Day 22 Summer has now begun

I have been taking pictures of flowers every spring and summer. I took one picture of a carnation at a nursery and here is the result of that picture. I love making posters and I now have this poster for sale on my etsy. Flowers are just the best subjects. So graphic by nature-Ha guess God knew what he was doing when He designed them.

"And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these." Matthew 6:28-29

day 8 vacation

Here is what is exciting at my house. If you know me you would know this open space on my front porch is unusual. Yes I did it! I called the Bee Hive and sent all (well almost all, because they didn't come back for the second and third load yet) of it away to help those who really want to work hard at redoing or revamping furniture. When you have a vision, sometimes the vision has to be worked out in actuality for you to know your strengths and weaknesses. I realize that I will want my "store" to have painted furniture, but I don't want to paint it. I know what I want it to look like and I will have to hire painters, who work as independent contractors to do my painting. I also will hire an upholsterer to recover chairs and couches. I do have a plan, now all I need is venture cash!!!
So as you can see the porch is now ready for refurbishing. I am excited about getting this done. If I can get it screened I will truly be blessed. A porch in the south needs screens especially for the summer months. Just too many 'skitters. Today was one of those hot and humid days. I let the cats in and boom the humidity hit me like a brick. I looked online at the weather channel and we were up to 80% humidity; in the morning!! These are the days when you really do smell magnolia blossoms. You know "the air was heavy with the smell of magnolias" type of day. I actually love the smell of magnolias. I didn't know they smelled like lemons but they do. My favorite flower is the gardenia. It is about as sweet as you can get. So lovely and so delicate.

I guess I mentioned that I get to see sunsets almost every day in Arkansas. You never know when you are going to get to see something spectacular. I was driving to Emmet Arkansas one day and came up to the stop sign and there before me was this most amazing sight. I grabbed my camera and took a picture from the inside of the car and lo and behold this is the picture I got. You can see the window has a crack in it. I just can't believe how great God is to let us see this kind of sight while we are on this anomaly of a green planet.
This is my dad at a Founders Day, for Arkadelphia, event at the park down by the Ouachita River. I just love this shot, because it is so quintessential my dad. Turned around at a picnic table (I must have seen this posture a million times) and watching the singers on the stage singing "Everyone's got to be from somewhere." I sing this line all the time and we laugh, cause it is so axiomatic.

Which brings us to this picture. If everyone has to be from somewhere we are from here. The South. With all the foibles of the southerner in tow, we are who we are. We may try to be different, but as Judy said, "I'll try to be different." and Steve replied "Different than who?" "Different than those who are the same." she answered.

But alas we are the same. Same as those who are different.

Warming up my mind

Today I was working on some curtains for a client of my daughters. You know that girl over at My little life. Well, all day I have been sewing sewing sewing! Up and down the stairs, cause my sewing room is upstairs and my dining room has the only table long enough to work on these curtains. Here is a snippet of the table in my sewing room. A summer beach/swim bag I am designing for my etsy, A Razorback bill cap I have to mend for my husband, a couple of baskets I want to put fabric in for Easter decorations ,etc. Why do crafty people have to be so creative? So much to make and so little time. Isn't it great!

I came downstairs,(again), because I was fixin' to get supper ready when I walked through my living room and saw the sun coming in the windows. That is such a warming feeling. Even here in Arkansas where we will have winter now for about two weeks. Then it is spring and sooner rather than later it will be summer. But the sun shining in makes you remember that you really like this winter pick me up. The sun makes me feel warm, not just physically warm, but warm in my mind. As if it is saying be warm, the sun didn't go away.

I really can't blame the druids for being scared every year when the shortest day would come around. After all, they didn't live around the equator so when the sun set earlier and earlier they were in darkness and cold longer and longer. But you would think that someone would see that the same thing happened year after year.

Which brings us to faith, (wow that was a really cool transition), because if you thought that what you did would influence the earth and natures cycles and of course that included the sun, you might think it was up to you to save yourself and those that you love. Hey does this sound like anything we are hearing about now. You might do something drastic like have a human sacrifice or set things on fire to bring back the sun. And, you would see by golly it worked! The sun returned. So now you have set a precedent. If we have a sacrifice to appease the "sun god" the earth will obey. Jeez, and we think they were crazy. Aren't we being told the same thing today. It is our fault the earth is warming. We have to sacrifice our lifestyle to the "earth god." Not only am I insulted by that thinking, I feel the shamans of today's world want to hold sway over our lives. But I'm not going to go along.

Here is what I believe 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Wow! It is all about Him. Not what we do, but what he does. So now I get to enjoy what he has done. Which is why I love the sun in the winter. He called the light "day," It is good.

Just warming up in my mind.