Flashback

This weekend will be the wedding of Valine's oldest daughter, Maegan and I am so excited!!! Valine and I have been best of friends ever since college.  We've been there for each other through a lifetime of ups and downs---student teaching, graduation, first jobs, dates, weddings, births of babies, and even deaths.  Though we only get to see each other a couple times a year in person, we talk on the phone, chat through email and know that we can always count on each other to lend an ear, or a shoulder or whatever is needed.

I was there right after Maegan was born---she scared us all by spending a little time in the NICU,


but you could tell from the beginning that she was strong and it wasn't long before we could see how smart she was, too.  Over the years, my girls often spent weekends with Maegan and her little sister, Meredith, while Valine and I enjoyed our time together.

They've played school, played dress-up, fished, played in the mud, locked themselves in a bathroom, cooked (staining Momo's carpet in the process of making colored ice cubes), jumped on trampolines, hunted Easter eggs, shopped and even worn matching dresses.


And now, they're all grown up.  Maegan came to Jana's wedding and both Maegan and Meredith were able to come to Callie's.  Now it's Maegan's turn.   While neither of my girls are going to be able to come (grown-up responsibilities like work get in the way), Ron and I get to be there.  Together with our "Flea Market Friends", I'm helping to host a Bridal Luncheon the day before the wedding.
****Valine, if you want this part to be a surprise, then you need to log off and wait until Friday!  ;-) 

It's been fun to "cyber-plan" the details---fortunately, we all have areas of expertise to lend to the event.  Jana designed beautiful invitations for the luncheon (personal information is covered).

and we have a cake decorator and photographer in the bunch, not to mention someone skilled at floral arranging!  The luncheon will be held at Houmas House Plantation, which is in itself a beautiful location.  I'm in charge of favors for the guests and I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at the goodies.

Taking into consideration the beautiful gardens of Houmas House and the fact that both Valine and Maegan love flowers, I decided to make a set of plant markers for each guest.  I purchased plain wooden markers from Amazon, as well as small muslin bags.
I stamped herb names on one side of each marker with a garden design on the back of them, in case someone wanted to use it in a different pot/plant.


After stamping the bags with a pink peony,

I filled the bags with a set of markers and tied on a tag that Jana designed and printed (that coordinates with the invite).

Maegan is getting married in just a few days!!  I'm so glad that I can be part of the celebration!!

Going Green Re-Visited

Over the last couple of years, I have been trying to incorporate a few things into my life that lean in a healthier direction.  I use "green" laundry detergent (that I make myself) and eco-friendly dishwasher soap and other cleaning supplies.  I have even started a "Going Green" pinterest board.

Which leads me to the latest addition to our home.  After a trip to Lowe's, Ron tackled the assembly for me.  Each step was translated into 3 different languages-----except for a few that were translated into the SAME language 3 different times.  haha  Fortunately, it was English they duplicated (sorry Spanish and French speaking friends).
(sorry for the less than stellar photos)


By Sunday evening, I'd read through many of the rules of composting and was ready to begin. We added  some dirt, leaves and kitchen scraps I'd been saving and started the the first batch of compost!

I'm hoping that one of the next backyard projects involves that small plot of land to the left of the composter.

Backyard Makeover---Part One

You may remember that one of my wishes back in 2012 was to have a fire pit and a pretty area to sit and enjoy it.  Well, for Christmas, Ron gave me a nice fire pit---I really like it.  But, alas, it sat on the deck unused for a month or so.  Until, we started our backyard makeover, that it.  It began in February, with Ron and I digging out grass, leveling the ground a bit and extending the brick pathway beyond the storage building.   When Chad, Carmelle came with the kids for Mardi Gras, we enlisted the help of Chad to begin laying the gravel---it helps to have a young, strong guy to lift those heavy bags, for sure!!



While we worked, Carmelle studied for school and the kids searched for creepy, crawly things.   And of course, Michael found one.


Notice anything unusual about Michael's head????

Look again . . . .



Wookie supervised the gravel operation (while Emmi was jealous because she couldn't jump up there with him).

By the end of the day, it looked like this.

Shortly after that, we were visiting Valine (prior to the New Orleans Marathon) and saw that their neighbor had cut down a tree and was getting rid of the logs.  Thinking they would be perfect for stools around the "stump table", Kirk and Ron rolled them out of the way.


Kirk and Valine brought them to us in April when they came for the wedding.  We didn't really get to work on it again until after the wedding.   In May, the two of us set to work again.
Of course, we had to take a break to cool off and watch birds.




and spiders . . .


And for Ron and Emmi to call the doves (which doves answered).

By the end of that day, things were really shaping up!!

And yesterday, we worked again.   After many trips back and forth to Lowes and WalMart, we almost have things finished.

We'd like to add more gravel to level things out a bit more, but yesterday evening, we enjoyed a fire in the pit.

Well, Ron and I enjoyed the fire---Emmi was less than thrilled about that flaming, crackling thing.  In fact, she was just plain terrified.


Later we rolled the hammock out into the yard for a little star-gazing!  (loving the Night Sky app)

So nice and relaxing (at least for us humans)!

Salute

Today and yesterday, I had the privilege of helping with the final details of the Fuller Center's first "Vet Build".  Over the last few months, many volunteers spent numerous hours alongside 4 local veterans who have been without homes since returning from active duty.

Eventually, each of them found themselves in transitional housing (shelters) and their journey to being homeowners began.  Through a series of incidental coincidences, a message was sent from agency to agency until it finally reached the Bob Woodruff Foundation, who (after flying down to meet with key agencies here), funded the building of four new homes.

My good friend, Noel Haacker, heads up the ReNesting Project, and got our church involved by asking us to fill the pantry of one of the homeowners.

What a fun task!!   And to make it even more fun, we knew the homeowner, Cliff, through our work with Hope House!

Yesterday, Rachel and I filled my car with non-perishables and headed to the house to fill his pantry.  The homes are wonderful--pretty, fresh, and new.


Here's Cliff's house:

And his pantry (Notice the Clif bars, front and center---lol).

Today, I took over a home-made cake (from one of the elderly ladies at church) to welcome Cliff.   Ron and I stayed for the dedication of all four homes.




It was awesome!!

Hopefully, we will be able to get in on the building portion of the next phase of Vet Build!!

Welcome Home, Cliff, Larry, Miguel and William!!

Small Folded Scrapbook

Returning to blogging has me looking through some of my archives to "clean out" drafts that I never completed, etc.  In doing so, I found this post from back in 2008 about a little scrapping project that I led at a Women's Retreat.  Apparently, I never posted it, so here it is.  

We made folded "scrapbooks" that included pockets for special quotes or scriptures. We began with a 12 x 12 sheet of solid colored scrapbook paper and added patterned paper, quotes and various embellishments.

Here's the front, all tied shut with satin ribbon:

And here's the inside on one side. There a removable card in the center pocket and places for photos and/or bookmarks on the right side.

Here is the inside on the opposite side. Again, there is a place for photos on the right (yes, that's me) and you can see the front from this view. We were limited by time, but lots more could have been added to embellish this---ribbons, tags, etc.

And here's the back! )The ribbon is attached under this paper and flower and wraps around to the front to tie) Voila'!