Carnival

This is emma ok so last night I went to a carnival

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I Spy

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A mean jelly fish

In the photo above, my Grandbaby finally is asleep after a very grueling evening. It started out very nicely. We went for a walk on the beach after dinner to enjoy the sunset and look for shells. Alas, a close encounter with a very mean jellyfish sent me running for vinegar and her to the urgent care clinic.
She got the worst of it. The Hub actually had the scrape the mean stinger off her arm with the room key. She had a fitful night's sleep but just to prove what a trooper she is, check out the smile in the photo below.

As I write this, some two weeks later, the damage has not yet fully healed. Look close and you can see what her injuries looked like when they were new. She was ready to leave the beach behind and head to New Orleans immediately upon waking that next morning. And so we did...
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Antiquing

One of my favorite memories of summer is the day the Hub brought the Grandbaby over for lunch. They both had the day off. I did not.
I only had an hour to play with them but we made the most of it. We went to the antique store across the street from my work. There we explored the many fun and unusual objects on display. In one display, the Grandbaby found pictures of herself and was delighted.  


The pix once hung on a vintage clothesline display of Christmas cards. After the holidays passed, they were moved to another spot in the store where I hoped she would spy them and be as tickled as I was when I first saw them there. She was.



There is a baby doll in the store that I've been looking at for a while. I showed it to her to see if she would want it: doll lover that she is. She said no thank you. It is nice but I have enough dolls. Alas, we moved on.


She loved looking at the old children's books and sat a spell to read from some of them. She was also pleased to find any number of roosters, as that is her nickname.

It was a lovely hour. We need to have more of those unscheduled times where we have no agenda or requirement... at least for a time.
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And reminiscing

So here we are, my darling and me. On the beach. This is just before we went rompling at the water's edge, looking for shells and ended up stung by jellyfish. We really were having a good time until we weren't.
The whole ordeal has sort of soured her on the beach. She said next year she wants us to take her to the mountains.
For me, having twice visited the sugar beaches of Alabama and Florida with various members of my family this summer, I find myself more in love with time there than ever.
Now if I can just bring my grandbaby back around...


 
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New favorite thing

At the scrapbook conference/convention that my friend and I went to last weekend there were several  vendors and workshops for diy charms. It looked so easy and fun we attended one of them.
Turns out, it was.

 

I made the charm above at the conference under the tutelage of an instructor. The one below, I made all by myself using a picture of my granddog. I am pleased with how both turned out. In tribute thereto, I have proclaimed these charms to be my "new favorite thing."

 

 

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Travel tent

This little girl was so good on vacation I can scarcely believe it. There was a time when she was not so good a car rider. We logged many a mile driving from Oklahoma to Shreveport then Baton Rouge then Gulf Shores, Alabama. We went to New Orleans and then back to Baton Rouge and back through Bossier City to visit family before returning home. She occupied herself much of the time, with games and movies. She also did some writing,  journaling our trip, listened to the music on our vacay playlist and engaged in much conversation. She built herself a fort from beach towels, much the way my sisters and I did with blankets and sofa cushions at our grandparents' house. I still recall how much fun it was for the three of us to play in our blanket fort. The Grandbaby played in her own alone and was quite content to do so. It surely made the trip more pleasant than some we've taken. She's growing up so fast it almost makes me sad. This part of her maturity, though, makes me very happy.
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cinnamon apple oatmeal pancakes

Bethlehem Star

 

 

“Star Of Bethlehem” Visible on June 30th for the First Time in 2,000 Years.

On June 30th, Jupiter and Venus merged into what is known as a super-star.

The conjunction of these two planets has been building throughout the month of June and the result will be a dazzling bright spectacular on June 30th.
Sky & Telescope suggest that a similar rare conjunction of Venus and Jupiter may have been what was known as the “Star of Bethlehem” in 3-2 BC and since then there has not been a brighter, closer planetary conjunction. That means that this is the first opportunity of seeing it so clear for 2,000 years!
Jupiter and Venus are the two brightest planets and are often visible from most large city centres.

Throughout June, in the West it has been fascinating to watch the distance between the planet Jupiter and Venus reducing. Yesterday Jupiter was approximately the width of the moon away from Venus and tonight (June 30) the distance will reduce by half when Jupiter passes directly above Venus.

Venus and Jupiter will appear to be approximately one-third of a degree apart from one another. If we put our little finger up to the sky both planets would disappear behind it.
As the two stars appear to merge together they will look like an extremely bright and brilliant double-star in the night sky.
It is definitely worth a trip outside and if possible take along a pair of binoculars or a telescope for a better view. A good camera with zoom is also a great idea to capture this very rare sight.
When planet or star gazing it is always better to go to an area that is not lit up by streetlights as the darker the area that surrounds on earth, the more visible the spectacle is in the sky. Plus, we need to hope we have a clear sky so the view is not obstructed by clouds.
The best time to see the planets is not long after it has gotten dark and we need to be looking to the West-Northwest to view them.
Dr Hartigan explains, “After about two hours for most latitudes the objects will become difficult to observe as they begin to set. They are bright. You might mistake them for airplanes.”
Don’t miss this dramatic, rare and magical opportunity.
Many Christians see The Star of Bethlehem as a miraculous symbol of the birth of Jesus, however, there are many who see it as an astronomical event, such as, a pulsar, nova, comet or a conjunction that occurred at the same time as the birth.
Ancient Greeks, Romans and Hebrews believed that astronomical phenomena signified events that would happen on Earth, for example, the birth of important rulers or heroes.
Eastern Orthodox Churches and others view the Star of Bethlehem, which led the Magi, as an angel or supernatural being. They believe the angel was sent by God to present a guide for the Magi so they could find the way to the Christ child and lead the world to the dawn of a new light of knowledge.

On Magazine

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Re: scrapbooks, smashbooks and keepbooks

As a child I scrapbooked with my grandmother. She used old ledger books and binders and glued recipes and newspaper clippings onto the pages. I followed her lead (as I was prone to do) and attached my own school drawings, spelling bee and little olympian medals, etc.
Through high school and college I stayed with the same style of commemorating life events. When the modern scrapbooking craze erupted in the 1980's, I shied away from it in favor of what I was accused to: glue in clippings and adhesive photo albums. My kids have photo albulms aplenty but their only scrapbooks have kraft paper pages and gold stringed bindings.
I did dabble a bit in the more modern stuff when my baby child was in high school, mostly for the reason that the cheerleading, snow and water skiing, gymnastics and various other stickers she pointed out to me were so doggone cute.
It wasn't until I was a new grandmother and someone gave me a grandbaby scrapbook kit  that I really made the shift.
Since then, I've developed something of an obsession with scrapbooking and its various forms.
This weekend, my bestie are headed out to a scrapbook convention. The same child who helped initiate me into the sport (I have decided scrapbooking deserves such a classification) views this level of participation as "ridiculous." She has, however,  offered to put us up for the night, since the convention is in the city where she lives.
There are various workshops we hope to attend on techniques that are, at present, outside our  level.
I am also interested in learning new ways to scrapbook that take less time and space than what we've been doing.
Two of those types I've tried recently:
an old school "keepbook" and a more modern smashbook.
The KEEPbook is something I was inspired to make when I could not find a bride's or baby book for gifts that contained signature lines for shower guests, etc.  and decided to make my own.
As I understand a SMASHBook: Basically you glue in your photos, memorabilia (tickets, programs, leaves, flowers, recipes, newspaper and magazine clippings, hand prints, etc.), and any notes you want to make. At least that's what I have been doing with mine.
My own grandbaby is smashing right along with me, the way I did with my Grandmother. Hopefully, I will have some new things to teach her once I attend this weekend's conference and we can branch out together.

Do you know what it means...

 

Ah, New Orleans. How I love you.

People who think you are nasty and wicked just do not understand.

They do not understand the beauty and grace that has overcome disaster

and calamity.
They do not understand that your smells can act like an elixir on one's soul. That time with your is sweeter than even your pralines and beignets.
Your food is finer than any food some of us have cooked or eaten anywhere.
The character of your buildings and people is as rich as the food and just as interesting. You have no equal in the world of men.
Your style is uniquely your own. It is impossible to describe. Many volumes, numerous tomes have attempted to capture you to no avail.
Your history intrigues us. Your music draws us.
It has been too long since I spent time reveling in your offerings. It will be too long, not matter how long it is, before I can again...

Crown

The princesses pictured above are named  Emma and Bella. Bella is the one wearing a crown. She is a dog but she does not know it. Sometimes, the little humanoid holding her doesn't seem to recognize that Bella is canine. Emma often professes Bella to be her best friend. Certainly they play well together. This is mostly because Bella does whatever Emma wants. If Emma wants her to don the santos crown we found for her (Emma's) cousin in Baton Rouge, Bella complies. Note: for Bella's sake and the cousin's, I am mailing the crown posthaste, lest some damage occur to either Bella, the crown or both.
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Sum,sum, summertime

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Proud (but not in a bad way)

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of jokes and bywords

beignets and cafe au lait

au gratin

Down by the Riverside

The Monteleon

Pimm's and PoBoys

Irene's

Some serious sewing

I have always loved to do needle work. Hand smocking, cross stitch (counted and stamped) are among the types I've enjoyed over the years but my favorite kind has always been crewel embroidery.
I've passed many happy hours doing crewel work. Almost every vacation we've ever taken I've carried a little bag with some piece all hooped up and ready for completion.
A recent trip south to visit favorite people and places was not different.
This time, though, I put in an extra hoop and some old school iron on motifs so I might introduce  my grandbaby to my longtime hobby. The pictures below will show you how she took to it. By the trip's end, she was cutting her own thread, threading her own needle and making solid progress on the piece she started enroute to the beach. She made more progress between the beach and New Orleans. By the time we were back at her cousin's in Baton Rouge, she was so pleased with herself and her work that she declared her intention to make a dress for her favorite stuffed animal "Wolfie" our of the finished piece.
I will, of course, post a picture of the "dress" once it's ready to wear. For now I am just jazzed that the grandbaby likes to do hand embroidery.


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Sunrise on the beach

For the second week this season, I've awakened to a view like the one pictured above and below. I do love the beach. I've enjoyed any number of them and every one of them I've ever visited. Sunrise and sunset on the beach are particularly pleasant times in my life.  I never feel closer to my Father. His creations are glorious. He often takes my breath away with His Handiwork. That never fails to happen early morning and late in the evening at the beach. That I have experienced two trips on one summer is a rare and extra special blessing. I am blessed but you can call me grateful.

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Beach girls

We just barely got our bags set down in the room when these girls were unzipping theirs in search of their swimsuits and beach towels. It didn't take them long to find them, don them and head out to catch as many waves and as much sun as the rest of the day could of
My baby, who has an affinity for South Padre Island, also loves the Alabama Gulf Coast. The section of paradise right before one crosses into Florida at Perdido Point has long been a family favorite. It's the place where she traded her pacifier for a new baby doll right after she turned two. The grandbaby, who just recently turned eight and has been to other beaches, but this was her first time to accompany us to the sugar sands of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. She liked it a lot. At least until she tangled with a particularly nasty jellyfish on our last night there.
We did catch some good waves and a little sun. We had a lot of fun and made more than a few memories.
That's always the best part.




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