I've been

a little AWOL.
  

For a good reason, though. 

Let me just say
that I feel very blessed .

 

Pictures later.

Tutorial on necklace (in last post) later, too.

When Tiffany was here,

 we made a lot of these glass tile necklaces

.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the cute ones Tiffany made. 

But here are some of the 7/8 inch square paper pieces 

I plan to make more necklaces with. 

And of course my favorite,

the cupcake ones.

Gardens

I love the gardens at this time of year.  The maintenance is minimal, but the flowers are still blossoming. 

We went to a wedding of my cousin's daughter that was held in a very amazing and beautiful back yard.  It had so many little spaces in it with beautifully arranged plantings.  I was visiting with my cousins and couldn't figure out where Gary was.  Then I found him hiding out in the gazebo. 

Tonight Natalie went out in our garden to get flowers for our centerpiece. 

 She definitely has artistic talent. 

I wouldn't have been able to put one together like this.

I've been watching

some of the programs commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on our country.  I look at the images now, and it still feels as surreal as it did when it was happening. 

But as I hear the individual stories, it is far from being surreal.  It is far too real for them.   My heart breaks as I listen to the stories of the wives and husbands who were able to have one last conversation with their spouses by cell phone.   There must be such haunting memories for those who were there.   Yet, there are so many stories of courage and kindness.  It seems that the worst actions of mankind can also bring out the very best in mankind      

This morning

I got up and got right into making flower pins for a cousin's wedding.  A few hours later, I turned on the television to watch "Good Things Utah" while I finished them.  I was sure the TV was broken.  Even when I turned the volume up as high as it would go, I could only hear a little noise when I put my ear right up to it.  I tried adjusting the volume with both the remotes and checked to make sure the mute buttons weren't on.   

Finally, I thought to check my ears.  That's when I realized I hadn't put my hearing aids in.  No wonder it was so quiet in the house.  Once I put them in, I heard the TV blasting so loudly that I had to quickly turn it down. 

Can I say how grateful I am for hearing aids?  Hearing the TV is good (and I also love closed captioning), but I'm particularly grateful that I can hear the voices of the people in my life.   

I'm reminded of the

advertisement on television that says something to the effect of,
"A body in motion tends to stay in motion, while a body at rest tends to stay at rest."

I'm living proof of that, both in the blogging arena and the physical arena.

What I'm trying to say is that blogging was easier when I did it every day.  When I was "in the groove," so to speak.  I was much more aware of my feelings, surroundings, and activities because I knew I was going to write about them.   And I was committed.

In the physical area, I have exercised only a few times all summer.  And my body feels it and looks it.  I feel sluggish and lazy and have gained weight.  I have only gone to yoga a couple of times this summer, and my joints are letting me know that they miss it.   So, I'm going to try to stay in motion.  I need it both physically and emotionally. 

Tomorrow is another day.

As for the blogging, here goes.

That is what I've been doing this week since we got back from California.

It's ridiculous, really, that it takes me so long to put something like this together.  But the thing I keep reminding myself, as I'm thinking it's silly, is that I really do enjoy the creative process.  I spent time searching for ways of making the "lollies" or pin-folded flowers.  I want to make a banner of them, and I got lots of good ideas.  I've experimented with different fonts and cricut cartridges, many of which didn't work well.   But they are things I've wanted to try.

Here's the front of the invite. 

 When Gary had the car lot (a whole 'nother story) he ordered some cards that said, "An Invitation" on the front. On the inside there was writing inviting the recipient to visit the car showroom.

I've held on to a hundred of those cards that I have no use for. So, it feels good to recycle them in a useful way.  I cut out the silhouettes on my Cricut machine. Then we'll staple the vellum over it and paste our printed invitation over the one that is there.

It feels good to be in motion again.



Wish

you were here . . .

. . . planning in the shade

 

with us!

 

 Enjoying the cool breeze . . .

And watching the sunset, too.