Blessings

God is more interested in developing our character

than He is in manipulating our circumstances

to make us happy.

~Cynthia Heald~

From Texas to Tennessee, and back!

We took a trip!

We were gone for five days, crossed four states, and traveled over 1500 miles.

I never took one photograph.

So, does that mean we did not have fun or there was nothing beautiful, delicious or interesting to photograph?

 Quite the opposite.

I guess I was just having too much fun, enjoying too much delicious food and company, and too busy to take the time and capture it in photographs.

Instead, there are memories and images etched upon my heart that will last forever.

Unfortunately, that doesn't provide much for me to share here.

We visted a dear elderly friend.  The kind of visit your mind knows may be your last.  Your heart hopes there will be many more.

We shared meals with family members, and caught up on their latest news.

My husband reconnected with law school classmates.

We ditched diets and dined at fabulous restaurants, enjoying every delicious morsel.

We hugged our son, and hugged him some more!

We familiarized ourselves with his new surroundings.

I recognized happiness and excitement in his face and voice, beneath the signs of too little sleep from the fast pace of first year law school.

We returned home.

Those of you who know me well, also know I would have preferred to stay there.

This Texas girl would gladly become a Tennessee gal.

Except, I am very proud of and excited for our Texas Rangers!

That is where I will be tonight -- cheering them on and hoping for a World Series win!

Next trip, I really will try to take photographs!

One More Year!

Another year older;

not much wiser;

maybe a pound or two heavier!

A warm pear buckle with fig compote and homemade vanilla ice cream was the perfect ending to dinner, with my sweet husband, at Jasper's.

Unfortunately, phone cameras and dim restaurant lighting do not make for delightful photos!

Thank you to each of you for being a special part of my life --

each and every day.

Blessings

Life is a race.  Don't whimper if the track is rough and the goal is distant.

One day you shall reach it.

Life is a voyage.  Don't complain if the storms batter the hull or the winds

tatter to shreds the sails. 

One day you shall come to your haven.

Life is growth.  Don't find fault if the seed lies smothered and submerged

in the dark earth before it blooms and blossoms.

One day you shall have your harvest.

Life is a pilgrimage.  Don't falter on the road through self-pity because stones cut

your feet and leave your blood on the trail.

One day you will come to Immanuel's land.

The God who through the boundless sky guides the flight of the sparrow,

who builds the blind bird's nest,

will see to it that in his good time

you shall arrive.

~Joseph R. Sizoo~

The dress that was not,

is not, and may not be made!

I had a plan.
I had the fabric, smocking plate and trim.

I was not completely committed to a pattern, but was narrowing it down.

With a little tweaking of floss colors, I was envisioning a cute little brown and white polka dot

back-to-school dress.  It would be smocked with an apple design and trimmed with lime green rick rack or piping.

I blinked, school had started and we were headed toward October.

Thus, Plan B was born!

So many cute Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving designs from which to choose!
Replace that apple with a happy pumpkin, plump turkey or silly scarecrow.

Substitute orange for the lime green, and it was full steam ahead.

Except, I ended up cleaning out closets and a zillion other things.

Knowing my slow pace of picture smocking, I may not squeeze this one out by the time the menu calls for turkey and pumpkin pie.

I may be headed back to a twist on the original color scheme.
Brown is the color of reindeer, and at least one has a very shiny red nose!  A great color combination!

Lime green has become a very popular replacement for the traditional Christmas green.

Several holiday plates could easily be tweaked to incorporate it.

Not to mention, the brown polka dots remind me of snowflakes falling, and there are also plates with winter themes and winter animals - polar bears, penguins and more!

I am not saying this version will come any closer to completion.  At least now, you know I do think about sewing and smocking even if I am not writing about it!

Not sure whether I hope to hear I am in good company, or sad to think we are all too busy to sit and stitch.

All fabric, smocking designs and trim from BessieMary.

Blessings

Give the best you have received from the past

to the  best that you may come to know in the future.

Accept life daily not as a cup to be drained

but as a chalice to be filled

with whatsoever things are honest, pure, lovely and of good report.

Making a living is best undertaken as a part

of the more important business of making a life.

Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands --

a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream.

There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all,

the assurance that you are not alone in the world.

~Sidney Lovett~

Not Your Usual Candy Corn

Candy Corn.

You either love it, or hate it!

This year, I spied Blackberry Cobbler Candy Corn on the grocery store aisle.  As a lover of real blackberry cobbler, I have to admit this doesn't taste anything like it.  But, it is kind of tasty in its own sweet and sugary way.

Then there were these:  Pumpkin Face Licorice Taffy.

The tiny faces made me smile.

Except for a small taste test, the treats were purchased to tuck into some little gifts.

Hope they bring a giggle to someone else, too!

Wishing each of you a sweet Saturday, filled with smiles and a giggle or two!

Canstruction Again

Some of you may remember this post from last year, when I shared photos of Canstruction, the most unique food drive in the world.  The local competition is sponsored by the Society for Design Admininstration, and is currently on exhibit at NorthPark Center.

Recently, I was in the area on business, and took a few minutes to tour this year's event.

Dallas architects and engineers come together to build sculptures, using only cans, boxes and bags of non-perishable food.

At the close of the exhibit, all cans, boxes and bags of food will be donated to the North Texas Food Bank.

Once again, I was reminded how fortunate I am there are cans sitting on my pantry shelves, and fresh food waiting in my refrigerator.

There were 24 entries this year, so this is only a small sampling.

Sports were a popular theme -- and especially nods to Dallas pro teams.

This is a replica of the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy won this year by the Dallas Mavericks.

Social media was also represented, as seen in this two-sided FaceBook entry.

An eery coincidence were entries depicting iPods, iPads and iPhones.  There is no way the creators of those sculptures could have predicted the recent passing of Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. 

Designing of the sculptures began months ago, with build-out and installation occurring a week prior to his untimely death.  Unfortunately, those sculptures were in locations difficult to photograph due to sunlight and other mall activities.

It took me awhile to figure out exactly what this sculpture represented.

Can you guess?

The title was E-luminating.  Even with that hint, I was a little puzzled!

It depicts an energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Can you tell I still prefer the old-fashioned type? 

So, that's a quick tour of this year's Canstruction!

Sorry for a few blurry pictures.  I truly was zipping through the mall.  Fast and furious seems to be the theme of my life lately.  The days are flying past.  I am busy, but that to-do-list does not seem to disappear!  Moments to sew have been few and far between.

This weekend, we will be attending a memorial service for a sweet friend.  Monday will bring another funeral service for an elderly family member.  It makes me want to hang onto each day a little longer, and squeeze as much as possible into each one.

May your weekend be filled with joyful moments, crisp autumn smells and flavors, and victory for your favorite football --and baseball -- teams!

Blessings

As you visualize the glorious world our Lord created,

may you be reminded that His greatest and most beloved creation is

you.

~Brenda Nixon~