The Gulf Oil Catastrophe

I read an article today that was asking the question,

"Why on earth are we still calling this an oil spill?"

It summons to mind a manageable situation, something not

quite so significant.  Not a DISASTER of
unprecedented proportions.

No! This should indeed be called a
"catastrophe"!!

Over 100,000 barrels of oil a day are gushing into the
pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Sometimes visuals help us to really get it.
This one made me cry.

This diver decided to give us a different perspective than
one from a helicopter, or smallish blobs on the shorelines of
coastal beaches.

HE DOVE INTO IT.
Literally...

He and his mask, needless to say, were immediately coated with oil and 

it was difficult to see...very eerie according to him.
He shot the next photo from under the water.

It took him 30 minutes of clean up
before he could go inside the boat.

The oil floats on top of the water and in columns
reaching into the ocean depths.

He said he couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I don't know about you, but this really chokes me up.
 

This is where all of the oil  is headed, and yes the water is
really this gorgeous...I've been there many times!

To truly some of the most beautiful beaches in the world,
and wetlands that are home to hundreds of species of wildlife,
including this little beauty...

and these gentle wonders...

Please keep praying for all the people
whose livelihoods have already

been snatched away by closed beaches,
and for all the wildlife species that normally
thrive in these coastal areas.

May God pour out His mercy and bring an end to this soon!

{photos from USA Today and  aturtletale.blogspot.com}

At the Shore...

A glorious day...

May you see something today that teaches you
to put your trust in the Creator of all things!!
 

What a masterpiece He created when
He created Y-O-U!

Have a joyful week, dear friends!
Becky

By George...I Got It!!

Hey Gals!!

I finally got my driver's license yesterday!!

WOOHOO!!!

After two weeks of no driving...
I am back on the road and 

absolutely thrilled about it!

The cooler is packed, the umbrella and chairs
are in the trunk, I'm grabbing my beach bag
and heading to here....

to feel and smell the salt air and frolic in the waves!!

{smile}

Hope your day is amazing, and filled with at least a
little bit of your favorite things!!

OH, be a blessing and share your smile with someone today,
OK?

Love you as big as the ocean!
Becky

It Started Off Innocently...

... I just woke up and did the same thing

I do every weekday morning...

iron my dear hubby's work clothes!

Today, for some reason, I started
sneezing and sneezed 8x in a row. Hard sneezes.

I thought...

Surely I must be...

ALLERGIC TO IRONING!!

Yes! That's it!  

Well, not wanting to leave my friends out of this exciting news,

I came to the computer to find a photo of a lady ironing,
to accompany this astounding declaration and post it here.

Never in my wildest imaginings would I have thought
I would discover...

EXTREME IRONING!!
yes, this is real!!

My dear friends, we no longer are constrained to
boredom while ironing...

Fellow ironers, we can travel the world and iron in strange,
unusual and exotic places; banish the hum-drums of daily ironing

FOREVER!!

Don't believe me?  Don't Believe  that

we can infuse ironing with excitement 

and adventure???

Well scroll down, my friends and witness

for yourself...

Now she is my kinda gal!!

Wonder what ol' Bessie is thinkin'!!

Oh My!!

Extreme ironing actually has an official website!

www.extremeironing.com
Click on the gallery link in their sidebar 
to see more fun photos!!

Who thinks of this stuff anyway? 
I think I'd like to think like them for a
few days...sounds like fun!!

Well, I am off for my idea of extreme ironing!!
You know what I'd do, don't you???

*
*
*
*
*

*
*

Extreme Beach Ironing!!!
Yeahhh!
You guessed right!!

Love you bunches...
Really Do!!
Becky

HAPPEE MONDAY!!

As you hear me say all the time...

It's another sunny, blue sky, gorgeous day here
in Central Florida!!

{that is until the afternoon thunderstorms begin}

Thank you all for your prayers!  I am feeling MUCH better!
{just knowing you're praying for me lifts my spirits!}
{you really are the best, you know?}

{big smile}

A fresh new day...Thank You Lord!!

Our Crepe Myrtle is bustin out with gorgeous blooms!
I love the little buds almost as much as the blooms!

My lovely Sago Palm is back after a bout with Asian Scale!!
My dear friend Nellie told me I could get rid of it by putting coffee grounds

on it and she was right!!  YAY!!! Sagos are slow growing, but absolutely 

beautiful when they get really mature!!

Don't you love how the leaves on our fig tree cascade down?
They are hiding a sweet, delicious treat!  And the freezes have proven
to be a blessing!  Our tree has more fruit on it than ever!!

Each one of those little round thingies are figs!  It is loaded this year!  

Maybe I can actually make some jars of preserves for my darling hubby!!

It's one of his favorite things!!

What is it about dew-kissed plants? 
I never get tired of looking at
how the morning dew makes everything sparkle!!

***

Hopefully... today is the day I will walk to the mailbox to find

a certified copy of my MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE!!!
Then I can finally go get my driver's license!!!!
It has been almost 1/2 a month since I've driven!!

CRAZY!!!

Love you bunches!
Asking God to reveal Himself to you
in delightful ways today!!

Becky

Under the Weather!

Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments
on my flower pot trio!  I am working on a vintage moss
treatment on a really pretty pot that I can't wait to show you!!

However, right now I am feeling a bit cruddy.

It started with a sore throat~~got rid of that and now it
is full blown...
SOMETHING!!

I have had a low grade fever, chills, stuffy nose and very

runny nose all at the same time.

I am feeling ok right now, but sure would love to know that
my girlfriends out there are praying for me to feel better!

Praising God for over the counter relief from some of these
symptoms, and that the crazy...and I mean CRAZY
thunderstorms we had today didn't damage our home or
any of our electronics!!

May you all have a joyful, praise-filled Sunday!!
Love ya!!

Becky

Terra Pot Trio!!

Hey Gals! 

I finally got around to making over some terracotta

pots for a few favorite herbs!!

I really had fun with this little project!
I've seen a lot of numbered pots, and figured
I'd give making some a try!

Here is what I used:

I purchased several pkgs. of the plant markers from
Michael's at the onset of Spring, and painted the name

plate with 2-3 coats of chalkboard paint. And at the last minute

I decided to use black paint on the bottom which isn't pictured.

I applied everything but the glaze with foam brushes.

On my Cricut machine, I cut out the numbers 1, 2, 3 to use as stencils.
If you don't have a Cricut, there are plenty of number stencils
available in Michael's and JoAnn.

Started with a plain pot and added the Ivory white acrylic paint.

This took 2-3 coats to cover properly.  At first I was going to leave

the top edge as is, and then changed my mind later. Let it dry 

completely between coats!

I got the Raw Umber stain from Lowe's for another project, and

used it to give a little weathered look to the pots.
I just dabbed it on with a paper towel and wiped off the excess
until I was happy with it. 

Well, what do ya think? 

I stenciled the numbers with
black acrylic paint.  Wish I had made them a bit

larger, though.  And I am so proud of myself for letting

the little imperfections in the numbers slide!!

That is sooo not like me, but as my interior decorator

grandmother, Mama Rose, always said,
"It won't be noticed on a galloping horse!!"

Sure did love her!!  What a loving and talented lady she was!!

I am showing this pot so you can see the little warts that happened

when I failed to let the paint cure overnight on pot 2 and 3.
I popped a couple of them but there are some tiny ones left on 

the right .  Some were about 1/3 of an inch! 

The Basil and Rosemary seem to be content in their new homes,
but the Cilantro is a bit wimpy!!  May have to get another plant.

I may go large and transplant these in big pots with some others

so I have an abundant supply to use!

Nothing quite like fresh herbs to jazz up a meal!

I'll probably be doing more pots!!
I'll post when I do!

Have a wonderful Friday, lovely friends!

Becky

Ok...Can I Fuss... Just a Little?

Girls, you know me...

I'm a happy gal that views

the cup as half full!!

But the Department of Motor Vehicles

of the state of Florida has been tampering

with my typically joyful attitude!!

See this...

 

If you live in the state of Florida and need

to renew your driver's license, or just get one,
this is the amount of documentation that is now required!!
(ok...maybe a slight exaggeration!)

Which would have been fine with me.

Ya know...
  I'm just a God fearing, law abiding, patriotic,
person who would have been ok with that if I
had been told prior to my arrival at the
office that they ALSO had to have a copy of my

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE!!

  In order to get my license this is what I have to produce:

Certified copy of Birth Certificate
Certified copy of Marriage Certificate
Social Security Card
AND
2 pieces of mail addressed to me at the

address I say I live.

WHEW!!!

 What makes this a bit more

complicated is that I,  somehow,

between my Jan 6th appendectomy,
recovery, bunches of doctor and
lab appointments,and having not had to
visit the license office in several years,

 completely FORGOT about my renewal

notice, and my license expired! ACK!!!
 
Thankfully, a sharp little bank teller caught it!
Otherwise I would still be driving around
illegally!!

On top of that, we misplaced our marriage
certificate 20 years ago when we were in the

military, and I now have to snail mail

a request along with $3 for a copy to Alabama Probate!!

It's a very small town...one I'd dearly love to move
back to...just hearing Jane's sweet southern accent
and kind, patient ways just made my heart ache for 

L.A.~~~Lower Alabama... I digress....
 

So here I sit...unable to go

ANYWHERE,
 {probably until Monday}

{and did I mention...I had to wait
three days for an appointment?}
 
knowing full well that this is not

without it's purpose in my life...
(and a wee bit of frustration!!)

AND

I'm  choosing  to
 

BE

JOYFUL

ANYWAY!!


Thanks for listening!

Writing it helps for sure!

Love ya!!  Becky

Bounty of the Sea!

Of course you know that I LOVE the

beach!  Well I am also enamoured with

SEASHELLS!!

They just speak to me of the incredible

creativity and artistry of God!!

Each piece it's own little masterpiece!!
{Just like you and me!!}
{smile}

I love incorporating them into jewelry!
Nothing says "summer is here"

like some beach inspired jewelry and

home accessories!!

Tonight I will be making a shell
and freshwater pearl bracelet for
Jeanne for the giveaway.

Here are a couple of pieces I designed

for myself...this first one is my very

favorite necklace!

Sadly though, the larger shells used to 

be almost the same green as the freshwater

pearls next to them...some of the dyed shells

do fade after time...

Fortunately.. I can just take this apart and

put a different piece in.  I had to learn this
little lesson the hard way.

Here is a close-up of the Paua shell pendant.
They are so beautiful and iridescent.  They look

different from every angle.

I made this blister shell necklace to match a

beautiful turquoise and white blouse that is

embellished with little pearls and embroidery.

As usual, Martha , has some great

ideas on how to use these little
treasures of the sea!!  

She gives instructions on her site 

for creating all this stuff, too.

These little candles are one of my faves!!

Fave #2

Fave #3

I can just imagine how lovely the ambiance is
after the sun goes down with these shell candles!

Aaawww... Any of us could create this
adorable little t-shirt!

Bedside beauty...aahhh...
Can't you just smell the salt air???

Hope your week is simply
BEACHY!!

Becky