TG Friday

Thank God...

For making good time on my trip north.

For lots and lots of trees... and deliciously fresh air.

For a fun trip to Circus Smirkus with Sister.

For setting out to do something and doing it.

For my bed at my parents' house; it is soooo comfy!

For driving where there is little to no traffic. Ahhhhhhh.

For girls night tonight and Flea Market tomorrow!

For trips to Vermont and the hope that one
day it will be my physical home again.

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Blessings and Happy Friday!

On the road again...

Today at noon I will be hopping into my little Civic and heading north for a long weekend in Vermont. My insides are about to burst because I'm anxious with excitement, which is the norm before a trip to the glorious place I call home... even though I don't physically live there.

My sister's birthday is actually today, so I hope to make good time so that I can celebrate a bit with her when I get there. I also hope to make good time because if I don't, it means I've spent the day stuck in traffic... by myself this time because Hubby is staying home... ugggh.

Not ugggh are the events planned for the weekend, including but not limited to:

• Going to Circus Skirkus with my sister tomorrow. If you don't know what Smirkus is, you better ask somebody... or just click the link.
• Girls Night In on Friday, to include good food and lots of chit chat.
• Annual Flea Market in my hometown on Saturday, which means Fish and Game grilled chicken, fried dough, and plenty of treasure hunting!

I'm really looking forward to each and every moment I'm there. I may post using my Mom's computer tomorrow and Friday, but if not, I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Blessings and Happy Wednesday!

Let it be.

I am not very good with plants. I want to be, but I'm not. I've tried to raise some herbs and at one time had a prayer plant.... though the demise of the prayer plant was mainly because my cats wouldn't leave it alone, not because I didn't love it and tend to it.

Anyways, last year I got a beautiful flowering plant on Administrative Professional's Day as a gift from the detectives I work with/for. It was beautiful all through the summer, living on the balcony, blooming, and adding cheer to my days with it's pretty petals.

Then winter came and it had to come live inside. It stopped blooming. Some of the leaves turned yellow and others just withered away. I tried watering it as directed. I tried opening the shade to let in as much sunshine as possible. But it still looked like life was over for the beautiful plant.

I didn't give up hope, though. When the warm weather came back around this spring, I put the plant back out on the balcony. I didn't water it, I just left it there. It rained on it a bunch and then some algae type stuff started to form on the dirt. Pretty much all of the leaves fell off and it looked even worse than it did in winter.

But then it happened. I looked out there at my little plant last week and saw a few buds had formed. I thought maybe it was a fluke, that they were there but they wouldn't turn into anything.

Then a few days later I looked out there and saw this:

Those buds had turned into beautiful flowers, and they have a couple other bud friends that are currently waiting their turn to bloom.

"In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." (Job 12:10)

Sometimes you just have to let it be.

Blessings and Happy Tuesday!

Something different...

For the past few weeks I have been participating in the Thrifty Treasures party over at Southern Hospitality, but this week I'm going to try something new: Metamorphosis Monday, hosted by Between Naps on the Porch.

Before I share the “metamorphosis,” first let me share a definition that I think fits very well: a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances.

The change in circumstances in this “metamorphosis” is that my sister moved out this weekend. She’s visiting Vermont for a week or so and then she’s back to Philly to start her apprenticeship at Walnut Theater and live “on her own" again.

The change in character is that the guest room went from a place mainly used for sleeping to a place that contains a workspace that will be used for (hopefully) lots of creating.

The change in appearance occurred in two ways- a smaller project and then a larger, more general area clean up.

First I’ll share the smaller project. When Hubs and I lived in an apartment, I bought three photo boxes to store various photos and craft supplies in. The boxes all “went” together then, but as I’ve developed a theme in the guest bedroom, I decided they needed a change.

The project involved two green boxes (I had already painted the third box, a purple one, awhile ago) and a can or so of white spray paint.

It took a couple coats...But finally, after the painting and some rearranging, the photo box storage went from this...To this...

The "general area" change refers to the desk area. I had made quite a mess in that corner a couple weeks ago when I took away a set of shelves that was there to use in the master bedroom, leaving what was on the shelves strewn about the desk and in the chair. Plus there was some other stuff that was being "stored" there and some stuff Sister left behind for me to bring north for her this weekend.

This was that area yesterday morning...

And this is my new workspace after the cleaning and organizing. Some of the office-type desk stuff remained on the desk, but most of it went elsewhere because we don't use it much. Now there is plenty of room there to spread out a creative project and I've already got a list of things I'm ready to get started on!

It was nice to have my sister around, but I'm glad she's found such a great opportunity for herself... and I'm also glad to have this space back. Now the problem is deciding which project to work on first!

Blessings and Happy Monday!

TG Friday...

Thank God...

For a visit from Dad for the weekend.

For a trip to the zoo with sister today.

For grilled chicken and corn on the cob for dinner...

And strawberry shortcake for dessert!

For golf, because it gives something for Dad and Hubs to enjoy together.

For the second of three long weekends in a row.

For independence and freedom, and especially for
those who protect us and such privileges.

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Happy Friday and Happy Fourth of July!