Aunt Jul's

Resurrection Fern

2009-09-29T21:27:00.001-07:00

Sunlight diffused

wearily

across the dusty black table.

Golden dust

swirled lazily down.

Soil and spider web coated

pots of aloe and

sharp tongued mother-in-laws.

Aunt stood

the brittle celluloid watering can

in her hand

prepared to feed the dry ones. 

I sat on the front porch swing

finishing orange sherbet

before coming over

to stand.

She held a plastic lid.

“Would you like to see the resurrection fern?”

I had seen it a million times before.

But it would be hours

before Mom would come.

We could bring the dry and brown

to life ever so slowly again.

Awkward baptism

of tendrils tightly bound.

Momentarily fresh again.

We stared so hard

waiting for the sweet surprise.

“Just like Jesus rising from the dead.”

Finding the rolling drops

pooled along the

farthest recesses of its reach.

I turned back to recite

my Bible verses

and dig for snails.

At the Cusp of Autumn

2009-08-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

I went a little garden crazy again. I got mums for the front porch pots. They're not very big, so I'm hoping they expand before the end of the season and fill out the color a little more. They are cute though. Just like the coleus that I bought at the beginning of the year.
I thought I'd try the anise hyssop . . .
Three plants I've been wanting for a l-o-n-g time -- lavendar, autumn joy sedum, and russian sage. Now, where to put them?

Green is the Loveliest Color

2009-08-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, the fresh asparagus inspired me. I remembered some of the greens I've enjoyed this summer.

Ferns from this spring. Sadly Vegas loved to eat them too.

My herb buckets -- sweet basil, chives, oregano, peppers, chili peppers, and wonderful sage. Look at them now!

My birthday girl.

2009-08-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time, but I'm celebrating the arrival of an organized pantry. I love old houses but it's a challenge to figure out storage for narrow, odd-shaped closets and crannies.

Oh, and a reward for our new-found organizations . . . mushroom turnovers from Trader Joe's and fresh steamed asparagus with chives from the herb bucket. Mmmm . . . .

Oh Baby Flower PB album for Ginny

2009-03-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big baby person, but I LOVED this paper so I finally broke down and got the stack. I was able to use some stamps and embellishments that I hadn't used yet, either. I was pretty happy with how it finally turned out.

The owl is a design from one of my cricut cartridges.

An end view.

2009-01-13T20:41:00.000-08:00

I just posted a set of Kitschen Witch magnets on etsy. I made these awhile ago, but I thought they were pretty cute.

FOUND!!! Theodora

2009-01-07T21:31:00.000-08:00

I'm making a bulletin board for the Kinderworship Room for Rwanda, and I wanted to use my African doll. So, I got out the tub with my international dolls in it. As I'm digging, I unearth a box -- what is this? Oooo, I think I know! It's Theodora, whom I have been looking for since we moved from Olathe!

I've loved the story of Theodora ever since I took Eastern Orthodoxy with Dr. Bassett as seminary. A dancer and actress turned empress, Theodora was a controversial and influential figure in Christian history. She was a monophysite, but was married to Justinian, who was Orthodox. So, I'm ok with it. He built the first Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, now Istanbul.
I had this Barbie-saint phase for awhile, which I think I'm over (except for Ursula . . . I still want to do something with her), but I started Theodora based on the mosaic in Ravenna, Italy (image on right). The drawing on the left is one I did to develop what decorations and materials I should use. I didn't complete her before we moved to the parsonage next to St. Paul's. That was something like 2002! Well, here she is . . . . Beautiful!

An Shabby Autumn Recipe Book

2008-11-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

This is DaisyD's paper, but I 'roughed' it up a bit. I made 5-6 Recipe/Memory cards that are interspersed through the album.

I thought this album would be a good gift for traditional family recipes, ones passed down through the generations so that pictures and memories of times together could be added to the recipes themselves.

It's 4x6 inches. And I used recycled cardboard from boxes, etc. I also got to use a lot of flowers and fun stuff like that.

Halloween at the Abla house . . .Chilling Indeed.

2008-11-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

My New Obsession - Cupcake Piks!

2008-10-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've seen some on etsy and thought - I need to do this! So I made a bunch for the craft show last week, Halloween, baby shower, retro Christmas. I got an order for a wedding shower of 20 piks. Yeah!

The colors were black, silver and ice blue. Hmmm . . . So, this is what I came up with.

I used square inchie and circle punches. I found the stickers at Joann's. Then I just used whatever ribbon, stamps and frou frou I could find.
Can I just say - I love Stickles!
The dollar store is a great place to find stuff if you dig.
I freehanded the white hearts with black and blue pens.

Upholstery - Ta Da!

2008-10-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Mom came to visit this week. I told her the one thing we were going to do was upholster the chair I got at the Springfield antique flea market last year. So this is it . . .
I've been sitting on it, springs only, for a year. Evan wouldn't sit on it. It's a pretty firm cushion since we put a piece of cardboard in between the springs and the batting, but it feels much better. But I think now that it's done, I think it looks pretty good. We used a brown, mossy velour that changes color depending on the light. I'm pretty pleased with the result. It doesn't look like this in person.
What I learned from this experience was that I am a visual person, but not a spatial person. Eh. After much discussion and many staples, you are now invited to our house and have a seat.

New Kind of Album - 4x6 Photo Album - Black French Toile

2008-09-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

I made these after an idea I saw in a scrapbook magazine. They had simply used their uncropped 4x6 photos in a regular photo album. Then added scrapbooked inserts. I thought, why not?

This is the first one I've posted on etsy. I love the glitter sticker flourishes.

And the brown craft paper. It looks antique, but with the black and white very elegant.

Fall Drive II

2008-08-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a purple/green halloween book last year and found the perfect paper at BigLots. This is the first result - "Monster Mash!"

Here are some of the monsters locked inside . . . Dracula the Vampire . . . Frank-n-stein . . . and a Mummy.
I used glitter and popdots on practically every page, so it really isn't that scary, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I used the extra scraps from the pages for a couple witchy tag albums. 6 pages per album, these had a lot of glitter and pops too.
I think tag books would be great for grandma or auntie brag books. Or they could hold favorite and fun halloween recipes and notes.
These are currently posted on etsy, but if they haven't sold I'll have them at the craft shows in October and November.

Fall Drive I

2008-08-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

This is my latest tag book project, "Apple Red Happiness" which had Evan unconsciously whistling the tune the other day. he he. The papers are from the Fall Stack DCDW(?), and I love the candy apple pinks, oranges and browns with the lime green.

I got the stickers a couple months ago and this went perfect. Hopefully I'll have enough tags to do 2 books. I've also added some apple quotes which help fill it out. Little Daisy Alt font.

I also posted some fall paper piecings on etsy last night. Here are the little acorns that are a part of the offering. Even though this has been a mild summer, I'm looking forward to autumn.

Blue and Green all Over!

2008-08-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

This paper came in a kit I got at Flower Factory for $2.95. I'm really happy with how this tag book turned out. The flowers didn't even come with it! They work perfectly though.

I cut the pieces out about a month or so ago and finally got around to putting it together. I've got a larger album that I've only got a few more pages to finish and we'll add that to the craft show inventory.

More Secret Llama

2008-08-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Signage "The Secret Llama"

2008-08-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about signage for my craft show booths and came up with this -- photocopied vintage fabric that I splayed around my llama pic. I'll hang "the secret llama" and then use the smaller signs for different things I'm selling. I'm thinking I'll attach some clothes pins to the back so that I can just clip it to whatever.

I love the font, Girls are Weird, which I got from dafont.com.

I thought it turned out pretty good all in all. So I made some notecards to go along with it. Added some buttons and viola! Now Evan's just got to figure out how to hang it.

Next Up . . . Baby Love!

2008-07-31T05:45:00.001-07:00

Look at What I've Done - Catching Up

2008-07-30T05:59:00.001-07:00

First, the Ohio State Stuff.

I'm almost finished with a third tag book, which I'm waiting to sell at the fall craft shows. I started 2 banners, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to finish them. I got the letters glittered, but I'm not sure how much more frou frou they need before I hang them. I'm happy with how they're turning out, though. This is definitely for homes that like a little classier, unique look to show their team spirit. ;)
These are the 2 mini albums I finished. I used colored metal carbiners for the ring which I thought looked good and very easy to take the pages on and off. I'll have these at the craft shows as well. I may make a couple more because they're so quick to make. And I've got plenty of paper left over.

However, I'm hoping to make some Ohio State notecards to finish up the scraps. I haven't made cards before, but I"ve looked at layouts and sketched out some designs.

I'm hoping this does well at the shows -- I'm going to merchandise this a little more - I've got a red wagon, but I was thinking about a football bowl or something like that.

Kinder-worship Room Painting

2008-07-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Ohio State University

2008-06-22T18:19:00.001-07:00

A Strange Sight

2008-06-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

The Great Summer Destash 2008

2008-06-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

100 Things or Categories I’m giving up . . . my sister-in-law,Marsha, has inspired me to simplify with an article she posted on her blog about the 100 Things Challenge. I told her I didn’t think I could do this – reduce my possessions to 100 things. There’s too much memorabilia and stuff at this point. However, I think I can get rid of 100 things. I’m going to try it this summer – ending with a garage sale and then give all the rest to Goodwill – and see how it goes.
Marsha, you’re my judge – this is the beginning of my list. Do all these count as one thing? Or can I count some as individual items?
1. 1 box of summer clothes that are too small
2. 1 box of winter clothes that are too small

3. non-black/white turtle necks
4. the fancy sofa
5. sewing patterns with no material attached to them
6. fabric with no project attached to them
7. non-matching mugs (ugliness factor)
8. plastic cups (ugliness factor)
9. old lotions
10. big pink pillow
11. old sheets
12. 5 knicknacks
13. 1 box of Christmas stuff
14. bag of candle melts
15. 1 box of other Holiday items
16. 2 boxes of books
17. 1 box of paper (to recycle)
18. 3 games
19. 1 box school stuff (Social Studies)
20. 5 skeins of yarn
21. 5 scarves
22. 5 pieces of jewelry
23. 1 box of scrapbook/craft items
24. 2 kitchen appliances
25. Old makeup
26. 5 hanging shirts
27. 5 skirts
28. 3 dresses
29. 2 pairs of jeans
30. 5 t-shirts
31. 1 box of office items
32. 1 box of memorabilia
33. 1 box of old stuff
34. 1 set of dishes
35. 15 Martha Steward mags
36. 15 cooking magazines (useful recipes saved in recipe folder)
37. 1 box of picture frames
38. 1 box of old tapes, books on tape
39. 4 old towels
40. 1 box of winter clothes I never wear
41. 1 box of summer clothes I never wear

This is not 100 yet . . . any suggestions.

The Upcycle Corollary
As a corollary to this I would like to find 10 things to up-cycle among our trash this summer. Up-cycling is recycling items or material that makes them immediately useful. Wikipedia defines up-cycling here. I heard the word first on etsy.com because their all about handmade and recycling. That's cool.

Here are some examples: leather cuff bracelets, a wool wreath, bird giving ball, plarn and crocheted plarn, journals and much more.

I like the idea of up-cycling, because it requires some imagination to repurpose materials originally used for another. Often the most successful up-cycling requires some artistic expression, but it is also entirely practical.

The bird gift balls are a clever example of this. I’m tempted to buy birdseed just so I can try out these bird gift balls next spring.

Stipulations:
- I will not buy any new supplies in order to up-cycle these items. I will have to use the supplies already on hand in order to complete the process.
- These may be items from the 100 things challenge. They may also be just trash that we would have thrown away otherwise (paper, aluminum, cardboard, etc.).
- The products may be reused in our household or made to sell.
- I need to list these on the blog as they are completed.

Havana Quilt

2008-06-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share some pictures of the completed memory quilt my mom and I made for the Havana church. She did quite a bit of embroidery around the church and the crosses that really set it off and tied it together. I think it looks great in the foyer.

I suggested that since many of the pictures do not have captions, it would be helpful to have a scrapbook with more information on the pictures on the quilt and other pictures. They could add stories and other documents that would go along with the picture as well. She’s started working on that, but it requires more work than the time we had before the 85th anniversary. Many of the pictures were printed directly onto the fabric with an inkjet printer. I ironed on freezer paper as stabilizer, cut it to 8 ½ x 11 size and ran it through the printer.
We also used iron on material for other pictures. I painted the large church and the denominational seal. Mom and I worked together on the stained glass window, which is the design in the church previous to the current building. I don’t know how familiar most of the people are with those windows, so it was nice to reclaim that. It is primarily applicait (sp?), with some paint and thread attached. Mom, of course, did a lot of the embroidery, but we both worked on different embellishments for the pictures and design.

Potential

2008-05-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Chance 1996-2008

2008-04-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

Daffodils

2008-04-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills
When all at once I saw a crowd -
A host of golden daffodils

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I, at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

-- William Wordsworth

The Princess Gracie Album - Finished!

2008-04-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

This is a peek at Gracie's album. I'm pleased with how it turned out, although, you know how you find more stuff after you're done, like a crown stamp, stickers, etc.

Thanks to Amy too for letting me borrow her stamps for some of it. That definitely helped give it some extra pretty.

I had some fun embellishments - flower brads, and cardstock stickers as you can see in this pic.

These stickers were perfect because they weren't too commercially - like most Disney stuff is. They could kind of have a vintage old feel but still were pretty for a little girl. I chose the papers from there.

I also did two pocket pages for tags and journaling spots.

This page was a little crazy with sequins.

What I've Been Up to Lately

2008-04-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

It all started with a Dinner for Two cookbook I found at St. Francis thriftstore. I'd been wanting to do something vintage without feeling bad about cutting a book up -- this was perfect. So cut I did.

I tried to be intentional about not matching stuff, but I can't help myself. When I started gluing things together, it actually made sense! So one album is more red/orange/yellow/blue/green. The other is a little softer with pinks, light blues, oranges, yellows.

Each of these little albums are 8 pages and there's places for pictures, stashing recipes, journaling, whatever. They're made of recycled cardboard (you know cereal boxes), pages from vintage cookbooks, a book ring and lots of frou frou.

Go Go Green Jello!

Wedding Bliss

2008-03-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

We were in Decatur this past weekend for Marsha and Kent's wedding. I put together a paperbag book for their wedding gift. I tried to coordinate the colors and design with her colors. Here are some pics.

Most of the papers I had were solid colors. so I experimented with sewing some of the papers. It gave it a lot of texture and extra design element.

2 New 12x12's

2008-03-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Girly Girl Baby Banner

2008-03-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

I put this banner together as a gift for a baby shower we had at church. I used the colors and elephant from the nursery bedding the parents were using. I thought it turned out pretty well.

I got to use my Cricut on this and was pretty happy with how it turned out. I glittered the outline after cutting it out.

I also used some new embellishments that I hadn't used before - flower brads and jewels. They'll be showing themselves in some other things soon.

Sail Away!

2008-03-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

A recently finished custom paperbag book for a Mediterranean cruise album.

Post Number II - April's Shower

2008-02-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

I will try to get more photos of the event up soon. Some technical difficulties right now.

We celebrated the anticipated arrival of Anna Pauketat a couple weeks ago with her mother, April, and brother, Jayman at the church. Amy and I were the decor committee and we used April's french toile nursery theme. Amy had put together a beautiful 12x12 scrapbook using papers April had picked out. We took those papers and went crazy.

Tag Book: I don't have pics of this yet, but we made about 50 tags that were placed around the tables for guests to write little notes to April or Anna giving advise and wishing them well.

Centerpieces: I made photocopies of some ad babies from the turn-of-the-century ephemera I have, enlarged them and used them as the basis for the centerpieces at the tables. I also collected some shabby chic metal candleholders and vases. I spray painted them and added tea-stained roses to the mix. We just added more candlelight with votives from the church.

Cupcake picks: Melissa made red velvet cupcakes that were absolutely delicious. Because I had so many extra do0-dads left over from the tags, I made little collages and glued them to sandwich picks and we stuck them in the cupcakes. I'm probably going to reuse these and make more to sell.

Banner: About 30 minutes before the shower Amy and I were inspired to throw together a "Baby" banner. Amy just printed out the letters and we added some of our papers and froufrous and viola! a banner. It was may inspiration for the pennant banner I made the following week. See future post.

Diaper Cake: The piece-de-resistance (spelling is French . . . ) that I made from 70 diapers, a bottle of lotion a small bottle and cranberry toile fabric I found at Walmart for $2 a yard. I used more baby pictures and tea stained roses. We set it with the scrapbook on the gift table. It was a great focal point.

I also did the games and I think everyone had a really enjoyable time. The food was great. The conversation was interesting.

Now, we're just really looking forward to meeting Anna.

She who Cannot Be Contained

2008-02-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's an unacknowledged new year's resolution or preemptive spring cleaning, but I've been inspired recently to use pretty much any and everything I can get a hold of to hold my stickers, papers, buttons, yarn as well as the various doo-dads, trinkets, frou-frous and jingle jangles I've got stashed away. I've pretty much spray painted everything that I gave the dog siezures. I've even made labels, but I still have to put those on.

Some of my recent acquisitions from the thrift store or free pick-ups include: another oatmeal box, an empty jar of Evan's hair pomade, old jelly jars, baskets, a cassette tape drawer, tins, wooden clothes pins, buckets, empty Killer Bunny Boxes, more baskets.

Can you guess what's going on inside?

So, what else has been going on outside?

April's shower (see next post)

I'm just about finished with the Mediterranian cruise PB album.

Working on Evan's V-day album (thanks, Amy for the inspiration)

finished Frey's baby album (see future post)

Several of my upcoming projects are personal:

Havana church quilt

John Deere and Princess PB albums

some accordion albums

Baby Day stuff

But I also have opened a store on etsy.com and would like to build up my inventory for that. I've got several ideas for albums, layouts, etc., but it's just a matter of getting them done.

Look me up at thesecretllama.etsy.com

O Christmas Tree

2007-12-19T05:58:00.000-08:00

We weren't going to get a Christmas tree since we had sold the ones we had in Guymon. But toward the end of last week I thought, "Hmm, I think I do want a tree." So Evan agreed and we ventured out to Meijer over treacherous and snowy roads on Saturday night and finally found this pretty narrow one. Evan wanted LED lights because they save energy and I wanted white ones. So as you can see we both got what we wanted. A lot of my ornaments and Christmas stuff is at my mom's. But here it is with the birds and butterflies and vintage ornaments I could scrounge up.

Christmas Album - Frosty Pink - Sold!

2007-12-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

I've already sent this one away -- It's my Frosty Pink Christmas album. I just finished it last night and took pix of it. I've also got some pix of my Christmas deer. Speaking of deer -- ask Evan about the one that was dead in the parking lot a couple weeks ago. I think Keith has a picture of it.

YeeHaw! A Little Cowboy's Christmas Completed!

2007-12-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the Little Cowboy's Christmas is complete. I'm going to try to get some better photos of it and get it posted on ebay this week. I'm satisfied with how it turned out. Very rustic.

Here are a few pages. The only good shots I can get right now are closeups. Sorry.

Just Finished!

2007-11-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

Well, this is just because I'm in a Christmas mood.

This is the latest pb album . . .
and my little birds.
Enjoy

Holly Daze

2007-11-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is over and I made my first run at Christmas decorating tonight.

We also got a hide-a-bed couch from Ralph tonight. This is the second time I've gotten a couch from someone I work with. A new collection! Anyway, that brings our sleeping arrangements up to 8! No excuse not to come. . .

Muy Bien! Great Value!

Evan and I went home to Decatur over the holiday, and my Mom and Dad met us there. We had a good time and I got my Christmas present early -- a Cricut. That was a surprise, but we got it for $120 - which was cheaper than even the pricetag. I also got quite a few things at Big Lots and Hobby Lobby, so I'm hoping to get some of my pending projects finished so that I can start on new ones.

I've been working on a Christmas paper bag album this week, but I think I also have a few orders from home since I took my autumn pb home with me. I'll post it's outcome soon.

I'm also getting ready for the Christmas musicals this coming weekend -- we had our final Pre-school rehearsal Sunday night, with parents helping make their costumes and crowns. We had a good turn out and I think it's going to be really cute. More pics on that too.

I'll be starting my Advent meditations on the parkviewnaz.org site next week. Michaels has a nice size wreath suitable for an advent wreath for $1.50. Hobby Lobby has advent candle packages or you can make your own with votives.

Baked Potato with Sour Cream

2007-11-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

A couple boardmeetings ago there was a hot potato being tossed around the room.
That potato was Sunday Nights.
Apparently, any other activity besides sitting in a pew, singing old gospel tunes and listening to sermon seconds does not qualify as an appropriate reverence to God. Some were trying to lead to the deeper issues at work. Although I was not there, reportedly, the discussion degenerated into mocking and harumphing.
To me, this might as well be the color of carpet.
I'm so sick of this bickering and petty talk. I am very sure that our local church is not alone in side-of-the-mouth whispering and self-righteous back-biting, but it does seem to be particularly good at it.
As Christians we're often accused of being the source of war and division in the world. Unfortunately, that is true. Wars, death and destruction have certainly been waged in the name of Jesus Christ. And are these things really worth fighting for? Maybe they are . . . the personhood of God, the existence of God, the uniqueness of God . . . these things may just be worth fighting for. And while the violence speaks to our poor twisted machinations in a sinful world.
. . . But are the pieties of Sunday night really worth adding to an athiest's unbelief?
Our criteria, in Wesleyan circles, is not what do I know, but what must I do to be saved? This is important because it colors our answer to the next question, am I willing to die for this?

What Remains . . .

2007-11-17T18:31:00.000-08:00

My Apple-glazed Chicken turned out very well, as you can see. I did have to call my mom for some advise on what to tie it up with -- yellow yarn, thank you very much. There really wasn't much of an apple taste to it, a little sweeter than usual, but overall very tender and juicy. Jen brought Carmel Apple Crisp which was perfect for an apple themed night. You'll have to ask her to send you the recipe.

We used the left over chicken tonight (Saturday) for Chile Blanca - the best recipe from the side of a can you'll find - with the Lethanders. Andy ate 3 bowls, so he must have liked it.

Let's see, what else . . . ? Oh,Amy and I did a craft show today at BCN. Amy wore her lucky socks (sorry, no pix). We did better than West Chester - she sold at least 3 bag books and I sold 3 accordian books. I'm happy.

Here's my latest paperbag album, for autumn. I also did paper piecing as you can see here. I'm planning to post this on Ebay tomorrow, as well as the round candy corn one and see how they do.

Turkey Chicken

2007-11-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

Do you like my turkey? See above.

I have a hard time decorating or even enjoying Halloween, but I love autumn. So most of my fall decorations tend toward Thanksgiving. True, it is secular and latently patriotic, but at least it reflects some better qualities than pretending to be someone you're not (costumes) and gluttony (candy). If someone can name them, please post them here.

I think we, as Christians, should choose to celebrate All-Saints Day instead, but our Protestant selves seem to be more scared of our own (read Catholic) Christian saints than devils and witches.

Of course, I do love Buffy. . .

So, out come my turkeys.

The other good thing I can say about Thanksgiving is that it does provide an open door for explaining The Great Thanksgiving, or Eucharist, to our children. They can immediately identify with the feast and the familial elements of the seasonal celebration. This makes a simple transition into the eschatological and celebratory aspects of the Lord's Supper.

Ahh, Christ is indeed redeeming all things. . .

11-13-07

2007-11-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was 50% off at Valley. Amy and I went last night. She got a bunch of baskets that she's going to use for gifts. I got 3 skirts and some other stuff. I'll add pix this afternoon.

We're getting ready for a craft show on Saturday. Otherwise, I'll start posting some of these little albums I've done on ebay. I'll post those too. I just have covers left to finish on the autumn bag book. I need to make some more Christmas explosion albums this week.

Tonight I'm painting Evan's ship so that it wil be ready for Wednesday night. Board meeting is tonight as well.

Thursday we have Dinner & Prayer at our house. I'm making Apple-glazed Chicken. I'll let you know how it goes.