April 30, 2020

 Another artist friend from the online group I mentioned a few days ago, Pam,

sent me this card...

her designs are classic and I love them.

But this card is not the only thing she sent...

 ...she included something pretty priceless these days!

Her design includes a pocket for a filter...

she recommends a folded coffee filter.

We've got one more month of school,

and then I'm going to break out my sewing machine

and try my hand at making one of these.

I'm breaking out in a sweat just thinking about it,

but I really want to try.

Wish me luck.  :)

April 29, 2020

 Today is Jed's last day of the homeschool program he's been in this year.

He had exams today, 

and yesterday his director dropped off his exam papers on our front porch.

What Jed was dreading turned into a delight 

when he saw what she did to sweeten the experience.

His favorite part was this shirt - he loves geeky tshirts! :)

April 28, 2020

Happy Birthday, Mom!

April 27, 2020

 Another walk in the golden evening.

April 26, 2020

I am amazed how much shade there is outside!

I had forgotten what a spring with trees is like.  :)

April 25, 2020

 I was blessed to find myself part of an online artists' group after meeting 

(in real life)

a lovely, lively, graceful and generous woman named Gloria Page, 

living in the same town as we were in Missouri.

She had written a book about making art your living,

and a group of artists pursuing that dream created the group

to encourage and support one another in their pursuits.

Debbie, the artist I mentioned yesterday, was a part of that group,

and she was so kind to me as a whole new world of art opened up before my eyes,

things I didn't know anyone was doing.

I was completely captivated.

Stephanie, the maker of this birthday card, was another of the artists in that group.
She really outdid herself with this card.

April 24, 2020

 Today is my birthday,

although it doesn't feel much like a time for celebrating.

My very talented artist friend Debbie sent me a card that made me laugh out loud,
which is much appreciated these days.

Click on the image to enlarge it,

and be sure to read the Bible verse first.  :)

April 23, 2020

This set was given to me years ago by a sweet friend in Maine.

For years it held dish soap and hand soap...

they were different colors so I could tell them apart.

But now that I'm washing my hands a hundred times a day,

the hand soap has been replaced with hand lotion.

I cannot tell you how happy my hands are about that!  :)

April 22, 2020

This is what Jed's homeschool program class day looks like now.

His phone is propped up against that basket
and he's talking with his classmates on Zoom.

After today's class, he has only one more - 

exams are next week.

Then we're on our own for a month to finish out the school year.

April 21, 2020

Beautiful trees in the golden hour this evening.

April 20, 2020

I love the post office...

letter carriers are some of my favorite people!

but this is kind of baffling...

we received this card in the mail today that was returned because the address I used was incorrect.

But get this...

it was a Christmas card I sent in 2018! 

Where in the world has it been all that time??!!

UPDATE
I was just addressing a new envelope to send this card on,
hoping the recipient would find it as incredible as I do,
when I noticed the date on the card -
it's not 2018 -
it's 2017!!
What??  :)

April 19, 2020

Both of the little plants I bought for trees in our resurrection garden

are sprouting new leaves!

I'm not too good with plants, so I'm pretty happy about that.

April 18, 2020

The sky has been so pretty lately!

April 17, 2020

 This is a bittersweet day.

Jed is doing the last week of regular school work in the 

Classical Conversations program,

for this school year, and maybe forever.

He has projects and exams till the end of the month,

then we have another month of work on our own to finish out this school year.

This is his 4th year of CC, and May is always my favorite month,

when we get to choose the work we do and the subjects we study because CC is over for the year.

Jed finished two of his subjects for this school year today.

Biology was the first one to fall,

and he is genuinely sorry it's over.

He's loved this book,

and wants me to read it,

so that's going to be my summer reading.

The next subject he completed was Latin.

He's not entirely sorry about finishing this one,

but after four challenging years of Latin study,

knowing he might not ever get back to it is a little strange.

In North Carolina, high school juniors and seniors can take community college classes

and get credit for them at both the high school and college level.

They're free, and students can graduate high school with an associate's degree

and two years of college under their belts if they take enough classes.

The week in March that our local community college planned a meeting 

for homeschooled high schoolers interested in dual enrollment,

the community college classes were cancelled and the campus was shut down.

I'm not sure what will happen in the fall,

but hopefully the classes will at least be available online.

If he takes a full load,

I will no longer be a homeschooling mom.

We've been doing this for 12 years...

a year of preschool,

kindergarten,

then 10 years of regular school.

This week, this month, next month...

then what?

April 16, 2020

Jed and I escaped the house for a long drive this afternoon.

He needs to be getting his driving hours in to qualify for his license in October,

and with less traffic on the road,

it seems a good time for a novice driver to hit the highway.

Plus it was beautiful out, and we've been inside such a long time.

We took the highway quite a ways, 

and then very windy back country roadsquite a ways further.

It was glorious.

 When we got home, there was a bag hanging on our front door.

Our sweet next door neighbor, Barb, 

left these for me to play with while we're cooped up.

If I had had something this fun to do before we left,

I wouldn't have needed that drive.  :)

April 15, 2020

I am amazed how quickly the trees have leafed out!

April 14, 2020

As I mentioned recently, we've been trying to eat more fruit around here.

Not much is prettier than an orange slice held up in the sunshine.

Look at that little drop of orange juice hanging on for dear life!  :)

April 13, 2020

I bought a few of these glasses years ago at World Market
and have loved using them.

This is the last surviving glass.

It's only a matter of time before it too joins its fellows

and then I'll be relegated to plastic

(and that awesome tiny green cut glass I found back in February)

April 12, 2020

Happy Easter!

April 11, 2020

I grew up eating stuffed peppers under extreme duress...

large green peppers stuffed with seasoned hamburger.

I used to beg my dad to eat the green pepper for me,

and he usually obliged.

I'm still not a big fan of green peppers, but I love, love, love

mini peppers in red, orange and yellow

stuffed with cream cheese and sauteed onions.

April 10, 2020

I needed to go to the grocery store this week, and the post office,

but when I went to start my car, it wouldn't.

My husband tried to jump my car and nearly started a fire.

I finally called AAA for a jump,

and they conveniently had a new battery on their truck they were willing to sell me. :)

After disinfecting the car and letting it sit a long while,

I finally set out for the grocery store and the post office this morning.

Although I've been trying to wean myself off of it,

I still need the GPS sometimes, 

and the drive from the PO to the grocery store was one of those times.

Only my GPS isn't working.

I think my husband fried it the other night.

So here's the tally over the past month:

my computer died

my car died

my GPS died.

And my new (used) computer isn't working well.

But we're all healthy thus far

and we have food in the fridge.

That's worth way more than any device.

And even if we weren't all healthy thus far

and we didn't have food in the fridge,

we would still have a Saviour

Who would have rather died than live without us.

I can't imagine why,

but I am forever grateful.

April 9, 2020

This is a cauliflower au gratin dish I made recently.

I'm not a fan.

I love cheese, but this is too cheesy.

The only saving grace is the green onions.

April 8, 2020

Another beautiful cloud today!
The tree on the right in this pic is the same tree
on the left side of the pic I posted just two days ago...
it's amazing what a difference a couple of warm, sunny spring days can make.

April 7, 2020

This is the new computer.

Argh!

April 6, 2020

Jed noticed these beautiful clouds today.

April 5, 2020

Our azalea bush is blooming!!

April 4, 2020

Our lovely next door neighbor baked chocolate chip banana nut bread today

and shared with us.

I'm usually the neighbor who bakes and shares...

it's nice to have neighbors like that!  :D

April 3, 2020

The late-afternoon sun hit this white-bloomed tree beautifully.

The green in these trees was dreamy in this golden hour.

April 2, 2020

 Today was a real celebration of animals,

starting with this little critter.

There was a tiny, very shallow puddle of water on the front porch that he was enjoying.

Till I showed up, anyway.  :)

 If you click on the above image to enlarge it,

you can see his tiny tongue.  :)

 I've never seen a squirrel with its eyes closed!

 These are my next door neighbors and the neighbors from down the street,

who are replacing my next door neighbors' deck.

Just not right at this moment.  :)

The neighbors from down the street are the happy family of Bella,

who gets the honor of starring in the rest of the photos.