7 Things

A stomach bug has been making the rounds here plus I've had a lovely day-and-a-half tucked away at a lake house relaxing with a couple of friends so my computer has been sorely neglected. But here's a little catching up as I sit in bed, type and sip on a lovely glass of red wine:

1.  Here's a few photos from Matt's hunting trip.... He was gone 6 days and killed about as many ducks! I think he had a good time, don't you? He's the one laughing in the photo below. My cutie-pie! :-) 

Matt laughing!

Ducks and the sunrise at Hatteras

2.  I'm trying to get ready to walk another 1/2 Marathon.... this one is in the Outerbanks in April. It should be loads of fun. My goal is to walk two 1/2 this year with both being at or under the 3 hour mark. I believe we did the Philadelphia 1/2 in 3 hours and 20 minutes. I've been following a plan for the past two weeks. I didn't make my mile goal on either week.... boo on me! Not gonna give up, though.... The hardest thing is the time it takes. 

My walking progress

3. Pretty excited to be going with The Girl to this conference next weekend! 

4.  I am reading this and really loving it. 

5.  My friend Lynn redid her blog banner and is blogging away over there! So glad she is back to writing again. Go check her out for some insightful and encouraging words!

6. A meaningful quote for me this weekend from The Brothers Karamazov: 

At some thoughts one stands perplexed, especially at the sight of men’s sin, and wonders whether one should use force or humble love. Always decide to use humble love. If you resolve on that once for all you may subdue the whole world. Loving humility is marvelously strong - the strongest of all things and there is nothing else like it. 

"Always decide to use humble love" - yes and yes again. 

7.  Here's a little sneak peek of a piece I started this week. I'm pretty happy with it so far and hope to be finished with it this weekend. I think this will land in my dining room....

Sneak Peek

Blessings, bloggy friends!

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Book Review: Really!

I've been having a little bit of a problem the last oh..... three or four months or so.... I haven't been able to read! I mean I can "read", I just can't seem to finish a book. The last one I remember finishing was in September when I was home recovering from surgery. It was Elegy for Iris, the story of author Iris Murdoch's life as told by her husband. Very good, if a little depressing. I followed up by watching the movie. Very, very good. (Kate Winslet was great!) 

Anywhoo.... I don't know what happened after that. I just lost interest or focus or something. Couldn't seem to finish anything. So, yesterday I finally finished a book I've been working on since October, Peace Like a River.  It's been on my TBR list for a while and our book club chose it for our November read. 

Peace Like a River  by Leif Enger, Atlantic Monthly Press; Later Printing edition (August 20, 2002), ISBN-10: 0802139256

Source: Heard of it for a long time, on my TBR list, chosen by book club

Rating: Definitely 5 out of 5 STARS

So, my taking so long to finish Peace Like a River is absolutely NO reflection on how wonderful this book is! There are a ton of reviews on it (here is a good one) so I won't really add much to all the words floating around out there in Bloglandria except to say "read it!" Great story told with wonderful words. Period. 

I dog-eared so many pages! (Yes, horrors! I do indeed dog-ear pages of *my* books that have especially beautiful writing or interesting tidbits of information. Here are just a few examples of Mr. Enger's ability to produce "good words":

"...it had Judge Raster, who I'd pictured as some predatory deep-sea critter, sitting behind his high desk. In the flesh the judge had the kind of wavy white hair I associated with benevolence, the hair of soft-touch aunts who keep mints in candy dishes within your reach; though his eyes, behind half glasses, evoked no such hopeful impressions. Surprisingly, my first sense of Judge Raster was of a man who clung to small vanities. He had a preening look. You do't like to think it of a judge." page 83 (Just a great character description.)

"Once in my life I knew a grief so hard I could actually hear it inside, scraping at the lining of my stomach, an audible ache, dredging with hooks as rivers are dredged when someone's been missing too long." page 54 (Do you know that kind of grief? The description brought tears to my eyes.)

"Davy didn't reply. It was deepest night. I remember his shape in the stuffed chair next the window: clean map of chin and cheekbone, cup of coffee under drifting steam. He was watching the meadow and after some silence rose and stood close to the glass. A herd of deer had come out from a black tangle of trees. They were crossing the meadow, so shapeless at this distance seeing them was an act of faith." page 298 (Lovely!)

That's just a few random pages I flipped to.... there's so much to admire in Enger's writing! Truly a man who can write a story with an obvious Christian worldview to a wider audience. Excellent!

Since I finished this one (hooray!) I thought I'd pick up another novel to read and bought When She Woke  for my Kindle based on a recommendation from a friend. Ai Yi Yi! I am *sorely* disappointed. It's so bad, I've put it down for good without finishing. I usually try not to be too harsh about books I don't like, but this one really was shocking to me. Great premise but very poorly executed with an obvious political agenda. Contrived characters, forced dialogue, stilted writing.... you get the idea. From some reviews I've read I gather Ms. Jordan's first novel, Mudbound, was much, much better. 

So, now I think I'm off to bed to start Leaving Van Gogh.... a recommendation from a (different) friend that I hope gives better results.  

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Shower Invite

Shower Invitation!

I've been working on a shower invitation for a friend. (She's a hairdresser, hubby is a chef, and there's big sister Trinity.) I'm hosting it next month and need to (*GULP*) get the invitations out tomorrow. Tuesday at the latest! Well, I have the front designed and now I'm off to see how they print out.

Hope you all have had a lovely Sabbath day!

And, oh! I*Walked*Six*Miles*Today!! Hooray for me!

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Ducks, Crocheting & Poetry

So, yesterday hubby headed off into the wilds of Hatteras to duck hunt. He's roughing it in a little shack by the sea.

Hatteras

This a bit different conditions than Louisiana swamp-duck hunting.....

Brrr.....Bald, bald bunny, ain't got no fur!

Here he is bundled up against the 40 mph wind today.

Mare with her duck.

And here's his weekend hunting companion Mare with a mouthful of duck. :-) 

Girls Night In

Meantime, back at the ranch I had a "girls-night-in" with old friend S and two new friends O & L. They are delightful! O&L wanted to start some crochet projects so we're all working on this. It's been so fun to get to know them and to see how God is working in their lives. They remind me God is indeed faithful. 

January 2012 NC Poetry Society Meeting

Then today was the January NC Poetry Society meeting. It's always a wonderful, wonderful time. So inspiring, entertaining, and encouraging. S & I have been attending for a while and O decided to join us, too. The guest poet was Lola Haskins. Amazing! You can read some of her poems online here. I limited myself to just one book today and bought this book by her. She also did a workshop after lunch about editing your poetry. I learned a lot. 

Pencil Salt & Pepper Mills!

Finally, I came across these lovely goodies at CMYBacon from Frank Kerdil. Combining writing and food... Hmmmm..... What could possibly be better?!

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Drat!

Missed posting yesterday to keep the string going. Gah.....!

Ah, well.

CHeddar CHeese CHanuary!

We had our monthly neighborhood dinner last night: cheese soup, two salads, endive "tacos" appetizer, cheese & bacon bread, and apple dumplings with ice cream. Yum!! I love these people.... We've been at it for well over a year now....We meet once a month and rotate houses. We're up to six families. Each month we pick a theme, the host determines the menu, and we all bring a dish. This month was "CHedder CHeese CHanuary." Next month is My Big Fat Greek Valentines Day. Ha! We do costumes, too, as the mood strikes us. Togas are optional for February. :-)  Look for photos!

The Plant

This morning at work I climbed up (okay, it was more like walked up a ramp) to a high point and couldn't resist snapping a picture of the plant. The sky was so blue and I think all the shapes and lines are actually pretty. And I promise the smoke coming out of the stack is all good.... no bad stuff going into the air from our little plant! It's a good place. 

And here are a few funny doodle people I made during a telephone conversation at work today. My desk is usually full of doodles here and there!

Oh, and I am GLAD tomorrow is Friday! Blessings to you out there~

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Tuesday Treasures

Plant labels via Shine Your Light

Herb Tower via Cottage & Vine

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Egads!



My new easel!



Where did the day go? I looked up and it was Tuesday!! A great day off, though. I slept in (because I stayed up too late watching LOST...sigh....addiction is a hard place to be!) and then worked in the art room for a bit cleaning up, organizing, and yep! putting together my new easel. A friend gave me a giftcard to Amazon and I put a little more moola with it and *tada* I have a brand new easel!! I'm super excited about it but a little intimidated to know what to paint first. Needing a little inspiration here!!

The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, cooking, sipping coffee with a sweet friend, and getting ready for our first Life Group meeting of the year. (Getting ready for Life Group = scooping up dust bunnies from the corners and doing a fast dust-job in the living room!) All is good and life is lovely.

Forgot to post this yesterday, so count this as my post for Monday. Back soon with something for today.

(Yes indeed, one of my new year resolutions is to post daily.... at least for the first month or so..... to get back into the bloggin groove. This blog has been too important to me over the years to let it go and it seems that was what was happening last year. It's such a blessing to go back and see what the Lord has been doing in mine and my family's lives through this little  on-line home I've created.)

So have a lovely Monday-dressed-up-as-Tuesday, bloggy friends!

PS. Note the thingy on the corner of the white table. More to come on that..... once I've figured out how to use it, that is! :-)

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Q&A

I came across this great free font via eighteen25 from dafont.com called Sybil Green. Couldn't resist finding a Dr. Seuss quote and palette to try it out with.

Hope you have had a wonderfully blessed Sabbath day!

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Nice

Snagged from Swallowfield.

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Play

Moi!

A friend's 40th birthday party marked the end to a long, long week. I'm so glad it's the beginning of a 3-day weekend I could jump for joy! No, wait. I'm too tired to jump. How about cry?

Yes, that's better. I'm so glad it's the beginning of a 3-day weekend, I could cry. 

I'm looking forward to being home, enjoying family, relaxing, reading, "arting", and getting my house back into order. Amazing how quickly things can get out of shape around here. I cannot fathom how I used to do a better job of housekeeping with three small children in the house!!

I took a photo of myself before leaving for the party tonight and then played around with it in Photoshop Elements after getting home. I love the look I got with two or three different filters. The problem is - I never record what filters and settings I use to get results I like.... so it's hit or miss every time! Bleh.

Well goodnight, bloggy friends. Hope you are looking down the barrel at a very lovely and extra-long weekend, too!

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Seen This?

Came across this today..... Scribbler. Fun little thing to play with and gives me some inspiration, perhaps.

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Happy B-Day to E!

She's 19 today! Wow!

And making a go of it at a new school in her spiffy apartment with her furry little roommate, Annie.

This is the painting I worked on to surprise her with right after Christmas. It's of her favorite verse and was an early birthday present. She really likes it but it's still growing on me. I think I just looked at it too long. 

And Her Boy came through with probably the most beautiful flower arrangement I've ever seen. And cupcakes. One for mom, too! :o)

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Ah, well....

The Boy last night....

....they had a good time anyway! :-)

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Two Words

Only two words for today - Geaux Tigers!! :-) 

A Lot of Purple in the French Quarters Today!!

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My Day

Hello, bloggy friends! Fun day, today! Spent most of it in Raleigh with my girls getting the oldest one's apartment as homey as possible before classes start for her tomorrow. It's a cozy little place, I think. Safe (most importantly) and happy. Below is Mary while we were shopping in Pier 1 for something to sit in the middle of E's dining room table. Don't worry, we didn't buy the fork, but Mary HAD to have her picture taken with it! 

Mary with Giant Fork

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Annie waited patiently for our return...... It's a dog's life!!

A Dog's Life

Making it home just in time to drop Mary at Youth Group and off to the grocery store to buy food for tomorrow's training session at work, I hadn't even thought about what Mary and I would eat for dinner. Lucky Charms seemed like the best bet. But Tada!! The doorbell rang and there stood a neighbor's child with their Christmas Card and a plate of warm homemade tamales. Now, if that's not manna from heaven I don't know what is!! As an aside.... this particular neighbor has 8 (yes, not a typo, 8) children from 13 to 6 months and home schools them all. A sweet, precious military family that has filled our little cul-de-sac with hockey games and bicycle races again. Love them! 

Tamales from a Neighbor

Finally, instead of preparing for the training day at work tomorrow, I watched Margin Call and played around with one of the "road crack" photos I took during my walk yesterday. This is inspired by Carla Sonheim's "sidewalk cracks". 

Road Cracks

And here's my digital little critter that popped out at me from the cracks. (Smile) I think I'll try to find some time to taking a slant on this little fella with watercolors, maybe. 

Road Crack Digital Art

And, oh - I did indeed like Margin Call. I'm pretty sure I got it. Not being a business/money-minded person, I'm sure I missed a lot of the back-story. Great acting, good story. 

That's it for today. Off to bed and up at a disgracefully early hour in the morning. Blessings on your Sabbath Day, all!

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