Where Did the Time Go?

What is the glue that holds you together?

Everyone has something (or several somethings) that help them keep sanity and reality in focus. An interest. A hobby. A job. A passion. For some it is reading. For others it may be more hands on like gardening.

My glue consists of many ingredients.

1. Creativity - an absolute must. If I go too long without it, I feel incomplete.
2. Nature - there is so much to absorb and it has such a restful effect on me
3. Details - I love to look for details as we are out riding around!
4. Family - especially on a good day when everyone is home and content. Whether we are interacting or not, we are still together.
5. History. I love a good historical tour or day trip! Just soaking up history and feeling connected with the past!

Do you ever feel like you are standing still in time and not accomplishing a single dang thing? I sure do! I just realized that my third anniversary to online scrapping is approaching and I have not achieved the goals I had set myself back then! That really makes me sad and also pretty darn mad with myself! What the heck have I been doing? Time to get my tushie busy and start really concentrating on accomplishing (or trying to accomplish) some of these!

Here and There

That's where we went on day trips while Harold was taking some vacation time! It was definitely a rainy week (and we needed it) but we managed to work around it and still have fun!

The Transportation Museum
A Civil War tour
The Mountains with lots of wildlife habitats
and a few unexpected adventures on the side!

I took approximately 700 pictures and am now trying to catch up on some long over scrapping before we decide it's time for some more day trips!

Monday Thoughts

Time for plants and time for planting! Can you guess what I've been up to by that opening sentence? We had over 250 square feet of pine bark mulch delivered last week and I worked on making an "island" in the backyard. When I ran out of mulch (and I need to get more) I began working on the area of our yard I call the "birdie buffet" because of the berry bushes I plant for them in this section! I added two more bushes - a rosy glow barberry and a cotoneaster! I also found a blueberry bush I am hoping to pick up this weekend to add to the group!

We are also looking at retractable deck awnings! The sun hits our deck almost all day which heats it up and makes it almost impossible to sit outside except in the early Spring or Fall. One of these awnings would be wonderful to have by providing shade and cooling off the deck area. It would also help keep the sun from hitting the back of the house so much thus helping cut back on our high air conditioning use!


In the Spring and early Fall, I work in the yard. During the hot humid Summer and cold Winter months, I scrapbook! Like a friend of mine told me -- "Balance. Keep the balance". *big grin*

Time to share another winning recipe! This time it's Homemade Tomato Dill Soup and sooooo good! Bake some fresh bread or pick up a loaf of fresh caraway seed bread at the bakery for eating with this! You can easily double this recipe which I often do! The fact that this soup is delicious either hot or cold makes it perfect for any season!

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
1 bay leaf

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring until tender. Stir in the tomatoes and condensed chicken broth, and season with dill weed, salt, pepper and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove from heat, and discard bay leaf. Use a food processor or blender to puree the soup in small batches until smooth. Serve immediately, or chill and serve cold. A spoonful of sour cream is delicious on top!

Feeling Good!

What gets your blood pumping? Is it a passion? A secret? Maybe it's a little of everything! Here are a few things that really keep me on my toes!

Sales! I love a good sale and saving a few pennies to stash away for a rainy day! Whether it be scrapbooking supplies, groceries or anything else I need -- let it be on sale!!

Words! I love single words! I just got some of Heidi Swapp's new one word stamps that I can't wait to use!

Cooking! I really enjoy to cook when I have a good recipe, all the ingredients and the kitchen to myself!

Blogs! I just love to read them! I often forget to leave comments but I do read them! I love to keep up with my online friends daily lives and see what they are up to personally and creatively!
Mini Books! I love the look of these and the whole idea of having smaller scrapbooks for certain things! I just don't do them as often as I wish I did! Maybe I should work on changing that! How do you decide what topic to use on a MB? Do you only do holidays or seasons? Certain people like your kids? Do you break out of the box and find a fun and different topic or do you just do whatever comes to you with no certain topic or theme?

Stamps! For while it was stickers. Then rub ons. Oh, I still love and use both of these but for now my blood really gets pumping when I shop for stamps! Clear stamps, rubber stamps or any ol' stamp! *GRIN*

Photography! When I have my camera in tow, my eyes are always alert and watching for that special picture opportunity! And what a wonderful feeling to download a picture that completely takes my breath away!

Style! Granted, my basic style is simple but every once and awhile I feel dangerous! Not enough so to completely change my style but enough to add some extra splashes color or a few surprises that are out of the box for me!

Sketches! Recently, I have really been getting into these! And it is so nice to use these instead of moving things around for 3 hours while looking for the perfect layout design!