waterlogued

I first read about this cool app for my Iphone and Ipad in a magazine.  The article raved so about it that I didn't think twice about spending $2.99 against a Christmas present Itunes card for it. I've already gotten my money's worth. Actually, more than...
It is called waterlogued. The article I read about it was written from the perspective of use by designers and interior decorators for which room renderings. That it would be a boon to my scrapbooking projects occurred to me immediately.  I had to make myself stop playing with the app last night and go to bed.  I spent part of my lunch hour playing with the app some more.

The photo above is one of the many things I "waterlogued." I think it is fantastic to be able to create a "watercolor" with the \push of a button!

Genesis 50:20 (and 21)

Joseph the Dreamer is one of my favorites from the Old Testament.
I like him for a lot of reasons. For one thing, the idea of  a coat of many colors always appealed to me.
I've also liked the fact that no matter what he came out ok. Actually, better than ok.
God was with him, wherever he was and whatever happened.
Joseph knew that. This he had a good attitude, the Bible reports.

David Jeremiah, who has written and preached a good deal on Joseph notes that he is one of only a handful of  folks in the Bible for whom there are is bad report. Dr. Jeremiah goes as far as calling Joseph a prototype of Christ. Certainly, though he lived man centuries before Jesus' birth, Joseph understood a good deal about the ways of God.

The verse set out here is an example of that. It, like the one who spoke it,  has long been a favorite of mine.

He spoke it to his brothers, who had sold him into slavery because they were jealous of him. He had come to power in Egypt and was in position to retaliate against them. Joseph opted instead to forgive them, recognizing that their mistreatment of him, through God's divine providence, had saved both he and the entire family from starvation during a famine.

That part I've understood since I was a child in Sunday School.

It's the next verse that only recently grabbed hold of me.

Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

God didn't just provide for Joseph and his family, He allowed Joseph, because he forgave them and recognized the miracle of God's provision, to actively participate in the plan. Joseph was able to nourish and comfort and speak kindly to his brothers and their children because of the excellent position he took. He'd had years to nurse bitterness and plot revenge. He certainly had cause and opportunity to respond in kind. At the very least he could have railed against them for the misery they perpetrated upon him. He did not. He took the high road. I need to take the lesson. If for no other reason than to please the Father and to allow myself to be similarly blessed by Him.

projects

I had several birthday presents to finish. I saved the parts  the grandbaby could help with for a time she  would be with me. My grandmother used to do the same for my sisters and me. She would set aside projects to do with us that would interest us and be within our particular skill level at the time. Those are among some of my best memories. I hope someday my own granddaughter will feel the same about the time she spends doing my projects with me.

how to draw

Susan Branch is definitely one of my favorites. I've bought her cards and calendars,etc. for years. That she would give instruction as to her craft makes me happy.It also makes me want to learn. Especially since I am in the middle of the February photo challenge!

scrappy, happy Saturday

My friend Linda, who is a real scrapbook aficionado posted a comment on the above collage when I uploaded it to Facebook that said "I am so happy that she is so scrappy."
I am happy, too. We pass many happy hours commemorating family events on paper for our scrapbooks and making them for friends.
She asked for a scrapbook kit for Christmas and had it largely complete by New Year's. Last weekend she put together almost all the Christmas pages for her year six book.
She's to decide that my taking pictures so many pictures of her is not so bad since we have them for our books. She does ask now, though, whenever I am taking them, "can we put those in a scrapbook?!" That's my girl!

That's so sweet!

It's  day 6 of the February draw challenge.  Today's task is to draw my favorite dessert or sweet. Trouble is, I can't figure out what to draw. I do not know what my favorite dessert or sweet is.
For me, it depends on the time and place.,
It has changed over various periods of life.
The earliest dessert favorite I recall is cheesecake.
There was a little restaurant in a drug store near
the post office where I grew up that made a
really fabulous cheesecake.
Down the street and around the corner there
was a dime store. There, at the candy counter
were the most sumptuous malted milk balls I
have tasted to this day.
As a teenager, I found no substitute for my Mama's
chocolate cake.I am convinced that the woman
could take dirt up out of the yard and make it taste
good. Her chocolate sheet cake is not particularly
attractive but it tastes wonderful. The same thing is
true of her chocolate chip cookies.
Mother tells that from the time my nephew Jon Michael
was a little fellow, he would be standing on the porch
holding a bag of chocolate chips any time he knew she
was coming to visit. Apparently, he felt much the same
as I about his Granny's cookies.
At Christmastime she makes fudge and divinity and Aunt Bill's
candy. How am I supposed to be able to pick what to draw
just from the things my Mother makes?
It is worth noting here that I have not even discussed her pies.
Especially the egg custard. And the cherry. Oh, and the pumpkin
at Thanksgiving.
On the subject of pies, I should mention that my husband
 makes an amazing caramel banana pie.
There is a restaurant in LeCompte Louisiana called Lea's that makes the most amazing pies.
If I had to choose a favorite from there it could take a
while.
So there is my dilemma. And I am not really all that much a sweet eater, but when I do, those would be my top choices.
Along with:
the bread pudding from Don's Seafood = bread pudding
or petit fours from Julia Ann's in Shreveport  or Petty's in Tulsa.
or the oatmeal cookies for the road from Fairfield Grocery in Shreveport.
Or maybe the lemon loves from the Neiman Marcus in dowtown Dallas near the
Farmer's Market.
or it could be a chocolate paperbag  filled with angel food cake, sweet cream, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries from Trulucks in Dallas.
Or perhaps it would be the cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. I first fell in love with
the cheesecake at the location near Northpark Mall in Dallas. Now there's one near Penn
Square in OKC.
Also in OKC:
pastries from Full Circle Bookstore
or in Tulsa and/or Dallas, palmiers from Le Madeleine.
Or maybe it would be a  French Brest from the pasterrie across from our hotel in the Opera
District in Paris.
I'm just not certain what my favorite is and therefore cannot select one to draw. Maybe I should draw them all.

drawing for February

Last year in February I did a photo challenge. I chose the shortest month of the year because I figured I'd have a better chance of actually finishing it with fewer days in which to participate.

I thought of doing another month of photos but then decided to do something different. 

I decided to draw.

Perhaps I am inspired by the little children in my family and in my community who are taking art lessons from a woman who really is a master artist. She has opened a little studio downtown. I was there for the grandbaby's art birthday party last summer. Since then I've wanted to try my hand again at art.

I took classes when I was younger. One I took when I was 10 or 11. Another I took as a course in high school and another I took when I was newly married.

Each of those were painting classes, not drawing ones. Still there is drawing and sketching involved in the early stages of painting, so I should be able to carry off the requisite drawings. We shall see...

Lookie

She lost another tooth! She says her dance teacher pulled it for her.It is top tooth that left a rather gaping hole. The Hub says we (meaning I) must take care not to say anything that would make her think it looks funny. It does look a bit funny, but I am not going to say it. Except here. Shhhh! Don't tell that I said so...

bathing bella

The Grandbaby told me the other day that she has decided what she wants to be when she grows up.
She says she want to be an "animal doctor." She loves animals, except for bugs and "they are insects not animals." She especially likes dogs and cats.
I am not surprised at her statement based on what she does daily. Whether she is playing in her playhouse or watching television at our house, there is a dog nearby. At her own house, the older cat and the kittens are constantly on her lap. The older one, who doesn't like anyone, sleeps on the Grandbaby's bed.
Bathing our dogs is one of her favorite things to do. Strange that, to me anyway. I dread bathing them and would much rather take them to the groomer for a bath. The dogs don't love it when she bathes them both neither do they mind it particularly.
In the above photos, the Grandbaby is happy and our Bella is pensive. Sure does smell good though because after her bath Bella also got a spray (or two or three) of my new perfume.

a snow break

Baby daughter got an extra day on her weekend but still didn't want to go back to school.
I am going to say that is because her Daddy built a fire in the fireplace for her. She had free reign in the kitchen and with the tv remote.

We sort of baby her when she comes home because we are glad when she comes home and after all, she is our baby. Besides, she contributes to the equation, especially when we are snowbound.
She played guitar and piano. She made chili.

I love it that she still loves being at home with us... that she hasn't outgrown us. I took the pictures above of her out walking in the snow to remind us all that even when one is in graduate school, you love a snow day.

fun in the snow on groundhog day

There really is not much text required here. We got a five inch snow. There was much sledding and snow angel making and general frolicking in the snow. 

We made more than a few memories and had more than a little bit of fun.

Let it Snow

If there is a better place to watch the snow fall than from my kitchen, I don't know about it. That is what I am doing just now. It is beautiful in all directions.
the Hub just built a fire in the fireplace. The baby daughter,stranded here on a weekend visit from graduate school is playing the piano.
The big blonde lab whose domain is supposed to be the back yard is resting at my feet.
There is a roast in the oven.
There are two hardback books waiting to be read. There are Valentine supplies I've gathered on the card table and scrapbook pages spread out on the dining room table.
As soon as I finish a duvet cover I've been working on for the grandbaby I will get started on one of those.
But just now I am watching the snow...from my kitchen.