Cold weather suddenly here

I know that it is December, but deep down inside I am not quite ready for the arrival of true winter with all of its cold temperatures and snowy sleety rainy weather.

But I guess none of us have much choice in the matter and just have to make the best of it when it finally does arrive.  We were blessed with delightful weather the entire month of November, a real phenomenon here in my corner of the world, where November is notorious for the most awful dreary weather.

But this year we had lots of sunny days and quite mild temperatures, well, mild for here that is!

But over night the temperatures dropped from the 50's to only 35°, and getting colder out there by the minute. 

As least one of us is ready for the cold weather.  Cody loves wearing his brand new knit sweater.  He says, let the winter begin!



Bumbershoot Designs' give-away!

Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies is having a great give-away, so take a look at Sharon's newest post for a chance to win a $100 gift certicate good for their Website, which is chock full of the most fabulous vintage beads, findings, cabochons, buttons, cameos and everything else that your jewelry making needs could wish for.  Mixed media artists will love the offerings of Bumbershoot Supplies, too.  Here is the link, so visit Bumbershoot Design's blog and leave a comment!
http://bumbershootdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/10/win-100-gift-certificate-from.html

Getting Organized!!

While shopping at Ikea to get my son some things for his new apartment, which he will be moving into tomorrow, I did a bit of shopping myself there.  I found the most wonderful chest of drawers called "Alex", white with 6 narrow drawers.  The minute I saw it, I knew that it would be perfect for all my ribbons, trims and laces that I used for my wedding garters.

 

My daughter put it together for me, she is the official Ikea handy-person in our family, and I set right to work getting my things organized.  The drawer above holds garters-in-the-making.

These pictures show how the drawers are filled, the first with little clear boxes filled with buttons, baubles and all many of wonderful vintage items that I embellish the garters with.

There is also a drawer filled with my laces, one with just odds and ends, and this drawer above holds my own handmade pincushions.  I made dozens of them, and kept many of them for my own use.  They will soon come out of the drawer, I am sure, when I get back into the swing of things and start creating again after taking a little sewing break, and one or two or more will sit next to my machine and be handy to take my pins, needles, threads and such.

Here are only a small selection of my ribbons.  The rest are tucked color-coordinated into similar clear boxes on a shelf near-by.

My newest passion is garters made with vintage glass pearl beads like these in white, ivory and black silk, some of which are already in my Etsy shop, www.GarterMademoiselle.etsy.com.  But the last drawer below holds some more of them in the making.

Halloween!

Wishing you all a very spooky fun-filled  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

The flowers in my life!

"Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet:

there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires."

I am definitely finding this to be absolutely true. 

When I step back from the "bouquet" and stop trying to make it look as I thought it should be,

I find the arrangement,  just as it is, 

so much more beautiful then I could ever have imagined! 

I hope that you are all having a marvelous Sunday!

Bed rest, Doctor's orders!

Last time I posted I shared a picture of a smiling horse.  Well, me and that horse ain't smilin' no more!  I seem to have a very similar expression on my own face right now.   I am sitting here on the bed, under doctor's orders to stay put due to a problem with my leg, and it needing to be up and resting as much as possible.  I have to admit that I do not mind the chance to ignore house chores for the next couple of days, but I really don't "do" sitting still all too well.  

It is just for a day or two, so I think I night survive that alright and will simply use the time to play the princess, have others wait on me, and enjoy the chance to be on the laptop as much as I want.

Happy Sunday to all. 

KEEPING THE SMILES IN LIFE

Life is a real Roller Coaster ride of late.  Some days I am on the top and enjoying the view and the thrill of it all.

Other days I am down and hitting those treacherous curves that give one a painful kink in the neck.  

Some times the uphill climb gives me cause to shudder, knowing what is waiting for me once I get there.

But as I near the top, the thrill and excitement kick in once again and I am ready to enjoy all that the ride has to offer.

No matter what the days offer me,  I find the little joys in life and I always keep on smiling!

I hope you are all finding something to smile about today!!

A DAY AT THE BEACH

Running our own campground does not often allow us much free time, especially not in the middle of the summer season.  So when a chance came along for us to get some time off, we jumped at it and took the day to drive to the beach with some of our kids.  Only our 3rd day off all summer long, we really enjoyed the feel of "getting away from it all" and wished that the day could have never ended.  We did not let the cool temperatures bother us and headed right for Domburg in Holland on the coast of the North Sea, gladly accepting the 5 hour round trip just so we could see some ocean waves, feel the sand beneath our feet, and relax under a blue sky and the warmth of a late summer sun.  And we enjoyed just walking along the little promenade that parallels the beach, after we had eaten at a lovely Italian restaurant in town.

I will let the pictures do all the talking, showing you what it looks like at our beaches.  

 This is a golf course right next to the beach.  So pretty!

Tide was in, and the waters were rather calm.

Due to the cooler temps, the long stretches of beach were not over crowded.

Wild flowers grow on the natural dunes.

We were blessed with a blue sky that day, not always the case along the shore here.

These dunes are higher then they seem in this photo.

Cody came along for the day too and enjoyed it immensely.  I was like a proud grandmother, enjoying the antics of her "grandchild", aiming my camera at him many more times then I did at the scenery around me.

He spent his day doing what all happy dogs enjoy doing....  sunning himself on the sand....

...digging holes in the sand....

...waiting for someone to throw a stick his way....

...licking unsuspecting feet when ever one got too close to him...

...ready to chase a seagull...

...finding driftwood sticks to chew on...

...chasing that same stick when it was thrown....

...bringing it back for yet another round of chasing...

...digging more holes in the sand...

...hanging out with the kids....

...watching how people dig holes...

...then giving it a try himself!!

I captured this little bird running along the water's edge right before we packed up and left for home, sorry to leave such a wonderful day behind us, but happy that we had the chance to go and have so much fun.

I will be anxious to return again soon!!!

p.s.  Some how I ended up with one picture twice of Cody digging holes instead of the two different ones that it was suppose to be.  Don't know how to edit it out now.  Sorry.

Eltz Castle

My laptop is finally back and although it does not always do what I want it to, or what I wish it would, it is repaired and back in my loving care, as are all the photos that I have stored on it.  I never thought that I would so dearly miss a bit of electronic gadgetry!

 

Hubby and I took a very much needed day off from work last week and with the family took a day trip to Eltz Castle, about 90 minutes from where we live, and situated in the countryside not far from the Moselle River (spelled Mosel in German).  We lucked out and had the most marvelous warm sunny weather that day, and like Goldilocks would have said, "not too hot, and not too cold".  It was perfect for sight seeing.

 

 This is how it looks as you walk down the one kilometer long road to reach the castle grounds, and as you turn a curve in the road, there is this spectacular view of the castle itself nestled on a tiny hill in the wooded valley.

After stopping for a bit of lunch on the outdoor terrace on the castle grounds, the family went for a tour of the inside, while I waited outside with Cody.  Yes, he came along for the ride that day and loved every minute of it.  

Cody and I walked all around, and eventually tiring, we found a quiet corner to sit so we could wait for the others.  Cody had a great view of the trail where he knew Christina, his human "mommy" would have to walk down to meet us.  And this is the view of the castle that we had from the bench.  I could have sat there all day long, with not a care in the world, and that breath-taking view filling me with awe and wonder.

The castle is under renovations, hence the crane in some of the pictures and plastic covered scaffolding.

Built in the 12th century, amazingly the castle is still privately owned by the same family for the past 800 years and has not been turned into a federally operated historical site.  Entrance fees into the castle help to pay for upkeep. 

   

Castle Etlz is definitely a place worth seeing!