Cuddling Up in June

Oh my - maybe June isn't the best time of year to make a wool blanket - but what's a gal to do?

My sister and her husband just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. We're going to be having a little celebration with some family and friends - and I had my sites on giving them their present at that time.

Of all the things I COULD have decided to give them - I decided that I wanted to make them a special wool blanket. I thought I could tie it up with a nice bow and attach a note saying "A little something extra for you even though I know your love can keep you warm."  Silly - I know. Corny - I know. But my family is full of silly and corny - besides, I thought it might be fun.

So I started working on the wool blanket and finished it this last weekend.  Here's a sneak peek. I hope they like it. I'm still debating on whether to add a little flower and leaves in one of the corners. What do you think...flower or no flower?

No Time for Fools

Guess I've been the fool lately.  I haven't been very good at all about keeping up on my blog postings. My apologies. It seems I've either been too busy, too tired, too lazy, too unmotivated, or just too absent. I promise, I'll try to improve, too-day!

Today I'm kind of in that "too jumbled" place - so I'm going to just try to unjumble my head with some simple, uncomplicated beauty from my garden. So sit back, take a deep breath, and enjoy the garden tour with me.

Mouse Trap

I took a trip across the state this past weekend. One of the nights I stayed with my son and his girlfriend. They have two cats - and are "baby sitting" for another sweet cat while their friend is serving in the military.

I decided to make them each a little wool mouse to play with. I think they enjoyed them with their long, mouse tails.

Buy Handmade

There's a new post on the TAFA Team blog that is really great!  It gives 15 good - no great - reasons to buy handmade. Check it out!

Taken from TAFATeam.blogpot..com

Life's a Party!

Last Saturday morning was my annual Garden Party. The morning started out a bit cool - but we didn't have any rain - so I don't dare complain. I believe a good time was had by all.

Festive food spread.

Small view of garden. Wool flowers in foreground were ready for guests to pick their own flower bouquet.

Table set with planted geraniuims (for gifts) and plates of handmade sweets!

Flower garden with my lovely purple birdbath temporarily transformed into a ice chest.

A very happy garden guest!

And, of course, this is  what popped open the day AFTER the party! :-)



Art Medley and "The Box"

I'll be dropping off my Art Medley box this weekend. I hope the art committe and the final recipient enjoys The Box.

Here's the transformation...

The Box.

The Box instruction sheet.

The Box undergoing a paint job.

The Box painted antique white.

The Box with its peep and flower -

happily in it's new resting place. 

 

It's Getting Close

Remember those little cup-huggers I made for an upcoming activity that I would be hosting?

Well, the event is getting close.  This Saturday I'll be hosting my annual Garden Party.  Friends are invited to come and enjoy a Saturday morning in my garden and chat with old - and new - friends.

I always try to have a nice spread of goodies prepared for them - which includes things like dips, bite size sandwiches, fresh fruit, pastries, salads, and the ever popular baked sweets made by my sister. When I first started having my Garden Party, both my mother and sister would bake away for weeks prior to the party to supply party-goers with some irresistible treats. Now, since my mother has passed, that part has become the full responsibility of my sister. God bless her for continuing the tradition on her own.  (Sure, I suppose I could make some sweet treats of my own - but these two were masters at it! So, why not enlist the masters?)

Anyway....the geraniums are all planted and waiting for the weekend. I'm happy to report that all four of them have happy little blossoms just waiting to pop open for their new owners. They will be just a few of the prizes that I award my party-goers. I wouldn't be surprised if a little bit of wool goes home with some lucky guests as well!  Well, at least I hope they think they are lucky to win some of my wool creations.  :-)

Gunsmoke

Last Friday, James Arness passed away. He was 88.

I remember fondly those past Thursday nights at 7:00, my family would gather and settle in to watch Gunsmoke. It was my dad's favorite show. The towering (6'7") Matt Dillon would guard and look after Dodge City every week - without fail. Festus was often right behind him with his spurs a jingling.

Taken from brandimposter.com.

If you don't know James Arness well and want to learn a bit more about him, check out this informative little article. I wasn't even aware that he was originally from Minneapolis, MN, and when shooting close-up shots on the set, they would have fellow actors stand on platforms so their faces could all be in the same camera frame!

Although James has probably been quite busy since last Friday, I'm pretty darn sure that my dad and him have already gotten to know each other. We'll call it an Earl and James break. :-)

God's Way

I've talked before about my very favorite book in the world - Face Toward the Spring, by Faith Baldwin.

The book I have was my grandma's and is so very special to me.  I love to pick it up whenever I need a little cozy-grounding-loving-wisdom. This woman can make such an incredible statement in such a seemingly small way. She never ceases to inspire me or take me back to where I need to be.

Today's little read (start at "Looking ahead")...

If You Are What You Eat

Ok. I'm not going to blog today about anything special. The title of today's blog is just weird thinking going on in my head. I'm trying (yes, once again) to shed some of my excess body weight and am on a mission to lose my "first" 5 pounds by next Thursday. So, of course, eating is ALL I can think about.

For as hard as I try to think of other things - like beautiful flowers blooming in my garden...

 

Or cuddling with my lovable Charlotte...

Or straightening the grouping of frames I hung weeks ago on the outside of my garage...

Or the great garden art I saw at the sale last weekend...

Or getting the rest of my plants planted...

Or working on the Art Medley project I committed to doing...

I just can't help but STILL think of eating. Yikes!