would love to have this bed. And what a great buggy if you have dolls.

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I deleted a picture here, it was of me sitting on this bed, there are windows and the picture had a bad glare that I did not see until I enlarged it. Sorry about that.

So that does it for now, I'm off to the kitchen to cook two hens as my part of a fund raiser at the church tomorrow. We are selling chicken and rice dinners, $5.00 and you get homemade cake. How many do you want?

Prayer Works

2009-09-16T04:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for your prayers and concern.
We went to the VA and had the staples taken out. Had an x-ray, blood work done and "honey" is doing GREAT. He has another four weeks of "doing nothing" .....now it is time to pray for ME!
He did find out, the hard way, that you HAVE TO WALK, so every day he goes down the road to the corner, we live in the country so that is about three blocks, so by the time he gets back he is tired. He spends the rest of the day and night in his recliner, with the remote in his hand.....he has not been able to get comfortable in the bed yet.
I have been cooking three meals a day, and juicing carrots, celery, and apples, giving him all kinds of treats and special care. The worse part is washing the incision and checking it for infection. I have been pretty much housebound, but that has been ok as it has allowed me time to finish re-working a crazy quilt I made back in the eighties. When we lived in the Keys I had it stored in a closet and later found out that we had termites, they loved the quilt!!!
Ok, I'm off to find another project that needs to be completed, I think it might be the baby blanket I started for our daughter Lindessa, she was 40 last Jan. mmmm, think it's time ?

WARNING

2009-09-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Warning,

Do you smoke ? You might consider quiting !

This is what can happen to a smoker. He quit
two years ago after about 50 years of it.
This is my husbands back. This is two weeks after his surgery. They removed several cysts from his right lung. Now comes the good news, they did not find any cancer. He is recovering quite well, they kept him in the hospital twelve days. We have to go back this Friday to get the staples out and do blood work and x-rays but after that I hope we do not have to go back for a LONG time. It takes about an hour and half to get there from where we live and I drove back and forth almost every day that he was there. Now I am learning how to be a nurse. All I can say about that is no matter what kind of money they make, IT IS NOT ENOUGH !
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Sorry I have been away from the blog for such a long time but I just couldn't seem to find the time to fit it in. I can not promise I will be posting much till things get back to normal.

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Hope everyone had a wonderful break and was able to rest on this Labor Day week-end.

When I hear the word labor I can not help but think of the scripture that says,

Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy ladden and I will give you rest. Mat. 11:28

Casting all your cares upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

I do not know how I would have made it through all of this if I did not have my best friend Jesus to talk to and to put my trust in. He will NEVER leave us or forsake us, His word is truth and you can depend on it. There are many promises in the bible and they are for you IF you call God your father, and know Jesus as your saviour.

Silver Lining

2009-07-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR , THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.

We are looking for that silver lining in our cloud. This picture was taken in Illinois a few weeks ago and sent to us from our son.

I'm so sorry I have not posted in awhile but I was waiting to hear from the biopsy and did not want to share what we heard. The first biopsy was done at Shands Hospital across the street from the VA because their equipment was down. The two smaller spots they found were benign and the doctor managed to completely MISS THE LARGER ONE......so we had to go through the whole thing again. This time it was done at the VA. Of course each time you have to WAIT to get the results. The second test was done last Wed. , we got a call today. The larger one is cancer.

We have to go in Frid. for a consultation. We were told that it is in a hard to reach place and that they might have to remove the whole right lung.

So all of you believers that know God and what He can do, please join your faith with mine and pray. God is faithful to his Word and nothing is to hard for Him. The more impossible it might seem to man the more glory God gets when there is a miracle. You might ask, "do you believe in miracles" ? Oh yes I do, I AM ONE. Thank you for your prayers.

Altered Book

2009-06-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the 23rd. if my mother were still here she would have been 87. I would have baked her a chocolate cake, her favorite.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM
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But no time for baking I'm scrapbooking AGAIN. I have torn an old encyclopedia apart as the cover was the size I wanted to use and it is real sturdy. First I covered the inside, the top picture.

Then I covered the outside, this is the back.
I put a clear pocket on the front so I can change out the pictures on the front whenever I want to.

Over the years we have had 20 cats and 4 dogs so we have LOTS of pictures. First I laid out all the pictures I wanted to use then made a list of their names and tried to keep them in order. So far I am about one fourth of the way into this project.

Here are a couple of the pages I have done just so you can get an idea how it is going to look. Well I think I hear stickers calling my name........Hope you are finding the time to do some of your favorite crafts and arts, and that you can do them INSIDE. Can you say HOT! up over a 100 degrees every day.

Change is good !

2009-06-22T01:42:00.000-07:00

Change is good....Right?
This is the first room you come into at the front of our house. I decided to re-arrange it. This end had the hutch and settee and the other end had these chairs. You wouldn't think a simple thing like swapping them out would make such a difference, but it did. Now the room looks so much bigger.

The picture on the wall to the left is an antique piece of fabric, it is all embroidered, all hand stitched, done in velvets. I tried to get a few pictures of it but because of the glass I kept getting a glare. I'm sure if you click on the picture you will be able to see some of the work.

This bottom picture really shows more of the detail. I consider myself fairly patient but I'm not sure I would have the patience to do work like this.

I trust everyone had a nice fathers day....honey got calls from all of the children, and cards of course. Some much needed, boring under garments....tee hee ! AND some replacement parts for his gas stainless grill that he is so proud of. A good day all in all, HOT just like he likes it. Summer is here with a vengeance.....100 in the shade!

Peace of Mind

2009-06-19T06:09:00.000-07:00

peace of mind in troubled times comes from God's word.

We got a call yesterday from the doctor, finally. She said the test was positive and he will have to go back for a biopsy . They will call next week to set up an appointment. This is not what we wanted to hear but we are so thankful that it is not as bad as it could be.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

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Psalm 91
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

God is good and his word is true !

Wild Petunias

2009-06-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of the many wild petunias that have come up all over our yard. I'm not sure how they got here, maybe the birds did it but I really like them. There are several shades of purple and some have white mixed in with them. Most of them are up around the porch area, with a few in the walk ways. I have even been able to transplant some of them.

I worked out in the yard yesterday morning trying to keep my mind busy.....still waiting on the doctor to call. It has been in the upper 90's here so if I make it till eleven I'm doing good.

I had some pictures of the area where I was working on the camera but then I decided to post some beads for sale on E-bay and I needed to clear the camera to take pictures of the beads. I need to buy a bigger chip for my camera, one of those things you always seem to put off till another day. So this last picture is of the tomatoes my hubby planted. He put them out in the open so they would get lots of sun, well can you say to much ....so I put up a little shade for them. And yes they are some mighty good tasting tomatoes. Don't you just love growing your own?

You can tell this part of the yard does not have good grass.

Still Waiting

2009-06-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

We are still waiting to hear from the doctor, maybe tomorrow . When having done all, stand, so we are trusting God that all is well

The day we got home from the hospital these glads were blooming. This is the first year we have had them. They really needed a trellis or something to lean on as they get quit tall. I'm not sure what all the different colors will be as they were a mixed bag.
Don't you just love a surprise?

Keeping this short and sweet and will just close with "no news is good news" As soon as we hear I will let everyone know what is going on. Thanks for all the prayers and kind thoughts. BE BLESSED

No Fun

2009-06-09T19:00:00.001-07:00

This is where we will be most of tomorrow....It is the V.A. Hospital in Gainesville. We have to be there at 8:30 a.m., I know that does not sound to early but we live about one an a half hours from there. Lenny is going in for a PET test, nothing to do with animals, they will mix live radiation with sugar water and shoot it in his veins. Then he waits about three hours and they do a cat scan. If there is any cancer in his body it is suppose to show up, or light up. Whatever, it does not sound like a fun time to me. I have the easy part, driving and sitting with a book. I'm not sure if they will tell us the results tomorrow or not. They found a very small, about 6mm lymph node in his right lung and they think it looks suspicious so that is why we are going through this. We have talked and prayed, now we just must TRUST GOD. I'm expecting a report that says, "there is nothing there". Will post later when this is behind us.

Plants and another blog

2009-06-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

This first picture is kind of a mystery... It is a new shoot coming up that has been recently transplanted. We found it over at the sand mine. None of us had ever seen one like it before. It had flowers on it so we dug it up, put it in a bucket, kept it watered, and it seemed to die. I went to empty the bucket and when the root came out it had little shoots on it so I immediately planted it and a few weeks later this is what we have. I can hardly wait for it to flower again.

This is our lime tree and as you can see we will have limeade this summer, boy look out for them thorns.

This is a vine that loves to go up trees, it is called a cross plant. It is headed up the tree in the next picture. Not sure it will bloom when it gets up there but that would be pretty.

And last this is the tree the vine is going up, you can see it if you click the picture, also where it is coming from on the ground. And the pretty red cannas around the tree I was able to purchase them all for $5.00 last year when I was in Illinois

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I just tried to take some more pictures and my camera is acting up, I sure hope it is nothing to serious, now is not a good time to have to buy a new one. So that is it for now, and I will try my best to keep up with BOTH of my blogs. You can see my other blog by clicking on the picture of the beads I made, (most of them anyway) that is at the top of this blog on the sidebar. I created it to hopefully keep my jewelry and bead making seperate. We'll just have to see how this works, it should be interesting, like I have NOTHING TO DO, RIGHT?

A few thoughts for June

2009-06-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the month of June, can you smell the roses. This was my grandmothers favorite month, also the month her youngest child was born, my mother. Born June 23, 1923 passed on April 25, 1985. She would have been 86 this year. You are missed dear mother of mine. It can be a lonely place in life if we have no siblings and our grand parents, parents, aunts and uncles are all gone. Yes I have a husband and children, granddaughters and two beautiful great grand children.....but when there is no one older than you left.....well maybe you can relate.
So I will count my blessings and be thankful for all the good Lord has brought into my life. June is also the month that the blueberries will ripen, we have a few bushes and they seem to have a goodly amount of berries, now to catch them before my feathered friends find them. I think I see a little bit of color, it won't be long now.

We have never grown blueberries before we moved here, one thing I did find out is you have to beat the birds to the fruit. Once they get some color on them here come the birds. I thought about a scarecrow with a sign, ......FREE SEED IN THE FRONT YARD! Think it would work?

Birds Tell It Like It Is

2009-05-31T05:45:00.000-07:00

Smile, God loves you! I can not take credit for this photo but it sure says it all.
Then we have FAITH....maybe not like this little guy but Gods word tells us in Hebrews 11:6 WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM: FOR HE THAT COMETH TO GOD MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS, AND THAT HE IS A REWARDER OF THEM THAT DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM.

As you rest in him through storms, holding your faith position, you are obtaining a " good report". And you are serving as a beacon of hope to those around you. Our abiding peace will always depend on our resignation into God's hands, no matter what our circumstance. HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH Have a great Sunday and
BE BLESSED

BLUE SKIES & BLUE BIRDS

2009-05-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

HEY DID THE RAIN STOP ? DID YOU SEE WHAT I SAW ? WOW, LETS GO GET'EM. I'LL TAKE THE BLUE ONE AND YOU GO FOR THE YELLOW GUYS...

THIS WAS SNAPPED AT OUR DAUGHTER AND SON-IN-LAWS HOUSE IN ILLINOIS, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER REALLY COOL BIRD PICTURES SHE SENT. AS YOU CAN SEE THE BIRDS ARE CATERED TO QUITE WELL. THEIR TWO CATS ARE INDOORS AND CAN ONLY LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND DREAM. AS IS THE CASE WITH OUR VERY LAZY INDOOR CAT. SHE IS ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD AND NEVER GOES OUTSIDE. HER NAME IS CAT.

I HAVE IT MADE HERE, I REALLY LIKE THE LIVING ROOM RUG, I LOOK SO GOOD ON IT, DON'T YOU AGREE ?

BUT THEN I LIKE THIS CHAIR ALSO AND I THINK I LOOK PRETTY GOOD ON IT TO. LETS FACE IT WHEN YOU GOT IT YOU GOT IT

IF I WERE GOING TO BOTHER TO GET UP AND GO CHASE SOMETHING I THINK THESE GUYS WOULD BE FUN TO CHASE, BUT THEN WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT IF YOU CATCH IT???? NO THANKS, I'M NOT LIKE THE OTHER LOW LIFERS THAT LIVE OUTSIDE AROUND HERE. DON'T TELL ANYONE BUT I SEE THEM CHASE BIRDS ALL THE TIME. GUESS I'LL WANDER OUT TO THE CRAFT ROOM, THAT IS WHERE MY BLUE CHAIR IS, AND SEE IF THERE IS ANYTHING GOING ON OUT THERE. IF I WAS YOUNGER I'D GET UP ON THAT TABLE AND PLAY WITH SOME OF THOSE BEADS AND OTHER THINGS THAT LOOK INTERESTING.... OH WELL I FEEL A NAP COMING ON.

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DON'T FORGET TO STOP BY THE ETSY SHOP++++HAVE A GREAT DAY AND BE BLESSED

Trying to stay focused

2009-05-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Can you see it? Maybe if you click on it.... The sun that is always there, but sometimes it hides behind the clouds. Our daughter in Illinois sent us this picture. It was taken when the tornadoes were close by. Thankfully none touched down in their area. When you are going through a storm in your life, as we all do, try and stay focused on the SON, he is always there.

Living Simply—Yet Focused
"Look at the birds of the air … . Consider the lilies of the field …" (Matthew 6:26, 28).
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin"—they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon—all of these simply are as well—yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, "Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me." In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you "will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually—just as "the lilies of the field."
The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and "the lilies of the field"—simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.
If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live—yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.

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Two newest items added to my Etsy account, you can visit it by clicking on the Etsy button on my sidebar. Please come by as often as you can as I will be adding new items every few days. Thanks for stoping by .

I did it !

2009-05-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

I finally did it !

I opened an etsy account, tried to add it to my side bar but blogger said their gaddets button was not working ????

I used this picture for a border on my account.

I have three necklace sets for sale. Hope you will be able to see them here. http://Werna.etsy.com

Maybe tomorrow when blogger is feeling better I will be able to add the info to my sidebar.

Let me know if you find me, ok ?

Maybe it's the LOCATTION???

2009-05-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Here we are all set up at the Spring Festival...but where were all the people? It was in a small town, off the main street, and the day before Mothers Day.I doubt if fifty people came through. The Scentsy girl sold two items, one to me, and the plant lady sold a few plants. I think I sold more than anyone but it was not the beads. There was one lady that really knew anything about the amount of work that goes into making the beads. Most of the people think you just string together a few beads....

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This lady was next to me and she makes music CD's for you after she consults with you. I'm not to sure I know how all that works

This was some art work that was for sale.

I had a picture of the plants but seem to have lost it. I 'm having a very hard time getting this post together for some reason.

Although I did not sell any of the beads I did sell some other stuff, however I'm not counting it as a success since I didn't break $100.

So I guess I'll try and figure out how to sell on Etsy. Anyone got any helpful hints?

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Hope everyone has a great and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

A Day in the Yard

2009-05-08T13:14:00.001-07:00

Yes it's HOT, yes the BUGS are bad, but what's a girl to do ? Put on more bug spray than clothes and head on out to the yard where there is ssoooo much to do. It is little places like this special rock that holds an extra drink for birds or beast, whichever come first that really provide a blessing.
These petunias by the front porch steps just came up on their own, all over the yard in some of the most unlikely places.

This palm tree has ferns and an air plant that is about to bloom growing out of it and it seemed like a good place to put some shells, floats, old bottles, things we brought with us from the Keys. This path leads up to the side of the front porch.
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We did it, finished the screen to hide the water tank for the well. This morning I planted little ferns along the bottom to fill in that space. Our butterfly bush is starting to bloom.

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And look what is living under our shed.....I counted four of these little guys, not sure if there is any more. They were sure busy, so much so that they didn't even know I was there. Why is it that EVERYTHING that is a BABY is cute ? Not so much when they get big !!!!!

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So all this running around the yard has really made us tired.....and this seems to be the coolest spot for this time of day. The temp is in the low 90's already and it's only May 8th. Hmmmm, wonder what sort of a summer it is going to be?

Tomorrow is the big day when I will try to sell some of my beads at a show, I plan to take the camera so hopefully we'll have some good photos the next time.

Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me, bless His Holy name.

Playing Catch Up

2009-05-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

Summer is here! The house is shut up and the A.C. is on. I really like summer as there is so much to do in the yard. Because the river flooded the bugs are real bad, I feel so sorry for all those people that have suffered loss because of the flooding so I will not complain to much about the bugs. Here is one of our projects, we are putting up some lattice to hide the ugly water tank. I will take another picture when we get done.

The cats have run out of steam, they do not do much but eat and sleep, chase an occasional lizard. Very few of the lizards that live around here have tails. Hmmmm, wonder why? The only one on her feet is Sarah, our calico want-a-be, she is 25 years young and still going, the really fat one trying to groom herself is the Manz that had kittens about a year ago.The gray one is under the table and her "Buddy", that's his name also is the black and white one.

This is what has been keeping me busy for the past few days... the ones on the left are the old ones, the yellow ones are the new ones to replace the others. Sorry I didn't get the pretty part,( red ribbons and yarn) in the picture. These are bookmarks for the ladies of my church. There is a place to write their prayer requests on the back and then we turn them in and everyone draws one out and that person is the one you pray for until we exchange them again.

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So there you have it, not a very interesting post but just a few of the things going on here. I have a show to go to next Saturday, going to try and sell some of my necklaces and then not only is Sunday Mother's day but our youngest son will be 46, his special day happens to fall on Mothers day this year as it did the year he was born, 1963.

Where does the time go?

Did you find all of your eggs ?

2009-04-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

What did this furry fellow leave in your yard? Between the two bunny cards is a picture of my great grandchildren, if that isn't the sweetest pose ! This picture was taken by their grandmother out at her house. She only had one daughter so having two at a time can be a challenge.

They live in Illinois, can you tell by the yard? What a difference a few weeks and some rain can make. Everything is green and full of blooms now. It looks like that bunny is leaving some mighty pretty eggs these days.

Don't you just love these old post cards? Feel free to copy them if you want to. Our yard has been calling to me and there is so much to do I just can not get it all done. Maybe I will take some yard pictures tomorrow. Trust everyone had a BLESSED and Happy Easter.

HAPPY EASTER

2009-04-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

HE IS RISEN !

The tomb is empty,
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre....... These two pictures come from The Holy Land, the one in Orlando , Florida. Three of my friends and myself were able to visit there several years ago and we found it to be wonderful and educational,made you feel like you had gone back in time to the very day of Jesus.

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May that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, dwell in you and give you new life.

Happy Easter

EVERYONE NEEDS

2009-04-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone Needs Forgiveness The basic facts of the Bible are God’s creative power and holiness, human rebellion, and the efforts of our merciful God to bring us back to an intended relationship of sonship and fellowship. The need of forgiveness is first seen in the third chapter of Genesis, as Adam and Eve willfully disobeyed God, choosing rather to satisfy their own self-will. The result was guilt (Gen. 3:8, 10), separation from God, loss of fellowship (Gen. 3:8, 23-24), and a life of hardship, anxiety, and death (Gen. 3:16-24) lived under the wrath of God. David expressed this terrible condition of the unforgiven sinner graphically in Psalm 51. He spoke of being unclean (v. 2, 7, 10), of being sinful by his very nature (v. 5), of his grief and sorrow at being separated from God (v. 8, 11, 12), and of his guilt (v. 14). Sinners cannot live rightly without God, and yet as a sinner a person is cut off from the holy God. Only through the mercy of God can one find peace and forgiveness.
Through the cross of christ only can we find true forgiveness

FOR YOU !

2009-04-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness : and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth

he is brought like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shears is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ISIAH 53: 1,7

Old testament prophesy became reality, the truth of that is something we all need to deal with!

Not only was Jesus mocked and spit upon, beaten over his entire body, his beard was pulled out, a crown of thorns was pushed down upon his brow, cries rang out CRUCIFY HIM, over and over until this man that knew no sin, this God that left heaven and became man, this one that willingly gave up his life for you and me let himself be crucified and while hanging on that old rugged cross said, " Father forgive them for they know not what they do"

HOW CAN WE IGNORE SUCH A LOVE AS THIS ?

Jesus died for you.....what will you do for him?

Our many cats

2009-04-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

To much lunch, getting so fat it is hard to groom , maybe a walk, I could pick some wild flowers.... Boy can I relate! My neighbor and I was walking, going about two miles each time. Then life came along and got in the way. We were out of town for a few days and then I was busy trying to get caught up around the house and you know how it goes once you break the routine. Maybe tomorrow will be the day to get back in the swing of it. We did some yard work over the week-end, mowed for the first time this year. But can you believe it has cooled down and is suppose to be in the 30's tonight and even colder tomorrow night. Can you say brrrrr ? I thought that was all behind us but I guess not. Talked to our oldest this morning and it was SNOWING at his house. Well he lives in Illinois so what can you say.......So is spring ever going to get here?

These are our outside cats. The calico is 25 years old, yup that is what I said. She was born in the Keys in 1984. The all gray one is the youngest, she is deaf. The black and white one is the only male, he is my hunter, things like squirrels, moles, mice. He is a good boy. The tabby is the one trying to wash herself, she is a Manx. All of these cats except the calico were strays....we took them in, had them fixed, fattened them up, and gave them a good home. Hopefully no others will find their way to our door. Five is enough, we have one spoiled rotten one in the house, she has been on the blog before. She is about 12 and her name is Cat. The old one is Sarah, The gray one is Salu, the male is Buddy, and the Manx is Sweetie, and that she is.

Guess What I Was Doing 42 Years Ago ?

2009-04-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

April 1st, 1967, nothing fancy, just a few promises, a ring exchange, and now I pronounce you man and wife. It was a Saturday and the only day my honey could get off of work, and it just happen to be April 1st. APRIL FOOLS DAY

We were not fooling as it has lasted 42 years and still holding.

This is a few pictures I dug up to share a little of our lives over the years. We were both real tired in the top left one, we had just driven eleven hours to get to his parents house in Springdale Ark. this was when we were first married. The one of me with a birthday cake was taken in Aug. 1971. The lower left hand corner was us in the early 70's taken in Wis. at the Playboy Club. Lower middle was taken in Ft. Pierce, Fl. in the early 80"s, A welding job had taken us up there from the Keys for about a month. Lower far right was taken in Miami at his cousins house where we use to go for Thanksgiving, 1988. The small one in the middle at the top was us at a party for the Lodge 2001, taken in the Keys.

This is us in front of a lake, taken at a friends house in Georgia in the mid 90's. This last picture of us is here down on the Suwannee River. It was taken about two years ago.

We had a great time at our friends house in Winter Haven. We ate out a lot, and Pat and I shopped while the guys played golf. A very fun and restful time. It is always fun to get away but I was very happy to be home. Like Dorothy said,"There is no place like home". IT HAS RAINED ALL NIGHT AND AGAIN ALL DAY.....Thank God for a very much needed rain. You can almost see the grass growing.

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew
forth all thy marvellous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. Psalm 9: 1&2

Taking a Little Break

2009-03-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post for a few days, we are going to Winter Haven to visit with friends. We will be back next Tuesday. A much needed time of rest, especially for hubby. He came up here to retire but has found himself working harder some days than he did in the Keys. I took some pictures of him on his job, maybe I will post them when we get back.

This is my latest sets of beads, they have a glare so it is a little hard to see the design on them.

Over the week-end I received an email that had a wonderful site to go to and I wanted to share it, here is the address............. http://www.bornagainamerican.org/ Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. See you next week. Hope everyone will be able to get in their garden soon.

This is the day...

2009-03-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24

The calendar may say the first day of spring, some of the flowers believe it but it was 48 degrees this morning when we got up. It warms up into the 70's in the day and is quit nice but the mornings are still very cool. I left the windows open last night and it was 65 in the house at 6 a.m. . I say," what is wrong with that", Honey says "close the windows you are freezing me to death."

So to celebrate SPRING come on over for some tea. By the time you get here we will be able to sit on the porch. And just for you I will bring out the Brambly Hedge set. There is a setting for each season. They are made by Royal Doulton. Click for a close up, are they not the cutest little critters you have ever seen? Just had to have them! We can do tea or even lunch but I drew the line after that, which means NO dinner plates.

We might have to fight off the cats, the porch is their favorite place to hang out, maybe some pictures of that laid back scene tomorrow. BE BLESSED

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

I felt like paying homage to my Irish heritage. This is a picture of my very Irish father holding me. This picture of us was taking when I was a little over a year old. We lived in Springfield, Il. at the time and he drove a taxi. I'm sure I have told you this before but will mention it again. He was driving a cab in the windy city of Chicago when he met my mother. She had gone there to heal a broken heart and to see her older sister who was playing the piano in a night club. My mother had been engaged to a soldier and he was killed in an accident. When she met my wild silly Irish father it didn't take much for her to fall for him. He was twenty years older than she and a very smooth talker. He loved to dance, he was always the life of the party, could drink anyone under the table, and had a true Irish heart. He passed away at the age of 58 in 1961. My prayer is that he had time to make it right with God. I was not a Christian at the time. I accepted Christ into my life Feb. 10, 1976, and I thank God every day that my name is written down in His book of life. My Irish blood has turned to Royal blood, as I am now a joint heir with Jesus. To God be the glory.

Are you sick of beads yet ?

2009-03-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is the two I just finished. The other three I made a few days back but I do not think I posted them. I have a goal to finish at least twenty sets before the show. I guess if they do not do as well as I am hoping I will have to open an etsy account or something. It is times like these I wish I lived in an area where there is an abundance of little gift shops that would take things on consignment.

There was some misunderstanding about my craft room and my computer room. They are two different rooms. This is my computer room, it is the room that I showed a few of my favorite things in. It is the one with the old post card wallpaper.

This is one side of the room and the next shot is the other side. It is the smaller of the two rooms. It is about 8x12 and the craft room, which is the room we added onto the back of the house is 12x28. It is also my laundry area. No matter how many rooms I have or how big they are I seem to have no trouble filling them up. Lord deliver me from STUFF ! Anyone else have that problem ? Double click with caution.....the clutter might be more than you can take.

Then & Now

2009-03-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

And of course blogger added the pictures in the wrong order----I wanted the black and white one on the bottom to be first and this one to be last. This first one is my cousin Joyce and her friend Dwight. They live in Illinois,they went to see some friends in Louisiana and decided to come on down to see us. They had never been in Florida. We do not live near the ocean or Mickey but we are in the central north part of the state, so there is not a lot to do here.Sitting on the porch relaxing and talking about the GOOD OLE DAYS!

This is us on our front porch. She is on the right just like in the picture below. In that one I am in the middle and her older sister is on the left. My parents and I had gone to there house for a visit. They have a younger sister that was not born yet. Their father and my mother were brother and sister. The two pictures under us girls are them when they were small.

Uncle Dean was looking mighty shy in the picture on the right. All I can say about that is he sure grew out of it. Don't you just live old photos?