photo friday

visit the link to see libby's effie may ledbetter come to "life" via windygirl!

https://twitter.com/WindyTGirl/status/251683873925255168/photo/1

thoughtful thursday

every day is a good day to make someone happy.

whimsical wednesday

we celebrated johnny appleseed day for whimsical wednesday.  and the way we celebrated was to do something with apples.  my apple endeavors were for a friend, recovering from a recent illness that landed her in the hospital. i visited her today and arrived bearing apple gifts; apple/cinnamon scented potpourri to accent her kitchen (that has an apple motif) and freshly baked apples.  she was cheered by my visit and her apple gifts.  

get ready.....

whimsical wednesday falls on johnny appleseed day!  to celebrate this occasion, do something, anything with apples.  make applesauce or apple butter, bake an apple pie, bob for apples, eat a caramel apple.  make a candle holder out of an apple or use an apple to make prints.  have fun with apples this whimsical wednesday!

photo friday

a central park tree; its branches kiss the earth!

thoughtful thursday

the good we do for others is never wasted.

whimsical wednesday

today was make a grab and go for whimsical wednesday; a concept was inspired by a how-to at the craftin' with suz's blog.  she talked about creating a grab and go bag for unexpected travel.  that is a very utilitarian use of the grab and go idea.  it occurred to me that a grab and go could be comprised of just about anything.

the grab and go i created for whimsical wednesday was a party grab and go.  with grandchildren about, sometimes on short notice, it seemed a good grab and go to have on hand.  a good sized tote began the hunt for items about the house for the grab and go.  the cupboards in the laundry room are filled with items for the grandchildren to play with so that was my go-to place.  every shelf seemed to yield something for the party grab and go:  party hats, markers, stickers, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, deck of cards, notepads, pencils, balloons, colored paper, scissors, glue sticks, dice, magazines.

while they typically have access to these items, it seemed that a fun surprise could be enjoyed by presenting them with a party in a bag as they rarely consider using all of these items at the same time.  the grab and go also has items they don't play with on a regular basis in the form of homemade gift cards.  they will find cards for making ice cream, baking cookies, watching a fun movie together.  i'm looking forward to sharing the party grab and go with them.  

get ready.....

for whimsical wednesday, let's create a grab and go bag.  make any grab and go bag you'd like.  it could be of craft supplies, games, tools, whatever best suits your needs.  happy gathering!

photo friday

shadow play!

thoughtful thursday

according to the "everything everyday" calendar, it is POSITIVE THINKING day. there's value in positive thinking; positive thinking that is tempered with a realistic view of what is possible.  paired with reason, positive thinking can help get us through the rough patches of daily life as well as offer that push that helps us successfully complete the major tasks we undertake.

whimsical wednesday

this whimsical wednesday was all about creating "pass along" art books, following the directions offered by  http://www.craftinwithsuz.com/2012/09/monday-make-itz.html.   my sister actually has my book since she picked up several during one shopping trip.  today i assembled embellishments to add to those that come with the book and made the book's cover.  when next i visit family, i will be able to unite my pass along book efforts with the actual book!  that is something to look forward to.  

miscellaneous

last week's travel netted two yet-to-be-seen license plates:  south dakota and utah! one remains; hawaii.  wonder how long it will take to see a license plate for the state of hawaii.  just to keep the game interesting washington, dc is also on the list.  dc might as well be on the list since we have made note of plates from u.s. territories and canadian provinces as well as mexico.  had we been playing the "spot the license plate" game from the beginning last week, we would have spied a multitude of plates from various states.  we saw many, many, many from all over the nation.

one aspect of travel that has me as a passenger instead of the driver, much progress is made on knitting projects!

a wee kitten (they are growing so quickly and soon will not be wee) belly flopped on the porch rail, got settled then proceeded to watch television through the open window!  silly kitty!

the grandchildren used my digital camera to take lots of photographs while they were here for their summer visit.  the result, besides their enjoyment, is my having the opportunity to look at what they found important enough to photograph.  one of the photos is of the dozen donuts they picked out at the grocery store.  priorities! priorities!

get ready.....

for whimsical wednesday we are making "pass along" art books.  a pass along art book is similar to the autograph books we had in elementary school, however, instead of signatures we are collecting art.  this whimsical wednesday activity is inspired by craftin' with suz.  visit her website for instructions to make a pass along art book.  http://www.craftinwithsuz.com/2012/09/monday-make-itz.html

photo friday

summer fun on a lazy sunday afternoon.

thoughtful thursday

it matters not if no one reads your words, hears your music, views your artistic endeavors or any other result of your efforts.  if you create and doing so makes you more you, that is all that is necessary.

whimsical wednesday

what vehicle to count?  so many to choose from for the whimsical wednesday road trip activity.  once on the road, two cars were in mind to look for; the pt cruiser and the tracker.  because it was too difficult to choose which of the two to play with, it was decided that the first one seen would be the car that would be counted. soon after this decision was made, a pt cruiser was spied tooling along the opposite lanes of the interstate.  the pt cruiser it would be!

because travel would traverse three states, it was decided to break down the count by state as well as the total number of pt cruisers counted on the road.

total number of pt cruisers seen:  21

total number of pt cruisers seen in illinois:  1

total number of pt cruisers seen in kentucky:  9

total number of pt cruisers seen in tennessee:  11

even though the tracker wasn't being counted, it was watched for just to see if any were about.  amazingly, no trackers were spotted on the road trip.

what car did you count for whimsical wednesday?

miscellaneous

labor day was enjoyed with friends on the screened porch; talking, doing handwork, sipping iced tea, watching the antics of the ducks, kitties and birds, dining.  it was a lovely way to end "official" summer (even as the calendar indicates summer will be present for a few more weeks).

a tropical storm turned hurricane visited the gulf of mexico last week.  by friday, the remnants of issac moved north making it possible for us to have three days of rain.  the respite amid the year long drought was very much welcomed.

a turtle was rescued from the road this morning.  a cute little guy who can now call the farm home.

the hummingbirds zoom about as if in formation like the air force's blue angels. yesterday i happened to look out the window to find the wee kittens tracking the hummingbirds in flight.  what a sight!  mango and scruffie moved their heads in unison, round and about, to follow the flight paths of the hummingbirds.  silly kitties.

since being home after taking the grandchildren home, it's been possible to do a page or two in the art journal.  it felt good to delve into that process again.

by whimsey and happenstance, twitter friends and i have been playing virtual *kick* the can!  the twitter community is such fun.  grand connections have been made with the twitter followers of the whimsey project!

get ready.....

another day of travel this whimsical wednesday soooo another road trip game. we'll count cars.  select a car you would like to count and have at it; short journey, long journey, standing on a corner watching the traffic go by, scoping the cars in a parking lot.  i'll spend the next few days deciding what my target will be!