Yumberries

I haven't had much success at battling the bugs, birds and beasts away from our new little pot of strawberries. (Yes, beasts. The dogs seem to think "treats"!) Just the same, they've been delightful neighbors. Tolerant of all my neglect, the little pot of strawberries is always fresh and cool looking - even in the muggy weather we've been having lately. The leaves are refreshingly, uniformly green, the flowers are perfectly pink, the berries are a delicious shade of red and this week, I got to taste one.

There is was, a tiny gooseberry sized dot hidden in the foliage, ripe and unblemished.... 

Even at this late date, it was yummy. The flavor was exactly half sour and half sweet - like a candy. 

I'm looking forward to next year. :)

Touched

The surprise lilies are at it again.

I just can't get over these things!

{Inspiration 5}

1} Love this -  DesignSponge

2} Ruffles, linen and boots = love - BurdaStyle

3} Perfection -  aquiltisnice

4} The chairs don't look comfy, but the evening certainly does! - An Indian Summer

5} I love the hint of collie in the background :) -  wideopenspaces

Oh no!

{images from FunkyFrum}

I'm in big trouble. My beloved Google Notebooks are no longer being offered to new users. The old notebooks are still around, but I have an urgent feeling to find new homes for my piles of favorites elsewhere!  There must be a program out there somewhere, just as simple, where you can right-click-save in folders and tags...! Besides my own laptop, of course.

Where do you keep all your online inspirations in check?

You may be expecting an onslaught of fashion/decor/crafty pics soon.

Penny Plie

Next to Collies, my next favorite breed is the Corgi (fault laying to Tasha Tudor and Alicia Paulson). Imagine the sad little ker-flop that my heart did to see a beautiful little wheaten corgi mix being carried into the shelter this week. How can people do these things? Knowing that a dog as good as Penny would be adopted in no time flat, we took her home to foster before she even made it through the door. 

Sure enough, here it is Saturday and her new parents are coming tomorrow. She loves them already and will be so content to have a home of her own again!

About the picture, I've been meaning to experiment with doggie portraits for a while now. Our aunt gave us a big bag of matting scraps that seemed to just call for a touch of acrylics. The medium was new to me, except for murals, stenciling etc, so I was glad to see it work! (I love how Penny's little legs bow together in a ballet plie from the Doxie half of her parentage) Hmmm...who should I try next? Bebe, my favorite model? Roomba, the wide-eyed little beagle getting better on our screened porch?

What strange lesson is the Lord leading me in with both collies and corgyn to pass through in one month?

I want to make one of these.

{a love story, illustrated - by inspireco}

June Through a Camera

I finally uploaded my June Project 365 pics to Flickr. Yay!

1. 169 - June 18th, 2. 164 - June 13th, 3. 162 - June 11th, 4. 161 - June 10th

Why, Yes, I Think I am Obsessed with Animals

{These posts from Pioneer Woman tickle me beyond measure.}

{Roz Wound Up has been inspiring me to take up pen lately.}

{How did I survive pre-CONKbunny? It reminds me so much of Eli & Abby!}

Weekend Fun

You said your birthday is 5 / 18 / 1988
which means you are 21 years old and about:

71 years 6 months younger than Walter Cronkite, age 92
66 years 10 months younger than Nancy Reagan, age 88
63 years 11 months younger than George Herbert Bush, age 85
56 years 8 months younger than Barbara Walters, age 77
54 years 6 months younger than Larry King, age 75
48 years 3 months younger than Ted Koppel, age 69
44 years 10 months younger than Geraldo Rivera, age 66
41 years 10 months younger than George W. Bush, age 63
36 years 10 months younger than Jesse Ventura, age 57
32 years 7 months younger than Bill Gates, age 53
27 years 9 months younger than Cal Ripken Jr., age 48
21 years 11 months younger than Mike Tyson, age 43
17 years 10 months younger than Jennifer Lopez, age 38
12 years 5 months younger than Tiger Woods, age 33
5 years 11 months younger than Prince William, age 27

and that you were:

13 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America
11 years old on the first day of Y2K
9 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash
6 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing
6 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder
4 years old at the time of the 93 bombing of the World Trade Center
2 years old when Operation Desert Storm began
a 1 year old during the fall of the Berlin Wall

You said your birthday is 5 / 18 / 1988
which means you are 21 years old and about:

69 years 3 months younger than Zsa Zsa Gabor, age 90
58 years 0 months younger than Clint Eastwood, age 79
55 years 3 months younger than Kim Novak, age 76
52 years 3 months younger than Burt Reynolds, age 73
48 years 3 months younger than Nick Nolte, age 69
47 years 1 month younger than Ann-Margret, age 68
41 years 2 months younger than Billy Crystal, age 62
38 years 6 months younger than Whoopi Goldberg, age 59
35 years 10 months younger than Robin Williams, age 56
31 years 10 months younger than Tom Hanks, age 53
29 years 6 months younger than Jamie Lee Curtis, age 50
27 years 1 month younger than Eddie Murphy, age 48
17 years 10 months younger than Jennifer Lopez, age 38
9 years 3 months younger than Jennifer Love Hewitt, age 30
0 years 1 month younger than Haley Joel Osment, age 21

and when these movies were released in the U.S. your age was:

Steel Magnolias: 1
Home Alone: 2
Wayne's World: 3
Jurassic Park: 5
Forrest Gump: 6
Fargo: 7
Saving Private Ryan: 10

Toy Story 2: 11

So, how old were you?

(Zsa Zsa Gabor is 90??)

Off into the Great Unknown

{Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer above the Sea of Fog}

It's nice discovering pretty things among the piles of words.

Excuses

{Dame Ellen Terry as Imogen in 'Cymbeline'}

I have an English Literature CLEP test on Thursday. Me oh my! 

(Don't you love the colors and folds to this costume? I do!)