Virginia's Pastime

Holy Land Trip - Part 7 Qumran, Jacob's Well, Shepherd's Field

2012-02-28T12:02:00.000-08:00

I was so good about keeping a journal until we got to Israel. I don’t know why my journaling fell by the wayside, but it did. So from here on out, I am relying on my pictures and my memory. Boy, are we in trouble now! Also, because of time constraints, etc, we didn’t follow the written schedule and saw sites out of order. So, because of this, I am just going to post pictures with some commentary after each one.

Once we got on the bus after finally clearing security in Israel, we travelled to Qumran. This is where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. Nearly 900 scrolls were discovered. Most were written on parchment and some on papyrus. There were lots of archaeological excavations going on at this site. Cisterns, Jewish ritual baths, and cemeteries have been found, along with a dining or assembly room and debris from an upper story alleged by some to have been a scriptorium as well as pottery kilns and a tower.

In case you didn’t know it, Bethlehem is in the West Bank. This means we had to go through security entering and exiting the area. The entire West Bank is surrounded by a concrete wall with watchtowers and armed soldiers standing guard. Every day when we left Bethlehem to go to other locations, the bus would stop, two armed soldiers would come on board and walk through and look at everyone’s passport. It was kind of scary the first time or two, but then I got used to it. Our guide, Samir, is a Palestinian Christian, and we got a large dose of the Palestinian side of politics in Israel every day. This was not necessarily a bad thing, because most of us have grown up thinking the Palestinians are “bad” and the Israelis are “good”. This ain’t necessarily so. However, I’m not going to get into the details here on my blog, but if you have questions, please feel free to ask me about what I learned.

The first thing I noticed about Bethlehem was that all the Christmas decorations were still up. I wondered if they stayed up all year round since this was Bethlehem after all, or if they hadn’t gotten around to taking them down. Before we went to our hotel we went to the Church of the Nativity and I found out why the decorations were still up. There were crowds of people at the church and Samir told us that the 17th of January was when the Armenian Christians celebrated Christmas. I knew that the Greek Orthodox celebrated on January 7th, but didn’t realize that there was another Christmas celebration after that. There was a TV crew broadcasting outside of the church and the crew was speaking Armenian. We went into the church, but services were being held in the Armenian quarter of it and other parts of the church were being cleaned. The line to go into the Grotto of the Nativity was very long and Samir determined that it would take us hours to get through it.

By this time everyone was tired, cold and it was getting dark. It was decided to go on to our hotel, get checked in, have dinner and go back to the church on another day. Our hotel “Holy Family Hotel” was nice. It wasn’t a 4 or 5 star hotel by any means, but the rooms were clean. The dining room was in the basement, which was sort of weird and it turned out that we were the only group at the hotel the entire time we were there.

The next day, we went to Nablus to see Jacob's well that is within the Greek Orthodox Church of St.Photina

Samir with the Greek Orthodox Priest who has rebuilt St. Photina Church of Jacob's Well single-handed.

Interior of the dome at St. Photina

Jacob's well. It was amazing to be standing next to the well on the very spot Jesus stood.

One of the restored mosaics at St. Photina Church

The fountain at Shepherd's Field. This church and grounds in Bethlehem is said to be built on the site where the angels appeared to the shepherd's to announce the birth of Christ.

The two pictures above are of the outside and inside of the dome of the Greek Orthodox Church at Shepherd's Field.

The three pictures above are paintings on the wall of the church at Shepherd's Field depicting the birth of Christ and the angels appearing to the shepherds.

This church was full of light and the gardens that surrounded it were absolutely gorgeous.

Holy Land Trip - part 6, Jerash and on to Israel

2012-02-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

Before you start reading, please forgive the lack of consistancy in the font of this post. I could not get the blog to cooperate with me and keep the font of the last two paragraphs the same as the rest. Sometimes, this thing has a mind of it's own. BTW, please feel free to post a comment and/or let me know you've read my blog and what you think. Thanks!

January 17, 2012

We checked out of our hotel in Amman and got all our luggage loaded on the bus. We were headed back to Israel, but first, we would go to Jerash. Jerash, originally called Gerasa, is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Middle East. It is also where Jesus cast the demons into the herd of swine.

The interesting thing about the ruins is that they are surrounded by the city of Jerash, which is about 48 miles north of Amman. As you stand and look at the beautiful columns and archways, you can also see the apartment buildings and office buildings of the city just in the background.

Temple of Artemis - Notice the buildings of the modern city of Jerash in the background

Hadrian's Arch - The sky was so blue it was amazing. The weather was nice with a slightly chilly wind. As long as we were in the sun, it was fairly warm.

Detail of Hadrian's Arch. This was built in 129 AD to commemorate Hadrian's visit to the city. It was to become the new Southern Gate.

More detail of Hadrian's Arch

The Hippodrome - this was the smallest hippodrome in the Roman Empire

Our Jordanian guide, Zaid

The Southern Ampitheatre

A view of the Southern Ampitheatre from the floor of the theatre

Two musicians entertained us on the drum and bagpipe

I had assumed that the bagpipes came to Jordan from the British Army some time in the past. It was weird seeing and hearing bagpipes in the Middle East and while in Amman I had noticed a few music stores selling bagpipes. So before I started this post, I looked up bagpipes in Jordan. Guess what I found out? Bagpipes actually originated in the Middle East. There is an Assyrian stone carving, now in the British Museum, from 800BC showing a man playing bagpipes and there are other ancient carvings and paintings illustrating the playing of bagpipes from other areas of the Middle East. Bagpipes have been played in the Middle East for 3000 years! Who knew? Obviously, not me.

After the Jordanian musicians had performed, Sari sang for us. Sari has a lovely mezzo-soprano voice and the accoustics in the ampitheatre amplified her voice wonderfully.

The oval Forum

Inside the oval Forum

Once we had seen Jerash, it was off to Israel. This time we went to the border crossing at the King Hussein Bridge. This bridge crosses the Jordan River and connects Jordan with the West Bank in Israel. It is currently the sole designated exit/entry point for Palestinians who reside in the West Bank and want to connect to the outside world. We exited Jordan and walked over to the Israeli entry point, once again dragging all our luggage, etc. with us. This time, there were carts available to put our luggage on as we proceeded through the line to the security checkpoint. I put all my luggage, my purse and outerwear on the belt at security. The only thing I had in my hand was my passport. This I gave to the security officer and I told her, before going through the metal detector that I had an artificial knee. Naturally, the metal detector went off. I reminded her again that I had an artificial knee hoping they could just run the want over my knee and let me through, but no. She waved me over to some chairs against a wall and told me to sit down and wait. Luckily, Marty saw what was happening and retrieved my effects from the belt.

I sat next to an attractive Moslem woman and we chatted about what was going on. Then I noticed that Sari had been detained as well. We probably waited for 20 minutes, and then Sari was called over to a curtained booth. She was worried because all her “stuff” was just sitting around on the other side of security with no one looking after it, but I believe Irene or Larry finally figured out that she had been detained too and snagged her stuff and put it on a cart and kept it with them. Meanwhile, the Muslim woman told me she had been waiting over an hour for someone to clear her through security. Then, an Israeli officer came over to me and asked me to follow her. I told her that the woman next to me had been waiting longer, but they didn’t seem to care. So off I went to my own curtained booth and was searched. They even made me pull up my pant leg so they could see the scar on my knee from the surgery. Once Sari and I were cleared we were able to cross through security and meet up with the group. Guess what held Sari up? Her underwire bra! Mine made the handheld metal detector go off too. Something tells me that the Israelis have their metal detectors set way too high!

And now a pause for Wedding stuff

2012-02-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

I've been busy making stuff for Mom and Dad's wedding reception. There will be six tables and on each table will be one of the little flower arrangements and one votive. I custom made the votive wrappers and they turned out really pretty. Mom is wearing ivory and the cake will have pink and green on it.

The Bible is the same one she carried when she and Dad got married the first time. I designed the flowers and ribbons to go on it. The little book the Bible is resting on is what will be the guest book.

I'll get back to blogging about the Holy Land Trip later this week before I leave for Blanco on Friday.

Holy Land Trip - part 5, Madaba, Mount Nebo, Jordan River

2012-02-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers of this Blog – please know that this is only my personal account of the trip. I’m sure that all other 16 members have different viewpoints and remember things in other ways than I do. There are surely moments that my fellow travelers found more memorable or more poignant. My thoughts, feelings and memories are just that, mine, and have no reflection on what others may feel or remember.

Picture of the Mosaic Map. The blank areas on the map indicate where the mosaics were destroyed by earthquake and time.

Monday, January 16, 2012 –

We had to be up, have had breakfast and checked out of our hotel in time to be on our bus at 8am. On the bus, we travelled 3 hours, with one rest stop, to Madaba. Madaba is the fifth largest city in Jordan. It is well known for Byzantine mosaics including the Mosaic Map from the 6th century which is preserved in the floor of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George. The Mosaic Map depicts important religious landmarks as they were in the 6th century.

Bus parking was several blocks from the church itself. Ruby and Diane along with Nell and June were dropped off close to the church before the bus went to the parking area. Zaid set a very fast pace and the walk from the tourist parking to the church was all uphill. Since it wasn’t a straight shot to the church, we were crossing streets and making turns within the city. It was clear, but cold and the wind was biting. I fell further and further back and was struggling to breathe because of my asthma. I was afraid I would be left behind and lost. Eventually we arrived at the church and entered a small room that contained benches and a large picture of the Mosaic Map. While we caught our breath, Zaid explained the map to us. The map was a key in learning about the physical layout of Jerusalem after its destruction and rebuilding in 70 AD.

The church was large with lots of ornamentation, intricate mosaics besides the Mosaic Map and huge brass chandeliers.

Two different views of the Mosaic Map

The altar at Saint George's Greek Orthodox Church

Chandeliers at the church.

The next stop was Mount Nebo. This mountain offers views of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. We got off the bus and started the walk to the view points, but when I saw how steep the grade was on the trail, I turned around and came back to the bus and waited for the group to return. Dad came back and said it wasn’t too far and I should come on, but I decided to stay anyway. I was still recovering from the breathing difficulties caused by the fast uphill walk to Saint George’s. I am glad I didn’t go, because everyone came back freezing cold and coughing. It seems that the first view point Dad saw was at the bottom of the trail and they had to walk much further and higher than it looked like at first.

From Mount Nebo we went to the Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan at the Jordan River. This is traditionally identified as the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The drive to the river was pretty interesting. At first we were on a fairly wide, two lane highway, like most of the roads we travelled on. Then we turned into smaller and more rural roads that twisted and turned through the countryside. I wondered if our driver really knew where he was going and at some points, it looked like we might have to turn around. But I should never have doubted, because suddenly, we came to a large parking area where several other buses were parked.

The trail from the parking area to the river was flat and even. Since we had travelled from Mount Nebo at 4800 feet to sea level the air temperature had warmed to 65 degrees. It was very pleasant and the walk through olive, tamarisk, willow and Euphrates poplar trees was peaceful. Finally, we came to a wooden structure that was roofed and had steps leading down to a deck directly at the river. I put my feet (in my shoes) in the shallowest part of the river. The water was murky and green, but not dirty looking. Only twenty or so feet across from us was Israel and we could clearly see people on that side of the river coming down to the water to view it.

The Jordan River

Another view of the Jordan River

Here are my feet in the Jordan River. The water on this step was about 1 inch deep.

Ruins of the Church of Saint John the Baptist built sometime before the 5th century.

This cross etched into the ancient bricks is said to mark the place where Jesus was Baptized.

You will notice that there is no longer water in this area.

The Jordan River has shrunk significantly since that time.

Everyone in our group took lots of pictures then we sang “Shall We Gather at the River”. Ken read some scriptures about the Baptism of Jesus and we said the Lord’s Prayer in unison.

Mom and Dad

Al and Donna with Diane in the background

Ken and Margo at the Baptismal font

Ruby had asked Ken to anoint her with water from the Jordan River. Within the structure we were in, was a baptismal font where water from the Jordan was directed to. The water in the font was clear, so I don’t know whether it was filtered before it came to the font or not, but it was not murky like the water in the actual river just 10 feet away. To me, Ruby’s anointing was very moving and to simply be standing at the river and touching the water was almost surreal.

Ken annointing Ruby with water from the Jordan River

Another thing that was definitely surreal about this experience was that there was an armed, Jordanian soldier standing to the side of the deck. He was in camo and paid very little attention to us. The tourist area we were in was fully guarded by the army and not the Tourist Police. I was reminded of the song, “Eve of Destruction”. I asked Zaid if he would ask the soldier if I could take his picture, a really big no-no, but I figured all he could do was say no, which he did.

Bear with me here. This paragraph may seem out of place, but keep reading on afterward. Sometime between our Petra experience and the Jordan River I had pulled a muscle in my left shoulder. I could hardly move my arm and it was quite painful. As we left the area of the deck and baptismal font, I dipped my hand in the water and rubbed it on my shoulder. I didn’t believe that it would immediately cure my pulled muscle and pain, but thought “What the heck? It can’t hurt.”

There are several churches built within this site at the Jordan River. As we walked back to the bus, we walked a different path that brought us near a Greek Orthodox Church which is fairly new with beautiful golden onion domes. church. Sari, Irene and I stopped to take pictures of the church as the group walked on. There is an arch over the door to the church on which is painted a descending dove. I took a picture of this and just as I backed away, and as I was still looking up, a white dove flew overhead with an olive leaf in its beak. Talk about surreal. Sari and I just looked at each other in amazement. There were no other birds in sight, and during the entire, so far, I hadn't seen a purely white dove. I’m not one to believe strongly in signs and portents, but if this wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what would be. What it was a sign of, I can’t say, but the next day I realized that I was using my left arm normally and there was no pain at all in my shoulder. List this under things that make you go “Hmmm”.

Greek Orthodox church built in 2003

Same church from up close.

Descending dove painted on the archway above the doors to the church.

Right after taking this picture, I saw the white dove fly over.

From the Jordan River, we drove to Amman, where we checked into our hotel for that night.

Things I Noticed About Hotels and Such While Travelling in the Middle East

2012-02-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

Fairly typical breakfast in the Middle East. Tomatos and cucumbers at every meal as well as hummus and flat bread. Actually, now that I think about it, almost EVERY meal looked like this!

• Most hotels do not supply washcloths. Why? Who knows. We were told we might want to bring one with us, but I didn’t. Luckily I brought pre-moistened make-up removers and baby wipes, both of which, when rinsed with water proved to be good washcloths.

• Even in a double occupancy room, you were lucky to get one bath towel each and 1 hand towel each. Several nights I used the bath towel to wrap up my wet hair and dried myself on the hand towel.

• All but one of the hotels we stayed in had the following: A slot you had to put your key card into to keep the electricity in your room on. When you pulled the key card out of the slot the electricity stayed on a few minutes, then everything turned off, including the heat. Dad discovered that you could put any old plastic card in there and it would work. You know, your AAA card or some such. Because it was cold most of the places we spent the night, we started asking for an extra key card or doing the AAA card thing so that our rooms wouldn’t be freezing when we went back to them after our bus dropped us at the hotel or after dinner.

• Everything is expensive or at least the same price as in the US. Don’t expect to get any true “bargains”. Yes, there are things there that we can’t get here or would be hard to find, but most things were not cheaper. One exception – pashimas. Several of our group found beautiful 100% cashmere pashima shawls for $10.00 each. Such a deal!

• Israel was the most expensive country we stayed in. A McDonald’s meal that would cost $5.00 here at home costs $15.00 US there. Of course, we didn’t go to a McDonald’s even though by the end of the trip we were salivating at any sign of “American” fast food.

• There are very few flat surfaces, especially in Jordan and Israel. Everything is built into the side of a hill. Because of this, there is a lot of uphill and downhill walking. Also, because of this, temperatures can vary substantially. We were there in the winter, so it was cool. Even though the country is a desert, it is mostly high desert. St. Catherine’s was the only place it was actually freezing, but we were at 5000 feet. I quickly learned to ask our tour guides what the elevation was of sites we visited and our hotels. Helped to know whether you could leave your coat on the bus or wear it.

• Vegetables are served, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mostly sliced cucumbers and tomatoes in a vinegary type dressing. One morning we even had Lentil beans that were mashed up at the breakfast buffet. We joked that they were like re-fried beans. Lamb is a very popular meat as well as beef. Very little chicken and absolutely no pork. There was lots of fresh fruit, especially apricots, melons, bananas and oranges.

• The morning drink is hot tea. The tea they serve is a black tea and is very good. Coffee was usually only available if requested. They did have Arabic or Turkish coffee, especially after dinner. I didn’t try any, but was told it was very strong. It was served in small cups sort of like demitasse cups. You would think with all the fresh fruit, there would be great orange juice in the mornings, but no. The orange juice was instant (like Tang) or canned. The only juice that seemed to be fresh was apricot juice.

That’s just some of the things I noticed that were different from the US about the trip. There are lots of others, of course, and maybe I’ll post a second list later.

Holy Land Trip - part 4, Petra, Jordan

2012-02-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Our hotel in Petra, the Beit Zaman hotel, was built like a village on a hillside. It was very pretty, but all those steps and hills plus the haphazard layout challenged a lot of us. When we arrived, porters took our luggage to our assigned rooms and that was a relief not to have to roll tote our luggage again that day. Our room was very nice, although we had one king size bed instead of two twins. That evening, we had a buffet dinner in the hotel dining room and our evening devotional, and then it was off to bed.

This is the walkway to the hotel restaurant. You can see the houses and buildings of Wadi Musa built up on the hill

The walkway going back toward our room from the restaurant

The next morning was a buffet breakfast and they had an omelet station. Mmmm, omelets cooked to order with lots of goodies to put into them. All we had to do was point at what we wanted added to the eggs and it was done. We had to be ready and on the bus by 9am for the trip to Petra.

Now, you may ask, why were we going to Petra when we were already there? The city the hotel is actually in is called Wadi Musa. It is very close to the archeological site of Petra. Wadi means valley in Arabic and Musa is Moses in Arabic. Therefore, the city is the Valley of Moses. Petra is actually the UNESCO World Heritage site. It is an archeological site that has been around for well over 3500 years. It’s interest to our group is that in Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, Aaron, is buried, at Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron.

Ruby, her daughter, Diane and their driver in one of the "Pony" carts.

Once at Petra we discovered that the trip from beginning to end would be approximately 5 miles. Going into Petra was all downhill but that meant coming back was going to be all uphill. Our two older ladies, Ruby and Nell, could not walk that entire way, and wheelchairs would never work, so pony carts (really horse carts) were hired to take them the entire length of the site and back again. The terrain started out fairly smooth and we had lots of stops so Zaid could explain symbolism of the carvings on the caves and tombs. Once we got close to the middle section, The Treasury, the terrain changed to Roman cobblestones then rough sand and rock. Our group spent some time there for rest, take pictures, purchase locally made jewelry and crafts and buy bottled water.

Tombs

A Tomb

Another tomb (Get where I'm going with this?)

Roman Cobblestones.

Very unpleasant to walk on. The largest are roughly 9 x 12 inches, give or take a smidge.

The view of The Treasury as we came through the Siq, or gully.

The Treasury. If you look at the lower left portion of this picture you will see 2 men dressed as Roman soldiers. This gives you an idea of how huge this place is. Also, it was never a treasury, but another tomb. It has been called The Treasury because the first modern explorers to find the ruins thought it might have had treasure in it. Big disappointment for them. When the Romans conquered the area, they cleaned out all the bones and actually used the tombs for living places and temples. The inside of this tomb is 65 x 65 feet of empty space and actually, this large doorway is the second floor. The first floor is still buried beneath the surface.

The open area around the Treasury.

The walls of the "valley" or "gully" we walked through are around 265 feet high.

After this brief rest, we were off again on rough terrain. The last 100 yards or so was pure sand. I was exhausted, my asthma was seriously aggravated and I was just about to sit down and cry. Then a young man came up to me and asked me if I wanted a donkey. I said that if he could take me to the end and then back to the treasury after lunch it would be great! Of course, nothing is free, and this donkey ride ending up costing me $20.00. So up I went on this tiny little donkey and rode the last 100 yards to the Arab restaurant where we had lunch. I wasn’t hungry and Sari wasn’t either, but we both knew if we didn’t eat anything we wouldn’t last the return trip, so we shared a small lunch buffet plate.

I petted this camel. They are no more stinky than a bunch of horses and feel just like big, hairy, dirty dogs. I did, however, back off when this one turned toward me and exposed his really huge teeth. Didn't want to encourage him to spit - or bite.

Most of the group was as exhausted as I was and Ken and Zaid went to negotiate with the donkey and camel handlers for rides. Mom, Dad and Sari had decided to ride donkeys and Clint, June, Al, Donna and I believe a few more were going to ride camels. I had my donkey all arranged so I was pretty much set. As everyone was getting up on their donkeys and camels, Mohammed brought his two donkeys my way. I told him that the little donkey I rode to the restaurant was just too little and asked to ride the bigger donkey. He said sure, helped me mount up and adjusted the stirrups. Then he hopped up on the little donkey. I had assumed he would lead my donkey back up to the Treasury. Well, was I ever mistaken! He threw the lead rope over my donkey’s shoulder and hollered “Yallah!” which in Arabic means “get a move on”. My donkey jumped into a fast trot with me holding onto the pommel of his saddle and off we went like a shot. I barely had time to wave to everyone else as we passed them. Mohammed told me to lean forward and relax and everything would be OK. I thought, “Yeah, it’ll be OK right up until I fall off”. But after a bit I did begin to relax and my fat grey donkey picked his way back up the hill through sand, rocks and Roman cobblestones. Cindy told me that I got an A+ in donkeymanship!

Mom being helped to dismount her donkey. Dad rode the white one next to it.

He had already gotten off of it.

Once back at The Treasury, I had to dismount and bid my donkey boy and his amazing donkeys adieu. Donkeys and camels are only allowed to go from The Treasury to the restaurants and the end and back. Once at The Treasury, if you don’t want to walk, you can take a horse or a horse cart. I was first back so I found a bench in the shade and hung out for the rest to arrive. Sari was next back and she went shopping, then Mom and Dad showed up. Eventually we all arrived safe and sound, although a little disheveled. It was still a long way back and I knew I’d never make the climb so Sari and I shared the cost of a horse cart.

Once back on the bus, we all fairly collapsed from exhaustion. Back we went to the hotel to rest up before dinner. Dad, Mom, Ken, Margo and I met in the bar for drinks before dinner. The bartender even made margaritas (not frozen) that weren’t too bad. Dinner was once again buffet style and pretty good, and then we had our evening devotional. After dinner it was once again an uphill climb to the room. Needless to say, everyone slept very well that night.

I had hoped to get through our entire tour of Jordan in this post, but there is so much to tell about and so many pictures to share, I'll have to finish Jordan on my next post.

Now a Break for Some Arts and Crafts!

2012-02-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

I was looking at Pintrest yesterday and saw a really cute Valentine's project.

Dottie, at http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/ hung her strings of hearts in a window. As you can see, she used pages from books and a few other hearts cut from fabric or paper.

Well, you guys know me, I usually like a little bit of color and the only window I could hang these from and be able to enjoy the fruits of my labors is not dog proof. However, I had an idea.

Ta-Da!

We have 4 tiny eyelets in the ceiling above the TV where during Christmas we hang 4 large red, glittery Christmas ornaments. The perfect place for my little Valentines!

I used an old, ratty paperback that was headed for Half Price Books and cut the print hearts freehand. Then, using my Cricut Mini, I cut the 2 different sizes of hearts from a couple of pieces of gorgeous Anna Griffin double sided scrapbook paper. I designed the other hearts with sayings on them with Microsoft Publisher using graphic scrapbooking elements.

I hope you like my Valentine project and feel free to make your own. If you do, I want to see it!

Holy Land Tour - part 3

2012-02-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

Jesus Pantocrator, ruler of the world. Jusus, represented as a ruler, holds a volume of the New Testament. Very rare Byzantine icon from the 7th century.

Before I start on part 3, I want to mention something about this morning’s news of 2 American women who were held hostage for several hours outside of St. Catherine’s by Bedouins. It’s a shame this happened and very scary. These women were with a small group of 5 plus a tour guide who were travelling in a mini-van without a Tourist Police representative. While there are dangers, even as far from Cairo as St. Catherine’s is, common sense should prevail and no one should travel in this small a group without the Tourist Police. This never would have happened with a larger group on a full size bus with the Tourist Police on board. I am very grateful we had them with us and I NEVER felt unsafe aboard our bus or at any stops our bus made.

Now, onto the continuing saga: After the church services were over, we went directly to the museum. St. Catherine’s has a large collection of Byzantine icons that are incredibly beautiful.

Icon of the Virgin Mary and the infant Christ

Icon of St. Catherine and scenes from her life and death.

They also have the Codex Syriacus which is the oldest translation of the Gospels. It dates to the 5^th century.

The Codex Syriacus

In the museum there is also the actual letter written by Mohammed that granted the Monastery protection and patronage by the Moslems.

Handwritten letter from Mohammed assuring protection and patronage by Muslims

Another Icon of St. Catherine

Icon showing the Patron Saint for every day of the week.

Another Virgin and Child icon

The curator of the museum is Father Justin. He spoke to our group along with the SMU Parsons Seminary group in the museum and answered our questions. It turns out that Father Justin was born in Fort Worth. Can you believe that? We came half way around the world and found a monk who was born in Fort Worth!

After the museum tour, we went to our rooms where our luggage had been delivered by the Bedouins who work at the Monastery. After time “freshening up” and putting on more clothes, we went to the dining room for dinner. The dining room was nominally heated, so we ate our dinner all bundled up. After dinner we were sent to another building for our evening devotional. This room only had one kerosene heater and was even colder than the dining hall. We were all sitting in a circle getting ready to begin the devotional when we noticed Dad wasn’t inside. Shortly, he walked in, wearing a traditional arab headdress. We all laughed so hard! He said his head was cold and he bought one from a Bedouin who was selling hats, gloves, etc. outside the gift shop.

Because of the cold, and knowing it would be even colder at 2AM up on Mt. Sinai, only 5 brave souls decided to make the climb the next morning. Ken, Margo, Marty, Larry and Irene were our heroic climbers.

We all retired to our sparsely furnished guestrooms and snuggled in for the cold night.

Don't you just love the green stain on the wood paneling? Those blankets on the bed were very warm and luckily there were two more in an armoire in the room. We needed them!

The next morning we were up and in the dining hall at 7:30. Our valiant climbers were supposed to be back down by 8 or 8:30, but they didn’t show up until 9AM. The poor people were frozen and wind burned. Margo said she didn’t remember the climb being so hard the first time she did it 2 years ago. Although tired and cold, all 5 seemed very elated and each time a climber walked into the dining room they received applause and congratulations. Once our climbers had had a hot shower and breakfast, we all boarded our bus and headed out toward the border crossing to go to Jordan.

This border crossing is rather complicated. To get to Jordan, you have to cross a tiny portion of Israel. If you look at the map, you can see the city of Taba right at the tip of Israel. Once you get into Israel it’s a short drive to the Jordanian border. All of this border crossing had to be done on foot and carrying our own luggage, not to mention we needed wheelchairs for Ruby and Nell. Our bus dropped us at the Egyptian exit station and we all wished Bishoy many thanks for his wonderful guide services by singing “He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”. I think it embarrassed him! All of our luggage was unloaded from the bus and we grabbed our suitcases and other stuff and headed into the lines at the exit station, passports in hand. After being “stamped out” of Egypt we had to walk a distance to the Israeli side and go through security there. By the time we got through this, everyone was pretty cranky and tired.

Samir, our Israeli tour guide met us with a bus and we boarded for the drive to Aqaba where we would cross into Jordan. Luckily, we got to stop and have lunch at a great restaurant and Dad even bought a bottle of wine for the table to share. The food was good, the restrooms were clean and we were all fat and happy again. Back on the bus, we headed to the Jordanian crossing point. Once there we had to repeat the procedure from Egypt all over again. The difference was that the Israeli’s are very strict and non-smiling. We went through security again, then an even longer walk, dragging our luggage and tails behind us, to the Jordanian border where we were “stamped in”. My passport has 2 stamps from Egypt, 4 from Israel and 2 from Jordan.

Egypt

Jordan - "In"

Jordan - "Out"

Israel - "In", "Out", "In", "Out"

Once again tired and dusty, we were greeted by our Jordanian guide, Zaid. We boarded the bus, luggage was loaded and off we went toward Petra.

By the way, we were provided bottled water on all three of our tour buses. In Egypt it was $1 American for 2 bottles of water, in Jordan it was free and in Israel it was $1 American per 1 bottle of water. The Jordanians even gave each person on the bus a gift wrapped box of cookies. Those cookies were wonderful and l decided to save mine and bring them home to Daniel because he really loves cookies!

Holy Land Trip - Part 2

2012-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

Once we were on the bus, our tour guide, Bishoy, told us that some of the group had asked where we could purchase “Egyptian” souvenirs. We went to a shop where papyrus paper is actually made and painted on. On the upper floor we saw a demonstration of the paper making process which was very interesting. They had loads of papyrus beautifully painted with scenes copied from the tombs at the pyramids. Downstairs was a regular gift shop that sold the usual “Egyptian” souvenirs such as ankhs, brass trays, wooden camels, etc. They also sold spices and dried flower petals for cooking and making your own perfume. The smell was intense and rich.

Joining the tour at this point was an armed Tourist Police Officer. We discovered that every country in the Middle East has Tourist Police. He was with us to expedite the group through check-points.

After everyone’s shopping bug was satisfied (for the moment) we boarded the bus and headed across the desert to St. Catherine’s. The scenery was very stark, but the sky was a beautiful blue and every once in a while we would see groups of camels, donkeys and goats roaming about. Bishoy told us that these belonged to the Bedouins who lived in the desert. Every once in a while we would see a Bedouin village or a Bedouin man or boy riding a camel or donkey.

On the way to St. Catherine's. Taken through the window of the bus.

The drive was very long and about half way there we made a short R&R and potty stop. I don’t have a picture of it right now, but Ruby did take a picture of the bathroom at this shabby convenience store out in the middle of nowhere. First thing you have to know is that most public restrooms have an attendant you have to pay in order to use the “facilities”. At this one, as with most, it was one US dollar for 3 people. I’ve got to tell you, this one wasn’t worth a penny for all of us. It was a “squatter”- a hole in the floor. Actually, there were three holes…it was a three stall bathroom. There were tiles on the floor around the hole and tiles to indicate where your feet should be. There were no hand rails or anything to hold onto, so some of us less coordinated and with knees that don’t bend too well were challenged by this. But when nature calls and you don’t know how long it will be to your next stop, you do what you have to.

During the drive Bishoy gave a very thorough history lesson on the region. He also got lots of phone calls. We started teasing him about all his “girlfriends”. He took our goofiness pretty well, but whenever someone tried to ask him a question about his personal life, he dodged it like a bullet - he’d just start telling us about something else that happened in the 6th century. It was really funny.

It started getting cloudy as we gained elevation and got closer to St. Catherine's

As we continued the drive the sky started clouding up as we gained altitude. By the time we reached St. Catherine’s it was very late afternoon. We started out at the Red Sea at a nice mild 60 degree temperature and ended at 5085 feet in below freezing weather with a strong wind blowing. It was a pretty serious shock to the system. None of us had enough clothes on and our luggage was still in the bus.

An olive tree inside the courtyard area at St. Catherine's Monastery

Olive trees would become a common sight to us

Darkness was quickly falling and after we used the ladies room we were rushed to the church where evening services were underway. The church was beautiful but the lighting was dim and since it was dark outside we weren’t able to appreciate the full beauty of the church. The entire ceiling was filled with chandeliers. It seems that every king, queen and head of state likes to gift the Monastery with chandeliers. However, none of them are wired for electricity, they just hang from the ceiling and look pretty. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside the church, but I bought a nice book at the gift shop at St. Catherine’s that has some great shots of the inside of the church.

A page from the book I bought showing the layout of the church and a picture of the inside.

Stay tuned for part 3, 4, 5, etc. I don't really know how many parts there will end up being. I just don't want to bore my readers with a complete, lengthy, detailed description of the trip. So I'm giving it to you in small portions.

Holy Land Trip - Part 1

2012-01-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2012

Our trip started at the Blanco United Methodist Church (BUMC from here on out) at 8:30AM. The group from Blanco was driven to the San Antonio airport by the pastor of the Johnson City United Methodist Church in his church’s 15 passenger bus.

Clint, Al and Donna

Donna, Irene and Cindy

At the airport, Ken Greene, Pastor of BUMC, went to the counter and got everyone’s seat assignments. We were flying US Airways and found that our flight to Washington Dulles would be on GoJet, UA’s commuter airline. Some of us had carry-ons that were so stuffed, they would not fit into the overhead compartments, so the airline personnel took the bags and stowed them in the cargo hold and told us they would be available to us when we got off without having to go to baggage claim. The flight took around 4 hours, but everyone was so excited that it didn’t seem that long. When we got to Washington Dulles we had to de-plane via a stairway onto the tarmac, get out luggage then haul it up stairs into the terminal. This was the first sign that our flights to Egypt were going to be painful.

We rushed to our next gate and boarded the United Airlines flight to Frankfurt. Luckily, we were on a 777 that wasn’t completely full and the overhead bins were large and spacious. On the back of each seat was a monitor on which you could watch movies and there was also a trip map that showed where the plane was, how fast it was going, the altitude, etc. At 4 hours and 51 minutes into the flight it showed that we were travelling at 579 MPH at 39,000 FT. It was -95 degrees outside the plane (yes, that's MINUS 95 degrees) and we had a tailwind that varied between 49 and 79 MPH. At this point Iceland was to our left and we were heading directly over Shannon Ireland. We had travelled 2890 miles and had 1234 miles left to Frankfort. I just thought all this info was really cool. Once we landed in Frankfort it was January 12th at 7:10AM in the morning. I had dozed a bit as had most of the others. Luckily, we had a jet-way to de-plane from, but had a very long walk to our next gate for the plane that was to take us to Sharm el Sheik (pronounced by the locals and Europeans as Sharm el Shake).

Mom and Dad (Al and Donna in background) at the Frankfort airport

Margo, Ken, June and Nell at the Frankfort airport

January 12, 2012

After a layover of almost 4 hours, we found that we had to ride a bus from our gate, to the plane that was out on the tarmac. Condor Airlines is run by the Thomas Cook travel agency. Once again, we had to climb stairs to get on the plane and once again many of our bags would not fit into the overhead compartments. The crew put these bags in the back rows where the seats were empty. This plane was a 727, but had been refitted to hold more people that a normal 727. We got aboard and after dragging luggage, walking up stairs, etc, found that the air on the plane wasn’t on and it was hot. Mom had a window seat and I thought she might claw her way out of that window. She had a panic attack and I was fanning her furiously with the safety card from the seat pocket. Finally the air came on and we got underway. Eventually, Mom got out of her seat and went and sat with Dad in an aisle seat. I scooted over to her seat so that there was an empty seat between me and the kid who was on the aisle. This flight was cram full and there were also babies and small children aboard.

Flying over the Nile River on our way to Sharm el Sheik

Once we got to Sharm el Sheik, we again had to de-plane by stairway, but we had some help with our luggage. We hiked to the terminal and met our tour guide and bus driver, filled out our entry forms and went through security. After everyone completed this, we had to hike to our bus.

Finally, by the end of the evening, we arrived at our hotel, the Helena Marina Hotel where we checked in and met back at the dining room for dinner at 8PM. Our hotel was nice, but not luxurious by any means. We were so tired and cranky that we didn’t care what we were eating, however, there was a beef and rice dish at dinner that was delicious. The food was OK, but just not what Americans are used to. We discovered that the hotel was going to have a Karaoke night out on the terrace that all our rooms faced. I don’t know if anyone sang Karaoke or not (I know our group didn’t) but I do know that the Arabian disco music didn’t stop until 3AM.

Our Hotel at Sharm el Sheik

Mom on the patio of our room in Sharm. (Facingthe terrace where they were playing Arabian Disco music all night.)

Sharm was a one night rest stop. It’s a lovely resort on the Red Sea and the city boasts casinos, hotels, shopping, etc. The city is a vacation spot for Egyptians and Europeans and is also a favorite honeymoon spot. The Red Sea is so blue and crystal clear and there are coral reefs and thousands of different varieties of fish. Snorkeling is a favorite past time for tourists.

The Red Sea from the beach at our hotel.

The next morning Mom and I were up before the rest of the group, so we went to the hotel’s private beach and walked around. We were in light jackets, but there were still a few people out in swimsuits trying to catch some sun. I suppose when you are from Germany or Switzerland anything above 50 degrees is warm!

After breakfast it was check-out time and back on the bus for the trip to St. Catherine’s Monastery.

I'm Off! (In more ways than can be explained.)

2012-01-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Me on my camel ready to go up Mount Sinai!

As most of you know, I'm going to the Middle East (Holy Land) with Mom, Dad and the Blanco United Methodist Church group. We leave Wednesday morning from San Antonio. We will be flying from San Antonio to Washington Dulles then to Frankfurt and from there to Sharm El Shiek, Egypt. Sharm is the largest city clost to Mount Sinai, which is the first stop of our trip. We get to spend one night trying to recoup from jet lag in Sharm, then we will move to Saint Catherine's Monastary at Mount Sinai. The goal is to see the sunrise from atop Mount Sinai. In order to do this, we have to get up at 2AM! If you can't or don't want to walk the 3 miles uphill to the top, you can ride a camel almost to the top. I may opt out to stay at Saint Catherine's and attend morning mass at 5 or 6AM.

Now if you guys know me, and most of you do, you KNOW I am NOT a morning person, so neither of these options sound good to me. I'm just going to leave my options open and see how it goes. It's also very cold this time of year on top of Mount Sinai, so if I go, I'll have to wear lots of clothes because we've been told not to bring heavy coats. Luckily, Daniel had a "space blanket" (you know, one of those silver foil things) that folds up very small. I'm taking that with me and if I ride that camel, I'll be taking the "space blanket" with me!

We will have the one night at Saint Catherine's then travel to Petra, Jordan where we get to stay for 2 nights. After Petra we move to Amman, Jordan where we will tour the mosaic factory in Madaba, visit Mount Nebo and visit Jerash. (This, folks, is all in one day. Feet don't fail me now!)

By now, it's Tuesday and we will get a chance to swim in the Dead Sea. Not sure about this one either, but I'll definitely stick my toes in! Then we are off to Bethlehem where we will be staying at the Holy Family Hotel. (Now they have room at the inn, huh?) We will actually get to spend 4 nights here while we tour the area and see all the important sites and sights.

The last stop will be Nazareth. We spend our last 2 nights at the Mary's Well Hotel there (yes, there is a well and it is where the angel visited Mary and told her she would give birth to Jesus). While in this area we will see the Gallilean areas of Caesarea, Nazareth and Sepphoris.

On Monday, January 23rd, we will fly home from TelAviv.

So until January 25th or so, everyone be good and take care. I'll be back to the blog soon afterwards posting lots of what I hope are cool, interesting pictures.

Christmas Crafts

2011-11-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

I'm working on lighted shadowboxes right now. I entered the one you see below in a contest at RetroCafeArt online. I'll post pictures of some other ones I've made later. I have also done a large shrine/triptych that turned out really pretty.

Halloween Contest Entries

2011-10-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

You may have already seen my entries in the Retro Cafe Art "Anything Goes" Halloween art contest, but if not, I thought I'd post them here.

This is a papier mache box that I have painted and decorated. I took one of those LED tea lights, took the light apart, had Daniel drill a hole just for the light and inserted the light in the bottom of the box. I painted the tea light portion that remained black and put a "skirt" around the bottom of the box between the legs to disguise it. At night, with the light on, it's pretty darn spooky looking!

Here's Mr. Pumpkin Head. Many of you may remember him from the past couple of Halloweens. The contest didn't say that the art had to be newly created, so I entered him. He's one of my favorite Halloween creations

And I call this one "The Witch at Home". I used one of the chipboard shrines I purchase through Retro Cafe Art and decorated it. I digitally created the scene using digital scrapbook papers, elements and other clip art. The back side has a window with a similar scene in it so that it looks as if you are seeing inside the house. I printed the moon on a transparancy sheet and when the whole thing is backlit with a tea light the moon glows!

Well, that's it for now. I'm on to Christmas crafts. I have one large triptych done and I'm working on a shadow box featuring a stained glass window. (not real stained glass, just looks like one.)

The Hinting is Over

2011-09-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Because I have told several of you, including family about the "secret" for January, I may as well tell everyone now. Courtesy of my Dad and along with members of the Blanco United Methodist Church and the Divinity School at SMU I will be going to the Holy Land on a 12 day tour.

Dad has invited my Mom and I to go and who could turn something like this down? The group has already had a meeting at the BUMC parsonage. There will be 16 of us total, not including the students and professors from SMU. Dr. Rev. Margot Perez-Greene, the wife of BUMC pastor, Ken Greene, gave us all advice on what to pack, the weather and other information. She encouraged us to try and only pack one carry on bag for the trip. Now, the majority of the party are women, so this is going to be quite a challenge! We had a wonderful time and plenty of laughter at the meeting. This is going to be an awesome and fun group to travel with.

I applied for a passport last week and our tour company is taking care of Visas for Egypt and Jordan. Our first stop will be Egypt - Mount Sinai. We will have to get up at 2am to reach the top of Mt. Sinai by sunrise. It is a 3 mile walk up the mountain or there are camels that can be ridden. I'm voting on the camel ride, personally. After Mt. Sinai, we travel to Petra, Jordan. Once this part of the trip is over, the BUMC group will split from the SMU group and travel to Jerusalem. The rest of the trip will be spent seeing the important Biblical sites in the area of Jerusalem.

I will post more information as the time draws closer to departure. One thing I would like to offer to any and all is to carry prayers to put into the Wailing Wall. I'll give more info on this in a later post as well.

Here's a Hint!

2011-09-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Remember in my last post I mentioned a surprise coming in January? Well, this picture is the first hint.

Doesn't this look wonderful?

I'm not sure how long I need to hold out on the secret or how long I can hold out, but more hints are to come!

It's September?

2011-09-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe I did it again. Let a whole month go by without a post. However, for those of you who live here in Texas, I'm sure that you'll understand that the heat has been so oppressive, that even indoors no one feels like doing anything! To make up for it, here's a nice September calendar I designed for you to download and use.

I read on other blogs that I follow about everyone being so happy that it's September and fall is coming, cooler weather is coming, yada yada yada. We Texans know that we can just wait until late October to have any steady relief from the heat when our 2 week period of fall arrives!

One really wonderful thing about this September is Dylan and Paige will be here for a couple of days on their way to their new duty station, San Diego. I never made it up to Glenview/Great Lakes the whole time they were there, and believe me, this summer would have been the perfect time to enjoy the cooler climate. I sincerely hope I can manage to visit them in San Diego before Dylan gets out of the Navy. By the way, Dylan says that the Fort Worth Star Telegram is going to cover his re-enlistment on September 9th!

There's something big going on for January 2012, but I'm sworn to secrecy for now. Look for future posts hinting at what's going on!

Industrial Chic Table

2011-07-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone! We've had this table forever. As a matter of fact, I believe that Daniel had it when he lived in El Paso. At one time I used it as a buffet table in our dining room before we got the dining set and buffet we have now. What's cool about this table is that the height is adjustable. There's a hand crank on one side and you just wind it up or down to whatever height you need from 28 1/2 inces to 22 1/2 inches. The top is solid wood as are the legs. It's actually pretty heavy!
Unfortunately, this poor table has been relegated to the workshop for sometime now and a bit abused. The top needs to be refinished or painted and we really don't have room or use for it anymore. We've listed it on Craigslist for $125 obo, so if you know anyone who could use this cool table let them know about this post and give them my contact info!

What I Have For Sale on Etsy

2011-07-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Let Them Eat Cake Inside

Let Them Eat Cake Outside

Right now I have several of my triptychs for sale on Etsy. What's a triptych you ask? According to Webster's Dictionary a triptych is: a picture or carving in three pieces side by side esp: an altarpiece with a central panel and two flanking panels half its size that fold over it.

I am not claiming that my little works of art are altarpieces, although two of them are religious in nature, but they certainly fit the description of a central panel and two flanking panels that fold over it. These little jewel-like works of art would be excellent gifts for birthdays, anniversaries or any special occasion. They measure 3 inches tall and 4 inches wide when opened up. Being freestanding, they would decorate any level surface and bring a touch of color and whimsey wherever they are placed.

If you would like one of these, check out my Etsy site http://www.etsy.com/shop/Skyemcdowell to see them all or if you would like a special, customized triptych, let me know and I can make one for you in your own color choice for your own "special" occasion!

Hail Mary Inside

Hail Mary Outside

Think, Love, Live, Joy Inside

Think, Love, Live, Joy Outside

Starburst Mirror DIY

2011-06-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen these on other blogs, but I wanted to show mine off. Most leave the wood natural but you know me and the black stuff for the living room...I had to paint it black. To me, the style, as I've done it is "elegant rustic".

I used 3 wooden floral rings from Michael's (18", 12" & 6"), a 10" mirror also from Michael's and 1 1/2 pkgs of cedar shims from Lowe's.

Using Liquid Nails I glued the shims into 3 layers using the wooden floral rings as a base. I also added some upholstery trim around the mirror and a fleur de lis.

The whole project cost around $20.00.

He Shaved His Head!

2011-06-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

My son, Dylan, who is in the Navy, teaches at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. He challenged his current class to reach a goal and said if they did, he'd shave his head.

They did and he did.

I think he's very handsome with or without hair, but I may be a bit biased.

To read about this in his own words and see pictures of the hair going, going, gone go to: http://thewanderingcottage.blogspot.com/

Fathers Day

2011-06-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

My siblings and I have been back and forth to my Dad's in Blanco quite a bit this month. Although we were there for a sad reason, it was still good to spend time with my Dad and get the chance to spoil him some with a couple of home-cooked meals and evening snacks. I also think he enjoyed having all of us together for a few days. That seldom happens because we all have crazy schedules. Well, except for me. I have no schedule at all.

Anyway, the first week we were there, we found that a couple of wrens had built a nest in a gourd bird house that Amy had hung on the patio between the main house and the guest house. By the time we returned a week later, these little hungry babies had already fledged and left the nest. Boy did they grow fast. Below is a picture that my brother Chris took of them waiting to be fed. BTW, there were 5 of them stuffed in there!

Not to be out done, the House Finches, otherwise known as Purple Finches, and Cardinals were parenting away as well.

Notice in these two pictures, it's the Fathers doing the caring and feeding. Mom's must have been having a rest!

So Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there who work so hard to provide for their families and make a nest for their chicks - even the grown chicks who return from time to time.

Mother's Day Gift for my Mom

2011-05-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Mom requested that I make her one of my "Bird Pillows" for Mother's Day. So I did. Here's a picture of it on the couch in her livingroom. I also made the box that is on the ottoman and did the flower arrangement in the antique glass vase.

It's May!

2011-05-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that I let April go completely by without a post! Wow! What was I doing? Well, really, nothing. That is, nothing to get very excited about. But now it's May and we have already celebrated four Birthdays, Mother's Day and an upcoming wedding....all in one day!
Maria, Bella, Rachel and I all have May birthdays, so yesterday, on Mother's Day, we all got together at my Mom's house to celebrate all our birthdays as well as Mother's Day and Maggie and Cody's upcoming wedding.
Here are a few pictures:

Here we are blowing out the candles on the Red Velvet cupcakes Mom made! Bella is hidden between Maria and Rachel.

Cody and Maggie in pre-wedding attire. They are so funny!

Isabella helping serve tea.

PS: How about Chris' beard? I think he looks very handsome.

Mom had some HulaHoops and the kids tried them out on the patio. Paul hasn't quite got the hang of it here.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. I won't be gone so long this time. I am doing flowers for a friends wedding at the end of this month and I will post pics when I get them done. They are looking beautiful so far!

Easy Banana Bread

2011-03-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

We had some bananas that were quickly going bad, so I decided to make Banana Bread. Now, I'm not much of a baker, and I haven't actually baked anything in quite a while, so I searched online for an easy recipe. I found a basic recipe that looked like something I could handle, and then I "tweaked" it. The Banana Bread came out perfect! It's sooooo good.

Enjoy!

Livingroom Re-Do for Spring and Summer

2011-03-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, with the help of my very helpful hubby, I rearranged and re-styled our livingroom for spring and summer. Even though the temperatures were not exactly spring-like, I decided I just couldn't wait for next weekend to brighten things up. First thing, we changed out our drapes from the eggplant fall/winter ones to the cool natural colored drapes I made from painter's drop cloths. The red throws have been replaced by natural and off white ones and I changed out all the pillow covers to the natural and black ones I made last year. I did leave some touches of red in the room for intrest. Then we decided to get really adventurous and "flip" the room. We moved the couch from the west wall to the east wall and moved the loveseat from the east wall to the west wall. After some switching of occasional tables and the sofa table, we found an arrangement that we really liked.

East side of the livingroom. I think the doggies like it too.

West side of the livingroom. Notice how we put the love seat and an angle. The chair that goes with the couch and love seat is now at the north end of the living room....no pics of that end yet.

How about this cool artwork? I bought a piece of canvas material at JoAnn's and drew this chair on it with a Sharpie. I copied the chair from a pic I found online. My helpful hubby made the wooden stretcher frame to put it on out of scraps.

I took down the collage that usually hangs over the couch when it's on the west side of the livingroom and replaced it with this chair art and the wall hanging I made below.

I made this using silver frames from the dollar store. I designed the letters on my computer to fit the openings and printed them. Using a "D" ring, 1 1/2 inch black grosgrain ribbon and hot glue I now have a cute wall hanging.

I will take pictures of the north end of the livingroom and try to post them tomorrow. Unfortunately, our livingroom is so long, I can't get it all in one picture.

Fish Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Crunchy Corn Salsa

2011-03-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Daniel's birthday was yesterday and I made Fish Tacos for dinner. We hadn't made them before, but they turned out great! He loved them and we'll be having them again soon!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Fish fillets - (We use tilapia) 1 fillet will make 2 tacos

Lime pepper

Olive Oil

Corn Tortillas

Spicy Slaw

Crunchy Corn Salsa

The Spicy Slaw recipe and the Crunchy Corn Salsa recipe make enough for approximately 6 to 8 tacos.

Fish:

Coat fillets with olive oil then sprinkle generously with lime pepper. You can bake the fillets at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or grill them for 3 to 5 minutes each side.

For Spicy Slaw:

1 small package of coleslaw mix

1/2 Cup of mayo or salad dressing (Miracle Whip)

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning mix

Directions:

Combine 1/2 cup of mayo with the packet of taco seasoning mix, toss in coleslaw until it's covered with dressing and seasoning mix.

I know it sounds weird, but it tastes great!

For Crunchy Corn Salsa:

1 can of corn, drained

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1 cup of cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1 cup peeled, chopped jicama

1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Combine corn, onion, bell pepper, jicama and cilantro leaves in bowl. Sprinkle lime juice over all and toss.

Use two warmed corn tortillas for each taco. If you use only one, they have a tendancy to break apart and leak. Add fish (1/2 fillet per taco) to tortillas, layer in the Spicy Slaw and add the Crunchy Corn Salsa.

Sour cream or avacado slices on the side make a great addition on the side or in the taco.

The Crunchy Corn Salsa is also good on the side as well.

Lawncare 101

2011-03-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

No, this isn't the yardman....it's my wonderful husband, Daniel. What in the heck is he doing? He decided to pull out the old push mower and mow our little section of grass in the backyard. I think it was way more work than he expected.

Mardi Gras in OakCliff

2011-03-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the annual Mardi Gras parade here in OakCliff. It was sunny and 65 degrees, so we decided to go down to Davis Street and see what was happening. Luckily, I knew a great place to park where we would be up close and not even have to get out of the car. We took Daniel's little convertible and sure enough, our parking spot awaited. We put the top down, perched on top of the back seat and waited for the fun to start. Here are some pictures from the parade:

This was our favorite "float". The Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association had a groovy 60"s theme!

The woman on the far left is holding a live alligator. This is the Dallas Zoo's entry in the parade. They also had a snake and a Great Horned Owl on the float.

Sunset High School Marching Band

FidOakCliff! They are a non-profit group that is trying to get a dog park in the area.
Sheba and Shorty hope they succeed!

This woman not only was walking on stilts, but she was Hoola-Hooping while doing it!
Did you know that I was the Hoola-Hoop champion of my kindergarden class? Really, I was. I couldn't Hoola-Hoop now if my life depended on it!

I hope you enjoy the pictures. We had a great time and I have a nice collection of Mardi Gras beads to show for it!

Just Sitting Here Wondering...

2011-02-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

Just sitting here wondering....

When the heck is Spring going to get here?

Quilting - or something like it

2011-01-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

Quilt\’k wilt\ n: 1: a bed coverlet of two layers of cloth filled with wool, cotton, or down and held in place by stitched designs 2: something that is quilted or resembles a quilt

A couple of years ago I purchased some “Charm Packs” of fabric from The Fat Quarter Shop online. The purpose was to use these 5”x 5” pieces of fabric for making doll clothes. I did use quite a few of them for that purpose, making some skirts and other garments for my Ellowyne doll and my BJD doll.

I have never “quilted” or even thought about making a quilt until last week. As I was rearranging and looking through all my totes of fabric and crafting stuff last week I ran across these same “Charm Packs”. As I sifted through the lovely squares of cotton fabric, I decided to try making a small quilt. I looked up instructions online and found instructions for making a “tufted” quilt. This seemed the easiest kind to make and the quickest - I’m not long on patience and when I start a project, I want to get finished as quickly as possible.

After measuring and counting squares I was short by about 20. I knew I’d have to have a backing fabric as well, to off I went to JoAnn’s where I also found a beautiful package of fat quarters. Now these didn’t go with my plan, but I was captivated by the colors and patterns, so I purchased them and the rest of the fabric and thread I’d need to make a quilt with them.

Here is the result.

It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s a start. This little lap quilt measures 34” x 44”. It was a good project to experiment on and learn on. So now I’m off to begin putting my original “Charm Pack” squares together for the next quilt!

Here are some samples of the fabric I’m using.

January 2011 Calendar

2010-12-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

I have created this calendar using the gorgeous digital scrapbooking elements from Scrap Girls. and Sweet Shoppe Designs.
Please feel free to download and use this wintery, January calendar.

Images of Christmas

2010-12-27T15:18:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Sweet Shoppe Designs and Scrap Girls for the fabulous graphic elements I used with these pictures.

Decorating for Christmas

2010-12-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

This year we had a dilema about the Christmas tree. Since this is the first Christmas with Sheba and Shorty, we weren't too sure about putting up our big, beautiful 7 1/2 foot tree. So, we decided to put a smaller tree up on our round end table. At Home Depot, we found a 6 1/2 foot tree that had clear lights and came in a planter. It is actually meant to go outside on the porch or walkway, but it looked very nice in the store. Since it only had clear lights, and not a whole lot of those, we purchased a long string of colored lights to add to it. At 6 1/2 feet on the 18 inch high table, the tree touches the ceiling. I have it all decorated and the dogs haven't paid a bit of attention to it, thank goodness!

The Tree

I wish the picture was better because this one just doesn't do it justice.

Here are some more pictures of the Christmas decorations this year.

Right Side of the Living Room Bookshelves

Top of the bookcase in the hall

Buffet in Dining Room

The Bar Area

I have a large collage that normally hangs on the wall above the couch in the living room. This year, I decided to make some art to take the place of the collage for Christmas. Here it is. All made by me almost for free. I had the frames and the canvas on hand already. Just got out some paint, ribbon and designed the art to go with it!

There is much more to see and I'll post more pictures as Christmas Day nears.

All Girl Road Trip

2010-11-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

My sister, Carol, her friend, Ellen and I went on a short road trip this week. We went to Ellen's family cabin at Lake Simpson in East Texas. It's on a beautiful, private lake with lots of pine trees, oaks just changing color and lots of white-tail deer wandering all around.

We left on Thursday and arrived at the cabin to unload our stuff. Then we hopped back in the car and headed to Longview and Ellis Pottery. I had never been there, and let me tell you it was Christmas decor galore. I was on overload! We must have stayed there for hours! I purchased this cute penguin to go with all my other Christmas penguins. Isn't he adorable?

After that shopping extravaganza, we went back to the cabin, had dinner (a delish Stacked Enchilada Casserole thanks to Ellen), lit a fire in the fireplace, had some drinks, girl talk and a movie.

Friday we all got up and got ready for a trip to Jefferson, Texas. Jefferson is a lovely little town with many gorgeous Victorian homes and a town square rife with antique and gift shops. We prowled the aisles of many antique shops, then had lunch at Kat's Kornbread and Pie Shop. They have the best sandwiches made on very dense "Kornbread". I had one that was made with chili, cheese and onions, billed as "the only sandwich you have to eat with a fork". It was simply devine!

Then it was time for more looking and shopping. At one of our last stops, Pat Ann's, I found a set of three wooden cardinals on pedestals. They are painted red, distressed and all three are in different poses. I will post of picture of these when I post my Christmas decor pictures. I have the perfect place for them.

At last, we were tired and shopped out and we headed back to the cabin. Carol and Ellen got in their jammies and we started a fire. Around 7PM we had dinner of homemade Chicken Noodle Soup that Carol had made and brought and garlic toast fingers that Ellen made there at the cabin. More girl talk, drinks and movies and it was off to dreamland.

This morning we got up, packed, cleaned things up and hit the road for home. But first a stop back at Ellis Pottery. You see, on Thursday Carol had purchased 2 awesome lava candles. One gold and the other red. Thursday night we plugged them in and oohed and ahhed at the coolness of them in the darkened living room. Ellen and I had both decided we needed them too. So, on our way back home, we stopped in and I got a red one, Ellen bought 2 gold ones and Carol got another gold one. This picture doesn't do them justice, but just gives you an idea of what they look like.

By this time, Carol's little red HHR was packed to the gills. If we had more room we would probably purchased more cool stuff. Maybe next time, we'll take my bigger SUV. Many, many thanks to Ellen for having us out to the cabin and to Carol for doing the driving and to BOTH of them for the fun!

More Football!

2010-11-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Frankie played football Sunday afternoon. The Bishop Dunne Varsity Middle School Team played St. Paul. Unfortunately, Bishop Dunne's team played like the Dallas Cowboys and lost by quite a bit.

The really good thing? Frankie got to play! This is his first year to every play football, so he hasn't been put in very often, but he does really well and looks good doing it when he's on the field. His Grandpa and I hope he sticks with it next year and gets to play more often.

November 2010 Calendar

2010-10-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

Every month I design a calendar for the current/upcoming month. I thought I would share the November calendar with you. Notice that I only have info listed for my immediate family. If others in my extended family would like information like birthdays, anniversaries, etc included on the calendar, please let me know.

Later in November I will have the December calendar made and I will also include in my post a blank calendar that you can fill in on your own.

Please feel free to save, print and share.

Thanks to Scrap Girls and Sweet Shoppe Designs for the terrific grafics used in this project.

Just a Little Spooky

2010-10-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

The past few days have actually felt like fall. After the triple digit temperatures and the high humidity, lower 80's during the day and upper 50's at night make for beautiful living. The doors and windows are open (although I admit they are closed right now - it's not even 60 degrees outside yet and that's a tad chilly for me as I sit in my pajamas blogging) the birds are singing, the dogs are running amok and the squirrels are busy.

I had planned on putting my fall decor out on the first day of fall, September 24, but it was still too hot to mess with it. So this Friday, with the high temp only in the mid 80's, I dug everything out and fixed up the porch and the living room for fall/Halloween.

Our Front Door

Left side of the Porch

Right side of the Porch and the Wicked Witch

The Living Room

You may remember Mr. Pumpkin Head from last year. This year I added some bottles of Potion and Pirate Grog!

More Fall/Halloween Decor in the Living Room

Above are Halloween digital collages I created for these frames with digital elements from Scrap Girls and Sweet Shoppe Designs. After Halloween, I will replace them with Fall collages.

Below are the actual digital collages up close.

Happy Halloween!

Friday Night Lights

2010-10-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our grandson, Frankie, has started playing football at his new school this year. Bishop Dunne Catholic School is a private school for grades 5-12. Frankie is in 7th grade and has never played football before. He's doing well in practice and got to make three plays in his game today, Sunday.

Friday was Bishop Dunne's homecoming and the middle school players got to run out on the field with the varsity players before the game started. The coaches wanted the younger players to experience the excitement of a Varsity homecoming game.

Frankie is number 64 and he plays guard for the offense. Following are some of the pictures I took at the game. By the way, Bishop Dunne won their game 52-22!

Go Falcons!

Boo!

2010-09-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

The cooler weather is finally getting me more in the mood for Fall and Halloween. The high temp today was only 80!

Thanks to my wonderful daughter-in-law, Paige, for the inspiration to make this goody.

More Halloween projects and decor coming soon!

Fall Wreath

2010-09-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Although it's far from fall weather-wise here in Dallas, I decided I needed a new fall wreath for the front door. I purchased a simple straw and sunflower wreath for the upstairs front door last year, but I've been using the same fall wreath for our front door for years. It's seen better days, plus it's really big and everyone brushes up against it and knocks stuff off when they come in and out.

So here it is -

Everything came from Hobby Lobby and everything I used to make the wreath was on sale! Woo Hoo!

I won't be putting up the Fall/Halloween decor on the front porch until the actual first day of Fall. Hopefully by then it will be a tad cooler. (Crossing my fingers.)

Back to School

2010-08-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here in Dallas, it's the first day of school. However, we already have two Grandsons off to school, one to a new, private school and the other to his first year of college.

Here is Frankie dressed in his new school uniform ready to start at Bishop Dunn Catholic School.

Doesn't he look handsome?

Yesterday Rachel and I packed up Daniel to move into his dorm at The University of North Texas.

Go Mean Green!

When we got there, and luckily found decent parking, we went inside the dorm and Daniel got checked in. Guess what? His room was on the third floor (top floor of this dorm) and there was no elevator. Oh, boy!

We went up to check out his room and found that his roommate had already been there and picked out his bed and unloaded his stuff. Fortunately, this left Daniel with the bed by the window. The room was originally configured for 3 students, but UNT only allows 2 to a room now. This meant that they got a bigger room than usual.

Being Grandma, and having already fallen going UP the stairs, I sat in the room while Rachel, Daniel and Dalton shlepped all his stuff up three flights of stairs. The room was almost unbearably hot - we still don't know if the A/C was on or not. By the time everything was moved in and I had put away some of the stuff in drawers, etc, we were all dripping with sweat.

Only later did we find out that the "official" high temp yesterday was 105! No wonder we were sweaty!

Daniel's roommate, Jeremy, showed up in a bit and we got to meet him. It was really funny, he and Daniel were dressed nearly alike! I think they are going to get along fine.

Once Jeremy came in, Daniel was ready to get Mom, Grandma and little Brother out of his room! He told us he needed for us to leave so he could "feng shui" his room!

Obviously, he did some Feng Shui and his room looks more "lived in" today.

Needless to say, we are all very proud of Daniel. He's our first grandkid to go off to college. Only 5 more to go!

Easy Chicken Casserole

2010-08-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe for a fast and easy chicken casserole. You can also substitute the chicken with tuna.

This casserole can be ready in 15 minutes and is great served with garlic bread, breadsticks or a green salad.

Bon Appetit!

Christmas in August

2010-08-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Just because it's at least a billion degrees outside doesn't mean it's too hot to work on Christmas crafts. I had a cute set of lacing cards from Cosmo Cricket (http://www.cosmocricket.com/) but I didn't particularly care for the way they were designed to be used. Plus the back of each card was bare naked! The colors of the kit however, were great for a Christmas project. So here's what I did....

The Front

The chipboard letters for DREAMS came with the kit as did the frames for pictures. I already had a K and Company Brenda Walton Christmas Chipbox from last year and the colors were a good fit. I also have a ton of vintage Christmas images on my computer, so I used a few of those as well. I added some gems and glitter, used my own ribbon and other Christmas elements I had on hand, and there you are!

The Back

As I mentioned earlier, the back of the lacing cards were simply plain chipboard. I used paper from Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding and Fruitcake collections to cover the bare backs and finished them up with elements I had on hand.

This was fun and easy to make and will look perfect on a shelf at Christmas!

Hope you enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July was pretty quiet. Just the two of us and the dogs. Since it looked like it had finally quit raining after 4 days (which is rare here in Dallas in July) we decided to grill. We went to our local Tom Thumb to pick up a few things for our 4th of July dinner and the place looked like a swarm of locusts had been through. I couldn't even find cherry tomatoes! Well, I guess that's what happens when you wait until the last minute.

So I marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts in Italian dressing for approximately 4 hours and around 5PM, Daniel fired up the grill.

And while he did that - I did this....

And in an hour, we had a delicious, 4th of July dinner!

We were going to sit out on our patio and sip Margaritas after dinner, but it was too darn hot and humid - even with the fan on. So we sat in the living room and watched "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS.

Not quite as much fun as live fireworks but it was much cooler and there weren't any mosquitos!

Hope all of you had a wonderful July 4th!

His Eye is on the Sparrow

2010-06-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is the latest project that I've completed.

I love the song "His Eye is on the Sparrow" so I made a little 5 page chipboard tag book based on this song and the scripture that inspired it.

Hope you like it.

Stuck - Unstuck

2010-06-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

I've been stuck. Can't think of anything creative to do and it has been driving me crazy. Actually giving me a headache. Then suddenly - Whamo! I've got 2 ideas. So I begin digging out paper and adhesives and the handy, dandy craft knife. Oooo, so much fun.

Then - disaster. My stupid computer goes wacky. I only have 57MB of memory left and it won't let me do anything! Gak! Run to Best Buy. Buy an external hard drive. Download everything but my wonderful pictures and graphics onto it. Reboot. Now the internet it all messed up. I can't get on Facebook or get to my Yahoo e-mail! Pound head on desk. Cry. Shut down computer.

Download new book onto my Nook. Read until I'm cross-eyed and cranky. Go to bed (after several glasses of wine).

Dogs wake me at 9AM. You guys know that's too early for me. I mean, I didn't go to bed until midnight and I need lots of sleep.

Sit down at my computer around 10AM. Power up. Oh, thank goodness! Everything is working again! I can go back to my little creations and make pretty stuff!

So Happy!

Graduation!

2010-05-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hat Toss

My Grandson, Daniel, graduated from high school Friday night. It was a beautiful ceremony in the Glen Rose High School auditorium, which is very, very nice in itself. I can't believe I have a grandchild who's old enough to graduate!

Just 5 more grandkids to go to get them all graduated from high school. By the time Daniel graduates from college, we should have two or three more high school graduates under our belts and by 2020 we will, hopefully, have them all graduated from high school!

At Home before Graduation

Receiving the Diploma

With his Great-Grandmothers

Grandma Wood & Grandma Perez

With a very proud Mama and that coveted diploma

Daniel will begin classes at The University of North Texas this fall majoring in Political Science.

Happy Birthday to...Me!

2010-05-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

We really splurged on my Birthday this year. Daniel got me an IPhone that I love, love love and I bought myself this: A Nook e-reader from .B&N.

I've already read 4 books on the thing! You can download a newly published book that would cost $25 to $30 dollars in hardback for around $12.99 in seconds and not even leave the house! There are tons of free e-books and lots under $5.00 which is like going to Half Price Books.

Naturally, I love our library here in Dallas, but when a new book comes out by a popular author you have to get on a wait list that sometimes makes you wait over a month. I'm too impatient for some of the new releases from my favorite authors to wait, but too cheap to spend the big bucks on a hardback. The Nook is the solution for me. Also, I can lend the e-books I purchase to friends who have a Nook, Kindle or anyother e-reader and vise versa.

If you are a voracious reader like me, I highly recommend the Nook.

Our Patio is Finished!

2010-05-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

As a lot of you know, we've been working since LAST spring to make a nice outdoor space in the backyard. We managed to get the firepit done and put some pavers down for the glider, but that was it.

This year we decided we had to finish it. It's taken a couple of months, working and buying a little at a time but it is now finished.

I'm so proud of the backyard now. Where once there was an unfriendly, unlivable space there is now a great spot for conversation, grilling and enjoying life outdoors!

No, it's not foggy - it's Daniel grilling! And no, that's not Frankie's Shiner Bock, it's Grandma's (mine)

Path from the back door to the door of the workshop. As anyone who has been in our backyard knows, this was a real trouble spot. It gets very little to no sun so very little grass grows here. When it rains it turns into a slippery mud pit. Now we have a nice walkway and I've transplanted some monkey grass (that stuff grows anywhere) along the side of the workshop to give us some greenery.

And last, but not least, we decorated my beloved Skye's last resting place. The ivy should grow to cover the ground and make a lovely green spot where we remember her always.

One of the BEST Mother's Days Ever!

2010-05-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just Desserts! Don't they look yummy!

This year we gathered at my Mom's to celebrate Mother's Day. All three of my girls came and ALL of the grandkids. We haven't had all of the grandkid's together in one place in a really long time, so this was just a great, great day! My sister, Carol, had to work, but my brother-in-law, Preston came out and brought chicken to cook on the grill. I brought brats and potato salad, Mom had cooked beans and cornbread. The girls all brought various and sundry desserts with Maggie bringing a delicious pasta salad.

The "Grown Up" table

Paul and Libby

Don't you just love Libby's new "do"?

All of Us

Back row, left to right: Rachel, Maggie, myself and Maria

In the rocking chair: Bella

On the couch, let to right: Daniel, Libby, Paul, Dalton

My brother Chris took pics as well, but you know how difficult it can be to get pictures of a group like this, especially with teenagers, brothers, sisters, etc all next to each other! But regardless, this is will be one of my favorite pictures ever!

One of these days, we'll be able to get Dylan and Paige in here. That would be the BEST!

I'm a proud and happy Mom and on our way back to Dallas I told my husband, Daniel, with tears in my eyes, that this was one of the best Mother's Days I've ever had!

Love you all kids and thank you!

The Latest Projects

2010-05-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

My front porch needed some extra zing and since it is completely covered and pretty much weatherproof (unless there's a tornado) I can put things out that normally you wouldn't put on the front porch.

First off, I needed something nice, but understated for the front door. Normally I would have a wreath, but I just didn't have anything handy or inspired that I wanted to put up. So, I had my handy husband cut this large papier-mache star into halves...

Then I proceeded to cover one half with various scrapbooking papers. I put a large brad in the middle and eyelets at the points and indentions and voila!

A nice star to hang on the old battered, front door.

One of these days, we'll have a new front door, but for now, a little decoration helps cover up it's flaws.

Next, I decided I needed something for the left side of the front door. There are two nails there placed by former owners and if we take them out they will leave holes in the siding. I usually hang a wall pocket or something like that there, but this year I wanted something different. Here's what I made:

Now my porch is decorated for late spring, early summer. I'll probably change out everything around July, but until then it's looking lovely.

More Graphic Scrapbooking

2010-04-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of "pages" that I have made for Sheba and Shorty...

Sheba

Shorty

Thanks once again to Sweet Shoppe Designs for their fab graphics!

Sweet Dreams

2010-04-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sweet Shoppe Designs for the wonderful graphics.

2010-04-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

Bella's 8th birthday isn't until May 2nd. but we celebrated Saturday, here at the house with the great-grandmas and friends and family!

Here she is, posing on the front porch. The weather was wonderful and everyone gathered on the porch as we waited for all the guests to arrive.

Here's Cake!

Lots of presents!

Aunt Maggie and Momma serve up the cake and ice cream!

Great-Grandma Perez

Great-Grandma Wood, Libby and Maggie

Bella got Papa Daniel and Uncle Chris to play Barbie with her! She's got all the boys, young and old, wrapped around her little finger!

Everything's Coming Up ... Irisis!

2010-04-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Amazingly, we have never had these lovely blue Dutch Iris come up in our yard before. Like the Daffodils and Jonquils, we are wondering where they came from and where they have been, but we are grateful for their beauty.

Mostly, we have yellow irisis.

But we also have a few of these gorgeous dark reddish-purple ones too!

We've been blessed this Spring with beautiful flowers with the promise of more to come for the summer!

Mother's Day Gift

2010-04-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a little gift for my Mom for Mother's Day and I thought I would share it with you.

Here is how it started out:

It is about the size of a CD and came in a kit along with a square tin and insert from

http://www.scrapbooksteals.com/

Here's the finished front

And here's the finished back

and here how it looks open and folded out.

On the second panel from your left I used two small sticks from the backyard and some cool fring-y fiber trim to make the nest. I then placed a sweet cut out paper bird in the nest and decorated the "branches" with green leaves and tiny flowers!

and here's the backside of the panels.

Mom is doing a bird theme for decorating her house for sping, so this should just fit right in!

Thanks again to Sweet Shoppe Designs for the great grahpic that help and inspire me!

Dislocated and Discombobulated

2010-04-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

Blanco Courthouse

My sister, Carol, and I had planned to go to Blanco (Texas) to do a Tuesday Bible Study supper for my Dad's birthday. We were to leave Monday. Unfortunately, my Dad, who will be 84 this Sunday, did a triple gainer in the parking lot of the nursing home on Friday. He dislocated his shoulder, banged up his face and chipped a bone in his arm. Carol, who is a respiratory therapist at a hospital in Fort Worth, packed up and headed down to Blanco on Saturday. Luckily, my Dad has really great friends in Blanco who patched up the wounds, drove him to the hospital and kept watch over him until Carol could get there.

Dad is fine except for an immobilizing sling on his right arm. The hard part is that Dad spends almost all of his time at the nursing home with Anne, his wife and our stepmom. She is NOT in good condition and Dad needed someone to help her eat her meals and give him some time for R&R. That's mainly why Carol went on Saturday. Bless her. I'm good at some things, but taking care of frail, elderly people is not one of them. I'm terribly afraid I'll break them or do something wrong.

Anyway, long story getting longer, Carol had to purchase most of the supplies for the church dinner in San Antonio. I picked up the chopped BBQ from my brother-in-law, Preston, on Monday and drove down to Blanco to lend what help and support I could. Despite Dad's injury and all the details of caring for Anne, we managed to have a pleasant Tuesday, which included an impromptu birthday party at the Deutsch Apple late morning with a freshly baked Coconut Cake. Then we proceeded to do our shopping at the Super S and had lunch at the Redbud Cafe which is on the square.

Deutsch Apple

http://www.thedeutschapple.com/

Redbud Cafe

http://redbud-cafe.com/

The dinner went well as we fed 55 people and made 5 to-go orders. The menu was chopped BBQ sandwiches with all the fixin's, Ranch Style Beans and chips. Dessert was Blue Bell Homade Vanilla ice cream and a variety of yummy cookies and brownies.

I came home yesterday, but not before another birthday lunch for Dad, again at the Redbud Cafe, with BUMC Pastor Ken Green and his lovely wife Margo and Dad's BFF Clint DeWolfe. If you are ever in Blanco, you MUST try the Redbud Cafe! The food is fab!

BTW - they have dug up all the grass around the courthouse and covered the sidewalks with gravel. When I asked what was up I was told that the Cohen brothers are filming a re-make of "True Grit" and they are using the Blanco Courthouse for some scenes. Filming begins next moth and the movie is starring Jeff Bridges as "Rooster" Cogburn and Matt Damon is also one of the stars!

and along came ... Shorty!

2010-03-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I decided that it was time Sheba had a brother or sister to play with, so Sunday we went to the Dallas Animal Service Adoption Center. We took Sheba with us and I roamed the cages for some prospective playmates. I picked out this little guy first, then a couple of other Minpins and a Chiweenie. We took them all to an outdoor area to play and after some time getting used to each other, we found that Sheba and Shorty got along really well. So I paid the fee and Shorty went to surgery on Tuesday for neutering. I picked him up today and he's the sweetest thing ever!

Notice the boy diaper? Well, Shorty is already 1 1/2 years old, just like Sheba, and he's become used to "marking" his territory. After some research I found that most people recommened using the "male wrap" to discourage marking in the house. So far, it's working.

How about that beautiful "marbled" eye? Yes, I said marbled. Shorty's left eye is part blue and part brown. His right eye is all brown. Isn't he a beauty?

Projects

2010-03-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've been working on several projects recently - all at the same time. This is probably why it's taken so long to complete them! Here is the first project:

My Dad's 84th birthday is in April, and here is a centerpiece that I've made for his birthday celebration! Carol and I are going down to Blanco the Monday after Easter and on Tuesday, we'll be feeding 50 at the Blanco Methodist Church to celebrate Dad's birthday.

All this took was a kraft board box and numbers, scrapbook paper, craft paint, ribbon and some flowers and sparkly stuff to add in there, oh, and also some bright green easter grass!

Next is a tray. Daniel had been wanting a small tray to put on the love seat next to where he sits most of the time to set his drinks on. I had this 9 x 11 bare wood tray sitting around, so I fixed it up to match the living room decor. First I painted it black with craft paint, then I spray painted over that with Rust-Oleum Ivory Silk in a satin finish. I then sanded the edges to give it that "used" look and applied some black and white rub-ons I've had lying around forever. And....Voila!

More from the Dallas Arboretum

2010-03-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

Iceland Poppy

Paperwhites

Daffodils

Butterfly Magnolia

Forsythia

Columbine

Camilla

Dallas Blooms - Spring at the Arboretum

2010-03-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I went to the Dallas Arboretum this afternoon. The temperature was in the upper 60's, the sky was bluer than blue (as you'll see in some of the following pics) and the spring flowers were a riot of color.

I took my trusty Kodak Digital camera and got snap-happy. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Tulips, tulips everywhere!

Cherry Blossoms

Man Gadgets

2010-03-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

You know how guys are about gadgets. I thought my husband, Daniel, was fairly imune to this typically male obsession, but now I'm not so sure. The problem is I may have been the one who started it.

I always encourage him to get a new tool if he needs it for a project, but today he came home with this:

Yes, it's a Dyson cordless vac.

I'll admit it's pretty nifty and handy to have about, but it just surprised me when he brought it home yesterday evening.

Hmmmm, have I created a monster? I mean, I did buy him an I-Phone for his birthday this week and we did purchase a cool multi-tool at Home Depot too, so maybe I've started something.

Living Room Re-Design for Spring/Summer

2010-03-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Even though we had snow (yes, here in Dallas, Texas) on the first day of spring and the second day of spring was barely better, I had to go ahead and make the changes to my living room that I'd been planning.

First, here are a couple of shots of what it looks like for fall and winter:

This was taken in October.

and so was this one.

Now for the "after" pics:

A linen drum shade for the lamp and vanilla pillar candles make a big difference.

Changed out the pillow covers (I made them all), lamp shade and candles.

Replaced the pictures in the picture frames with black and white prints, changed out this lamp shade as well and added a new cream throw.

But best of all, I replaced all my drapes with these made from canvas drop cloths purchased at Home Depot for $9.97 each! Thanks to my wonderful daughter-in-law, Paige, for this great idea!

And lastly, of all the pillow covers I designed and sewed for this make over, this is my favorite. Made of natural linen with an ink jet iron on and some ribbon I've had for ages with musical notes on it!

The room is so much lighter and airier now. My husband, Daniel, really likes the difference as well.

And on another note, today is sunny and beautiful! Very much like Spring!

More "Nesting"

2010-03-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

I had this little bare wood tray (5X7 or so) lying around forever, so I decided it would make a nice additional Easter gift for Mom.

I painted it Leaf Green which took 3 coats, then painted about 3 coats of white over it. I then sanded the edges and lightly sanded the sides and top to give it that worn look and let some of the green show through.

Printing my pictures and words on vellum paper and using my Xyron 1.5" Create a sticker and my Xyron 5" Creative Station I made the pictures into stickers. These I applied to the tray, then using Matte Mod Podge decoupaged them to the tray.

It makes a cute little item for spring decorating and matching companion to the tea towel I made last week.

Burlap Table Runner

2010-03-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

While Dylan and Paige were visiting, Paige showed me some burlap table runners that she really liked. I told her that it would be easy to make one, but at this time, Paige doesn't sew. Therefore, I took it upon myself to make this for her.

It is made with burlap and a natural color cotton for the backside. I cut a stencil for the monogram and used regular craft paint with textile medium to apply the letter "P". It was so easy to make. Did it in one day!

Love the way it looks on their table!

A Girl Must Have Some Bling

2010-03-13T18:07:00.000-08:00

We tell everyone that Sheba has her own account on E-bay to buy her sparkly collars.

Really, she does. Wink, wink.

Lovely graphics by Sweet Shoppe Designs. They make gorgeous graphics to use in digital scrapbooking and blogging.

Mom's Easter Gift

2010-03-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

I made this tea towel using inkjet iron ons, a flour sack towel from Walmart and some really cool green burlap ribbon for trim I found a JoAnn's. I attached the ribbon using olive drab colored thread and a decorative stitch on me sewing machine.

Don't worry, Mom wouldn't touch a computer with a ten foot pole, so it will be a surprise for her....

unless one of you tells her!

Baby Shower!

2010-03-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

Naomi's best friend, Yvette, is having a baby boy. The shower is this weekend and Naomi asked me to make a diaper cake.

Here it is.

I think it turned out very well.

Here is the Diaper Cake with the gifts that Naomi is giving Yvette. Naomi is also gifting several packages of diapers besides what it took to make the "cake".

That's going to be one lucky, and dry, little boy!

I Child Proofed My House, but......

2010-03-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

It's one of my favorite sayings and I found it on a cute, retro apron at Michael's for only $3.00! I'm going to wear it while crafting. Maybe someone will get the hint. Just kidding, kids!

Spring has Sprung!

2010-03-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

I know that it isn't "officialy" Spring yet, but the last two days have been so warm and beautiful! My neighbor's plum trees in front of her house are in full bloom and the scent is intoxicating. As the wind blows, tiny petals from the flowers blow through the air and fall to the ground like sweetly scented snow.

So sublime.

Beautiful, tiny, sweet smelling blossoms.

Tea Towels and Aprons

2010-03-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

Flour Sack Tea Towel I made for Paige

I've been having fun making some inspired tea towels and aprons as gifts using inkjet printable iron ons. I made the tea towel for Paige while she and Dylan were here visiting from Illinois. We had been to Anthropologie and I was inspired by this:

So now I'm on a tangent of using inkjet printable iron ons to make cute stuff. Yesterday I finished this apron that I'm sending to Paige. I'ts a pre-made, purchased canvas apron with iron ons applied, art design by yours truly.

The Blind Side

2010-03-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

We don't go to the movies a lot. Not as much as Daniel would like. I just can't seem to want to sit in a theatre with strangers to watch a movie. But since Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress for this one, we decided to see it on this dreary, rainy day.

I am so glad we went! What a touching, moving story! And it's a true story too!

I would recommend everyone see this movie whether in the theatre, or after it comes out on DVD, which I'm sure it will soon.

Bare Minerals

2010-03-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

I had been hearing about BareMinerals make-up for quite a while and wondering if it could really work on my skin. Although I rarely wear make-up now that I'm "retired", I do like to wear some when Daniel and I go out. So, I went to Ulta yesterday and purchased a start up kit. I watched the DVD this morning and used the make-up before we went out to the movies this afternoon.

It is really great and easy to use. It's amazing how well it covers and you don't feel as if you have any make-up on at all, which is a very nice feeling. It's a bit pricy, but considering that the only thing you will need other than the start up kit is lipstick and mascara, that's not a bad thing.

I highly recommend it!

A New Purse

2010-03-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

To me, a new purse is a big deal. I don't mean how much I spend, or search or whatever. It's that I finally made a decision! I haven't had a new purse since my birthday last year, and that one was a lovely Coach that my wonderful step-daughter, Naomi, bought for me.

When Paige and Dylan were here, Paige had a new purse, and when we were out, we'd notice other women's purses and we looked through them at TJ Maxx and other discount stores. I even went so far as to look at them at Dillard's the other day. I just couldn't find one I loved, at least not for the prices on them.

So, earlier this week, Daniel and I were trying to find him some comfortable work boots and we ended up at Famous Footwear in Waxahatchie (of all places). While he was trying on the umteenth pair of boots, I wandered around to the women's side and found the cutest purse for an absolutely fabulous price. It's not designer, but it looks just like one Paige and I saw while out and about that we both loved. It came in black and pewter and just when I was going to snag the black one, I decided, what the heck, and bought the pewter one instead.

A major find and deal for me. A woman can't ever have enough purses.....or shoes!

Easter Cards

2010-03-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

I've been working on Easter Cards for the last couple of weeks. I have most of the cards made that I am going to be mailing out, but I thought I'd let you see the 3 latest.

Space (Bags) the Final Frontier

2010-03-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

OK, so maybe I'm way behind the times, but Paige convinced me that I should try SpaceBags. So last night, Daniel was at Costco and he found a package of 12 SpaceBags for a really good price. Today I took everything out of the linen closet in the hall, reorganized and put everything I was keeping in SpaceBags.

Now, let me tell you - I had 4, count them, 4, 20 gallon totes in that closet and they were stacked to the ceiling. When I was through I ended up with 9 SpaceBags full and they only fill up half the closet.

I also found wonderful things that I had forgotten I had, like 3 gorgeous handmade quilts from my grandmother Rachel, 4 hand crocheted afghans made by my Aunt Pat, 2 of my own baby blankets and my old Raggedy Ann. I should have taken pictures of some of these treasures before I packed them back up (duh) but I was so excited about the space saving SpaceBags, I didn't think about it until it was all stashed away.

Anyway, I highly recommend SpaceBags !

I'm Baaaack.

2010-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a while (to say the least) since I was on this blog. However, my wonderful daughter-in-law insists that I should restart my blog in order to show off my crafts and other things. I'm going to try and keep it up. Now if I can just figure out how to make it cute! Any suggestions?