My Greatest Joy ...

I know I don't talk much about my family on here, and that is because there isn't much positive to say and I tend to stay away from negative or downright painful topics in my posts.  Remember, "I Choose Joy" and try to keep things positive.  But I do have one special story to share with you today.

I have one brother who has two sons.  My brother, who is 6 years younger than me, and his oldest son have chosen a difficult route ... one that is foreign and inconceivable to me.  Drugs, lies, illegal activities, and breaking my parents hearts ... and mine.  But I'm not going there today!  Where I am going is my "young'un" ... the name I have always called my brother's youngest son, and my nephew.  D's mother has been out of the picture for many years, his dad isn't much of a dad at all.  All the odds were against D., but he has worked hard and beaten the odds!

D. started down the same path as his dad and brother in his mid teens, but he ran away with a girl and was gone for a few weeks about 9 or so years ago.  When he came back he was a different boy.  He finally decided that he couldn't live that life, and it was up to him to make a life for himself.  He studied and got his GED, then got a job at a local HVAC company and trained and succeeded.  Today he works doing service calls during the week and making sales calls on the weekends.  Last year he was solely responsible for about 1/3 of the company's profits.  And apparently the company's owner is grooming him to take over when he retires in a few years.  Not bad for a young man who had many hurdles and struggles against him.

Today, D. is married to a sweet, smart and very pretty young woman, A.  It is obvious they love and are committed to one another, and I think she is great for D.  For years I have prayed for him that he would find the woman who God had prepared for him, and for her that she would be good to him.  God has answered those prayers in a wonderful way. 

D. and I haven't had a great relationship in recent years, although I'm not completely sure why.  Of course I know some of the reasons, but some questions will probably remain unanswered.  But that has all changed, and I give God all the glory.  Why?  Because God still uses tiny babies to work miracles!

Eight days ago, God gave D. and A. the sweetest gift ever ... a precious baby boy!  And this past Friday I took my Mama to see him for the first time, and my nephew and I are together again.  You have no idea at the joy in my heart right now!  Not only is D. back in my life, but I have a new neice in A. and a sweet baby boy to love and cherish and spoil!  God is good, folks!  And He does answer prayers every day!

Now, let me show you some pictures!

Baby G.  only minutes old, but with those bright and alert eyes.

I love this picture ...

Mommy and daddy ... so happy!

One happy and proud Daddy ... I love these two so much!

 

G. four days old and off for his first Dr. appointment.

Mama holding her great grand baby for the first time!  This picture just makes me so happy!

Me, holding G. for the first time.

I was so afraid I wouldn't have the opportunity to know and love this baby, but God does work miracles, and I am so very grateful!   Thanks for visiting today!  Blessings,

My Apologies ... and Camping Trip # 2 ... Mama's Trip

Hi folks!  I am so sorry it's been so long since I did a post, but life has been kind of busy lately and usually it's the blogging that goes by the wayside! 

Last weekend, hubby and I took my Mama camping and fishing.  Or at least we took her camping ... the fishing part didn't work out so well!  More on that later!  Anyway, we went to Seminole State Park, a beautiful Georgia state park that borders Lake Seminole, an 37,500 acre lake right at the southwestern corner of Georgia, and bordered on the south and west by Florida. 

Our Home Away From Home

The park was lovely, very well maintained, the campsites were nice for the most part, except for the picnic table pads (raised and reinforced rectangular spaces that held the picnic table and grill and fire pit) were infested with weeds which needed a serious dousing with Round-up!  The bath house was one of the best I've ever seen, which is really saying something because I don't typically like bath houses!

The Picnic Pad ... The weeds were sand spurs ... thankfully immature and no danger!

The campsite was great for Mama, because it was a very gentle slope down to the water and had plenty of places for her to put her chair and sit and fish.  My Mama is the fisherman in the family, and she's disappointed I didn't get the 'gene'.  Her Mama loved to fish, so I'm supposed to carry on the tradition, but I don't!

Anywhoooooo, the problem with the lake was this ... while it was a very large 37,500 acre lake, we were on a small 'pond' that, while it was a part of the lake, it was only about 15 - 20 acres, and was very shallow except in the very center.  If you had a boat, I am sure you would find plenty of fish in deeper waters, but there on the bank, you could see way out into the lake and there was just nowhere for fish larger than a minnow to be found.  And that was another thing ... typically when you look in the water at the edge of a lake, you see tiny fish and minnows swimming in the shallow water, but there were NONE ... at all ... swimming there at the edge of the lake.  So if there's nothing in the shallow water for larger fish to feed on, you're not going to find fish to catch.  Period.

But, we still had a great time!  And I will share more pictures next time!  Blessings,

Wake Up and See the Blessings In Your Life!

Recently I was with a group of ladies where we were crafting together, laughing, talking and just having a wonderful time.  Then one of our group suddenly started a conversation about some of the struggles in her life and how this has been going on for many years ... too many.  Now, I'm not going to share any names or circumstances here for the whole world to see, but I am going to share this ...

As I listened to her story, and joined in the rest of the ladies as we tried to lift her up, show her that she is stronger than she thinks, seeing her reality made me face my own reality, and that is scary!  Scary because I realized that even with the struggles in my own life (and they have been piling up lately) and the negative things that have been ruling my days ... and ruining them as well ... it really isn't that bad! 

Yes, there are things that aren't great.  My family is a twisted, messed up, dysfunctional jumble, but if you are honest, so is yours in some fashion ... maybe not as bad as mine, or maybe worse.  But families are made of humans and humans make mistakes and bad choices and even, in their own pain, reach out and hurt the ones who love them most.

But it's okay.  It's all good!  You are living and breathing and it is YOUR choice how you respond to all of this, and how you choose to live your days.  No one else has that control ... and if they do, maybe you need to leave that relationship!

As for me, I choose to look for the joy in every day.  I choose to try to take a higher road and move forward.  It is the very least I can do with this life I have been given.  God ... MY God ... is mighty and great and loving and He created me in his image and He loves me beyond measure.  Now it is my turn to try ... just TRY ... to make something good of this life.  To realize that as bad as it is, I have many gifts and blessings every day, and to remember and praise God for those good things.  Every new day brings new opportunities to chose our path for that day.  And bottom line ... I choose joy.

Blessings,

Images from ImagMeri's

Camping and Picnicking Solutions ... Upcycling Empty Bottles

Hi there!  Today I want to share with you a couple of my favorite solutions to camping and/or picnicking problems!

The Flyaway Tablecloth:  I always have a nice flannel backed vinyl tablecloth on our picnic table when we are camping.  It is easy to wipe down and keep clean, and gives a nice surface for my crafting.  But, if there's much of a pesky wind at all, the cloth keeps flying up and getting crooked, or even flying away altogether.  So here is my easy peasy solution ...

Simply take an empty bottle .... could be a water bottle or soda, whatever you have, but this is a 12 ounce Coke bottle.  Rinse it out well to discourage bugs, and fill it with water.  Grab a zip tie (plastic zipper type tie available at hardware stores and dollar stores) and get to work.

Now, simply bunch up one corner of the tablecloth, and gather it up around the top of the bottle.  These types of bottles have a 'collar' or ridge to strengthen the neck of the bottle, so put the zip tie below that collar and tighten it around the neck of the bottle.

Repeat for all four corners of the tablecloth.

These are the BEST things I have found for holding a tablecloth down, and really do the job, even in brisk winds.  After our camping trip last weekend I simply stowed the bottles in the camper to be used when we go again in a few weeks.

Now, my next tip is one I use on picnics, camping trips, and even when I have a booth at craft sales that are outside!  Last fall my friend Sue and I did a craft show in northern Georgia and there were yellow jackets EVERYWHERE!  I mean they were swarming and people getting stung.  So I used the water bottle I had just finished and made one of these ...

Folks, this thing really works!!!  All you need is a sugar and a protein to attract the pesky things and you will trap a lot of them!

 Here is what you need ...

 

An empty plastic bottle, some protein (here I am using dry dog food which works great, but you can use some raw hamburger or hotdog or sandwich meat), something sweet ... here I am using some unfinished orange juice.  That's it!  Here is how you make it happen ...

Cut the top off of your bottle, just below where the 'funnel' shape ends.

It may help if you cut a little slit, just about 1/2" into the side of the top part (see arrow) to make it slide down into the bottle base a little easier.  Then slide the top, upside down, into the top of the bottle.

Add your 'ingredients' into the bottle.

And sit the trap somewhere at the edge of your space.  I've found that placing it on the fire ring grill is a good, out of the way place.

And I promise you, these will really attract and trap yellow jackets!  You can even use a larger bottle (2 liter soft drink?) but we don't typically have any of those so I just use water bottles.

Okay, I've got to run, but I hope you have enjoyed these two cool tips for making your camping or picnicking experience a little better!  Blessings!

First 2013 Camping Trip ... George L. Smith State Park - Twin City, Georgia

Hi friends!  Sorry I haven't done a post in a while, but I've been kinda busy!  Last Thursday morning hubby and I pulled out of our driveway about 4:55 am, headed out for our first camping trip of 2013.  And we had such a good time!  I just wanted to share a few pictures with you of where we were camping.  You can find info about the state park here should you be interested.

Our view of the lake.  The trees are bald cypress and tupelo, and yes, they are growing all in the lake.

 

This is the campsite we had back in October when we were down there.  That trip we were camping in the tent, and that tent pad was hard as a rock ... we literally bent several stakes just trying to secure the tent.

 

A closer view of some of the trees in the lake ... see how they are reflecting in the water?  Well, it makes some interesting paddling, I'll tell you!

Our camper ... so wonderful having it back in action!  The blue bucket is what the shower drains into ... and it is amazing how little water we need to take a shower ... both hubby and I can take showers and not totally fill up that 5 gallon bucket.  I think that's kinda cool!  (Note:  If we are in a campsite that has sewage, we have a drain hose that drains the shower into the sewer, but we didn't have that luxury here.)

This is a large field of one of my favorite veggies ... sweet and delicious Vidalia onions!  This field was just a few miles from the small town of Vidalia.  There is only a small area in central Georgia where true 'Vidalia' onions can be grown.  You can find more info about the onions, and tons of great recipes like Baked Bacon Wrapped Vidalia's here.

We really had a nice time on this trip ... some down time just relaxing at the campsite, and some fun exploring the country around the area.  A couple of our favorite small towns we visited were Metter and Vidalia.  We stopped at a parking lot flea market in Vidalia and I bought a couple of metal flower frogs to use when photographing cards that I make.  

We have several more trips planned for this  year, but our next one is in just a few weeks when we will return right back to George L. Smith for a long weekend with Mama.  We have promised her a fishing trip since she fell and broke her neck last year, and she chose this park because she has heard there are some good bass in that lake!  And I sure do hope she catches a few of them, too!

I'll be back soon, thanks for visiting!  Blessings,

Back In The Groove ... Camellia Cottage, Too

We have a nice camper that we've had since August, 2004 - a Fleetwood Sequoia pop-up, or folding camper.  A couple of years ago our old Ford F-150 truck just plain wore out, and we couldn't afford to get another truck, and hubby needed a good economical vehicle to drive back and forth to work.  So we got a small car and the camper has been land locked in the garage ever since!  We have still camped, but always in tents and on air mattresses.  But now that we have bought 'Clyde' ...

 ... we can now pull our home away from home again ... Thank the good Lord!  I am just getting too old for tents and air mattresses!

So, our first trip back in our camper will be this coming weekend.  Hubby already has Friday off for Good Friday, so he is going to take off Thursday so we will have a nice long weekend to check out the camper and see how everything is working after a 2 year hiatus.  We already have several trips scheduled for this year, so this is a kind of refresher course for us, too!  We are heading to a Georgia State Park just a few hours from here where we hope to relax and kick back and spend some time enjoying being back 'home' in our home away from home.

In honor of the occasion I thought I would share some pictures with you.  First up is the floor plan of our camper.  When opened up it is 30 feet long and has a king sized bed on each end, a u-shaped dinette, a shower and potty, stove with oven, refrigerator, double (small) sink, a microwave and an AM/FM/CD stereo.  Oh, it also has cable connections but we won't be using that this trip.

 

Here is a nice view of the outside of the camper ...

We always set up a table just outside the door for our 'breakfast station', with the coffee pot, toaster, etc. so we can grab a quick and easy breakfast.  This trip was to Grayton Beach, FL in May of 2011 ... our last trip in the camper.  

Here are our 'girls', Bailey on the right and Bessie on the left, sitting up on our bed so they can see outside and watch everything that moves.  They LOVE camping as much as we do!

Our next trip after this one will be in mid-April to take my Mama camping for a few days.  We leave on the 1 year anniversary of her fall last year when she broke her neck.  Now she is doing well and looking forward to spending a few days fishing to celebrate.  

We also have trips planned to Virginia, St. Joseph's Peninsula (Near Port St. Joe) in Florida, and Grayton Beach, Florida.  So, as you can see, we are VERY excited to once again be able to use our camper for trips.  I love having my own bed, linens, bathroom, cooking facilities, etc.  I know my sheets and blankets, towels and potty are all clean, and that means something!

There is no internet service at the campground, but I will take pictures and once we get home I will share our trip with you.  Until then, Blessings!

Random Bits of Joy!

Signs of spring are everywhere these days.  Here in beautiful northern Georgia, we have had up and down temps but this weekend has been warm (low to mid 70's) and sunny and wonderful!  We have had such a great weekend, I wanted to share some random bits of joy that I found throughout the weekend.  The tiny daffodil is blooming outside my front door, and is one of the few flowers that was planted here before we moved in.  Most everything was small shrubs and they are all gone now, mostly replaced with flowering shrubs and perennials.

My (early) birthday present came on Wednesday, and I put it together myself, and we took 'her' out for a spin on Saturday.  Since I did the assembly I wanted to take her somewhere 'private' to ride a while to make sure she didn't fall apart!  Here I am on 'Joy', so named because she makes me happy and because I love to say I'm going joyriding!

I have some balance issues and can't ride a bike, so I got a three speed adult foldable trike.  And I love it!  Wayne usually takes his bicycle with us when we go camping and I felt bad when he went riding without me, but I can go now!

We will be visiting our local greenway very soon (hopefully this coming weekend) to ride on it next.  I really do love 'Joy'Ridng!

 

Mama read in the local paper that we should put our hummingbird feeders out in mid-March, and mine went up on the 14th ... ready and waiting with fresh nectar to draw in my hummers!  Oh, and do you see that white arbor with the rose and honeysuckles climbing on top?  It is no longer there!  And yes, I took this picture early this afternoon, but not long after I got in the yard work mood and cut all of the rose (not a very good one) and the honeysuckle cut down and took the arbor (white vinyl) apart and got the posts down all by myself.  And the front yard looks so much better!  The arbor went over the entry to the sidewalk that leads from our driveway to sidewalk, and it was looking old and yucky.  Now I have put a metal obelisk for the honeysuckle to climb on and will eventually dig up the old rose bush.

I also got a new post and bird feeder for my deck.  Hopefully this is up far enough so that the squirrels can't sit on the deck rail and pull the feeder to them and enjoy a nice leisurely meal ... as they could on the other post you will see in the next picture.  See the 'Tufted Titmouse' on the right hand side of the feeder?  I hope to see some woodpeckers on there to eat the suet soon as well.  The feeder holds 5.2 pounds of bird seed and two suet cakes.

See the 'shepherds hook feder (with the titmouse sitting on it) where the hummingbird feeder is hanging?  My birdseed feeders became the dining table for squirrels and I am hoping they won't be able to eat from this feeder.  See the white piece on the bottom part of the pole in the picture?  That is a 'baffle' that moves and should deter them from getting up the pole.

Isn't this a beautiful bloom?  It is from my 'tulip magnolia' tree ... it blooms in early spring before the leaves come out on the tree.  Some times it blooms in summer too, but not every year.

 

And there is a full view of the bush.  Do you see the white house across the street?  Those folks are the best neighbors we have!  They live full time in Florida and only come up here for a couple of weeks a year, usually in mid summer, and spend most of their time on Lake Lanier, so we don't see much of them then either!  They have hired a local man to keep their yard clean and check on their house from time to time.

 

Those beautiful blue blooms, and ....

... these beautiful blue blooms are on my gorgeous 'Tuscan Blue' rosemary bush, which is about 4 1/2 feet tall and about 5 to 6 feed across.  Rosemary plants love great drainage and eastern exposure with plenty of sun, and that is exactly what this one gets!

And yes, that is ONE rosemary bush!  Anyone want any fresh rosemary?  Just let me know!  In summer I like to cut larger stems, clean off the stems and wash them, then use them as skewers for meats and veggies on the grill.

 

 

And this little beauty may not look like much now, but where each of those little pink-ish buds is now, will be a tiny white bloom in big bunches, and the whole bush will look like a bride's bouquet.  It is a spirea bush, but Mama always called it 'Bride's Wreath', so that's what I call it too!   As a child I would take a couple of the long stems and weave them together for a flower crown.

As I said above, this has been a great weekend.  The best part was 'feeling like' doing yard work.  It has been way too long since I have done ANY of that because of the depression that has had a hold on me for way too long.  But things are so much better, and I am wanting to do things again that have always caused me so much joy.  Because I am now wanting to do yard work and cooking and enjoying my birds and so many other things that bring me joy, I am beginning to back away from some of my paper crafting 'duties'.  

As of the end of this month I will no longer be on the design teams for two wonderful companies, The Kraft Outlet and Basically Bare.  I have enjoyed my time working with them, but it is time to move on to other things.  I will still play with paper ... no doubt!  But now it will be because I want to, and not because I 'have to'!  But I also want to work on some other crafts that I haven't felt like working on in a while ... sewing, making felt ornaments, crocheting, and just whatever catches my fancy.  And that makes me happy, and that is always a good thing!  Blessings folks!