The Start of Every Morning

"Welcome every morning with a smile.
 Look on the new day as another
 special gift from your creator,
 another opportunity to complete
 what you were unable to do
 yesterday.  Be a self-starter.
 Let your first hour set the
 theme of success and positive
 action that is certain to echo
 through your entire day. Today
 will never happen again. Don't
 waste it with a false start or
 no start at all. You were not
 born to fail."

~ OS Mandino

At the start of every morning, I measure out coffee beans...

I give them a little twirl in the grinder...

I heat water and have the press waiting...

I pick a mug to use for the day...

and when the time is ready, I pour...

and enjoy the beginning of a new day.

Have a great Monday.xx

A Weekend Wish

"There is no beautifier
of complexion or form
of behavior like the
wish to scatter joy,
not pain, around us."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wishing everyone

a joyous weekend. xx

A First Carving

"Where the material ends,
  art begins."

~ Etienne Hajdu

It started with
a little bar of soap:
A first [art] carving:
A little [soap] nest:
One day he would
like to carve [marble]
statues to rival
Michelangelo:
I think he is off to
a wonderful start.xx

Socks: Complete Part 2

"Glory is the
shadow of virtue."

~Latin Proverb

Okay, here they are
in all their glory.xx
[HT: Lisa]

Socks: Complete

"With ordinary talent
and extraordinary
perseverance, all
things are attainable."

~Thomas Foxwell Buxton

I stayed up way past
my bedtime:
I have to play catch up
with my paper work:
My house needs a
good cleaning:
There is a basket
of laundry that
needs to be folded:
but I have socks to
wear that I knitted!

I have been trying to
attain this goal for
almost a year:
perseverance does
pay off. xx

Squirrels

And now, when comes the calm mild day, as still such days will come,

To call the squirrel and the bee from out their winter home;

When the sound of dropping nuts is heard, though all the trees are still,

And twinkle in the smoky light the waters of the rill,

The south wind searches for the flowers whose fragrance late he bore,
And sighs to find them in the wood and by the stream no more.


~ William Cullen Bryant

I caught them in

the act-

It was bad enough that

all of my pecans
were eaten.
Now it looks like
there will be no
Lady Bank roses
either.
They are lucky
they are so cute!
[pictures taken through
the dining room window].xx

Beyond 'Z'

"My alphabet starts with
 this letter called yuzz.
 It's the letter I use to
 spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz.
 You'll be sort of surprised
 what there is to be found
 once you go beyond 'z' and
 start poking around."

~Dr. Seuss

alphabet stickers
scrap book paper
a paper punch
glass stones
mod-podge
magnets

put it all together and
start poking around:
you will be surprised
what you can learn.xx