Friday's Fave Five

What a beautiful week - and already time to reflect on some of the beauty of that week.  To be uplifted by positive posts, see more at Living to Tell The Story.


1. My birthday was Tuesday! And while I won't show a total gift list, there are two things I do want to share.

First is this bracelet that my daughter got for me.  Besides the fact that the colors and style are fun and me, she found it online at a great site, Hope For Women .  To quote from their site - Hope for Women offers handcrafted Fair Trade, eco-friendly products made by economically disadvantaged women worldwide.

Lynne' knows her mother well - these are things that are becoming more and more important to me.  I'll be wearing this great bracelet when Keith and I go out tonight and I imagine that every time I look at it I will think of my daughter's giving spirit.

2. Now how fun is this gift from my son and daughter-in-law?  Back in May a bunch of our family met at my brother-in-law's house for the weekend.  One of the highlights was spending a day at First Monday Trade Days for some great antique, craft and junk shopping.  Honestly I don't know if there is anything quite like it anywhere and I suppose if there is it would probably involve quite a drive for us.
 
ANYWAY... one of the things I was keeping my eye out for was a turquoise rotary dial phone.  We only saw one the entire day and it was pricey and filthy, so of course I passed.

Apparently though there were some little eyes watching me and remembering, because she managed to somehow find one!  My long range plan for an extra bedroom is to do it in a somewhat cottage like theme.  I haven't decided whether I want all white furniture or to go more traditional with antique brown furniture.  Regardless, I love this phone.

It doesn't ring and Keith says it's probably because we have a fiber optic phone system in the house and it won't drive the little bell.  Disappointing, but the bright side is that ring won't wake me up as it sits on my nightstand!  The grand thing is that it does work, including the dialing.  I had heard that some phone systems no longer support pulse dial, so it was a fun surprise to be able to call my kids to thank them.  And there really are few things in life as satisfying as listening to the sound of a rotary dial phone.  :)

3. Dinner out with the family.  Our birthday tradition is to eat out and of course whoever is celebrating the birthday gets to choose.  We went to Fuddruckers for my dinner as I do love hamburgers.  Even better, they now have "exotic" burgers and I was able to indulge in a buffalo burger.  Bliss!  They taste fantastic and are so much better for you.

4. Brooklyn!  Keith and I went to her daycare to get her for the dinner out.  When we went inside her class was coming in from the playground, all in a line.  She was chatting and laughing, then looked up and saw me, put her arms out and ran to me!  That moment of joy is beyond description.  The ladies there laughed and said there is no denying that she knew me. 

I don't have any pictures from that night, but I do have some video.  Unfortunately I don't have a clue how to get it out of my phone yet, but it will surely be featured here as soon as I figure it out!

5. Finalizing our Thanksgiving plans.  We are *this close* to having some actual firm plans for this year.  Truly we are blessed to be able to have options to choose from.  I do so adore my family.

30-Day Giving Challenge

One of the blogs I follow is Keeping The Kingdom First and for the month of November she is having a 30-Day Giving Challenge.   The premise is simple - give something away every day in November and write it down in a journal.  The other side of this is to write down all that you receive each month.

The most important part of this challenge is to ask God to lead you each day.  The glory is for Him, not for us.

I will not be writing in my blog what or how I give as I feel strongly that if I give something simply to blog about it I am not doing it for the right reasons.  I'm not saying this is true for others, but I know it's how I need to do this.  I'll probably blog reminders though as I do love this idea.

It's also important to remember that all giving is not monetary.  When we give from our hearts it might also be an act, rather than a check.

For example:

- the next time you bake some cookies package some up and share with a neighbor

- send a card to one of the kids on the Make a Child Smile list 

- give of your time - maybe watch a neighbor's children while she gets the house ready for the holidays

- when buying food for your holiday meal consider buying extra and donating to your local food pantry

- knit a hat and donate to a homeless shelter

As I think of other ideas this month I'll share them.  And if those of you reading my blog have any ideas, please do share.  There are so many ways we can give beyond what we ordinarily think of.

I'm going to close with the same Bible verse that Alyssa used on her blog as it is so perfect for this challenge:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9

The Halloween Experiment

But first, here is Joe wishing you a Happy Halloween!  He's a little embarrassed as he's having to wear last year's costume, but he still enjoyed seeing all the kids come to the door.

And in fact, handing candy out to the kids and talking to them has always been one of my favorite things to do.  Talking to mom on the phone tonight we were thinking back to years ago and sharing favorite memories.  I remember huge groups of kids and parents walking the neighborhood when my kids were young and it was so much fun.  Mom told me a story of a lady that she said probably started getting ready for Halloween two weeks ahead of time.  They'd go to this lady's house to trick-or-treat and go inside to her dining room table and choose from homemade cookies, popcorn balls, etc.  Sadly, that sort of thing is but a memory now.

Now, we have a very warped and nerdy sense of adventure.  Earlier today we decided it would be fun to see what would actually happen if we set a bowl of candy on the porch with a note that read "Honor System, Take 2 Please".  If you look just to the right of Joe in the photo above you'll see the video camera we set up for the experiment (and we did fix the curtains so that the camera wasn't noticeable). 

Up until about 8:00 I handed out candy and enjoyed every moment of it.  Then we were ready for the experiment.  I set the bowl on the porch, we turned off the inside lights, shut the door, activated the camera and waited.  In the next hour only two groups of kids came to the porch, possibly because they saw the front door closed.

The first two kids came up to the porch and the older of the two read the sign out loud.  Then she counted her candy "one, two" and helped the younger one with her with their candy "one, two" and off they went.  The next two more kids came up and read the sign, then they were quiet for a minute.  The next thing you hear from them is "We can be good, can't we?" and they each took two pieces of candy.  As they left the porch they called out "Thank you bowl!"

When we watched the video after bringing it all inside we burst out laughing at the "we can be good, can't we?" statement.  I guess there was an instant of being torn, but good won out.

And it did our hearts good to see how the kids reacted.  The best part was that there was still candy in the bowl when we brought it in.  If children are our future, we're in good hands based on the kids that visited our porch tonight.

Halloween Papercrafting

It just hit me that if I want these to be posted before Halloween that I better get a move on!  Both of the projects I'm posting today were done at our last Stamp Club.  I just love how talented our demo is - she never disappoints.

Every time I look at this project I get a gigle out of the stamps.  Mr. Skeleton has such a put upon look on his face.  And it really is a darling little project - we used a die cut for the package portion, then tied the top with beautiful wide ribbon.

Next we made a little bit different candy bar wrapper.  This one has a ribbon wrapped around the candy portion and you can pull it out that way.  Very clever!  And when I read the sentiment stamp that says "Friend Good", well it makes me laugh as well.

These projects are the extent of my Halloween since we really don't do much for it.  I'm tickled pink with how cute the ideas are and am actually amazed that this candy bar has been on my desk for as long as it has without me eating it.  ;)

Mummy Dogs

The theme for our potluck at last Friday night's scrapbook night was Halloween.  I had no idea what to bring, so figured I on bringing my Easy Apple Pie.  But then Friday morning while I did a little blog hopping I stumbled on the cutest thing - Mummy Dogs!

I could obviously use a little practice on my mummy wrapping, but I thought they turned out really cute.  They were a hit at the potluck, even though I forgot to put their little mustard eyes on when I got there.  If you do decide to make these for your crew I will warn you that it takes longer to wrap crescent roll bandages than what I counted on, so I got a little rushed towards the end.

Here's the layout that I finished that night.  You might recall our little mud "misadventure" here.  I guess my theory is that if you can't laugh at yourself, well you should!

And every single time I read the title on this layout there is a certain song that starts going through my mind.  I'm not so sure I think it's as cute as I first thought!   :)

Friday's Fave Five

It's Friday and you know what that means around here - time to reflect on some favorite things of the last week.  And if you want to see more, head over to Suzanne's blog at Living To Tell The Story to see what others have to offer.

1. Lynne's birthday.  Our baby girl turned 24 this last week and we celebrated by all going out for dinner.  Besides the fact that the meal was fabulous and one of my favorite places to go, it was special because of us all being together.  Time together was shortened somewhat as she had other social obligations and had to leave, but really that's as it should be when you're 24.

2. My beloved granddaughter Brooklyn at the pumpkin patch.  We absolutely have so much out there and I can tell that in the coming years we'll enjoy it even more.  The fresh air and the carnival atmosphere is so fun.  This year was beyond crowded since we had rain for the two weeks prior to our going and this day was spectacularly beautiful. 

3. Knitting - or more specifically, sock knitting.  It doesn't matter how many times I knit a sock, I am still fascinated by the entire process.  I wonder who first figured out this mess with all the needles?  I'm certainly glad they did though as it is very satisfying to me to knit a pair.  I wonder if their last name was Sock.....

4. Lindor Truffles - Oh my word, why has nobody told me of these before?  I bought a bag to take to a crop last Saturday, then forgot them at home.  Really what's a woman to do but eat them herself?  The beauty of these is that one is really all I can eat, so it might be that these are better for me than other chocolates because I don't eat a million and four.


5. BSF - I love that every Monday night I pick up a girlfriend, we visit and laugh all the way to church, then the next few hours are spend in prayer and Bible time.  The time spent with the Lord and knowing that I can count on that time is priceless.

Quick Apple Pie

There are so many foods that just say autumn to me and among those is apple pie.  Oh I do love pumpkin, but apple pie just gives me a picture in my mind of a grandma carrying the pie proudly to the table.

This recipe uses fresh apples, so not as quick as a can of pie filling.  But the beautiful part is that there is no rolling out of the pie crust.  Instead you just mix it, spread it and bake it.  And oh the house smells so good.

Quick Apple Pie

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into bite size portions
1 T cinnamon
1 T sugar 
2 t cloves

Preheat oven to 375 and place apples in a pie plate.  Sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar and cloves evenly over the top.


1 stick of butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour

Stir the four crust ingredients together and spread over the top of the apples.  This batter is very thick and sticky, so do the best you can and know that it will all work together in the end.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  And think fondly of your grandmother. 

I'm linking this to Rhoda's Recipe Party - go and see how many great recipes have been posted! Also linking to the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom.

Lynne' Turns 24

I'm a few days late, but I'm going to post anyway - my daughter turned 24 on Monday!  The entire family went out for dinner on Sunday night and I cannot believe I didn't get my camera out for pictures.  That's ok - we were living in the moment and appreciating our time together.  And my word did we ever eat too much, even including cheesecake for dessert.

Does anybody else look at their children and wonder where the years went?  I always called her my little ray of sunshine when she was a baby.  Every time I would go in her room in the morning she'd be standing up in her crib with a smile that would light up the room.


And while I do miss those days I wouldn't go back for anything.  I'm enjoying the lovely young lady that she has become so much.


I had to kind of sneak around to get her card made since she lives at home again and sees what I do.  Luckily I went scrapbooking on Saturday with some friends and was able to get this done.  (the stamp is Crazy for Cupcakes by Stampin Up)

Brooklyn At the Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and headed out to the pumpkin patch, along with about a million other people.  Brooklyn fell asleep about 10 minutes before they arrived, so she woke up a little grumpy.  Luckily, after a little cajoling, we ended up getting her into her usual happy self.  And I'm sure you can see by my happy face above that I did not mind at all that she was sure a MawMaw's girl that day.  :)

 

And I had no idea just how much this little girl dislikes flies until I saw it at the pumpkin patch.  The pumpkin she's looking at has a handful of flies sitting on it and she kept leaning over to get a better look, then would say "EWE", drawing the word out quite long.

Silly girl.....

In the end she did enjoy it.  And it's always interesting to me to watch a little one looking around at all there is to see and hear.  Can you even imagine just how cool this must have been to a two year old?
 

Joshua Bell - At Home With Friends

Throughout their school years both of my kids played the viola in the school orchestra.  We went to many programs and competitions through the years, including once travelling to New York City to compete (from Dallas - that was awesome!). So when I got the opportunity to review this CD I was thrilled.  

Joshua Bell's newest CD, At Home With Friends, is far different than you'd first think of violin music.  He’s well known for holding ‘musical soirées’ at his Manhattan residence – parties with musicians, actors, comics and authors who get together just for the sheer joy of sharing their art. So with this new album, Joshua fulfilled a life-long career dream of recording a CD of instrumental and vocal duets with an amazing roster of musicians and friends.

Here is the list of songs on the CD and who is preforming with:
I Loves You Porgy   featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again   featuring Sting, vocals
Oblivion   featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Cinema Paradiso   featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí   featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine   featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So   featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3   featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby   featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair   featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino   featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song   featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira   featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away   featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin   featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I'll Take Manhattan   featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand   featuring Regina Spektor, vocals

I can honestly say I've had this CD playing often in our home since we received it.  We play it while eating dinner, while relaxing in the evening with my knitting and it's on my iPhone to play while working.  It is amazing music and I'm so glad to have found this artist.

Disclosure:  I was sent a free copy of this CD in order to do a review on my blog.   

In the still of the morning...

...before the others get out of bed, I sit alone. I have a perfect cup
of coffee, knitting a wonderful sock pattern, and listening to the one
year audio Bible. In these quiet moments it's easy to reflect on the
blessings of my life. May your day today bring you blessings as well.

Friday's Fave Five

If you'd like to read more Friday Fave Fives go to Susanne's blog - Living to tell the Story - and click on the links. Such an uplifting way to end the week!

1. Brooklyn - She got her school picture from daycare this week and she looks so old to me!  A sure sign that our little cupcake is growing up.  Looking at the picture it's rather amazing to me that they are able to pose 2 year olds and get such a perfect response.  Granddaughters are such a gift.

2. Sunshine today!  Our news said yesterday morning that out of the last 14 days we'd only seen the sun twice.  I have a vitamin D deficiency at the best of times, so no sunshine sends me into quite a funk and I end up weepy and out of sorts.  So glad to see Mr. Sun and I'm sure my family is glad too!

3. Prayers at dinner time - I so enjoy this every evening before we eat dinner.  God is so gracious and good to bless us with good food that really the least we can do is thank Him for it.  Funny too - last night I sat down and looked at Keith and Lynne' and said I want to do something different and we would start holding hands during prayer.  Keith looked at me for just a second and said that as soon as I said I wanted to do something different he knew without a doubt it was holding hands.  There is something so incredibly right about joining hands with your family and thanking God for your meal.

4. Facebook - I know, this one is on here frequently.  But I got a request last night from a girl that I was in Bluebirds with lo these many years ago.  We've been chatting of and on today and she has turned into a woman with such a beautiful spirit.  When you are young there's a vague feeling of "we'll be friends forever" and the reality is that people move away and such and life takes different turns.  Such a huge blessing to have some of these ladies back in my life again.

5. Fall flavors - I love the way my home looks right now with the new fall tablecloth and floral arrangements around the rooms.  I would say this is definitely my favorite season and I'm looking forward to some pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting soon!  From what I"m hearing on the news I should probably get my canned pumpkin soon - who knew there would be a shortage of something like that?

Spiral Crochet Necklace

Last night was knitting guild meeting and ironically our program was on crochet!  We learned to make this necklace and though mine is only about 2 inches long right now I have dreams of wearing it this fall. 

It was kind of fiddly at the beginning, but once it gets set and you find your rhythm it's not bad at all.  The biggest problem I had was once I got home - I didn't want to stop!  I did sit up for awhile working on this to be certain I got the "how to" imprinted on my brain.

The girl next to me did hers in a red and white pattern that when it became a spiral looked exactly like a candy cane to me.  I see a trip to Hobby Lobby in my future so I can get more beads.  How fun to have something like that to wear during the holiday season.

We did get some book recommendations and got to flip through them last night - Bead Crochet Ropes by Judith Bertoglio-Giffin; Beaded Crochet Designs by Ann Benson and Bead Crochet Jewelry by Linda Lehman.  There were others, but I didn't get the names written down.

One of the coolest things about this project to me was that years ago - like 30 or so - my mom used to make these necklaces.  I love how things circle around again.   :)
 
(Pay no attention to the blue clip - it's there to hold my place so it doesn't all unravel!)

Good times................

A Dora Tent for Brooklyn

The internet is such a beautiful thing.  Right now Brooklyn absolutely loves Dora the Explorer and really I love it that she does.  They are silly little shows, but they actually do sneak in some learning opportunities.  Not that we spend a lot of time watching movies - she is still just 2 after all.  But it is an easy way to transition to quiet time and that does lead to a nap or bedtime.  When she's at MawMaw's house she wants to go-go-go and this helps.

Anyway, Loni is planning a sleepover for Brooklyn and her cousins.  Naturally that calls for a tent, so she turned to Craigslist and lo and behold found a Dora tent!  Luckily it was very close to me (being in DFW you just never know where you might end up), so off I went one evening.

I do have to say the 'pick-up' was funny in itself.  I agreed to meet the mom tent owner in the CVS parking lot, you know, so we would be in a public place and all that.  She had her young daughter and slightly older son with her and we chatted for a minute, then she got the tent out very quickly and into my truck.  Apparently we were hoping for the daughter to not see her tent leaving and she was successful.  I paid her and off I went, thinking what a strange feeling it was to meet a stranger in a parking lot, hand her money and leave with a tent.

We opened up the tent last night to check it out and Lynne' crawled inside to insert the stabilizer bar at the top.  Joe, our trusty golden retriever, thought this was a grand idea and went right in after her.  The tent has a back door and he went in and out the doors several time, wagging his tail and enjoying the moment.

Good times...............

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Before I forget - I need to announce the winner of the book!  The winner is Grammy of The Kinz Family News!  Thanks to all for entering - I enjoyed being able to do this.

Harry Connick Jr. - Your Songs

I think I first fell in love with Harry (I can call him that because I adore him) when he was in the movie Hope Floats.  But it was the more recent movie P.S. I Love You that I really became a fan.  His mellow, easy going, romantic nature really shows through.

And I say all that to set the scene for his new CD, Your Songs.  These are songs that we know and love from other fabulous artists, but now with a Harry Connick, Jr. spin to them.  His crooning voice is wonderful for the perfectly chosen songs.  Listening to them will certainly bring to mind the romantic characters he plays in movies.


This is the list of songs and the original artists that you will find on this cd (I almost put album - does that date me?):

All The Way (Frank Sinatra)
Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley)
And I Love Her (The Beatles)
(They Long To Be) Close To You (The Carpenters)
Besame Mucho
The Way You Look Tonight
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)
Your Song (Elton John)
Some Enchanted Evening
And I Love You So (Don McLean)
Who Can I Turn To? (Tony Bennett)
Smile (Charlie Chaplin)
Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)

This is a great CD that any Harry Connick, Jr., fan is sure to love.

Disclosure:  I was sent a free copy of this CD in order to do a review on my blog.