HELLO?

Hello? Can you hear me? Tap, tap, tap.....
Is this thing on?  Testing....
 
I don't know what's happen to June, July and August, but I know that I've been very neglectful in visiting here. I could blame it on the fight I've been having with a funky weed in my lawn, but I'd be exaggerating just a bit because I let that funky weed win for now. (I'm planning on sneaking up on it when it gets cooler outside, but shhhhhhh..... don't tell...) It's sort of boring to blame my neglect on actual WORK, but that's gonna be my story. I'm not sure I know the difference between work and play, though, because I really love what I do and I do what I love! I'm getting ready to start an exciting project and will let that cat out of the bag once I get a good head start on it. I'll give a hint, though.....  It is something I heard about one day while watching an interview of a NOAA spokesperson on Fox News. Three days later I was floored when offered the design opportunity for this project! I'm a little bit more than a little bit excited and super enthused to be a part of this project! (can you tell?) So, if I'm not hanging out here for a while, it's only because I'm creating, designing, meeting deadlines. In other words, I'm having a ball!!
 
 Stay cool!
No.... seriously.... Get out of the heat!

Okay, My Face is Finally Dry!

Her Mother's Hope
by Francine Rivers

Once you've read one of Francine Rivers' books you will be hooked and you will have the need to read more. She is one of those authors that can capture your attention in the very first few pages and hold it until the very last word.  I discovered this in the late 1990s when a friend gave me a copy of Redeeming Love and I just couldn't put it down.  Since then I have read everything Francine Rivers has written, and she easily became one of my favorite authors.  Whenever I finish one of her books, I find myself floundering for a day or so with a sense of loss because the story has ended. After finishing all of her books several years ago, I have been anxiously await more.

Finally, after years of waiting, another novel was published -- Her Mother's Hope.  Over the past two weeks I have spent every spare moment being taken into this family saga, which is based on the story of a strong-willed, fighter-spirit mother and the daughter she fears may need tough love in order to find her place in the world because "only the strong survive."  Night after night I would read and cry, then read some some and cry some more.  I finished the book while sitting on the beach this past weekend and had my face towel ready for action.  (Good thing I brought the extra absorbent, super-strength version with me!)  Hallmark and Nicholas Sparks books/movies don't even turn my eyes into sprinklers like this book did!

Now I'll be counting the weeks and months until the sequel is released in November.  Can't wait!  (I think I'll need to get a Sop N' Mop first, though.)
 

All the Way From Canada!
(On family vacation in Florida)

It all began in this little nest ~ now abandoned.
 

- Click on thumbnail to view a larger image -

Oh, sssSNAP!
These just make me smile!  After a winter of dull and dormant landscaping colors, I'm always anxious to plant something colorful.  Snapdragons, petunias, and pansies are perfect garden choices here because they are cold-weather hearty enough to withstand an unexpected early spring frost.

I love my snapdragons almost as much as I love my awesome Canon camera!  They are now over three feet tall and happily bursting with bloom in all my front and backyard landscaping.  They'll last until early June, when I usually replace them with yellow bush daisies and red and pink pentas.

Express Yourself!

Little faces courtesy of my grandbabies.