SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 6.30.13

SHS 6.30.13

Thought I'd better get myself "in gear" and grab my camera!

{this meant putting down my paintbrush}

The SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY words posted by Ashley

are ones I suggested a couple of months ago!

So, without further hesitation,

here are my interpretations of:

MOTION, TOOLS, DOTS, SWEET & STRIPES.

We drove up to the cabin late Thursday evening - here to celebrate Lydia's {& Natasha's birthdays}.  

The weekend before July 4th is pretty quiet! Not many boats, jetskis or kayaks on the lake - but, caught the neighbor in MOTION on his jetski last evening.

JPE getting his tackle box ready for some fishing. Last year he got a fishing license for the lake & spent his gift card on some TOOLS {hooks, sinkers, bait & a new pole} of the trade.

Wondering where I found these DOTS in this heat wave? Actually these are DOTS of "pitch" or "resin" from the pine tree. They've found a home on the outside fireplace hearth!!!

SWEET! a tasty SWEET ice cream birthday cake for the "girl's" birthdays!

The wind is strongest in the late afternoon... so Jack & Taylor pulled the kite out... Brilliant, bright STRIPES --- makes it easy to find the kite from anywhere on the lake.

Well, off to breakfast! taking the boat across the lake!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 6.16.13

SHS 6.16.13

I know I sound like a broken record...

but, haven't taken many pictures this week.

I was able to scrounge up something

for this week's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.

The words are: SUMMER, DANCE, HELPER, LAUGHTER & WATER.

SUMMER... means lazy mornings... BBQ's...

family time... watermelon (& an abundance

of tasty fruits)... traveling... a break from work!

This fellow kept us DANCING... 

shooing him away from our picnic table...

running up & down from the river's edge!

Of course, the squirrel had a HELPER...

this bluejay would screech loudly...

distracting us from dealing with the squirrel

getting into our picnic lunch.

LAUGHTER... this pair of seals

look like they are sharing some sort of joke.

AND, we were LAUGHING at them.

Living near the beach... we see a lot of WATER!

Kneeling down, I captured the WATER

dripping off the seaweed.

Thanks for dropping by... off to enjoy the sun...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

to the "guys" in blogland!

my DAD - 1953

{with his baseball trophies}

 we R.E.A.L.L.Y miss him...

WORKING...

Mount Vernon, Virginia ~ May 27, 2013

I'M WORKING...

on a several SPECIAL PROJECTS...

so I skipped

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY (6.9.13)

& P52 {WEEK 23}

Didn't want another day to pass without posting!

Gosh... this quote is so appropriate!

It's the end of the school year - my mind is certainly CHALLENGED - trying to wrap-up end of the year details (& YEP! hard to believe - BUT also get ready for the beginning of the school year in August). 

oh... my SPIRIT is already thinking of what I want to do over my summer break. In fact, I'm thinking my SPIRIT IS ON summer break - making my year-end wrap-up CHALLENGING!

I was looking for a picture & quote this morning & knew this fit the bill. I LOVE traveling (it satisfies my SPIRIT & CHALLENGES my thinking, learning and ordinary routine)... 

But, the real reason I was drawn to this photo?? I LOVED my trip to Washington DC with Katie & my mom. We spent Memorial Day with Steph, Mazen, & Sea-Bass at Mount Vernon... 

ummm. photos have a lot to do with one of the special projects I mentioned... more later!

WILL YOU WANT THIS BACK?

My BIL {brother-in-law, BD}
was getting rid of this adorable wire stand!

Of course, I couldn't pass up digging it out of his trash pile

{he kept the other one, I think}... 

Sorry... I don't have a before picture of the "rusty wire look"...

last Sunday, I spray painted it a color called "FOSSIL"
{used a Rustoleum product}...

but, it still needed some pizzazzz!

I decided to use this paint pen...

NOT cheap... just under $5.

ONE coat of paint!

Coat number TWO!

Still need to paint the center!

{use this paint pen outside - it MAY drip}

the "home" for this 

MAGAZINE RACK is our bedroom!

OKAY, BD or SD,

are you going to ask for this MAGAZINE RACK back, NOW?

sorry for the quality of light!

OH... I spray painted the lamp base last weekend too!

Gotta LOVE spray paint!!

Rustoleum-Hammered in Dark Bronze.

Looking for a footstool or poof
{LOVE this ONE! a color can't be requested; recycled fabrics are used}
& new fabric for the chair! 

The kitchen smells yummy!

JPE is "putting up" apricot jam (5 quarts)!

MOM, it's time for JPE's scones!

Hop the train!

We're headed to a retirement party for my

soon-to-be ex-Assistant Superintendent!

STEP RIGHT UP!!

Our second floor landing looked like this ~ SATURDAY, MAY 11th!

{sorry for the crummy light}

walls were being painted, BUT the top step needed FINISHING!

{and floor molding added}

YESTERDAY,

Chris {the contractor} sent someone out to finish the top step!

A BULLNOSE was added...

 UMMM... nice!

I know you're wanting to peek in our bedroom

{SO, come back tomorrow for look}...

At the top of the stairs, {on the left} is the guest room. 

Still unpacking & S.L.O.W.L.Y bringing things back into the house!

Also, looking for different fabric to recover the stool & chair seat!

We're O.N.L.Y bringing items back into the condo that we really LOVE! and placing them in different locations.

the "CLOCK"

{was given to JPE's dad upon his retirement from Merrill-Dow,

the pharmaceutical company in Cincinnati, OH

- he worked there for 30+ years}

...its previous location was on a dresser, inside our walk-in closet!

We'd LOVE to get it working again!

Remember Southern Living parties?

I bought the "ANGEL" years ago!

It's lived downstairs, but, I think it has a new place in the guest room.

You can order similar items from Ballard Designs!

OFF to the movies --- THE GREAT GATSBY

with Tobey Maguire, Leonardo diCaprio, & Carey Mulligan.

A SUNSHINE DAY!

SLE has a collection of 

SUNS

in her guest room!

a couple are from her international travels,

but she's also the recipient of artwork

by ACE (Allie).

Here's another 

SUNSHINE!

by Allie!

Allie gave each of us a copy of this mosaic SUN.
:: made from tiny, little pieces of paper

each carefully glued to the cardboard background

with a pair of tweezers ::

I have another SUN created by Allie!

BUT... due to our remodel, it's still packed away!

a favorite SUNSHINE quote

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others
cannot keep it from themselves."

~ James M. Barrie

How did "SUNSHINE" fill your day? 

P52 {WEEK 22}

Today's post is part of P52 {WEEK 22} of 2013. The other bloggers participating can be found at RANDOM-OSITY - TAMAR's blog.

I'm in the process of editing photos from our trip to Washington DC. There's NOTHING quite like "seeing & experiencing the world through the eyes of a nine-year old."

Here's a PEEK from Katie's week...

"KATIE & LOVER-BOY, SEBASTIAN"
on the floor at Steph & Mazen's

Sebastian (Sea-Bass) is Mazen's guide-dog. When Sebastian was working (wearing his harness), Katie had to avoid touching or hugging Sea-Bass! She told me, she had a hard time avoiding his eyes. It seems, LOVER-BOY, had some sort of power over Katie. I love her expression in this photo. They're lost in the experience of enjoying each other's company. 

"ROCK HOPPING"
outside the American Indian Museum, Smithsonian Mall

Kids are FUN! I get a thrill from their "energy" --- our feet were sore from all the walking! but, we still fell asleep each night, with a smile on our faces!

"FACETIME WITH MOM"
near the Capitol & Botanical Garden, Washington DC

What would we do without FACETIME? Katie was so excited about seeing the Capitol --- she called her mom to show her the "sights." The ducks decided they wanted to get in on the action!!

"USING THE METRO"

Using public transportation was the highlight of our trip! Stephanie & Mazen live near the Ballston Metro stop (Arlington, VA) & travel into the city (Washington DC) for work each day. Katie's greatest accomplishment was --- learning to go "DOWN the escalator" --- she had no problem going UP, but stepping onto the DOWN escalator was  difficult for the first couple of days! 

"CHECKING THE GARDEN"
Mount Vernon, Virginia

Katie discovered that some of the flowers in George Washington's Mount Vernon Gardens are different than flowers grown in California. My french-braiding skills came in handy! humidity = wispy hair (reminded me of Allie & Steph's hair, at the same age). Thank you Katie for allowing me to braid your hair each morning!

"THEY'RE SO CUTE"
Mount Vernon, Virginia

Katie loves --- LOVES animals! Her family will be getting two puppies in a couple of weeks! I have no doubt they'll be loved! She's decided to have a "Dog-Walking" business when she gets a bit older! Having watched her walk Sea-Bass, I have no doubt she'll be able to save plenty of money for her "dream trip to Paris."

"CHECKING OUR FLIGHT STATUS"
Washington Dulles Airport

It was such a "treat" to be able to introduce Katie to the world of TRAVEL! 

Thank you David & Jodi for allowing me (& GiGi) take Katie on this trip! It was exciting for me "to see the world through the eyes of your nine-year old!"

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 6.2.13

Bumblebee ~ Mount Vernon, Virginia

I disappeared! 

I didn't realize how difficult it would be to post pictures while traveling with family. If you look back at THIS POST, you'll remember I was flying to Washington DC with my mom & grandniece, Katie. 

But, we're back! at school (Katie), work (me) & recuperating (mom)... This week's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY is a PHOTOGRAPHER'S CHOICE. Can't wait to visit everyone's blog to see what everyone's been up to...

We visited the SMITHSONIAN MALL multiple times... people were walking, picniking, riding bicycles, sleeping, playing football, jogging AND flying kites. This young man (standing just below the Smithsonian brick building) had dual-controls to operate this brilliant green kite... he was pretty impressive!

Katie enjoyed visiting the HIRSHHORN  SCULPTURE GARDEN (outdoor exhibit) along the Mall. This happened to be my favorite...

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Arlington, VA (located three blocks from Ballston Metro stop & two blocks from where my daughter lives)... The "ROLLING THUNDER" was celebrating 25 years of Memorial Day festivities... so, we got to see a motorcycle procession (with 250 motorcycles) leave the parking lot for Arlington Cemetery!! each evening the hotel lobby was "jumping" with the excitement of the motorcyclists "meeting & greeting" over coffee, drinks & cigarettes. 

Another "mall" shot... Outside the MUSEUM of AMERICAN HISTORY was a sculpture that rotated! we didn't realize it rotated UNTIL the shadow changed shape (at the top). I also captured our shadows... all lined up, watching the oval change to a kidney-bean shape!

We drove out to MOUNT VERNON, the home of President George Washington. Katie is a member of her school's GARDEN CLUB, so she enjoyed checking out the vegetables, flowers & ornamental plants. She was surprised the bumblebees are so LARGE!

Had to include this picture... the day was gorgeous & reminded me of Mr. Rogers famous words, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood"... (l-r) Moi, Katie, Mom, Stephanie... four generations (Katie's mom is a bit older than my daughter, Stephanie) standing outside the WHITE HOUSE. 

Well... thanks for your patience! Actually, our two "traveling words" were PATIENCE & FLEXIBILITY. It's difficult for nine-year olds to be PATIENT... (while waiting for a connecting flight or breakfast to be served).

I'll update you on our "remodel / renovation" later this week. Still editing Washington DC pictures for Katie.