"I am only one, going on two,

But let me tell you this, "eating corn on the cob is something I love to do!"

Sometimes I eat two ears, and sometimes I eat more,

I really don't understand why adults around me, keep score".


How about you?  How many ears of corn on the cob do you consume at one meal?

Relishing the sweetness from the neighboring farm. 

At the farm further down the road, was the sign, "Pick your own flowers".  A dozen for

$ 1.25.  The old scissors hung underneath the sign on a looped wire.  Next to it, also

hanging on a looped wire, was an empty plastic butter tub, with a slit cut in the lid.

Written on the lid with marker..."deposit money here".

This is truly the "good old summertime"!

I hope I gave you a smile today!

The idea came to me from the pages of "Country Living-British Edition" magazine, under
the "Ideas to Try" category, in the July 2014 edition.

What caught my eye, while perusing through the pages of the lovely magazine, was the
title of the article, "A simple make floral ice cubes". 

The instructions said, to "use edible flowers such as violets, geraniums, and cornflowers
to add a splash of colors to drinks."

Fortunately, I had some pink geraniums and some violas in my outdoor planters, and
the pink square ice cube trays in my cupboard.

Instructions;

~"Bring some filtered water to a boil and let it cool.  Boiling the water stops bubbles
  from forming and keeps the water clear, not cloudy.  (this really does work).

~Pour the cooled water into the ice cube tray, filling a third of each square, and
  then freeze.

~Snip the flower stems to size.  Remove the tray from the freezer and lay the petals
  on the ice cubes.  Cover with water and return to the freezer until the cubes are
  frozen through."

This article was taken from Inspire - The Art of Living with Nature by Willow
Crossley and shared by Country Living magazine.

Quick, simple, and pretty for any special occasion.

Water...another one of nature's gifts that I am so thankful for, in whatever form I find it.

Happy Monday!

I am reminded of thoughts on "light" that come to my mind, when I look at this

picture that I captured last week;

Recently, I awoke in the very early morning hours, finding that the electricity was

off in our area, and the house was totally dark.  As I cautiously made my way to the kitchen

to retrieve my flashlight, each step was made slowly, feeling my way as I

walked.  What a huge difference the flashlight made, when I pushed the "on" switch.

Light flooded the kitchen, making me realize just how much I depend on

light in my daily life.  Each day the sun rises, and each day the earth is blessed with it's

life giving rays.  It  caused me to have a new appreciation for the "gift" of electricity.

Like everything, one only notices it's vital importance when it is gone.

It also led me to recall a verse I learned as a young girl;

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  Psalm 119: l05

I am so thankful for "light" in it's many various forms, in my daily life.

From my home, to yours...a touch of beauty for your Friday!

Perhaps this weekend will provide time for you to pack a picnic, no matter how simple
it may be, and ask someone you love to join you.  Relish the moments of this summer,
because they seem to be passing by so quickly.

Maybe you would want to spend the afternoon fishing with someone you care about...

Or simply relaxing with friends, listening and conversing in the evening hours, often
producing wonderful summer memories.

Or teach your s'more skills to one eager to learn.  Perhaps years from now,

the younger one will teach the same skills to another.  Never mind if the

marshmallow is a bit on the crisp side, because when combined with

the graham cracker and chocolate bar, one will never notice:)

 

How about a rigorous game of the old fashion croquet?  I clearly remember my summer
evenings spent playing that game with my siblings.  Oh, the memories I hold from those
games...

 

But, if this weekend does not allow for free time to spend outdoors as you would long for...

 

...just bring the outdoors in.

 

However you spend your weekend, look for the times to share joy, in

one form or another, and don't let the "moments" slip by without

noticing them.  The older I get, the more this concept becomes a

reality to me.

 

Thank you for stopping by. 

 

 

.........A few of the things that I am thankful for recently, and thought they might add a touch of
         beauty and inspiration for you today.

Recently, I was privileged to sit at my sister's kitchen table, and enjoy visiting and catching
up with a group of women from my past.  All of our children had attended the same school,
and we spent many hours working together on school events and fund raisers.
Now our children have graduated and moved on and we rarely get to spend time
together.  What a privilege it was for me to sit with these gifted women.

I want to show you the table scape that my sister created, because I want you to see, what
she did with$1.00 dinner plates that she purchased from the Dollar Tree.  The four green
glass jars were a gift from a friend, and the flowers were from the grocery store.  Isn't it
fun to see what one can do with simple finds like she had.  The favors were cupcake
holders filled with salt water taffy from the beach store.

The simple banners over the candy, were another fun idea.

 

My sister...the creative and gracious hostess of the luncheon.

Blessings are found in friendships, new friends and friends who have been through past
journeys in our lives.  Each and every one continues to add special dimensions to my life.

Fresh, green, tender lettuce that was dropped off at my front door, from the abundance of
my neighbor's garden.  What a treat!

The fun, red and white polka dot lids that I found at the Dollar General Store, to put on my glass
jelly jars.  What a colorful way to add a touch of pizazz to each jar of strawberry and peach jelly
that I made.  There are often great treasures to be found at the local dollar stores.

One of the favorite foods of every one of our grandchildren.  Thank you GoGurt, for the
healthy, yummy tasting packs of yogurt that you made for children, and for including
all the goodness in each pack.

And last of all today, I am thankful for the smiles that this little girl brings

into my life.  She asked if she could sit on the sofa and read like her paw pa and

I do each morning?  I was delighted.  But, she said," that first she needs her glasses

like each of us wear to read." 

They observe and copy us so quickly.  What an important fact to remember as

we go through each day.

 

Thank you for stopping by, for this little something.  And, thank you for sharing

so many of your favorite happenings and finds.  I learn so much from all of you.

 

Farm visits...you have seen many of them on this blog.
This particular one, was unplanned, and came about when two little visitors paid
us an unexpected visit this week.

There is something comforting about visiting the farms.  One feels close to nature,
and can experience on a first hand basis, different forms of elementary horticulture:)
There were the white daisies blooming in abundance.

The black-eyed Susan flowers overflowing through the white picket fence.

Fresh, huge, garden tomatoes...

...cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow summer squash...

...containers laden with mint garden tea, and bright green, tender lettuce leaves.

Giant sunflowers lined the steel fence row, lifting each of their heads to face the morning
sun.

A bonus for these two, was the acre or so of animals that created the petting zoo in front
of the big, white barn.

An artist's rendition of the bald eagles and the nest of their young, was carved in the
huge tree by the side of the pond.

 

And coin-operated animal food dispensors offered treats

for the abundance of ducks in the water below.

 

In watching the reactions from these two, one wondered to myself, if Disney could provide
any more excitement than gleaned from their blue eyes?

Thank you for stopping by today!

There are days, and I know that you have them too, when one just feels like...

...taking the easiest route possible...

...and ducking one's head into the water, or burying one's head into the sand:)  Yes, my friend,
there are days.  Today is one of them for me.  It seems like everywhere I look, there is
trouble in some form or another...except, when I look up.  Looking up, always brings me
comfort. 

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills-
 where does my help come from?
 My help comes from the Lord,
 the maker of heaven and earth."
 ~Psalm 121: 1 & 2

Just in case, it is one of those type days for you too...

...here is a little something for you!  Keep looking up!

A 10 hour road trip this past week, gave me plenty of time to think, and my husband and I
plenty of time to talk.  One of the subjects that we spent time on, was the word "perspective".
I must admit, it is not a word we have spent time on in the past, but it is a word that seems
relevant now.  In many conversations over the last few weeks, with different groups of friends,
we are realizing more than ever, the one most interesting aspect of our conversations, is the
perspective of those who share in the conversations.

I looked up the word "perspective", and here is what I found;  "Perspective is the way one looks
at something."

"An example of perspective is the farmer's opinion about a lack of rain."

"A specific point of view in understanding or judging things or events, esp. one that shows
them in their true relations to one another."

Sentence examples;

~"Interesting perspective, isn't it?"
~"By the time they reached the barn, she had a different perspective of the entire situation."
~"When he spoke, his perspective surprised her."

Definitions from ...yourdictionary.com


My husband and I were discussing how so often, when one sits and converses with others,
the perspective we once held about them, changes after a few hours of talking with them,
and listening to them.  So often, we tend to carry opinions of others with us, without ever
taking the time to sit and have them share life from their perspective.  What a difference
it can make when that time is taken, and hearts are open to share. I am afraid we too often
draw conclusions about other's actions, without ever taking the time to hear their perspective.
For us, we are learning the true importance of that action.

A good example of the word perspective would be the way these two, in our
care this week, viewed the rain falling outside, when they wanted to visit the play-
ground, but my perspective was, thanking God that I did not have to water all my flowers
again that day.  They wondered if it would be raining every day they were here?

How about you?  Did you ever take time to think about the word "perspective"?  Have you
found that listening to others share their perspective on whatever, can change your opinion
about them and the reason they may do the things they do?  Perhaps "asking and listening"
would be the key words here.  When was the last time someone sincerely asked you,
what your perspective was on something? 

Thank you for stopping by on this hot, summer morning.

One evening as I was visiting several blogs that I enjoy reading, I discovered a blog with some
adorable gumball stirrers.  I liked the diy instructions and how they looked in the in the clear
glassware as they were displayed.  You can visit the blog if you want, and see what I mean.
You can find it at www.studiodiy.com/2013/08/28/diy-gumball-drink-stirrers

I already had a bag of wooden stirrers in my kitchen drawer, that I had purchased from
the local grocery store.  While visiting the local Dollar Tree, I looked for gumballs, and
found these pretty colored bubble gum balls, which were not like the ones I was searching
for.  But, since I liked the colors, I thought I would bring them home and try them with
my skewers.  I did not have to use the tool called the awl, which the blog designer had
used.  Instead, I held one of the little gumballs in my left hand and punctured a hole into
the gumball with the point on the skewer, in my other hand.   That is all there is to it, just
a bit of muscle to make the puncture.

 

And, here is what you will have when you are finished with your simple project, using a
few wooden skewers, and two small bags of bubble gumballs.

Then if you want to buy a white plate from the same dollar store, and some tall clear glassware,
you can have yourself a fun, inexpensive gift for someone, or for you.  I cut the wooden skewers,
at the bottom with a wire cutter, making the skewers differing lengths, to add some dimension
to the completed look.  I used this as a gift, and included the glass container of extra skewers.

One could use the bright colored skewers for a summer fruit platter also, using a variety of
colorful fruit, and then piling them on a glass platter, horizontally.

 I think these glasses would look good filled with some light pink lemonade and ice,
for a pretty serving platter.

This is one drink that my husband and I find refreshing over the summer. 
One glass filled with ice cubes, filled half way with the V8 Light V-fusion, and the rest
of the way with Sparkling Ice Strawberry Lemonade.  Calorie count...25 calories.

A quick, simple idea to dress up your summer drink tray, or create an

unique gift for someone, whether you were looking for it or not:)

 

Happy Thursday!