whew!...

...it has been a busy few weeks! The week before vacation was

filled with getting ready to go. The week after, there was a bridal
 shower at my house to prepare for, and this week,
 I have been canning tomatoes and putting peaches in the freezer!

So, there is much to get caught up on here and with all of you!

First, our trip to the beach...we had a wonderful week!

The weather was great...not too hot and only a little rain.

We spent a lot of time on the beach, but there were also trips
 to the playground, the water park, the bowling alley,
 the putt putt course, and the turtle center.

We played games, watched movies, made crafts,
 flew kites, blew bubbles, seined for shrimp,
 and ate VERY well!

I took lots of pics, so it's hard to choose, but here are a few...

Came home very tired, but VERY happy! It was a sweet week! :-)

beach bound

Well, my dining table is stacked with boxes and crates

filled with food, paper goods, and games.

My coffee table is covered with loaves of bread.

Our refrigerator is loaded with meats, fruits, 

cheeses, and salads.

 The bed in the spare room has piles of capris, shirts,

swimsuits, and lingerie.

In the hall, there's a large bag packed with sheets and towels.

Soon, there will be a truck overflowing with coolers, seines, 

buckets, chairs, bikes, a canopy, and boogie boards.

Why, you say? Because Saturday we are headed to the beach!

There will be 15 of us under the same roof for a week!!

There's not much shopping on the island, so we have to try

to take everything we will need.

I keep making lists and checking them, not just twice, but

over and over!

We look forward to this family trip every year. 

We have many memories from our time on the island...

Hubby grew up close by and our kids grew up going there while

visiting grandparents.

 

In 1997, we started renting a house on the island...

so this is our 18th year. Wow! That's hard to believe!

We started renting a small 3 bedroom house. When we needed more room,

we started taking our camper, in addition to renting the house,

 for 4 of us to sleep in.

In 2012, we decided to look for a larger house so we could all

sleep in the same place. We found an ideal place...

plenty of bedrooms, a large kitchen, a spacious

family room and 3 baths. And it is the most affordable

house of its size on the island.

So, Jekyll Island, look out....

we will be descending on you in a couple of days!

And yes, there will be picture...lots of pictures!!

Hope you have something to look forward to! :-)

hang it up!

I've had some empty spaces on my walls since we remodeled.

In some cases, I wasn't sure what I wanted. 

In others, I couldn't seem to get a project finished!

But, this past weekend, I made some progress!!

I made this small quilt in a quilting class last fall.

I wanted to hang it, but most hangers were for larger quilts.

Back in May, I bought some old fashioned clothespins

painted blacks with the idea that I would use them somehow.

Last week, I found this sign and had the thought to combine the two.

It worked... with a little help from Hubby...

 who had the super-duper glue for the pins and figured out how to make

sure the quilt didn't slip out. I like it!

 

 I found this at Hobby Lobby, but it was aqua.

Pretty, but not a color I could use.

So, I pulled out my paints and made it match 

my decor. I think it still needs a little something...

it will come to me in time!

I found these frames at Hobby Lobby, too.

They were perfect in color and design but

I wasn't sure what kind of picture I should put in them.

Then I remembered some old postcards that our son 

and daughter-in-law bought for our 40th Anniversary party.

 

This is the old post office and courthouse in my hometown.

And, this is Hubby's old high school.

I'm happy with them, too!

 

A long  time ago, I bought an old window similar to this one

with the intention of re-purposing it.

It took a while, but I finally got it done...

and I like it, too!

It looks good hanging in our study and it reminds us

 of some special times!

So, my walls are so bare anymore. I am still working on

a couple of other things, but I'll be concentrating on getting

ready for our family beach trip this week.

So, they will have to wait!

Thanks for dropping by...your visits are a blessing to me! :-)

a scarlet thread

After I got off from work last Monday, my friend, Danna, and I

made a trip to visit a quilt shop about an hour away.

They had many beautiful quilts displayed...

 

in the most creative ways!

 

Quilted purses...

 

and a huge selection of fabrics...

 

every pattern and color you "can" imagine!! :-)

 

Some of the quilts were also embroidered...

 

I especially like this one with scripture.

 

This is a "family tree".

You might not be able to see, but there are names

embroidered on the leaves...really special!

 

They also had neat little signs with quotes about quilting.

 

Anyone who sews knows that to be true!

 So true!

It's a good thing....because my little quilts are never perfect! :-)

Danna went to the quilt class with me and she has really embraced

the art of quilting. I've lost track of how many she has made, but she has

tried several different patterns and she has made some "big" ones!!

She has even been hired to make some! 

We had a great time looking, but neither of us bought anything.

It was a lot of fun browsing and I'm so glad we went...

I left feeling inspired!!

shell, shuck, snap!

We've been working on filling our freezer with veggies!

Last week, Hubby picked a bushel of 

pink-eyed purple hulled peas...
the ones C.W. helped us shell!

That resulted in 7 quarts.

 Friday morning while C.W. was at VBS, we shucked, rinsed,

blanched and cut off 16 containers (mostly quarts, but a few 1 1/2 pts)

of sweet corn!

Yesterday, Hubby picked 1 1/2 bushels of zipper peas.

They are a large pea and their hulls are packed with peas.

So, the yield was 24 quarts!!

The peas and corn came from a "u pick" farm a few miles 

down the road. Last night, we canned green beans from

Hubby's little garden....6 quarts. 

I expect we will have enough to do some more 

by the weekend.

This winter, we will enjoy the fruits of our labor ...
and labor it is! But, not too bad when you do it together! :-)