Another Day

A drive, a picnic, and a little walk on a gorgeous day makes for one happy family. These are the golden-tinted days that we never specifically remember individually, but rather as a collective impression of the first enjoyable weeks of summer.

And yes, that's a sleepy puppy on the car-ride home. :)

How Doth the Little Busy Bee

How doth the little busy bee

Improve each shining hour,

And gather honey all the day

From every opening flower!

~Isaac Watts

Wherein I Over-Edit Just for Fun

The results of experimenting with the new photo-editing tool, PicMonkey.

February Photo Challenge ~ Valentines Day

You will find as you look upon your life that the moments that you truely live are the moments you have done things in the spirit of love.

~Henry Drummond

He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God. God is love. Therefore love. Without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love. Lavish it upon the poor, where it is very easy; especially upon the rich, who often need it most; most of all upon out equals, where it is very difficult, and for whom perhaps we do the least of all.

~Henry Drummond

Happiness... consists in giving, and in serving others.

~Henry Drummond

To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever.

~ Henry Drummond

Highlights of the Week

>1<
We've been enjoying our new pellet stove this week. Such a cozy, blanket-and-sock feeling. Taking my reading or handwork out to the living room is much more fun.

>2<
Deciding to branch out into embroidery patterns, and whipping out the first design in no time. I'm still trying to figure out what quote I want to go with it, but if all goes well I hope to be putting it up in the shop soon!







>3<
Having my uncle here for the week has made everything a little more enjoyable. He's mainly here to go up to the mountain when my brother goes snowboarding, but he is just fun to have around all the time.

>4<
My dress for the upcoming ball is coming along nicely, and the embroidery is almost complete! I think...I still haven't decided if I want to do the back of the collar or not, but the front is almost complete! Then there will be a few things like hemming to do, and it will be ready to go!

>5<
Yesterday my sister went and bought a puppy. His is an Australian Shepherd/Corgi mix, and the fluffiest fluff you have ever seen. Georgie decided to name him Watson, and he has been the darling of the house since he got here. Honestly, life would be pretty dull without puppies!






What made you happy this week? Also, would you be interested in re-attempting a Pinterest Challenge? I'm thinking another one towards the end of the month would be a fun thing, yes?

February Photo Challenge Day 1

Source: fatmumslim.com.au via Eyebright on Pinterest

I'm really excited about taking part in this photo a day challenge featured by Fat Mum Slim. I've never heard of her blog before, but I think that having a theme for each day makes a challenge like this so exciting!

Day 1 ~ Your View Today

We are excited about the new addition to our household, a lovely new pellet stove! No more bundling up in socks, gloves and sweaters when we gather in the living room. Now we have the cheery blaze of a fire, and the wonderful warmth that goes with it.

This is our view today. We keep looking up at it, admiring it's shiny black form, and standing in front of the blower that is kind enough to shed coziness all around. We're quite happy.

No marshmallow cooking by this fireplace, but cosy nonetheless!

“You don't have to shoot me," says the young lion. "I will be your rug and I will lie in front of your fireplace and I won't move a muscle and you can sit on me and toast all the marshmallows you want. I love marshmallows.”

~Shel Silverstein,  Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back

Black and White Sort of Day

A quiet day all to myself. A camera, a tripod, and a cute outfit. Perhaps the day was glowering from above, and the tiniest pieces of ash from a neighbor's fireplace came drifting down, imitating the subtle arrival of snow. As it was, the day was warm. Warmer than it has been in this generally warm winter.

Soft and warm chili cheese fries made a comfortable lunch, while I indulged my inner geek with a sci-fi TV show. 

Little things called out to me, leaping in delight when I bent over to take notice of their simple and often overlooked beauty. Perhaps this withered plant may have been a weed, but even weeds can be beautiful and unique.

A colored shirt, as pretty as it was, seemed out of place in a black and white sort of day. Some days are just like that. 

What I've been listening to:

A Little Fall of Rain ~ Les Miserables

What I've been reading:

Wives and Daughters ~ Elizabeth Gaskell

Ivanhoe ~ Sir Walter Scott

Lead Me and Guide Me

For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me.

Psalm 31:3

Little Things

Lucia is having a fun  photo challenge and as I'm not hosting my own challenge anymore I thought this would be a fun one to participate in! Her theme for this month is "little things", and I immediately decided to snap these two shots.

This is my entry for Lucia's challenge!

One little thing I enjoy is being able to curl up and read a book. I don't take advantage of this nearly as often as I should, but it is so comfortable when I do! Cozying up with a book seems like such a little thing to us, but then I remember the thousands of people in the world who don't have any books at all, and I realize it is not a little thing at all.




My second little thing is one of my Christmas presents. A darling little keychain in the shape of one of the cutest looking vehicles ever!

How To Keep Christmas Well

5 Quotes About Joy

I've been researching quotes that have to do with joy, for a special project. They are so inspiring! I thought I would share a few with my friends.

People are just as happy as they make up

their minds to be. 

Abraham Lincoln

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things

makes home happy and life lovely.

Louisa May Alcott

Many people lose the small joys in the hope

for the big happiness.  

Pearl S. Buck

I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty

that still remains.

Anne Frank

And the true realism, always and everywhere,

is that of the poets: to find out where joy resides,

and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the

joy is to miss it all. 

Robert Louis Stevenson

Quotes about Strength

We recently went to the Sequim Olympic Game Farm in Washington, where we saw lions, and tigers, and...oh, I won't go into all of that.

I took more pictures than the ones here, but these are the ones that I liked best. I chose these quotes about strength, because both of these animals, the bison and the bear, seem to have that quality in abundance. While their strength may chiefly lie in their physical abilities, we can work to become strong in many areas of our Christian walk such as prayer, controlling our tongues, serving others, and seeking to glorify the Lord in all that we do.

Is it not He who gives the bison and the bear their strength? It is fitting that we, too, should draw our strength from Him.

"Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

~Mother Theresa~

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."

~Corrie Ten Boom~

Read more about our adventure at the Olympic Game Park at Sagerats Scribbles!

My Favorite Breakfast (Currently!)

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.  ~John Gunther

My breakfast the last few days has felt rather leisurely, and I think it's partly because you can't help but feel relaxed when eating peaches with sugar, and bagels with cream cheese. It's a great way to start the day!

Kitties and Knitting

They just seem to go together.

The Ferris Wheel

How I Created My First Mixed Media Image

I've always kind of enjoyed painting, although I've never had a speck of talent at it. I saw a picture on Tumblr however, that inspired me to pick it up again after a really long time of having not done it. It appeared to me that in the original there were two separate pieces, that were then photographed. At least that was how it appeared when I first saw it. Now that I look at it I realize that it might not be so, but I was still inspired. Also I realize that the original is not a mixed media, but I kind of took the idea and ran with it.

What I did was copy a picture out of a color book and use watercolors to paint it. Then I painted it the scene on a completely different piece of paper. Cutting out the girl and bunny was easy, but I did have some issues with figuring out how to make them stand in front of the background. What I finally decided to do (since we didn't have any clay or play-doh), was to make a thick flour and water dough. It worked fairly well and I was able to snap my shots, and upload them.

Finally, I used a few Pioneer Woman Actions to brighten the picture just so, and then of course added the text.

It was a fun, exciting, and inspirational project, although I do wish that I knew more about painting with watercolors, but overall I'm fairly pleased with the results. By the way, do any of you know anything about painting with watercolors? Got any tips?

Of course, painting it all on one page would work fine too, as shown in the original that I was inspired by, or perhaps you could get elaborate and have three separate layers, instead of just two like I did. The possibilities are hardly limited, so try it and see!

Have a blessed and peaceful Sunday, tomorrow!

Capture - Desserts

Once again I was late getting this up, I believe. I'm getting quite good at that. In fact, so good that I was thinking it might be easier to move the challenge from every week to every two weeks. What do you think?

Anyhoo, onto the pictures!

Celebrating Girlhood

Design Girl

Precious Moments Photography

Eyebright ~ Yes, I know that this picture has already been seen on the blog, but I DID take it this week!

The Next Theme

Desserts! Those yummy, gooey, delicious wonders that we all adore! Since desserts are so wonderful, let's link up!

Capture - Vintage

We had three submissions in this last category, and I'm sorry about how late I am in getting it up! I thought that I had said it was to be open until the middle of June, but it was actually to the 10th. Oops! Anyway, here are the great submissions for Musical Instruments!

Emily Grace Photography

Design Girl

Celebrating Girlhood

Great job girls! You did a fabulous job, and I love seeing every single one of your pictures!

Eyebright

Since I've been on a vintage kick lately, I thought that it would provide the perfect theme for this week's challenge! Vintage it is. Don't forget, that sometimes adding a texture, or gradient to your picture will give it just the right feel.

I can't wait to see your submissions, so link up!

I Begin to See Summer

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness. ~ John Steinbeck

Summer afternoon... to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~ Henry James

A soft Sea washed around the House
A Sea of Summer Air
And rose and fell the magic Planks
That sailed without a care —
For Captain was the Butterfly
For Helmsman was the Bee
And an entire universe
For the delighted crew.

~Emily Dickinson

My Umbrella

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.  ~Author Unknown

It was an ideal spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across from west to east.  The sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge to a man's energy.  

~Arthur Conan Doyle