Five Favorites

1.  Sauteed Okra ~ I'm a southern girl who grew up eating fried okra.  Delish!  But alot of trouble and probably too greasy for me today.  But after reading that you can grill okra and it's delicious and non-slimy, I decided to try sauteeing it.  I left it whole, used minimal oil, and in just a couple of minutes it was done and soooo good!  Looking forward to the next batch of okra I pick from my little garden!

2.  My evening walks include this little lake in the neighborhood.  Loved the sky this particular night.

3.  Boy Doll ~ Our only granddaughter, Eloise, is getting a baby brother this Fall!  She is such a good mommy to her dollies, and spends lots of time tucking them in for naps, I asked her Mama if I could look for her a baby boy doll for her for when brother arrives.  It took some doing, but I found this sweet, soft little boy doll...he's so huggable!

I made him a knit blanket and put him in the mail this week.  Her Mama will save him for when she goes to the hospital for the birth.  I hope this little doll will help her with the adjustment of a new baby in the family.  I know she will feed him, doctor him, and tuck him in for lots of naps while singing "You Are My Sunshine."  I think she will love that he has a paci.  :)

4.  New Paints ~ As I have taken some watercolor painting lessons, (and have tons of practicing to do to be able to not giggle at my attempts,) I decided to buy the paint set the teacher recommends.  

Winsor & Newton's student set of paints only set me back $15 with a coupon for the art store in town, and I'm already a big fan.  Making the color chart above with the paints, I can already tell that the pigment is much richer than the set I was using.  When these little paint cakes get used up, I can buy tubes of that color and refill the pans, which will dry into cakes.  

This little whimsical bird was my latest attempt, with my old paints.  Yes, you can giggle at him.  :)

It's a treat when I have a quiet afternoon and can pull out my paints and play.

5. Face Timing with Granddarlings ~ All of our little grands live about 6 hours away, so I'm very thankful for Face Time and Skype.  I  like to have some fun stuff set out to use during our video chats, as they love to see things at Mimi's house.  Face timing with Eloise yesterday was so fun as she loves my Charlie Brown.  I wrapped him in a blanket (like her dolls), had him snack on play food, and then we looked at my old Eloise Wilkens book about the little girl who gets a new doll and a new baby brother. Ellie made playdoh cakes and cookies to feed Charlie through the screen.  Sweet memories made over the distance.  

Thank you for stopping by today!  
Enjoy your last weeks of summer!

Blessings,
Donna

Seven Sweet Things

Hello, friends!  So much has been happening around here the past month, so writing has been on the back burner.  I'm done traveling for the summer now, so am catching my breath and regrouping before school starts.  Here are a few fun blessings from the past few weeks.  :)

1)  Backing up a bit to June, I wanted to share the fun Father's Day cards I made for our Dads.  I found a site online that will let you create a word search using words that you plug in.  It arranges them all, and even lets you set if you want the words to only go forward, which I did.  These words are all things to pertain to my father in law.  I loved personalizing the cards with just the touch of a key.

2)  I love fresh grapefruit.  But cutting between all the sections, the way our parents did it was too much trouble.  So glad to figureout that you can just cut a grapefruit in slices, like an orange, and enjoy it immediately!  Pink grapefruit is sweet and delicious.  They are even good to cut up and add in a fruit salad.  Give it a try.

3)  June also allowed me to spend time with all 3 of our granddarlings.  Little Eloise is getting a baby brother this Fall!  And Carson and Sawyer are enjoying each other more and more as Sawyer is more mobile now.  Love these girls and their darlings!

4)  After searching for a necklace to go with several new summer coral colored outfits, and coming up short for just the right thing, I decided to search for a pendant to go on my long sterling silver chain.  Surprisingly, I found a great pendant with coral, cream, and turquoise in it for 50% off at JoAnns, of all places!  For $5 I got a 'new' necklace.  Going to be looking for more pendants to go with other outfits, too.  Alot less expensive than buying multiple necklaces.  And I can layer a shorter silver chain and smaller pendant with it, for a double look.

5)  In July, our daughter and family came for 3 wonderful days.  This was the first time I had to baby proof the house for Sawyer!  I love this sweet photo of him peeking at my Dad.  :)

My darling grandboys. 

6)  Walking in our country neighborhood has been one of my favorite parts of the summer.  The minute I'm on my way, I feel like I can deep breathe...physically, spiritually, and mentally.  I try to walk 2-3 miles a day, and find sunset to be the most enjoyable time of the day.  There is usually a little breeze, and the hot sun has gone behind the houses.  The farm fields are so beautiful!

The little neighborhood lakes often have mallards, herons, or geese nearby.  

This lot is one of my favorites...the house has a farm field right behind their house and the corn is gorgeous this year.  The sky at dusk is gorgeous here.

And counting baby bunnies along the way is part of my fun.  Lots this year.  Can you tell I love wildlife and nature? ;)

7)  I've gotten to do something on my bucket list this summer...take some watercolor painting classes.  I don't have a natural eye for painting, so I'm going to have to practice.  Alot!  But it's been fun to learn some techniques and I'm looking forward to learning more.

There's more!  But I'll save it for next time.
Thank you for stopping by!
Enjoy these last days of July, and take care....

Blessings,
Donna