Whatever is Lovely

A Lovely Lemon Cake

2012-02-12T14:59:00.001-06:00

This weekend we had some friends from WAY out of town coming for a visit, so I whipped up a little lemon pound cake to have on hand in case anyone had a sweet tooth.

I thought it turned out pretty.

It was actually lemon-orange-almond....moist and dense.

Much yumminess(and didn't last LONG!).

Preheat oven 350(325 dark pan)
Prep your bundt or tube cake pan with oil or non-stick spray.

Combine:

1 lemon cake mix

4 eggs

1/2c. milk

1/2 c. orange juice

1 4-serving pkg. instant vanilla(or lemon, if you like it REALLY lemony)pudding

1/2 c. oil

3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt.(or sour cream)

1 tsp. almond extract

finely chopped zest of one ORANGE, mixed with about 1 tsp. white sugar

Mix on low till combined, then on medium for about three minutes. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes(depending on your pan and oven temperature). Done when a toothpick comes out with crumbs!

Let cool about a half hour in pan, place on cake plate, and drizzle with basic glaze--1.5 c. confectioners' sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. lemon juice, and enough half and half or milk to make it a nice drizzling consistency.

Enjoy!

~april

Linking up to Share the Love Wednesday

(Twenty)Random Things That Make Life Easier

2012-02-03T15:44:00.000-06:00

As I was catching up on blogs that I follow today, I came across Susan's fun and informative post over at Between Naps on the Porch, and it set me to thinking of the things we use around here that are my go-to items. I thought I'd join her impromptu Linky on the subject, so here they are in no particular order, except the order in which I thought of them!

Binder clips in all sizes. Papers, Bookmarks, Chip clips, Cord holders, Photo hangers, even an emergency hair clip!

High-quality pencils and a GOOD electric sharpener. Mirado Black Warrior are my favorites!

USB Drive, Flash Drive, Thumb Drive...whatever you call it, it makes life with multiple computers and many files MUCH easier to deal with!

Touch Dimmer on my headboard--controls the lamp by my bed.

THIS lamp, to be exact.

(Cue harp music) This is THE coffeepot/drink station. It keeps water hot in a separate reservoir for those impromptu and much-desired cups of tea through the day, and it does a marvelous job on the coffee AND having it ready when our eyes first open in the morning.

Automatic hand soap dispenser. Touch free, for those extra-messy moments. This one stays by the prep sink .(Incidentally, I didn't take a picture, but that reminds me that TWO kitchen sinks and TWO garbage disposals are INDISPENSABLE at this house! Best decision I made on this kitchen!)

Light remote. Keeps me from crawling under furniture to unplug things, especially around holidays. Also great for controlling the hall lamp UPstairs.

This saves my sanity at kitchen cleanup time.

The toaster oven gets used daily.

I have a ton of clipboards. Kids use them for worksheets; I organize my lists and various projects by clipping things onto a board--almost like a filing system!

Who has a KitchenAid stand mixer and CAN live without it? I love this thing. I was a gift for my birthday eight years ago, and I don't know what I DID before I got it!

Ah, the wireless SD card--puts my pictures straight from my camera to my computer wirelessly, instantly. No need for cables. This is the part you plug in to set up the card. The card is in my camera!

Wireless printer/scanner/copier. We homeschool. Yes, it's dusty. Paper is dusty. My room is dusty. Life is busy!

Daily moisturizer with SPF. Love this stuff--light, not greasy. Works well with and without foundation.

A Southern girl HAS to have her lipstick. This stuff STAYS PUT--so I don't get caught looking "white as a sheet" when I forget to check the mirror before heading out for an errand! :)

Nothing wakes up the face like mascara--gotta have it. Have tried other more expensive brands, but this one keeps me coming back. Not waterproof, thank you!

Excellent moisturizer. Soothing on insect bites. Works great on eye makeup. Good for you, too!

Essential oils. House cleaning, health concerns, pest control, etc. Gotta have them!

Long skirts and comfy shoes...

In particular, I live in my Crocs--not the clunky ones, but these. LOVE. It's hard to put on anything dressier now, they're so COMFORTABLE(and surprisingly supportive--and can be cleaned when I forget and wear them out in the muddy yard to check on my chickens!)

Travel-knit skirts. Since I went to wearing skirts 95% of the time about a year and a half ago, I cannot make it without these from Coldwater Creek. I buy them on sale with a coupon and free shipping, which takes the price from astronomical to around $20. No ironing, they wash beautifully, drape beautifully, are LONG enough, and wear WELL. My only complaint is that they're VERY basic in the selection of colors!

So that's my list of how many, twentyish , things?

It's all just stuff, y'all, but it's kind of fun to see what OTHER people use and prefer!

Thanks, Susan! This was fun!

Hope you ALL have a happy weekend!

~april

Happy Birthday, Honey!

2012-01-30T17:20:00.000-06:00

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, today is kind of a special day.

This guy:

has a BIRTHDAY today.

So I wanted to give him a shout out and say I LOVE YOU, Mr. B!

You make me smile, make me coffee, make me laugh, and help us always to look for God's goodness and plan in things that come our way.

Thanks for ALL you do--

You are such a blessing to us!

Happy Birthday!

~april

My Valentine Tree

2012-01-30T09:44:00.001-06:00

It was a BUSY weekend! Hubby was off Friday, and we got to stay home and do house stuff--not too exciting, but necessary. Saturday we went to a meeting 2.5 hours away, without kids in the car, so it was a great chance to catch up and just visit uninterrupted, but we were TIRED. Yesterday afternoon we met some new friends for lunch and then picked up a few groceries on the way home, and TODAY is his BIRTHDAY! I have NOTHING planned for that poor man today, and added on top of that is his mother's knee-replacement surgery and picking up MY parents from the airport tonight! What a birthday!

So I wanted to show you the ONE "pretty" thing I got to do this weekend--that is, Friday we DID finally get ALL the Christmas stuff back into the attic(do I get some sort of "late" prize for that? lol.)! That allowed me to get out the Valentines!

Here's the little tree:

I set it into a vintage suitcase that I had layered red and white fabrics into, and the whole thing sits on an OLD luggage rack that I covered with a white tablecloth and a red burlap square. It sits by my kitchen bar, between the dining area and the craft nook--a very high traffic zone, which just means we get to SEE it.

A few sweet heart ornaments and some fun tiny stuffed animals that belong to the kids all tucked into the branches.

Teddy bears with flowers and little girls loving their dolls, my ME cherry ornaments, and a friendly, "sisterly" reminder. We NEED that around this house! :) Sweet pictures of my little ones(when they WERE little)round out the scene.

Of course, I have to add in my tea things, as I DO love to do a Valentine's Day tea party with my girls!

The Boy helped me by decorating the little bitty valentine tree--I set it on an OLD Igloo cooler we found in a former home--it's red and white, with a snowflake on top! We used rustic-themed ornaments on this one. It rather looks like some little lovebirds decorated it.

Here ARE some lovebirds, and more tea things.

View from the floor. I guess you might call it the dustbunny point of view.

More tiny tea pots!

I snuggled some warm fuzzies and sweet homemade valentines in around the bottom of the tree.

I hope your day is LOVE-ly!

~april

Linking to Show off Your Cottage Monday

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Rednesday

Pink Stems and Sweetpeas

2012-01-25T21:20:00.000-06:00

Back WAYYY before Christmas, we zipped into Goodwill one afternoon, and I came out HAPPY, but then I forgot to SHOW YOU WHAT WE FOUND!

I guess they're not TOO special as in value, but absolutely BEAUTIFUL, yes they are! I enjoy just seeing them sitting on my glass shelf in the glass-front kitchen cabinet, like little pink jewels tucked away safely. ONE day I'll be able to do a tablescape and USE them, I just know it!

Today on the way home from J's piano lesson, SHE suggested we stop in "really quickly" (which I have learned you should NEVER say when going in there, just BECAUSE you won't be "really quick" about anything because they WILL have SOME LOTS OF THINGS you MUST have and a lonnnnnnng line to check out, every time, everytime!)Anyway, we stopped in, and I found 18 things! (smile)

We adopted a cockatoo:

And I found THESE:

SEVENTEEN of them!

Homer Lauglin "indestructoware"(that's just what I call it!)

WITH PINK FLOWERS.(*sigh* Sweet Peas?)

I am utterly happy.

Thanks for stopping by, and I wish you a Happy Thursday!

~april
Linking to Vintage Thingie Thursday.

More Tiny Fun...

2012-01-23T22:23:00.000-06:00

I tell you, getting started making little people is rather catching. I made ANOTHER this morning.

Tonight the whole family had left the kitchen to watch tv for a bit, and when I came back in to finish cleaning up, I found this.

Apparently they decided it would be a LOVELY evening to spend chatting on the countertop!

:)

I hope you had a lovely evening too.

~april

A Wee Bit of Fun

2012-01-23T08:05:00.000-06:00

I spent the evening yesterday making these little guys and gals:

The finished lot at bedtime.

It started with this little bitty girl.

I had ordered a kit to make the little wiry fairy people, but when I had finished her, she just wasn't BIG enough. She needed more substance. So next was this one:

I wired her all together, then wrapped the wires with embroidery floss. I think she has a serene, wise look. She will be a gift. :)

A closer look at her front--tiny seashell "necklace."

From the back, you can see her wild pink hair and tiny little hat. She was SO fun to make!

Then, I moved on to THIS, because The Boy said, "Mom, can you make a BOY one?"(Poor kid, house full of sisters!)

He looks a wee bit French! I am thinking it would be fun to do one with STRIPED clothing. :)

I decided it would be nice to make a gift for the little sister of the friend who is getting the purple and pink fairy. This is what I came up with:

Obviously, a redhead!

A better picture of her, with her friend I created next:

And lastly, I just HAD to make ONE more MAN before heading off to bed.

I love the face.

It was SO fun and relaxing to take time and MAKE something, and I loved that my girls would come sit beside me and visit while I was crafting. I need to do that more often!

What did YOU do this weekend?

Thanks for visiting!

~april

A Tiny Teapot Tip

2012-01-12T18:15:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed an afternoon visit from my sweet friend and her two girls today, and while they were here, her little one and my Redhead decided to have tea. This resulted in a teapot lid crashing into the sink and scaring me half to death, but it did NOT break, amazingly. Which reminded me of a helpful(albeit VERY simple) little thing I figured out a while ago, and so thought I'd share with you:

How to keep a teapot from losing its lid!(Also handy for protecting from burned fingers and wobbly pouring dribbles!)

I did this with two different sizes of teapots(six cups and two cups) so you could see.
Start with a full, ready to serve teapot and about 36" of ribbon.

I'll show the large "dotty pot" first. :)

Take your ribbon and loop it around the spout of your pot, crossing it BEFORE you reach the knob on the lid, and then crossing it again AFTER the knob.

Loop THROUGH the handle, cross the ribbon so that it comes out both sides of the handle.

Pull the ribbon up so you can finish up by...

TYING A BOW, finishing the pot off cutesily(I made a word!).

Now littles and mamas and friends of all sizes can pour their tea without the slightest fear of that lid slipping off and disintegrating!

For a smaller teapot, it is similar, only you start by taking the ribbon THROUGH THE HANDLE.

Cross the ribbon PAST the knob.

Wrap around the spout, crossing the ribbon back over the top of the pot.

Loop through the handle from both directions.

Pull up.

Be sure the ribbon is securely placed on both sides of the knob!

Then, TIE your bow!

That's all there is to it--simple and fun!

Enjoy.

Linking up to Rednesday, Inspiration Friday, Tablescape Thursday, and Domestically Divine.

Thanks to these lovely ladies for hosting!

~april

Because He's THAT Kind of Guy...

2012-01-11T19:17:00.000-06:00

For some months I have been clamoring periodically over "how nice it would be" to have a rolling chair for the computer, or for my school room or for the sewing/craft area. I have realized that knowing I have to get up and sit back down multiple times(especially working on SCHOOL organizing/planning)while doing a task just makes me procrastinate on it all the more.

So last Friday my sweet husband came home with this:

And with this:

AND with THIS:

Not ONE comfy-soft, adjustable, spinning, rolling "task" chair, but THREE.

Because he's THAT kind of guy.

I'm so blessed.

~april

Saturday the Seventh

2012-01-07T22:19:00.000-06:00

Oh, but it has been a busy week, it HAS! We had a big day OFF to "remember" the new year on Monday, then Hubby went back to work Tuesday for the first time since before Christmas, and Wednesday was a THIRTEENTH birthday and the start of piano lessons for one big girl of the family. Thursday was a friend-day, just a day of fun to catch up and refresh our spirits a bit with fun companions, and Friday was the day of preparations for TODAY: the PARTY.

Now, thirteenth birthdays take a little bit of doing for, don't you think? She's "officially a teen-ager," whatever that MEANS, and so we fuss and fret a bit. Add it to the week after Christmas(she has had the tree up for EVERY birthday but one, I think!), and it makes for a bit of loose pulling-together for Mom who has not had a minute to really think things THROUGH yet.

We did small. Come to think of it we had exactly FOURTEEN people come through today, One to Grow On, in a pleasant way! :)

We had Cake. From Target. It was surprisingly good! Moist, rich, not too sweet, not too greasy. VERY good for a non-Whole Foods-storebought cake!

She wanted fondue. Chocolate.(Her "theme" this year was polka dots and chocolate.)
With fruit.
I think it turned out well!
(Imagine a platter of strawberries, fresh pineapple, kiwi, and grapes with chocolate sauce here!)

We also had gumbo with sausage, chicken and shrimp. It was apparently a HIT, and if I do say so myself, it WAS yummy-o!

(The birthday girl took pictures before the party started, which is why there aren't the usual "room" pics.)
She got gifts(of course.)

Managed to blow the candles out in ONE puff(all those hours of singing practice have paid off?)!

Was very appreciative of all the effort.

HELPED CLEAN UP.

I think the year has gotten off to a good start!
Happy birthday, sweet girl!

And a HAPPY Saturday to YOU, dear friend!

~april

My Kitchen Window on January 6th

2012-01-06T10:59:00.000-06:00

The light was so pretty coming in my kitchen window this morning. I thought I'd share!

C's garden for the winter graces the large area behind my sink.

Cyclamen, Bowiea, and African Violets, to name a few.

Sweet little violet blooms.

Cyclamen. What a beautiful color!

Looks like spring to me!

Another violet bloom from a few weeks ago.

It looks like it was sprinkled with glitter!

And, a pretty flowery bag that was a Christmas gift:

Joining Liz for Fresh Cut Friday!

Enjoy your weekend.

~april

Thirteen and a New Turtle

2012-01-04T12:44:00.000-06:00

Okay, so that sounds like some form of the Twelve Days of Christmas gone awry! Seriously, though, how blessed am I to have a daughter turning thirteen on the TENTH day of Christmas(that's my excuse for not UNdecorating the house yet each year--at least it still looks festive for her birthday!)?

J's "mushroom" look

Does this house LOOK festive? :)

Sweet J got to go shopping with her Mamaw J yesterday, with older sister and cousin in tow. They came home with another teeny-tiny turtle. She won't manage to replace Fatty Queen Hattie(ok, so it's not a nice name, but it RHYMES), the unfortunate one who died last spring, but she will be lovely company for little King Tut.(No, I don't understand why we seem to have a fixation with Egyptian turtle names, other than that when I was YOUNG I had a toy turtle named tut-tut, and every turtle my family ever encounters in the whole wide world WILL be called that at some point!)

King Tut. Dressed royally!

Her name is Nefertiti.
*SMILE* I did NOT name her myself--just to show that silliness apparently IS hereditary!
"Nerfie," for short!(and it only gets WORSE!)
I don't have a picture because she has spent the entire morning hiding under a rock!

But back to the thirteen thing. This is my second thirteen year old, in less than two years. Which means, of course, that soon I will also have a fifteen year old. And soon after, another twelve year old.

Sisters!

See that tiny fist? They were watching their baby sister through the window! The t-shirts say "I'm a big sister!"

The baby sister is growing up too!

This all denotes, of course, that time is flying, and I am getting old fast, and that I have GOT to be sure that in the Lord's grace and goodness where I live, I am thankful for and mindful of every.single.moment. Because they're growing up and getting email addresses and starting blogs and learning about ancient history while developing strong opinions about politics and buying turtles and giggling at boys(just the IDEA of boys, not any specific ones, thank You, Lord!)...and dazzling me with smiles and art and ideas and just turning into way-too-beautiful young women(Who are now taller than their mother. WOW, the you-are-NOT-allowed-to-be-taller-than-your-mother rule really did NOT hold out for long!).

I am so thankful. For the child born the tenth day of Christmas thirteen years ago when the world was frozen over and we had to drive two hours to the hospital in the ice and my baby items were still in storage from the recent move, and we found out she was BREECH and I saw fear in my doctor's face but she was born safely, perfect, so beautiful, so tiny...and we were taken aback, breathless again at the miracle of new life we had been entrusted to hold for awhile...

thankful for the new turtle, another tiny life we will ooh and aah over while we can, for this messy house and too many books and not enough time to read and for all the meals to cook and the places to GO and the hugs and giggles and sugar sprinkled on the floor and laundry on my bed late at night and toys on the stairs...

and thankful for the man who goes to work each day so we can be here and enjoy all this, not forwarding our blessings passively, hurriedly on to another who would be able to appreciate them so much less. It's a gift, this being HERE. With them. Every day.

Home.

Thankful for the tears that listing these things inevitably brings. A softening heart, a heart even more here.

I wish for you an open, so-joyfully-thankful-that-it-hurts AWARENESS of His blessings this day--
and a late happy new year from me to you.

Now, I've got to go make chocolate-chip pancakes for the birthday girl. :)

~april

Wishing you a.....

2011-12-24T10:35:00.000-06:00

I hope your weekend is filled with love and laughter and time with those you LOVE!

But most of all, I pray for all of my readers, that you will know the One Who Came:

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift!

We have been given blessing upon blessing through Christ.

Merry CHRISTmas!

~april

More December Fun

2011-12-19T19:00:00.004-06:00

We have been having so much fun all month, it's been hard to blog, so today I decided to just do a chronicle starting right after Thanksgiving. Bear with me, please?

Of course, we were in Mississippi with my parents for Thanksgiving. Right after we came home, the kids began clamoring to get the Christmas decorations "going." C even volunteered to decorate the dining table:

With a palm tree. (cough, cough!)

It did lend a lovely green glow to everything around it, as it nearly touched the ceiling fan light above when it was on the table! She finally put it back in her room, and the cat has been having fun knocking it over. :)

Of course, next up comes the Christmas tree. The girls were impatient with me once again, and decided to do it themselves. It was ~~exciting~~ confusing to discover I had purchased PINK lights at the end of season sales last year...I normally wouldn't have wanted pink lights on the main tree, but since they were doing it, I let it go. Can you tell THEY liked the lights?

The finished tree:

Daytime.

At night.
(The tiny tree topper was a joke, but then it got left up there. So this will be the year of the tiny pink tree topper!)

Now, of course with all the excitement floating around here, we had to have an Advent calendar to count down the DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS...have you ever tried to find one of these things LARGE ENOUGH to hold a daily treat for FOUR kids? (Here's a hint: they DON'T sell them anywhere!). SO on the last day of November, I got ~~desperate~~ motivated and pulled an idea out of my hat and some craft supplies from the school area. . .

It isn't GORGEOUS, but for a last-minute-frantic effort, it works GREAT!

Please excuse the fuzzy picture(and the branches of our Jesse tree sticking up in front!). To make this monster I used Dover clip art, printed and run through the "stickyator" cartridge on my laminator, and then we stuck and trimmed the pictures to fit index cards and manila tags I had left over from another project. I clipped them to this classroom pocket chart with mini clothespins, filled the pockets, and we were READY! (Can I say enough how much I LOVE THE STICKER MAKER CARTRIDGE???)

One of the Advent treats was a new popcorn popper. We love popcorn. Our BIRDS love popcorn. My dad's DOG loves popcorn...the microwave stuff gets pricey FAST. This little gem gets the job done.

And as you can see, it ADDED to the EXCITEMENT.

The Boy has been a literal "blur" ALL MONTH.

I did my traditional treatment on the chandelier. It makes me smile!

There are candles scattered about.

I have nativity scenes here and there.

This one in particular helps us remember the Reason for the season.

I love the Scripture imprinted on each figure.

The entryway was the last area decorated this year.My little white tree sits in a vintage suitcase, snuggled up to an old Coleman snowflake cooler. Frosty is helping keep them cool, I suppose!

Frosty is OLD and cannot stay outside in winter anymore. :)

A few of my miniature churches. Grouping them like this made me think of Ruston, where we used to live. They have a church on every other corner, and a bank on the rest! :)

I just decided to pile vintage balls on a tray this year, rather than hanging them all.

And this little guy was on my kitchen window the other night! It was December 15! Apparently he was enjoying a bug feast before the weather changed again. Yep, that's Christmas in Louisiana!

May you and yours be merry this week!

~april

Linking to Rednesday at A Very Cherry World, and Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady!

Christmas Mantel

2011-12-19T13:44:00.002-06:00

I decided to go with a bird theme this year, based on some cute little Christmas postcards I purchased last year. They made a cute little garland to hang below the mantel, and it was fun to dress the iron birdfeeders and such for Christmas.

Enjoy!

I also spiffed up the top of my china cabinet; it was formerly the home of the "birdy" items, but I decided it would be a great spot for some of my milk glass. My Redhead made the snowman garland.

It's beginning to look Christmassy!

~april

Linking to Tabletop Tuesday. Thanks, Marty! :)

Too Cute to Keep to Myself!

2011-12-19T13:04:00.000-06:00

My sweet little nephew went to see Santa this weekend. He had already had a FULL day and was needing a nap, but he put on a brave face and sat in Santa's lap anyway. His mom tells me he did it because they told him Santa would give him a present(which he did!).

Love little ones during the holidays! :)

It's kind of hard not to be jealous of the guy in the red suit, though! I'd love to get some baby cheeks kisses for myself!

Merry Christmas, little guy! We love you!

~aunt april

Didn't I say that when it got to November, HOLD ON?

2011-12-15T09:55:00.000-06:00

Wow. I really have been missing in action lately, haven't I? It seems to happen with the coming of each new Christmas season! I get overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done for the season piled on top of the normal daily things that usually DON'T get done, and I stop doing ANYTHING "fun". I guess it's probably not a good way to handle the stress, because the fun stuff of Christmastime is some of the best part. This year, however, the doldrums have been particularly deep. *smile*

That said, I decided to dust off the photo files and show you some of what we've been "doing".

For starters, we were with my parents in Mississippi for Thanksgiving. That meant we had the pick of the local countryside on Black Friday. Here's my C, at her favorite Mississippi greenhouse.

Happy as a lark! Aren't those snapdragons GORGEOUS?

More flowers from that day:

The poinsettias were AMAZING. HUGE!

Even the petunias were dressed in their Christmas finery!

Look at all the hips on this rose bush!

We had so much fun there!

Later that night the girls helped Mom get the Christmas tree up, while I sat by and took pictures!

Not sure if they're angels or statues of liberty?!?

Mom loves Christmas. :)

Sweet ornaments are all mostly gifts from close friends and family. She has a story for each of them.

I made this little girl YEARS ago.

This little Santa was my Mamaw's.

Hard at work. Doodle-bird too!

Doesn't this little house just make you want to knock on the door?

Continual motion!

Another pretty little house.

The dog was FINISHED. Sweet with his head on his gingerbread doll.

Ah, the Christmas maiden, wearing the tree skirt. I had to convince her NOT to wear the Christmas balls on her ears--or braces!(she was by far the most energetic at this point in the late evening!)

That old Woolworth's tree is always SO pretty when it's finished.

I hope your Christmas preparations are moving along beautifully, and that you truly have PEACE and JOY in your heart!

~april

Thank You, Secret Santa!

2011-12-14T18:02:00.000-06:00

This year I joined up with the Secret Santa Soiree hosted by Coloradolady. I had never participated in a blog swap event, so I was very excited! There was a box with Delivery Confirmation in my driveway this morning when I went out to check the mail, so of course I couldn't wait to get it inside and opened!

I have to say I have not the slightest idea WHO my SSS friend is...I will have to do some detective work to figure it out, but I want to say to her THANK YOU! I love the goodies!!!!

She had packaged everything carefully and it was all intact when it arrived:

Two sweet hanging candle holders with wonderful-smelling STRAWBERRY candles. How did she know that just last night I was bemoaning needing two more clear candle holders for a little Christmas display I was trying to put together? :)

These are great, too, because I can hang them in my kitchen window and enjoy the candlelight, which will ease the press on that highly desirable display space.
She also included a small jar candle in the same scent.

All three candles were nestled in this sweet little basket. (I love baskets!)

AND, because she saw that I love my tea(and she must have known that my mug-o-coffee gets cold before I finish it every morning), she tucked in these four sweet handmade "mug rugs". HOW she found a pattern of fabric with (1)cherries, (2)roses,(3)blue-and-white, and (4)polka dots, ALL in one, I will never know, but I LOVE THAT FABRIC!

So thank you Secret Santa! I have had a big smile on my face all day, and that even carried me through Walmart(no small feat!).

I hope you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
And, last but NOT least, THANK YOU SUZANNE for hosting the SSS this year! :)

~april

Candlelight and a Simple Mantel

2011-11-20T07:00:00.001-06:00

It has been so busy, and time has been just zooming past these last few weeks! I cannot believe Thanksgiving is just next week, and then Christmas! We've already been getting some things done for Christmas. Can't really start TOO early! :)

I am loving the longer evenings since the time changed. I light candles almost every night now, at least on the dining table. Simple, mason jars or other clear holders. I love to put an inch or so of water and just "float" the votive in the jar; seems like the water adds extra sparkle to the firelight.

I finally took down the "back to school" mantel, just switching out with some pretty fall-toned things that will be easy to remove when it's time for the "all-out" time, CHRISTMAS!

I know I won't be back to the keyboard between now and then, likely, so I want to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and yours--there's always a need to cultivate a heart that's thankful.

Blessings,

~april

The WHOLE Head of Lettuce. . .

2011-11-19T17:29:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning we were scampering around trying to get everyone ready to leave for an appointment "in town",(okay, I was chatting with Mom on the cell phone while nearly standing on my head in the closet searching for my BOOTS!) when the doorbell rang.

It was my neighbor-from-across-the-road.

He brought this.

Romaine. He GREW it.

Wow.

Delicious!

THAT is what I call "the whole head of lettuce".
:)

I need to send them another dozen eggs!

~april

Fun Finds

2011-11-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

The Redhead and I screeched into GW on two wheels this morning in a whirlwind trip to my favorite antiques shop and "around", and it appeared to be NOT a good day for GW. NOTHING in the general plates, glassware and "junk" area made me happy, so we just so happened to wander over by the textiles.

(plug your ears)
SQUEAL!!!!!!!!!!

It was folded right-side-in on a hanger amidst pathetic pillow shams and polyester tablecloths....

Card table size.
GREEN.
DOGWOODS!!!!!

EEEEK! It helps that dogwoods are one of my all-time favorite, memory-evoking flowers, I'm sure. :)

I also found a wonderful "other-green"(what's my favorite color, you may ask? lol) tablecloth that will FIT our new table(at this point I finally have THREE that will fit it). It will make a great base layer for holiday 'scapes.
:)

At Kindred Heart we found this:

The pitcher is about four inches high; the glasses an inch and a half! PINK!
Shhhhhh. Don't tell Kit; it's her Christmas gift! :)

Happy Saturday!
~april

October's Over-Recap of the Month

2011-11-01T17:00:00.002-05:00

Linking this post to: Vintage Thingie Thursday, Rednesday, and Fresh Cut Friday.

Thank you ladies for hosting!

It's hard to believe October is past already, and now we're staring the holidays in the face! What did October look like around here?

To begin with, with the cooler weather, the flowers go crazy.

C's Cinnamon Basil having a seed-sowing hayday.

Wild flowers find their color again after the heat of summer.

Summer annuals put forth a last hurrah.

The light hits the trees differently.

The roses LOVE the cooler air.

And I love the roses. :)

We had our very first five-egg day. Every hen accounted for!

Inside, the changing light shows up what needs to be cleaned and refreshed before the busiest time of year hits. I don't really DO spring cleaning. It happens in the fall when I can be more assured of pleasant temperatures.

We cleaned kids' rooms. The mirrors from the bath project are on his bed here.

We even organized(the clothing part of)closets. I still have tons of stuff in the kids' closets from when we first moved in and they didn't need so much of their own storage space. Bad Mom! :)

We redid the kids' bath upstairs:

The Boy had a birthday.

We took the Boy to the mall on his birthday. Only two wanted to ride the carousel this time. The others have gotten "too big". :(

I wonder how much longer she will be happy to be seen with her best friend, Kit. She got to ride her big sister's favorite horse THIS time.

We visited my home church for Homecoming Sunday.

My dad was bugging the Boy to distraction.

Needless to say the grandparents were glad to see the children!

Grandmother's House.

Her flowers were really putting on a show, and I love the long tree shadows across the yard.

There were "treasures" to be had at Goodwill:

Love the roses and the Octobery-orange rim!

Pyrex! LOVE!

A third vase like the two that flank my mantel right now. It was lonely!

And this unmarked, mushroom cottage cookie jar. It's a mystery to me!

Any ideas how old it might be?

One more flower shot. C's morning glories, on a sunflower stalk. :)

I hope your October was just LOVELY. And as we head into November, hold on tight!

~april

A Whirlwind Bath Makeover

2011-10-24T09:12:00.008-05:00

About two weeks ago I received a phone call from a dear friend who I hadn't seen in ten years. She and her daughter would be down in our area for an athletic tournament, and thought it would be fun to stay with us. Of course I said "YES" instantly...and after we hung up the phone, panic set in.

This is THE FRIEND who got me into home decorating. THE FRIEND who took me to garage and estate sales and whose own home is shockingly beautiful, despite home educating four children and a husband in full-time ministry, and whose home is ALWAYS ready to welcome people at a moment's notice. She is THAT FRIEND. I love her dearly.

But I didn't know what I was going to DO. My upstairs is a no-man's land. The children have it to themselves. I try NOT to go up there, and their rooms SHOW that I don't monitor it closely enough. The upstairs bath has been LOCKED for six months because I was tired of their not caring for it, and we have two full baths downstairs that are much more easily monitored. That said, I knew I would need to (a)commandeer one child's room for our guests' sleeping area, and (b) FIX UP THAT BATHROOM so they could use it!

We spent last week cleaning kids' rooms. Legos, dolls' clothes, LAUNDRY(oh my goodness!) all were picked up, sorted, put neatly away. I took a few minutes on the internet to look around for bathroom decorating ideas(a touch of Paris, a tad of Tiffany blue? something more grown-up for my teen/tween girls?) and to cultivate the idea perking in my brain...Thursday we shopped and bought paint. Thursday night the Hubby painted.

The bathroom looked like this at first:

Yes, it was THAT BAD. The wall color--just one thin coat--is actually a very nice creamy yellow, but in a room with NO natural light, UGH!

We had already begun scrubbing and removed the mirrors at this point. The CFL bulbs would be changed out for GE Reveal bulbs, to help with the lighting problem.

The first few strokes of color always make my heart leap.

The contrast between the colors is quite stark. This was before I changed the light bulbs! The color is Valspar from Lowe's,#5006-9C Sea Wave-- in a satin finish.

(Taken without a flash, so the color is a bit yellowed.)

Finally done. C did a great job helping her dad. :) Walking in feels like stepping into another PLACE! The black and white curtain and chandy wall decal came from HL--the decal was $10 after the 50% off sale, and I used my 40% off coupon on the curtain. It was a splurge, but what it does to help the unsightly shower doors was WELL worth the full $20, if I had paid it!

We added accessories.

I already had the dress form candles and the tiny tower and perfume bottle. I purchased the b&w charger and mirror for $1.50 and $5, respectively. They top an odd end table that just fits over the condemned laundry chute door. When in doubt, COVER!

Towel storage--drink cooler tub on a black metal stand.

Wall art.

Two vintage mirrors, an $.86 dress form plaque, and a $.25 vintage art deco frame glass over a mirror and clip art printed on vellum.(These had all been on my bedroom wall before the project.)

The "dress boutique" sign was on clearance at Hobby Lobby last week--only $1.75. :)

Since this is C's domain too, there had to be. . . plants.

Bird's Nest fern in a $4 basket from the HL Christmas section. It was perfect for our wall color!

Another beautiful fern in a ceramic bowl from Dollar Tree. I enjoyed pulling odds and ends I already had for this project.

Cinnamon basil and buddleia in a milk glass vase. Crystal candleholder for cups and a crystal biscuit jar for cotton balls and cotton swabs. Milk glass saucer for soap.

I am thrilled with it. The girls are too.

We used the original mirrors, and had already picked the green towels just as an accent color. It is funny that they perfectly matched the ferns!

We were all very tired, but enjoyed a time of sweet fellowship with our friends, and it certainly feels good to be done with that project! :) (Meanwhile I'm thinking I might be able to make this "my room" somehow?!?)

The price breakdown, on things I actually purchased just for this room:
Paint: $27
Wall art, decal and plaque: $12
Rug and towels: $30
Curtain: $12
Basket and mirror: $9
Total: $90
Not too bad, I think! :)

Linking to:
Show Off Your Cottage Monday
Organizing Mission Monday
Met Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Blue Monday
Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop
Tabletop Tuesday
Cottage Colors Party-Aqua!
Share the Love
Wow Us Wednesdays
Fall in Love
Inspiration Friday
~april

Coming Soon. . .

2011-10-22T13:27:00.000-05:00

I can't wait to show you what we did this weekend! :)

Enjoy your Saturday~

~april

Eight Year Old Birthday Party--LOTS of pictures!

2011-10-14T10:30:00.002-05:00

Saturday we celebrated The Boy's 8th birthday a week early. His theme this year was Toy Story Lego. We had FUN.

First up, the "snake in my boot" game. Woody the cowboy sometimes says "There's a snake in my BOOT!" We had the boot. And the snakes.

The party table was easy enough to do because there is SO much Toy Story STUFF available. I was able to pick up plates, cups,and napkins for just a few dollars at dollar stores, and the cupcake toppers were on clearance at Hobby Lobby back in June(Ok, so yes, we plan ahead on bday parties!). The Boy added some of his Lego characters and his Woody doll. Buzz Lightyear was an early bday gift too.

We also had sparkly stickers that worked great as confetti, and a pack of Toy Story playing cards had just the graphic punch I needed to jazz up the table without resorting to the themed table cover. :) I just used a plastic $1 one from Walmart.

I made the cupcakes and frosting myself. They weren't perfect(having never iced cupcakes with a bag and tip before), but they were cute and YUMMY. The Boy LOVED them. That was all I needed!

Of course, we had to have star-themed food too--as was easily possible. These Little Debbie cookies were PERFECT!

They played a guess-how-many game with green army men.

Here's another view of the party table, all set.(Never mind the orange elf sneaking down the stairs at the right side.)

Between sisters, friends, and a cousin, we had PLENTY of girlie giggles to go around!

The Boy and his two best buddies. I love that his two best friends are brothers.

PRESENTS! And party favors--in the small brown bags.

They played "Pin the badge on Woody." It got interesting, since the kids realized they could feel the edges of the cardboard cutout and find the right spot.

What are big sisters for, if not to spin you around and make you dizzy?

The board assistant got creative in her attempts to foil the players. :)

Another pin, right on target!

The cutest deputy around gets her blindfold on.

Now for the reptile flingin'. Yes we did this last year too. THAT was a Cow DOG party, though!

She flung snakes with the best of 'em. Got three in the boot, too. Impressive for such a wee sprout!

Sisters. . .

Three generations. Dads and sons.

Angry Birds armband. He was excited. I have no idea why.

His reaction to the Hershey bar reminded me of his mother.

THE BIG TOY. The train set. THANK YOU Mamaw Jan!

I think he liked it!

More Toy Story Legos.

By my shaky math, he received 1,358 pieces of Legos this year. OUCH!(That is, if you happen to step on them in the DARK, barefoot!)

"Jacky" the dog had to sing Happy Birthday too.

Lego Time.

I couldn't believe they FINISHED these in just a couple of hours.

Y'all come back to see us soon!

~april

Help a Friend

2011-10-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

News! News! News!

Have you heard that Mary Engelbreit is trying to bring back the MAGAZINE?

They need signatures on a petition--to show that there IS support and interest for this wonderful, creative publication.

Her magazine was THE BEST in its vein. I still pull out my old copies and look at them several times a year--I know I'm not the only one! If you will, please, please, PLEASE hop over there, read this post, and add your support!

I would LOVE to see Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion in print again!

Will you lend your support, too?

~april :)

Touches of Fall

2011-10-05T14:00:00.002-05:00

It's always a bit tricky around here, the whole Fall-coming-idea, because for one, the leaves don't FALL in earnest till January. Well, we all know that's even post-snowman season, but truly here we don't get "fall colors" or even really WEATHER--it cools down slightly, but the mosquitoes are still horrible and the middle of the day is just plain HOT till, oh, January, sometimes. We do often have a "cold snap" in November for 4 or 5 days...but this is the deep, nearly tropical SOUTH.

*sigh*

SO, those lovely lightly sweater-clad, run in the yard and jump into piles of leaves and drink hot apple cider while seated round the campfire days just DON'T happen here. Maybe somewhere else(I have my doubts!)?
I'm afraid Louisiana could turn me cynical if I didn't watch out!

Those disclaimers stated, it has begun the cooling trend--this week, at least--and we ARE enjoying hot drinks again. Hubby made me the first cappucino of the season yesterday afternoon. Mocha decaf. OH MY.
This morning I treated myself to chai latte--OH MY AGAIN.

Two of the girls had hot cocoa with steamed milk. They were happy too. :)

I redecorated the tiny shelf above my stove for the season. Assorted creamer-type vessels and some cutesy acorn S&P shakers.

There's the cute little creamer I found at GW recently! :)

Sweet little salt and peppers: acorns...

and leaves!

I love the curves of this creamer. It's my Mom's wedding china pattern--Iroquois Informal by Ben Seibel, "Blue Vineyard".

They were married in September, so a harvesty-themed pattern does seem fitting, doesn't it?
One day I'll get pictures while I'm at her house and I'll get to show you just how pretty it is!

I also redid the shelf that stands at the end of my kitchen island. The happy green in this vignette is quite autumn-y, to my mind.
(Yes, the battenburg cloth is covering the messy countertop. We live here, and it isn't always picture-pretty!)

Isn't this a sweet mismatched cup and saucer?

I love my apple candles and this leafy little tray.

My green "fairy lantern" makes me SMILE.

Sweet tea-for-one set beckons me to enjoy quiet moments and maybe a good book at every opportunity(I'm reading three right now!).

The tiny toile chest by my big cabinet got a happy touch for fall--candy-container pumpkins(just right for American Girl dolls!)on the ubiquitous black metal stand, and a charming enamelware cup given me by a friend this week.

Isn't it CUTE? I must find something to put IN it soon.

Isn't it wonderful to nestle in at home for the cooler time of the year? Next up is the mantel, but that redo will require entering the ATTIC. Not quite ready for that adventure yet(doesn't fit the "nestling in" idea I'm entertaining right now).

Happy day to you--may you thoroughly enjoy it!

~april
Linking to:
Share the Love Wednesday
Tabletop Tuesday
Fall in Love
Pearls and Lace Thursday
Rednesday
Vintage Thingie Thursday

Before the Baby Boy, the Baby Girl Had a Birthday

2011-10-05T11:54:00.000-05:00

I am so far behind! It is nearly two months since my Redhead had her 11th birthday, and I've posted NOTHING about it! The Boy has his number EIGHT party this weekend, so I thought I'd best keep things "in order"--for organization's sake, as well as staying on the Redhead's good side. :)

She had a Luau party again this year(we did a luau two years ago as well). It was a lot of fun to decorate and prepare for, and the kids really played well together. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking!

Of course, the guests were welcomed at the door.

There was food. And plenty of it.

The cake actually was store-ordered cupcakes this time. They were yummy!

More food.

Fun and colorful paper dishes are an easy-peasy way to keep the theme going.

Party favors are ready to go home with guests.

The big birthday girl and Kit are ready to greet her guests.

Craft time! They made slap bracelets and beaded necklaces with flip-flop charms.

A show-stopper.

She had a FUN DAY.
That's what counts, when it's all over but the cleanup!
:)

~april

Appetite Suppressant

2011-09-29T07:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, so for years and years I have been in the habit of mindlessly opening the fridge and staring at the contents. SOMETIMES this results in mindless eating, though over time I have come to realize when I'm doing this and stopped...remembering funny names my grandmother called me, or my dad's talking about poor suffering penguins, or my brother just standing in the door of the refrigerator(he still does this, as far as I know!), or a child coming up to me to ask what I'm doing(which nearly always removes instantly ANY idea of getting a quick snack, as prepping "quick" snacks for FIVE is not the same as just mindlessly eating for ONE). :)

However, just in case I should be tempted, I need no longer fear. A local dairy company has stepped in to HELP.

They changed the color of the milk containers.

What do YOU think?
I put it against the WHITE paper towel roll so you can see the difference. Add the blue label to the sickly yellowish color, and it becomes unbearable.

Here's a more true-to-color of that yellow.

Now, does that color MAKE YOU WANT TO DRINK MILK? or NOT?

Or am I weird?

I hope they change it back SOON. White was a much, much better option.

~april

Two New Eggs

2011-09-29T07:09:00.000-05:00

We aren't sure WHO laid the green egg, or the "pink" one, but definitely more than one chicken is laying! We are QUITE EGG-CITED!

Chicken Daydreams...

2011-09-24T17:29:00.000-05:00

I looked out the front windows at our little chicken coop last Saturday and was instantly intrigued.
Why?

It WAS a hot, very hot, day, and I was surprised to see that all five hens had decided to spend some time INDOORS rather than out pecking around in their run. However, this was not the reason for my sudden interest.

This was.

Do you see it?

Do you see the tiny little chicken head peeking out the window?
First off, I was surprised that they've gotten big enough to see out the window when they're on their roost. Secondly, it was so funny to see a CHICKEN looking out a WINDOW.

And she appeared thoughtful. Almost wistful. I know we do project our human emotions onto our animals, but could, maybe, a chicken--daydream?

I mean, they DO look--what could only be called--HAPPY, at times.

What do YOU think?

Happy Saturday!

~april

Goodwill Trip--after about FOUR MONTHS!

2011-09-22T18:16:00.000-05:00

No, not as in "things I purchased at Goodwill 4 months ago," but rather, "the first trip I've made to GW in FOUR MONTHS or more!"

Can you BELIEVE that?

While the Husband has been glad I've not been filling the house with more "finds", I am still surprised at the possibility that we've kept away that long. :)
We had a good trip today, I thought.

First up, old books.

I love old books. I read them. I like the illustrations. I love to decorate with them. I often find that they are the perfect "starting point" for themed vignettes. For instance, this one:

Will that be GREAT as a backdrop for a beach-themed shelf or something next summer? Perfect! I was especially amused by it when I saw that the main character shares my husband's name! :)

Here are a few other oldies I found. All library discards from the 60's.

Two more "beach" books, and one on "American Horses." Sounds so authoritative, doesn't it?

Next up, moving on into fall and its feel, this sweet little measuring cup.

Aren't those trees just adorable? It's a half-cup size, which is my FAVORITE size measuring cup, and isn't that sparkly crazed finish just charming? I can't wait to stick it in something cute here soon!

And my FAVORITE find of the day:

Ah, PEARS! I have pear pillows and pear candles, and earlier this week I was ooh-ing and aaah-ing over Vanessa's pear plate in her mantel vignette. Well, my plate is quite different from hers, but it fits me quite well, I think! After all, it has the "very Mary" cherries, blueberries(which we pick at my parents' each year), PEARS, and GOLD TRIM!!!!! A perfect fit. :)

We had a tiring day but took it easy this afternoon(hence the posting that is HAPPENING today!). There is still the weekend to catch up on two days of history. We are really enjoying America the Beautiful!

I hope your weekend is lovely--filled with sweet moments, good food, and warm friendship.

~april

Linking to these fun parties:

Inspiration Friday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Share the Love Wednesday

Rednesday

2011-09-22T15:44:00.000-05:00

This is my sweet little guy. He's officially in second grade now, and he finished the reading level that he's been working hard on the past year just this week.

Thought I'd share.

Onward and upward next week!

I'm kinda proud of this one. :)

~april

The first half dozen . . .

2011-09-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

As things go, it seems only appropriate that ONE of the chickens began laying last weekend while we were in Florida. She persists, one egg a day. We've had eight eggs so far! Now, if her coop-mates will only get the right idea!
They're such fluffy, happy girls.

And the eggs are DELICIOUS.
:)
It's terribly gratifying to walk PAST the egg case at the grocery.

~april

We've all heard. . . .

2011-09-16T09:21:00.000-05:00

Cheerios are good for your heart!

~april

Back to School Mantel

2011-09-07T10:39:00.001-05:00

Visiting Laurie's blog last week, I was inspired to do a back-to-school theme mantel for the season. We have technically been in school most of the summer and are currently in a break, but will start back in about a week. I thought doing the mantel--which is truly right in the center of our home--might set the mood and make it a more cheerful occasion.

Thanks for the inspiration, Laurie!

I hope you like what I did--it was quite the fun way to spend the afternoon procrastinating about packing for vacation! lol.

To start school, you simply MUST have a slate. This one reminds us who we are.

A sweet vintage measuring stick reminds us all to do our best to "measure up" and "make the grade."

And, of course, school can't start without a fresh box of Crayolas!

A globe for geography, an apple for the teacher, and a tip of the hat to Biology lab.

Oh, and let's keep a song in our hearts this school year!

One end of the mantel. I rehung the mirror yesterday--vertically rather than horizontally. Quite the change.

The other end--vintage globe, another slate, colored pencils in a vase, little boy and girl heading to school figurines, and my FAVORITE picture of the kids ever. Seven down to newborn. Love it. Reminds me how fast the ~~days~~ years pass!

The whole shebang.

In case I get a little too pie-in-the-sky about our schooling goals this year, this sweet little redhead(which reminds me of another Redhead around here!)keeps my perspective STRAIGHT!

(We all need a Redhead in our lives!)

For the garland I clothespinned vintage flash cards to some cheery red yarn. Don't those just take you right back to second grade? I put up some of the facts that were the hardest to learn--and a few easy ones too. :)

I stepped back and realized it was missing something, so I added ONE MORE little touch--can you see it?

Because when it comes to school for us, there's just NO PLACE LIKE. . .

I hope your school year is happy, whether at home, on the beach, in a classroom, or on a computer somewhere!

Never STOP learning!

~april Linking to these lovely parties:

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Rednesday at It's a Very Cherry World

Fall in Love at Decor to Adore

Homemaking Link-up at Raising Homemakers

Edited to add:

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady

School is working. . . and I'm ready for a break!

2011-08-28T18:45:00.000-05:00

We have been "back to school" for six weeks now. My oldest took a summer course with Veritas Press Scholars Academy online, and so for three hours, four days a week, our focus has been school.

That said, I am ready for a break.

We will school through next week and then be off till the Monday after Labor Day. . . except for Oldest Child who will begin her next online course on Sept. 7. Omnibus I Primary--ancient history.

She gets Theology, Literature, and History credits for this course. The summer part of it she has taken has been WONDERFUL. I hope that sense of challenge and joy continues. :)

We all have been working hard, and I have found a sweet little place with the curricula we have used so far. There ARE some changes coming up when we start back, most notably Notgrass' America the Beautiful. I am SO EXCITED about it!

Other things we've been using:

Story of the World Vol. 4, along with the student activity book.

I had hoped to get all the way through this one before starting AtB, but it was just too much to move through at that pace. The girls HAVE gotten a lot of history out of it, though. I am putting it aside as a "resource" that we will use to supplement our understanding of world events as we study America.

Answers in Genesis' God's Design for Life: World of Animals

We are moving through this book quickly. I think I wish it was a little more text-heavy in the content, but we've not been taking time to get a lot of the projects done at this point. We are going to the beach during our two week break, and I wanted to do the sections on marine animals BEFORE we go. Lol. That way, vacation becomes something of a field trip! :) I love homeschooling!

I have been pleased with the colorful pages and the Creationist viewpoint of this program, and will likely order the other books to use this year once we finish this section. The girls and Boy have learned a lot already!

C will be doing Apologia Biology this year. I promised NOT to do dissection labs with her, hoping that the microscope labs will be enough. She likes to observe living animals, not study dead ones. At least that's her take on it. For now, I'm okay with that!

We have been using Learning about God from A to Z for Bible for the middle girls. It teaches 26 attributes of God in alphabetical order. Keeping them occupied and learning is accomplished by including lots of skits, word games, and color-coding of verses.

Bible for the boy has become Day by Day Devotions for Kids by Karen Henley, paired with the Day by Day Kid's Bible and Reading aloud from a Bible storybook that I had when I was a kid.

They will all be beginning Latin when we start up again. I purchased Song School Latin for the younger three--to avoid buying three different levels, since they've had NONE so far. Oldest will be doing
Latin Alive! Level One. I hope it is a good thing. She's going to have quite the load this school year.

We have the three youngers working through various levels of First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease. I will also continue using Institute for Excellence in Writing with the younger girls.

The two middle girls are still working through their Wordly Wise books and their current Teaching Textbooks levels. I need to order the Algebra program for C very SOON. I hope she will like Algebra as much as I did! The Boy is doing Math Mammoth.

The middle girls are doing choir again this year. We will also be participating in Speech with our local Speech and Debate Club. Both of those meet once a week.

Whew! That's a LOT! It doesn't, of course, all get done everyday. The juggling act has yet to be figured out. Schedules are the hardest part for me.

That's the plan. . .for now.
:)

THAT is what's been taking up my time!

~april

I'm still here!

2011-08-23T12:59:00.000-05:00

Can it really be almost three weeks since my last post? You know how it is, you get so busy LIVING (and taking pictures of life)that the thought of BLOGGING all that stuff just becomes overwhelming, right?
Last week was my Redhead's birthday. Eleven. Where DO the years go?

We spent the week schooling and cleaning like mad folk due to her party that was coming on Saturday(more on THAT later!).

The party supplies and sundries spread out on my bed Friday afternoon. :)

I am always amazed when we're "mad cleaning" just how messy a family we ARE . . . the act of putting things AWAY seems to be completely unlearned around here. I spent hours Thursday and Friday just picking stuff up and moving it six inches-to-two feet-to-its-PLACE. . . tell me I'm not the only one who has to do this?

Back in the news, our school room continues to develop nicely. I moved one large clutter pile and a table, combining all the unsorted STUFF to a largish messy stack or three in one corner. I suppose that's an improvement. :) It will be really nice once I get everything totally situated--which won't happen until everything I've ordered comes IN, of course. Alas, my "pretty" shelf or two will be commandeered for book purposes despite my best efforts.

Here's the one last "pretty" shelf. . .

I'm referring to the one in the center--above the sweet little "Birds" book--my nature shelf(below)and the milk glass collection (on top) is staying for NOW. :)
Here's an up-close:

This little hobnail vanity jar is one of the last things I purchased on a trip to my favorite shop about three months ago(can it really be that long since I've been?MUST remedy that SOON!). It hopped into my hand and said "I'm going home with you!" before I had even an inclination for arguing with it! Adorable, yes?

I just loved the little glass applicator and the notched lid--and not a chip on it anywhere!

Please ignore my dust, as this was BEFORE the week of the party, when some things actually DID get dusted.

I am now wondering if having to relocate the pretties from my shelf will be enough to make me paint the old vanity that's been needing it for ten years now(can it be that long?). . .
One thing's for sure, time will march on whether I paint or not.

School has been going well; I'm glad to report. THAT is why it's been almost three weeks.

More about that later.

Have a happy week--blessings to you!

~april
linking to Tabletop Tuesday

Today--a week ago

2011-08-09T09:39:00.002-05:00

Today I feel out of words. Out of sorts, even, maybe. Possibly just tired. But out of anything useful to say--I've been reading blogs and doing image searches(trying desperately to avoid Pinterest because I do.not.have.time. to get onto that! ).
It's the time of year when home school moms everywhere are pulling old books from shelves, ordering new ones, and reorganizing schooling spaces. It always hits in August, the need to move and change and look ahead for a better, brighter, more productive year.

I decided a couple of weeks ago(one week into our readjust-to-school-schedules time!) that our "front room," which was supposed to become the piano room, would be the optimal place for our school room--again. We've done this before. But I'm off to bigger and better ideas now! :) See, last Labor Day weekend, my hubby spent three days assembling shelves. . .

Last year's new shelves just for school. . .turned out a tiny bit TOO full. Imagine! :)

Only, the three smaller shelves we designated for school stuff just weren't quite large enough. And there was the issue of the piano being in the way. AND that room has doors to the back porches on both sides, so the large work table in the middle just really didn't make us happy as we had to maneuver around chair legs and table corners to go feed the dog or put the trash out. THEN this summer we put in the pool and built the deck off one of the porches, firmly deciding that the sunroom-on-the-north-side would BE a high-traffic zone. Whew!
So the school stuff had to move.
And there are FOUR tall bookshelves in the front room.

The front room in the middle of the switching/moving process. MESSY! :)

The four bookshelves in the to-be-schoolroom, BEFORE the switch out.

Plus, the space between the tall shelves in the sunroom is PERFECT for wall-mounting the tv, which we did this weekend = happy hubby.

That's what I've been doing. Oh, and trying to finish up "last year" so we can begin anew in September! Getting kids up early, trying to be on a schedule. . .

Our History resources for the school year coming up. A full shelf of American history! I'm excited!

Tired.

It's also the labeling, and sorting, and finding a place for things that makes me tired. I've got boxes and boxes of similar items--school supplies, sewing materials, craft supplies--that have been stashed here and there over the years as we've moved from house to house AND as I've moved things from room to room.

Sorting, sorting

They all need to be sorted so I don't go buy a single other pipe cleaner or wooden bead OR packet of hand-sewing needles!

Four front room shelves, after most of the books are moved in.

The specially-built rolling shelf for our workboxes. It still needs paint, and the boxes need to be organized better.

Plus there's the "buffet" piece on one wall of my room. It's beautiful and matches our bed frame's finish wonderfully, but it's six feet long, takes up most of a wall, collects dust like a static cloth, and is piled fourteen inches high with--deep breath--BOOKS. It is next to where hubby studies for sermon preparation. AT MY DESK.

The buffet. ACK!

My desk. Ack-ack!!

Do you see where this is going?

So once I finish the school room and the craft boxes, the buffet will be next. I think it is moving into my craft area(just off the kitchen--it is the perfect length to go under the high bar from whence the bar stools have been banished). It will efficiently hold MOST if not all of the scrapbooking materials I've got squirrelled away. I'm hoping it will also not collect so much DUST in that part of the house, or at least may be dusted more often. Am I the only one who never DUSTS her bedroom furniture?.

Then we will be deciding on the future of my desk area. To the school room? Remain in my room? Somewhere else?

Don't tell my hubby I've got all this in my brain. Shhhh! :)

Meanwhile, C began her six-week summer class two weeks ago, and is doing that four days a week for three hours--online. It is a WONDERFUL course, with great students and a fun teacher, and I could just SIT and listen, as it encourages my heart so much to hear teens talking about God's truths and our world and developing a view of reality that will serve them WELL as they seek to walk with Him into the future. Amazing.

C's very own school shelf--one of my favorites. She's got some serious books this year! The monkey keeps things in perspective! lol.

And I am blessed.

We had fifth-Sunday sing yesterday. No pianist was there, and a small, small crowd. I was blessed to have my barefoot 12 year old lead five songs a cappella, and to see the support that our church family gave her. That is priceless.

It was a weekend of heavy thoughts for me. Church is often difficult because I don't enjoy being in groups of people that aren't super-close to me. . . it taints the whole experience as I am so stressed over the social aspect most of the time, but I realized last night, somewhere in the middle of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, that God works even through tiny, struggling churches. His holy arm is mighty to save and His hand reaches down and touches us with just what we need, when and where we need it. I wept from thankfulness.

And this passage comes back to mind, a passage that when I thought as a child and spoke as a child and sat in church on Sundays I often wondered WHY the grownups made such a big deal out of it. Wow. I am understanding it more now.

From 1 Corinthians:

13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The greatest of these--the greatest--is LOVE.

So a thanks be to God for His indescribable love toward us. Thanks for being fully known by Him who made land and sky and sea and all that is in them. Thanks for the understanding of my own minutia in light of His greatness, and yet the awesome magnitude of His love for me--for you--for each and every person--that He did not spare His only Son but gave Him freely--

so that one day we can know face to face. Fully.

Love.

And gratitude.

I'm starting a list, to remind me on the days when I don't WANT to do what I must.

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

As with most things that cause me struggle, it is an issue of obedience.

Day in, day out, day over again. . . get up, make the bed, cook breakfast, teach the children, cook lunch, clean the kitchen, do the laundry, answer the questions, plan and cook dinner, shop for food and clothes and school books, and be thankful. Four little lives under my watch. Four souls to be shaped for Him, and my own being worked on by His kind hand. No, this journey into history and math and science and philosophy and literature and just general messy creativity and childhood exuberance is not just for THEM. It's for me too.

I'm thankful.

Blessings to you--may you know Love--and be thanks-full.

~april

Roosters and Roses...

2011-08-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

Linking this post to:

Last week I posted about the beautiful red roses hubby brought home and how a cleaning spree ensued, oddly enough. :)

When I heard about a wonderful party that Sheila at Note Songs is having this week all about ROOSTERS, I got so excited, because I remembered that I had spotted, in my desperate search for a fun container to put the roses in, this:

Leftover from when my FAVORITE yard birds were bitty bitty babies this spring. . .

Not SO "bitty" anymore!

So I pulled those roses right out of the fridge(where they had been ALL weekend), cut the stems SHORT, and arranged a tiny little vignette with some of my most accessible(as in, not stashed up or away!) little Roos and sweet chicks.

I set it up on a little toile chest at the kitchen end of my sewing cabinet. It's a perfect spot to enjoy the roses from my craft space OR my kitchen/dining area.

Let's zoom in a little closer, shall we?

The three little chicks plate was a birthday gift from Mom and my girls a couple of years ago. I've never used it for ANYTHING(shame on me!). The yellow color is just a bit hard to incorporate into my home, I've found, though it works sweetly enough here. The big yellow chickie came along with the plate. He usually lives on one of my kitchen shelves.

I think he's wondering WHY there are roses where the food ought to be!

I had to stick the feeder in a saucer, as it wanted to drip quite a bit.

These little fellas came from Hobby Lobby years ago--back when HL still had quite a bit of this type of mini glass figures. In our old house I had a smallish shelf above the kitchen table that held ALL my rooster things. When we moved I sold a few, and the rest are more scattered here. :)

These tiny ones were at an estate sale, of all places. . .and they were still in their little plastic gumball machine balls!

This little wooden Roo collapses if you push the button on bottom just right. With a little patience, you can even make him dance! Lol. I love the green base--exactly matches my kitchen walls. :)

Other chickens and roosters in my kitchen. Two egg cups and a sweet little vase.

(can you tell I can't say "no" to miniature anything?)

Then there's the happy little one who belonged to my hubby's grandmother. Isn't he just the cheeriest thing?

This was fun. If I can ever FIND the cocktail napkins, I will show you them too--they're around here somewhere!

Hope you liked all my little yard birds.
Thanks, Sheila! You're a sweetie!
Oh, I am also linking to Tabletop Tuesday--Marty is a wonderful host!

Thanks to you all for stopping by my little roost!

~april

Over in the Dollhouse

2011-08-06T21:23:00.000-05:00

A couple of evenings ago I peeked in at the dollhouse to see what was going on. It's been quite awhile since I've visited there! I was glad to see the dolls getting settled into their new house. Would you like to visit with me?

Peeking in the upstairs window at Lili, the youngest sister's, room.

We find her reading Mother Goose on her bed. Apparently she's had her trains and dollhouses out too.

Look at all the TOYS! She must love her teddy bears and bunnies, and it looks like she enjoys her tiny tea parties too. Do you see the butterfly collection on her school desk? Her older sisters take turns helping her with lessons.

Around the corner from Lili's room,

A peek at the corner shelf in the bathroom. It's a room still under construction.

The two bedrooms connect through the bath, so here's a peek into the other bedroom:

Oldest sister Hazel is still working on furnishing and decorating her room, but she's got her dressing table all set up.

There's a lovely lively bird and a fountain in the hallway by the stairs.

Downstairs in the kitchen, middle sister Janie and Hazel are preparing tea.

Hazel has been washing dishes while Janie arranges the tea tray.

Oh! I think I heard the doorbell! I wonder who it could be! Around through the kitchen, passing the china cabinet that holds the "company" tea service. . .

To the entryway where we see an umbrella stand and lovely statuary by the front door. . .

We have a VISITOR!

Just-in-time for tea! I bet she hopes for cheese and sunflower seed scones! :)

Noname, this is NOT a "bird house!"

I hope you get to have time for some fun SOON!

~april

Roses and Rubber Gloves. . .

2011-08-05T17:04:00.001-05:00

What an odd combination.

I was planning to do a post today using these, since Liz hosts Fresh Cut Friday and it's a fun way to start a new blogging month.

Hubby surprised me with them yesterday when he came home from work. The problem was, TIRED happened again yesterday, and I couldn't figure out what kind of container to use for them, nor did I have the brain power to spend much time on it, as dinner was taking all my mental capacity just to come up with something. I wanted it to be pretty special and beautiful because, well, that is what bloggers LIKE--then my eyes landed on this:

But I was tired. So I stuffed the wrapped bouquet of lovely red roses into the (gasp!)refrigerator and went to bed.

You can click away now if you like, I will understand.

I got up this morning, still fairly sleepy and needing coffee. I remembered the roses guiltily when I opened the fridge for the half-and-half. . . went on to check emails and all, and then I walked back to my bathroom to put on makeup.

You know, I'm not sure if it was the light or the fact that I cleaned the other one downstairs yesterday, but the bathroom NEEDED to be cleaned. Badly. A.S.A.P. or sooner. Really. So I put on a new pair of rubber gloves and set to work, forgetting all about the roses again.

I dusted, I scrubbed, I cleaned the mirrors. . . I de-dustbunnied shelves that haven't been cleaned since I don't know when. Then I moved a couple of plants out of the kitchen area and added them to a small shelf above my tub. I love it now!

The little jar is some kind of stone.

The orchid was a steal at Lowe's, if I can get it to survive till it blooms again! :)

This tiny vase was made in California. 50 cents? You betcha' I want it!

I love this little OLD painting. It's done in pastels--kind of unusual to find an old pastel in great shape. I think I paid 50 cents for it at an estate sale years and years ago. One of my favorite finds.

So there's my contribution to Fresh Cut Friday. The roses will be done something with and shall likely appear in another post. . .but not today.

Enjoy your weekend!

~april

I am also linking to Pink Saturday, Inspiration Friday, Feathered Nest Friday, and Show and Tell Friday.
Visit these fun parties for LOTS of pretty inspiration this weekend!

Happy Birthday to you, Miss Potter!

2011-07-28T15:10:00.015-05:00

Word got out around here that TODAY is the birthday of a certain famous author. She is larger-than-life in our home, so the bunnies decided on a tea party(what else?) to celebrate.

This is right after he(Little Pink Bun-bun) started setting the table. See him on top of his Peter Rabbit box? He's trying to decide where to put the salt and pepper shakers! He had to climb up high to see properly, you see.

The guests have arrived and are attempting to sit very still and wait patiently because the FOOD isn't READY yet--it can be very difficult for such a young bunny as Little Sara May B. Mischievious--on the left--to sit still and wait for tea.What will they do while they wait?

They ARE celebrating a famous children's book author, after all. I suppose it's storytime! Looks like Sara May is going to start the reading, but Mrs. B. Sweet has her selection ready as well. (Did you know that bunnies have MIDDLE family names instead of surnames? Betcha didn't!)

Little Pink has his favorite book too--they will have plenty to do while they wait for their tea.

What's on the menu?
Blackberries, carrot-cake muffins, and chamomile tea, of course!

From all the bunnies, a very warm wish for a very happy day--and a happy weekend! Oh, and a teeny-tiny bit of advice:

Thanks for hopping by!
~april

You can see lots more Beatrix Potter pretties over at Garden of Daisies!
also,
Linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Scenes of Summer, Continuing. . .

2011-07-21T16:11:00.000-05:00

Looking through my pictures today, I found several from a couple of weeks ago that likely wouldn't make it into a post all by themselves, but are things that make me happy nonetheless. Thought I'd share, in no particular order.

C's garden owl and a pretty pot of oxalis she planted.

Kids in tie-dye tee shirts. Does anything else say "summer fun" better?

My new goes-with-ANYthing skirt. It SPINS! :) Loving this one.(and it was on sale!)

Ah, the dying cherry tomato plant has been upstaged by the morning glory tuteur. . .if you could call it that! Another of C's innovations. :) Her gardening philosophy leans heavily on the side of "It's only a weed if you don't LIKE it there."

BIG, roostin' chickens. They are so FUNNY!

Neatly sorted markers and pens in their places+morning sun=pretty, in their own way

My girly-girl. Eleven in three weeks! Ack!

As the days grow shorter(finally), I am reminded around every corner that kids grow up too quickly, life passes by much faster than we can comprehend, and I have SO MUCH MORE to be thankful for than I EVER slow down long enough to take into account.

So may I encourage you to seek out, to conscientiously practice, "being" thankful. Count your blessings. I think that's likely the BEST way to make the most of every moment, every day. :)

~april

Don't be Late. . .

2011-07-20T07:36:00.000-05:00

We've been focusing a little bit hard on the "early bird" part of the day around here this week as we adjust to our school schedule again. Unfortunately my kids are not QUITE like this in the morning. :)

The mornings are typically my blogging time, so I've not had much chance to post. I am working on some projects, though, and as always I appreciate your stopping by!

Hope you have a sunshiny day!

~april

--of Birdie Bliss part 1

2011-07-16T11:22:00.001-05:00

We have this bird.

Actually, we have a dozen birds.

Ten budgies.

Bowie, the rotten budgie. He's so CUTE(and will tell you so)!

A cutie(whose-type I cannot spell) named Lola.

Lola's wings make the most beautiful whistling sound when she flies.

And then there's Noname, or Doodle. You will have read about her daring escape and rescue here.

Contemplating jumping on the shoulder of her chosen victim!

She has adjusted well to being home again, and is more rotten than ever. She has us trained well, and her favorite thing EVER(other than cheese, which she should NEVER have). . . is the "scratch-scratch."

Can you SEE her smiling in the picture on the left?

Once the chosen victim gets started scratching her head(and I understand that the head-scratch mania is common to most cockatiels), she will not give up or allow that individual to stop, short of poking her back into the cage(or offering cheese). She will even take on the pathetic posture you see here--and has been known to stay that way for a couple of minutes at a time, waiting for the scratch-scratch to resume. If it does NOT resume quickly enough, she makes a CHIRP noise to remind The Scratcher(and I do believe it is an official title in her little birdie brain) of his or her duty.

Waiting ever so patiently...can that BE comfortable?

Of course, we think she's wonderful.

Some folk are dog people, and we do have a dog.

Don't be fooled by those big brown eyes. She's plotting some sinister chewing-of-forbidden-things!

Some folk are cat people, and you've met our princess Anne, introduced by her Redhead here.

We also have fish. LOTS of fish. And a turtle. And we have had lizards, caterpillars, ladybugs.

Toodles sports a celery leaf cape.

But I'm afraid when it all comes 'round, we are BIRD PEOPLE.

The truth is out. :)

Happy Saturday!

~april

Red for the Kitchen

2011-07-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

Today a friend of mine brought me a gift.

It had belonged to her sister's mother-in-law who recently passed away, and I guess she just thought of me when she saw it. It's RED--and OLD--and really cool. Don't ya think?

It is branded Duraglass, and I don't know how OLD it is, but it appears to work great--I likely won't try making butter with it though. :)
It goes very well with the red-edge enamel-top table. . . I may have to go play in the kitchen now and find a home for it! Maybe I'll get some neat pictures to share in the process.
Happy Thursday to you!
Linking to Vintage Thingie Thursday today. Thanks to Suzanne for hosting such an interesting and fun party each week!

~april

At night. . .

2011-07-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

Scenes of home. . .

~april

Summer Flowers Mantel Redo

2011-06-28T08:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I spent the day with the vacuum and an audiobook, alternately telling the kids to "do this" or scaring them out of the room(they're as bad as cats about the vacuum!).
It was nice to evict quite a few spiders, frighten the dustbunnies into submission, and generally spend some creative energy "fluffing" the main area for summertime living. I re-accessorized the mantel for the time being, and thought I could share that part of the project yesterday with you.

I took down the LARGE distressed-frame mirror that has hung here since we moved in five years ago and replaced it with an old hanging I framed when we were extremely poor newlyweds. It's a poster my hubby had before we were married. I matted it on gingham fabric and we built/I painted the frame for it. I think the whole thing cost us around $15 to do at the time. It still makes me smile.

Details.

Old books, cast iron, and milk glass...a few of my favorite things.

You've seen this teapot before!

I moved the table that had held my large dollhouse in front of the fireplace, since I wanted to hide the opening and I don't have a screen for it at this point. The small paper lanterns will be relocated to my daughter's room once she gets her American Girl doll area finished. :) They're just here for safekeeping.

Add a pretty tray and teacup, and the fireplace is complete.

One more view at night with the spotlight on.

I also dusted, rearranged, and fluffed my craft area yesterday. The vintage white cotton chenille bedspread I tucked onto the velvet love seat, paired with the fan in the corner(this area has NO air movement at all, and it gets hot!) speaks "Summertime and the livin's easy!" It just begs you to stop and put your feet up and cool off for a minute--or a few.

Here in the hot and humid, never-ending-summertime-South, I need that!

Today I hope to attack the sunroom and finish off the kitchen counters. I could not BELIEVE the grime I found yesterday in there--I even cleaned the top of the fridge!

Happy Tuesday to everyone--
linking to Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life, Organizing Mission Monday at Organize with Sandy, and Show off Your Cottage Monday at House in the Roses.

~april

Last one, HONEST!

2011-06-20T21:48:00.001-05:00

Linking this post today to Liz's Fresh Cut Friday over at her sweet little blog, Rose Vignettes. Hope you all have a HAPPY 4th of July!!!

****************************

Okay. I promise NOT to post about sunflowers ANY MORE till next year. But y'all, they're eight feet tall. They are not the squash and cucumbers we expected our daughter was planting, but what FUN!

Aren't they beautiful? I'm tempted to name them after the seven dwarfs. Lol. Only they ARE NOT dwarfs!

Have a happy week--only three words needed to say it all around here this week:

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL.

:)
~april

Just for Catie

2011-06-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

Hope it's a beauty-filled day!

~april

Wednesday Whimsy

2011-06-15T14:58:00.000-05:00

There was a little activity going on in my kitchen yesterday while I was busy baking a cake, taking pictures and working on a blog post....

I think it all started when THIS little guy arrived on Saturday, after a long journey from my friend Lynn in N. Carolina.

I put him here. Atop the plate rack, next to the perfectly pink dish that looked lonely.

How he got HERE, I am not so sure. . . bun-buns DO have ways of getting places, you know.

Maybe he wanted to play with Tinkerbell in her magnolia-leaf boat?

Then he was here. Sniffing the big sunflower?

He turned around quickly when I caught him in action.... looks like he was caught being a wascally wabbit, doesn't he?

But I know he's a sweet, sensitive soul.
Probably just enjoying the sunny window sill and wooking outside-- hoping to find some cawwots, perhaps.

:)
Happy Wednesday!

~april

You can check out Lynn's other wonderful, whimsical creations at her etsy shop, A Bit of Birdsong.

Scenes of Summer

2011-06-14T11:04:00.002-05:00

What I not-too-affectionately term the "stupor of summer" has officially hit here in S. Louisiana. It is HOT. The thermometer itself never drops below 72 degrees--and that's at night--and then the humidity makes it feel even hotter. One day last week my van's thermometer read 117! Just too dreadfully warm to handle. That said, we've slowed down the pace of life it seems. The days are lonnnnnnng and seem to drag past.

Here are a few pics I've taken lately, in all that "spare time". Lol.

My kitchen window in the morning light.

Summer's bounty, from my Dad's garden in Mississippi.

Purple hull peas and beautiful fresh corn. YUMMY!

Our first sunflower this season, paired with an old blue jar. Timeless summer beauty.

Lately we have just been staying inside as much as possible, except for early morning and late evening! Thankfully we did get some much-needed rain last week. It appears the afternoon showers weather pattern has also arrived. That does help with the heat!

Kids have been swimming rather often.

I have been enjoying the light the water reflects into the kitchen in the mornings.

Here's the pool gate my hubby built--cutest gate ever, as far as I'm concerned(cutest pool guy ever, too!)!

Celebrating Flag Day today. My kids just LOVE to wake up on June 14! :)

You're a grand old flag. . . .and forever in peace may you wave!

Baking lemon pound cake. Smells heavenly. Inspired by the "Lemon Cupcake" scented candle my sis-in-law sent me last week.(Thank you, Katy, even if it DOES make me hungry!)

Surprised by our first water lily bloom of the year--pale, pale pink...

Gorgeous!

Had a fun day shopping with my bestie yesterday--found this sweet OLD paper towel holder--JUST LIKE my Mawmaw's kitchen!!!!!!! I was kind of excited. :)(It's marked Yugoslavia on the back, how funny!)

Glad to have a new haircut. Karla is back to work at Salon Dolce, and her little guy is coming home from St. Jude soon. We are rejoicing with them!

My two middle girls are coming home from their weekend in Mississippi today. We have missed the giggly hugs and helpfulness. It's been quite quiet!

Soooo many blessings to count. . .

What's a summer day look like for you?

~april

Linking to Marty's Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life and Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady.

A Little Lustre. . .

2011-06-03T08:48:00.002-05:00

I had completely forgotten about Liz's party Fresh Cut Friday until my sweet hubby arrived home yesterday with a bunch of beautiful roses! It was an instant reminder that I had intended to put a post together--so I had a great time fiddling with flowers yesterday evening. Thanks to Liz for an excuse to "play" for a few minutes!

I decided to put the flowers in an old Japanese(?) teapot I spotted in my china cabinet. Since it has roses it seemed like a perfect fit.

My C decided we needed "blue" roses from our yard to mix in with the store-bought ones, but there weren't many that haven't been baked by the drought we've been experiencing the past couple of months. It has NEVER--as far as I know--been this dry in S. Louisiana in the months of April and May. Yesterday my car thermometer measured 117 degrees while we were out running errands!

I love the tiny red thorns on the stem of this white rose from my yard.

Back to my flowers. . . .I had fun with a few little accessories.

Tiny Eiffel tower--the closest I'll ever get to the real thing!

A stack of OLD books, some sweet tiny swan vases. . .

My hubby had a three-day work week this week and we have a mile-long list of projects going lately, but I am SO looking forward to the weekend!

I hope yours is happy!

~april

Things that Make Me Smile Today

2011-05-30T19:40:00.000-05:00

Chicken water in a blue glass jar. . .

Peaceful, happy, FLUFFING chickens.

Some days it's the little things.

My mom and dad spent the day with us. We had a good visit and plenty of food-- though time with them is always overshadowed by the fact that my brother, his wife, and my nephew are NOT HERE with us.

So on Memorial Day we talk of friends and family who have served our country. We wish my brother's service in the Army didn't make him so inaccessible for years at a time. We make travel plans for Mom and Dad to go see said brother and family. . .

We work on the chicken coop(it now has doors on top that OPEN and CLOSE!). We watch the kids swim.

And we are thankful for the freedom to be home with our own little brood.

~april

Baby Birds

2011-05-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon we unexpectedly got to watch closely, first hand some young Orchard Orioles learning to fly. It was breathtaking and harrowing as our CAT--the Queene Anne herself--had discovered one of the little fuzzies(the smallest and fuzziest, to be exact)and was readying to POUNCE when I realized her intentions, scooped her up, and booted her INSIDE.

I had been hearing baby birds outside for a couple of weeks, then I saw the parents busily feeding them in this nest. My mom had a nest of these in her yard last year, so I knew what they were already. They have the signature Oriole "hanging basket" nest. So amazing that a tiny creature could build something so complex.

Here are the two we got to see up close--apparently the youngest ones of this hatching. I nearly stepped on one, and got severely fussed at. Then another time when I got too close, the diligent Daddy bird swooped down at me. He was watching and coaching them from the trees around our yard. I imagine Queene Anne would have had quite the surprise if she HAD decided to pounce! :) Silly cat.

Isn't that fuzzy-headed little thing the CUTEST? I love the splayed-leg stance. He is sitting on the TINIEST little twigs in that picture. These were little BITTY birds!

It was such a joy to see these new little ones learning to use their wings, and I was impressed with the Daddy bird flying in to encourage and feed them as well as watching out for their well-being.

Yet another reminder of God's truth in everyday life!

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:26

Do you enjoy bird watching?

~april

Crochet Class

2011-05-27T10:19:00.000-05:00

For the last six weeks or so we've been meeting on Wednesday afternoons with a group of moms and daughters for a crochet class taught by a sweet friend who my mother-in-law introduced to me. We have had a lovely time!

I thought I'd share some pictures from one of our classes. It has been a sweet time to get together, learn a new skill, and spend time getting to know each other better; it has also given us opportunity to encourage and challenge one another in our faith.

³Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,

⁴so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:3-5

I find that when we make time to sit together and have busy, productive hands, many conversations take place that simply wouldn't in ordinary comings-and-goings. We are able to talk about food and nutrition and how we strive to meet the needs of our children. We talk about prayer needs and our families and churches. We talk about how we struggle as wives to fill the role that Scripture assigns to us, and we rejoice in the victories that others experience in all these areas. We take joy in the near-luxury of an hour and a half to FOCUS on learning something new.

We see the children's eyes light up when they "get" how to do a new stitch(and the Mom's eyes too!). We hear words of wisdom from moms and wives who have been in circumstances similar to ours and have seen the Lord be faithful.

Our children get to visit with other girls of varying ages, forging new friendships and appreciating the ones already in place. They get to see the value of family as it is lived out by OTHER families. They learn that faith is not just important TO US, but that it dramatically affects the lives of others around us. They get to listen as moms and children talk of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness in their own lives, and they get to see the broader community of the body of Christ.

It's been so much more than just a craft class!

~april