Summertime...

I don't know about the rest of you, but I've spent the past few days inside my air-conditioned home beating the heat.  Stepping outside is like entering a very hot, dry sauna, which many love, but I'm more of a 60 degree gal.

What do you do to pass the long, hot summer days? Camping, swimming, fishing, tubing, sitting in a dark movie theatre? I've done all of those in the past. This summer has been a mix of projects, family time, a bit of reading, and just enjoying what life has given us.  We've had a good variety of birds visiting the feeder in our backyard. Our gooseberry bushes produced a lot of berries this season. It's the little things.

My husband helped me with an idea I'd had for a while. I wanted a curtain on the back patio cover, to pull when the hot sun is hanging low, which made it impossible to enjoy sitting out there. It was just too hot. I'd purchased a cotton drop cloth a while back, so I gave him my idea and he helped make it happen. A length of plastic coated wire, a set of grommets, and some "S" hooks along with the drop cloth, and we now have a bit of shade for the patio. Another bonus, it helps reduce the heat in the family room! It's more shabby than chic, but we love it!

Busy week ahead...

I've got a long list of "must-do" jobs this week.  I began with an unplanned root canal today, but I'm glad I got the process started.  I'm already feeling much better.  MS can create a lot of pain, and can also numb some areas to pain. There is a definite downside of not feeling pain, you don't always know when something is wrong.  When some feeling returned to the left side of my face and body yesterday, I suddenly knew something was really wrong with my tooth! It wouldn't even respond to prescription pain medication, but it got me to the dentist right away.  It's a reminder that I need to be very aware of what is going on physically, and pay attention to areas where I'm feeling no pain.

Toward the top of my list is to schedule all the maintenance appointments I want to do.  Eye exam, hair appointments, etc.  I'm even thinking of splurging on a facial or a massage.  I'm not getting any younger, and I think a little pampering would be nice.

I'm continuing to work on household projects.  It seems those are never-ending. We are putting a lot of items into storage, while our older son is living with us. I'm also hoping to clear the way to get some new carpet or flooring put down!

I have to complete the mini-makeover of our main bathroom.  We painted, but I never did get new shelving or towel racks purchased.  I'd love to replace the old 1980's light fixture as well.

Another item is to get back to work on a writing project I began last year.  My "muse" went silent for a while, but I'm been hearing some whispers of inspiration again.

This is enough to start.  Now, I suppose I should attempt to get a good night's sleep.  Work begins tomorrow!

Day 28 - Beginnings, Sidelined

It's early evening, and my well-laid plans for the day got sidelined.  Not by any person or event.  I just misplaced my initiative.  Do you ever start a project and find you get bogged down before you've barely begun?  That's what happened today.  I've been treading water all day long.  Boxes half-filled.  Dishwasher not loaded.  Baking and laundry not done.  Don't ask me what I did get done.  I couldn't tell you for sure.

Well ok, to be honest, I did spend some time chatting and laughing with my boys.  And I watched a movie, read the paper, worked on the crossword, got caught up on FB posts, peeked at Pinterest...
Is it any wonder I didn't make it through my to-do list?
Sigh... oh well, tomorrow is another day...

I'm Still Around...

Hello all!  Sorry for the lack of posts this summer.  It's been a crazy one.  I'm still over my head in projects, so it will continue to be hit and miss for a while.  I am starting to get the writing bug back... my muse disappeared months ago, and I wondered if inspiration would ever come back.  It has, so I'll be blogging as well as working on some ideas.

I'm still only part way done with my photo scanning project... technical difficulties.  Artwork and crafting have taken a back seat to practical "life" matters that needed attending to.

Currently being annoyed with a couple health issues, but refusing to let them rule my life!

God is good.  I'm doing well!  Hope to be much more faithful to my blogs as we head into my favorite time of year... I Love Autumn!

Happy days...

Busy, Busy...

Summer has been busy for us.  This week my husband is working on extending our back patio by adding some pavers around the original slab.  Since the ground is mostly made up of clay, it is back breaking work to get the digging done.  It is going to be wonderful though!  He's doing this as our anniversary gift this year.  It was earlier in the month, but we couldn't decide what we wanted to do to celebrate it.  This makes the perfect gift.  For my part, I'm doing some more "releasing" of my huge collection of stuff!  I just Free-cycled six big boxes of VHS Tapes!  Yay!  The lady getting them is disabled and is really going to enjoy watching them.  Double blessing... I gain more room, and she gets something she really wanted.

Here is Paul, working hard on the patio.  

Doesn't he look happy?  That's my Honey!

If you don't see me here quite as much, it's just the summer projects keeping me away. 

My 98th Post!

I can't believe I am at my 98th post! Time flies here in blogland.

Today I wanted to share a couple of pictures with you.

The first ones are the Ornaments

I made for my sis-in-law.

One of her and Mom... the other of her and Dad.

And here's what I did on the reverse side.

I used canvas backed sheets in my printer for the photos. The rest is just pretty paper, glue, and ribbon. They were created from the heart, so I was thrilled when she told me they were two of her favorite pictures.

The next two photos are of a "project" that I haven't gotten to yet.

I bought this unfinished chest at a tag sale. I plan to

sand off the existing pattern and put my own touch to it.

This is the inside. I love the extra little tray!

Well, that's it for today. It's time to go fix dinner and spend some time with the family.

Music... and stuff

It's been a busy time at my home. PJ has been painting the exterior over the past two weeks. He's getting very close to being done. I have about 50 other projects lined up that I'd love to have done... garden, repair and paint fence, repaint all the metal lawn furniture and decor, have a new cover over our back patio (before the old one comes down on our heads), clean and repair my birdhouses... then we go inside for paint, carpet, linolium... like I said the list goes on and on. It's shocking how much piles up after years and years of living in the same home. When did everything get so old and rickety... when did I?!?

With everything that's been going on, I haven't written as much as I'd like to. I did spend some time adding tunes to my blog. If you hate reading with music on... or just dislike my choices, you can press the pause button, switch song selection, or just turn your computer volume down.

I enjoy hearing other peoples music choices. It seems like an extra little window into their world. I only have about a 39 second bit of Mahalia Jackson singing one of my favorite songs... it's all I could find. I have been a fan of hers since I was a small child. My grandmother would put on her album and we'd sing along. Hearing Mahalia's voice is much like hearing my grandma's... familiar, uplifting, and full of feeling.

I hope your day has been filled with blessings. Mine has. Each moment is a blessing.