rainy day happies . . .

Luckily, the rain held off this morning, for the most part. I went down early and opened the gate for a VBS crew we had coming into the camp today. It did rain just a little on my trip down -- just enough to make everything smell clean and earthy. I love summer showers!

The VBS group came in and did their thing. I finished up my Community Group lesson and then Todd & I headed over to chat with them before they left. It's a good thing we left when we did -- they'd packed up early because of the impending thunder storms and were loading the kids up! They'll be back up here for the next four Tuesdays, so I'm sure I'll get the opportunity to play!

Speaking of playing . . . raccoons barely get along with each other. So it's no shock that they don't get along with . . .

Cats! The raccoon walked up behind the [feral] cat (who was laying down there ready to pounce on the next unsuspecting bird). When the cat finally turned around and saw the coon, he JUMPED up and *very* warily backed away.

Yup -- the coon reigns in the clearing! The birds and squirrels don't mind the coons and were probably happy to see him chase the cat out!

Storms did finally move in, and the rainy afternoon lent itself to another of my favorite past times -- reading! I'd recently had a hankering to go back through the Little House series. I'm reading Farmer Boy right now. These are such charming stories.

And so well written. I find myself laughing out loud all through them! I wish, I wish, I *wish* that they were available for the Kindle. I wonder why they aren't?

It was also the perfect afternoon to brew a pot of Chocolate Orange tea and settle in with my latest issue of Tea Time!

Lot's of fun articles and tea parties and recipes in the July/August issue. I read it cover-to-cover! I did see on the tea calendar that there's a Sweet Tea Festival nearby in Thompson's Station, Tennessee, on August 27. There's a website and facebook page for it and everything. Sounds like something I may need to investigate!

i ♥ rainy afternoons!

:)

it's been . . .

. . . way too long!

But gosh, I've been so, so busy!

So, Joc and I headed to Atlanta on Friday night. We had a great drive down and got to talk about all sorts of things that moms & daughters talk about. We were late getting to the hotel --it was about 9:30-- and the lobby was filled with women who were obviously also checking in for the Beth Moore conference! There were two staff at the hotel counter, and you could tell they were feeling a little overwhelmed. The hotel was booked full, and those guests waiting to check in were the last of the occupants! I admit I was just a tad anxious as we waited, but I had spoken to Lisa (who happened to still be there) to confirm our reservation earlier in the day, and had called and spoken to her again when I realized we weren't going to make it by 9:00 pm. We finally got our turn, and we were checked in without incident! And we had a *beautiful* room on the ground floor! Joc & I were so excited!

Anyway, we dropped our bags and headed back out to grab some dinner (which we'd skipped in the interests of getting to the hotel as soon as possible). We went to Arby's and as we were leaving, Joc suggested that we get the two hotel employees a dessert turnover. So we did. And when we got back to the hotel, we dropped them off, just thanking them for all their hard work.

We went directly to bed. With books. Joc had one she's reading and she'd brought one for me -- a new one by Francine Rivers, called Her Mother's Hope. I hated putting it down to turn off the light! The next morning, I got up first (and pretty early), took a shower, got some coffee, and proceeded to read the book until Joc got up at 7:00!

When we went to check out, both of the same workers from the night before were still at the desk. (??!!) They were both really appreciative of the turnover gesture; Lisa mentioned she'd skipped dinner and so it was really good! :)

We drove over to First Baptist Woodstock and got parked and settled. It was a super-great conference!!! First we worshiped with Travis Cottrell, and then Beth came up. She alternatively had me laughing and crying and laughing. She so cracks me up! I had read the book coming into the conference, but there's something about hearing Beth live that is just good to me.

We headed home (after sitting for close to two hours in the PARKING LOT) and managed to drive into one of the worst storm systems we've had in a year. But we managed. Joc talked me through it. Luckily (thankfully) she got herself a caffeine-laden drink on the way home, so she didn't sleep through the drive. I needed her awake!! :)

Sunday was church and afterward we invited some friends out to the RV, after picking up some BBQ. It was a lovely and quiet afternoon. Later that evening I got a call from Kim...

And so I got to watch Sawyer on Monday! We had a fun morning, he and I, and then I came home and, um, finished that Francine Rivers book. Which made me *really* angry, because I turned the page expecting to see a new chapter, and it was the END! And the sequel isn't due out until the fall!!!!! Argh!!!!

Weight-wise I'm doing very well. I was very well-behaved over the weekend, even though we were traveling!! Yay!!

And...on a quilting note...I had a surprise in the mail!!!

Well, perhaps I'll blog that in its own sweet little post.

:)

C&T Book Review - My Whimsical Quilt Garden

This was such a fun read and project. From beginning to end, this book is full of step-by-step instructions, colorful how-to photos, and helpful hints and tips that will be appreciated by both the novice and the experienced applique quilter. The patterns are darling and leave the reader anxious to get to the design wall. The blocks can be put together or used separately. And if there are others out there like me, who need inspiration, there are lots of ideas for different projects using the assorted patterns. "My Whimsical Quilt Garden" is a great find and a terrific addition to any quilter's library!

One thing that did disappoint me is that C&T wants the Creative Troupe reviewers to review the book, but not the patterns themselves, which in my mind is an integral part of the book offering. So please note that I *did not* get to see or work with the actual patterns and my review does not cover them!

If you are interested in joining the C&T Creative Troupe, click HERE!

:)

random thoughts . . .

Quilting. Does anyone subscribe to The Quilt Show? One of my kids gave me a gift subscription to it for my birthday, and I've really enjoyed watching the shows (at my leisure) and flipping through their website. They have a freebie membership, too, which was enough to make me want a full-benefit membership! I'd love to hear your feedback on this site . . . and others out there. What online quilting websites are your favorites? This is a call for FEEDBACK! :) That's all the quilting I've got for now. Perhaps I can muster something over the weekend; I seem to start more and more and finish less and less!

I've shared more than once that I'm a cat lover . . . have you ever seen the You Tube video, Kittens! Inspired by Kittens!? It's *so* funny. Of course, I'm easily amused, so there you have it. My daughter shared it with me and whenever I find myself in need of amusement, I flip over there real quick . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtX8nswnUKU

Finally, the magnificent seven made their way back up to the campsite last night! They arrived just at dusk, with a guest (which I guess makes them the magnificent eight, but that doesn't sound right), and tentatively ate through the corn patches. Then two more came up from the backside, so it was a pretty full house. We had opened the windows earlier to air out/cool out the RV, and I think they got wind of us, but because they couldn't see us (we turned the lights off) or hear us (we were super-silent), they stuck it out. Yay! The boys (and girls) are back in town! And Todd said he believes at least one of the does is pregnant!

We then slept with the RV windows open, for the first time EVER! We moved into it in mid-November, so to our defense, the weather hasn't really lent itself to open-windows until just recently. It was so nice! But, there was on little, teensy drawback . . .

Evidently, raccoons are very CHATTY when they're hitting up your bird feeders and throwing 'em to the ground. Mind you, we didn't hear the bird feeder actually hitting the ground, just the raccoons talking back and forth. Very verbal critters, they are! Not that this will keep us from having windows open; it just may not be the windows that are right at the head of the bed, directly across from the one bird feeder the raccoons disarm!

I had lunch today with Laura Patrick, the author of the book I gave away in my giveaway. She's really a neat person. As are her children, particularly her daughter. Her sweet little girl is in fourth grade and loves quilting! She's even taking lessons at school! We ate at Po' Boys, a Cajun restaurant in the Five Points area. It was a lot of fun and the food was good.

Tomorrow Todd & I are heading over the old homestead to do a little more prep work towards putting it up on the market. Easter Sunday will be a quiet celebration; both our children are doing Easter dinner with their in-laws . . . I think this is a first! I'll make a couple of token jello eggs, hard-boiled eggs, and some lamb chops for the two of us; perhaps we'll celebrate picnic style, down by the pond, where we can relax and appreciate all of God's goodness!

Tonight I'm going to . . . take lots of pictures and post them later!

:)

finally . . . giveaway time!

Happy National Quilting day (again) and HAPPY SPRING!!

I bet you were wondering if I was really going to pull this off today, huh? :) We had a wonderful day, wandering hither and yon, shopping here and there, eating and catching a movie . . . but I digress (and I'll tell more tomorrow)!

Finally, I've got it all together . . . we're having a giveaway!!

First: Heart for a Hero - a signed copy, personalized for the winner. Great story, great read.

Second, we've got the current issue of Tea Time magazine, along with a box of my favorite tea, Pomegranate Pizzazz, and to celebrate the first day of Spring, a copy of Celebrate Spring! The two magazines are both offerings of Hoffman Media, a privately owned publisher out of Birmingham, Alabama. They publish all of my favorite, non-quilting magazines, including the two I'm offering and Southern Lady, Sew Beautiful, Victoria, and Cooking With Paula Deen, to name a few!

For the final offering, I traveled here . . .

Hooked on Quilting, one of my favorite local quilt shops. She has a wonderful selection of novelty fabrics, as well as 30's prints, baby prints, batiks and more. I know this was the place to find something that spoke of our cat commonality, and I wasn't wrong!!

I found these darling Timeless Treasures prints . . . which blogspot refuses to put in my blog correctly. Whimsical fat cat quarters!

And we'll top if off with a pattern for a darling cell phone 'catty'!

Books, tea, spring, cats . . . this is fun stuff! You want it??? You know you do!

So here's the deal:

Leave a first (1st) comment that just says anything you want to say. That simple step will give you one entry.

Want another chance? Become a follower of my blog and leave me a second (2nd) comment saying that you have (or that you already are--God bless you)!

Want an even another chance? Good enough; blog about my giveaway (including a link back to my blog) on *your* blog, then leave me a third (3rd) comment with a link that confirms you've done so!

Easy-peasy!

Make *sure* you leave me a way to get in touch with you in one of your comments, especially if you're a no-reply blogger. If I can't get in touch with you, well, it's counter-productive.

Make sure you leave a comment for EACH entry (so you get all three of your chances).

I'll leave this active until Friday, March 26th, at 7 am, and then I'll let the online random number generator do its magic and select the winner!!!

Good luck!

:)

a final look back at the day . . .

Listen. I know that blog entries with pictures are more fun, but I included lots of links that *do* have pictures, so stick it out. Okay? :)

I had a pleasant afternoon; I took advantage of Quilting Gallery's blog resources and checked out quilt blogs from around the country. I peeked in and out of about thirty or so; made comments and some friends! It really is a terrific resource for both quilt blogs and quilt shops . . . to check it out you can either hit the button on the right side or, to go directly to the directory, click here. How easy is that?!? Maybe you'll make some new friends too! Tell 'em I said, "Hey!"

Another fun thing I stumbled on today? Silk-Dyed Eggs {aka TIE-Dyed!} from the Our Best Bites blog. You simply must check this out. I can't wait to hit the thrift store tomorrow and find some wacky silk ties! I'm gonna have me some art-deco eggs this year for Easter! :) I enjoy this blog even though it's not a quilting blog. Shhhhh, don't tell on me!

Yesterday I had read an interesting tidbit on Mama Spark's World blog about C&T Publishing. Now I believe I've mentioned a time or two thousand, how much I love books; I hated giving up my library (okay, it wasn't that bad, since I kept all my quilting books), and I've determined that I really *shouldn't* (which is different than won't) buy any new (or even gently used) books, quilting, cooking or otherwise. (Tell Mama Spark I said, "Hey!" too, please!)

So I was really psyched about this C&T thing. On March 10th, they introduced this reviewer program, through C&T Creative Troupe. You apply to become a member. It's not a difficult process; they want to know your name, your address, the name of your blog (if you've got one), the craft(s) you prefer, the name and birth date of your first born (j/k), and do on. Ah, and they want to see pictures of or links to some of your 'best' work -- their words, not mine. I just showed 'em what I'd done, which is not a considerable amount.

Then they e-mail you back within five business days (or five hours, as it was in my case) with your member number! And do you know what that entitles you to? Among other great (I'm sure) things, it allows you to get an e-book to download, read and review. FOR FREE! Every TWO weeks! This is awesome news to me! It changes my world! I requested my first one today . . . My Whimsical Quilt Garden. I can't wait to check it out! I'll add the C&T button to my blog manana!

That really was a happy find for me. Happies on Fridays are like extra-special hugs. I had a happy when I checked out my son's facebook and found he'd posted a video of Sawyer. I watched it over and over and over! I wish I could successfully link to it, so you could watch it over and over and over, too. LOL! Hey, since I *can't* link to it, you can humor me here! :)

But the happiest moment of the day came as I was driving down the road, heading home. I had the sunroof open and was just enjoying the drive and the knowledge that it was the weekend and that the sun was warm, when all of a sudden, it hit me.

It was as if all the trees had been collectively holding their breath, waiting for this first beautiful, warm & sunny day. And when it came, they could hold it no more and with a *WHOOSH* they exhaled and their branches -- seemingly bare just yesterday -- were filled with tiny, unfurling, green leaf buds . . . and the promise of pink and red and purple blossoms . . . and their limbs stretched to the sun as if to say, thank You!

And it filled the air with the promise of new life, and my heart with unspeakable joy. The kind of joy that comes only from the Lord Almighty. I think it's so appropriate that we celebrate the risen Savior during the season of Spring. Our Hope springs eternal, and new life He brings.

He is why I can count it all joy!!

:)

THOUGHT PROCESSES . . .

May I make a confession?

I've really been struggling about just what books/magazines/media would make the shift from our 3,000+ square foot home, to our 300 (maybe) square foot RV, with a 3,000 lb weight limit.

Really, REALLY struggled!

We're tossing all the dvd clamshells and putting all the dvd's into one of those books made just for that. That's condensing. We'll no doubt do the same for our cd collection. I reported earlier this week that I was scanning my magazine clippings into pdf files, and I think I've resigned myself to doing that for the intact magazines I was planning on keeping too. Instead of keeping any of my quilt magazines, I'll go through and scan the projects or articles that I really want to be able to reference (some day way on down the line), and toss the bulky magazine. I think I'm going to keep my Tea Time magazines intact. They are more of a collection; I've got every single issue that's ever been published. But, as time passes, I may even just scan those, too. So, see? I've struggled, yes, but I'm also conquering. I am woman, hear me roar!

And then there's my precious books . . .

Hey, I've come a long way. I've sorta-kinda gotten over the book thing. This is major. MAJOR! I have a *huge* collection of books. Shelves and shelves and shelves. Books double-stacked on shelves and shelves. Books stacked in random spots. Books stacked in hidden spots! I love to read, and I love to buy books. Lots of all kinds of books. Have I mentioned I have a lot of books? Cookbooks, fiction books (then there's the whole break down of those), historical books, crafting books, hymnals, children's books, reference books, Bible study books; there really are a lot of 'em.

L O T S.

But. I have sucked it up and decided that with the exception of my Bible, one or two really good Bible references (that I can't get on cd-rom), and my Mitford series books (including the cookbook, the beside companion, and the rest), the books go. Or rather, they don't go with me on the RV.

Ooops. Then there's my quilting books. I'm taking 'em. I AM TAKING THEM! It's not like I have a whole lot. I've put a moratorium on purchasing them. No, really -- I just last weekend put down two books that I had in my hand and was ready to purchase. Discipline, right? As it is, I only have enough to fill a shelf that's right at a single yard long. Not bad, eh? Especially for one like me who is a BOOK FANATIC! I think it's pretty incredible. So incredible that the books themselves deserve to make the move.

Have I talked me into it yet?

It means I probably can't take any shoes. Oh the sacrifices I have to make.

I prefer flip-flops anyway.

:)