Award

Thank you Neda of papierscolles.blogspot.com who awarded the Thoughtful Blogger Award to my blog. It was very sweet of her and I will display it proudly under "my stuff". Neda's blog has won the Inspirational Blogger Award, and indeed she is a very inspirational person as well as a wonderful artist.

This award is the brain-child of Christy Z who said: "It was my hope to create an award series that would give unique, caring, brave, and positive bloggers the recognition they deserve". We are fortunate to have such selfless people in our world.

This award made my day!

Top 'n Tail For Katlynn

Here is my mama hen with her guinea babies that she hatched out settling into the very top of the pen. She is such a good mama and takes good care of her babies. She saves the best morsels of food for them and entices them by throwing it on the ground, then picking it up and shaking it. She hatched the eggs I gave her, then moved over to the next hen's nest and finished hatching that hen's too. You might notice that they are two different bunches.

Here is some tails of the baby guineas. They are such cute and interesting little creatures. The one on the far right is part of the second batch.

Inspiration / Aspiration

My inspiration was these "knockout" roses that I've seen every day at my work. They are heat tolerant, disease tolerant and just a joy to see as they bloom wave after wave.

My aspiration is to be able to grow these wonders in my own garden and enjoy them here too. My favorite digger is laid up with a broken leg and so I am valiantly trying to get them planted. I have 10 to plant, and 5 are planted! But, Lord, it is hot and steamy in East Texas in July!

Now

Here is the "now" picture as I promised when I lost then found my camera. It is amazing how a little crab apple tree grows in a few short years. I planted this tree because I wanted the fruits for the birds in winter, plus I wanted something that would bloom in spring. All in all I am satisfied with it and hope it grows to a ripe old age.

Cactus Peeps Where Are You?

The cactus peeps seem to have disappeared somewhat and new faces have appeared. Love Photoshop, it makes me an artist!

1. Open Image
2. Dry Brush
3. Accented Edges
4. Pinch

Fun! This was definitely fun!

Rima Is Grrrrreat and so am I

What a beautiful result with a minimum of effort:

1. Open Image
2. Rectangle Marquee
3. Crop
4. Colored Pencil
   

I am amazed at myself!

Yay!!

Found! Right where I put it, but not where it belonged!

Great Idea For Those Pesky Books

I found this great idea for our oversupply of books.. I've only given you a peek here, so click on the photo for the full sized photo or link for the full article where you will have to page through all the articles until you find it.

(originally from the May 2007 issue of Martha Stewart Living , the magazine loved by homemakers everywhere)

null, nothing, zero, blank, absent, zip, zilch, nada,void

I'm not able to post my entry today. I lost my camera somewhere...I hope I left it at work. I am getting so dad-gummed forgetful. My doctor says there is nothing I can do about it but you know, I just don't believe him and think I'll try someone else. In any case, I posted a photo of my wagon that was taken a few years ago. Keep an eye on the little sapling in the background and when I find my camera I'll show you what it looks like today!

For Todd

Todd, this is my 1995 Jeep Cherokee and I am the original owner. So eat your heart out! Wish the interior looked as good as the exterior, but the headliner is starting to go. I love my Jeep. Hubby wants me to "get rid of it" and get something new. Over my dead body :)

For Hannah

Here it is Hannah, just for you! My mailbox is pretty plain compared to Everything Hannah's recent post, and I can see that it needs a little creative work.

Indoors / Outdoors

How about some salsa tonight?

And enjoy the view while you are dining!

Buddah

I was inspired by this clipping of Buddha to create this new collage. I am enjoying cutting and pasting immensely but finding I must spend too much time in Photoshop fixing my carelessness. I must admit that I did not have nearly as many wrinkles this time, having used Debi's suggestion to rub the image with a soft cloth after applying. Next time I want to try some of Neda's hints about altering the image with various textures and colors.

Birthday Bash

Hanna's Mom is having a big one year blogging birthday celebration. She is giving away a book from her collection! So go there and make a comment to win!

p.s. If you like Colette Peter's books cake (above) check it out here.

Plughhhh

Sorry gang, but I've failed to get my photos in this week. Just ran out of time before the deadline. Busy working in the garden getting fertilizer put down. I'll try to catch up this next week.