Chari Tree Chat

Tomorrow is July! Ouch. It has felt like August down here recently, though we have enjoyed the cool spell the last couple of days. It's been a year or two since we've had a really hot summer. I guess we were about due one, but I have to confess, I'm not looking forward to it. :)

We've had a very busy few days! My garden is going crazy!! Seriously, it's out of control!

I do think things are slowing down a little with this heat. My pepper plants aren't putting out any new fruit. Too hot.

I do have a nice surprise, though:

See the cucumber on the left? YAY! The strange thing on the right is all I had been getting until recently. The seeds I planted (much later) are bearing pollen flowers. I picked that cucumber Saturday, and a deformed but great tasting one today. It looks like I have several more coming along now! :) Here's what I picked just on Saturday:

Sunday was a special day at our church. We had a patriotic service and a dedication of our new flags.

Don't the flags look nice?

(and for those that don't know them, that's my parents up front. Dad is the song leader and Mom plays the piano. They make a great team!) :)

The sound guys talking over the errant system. (Of course it acted up for our special service!)

Andrew on the left and my hubby on the right.

Yesterday and today I've done quite a bit of sewing. I found this pinking blade for my rotary cutter at a local bargain store. It has been really nice - though I have to press harder with it than the regular circular. (This project is a sneak peek at my FOF.) :) See you Friday!

Sunday Blessing

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

From: The Battle Hymn of the Republic
by Julia Ward Howe

We are having a patriotic service at our church this morning, in honor of the 4th and also dedicating our new flags. I am looking forward to it! What are you doing to honor the special day (the 4th)? I hope everyone has had a good week. I will probably be back tomorrow with a garden update. I ran out of time and energy for it on Saturday. :)

Many Blessings!
Charity

Chari Tree Chat

My week is off to a good start. Monday morning I got up early - well, early for me! and went blueberry picking with Mom and Angie. We got there early enough that it wasn't too hot. It hasn't been the best year for berries down here, but we did find some good bushes and got some picked. I enjoyed a smoothie yesterday - blueberry and peach. I'll probably have another one today. :)

Speaking of cooking, I feel like my basic menu list is a little short. Now that I have more time, I am going to be looking for recipes and try a new one each week. When I decide on a recipe before hand, I can get what I need on my weekly shopping trip. (How many times have I looked at a recipe and not had a necessary ingredient to try it!) Last night's trial was a success!

I made Creamy Bow-Ties with Broccolini and Ham. (Whatever broccolini is - I just used fresh broccoli - and the cooking time for it was perfect - tender crisp!) I would probably add a little more flavor next time, but Mark loved it - so it was a success! :) ( He's a pasta/bread kind of guy - maybe there's some Italian blood in there - it sure runs in the family!) :)

I have a running list of my go-to recipes on my computer, and when I feel that it's "finished," I will post it on the inside of my pantry door. My goal is to keep the ingredients on hand for several of our favorites. We also eat leftovers a lot, so I only cook about three times a week! (We usually have pizza on Fridays, anyway. Hmm... maybe we should try for something healthier.) Do you do anything like this? I know some do menu plans, but when it comes to that day, I usually feel like making something different! :) And when I don't feel like cooking, that is usually when I pull out my recipe books and try something new. Funny me! How do you chose what to cook?

Sunday Blessing

O give us homes built firm upon the Savior,
Where Christ is Head, and Counselor and Guide;
Where ev'ry child is taught His love and favor
And gives his heart to Christ, the crucified:
How sweet to know that tho' his footsteps waver
His faithful Lord is walking by his side!

O give us homes with godly fathers, mothers,
Who always place their hope and trust in Him;
Whose tender patience turmoil never bothers,
Whose calm and courage trouble cannot dim;
A home where each finds joy in serving others,
And love still shines, tho' days be dark and grim.

O Lord, our God, our homes are Thine forever!
We trust to Thee their problems, toil, and care;
Their bonds of love no enemy can sever
If Thou art always Lord and Master there:
Be Thou the center of our least endeavor:
Be Thou our Guest, our hearts and homes to share.

From A Christian Home
by Barbara B. Hart

How wonderful it is to grow up in a Christian home. My husband and I have both been greatly blessed! I am so thankful for my dad and his leadership and Christlikeness. I am also grateful that my husband has a strong Christian father.

Happy Father's Day!

Finished Object Friday

It's that Friday again! This has been a busy pasts couple of weeks for me, and probably for each of you as well!

Yesterday I finished my mom's birthday present - not quite a month late. I was going to make her another apron , but it's a good thing I didn't get it done, she decided she would like a tote bag like this one.

I think it turned out pretty cute! She's excited about it, and will get to enjoy it at different times than she would another apron.

The bags are pretty simple and quick, just a couple of hours or so, but they are fun, and really popular right now. This would make a great shopping bag. :)

Now for what you have been waiting for. It's not my only FOF, because I'm not even sure if I am finished. I'll let you help me decided!

This is what I did with the frame I have been teasing you with:

Yes, it's sitting on my little table... I'm not sure where I am going to put it yet. I have been wanting to do something with chalkboard paint for a while. When I saw this frame, I thought it would make a perfect chalkboard! Now I want to do more with this paint. Maybe some flower pots like these.

The only thing I've done with this project is the actual chalkboard. My question, for you paint pros or interior design pros or whoever stops by, should I paint the frame or leave it?

It is "antiqued" already. (By someone that might know a lot more than me about painting frames.) It kindof looks dark to me, though it seems pointless to paint something only to antique it again!
I would probably do it similar to the way I did this mirror. What do you think?


I hope everyone has had a great week! I can't wait to see what projects you have come up with recently! To learn more about FOF, click here. (Sorry I'm getting this up later than I like to, the internet was out until this morning.)

Adventures in My Garden

This has been a rather busy gardening morning! I've been wanting to start a compost bin for quite a while. I like the idea of trash can composting. So Saturday Mark brought me home a bin. Yesterday, he got the holes drilled and I started my compost today. :)

I've been keeping my kitchen compost scraps in a container in the freezer - a tip I read in a magazine... it helps keep the bugs out of my kitchen. :)

In other gardening/fertilizing news, my nice trash men dropped some great fertilizer by my mail box - little fish - about 20 or 30 of them. Rather nasty! But they were pretty much baked on the hot road and I just scraped them off and buried them in my flower bed, Squanto style. If my little rose bush starts growing by leaps and bounds, we'll know why! :)

Speaking of the rose bush, I found what has been eating my blooms - a cute little inch worm. It made me think of the song - although this inch worm didn't get very far. :) (You can listen at right.) It's a great gardening song, anyway.

Thanks for coming along on all my gardening adventures! I hope you all are having a great Wednesday!

Around the house...

On my table:


On my window ledge:


In the crock-pot - chicken and rice:


On the needles:

A sweet little bonnet for friend's baby girl due in Sept. :)
(Ravelry link)

How is your week starting off?

Sunday Blessing

There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my light.

Chorus:
O there's sunshine, blessed sunshine,
While the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face
There is sunshine in my soul.

There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King;
And Jesus, listening, can hear
The song I cannot sing.

There is springtime in my soul today,
For when the Lord is near
The dove of peace sings in my heart,
The flowers of grace appear.

from Sunshine in My Soul
by Eliza E. Hewitt

~ The picture is of my parent's hydrangea. Their bush is just beautiful this year! ~

Show and Tell: Vintage style

I had some fun shopping our garage sale last weekend. (I'm pretty sure I got rid of more than I acquired, though!) :) I am using these items in decorating my house - mostly my family room. I wanted to share a few for Show and Tell (for more show and tell - check out Kelli's blog!)

First off this ironing board:

My mom bought this for me when I was little. I remember thinking it was so neat! It has a matching iron that became warm when plugged in. (I think I have it somewhere, and will probably be attaching it with magnets!) :) Somewhere along the line, Dad or Mom cut the wire - good idea. Anyway, I wired it where the legs would stay against the board and made a loop to hang it with. Aren't the owls cute? (For perspective, it's about 2 1/2 ft tall.)

This phone wasn't mine, but I thought it was so neat.

It hangs on the wall, which I haven't done yet. But I did get it cleaned up yesterday and it's looking great! It makes me wonder what type of conversations were had on it. There's not date, but there is a switch on the bottom that makes the bell ding.

Some of my readers have seen this, but I wanted to put it in my show and tell.

I think the design on this frame is so pretty, and I will be fixing it up... So check back in a while to see what I do with it! ;)

Thanks for stopping by my show and tell! Happy Friday!

Snapshots

Talk about a miniature jungle!



My tomato plants are going wild!
The branches are growing all over the place - from the cherry tomatoes anyway.

We've really been enjoying them. There's nothing like food straight from the garden! They have a whole different taste. I've been picking 3-4 a day, but I have a feeling that they are going to start ripening a lot faster than that.

In other garden news, my cucumber plant is quite happy and growing like crazy! Here is a close up - see it growing up the tomato cage? (it has the really big leaves.)

However, I have yet to see a cucumber grow. A cucumber plant has two types of flowers: one with the fruit and one with the pollen. Unfortunately, my plant doesn't have both. So I get a LOT of little cucumbers, but no pollination so they just shrivel up and die. (more info here.)
Oh, well. I do have a couple of little plants coming up, but they have been a little slow in providing pollen! :)

I love all the fruit that is available in the summer! I love creating things like this:

(before it's blended - a fruit smoothie with vanilla yogurt, peaches, strawberries, orange juice, ice and banana - I decided I like it better without the banana, though.)
I can't wait to go blueberry picking!

A year ago today I wrote this post. It's amazing how much you can miss a little guy like that. Here is Scamp enjoying some after-bath pampering just a few weeks before he died.

I'm so glad that God gave us creatures to love. Scamp was the greatest little dog, with a big heart and a youth and happiness until the very end. This may sound strange, but loosing him was one of the hardest things I've been through. If you've lost a long time pet, than you probably understand.

And just to leave you with a smile, don't you just love this?
Edited to add: I can't figure out how to embed the video - so just click on it to view it in Picasa. Sorry.

(Please pardon my babytalk!)
This little smile just lights the room! If they could only bottle how she makes you feel when she grins like that! I sure enjoy all three girls!

Sunday Blessing

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Blessed Assurance
by Fanny J. Crosby

The Sale

It's. Over.

(Hallelujah!)

Thanks for all the well wishes for our sale. So how did it go?

It did go well. We sold a lot of things valuable merchandise. We had a lot of people show up. (My parents have a GREAT location for sales!) We had a lot of friendly people and my parents got to meet several of their neighbors. All in all, everything went well.

(hmmm... I have a feeling you are waiting for the "but..."!)

You'd be right. We didn't make a huge amount of money. It averaged about five dollars earned per person for today's time. (That doesn't include prep this past week!) I think some bigger ticket items are necessary for really earning money. Also people don't really shop garage sales for antiques, they just want deals. I totally understand - that's the way I shop sales too! :) So some pieces of furniture would have helped.

And watch people. ugg. Someone switched tags on a (new) pair of shoes. I know because the sticker wasn't the color I used - so I didn't just missprice it. Yep, I'm just a tad upset. It wasn't like I asked that much to begin with. Anyway... her word against mine. I let her have them. Then she tried to get me to lower my price on a couple of candles. Nope. I told her it was too early. We had just opened. But that was the worst, and it could have been much worse - like some of these stories.

I did find some helpful tips before the sale. The Nesting Place has a great post on hosting and shopping yard sales. Another site has Do's and don'ts of signs, and other great tips. Like making sure to post this:

I did get a few neat things shopping my parents stuff. Like this frame:

I have great plans for it. Isn't it pretty?

We had some great customers, and we enjoyed visiting with them. I like meeting people and working with the public. However. For me, I don't think I'll have another. It just wasn't worth the time and effort for the money. But we did get rid of a lot and got paid for it. The rest, we shipped off to Goodwill.

And it's over. WHEW! :) Now we can crash.

I hope everyone else had a great Saturday as well!

Finished Object Friday

Whew... so much for being off work! It's been a busy week. :) Next time I say the words "Garage Sale" remind me that I like VISITING them, not having one!! We are having a joint sale with my family this Saturday, and we have been working hard getting things put together. Hopefully, next week will be a little slower... and thus I will have more time to blog. :) Well... enough of that... on to FOF!

Every two weeks flies by so fast! I really enjoyed making the project I'm sharing today. In fact, I had a hard time giving it up! (It was a birthday gift for a friend.) Using one of my shopping bags as a pattern, I made this bag:

It isn't a wide at the base as a regular shopping bag, but it makes a better over-the-shoulder bag that way.

I even put a pocket on the inside... and the inside has a complimenting black and white fabric. If the fabric looks familiar, it probably is... I have quite a bit left from the curtains!


It sewed up rather quickly... I will be making more. (One for me! ...maybe) It was just one of the items completed in my "sewing frenzy." I will probably be putting some of these in my Etsy shop, when I get it up! A.G.S - after garage sale... and recooperating from said sale! :)

I can't wait to see some other projects! I know some of you have been busy! (Some with spray paint in hand!) If you have questions about FOF, visit this post. Happy Friday, everyone!

PS~ New blog layout - something a little more summery for June! It's fun, and you know me... it probably won't last for long! :)

(Sorry the links look a little different - the widget is having a problem with it's server. Just click on the link and it will take you to a separate page to enter your link.)