Unfinished Projects

This is the knitting project I've been working on for seemingly forever. I called it my Caribbean Placemat because that's what the colors remind me of. I am still so in love with the way this yarn stripes and with the colors. Mom told me she was knitting placemats and that just struck a chord with me, so that's what I'm doing. However, doing miles of seed stitch with unyielding cotton yarn does make the hands ache, so I usually just do 3 or 4 rows at a sitting. The good news is that since it's such a simple pattern it's ideal for knitting and talking. And they are teasing me at work and I keep getting reminded of just how cheap placemats are to buy and I would have them on my table lots quicker that way!

And since I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog yet, I have a confession to make. Regardless of what craft I'm in....I rarely finish anything. I guess the journey is the fun for me, who knows? So when I sashayed into the Scrapbook Barn lo these many months ago and saw the pink shirt that said "Queen of Unfinished Projects" that my friends had put on hold for me, well it was love at first sight! I have mentioned lately that this isn't necessarily a true statement for me anymore. Saying that I have unfinished projects implies that I have started things and lately all I really do is flit around and chat. Ah well, all in good time I suppose!

Now let me explain the attractive look on my face. This picture was taken on our recent retreat very shortly after I put some Zots in my mouth. Do you remember Zots candy? I didn't, but I'm always game for this sort of thing. In case you can't tell, they have a very sour center to them. They start off so unassuming and you think it's just a hard candy, then this sour stuff starts oozing out of the candy and it makes you suck your cheeks in! Loads of fun, but I'm not thinking I'll be buying packs of this any time soon - LOL!

More Brooklyn At The Lake

I know I've mentioned before, but it can be repeated - I love the lake! From the moment we arrive it's almost like being Norm on the Cheers show with neighbors coming by with a smile, a wave and a greeting. Life is slower there and much more peaceful.

And of course I do love to play! This trip was made even more special having Brooklyn along for her first time. She was absolutely mesmerized watching a very large, flashy, loud boat behind us. I love how she has a kind of squat position standing on the seat! Rest assured we didn't let her stand like this all over the lake - this picture was taken in the cove in a no wake zone, so we were barely moving.

I think her little sunglasses and lake shoes are just darling. :)

When we got out to the islands we had her set up on the sand with her shovels. She really, really wasn't too sure about the sand and Loni said that's because princesses don't like to get dirty!

By the end of her second trip on the next day she did allow the water to hit her feet and kind of dug into the sand a little with her toes. I think that it helped to see her goofy parents having a little dirt fight and laughing quite hard. She kept looking at them like they'd lost their minds, but she did smile.

It's fun to be silly and to watch other people be silly!

"Silly is you in a natural state, and serious is something you have to do until you can get silly again!" - Mike Myers

Brooklyn at The Islands

Just a quick little video and I have GOT to get to bed! Had a wonderful time at the lake this weekend and got to see all my kids. Saturday and most of Sunday James, Loni and Brooklyn (and their dog Xena!) came up to the lake, then later Sunday and all of Monday Lynne' came up. We took little Miss B out to the islands for the first time and it was so adorable to watch her! She LOVES to take a bath and splashes and plays, but the lake has a mind of it's own with waves, noises, things to see, sand on the bottom and funny smells. I can't claim that she loved it, but she didn't put up a fuss and that's step one.

Don't you love how well protected she is? Loni got her this swimsuit that has UV protection - please tell me where these suits were 25 years ago! First we lathered Brooklyn up with sunscreen, then she got her blast from the past style swimsuit on, her stylin' shades, floppy hat and of course boat shoes. Too adorable!

Retreat Treats

These are the two snacks I prepared last Thursday night to take with me on retreat. Rice Krispie Treats on the left, which are one of my absolute favorites, maybe because I'm a kid at heart???

And my new favorite take along dessert snack, Symphony Brownies by Paula Deen. Love her or not, this gal can cook and these brownies are no exception. I left a couple of Rice Krispie Treats and a couple of brownies for Keith to eat and I think he was pleased when I returned home with a few of each. Did I mention we had a LOT of food?!?!?


SYMPHONY BROWNIES

1 package of brownie mix (17.6 ounce or up to about 20 ounce)
3 (5 ounce) Symphony candy bars

Line a 13x9 cake pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Prepare the brownie mix according to the directions on the package. Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Place the candy bars all in a row on top of the batter, then cover with remaining batter, smoothing the top.

Bake according to brownie package directions. Cool completely, then lift from the pan using the edges of the foil. Cut into squares and enjoy!

WARNING: These brownies are soooo rich when they are warm. A little will go a long way. :)

"There's nothing better than a good friend, except perhaps a good friend with chocolate!"

Back From Retreat

This is what a room looks like during a scrapbooking retreat - a little scary eh? I did take some liberties with facial expressions to protect the innocent. :)

What a splendiferous weekend I just had! I went on a 3 day retreat with 10 of my closest scrapbooking friends. We found the perfect place up in Gainesville, TX called Le Retreat House and had an amazing time. This is different than your average bed and breakfast because we were the only ones there and did our own food. Absolutely perfect for our group as we kind of like to sing and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Truly, this was one of my absolute most favorite weekends EVAH! From start to finish it was just picture perfect. So many great moments and I’m not even sure where to begin. And really I hate to begin because I’m afraid I’d leave something out. But here’s some weekend moments: I discovered that I love White Chocolate Mudslide coffee creamer and last night at the store I picked up a bottle for work; I found out that eating Zots and Pop Rocks with J is loads of fun; I now know that D and I still got it baby in the singing department and that other D can be our backup dancer any time (welcome to our Grand Illusion!); I saw a side of J I’d never seen before and it totally cracked me up; I know that if I ever need a Macgyver sidekick that S has my back (does anybody have an exacto knife, a coconut and a battery?); I know that if I hand my camera to S she can find the card for me that I didn’t even know it had; I saw C ACTUALLY THROW AWAY SOME SCRAPBROOK STUFF…and then later go through a trash can and pull some more things out; I know that H and I make a great Thelma and Louise and our ending was a whole lot better than theirs; I discovered that C has some zingers in her and fits right in with all us crazies; I saw K do an awesome victory dance; oh and I know without a doubt that S is a big tease when a woman is desperate for coffee!

I will undoubtedly be sharing more pictures this week, but it's bedtime now. I literally have hundreds of pictures from the weekend because luckily there are brains behind some of those smiling faces above! The retreat house had internet and of course there were several laptops among us. One brilliant Sistah Chick took all our camera cards and copied the pictures back and forth so that we all ended up with every photo.

Good times.... :)

"A friend is somebody that knows all about you and loves you even more after knowing it!"

Mother's Day Pictures

First up, here's the card I made for mom for Mother's Day at Stamp Club Friday night. I especially liked the background paper because it's actually just white paper and we used stamps on the background. The green paper has the linen background stamp in green, so it's a very subtle look. Very pleased with this card.

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Saturday morning Keith, Joe (the dog) and I headed north to Oklahoma City to spend time with our moms for Mother's Day. Saturday we went out to lunch with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law, then the five of us headed south to Norman for some craft store shopping.

Our first stop was L & B Yarn Co. Store in Norman, OK. I can't say enough about how much I liked this store. The staff was very friendly and helpful, the decor was awesome, yarn selection was fabulous and they had some great store samples. We did each buy a little something before heading out. And mom got a pattern for slippers that this store does for their charity project. It was pretty cool to see the wicker basket filled with beautiful slippers at the front of the store.

From there we went just a few blocks (a mile?) away to a quilt shop, Patchwork Place, also in Norman, OK. The last time I was at this shop I still lived in OKC, so quite a few years ago, and they were in a cute little house. They are now in a strip center and the ladies there said that they had to move because the little house leaked and water is not a great thing for quilt fabric! Yes, we each bought a little something there and when I had my fabric cut I told the lady that I had the most wonderful and darling granddaughter in the world. She did inform me that it was impossible for that to be true as SHE had the most wonderful and darling granddaughter in the world! This shop is another that I really can highly recommend. There were quite a few things here that I hadn't seen in other shops and that's always fun.

Sunday morning was church with Keith's folks. Pastor Henke didn't let us down and read his beautiful essay "A Mother's Tears", which he said is tradition for that day. I sat next to my mother-in-law and we both just had tears streaming down our face. Loved it! A wonderful brunch together, then we hit the highway south to Texas.

When we did finally get home late Sunday night Lynne' was here waiting with a beautiful floral bouquet for me! She did point out that it's easy to buy flowers for me - just look for the pink blooms. :) Tonight I have the flowers here on my desk and not only are they beautiful but they smell so good.

Good times.....

"Children may outgrow your lap, but never your heart."

Joe and a Work Lesson on Time

My sweet old doggie, Joe, relaxing in the hallway. Not sure if you can tell, but his eyes are looking off to his right at our cat Meeko, who came walking over to see why both Joe and I were laying down in the hall.

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I learned an interesting thing this afternoon at work. On days that we don't go out for lunch a bunch of us girls sit and knit and chat for that hour. Today we got back to our desks and before I knew it I looked up and it was 2:30 already.

"My word I can't believe how fast today is going!", I exclaimed.

"Yes, isn't it a shame", said one of my co-workers.

"A shame?"

She went on to explain that she used to spend so much time saying she couldn't wait until the party next week, or vacation next month, etc. that she missed out on living that day. Now one of her personal growth choices is to slow down and enjoy each day for what it is. Really every day has so much to offer, so why not enjoy it thoroughly?

By the way, these deep thoughts came from a wonderful young lady in her mid-thirties. So wise.

And when I told this story to Mom today she said it's called "wishing your life away".

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Happy Anniversary!

My how time flies! Two years ago today my son married the most wonderful girl a mom could hope for. I remember the time leading up to the wedding and how fun and giddy and nervous we all were. And how when it was over we were all so content and happy - and still are today. May the two of them always have love in their hearts and may God bless them with long and happy lives together.

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Tomorrow afternoon Keith and I will be driving an hour and half away to get our truck. That might sound like drudgery to some, but we actually do enjoy driving together like that. I usually knit while he drives and we talk and solve all the world's problems. So even though it might sound strange to some, I'm looking forward to it. :)

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Little Miss has reached another new milestone, or rather she did a few weeks back and I forgot to share on my blog! She's now pulling up on things and standing! I love seeing her do this and she just grins and grins. Loni said that she'll pull up in her crib and stand there grinning in the mornings. This so reminds me of her Aunt Lynne' when she was little. I

remember going into Lynne's room and calling her my Little Ray of Sunshine. I do believe Brooklyn could go by this name as well!

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow." ~ Unknown

This Sad Photo

is how my weekend ended!

We were enjoying a wonderful first weekend of the season at the lake. Went out on the boat, had picture perfect weather, etc. As we pulled the trailer/boat out of the water we started hearing a terrible noise from the underside of our truck. We made it up to the cabin and Keith and several of the neighbors (it was definitely a King of the Hill type of moment) determined that it was probably the U Joint. We called the tow truck and the son, then Keith and I walked down to the local cafe and had dinner. At this point there really wasn't anything else we could do. The wrecker came Sunday afternoon and took the truck away. :( When James got there we decided to take the boat out for a little ride before heading back home. So now I'm toolin' around town in the cutest little VW Passat courtesy of the rental place. Really it's kind of fun! :)

In between making all the truck arrangements we did manage to have a fabulous weekend. I am so ready for summer fun to get here!!! Really I think that most everybody is ready because this weekend there were quite a few people at the lake. There was some reminiscing about all the flooding last year and what a relief that this year looks so grand. Even Joe had a great time going out in the backyard and visiting with his little girlfriend Fancy through the back fence! There was much rubbing of noses, wagging of tails and fence running involved in the renewal of their friendship.

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This is the granddaughter on Saturday morning while shopping at garage sales with her mom and I. It turned out chilly that morning so she has her little hat and mittens on. We actually found quite a few bargains and had a great time together. I dearly love hearing her little giggles and seeing her little smiles.