out of hiding . . .

Have mercy . . . for the first time in our nineteen years of marriage, Todd and I were both sick at the same time.  And not just "have a sniffle" sick, but miserable, can't get out of bed sick!  BLAH!  Poor Todd, just when he should have been getting over whatever that virus was (that pretty much made its way though all three of our families), he came down with strep.  My fellow was not a happy camper.

Needless to say, we've neither of us been doing a whole lot!  I missed going on our ladies' retreat to Pigeon Forge.  Boooo!!  But I got better in time to attend a guild committee meeting at the home of one of the members -- on Lake Guntersville.  The meeting day was beautiful and we had lunch out on the back deck.  What a view!!

I can't be too jealous, though, not when this is in my back yard!!

I can't wait until the weather is right for toe dipping and splashing!

I haven't been in the Nook . . . but I have been doing some stitching on a dear little dolly's dress:

Last night I finished the center petal.  Now all I need to do is a little stitching on the petals on either side of the center monogram.  

They're marked and ready to go.  That's my WOW!!  Linking on up to Esther Aliu's blog.

Turtles have been coming out of hibernation, but we had yet to see any of the baby turtles.

That is, until yesterday!  Isn't he teeny-tiny and precious??! I hope we see more!

And finally, I treated myself to an early Mother's Day gift . . .

I couldn't pass this little book up and I'm so glad I didn't . . . it's filled with wonderful recipes.  Can't wait to try some!

Hope the rest of your week is filled with happy things that make you smile!

:)

the tenth of october . . .

I know it's been quiet on the blog this week . . . but that's because it's been super LOUD in real life this week!

My sister and her crew, from Texas, spent their fall break camping with us! We've had a marvelous time, especially since her youngest are right around the ages of my grands! Hilarity and craziness have reigned this week!

So it goes to figure that there's been very little stitching done this week (a little, and I'll catch y'all up on that a little later).We've hiked and played in the creek and visited the Botanical Gardens and cooked s'mores and just, in general, have had a marvelous time! 

We had a big first -- Sawyer earned his "slept in a sleeping bag in a tent" badge this week!  He's an old pro now and has asked if if can move to the camp and live in a tent all the time. :) This is his 'morning after' cup of hot cocoa, to celebrate his victory! Please do notice the boots and pj's.   

Today, because it is 10/10 (that magic day of the year I like to refer to as the kickoff of my month-long birthday celebration), we are headed to the PUMPKIN PATCH!  Yay!!

Just in time for the kick-off . . . my order from Stash Tea . . .

Happy birthday tea for me! Hahaha!

Have a great weekend . . . I know I will!!!

:)

september days are here . . .

With summer's best of weather,

And autumn's best of cheer.

                                                                                         --Helen Hunt Jackson

It never fails . . . as one month passes into the next, I'm blown away by the speed of passing time.  Oh how I desperately want to cling to it!  But time is mastered by no man (or woman), so here it is, September already!

I have to admit, I'm kind of excited.  September means the autumn is just around the corner! I do adore decorating in the autumn . . .

Like this darling subway art print!  I found it over On Sutton Place.  She shares lots of lovely ideas and printables.  Definitely worth a visit.

While the calendar may say fall, we're still enjoying summer temps, that's for sure!  When the grandkids come out to the camp, they have different ways of beating the summer heat.  Sawyer and June, for example, are gung ho to be in the creek, splashing the day away . . .

Ellie, on the other hand, prefers to beat the heat by indulging in an indoor tea party . . .

They're all so cute, I can't say no to any of them (just ask Todd)!!  Soon Olivia will be splashing or tea drinking, too ... and Everley is due to arrive any day now!  My heart just bursts with love for them all!

The turtle sanctuary area continues to flourish.  Turtles love the heat and humidity.  They'll pile up on the slate rocks and just soak up sun. Unless one of us comes around with crickets or worms, then the run toward us!

Evidently the water lilies are liking the heat and humidity too:

Three beautiful lilies at one time!  I've really enjoyed seeing these through the summer. The flowers generally don't last but two-to-three days, but there's always at least one. So lovely!

Speaking of water, when I knew we were going to be heading down to the creek the other day, I needed a play skirt.  So I repurposed one of my older, going threadbare skirts.  I cut the bottom out of it (about eight inches), then cut off the hem with about an inch of excess fabric, so I could stitch it back onto the skirt and have an easy finished hem.

There were still a few 'thin' spots, so I covered them with heart patches I made from the excess I'd cut off. I've had this skirt for seven years -- it's worn, but comfortable -- like a favorite pair of jeans! I hope I've made it so I can enjoy it for another five or so years!

With the start of September, I started this great book by Becky Harling, the 30 day praise challenge. It was a Kindle freebie, but I think it's gone back up.

I've read Part One and have gone through the first two days.  It's marvelous!! There's a group on facebook going through it together and anyone is welcome to join! I'll be linking this up to the Bibliophile Files over at sarah did it!

And since yesterday was the first day of September, it seemed fitting to make an apple pie! With apples fresh off my neighbor's tree and a homemade pie crust to boot! 

I enjoyed it for breakfast this morning, too, New England style (with my cup of hot tea, of course)!

Oh yeah, glorious autumn is just waiting around the corner, ready to make her spectacular entrance!!

happy bastille day . . .

How does one make excuses when one has faltered at the blogging wheel, so to speak?  One doesn't (at least this one doesn't) . . . one just marches blithely on and picks up where she left off.  Haha!

Why I feel compelled to post *today* . . . with the first night of VBS just hours away . . . I have NO idea! Haha!  It's how I roll.  I'm so excited about our VBS (Vacation Bible School), though.  We've got a great week of fun and songs and food and good teaching ahead! We spent yesterday evening decorating up the church for this year's theme:

AgencyD3:  Discover! Decide! Defend!

We'll be picking up Sawyer each night to go with us -- and even Ellie will stop by on Thursday night -- which will all make for an even funner week!

I've had a little time to get my quilting on, too.  Got this festive little banner finished just in time for the 4th:

And whipped this cheery little mug rug up for a dear one:

Sawyer's been over to go creekin'.  We had a marvelous day and made some fabulous memories.  Let me share one:

We had brought the minnow net and a bucket, but Sawyer was having no luck "fishing", so he passed the net to me and asked if I'd catch some fish for him. It just so happened that I had spied some tiny minnows, so I swooped the net down, brought it back up, and lo, there were about three 1-1/2" long 'fish' in the net. I exclaimed to Sawyer that I'd caught some, and he was so excited! "I love fish!" he kept saying. So I brought the net over to him and pushed it up from the bottom so he could get a good look. He again exclaimed how much he 'loved' fish and reached down into the net. I was really pleased to see he wasn't squeamish about touching them or handling them as he picked one up. Then, before I could say a word, he popped the little minnow into his mouth! AAaaaAAhh!! No Sawyer, we only eat *cooked* fish!!!!! I think he spit it out then, but I'm not quite positive. Oh well.  Boys will be boys and Sawyer will be Sawyer!

Just so you know, in the top left pic he's eating blackberries we picked . . . NOT fish.

I spent several days with Ellie, as well, while her mommy and daddy celebrated their fifth anniversary in Mexico! We had a fun time, as always!

She's such a dear little dolly!

And we've been tooling around the camp, working on the sanctuary and playing with turtles (I call Todd the 'turtle whisperer' now -- see the turtle coming up to inspect the cricket cage?!).

The bottom left are pumpkin plants -- volunteers from last year's pumpkins! 

And of course the Panter family makes frequent trips up here to visit and play!

Bringing with them the newest Panter ... Olivia Mae!

Isn't she precious?! Already going on six weeks old! 

Better get off here and get busy making "wanted" posters. For VBS, of course!

:)