Summer Days

Summer is in full swing here. Sweetheart sent me those beautiful flowers on our Anniversary. Yes, Sassy is on the table, and NO, that is not allowed. Those flowers were drawing her like a magnet. She loves them. The spray bottle had to come out to remind her of the boundaries set for her.

We had a massive storm come through here on Monday morning. 80+mph winds and rain for a long period of time. We were blessed to have no real damage. We did lose a section of fence, but Sweetheart fixed it good as new! Many neighbors were not so blessed.
We never lose power in a storm, as our lines are all underground, but, even, we had no electricity for a few hours. Once it came back on, the phone, internet, and cable were still out for another 3 days. We survived fine! ;)
I wanted to share the beautiful wallhanging/runner that Debi sent me. It arrived just in time for the 4th! I was so thrilled with it. It is WONDERFUL! Sassafras has been busy keeping watch over us all.
Flies, or bugs of any kind do not stand a chance in our home! She is Queen of the Fly Catchers! Her only issue is that after she kills them, she can not figure out why they stop fighting back! She swats them around with her paw, and seems quite miffed at the fact that they just lay there lifeless!Can we talk deep for a minute?

I have been thinking on "joy" a lot lately. It is something that has been missing in my life. Not happiness....I am happy. But J-O-Y....you know the ♫I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart♫ kinda joy. Life comes in and the cares of the world suck the life out of you. What does it take? Your joy. I had been praying for a long time about joy, asking God to GIVE me some joy. Guess what I learned?Sometimes, how God gives us something He promises, is by giving us the KEY to that thing. Like joy. How do we get joy? By REJOICING!!!!! Rejoicing is the KEY to joy. Rejoicing in song (lots of high powered praise and worship music playing all day) and reading scripture concerning joy and rejoicing! It gets in you, and after time, you start to feel it! I am in the process, but I am certainly getting joy!

Speaking of joy, are you ready for me to share a little bit of my SPECIAL joy??
Oh yeah....grandkids!!!! (and a couple of my own children) Sit back cause there are a few pics here to scroll through!!! We had some water fun today, along with Popsicles, swings, and the sandbox!
TJ has his summer mohawk. I will get use to it about the time Mom shaves it off ;) That face is angelic! Zach has a bit of mischief in his eyes! Then they both get goofy! Boys! LOVE them!
Em enjoyed a couple of Popsicles! That little girl steals my heart!
The sprinkler was a hit!!!!Hmmmmmm....a brother with a squirt gun.....a sister in his sights.....It was a one sided war so you know who won!

The girlies love to swing! So that is a big dose of joy, eh? Hope you smiled a little bit, and I'll update again soon!

Bits and Pieces

Nothing major to share here today. I thought I would share a few tidbits. The 3rd PIF gift was received by Kathy, so I can show it to you now. It is a Rose of Sharon block. Hand appliqued and hand quilted, it is one of my favorite blocks to work on. I put it in all my samplers. I would really like to do a whole quilt of these! Speaking of hand applique, I have set aside the last 2 PIF gifts for a bit (I have a year to do them) and picked up my own applique work. The next couple of pics are blurry, but you get the idea. I have added some leaves to the floral applique border and they look great! The fabric is perfect for leaves! My favorite applique technique is needle turn. I have freezer paper underneath to give me a nice crisp edge. Once sewn on, I cut a slit in the back and pull the paper out.

Today I am going to applique more leaves while watching Gone With The Wind. Other than laundry and dinner, it will be that kind of day. I need it!!

Hey, remember how Sweetheart and Zach worked together to put a lock on the file cabinet drawer? (There was a keyed lock, but we never had the key) At the time they were doing it, Zach was not sure why. Later he asked me and I explained that it was to lock up medicines....Charlotte has acquired a taste for medications that taste "good".

Zachary looked a little puzzled and said, "You know mom, that lock isn't doing any good. All you have to do is pull the top drawer open enough and you can reach right down into the bottom drawer." My eyes got huge as he said this. Goodness!! I told him NOT to tell his sister that and hopefully she would not figure it out! Either he is extremely bright, or we are extremely dim!

Did you see the baby eagle hatch? I have been watching the Live Eagle Cam with the kids. So exciting to see the new baby come into the world. The 2nd of 3 eggs has a hole in it so another one will be coming soon. You can find other bird cams there too. My mom is watching the hummingbird babies...the mom comes and feeds them while you watch live. Very addictive, so make sure you have the time.

My oldest son moved into his new digs. The kids spent the weekend with him. They both love their "new home with Daddy".Emerson loves the new puppies that live there. (Bud moved in with a friend)

Ginger and, I think the Ginger's baby is named Slash...I could be wrong. TJ talked about them a lot. Also 2 kitties...Sugar and Nitro.

I thought it was nice to see Bud has his quilt at the foot of his bed...he sent me these pics.

Well, I am off to make lunch, switch laundry around and put in Gone With The Wind.

Spring Is In The Air

Hee Hee...Poor Sass looks like a goofy cartoon cat in that picture! She was looking at birds flying over head through that big glass door.

The birds are out in large numbers lately, singing, and flitting around the back yard just to torment the poor girl! It feels like Spring! I have seen many of you are doing your Spring cleaning. I haven't really started that just yet. Still a bit too cold outside. I did a MAJOR clean and organizing of the library one day last week though. It was really bad. All these books came off, and went back on in a much more organized state. TJ and Emerson were here Saturday night and Sunday. They both LOVE the books here and I read to them every visit. Emerson noticed the difference right away. She is a "detail" kinda gal!! She went over and brought me this book, saying, "read it." This book had been on an upper shelf before, so she noticed it right off. We read a bit of it, though it did not have enough pictures to satisfy her. I noticed in the front flap, it was her Daddy's book, won during a Vacation Bible School contest when he was only 4 years old! Awwww....such memories.

You know that old saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"? It is SO true. I miss Sweetheart so much, that on his days off, I am like a love sick puppy!! He had a "honey-do" list this weekend and got to all of his jobs....with a little help, of course!

Let's talk quilts for a minute. Today the mailman brought me this....

Is this wonderful, or what? I LOVE it. Remember the little Bear Paw I made for my Girl Scout leader? Well, she sent this to me as a PIF gift. It is a Friendship Star variation. I am so excited to have it. Her hand quilting is so beautiful and the colors are perfect. I put it on the hutch in my studio. My own quilting has been going well. I finished the 3rd PIF just yesterday.

I will show you a full pic when it is received. It was mailed today. I still have a couple more to do, but I am taking a little break to work on something else. I have been wanting to get the leaves appliqued on the border of the Underground Railroad Sampler for quite some time. That time is now! It needs 93 leaves so I got those all drawn out onto freezer paper and cut out.They are all pressed on to the fabric, ready to be cut and stitched.I was certain I did not have enough fabric, and if I had not found those triangle pieces, I would not have. A sweet blogging friend, Glenda, sent me some similar fabric that would have worked, but it looks like I will have enough. I will use the fabric Glenda blessed me with to bless another in an upcoming PIF gift.

So, I think I will go watch Dancing With The Stars and cut leaves. Sounds like a wild night, eh?

I will leave you with a pic of Sassafras...she is birdwatching even before I can open the blinds in the morning!

Around Here

Poor Sassafras. We have had some company this past week. My sister-in-law, Sherry, and her boys are in from Colorado. We LOVE having them visit. This time, they brought their new puppy, Tobias. Oh. My. Sassy was NOT amused! She survived, and is none the worse for wear.

It has been a hectic week. Where to start? Let's start with Zach, shown here with the Lego 3D glasses he built. Zachary keeps a pig pen of a bedroom. Well, Charlotte does too. I think I was the same as a girl. Anyway, I have given Charlotte all kinds of incentives to keep her room clean. She would prefer to have it messy. Whatever...her choice. I decided to give Zach a shot. I remember it worked with Kyle, who now keeps an immaculate bedroom. I offered a television and DVD player. No cable..or ANY television channels....JUST DVD's and those would be handed out by me. There is no keeping DVD's in your room. You may watch them only if your school work is done, and your room is clean. I did a complete deep clean of his room, and moved furniture, to give him a fresh start.
This happened last Wednesday. Almost one week later and his room is still just as clean. He makes his bed everyday (to the BEST of his ability, and that is fine with me) and there are no dirty (or clean) clothes laying all over the floor. WOO HOO!! Maybe....just maybe, this will pay off.
I also finished my 2nd PIF (Pay It Forward) gift last week. It has been mailed and received.It went to my Girl Scout leader. Mrs. Hancock lived across the street from us and was (and still is) a gifted seamstress and quilter. I enjoyed my time in her living room during the scout meetings. She taught me how to make Porcupine Meatballs (which I make for my family to this day), she took us to sleep in a cave full of bats...that was creepy, but quite fun, taught us to cook an entire meal over a campfire in just tin foil, and she helped me attain MANY badges. Goal setting was birthed in me through Mrs. Hancock. I truly love her influence in my life.
I had the grandkids Friday afternoon til Saturday morning. It was SO good to see them. They are so missed for those 2 weeks. Emerson is talking like crazy and she made a microphone out of Legos and stood on the fireplace singing LA LA LA LA over and over again LOUDLY....she is going to be an American Idol contestant someday!! LOL After the kids left, I watched this....

It took me 7 hours to get through the 5 hour movie, but I LOVED it. It is my all time favorite movie EVER. (I got it used on Amazon for 4 bucks! It was in perfect condition)

Sunday was the "big day." Zach and I picked up Bud and the kids (in a hail storm, mind you) and took TJ to Walmart to go birthday shopping. He is an easy shopper and knew exactly what he wanted in less than 10 minutes. Then we took Emerson to Paw Paw for a nap, met up with Aunt Sherry and her boys, and headed to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday lunch!

I must have heard, "This is the best day of my life." 20 times!! SO worth the horrid weather. Thunder, lightening, hail and torrential rains. UGH! We came home for a family celebration of cake and ice cream Hey...if you see those EXPENSIVE candles that have the colored flames and your son says, "But mom, you have to get them for TJ...you are a grandma that loves." DON'T fall for it!!!!

Though I am a grandma that loves, that was a real rip off!!Emerson attached herself to my mom very quickly....she always does.She LOVES "Old-Grandma". They colored together much of the time.That is Sherry back there holding that mop of a puppy. Sass spent the day in the basement!! LOL It was a good day for TJ, and that was the goal!

The kids went home last night, but I will get them next week for much of their Spring Break. Saturday night til Monday and again Tuesday til Wednesday. Sad to say, my son is moving next weekend. He finds it impossible to maintain a 3 bedroom home for just himself, so he is moving to the town where his job is. This will save him MUCH gas money and his rent will be half of what it is now. He is able to create a home for his kids too....this was the most important thing to him. He has a friend who just bought a house and he was blessed enough to be asked to share it with full reign to make the kids a part of it. It is just 5 minutes from his job...but a good 35 minutes from his mother. He has lived within a few miles of me for the last 7 years. It will be a tough adjustment for me. Even though I will see him just as much, I will know he is not just down the road anymore. Still I am happy for him to be relieved of the added financial burden. :)

That brings us to today. My friend Alesha (visit her blog...her Sunday post was SO GOOD)asked me recently if I would want to trade soap for jewelry....ya think??!! Of course I would! She makes the MOST gorgeous jewelry! I picked these turquoise/copper earrings in trade for 3 bars of soap.Poor picture quality, but they are beautiful! I LOVE them!

Alesha also sent a bracelet for Charlotte.
SO cute!! Charlotte loved it!! The sizing was perfect! Thank you, Alesha!You can find Alesha's creations at Alesha Kay's Shop. She also makes custom pieces. She made the jewelry for my 30th Anniversary Open House and it was the highlight of my "look".
I could share more, but goodness...if you made it this far, God bless you!!