a colorful plate

I don't fry much these days...
shrimp, chicken strips, okra.
Most meat is boiled, baked, broiled, or grilled.
But a few nights ago, I had some
thin boneless pork chops
and fried pork chops sounded good to me!
I had fresh zipper peas from Hubby's garden,
cherry tomatoes from a co-worker's dad's garden,
cucumbers from my DIL's dad's garden,
and corn and sweet peas from the freezer.
After a little flouring and frying,
chopping and dicing, seasoning and boiling,
we had this for supper...

It was tasty and colorful!
Hope your weekend is as enjoyable as our meal was!

nursery update

She's back...my guest poster, my sweet daughter, the mommy-to-be!

The Making of a Nursery: Vol. 2

Ok, I know in my last post I said that the next nursery project was going to be a bookcase. You know the old saying, Nothing is ever as easy as they say it is? Well, I don't know if that actually is an old saying, but if it were, I bet the first person that said it was talking about refinishing a bookcase. Let's just say, that work is still in progress. In the meantime, I had an in-between project: a painting!

I am not a creative person. I can copy someone else's idea, but I can't usually come up with something on my own, which is why this particular project was perfect for me! I got it from a friend of mine (I told you, I'm a copier) who now has a lovely painting in her dining room that was done the same way.

First, you need something you want to copy. For me, it was the pattern from my little lady's bedding. In the picture below of her blanket, it's the flowery part at the top.

Second, you need a piece of tissue paper and a pencil or ballpoint pen. Lay the tissue paper over the pattern you want to copy, and trace it. This is your pattern. Then you need to retrace your pattern onto your canvas. In order to avoid buying a frame, I decided to paint a yellow border around my canvas.

Place the tissue paper onto your canvas (make sure it's centered!) and trace it again using a fine point Sharpie marker. When you're done, it will look like this.

Then it's just a matter of painting and trying to stay in the lines! It works better if you are using darker-colored paints because the sharpie can show through a little with the lighter colors. If you look at mine really closely you can see some lines, but I am pretty sure no one else will study it as closely as I did. Here's my finished product!


This is hanging above her crib. I know I'm biased, but I happen to think it's beautiful!

Hopefully the bookcase will be done soon so I can post about it, but I have another project going on currently: a window! I guess we'll see which one gets finished first!

O-O-O-O-Oklahoma!

Friday night found me at a local little theater enjoying the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein and watching my boss, the doctor, sing and act! His children always attend a summer children's/youth workshop sponsored by the theater. They have been doing it since they were very young. The oldest graduated from high school in May, so this was her last year to participate. The director thought it would be nice if her dad played the role of her dad especially since her two brothers were also in the play. It was a packed house and there were ten of us from the office there to cheer for our dear doctor! He and his kids did a great job....as did all the actors. Those young people were very professional and had impressive stage presence. When Doc walked on stage in his overalls, I had to laugh....never seen him in those before! :-)
I saw "Oklahoma" 32 years ago in another little theater, but I didn't remember much about it. So, it was like seeing it for the first time. Now, I know where some of the songs I've been hearing for years came from...."Oh What A Beautiful Morning", "The Surrey With the Fringe On The Top","People Will Say We're In Love".....and others. We laughed a lot and clapped a lot and though Doc was not the official "star of the show"....he was ours! :-)

a bread basket

Did you know that "panera" in Spanish means bread basket? Well, neither did I..... but we finally got one in our fair city!
Saturday morning, I met two of my sweet new friends there for breakfast. We are in the same Sunday School class at the church we joined recently. We have found that we have much in common....we like to talk, we like to laugh, and we like to eat! So, whether it is Olive Garden, Cheddars, or Panera Bread....we meet, we eat and we talk and talk, and talk! No one has asked us to leave yet, but one day they did start serving dinner at Olive Garden before we left after having our lunch! :-)

Two happy faces on a hot and humid July morning.

We each got a souffle and we shared the pastry.
It was tasty!

They certainly have lots to choose from.

I was surprised that they had the souffles and breakfast sandwiches.
I was expecting sweets and bagels.

As we were leaving, Chuck saw my camera
and asked if I wanted to take his picture.
He was kidding, but we took him up on it...
really surprised him I think! :-)

We only stayed a couple of hours this time
and there were plenty of tables.
So, I don't think we caused any trouble! :-)

The most important thing we have in common is our love for God
and our desire to be involved in ministry.
So, this "eating meeting" was to finalize our plans
to provide a meal Friday evening for the families
at the Ronald McDonald House at our nearby Children's Hospital.
We are excited and grateful for the opportunity and are praying
that we will be an encouragement to those we encounter there.
We know these families have many needs.
It is a blessing that our Heavenly Father is allowing us
the privilege of meeting one.

a hymn of the marshes

Sidney Lanier, a well-known poet and musician, was born in Macon, Georgia in 1842. In 1878, he began to write a set of lyrical nature poems known as "Hymns of the Marshes". They described the beautiful and vast salt water marshes in Glynn County, Georgia. Glynn County includes Jekyll Island and the city of Brunswick. In the median of Hwy 17 in Brunswick, there is a huge oak tree with a marker commemorating the spot where Lanier sat and wrote one of his "hymns", "The Marshes Of Glynn".

To give you a taste of his work, here is one stanza:

"As the marsh-hen secretly builds on the watery sod,

Behold I will build me a nest on the greatness of God:

I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh-hen flies

In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt the marsh and the skies:

By so many roots as the marsh-grass sends in the sod

I will heartily lay me a-hold on the greatness of God:

Oh, like to the greatness of God is the greatness within

The range of the marshes, the liberal marshes of Glynn."

Sidney Lanier, 1878

I became an admirer of Sidney Lanier in high school, years before I met my husband, who grew up in Brunswick. Interesting that the poet and I would cross paths in the classroom and in life!

a bit of island history

I told you that we visited the Historic District on Jekyll and that I would tell you more about it. So, here's a little history lesson for you.
Jekyll Island is one of only four barrier islands off the coast of Georgia that is accessible by a paved causeway. James Oglethorpe, who founded the Georgia colony, named the island after a dear friend, Sir Joseph Jekyll.
In 1792, Christophe Du Bignon, a frenchman, moved to the island. He and his family had purchased it to build plantations. As the years passed, the land was inherited and divided and purchase until by 1886, John Du Bignon owned the entire island. By this time, productivity of the plantations was down and he devised a plan to sell the island by tracts to wealthy families (for $600 a piece) as a place for recreation. This began the Jekyll Island Club. Families with names like Macy, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Goodyear purchased tracts and spent much time on the island...biking, playing tennis (on the indoor tennis courts built by J.P. Morgan), horseback riding, and swimming. Some built mansions there...and called them cottages! The Great Depression and the beginning of WWII brought the Club era (1888-1942) to a close. In 1947, the state of Georgia, in an effort to to make the island a public recreation area, condemned it and purchase it for $675,000 from the remaining club members. The historic district covers 240 acres and is also called Millionaire Village.

One of the "cottages"!
(oops! I failed to get the name!)

This is the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.
Notice the turreted tower on the left.
This was the clubhouse where
many festive dinners and dances took place
during the club's "hey day"!
Today, on almost any evening,
guests are playing croquet on the front lawn!

This is the back of Crane Cottage.
It has beautiful grounds and is the site for outdoor weddings.

If you look to the left from where I was standing
to take the above picture, you see this.

Indian Mound Cottage...once owned by
the Rockefeller family.

Du Bignon Cottage.

Faith Chapel...another popular place for weddings.

Some of the low hanging branches on the
many live oak trees on the island.

Oleander blooms are abundant!

One of the best things about the island is that nature
is being preserved and development is
being controlled.
By Georgia State Law,
65% of the island has to remain undisturbed.
And for all of us who visit there, THAT is a good thing!

a week to remember!

We had a wonderful week playing and laughing, sunning and resting, eating and exploring! Jekyll Island is our beach of choice. Hubby grew up nearby, so we went there many times through the years while visiting grandparents. It is now our yearly destination for our family vacation.
I will warn you now...there are lots of pictures, but not much text. So, here's our week in review....the family picture was taken on Driftwood Beach. It is a sign of the erosion that has taken place on the island, but it is very scenic.

Rocks have been placed there to prevent further damage...
a good place to pose for daddy and girls.

And for the grands to be adventurous...which made Gran nervous!

We went to the beach everyday,
where we played bocce ball...

And (you can't really tell) but we had water balloon battles...
friendly ones!

There were lots of bubbles blown....

and a contest to see who could find the biggest hermit crab...

...which are not very big at all!
But it was fun and we discovered another use for the frisbee! -)

The grands made dinosaur prints in the sand....

...and made sand castles...with a little help from a sweet uncle!

We took walks...

side by side...

...and sat in the shade of our canopy.

The four guys used the 99 ft seine
(this picture gives you an idea of how long that is)
to catch...

a shark, which had to be released back into the ocean...
it's the law,

a few small blue crab which just get tangled in the net
and are not big enough to bother trying to eat,

and about 15 lbs of shrimp (what we were seining for)...
which I neglected to take a picture of!
Because I was more interested in these two
catching a ride on the shrimp wagon being pulled by Chief!

And the fun being had in the muddy sand!

There were putts to be putted.....

...and holes in one to be documented...me and my DIL...
back to back on the same hole!

We visited the historic district....
more on that in the next post...

...and took our annual mother-daughter photo!

At the house, balls were hit...

...dough was molded...

...pizzas were created on the night the adults had low country boil...

...ice cream was churned...twice...
fresh peach and fresh strawberry...so yummy!

Games were played...

...and there was always some snuggling going on!


But then Sunday came and it was time to head home...
over the Sidney Lanier Bridge,

the Brunswick River,

and the beautiful Marshes of Glynn.

Then a drive past the overlook park.

We are all safely home now...with a little more tan
and many more stories to tell and memories to treasure!