GARDENING SEASON

The calendar says that we are in the Spring season.  Unfortunately, the weather does not show that we are in Spring.  With Spring in the air, I'm so ready to get out and play in the dirt.  I have three flower beds and one vegetable bed.  My bulbs have come out and I can see that my perennial beds are also budding.  They are in need of cleaning but I have not been able to since I have been sick.  But that will change soon enough.

I love growing my vegetables.  I have been successful in the past growing vegetables all except one.  The one I've had problems with has been corn.  I have planted corn for the last 15 years but I've only been able to harvest three times.  From one thing or another, I have not succeeded.  Needless to say, I'm not growing corn.  What my picture shows are the seeds of the vegetables that I'll be growing.  I'll also be growing Roma tomatoes, onions, and garlic. 

If the weather cooperates this weekend, I'll be playing in the dirt!

EVENING STAR QUILT BLOCK OF THE MONTH

The last two weeks have been dry season for quilting.  Because of the water coming to the downstairs of our house, quilting was put to the side.  Now that everything is dry and back in place, I can start sewing again.

I have just finished all the blocks for the Evening Star Block of the Month.  I have really enjoyed doing them.  Yes, I did have to take some seams apart because they were not coming out the way they were supposed to.  Thankfully, everything turned out fine.  Now that the blocks are done, I need to work on borders.

WELCOME HOME

On early Friday morning, my oldest son, David, came home from Afghanistan.  He is back on a 2 week pass.  Jorge and I are just so happy to have him here for this time.  The reunion was awesome.  Our dog Dotty, was running around like crazy because she was so happy to see him.  I cried seeing him and Jorge got teary eyed.  We held him tightly.

Two very happy parents!

One happy dog!             Orginally, David was going to surprise us.  But instead, he got the surprise.  His plans for flying out got all changed.  We dont' care.  We both were sitting on pins and needles waiting for him to get here.  The good thing was that he was able to go to Florida and spend a short time there with his brother and friends on their Spring Break.  They made a pitstop at Savannah, Georgia to see their aunt.  As soon as they were out in our driveway, we came out. 

We are so proud of him.  He is a fine young man who loves serving his country.  He is proud of his country.  To think that this young boy in the picture below is now a sniper for the Army National Guard.

At least his eating skills have gotten better.



PHOTOGRAPHY

When I got married 27 years ago, I married into a photography family.  My husband's family were photographers in Cuba and continued when they moved to the United States.  Needless to say, I was taught by Jorge how to take pictures.  Several years ago, Jorge started taking wedding pictures for friends as our wedding present.  For two weddings, he decided to get sick.  Lo and behold, I had to take the wedding pictures.  Fear set in.  It's one thing to take vacation pictures and it's quite another when you do a wedding with a 35mm camera.  Praise God that the pictures turned out well.

As time has gone by, both of us have taken wedding pictures.  The last two shoots I've had have been engagement pictures.  These are a few of the pictures that I have taken.

Garrett/McFarland pictures

Brogan/Aston Pictures

THE JOY OF A CUP OF TEA

When people hear the phrase a cup of tea, some imagine the Victorian period of high tea.  You picture ladies with gloves drinking their tea and having scones, finger sandwiches, and desserts.

But when I have my cup of tea, it's a time where I can just sit and relax and ponder the things that are going on in my life.  Some things are sweet - my family, my relationship with God, my friends.  Some things are not so sweet - past hurts, worries for my family.  But through all of that, relaxing with a cup of tea helps me to reflect and see how God is working in my life.

On Saturday, I had a lovely tea party with two youngladies.  I had collected tea cups and set the table for a lovely tea party.  We were able to share about our lives and laugh.  Near the end of the tea party, I told the ladies a story.  This story I found in a book written by Emilie Barnes and have shared it with other ladies and this is what I told the young ladies.  The teacup you hold in your had is beautiful just like you.  It was created with a purpose the same way God created you with a purpose.  As you look at your teacup, you may see a crack or a chip.  As we get older, things may happen in our lives that might hurt.  Those are the cracks or chips in your life.  But even with all of that, you're still beautiful and still can be used by God.  The young ladies were thrilled when I told them the teacup is theirs.  I hope that years later, and especially during times of sadness, they'll remember the special day.

Do I plan on having more tea parties?  Yes I do. 

My two guests, Becca and Amber.  Ellie, my cat, wanted to be a guest also.

FLOODING

On Monday morning we woke up with water in our family room and my sewing room.  Our neighborhood was flooded.  It was the worst we've ever had since we moved here. 

The carpet in the family room was very wet.  We did not have inches of water but still, our carpet was very wet.  We started moving furniture and most of it is in the garage.  My good friend, Sherry, came with her shop vac and helped me soak up the water and lent me three heating fans.  We are still working on drying the carpet. 

Thankfully, my fabric in my sewing room did not get wet.  I have all my fabric in plastic storage bins.  So they stayed dried.  My book case did get wet and so did two baskets.  I'm hoping to get everything cleaned and organized so that I can get back to my sewing.  It could have been worse.

Needless to say, this flooding has provided an opportunity for us to get rid of things that had not been used for a while.  So, off I go to finish the downstairs and try to get things back in their places.

The dark area is the water on our carpet in the family room.

Jorge using our shampooer to soak up the water.  He was sick and only lasted 10 minutes doing this.  I sent him off to bed.

Water in one area of my sewing room.  The water is under my plastic bins.  Thankfully, I have a concrete floor in the sewing room so it made clean up easier.  But still it's not fun.

Chris got his pick up stuck in knee deep water.  This is what the grill looked like after the tower brought the car home.