God's Word for Today

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tivoli ~ Acrylic on Canvas #1: My first painting in probably 14 years!

In June of 2007 we took a vacation to Copenhagen. My husband had been in Sweden for several months for training for his new job and part of the agreement for him begin away for so long was that the company would bring his family over to visit him. After many weeks of discussion we decide upon meeting in a central location from where he was staying for his training, which ended up to be Copenhagen.

I took so many beautiful pictures from that trip and I wanted to pick something that would not be to difficult to paint. I did not want to start with something hard like buildings or faces, they are a bit on the high end of the difficulty factor for just starting back with something you have not done in a very long time, and it has been a really long time since I picked up a paint brush.

I remember having thoughts when my children were very little. All I wanted was a few moments to myself. When they are little they want to help mommy paint and then you end up supervising to make sure they are not giving you kitchen cabinets a fresh coat of finger paint. So it was as most mom’s know, what you want to do gets put on the back burner until such a time when they are no longer hanging from your ankles.

I will admit to a few moments of déjà vu as I was trying to deter muffinhead from exploring my small studio set up in the corner of the dining room. She would wander over there and I would here her rattling around and then there she would come skipping over to me with a handful of brushed and paint tubes, thankfully she has not figured how to get the screw tops off the paint tubes just yet, but I am sure that is coming. For now I just move all my brushes and paints to the top of the table when she comes for a visits. At this age it’s best to remove the temptation, plus I just got tired of having to take them away from her, she wears me out y’all! I am keeping my eyes peeled for one of those playskool artist easels' for little ones, but I digress!

Anyway, as I was flipping through my many pictures trying to decide on just the right choice for my beginning, this one seemed to be a good choice.

This is a picture of a series of fountains in an amusement park in the very center of Copenhagen called “Tivoli”, we had a wonderful time there. It was one of the most beautiful places we saw there. It was an amusement park/concert venue that was surrounded by a botanical garden.

It was awesome!

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So here is the progression of the process from start to finish!

July 13

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July 28

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July 29

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August 1

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August 3

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August 4

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August 15

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August 24

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August 29

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September 23

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September 27

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Well that’s painting number one down! I learned a lot from this first attempt:

  1. to keep a roll of paper towels handy, you’d be surprised how many mistakes you can wipe off if you get to them before they dry completely.
  2. mistakes are not tragedies, unlike life I can just cover over them with a fresh coat of paint.
  3. painting water is way hard!
  4. I learned what NOT to do next time!
  5. I learned that it’s ok to take my time! Back in the day I wanted to see the end results FAST, which lead to a lot of sloppy and hasty decision, not to mention a HUGE waste of resources.
  6. it was helpful to take a picture along the way, I found I was able to see the trouble areas better in a photograph than I was with the naked eye
  7. I also learned that perfection is something that I will never achieve on this side of the heaven, the process is what counts.

 

The process and realizing that it’s ok to spend a few moments perusing something that fills you up just for fun! I highly recommend it!

I am pondering what to do next…hmmmmmm! Maybe something for our recent trip to Yellowstone…

 

Blessings

R

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Project 365 ~ Week 39

Hi! My name is Robin and I’m a Project 365 wanna be! I am currently seeking other bloggers who are ready and wiling to recognize and admit they have a problem!

I forgot to take a picture of…

I feel lighter already.

Next year I may attempt Project 52 and strive for at least one picture a week!

Sunday, September 19…No Pictures

Monday, September 20

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, or at least the knees are not what they used to be. I spent most of the day in the recliner with it iced down. A good book, my Wii remote, love me some Watch Instantly, my new favorite thing these days!!! A tall glass of Sweet Iced Tea, the remote control for the ceiling fan, that is crucial to have close at hand, the house phone and my cell phone within hand’s reach. I was good until nature called or the dog needed to go out!

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Tuesday, September 21

Y’all know me and my four favorite words, “Reduced for Quick Sale”! I had a windfall on Tuesday. I was near giddy at my frugalness and and did the happy dance as I saw my freezer filled up with 4 packages of Lamp chops, twp packages of boneless skinless chicken thighs, two packages of thick cut butterfly pork chops and two packaged of pork medallions.  I was a happy girl but did I run for the camera? That would be a big NO! I thought about it, but then later that evening when I remember that I didn't take a picture, I thought better of opening my freezer and taking a picture of its contents. Not want y’all want to see I fear!

 

Wednesday, September 22

I have been meaning to take a picture of my room at church. This is the room where we meet for Disciple I. Not much to look at but we are really starting to comer together as a group. It is the highlight of me week!

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Thursday, September 23

Fall means apples. A nice big basket of apples sitting on my kitchen counter. I just like looking at them!

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Friday, September 24

Fall also means homemade bread. I pulled my sourdough starter out of the frig and gave it a good feeding and bade a nice batch of homemade bread. It was good y’all!

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Saturday, September 25…Naaaadaaaa!

 

Well that does it for me.

Now that I have admitted that I have a problem I will be moving on to step two, I am not sure what step two is but they all say that recognizing that you have a problem is the beginning of the process.

Bye! My name is Robin and I’m a Project 365 Wanna Be!

For more folks who actually did take a picture every day this week y’all head over to Sara’s and link up!

Blessings

R

Friday, September 24, 2010

Flashback Friday ~ Nothing beats a good book!

Did you like to read when you were a child?

I enjoyed reading when I was a teenage, I don’t remember if reading was a huge part of my elementary years! I have one very specific memory of my grandmother. It was a little joke we played on her every time we went to visit her. We would ask her to read Pinocchio to us. She would always say yes but the real reason we wanted her to read it to us was she always struggle with the name Geppetto. Sometimes she would try to skip the pages that had his name on it then it would become another game to try and catch her trying to skip those pages. I would giggle and laugh as she would struggle to pronounce his name. She new that we picked that book because she couldn't say his name but she always read it to us every time. It was a fun game and when I remember it make me smile! 

What were your favorite genres, books or series?

I loved Pippi Longstocking and I remember a series of books about a bunch of children who lived in a boxcar “The Boxcar Kids” I think. I have a faint memory of one book I read a very long time ago and I can not remember the title nor the author. It was about a brother and sister and they were on a treasure hunt around their home for clues left by their father. I wish I could remember what the book was called because it was one of the first books I really enjoyed and I read it over and over again! I loved Dr. Seuss and who didn’t read all those small hardback books with the golden spines, love our “Golden Books”

book cover The Lion's Paw Walt Disney's Peter Pan

Did you read books because of the author or because of the title/plot?

Back in the day it was all about plot and title. If it sounded good in title and the description then I wanted to read it! Now I have some select authors that I love and specific genera’s that I lean to!

Did you own many books?

Not really when I was younger, once I was in my teen years I found that I reserved a certain amount of my meager paycheck for those trips to the book store. I remember usually having a small stack of books on had to read. Being a bit of a wall flower I regularly had lot of time to read.

Did your school distribute the Scholastic book orders (or some other type)?

They did but I never got anything from it. Money was always very tight so there was very little unnecessary spending.

Do you have any particular memories of your school libraries?

Not really. I did volunteer in my daughters school library when she was in Middle School one afternoon a week. It was fun to get to know the children that would come in. After a while they started to recognize me and I began to learn there names, which was a real challenge as there were about 19 different nationalities at this school.

What were your favorites and least favorites among the classics (the ones high school English teachers assign!)?

I absolutely hated “1984” and “Catcher in the Rye” even now as I think about these two book I still don’t not understand there inclusion in the literary list of required reading. I enjoyed reading Shakespeare, especially his lighter plays like Much Ado About Nothing, love that one!

If you didn't like reading, do you like it more today than you did then?

Today I absolute love to read, I would love nothing more than to spend my days reading but domestically speaking that would not be advantageous to both my parental duties as well as wifely responsibilities. I do find the time to read the book I want to read and I have learned that when I want to schedule time to read then I need to be a bit more disciple in other areas to insure that I don’t feel guilty for spending a few hours settled in with a good book!

 

Well I may go do a bit of reading…

For more Flashback Friday y’all head over to Mocha with Linda and link up!

 

Blessings

R

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Random Dozen

1. Have you, or has someone close to you, ever won an award for anything?

How many Perfect Attendance and A-B Honor Roll, Most Improved in Band and the various school awards for both my children do I have stored away in a box. I could probably paper my bathroom or hallway with them. But then that’s good thing I suppose.


2. Who is the nearest relative to you who has served in the US Military?

My father In Law who passed away this past December was retired military. He was in the Army and was assigned to the presidential Flight Crew for President Kennedy and then President Johnson after President Kennedy's assignation. My MIL has many pictures of him in the mix of when they brought President Kennedys body back to Washington. He served a tour in Vietnam. When he passed away the held a full military funeral at the National Cemetery here in Georgia. It was impressive and very moving!


3. Share something that stirs the patriotic spirit in you.

If you want to really experience the true sense of this country and the Patriotic spirit that founded it then a trip to Mount Rushmore will do the trick! I left that experience with a renewed sense of patriotic pride as well as a profound feeling of gratitude for all those who worked so very hard to make this country what it is today!


4. Where are you in the birth order in your family? Do you think your "placement" made a difference in your personality?

I am the oldest! Being from such a small family unit, it was just the three of us, my mom, me and my sister. We struggled with a lot of stuff but birth order was not one of them.


5. Name one trait you hope you carry that was evidenced in your parents or grandparents.

I am not sure that this is a trait, but my grandmother was a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen. She was a force to be reckoned with on many other occasion as well, but mostly what I remember is spending time with her in her kitchen. I think of her often as I am working on perfecting a recipe or whining over a failure and wondering what she would have done. Some of my most treasured possession are her old cast iron skillet and her hand written recipes. Every time I cook with that skillet I am reminded of her!


6. If female, do you prefer wearing a skirt or pants? If male, shirt and tie or polo?

Pants, no one wants to see my knees not even me!


7. Approximately how many times do you wake during the night? What do you do to go back to sleep?

That depend hugely on where I am on my hormone scale and how much I have had to drink before I go to bed. If I am having a good week ,hormonally speaking,then I will sleep right through the night. If it is a bad week then I may wake up two or even three times a night. Mostly I just reposition myself and try to go back to sleep. If it takes me more that a few minutes to go back to sleep then I will get up and move to the living room and read until I feel sleepy enough to go back to bed. I never never watch television. This only facilitates me wanting to stay up to see what happen next, unless it is a movie that I have seen many times before, but then sometimes I still want to wait for a favorite scene. Silly I know!


8. Share a favorite movie quote.

Oh my stars! How to pick! A few weeks ago Mocha with Linda asked a question about The Movies for her Flashback Friday Meme! I have to tell ya again…I just love the movies!

So here goes….

“Old man! You give those dogs one more plate of my food and I’m gonna kick ya tell you’re dead!”

“I don't know nothing about birthing no babies!!!”

I’ll Be Back!”

Remember what you have learned…save you it will!”

I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence!”

“Doc, you made a time machine out of a DeLorian!”

Show me the money!!!”

I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog tooo!”

Nobody puts Baby in a corner!”

“You gotta ask yourself a question, Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?”

"Fasten your seat belts - it's going to be a bumpy night."

"Hey! Is this heaven?" - "No, it's Iowa."

"It might be a tumor.” - "It's not a tumor!"

"You can't handle the truth!"

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

"My Mama always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get.'"

 

Somebody stop me!

Ok I’ll stop myself!


9. What is your favorite Fall candle scent?

I am not a fan of most scented candles, I tend to lean more towards the green herbal scent, so no pumpkin spice, or apple cider for me. Give me a green meadow, lavender or spring rain and I am a happy camper!


10. What is one Fall activity you're looking forward to?

I need to restock my supply of apple butter and mince meat so there may be some canning and preserving going on! I was at the grocery store the other day and passed by the canning supplies and they called out to me. Buy me! Buy me! They had apples on sale in the produce department and it was so hard to resist, but I think I will wait a few weeks before I dive into the process. I need to check the pantry and my spice rack to see what needs to be replenished before I make any plans for a major canning day!


11. Tell us about a pleasant surprise that happened to you recently.

That would require the ability to remember things that happen more than 3 hour ago!

Actually I can’t remember the last time I was surprised by something pleasant!


12. What was it like when you first met your in-laws-to-be?

I am not sure if this was the very first time I met them, but I have very vivid memories of being totally overwhelmed. My Husband had 4 bothers and sisters when we first met. They all had spouses and they al had multiple children. Going over to there house for dinner was an experience that left me feeling totally like a fish out of water. I was used to three people around the table and there I was in the mix of dozens of people all crammed around he table and then having extra tables set up in the carport or out on he patio or in he living room. They were all talking at once and moving around helping in the kitchen. It took me a long time before I felt comfortable just barreling my way in to try to help. At the beginning I stood on the perimeter of the whirling churning hub bub of voices and activity and felt very overwhelmed!

 

Well that’s it for me and this weeks random Dozen. For more random fun y’all head over to Linda’s at 2nd Cup of Coffee and link up!

 

Y’all have a great day and I will stop by tomorrow and visit all you Dozenetts!

 

Blessings

R

Monday, September 20, 2010

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Project 365 ~ Week 38 or A week without blogging is like…

…the last seven days.

I think I am still in a bit of a hormonal funk, but that is the norm these days.

My theory is that the brain only holds on to specific information that is critical for keeping the body alive. Information that allows me the ability to breath in and out and other physiological bodily functions. Beyond that it seems I have lost the ability to put things back where they belong, remember things like my cell phone number, put two or more coherent words together in an understandable sentence or remember prior commitments that are in fact written right on my calendar, the calendar that I look at every time I open my refrigerator door, the calendar that I use to schedule my life, the DD life and the hubs business travels. Yea right in front of me all day and I still forgot an appointment!

How many times did I sit down with the intent of working on a post only to stare at the computer and then give in and check my facebook page instead. Facebook is so easy. All I have to do is click over there and I can read all the other folks witty or fun status updates, see all the fun places everyone is going and I don't have to exert any energy on trying to be witty or interesting myself.

What does any of this have to do with Project 365? Absolutely nothing! Why would I start trying to make logical choices or attempt to achieve some level of clarity when I can wallow in my hormonal misery? Was that a question or a statement?

So a week without blogging is like what?

Hmmm, I can’t remember!

Moving on to my 365 such as it is!

Sunday, September 12

Who can remember that far back, I went to church, lead my Sunday School class, came home, I know I took a really good nap and managed to eat a meal or two but apparently nothing noteworthy or photo worthy happen….

Monday, September 13

Well I shared with all y’all in last weeks post that I had finished another prayer shawl. Well I managed to get some picture of it taken on Monday. It turned out very well I thought given the mish-mash of different colors I had.

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I have to share with y’all that when I turned this shawl in it did not even make it into the storage cabinet downstairs. A member of the congregation stopped by our meeting, as happens quite frequently, and they were in need of a prayer shawl. She gave our small stash that had been completed and turned in that evening the once over and selected two shawls (one of them was the very shawl I had just turned in) to take with her.

One of the things I find most amazing about God is His ability to re-focus everything in my life an instant.

There I was in my funk, feeling crappy, cranky and anti-social, I was better than I had been last week but my bad attitude was lingering. As I walked down the hall to go home I “just happen” to be walking with the woman who had picked up the shawl I had just turned in. We started up a conversation and I shared with her that I am always very happy when the shawls come in and then go right back out. It is such wonderful positive reinforcement. I shared with her the very brief story about how I came home with the yarn that was meant for the trash can and how God had prompted me to get to work. Briefly I explained to her how working on the shawl had really helped me to get over myself even if it was just for a few moments while I worked on it.

Then it happen, that moment of re-focus, that moment when I realize that my hormonal problems are so very small. My minor emotional discomfort is just that, a minor moment that will eventually pass.

We had stopped in the hallway she was going in one direction and I in another and she shared with me that she was a labor and delivery nurse. She was taking the prayer shawl that I had just finished and turned in to a woman who had just lost her newborn baby. My heart stopped to think that all day long I had been whining to myself about how crappy I felt and how horrible being hormonal was and this woman was delivering my finished project to a woman who was grieving the loss of her newborn baby.

Talk about refocusing my perspective!

God is so good! His awesome ability to see all things so very clearly is just amazing. Almost all the yearn used for that project was in fact baby yarn, but because of the mish mash of colors it did not tune out to be a baby type shawl, which would not have been appropriate for the situation, but as it turned out it all worked together for the good. The baby yarn that no one wanted to work with, the baby yarn that was headed for the trash can, that baby yarn was now going to be comforting the broken heart of a grieving mother over the loss of her baby!

Only God could work all the specifics of that situation together so very perfectly!

Tuesday, September 14

My son called me on Monday evening and asked if I was available to babysit on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yea! For! Me! My favorite thing to do!

I got to visit with my Muffin-head nearly all day long. She was so proud of herself for learning how to crawl up into the rocking chair!

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Wednesday, September 15

For every really cute picture of muffin-head I take I have about a dozen or more pictures that look like this! Trying to photograph a lightning bolt or a whirling dervish would be easier I think.

Cute elbow don’tcha think?

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Thursday, September 16, Friday, September 17

Nope, not a one!

Saturday, September 18

Ya know those projects that you have around your house that you have been putting off of a gazillion years.

Well I had a bank statement waiting to be reconciled and that was just the motivation I needed to launch me into action. I decided that I just could not emotionally handle a column of numbers so I turned to the black hole that is the sitting room just off my master. It was full of piles of stuff and more stuff that just needed to find a home. Basically is was a huge mess!

I had been putting this off for months and months!

Before….

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After…

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Y’all it was so good to get that room cleaned out! Plus the added bonus of finding the Francine Rivers series “Mark of the Lion” hiding in amongst all of my junk. A friend had loaned it to me a few months back and I was right in he middle of reading a few books. I totally forgot I even had them, not unusual for me as I said, but I am looking forward to starting the first book as soon as hit the publish button!

 

It is now ready for the future desk and shelves that I am keeping my eyes out for. Maybe even a nice chair or small love seat!

Hmmm maybe I’ll head over to Goodwill tomorrow!

Well one day I may be able to achieve a full week of pictures, but until that day comes I will keep plugging right along.

Y’all have a great week ahead and I will try to stop by later this evening or tomorrow morning to take a look at your week in pictures!

For more 365 head over to Sara’s and join in on the fun!

 

Blessings

R

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Project 365 ~ Week 37

Y’all this week was a BUST! Aside from being exhausted on Monday from our weekend Fence Moving Project, I was having a serious bout of peri-menapausal hormonal upheaval. Rather that smashing my camera to the ground I opted to sequester myself and endanger as few people as possible.

Sunday, September 5

I shared this picture last week, but it is worth repeating as this was the partial reason for my lack of photographs. I was just so tired from working so hard.

Building fences is for the young I am afraid!

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Monday, September 6, Tuesday, September 7 Naaadddddaaaaa!

Wednesday, September 8

God is so good y’all!

On Wednesday evening at church after probably one of the worst days I have had, hormonally speaking, I was preparing to go home. It had been one of those marathon days. I left the house at 8:30 A.M. and had not been back since and it was nearing 8:00 P.M. I had my Bible Study in the morning which I felt totally discombobulated and unorganized about. Then Skoots1mom and I went to lunch and got a salad at Wendy’s, well I don't know about you but I like my salads when they are not swimming in a ladle full of warm extra soupy chili. If I had know that their new Baja salad was a renamed version of their taco salad I would have passed on the whole thing. Thankfully I did not jump the counter and demand more lettuce. I just suffered thorough my wilted lettuce smothered in steaming hot chili….YUCK! From lunch I had to go retrieve the girl child from school early for her final visit with her orthopedic surgeon. She has finally been released to normal duty, not that she is planning to go bungee jumping or cliff diving anytime soon but the Dr. Did give the ok for more strenuous activists (like soccer…) should she choose to participate in them. From there we went straight back to church and she did her homework in the church library. I was trying to be a good steward and not put any unnecessary miles on the car as I had to pass right by the church anyway. So thankfully it was a Wednesday and I did not have to cook. I enjoyed the Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes, God knew I needed a bit of comfort after the day I had had! But this long dissertation started with my explanation about the yarn. Well since my husband had cleaned out the car my current project was not in the car so i did not have anything to work on  so i ended up putting the finished touches on a unfinished project while I visited with everyone on Wednesday evening.

 

As I was leaving one of my Prayer Shawl buddies hands me a big plastic bag full of yarn.

“Will you take this home and throw it away for me?” she asks. We are all the time trying to solicit yarn donations from the congregation that we did not want to seem ungrateful should anyone find a large bag of yarn in the trash. I agreed to take the yarn home with me and discretely dispose if it.

You see it was an a odd assortment of baby fine yarn. Which anyone who words regularly with yarn will tell you is not for the faint of heart. The yarn is so thin and fragile. It breaks on you at the blink of an eye and it takes forever to get anything completed. It may be very soft and you get all lovei dovie when you feel of it, but trust me… its a bugger to work with!

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As I sat looking at the bag Wednesday evening something happened. I am not sure if it was God or if it was my desperate need to latch on to anything to take my mind off how crummy I felt but I dumped the yard out on my living room floor and began sorting through it. I randomly pulled four skeins out and set about to work on a prayer shawl. It was a bit cumbersome at first as some of the skeins were a bit tangled up but after a while it began to come together.

To give you a hint of just how difficult it is to work with…almost all of the skeins had several yards wrapped around the outside of the skein. An indication that a project had been started and then unraveled and the excess had been re-wrapped around the rest of the skein.

Almost all the skeins looked like this!

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I continued to feel crummy but I at least had something to do with my hands rather that try and strangle my beloved husband!

Thursday, September 9

Think crochet…not homicide!

Friday, September 10

Still crocheting and thankfully everyone is still alive and well!

Saturday, September 11

I felt much better hormonally speaking of which I was very thankful for!

Never let it be said that my hubs cant savor the moment. I gave him a present for his 50th birthday.

Seeing as he is now….52!

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It took him a while to get the weekend booked, his schedule is so crazy and he just never knows when he will be called out of town on a technical issue. So after waiting patiently for his schedule to free up he finally firmed up is plans. We drove out to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for his Richard Petty Driving Experience. Y’all he has been hanging around me too long. He had been watching the website and he booked his experience during a special promotion and he got a free drive along for your truly as well. It was AWESOME, and no I am not planning a second careen as a race car driver, it was a lot of fun though!

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BEFORE….

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the concentration….

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the cars….

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the anticipation…or is that concern on his face…

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in the car at last “I wanna go FAST!”

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AFTER…..just look at that smile.

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We had a great time! The Hubs had an OVER THE TOP good time!!!!

I so enjoyed watching him race around that track.

It was FAST and FUN!

Well that is it for me for this hormonally charge 365. For more head over to Sara’s and link up!

Blessings Y’all

Let’s hope that next week will be better!

R

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Lunch with Mr. Rogers ~ A September 11th Remembrance

How can you not remember!
It seems like such a long time ago but then it also feels like it was just yesterday.
I remember having feelings and thoughts about how life would never ever be the same. In some aspects that statement was very true. Our lives were changed forever. We lost something very dear to us. We lost the sense of safety and assurance that we had. The task of air travel was forever changed, our view of the world was tainted. For as much as I try to remain open minded I confess that I let my bigotry run rampant when the topic of Islam is broached. It is hard to be objective, yet it is so very easy to be judgmental.
With all the controversy of late about the proposed mosque in New York and a small church in Florida it seems that the world has slipped into a vacuum and everything feels like it is spinning out of control.
So on this day of remembrance where no doubt we will be revisited with images that we tried so hard to push out of our heads I share with you something I wrote in the aftermath of 9/11.
Written on September 20th, 2001
On September 10th the simple act of turning on the television brought traffic, weather updates and morning coffee with Regis & Kelly.
Everything changed on that horrible Tuesday morning.
On September 11th the world became an uncertain and frightening place.
A simple act like turning on the television, now brings the unending and unimaginable images into my home. I sit and watch the billowing smoke and twisted rubble, the growing number of missing person posters and the exhausted firefighters with their haunted expressions on their soot covered faces.
It’s all so difficult to look at, yet I find it hard to look away.
The world feels unfamiliar.
Today, amid the chaos and destruction I found a brief respite of peace and familiarity.
As I sat in my living room with my ham and cheese sandwich, surfing through the channels, trying to find some diversion from the unending crisis coverage, I skipped from channel to channel.
More smoke and twisted metal - click, the number of missing people keeps growing - click, more attacks expected – click, click, click……
And then I heard it.
"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood......" and there before me flashed the face of a trusted and old friends, Mr. Rogers.
He wore the same wonderful zip-up sweater and tie, he had on the same sneakers. He sang to me the same song that I knew by heart.
He told me I was special. He told me I was his friend. He took me on a trip to his barbershop and I watched as he got his hair cut. He explained to me that all things change and grow around us, some things change and grow without us even being aware of it, like the hair on our head, (or the nation we call home).
Our hair grows and eventually we all have to get it cut (or our nations changes and we learn to adapt).
It was a simple, yet very profound statement.
I went to Make-Believe Land and spent time with King Friday, Lady Elaine, Henrietta Pussycat and Daniel Tiger.
When I was done visiting in Make-Believe Land I took the trolley back to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. He was there waiting patiently for my return, we fed his fish and played a guessing game with plastic vegetables.
It took only thirty minutes but as I sat and had lunch with Mr. Rogers, I did not see visions of running fire fighters or exploding planes, I saw an old and trusted friend.
It was a only half an hour, but it was half an hour of simplicity and,familiarity.
It was a half an hour of being reminded of the things I learned as a child. Things that I may find hard to remember as an adult. Mr. Rogers reminded me that even now in this sometimes violent world we live in, it’s a "good feeling to know your alive ".
Even now writing these words I can hear the melody and his soft and beautiful voice singing in my head
“It's such a good feeling to know you're alive.
It's such a happy feeling: You're growing inside.
And when you wake up ready to say, "I think I’ll make a snappy new day.
It's such a good feeling a very good feeling
The feeling you know,
that I’ll be back when the day is new, And I'll have more ideas for you,
And you'll have things you'll want to talk about,
And I will to ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ....”
Mr. Rogers sang to me and told me he "was my friend” he told me I was special and I believed him.
He sang to me with his sweet, comforting and loving voice. A voice that I have grown up listening to and trusting in.
In Mr. Rogers Neighborhood there are no terrorist.
In Mr. Rogers Neighborhood there’s no hate.
Love lives in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
In Mr. Rogers Neighborhood there is always a simple, but beautiful song to sing.
I had lunch with Mr. Rogers today.
September 11, 2001 has changes all of us.
It has changed me.
Amid all the chaos I found a small bit of unchanged wonderful normalcy.
I had lunch with Mr. Rogers today, and I think I might do it again tomorrow.
 
 
 
On this day of remembrance may your thoughts be filled with blessings and your life be filled with loving friends and family.
 
Let us all remember those who lost their lives on that tragic day and let’s all give thanks to those who bravely ran into the smoke and the fire to try and save the lives of strangers!
 
Blessings
R

Friday, September 10, 2010

Flashback Friday ~ TV Time

So here is my Flashback for this Friday, y’all grab your remote and enjoy!

Tell about TV when you were growing up.

Did your family have a TV?

Although my daughter thinks I came from the ark ages we did in fact have a television as well as indoor plumbing, running water and even electricity when we were growing up.

Was it color or b&w?

If memory serves it was color, however seeing as my hormones have pushed all possibility of things like memory retrieval from my brain, this fact can not be positively verified. I do, however, have very vivid memories of making sure we were all seated in front of the television for the door opening scene of the Wizard of Oz! This tells me that we did in fact have a color television or I was delusion even as a small child!

How many TVs did your family have?

I think we only had one!

Did you have one in your room?

When I was in elementary school that simply was not a concept that was even considered. However I do think as the televisions got more prevalent I think I may have had a small on in my room.

Did your family leave the TV on most of the day or turn it on for specific programs?

Sadly it was probably on all the time.

Was the TV on or off when you ate meals as a family?

Probably, but we usually ate in the kitchen so it was not something that we could see during dinner.

Were there rules about watching TV?

Who can remember that far back!!!! Not that I recall!

What were your favorite shows?

Danger! Danger! Will Robinson, Danger.

Lost in Space tv show photo

Lost in Space!!!!!

I NEVER missed this show. I loved the robot, Will Robinson, Dr. Jones, I just loved everything about the show. I especially like the parts about how they grew their food in the hydroponic garden. The also had a machine that they put their laundry in and it came out at the other end all washed and folded. This was a huge thing for me as we did not have a washer or dryer and the weekly trips down to the Laundromat were not one of my favorite things. I used to dream of having one for the space age machine’s that would do my laundry for me just like Maureen Robinson had!

From the 1960's TV show, Lost in Space, Robot helped the Robinson family.

The other television show that stand out for me were Saturday morning cartoons. I feel so sorry for today youth, they missed out on all the classic cartoon. Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leg Horn, The Road Runner and Wile Coyote and let’s not forget School House Rock. I’m just a Bill, yes I’m only a Bill and I’m sitting here on capitol Hill and Conjunction Junction what's your function….who doesn't even now still remember the words to those songs!

In my adolescent years my hands down favorite television show was Saturday Night Live. I feel so sorry for the world post Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner. I’m a SNL snob, there is not SNL if it does not include the original cast! I remember making our Saturday night plans to ensure that we were all home in time to watch. We would wait with great expectation for the moment during the opening skit where someone one would sep out of character and look directly at the camera a shout….Live from New York …It’s Saturday Night!

Are there any particular memories you have of TV in your younger years?

This happen when I was in my first apartment in the 80’s.

I was still in my very early twenties. My best friend and I were roommates and we got hooked on watching the television show Dallas. Now this was a new thing back in the day. The Night Time Soap Opera was just beginning to be introduced as Prime Time Drama’s. We got so wrapped up in the show and we were so shocked by the turn of events when J.R. got shot. We speculated all week long on who the culprit was. We made sure that we made no plans for the following week so we could find out who in fact had gunned down our favorite villain. We race home and rush to the television and turned on the set and settle in to watch….

We both sat in disbelief as the concept of “The Season End Cliffhanger” was introduced to prime time television. What!!! you mean we have to wait until next season to find out who shot J.R. How can this be. We were devastated.

Fortunately we recovered from our devastation and since then we as a society have all come to grips with the concept of the season end cliffhangers, well maybe not!

I have a love hate relationship with television. There is so much about television that I enjoy, yet there is so much about it that upset me. In reality I probably should just turn it off more times than not, I know I would get so much more done in a day with out it.

After decades of being a confirmed soap opera addict I finally severed that dependence. However I still readily admit that I am not completely willing to give us certain guilty pleasures. Dancing with the Stars…gotta love it! Grey’s Anatomy…I have waited patiently for this seasons opener. Iron Chef…what secret ingredient is hiding under that stainless steel hood? TNT and AMC…on a rainy Saturday with a movie marathon and I am a happy girl.

However, who has not scanned through the 577-thousand-million different channels and wondered why there is nothing decent to watch on television.

Also not being a sports enthusiast I often wonder just how many sports channels are really necessary?

Here is a question: Just how many History Channel or Discovery Channel documentaries can there be on the end of the world,mega disasters, ancient aliens and monster fish/animal/reptile/insect's?

I am not a reality television fan either. I fail to see the appeal of opening one lives up to the general public for inspection. But then I tease my family all the time about trying to come up with some behaviors bizarre enough that would merit an application for Wife Swap, but then the key to success there is to be just far enough removed from reality that you think your bizarre lifestyle is completely normal and the rest of the world has got it all wrong.

Our children will never live in a world without hundred's of choices. They will never have to get up and walk across the room to change the channel! Gone are the days of only three networks and Saturday morning cartoons, Bonanza, Lassie, The Adams Family, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, My Three Sons, The Carol Burnett Show, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Mr. Ed, My Favorite Martian, Bewitched, The Hulk, The Walton’s and Little House on the Prairie! Then there were the mini-series’ The Thornbirds, Shogun, Roots…

Gone are the days of missing your favorite show and being really bummed about it? I will say that the DVR has given us all the wonderful option of taking back the control and letting life take precedence over television once again!

Some day's I just turn it off and grab a good book or my crochet hook and enjoy the silence.

What would Ma & Pa do?

Ma would be darning sock’s by candle light, Pa would be sitting in his rocker (that he made by hand) playing his fiddle by the light of the fire while Laura and Mary whisper about their secret plan to get Nellie back at school in the morning!

Well enough of that!

Y’all head over to Mocha with Linda and link up for more Flash Back Friday!

Blessings

R

Monday, September 6, 2010

A Forced Break...

Well the ol' desktop is out of commission for a bit.

For the past few months I have been banging my head against the screen as it froze up every few minutes and then crashed, it made for lots of frustrations.

I was forced to reformat the hard drive this afternoon!

I will be spending the next few days reloading software and getting things back in working order!

so...
I'll be back...as soon as I get all my computer ducks in a row!

Why can't stuff just work???

Blessings
R

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Project 365 ~ Week 36

Y’all I am so late to the 365 party today. You will see why when you get to Saturday and today’s pictures. But better late than never.!

Sunday, August 29

My painting is taking shape.

Sundays seem to be the day I have some time to work on it!

I am still a bit uncertain about the water. It isn't quite right and the depth and shading on the sides of the fountains still need work.

I have found that taking pictures of the progress has really helped me to see the areas of the painting that need additional work.

One of the things I have learned is that with age comes patience. I remember, back in the day, I was always in a hurry to get a piece done.

Now I recognize that I am in no rust to get things done. I have the luxury of being able to take my time and really think about what I am doing. I can fix the problem areas and not trying to rush the process. Some things about the aging process are worth the gray hairs, maybe!

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Monday, August 30

I was working on the computer and kept seeing this flitting motion catching my eye. I was not sure what it was and then it darted back and forth several times. I now know what it is that is making the dog so nuts! He literally has left no stone unturned in his efforts to make friend with Mr. Lizard! He was a sweet little fellow and I want y’all to pray for Mr. Lizard. If Buster makes friends with him in the same way he made friends with Mr. Frog last week… well let’s just say that Buster had a GREAT time and Mr. Frog is now in froggy heaven!   IMG_4064

Some days the culinary fairies are on my side. My pantry was a bit on the sparse side and I had a rather large head of broccoli that had seen better days which by the time I got finished cutting off the unattractive part yielded a few cups of nice green flowerets. I searched in the depths of the crisper drawer and came up with the old standbys of celery, carrot and onion. A few minutes later I had a Bacon, Broccoli & Cheese soup in the works for dinner. Then in what can only be described as a stroke of genius I decided that the soup needed just a little something. I snatched up a few handfuls of fresh basil, thyme and parsley from the herb garden and made up some herbed buttermilk dumpling for the soup.

Y’all this one is a keeper. It was super good!

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Tuesday, August 31

Oooooppppsss! No pictures today :(

 

Wednesday, September 1

More Prayer Shawl’s. Y'all the piece I am working is slow going. I may get it finished before the worlds comes to an end in 2012, well maybe not!

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Thursday, September 2

One of my least favorite things to do is go shopping for one of these! I hate it so much that I put it off as long as possible until you know what are simple falling apart and then I am forced to go shopping for a new one!

Did I mention how much I hate shopping for Bra’s!!!!!!!!!

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I simply lost count after trying on about 20 and then in a final act of desperation grabbed a handful of as many different styled and sizes as  I could handle and vowed not to emerge for the dressing room until I had found on that fit.

God took pity on my and I was successful. I walked back to my car carrying a small bag and a very large sales receipt. I bought four new bra’s, so hopefully they should last me a while! One day someone will explain to me why an item that weighs less than nothing and contains maybe 1/2 a yard of material should cost so much!

Well having recover from the trauma of my time in the intimates section at Kohl's I moved on the the entertainment portion of the evening. After such a perilous experience I needed a bit of TLC.

Which was just a few hours away.

That evening, my normal night for my accountability group, we departed  from out normal schedule and decided to go out to dinner. One of the ladies had a $50.00 gift card that she did not have any plans for so we took her up on her offer of dinner.

I snapped a few pictures as I was walking down the square heading to the restaurant! I have to sat that the town square is so very nice.  All the store front all have overflowing flower pots and all the benches and sidewalks are lined with overflowing flower boxes. It really is beautiful.

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We went to Dominick’s. It is a wonderful Italian restaurant right on he square.

Buford Village

We started off with Spedini Bread, a loaf of classic seeded Italian bread stuffed with mozzarella wrapped in proscuitto ham, baked with simmering garlic and butter and the house salad.

Our dinner entre was Dominick’s Chicken  which was Boneless, skinless chicken breast sautéed with garlic, sliced mushrooms and spinach in a white wine sauce and topped with provolone cheese.

For desert I had the Crème Brulle, Skoots1mom had the Cannoli.

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My two other sisters shared a Chocolate Mousse. We all had a taste of everything along with a wonderful cup of decaff.

When all was said and done we had a fabulous meal and walked out having only spent $10.oo each!

Gotta love a Gift Card!!!!!!!!!

Friday, September 3

Wednesday after my Disciple class I made a trip to my favorite veggie place, the H Mart. I came home with some amazing peaches. I was in hopes of making a pie or cobbler for our Labor Day dinner. On further inspection I decided that the ripeness of the peaches would not make it until Monday so I decided to make my pie on Friday.

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Y’all it was one of the best Peach Pie’s I have ever made. It was so good, and there is still some left for us to have on Monday night!

Saturday, September 4

Well Saturday morning we began the final phase of our backyard fence project. The hubs and I worked like fiends all day long and got a good dent in the project.

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Sunday, September 5

We got home from church and made a stop at the Home Depot to get a few additional supplies and set to finishing up the project. After a long afternoon we finally finished up!

I am including today's pictures so y’all can see the project all finished. The only thing left to do is stain all the new portions of the fence and it will be complete.

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I am so looking forward to being able to move the trash can from the garage to the back yard and there will be room to purchase on of those Rubbermaid storage container for all my gardening equipment. I am really looking foreword to that.

My hands hurt, my feet hurt,  I have a sunburn on my forearms. I was so focused on trying not to get a sunburn on the back of my neck or the tops of my ears that I completely forgot to spray sunscreen on my arms.

I really do think I am loosing my mind.

But is is done and I am happy!

Well that does it for my 365 for this week, but all I can say is better lat than never! For more 365 y’all head over to Sara’s and link up!

Y’all take care and have a greet week ahead!

I can’t keep my eyes open and my eyelids are beginning to stick to my eyeballs so I am going to log off for a while. I will make the round to all of y’all in the morning!

Blessings

R

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