Look 52

A Happy Ending

One last look at 2010.  I love when anyone in my family smiles. This photo is a double blessing....a happy momma and her happy girl! 

I'll be incorporating my 52 Looks blog in my main blog Spun By Me for 2011.  I've decided one blog is enough.  Thank you to all who have visited and thank you  Ann for all your sweet comments. You are such an encourager!

Look 51

Where's the beef?

It's right here!

My father-in-law loves a good piece of beef so he decided that he would buy some for our Christmas Day dinner.  Here's a look at what he bought for us (before cooking of course) ~ 16 pounds of standing rib roast!  It was so yummy!!



Look 50

Joy-Filled

Make it a joy-filled day!!

Look 49

Bad Hair Day

Some days you just get carried away...that's kind of what happened when we were brushing Charlotte's hair in this photo. We brushed and it got bigger and bigger and bigger....

Look 48

Sparkly Pins

Here's a few of the pins I made for my craft shows this year.
Unfortunately sales weren't very good this year.
But that just means I have lots of ready made gifts to give away!
Plus I really enjoyed making these and that's what matters the most!

Look 47

Nativity Tree

We saw some beautiful trees at a festival we attended on Friday.
One of my favorites was this one.
Not only did it have a Nativity tucked in it,
there was also a church and other smaller buildings nestled in the branches.
Plus words, balls and snowflakes scattered here and there.

Look 46

Our Supervisor

We did some yard work on Saturday.
We were well supervised and then applauded for our efforts by my father-in-law.

Look 45

Mickey!

This is a shot from one of my favorite shops in
Downtown Disney. It's new and it called "Tren-D".
Very fun! It has an Anthropologie look about it.
I'll share another look at it soon.

Look 44

Safari!

One of my very favorite parts of our recent trip
to Disney World was this little"sidetrip".
We got to enjoy a little "safari".
Yes, we did see some animals ~ elephants, giraffes
and hippos to name a few. But for me
the scenery was defintiely the high point.
I love this shot ~ do you see the elephant
 in the background?!

Look 43

Flying Home

I don't usually have a window seat when
I'm on an airplane ~ on our way home
from Florida, last Thursday evening,
I did. What a beautiful view I had!

Look 42

Pumpkins

Pumpkin, pumpkin. Who's got their pumpkin?  Not me ~ so off to the store I go!

Look 41

For The Birds




Someone found the (cute) bird clothespins I bought at Crate & Barrel. That someone found a much better use for them too!

Look 40

Yummy!

Charlotte shared a Hershey Sundae Pie with her Momma and Daddy the other day.  I think it's pretty obvious what she thought about that pie.  Her bites of pie were followed by "Mmmmmm" every time!

Look 39

Tea Party

This is part of our new ~ plastic ~ polka-dot tea set. It's our second tea set. The first one wasn't plastic ~ silly Gramma! Every day is a reason to (tea) party!

Look 38

Happy Visit

Three of my favorite people surprised me with a visit Sunday afternoon.  What a happy bunch they are!  Joe, Johanna and Elijah visited my church Sunday morning.  They were at the second service....I was at the first!  Too bad I missed them.  All three of my grandchildren were running around together in the church lobby.  What a sweet sight that would have been!

Look 37

My Bliss

I'm not totally sure what "following your bliss" means for me. 

I mean what is bliss?  

Webster gives the first definition of bliss as "complete happiness" and the second as "Paradise and Heaven".

My life is what it is and it isn't what it isn't.

It can change, but for now I'm content. I choose complete happiness and joy.

I know I'm going to heaven too.

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:2-3

So I guess I am "following my bliss"....straight to Heaven and Jesus Christ. 

Look 36

Giraffes & Zebras

Katie and Mandy hosted a baby shower for their friend (and Charlotte's nanny) Christine yesterday.   The baby's (it's a boy!) nursery is being decorated in a "safari" theme ~ so there was a little bit of that going on at the shower!  Katie made the giraffe print cupcakes, and she and Mandy collaborated on the zebra vases and pretzel rods.  Too cute!  They tasted as good as they looked!  Well ~ I didn't taste the flowers, but they did look good!

Look 35

Books

I think old books are so much more interesting to look at than new ones....squirrels are kind of interesting too!

Look 34

Sweet Girl

Little Penelope ~ she's such a sweetie! Of my three grandbabies she's the one most likely to look at me when I'm taking her picture. Thank you Miss P.
Isn't that a precious face!

Look 33

Glitter

I finally finished re-modeling and re-organizing my craft room. It's been so much fun putting out all the pretty things I've collected and had hidden away. This is one of my favorites ~ A little two-tiered silver tray. It's the perfect place for some shakers full of glitter.

Look 32

Collecting

Elijah enjoyed looking for stones near the base of the tree on my front lawn. Seconds after I took this photo he also enjoyed tasting them.

Look 31

Take Time To Smell The Flowers

It amazes me how quickly little ones figure things out.  Who taught her that flowers should be sniffed?

Look 30

Thrift Store Treasure

This is a little angel that I rescued from a pile of ceramic at my local thrift store.  I love her sweet face and the little bits of red! The fact that she cost $1.21 is also pretty sweet!

Look 29

Chimes

My garden isn't doing as well as I had hoped this summer. Parts of it looked very nice this spring. But the HOT summer sun and then the buckets of rain have totally confused the vegetation in my yard. Fortunately, even though the garden doesn't look great ~ it sounds wonderful. These chimes make the sweetest sound!

Look 28

It's A Knock-Out!

My friend Patrica gave me a Knock Out Rose Bush for my birthday last month.  It's a wonderful plant that blooms from spring until first frost.  Today I saw this pretty bud on it ~ it's the first new bud I've seen.

Look 27

Angel In My Yard

I went to Books a Million yesterday and bought the new issue of Somerset Life.  Then I worked out in my yard.  I worked hard for several hours.  Weeding and raking and digging and watering.  The whole time I was thinking about my Somerset Life.  I had two more yard projects I wanted to complete. But then I looked across my yard and saw the Angel reading.  The projects can wait for another day, Somerset Life here I come.

Look 26

Microburst

Our area was hit by a Microburst. Ten or twelve minutes of furious wind, rain, thunder and lightening! I never saw anything like it before. The rain was going sideways and coming down so fast you couldn't see out of the window. The wind was incredible. We lost power for about twelve hours, others near us for almost two days. Old Pine trees and 70 foot Oak trees were toppled, the roots pulled right out of the ground. Some landed on houses and some trees landed on cars. We were very blessed ~ nothing was left for us to clean-up but a huge pile of branches and twigs that fell from our two Oak trees.

Actually, there was one more thing left for us. An absolutely amazing sky!

Look 25

Soft & Pretty

I'm packing up my craftroom so we can paint it and organize it. These things were sitting on the desk waiting to be packed up. I thought all the soft colors were so pretty together so I spread them out a little and snapped a picture of them.

Look 24

Before the Berries

This is a peek at one of my favorite plants in my garden.  It's called Nandina domestica.  Soon there will be bunches of pretty white flowers all over it. In the fall it will be covered in beautiful red berries.

Camera News

My husband got me a new camera for my birthday.

It's almost identical to the one I've been using.

As I mentioned in this post I dropped my camera.

I love my new camera!

(and my hubby for buying it for me!!)


So "Look 24" begins photos taken with the new one.
I'm so happy!!

Look 23

Sparkling Water

We usually have our pool open before Memorial Day ~ but not this year. We needed a part for the pump and it ~ of course ~ was back ordered. Forever. We don't take the cover off until we can run the filter. Bill was finally able to pick up the part yesterday and Mandy and I helped him take off the cover. He spent most of yesterday and today brushing and vacuuming the pool. The filter has been humming along for over 24 hours. It won't be long. Sparkling water is coming.

Look 22

Just Thinking.

Elijah is not an impulsive child ~ totally unlike the kind of child his daddy was. He really took his time climbing up to this level ~ pausing at each one to decide what his next step would be. I think he's just sitting and reflecting on his accomplishment...and perhaps contemplating how he's going to get down.

Look 21

Miss Curious

We recently went to the Zoo and Penelope was a very busy girl while we were there. Everytime she saw a split rail fence she had to squat down and peek through....the Zoo is full of split rail fences! This picture shows her taking a peek at some ducks.

Look 20

Happy Mother's Day to Me


Prettty flowers sitting on my kitchen windowsill. Katie & Mark's gift to me for Mother's Day. I love pink & green & white!

Look 19

Wood Chips

For Charlotte the best part about the playground was the wood chips! Clenching them in her little fists and then throwing them into the air ~ what fun!

Look 18

Hotel Lobby

The hotel we stayed at on our recent trip to Leesburg, VA. was very red & black & gray & white & modern. Definitely a different look than I'm used to. But I really liked this little area ~ the chair is very cute!

Look 17

Penelope

Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too!
Birthday girl ~ March 2010.

Look 16

Lilac Trees

I love lilacs and I love having a lilac bush in my yard. But I haven't been very diligent about pruning the lilac bush. It's tall...and rather spindly this year. These lilacs are about 12 feet above the ground...they kind of look like trees this year. So as soon as the blooms are gone I'm going to do a little chopping...and next year I'll take a picture of the whole bush!

Look 15

Ferris Wheel

The weather is getting warmer ~ the ferris wheel will be a familiar sight. And speaking of sights ~ can't you just imagine the sights you'd see from way up high on the wheel!

Look 14

Remnants of Winter

My rusty "Tin Man" has stood in my garden for five years. But the poor guy couldn't quite weather our past winter. At one point in February, over four feet of snow was drifted up over him. But it's all good ~ he's standing up again.

Look 13

Flyaway Hare

I don't have much in the way of Easter or Springtime decor in my house. But I do have this little guy sitting with some dried hydrangeas from Katie's backyard. He's out all year because he's just too cute to put away.

Look 12

Leo the Lion

This is Leo ~ he has a very important job. He is a gum guard. You know...he watches over your gum when you go to sleep at night. Seriously. It says so right on the little dish he's attached to.

Look 11

A Rare Treat

Charlotte is a very intent, intense, quirky little girl ~ she seldom smiles. But when shes does, it's definitely worth two thumbs up!

Look 10

Butterflies

On a recent get-away to Williamsburg, VA I went to the largest Yankee Candle store I've ever seen. There were beautiful displays every where I looked. My favorites were the garden displays. I found this wonderful bowl of butterflies in one of them.

Look 9

Color Waves

Sunday I learned why I should have bought a spare battery for my new camera. This yarn store was the last stop of a camera happy day. My battery died after eight photos. (sad face)

The colors and textures in the shop were beautiful!

Look 8

Tree Lace

One of the best things about 30 plus inches of snow (and there are some best things) is having opportunities to take photos of all the white stuff. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....and I "beholded" a lot beauty!

Look 7

Old Knife ~ New Life

How nice to once have been so utilitarian ~ and now just pretty to look at!

Look 6

Fluffy Angel



At about 5:00pm the snow was so soft and fluffy and almost fragile looking. In a few short hours everything changed ~ the blizzard arrived!

Look 5

Corner Shelves

There are six little corner shelves in my kitchen. Three on either side of the window ~ above the sink. They've been there for almost eight years. I still haven't figured out what looks good on them. Right now five of the shelves are empty. This is on the sixth.

Look 4

Elijah

Elijah turned 2 on 1/7/10. We all got together and celebrated that special event today. We don't get to his house very often but we did today! Elijah in his own space is a sight to behold!