HAPPY NEW YEAR from the kittens

The black kitten is a Tom, he can really dish it out but his sister has no problem with holding her own. I know in these photos it looks like he is winning but trust me.....it is pretty much tit for tat.

This sister looks all laid back but she is just as rough and ready as the other two. Of course we have our quiet, don't I look sweet moments, and believe me that is just what they are, moments. I don't know if we will find homes for all of them or not but if we do not I may need to get a job, they sure can eat. So there you have the latest pictures on the kitties.
EVERYONE BE BLESSED AND HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Christmas Day and kittens

This road winds down to the river....We had company at Christmas and they wanted to see the Suwannee. The river is about three miles from our place so we all loaded up in the van and took off. They also wanted to see our town, Mayo, that took about five minutes. Next picture is the final destination.
Talk about a peaceful place. It was a great place to take some pictures. They took several of us and we took some of them and their dog. Everone had a fun time. Then it was back to the house to eat AGAIN!!!!! I think all I did for two days was cook and clean up. I really didn't mind as everyone gathered around to talk while all the preparations were going on.
This last picture is of two of the three kittens we have left, trying to get to their momma......I know sad huh? They are seven weeks old now and must be weaned. I have had good reports of the other two that found new homes, we also have a couple of prospects for these guys. Hopefully we will soon have an empty nest. I have managed to get some really good shots of them and I may put about four on my next post. If I do not get it done before the 1st. Everyone have a HAPPY and BLESSED NEW YEAR.

Winter in N. Florida

I'm sure if this picture is clicked on it will enlarge for more detail. This is the last area that I have finished. I am working on a walkway that steps down, each landing has bricks layed. Only two steps have been finished so I will wait until I have at least two more done before I take any more pictures. This is why people move to Florida I'm sure. Today the sun is shinning brightly and it is almost 70. We have three children still in Illinois, all the way from the top of the state to the middle to the south east. They have all had freezing rain, and snow to deal with......
Yuck, no thanks. For all of you that enjoy skiing, snow mobiling, etc. have a great time, I'll watch from inside by the fire with my cup of hot chocolate. I'll take working in the yard to snow activities any day.Kitten up date with pictures to follow in a day or two.
Hope everyone is ready for Christmas, if you are not ready by now, well you just might miss it.
My next post will be a picture of L. with "his" cat, she is wearing her Christmas hat, check back later, it is a hoot!

2 Babies Leaving Home

Tomorrow is a big day, this little guy will be going to a new home. Is he ever going to have it made. He will be able to go in and out of a new beautiful home on the river. He will also have four other cats to watch over him. His new "mommy" is going to spoil him rotten. He even has a name, it is Manxwell.......ahhh is that clever? The other picture is of the other male kitten and he is not leaving but his sister that looks a lot like him is. The big difference between them is he has the longest tail, about two inches, she has no tail. She will be going to keep a lady in a wheel chair company and to be played with by a little girl that picked her out for her aunt. They have name her Angel. So there you have it the latest on the kitties. 2 down and 3 to go.
ALL OF THIS MOVING IS WEARING ME OUT.

Yo Yos on the tree.

If you do not want to make a quilt or a pillow, put your yo yos on some ric rack and string them on the tree or hang them from the mantel. I wish I could take credit for this idea but I must confess I saw it on another blog. I also like the idea of covering a basket with them, like the one here. I'm sure some of you out there can think of some other ways to use them. I would like to hear them.

I've also been busy making more necklaces, maybe I'll post a picture later. Tomorrow will be the fifth week for the kittens, the time is sure going by fast. They are really showing their own personality. We still have not decided what we are going to do with them, I know we are being silly and to protective. We worry about them not getting a good home. We figured it out and if we keep them all it is going to cost about $400.00 to have them all fixed, not to mention food and flea medicine................WOW !

3 Weeks Old Yesterday

I can not seem to get these guys to hold still for a good picture. Instead of trying it when they first get up from a nap maybe I need to snap one when they are about to fall asleep....I will keep trying. They are still pretty wobbly, they are the cutest when they are in their box rolling all over each other. They are starting to bite and play. Three look like mom and two are black and white, well white on the tummy and feet.
Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. We had a fairly quiet day with just a nephew and his wife, plenty of food and good fellowship. So much to be thankful for, hopefully an attitude of gratitude will remain all year. Now how many kittens did you say you wanted???

Special Day

What a special day~ but then I have a SPECIAL friend that really likes to bless me. You just might have to click on this picture to see any details
There is a piece of cake and a candy (not real of course) made by Cathy T. Chavez. An angel for my van, a kitty mug (don't you just love the colors ?) and a very great collage. The card has a wonderful story about a teacup. And that's not all, can you believe a years subscription to one of my favorite magazines. So WOW!!!! am I ever feeling loved, and all the thanks go to my dear long time friend, Janet. THANK YOU !
p.s. the kittens are doing fine, really getting cute, a new picture will be coming in a few days.

Cuddle Closer, It's Cold !

You will probably have to click on this picture to see much of anything......The babies are eleven days old today. They have their eyes open and are trying to walk around a little. I did not want to take a picture yet of them with their eyes open as I do not want to hurt them with the flash. I will try to get a better picture in a few more days. Three of them have a very short stub and the other two have an (almost) tail, about 1/2
inch long.I can hardly wait till they are all up and running around, I think!!!!
Nothing much else going on here, L is going to Winter Haven for a few days to play golf with his friend that winters there, I have a meeting tonight and church tomorrow and will be busy all day Thursday with hair appt. and some tests done at the heath clinic. Before you know it turkey day will be here and L has invited his nephew and his wife, I think they will spend a night or two, so it will be busy around here. I'll try to post again before Thanksgiving. BE BLESSED

A Tale of a Different Kind

I have a neighbor that is a few years older than me and she loves yard sales, thrift stores, etc. as much as I do, so whenever I can I ask her to come along. We had just returned home the first Sat. of Aug. I was helping her out with her "new found treasures" when I heard a cat meow. Strange, she does not have a cat. I'm the one with all the cats, and not wanting any more. This strange little female, with no tale came out of the flower bed, she looked like she was starving, and like she had kittens, there was milk. I asked my friend if she was going to feed her----NO WAY said she! Then she said, "why don't you take her home with you"? Oh sure, like we need another cat. So I left, went home, told my honey about it, and before I could finish my story, there she was on our doorstep. Now let me tell you how smart this cat is, she went straight to HIM, meowing, and rubbing, looking up at him as if to say, "please help me"...He picked her up, looked her over,said I wonder what happen to her tail? Then he said, " I think she has babies and she is hungry" !!!DUH you think??? Next he said, "go get some food for her" wellllllll we fed her, she stayed, something happen to her kids, I was waiting for her to dry up so I could take her to the vet and get her fixed since my honey really likes her and started calling her (his cat), the only one we have that likes him best!!!! I told you she is smart. Well to shorten this tale a little......as it became obvious she was going to be a mom AGAIN and by doing a little math I knew her time should be about the first part of this month, so in the house she came, and sure enough, we have 5 wee ones. Now before these kittens were born we wondered about Sweet Pea's tail (that's what we named her, it was going to be Sweet Pig as she sure can eat, but that seemed a bit unkind) anyway we thought maybe her tail had been cut off...............that got settled when we saw the kittens, all 5 have no tails. So we have a Manx on our hands, and even though that is not the end of the tale, I'll stop here. There will be baby pictures later. BE BLESSED

A Birthday Gift

This is the pillow I mentioned in yesterdays post that I made and gave to Laura for her birthday. The back is a pink velvet. I believe you can click on the picture to see it larger. It started with a piece of muslin, I laid out a lace handkerchief, it got tacked in place then other handkerchiefs were cut and the corners were used. Some trim, a few antique buttons and that pretty much does it. It was a lot of fun to make but for me the best part is the designing, choosing what I will use and then laying it all out. Anyone want to team up that likes to sew but does not like to put it all together ? I'm going to make one for myself, It will probably be in blues. I also made her a pin cushion teacup and embroidered a table scarf with roses and butterflies on each end. So there you have it, Laura's HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Happy Birthday Laura & Mia

When my oldest daughter was a year old I made a yellow and white dress and gave her a yellow rose....she tried to eat it! When she was two I gave her two roses, she smelled them to death! So over the years on each birthday she would receive a rose for every year. I did this until she was sixteen, they are in the box on the table where she is opening the card. Now it is 46 years later, she is a wife, a mother, a grandmother to Hannah, and Daniel, the last picture is of her with her daughter, who is her only child.
I do not know why blogger is being so "hard to deal with" today, it took me FOREVER to get these pictures to download and I finally gave up on adding a picture of the pillow I made for this special event. Maybe I will be able to come back later and add it. I'm so sorry I can not be with my daughter on her special day but since I am in Fl. and she is in Il. it is just to far. Maybe next year. I was able to go up there last year but this year I went south to the Keys for Mia's 7th, it was quite the party, they had a huge blow up water slide, lots of kids, lots of parents, lots of food and a big cake, what a fun time was had by all. I made it home just fine in the usual 8 1/2 hours
Thanks to all of you that were praying for me.

Headed South

Dear Friends in Blogland,
No pictures today as I am short on time and for some reason can not download the two pictures I wanted to. Maybe when I get home from the Keys and have more time. We went to our little local Pioneer Day festival downtown in the park. It was a beautiful day, almost all of the booths were things like woodworking, candles, fudge, things for the kids to play on, lots of different foods, and some great music. The parade was ok, (very small town) and the subject of my photos, one of the bagpipers and one of miniature horses pulling a wagon. I had intended to get a few shots of the crowd and the booths but it just didn't happen. Our park has huge old oak trees and a few things of interest I might just take some pictures there when I get home.
I am leaving very early Thursday morning for a few days in the Keys. Our granddaughter will be having her 7th birthday and I want to be there. I plan to be back by the 23 and will try to post then. Please keep me in your prayers, it is about an eight and a half hours to get there.

Paper Dolls Galore

Yesterday I went to the Lavender Loft to see my friend Janet, she was still on the mountain top or somewhere....contemplating her navel sooooo I had a little time to look at some other sites.

First I went to " Let the beauty we love be what we do" and from there to " Hazelruthes" and that is where I spent most of the morning. She had so many different leads to paper doll sites, it would take days to see them all. Well my printer was screaming "ENOUGH" and I think I must have used almost a whole ink cartridge but I sure had a lot of fun and hopefully lots of new ideas as a result of all the great images I was able to download and the best part, it was FREE . So if you like paper dolls and have LOTS of time, check it out.

Could my name be Alice?

Who would like to come for tea? Collecting tea cups and teapots has been a passion of mine over the years. This however is my favorite set and the only set that has plates to match. It is made by Royal Doulton and is called the Brambly Hedge Four Seasons. If you click on the picture I believe you can see more of the details. I am so fond of the whimsical characters with all of the flowers and berries.

This is going to be a very busy month for me. I have been working on gifts for our oldest daughter Laura, her birthday is on the 23rd as is M. our granddaughter that I made the horse items for a few weeks ago, I posted them if you care to see them just scroll back a few posts. I plan to go to first Saturday market this week-end and our annual craft fair is at the park downtown next week-end. A trip to the Keys will be coming up around the 18th soooooooo I do not know how much blogging I will be able to squeeze in. So would you like sugar or maybe some lemon with your tea?

To good not to share

Nugget of the Week
Adopt the Pace of God
By John Mason
September 20, 2007
God is a planner, a strategist. He is incredibly organized and has a definite pace. More like a marathon runner than a sprinter, He has our whole lives in mind, not just tomorrow. Remember God is never late. Never try to hurry God. "He that believeth shall not make haste," the Bible says in Isaiah 28:6. Urgent matters are seldom urgent. Pressure usually accompanies us when we are out of God's pace.

Proverbs 16:9 says, "We should make plans, counting on God to direct us." Proverbs 16:3 tells us, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Cowards never start, and the lukewarm die along the way. God is the original's hope and the copy's excuse. Is God your hope or your excuse?

Adopt the pace of God; His secret is patience. There is no time lost in waiting if you are waiting on the Lord. The road to success runs uphill, so don't expect to break any speed records. All great achievements require time. Happiness is a direction, not a destination.

Abraham Lincoln, during the darkest hours of the Civil War, said in response to the question whether he was sure God was on his side, "I do not know: I have not thought about that. But I am very anxious to know whether we are on God's side."

Walking in the pace of God helps establish us on the proper foundation. Nothing is permanent unless it is built on God's will and God's Word. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it" (Ps. 127:1).

Every great person first learned how to obey, whom to obey, and when to obey. A famous anonymous poem says, "The place I choose, or place I shun, my soul is satisfied with none; but when Thy will directs my way, 'tis equal joy to go or stay."

God has your whole life in mind when He directs you...
-John Mason, from the book You're Born An Original - Don't Die A Copy! I had planned to post this Sunday but "life" just got in the way. Our ladies group at church is starting a craft night, I will try and post some of the results....if nothing else it should be a lot of fun. BE BLESSED

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JKBee

First you need a new gown, (Designs by W.G.) and then it's off to the party. There will be music, and dancing in the streets. What is the occasion ? IT'S JANET'S BIRHTDAY Yeah !!!!!! And for a true gypsy spirit there is only one mode of tranportation:
Yep, you guessed it a real gypsy wagon. Now I'm off to find the horses, or maybe unicorns.
See you at the party.

CELEBRATE CELEBRATE CELEBRATE CELEBRATE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANET

Common and not so common

What a wonderful surprise this little beauty was. Why a surprise you might ask, the answer, I did not plant it. I did plant all of the other plants in the circle around this tree, however I did not plant this red one. I noticed the stems coming up and thought that it was strange as I did not recognize it but decided to leave it alone and see what might happen. Can you believe it has taken it three years to show up? Maybe I have little fairies coming in the night and planting? And the other beautiful thing I have to show you is this picture of a flower that someone sent to me.

Have you ever seen a flower like this before?

It really does look like a parrot...........

Last craft porject

I have a granddaughter that LOVES horses. She has a birthday coming up soon so I had to put on the thinking cap and see if I could come up with something. I collect wallpaper books whenever I can get them and when I saw the pictures of the horses I knew it would have to be a project for Mia, so that was the source of my pictures. The tin on the left was picked up at a thrift store for .50 and the Kleenex holder was a whole .25. It just so happen they were the same color. If you click on the picture you will probably be able to read the letters on the tin.....they are MB, which in this case stood for the maker of the cookies, however MB just happens to be Mia's initials. This was a blessing I did not even notice until I started to clean the tin. (God is so good, yes I am one of those that believe God is in control, He knows what we need, He desires to bless us, and the footsteps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord, I do not believe in coincidence.) The picture covered their add, the plaque with her name I made out of clay. The inside I covered with felt. I think it is fairly obvious what I did to the Kleenex box. So there you have it. It is a wonderful 67 here this morning so I must get busy in the yard.

Current Project

As you can see, I have a "helper". Her name is Salu, which is a Hebrew word that means, God restores. She has a hearing problem but I know God can fix it. She is a good cat that found us when she was a small kitten, we think she followed our big black and white cat we call Buddy. We think we know where they USE to live but when I went over there to ask if they were missing a black & white tomcat, they swore he WAS NOT THEIRS. Well with about 40 cats running around why would you miss one ? So we adopted them, had them fixed, and they are very healty and happy here. Our current count is 1 in the house, 4 outside, 1 of which came up here with us and is 23 years old and the other 3 are the ones that "found us".
So back to the project. This top picture with Salu is a new path that leads to our well. When I finish with it, it will have pine bark and big rocks on both sides. The bottom picture is going to be a new path that will lead out to the area where you see the rocks...there is a BIG hole there, the path will step down, the sand that is being removed from the path will go into the hole to help fill it part way up. The idea is to finish with a sunken garden. Thanks to my friend Janet, after some brain storming she said, "why not do a sunken garden"? So there you have it and now you know what I will be doing over the next few months. This morning I cleaned off the craft table, and do not think I will be starting anything new for awhile. I am finishing up with two things I made for my granddaughter, Mia that just might be my next post......till then, BE BLESSED

Interview with Rick Warren

This is an absolutely incredible interview with Rick Warren, author of "Purpose Driven Life". His wife now has cancer, and he now has "wealth" from the book sales. In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: "People ask me, "What is the purpose of life?" And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body--but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort, God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ's likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountain top, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD. " Hope this blessed you as much as it did me.

Funny Memory

You may have to click on this picture to enlarge it so you can see the photos. The one on the left is of my Great Grandparents on my mothers side. This picture was taken a few years before I was born. The other picture is of my mother and her older brother Dean. All of these people have passed on. The plate in the picture hung on the dinning room wall at Great grand mother's house about the time the picture of mother was taken. When they would go for a visit, my mother would stand looking up at the plate and say, "cock-a-doo" and Dean would say, "no silly it is a duck not a rooster" but mother would stomp her little half German foot and insist it was a "cock-a-doo".
This plate with all of the memories now keep me company in my kitchen
Did you do the fun thing on Janet's blog about What Color Are You ? Since I love color I did, I am a yellow, imagine that!not one of my most favorite colors but I like it, my kitchen is yellow.

Love Color

The crayon box flew open and look what came out! As I have said before, we live in a wooden house built in 1945. This room is on the front. It used to be a porch. The fellow before us closed it in. He was not much on finish work as you can see by the drywall boo boo. It didn't show up as bad when the wall was beige, like the other three walls are. I really had planned to fix it but I bought this paint last week, woke up early yesterday and said, mmmmm I think I'll paint today. I JUST LOVE COLOR !


The real inspiration for this color came from the rug and a stainded glass window that is in the living room. We cut a bigger doorway into the living room when we moved in trying to open the two rooms up to each other more. I wanted to make the opening even bigger but the smarter one in the family said we couldn't take out any more of the wall. The rug in the living room matches the one in this room only it is larger.




This picture gives you a better idea of what I'm talking about. If I would have scanned it to the right more you would have been able to see the stainded glass window. Oh well so much for interior decorating. My yard is calling my name, we have finally had some rain and the grass needs mowed, now the question is do I want to brave the heat or let it go in hopes for some cooler weather? Maybe a goat or two, if they would eat only the grass but I wouldn't have a flower left in the yard. Goats are a big thing in this area and a lot of people have them, I think they are cute but I'm not looking for ANYTHING else to take care of, afterall I am retired.

Giving Thanks

I wanted to find an antique Thank You card but to my surprise I had none. I did have this one someone had sent to their friend, dated 1916 on the back. I just wanted to take a few minutes and say thank you to all of you that sent up kind thoughts and prayers for my friend that had a kidney removed.
She went into the hospital at 10:00 a.m. they operated in the afternoon. What was suppose to take 2 to 4 hours took 1 1/2 hours. Everything went smooth and she is recovering nicely. They will do a complete biopsy of the tumor to see what kind of cancer it was. She is a dear sister in the Lord, she and her husband pastored at my church in the Keys for about five years, plus she worked with me at the Salvation Army.
So once again thank you to all of you and a very big Thank you to the God we serve. HE IS AN ON TIME , ALL THE TIME GOD.

Blogging Sisters

I'm feeling a little nostalgic this morning. A dear sister sent me the following and I liked it so much I wanted to share it with all of my sisters in Blogland.

THIS SAYS IT ALL: Time passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Jobs come and go. Love waxes and wanes. Men don't do what they're supposed to do. Hearts break. Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Careers end. BUT - Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you, or come in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins and extended family all bless our life. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead, nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still. Let all the women who help make your life meaningful know how much you care. The picture is of me, my mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother. If you have your mother still here you are very BLESSED. All of these dear ladies have gone on and I hope to see them on the other side.A dear friend and sister in the Lord is going into surgery in about 30 minutes....they found cancer in one of her kidneys and they are going to remove it. Please be praying for her.

Bedazzled Birthday

This is the cover on a birthday card I received from a dear friend I have not seen or even talked to in a very long time. She lives in Tn. and works two jobs so I never know when to call, anyway the inside says

"Remember to LOOK and FEEL younger, the right ACCESSORIES can make all the difference!!!

Is that a hoot or what?

Yes I had a birthday last week, I'll just say I was born in 1943, it seems less painful than saying the years.

What is real funny about this card is the fact that I have been into making beads and restringing old beads and just lost in BEADS lately but my friend did not know this, which made this even more special. I had a real fun day, went out of town with friends to go to the antique shops....they bought my lunch and I bought two red glass bowls to go with my antique red dishes. Then we went to a HUGE Hobby Lobby, what did I buy ? Beads of course!

My honey took me out to an old B&B for dinner, and gave me money to spend on E-bay. I received cards and calls from family and friends, so all and all it was a very good and blessed birthday. I also got a new do, had my hair cut SHORT ----hopefully I will be able to get a halfway decent picture to share with you. Have you ever tried to take your own picture, I tried with the digital, well all I can say about that is if you need a good laugh, try it some time, after about four tries I gave up. The best one was a great shot of my nostrils. Oh well this is it for now

Can you say to much going on...

Clay and paper, boy am I having fun.I guess most people do this sort of thing when they are children, so I'm a 60+ a few years young kid...... The flower, butterfly, broach, and purple beads (that are not finished) are all made out of clay. The tube beads are all made out of paper. The necklace and earring set is my first project. Most everything I do is trial and error and it is pretty obvious which bead came first. This is one of those things that you definitely get better at the more you make.
I was making some biscuits yesterday and since I had to have the oven on I said to myself, I have time to roll a few beads, I mean since the oven was going to be on anyway.....so I did about 20, and they looked GOOD all the same size, and some times that is the hardest part. Well would you believe I was in such a hurry to pop them into the oven I forgot to turn it down, Oh yea! I burned them...have you ever seen a burnt bead? they turned out brown, maybe I'll think of a way to use them. NEVER through anything out!! Right?
Well since I cannot figure out how to be online and mow the yard at the same time I guess I had better get off here and go mow before it gets to hot, it is already in the mid 80's out there.
So how many of you have made clay beads ? Have any tips you want to share ? I need all the help I can get...........ok time to hit the yard.

Latest project---

Did the saucer get broken, does the cup have a little chip, did the sugar bowl get lost ? Well do not throw it away. Make a pin cushion. I made these in order as you see them from left to right. The center is a tomatoe ready made pin cushion covered in velvet. It should have been turned the other way as it has ribbon and glass beads hanging from the rim by the handle.
The second one has a doily covering a piece of linen with some lapis beads attached, pale blue ribbon with blue glass beads by the handle.
The third one is a creamer with a printed velvet with a row of tatting with pale green ribbon running through it and jadite green glass beads hanging from the ribbon.
So there you have it, my latest projects.
VBS finished up this past week-end ----we averaged about 48 kids every night and lots more on Saturday for the big day of water slides. We had rented three of them and EVERYONE got wet.
My class had the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. One wall had been colored with the group of prophets, an alter, and Elijah. I had built an alter out of a box and real rocks. It had a red light in it so it would look like it was on fire. If I can get some pictures from anyone I will share them. Can you believe I forgot to take my camera?

HAPPY 4th of JULY

BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD Psalm 33:12

Let us all remember to pray for our troops, to thank God for them and ask for them to be kept safe and brought home soon. I trust you will all have a safe and HAPPY 4th of July.

Also I would like to wish our great grandson a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. He is 2 today.

2 ies or a 4x4

This idea came to me while I was looking at a quilting book. First I thought of making the 2 inch square, then I decided to make 4 of them, all different but when put together has to make one complete theme. The pictures are samples of fabric, the background paper is paint samples, but card stock or any other paper would be good.
And it wouldn't even have to be paper. So far I have not come across anything small enough to use (that I liked) in making the inchies, 1x1s, still working on that thought. I really liked making this and will probably make some others, with more detail. I'm disappointed that the blue glitter(colbalt) color does not show up on the one on the lower left corner.
So I guess this is it for a few days as tomorrow is Sunday and Monday I have to take my van to the van doctor, pray it is still under warranty. Have a GREAT weekend and BE BLESSED

You Won't See This in Mayo

These pictures were taken this month in the Keys.

Within a few days after our daughter returned home she and a friend saw this water spout, however

when they saw it, it was over land. Pretty scary for the folks that live there. You wouldn't think this would be any big deal after dealing with hurricanes. Of course these seem to come up out of nowhere, with no warning. Most of the time they stay out over the water. We have heard of them picking up big boats and whirling them around before sitting them back on the water.

Whatever name up put on these things, no one looks forward to hurricane season. I thought when I moved to north Florida (in land) I would not have to be concerned with it, but as long as we have family there you can believe we will be praying. God give us an uneventful hurricane season. Are you living on a coastal area ? If the "BIG ONE " comes, will you board up and leave? I hope so!

These pictures were sent to me by a friend in Marathon.

Old Book & Art

While in town today I had a few extra minutes so I stopped at our dinky shop where people in need can get a handout. The reason I go there, they have FREE books and you never know what you might find. I'm always on the search for ones that I can take apart and use in art. That is what I had in mind for this book but when I got home with it I did not have the heart to tear it up.

It was put out in 1959 by National Geographic. It is called America's Wonderlands, The scenic national parks and monuments of the United States.

This picture was taken out of the chapter on the Everglades. It was painted by National Geographic artist-

naturalist Walter A. Weber.

The caption at the top of the picture says, Snowy Egret

To put "a bird on Nellie's hat," shooters destroyed whole

rookeries, almost wiped out these dainty egrets by 1910.

Today they safely parade their courtship plumage in Everglades National Park.

I'm not sure how many have survived over the years as this was written in 1959. How can we be so cruel and mindless to almost wipe out such a beautiful creation?

June 23, 1923

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER
If my mother were still living on earth she would have been 84 today. I am her only child and she was 20 when I was born. She was born in Centralia, Illinois the youngest of four children. After she turned 18 she left southern Il. to go stay with her sister Helen who was playing the piano in a club in Chicago. That is where she met my father. They moved to Springfield where I was born and then to Niantic and finally to the west end of Decatur to a suburb called Wycles Corner. That is where we were living when I first got married also where my friend Janet lived. We met in the fifth grade. You all know her as jkbees. If it were not for her you wouldn't be reading this now. Thanks dear friend for intoducing me to Blogland.
Mother was a hard working woman that loved to spend time alone, she also played the piano. In the last few years of her life she lived in Coffeen, Il. next door to her sister and then Dean one of her brothers lived on the other side of Helen. Their other brother Fred lived in town. I always enjoyed "going home" to visit as they were all right there together.
I will always be grateful that mom came to stay with us in the Keys the winter before she passed on. We made some real special memories there. I regret that she never got to see the place we have now, she would have liked north Florida and the country. I really miss her, she was my dearest friend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM ---I hope they have chocolate cake in heaven.

Down To The Sea

I finally found some time to play. First I drew some flowers, they looked worse than plastic, then I drew a peacock, but grew weary with all of the feathers, it will take hours to finish. Then I began a sky and just let my mind lead.....came up with this picture and the following poem.

Would it not be fun

to watch the sitting sun,

to sit in a boat just off the shore.

to think of our troubles no more.

To feel the cool breeze ,

maybe watch the birds, if you please.

Listen to the splash of the waves,

Oh for this solitude, my heart craves.

So what do you say, just you and me,

let's take a quiet walk down to the sea. Every now and then I miss the ocean. W.G.M.

It's to quiet !!!

The girls left Tues. morning early, I kept busy all day so I would not think about them being gone as much. Why is saying "goodbye" always so hard? The house is back in order and the laundry is all caught up and it is very QUIET around here.

This third picture is taken with our oldest cat, Sarah, she is 23 years old, the last of her family. When we lived in the Keys I rescued her mother from the shelter, she found a few lovers before I could get her to the vet....she had 2 boys and 2 girls, one male went to a cousin in Miami, we kept the rest. Now Sarah is the last one alive.

The fourth picture was taken at Wild Adventure, after the train ride through the part of the park where they keep the animals you can feed the giraffes, they love carrots. You really need to hold them up a little higher unless you want giraffe slim in your hair. Can we say "Yuck" here?

We went to the park two days in a row, first day was to ride the rides, see the animals, go on the nature walk. The second day was spent at the water park and on one ride that we all voted to be our favorite, rode it several times, a log that went up high and then down through water and into water that sprayed real high and then fell down on you, needless to say we were glad we had our swim suits on. It was fun watching "first timers" hit the water.

Blogger did not load the pictures in the order that I wanted so the second two should have been first and the first two next, oh well ! The first two are M. picking blue berries with grandpa and M. and myself on our way to church Father's day. Of course the BEST PART for M. was she was able to go back to the stables and ride "Goldie" and this time the man took the lead rope off, talk about excited----that is all we heard about and probably all anyone else will hear about when they ask M. about her vacation. But then isn't that what it's all about, making great memories. No wonder the bible says, "Blessed is the man whose quiver is full", speaking of having Lots of children. CHILDREN ARE A BLESSING FROM THE LORD

WE ARE HAVING FUN

The girls have been here one week now and the time is FLYING by. The first picture of the three of us was taken Sunday afternoon when we got home from church. The second picture is of our little

"roost ruler" doing her most favorite thing in the whole world.....if she could she would live in the barn and eat and sleep with the horses. This horse is not ours, her name is Goldie and she lives at the Spirit of the Suwannee River Park. If they did not live in the Keys and us live in north Florida we would have to buy a horse, I think three acers would be enough space, but for now she must be content to be entertained by our three cats that live outside.

Tomorrow we are off and running to Wild Adventure in south Ga.. Of course if we can pull it off I'm sure there will be a little shopping

in there somewhere. Since they have been here we have hit every Cato and Wally World within fifty miles. This "old woman" is wear-

ing down fast!!!!!

I don't know about where you are at but it has been HOT here, we hit 99 Sunday and close to that since with NO rain. We are praying for rain the water table is way low. I will try to post after our little trip to Ga. or maybe I will just wait till the girls head south and I regroup. BE BLESSED and if I do not get back on here before Sunday I pray you all have a nice Father's Day.

It has been so long since I last posted I almost forgot how as you can see by this picture I scanned. The smaller words say, "Remembering those that gave so we can be free".

First I would like to say thank you to those of you that have checked in on me to see if I was still alive. All is well at our house, just very busy. The only thing I regret is that I missed posting a Happy Birthday to my youngest son, his birthday was May 10th. I had put all of my craft things away when I started working in the yard. It looks like I will not be creating anything for awhile as our daughter will be here this Sunday and will stay for a few weeks. I will try to get around and visit your blogs as often as I can. Again thank you for your prayers and concern and thank God for America and all of those that sacrificed to keep us free.

Some old photos

The idea to show pictures from 20 years ago came from Janet's blog yesterday.

Vicci had put out a challenge to post some twenty year old photos. I really enjoyed seeing some pictures from the past so I thought I would see what I could come up with. This first one was taken in 1986 not to long after my mother had passed on. My aunt Helen, mothers only sister, had come to the Keys to visit us and we took her to Key West to dinner and this shot is from the rooftop of an old hotel down on Duval Street. The second one was taken at my church in my office, about six years later. I remained the clerk until we left the Keys in 2003. The next two pictures are work related. The first one is at the counter of the Salvation Army Thrift Store that I managed for about 12 years. That was our first little store, we later moved to a larger building and then we expanded twice. The last picture is of our Captain giving me an employee of the year award. I started to work for them in 1990 and retired in 2003. I now have real short hair and as soon as I get a new photo I will share it. My daughter and granddaughter are coming for a visit as soon as school is out and will be with us about 2 weeks so I won't be spending much time in Blogland as I am trying to "do it all now" so we won't have anything to do but have fun when they get here. I'm still trying to get around to every one's blog even though I have not been posting, I just want to get the yard work done before it gets hot. I will try to put something on every couple days. Don't give up on me.

He Has Risen

He is not on the cross, He is not in the tomb.

He has risen. Hallelujah !

They have not found His bones, neither did He have a wife or a son but He was the perfect lamb of God who died for the sins of mankind.

He is alive and is in heaven waiting for His Father God to say, "It is time, go get the bride"

Make sure you are ready. Is your lamp filled, is the wick trimmed ? Are you looking for His appearing ? HE IS COMING BACK just like He went away. Soon that eastern sky will split open and with a shout and the sounding of the trumpet the dead in Christ will rise. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.