Monday Musings, Tuesday's Thoughts and Lightning Strikes

This post was supposed to be called Monday Musings, but my fried computer forced it to become Tuesday's Thoughts...

1. Oreos are from the devil. I think the serving size is one ROW, am I wrong?

2. Lightning striking your house is bad. It can fry your TV, VCR, computer monitor, wireless router, various plug-ins AND blow a hole in your wall. Who knew??
3. I miss beading. My jewelry and business has taken a different turn the past two years and now is 99.9% personalized work. While going to the funeral, I was able to work on my very special client's jewelry and she LOVES my fringe bracelets. So I rode to Northern Nebraska and back with this on my lap. Each of these beauties takes about 3 hours to sew.


4. We have a mourning dove that spends all day on our roof. I do not know where her nest is, or why she's there, but she's always singing her mourning song.

5. Volleyball camp is FUN! I can't tell you how fun it is to see Rebekah discovering volleyball. This is especially meaningful since it was "my" sport. :)


6. I actually have more thoughts than 5, but I think my customers would rather I save those for another day and GET.TO.WORK. :)
Blessings
Ann

A Legacy of Strength

Ask any male member of my extended family and you will find that I come from a long (LONG) line of strong, independent women. Last week I lost the matriarch of that line. My grandmother went home to Jesus at the age of 97 years, 11 months. She was a very creative woman who helped support her large (8 kids!) family by painting. She also wrote poetry, played piano and sang beautifully. It's such a wonderful legacy passed down through the generations. I can see it continuing in my own daughters. As a way to honor her, all the daughters and granddaughters wore her hats to the funeral. She loved to wear hats, and was known about town as the hat lady. :) (I'm the one in the brown dress with the pink hat. I will have another post about the shoes...) This is a photo of me with my grandma when I was about 7-8 months old.

On the card from the funeral was printed one of Grandma's poems. I think it truly gives insight into her, as well as the long line of women who came after.

The Dreamer
You say I'm a dreamer
And of course it's true
I dream of the past and the
present too.
Some dreams I come up with
Are impossible schemes
And quickly I relegate them
Back to my dreams.
But then there are times
When a favorite scheme will
quickly take form
And become more than a dream.
The idea is strong and "heady"
I drop everything and work on it steady.
It's work, but it's pleasure-
Intriguing, provoking, a treasure.
Yes! I'm a dreamer, all kinds of things
Rolled into one-
Mystic, sad, glad and fun.
I'm absent-minded, sub-conscious.
Consciously right.
You can't make me over
Don't ever try.
I'll find a way to be
wild and to be free
Oh yes, I'm a dreamer
I hate to admit it
"It's me"

Just for Fun

Every once in awhile I have to make something just for fun. 99.9% of what I make is custom now so it's nice to take a moment to make something new. It features a hand stamped sterling silver pendant and has a sterling silver chain. This sweet circle has a whimsical tree design with a heart hiding in the branches. The text reads "love makes the world go round". My sister promptly claimed this as her own, so I will have to offer this one as a custom too! :)

Friends & Family

We have been so blessed in our neighborhood. After 5 years in our last house, we still did not know anyone's name nor did we have almost any interaction with our neighbors. They were primarily retirees and really had no interest in our young, growing family.

We were led to this neighborhood by a close friend. She raved about how friendly everyone was. We were not mislead! It is the kind of place where people who are considering moving up don't simply because they can't bear to leave the neighborhood. We have formed close friendships with several neighbors. One of these families is kind enough to take us boating occasionally during the summer. Last weekend was the first time Katie and her best friend (and according to them, future husband) went tubing. It was also the first time his older brother tubed. He went with Kristian first to get the hang of it. Look how squished the big boys are in the tube!


I love how tiny the little ones look in the raft.

To Jen: there are a couple houses for sale...you would fit right in!! :)

Are you ready to runway?

We are! We are counting down the minutes until the next season of Project Runway premieres this week. Look out Heidi, Katie's working on her strut. :)