Glorious weekend!

The main event yesterday was walking on the trail. I took a two mile walk, then made a trip to Walmart for some things, and then upon my return I decided to get my camera and return to the trail. As usual, I forgot to take my camera with me the first time, and since I had seen so many pretty flowers, I decided to go back and take some pictures. I only walked a mile the second time; just hitting the high points. I'd like to make a painting of the wild roses, so I tried to get some close-ups.

A lovely wild rose. This one would be a good model for my painting!

 

There were also lots of nice columbines.

Of course, poison ivy is always abundant. Leaves of three; let it be!

Looking down from the bike trail to the horse trail.

That way to the resort.

That country road parallels the trail for a few miles and you can see Lake Belletaine beyond it.

A shortcut to someone's lake home.

Purple vetch?

Well, that's a little proof that I actually took a walk!
Today was a full day. First was church. Our pastor left on a 3 week road trip (his vacation) right after church. He's traveling west to visit some national parks and he's traveling in his mini-van which he's converted into an RV! His wife didn't want to go. Too rustic for her, I think. So, he went solo. Sounds like fun to me!

After church I wandered around Nevis for our annual Nevis Bites 'n' Sites Day. There were lots of booths, rummage, crafts, fun activities for kids and adults. There was also live music from two stages. It lasted from noon-six, but I left before the end.

The high point of the Bites 'n' Sites was a community painting. They set up two easels and canvases, a selection of craft paints and brushes and told everyone to feel free to paint something. They had penciled in an outline of Minnesota, and we each added a little painting. You guessed it. I painted the loon. What else?

The lady in charge brought out that framed loon painting for me to use as a reference. I ended up just doing my own version. I was the first one to paint on the canvas, so I hogged the middle, lol.

The adult painting...

...and the kids' version.

 They were auctioned off and brought $30 each. The proceeds from all of the festival activities went to benefit the local food shelf. Oh, and I won a $20 certificate from the Iron Horse Bar and Grill! I think I'll pick up a box of chicken strips or something to share with Micah's crew.

This band of youngsters was fun to watch. I left when the older, more polished, performers took the stage.

 So, that was my weekend! Tomorrow morning is our monthly deli gal get-together and sometime later in the day I'm joining the other vacation Bible school volunteers to get things rolling. I think I'm going to need a planner from here on out! The pace of life is picking up, but that's a good thing!

Before I forget, this is a hoopoe I painted for one of my ATC friends. For you trivia buffs, the hoopoe is the national bird of Israel! :)

God bless you all! A little Bible reading and I'm off to bed.
Shalom!

Howdy!

Yay! A photo loaded! This is a painting I made for the monthly RAK (Random Act of Kindness) for a gal who had a surgery last month. These galaxy paintings are fun and pretty easy to make. If you want to give it a shot just type "galaxy painting" into the search box on YouTube. ;)

I've just been doing a lot of hanging out with Micah and the kids since last I visited. Babysitting and helping with housework. I'm blessed to have her nearby!

First and last day of Pre-K for Hazel.

Last day of 1st grade for Audrey!

Sully, sampling the ice cream.

I don't have a more recent photo of Adele, but this is cute, right? Grocery shopping at Walmart. :)

Adele just started a month of summer gymnastics, so I should have new photos of her soon.
The girls all have gymnastics and swimming lessons this summer, so Micah will be busy shuttling kiddos around. She loves to keep them involved! (They're blessed to have such a great mom!)

Did I show you this photo Micah made to announce her "expectancy" on Facebook?

She captioned it, "One of these things is not like the others."

Jordan and Brooke are traveling to Colorado at the end of the month to celebrate their first anniversary. Wow! That year went fast! They will stay at an AirB&B near Denver and will get in a visit with Jordan's older brother, Bob, who lives in Longmont. They're looking forward to just being tourists and seeing some of the places they've heard of from us older folks who used to live there.

Josh, Jess, Nathan and Starry seem to be doing well. Nathan was having some problems at school because of his bipolar/ADHD issues, so they are doing some summer homeschooling. If that goes well they may continue homeschooling in the fall. Josh and Jess are doing the Goodreads challenge along with me, and they just decided to read some classics such as Tom Sawyer. They're sounding positive, praise God!

Some ATCs I've finished lately...

This one was for the "House Shaped ATC" swap, so the card has to be shaped like a house, but otherwise you can do just about anything.

 Here are a few more house-shaped ATCs.

Yeah, I'm really into the galaxies lately, lol.

The gal I talked about in my last post, who wanted to minister to widows, never called and didn't show up this Sunday. SO, I decided to be a big girl and strike out on my own. I stayed for the business meeting after the service. That was a great way to learn in-depth just what the church is involved in and where they need help. I'm really glad I went. Afterwards I visited with some of the ladies and volunteered to help with vacation Bible school and with the ladies' missions group. I'm especially excited about the ladies' missions. It sounds like they are very active all year long with lots of projects that I would love to be a part of. This is such a hands-on church. A majority of the congregation seem to be very involved in helping. I learned that the pastor and his wife are trying to retire. Aw! But the Lord can bring someone else along who will carry on. Something to pray about! His retirement is contingent on selling their house. They will then move 15 miles down the road to live closer to their children. Can't blame them for wanting to do that! And maybe they'll be around for a while yet.

I think that's all the news for now. I did laundry and took a 30 minute walk down the trail while the clothes were washing. I've got to get better at doing that. Too much sitting! The weather was beautiful. We're having a nice summer so far.

You all enjoy your summer weather! I'm off to read blogs. ;)

Shalom and love!

Happy Sunday!

I thoroughly enjoyed my second Sunday at my new church! You guys must be thinking, "What's the big deal?" but I've been missing this kind of fellowship for years. Especially the "small country church" atmosphere. The Lord has been good to me by leading me to this little church. Today a couple sat in front of me, who I know a little. A couple of years ago I told you about a gal who had an art gallery across the street from my little apartment at the time. We had visited about our mutual interest in art. I also knew that she and her husband were Christians. Today she told me they usually only attend this church occasionally because her in-laws go there. But the Lord had been impressing on them that they needed to become part of a local body of believers instead of commuting to one in another town. We had both gotten this same message from the Lord! She also said the Lord had laid it on her heart to minister to local widows. I told her I would love to be part of that! She is an introvert, like me, and said she always tends to overthink things, like a widows ministry, and make them too big and complicated and then she just doesn't have the nerve to do them. Me too! We found we are quite the kindred spirits in many ways, and this week we'll be getting together to brainstorm ideas for this ministry. I'm so excited! I see many new friendships developing. I had told the Lord I would need a push and some direction to get me involved in this church, and He answered my prayers so perfectly and quickly. Hallelujah! I'm sure you'll be hearing more soon. ;)

Well, I had big plans to include some photos that my computer had refused to upload earlier, but it looks like it's still being balky. So, no photos for now!

We've had a crowded weekend at the RV park, but now it's cleared out a bit. It's been hot and humid this week. Thank goodness the AC is working well.

I guess I'll catch up on some reading. Currently, I'm reading Mere Christianity and I got a book from the library on Wales. I'm not sure how I'll like it, but I'll give it a perusal. I've also been trying to organize my art and Bible notes and get all my little note scraps transcribed into notebooks. These are just little composition notebooks in which I add notes at random. Nothing complex or sophisticated, but I know they're in there when I feel like reading through them. I spent a great deal of time a while back creating an "Idea Notebook". It has a special section for each "area of interest" in my life. It's so organized, and so BIG that I never touch it. I much prefer slim little composition notebooks full of notes in no particular order. It's fun to read them later and find little gems I had forgotten about. :) And they're easy to handle instead of hauling out a giant 3-ring binder. Note to self: Quit getting sucked into trying to do things the way someone else does them. Do what works for your own quirky self!

I think I'm going to go slurp down my purple smoothie (banana, blueberry, raspberry, Super Blend (veggies) and almond milk) and do some reading.

Have a great Memorial Day, everyone!
Shalom!

Finally feeling like summer...

Looks like we'll be in the 80's this week. Hopefully, my landlord will get the cover off of my air conditioner in case I need to use it. I try to do without it. I don't like the noise and that "air conditioner smell" in the air. Also, I like to have the windows open so I can hear outside sounds.

Okay. An experiment. Will Blogger let me post pictures?
Yes! These are cards I made for a Pointillism swap.

Before I forget, Gretchen, I've been trying to post comments on your blog and I keep getting an error message. I just wanted you to know I am reading and enjoying your blog, but I just can't leave comments for some reason. Wah. ;)

As I may have mentioned (more than once?) I haven't been going to church much since Bob passed away 4-1/2 years ago. I just feel awkward and also, I don't like the long drive to the church we were going to. I just feel like I'll never get really involved if I have to drive that far several times a week. I made that commute enough times over the 13 years I worked in the deli. Anyway, this past Sunday I got my courage up and attended the little Church of Christ right here in Nevis. I really liked it! There were maybe 50-60 people and it's a very friendly little church. I think it's about time I get to know some local Christians and find out how I can get involved. Since I homeschooled my kids and then went to work full-time in a neighboring town, I never really got to know people in my own town. I'd like to remedy that and also get involved at the school since my grandkids will all go there. I'm looking forward to it!

Here's an old 1955 photo of the Church of Christ.

And this is what it looks like now. I found these on Google images. Lots of additions! :)

It's a quirky little church building, which kind of matches the congregation. They have Sword Drills where the congregants race to see who can find a scripture first. They keep track of points because someone is going to win a prize! The pastor is an exuberant preacher of the pure gospel, and has a sense of humor. As the offering basket is passed he reminds newcomers to fill out an information card and put it in the basket, "Especially if your name is LISA!" Newcomers also go home with a loaf of homemade bread, provided by the ladies of the church. It's a very casual group. No airs of sophistication here. Music is the pastor's wife on the piano and the singing of a few hymns. Refreshingly simple. Can you tell I like it? My first challenge will be learning names. Not my strong point, so I hope they're patient. :)

Here's a little nuthatch I made for a swap. The other three cards weren't my favorites, so I'll just post this one. 

I babysat Sully, Adele and Hazel today for several hours while Micah spent 3 hours with Audrey at school. It was "Field Day" and Audrey got a first place in the 50 yard dash! Tomorrow, Micah has a meeting with her midwife in a town about 45 minutes away. I'll watch Hazel and Micah will take the two youngest with her. That should be easier for me! If she doesn't get back by 3, Hazel and I will go and pick Audrey up from school. Always juggling kids and schedules! :) Micah's having a hard time with morning sickness so I'm getting back in the swing of helping out with housework to relieve her of some of the burden. I really do enjoy creating order out of chaos, lol.

Well, it's getting late and I would be wise to get to bed. I've enjoyed checking out everyone's blogs tonight.

God bless us every one!
Shalom.

A good day was had...

It was a beautiful, sunny, not-too-hot day. It was the first day in a long time that I've actually felt like getting outside and doing something! Yay!

I gathered up my laundry (bedding, thrift store clothing I just bought, and what little I had in the laundry basket) and headed to the laundromat by 9. I read while my laundry was in process. I'm reading Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton. More about that later...if I remember. After the laundry was finished I went for a two mile walk. Longer than I had intended, but you know how it goes. You feel good; then you realize you have to walk all the way back! But, no serious side-effects. I've been so sedentary lately that I wanted to be careful about overdoing. After the walk I went home, had a snack, and then planted some annuals in pots for my deck. That's all the gardening I intend to do this summer. They will beautify my outside spot, and who knows how long I'll be here. The flowerbeds didn't do well last year, so I'll just enjoy my petunias, marigolds and violas! I also worked on some ATCs. So, it was an eventful day for me.

The petunias are called Blueberry Muffin!

It looks like my pictures are still taking forever to load, so this may be a text heavy post!

My step-daughter sent me a little cash gift for Mother's Day, so I decided to do some thrift shopping. I found a pretty rust colored throw with maple leaves on the border, a cute couch pillow, a baby quilt and car seat cover, (We in the north need one of those and Micah is expecting her fifth in December!) and several cute summer tops. And, a couple of vintage puzzles that will be fun to play with.  I'll see if I can upload some photos. Come on uploader!

Nope. Sorry. My internet connection makes me want to pull out my hair sometimes, grrr. I can't figure out why I can get from one website to another, but the uploader doesn't want to work. Hopefully, this problem will go away eventually and I'll try to post some pics of thrift items and book sale booty.

One book I really love is a giant coffee table book called "India". It's packed full of gorgeous pictures and information about India. (Ten pounds of book for 50 cents! Can't beat that!) There was also a Boy Scout Handbook from the '70's that's so much fun to peruse. I got a copy of Mere Christianity, though I already have a copy in The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics. I like to have a stand-alone copy and I can give it away when I finish it.

The May Sarton book was also from the sale. I had heard about it from a homesteading person on YouTube. May Sarton wrote this book, Journal of a Solitude, in the early '70's when she was about the same age I am now. She was an author/poet who lived in Connecticut. Her lifestyle sounds very much like Gladys Taber's, except that she suffered from depression in the extreme.  I'm only about 55 pages into it, but I'm admiring her ability to try and find ways to deal with her depression rather than giving into it. I've struggled with this problem most of my life, though maybe not to the degree she did, so it's interesting to look at her life and read about her thoughts and feelings. And she's very good at putting them into words. I'm still unsure of how deep her walk with God was, though she mentions Him now and then. She mentions listening to Vaughan Williams' Mass and says, "There are days when only religious music will do. Under the light of eternity things, the daily trivia, the daily frustrations, fall away. It is all a matter of getting to the center of the beam." I look forward to reading more. (After reading more I find she has some very "open-minded" ideas about "relationships", so my admiration has been tarnished a bit. But I'll probably read further unless things get worse.)

Some other titles I picked up are:
*Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
*Two picture books about France-Provence and Tuscany
*The Pickwick Papers-Dickens (Anyone read it? Is it worthwhile?)
*Chinese Lessons by John Pomfret (five classmates and the story of the new China)
*100 Bible Stories-nice little one page Bible stories with glorious colored illustrations
*Motiba's Tatoos-Mira Kamdar (a history of an American-born girl's family from India)
*Bible Dictionary
*Eerdman's Family Encyclopedia of the Bible
*A Jan Karon novel
*The Journals of Lewis and Clark
*Treasure Island
*A Shortened History of England-Trevellyan
*A few children's books

A picture sure would be worth a thousand words right about now!

I'll let you rest your eyes now. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're enjoying the great outdoors. We're supposed to get record rains on Thursday and Friday. I guess we don't want things to get too dry, right? That's never a good idea.

Shalom to all!

A good Mothers Day!

Micah posted this photo of Sully yesterday with the caption, "Getting ready to play some sweet jazz."
Her brother, Josh, replied, "Nothing sweet ever came out of a recorder..." LOL. Bad childhood experiences.

My kiddos (Micah and family) took me out for Chinese for my Mother's Day (and Micah's). It was fun and I found several options that I could eat. Afterwards, we took the kids to play at a park and took a little walk.

I got phone calls from all four of my sons and sent lots of greetings via Facebook. All-in-all, it was a great day.

I also spent some time at the library book sale on Thursday, but my computer is uploading pictures SO SLOWLY tonight, I think I'll try again later. Right now, I'm tired! Think I'll be off to bed. I hope you all had a great Mother's Day!

Tomorrow morning is the monthly get together for my old workmates. Yay!

God bless and shalom to all!