Joy

Have you ever seen a happier boy? Brittany sent me this picture of our Noah last week. They were out the county fair and he was having the time of his life.

I pick Brittany and Noah up at the airport tomorrow at about noon, then we are headed over to Pendleton for my Grandparents 70th Anniversary party. 70 YEARS! What an incredible feat. If Paul Harvey were still alive, I'm sure that my Grandparents names would make his show this week. It's going to be such a fun weekend, filled with family family family. I am one of six kids and all of us are going to be there this weekend for the first time in about 8 years, along with aunts, uncles and cousins. With Noah there, we will have 5 generations represented. Can't forget to take a generation picture....

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Catch ya later~

Solitude

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

Animal Planets Untamed & Uncut

UPDATE: THIS SHOW WAS PUSHED BACK AND RE-SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 2ND. GRRRR!!!
On Sunday, July 26th at 6pm Pacific time, Animal Planet will be airing the Untamed and Uncut episode that Riff, Sam, Kevin, my brother-in-law, Ron and nephew, Nick are on rescuing the cow elk in Wyoming last December. I can't wait to see it!

This is a sticky post and will remain at the top until the evening of JULY 26th. AUGUST 2ND NOW. Please scroll down for newer posts.

Craft Hope

Have you heard about Craft Hope? It's a program that Jade has put together to help give babies and little one's around the world something handmade, something made with love that will make their little lives just a bit brighter, to give hope. Project 3 has just ended, the crafting time and mailing time has come and gone anyway. This project was to make baby blankets, booties and hats for the sweet little babies in three, I believe, orphanages in India. These babies are without family and anything homemade and just their own in their lives. Jade contacted these orphanages to find out what their needs are before putting together project 3, so work and research has gone into this, instead of just sending random things that they may or may not need. These are things that they DO need, and because we are making them with love it's all the better. The two quilts that you see above are my very first attempts at quilting. I used a pattern that I like out of an issue of Quilts & More magazine, and re-sized it to make baby quilts. I found that I am the worlds crookedest cutter and possibly the crookedest seamstress as well, but I keep thinking that I put love and hope into these quilts and the babies that get them will feel that, they won't care at all that their blankies are a little off-kilter. During the project, Jade found out that at the orphanages, they pin a rag to the front of all the little one's each day to wipe their noses, so asked for hankies as well. I sent 4, made out of some of the fabric's that I used in the quilts. It's all heartbreaking, and the thing that I can hardly think about is the fact that the orphanages asked for standard sized pillow cases as well. Seems that they don't have any sheets for the babies cribs, so those little one's sleep right on top of those plastic mattress'. A pillow case is just the right size to slip over the mattress' that they use, so I went on the hunt at our local thrift-store, but only came up with two to send. I know that of course others are sending pillow cases as well, so hopefully enough came that all those crib mattress' can be covered.
Jade is a complete inspiration and a blessing to so many little one's around the world. I can't wait for project 4. Hop on over to Craft Hope to read all about these projects of Love. Join us. Make a little one's world just a little better and maybe put some hope in a tiny heart.

An Evening at the Iredale

It is often said that we live in paradise. A walk on the beach late yesterday afternoon verified that fact for me once again. Our paradise is not what everyone thinks of as their Utopia. To live here you must brave the elements, be tough and strong, a "Coastie" through and through. We have a very small allotment of warm summer days and we rejoice in that fact, knowing that if our temperatures were warmer, less rain fell on our heads, that this would be a true paradise and people would flock to our little corner by the thousands. Don't get me wrong - we like you - we want you to visit - but, then, when the rains come, we want our corner of the world all to ourselves. Right now the sun is out, it's 71 degree's. Come and take a walk with me on the beach, visit the Peter Iredale and enjoy yourselves fully.




Surfing in our Pacific Ocean is not for the weak or faint of heart. These ocean waters splash onto our beaches at a balmy 36 degrees, on average. These swimmers and surfers are tough!



Footprints, sand, surf, people flying kites and a quiet moment overlooking the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale are what sweet summer moments on our beautiful coastline are all about.




The sun has set, the tide is coming in. It's time to tuck in, call it a day. I hope you had a wonderful time on our north coast beaches today. See ya next time!

Charmed, I'm Sure...

Charm Packs. Oh the delight. I'm always just a little bit late to the ballgame, everyone else far ahead in their charm pack love. My sewing machine and I just recently had the pleasure of meeting our first little charm pack. It came to us through a delightful shop on etsy. That charm pack sat on the shelf in my craft room for a month or so. I looked at it, it looked at me, together we just didn't know what to do with each other, though we were enjoying the company. Then, one day, as these things so often happen, I was visiting one of my favorite knitting blogs, the oh-so-creative Lynne at I Was Knit Together In My Mother's Womb, when she happened to mention the Cape May Bag and all it's charms~(pun intended). I hoped right over to Knotions and grabbed that pattern for myself, and my charm pack of course. I believe it was fate, a love affair had begun.


I would like you to meet my very first charm pack - Summer's Basket of Flowers by Terry Clothier Thompson for Moda. This charm pack was so delightful that I just may be a charm pack junkie now. Are there groups for that? CPAnonymous maybe? Actually, at my house, I'm going to call them Party Packs 'cause there's a party in every little wonderful bundle. I may even have to wear pointy paper hats and blow party horns while I'm sewing from now on.




Before the knitted top meets the sewn bag.




Wa-La! Though someone should probably tell Cape May that it's dangerous to hang out in the road like that.
I hope you enjoyed meeting Cape May. I, for one, was charmed...

Turn the Page Tuesday - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

It's time for Turn the Page Tuesday, hosted by Adrienne at Some of a Kind. A chance to tell you all what I've been reading and see what is on others nightstands.

My friend Yolanda from Perfectly Imperfect sent me this book when she ended up with two copies of it. I had seen reviews and heard so much about it, all good, that I couldn't wait to start reading it. Once I did, I couldn't put it down and finished it in record time. I love the format that the authors choose, getting to know the characters through their letters to each other. Set on Guernsey Island shortly after the German occupation ended, it tells the story of the strength of the island people. Juliet is a writer who, through her address written in a book that she had to sell during the war, becomes penpals with first Dawsey, who is an islander, and then the other members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Fascinated by them and their stories, Juliet goes to the island to meet them and research their stories in hopes of writing her next book. The authors did such a fantastic job bringing their characters to life that each and every one of them became my friends too and I couldn't wait to find out what they had to say next. On one hand, it was a good light read, on the other, gave us insight into the heartbreak of the occupation. As a mother, I cannot even fathom the heartbreak of sending your children away to keep them safe, not knowing where they are for so many years. What a horrible thing to have to do. This was such a good book, one that I will be re-reading, re-visiting old friends from time to time.

From the back cover of the book:
January 1946: Writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

"Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naive...It's tempting to throw around terms like 'gem' when reading a book like this. But Guernsey is not precious....This is a book for firesides or long train rides. It's as charming and timeless as the novels for which its characters profess their love."
~San Francisco Chronicle Book Reviews

Mmmm....this one was so good.

I'm now just finishing up a silly vampire story, "Definitely Dead" by Charlaine Harris, set in New Orleans. Where has your reading taken you this week?