Just add water.

Micah has been taking swimming lessons for several months now. I really was impressed at how much he has learned.  

Watch me gramma!



swim,



swim.



did you see me gramma?

I will swim to you now.

Here he comes.

He was so proud of himself.  I was too.

As he is jumping off to his daddy he is yelling CANNONBALL!



If you look closely, you can see some water in his goggles.  The boy swam his little heart out.



A big bowl of random and one useful tip.

We celebrated my sisters 60th birthday.

Started making a quilt which explains the very messy sewing/craft/office/junk room below.

I told you it was messy, but quilting is not for the folks who are tidy and neat and don't like messes. I am hoping to make this
to trade for the above mentioned red chair.

Here comes the useful tip.  Did you know that bananas ripen slower when they are torn apart from their stems?
I have had these for one week now and they are not all brown spotted-y and mushy yucky.  Just thought I would share this piece of fruit info with you.  YOU ARE WELCOME.

And, finally, I had my first home grown tomato of the summer, thanks to a friend.
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings. 

Tea cart

My father in law gave me this tea cart.  I am not a big fan of oak.  I do, however love the painted furniture look.  I trotted off to Lowes in search of a paint color.  I am not married to any of them right now, in fact I am not even in love.  I just grabbed a few of the colors that caught my eye at first glance.  I was hoping for love a first sight, but so far......nothin'.  I am open to any and all suggestions.

Here are the color choices.

The tea cart. The rollings wheels will not be easy to paint.  I am actually even thinking about spray
painting it instead of using a brush. I hope that whatever color I choose comes in spray paint.

Both sides open up and make a small table. 

I am not usually an indecisive person.  Now that I see the colors on the table, I am not in love with the pinky colors. They didn't look that shade of pink again the white walls at Lowes.  I thought it was coral color.  Any thoughts?  I would also like to use CHALK paint, but I have no idea where to find it.  Does Home Depot of Lowes sell it?  This will probably be more of  project than I can handle, but I will give it a try.  Do I need to sand the table first before painting?   I will post pictures of the finished project.

Hands Down

Time again to make another stepping stone for my yard. A willing 4 year old, who informed me that he is almost 5.
I still choose to be in denial over that.  He was excited to get started.

He is chosing the beads to add to the stone. He asked me why I had so many beads and if I was a jewelry maker.

Here's the cutie ready to get started.  The process is much more fun if you have 3 Hershey Kisses to get things rolling.
He ask if he could put one of them in the cement stone because it is silvery and sparkley like the other beads.

Getting down to business.

Placing each bead with care.

He told me that this is going to be the most beautiful stepping stone ever.  I think he's right.

The hand prints, forever in stone make me smile.  He made sure that I had a bowl of clean water to wash his hands
immediately after pulling them up from the cement.



Here he is... The sweet little boy and all the steps documenting his growth.



I LOVE each one and that sweet little boy. 

Thou shalt not covet thy sister's chair....

How do I love thee, let me count the ways.

I went to my sisters last weekend to celebrate another sisters birthday.
I went out onto her patio and there she was in all her rickety old redness. This chair. O how I love thee. I really think it needs to come home and live on my front porch. I just need to convince my sister of this.  If it weren't hotter than the surface of the sun outside the day of the party I would have sat in it all day.  And, if it would have fit in my car,it just may have turned up missing from her patio, but since not stealing is also a commandment, I left without it.  She and I like to trade possessions and maybe I have something that she just can't live without.  I did however leave her house with a lot of polka dot dishes. Perhaps she will forget that she gave them to me and I can trade her for the chair.   Thank you sister for hosting such a great party and your gracious hospitality and  just maybe  the red chair.  :)

As American as apple pie.

July 4th. A day we choose to remember our nation and be thankful for our freedoms.

A great reason to celebrate. 

Getting ready for July 4th celebrating.

She's a GRAND ole' flag.

This is a little sailor suit that my husbands grandmother made from his
dads old Navy uniform.  I just love it.  I have a photo of him wearing it as a wee baby.

The back.  Actual buttons and patches.

Refreshing ice water with raspberries.  The flavored water is so tasty and when the water is gone, the raspberries are so cold and yummy.

It doesn't get much more American than this.  Hot dog and watermelon.

No apple pie here, just this goodness.

We watched fireworks at a local high school. Before the firework show started. A pastor of a local church prayed the sweetest prayer for our nation, our president and gave thanks for our freedom.  A  band played the nationl anthem and the giant crowd stood for the pledge or allegience to our flag.  It brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat. I am truly proud to be an American.
A grand Indepedence day.  Hope you had fun celebrating with family and friends.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

Red, White and Blue.

The holiday that we celebrate our great nation.

ENJOY!

  

Hope your July 4th holiday was full of fun.