off day, work day, birthday . . .

Backposted (because how ever many years from now I'd regret not having posted these pictures along with their stories)!

March is off to a great start!  Our first Friday was a lovely, mild day, so Todd and I hit the lake.

It was mild enough to slip my shoes off while I read. Get some sunshine on those toes.

See how smooth the water is?  Just the perfect day for fishing! I'm not sure what he was pulling in, but it was big enough that he got out the net. At one point we were sitting in a spot with a ton of birds, and another pontoon came barreling through . . .

I didn't catch the aftermath, but it was kind of like a bowling ball into the pins! Knucklehead.  

It was a lovely day and they're starting to get a little longer.  Still too short for my liking.  But we change to daylight savings time next weekend, and we'll get another hour of lake time on the back end (which is where I prefer it)!

Thankful we had a restful day on Friday, because Saturday was a Camp MACOBA work day!

Disaster Relief uses our work days to train for the chainsaw team.  It works out well for both of us!  I think they stocked up enough firewood for the upcoming camping season.

It was a full day (for them).  I limit my working to the kitchen and helping serve lunch!

For all the racket that chainsaws and tractors and log splitters made, it didn't take the deer long to come out of hiding once the crews cleared out . . .

And then Sunday we celebrated my Jocelyn's birthday (which was actually on Monday).  We celebrated, but somehow the only pictures I managed to take were of . . .

My baby.  Who thinks I make a good teething object.

And a good sleeping pillow. ♥

:)

celebrate on . . .

I may have shared that I give as much time as my birthday wants to be celebrated. A week where you only work two days and have the next five free is as good a time to continue celebrating as any! I gave a whole post to the Tate Farms fun, but I'll condense the remainder of the long weekend here. Mostly.  I think. 

Thursday, the weather continued to be beautiful, and since a wet, cool front was moving in on Friday, our regular boat day, Todd and I decided to go ahead and get our lake action in a day early.  It was another of those days where Todd was really catching them, so I fished, too.  Another fabulous day -- he caught two to my one, but that's pretty exciting to me, especially since our total was 45! And what do you know, algebra does pay off!  2x + x = 36; solve for x.  Hahaha...I caught 12!

What really captured my attention, though, was the late afternoon sun, and the clouds that were starting to pile up in anticipation of the next day's front . . .

I couldn't stop taking pictures! I think partly because my photo never looks quite as spectacular as what I'm seeing, and I want desperately to capture it that way.

I'd never seen a sun dog before ... it was just beautiful! I had to confirm with the meteorologist of Alabama, James Spann, to make sure it was what I thought it was.  If James says so, it is so!

The combination of the sun setting and the clouds amassing made for fabulous effect. My camera roll has no end of these photos.  Just saying. 

The City of Guntersville finally has a developer working on a spot of land on the lake aimed at boaters/tourists.  It's called City Harbor, and it's supposed to be a great spot for dining and entertainment, once they get it all built.

Not the best pic (this was actually taken 10/8).  We were moving at a pretty good clip!

It's really close to the marina ... it's a pretty spot now; just imagine what it will look like when it's all finished!

Friday I did a couple of things.  I visited Patches & Stitches and picked up some pumpkin oranges and greens (and used my birthday discount) . . .

Quite a nice little haul there, don't you think??

And then I traveled on to a new old shop.  It's an old shop that's been bought and is now being run by a new owner.  Southern Charm Quilting!  The new owner is in my stitch group.  She was having a terrific sale, trying to clear out some old inventory and make room for new fabric lines and wool.

I did very well here, too.  Seven yards of fabric for $36!  You can't beat that!!

From there I headed home and spent a little time in the Nook.  Worked on a mock-up of some pumpkin/jack-o-lantern placemats I wanted to make.  I messed up on the width of my strips, so I ended up with this little cutie instead . . .

I'll keep it for me ... at 12" wide it's too small for a placemat and a little too big for a mug rug ... but perfect as a small topper.  So be it.  I big stitched around the edges and down the lines.  It makes me smile!

Saturday was game day.  I made a double crust pizza and prepped the other two trick or treat bags for stitching . . .

I also finished up (finally) the pineapple block for Hospital Sketches in wool.

I've got two more blocks to finish.  The two most involved.  Go figure!  LOL!

As the evening (and the football) went by, I finished up my stitching . . .

I can't wait to gift these to the girls! 

One final photo.  Joc actually took and sent me this one.  In case you're wondering what Edith thinks about her baby brother . . . 

Baaahaaahaaa!!  As is usual, her face clearly says it all.

:)

let the festivities commence . . .

It's BIRTHDAY weekend!!  Hip, hip!!  The fun started Thursday evening when I pulled up and there were two beautiful planters of my favorite fall flowers . . .

MUMS!  Aren't they pretty?  Todd knows me so well!

Friday we hit the lake around 11:30.  Even the fish must have known it was my birthday weekend! I actually pulled out my pole (Todd was catching them hand over fist, so to speak) and I did well. 

I caught about eight (to Todd's twenty, but who's counting?).  Mine were GOOD sized!

The heron even squawked out a birthday greeting.  ;)

Saturday I pulled out that cute glow-in-the-dark fabric I found a month or so ago, and put it to good use!  I made these darling, lined trick or treat bags for the local grandgirls.

Then I realized I needed them to be able to differentiate them, so I decided to embroider the each little girl's name on them.  I finished Edith's.  Whew!

Sunday was my actual birthday.  Fifty-nine, if you must know!  Todd and I headed to lunch at my folk's house after church, and then we headed to Joc's house for [cookie] cake and ice cream.  

Edith was very happy to help me unwrap presents!  I'm particularly pleased to have that 16.5" square ruler from Creative Grids!  Todd got my the 10.5" ruler. Yay!

This was Todd's first time to hold Ezra!  Ezra's middle name, Paul, honors in part Todd's dad, Paul. Isn't that sweet?

Not nearly as sweet as this darling boy!

Look at that gas smile! 

I got in a good birthday pic with the entire crew . . . 

I think this is a first with the whole gang!  It's not a very flattering photo of me, but who's looking at me with all those cute kiddos surrounding me??!

This one is a little nicer . . .

Taken Monday at work (secret:  I generally wear the same outfit to work Monday that I wear to church on Sunday).  The first full day of my sixtieth year!  

:)

october's here . . .

Got an update on June this week; she saw her shadow . . .

. . . four more weeks in the cast. But this time she got a pretty bright blue one!  And a side trip to the San Diego zoo!  Sweet girl.  She's handling it all very well.  She is getting a little antsy.  She misses her gymnastics!

Also got an update on this sweet kiddo . . . 

Pictured here celebrating getting two parts in The Nutcracker! One is a solo dance (one of the gift toys in the early scene of the Christmas party) and the second is a group dance as one of the 'children'!  She's absolutely thrilled!  We're waiting to hear where the venue will be so a date can be pegged down!

Joc sent me a couple of happy photos, too . . .

The girls are enjoying their morning story time snuggled in with mama and brother.  Speaking of brother, he's growing so well!  

In just over two weeks, he's gained almost two pounds!  

Grow baby, grow! (And seriously.  I could just gaze at this picture for hours.)

Friday, we were able to get out on the lake.  The spring and summer were so rainy, we were hardly able to get consecutive Fridays out.  This fall is shaping out to be a weather joy!

Todd's fishing pole was haaaawt . . .

He got quite a few like this one. They'll eat well!  I can marinate and grill 'em when they're that big.

I ended up finishing my acorn piece on the boat, so Saturday seemed like the perfect time to swap out decor.

I've been so busy these last few years crafting my seasonal decor, there's very little I get out of the tub of my fall things.  On the one hand, it makes me a little sad ... on the other, I really enjoy seeing my handiwork all over the RV living room! Mind you, this isn't all that's out ... I didn't even show hardly any of my wall hangings!

So, speaking of autumn-themed quiltiness . . .

Let's hear about it!

:)

good things happen . . .

To those who wait? To those who do?  Randomly?  I dunno.  All of the above, I guess!  This month kicked off with Easter, and we celebrated with the Merkel family at my folks' house.

Assessing their plunder!

It was a lovely day . . . the weather couldn't have been more beautiful!  Or at least, so I thought.  We had Monday off, so Todd and I took the boat out.

That was pretty exquisite, too! 

We found our first hatchling in the turtle sanctuary and moved him/her over to the nursery.

They are always so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when they make their first appearance in the Spring!

I convinced Todd to do a thing for me.

I desperately needed working space in the Nook.  Desperately.

Now I have it!!  I'm so excited!  At some point, when the weather is a little warmer, I'll go back through the tubs and organize them a little better.  But I'm very, very pleased with both my storage *and* my new found working space in the Nook!  Plus, I have a lot more space for storage than I thought! *wink*

So immediately I had to do something fun to celebrate . . . 

These Moda blocks had been on my to-do list for a while.  And these colors are yummy.  The photo doesn't do them justice.  And I know I'm always saying that purple is my favorite color, but I really think it's blue.  Blues draw me every time.  I adore purple, but I want to quilt with blue.

I also got a new rotary cutter, which I LOVE!  It is a delight to wield.  Seriously.  If you've not used these, you should give them a try. It cuts like a dream.

I got some more 'spring' color to add to our yard!  

Usually we do hanging baskets for Mother's Day, but I was ready for some color NOW!  Heh.  I love impatiens ... and they last all the livelong summer!

Speaking of plants, usually Todd waits until after his birthday to plant our little vegetable garden, but this year, he went ahead and got it in a little early.  

I should get more pictures.  He's expanded our raised beds and it's looking so good! This is one of the new beds, in which he's planted three blueberry bushes.  Whoop, whoop!!  We love blueberries, for sure!

Finally (and I'll wrap this up), we got a load of supplies delivered for the construction of the bathhouse!  We are so, so excited about this!  

The completion of the bathhouse will complete the vision Todd was given for the camp when we first started out here as camp hosts, 12 years ago.  Two bunkhouses and a bathhouse; a place where churches could being kids and youth and enjoy God's creation. And God has been so faithful!!  Work won't start until May, but building materials are hard to come by and Todd wanted to get them early, instead of taking a chance he couldn't get them when he needed them.  Yeah, we're very excited!

:)