Saga Ball

Kaela and Landon before the Saga Ball 

Almost done.....just one dance left before her high school career is over!

Artful cigar box

I love it when Kaela paints cigar boxes.....check this one out....the colors are even more vibrant in person but you get the idea.

Of course, I tried hard to steal it but she kept taking it back.......sigh.

little catch up....

A little baby hat I whipped up and mailed off to Tennessee.

a FRESH strawberry cake in January?  Yep.....made it for Matthew right before he left for Scotland...

Osa trying hard to snuggle with Suki.....almost there.  She just wants "someone with fur" to sleep next to her!

A mural on Strathclyde's campus.  This made Matt feel right at home!

Matt out with new friends:

Beginning of the night....

End of the night.....

Nope, doesn't look like ANYONE had fun, does it?

Where is he?

Osa waiting patiently for Dean when he went into a store for a few things....

Off he goes.....

Matt left for Scotland today....for 6 months.   He is doing his study abroad and is super excited.

I took the day off to take him to the airport with Dean.  I keeping a "stiff upper lip...." but I'm a wreck.  

I know he will be fine, I know he will be fine, I know he will be fine, I know he will be fine.  

Right?

Holiday happenings...

A couple days before Christmas, the kids were home alone.  They heard a loud noise and went to investigate.   They never discovered what made the noise...but I did!  The icing on the gingerbread house let loose and fell off the cake stand!  The reason it made such a loud noise is it was up on top of the china cabinet.

I replaced it with some carolers....they looked just as nice up here.

I helped Kaela make stockings using sweaters.  She got the idea off pinterest.  They were SUPER easy to make....though a little tricky using a regular sewing machine...

Osa loves to shred tissue paper.  We had just started putting gifts under the tree....lucky for me, I heard her and saved the present.

  This is what happens when you don't have thumbs!

We all went to the midnight service on Christmas Eve.  It is my favorite service because the music is acoustical and they use candle light.

We were all tired but it was totally worth staying up for it!

Happy Birthday!

Someone is turning 18 today!

I'm not going to get all gushy.....words aren't enough and I don't want to bawl my eyes out while typing this up.  

Kaela's beauty on the outside reflects her inner beauty.   It really does.  She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met.   I'm not saying that because I'm her mom....I'm saying it because it is true...and EVERYONE who knows her, tells me things they've witnessed her do.  Things that support my claim.
She has an amazing talent for art....and for helping those less fortunate.  I am so proud of her....and I love her so much! 

Side yard landscaping

We have a very skinny side yard that I always thought could be pretty if we did something with it.   The yard is 50 feet long and goes from a mere 4 feet wide to 8 feet wide at the gate.

 Last year, we started the transformation process...I had a feeling the sun on this side would be better for our basil, peppers and tomatoes.




It was pretty and the veggies flourished...but that narrow strip of grass kept creeping into the beds UNDER the mulch.  It was a chore keeping it out.   



Over the summer, we put down plastic to kill that strip of grass.  Imagine living with this for several months...just awful.  But it did the trick, killing all the grass.

 Dean and I pulled up the plastic.  Then I freaked out thinking that it wasn't going to "look like I thought it would..." He told me to go away and patiently put down a thick layer of weed liner by himself.  

Then, the past two weekends, we FINISHED it!  Between the striping and the pebbles and the mulching and the stones, it was a lot of work.  But it is gorgeous and I love it.

Coming from the back yard, around the rosemary:

....the mulch strips to the left and right will be filled with veggies and herbs like last year.

This is the view when the gate is open.

The bench and table will be useful when I harvest and weed.  I am going to add a few underplantings of shamrock, alyssum and nasturtium at the edges....have to wait until spring for that though.

I am so happy with how it turned out.  I simply adore my little secret garden.  I cannot wait until the edges are softened by fluffs of ground cover....and I am again harvesting summer bounty.

Where to begin? Next Generation gala!

I haven't had time to post in so long that I'm not sure WHERE to start.   I've been super busy this year and the last two months have been crazy.  

Dean and I  attended the "Next Generation" gala.  Here we are, all spiffy.    

we met this couple, they flew in from California for the event!  Nice people...

Here we are at our table....we didn't get a round table shot.  Boo....

So we snapped a couple on our way out~  

It was a fun night, with great friends!

Ushering in FALL....

So, we haven't had any cooler weather to speak of, but some things are right on time!

White Wednesday takes place during homecoming week.  

Our yard looked like a fairy tale land....if toilet paper is considered decoration!

While curlygirl was out rolling with her crew, another crew hit us.  This is a Slidell tradition during homecoming week.  Unknowing newcomers better not run out of toilet paper this week....the stores are always sold out.

As for our newest family member?  Osa failed the yard rolling test.  She was busy doing this....and it was only 8:30 pm!

Little stinker slept through the whole thing....

catching back up

This is the second time in a row that the computer has behaved!  yay!   I'd better make it quick....

Last Friday, Dean and I had a date.  You know it was a long week when you don't take a photo together but instead take a photo of your drinks...

We took a day trip in to the aquarium.  It had been so long!   I took a ton of photos and then realized I'd taken the same ones over and over the past 8 years since moving back.  So....I deleted several but kept a few of my favorites...

The "look down" fish.   These used to be housed in a giant column-like aquarium but it was destroyed in Katrina.   Now it it a wall.  It is still nice but I always liked being able to walk around the original...

the seahorses...I adore these interesting creatures.

they have a nursery set up for daddies who are about to POP like this poor fella!  hahaha!  What a nasty little trick mother nature played on these boys.

Game time!  Had to make myself a cozy just for my main team.  

The other day Osa "pipped" her ball over the fence.  The people behind us have a maze of a veggie garden and don't speak English so I didn't even attempt to go get it.  Instead I went to the store and just bought her 2 more because they won't be in stock much longer.   

A week later, the blue ball appeared BACK on our side.  Needless to say, she is thrilled at having 3 balls to chase!

I've started my annual pet bed making for the local shelter.  Osa found them and rolled around in them like a big pig.  She was SO happy!

If you want to make some for your own shelter, I have a pattern on my sidebar.   Just click on free patterns and scroll through. 

I crochet small ones using a giant hook and 3 skeins of yarns.  I sew beds for large dogs.  One thing I do which saves time is to keep all old pillows and make over sized pillow cases.  The local shelter loves them and uses them for their really big or elderly dogs.

Please don't forget these babies this time of year.....concrete is tough anytime of year but very hard on old bones when cold.

zombie purse and catch up

This month was fairly hectic with me heading back to work.    I had to change my routine with Osa to make sure she got enough playtime in after I got home.....and with the heat, that was difficult.  I haven't had much time for blogging either.  But that doesn't mean I am not doing "stuff!"

I am still plugging away on my CAL squares:

And for my craft along theme of altered art, I made a few things:

I already posted how I decoupaged a cigar box for work, along with a large P for my door.  But I also made a cigar box purse.    This one is for October.....

I have also been busy in the kitchen.....harvesting basil for pureed cubes.  I harvested 3 plants, 4 to go....

 and making my fresh strawberry cake, just because....

Dean and I attended a gala a couple weeks ago....here we are with some friends and co-workers...

no, they aren't ALL women, here I am with Ed....

This is one of the table arrangements, the roses were white.  It is drying naturally and still so lovely.

Wishing you all a happy week!

Osa's dog days of summer

She jumped up next to me to snuggle while I was watching a documentary on polar bears.....she watched the whole thing!

playing mountain goat again....she loves/hates to do this.  She does this when she can't decide which chair to nap in!

She happily ran into the house after rolling in cat poo.  She jumped up on the couch anticipating a scratch, instead....she got a bath!  I literally said "What is this crap on Osa's side?" and then said "Oh, it IS crap on Osa's side!"

meeting Thorgi on the stairs...

greeting me as I walked in the door from my first day back to work!

and happily collapsing on the floor after a 3 and a half hour morning with Dean and I.  We went to the dog park, the farmer's market and PetSmart.  She had a blast.

Just look at that pretty rump!

                                                                        The End!