worked towards the weekend . . .

Just a little peek into what I've been doing this past week . . . 

I made little 'favors' for my new Sunday School gals . . . 

Nothing big, just a fun little something for them to enjoy.  And definitely NOT a means to ingratiate myself with them.  ;)

I found this cute little silk flower arrangement while in Maryland. 

I layered pinto beans, popcorn and split peas in the jar to add a little eye interest.  

Sitting on the candy corn topper, it says "Happy Fall!"

Here are the fabrics I'm playing with for my Wicked blog hop block(s?): 

Are you curious to know what I'm making?!?  My day on the hop is Tuesday the 30th -- come back and check it out then!  Tuesday the 30th also happens to be the day they'll induce Kim, if June doesn't make an appearance on her own before then!

And finally, I played around with my sweet gum 'fruits' and here's what I've got . . .

I'm not so sure I'm finished.  I don't like the way it hangs with the wire, so I may try and attach a broad ribbon to hang it with.  I *do* like the way it sparkles!  I will say it was a booger to make!

And today's Foto Finish theme is "spooky or creepy".  This little guy jumped out of the grass the other day when Todd and I were picnicking at the pond.

Really he's a good spider ... but since the whole brown recluse bite incident, I feel all spiders are kinda creepy, so he's my offering!  Be sure to check out the rest of the *creepy* offerings over at Cat Patches!

And have a GREAT weekend!!!

:)

funny and fun . . .

I should have saved the photo of Ellie noshing on her foot for Cat Patches' Foto Finish "funny" entry today!  Instead, how about I'll share these two . . .

My normally favorite, beautiful bird is molting.  And when cardinals molt, they are FAR from attractive!  They look like something the cat dragged in, which is what I thought had happened, the first time I saw one in this state!  

Their jaunty little caps disappear, their plumage is funky, and they just look ... well, as someone put it ... like "miniature vultures". LOL!  Bless their little hearts.  And it's all of them, too; the immature males, the females and the [normally] jaunty males.  Even though my photos aren't the best (it's hard to make the darn birds be still!), they certainly are funny!  Hop on over to Cat Patches and check out what others found 'funny' this Saturday morning!

On a more serious note (seriously wonderful), this came in yesterday's mail . . .

Whoohoo!!  I knew *exactly* what it was, too!!  (In fact, I made a special trip to the post office in hopes it would be there!)

I'd won last week's giveaway at Tea With Friends - one of my all-time favorite tea blogs!  It was a super-duper collection of different teas.  I mean marvelous!

If you're a tea enthusiast and you've not ever checked out Angela's blog, you're missing out on a real treat.  From recipes to table settings to tea rooms to pretty little tea accouterments, Angela covers it.  And on Saturdays she has the most marvelous tea-related giveaways!   Definitely follower-worthy!

This morning I sipped on the Numi, coconut pu-erh.  With a little truvia and a little coconut milk, it was *marvelous*!

:)

stitching and summer fun . . .

Friday Night Sew-In.  Right.  Well . . . I didn't get a whole lot done on my quilting last night.

I solidified my thread color choices, I finished outlining the fan and one blade, and that's about it.  But this morning I'm heading off to our Stitcher's sew-in, and this is all I'm taking, so hopefully I'll get a bit more finished this morning!

I won't be staying the whole day . . . just until lunchtime, probably.  Tomorrow is our day to provide breakfast for our church fellowship and I've got to do some shopping and some baking!  I'm making sausage balls, mini pigs-in-a-blanket, fruit salad, monkey bread, and no-bake cookies.  Plus we're having a potluck lunch after service -- so I'll probably make my Strawberry Delight for that!  Whew!

Today's Foto Finish theme, sponsored by Cat Patches, is "Summer's Here".  I couldn't share just one photo ... I have *three*!

To me, summer means family trips and trips to visit family.  These first two are from our summer trip to visit my sister in 2005.  Of course we got some beach time in:

And then the cousins all played 'capture', which of course requires cammies and camouflage makeup:

I love the reversed role play between the two photos!  They are such clowns.  And I have *no* idea where they get it from!

And from just yesterday . . . 

Daddies and their sweet little babies!  Although I was a little shocked by how *grown* both Ellie and Sawyer look here!  And I love how Ellie's got her little hand on Sawyer's shoulder.  Kim said it looked like she was saying, "Hey! Be still for one second!"  LOL!

Have a great Saturday!!

:)

flip-flops, toddlers, and travel . . .

Not too long ago, I saw a Pinterest pin that really caught my eye.  It was a wreath, for one thing (which if you've ever seen my wreath board on Pinterest, you know I have a thing for wreaths) and it was made up of flip-flops and daisies, for another, which simultaneously made me smile and brought to mind my dear friend Miranda, who loves both.  I just knew she needed to have this wreath ... whether she made it or I did!  I sent her a link ... and she fell in love with it ... and next thing you know, she's purchased the supplies and we're having a wreath-crafting day!

First we laid out the grapevine (which was huge -- 24") and placed the flip-flops and flowers about where we wanted them.  Then I took a picture so that when I took it all off again, I had a reminder of where we'd put things in the first place!

It took us about three hours (of course, we did visit and chat in there, too), but I definitely think the final product was worth every minute!

I think we've created a monster . . . she told me she now needs a wreath for that space for Spring, Fall and Winter!  LOL!

I spent last evening with my Sawyer.  We had a grand old time!!  We built block houses . . . 

And Sawyer pretended he was the demolition crew!

He had his stuffed dinosaur friend and his Dinos Roar quilt with him . . .

An orange popsicle after dinner made for a fun treat!  I love that grin!

He's a very good teeth-brusher, too (which he needed to be, especially after that popsicle!) . . . 

A new library shirt sent from his Great Grandma and Grandpa in Maryland!

Dream Big!  Perfect for a sleep shirt!

Night-night time ... all tucked in with his quilt.  

This sweet picture does this Neesey's heart a world of good!

And finally, this week's Foto Finish theme on Cat Patches is "travel".  I've been incredibly blessed in my opportunities to travel all over the United States and to many countries, as well.  But I think the trip that was most eye opening to me was the trip to Moscow, Russia, in November, 2004.

This shot was taken in Red Square and is of St. Basil's Cathedral.  On the left you can see the hotel where we stayed ... the Rossiya Hotel, which held the official record as the world's largest hotel for quite a number of years, but now no longer exists.  It was demolished just one year after our visit.  It was an incredible trip.  Looking back through the pictures I took, it finally dawned on me why so much of the architecture there is painted or gilded so brightly ... because the sky is always so grey!  Linking up to Cat Patches' Foto Finish with this one!

Happy Saturday!

:)

will you walk into my parlour?

Said the spider to the fly. This lovely lady is what greets visitors to my humble abode this season.

And she's my contribution to "spooky" foto finishes today over at Cat Patches!

But as you can see, she's really quite festive and pretty, and while she has the potential to look very ... realistic ... in the dusk, she's harmless and makes beautiful noise, too!

I realized I'd never shared my fall decor, so I figured I'd wrap up this week with a walk-through of the RV, all decked out for autumn.

I love my little acorn swag/hangie thingie that drops down nicely from my paper towel holder.

With the requisite basket of gourds of fun shapes and colors.

And on my mantel, just a couple of fun pumpkins (of course there's pumpkins in this post)!

And if you look closely, you'll see I've also gone just a little batty!

Over my little window, just a sweet candelabra piece of leaves and acorns, along with . . .

PUMPKINS!

And from that window, looking towards the back, my little wick ottoman with my sweet fall table topper and a little pumpkin collection.

Some festive little tea towels hanging off the stove . . .

Yes, of course they're pumpkins!

And over the opposite window, a happy little display of (say it with me now) . . .

Pumpkins! And owls and one of my darling little mason jars filled with candy corn!

And gracing our kitchen table, more candy corn in my little quilted table topper, along with a pumpkin filled with felt flowers.

More candy corn hangs on my pantry cupboard door. I love this little wreath. Lesson learned, though -- both Joc and Kim hung theirs outside, and it couldn't handle the moisture. I feel so badly, because that was my choice of crafts when we had our last craft day. Next season I may have to make one for each of them to replace the one they lost.

A pumpkin placard hangs from the door, and my little scarecrow guy hangs from the door knob. I thought for sure that since it was in Sawyer's reach, he'd find that little guy and love on him, but Sawyer's not noticed him yet.

And if you look beyond the door into the office/sewing room, you'll see my fun find of the season -- the houndstooth witch's hat! We had such fun taking turns wearing it around Sawyer yesterday. He wasn't quite sure he liked it. And he *definitely* didn't want it on HIS head!!

Looking from the back of the RV back towards the front, is my fall leave runner, along with Mr. Squirrel and his acorn.

Of course, the little wicker acorn basket it bigger than Mr. Squirrel - I think that explains the smile on Mr. Squirrel's face!!

Last night was the Friday Night Sew-In, and I let James tuck me upstairs last night thinking I had everything I needed to work on my Snow Buddies project. When I went to start stitching, I realized I'd left all the different threads I needed downstairs. *sigh* I could have crutched it back down and gotten what I needed, but I'm still really hesitant in coming UP the stairs by myself. I'd certainly do it in an emergency, but I decided I didn't want to put myself in a position of being hurt or falling, so I finished up what I could on their bow ties and then pulled out my kindle instead. Que sera! Progress is progress, right?

Pardon the photo -- it's a cell phone shot!

We've got campers coming into the camp this afternoon and overnight. I imagine there will be the lovely smell of campfires in the air this evening. Todd and I have a darling group of senior ladies from FBC Gurley coming in tomorrow afternoon for a fish fry! Todd catches and fries up the best fresh fish fillets you'd ever want to taste. I can't wait!!

Hope sunshine fills your weekend -- if not literally, then at least figuratively!

:)