Rain Reigned

The weather was really bad last nights. Thunderstorms, bringing showers that seemed to me like they were out of this world, reigned and rained throughout the night.

Around 2:30 AM, we got woke up by the phone. Even if we had been awake enough to answer the question from the caller, we would not have been able to. The power went out right about the same time as the call. It was our youngest daughter, asking about the weather report. Duhhh... that ought to be clear, huh?!

Well, it was not clear at all, sky-wise. I have never heard so much water fall from the sky. Surprisingly, is was back up and running again around 5 AM, which is pretty quick. Not that I had any notion of that event. I was conked out. I suspect, this passing depression is the culprit of my passing fatigue.

We went to take a drive early this morning, to see some of the aftermath of all that rain. Personally, we did not suffer any damage from the downpour. Other areas in our close vicinity had though. The normally, small creeks had turned in to little raging rivers and had flooded roads, trailer parks and a vast majority of the surrounding land looked like swamps.

The flood level was going down pretty fast. That is a blessing. I hope it will be the same for all other areas and states. I know, that the problems we were faced with are minor, compared to what they were and still are going through.

Let's hope it clears up soon. In every aspect!

Wood Art - Carving

Carving and adorning wood, has been around as long as mankind. Whether it was sculpted to serve as a fish hook, or just to enhance the appearance of a paddle, people have been carving all around the world.

Seeing how it takes a steady hand and how tedious the work is, I have a great appreciation for this form of art. Add to that, that the natural material breaths such a warmth and reflects nature in so many ways.

Carving includes all types of wooden creations, wall plaques, statues, ornaments etc. Often, the shapes and figures are much smoother and larger, then the whittled figurines.

Due to all the different types of wood and finishings used, wooden art always finds a place in any interior.

See also:
Wood Art - Carving Tools And Materials

Getting Out

The weather is lovely today. The sun is shining and the temperature is to a point, where it is inviting us to get out.

Our son in law was supposed to come over and start on the second coat of paint on the house. He called off this morning, because our daughter was not feeling well. She is plagued by morning sickness. Hopefully, that will pass soon and I expect it will. She is almost 2 months pregnant now.

Anyway, since he is not going to paint, that leaves us free to enjoy the day and we have decided to drive up to Atmore and check out one of the parks. We love to find new places to go camping and this could be one of them. From what our oldest told us, it sure has great potential.

I am looking forward to it and maybe in my next post, I can share some pictures with y'all. :-)

The Art Of Love

I have finally started to do, what I had intended for so long now and had not gotten around to: print out all the posts on our grandsons and put them in a memory book. I have a book for each one of the boys.

What I had not realized was, that I had already so many posts. I ended up with a huge stack of paper. I am in the middle of sorting, ordering, cutting and pasting. Once that is done, the rough draft is ready. That is where the real fun begins.

Even though it is supposed to be a sort of memory book, I do want to turn it in to something special. I plan on sprucing up and embellishing the pages. You could probably call it 'Scrap booking'.

I have seen several shows on scrap booking on TV and I consider it to be a beautiful form of art. The ideas and creations people come up with, the materials they find and use, take a lot of creativity and imagination. I love seeing, how they manage to bring it all together. The results are always so gorgeous.

It will take a while though, before I can get to that, but that's okay. I hope it will turn out to be a work of art. If not, then that is fine as well. It definitely is a labor of love. :-)

Down Came The Rain

It is such a dreary day. Ever since yesterday afternoon, the rain has been coming down. Every now and then we get a short break from the 'cats and dogs', falling from the sky.

The forecast is, this is going to last for the entire week. That is no fun. It does a number on me as well. All I want to do is lay down, listen to the rain and fall asleep. At least the frogs are enjoying it. They are sitting on our patio in the pouring rain and ribbit their little heads off.

The house painting is on hold. When the second coat is going on, we don't know. That depends on the weather gods and son-in-law. By the time the weather turns, he may have a job. Oh well, then we will have to finish it ourselves. It will only take longer. Probably much longer. No sweat. Ehhh, let me correct that. It will take a whole lot of sweat on our part. Grin.

Don't be misled by that grin at the end of the sentence. It was only, because I tickled myself with the 'ingenuity' of the play on words. No, I would not be a happy camper, if we had to finish it ourselves. We already have our plates full as it is.

On the other hand, we could use the activity and we also know God gives what's needed, when it's needed. :-)

Wood Art - Whittling Supplies

For whittling you don't need much, just a knife. Most people use a pocket knife, since that is easy to carry around. The only requirement they have is, that if fits well in their hand and is sharp.

There are special whittling knives available. Those usually come unsharpened, which means you would have to have a sharpening block and a strop to hone the blade. That is, if you want to do it yourself.

It is recommended. It saves time and money and you can sharpen it to the extend you feel comfortable with. Of course you can buy a whittling starter kit, which includes all of the above. Another thing, I personally would advise you, is to get a finger, or thumb protector. That might save you a lot of grieve.

If you are new to whittling and don't know how to start, there are all kinds of books available. Do a search online and you can find lots of tips, tricks and even free patterns to start with.

Some woods are softer and easier to work with. You may want to try different types, to see which one you like best. If it does not work out the first time, don't despair. Practice makes perfect. :-)

Wood Art - Whittling

Whittling is different from wood carving. For whittling, all you need is a piece of raw wood and a pocket knife. For wood carving, all kinds of knives and other attributes are used.

While I was in college, we had to whittle a totem pole. Although my creation was not as good as the ones in the picture on the left, it turned out to look somewhat similar.

I truly enjoyed it and must have been pretty decent at it, seeing how it got me an A, besides several cuts in my fingers, haha. That last did not decrease the fun and I whittled several more in my spare time.

It may well be, that most of you have done some whittling as well. Maybe you did, and are still doing it, as a hobby. There are some very skilled and talented whittlers around. Give them a piece of wood and they turn it in to a sheer work of art.

I love the warmth, that the wood reflects. The creations make beautiful decorations and complement any interior. Maybe I will pick up whittling again, some time.

See also:
Wood Art - Whittling Supplies

The Art Of Making It Through The Day

I think, we can all relate. I know, I can, haha. It usually goes something like this:

While stumbling to the bathroom in the morning, I hit my toe.

Finally reaching the kitchen to make coffee, I discover we are out of instant coffee. That means, digging up the stepping stool, to get the coffee maker out of the upper cabinet.

I have to open a new can of creamer and someone conveniently forgot to refill the sweetener.

By that time, I am already aggravated and frustrated. Geezzz, give me a break, I am not even awake yet.

Dropping, spilling and breaking things, I drag myself through the day. I hate to admit it, but it is nice to know, I am not the only one. :-)






You had a hard time, getting out of bed.









Washing your hair turned in to a bad hair day.










After sticking to your new diet for the past 6 months, you pigged out one time, last night.









Your boss chewed you up at work.









On top of that, the 'pigging out' from before, did not go over well.







A little consolation to cheer you up:
you made it through the day and any day you can walk away from, is a good day!

There is always tomorrow. Maybe the sun will come out again. :-)

How Is This For Art?!

I had never seen this before and was both impressed and amazed. The coordination one must have, to pull this off, is incredible. In my eyes, it definitely is an art. Take a look and you will know, what I am talking about.


How did you like this art form? I don't know about you, but I already have my hands full, trying to juggling the daily stuff. Grin.

Jet Boeke's Economical Impact

Jet Boeke has published more then 50 books of Tummy Tom, over the years.

In September 2000, Jet Boeke was awarded the Dutch 'Kiekeboekprijs' for her book 'Where is Tummy Tom?' It was considered to be the best toddler book for that past year.

CDs, toys, puzzles and lots of other items, have been inspired by this cute, little red cat and can be bought in stores and online.

The adventures of Tummy Tom have been translated in many languages and toddlers all over the world learn, enjoy and love the stories about this little red rascal.

God's Art

These pictures I received a while back and I was astonished by all their beauty.

The first one is the rarest of all the natural occurrences in the atmosphere. It only happens, when the clouds are cirrus and at least 20.000 feet up in the air. It has to have just the right amount of ice crystals and the sun has to hit the clouds from a 58 degree angle precisely.

It is called a fire-rainbow.


Isn't that gorgeous?! How about the ones below? I never saw the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights as it is called as well, up close and personal. The times I did get to see it, was on TV. That still was very impressive.


It's like God took His paint brush and used the sky as His canvas, leaving a few brush strokes here and there for us to admire.


God's art is beautiful. It is for everyone to enjoy. It is priceless! :-)