Finished pots

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all. Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)

These verses have been haunting me lately. They came up at least three times within the past week from various places.

The above pictures are from the Sedgwick Garden Tour.

Gnomes

This is from Missy's yard. Isn't the door just cute? She said her husband got it on ebay. Oh the things they sell on ebay...

Marley & Me

I finished reading the book Marley & Me this weekend.

A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class, but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. --John Grogan

Glazing

My least favorite element of taking ceramics is still glazing...So unpredictable. Notice how the glaze ran on the first one.

Carving

My new favorite thing to do besides throwing on the wheel is carving! It's fun and therapeutic! So glad my husband bought me that carving set for Christmas!

Of bees and bee balm

I used to be afraid of bees. My mom says I was stung by my eye as a toddler...I don't remember; I just remember being terrified. I loved going to Medora in the summer, except there were always a lot of bees around for some reason. Guess I'm growing out of it. I took these shots thinking that the bees are more interested in the bee balm and flowers than me.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philipians 4:13

Some garden tour pics

What I'm listening to

I've been listening to this song a lot lately. It was on the Elizabethtown soundtrack and the guitar is so soothing. The embedding is not working on youtube, so you're going to have to go there yourself. Sorry about that.

Tyranny of the urgent

A few weeks ago, these little books were passed out in church, one per household. I read ours and then my husband took it with him on his trip. Now I have the book back to look over again. It's a good read. Here's a passage:

We live in a constant tension between the urgent and the important. The problem is that many important tasks need not be done today, or even this week. Extra hours of prayer and Bible study, a visit to an elderly friend, reading an important book; these activities can usually wait a while longer. But often urgent, though less important, tasks call for an immediate response--endless demands pressure every waking hour.

So what do you think I got out of that paragraph? Not what you think. It was the "reading an important book" phrase that stood out to me. You mean, I'm not wasting time reading all evening? I feel very lazy when I'm doing that.

The book reminded me of Today Matters a little.

By the way, I went here and downloaded Pilgrim's Progress for free on my off-brand I-pod. I mentioned it to my husband, and he said they were supposed to read it in the school. In public school? He said he was supposed to read it when he was in the gifted program...very interesting to me. Anyways, it's a pretty long book and reminds me of Hind's Feet in High Places. Think I'm halfway through.

Goings ons

He's back! This is what kind of picture I get when I try to photograph my husband. He came back on Saturday afternoon after being gone for two weeks. It was mentioned in one of the National Guard family meetings it's a good idea not to broadcast it all over the place that your spouse is gone and you are living alone, so that's why I didn't mention it before (also trying not to use his catchy military title and last name-wink). I did remember to take the garbage out both times and only once forgot to turn on the outdoor lights at night which he usually does. Our dog is not as restless, either, since he came home and has both her playmates back.

Anyways, my mom is going to the doctor tomorrow to get the results of her PET scan and see what the next options of treatment for her cancer are.

Getting ready for garden tour

These cut flowers were used to decorate the tables for the garden tour. This was at the meeting at Kristina's last Thursday.

For mom

Please bear with me if you've seen these already, but I wanted to show my mom...

It was like "Christmas in June" last Saturday since regular classes have been going on and stuff is getting fired faster and I had 8 pieces to bring home. So I'm showing you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I'm now in my flower-carvy-vase-making phase. Here's a preview. It still has to be fired.

What Flag Day means to me

You might guess that I'm going to write about being an American. I could write about that. I could also write about how I had a friend whose birthday was on Flag Day and I would tease her and say "Happy Flag Day" instead of happy birthday. She would ask me "Do you know what day it is in three days?", and I would say jokingly, "Of course, it's Flag Day". Flag day is also the day 16 years ago that I moved 800 miles away, on her birthday. I celebrated it with her on June 13th that year.

I was 21 and restless, wanting to make a life of my own, seeking adventure, not wanting to move someplace colder or windier to the big colleges in the same state after getting that associates degree, not knowing what job I wanted to have for the rest of my life, floundering, not wanting to be sheltered by my parents anymore. What was my plan? To move to the same city as my oldest brother in Kansas and start college there. Wow a big city! Or so I thought since I grew up in a town of 55,000. My heart used to beat faster driving into big cities--I loved them!

I ended up moving down here right after a big tornado, and it was hard finding an apartment because of all the displaced people whose homes were wrecked by it. We finally found a place for me in a studio apartment way across town from my brother, and I learned what it was like to have a full-time job, having to pay the rent, how long it takes to build up vacation time, and what it's like to be lonely.

So on June 14th, I always reminisce about following my dad's motorhome that was leaning to one side (since my bed and dresser and a loveseat were in there, too) in my Mustang with my mom in the passenger's seat and dreaming about the new adventures I would find in Kansas. I remember stopping at a rest stop, my dad asking "Are you sure you want to do this? Please don't move so far away." And I am thankful for the experiences and where God has led me today.

The science of pottery

One of my pottery instructors made a fountain and in class on Saturday described how he made it. He is not satisfied with it because it splashes. A couple other students who are engineers by trade were discussing with him the physics of water, etc., and how to correct the splashing problem. He said we could all try to make one as a class project. I politely took notes, and when he was done I mentioned that I might try this in a few years and will now get back to my mugs which are challenging enough for now.

Nerd wannabe

Garden tour in Sedgwick

In case you're in the area, though I'd mention that I'm helping with the garden tour in Sedgwick this coming Saturday. Here's the info:

The Rusty Gate Garden Club in Sedgwick will host its fourth garden tour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 16. The cost is $5 for four gardens. Refreshments and bottled water will be served. Proceeds go to beautification projects in Sedgwick. Addresses for the gardens are 600 Austin Lane, 11402 N. West, 415 N. Washington and 611 N. Harrison. In case of rain, the tour will be from noon to 4 p.m.
June 17.

My asiatic lilies are blooming now and are just gorgeous.

Photo Friday--Purity

I haven't done this for awhile, so for my new bloggy friends I'll explain...Photo Friday website gives a topic for a photo challenge every week. Sometimes I don't like their topic or don't know what to put or just plain forget. People post their links on the website, and I think it's fun to look at other pictures from all over the world. Click on this to go there.

Dracunculus vulgaris

This is my most exotic plant . It's called dragon plant or voodoo lily. It gives off a not-so-pleasant fragrance. I have one friend who just loves it and know of someone else who has pulled her's out of the ground, not being at all impressed and not tolerating the smell. Mine's just fine right by my compost bin.

My momma

My mom got the report back from her CT scan today. It says the tumor has increased in size, but her cancer marker (CA19-9) was low. This is also confusing to the doctor. Her doctor wants her to get a PET scan. It's not approved under Medicare, so he is going to try to get her into a study. She says she feels like she's been hit over the head and wasn't expecting this. I kind of have a little bit of that weighty feeling in the pit of my stomach, too. Her attitude has just been remarkable regarding this whole thing.

Taggy info from Pina Calana

Chill24 tagged me. Here's my list of 7 habits or facts.




1. This is my first time participating in a blog tag thingy.

2. I sometimes take advantage of my high voice on the phone when organizations call for donations. Just last week someone called and asked if my mommy or daddy was home. I said no...just no, nothing else. They promptly said they would call back later and hung up.

3. I don't enjoy organizing and finally came to the conclusion that maybe I shouldn't have hobbies that require extensive organization, i.e. altered books, collage.

4. I hate writing and it takes me HOURS to write a letter. In fact, this is taking a long time. Hence, I'm not into instant messaging.

5. I'm realizing I only like books and movies with violence if they are based on a true story. Yes, I did love Laura Ingalls Wilder books when I was growing up. My husband says I only like nicey-nice movies.

6. I also love to travel and miss that. We would go on lots of vacations when I was growing up.

7. I wash my hands all the time and am a little germophobic when it comes to some things such as nose-picking.

There; that's seven. Please play along and list seven things (habits or facts or whatever) on your blog or the comment section.

p.s. Now that I'm done, I can think of a lot more things to put down...I'm sure my husband can also think of some of my habits that bug him. Too late, I'm only listing seven.

Wedding

Went to the "Wedding of 07" on Friday night, or at least that's what we called it at Wheatland Mission. It was beautiful and didn't rain during the ceremony, even though it rained all day earlier. What is the thing that stands out the most in my mind? I have never seen a groom's smile so big, so much, all through the ceremony. Congratulations Ty and Leigh! (This is for when you get back. Of course you're not going to be reading my blog on your honeymoon. I know you have better things to do!)

What was another recurring theme last week? The church being the bride of Christ, of course. I was reading a book recommended by my friend, Nicole, called The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life earlier in the week and was at this part:

But imagine this bride beginning after a while to look back upon her low estate, and to be so overwhlemed by the retrospect as to feel unworthy of union with her husband, and to lose consequently the inward sense of this union. Who can doubt that very soon the old sense of working for wages would drive out the new sense of working for love, and in spirit the old name of "my master" would again take the place of the new name of "my husband"? We exclaim at the folly of such a course. But is not this just what happens to many Christians now? The servitude of duty takes the place of the service of love.

Oh yeah, I was also frustrated with my camera...Couldn't get the settings right or something.

Another bunny update

Lately I've only been seeing one bunny hanging around in the yard, but it has a nice hiding spot near my compost bin. The second picture is of my dog trying to get at said bunny.