Women's Shelter...

Love you dear friends...

A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. ~Sirach 6:14

Rabbit Foot Fern...

I love to have plants and flowers in the house. This is one of my favorites. It's called a Rabbit Foot Fern because of "the furry rhizomes that hang over the side of the container. These light-brown, creeping rhizomes are covered with hairs that look like a rabbit's foot." It's probably the easiest houseplant to take care of and one of the prettiest. They do well next to an east or west facing window. When the sun shines in on the fronds, you can see a hundred shades of green. So pretty.

We Were Soldiers...

This film is brilliant, but not for the faint of heart. It is really a tribute to the men who fought in Vietnam in that it tells the truth about what these men were up against as they fought and the courage they showed. Whether the government was in this war for the right reasons or not does not matter here. Most of the soldiers were fighting for liberty for the people at home and those they didn't know. They received little thanks. Their government had a difficult time deciding the objective and how to achieve it. The lives of many talented, well-trained, valiant men were simply wasted . They had wives and children and parents and friends who loved them and grieved for them then and now.

And yet, we continue to give up our liberty in this country for a little security, for hollow bribes and empty promises. Half of us don't vote. Half of us don't pay taxes. Some of us don't even know there was a war in Vietnam. And, when I watch something like this film, I feel that the blood of those who payed the ultimate price will one day ask for an accounting of how we squandered the freedom they provided and protected.

To all those who have served and continue to serve now. ... Thank you. May God bless you.

Bill & Connie Anniversary Peg Dolls

Happy 41!

More little peg people available @

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peg dolls, doll, little peg people. peggies, wedding cake toppers, cake toppers, cupcake toppers, birthday, decorations, painted, anniversary, available in love boxes shop...

Lily of the Valley...

All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love... ~Leo Tolstoy

Thank you so much Sarah.. I love the flowers so much!

When There's Love at Home... Hand Painted Trinket Box

There is beauty all around when there's love at home... ~John Hugh McNaughton

Hand Painted Love Boxes Trinket boxes are available

LoVE BoXes SHoP...

Escape by Carolyn Jessop

After discussing this book with friends today, I feel kind of at a loss for words. I must have said most of them already. But, this is one of the most bizarre and chilling books I've read. It was interesting to read part of the tale behind all the headlines. And, after I finished the book, I felt so incredibly grateful for my life. I can't imagine having so little control over my own life. But, literally, it seems that as AG Mark Shurtleff put it.. we have the Taliban in our own backyard.

I've read as much as I can and still am reading about the Founding Fathers of the United states that I found this comment in the book quite touching, "Dan was telling me (Carolyn) about the crimes he was hearing about in the FLDS and said I was right to get my children out. 'I never knew what this country's Founding Fathers fought for until I left (the FLDS)' he said quietly. 'Even so, it took me years to grasp what it really meant and how deeply it mattered." Yes. It matters so much.

It interested me how many times she talked about liberty and freedom, and it saddens me to think how many live in a free country in bondage of one kind or another. I found it devastating at the end when Carolyn's daughter chooses to go back. Very sad.

I had a real problem in the book with the idea that a child's education could be so random and so halting. Children have a right to be educated. They must be prepared to do the work of the world and to be able to think for themselves and provide for themselves as adults. I think that was one of the saddest parts of this real story.

This is just kind of an aside. But if you read the book, you have to see this clip I found on the Huffington Post about the HAIR..., probably the least bizarre thing about this story, but still. Sadly, it reminded me too much of my own senior picture. I also found it interesting that the women in this clip all seemed to have new dresses cut from the same pattern all in pastel colors and no prints. That picture confirmed some of the things Jessop said in her book.

Garden Season...

My garden is getting started. I love this time of year.

One of my all time favorite trees. .. Bechtel Crab
In bloom.. Korean Lilacs.. I forget which...

The sweet woodruff is finishing off, but still smells heavenly..

My garden is granny chic :) I love petunias, lilacs, tulips, roses, dahlias, peonies... and I LOVE PINK. This bed doesn't look like much but in July you won't see dirt, it will be a froth of pink.

This Bacopa: Snowstorm Giant Snowflake is something new that I'm trying out in a part of my garden that stays pretty dry no matter what I do. The flowers are supposed to keep coming even when the plants are drought stressed. We'll see. :)

The tomatoes are in.. except the cherry variety. I can almost taste them. Yum. Lots to do in the veggie garden still. We follow the square foot gardening plan and it's beautiful and produces plenty for our family over the summer. We also keep fresh herbs in pots, and they often come back on their own... which is why they are in pots. We don't want a yard full of peppermint as much as I love it.

I have several varieties of crab tree. They are my favorite. This is Prairie Fire.

There is still so much to do, but this is my favorite time of year in the garden, once it gets over 80 degrees. I'm out only early in the morning putting the Preen down and then going back in. But, I loved being out in the rain today. It smells like heaven and everything is clean and beautiful.

Jacquelyn M. Voice Studio..

My beautiful sister Jackie is in the middle of a Master's Degree at the Cleveland Institute. But, she is home for the summer and teaching voice lessons for a very reasonable price. If you are local and interested.. let me know.

This is her Facebook Page... which has prices and other info.

Pass it on...

A Tale of Two Cities... by Charles Dickens

Yes. I'm still obsessed.

see the treasury HERE...

purchase music cd HERE...

and now available on Amazon HERE..

sheet music or sing it to yourself.. HERE..

Red River...

The hero can not be a murderer. That doesn't work. The only reason to watch this film is because Montgomery Clift is so handsome. That's not really enough. This is why I have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with John Wayne films. The good guy can be flawed. He doesn't have to be perfect, but he can't be a spouse abuser or a murderer or we'd just as soon have him hanged in the end.

Who writes these scripts??? SHeesh!

Don't waste 2 hours on this one... unless you are a fan of Montgomery Clift.

Infant & Baby... Peg Dolls

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little peg people. wedding cake toppers, cake toppers, cupcake toppers, birthday, decorations, painted, anniversary, available in love boxes shop...

Something so pretty...

all the gold I care about is right here...

Serene Senorita Collage...

peg dolls, doll, little peg people. peggies, wedding cake toppers, cake toppers, cupcake toppers, birthday, decorations, painted, anniversary, available in love boxes shop...

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Little Senorita Birthday Cake Topper...

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little peg people. wedding cake toppers, cake toppers, cupcake toppers, birthday, decorations, painted, anniversary, available in love boxes shop...

Thomas Jefferson: A Film by Ken Burns...

Ken Burns is a brilliant film maker, but his collection of historical "scholars" was worse than pathetic. They want to shoot beyond the mark. They want to make their own careers with their slighting and cryptic comments, their little digs at a man whose boots they aren't worthy to polish.

I've read enough of Jefferson myself to know that while he was a brilliant writer, one whose prose was lofty and grand, his writing was also plain language, more beautiful because it can be understood by all.

Mr. Burns soared when he let Jefferson speak for himself. Thankfully, there is enough of that to make this documentary well worth watching.

I'm always rankled by those who will criticize the founders because they didn't give us back The Garden of Eden, for this is what these "scholars" criticize them for. What generation has solved all of the problems encountered? There has never been a generation of people who have solved so many, freed so many.

When Jefferson wrote these sacred words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." and then signed his name to that document. He risked his life. Had he been captured, his death would have been torture most painful and gruesome.

Certainly those words did not make men equal, they didn't make all men free at the time. But, they made freedom possible where it had never existed before. When that liberty took hold, it spread around the world. And, to the extent that the rest of the world has imitated the understanding of liberty and government these men created, is the extent to which they are free. To the extent that their ideas are rejected, even in the country they created, is the extent to which men are enslaved.

And even should the cloud of barbarism and despotism again obscure the science and libraries of Europe, this country remains to preserve and restore light and liberty to them. In short, the flames kindled on the fourth of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them. Thomas Jefferson - Letter to John Adams (12 September 1821)

Spring Recital Collage...

HERE...

Behind every good man...

You know that saying right? Well, it works both ways. Behind every good woman is an amazing man. Today my husband worked in the yard, put in the garden, took down the Christmas lights, conditioned the cooler, shopped for a Mother's day dinner he's grilling and played with a demanding toddler who wanted to dance, be held on the banister so she could play horse, and generally show dad around the house naming stuff and pronouncing it "pretty" or "smell good" or "ick" (ick would be dinner). He answered 1,000 questions from the teenager w/out once becoming impatient. That's why my daughter is so smart right there.
When I grow up, I want to be just like him. He wonders what I want for Mother's Day. Not a thing.
Love you C.

Bear Lake Bear...

I love these colors. My grandmother decorates her whole house in them. She loves Bear Lake and so do I.

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart... ~Jane Austen

ThE LoVE BoXEs SHoP...

Waiting for Superman...

I was lucky. I went to a great school. However, I still had teachers who didn't teach. I had one teacher who would put on a movie and leave the classroom. But, she was one teacher out of eight. I got A's in German, but I didn't learn any. What if you had 6 out of 8 teachers who refused to teach, who were paid the same whether or not they worked.
I admired the NYC approach because they try to put the kids first, but it's awfully costly to the tax payers to side line people and still pay them, not as costly as having classrooms full of children with no real teacher in them.
I kept thinking of the cost to the teachers who come to work, but don't work. Soul killing. In the end, when the unions protect them from being fired, they aren't doing those teachers any favor.
What will it take for us to side line the teachers unions? They are holding the future hostage.
In the proper environment, any kid can learn. I loved Geoffrey Canada's enthusiasm and I'm going to take the time to read some more about him and his ideas. But, God bless him for putting those children from broken cities and broken homes in shirts and ties and teaching them that they CAN do and they CAN learn!
Anyway, I'm rambling, but if you haven't seen this film. It's certainly worth your time.