Ballgames & More Ballgames

It seems like all I have done this summer is go to softball games.

Really it does!

All-Stars have been 3 games each week. . . . .

It is hot and muggy and very hard to be at the games. . . . .

But the reason I am there out weighs any discomfort.

2 of my little darlins' are playing

And Grandma needs to be there.

If you could see what my house looks like right now,

Oh, my goodness! You'd say "stay home"!Reason for my Summer of Softball
And this one too!

But I did have time this week to get in a project.
(proably why my house is a mess)
I rescued a beautiful doily.
Ya, I found it on the ground at the re-cycle bin. . . .
It was in bad shape. . . . . I brought it home
soaked it in Oxy-Clean
(it would make a good commercial for Oxy-Clean)
Fixed up some damage to it.

Sewed a pillow and put it on top of the pillow.
It is now part of the pillow collection on my bed. . .
Matches the blue in my bedroom just perfect.
I could have never left it there on the ground.
I am a crocheter and I knew
someone had spent time and
loving care to create such a beautiful
Work of Art
How could I not rescue it?
That is the problem with me with life in general . . . . .
Ya, I am a rescuer
I just hate to see things (and people) broken and in need of repair!
I want to bring them home and make them
beautiful again.

Louise - My Cousin

I love having Cousins

I have lots of them

But there are some that I am very close to

and I like a lot. . .

This is my cousin Louise

She is one I am close to and I like a lot.

(her Mom and my Grandpa were 1st cousins)

(My great-grandpa and her grandpa were brothers)

Louise

Is Talented, Can make ANYTHING!

she cooks, sews, embroderies and many other things

But

Most of ALL she is a GOOD Person,

Fun to be with

She likes to talk, and laugh and make things for me.

and always wants to make sure I

have a DIET COKE

She was sewing the day I was at her home.

I think she is always sewing something

and usually it is for someone else

never herself. . . . .

Her family is her life, she loves doing things for them.

Her husband, Richard, is very supportive of Louise and the girls

and they in turn are supportive of him

Her daughters are Brenda and Heather.

Heather is just as creative as Louise

Brenda is creative in a different way.

(I always like to ask her what new book she is reading.)

Louise has some beautiful things in her home.

She has a very "fine" eye for beauty.

She has an eye for color and texture.

I am always amazed at her nack for creating things.

Her stitiches and her work is very detailed and done to perfection!

Louise's Grandpa was my

great-great-uncle

(my great-grandpa's brother)

His name was Uncle Arthur

He was a gentle kind man

He was talented!

He could carve wood

He made the most beautiful carvings of Indians and horses.

This long stick is something that he carved.

The detail is beautiful. . .

(I wish my camera could do it justice)

It is solid walnut.

These are some of the things Louise has made

She does beautiful counted-cross-stitch.

She is the one that got me started doing it.

I have several things she has done.

She loves to give her creations to others. . . .

Very fine detailed work!


Heather was born on the 4th of July
so the house is really decorated for the 4th.
Also Heather's bedroom is decorated in Americana
and 4th of July things.
She has a great collection of July 4th
Because everyone has given her presents that go along with that theme.


Heather has a very cretive eye.
She does the cutest cards
That is for another day!


Pillows in Heather's room
Notice the cute Beanie Bears. . . .
I think they have every Beanie that came out
Really I do!


This is Louise's Mother's Rocking Chair.
Louise doesn't know how old it is,
but Aunt (I call her Aunt) Flossie (Florence)
would be over 100 years old if she were alive.
Aunt Flossie also had the creative genius
she made the most beautiful quilts
all pieced and hand quilted
There is a beautiful needle point on this chair that Aunt Floss did
(I don't have a picture of it.)


"Happy Everything" is so pretty!

Another 4th of July pillow



Louise decorates her shelf according to holidays.
I will show it to you in October, November,
and December is unbelievably pretty!



Louise loves Roosters
This is the top of her cupboards.
Did I tell you she also cans everything from the garden
Tomatoes, fruits, vegitables, and jams.
(hundreds of jars)
And her salsa is to die for!

Oh, I tell you she is one talented lady.
She cooks wonderful food, cans, sews, crafts and a zillion other things.
She makes you feel very welcome
whenever you come to her HOME. . . .
I love to be with Louise
She inspires me!
She is just a GOOD SOUL
one in a million.
I am so glad we are related.
Thankful for Cousins like Louise!

Never Enough Hours In A Day

There just never seems to be enough hours in the day

I really think time is going faster. . . .

Does anyone feel the same way I do?

I feel rushed from morning til night!

And I can never get everything I want to do

in the day I want to do it, done.

It is July 26th and

I hate to say it but

The Summer Is Almost Over!

Where has it gone?The Young Women in my ward left this morning for

Girls Camp

High in the Wasatch Mountain.

They will spend about 5 days

doing all kinds of activities. . . .

I don't go! I don't like camping!
They have to have a "mail box"

for their camp

A sweet couple in the Ward

John and MaryBeth

made this cleaver, adorable

mail box

Isn't it cute?

(just wanted to share that with you)

There is something else I wanted to share with you

Yesterday I received the

"One Lovely Blog Award"

from another blogger.

I was so surprised and humbled!

What a nice thing to receive.
It is for my other blog

The one I do all of my crafts on

http://karieschiccreations.blogspot.com/

I hope you will go to

Karie's Chic Creations

Look at the things I do

and leave a comment if you would like

Hope you have a

Blessed

Peaceful Day

Sabbath Reflection

Remember the Sabbath Day

and Keep It Holy BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

I Am A Daughter of Utah Pioneers

I am a proud daughter of Utah Pioneers

My ancestors on all sides of my family tree

came to this beautiful part of the world

for religious freedom.

My family history reads like the history of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.My beloved ancestors

traveled the great plains

forged rivers,

and traversed the

mighty Rocky Mountains

They suffered great trials and heartache

All in the name of Faith in

what they believed to be true

and for the freedom

to worship as they believed.

They traveled by wagons, hand-carts and on foot.

Suffering both physically and emotionally.

Some were part of the tragic

Martin & Willie Handcart Company.

Others were part of the rescue team to save the stranded Saints.

Death, sickness, hardships and pain

all in the name of their religion. . . .

They did this all for themselves

And most of all for

US!

That someday WE could have a better life

a life of truth, justice, and beauty. . . . .

A life built upon

FAITH

HARD WORK

TRUST

and most of all

LOVE

My ancestor helped to make the Desert Blossom Like A Rose

They were the builders. . . .

They helped colonize this vast Great Salt Lake Desert

They brought water and crops and cattle and sheep to the desert land

They built Churches

Schools and Towns

and most importantly

They built

Homes

Homes where children could grow and learn and work and play and learn

right from wrong.

Homes where the Word of God was taught and lived.

Homes that prayed

Loved the Lord

and Loved their country.

My Ancestors had Faith In Every Footstep
My deepest love to my families

The Pioneers

DALEY

BEDDOES

PICKERING

DANIELS

NEBEKER

SPENCER

TAYLOR

SIMONDS

HALES

EWING

WRIGHT

WIGHTMAN

SALISBURY

VAN WAGONER

DIXON

NORTON

MCDANIELS

GRAHAM

I Am Almost Finished - - - Quartrefoil Stool

TA DA!

This is what my little stool (with personality)

is looking like. . .

I couldn't be happier with the out-come!

We did it!

Me and My Stool

transformed something ugly

to something beautiful!

The Stool has gone through quite a transformation process!

It has been 2 hot long days for both of us.

She looks good even without the

Quartrefoil Design,

But I wanted more for her. . . .Bless my little Stools soul

it has been through a lot!

The dreaded sanding, then priming and painting

We both grew impatient with the

drying process! She came from DI (the thrift store)

She didn't cost very much,

This is what she looked like when I first saw her. . . .

But, I knew the minute I saw her

she could turn into something

BEAUTIFUl

She isn't quite finished yet.
I still need to go over her with a fine artist brush
straighten out the lines of the pattern
and correct any jagged lines.
The the poly-stuff goes on her
Just to protect her finish.

Dang, I am excited!
I did it
I copied Jen at
Tattor Tots & Jello
and I pulled it off!

Painting & More Painting

I am not going to tantalize you with a picture,

I am just going to tell you

I am

Painting

&

Added more painting. . .. . . .

I hope to show you tomorrow,

I am so excited to start on the details of it

I can't sleep tonight!

It has been one hot day here in the West Desert of Utah

I have been painting on my little patio.

I have sanded, primed and painted

2 seperate projects.

It is something I have been waiting to do.

Something I saw on another Blog

and thought

"Hmmmmmm, maybe I can do that, just maybe.

So I found the right object at the one and only

place to find cheap objects

DI.

(love that place, I find the neatest things)

I have debated on the color

finally I had it all picked out in my mind.

Now I had to find it at the paint store (Wal-Mart)

Sanding, priming and painting

takes a long time.

You have to wait for paints to dry.

And the little object took 3 coats of 2 different paint colors.

But,

tomorrow morning, when it is cool and nice.

I will put the finishing touches on my project

I promise I will show pictures and tell you about how I did it.

Right now my life is kind of consumed in softball games and DIY projects

I have decided that doing DIY projects is so fun because it is the

thrill of finding just the right thing to do the project

and the thrill of accomplishing something you created.

That's how it is to shop at thrift stores, (DI)

It is the thrill of the hunt

and finally finding something that is totally out of the ordinary

and to make it all worth it , the price is cheap.

Among all the things I like and collect. . ..

I like books, especially old books.

While at DI the other day I came across some very old books.

Like 1927, 1932, 1937

Someone must have been cleaning out their parents or grandparents house.

These books had been given to someone, because'

there were inscriptions on the inside of the book.

I liked the looks of the tattered yellowed books

it told me that the books had been loved.

Someone liked reading them, over and over again.

The books were not only full of information but they had

Charm and personality.

I was immediately drawn to them.

I only bought 4 books

and I wish I had bought more

(I may go back and see if anymore are there)

I have this weird thinking that inate things have personalities!

I know, it is weird! I agree!

The furniture I pick up at DI, or other thrifty places and especially "road kill"

I think, I am drawn to it because for some strange reason they want to come to my home

and be part of my life. They want me to fix them up and make them pretty.

And in the case of books, they want me to enjoy their words as they tell me a story or

impart knowledge to me.

All this "stuff" I have acquired in my many years of life

are like friends to me. Some things hold such tender memories there is no way

I could ever part with it . . . . .

I believe in enjoying the "stuff" I have. Love it, place it where you can see it.

where you can enjoy its personality and charm!

Weird, I know! But that is how I am !