Beginning Another Monday

Mornin', all!

Let's see...today I thought I'd show you some fun things I picked up while at the Pomona Antique Mall. My friend, Debbie from Scrapping Lounge took me there on Friday last week. I had a project to work on at her store, but I forgot my glasses and couldn't see a thing!! So her sweet daughter manned the store and we escaped for an hour or so.

Debbie has a favorite stall at the Antique Mall where everything is $1.00. Yep, you heard right-one dollar!! I was all over it. Places like this fascinate me. Where did this seller get all this stuff?? It looked like someone had gone to a billion estate sales, emptied out desk drawers into boxes and then put it in the Antique Mall to sell. I LOVE rooting around to find things so this was a blast!

I found a 1937 Sunset Magazine, the 1957/58 Catalogue of the National Ballet of Canada, and the April, 1921 Magazine of The Modern Priscilla.

From the Sunset Magazine:

Ha! I remember the first time I tried to make gravy. It seriously looked like Alpo. Yes, I have improved since then...

Do we ever get over this horrible condition??

Here are some pictures from the Canadian Ballet-get ready, they are a little scary!

Here is the front page of the "Modern Priscilla":

Why, I do believe Miss Priscilla was a blogger of sorts. Here is an excerpt from her magazine:

"Just now it seems to me I must have a loom...." "There are my cunning parchment candle-shades that I can't wait to finish, a pair of candle sticks to be my first attempt at the lovely lustre painting."

She then adds, "It is a joyful but purse-emptying job, this building a PRISCILLA magazine..."

Some things never change-decorating, the love of crafting and building something we want to see happen.

Have a great Monday!

~Lynn

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Today I began my day by taking pictures of what was actually growing in my yard. Not much in August out here, let me tell you!! But here is what I came up with:

I cut several gardenias and they are in my kitchen, smelling so heavenly! Then I saw just a few roses from Brenna's bush. (Each girl has a rose bush we planted when they were born. Brenna's is yellow, Lauren's is pink.)

Then, just some Daliahs in a small pot. They are so faithful to come back up every year. It's like greeting an old friend!

I decided to cut the hydrangeas, in hopes that they might bloom again. They were looking a little sad on the bush this year. I don't know, maybe because the PUPPY kept digging a hole right by it's roots? Sigh. Anyway, they look great in an urn in the house. Usually I like to let them turn from pink to green and then wait until Sept. to cut them as they tend to turn the most beautiful mauve. Maybe next year, when the puppy isn't so much a puppy!

What grows in your garden during the end of summer??

Have a great day!

~Lynn

p.s. here's a look at the puppy. He is the one on the right. I know, how could something so cute be so destructive. HA!

Monday

Hey, all!! It is Monday, isn't it??! Groceries, phone calls, catching up, etc. We moved Lauren into college over the weekend and I am proud to say she is thriving all ready and we are adjusting. AND everything fit into the dorm room. Good grief, those rooms are small.

Here is some fun news!!!!! Go over to my new friend, Jan's blog: thepolkadotbarn.blogspot.com... It's the best place, ever! And, she is doing a give away for HER birthday-how crazy fun is that?! She is super fun and creative and has a great sense of humor. What else do you need for an A+ blog???

Let's see, in honor of Halloween, I will switch to orange type. Halloween??? Yep, I am going to the Sweet and Sinister swap with Kari Ramstrom at artsymama.blogspot.com

She is one talented lady!! It looks like so much fun. I am starting a list of what I can put together and send to my partner....banners, dominoes,candy, the list could be endless!!

I also have a list a mile long going on of what I would like to be working on...I'm thinking that will happen after Brenna goes back to school!!! So much to try and do!!

What's on your list to create??

Have a fabulous Monday!

~Lynn

Five Days and Counting...

Five days and counting until my husband and I take our eldest to college for the first time. Ever. I vacillate between thinking, "Oh, this will be fine-I'll be just fine." to thinking I am going to barf. Thank heavens she is only 2hrs. away. In San Diego. On the beach. Not bad...My husband says we have a new time share. It's a dorm room in San Diego! You would think the accommodations would be a little nicer for the price tag, but the view sure is killer!!

I do believe (one of ) the hardest parts of my daughter leaving will be watching her say good-bye to her younger sister. I know, I know, she will be home on weekends, holidays, etc. My mom recalls my oldest sister going to college and she said it seemed like my sister was home more than she was away! Oh, but these two....I wish you could see them together. When they were younger, they definitely had their times of disagreement and differences, but there is a sweetness to their relationship now that only the two of them share. They might be light years apart as far as knowledge, abilities, etc. but don't let that fool you. There is a connection that just isn't definable. It will be the every-day-ness of seeing each other that will be sorely missed. So, we have plans: ichat, a notebook to be mailed back and forth, and I have no problem in taking my youngest out of school for the day to go and visit her big sister!

I know by God's grace, we will all weather through this monumental change. My child will grow into the adult she should become. She will have incredible life experiences during these next four years. So much fun and excitement ahead, don't you think?! Ah, but the growing up and away part.....well, she knows we are always here, ready and available.

Even though she will need our direction less and less, we are a family forever. Those ties will never be broken, and there is a road that will always lead to home.

O.K. I'm done being sad. (I'm telling you, my emotions are all over the place!!) Here are the exciting parts about where she will be. Did I mention the killer view?? The school is literally right on the coast. This view is right outside the cafeteria:

Do you all remember doing laundry on your own for the first time? I remember when I washed a permanent black marker with all my clothes one time. Boy, was I shocked when I went to put the load in the dryer! Oh, my the things she will experience: classes, laundry, new friends, a job on campus, new points of view... the possibilities are endless!

So, my sweet daughter, God's blessings upon you. May you grow in Him and follow the path He has before you. May you find joy and grace to meet what comes your way. Spread your wings and fly. I love you.

Mom

How Do You Play Dominos?

I used to play Mexican Train. With our neighbors. With my family. Until one day, my oldest sister came to town with stamps. And Stayz On Ink Pads. And Prisma Colored Pencils. And Diamond Glaze. Did I mention she brought stamps? The next time Brenna came up to me and said, "Mom, can we play dominoes?" I had to confess to her that all of our dominoes were altered. Severely. "What? MOOOOOM!!" was the cry heard 'round the world. Now, our dominoes look like this:

AND THIS

And This!!!

So, now you know. I alter my children's toys and don't replace them.

And I alter Mah Jong Tiles and have never bothered to learn how to play! Have a fabulous day!!~Lynn

"All art requires courage."

As, promised, I would like to show you some projects I have worked on. I have to admit, I always feel a little shy showing people what I have made. Not only are there the usual thoughts of, "will they like it?" but I have so much emotion in each piece I create! 

For instance, I started the small art journal to try my hand at inchies and memorize scripture. I hate memorizing things-I can't even remember what I wore yesterday. The process was amazing. I looked up definitions of say, rest: "relief or freedom especially from anything that wearies troubles or disturbs." Then I would search for pictures from different places to describe words. Do I recall the scripture? No. But I have something beautiful to look back on and remind me of the time I spent creating it.

Then the journal began to take on it's own path. (No surprise there!) I heard a song by Nicole Nordeman called Gratitude during a time when a friend's child was going through some enormous medical struggles, and this page came of reading about their situation.

With this entry, I was going through a time of learning to ask for help, which is something I'm not very good at. The quote is from a book I read by Alice Hoffman. (Great author!) It says, "The real problem is that the strategy she previously used to get through her life is being blown to pieces bit by bit, minute by minute." I love how someone can craft a sentence that cuts straight to the problem and defines it so well.

I am thinking I will post the rest later, something to look forward to doing and to collect my thoughts around the photos a little more. I have someone asking me to do shrinkie-dinks, her friend yelling down the stairs while the dog is barking and chasing both of them, one trying to sleep (hahahahaHA), and dinner to get to!!

Have a great day!

~Lynn

Endless Summer

Hi friends!

Well, my "endless summer" has come to somewhat of a halt. I have done laundry and actually put it away instead of putting it right back into our suitcases. I prefer suitcases over dressers any day. Now it is back to reality: getting Lauren ready for college on Aug 21, coming to and realizing Brenna begins school Aug. 25. 

We had three blissful weeks of being with friends and family. The first ten days were spent camping. Now, I am not normally a camping sort of a person. At all. I don't like tents, I hate bugs, and you still have to cook. What kind of a vacation is that? Well. If you go with friends who have a beautiful R.V. and go down to the beach, it sure makes a world of difference. We spent days in the sun, played games, laughed 'til we cried, got water logged, slept and read, and all the food was fabulous, (especially when we went out!) 

Someone always has to be buried in the sand!

   Brenna chillin' on a boat ride.

 Ferris wheels at night.

The beach is where we feel most at home. My girls have always loved the sand and the water, they took to it early on!

After the beach camping, Lauren and I were able to take a road trip to Northern Calif. to visit my sister and her partner. We were SO excited to go! We stopped at Starbucks, and drove straight through. (6 hrs, 20 min.) The downside to driving straight through is that I had a massive attack of sciatica and spent two days at my sister's chiropractor. At least the dr. got me adjusted so that I could walk. Sort of. I woke Lauren up one morning by falling out of bed, as my leg would NOT cooperate. She would tell you it is not her favorite way to awaken out of a deep sleep. We didn't get to the antique stores we had planned, I didn't create with my sister the way we love to do, but if you have to be layed up for a couple of days, her place is the place to be:

This is the pool house we stay in.

Dinner under the gazebo is pretty nice, if I do say so myself!

Here are some views of the yard and garden.

O.k., just one more. I know, I know, how sad for me to be layed up here on our vacation.

Thanks for letting me share the summer highlights with all of you!

~Lynn