Friday, January 29, 2010

. more wintertime craftyness .

. sometimes it's fun to just make something random . typically i think where i would i hang it? will this match so-and-so's decor? would they really like it, or only because i made it or not because i made it . i maybe tend to over think my projects i work on, but i'm practical like that . this was a random project that had no specifications so whatever i ended up with was all good .
. craft for haiti fund .

. craft for haiti fund .
. i should do more of this .

Thursday, January 28, 2010

. beaner .

. scott (brother like figure in my life) and his wife gretchen just lost a little loved one, beaner . beaner was 13 years old, she was gretchen's dog for many years and she passed away in their arms last saturday . this brought up recent memories i have of phyllis, who died last summer . it's never easy to lose a love one, even when that loved one is a dog . scott sent me a few photos to put into a video to remember beaner by .

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

. 2 down, 3 more to go .

. so you've probably already seen this on my facebook page, but i thought i'd share a little more detail on here . i made another shade for my upstairs hallway window yesterday . this is our only new window in the whole house so i'll be lifting this shade often . this pattern was something i had to think long and hard about (so was the kitchen's, which i have yet to do, but rest assure, you'll see pics) . but i decided to be daring and go for it . it's bright, colorful, and floral...yes, floral . this might be the only floral anything in my whole house, but i wanted to go with something different . i love it too .
. diy shade in in upstairs hallway .

. diy shade in in upstairs hallway .
. here's what the fabric looks like up close .
. diy shade in in upstairs hallway .
. ooh this is so much fun to do . i can't wait to have time to work on the kitchen ones .

. p.s. i think this one actually took me a little longer than the first one i made, but do you remember me mentioning that it wasn't perfect, and that it was not a big deal, well, now it bothers me . so i tried extra hard to get this one just right . i did much better when i went a little slower .

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

. winter jam 10 .

. sunday night i rode along with the jim nebel gang to winter jam in des moines . had a blast . my all time favorite group was there . favorite group in concert i should say . newsboys . i know, this is like my 4th time to go, and i'd go again tomorrow if i had the chance . they just make it so fun .

. so we're on our way . all set with comfy seats, warmth (biggie these days), drinks, full bellys, music, candy, magazine, girls to chat with .
. girls on our way .
. cool uncle j at the wheel .
. uncle jim .
. and jammin aunt mary, although she hadn't started jammin just yet .
. aunt mary .
. and bridgey as my partner for the night .
. bridget .
. we waited in line to spin a fancy little wheel .
. me and bridget .
. to get a bumper sticker or a hug, we both got bumper stickers .
. we were good with that .
. playing sidewalk prophet's games before the concert .
. and as we're waiting in our 2 hour line we see....DUNCAN, drummer of the newsboys, mulling through the crowd not 6 feet away . people were shocked, check out the girl on the right. :)
. duncan .
. so we snagged him for a few pics .
. duncan and me .

bridget and duncan .
. the line didn't really seem to take that long, until about 10 minutes before they opened the doors . the personal space went out the window by then and it started getting a little warm . but totally worth the wait .

. hung out with april and keith there too, although no picture to prove it, at least i have witnesses .

. balls of confetti flying around .
. newboys didn't disappoint...again .
. jody davis & michael tait .

. michael tait .

. michael tait .
. oh and there were a few other groups there too, tenth avenue north, newsong, fireflight, revival, robert pierre, sidewalk prophets and third day . this was my first time to hear third day in concert...liked them too .
. mac powell and ? .
. mac powell is great .
. mac powell of third day .

. third day .

. fireflight .

. confetti balls .
. stary night...nope, cell phones held in the air .
. stary night, or cell phones at concert .
. concert color .
. waiting for the show to start .
. big fun, missed my man being along, that was the only thing that could have made it better . well, maybe if my coat and sweater hadn't gotten wet and yucky under my seat, that would have made it better too, and newsboys could have sung a few more songs...okay i'm done .
:)

Monday, January 25, 2010

Friday, January 22, 2010

. night ice .

. i'm going to have to start paying my father-in-law soon for his services . he recommended i enter that last photo contest that i won $250 in . last night he called me and said with their yard lights the trees looked exceptionally amazing, so i had to go check it out .
. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .
. in the flower garden .
. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .

. night ice .
. i agree, exceptionally amazing . as well as exceptionally cold .
:)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

. some new friends .

. so i have a really great friend who has been going out to the nursing home once a week for a few years . i won't mention her name because she doesn't like that sort of thing . she's the same friend who got me involved in the ladies bible study at the area prison . she has such a heart to share God's love with others . so i've started going with her to one of the nursing homes in town . i love my time with her, and to be honest that's part of the reason i'm doing it, the other part is these wonderful people i've met, they are so anxious for a friend to talk with them for just a few minutes . i'm, of course, always looking for an excuse to use my camera so i took it out the other night and we had a little fun with everyone . a few thought they'd break my camera, some weren't very excited about getting their picture taken, until i took one of their roommate, others were eager and gave me their biggest smiles . but regardless of how they felt, asking them if they wanted their picture taken was a fun way to start conversation .

. this is fern . she had fallen out of her bed recently so had awful bruises around her eye . she's 102 and fun to visit with .
. fern .
. lois, she's one that really knows what's going on around there, she roams the halls and so we see her almost the entire time we're there . she wasn't too pleased about getting a picture of herself so i told her since she hadn't looked out the window that day and saw all the beautifully frosted trees i'd bring her a picture of that instead of a picture of herself . she liked that idea .
. lois .
. and this is gunny, i mentioned a while back that i had met this interesting lady . she was in the military, the rest of her past is a little sketchy . her military photo is so cool though . and that had to be back in the day when women in the military wasn't so popular . she looks like she could tell you a few things, doesn't she ?
. gunny .
. this is simon, this week was my first time to meet him . he seemed like a jolly ole fella .
. simon .
. josaphine, my first week to meet her too . she was such a happy gal .
. josaphine .
. alice, so soft spoken . she communicates more with her eyes .
. alice .
. and linda, always with a smile, and ready to go home .
. linda .
. jerry, he's ready to move out of there too...(they probably all have plans to), but a super nice guy with a pretty fancy wheel chair, he likes to impress us .
. jerry .
. marie .
. we're probably not supposed to have favorites, but if i did, she'd be mine . she has the biggest smile and quite the sense of humor . and look at that head of hair, not a grey one on there ! she didn't want us to leave so i told her we'd sing her a song and then we'd go . my friend (who isn't into singing) was not okay with that...so i sang jesus loves me and marie joined right in . i didn't think this completely through because then she wanted another one...so then we did one more, then jerry heard us and wanted me to sing for him too, but then he had to sing along, and he did . the best part is they don't care if you can carry a tune or not .
. i loved it .
. marie .
. this is mildred, she's the one who gave me the idea to bring my camera . last time i visited she asked me what i did and i told her i was a photographer and took pictures and she asked me where 'it' was (meaning my camera) . then i told her maybe i'd bring it and she said we should hang them up 'there', on the wall . i don't know about that last part but i'm glad she put the idea in my head .
. mildred .
. this is laura . i love her pretty white hair .
. laura .
. and here's leroy, he's so cute . we asked where his friend was . leroy said he was sleeping . we asked him if his friend wanted to wake up and see us and leroy told us no . then as we visited across the hallway leroy went and woke him .
. leroy .
. i guess he wanted to visit us after all . leroy and pooch are great friends .
. leroy and pooch .
. i'm so thankful for my new friends .