Cool Summer Jewels

Leta has so many pieces of jewelry to delight every taste and pocketbook.  Her main shop is on Artfire and she is currently adding new pieces to her Zibbet Shop.  Stop in her shop,  do a little shopping and visit her on facebook.

This is your life...

This was shared on Plurk and wanted to share it here.  I don't know where it came from...But, the message is meant to be shared.

Summertime

Poison Ivy can really spoil the summer....Rose of Walk in the Woods LLC has a great product for Ivy Itch.  Don't forget to pick up some Sweet Birch Lip Balm to soothe those dry summer lips.  She sells on Artfire and Zibbet.  Stop by Facebook   or read about all her on her blog.  You will be inspired by nature too!

Time doesn't heal all wounds

Love crosses every boundary,  even over the brick walls that people construct to keep loved ones out. 
But, when substance abuse is involved,  then that becomes their first love.  A week does not go by without at least one disastrous story that ends in tragedy.  From a boy that values his family so little that he killed his parents so he can party in their home, to a singer that was proud to state that she would end up dead in a ditch on fire.  These people surrounds themselves with friends that do not set any limits for themselves or their friends that they claim to care about.  No one is surprised by the outcome and then the crowd moves on to the next "IT" person until they expire. What low expectations these individuals placed upon themselves.  Life is hard and we need to pull together, not apart. I am truly sad for the loved ones that tried to stay involved in that persons life only to be pushed away, verbally abused and ignored.

The old saying that only happens in bad families...I am afraid that it has crossed into loving & good families too.  I was reading that the baby boomer generation will be the first generation in history that will be alone when they are very old.  The entitled generation is walking away from families in alarming numbers.  Families are give and take, they show up and give you a nudge or soft boot when you need it.  In turn, you do what you can for them too.  Do your children's friends keep close contact with their families and encourage yours to distance yourself from their  family?  I had a friend in JR High that did that and eventually I grew up a little and saw what she was trying to do. 

If you were neglected or unloved for even a second... I would understand estrangement...but, why silence???  Toxic relationships are not being told no or sorry we don't have the money right now.  There are parents that are in a drunken stooper, no food or clean clothes and even more that I don't want to think of  children being subjected to.  I know this is hard for people that do not have this disconnected relationship to understand.  It is torture for the person experiencing it.  Why don't you try?  What happened?  These are the logical questions by well meaning people, but unfortunately the answers are only known with the person that refuses to talk or listen. From what I have read in the estrangement forums...it appears to be a power issue.

If you have estrangement in your life, I thought I would pass some helpful links on, if anyone is searching for.... WHY?  I have seen a few articles that suggest "making a new family",  what happens when that family is imperfect?  Dump them and find new people?   I do not believe the solution is running away or ignoring anyone that crosses you.  A great blog to visit:  estrangedfamilies (Wordpress) , this blog has so many great, inspiring posts for Parents, Adult Children and Grandparents. Scroll down the page and find a post that is relevent to your needs and there is a link on the left hand side for older posts too.  Another site for Adult Parents is estrangedparentsofadultchildren.com This tab is "Stages" estrangedparentsofadultchildren.com/Site/Stages and Resources: estrangedparentsofadultchildren.com/Site/Resources

I hope you find the inner peace that you seek and hope that this post will help you heal and let go.

I'm on the FP of Artfire!!!

 

Daisies and Bumblebees

I only wish I had Dancin' nanners like on plurk.  This beautiful FP Collection was curated by SagesCupboard

The Last Space Shuttle

I just can't imagine a time without the space program.  Back in the early days when our TV's were black and white with 2 channels, it has always been there.  As a nation we all watched together, it was something we shared.  Our love of adventure and the unknown reached into each of our living rooms and held us spellbound.

--This is the Friendship7 that lifted off  14th of February 1962 (I was only 4, so I don't remember if this was the first flight I saw televised. I am sure that we watched it take off into space and the splashdown).  I do remember being worried that astronauts would drown in the capsule before the people would get them out.  The capsule did not sink and they were just fine.  

Years passed and many successful and some tragic accidents later, we landed on the Moon in 1969,  our TV's had rabbit ear antennas and lots of static (but it was free).  Our picture was not clear like this shot, but we were happy to get a peak and be able to hear even part of the conversation between Nasa and the Astronauts.  I walked outside after watching the landing and looked at the moon and could not imagine that there really people on the moon.  

In 1992, my daughter and I went on a class field trip to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.  It was a fun day, the employees had so many things to show the kids.  They had a lot of questions for them. I could not believe the size of the rocket booster....Those are adults and kids in front of it.  It was really amazing.

Shortly after this we moved to Florida and watched all of the Shuttle liftoffs and landings from our backyard.  If I forgot about a landing, those twin sonic booms would get me running outside to catch a glimpse of the shuttle before it landed.

To the last and final shuttle mission, the Atlantis lifted off with the world watching once again.  I tuned into the NASA Channel to watch the take off and again for the landing.  I know there are so many different and opposing sides to the funding of the space program...I will hope that at another time, we will reach out to the stars again.

Scratch another thing off the to do list...

I have wanted to change out the door knobs for a while now.  The front door did not have a lock, just a knob.  They were on sale at Home Depot... I love saving money.  I have installed many a lock in my day...these were the easiest ones I have ever done.  It only took about 10 minutes after the old knob was out.

New Locks...CHECK!

July is a big Birthday and Anniversary month in the family.  My Grandmother's birthday is tomorrow (she is no longer with us).  She would fly into town for a visit and we would all go to the airport to meet her.  Our daughters loved going to the airport.  Our oldest daughter's birthday is in three days. 

My new Kam Snaps arrived today and I got to finish my new Kitchen Wet Bags (for un papertowels, napkins, cloths).  It hangs off the handle of the stove.  I love the bright Vintage look of the oilcloth.  I also made some in blue with strawberries.

The wetbags, un paper towels, family wipes and kitchen cloths are listed in my Zibbet Shop. 

I love fresh flowers, but, they never last long enough!  I put the fresh flower food in the water and changed the water too. 

These are the roses that my hubby brought home for me for our Anniversary on Friday.  I put them in a vase in the bedroom and moved them out to the kitchen to enjoy them the next day.  He was off from work for a couple of days.  We had a great lunch and went swimming at the community pool.  He worked two jobs for so many years and we didn't buy each other anything for occasions that it was a real treat to get flowers and spend time together.

My newest bean plants have invaded the willow tree!  They are the Asian yard long beans or asparagus beans.  I might have to get a stepladder if they climb any higher.

If it were not for this willow tree we would not have any plants this late in July.  With the temps in the 100's for well over a month.  I am so surprised that everything is doing so well. 

Artfire Daily Giveaway ($100)

7/19: AAD-012
7/18: AAC-636 

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7/13: AAD-768
7/12: AAD-292 

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Check those numbers!  I would love to win (there are so many great shops on Artfire...It would be hard to choose just one).
 

The long to do list....

I won't say how long the fan has been in the unopened box waiting to be put up.  We had a small fan that was in the house when we bought it and we bought this much bigger one to replace it.

The bedroom is pretty big and needed a larger one.  It is hard enough to sleep through the night with night sweats, the other fan did not even reach my side of the bed...Now, I am a happy lady.

We bought another galvanized container for our tomatoes (in the back) I took this picture last month of our garden. The heat is on and the plants have slowed down a good bit, but still producing some.

The garden is under a willow tree and receive a lot of sunlight for most of the day. It is shaded during the hottest hours by the willow tree.

This day will never come again....

I have been stuck in a rut and trying to break free... Easier said than done.  I have been thinking of part of the Serenity Prayer that my Grandfather decoupaged inside a chest he made for me.  I read it when I was younger and it wasn't until I have been older that I understood the meaning.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.