2 Cute!!

One of my grand daughters is turning two soon. Thought I'd slip this card in. She is a cutie, too! Yep, more Nana pride!


Happy Birthday!



Bethany Karis!

What a wonderful way to brighten my day!

I have been so busy trying to do home improvements and work on a writing project that I would love to see come to completion, that blogging has not been an option for me time wise the last few days. But, a few minutes ago my doorbell rang and time stood still. My daughter Melissa, sent me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers to give my Mother's Day an early start. Melissa is the butterfly of all my children. She is colorful, bright, she flits and floats and has since she began crawling. Her nickname is, Sunshine. That really needs no explanation. The flowers are beautiful (notice the pink.. whoo hoo!!) and have truly brightened my week. Thank you, Sunshine!

Mother's Day. What a beautiful idea. On the second Sunday of May, America honors her moms. The idea however was founded in, England. During the eighteenth century many people worked as servants for the affluent. One Sunday every year, these servants were allowed to have the day off and go home to visit their "mums". This day was called, "Mothering Sunday". When the technology of the Industrial Revolution came about in the the late 1700's and early 1800's, - the introduction of machines replacing humans in the work force, the socioeconomic and cultural practices of the people of Britain changed drastically. The ushering in of new technology ushered out the observance of, "Mothering Sunday". Britain would adopt Mother's Day later in the 1900's.

However, it was a woman named Anna Jarvis, from West Virginia, USA, that would resurrect just such a day. Anna's mother was a faithful and supportive Pastor's wife. She made a lovely home for the family and, Anna learned so much from her mother. Her mother loved gardening. Anna learned much about life tending a flower garden filled with mostly white Carnations in her mother's garden with her. Her mother loved flowers and these were her favorite. When her mother died May 5, 1905, Anna vowed to find a way to honor her. She asked her minister to dedicate a sermon that Sunday to her mother's life. The minister in a church in Philadelphia, where her father had served, honored all mother's in his sermon that Sunday. Anna began sending letters to Washington to get a day set aside to honor mothers. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia declared the second Sunday of May to be, "Mother's Day". The following year the other states followed suit. By 1915, "Mother's Day" was a national holiday in the United States. And, flowers are STILL a big part of that day! And for that, today, I am oh so very thankful. :-)

Oh, I love it that the whole beautiful thought of "Mother's Day", originated in England!

I thought I might insert a few pictures here.
My daughter, Melissa! Melissa and I with her older daughter.













Me, with Melissa's younger daughter. The time honored practice of honoring momma's goes on!

Super Sketch Sunday Challenge #12

Yesterday, when I was blogging about my love for lemons, an idea popped into my head about Amy's SSS #12. The card pictured here is that very idea. I have a friend that has three daughters and a son. Her daughters are my daughter's ages, and they grew up together. Her youngest daughter just recently went through something painful. I've been trying to come up with a card idea to make so that I could send it to her. This was a two for one sort of thing. Amy's sketch was just what I needed.

This young lady is Christian and truly knows where her help comes from. She is a real trooper. Even in the hardest moments she knows God will not let her down, and that she can completely count on Him. Though she did not need me to tell her this, on the inside of the card (along with a personal note), I wrote out Nehemiah 8:10b, "...the joy of the Lord is your strength". Since joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and a lemon is a fruit, I thought this card came together pretty well. :-)

Oh by the way, her son is a Ranger in the Army and is scheduled to go to Iraq this year. I thought I would stop here for just a second and pay honor to him. Thank you, Jon. This might be a good time to insert a little something I saw for the first time two days ago.

Stamps: Lemon stamp, Kolette Hall “Joy” stamp
CS: Linen Limeade, Lasting Impressions Banana Cream Dots, White & Yellow
Designer Paper: Doodlebug Design Lovely Lime Stripes & Obviously Orange asterisks
Inks: Color Box Chalk Tangerine
Chalk: SU Yoyo Yellow & Glorious Green
Markers: SU Yoyo Yellow, Tombo 195 Green, Marvy LePlume II #4 Green
This & that: Wavy-Edge “Cloud” & “Half Circle” scissors, Small Flower Brads, Non-SU Blending Brush, SU Dazzling Diamonds

Gotta go do life...blessings!

Whole lotta Lemon goin' on.

I just want to know who it is that came up with wallpaper. I have never put the stuff up but I have spent days taking it down. If when a marriage is being torn at, the vows would stick like the glue does on the back of wallpaper... the fiber of this country would be in such better shape. I have used the professional products and a number of good home concoctions to remove the paper, paper backing and glue. Short of being almost violently aggressive, the stuff does not come off. I have seen pretty wallpaper, certainly. There have been era’s in history that the wall covering defined its era. But, I will NEVER put the stuff up I don’t care how beautiful it is. There are flaws on the walls behind this gluey mess. It seems to me that patching the holes and cracks, and sanding the irregularities would be cost and time effective, rather than fighting with this stuff. And anyway, I'm not really a print or pattern kind of girl. I like the calming effect of very subtle colors and the simplicity of solid in my home. So, it's not a sacrifice for me to have paint rather than paper. It really would not matter though, did I mention that I will never hang wallpaper in my home??

A friend of ours Joe, and his wife, have had a very successful painting and wallpaper business since the early 80's. Last week, Joe came over and took measurements and assessed the condition of the walls. Oh, did I mention there is some early 70's brown paneling in the house? That has to go right along with the wallpaper. So, last night he came over and gave us a bid on what it would take to do the walls on the first floor. It was more than I anticipated, but it is not horrible. He does great work and I can trust him in my home. That feature is priceless. So sometime in the near future, Baxter and I will head out to my daughter's house in Oklahoma and visit and then I will go down to Texas and see my daughter that lives there. I could be here, but Baxter and remodeling somehow just don't seem to go together. I thought I might slip a picture of Baxter, in here.


And, I'm long over due to see my family in, Texas. That would be the one pictured in an earlier post with the upcoming stamping queen. The one in Oklahoma, is the family I just saw in Chattanooga while they were traveling back from, Florida.

So... since Joe was coming, I made a pie. I LOVE this pie. Lemon Meringue is my favorite with Rhubarb running a close second and Pecan and Peach tying for a solid third. This one is much simpler than Lemon Meringue and perfect for warmer days. The pie is pictured above and here is the recipe.

Lemonade Pie:

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 6-ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1 medium size (8 ounce) container of Cool Whip, thawed

Beat together condensed milk and lemonade; fold in Cool Whip. Pour into pie crust. Freeze for at least 3-4 hours until firm.

That is the recipe as I got it. I have a few things I do that are not listed. First of all, I really am not nuts about the pre-made graham cracker crusts. So, here is what I do.

My Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed Nilla Wafers (I grind them to a fine consistency)
5 Tablespoons melted real butter

Mix these together and press into a 9" pie plate. Let completely chill, then fill.

Also, I buy a 12 ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate and use about 10 ounces. And, I let it firm up over night. It just slices and serves better.

And if you like, you can spread a layer of raspberry or strawberry jam on the bottom before putting in the lemon mixture. This pie is ssoooo easy and it always goes over really well. Oh, my grandsons made this pie when they were four. I honestly did nothing but provide the ingredients and tell them when what went where. (They used the pre-made graham cracker crusts.)

I enjoy the scent of lemon in the house, I like to clean with it, bathe in it, drink it, eat it, wear it... I think you get it. I like lemon! Those of you that are over 35 probably remember Love’s Baby Soft Cologne. But, does anyone remember Love’s Fresh Lemon Cologne? Yumm!!! I wore that for years many moons ago. Do they even make that anymore? And let’s not forget to mention that although Pink has always been my absolute favorite color, Lemon Yellow is the happiest and friendliest color on the planet. Hummm... there is Pink Lemonade... a beautiful thing!!

Seafood and fish are my favorite proteins... and guess what is wonderful squeezed all over those? I am a tea drinker. Guess what is great squeezed in there? Lemon juice is great to make salad dressings. Guess what I use to perk my drinking water up??? The rind, flesh and juice of a lemon can be used for culinary purposes. Lemon is the happiest of scents and flavors.

Lemons are rich in vitamin C, potassium an magnesium. They are a decent source of fiber. The oil in lemon juice helps to give relief to those suffering from rheumatism. This oil stimulates the liver to rid the body of toxins that aggravate that condition. A mixture of lemon juice, hot water and honey have been successful in treating colds and constipation. Lemon juice is a good choice to treat diarrhea and dehydration because of the amount of potassium and other minerals it contains. Squeeze lemon into water before grabbing commercial electrolyte products that are so high in sodium.

Because of the bleaching property of lemons, they can be used to remove stains. Because they are so high in vitamin C, they have the ability to prevent oxidation and so the juice of a lemon can be applied over cut fruit or white vegetables to keep them from turning brown.

Buy lemons that are firm and heavy for their size. A lemon's rind begins to get pale when it is becoming too ripe. They can be stored for weeks at room temperature, and a month in your fridge.

You know, I've had no stamping time this week and I have four cards to make. I think I have a lemon stamp around here somewhere. I think I just had an idea for Amy's, Super Sketch Sunday card for this week.

And then, it's off to stain the deck and trash corral.

Blessings....