Mosaic Monday!

A few weeks ago, I helped some friends to learn the very basics in mosaic.   I made a couple stepping stones while helping them work on their projects.  

The kids love this one....I just don't know where to put it yet.  The grout is actually a bright yellow but it was hard to see on such a sunny day.

this one is already in the yard being used...it is much easier to step on it than the mulch when barefoot! 

I have 2 more stepping stones to finish......better get to work!

RYLA

The last few weeks of July were busy for the kids.   
One week Matt attended RYLA and had a wonderful time!  It is a youth leadership program for upcoming seniors in high school.  Matt was given a scholarship through the Rotarian Club.    
When he came home, he said that it was the kind of place that changed your life and that he wished every kid had the chance to go.  



They interspersed fun stuff with serious business of fundraising, service projects and just talking about their future plans.

They started off with a seminar about Rachel's Challenge.  Rachel Joy Scott was the first Columbine victim all those years ago.


To learn more, visit Rachel's Challenge.


They had relays....
 
One evening, the guys had to put on a runway fashion show....all the "clothes" were made out of paper!

saying goodbye......



Before hitting the road to pick Matt up, I had to drop Kaela off for a church retreat at OWL.  



They had Bible studies, did team building and helped with massive clean up from last year's Hurricane Issac. 



Here she is in the maze...I'd recognize that hair anywhere!




She came back covered in bug bites, exhausted...and happy!  

July stashbusting!

I started a blanket for the upcoming cooler weather.....at least I hope it is!

I am making it with Aunt Lydia's rug yarn which has been discontinued.  I WISH I could still find it in stores. buying it through ebay and etsy puts a hurt on my budget!
It is not a soft yarn but the blankets always have a nice weight to them and they are SUPER warm.   We love to keep the house cold when going to bed so these are perfect for layering.   I made many of these in the 70's and 80's for friends and family but never made one for myself which I always regretted!  Now I am remedying that!   

Mosaic Monday

A couple of my friends wanted to learn the basics of mosaic...so they came to my house for a couple days a few weeks ago.

 We were lucky that the weather was decent while we were bashing tiles.  Eventually, it became too hot so we went inside to finish working on our projects.

The tiling took two days and then a few days to dry.  They came back over on Friday and we grouted everything!

Both ladies made saucer type bird baths.  Julie made a sunflower...

and Jeanine made a bowl of daises, with a little frog!  The yellow had a glare on it...sorry about that. It was REALLY bright out!

  
I'll be posting what I made for my own yard next Monday.

berroco medley scarf

Remember this scarf?  I made it in 2005 after seeing one like it in The Bourne Supremacy.

The yarn was hard to find because it was discontinued but I eventually found it in one of those yarn warehouses online.

My sister has been wanting one like it for as long as I can remember but as hard as I looked, I could never find the yarn again.

Until now!

Once I joined Ravelry, I began looking for it there.  Five people had it in their stash and one of them was willing to sell it to me!  Total time invested in constant searching looking for the yarn and buying it?  ONE YEAR!

Isn't it lovely!

and now I have this gorgeous scarf....

If you ever need to find discontinued yarn, you really should check out Ravelry first!

FREEDOM!

  Gunter, riding away........trying to get back to Wonderland. 

Basil harvest....and basil cheese bread.

Summer is in full swing here and I've been really busy with the family and yard.  

Last week, I made 4 pounds of my basil butter and 4 trays of my basil/olive oil ice cubes.   The process only takes a few moments, but harvesting the leaves seems to take forever.  I only planted 3 plants this year but 4 had self sown in the garden over the summer so now I have 7 plants to harvest from!  I have a few friends who enjoy this stuff and they were more than pleased to be gifted some of each.

Kaela helped me with the butter and when we got to the end, there was a little bit left.  Not enough to freeze but too much to throw away.  So, what to do?

ummm...slather the butter onto some rolls ...

then top with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese ...

then broil...and enjoy!

Oh my goodness, it is so good.

If you want to make your own, let your basil butter come up to room temp to use.  It only takes a minute since the butter is frozen into sheets.

Look how sweet this wreath is!

I put a simple wreath on the gate a few months back and the Morning Glory has slowly taken it over.  I love how it still maintains a wreath shape all by itself.  Maybe I'll help it along this week by clipping a few leaves here and there......

back into the garden I go.....