Chari Tree Chat

First a garden update:

I love this picture! The frog thinks he's invisible. I actually did wonder what that crazy growth was on my pepper, until I got a bit closer! :)

Oh, and the mystery has been solved!

I've gotten two cantaloupe off of my "mystery vines!" They are pretty good, mainly because I grew them... they aren't very sweet! :)

This week is one of the busiest of the year for our family... Our annual Birthday Week! :)  Angie's birthday was Saturday (Happy birthday, sis!!), mine is tomorrow, and Dad's is Friday (Happy birthday, Dad!!)!  :)  (Sunday was a special day as well, my Dad's mom would have been 82. We miss celebrating with her as well!)

On to more pictures...
Saturday we celebrated Angie's birthday with cake and presents at our house.


Sunday we celebrated my birthday at Dad and Mom's for dinner.


Monday evening, I had a birthday dinner date with my hubby! (and he even took me to do a little shopping!) :) When we left the restaurant, we saw a beautiful full arched rainbow! (Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a picture of it right away, but here it is just a bit later - it had faded some.)

I hope you all have a great week!! It's is really hard to believe that September is almost here!! Wow. Happy birthday to me! :) 

Family Room Tour

Our family room has been a work in progress ever since we moved into our house four(!) years ago. It's hard to believe we've had our house that long.  :)  In the beginning, we rarely used it at all except for storage. It was not a very comfortable room. Then last year Mark and I got the attic of that room insulated, and it is a lot more comfortable! (In fact, when our air conditioning went out in May, it was the coolest room in the house!)

Earlier this week I did some rearranging (and purging - mostly books...). I was able to store our old kitchen table in the shed which freed up a lot more space and just made the room LOOK bigger! :)

Here's the before (old picture... I wish I would have taken one Monday before I started...)

Sorry it's so dark.

and here it is now...

So much more room. Although it still looks full because of what I've added since the first picture was taken - my "coffee table" and the desk and chair...

We met up with Mark's Aunt and Uncle while we were in Tennessee and they gave me this wonderful little desk. It was original to their local school and probably was made in the 1920's! I love it!! :)

See the ink well??

Here's a couple more areas of the room, that I don't think I've shared before:
This ice chest is to the right when you walk in. I'm "storing it" for my dad! (Maybe he'll forget where he put it....) :) I use it to store our board games and puzzles! Dad also gave me the Coca-Cola dart board, and the tennis rackets are my parents' old ones as well. (I have a couple more hanging elsewhere...)

I also have collected some of the red and white enamelware you see on the bottom - the coffee pot was my mom's parents that they used when they went camping! :) I didn't crop the picture, because I'm rather proud of those two boxes in the background. They are full (or almost full) of books I'm getting rid of! I am really trying to purge some things around here. and now that I WORK at a library, I don't feel that I have to have a big library at home... :)

I love this area as well. It's between the futon and the recliner (on the left wall)

It's my "yarny" display! :) The spools I have picked up at various sales etc. as well as the carder. (To see what carders are and how to use them, click here) The buttons in the jar belonged to my dad's mother. And the biggest treasure here, the trunk, belonged to my Great-Great- Grandmother! I am so honored to have it! :)

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour. This has been a fun room to decorate, and of course I still have ideas of things I would like to do....  :)

Excursions in Entrelac

I know I have a few knitting friends that like to visit me here. Then there are those that don't knit, but maybe someday... :)  I haven't been knitting quite as much as I used to, but I still enjoy trying different things. Knitting is a great stress reliever. For a while now, I've been wanting to try knitting an entrelac pattern. Last week I got started on a dishcloth. (Ravelry link and pattern link)

It is a lot of fun! The knitting goes in two directions! :) Here it is with the needle out so you can get a better idea of how it works.

What really helped me was watching this video. (Which is also where I got the pattern link.)

I love learning new things! But isn't that the fun of the journey? :)  And it's almost fall... time for me to wear my new socks (although they are a little big.... maybe after a couple of washings they'll fit better!) :)


Later this week.... what I've been working on around the house! :)

Sunday Blessing

Faraway in the depths of my spirit tonight,

Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;

In celestial like strains it unceasingly falls

O'er my soul like an infinite calm.

CHORUS

Peace! peace!. Wonderful peace,

Coming down from the Father above;

Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,

In fathomless billows of love.

Ah! soul, are you here without comfort or rest,

Marching down the rough pathway of time?

Make Jesus your friend ere the shadows grow dark:

Oh, accept this sweet peace so sublime.

from Wonderful Peace

by W. W. Cornell

A Week Ago Today...

... we were visiting family and giving Mark's sister a grand send off to Bible college!

We "girls" took a little road trip to Paris (Texas) for an afternoon. We ate lunch at a local bakery...

Bestest buddies, Angie and Lauren

L-R: Me! Mary (SIL) and Mary (Mom) :)

Did some shopping...

Angie bought some Paris "fashion!"

enjoyed the local sights...

...and visited the Eiffel Tower! :)

'cause you can't go to Paris without visiting the tower - how do you like the hat? :)

Here's a family picture taken Sunday with the "college girl" front and center!

I'm so glad for my hubby's sweet family! We have a lot of fun together! :)

Finished Object Friday

Yes, it's that Friday again!! Yes, I'm still around. :)  We've had such a crazy past two weeks, I've spent most of my "normal" blogging time just trying to get caught up around here. (We also made a quicky trip to see Mark's family last weekend... but a little more on that later.) I've missed y'all though! :)

So with all the catching up around here (and a little cleaning out of our linen/catchall closet) I did find a little time for just a bit of spray painting!! I've been tweaking our master bath some more. Looking back at my posts just now, I'm surprised at how long it's been since I shared what I've been doing. Here it is at that stage:

For the past 5 or 6 months, that shelf has been cream and a little distressed looking (guess you'll just have to imagine that part...)
Another before picture:

I really liked these prints, but I'm REALLY tired of palm trees... and so much gold. They are on the wall opposite the sink/mirror. You can see a peek of them in the picture above.

 So on to the NOW!! :)


The shelf has a new color (once again! Will you believe I've been through about 4 different colors on that project???) :) This is Oil Rubbed Bronze - Thanks, Brittany!!! (She so sweetly gave me a couple of cans when I saw her a couple of weeks ago.) :) It is a lot prettier in person... and not a blah brown like in the before picture.

And with this new arrangement on the opposite wall, the dark shelf fits right in:


I want to add something to this arrangement - Like a metal flower maybe? Something not square. :)

I don't think I'm quite done with the ORB paint yet, though. I'm probably going to paint that green basket (and the matching green trashcan). I think it will give the bathroom more continuity. What do you think?

Oh, and all vestiges of palm trees are GONE! (Including the soap dispenser and toothbrush holder!) Those are just boring for now... but maybe someday I'll find what I want. It's hard to find gold, which isn't really in now, but we don't have time/money for a whole bathroom makeover! There are more important things around here to spend our resources on! :) 

So enough of my little project. What have you been up to lately? :)  If you are new to FOF, read this post first. Happy sharing, everyone!!

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1. Nikki (crocheted blanket) 2. Finished Office

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I couldn't see Texas from there...

Whew. It's good to be back home! I know you didn't miss me - all those scheduled posts, and I popped in every now and then to comment... We got back Monday from our church camp in Tennessee. We had a great time - wonderful church services and great visits with friends! :)

Here's the beautiful camp grounds:

Garner Creek Retreat

Such a beautiful place with a wonderful cool creek running through the middle of it:
(You may remember our trip last year.)

It was great to visit with David, Brittany and the boys.

as well as Andrew and Angie... :)

Hold some sweet babies:

It was also a lot of work for us. Mark helped out with the sound system

and Mark and I worked together on making cd copies of the services from camp for people to purchase. We had most of them ready to go by Sunday evening. Whew!!!

The best part was seeing a real miracle!!

Sis. Connie was able to come up for an evening!! Her counts are looking great - her cancer indicator count is in the single digits and her blood count was up enough to allow her to come visit. Doesn't she look beautiful!? Being able to give her a quick hug was a direct answer to one of my many prayers for her. Isn't it wonderful how God has worked?

Here's another little (in size) miracle with her mommy and grandma:

She's the sweetest little baby girl! Baby Madeline.



I miss my friends, especially when they live so far away! It was good to visit for a while, and it's also good to be back home. We listened to a George Strait song a couple of times on our trip - and it was just perfect... Here's the second verse and chorus:

I can't say I don't like Tennessee
The people here have all been good to me
So please don't take offense if I start to gettin' tense
'Cause I can't see Texas from here

I can't see Texas from here
No matter how I try, it makes me wanna die
So if you see me looking down, I'm trying not to show this frown
'Cause I can't see Texas from here

You can listen here. :)

Sunday Blessing

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

from O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
by George Matheson

Finished Object Friday

For some strange reason, recently I have developed a liking for sheep. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I love natural fibers, wool is a natural fiber and sheep grow wool. Hmmm... :) Lorie is heading up our Sunday School class this "term" and our theme is Psalm 23/sheep.

One of the crafts the kids did was so much fun, I had to make one myself!! :)



I had actually seen them here a while back and wanted to make them. We just used a black marker for the "feet" and faces instead of paint. I may add something else later - ears or ribbon or bell. But I am enjoying him! I used Lion Homespun yarn - which I can't stand knitting with anymore, but it makes a great sheep! :)

Here are the kids finished sheep:


Isn't that the cutest little flock?

I hope you enjoyed this fun little FOF!! I am excited to see what you all will share. :) If you are new to FOF, see this post to find out what it is all about.

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1. Pink Parsonage 2. Pipers Pillow

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Book Talk

Maybe you've noticed. If you've been around my blog for, say, two weeks, you probably have. I like books. Nope, no surprise.

Are you a reader? Gladys Hunt defines a reader like this:

By readers I mean those whose eyes grab words wherever they appear, which is why people find themselves reading the same words on the cereal box morning after morning.

Umm... so I guess I'm not the only one who grabs the cereal box so I'll have something to read while eating? :)

It feels like it's been ages since I've done a book post... but really it's only been a couple of weeks. But I guess I really just mentioned some books, I didn't tell you about them. I talked a little about my reading habits, but not really WHAT I've been reading. Here's my current list:

• The Bible: 2 Chronicles, specifically
• Boundaries
  
• Jesus Calling
• Messie No More
• Reflecting Beauty
• Honey for a Woman's Heart
• Tailor-Made Bride (for the second time)

Yes, I'm reading them all right now... I have books all over the house! :) So a little more about them...

I am really enjoying Boundaries - I know it's been around for a while, but this is my first time through. It's really great stuff. Boundaries are so important in life - knowing how much you can handle, and how much to put up with in others. Knowing that you are in charge of how you react to situations even though some may not agree with you.

Jesus Calling is a great little devotional I read before going to bed. It has been very encouraging.

Messie No More: Now, I'm not quite sure if I consider myself a "messie" or not. Lets just say, I have some of the characteristics. I can tend to hoard things - especially books. One of the good things about my working at a library, is that I'm realizing that it isn't necessary for me to own every book I run across that someone might need. That's what the library is for. :) Anyway... this book is inspiring me to get rid of some of my clutter. I try to read it when I have time to declutter. :)

I'm about halfway through Reflecting Beauty. It's written by a lovely lady and pastor's wife, Valorie Quesenberry. It is a small book, but packed with thought provoking stuff. In a society that places such a high value on superficial beauty, it's a wonderful reminder of why God thinks we are beautiful. (Incidentally, I got to watch the new Veggie Tales recently, and it has the same message - perfect for little girls. They are facing the demands of the culture earlier and earlier.)

I heard about Honey for a Woman's Heart a while back (I think I read about it in another book...) :) It's really a book about books and reading. The author spends a couple of chapters talking about the importance of books and what makes a good book. Then she discusses different genres and gives recommendations.

This is my second time reading Tailor-Made Bride. I got it from the library shortly after I entered it into the library. :) I liked is so much that I ended up buying it, knowing that it would be one I would revisit. It hasn't even been out that long. :) It's a fun story about a seamstress who sets up shop in a small Texas town in the late 1800's. Yes, it's fiction and it's rather light and fluffy, but that's how I like them! :)

In my last post I mentioned the Lauren Holbrook series. I finished the last one this week and I wanted to share a little about them. I really enjoyed the series - a fun light-hearted read (Are you seeing a pattern in my fiction reading?) and sortof a spoof on Jane Austen's Emma. You will find her books in the teen section, although I would think most women who enjoy this type of book will enjoy them. They aren't really "teenish" like some books. The main character is a little older. I really like the values in these books as well. I am excited to read the new series that Erynn Mangum is writing - the Maya Davis series.

I've also got a "to be read" stack... but we won't go into those today. :) (You're welcome.) Don't forget to come back on Friday for Finished Object Friday!! :)

A little more decorating...

Friday I shared the little changes I have made in our bedroom. Now I want to share a little of what I have done in our family room. This has been a fun room to decorate. I still have lots of ideas of things I would love to do. :) I have tried to keep it fun-friendly - in other words, breakables to a minimum. However, when I have little ones over, I realize I'm not quite where I want it to be yet! :)

One of the things I've been wanting for a while is some sort of coffee table. A little while back at Hobby Lobby, I found these crates/cubes for half off!

Hmm... it's amazing what you can see when you take pictures. (Sometimes things aren't as obvious in real life.) How do you like that plant peaking over the edge? :) The futon is much higher backed than the other (temporary) couches I have had there. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it's actually angled and there are some boxes with an arrangement of ivy, Coke bottles and a Coke tin. Oh, well. Time to rethink that....

But back to my new crates. It's great having something in front of the futon. Before, if you were sitting in the middle, you were out of luck to have a place to set something like a drink. However, if the drink were to spill on the crates, the liquid would go right down on top of whatever is stored underneath. So I solved that problem (I hope!) by making use of my trays.

Speaking of storage... look at what I've got in this one:

Yay! Roving for my spinning wheels. :) The lining in the crates is just attached with velcro, so it's easily washed if necessary. Love that! The crates are also easily pushed out of the way if we need the room.

This room has been getting a lot of use, and has become a favorite hang out. The futon is really comfy. The room does get cluttered pretty easily, though. I need to work on that....

Hope your week is off to a great start!! :)

Sunday Blessing

I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.

Refrain:
He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
While I live by faith and do His blessed will;
A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessed face,
Where rivers of delight shall ever roll.

from The Lily of the Valley
by Charles W. Fry