Beauty.....

I love my Autumn Joy Sedum......

It's an easy plant to grow and rewards you with all this color in the Fall.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

My Pond....

I love my pond at this time of year.....

It looks beautiful to me. The plants are nice and full, the wildflowers & grasses are lush and it looks so pretty.

I have about 20 goldfishes in there. They are very friendly and come to greet me when I get near. Another view of the fish. I named them all "Goldie", so when I call their name, they all come swimming over.

This is the top of the stream. In the back, there is a whiskey barrel filter, the water comes out the pipe and flows down the stream into the pond. It is then recirculated back up to the filter by a pump that is submerged in the pond. If you look closely in the middle of the picture you can see the water flowing out of the pipe.

I built this pond about 15 years ago and everyone just loves it. It is down near the street, so all the neighbors bring their little ones over to see the fish. The kids love to run across the bridge and to talk to the fish. This pond is a great joy to me and I am so happy that I made it!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

Greetings....

Just saying "Hi" to all and I hope you have a wonderful day.....

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

Some little things....

I have started working on some miniature furniture for my dollhouse. I started building this dollhouse sometime back in the late 70's. It's been put away for many years, and I just got it down from it's resting place and I've started working on it again.

I saw this Magnetic Gluing Jig and I just had to get one. I bought this one from Smaller Than life http://smallerthanlife.com/
It is the BEST thing! It makes gluing things up so easy! It helps to keep them square. The little magnets hold the piece firmly while the glue dries. I love this thing!



Here's a little chair that I'm making.....



I did this little bookcase first.....



Here it is all glued together.....



I am going to paint this one. It still needs a final sanding and I haven't decided what color it will be yet.

Same thing here....I haven't decided what color yet....

This is my baby.....I bought this saw when I started the dollhouse. It still works so well and I'm sure it has many more years of good use left in it.

I have a nice little belt sander, too, but I didn't take a picture of it, I'll show it to you at some point.

~~~~~

I worked in my garden today, digging out weeds and replanting a lot of my perennials. It was very hot out there this afternoon. I had to keep coming inside to cool off. It was good to see the sun shining though and I loved every minute of it! I'll remember these wonderful days during the long, cold days of winter!
~~~~~
So, everyone, have a wonderful weekend. I'll be attending my Grandson's football game (they are 3-0, so far) on Sunday morning, so I'll be going to church tomorrow.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

My Sisters.....

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,
drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As
they talked about life, about marriage, about the
responsibilities of life and the obligations of
adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her
glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance
upon her daughter..

'Don't forget your sisters,' she advised, swirling
the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll
be more important as you get older. No matter how
much you love your husband, no matter how much you
love the children you may have, you are still going
to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now
and then; do things with them..'

'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women...
your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other
women relatives too.. 'You'll need other women. Women
always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman
thought. Haven't I just gotten married?
Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely
my husband and the family we may start will be all I
need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact
with her sisters and made more women friends each
year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,
she gradually came to understand that her mother really
knew what she was talking about. As time and nature
work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,
sisters are the mainstays of her life..

After more than 60 years of living in this world,
here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how
many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away
than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you
have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life
will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on
your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the
valley's end..

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,
Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended
family: all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and
neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or
sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on
to all the women who help make your life meaningful.
I just did. Short and very sweet:

There are more than twenty angels in this world.
Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are
playing. And one is reading this right now.

To all my sisters, "I love you all".

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

Welcome....

I have a new follower......

A warm welcome to....Erin @ I Heart New England Go on over to Erin's blog and tell her I sent you. She is a talented young lady who has some fabulous recipes, and lots of information about life here in New England. Thanks, Erin...

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

Finally!

I've been waiting all summer for these....... How sweet they are!

Sweet 100's Cherry tomatoes.....

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

More baby quilts.....

I folded the corner up so you could see the backings.....

I've made 36 quilts to date.....

I hope you enjoy seeing them.....

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

Another new sofa?

Actually, this is for my dollhouse......

I put this together from a kit that my BFF gave me, last time I saw her.

I changed the fabric to this small print. It was mauve plain colored fabric from the kit. OK, here's my confession....I made it with the mauve, it looked awful, I couldn't understand the instructions, it was all wrinkly, I think some of the material was missing and I put an extra layer of foam in the arms, so they didn't fit the back! But I was determined to get it right! So I ended up ripping it all off and starting over. I made all the units and then assembled them all together and then it worked! This is a Chippendale Sofa, Circa 1765-75, 1" to 1' SCALE.

I love it now and it'll go really well in my dollhouse! I needed a nice sofa for my living room!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

An Old Love Renewed......

This is a room box that I made as a gift for my mother-in-law about thirty years ago. When she passed away, my father-in-law gave it back to me and I've had it hanging in my craft room ever since. It's a little perfume shop.

I made the little coat rack, and everything in the room.

All the little bottles are made from beads and jewelry findings.

I made the shelving and the little bench.

The umbrella stand is a little plastic tube of some sort. I painted the inside with gold paint and the umbrellas are cocktail picks with some plastic wrapped around them and then I added some small gold chain to the handle. The carpeting is red cotton velvet and I think it looks just right.

So, this is the old love renewed. I've always loved miniatures and now that I have time, I can pursue this hobby again.

I also have a dollhouse that I started building back then, but life sort of got in the way and it ended up in the garage for many, many years. It has been brought back into my life, at the urging of my BFF, and I've started working on getting it finished. I will have some pictures of it for you soon.

I have been very busy since I last posted. I hope this doesn't happen again. But I have gotten a lot accomplished in the last 3 weeks. The fun thing was: I had a mini vacation with my best friend. We went to a quilt show which was amazing! The workmanship that went into these quilts was awe-inspiring! I was so happy to be able to attend this show and to see the artistry that the creators used in their quilts.

I have a Honey-do list and WE have gotten quite a few things crossed off the list. We needed to get a lot of things done before winter sets in. With the summer being such a scorcher, I feel like I wasn't able to do as much as I needed too. We are still working on the list though.

I had an Echocardiogram today. My feet are swelling (very uncomfortable) and the Doc wants to make sure it's not my heart that's causing it. If the heart is Ok, then he'll probably change my medications, I hope.

I also have some dentist appointments coming up, something that I really don't like, but I must do it. I need to get some new partial dentures made, the old ones are worn out!

Lots to do!

I also want to say "Thank you" to all my followers. It is friends like you that make this blogging thing so much fun.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean