Wednesday, July 30, 2008

There Is Beauty All Around


Creation is filled with stunning variety and exquisite beauty. The delicate, intricate, and fragile, as well as the strong, mighty, and powerful, testify sweetly to the richness of the Creator. --Marilyn Meberg
Each morning the sun rises upon a glorious world that is a physical manifestation of God's infinite power and His infinite love. And yet we're sometimes too busy to notice.
We live in a society filled with more obligations than we can possibly meet. Is it any wonder, then, that we often over look God's handiwork as we rush from place to place, giving scarcely a single thought to the beauty that surrounds us?
Today take time to really observe the world around you. Take time to offer a prayer of thanks for the sky above and the beauty that lies beneath it. And take time to ponder the miracle of God's creation. The time you spend celebrating God's wonderul world is always time well spent.
I've been struggling the past few weeks with some depression....too many of life's "things" getting to me. It feels good to just go out in my garden and reflect on the beauty that God has placed in this world for us to enjoy. Here are some more pics from my garden, and I hope they inspire you to take time and ponder the miracle of creation.



















Thursday, July 24, 2008

Summer ATC Swap

I've added four of my eight ATC's I've done for a swap with the theme summer. Of course, my cards are vintage romance......my favorite subject. They aren't the best scans because of an embellishment sticking out, but enjoy them.









Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Sunday we visited the City Museum in downtown St. Louis. It used to be a shoe factory and now is three floors of climbing, exploring, learning and fun. There's also a huge outdoor area for climbing too. Our son, daughter-in-law and grandsons were in town from Dayton, Ohio and we also took our granddaughters who live locally. Also inside the museum is the World Aquarium, where you can see aquatic life and also touch a shark, sea urchin, star fish, lobster and stingray. They also feed the sharks and stingrays at certain times for you to watch. It's a great place for kids to just be kids.
The kids take the shots!

Sisters--Ashley and Allyson


Cute pic of Ashley.



Some structure "artwork".




From left to right: Daughter-in-law, Dawn, grandson Dalton & Dawson and son, David.





This shows some of the outside structure for climbing. It's quite far up!






LOOK OUT!







This oughta keep them out of trouble for awhile! :-)








Hey, Grandmas can have fun too! Although their knees suffer later!!









Giant "spring" fun!










Ashley following Dalton, with Ally not far behind.











Dawson, exploring unknown territory.












Grandpa's are just big kids!













Dalton, climbing in a giant "spring".














The whole bunch.















Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Thursday, July 17th, we made a trip up north to the annual Union Cemetery Chicken & Fish Fry. They hold this as a fundraiser to upkeep their cemetery. It's in the country near Greenfield, Illinios, and has been going on for over 100 years. The couple that sat next to me were in their eighties and she had been coming since she was a little girl. After this we headed on to explore the countryside and see what treasures we could find in antique shops around the area.
My Dad, stepmom, Ken and my brother-in-laws mom, Patsy.

Our dinner was just wonderful. Everything was homemade. Slaw, potato salad, bread and butter pickles, pickled beets and more. Delicious!


Oh the choices........so many to choose from!



The "fry" area. They were frying chicken and fish.




Here is a picture of the original church. I'm not sure when it was torn down, but had to be sometime after 1941; then they built the community building where every gathered after that.





This sounds amusing!






Poster advertising the fish fry--dated 1941







This one is dated 1938. I bet those Royal Flush Noveltyl Boys were entertaining.








This is the cemetery, across the road from the community area.









Okay, who can resist exploring an old cemetery on a hot afternoon in July?






















Crossing the Illinois river at Kampsville, Illinois.












We always seem to find some wonderful antique shops to check out. In this one I found a vintage woman image on a bridge tally and an advertising coin from our hometown, Belleville.













Tuesday, July 15, 2008

From My Own Garden

We'll start off with my little cherub I bought at an auction a couple of years ago. He is so cute and guards over the back step area.


Purple coneflower is a native to this area.


An asiatic lily; such a beautiful fushia color.



The following are some of my hybrid daylilys. I try to add at least one new one each year.