Month: September 2014

Changing Seasons

Monday was the first day of autumn!

Our weather the last few days has been absolutely spectacular!  So much sunshine,  temperatures around 75 degrees.  Perfect!

Knowing these days are numbered I walked around my yard thanking God for all the joy, and the many peaceful days I spent outside this summer.

My burlap flower bags laying across tree branches.  I will definitely do this again next spring.

Burlap Flower Bag with ImpatientsBurlap Flower Bag

Hours of joy potting and caring for plants at my planting work space my sweet son helped to fix up and recycle.

Potting Work TableRemember how it was in early spring?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAJust needed a little paint and some loving care!

How wonderful to see how all my plants have grown and thrived this year.

Potted Geranium

Most of all I will miss my “quiet place” as the weather turns and cold times arrive.

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Oh the joy of sitting out here, especially mid morning, feeling the sun, having my coffee, reading and praying.  No stress, just peaceful quiet time.

But there were signs of change as I walked.

The last daisy of the summer, holding on, all others withered and gone.

IMG_0240[1]Leaves beginning to change, falling here and there.

My son working hard chopping and stacking wood for the cold ahead.

My son stacking wood for winter!

As time and days pass, everything changes.

This life of mine has changed over the years, maybe because I am growing old, but how I regret all the days of my life I wasted.

Wanting more things, acceptance and approval of people, trying to be whatever someone else at the time, wanted me to be, only to turn and go!

It is easy to think that we are without in this life but I have learned, as I have mentioned before, the first step in finding happiness is appreciating all that you have right now. We all really do have so much and I am not talking about money!

These glorious days of being outside make loving life easy.

Good bye summer!

Love to all, and please don’t forget to love your life!

 

My Brother’s Birthday Card

Today, September 16th, is my brother’s birthday.

We have always exchanged cards on birthdays.  This year, just as it has been in previous years, I was so disappointed with the “Happy Birthday Brother” card selections.

They are all so “stuffy”, trees, streams of water, mountains, just nothing that has ever appealed to me for my brother.

I wanted something fun, with some “bling”, some color.

Finally I found a card I really liked, the front was bright, and full of cupcakes!

Denny's card

The only problem, the inside of the card was blank.

inside of card

So, I decided to make it “personal”.

Typed and printed out my own greeting that tied the cupcakes on the front to a really sweet memory of another birthday several years ago.

I added a photo, another personal touch, of my brother, sister, and myself as children.

Used photo corners to attach both to the card.

For a little more fun, I added a “party” hat to my brother’s head using “Pic Monkey“.  It really turned out so cute!

IComlete inside of card

Added a bit of glitter to the confetti on the card, and an extra comment to the photo.

Extra Comments on card

I really hope when I call my brother tonight, he is pleased.

This is just an idea for making cards, special, and as I said, “personal”.

When you put time into something like this, it makes the card itself a gift to the person you love.

Blessings to all, and especially to my dear sweet brother.

I love you Denny!

XO

 

Photo Fun Using Pic Monkey!

A couple of days ago I briefly mentioned my family going on a mini reunion trip to Brown County State Park.

When getting ready for the trip I wanted to do something special and fun!

Using family photos, some old, some recent, and pets too, I put together a “Concentration” card game.

To add a little silly to the photo cards I altered some with captions, hats, glasses, facial hair, and such.  They turned out really cute!

Family PhotosThere were about 14 sets of photos.  We placed them face down and just as the old game, turned over to make matches.

We all played the game, laughing at the sillies, and filling our eyes with tears from looking at others.

There really isn’t much these days offered with no cost attached, but I stumbled across an awesome site, www.picmonkey.com.

Using Pic Monkey is how I was able to add to my photos for the game.

Pic Monkey is a free photo editor with lots of offerings. You can crop, resize, sharpen, fix imperfections, put together collages, and so much more.  It is a treasure.

Ana, my 7 year old niece, also had us using the photo cards to play “Fish“, asking “do you have a Grandma in a hat”, or “do you have Squeeze Box the cat”.

Of course, the player with the most matches in the end is the winner in both games.

If you love photos, as I do, try Pic Monkey.  It’s free!

To end this post, I am going to share some photos from our mini reunion.

Love to all.

IMG_0101[1]Our two floor cabin, lots of room, with a full deck on the back.

IMG_0108[1]Pony rides and horse back trails were available.

IMG_0111[1]One of the shops in town.  Nashville, Indiana is a town right outside the state park with many different shops and restaurants.  We had lunch at a charming corner restaurant and bakery

IMG_0120[1]I loved this sweet shop, with a full flower garden on the side, and the old bike at the entrance.

IMG_0131[1]We visited an old cemetery playing something new to me, Geocaching!

“Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.”

Fun!

 

 

 

Thank You Pottery Barn!

I have talked about my garage in other posts and how I am determined to have it all cleaned out and organized by the time the cold weather arrives.  Small steps every week to the finish line!

The process I am using is one most folks use when trying to get organized.  I say to myself should I……………..

Keep it!

Donate it!

Trash it!

I tend to want to donate most things, but now that I am not working I do have more time to recycle.

Here is the latest find.

Basket SetThis is a set of six small baskets which fit into a thick wire base.  Years ago when I purchased this I think I used it in a bathroom.  Like most things I suppose something else replaced it and it ended up in the garage, like everything else.

I love Pottery Barn, it is one of my favorite stores, cannot afford most things they offer, but I love to look!  In the latest catalog they sent to me I really loved the basket storage ideas shown below.

Pottery BarnPottery Barn 2Adding tags, and numbers, to small baskets used for storage, definitely the Pottery Barn look!

Sooooo…………I decided to try and give that look to my garage found basket unit.

– Gave the base unit a fresh coat of black paint.

– Cleaned all the baskets.

– Bought some black tags with jute ties.

– Printed out numbers on my PC with cream colored paper and simply attached to the tags.

IMG_0161[1]It didn’t take much of my time, and the cost was minimal.

Here’s my recycled Pottery Barn look alike…….

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It will work out great as a catchall in my work area for post it notes, push pins, paper clips, etc.

Love it!

Thank you Pottery Barn!

See you all tomorrow, have a great Friday!

XO

 

A “slowing down” time!

It has been over three weeks since I posted to my sweet blog.  I have missed it so much, it really does bring added joy to my life.  I hope some day I can build a following of folks who love the things I love in my life.

This time off has been a “slowing down” time for me.

First, a mini family reunion trip to a state park in Indiana.

We rented a family cabin in the woods, no Wi-Fi, and very little cell phone service.

It was really a beautiful place.

Family Cabin in the woods.

A time for me to reconnect with my sister and all of my nieces.

Over the years, we lost the closeness we once had due to all the different directions we chose in our lives.

We talked, laughed together, and of course shared good food.  It was really a wonderful time for me to be with all of them.  I thank God for that special time.

On returning, I immediately came down with a terrible summer cold.

Better now, just dealing with a lingering cough.

For nearly two weeks my best friends were lemon, honey tea, and a box of Kleenex!

Tea and Kleenex

When we are sick we are forced to “slow down”.  It is a hard thing to do when your everyday routine is moving and doing.

Sleep, rest, and reading from time to time, was all I had in me!

Books I am reading!

Most of the time I felt so guilty that I could not get up, clean, and cook for my family, but they did just fine. I realized that if the house work wasn’t done, it was OK.

We really do put pressures on ourselves that are not necessary.

Everything in life does not have to be perfect!

Again, I feel so much better, life is so good, and so beautiful.

See you tomorrow, begin your tomorrow with joyful expectation.

I will.

XO