Making Lemonade

Thank you Cat's Wire for awarding me the Lemonade Stand Award! What a fun surprise. Cat told me that this award is for bloggers who show, "great attitude and gratitude." This is something that I really appreciate; it's important to me to do what I can to try and see the best in the world and share it. So this award really means a lot to me. Now . . . who to pass it on to?

First up, I have to choose Debby. She is facing some very difficult circumstance, and she is doing it with a very large measure of grace and thankfulness. She is an inspiration to me; her faith continues strong in the face of so very many difficulties.

Next up, Scarlett at The Beader's Muse. Scarlett is an inspiring young woman who is reaching for the stars and actually catching some of them!

I'm going to stretch the rules a bit on my third award. Debby Sweet isn't a blogger, but only because she really doesn't have the time. She spends virtually every minute of her waking hours rescuing dogs that have been abandoned or abused, teaching them that the world is a good place, and finding loving homes for them. Here's to you, sis!

Next up is Kathy. Go check out her backyard video and you'll see what I mean about her attitude and gratitude!

Those are my picks! I hope you enjoy visiting all these wonderful and special women.

Has it really been that long?

I've been heads-down, working. In the garden, and at the beads; I had someone ask me if the Wireless Tutorial could be extended into a bracelet, and, after a few tries, I had to say, no . . . but the idea intrigued me, and I couldn't stop until I made it happen! I finished the tutorial this morning and listed it on Etsy. (click on the picture to got there)

I'm really enjoying writing tutorials; I can't believe how much fun it is! It makes me feel a LOT less guilty about all the things I make; after all, I have to try out a lot of things to figure out the best way to make it.

Stay tuned . . . I'm working on a fancier bangle.

Tomatoes, Peppers and Marigolds

Yup, that's what I did today! I assembled the tomato cages (don't you just love brand new tomato cages?), planted six tomato plants, twelve peppers (six bell, and six Hungarian) and two dozen marigolds, a dozen each of yellow and orange.

The marigolds are supposed to keep the hornworm population down on the tomatoes; they're supposed to confuse the moth. But I'd plant them even if they didn't; they're so cheerful. I love flowers in my vegetable garden.

Next up: squash and beans.

Cheesy

I have a confession to make: I love cheese. Give me a soft, gooey, fragrant cheese with a gazillion calories per bite and I'm in hog heaven. Add a loaf of kalamata olive bread, and it just doesn't get any better than that. Unless, of course, I can add an ice-cold beer or a glass of red wine.

The simple pleasures are the best.

Gotta love it!

I've been lagging a bit on writing tuts; I'd been working on a pair of earrings, had lots of notes, but just wasn't getting around to writing them up and drawing diagrams.

So I set myself a challenge today: Get It Done.

It took a marathon writing and drawing session (all day, pretty much!) but I did it. The tut is done and in my Etsy Shop, and I feel great about it. It is such a good feeling to get things accomplished!