Tonight we were at an "Oakridge Boys" concert.  They were talking at one point in the evening, about a special movie that is being made about Glen Campbell's life.   They said that Glen is candid about  the struggles that he is going through with Alzheimer's disease.  They were asked to sing a song that would be a blessing to Glen.  They proceeded to sing the song they chose, and it was the southern gospel song "Farther Along".  The song was so beautiful and meaningful as they sang it.  It encouraged my heart this evening.

The song they sang was "Farther Along".


Refrain:

Farther along we'll know all about it,

Farther along we'll understand why;

Cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine,

We'll understand it all by and by.

~Words and music to "Farther Along" are by J.R. Baxter and W.B. Stevens.



For Glen, for so many others, and for each of us...it can encourage our hearts as we rest in the fact, that someday we will understand why.

Wishing you an enjoyable Spring Sunday!

A $.99 flip-flop.  A weekend adventure for my friend and her granddaughters last Summer.  She and her husband took their older granddaughters(and grandson), to the beach for a few days.  She spent the weekend teaching them how to sew.  They had a great time together and she wanted to document the time for each girl.  She found these flip-flops at Old Navy for 99 cents each, at the end of the season sale.  Imagine that...a flip flop scrapbook.

The top flower on the flip flop is made from the yellow pages of her phone book.

Yes, you are right!  She made individual scrapbooks on their time together, for each girl.  A flip flop scrapbook.  Do you have one?

This friend continually amazes me with her artistic creativity.  She used rubber cement glue to glue the backing onto the flip-flop, and then used heavy cardstock for each page. 

The little retro tags were cut out of decorative papers.

Personally, I think it is a great idea for this lady to take time to teach her girls how to sew, especially if they are interested in learning.  Their grandma is so skilled in many areas, and these lessons will serve them well in their future lives.  I can see the advertisement now...

"sewing classes" at the beach, including beach time, good food, and lots of laughter.  Who wouldn't want to learn in this way?

Oh, and a flip-flop scrapbook included.

They individually sewed their own aprons and purses.  They must have felt so proud of their accomplishments.  What a beautiful job they did!

The same creative lady, took the inner cardboard rolls of toilet paper, flattened each of them, and produced a tiny scrapbook for me as a birthday gift.  Yes, you heard me right.

 

Here is my newly acquired scrapbook from toilet paper rolls.  All I need to do is to add small photos in the created spaces.

Each page is so beautifully done with a vintage flair.  So many tiny details make up this book.  I look forward to filling it with special pictures.

The tiny tags can be removed and filled with pictures.

What a treasure these books are for those who receive them.

To go along with her frugal, yet so artistic skills, she covered an empty check box with music paper and created the bow out of crepe paper.  Gift and wrapping will be saved. 
I wanted to share these amazing treasures with you today.  Maybe you need some ideas for future gifts.  Who would have thought that one could recycle in this fashion.  I will never look at my empty cardboard toilet paper rolls the same.  Oh, and by the way, she said there are different sizes of cardboard holders, and she found that Charmin rolls work the best.  Just in case you wondered:)

Wishing you time to enjoy this Saturday!

Hospitality has always been a specialty of my sister's life.  This week she hosted and served a special meal.  I thought I would share a few photos from the meal, especially since she excels in creating tablescapes.  The color scheme of her kitchen table was beautiful! 

But, the tablescape is secondary to her warm, caring,and genuine hospitality.

Her daughter(my neice) was the server behind the scenes, with a helpful spirit and a warm smile. 

Wouldn't you agree that this is a beautiful and colorful tablescape?

My creative, youngest sister helped with the table decor and was responsible for the matching favors at each place setting.

She is also responsible for each of these photos.  What a gifted photographer she is!

The meal was exceptionally delicious, especially the chicken recipe.

Another friend made this elegant looking platter of chocolate covered fruit, crackers, and bacon.  Remember a post that I did a while ago where I mentioned chocolate covered bacon?  Well, at this meal, we all had opportunity to try it.  Some liked it, some not so much.

I felt truly honored to be treated to such a very special birthday meal by such a gifted and hospitable sister and friend.

Since I enjoy art in many forms, I thought you might enjoy seeing this artful approach of serving a meal.

Wishing you joy on this Thursday evening!

Just A Little Something for JUDY!!!

Well.

Since she was being way too coy about it in her post earlier today....

And since I have her password....

And since I am the rule breaker of the bunch,

I am MORE than HAPPY to 

hack into my mom's blog and proudly proclaim that, TODAY, March 27th is indeed

JUDY'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

For inasmuch as she encourages the hearts of many through her blog, and if you are fortunate enough to know her personally, I thought it would be a GREAT day to leave a note here on her blog to let her know how special she is! My sisters and I can tell you that she has always been a most loving, encouraging and thoughtful mom, from the moment we recognized her voice to this very moment and all the long days and sleepless nights in between.

Judy, here's just a little something for YOU! 

Happy Birthday!!!

  *This is a picture of Judy and two of  the three of her girls back in the day. The cute little one she's holding and the dark-haired cherub to the right are hers. The one in the green to the far right is a Slovakian exchange student who had a penchant for Rave hairspray, short bangs and a dire need for orthodontic care. God bless her. I, the oldest, was away in Greece at the time on a modeling assignment for Esprit.

"MawMaw's is how OLD today?"

"By the way, don't you just love how daddy fixed my hair?"

 

Lately, my interests seem to be directed toward "vintage".

I liked this vintage looking bag of coffee, not to mention it's good taste.

I liked this picture from a past "Country Living" magazine, because it reminds me of the way my parents would pack picnics for us, years ago, in their big, blue station wagon.  Now, I am amazed when I remember back to all that they packed, in our rare, but so fun family picnics.

I've always had a thing for old barn siding.  It looks especially good with the wreath of pansies.

Picture from a past Country Living Magazine.

A few days ago my dear "old" friend of 42 years, and I celebrated our birthdays together, although it was a bit early.  With both of our schedules being so busy, we were happy to find time to just sit and share with each other.  My friend and I have known each other for many years, 42 to be exact.  Our youngest daughters are best friends too.  Pictured above, in the collage created by my youngest daughter, from left to right, is me, my dear friend, her daughter (who is getting married in June), and my youngest daughter who is honored to be in her wedding.  What a special gift this friendship is for each one of us. 

As you can tell, this friend certainly does not fit the "vintage" category of this blog theme.  She continues to age beautifully!

"The bumps of life need the shock absorber of friendship."   ~unknown

 

"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million."  ~Walt Streightiff

 

 

"Treat your friends like family and your family like friends."  ~Roy B. Zuck

(at least for the moment this photo was captured:)

 

 

"Practice tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others...Most of all, let love guide your life."  ~The Book of Colossians

( again, at least for the moment this photo was captured:)

Just a tiny little something for you today.  Not alot happening in my corner of the world.

 

When I returned home late this afternoon, I took a walk around our home.  Here is what I found blooming on the trees and flower beds.  I think this tree is a magnolia tree, although I am not sure.  It has lots of beautiful, pure white, sweet smelling flowers on it.

 

This is one of my favorite trees.  Each time in the early Spring, the tree is covered with pink blossoms.  It looks so good in between the holly and everygreen trees.

 

Now the Forsythia is blooming and it's tiny yellow flowers are everywhere.

The Hyacinth plant that my daughter gave me last year, smells sweeter than ever.   There are pink Hyacinths too.

The mother duck has returned again this Spring.  Every Spring for the last few years, the Mallard and the female return to our backyard.  Only once did I get to see the mother and her ducklings walking across the street, after they were born.  I like that she chooses our home to come to.  She must feel safe and secure here.  In fact, she let me walk up close to her for the picture.

How does she know that it is Spring again?  How does she remember which home she went to last Spring?   God's creation is so amazing!

 

I brought some of each of the blossoms into my house.  I put them into my old canning jar and set it on the table that I bought last week.  I had my eye on this table for a year, at the KMart store.  Last week, I went into the store and saw that it was on clearance.  It was marked down to $ 31.00.  What a deal!  It is one of the Country Living pieces that KMart sells.  It looks so nice sitting at my kitchen window.

It is another warm Spring day.  I am so thankful for such beautiful weather.

What is blooming at your home?

 

I held him, my nephew, as a newborn baby.  I watched him grow up, and excel in everything he did.  I marveled at how many friends he had and how they were so loyal to him.

I was there when he graduated from West Point with honors.

I must admit to the pride that I felt that day, for all that he had accomplished.

I was there for his wedding and was not at all surprised, when he married a beautiful, caring young woman.

A few weeks ago, God blessed him and his lovely wife with a precious little girl.

Last week, he hugged and kissed his wife and newborn daughter, good bye, and left for his first tour of duty in Afghanistan.

I

Tonight my thoughts and prayers are with him, his wife, his little girl, and his family.

I appreciate more deeply those who serve our country, to provide freedom for us.

I appreciate every one of the men and women in this country who make this huge sacrifice for my freedom.

 

This is what resonates from my heart tonight.

Thanks for stopping by.

A recycled cup holder from McDonald's.  I saw this idea in my "Southern Living, Quick Fixes With Mixes" cookbook.

Four of my glass candle holders from the attic.

The glass pieces fit perfectly in each of the cardboard sections.  Small water glasses would work too.

For the dip I used a delicious recipe, from the same cookbook;

Stir together 3/4 cup sour cream and 3/4 cup mayonnaise with 1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley, 1 Tbsp. fresh chives, 1 tsp. fresh dill(I used 1/4 tsp. dried), 1 tsp. lemon zest, and 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice for a quick dip.  Serve with assorted vegtables, pretzels, bread sticks, pickles, or whatever your heart desires.

 

 

I had a square glass salt shaker from Walmart that fit perfectly in the center of this cup holder.

I added the daffodil from my granddaughter.  I think it added a pretty touch to this recycled container.

 

 

For experimenting reasons, I also tried adding a simple pink faux flower in the center, supplying a touch of color, if I didn't have access to real flowers.

If you need to take relishes to an outdoor event, this might be an easy way to do it.  In fact, if you wanted to and had extra recycled holders on hand, you could serve a larger variety of condiments.

If the event was real casual, you could use clear plastic glasses, although I am not sure they would be sturdy enough.

Just another little something for you...

from me...

and my young kitchen partner:)


Thank you for stopping this evening.

When you are young and carefree,

it does not matter that you choose to sit on the swing in a backward position, or that the swing is too small for you,

it doesn't even matter if you choose to wear your muddy shoes on the wrong feet.

And, it is okay to wear your ice cream tee shirt, describing a perfect day, made up of ice cream in many forms. 

When you are young and carefree, you find great happiness having access to a trowel and lots of fresh dirt in which to dig, and yes, it does not matter if you wear your hat backwards.  Whatever feels right for you.

They are unaware of all that is happening in their world.  They feel secure and content to live their young lives for the moment, not the least bit worried about what tomorrow may hold.

But, when you are older like their grandpa is, life takes on many different perspectives.  One of those being, that his portion of ice cream is only that amount that fits into the small jelly jar, and only on occasion.  Vanilla ice cream with caramel syrup and sliced almonds, one of his favorites.  Ice cream every hour on the hour, like the tee shirt states, just will not work for him.

Speaking of ice cream, you may want to visit the beautifully artistic blog of "Bluebird Notes".  The gifted lady who creates that blog has just completed a book titled "Everything Goes With Ice Cream".  From my visits to her blog, I know it will be a book I would want to purchase someday.  What a gifted lady she is!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Yellow makes me happy.   I think it might be that way because we just came through the winter season and the yellow flowers are the perfect indication  that Spring is almost here.

I read a quote recently that stated my sentiments about this color; "Yellow is psychologically the happiest color in the spectrum." 

"Yellow's appearance in the garden has a stimulating effect."

~quotes from "scentsationalcolor.com"

A glass or orange juice is the way I start every day.  It is the best start to my day, before my cups of coffee.

Looking forward the the tulips blooming in the garden.  This picture was taken last Spring.

Yellow and purple pansies are a pretty combination.

In fact, I read that "yellow's complimentary color in the garden is purple."

"Yellow flowers come forward in the landscape, helping to make your garden feel cozier."

~quotes from "scentsationalcolor.com"

"Lemon peel;  a very strong fresh lemon scent.  Great for summer.  Very refreshing.  Aromatherapy benefits;  uplifting, refreshing, cheering, stimulating, rejuvenating."

~from "Scent It.com"

This is my favorite way to drink my glasses of iced water...with cleaned lemons slices.

Yellow daffodils always remind me of my mother.  At her previous home, she planted many daffodil bulbs that bloomed every Spring.   I also have memories of my dad and I tying the foliage of the daffodils together and knotting them, after the daffodils stopped blooming.  I am thankful for the appreciation of daffodils that my mother instilled in me.

A bouquet sitting by my daughter's sink.

Forsythia will soon be blooming in our county too.  We seem to have an abundance of forsythia bushes.

Hope this dose of yellow, adds happiness to your day today!