Home Tour Tuesday- Daddy's Hands

Dad in his shop

Since Daphne left us to do "our own thing" today, I thought that you might like to see some of the  items I have in my home  that were handcrafted by my Dad.  Dad is 81 years old and has been working with wood for 60+ years.  He is a perfectionist and the finish on his work is "smooth as a baby's behind." ~grin~

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This is first item that my Dad ever made for me.  It was a Hope Chest made of solid walnut and lined with cedar.  If you look very, very closely you may can see where he routed out my name and a heart shape on the cedar lining the top. This was my gift for high school graduation 41 years ago. Yikes, has it really been that long ago????

He made this cradle when I was expecting our first child, his first Grandchild.  It is also made of walnut and is an antique reproduction.  It is a stunning piece.

This is a 10 minute timer made of mahogany. It has been quite the conversation piece over the years as it sits in our family room. 

This plant stand is made of walnut also and makes a lovely place for plants or other decorative pieces.

About 6 years ago he made me two of these columns out of walnut to go on either side of our fireplace.  They are gorgeous and make such a statement.  There is a lot of details to them that I'm not sure you can see in this photo.

 

The cross and the Fleur-de-Lis are wall pieces and both are made of walnut.


I treasure each of these items and they will certainly be heirlooms to pass down from generation to generation.  Dad has been fighting the effects of Macular Degeneration for several years and it gets increasingly more difficult for him to work in his shop.  But, due to familiarity, he is still able to spend happy hours being creative and I pray he will for whole lot longer.  


He is a retired Southern Baptist Minister and spent over 50 years in the ministry. He's often said that he enjoys working "in the Word and in the wood."  Makes for a dynamic combination for a dynamic man that I proud to call DAD.

For more HTT, click on the button above and tour away. May your Tuesday be terrific!

Miscellany Monday

It's Monday and time for our sweet Carissa who hosts us each Monday so we can share our random thoughts.  Click the button above if you want to read others.

{1} Safe Arrival

Bridget and Clancy pulled out Saturday morning around 5:15 and we all did pretty good.  I think it was really good that Hubby and I were still half asleep and perhaps we weren't fully aware of what was about to happen. ~smile~  They arrived yesterday afternoon around 1:00PM at their new home town of, Dodge City and they had a husband and Daddy that was mighty glad to see them.  I pray that the Lord will surround them with folks that will love them and reach out to them as they make the necessary adjustments to a new place.

{2} Sleep Sound

Are you like me and like to have some type of noise when you sleep at night?  If so, this little "jewel" above is the answer.  It is the most wonderful gadget!  It makes a soothing sound of air blowing and you can make several adjustments to the sound.  I love it!  Now, I can't stand the sound machines that have the ocean waves, birds chirping and so forth. That's more like racket to me. ~wink~ And, it's small enough to fit right into your suitcase when you travel.

{3} Mother's Day Project

 Okay, Moms and anyone else interested in doing a Mother's Day project with young children.  The gal that keeps my two Grans (well, she will only be keeping our Princess now) did this project with them last week and their Momma's just about had a fit.

Is that not the cutest!  It is on a mounted board that she got from Hobby Lobby or Michael's.  Just dip their little hands and feet in the paint and before you know it, you'll have a lovely flower.  Thought some of you might be looking for ideas and might like this one.

{4} A thoughtful friend

I was here on Saturday after Bridget and Clancy had left just a cleaning and a cleaning.  Cleaning always serves to be therapeutic for me and besides that, my house definitely needed a big time cleaning after last week.  The door bell rang around mid-morning and when I opened the door the arrangement in the picture above was handed to me.  One of my dear friends  sent them to say she was thinking of me in a special way that day and wanted to send a ray of sunshine my way.  Now, what a special treat and what a very thoughtful action.  I'm blessed to have some of the best friends in all the world!

{5} Different prom attire

This is the daughter of one of my husband's office staff.  She came by to show us her prom dress this past Sat. evening and one thing for sure, I doubt she had to worry about anyone else having on a dress like hers.  If this is what "floats your boat" then I say, "more power to you" and Katelynn was quite proud of her look and said she liked being herself.  Hey, can't knock that!

She had seen the dress on the internet for $975 (yep, that's right) but her Mom found someone to make it and with the fabric (and believe it or not, it's satin)  and labor she has $250 in the dress.  Still a lot of money, but about 1/4 of the cost of the one she patterned it by.  You just can't beat these Southern Gals! ~laugh~

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouraging words these past weeks as we have prepared for Bridget's move.  We are now in the process of finding our "new normal" and moving on with our lives and we will all adjust. And, we're blessed to have our Princess and her Dad and Mom nearby to share in our lives and us in theirs. There's always a sliver lining to every cloud. ~grin~

May you all be blessed with a wonderful week!

Packed and Ready to Go

Good Morning Girlfriends!  Grab a quick cup of coffee and come on it.  Things are very, very busy around here so this will be a short post this morning.  But, did want to connect with you today in some "  shape, form or fashion."    


The moving van arrived at our daughter's house on Wed. and this is what it has looked like over there.

 

 

Do you know how grateful that all of us are that professional movers are taking care of this entire move for them?  Can I just say, it is wonderful to sit back and watch them "  do their thing."    They definitely know what they are doing and how to do it quickly and efficiently. They just require that one family member be present while they are working, so we've all taken our turns at "  sitting and watching."   You know, I almost felt guilty watching them.  I'm not use to that, I'm use to being in on the action! ~smile~


Very early tomorrow morning Bridget and Clancy will will be leaving, heading to their new home in Dodge City, Kansas where Clint will be awaiting them.  I pray travel mercy over them and will be glad to hear the words, "  I've arrived"   on Sunday.  She will be staying with her inlaws tomorrow evening and it is wonderful that they are almost exactly half way between us and Dodge City.


Yes, good-byes such as this are not easy, but we will be fine.  We will miss them terribly, but will look forward to our Skype visits and phone calls to keep us connected in-between our "  real visits."
I have to remind myself of all the things that could be so much worse and that puts it all in perspective.  I will do my best to hold back those tears until they are gone.  I do not want them to leave with tears, so you guys pray that we can all hang on.  And, as I said, we will be fine, it's just getting through the initial leave.

In the meantime I'll hold the memories of these past 10 months of having them near very close to my heart.  Happy weekend to my dear blogging buddies!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's Wednesday and that means it's time to join up with Joyce for our Hodgepodge questions.  She always comes up with such neat questions and we all have a good time answering them.  Off we go!

1. What is something that bothers you if it is not done perfectly?

Well, there are lots of things but one in particular  would be the way my dishwasher is loaded.  I doubt there's another person that would put this, but, I'm weird that way. ~smile~

2. What is one of your best childhood memories?

 During my early childhood we did not have a lot of extra money, but if we ever had any extra, many Saturday evenings would find us at the Dairy Queen.  It was there that I always got "a cone with a curl on top."  That is what I started calling their ice cream cones when I was just a little girl and I have the fondest memories of our trip as a family to the DQ. 

3. Do you plan to watch the Royal Wedding and when was the last time you wore a hat? I will probably turn it on when I get up and will watch "bits and pieces" of it, but I will not "zoned in" to it.  I imagine we'll be hearing about it for the next month so anything I might miss seeing I'll certainly catch later.  

The last time I wore a hat was last summer when Hubby and I went fishing. ~grin~  I really love the look of hats but I've never felt like I was a "hat gal."  But, hey it's not too late, so who knows, maybe I'll become a "hat gal." ~wink~

4. Where do you fall in the birth order in your family? Do you think this has influenced your personality? I am the firstborn and  I am very much a leader and have always been very responsible.  I don't suppose this always holds true of a firstborn but everything I have read supports this assertion. 

5. Where do you think you spend most of your money? Well, if you looked through my Quickbooks account you would see that most of my checks seem to be written to Wal-Mart.  It is the main store here in our little town and I buy groceries, toiletries and  lots of other household items there.  Hubby is always saying he should have bought WM stock. ~smile~

6. When you need to confront someone would you rather communicate in person, on the phone, by email or by letter? Why? If possible, in person.  It's too easy to misinterpret by the other means.  If discussion needs to take  place, it can and hopefully whatever the issue is can be solved. 

7. Dodge ball, freeze tag, kickball or jump rope? You have to pick one. Oh, my goodness, all of it hurts me to think about it, but I would pick jump rope.  In my "younger days" I was the Queen of jumping rope. 

8. Insert your own random thought here. Our daughter and Clancy are staying their last 5 nights here with us and I am utterly amazed at the energy of a 2 1/2 year old.  Clancy can go and go and go!  Bridget said that she has a new respect for single Moms after being one herself for the past 3 weeks.  It is definitely not a job for   " the faint of heart." 

Miscellany Monday

Time for another MM and random thoughts with Carissa. It's the start of a busy, busy week for me but it's great to start it off with you, my dear blogging buddies.

{one}

We celebrated our family Easter on Friday and it was such fun to watch our sweet Grans hunt Easter eggs for the first time.  Here they are, ready to go!

{two}

I love Dollar Tree! I usually make a monthly run and find such good buys and they always have the cutest seasonal items.  One such item was these bunny ears.

{three}
 My little Princess had her first pedicure this past week.  DIL said that she sat mesmerized while she painted her toenails.  Doesn't she sport them proudly in her silver sandels? ~grin~

{four}

 Our SIL's parents house and ranch was hit by the recent tornado that went through the Tushka/Atoka, Oklahoma area on April 14th. They rode it out underneath their stair well and said it was the scariest thing they have ever had happen to them.  They pretty much lost everything and will be a long time recovering but they feel blessed to have survived.

This is their motor home that was turned over

 {five}

 My baby brother will be coming for a visit this Thursday and I look forward to spending some time with him.  He is a very busy man but he always makes time to come and spend time with our Dad and me.  The only thing that would make his visit better is if his family could come.  Another bummer about family that lives off.

Taken last summer

{six}
 Speaking of family living off........I do covet your prayers this week as we prepare for the move of our daughter and family this coming Sat.  I KNOW that I will ultimately be fine, but initially it is going to be very difficult.  Especially since she will be driving the 14 hour trip alone with Clancy.  They will only go half way on Sat. and will stay with family that night and then drive on to Dodge City on Sunday where SIL will be anxiously awaiting them.

May your week be blessed with the overflow of your Easter celebration!

Happy Easter!

I just wanted to wish each of you a beautiful Easter and share with you the absolutely gorgeous arrangement that graced our sanctuary today.  This picture cannot do it justice, but you can see that it was lovely. I hope you can see that the arrangement was made in the shape of a cross.

HE is risen, HE is risen indeed!

Catching up and Easter Blessings

Good Morning Company Girls!  I missed you last week but I was having a good time in Virginia visiting with relatives and most especially my sweet 88 year old Aunt.  She is my Mom's only surviving sibling. And, might I add, she is the Mother of four sons! ~grin~

  I spent Saturday with one of my cousins and we both enjoy doing "silly things."  We had fun trying on hats in some of the shops we visited.

Am I serious or what?

I'm pretty sure that the shop personnel and those in the shop thought we were crazy.  But, that's okay, we had a good time and I got some cute pictures. ~smile~


I also enjoyed spending time with some other cousins on Sunday afternoon.  I really wish that we were not separated by so many miles and could enjoy each others' company more often.  

I headed home Monday with a heart full of wonderful memories from my birthplace.


It has been "all hands on deck" since returning home.  Even though Hubby stayed behind and he always does an excellent job keeping the house in order, there are just some things that only we women can do.  Right???  One of those things is going through the piles of mail.  Mercy me, I do believe we get more mail than "the law allows."  Most of it goes in the trash, but the sorting out process does take some time.  

Giving CiCi sugars

Since our SIL has already moved to Dodge City to begin his job there, we have stepped up to the plate to assist our daughter with Clancy. She has to be at school at 7:00 each morning and his sitter does not come until 8:15.  So, Bridget drops Clancy off at our house each morning at 6:45 and we keep him until then.  If things are not in high gear by 6:45 they certainly are shortly after he arrives.  He is such a happy little guy and I don't think his energy is ever lacking.  They have just a short 8 days left here and then they will head out to join SIL in Dodge City.  We have already decided that we will not use the words, "good bye" but rather "see you later."  That sounds so much more soothing.  


Daughter, DIL and I will take the kiddos around to a 

 neighborhood egg hunt this afternoon.  Clancy is definitely into the whole "finding eggs" this year but I imagine our little Princess will need some assistance but that is not a problem. We will then
come back here and enjoy dinner together.  It will be our family celebration and I will be making my "famous" homemade pizza.  I guess that doesn't sound like much of a Easter celebration meal, but let me assure you, my kids LOVE my homemade pizza and are thrilled to have it anytime.  I'll make a great salad to go along and we'll "call it good." Oh, and homemade pound cake with fresh strawberries will be the dessert. 


I hope each of you will have a wonderful Easter weekend as we celebrate our Risen Lord! Yes, the cross made the difference for me.