Scenes of the Season~

I Spy a penny. Do you?

Waiting~

Every thing is waiting for the process. The rhythm, the smells and the colors really made me feel grounded and relaxed.

Never Fails~

This commercial never fails to make me laugh no matter how many times I see it.

Note to Self~

Note to self:

You like to embroider. Why don't I do it more often? Why do I keep forgetting how much satisfaction it gives me? I need to do this more often. I need to always keep a project going. Endless possibilities; pillow cases, clothes, cloth napkins, pillows, kitchen towels, quilts & wall hangings.

Don't forget you like to make french knots.

Also note to self:

Taking self portraits is not as easy for me as some make it look. Trying to take a decent shot of this beautiful neck warmer, that was generously given to me by applehead, is no easy task. Most pictures were of the wall and a curl or an ear. Practice more often!! It is so incredibly soft and makes me want to master knitting. Why are my fingers so uncooperative? Luckily I found this pattern that's crocheted. I will definitely give this one a try. I want it to be as lucsious and soft as the one I received. I'll have to work extra hard to meet these standards but the effort will be worth it. Thanks Marianne!!!

Brown Sugar~

She's so pretty again. This poor table was about our only surface available at our old house. A small four-plex that housed six of us. About 800-900 square feet of crammed space. This table was our dining table, craft table, pay bills table, do taxes table, blow out the birthday cake table, set down the purse before I drop the baby table, sewing table, look mommy...I can play the drums table and anything else you can think of table.

It was stained with ink & paint, marked, dinged, no stain in some spots and hardly any finish all over her surface. Poor girl was in need of some tender loving care. Enter: Owner to the rescue. Now she gleens, she's smooth, she's dark and sweet. She's my beautiful brown sugar. Give her a wink!

Thursday Confessional~

Playing along with 'thisisreverb'. I never used to be accident prone but advanced age (45) has changed me. I never believed it when people said your body would not always be the same. I'm telling you now. It does change and I don't.like.it.one.bit!

• Started out with my skin not healing as quickly as it used to.
• Then I started started bruising a toe or finger and it taking 6 mo to a year before it didnt' hurt anymore. And I ask you, What's up with that?
• Now I'm getting hurt doing everyday around the house things that need to be done. I can't just sit around and ring one of the servants to do what needs to be done because I don't have any servants. I'm the servant.
• Now we have a 'new to us' boat that we've had about 6 weeks and I've already bruised my middle toe on my right foot while jumping into our boat. It bruised all the way to the bottom of my foot so it hurts every time I take a step. :(
• I also bruised my arm, while trying to lift & lock the engine so now my arm looks like I shoot up drugs AND I slipped while trying to deal with the same engine & my left leg scraped along the edge of the boat. Looks like my husband beat me from knee to ankle. Hello...it's summer. Short and skirts are mandatory but oh so ugly with my leg bruised and battered.
• My co-workers now ask me what I'm going to do next to beat myself up. It's not my fault. It's not my fault. And I'll say it again. It's not my fault. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I only want to have fun!

Water and a Wedding~

Staying cool with frequent fun at Haag Lake. Co-workers wedding Saturday. We laughed so hard and Adrienne was so beautiful. So much fun!
The roof opened in this room. Summer evening breeze...heavenly.
The topper is so Adrienne's personality. What a classy wedding and reception even though she's a hoot.

Remembering 9/11~

I remember listening to the news while I was getting ready for work. I stopped to watch the video clip of the first plane crash. I just thought that it was a terrible accident and felt sorry for the families involved. On my way to work, I heard about the second crash. I turned on the TV we had at work to see if we could hear more about it.

Two other people were at work when I got there and I remember typing when the news started talking about the Pentagon being hit by a plane. I remember looking over at my co-worker and asking her, "What's going on?"

*No planes allowed to fly.
*Standing in the parking lot, at work, with my husband. Looking up because the military jets were flying overhead after no planes in the skies. They were patrolling. We watched them in silence until we couldn't see them anymore.
*My husband making plans to meet his brothers at one of the brothers AZ property if events started to play out in our local area. My husband actually making survival plans for our family in case this was a war or something of that level.
*Watching my easy going husband turn into this protective family man. Much stress going on in him as he figured out the best for us in case of an emergency. Me trying to balance that with trusting God to care for our needs.
*I couldn't stop watching the news. The photos haunted, amazed & lured me even though it was the same thing over and over and over. My husband not wanting to see it anymore. I'm still drawn to them. http://www.therealmstudios.com/
*Crying as we learned of the families that lost loved ones.
*American flags everywhere. Not so much anymore.
*I bought a magazine, full of pictures, so I could have a visual reminder. I still have it. I also kept the front page of the newspaper.

Fun in the Sun~

We took our boat out yesterday to enjoy the spectacular weather we're having here in the NW. It was our second time on the water with this boat and it was a vast improvement from the first time we took it out. The boat ran better, we performed our duties better and it was much more streamlined. Seems like that's life too. Just went we really get summer down to a science....fall shows up and we need to get into a new routine with school starting. But for now, we'll take the sun and the fun that it brings to us.
Tubing, fishing, swimming, napping, sun on our skin, wind in our hair and lots of laughing. What will you try and do more of before summer ends?

Deep~

Do you know I have never folded clean clothes right out of the dryer? I always take them with me and fold them on the bed or while I'm watching television. That is the deep thought that lodged in my mind today while I was doing laundry. Those type of deep thoughts are what I'm committed to share.

Success~

Applesauce making was a success! I have never made it before and it was so much easier than I would have thought. Going back to my friends on Wednesday and going to pick more apples so I can make more applesauce. My friend says I can freeze this up to one year.

Cute little labels made from here. I just love when people share information on where to get free stuff.

I am so in fall mode and will be canning pickles, green tomatoe relish, salsa, and peaches. Also going to go pick peaches and apples for freezing. Need them to bake this winter.

Domestic Monday~

This holiday weekend has been stressful in our household. I took off Friday to spend time with the family as it was the last summer weekend. Well me and kids spent 11pm-3am at the animal hospital. Leo was down & out so we had to make a trip to downtown Portland. Not exactly the way I thought I'd spend time with the kids but we were together, did a lot of talking and were united in our worry over Leo.

Friday he spent most of the day sleeping after being stressed by the whole car ride and having an asthma attach. Saturday he was back to complaining so we went to our regular vet who prescribed pain meds, antibiotics and and anti-flamitory. We are now bonding over medication doses every 12 hours and daily hygiene cleanings until his backside is well and back to normal. At least 10 days.

Needless to say, he's not thrilled over medicating. First dose was successful inside salmon pocket treats but he would not be tricked again. Next 3 days were me wrapping him up in a sheet and my husband launching pills down his throat. Leo is very good at using his tongue to launch them back out and although we are getting his medicine down him, it has not been pleasant for him. Poor dude. Today I am dissolving his meds in warm water and using a syringe to get it down him. I'm sure that will taste terrible but should be faster and more reliable.

Today I am being completely domestic and staying home as I am tired and worn from the last 3 days. I'm making salsa, making applesauce, washing clothes, putting up some plates that I've been meaning to do, putting back up curtains that I washed during my recent cleaning spree, finish the kitchen cleaning and getting the kids ready for the first day of school tomorrow.
I am thankful that I have a faith in Christ that gives me hope daily, even though our trials are nothing compared to our good friends dad who is recovering from a stroke and another friend who is working on saving her marriage. We all have our own levels of trials but my God is equally concerned over every level of need for each of us.


Determined to:

• Embrace this day and all that it brings
• Keep the peace between two new neighbor kids who don't seem to get along when the rest of the kids have been getting along for years
• Cut sunflowers from the garden
• Continue being thankful that my faith keeps me grounded and at peace
• Wash and get the kids clothes ready for the week so our first week of school is just a little bit smoother
• Embrace the smells and sounds of the day
• Enjoy the last day the kids have off this summer
• Bar-b-que with my family tonight and be content in my life as it is played out this day
• Be okay with whatever gets done or doesn't
  
  Happy last day of summer vacation~