thinking pink

i've been thinking about it for awhile, and i admit the urge is growing stronger - to paint my kitchen...pink. well, not pink exactly, but more like a lite, orangey sherbet-like pink. salmon, really. which is a food, no? from the ad i found about it when i googled "pink kitchen" - looks like it was somebody else's great idea in 1953!

a life of fridays

sometimes, i think i measure everything in fridays. everything leads to friday during the work week. and everything subtracts during the weekend. it's like my ground zero, and i get a new one every week.

there is nothing better than waking up on friday morning, knowing that soon, a few tasks here and there, you'll be FREE for an entire weekend. this morning, i've been in the garden, sitting and looking and getting up and looking and pulling a few weeds. perfect way to start the day....hope you have a great one too :)


















on another, completely unrelated note, look what happens when you turn on the faucet in the sink to do dishes, hear your favorite chris tomlin cd playing, stop to go worship, get caught up in worship and forget what you were doing, go back to work in your office, hear something funny an HOUR later, and discover that completely tepid water has been overflowing into the accompanying drain, but not onto the floor.

definitely NOT a friday thing.

lovely day

this song is my absolute favorite, as of sunday evening when i was driving home from brookings at sunset, and heard it on the radio. i also saw Heaven and the angels gathered around the throne, singing "worthy is the lamb."

:) happy wednesday.

happy 3

well, actually it was last week. for 3 years (and a week), i've been blogging. pretty regularly, at least more regularly than i jog. or go to the movies. three years goes by pretty fast, although in some ways it seems like forever ago. in that time i've gained and lost a fiance, a cat, more pounds than i care to think about, and some clients in my business. i'd like to think i've grown in my relationship with Christ, the only gain that really matters. and of course, i've documented bugs and bunnies and fruit and veggies and flowers and found treasures. those are the constants, and i am grateful.

thanks for being here along the way! i still love blogging, i cannot see stopping unless for some reason life shifts dramatically away from my computer. i am glad you stopped by ;)

summer's here

in honor of the first monday of summer, i broke out the skort. ah. what an invention! people over 40 rejoice with me!! this particular version has weird knit biker shorts built in underneath. i don't know yet, but i bet i can sweat and will still be comfy in skorty goodness!

he he. skorty goodness. ah, to live a grateful life...


in other news, the perennial beds are looking nice. they don't normally get watered, unless it's really bad. so, they liked the rainfall.


Lord, help me to quit buying plants! this flat of moss roses will have to go somewhere. better keep digging up dirt, i guess...


you couldn't resist either, right?!


oh. the unfurling. going quite nicely, thanks. i may have a giant caladium by summer's end!

whew. okay. monday mode, monday mode, monday mode.
:) wishing you as much luck with that as i'm having!

sunday goodness

it's a sleeping in, sitting on the porch and drinking coffee, staring out at the unfinished yard work, baking cupcakes and heading down the highway kind of day.

hope yours is a good one!

succies

i could look at you forever.

rain rain

so far this month, it has rained more days than not. i kind of like it. today, for example, it rained and looked gloomy, but now it's brightening up! kind of like a fresh batch for every day. bring it on. that's my rain barrel above. i am so excited that kristie's dad is going to get me a recycled rainbarrel (old soap container) over the 4th of july. woo hoo! i hope it keeps raining.


the unfurling is complete. now we just need to see how BIG he is going to get.


i did discover a fairly major leak in my nest. doh. the joy of home ownership. anybody know how to tar a roof?


luckily, i got my $1 thrifted plastic tablecloth set up yesterday. see how cute it is, lou!


oh, and the digging up of the back yard continues. sweat was produced doing this little section. i ran out of mulch and busted a paving stone, but ALMOST there.

is it friday yet? so much to do besides working!
:)

random design day

like every designer who is worth even a small hoot, i appreciate great design when i see it. that's why it was exciting to behold this "Jolly Jug" at the thrift store last week. i love, love, love the perfection of the design. for all those designers out there who think they are cool with their sleek and modern design, take a look at the people who invented it. in the 1950s, no less. this great little guy was designed by a lady named petra cabot, who is my new favorite dead designer. her bio is interesting. i wonder if it was her idea to put the red round cap on top? because that is GENIUS.

anyway, i love looking at it. i was not going to buy it though, because what the heck will i do with all this useless stuff. until lou unscrewed the lid, and yep, there is a neat glass container in there. so i can actually make hygienic lemonade with it this summer. to be honest, i just want to take a photo with a beach blanket and feet with flip flops and this. sigh.

happy design day!

unfurling still more

well, one thing that is unfurling is that i am scared out of my bejeebers. absolutely TERRIFIED.

it seems that very soon i will get an opportunity to "take it to the streets" as some young prophet evangelists come to town to host a school of ministry. yikes! that was quick, Lord!

oh. get this...remember way back when a long time ago, when i admitted my fascination with flag waving/worship?


well, it looks like a "flagging" workshop is also on the agenda. that guy right there is an INSANE flag waver. insane. he's also 6'3" or so, and skinny. i hope he brings some shorter, rounder flags too :)

he he. unfurl, unschmurl.

the unfurling

new favorite word of the week: unfurl. Webster's defines it this way: to release from a furled state. that little guy above got me thinking about it... you might remember him.


i got him in april, with the promise of him turning into an elephant ear caladium. for a LOOOOONNNG time, he did nothing. now, he's unfurling into something. can hardly wait to see.


hmmm. let's see what else. the berries are coming in, few but scrumptious. and pretty, right?


i know you guys are sick of the chair, but it's absolutely where i live right now. this weekend, i knew it was bad/good when my saturday cleaning moved to the screened porch, and the inside of the house remained untouched. i am working on a super secret project, which fit perfectly into my outdoor nest. kirsten, that other chair is reserved for you ;)


lastly, lou and i had a thrifting FRENZY on friday nite. yes, you heard that right, friday nite. who says we're not party girls?! i am truly DONE with succulents. but not before i od'd on them. succulent overload. sounds like a band.


well. so much for happy, carefree weekends. now, i can hardly wait to see how life unfurls this week :) enjoy your monday!

one day summer

well, yesterday was "it" apparently. today is grey (and - at least - rainy) again! i managed to take advantage of the sun yesterday, pulled weeds, went for a walk, grilled chicken for dinner, and just generally enjoyed the sky and warmth.

i even went thrifting for about 20 minutes. i have not been thrifting NEARLY enough yet this season, have not had the time so far to dig in wholly. but, nevertheless, i have found a few things. wanna see?

yellow - my official favorite color since i was about 6 years old - is now coming in more strongly around the house. and pears. i really like pears. i have had the little ceramic honey pot for awhile, but i just got the glass jar. oh. and glass jars. and enamel ware. i know. you are getting the idea i like everything, which is SO not true.


he he. i have been fantasizing for a couple of years about those giant plastic lighted santas from the 60s. this little guy is NOT that. but he will look very cute on the steps this winter, if i can figure out how to get him open to change the lightbulb. $2. tell me you think i'm nuts.


everything has to be a collection, i swear. lately, it's "succulents and old ceramic pots." cannot have enough of those. last weekend, i finally hit the jackpot and found some cool old succulents that remind me of my grandma's windowsill. and late yesterday i said to lou: "i really need some old chippy planters."

of course, look what i found on the lone garage sale i went to! i see more of these little gems in my future!!


ah. looking at pretty things is something i don't think i'll ever tire of. maybe someday, i won't have to necessarily OWN them. happy friday!

here comes the Son!

well, thank goodness the Lord is bigger than the forecast! looks like we get the light today afterall. :)

flip flops and sweatshirts

that's the new wardrobe i've adopted. kriminey! going into day 6 of cold, rainy weather, with nothing else in the forecast for another week! how do you seattlelites do it?

accchhhhh. i have napped enough, and spent enough time under the afghan, with the furnace on. in june. each night, i check the wunderground website (which, by the by, is excellent) and we get 0.01 inches of rain. that's not enough rain, people! if we are going to put up with clouds and cool weather every day, at LEAST could we get some measurable rain?

the plants really are not seeming to mind that much. i have lillies, catmint, irises, daisies, and my big blue indigo plant all blooming. i guess that they are just thankful for the fact that it isn't snowing. perhaps i could take a lesson.

ps. 8:15. sun just came out for a sec. thank you Lord :)

everything in season

yum. i love this time of year, when every week a different delicious thing is in season.

this week, i discovered a 4 lb. container of strawberries at the grocery store. since my own berry patch yields approx. 4 berries total every season (and usually, i share with the birds), this was too good to pass up. they were the yummy kind, not half rotten and mushy like you normally see in the store.

in case you are wondering about why i need 4 lbs of strawberries, let me tell you about how to preserve them. it's easy peasy. i usually just wash them and cut up the really big ones. then, throw them on a cookie sheet, single-file, and freeze them for a few hours. when they are frozen, and you can break them apart, put them in ziploc bags and freeze. now, whenever you need strawberries for baking, or even to eat as a treat (microwave defrost for a few seconds, sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar, and serve!) - you've got em.

i think i may make jam out of this batch at some point.


as for my own garden, it's just silly with baby spinach, lettuce and radishes right now. i guess it's salad for lunch again today!

happy wednesday!

heather clark

one of the things that i find changing in me lately, is my taste in music. i am liking the stuff that takes me IN. completely swallows me up in Godness. i discovered heather clark thru the conference...whoa. she is amazing. i love her website!

i really cannot work at the same time as listening though, because i find myself dancing around and praising. maybe that is not all bad :)

know-it-all

i thought my devotional today was excellent, so i'll share it here. i especially love that christians are often accused of being "blind" and "sheep" which of course we are, but not necessarily because of stupidity (although sometimes, i admit i fall into that category, too). when i went to the conference last week, i heard a guy introducing himself as a "recovering intellectual." that made me laugh.

ps. isn't the photo great? i LOVE that einstein is misspelled! love, love, love.

happy day!


If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them —John 13:17

Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.

When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.

The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . ." ( 1 Samuel 15:22 ). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know . . ." ( John 7:17 ).

smells like old lady

ah. went to an estate sale with lou and cousin emily at lunch today. em went a little crazy with the vintage clothing, lou bought some bakelite dominos to make jewelry with, and i bought more old lady sheets.

siesta tests out all vintage linens before we use them. i don't know who loves old lady smell MORE, her or i. maybe it's a tie :)