Happy, Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday wishes to Craig - my sweetheart for 26+ years (married for just over 23). He truly is my better half and together we make quite a whole! There is so much I could say about him but I don't want him to blush! It is enough to say that he truly is the love of my life.

Finally...I've been having trouble uploading pictures. Here are two that Alicia sent to me. With regard to orientation/view/etc - she said that after awhile all of the pictures started looking like dirt and trees to her! In one picture you can see that they have cleared the lot and you can see a few of the stakes. If the structure of the house is based on the stakes that are visible, I'm guessing the house has been downsized without anyone telling me :)

Heaven on Earth

Craig and Alicia were able to check out the progress of our vacation home near Zion's National Park over the weekend. It isn't a "home" yet, still just a lot, but we are getting excited and the work has begun. The lot has been cleared and staked - I think the foundation is being dug today. I'm not exactly sure of the orientation of the pictures. We are fortunate to have a lot of trees on the lot and because of the shape of the lot and the trees we are hidden from the road - our own little piece of Zion - Heaven on Earth!

I can't get my pics to upload... I'll try later. Isn't Zion's NP beautiful!

City Names

I just received this You-tube link from a sister-in-law (thanks Vanessa) it is too funny, especially when I realize how many of the cities I have visited (or have lived in).

Another PIP (purse in progress)

I can't wait to hear the girls when they arrive home from school - the first thing they say will be "What smells in here, oh, Mom's been felting again!" While the green/pink purse awaits handles, I decided to felt a purse that has been languishing unfelted for a week or so. I must admit felting carries with it a distinctly "sheepish" aroma that I'm afraid is the closest I'll ever come to owning sheep - so I like it! Because of our change from a regular washing machine to a high efficiency machine, felting has become a little more of a "trial and error" pursuit. This time I started the felting in the sink and then moved to the washing machine (felting occurs when fibers like wool meet up with heat and agitation - think about the wool sweater that shrunk accidentally - this is the same process except on purpose). The purse will have handles (seen on the side) that will be attached as soon as everything is dry. The yarn felted a little bumpier (I'm sure that is a technically correct knitting term) than I expected and the jury is still out on whether I like the shape or not (it has a round flat bottom). The yarn is beautiful hand painted yarn that I picked up at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last May from a great Maryland vendor Dancing Leaf Farm

Get Out of the Boat!

One of the things I enjoy about my daily drives are the signs in front of many of the churches in our area. They change weekly and are always worth taking a look at. Sometimes they are laugh-out-loud funny other times more serious. A nearby church recently put an old sailboat out in front of their building with a large banner advertising an upcoming sermon series. I love the phrase on the banner and it has given me much to contemplate. It says, "If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat". I think it is a wonderful analogy and reminder. I'm the type of person who wants to make sure that the water really can be walked on - while viewing the water from the safety of the boat. It has really made me think about my willingness to "get out of the boat" - move out of my comfort zone - take a leap of faith or step into the darkness with the faith that the light will follow. I think that this idea applies spiritually but also temporally to many of the things that we think about doing... I'm going to try to make a more conscious effort to "get out of the boat"!

Is It Autumn?

The weather here has turned cooler and I'm thinking that fall is in the air. Of course as soon as I commit myself to thinking about fall we will have a heat and humidity wave... but until then, we will enjoy soup! I love my crockpot when busy evenings of extracurricular activities arrive. Here is a "Quick and Easy Italian Vegetable Beef Soup" recipe from the "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook" (thank you Kristy M.). This is similar to the "Harvest Stew" recipe floating around our extended family recipe boxes. Guaranteed to please the whole family (well, mine, anyways)!
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
3 carrots, sliced (I've omitted before)
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
15-oz. can diced Italian tomatoes
6-oz. can tomato paste
4 1/2 c. water (I add less)
1 qt. beef broth.

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, cover, cook on high 6-8 hours.

September 11, 2001

The different events held today to remember 9/11/01 are a poignant reminder of what we experienced collectively as a country and personally as individuals that day. Truly as a country and as individuals we have been changed - may those changes make us better as a country and individually.

Craig helped me arrange some of our Crumpton Auction finds in a little alcove above the front door. It is really Dixon's Furniture Auction but we call it the Crumpton Auction because it is in Crumpton, MD. It is an unbelievable auction - ask me for details if you are interested. I get excited just thinking about it! The picture isn't the best - lots of sun coming through the window and the ladder still in place - but you get the idea. I need to add some greenery, etc. before it is finished but I'm hoping that this means it's time to go back to the auction!

Congrats to Cara who is now the proud recipient of a Maryland Learners Permit! Needless to say she is thrilled. I'm excited that Craig is going to take over the parental part of learning to drive. Alicia and I discovered (to our mutual dismay) that I am not very good at teaching driving. It's not that I'm not a good driver (taught by the very best instructor - my Dad) it's just that I'm not a very good teacher. Craig and Cara are looking forward to 60 hours of "together time" in the little green bug!

Purse in progress -- just checking out my camera cable....

Cara began her MC class today. I'm not sure how our high school junior ended up in college... but she is very pleased! For me it is like having a kindergartner again because I pick her up at the high school midday and deliver her to the MC campus. All those years of waiting until they were in school all day and now it's like starting all over again!

Our first week of school went well. It was nice because none of our extracurricular activities had started (with the exception of Poms for Cara) and we were able to ease into things slowly. With week two starting, we are adding dance for Emily (jazz and tap) as well as the Children's Chorus of Washington. This is our first experience with CCW but she is very excited and although the commute will be a bit of a challenge I'm excited for her. She auditioned last spring and was thrilled to be accepted. The drive is the same as when Cara was dancing at the Washington School of Ballet. Maybe I can just put the car into autopilot...

I enjoy John Kelly's column in the Washington Post. Last week he had an interesting column about junk mail - now I know that one woman's junk is another woman's treasure and I personally love catalogs. I've been known to take a large stack to read/peruse in the car while waiting for one of the girls. However, I do dislike the constant stream of credit card offers that we receive. I thought I would share a website that the column provided if you want to opt out of credit card or insurance offers: http://www.optoutprescreen.com I know that since registering for the "do not call" list we no longer receive calls from telemarketers and I'm excited that maybe the credit card offers will cease as well. The website asks for your SSN - I don't recommend providing it - in spite of the legitimacy of the site. You can still opt out without providing it.