Project365: Photos 148-154

I probably shouldn't admit this about myself, but I get odd satisfaction from little things... like when I'm stuffing envelopes at work, and I run out of letters, envelopes, and flyer inserts at the same time.  Or like last month, when the photo number and the date on the calendar ended with the same number all month long.  For example, photo #148 is from the 28th.  Sadly, we lose that trend for the month of June, and I shall miss it.  :(  :P

Day 148: Raindrops
I wish I had a better lens for shots like this.
5/28/11

Day 149: New rug!
They match my new curtains.  Matching things make me happy.  :)
5/29/11

Day 150: One of my favorite places to shop!
5/30/11

Day 151: Lucky shot!
Even with my sub-par lens, it will occasionally surprise me.
5/31/11

Day 152: Paws & Crossbones
Quincy's new "necklace."
6/1/11

Day 153: Quincy again!?
Yeah, I almost forgot to take a pic this day...
6/2/11

Day 154: Lazy
Since I took 2 pics of Quincy this week, I felt like I needed to have at
least one of Milo.  He would have rather I just let him sleep.  :P
6/3/11

Friday Five

1 - My husband left me again on Monday.  :( 
(Business trip, in case you missed my explanation last week.)

2 - We had some gorgeous weather this week, so I took my dogs for a walk one evening after work.  This was my first time going solo with both of them, and they behaved pretty well.  :)  I took my camera along so that I could snap some pics of the trees that are beginning to bloom, so I definitely had my hands full!

3 - Lately I have not been as careful about watching what I'm eating, and the 15 pounds I've gained over the past few months is evidence of that.   I'm not happy about the weight gain or the fact that some of my clothes no longer fit, so I'm back on the moderation wagon this week. 

4 - I got my hair chopped off yesterday.  I'd been contemplating doing an asymmetrical cut for a while, and finally got brave enough to try it!  I like it, but having it longer on one side is definitely going to take some getting used to...

5 - My husband is coming home again today. :)

Friday Five

1.  This week I went to Sunday School for the first time in...  I can't remember when.  I enjoyed it and plan to go back!

2. My DVR hates me.  What other explanation could there be for it randomly choosing not to record NCIS when it's clearly programed to do so?

3. In perhaps the most bizarre news story of the year, there was a chimpanzee on the loose in Kansas City on Wednesday.  It was apparently someone's pet.  In the middle of the city!  To quote one of the witnesses, it "jumped on top of the [police] car, did a Donkey Kong smash on the cop's window and got crazy."  You can't make stuff like this up.

4. Last night we finished watching Season 5 of Criminal Minds, which is pretty impressive considering we started with the first season on DVD at the beginning of the year.  Five seasons of one show in less than 10 months?  That's dedication!  ;o)  Now we just have to catch up with the current season, and all of those episodes are on the DVR that hates me.  Hopefully it doesn't start randomly deleting them now that I said that.

5. It's been a tough week for me emotionally, so I'm extremely relieved that Friday is finally here.  I'm hoping to go for a drive at some point this weekend to take some pictures of the fall foliage.  And if I'm lucky...  maybe I'll get another gem like this one:

No Favourite Things Today

Well, my friend Thelma decided to change the "rules" on her weekly blogging of "My Favourite Things: Monday" (it will now be a bi-weekly feature), so today I am left without her guidance.  After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, I have regained my composure and shall blog instead about my weekend. 

As I mentioned last week, Scott & I decided to visit Louisburg Cider Mill to take in the festivities of Ciderfest on Saturday.  Truth be known, we were going for two reasons:  1 - the corn maze, and 2 - kettle corn.  You can buy Louisburg cider in any of our local grocery stores, so that's never been motivation for us to drive out there.  But when I saw that the kettle corn guy from Santa-Cali-Gon (another festival, for you non-locals) was going to be there, I was sold!

So, we loaded up the dogs on Saturday afternoon and headed south.  Our dogs don't get out much, so although they are very well behaved at home, being out in public is another matter.  I know if we took them out more often they would improve, but it's honestly not worth the effort.  Why?  Because our 75-pound Golden Retriever has decided that he can't jump up into the back of our Jeep.  So, Scott has to lift him.  And since our 50-pound dog has short, squatty legs, there's no possible way he could make that jump if he tried.  So, Scott has to lift him, too.  (Esther doesn't lift, in case you were wondering!)

Anyway, back to Saturday...  While we were waiting in line for our tickets to the corn maze, an older  gentleman with a basset hound approached us.  He immediately identified our little mutt-dog as a basset mix, and we chatted with him briefly while we watched our dogs interact.  I wish I had thought to snap a picture of the basset and the basset "fraud" (as Scott likes to call him), because it was SO cool to see them together!  But, it was all I could do to keep a VERY excited Milo under control, and Scott was having the same battle with Quincy.

At the beginning of the maze.

Going through the corn maze was definitely a fun experience, and we'd both enjoy doing it again.  And believe it or not, the dogs really enjoyed it, too.  Granted, they'd have enjoyed us walking through any random field without a maze plowed through it, but that wouldn't be any fun for us, now would it?  ;o)  We did make it through most of the maze, but I guarantee we didn't go the way the designer planned.  And somehow we ended up coming back out the entrance instead of the exit...  Which may or may not have had something to do with the "shortcuts" we may or may not have taken along the way...

Fortunately, once we made our way through the maze, the dogs were pretty tired and slightly under control.  So, we braved the crowds and went into the exhibit area for our kettle corn, gave the dogs a nice drink of water back at the Jeep, and then loaded up to head home. On our way home we stopped at a different cider mill for donuts and much-better-cider, but don't tell the folks at Louisburg.  ;o)

Scott with some very tired dogs near the end of the maze.

A little teaser of things to come...  Yesterday I finally started a little project I've been thinking about tackling all summer:  Pickled Green Tomatoes.  It's a very long and involved 3-day process, so I've been taking pictures along the way so I can blog about it when I'm done.  Assuming they're edible.  If they're not, perhaps I'll just call it the Pickled Green Tomatoes Experiment.  Stay tuned!

Music & Creation

I love music.  Over the past year, I have gone from a "diet" of mostly country to almost exclusively Christian music.  This shift happened gradually, and it wasn't really something I planned to do.  It stemmed from the grief I was experiencing due to my infertility.  When a Christian goes through difficult times, they tend to react in one of two ways: 1 - turn away from God, or 2 - turn toward Him.  I chose the latter, and I'm so glad I did.  I can't imagine going through those months without Him by my side, and I certainly don't want to go through any future struggles without Him.

Christian music has helped me to keep that focus.  Since music is almost a constant in my life, it's not unusual for the lyrics that I've allowed to penetrate my mind to randomly pop into my head throughout the day.  I needed those lyrics to be positive and encouraging.  I still listen to non-Christian stuff.  I didn't swear off anything and everything "worldly" (as if there was ever any question about that!).  I just feel it is important to make a conscious choice to fill my mind with lyrics that are God-honoring, worshipful, and prayerful.  Especially prayerful.  I've found so much comfort and hope in music during times when my heart was aching so badly I didn't even know how to pray.  I thank God for the songwriters He's blessed with such amazing talent - everyone from the hymnwriters of old to those of today.

Lately I've found myself drawn to songs that talk about God's creation.  Some are new; some not so new.  Here are a few of my favorites:

The classic hymn, The Love of God, was penned by Fred­er­ick M. Leh­man in the early 1900s, but has been recorded by many artists and groups over the years (my current favorite is the MercyMe version).  When I sing along with this song, I can clearly see these images in my mind, which makes it come to life even more.  I just love how picturesque this verse is:  "Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made.  Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade.  To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky."

I love the descriptiveness of the words from Phillips, Craig & Dean's Revelation Song: "Clothed in rainbows, of living color, flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder.  Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be to You the Only Wise King."

A fairly new song that is getting a lot of air time right now is Starry Night by artist Chris August: "From the birds that sing in the tallest trees, to the human life of you and me.  From the desert sands to the place we stand.  He is God of all. He is everything. I'm giving my life to the only one who makes the moon reflect the sun, every Starry Night.  That was His design." 

Perhaps the song that communicates the point of this post best is Light Up the Sky by The Afters: "You light up the sky to show me You are with me. I can't deny, no I can't deny that You are right here with me. You've opened my eyes so I can see You all around me. Light up the sky, You light up the sky to show me that You are with me."

I can't tell you how many times this last song has gone through my mind as I was driving down the road in a rain storm, watching lightning shoot across the sky.  God is powerful, my friends!  And He is there, whether we feel like He is or not.  I see Him in ever beautiful sunset, and when I watch rays of sunshine streaming through billowy clouds. I think that's why God made His creation so beautiful.  He wants us to remember He is here.  And I'm thankful for the music that helps remind me of this fact.

I'll close with these words from one of my all-time favorite hymns:

How Great Thou Art
Lyrics ~ Carl Boberg, 1859 - 1940
Stanza 1:
O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all
The works Thy Hand hath made,
I see the stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow'r throughout
The universe displayed; 

Stanza 2:
When through the woods
And forest glades I wander
I hear the birds
Sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down
From lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook
And feel the gentle breeze; 

Refrain:
Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!

My Favourite Things: Monday

Since I'm doing this new blog thing, I've decided I need to get into some kind of pattern that will ensure I stay faithful to posting.  So, in an effort to post at least once a week...  :o)  I am joining my friend Thelma in posting each Monday, "My Favourite Things: Monday" (she's Canadian, hence the spelling of "favourite!").  I am not nearly as gifted (nor as humorous!) as she, but I will do my best. 

Today's "favourite" thing is autumn.  Or as I like to call it, fall.  I LOVE fall, so it is very difficult for me to narrow it down to one thing.  I love the cooler weather, pulling out the comfy sweaters and sweatshirts, the comfort foods and their accompanying aromas, going to the American Royal, celebrating Thanksgiving with family...  However, I think my favorite thing of all is seeing the colors of the changing leaves.  

I've always loved fall foliage, even when I was a little girl.  There's something so satisfying about crunching through the leaves on a cool fall day, both then and now as an adult.  I love going for a drive with the sole purpose of finding beautiful trees to admire.  In Missouri we have a lot of trees, but I know their beauty pales in comparison to other parts of the country.  

On several occasions, I've been to Wisconsin in the fall to visit friends.  Some of my favorite memories during those visits was when I was just driving around with my friend J, enjoying God's handiwork and listening to her Petraphonics album (pretty sure it was a cassette tape -- does that date me or what?).  I can still vividly see the canopy of trees we were driving through at Devil's Lake as we sang along to "The Coloring Song," and laughing ourselves silly as we got lost while looking for a certain apple orchard.  Such sweet memories with a dear friend.  ♥  Kinda makes me want to drop everything and go for a visit now - I  know she wouldn't object!  If only it were that simple... (sorry, J!)

Unfortunately, after fall comes the inevitable frigid winter... but we won't think about that right now.  Let's just revel in the beauty of the next couple months, shall we?  

So, there you have it.  My first installment of "My Favourite Things: Monday."  What's your favorite thing about fall?  If you post it on your blog, make sure you paste your link here in my comments.  And if you don't have a blog, just leave me a comment so I can learn about your favourite thing.  :o)

-E