Monday, November 25, 2013

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Friday, November 15, 2013

Recent finishes

I have been trying to use up some yarn stash .... here are a couple of baby blankets I've made in the last couple of months.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

GMG: Thanksgiving = Day 2

Well, I'm keeping up with the study so far .. day 2 of 2.  yeah me.

Today's verse is Psalm 100: 1 - 5 ... that's a whole chapter .. just 5 verses long.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Shout, Worship, Come, Know, Enter, Give.

Be loud in your worship of god.
Be close to God to learn about him.
Enter his presence and Give thanks.

Thoughts?

Monday, November 11, 2013

Cold but Beautiful

just now

I'm trying again ...

I have a terrible time keeping up with bible studies.  I'm trying one more time.  This time it's just a 2 week study .. So I am trying to be hopeful that I will be able to finish it!

Would you like to join me ?


Here is the focus verse for day 1


You can see the full day 1 devotional on the Good Morning Girls Blog.  <<< CLICK ....




Saturday, September 14, 2013

Recent knits

These were all made from one skein of sock yarn.  I used just a bit of a scrap to finish the last hat.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Card I made.

Here is a card I made using a thank you card that I received for the artwork. I used my Cricut to cut the shapes.

Monday, August 19, 2013

A Little Catch Up

I really haven't written in awhile, and no good excuse except not knowing what to write about.

I figured you might enjoy seeing a few recent photos ... From the last couple of days we have ..

This morning's harvest.
It really isn't that much.  The garden is pretty pitiful .. I have like 10 summer squash/zucchini plants, as well as a dozen tomato plants and half a dozen green pepper plants .. You can see NO peppers ... only a few little tomatoes .. and those are 99% from the volunteer plants and not from the ones I planted!  Green beans are doing fair ... but not the production I'd expect from the amount of plants I have ... and two cucumbers ..   With the exception of the green beans and the summer squash .. the other plants are very small .. tomato plants are minuscule compared to a normal summer ... I watered this morning .. and it's supposed to get hotter this week - so hopefully that will help things grow a bit ...

Here's a photo of my orchid with all three buds open... very pretty....

And here are three new items for the garden that Rob and I selected yesterday ... Aren't they cute?


A crochet project I finished .. a baby afghan.


Some roses Rob bought me a week or so ago ...


Not a great picture - but decent.  That's Rob standing behind them.

That's about it for now ... :)  See YA !

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Toe Up 2 at a time socks

Here are my socks that I am currently knitting.  New technique knitting both socks at the same time on a single circular needle.

ORCHID!!!!

I haven't written in awhile, but I though I should share this with you.

We received an orchid from dh's dad as a house warming present a couple of years ago ... and it was beautiful.  I hadn't been able to get it to bloom again .. but I repotted it earlier this summer, and gave it a wash of fertilizer .. and guess what .. it's bloomed!  Here is a picture of it as the first flower opened :)
Isn't it beautiful?


Thursday, June 20, 2013

Theater Flowers and Garden

You may know that I volunteer at Memories on occasion.  I just finished up helping out as Stage Manager for "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks".  Here is a shot on the last night of the Director and the actor/actress :)  They did a great job and I'm glad I was a part of it.

This has been a really bad year for getting the garden off. The best of the bunch are the pots I planted with purchased flowers.


 The following picture is of a tiered pot that I also used purchased flowers for ... if you look at the bottom, there are three plants in that tier.  Two wave petunias and a verbena ... Well, the rabbit got to the wave petunias ... but I'm happy to say they are growing back .. just may be the end of summer before they bloom for me!  Ah well .. such is life, right?

Just a couple of weeks ago we took out two 'arbs' that were against the house on the edge of the patio.  It looks so much better without them.  I'll miss the robin that nested in the one closest to the house .. but we really like the more openness it gives us.

As I was mowing this side of the house this morning, I was struck by how pretty the red & greenish yellow & white were ... It's a bit overgrown .. needs trimming .. but it's pretty.

The really sad part of my yard is the vegetable garden.  It's in the 'valley' part of the yard, where it stays very wet and cooler, and the plants just haven't gotten much of a start ... Here's my raised bed that we put in last year .. I've planted carrots and green beans here ... I've replanted the beans a couple of times. (Today I put more seeds in the open spots)  It's growing .. but so slowly ....

And this is the large garden ... From closest to the camera to furthest away ... tomatoes & green peppers, green beans, corn and summer squash and some cucumbers as well.  These were all planted over a month ago and they've barely grown at all .. It's just been too cool and wet for them to grow .. I'm seeing some growth, but again .. so slow.

This weekend is supposed to be hot .. so hopefully that will kick start the plants to get some growth on.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Everyday Birding

It's amazing what all this water everywhere will do! :)  I saw three very nice birds today .. two are new to me for the year .. actually, I think they are lifers! That means I've never seen them before.

Coming home from lunch with Rob, I saw this bird in the bush by the pond coming into our subdivision.

Belted Kingfisher.

and then later, when DS1 and I were leaving to get him to his Biology classe, I saw these ..

Hooded Mergansers

And then when I was coming home just a little bit later from a run to Menards and Walmart.

A Sandhill Crane.

These were all in the two ponds that flank the road coming into our subdivision!  Isn't that something!?!?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Nearly Gluten Free Oatmeal Choc. Chip Cookies

So I saw this recipe on facebook. It looked really good and I was "dying" for a cookie! :)  I figured I'd try it out today. :)  Mine aren't totally gluten free, as my MILK chocolate chips have a trace of wheat warning in them, but they are flourless!

Mix in the bowl ....

Put onto the stones before baking ....


After Baking .. mine took about 14 or 15 minutes ... cold stones usually take a bit longer .. but less time for hot stones...

Don't they look delicious! 
This is the full recipe.  We got 18 cookies ... 2 Tbsp sized scoop ... and they were so good!  They are mostly gone now .. not even sure dh will get a single one.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

A Confident Heart by Renee Swope

So I will be starting a new bible study ... called "A Confident Heart" by Renee Swope.

Also .. this week, I'm doing the 7-day Doubt Diet which is available on her website as a companion to the "Confident Heart" study.

I thought I'd list some of the bible verses that I have read today related to this study.

But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. Jeremiah 17:7 NLT

—“See, I am doing a new thing!” “I am working all things together for good, because you love me and are called according to my purpose.” “All things are possible to [her] who believes” (Isa. 43:19; Rom. 8:28; Mark 9:23 NASB).

Rom. 12:2

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14 NASB).

Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (NASB),

A prayer from the devotional ...

Praying God’s Promises Lord, I pray that You would give me a confident heart in Christ. Take me beyond believing in You to truly believing You. Help me rely on the power of Your promises and live like they are true. You say blessed is the one who trusts in You and whose hope and confidence are found in You. Those who hope in You will not be disappointed, because You work all things together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. When self-doubt tells me I can’t overcome my insecurities, I will believe Your promise that all things are possible to whoever believes. I will not throw away my confidence, because You say it will be richly rewarded. I will persevere so that when I have done the will of God, I will receive what You have promised. My confidence is in Christ and I am no longer one who shrinks back and is destroyed, but one who believes and is saved! In Jesus’ name, Amen. (See Jeremiah 17:7; Isaiah 49:23; Romans 8:28; Mark 9:23; Hebrews 10:35–36, 39.)
“Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isa. 49:23).
“See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isa. 43:19). “And we know that
in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
“All things are possible to [her] who believes” (Mark 9:23 NASB).
 “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?”  “Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live” (vv. 2–3 NIV).
Food for thought: So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36, (NIV)
Lord, I want to become a woman with a confident heart in Christ. Show me how to recognize when I’m tempted to throw away my confidence. And please help me throw away my insecurity instead. I want the reward of persevering in Your truth so that when I have done Your will, I will receive what You have promised. I don’t want to be a woman who shrinks back and is destroyed but one who believes and is saved. When doubt or insecurity tells me I can’t do something, I will remember that all things are possible to her who believes. In Jesus’ name, Amen. (See Hebrews 10:35–36, 39; Mark 9:23)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter Birding

Rob and I went for a walk this afternoon at Harrington Beach State Park ... it was a nice walk, especially the parts that we were blocked from the wind.  It was quite windy later this afternoon, but with all the trees at the park, it was beautiful.  While walking we talked to a couple of other walkers, and they mentioned they had seen some Swans on County Road A  just south of Belgium, so we drove the long way home so that I could see them. :)



As a bonus, we saw a couple of Redheads (ducks).  These are both new for my list for the year :)

A good "last day" of vacation with dh.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Bandera Trip Birding

I was recently in the Bandera, TX area and took several Bird photos.  I am posting some here, but you can see all of the photos in my facebook album here.

I'll tell you what I think they are, but please comment if you know something I don't, or even if you have an opinion of any kind on these photos! :)

These are ducks or geese .. really, I don't know .. the bill looks "duck" to me. It's possible these are snow geese?

 Another mystery duck.  I've been trying to find an ID using an online bird ID webpage and my Golden Field Guide, but I haven't really come up with anything.  Perhaps a whistling duck os some kind?




Here are some really interesting ducks.  Again, I think it may be a whistling duck, but it doesn't match the photos I've been looking at.  The "black eye" (it's really brownish in color) is very unique.



 
Here are some geese or ducks .. another mystery ... these birds really made me feel like I know nothing about birding IDs.


Very interesting Geese ... A variety of colorations .. Believe it's a Muscovy Duck.


There were numerous of these grackles around.  I believe they are Great-Tailed Grackles because of the females, which I didn't get a picture of.

Mourning Dove - sorry for the blurry pic .. it's taken from a video shot.

Turkey Vulture. Saw lots of these and Black Vultures (second pic) as well.

I think this is a starling .. but not sure. Pic is from a video again .. that's why it's blurry.

Some type of hawk in these next couple of photos.


I believe this is a Great Blue Heron .. didn't get a very good look at it .. but fairly sure on this one.

More of the mystery geese ... Someone help!  I do believe the leftmost and the white one are Brown Chinese Ducks (most certainly the left most one is)

Wild Turkey!

 My first thought on this one was Mocking Bird ... but it doesn't quite fit the white patches of a mocking bird on it's wings... help appreciated.


Swans .. wish I could figure out what type.

Cute squirrel pic :)

Northern Cardinal

Mystery Duck again .. possibly a Coot or a Black Duck ?


Sorry for all the non-IDs ... wish I had more knowledge about these.