Fancy That! {and triple frosting for you!}

Do you keep cards you love?

 My sister made this card for me.

Triple frosting with a heart on top!

It's a keeper.

Thank you, Doreen ♥

...and I'd love to catch you all up on Doreen's shop,

Fancy That!

"Accessories for the Well-Dressed Cupcake."

It is well into its third month.

I have found such pretty things there that are now in my kitchen!

"Life is sweeeet!  Eat a cupcake!

Cupcake liners that keep their colors after baking!

Sprinkles!

I love her pretty displays!

Doreen loved Barb's idea for her shop's subtitle.

{Thank You Barb!}

This is her beautiful Fancy That!  website:

Fancy That! was also featured in Artique Boutique's Blog

Stop here to read her post.

Doreen is working hard to make Fancy That! an online store.

What accessories for the well-dressed cupcake do you love?

Your feedback will help her select the perfect colors and items!

 I'll definitely keep you posted when she starts her online shop!

 My daughter, Amanda, is visiting.
We'll be watching our favorite "chick flicks" and baking,

of course!

 I hope you are all having a sweet weekend.

and a

BIG THANK YOU

to our Veterans!

love DOES exist

We love because God first loved us.

1 John 4:19

 

And think not you can Direct the course of love, 

For love, If it finds you worthy, Directs your course.
Kahlil Gibran

 

A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness.
John Keats

Wishing you

love and joy always,

     ~Maria

{Photos taken July, 2011 at the Lady Bird Gardens ~ Austin, Texas}

Allons à Paris

~ It's Simply Irresistible!

There are two fun happenings this weekend in Blogland.

Happy 3rd Birthday Pink Saturday at Beverly's
and a
Paris Blog Tour with
Anita @ Castles, Crowns and Cottages

I'm loving ♥ it!

Several years ago ~ To remember Paris

...my daughter, Amanda suggested that I make prints of my old slides.  

These hang in my dining room.

For my "Paris Tour," I browsed more of my photographs.

The Eiffel Tower was not lit up like this when I was there.

Some day, I'll see it again, and it will be

magnifique!

and I will shop here

and here

But, in the meantime,

I'll also enjoy browsing the internet for 

beautiful cupcakes.

This one reminds me that I was 21 when I went to France.

...and I will enjoy the lovely lilies of the valley in my garden.

to remind me of La Fête du Muguet
celebrated on May 1

If I were in Paris now,

I would send you lovely notes with these stamps on the envelopes. 

{timbres}

from La Poste Timbre

Merci Anita pour cette idée fabuleuse!

Vous êtes très douce.

♥

Au revoir mes amis!

Bon weekend!

~Maria

Nooo... Not Jury Duty!

That was my reaction to the call for

After all,

I'm busy teaching,

my father's been with us and will return in a few days

{He's home for some check-ups and is coming back for Christmastime}

...oh yea...

and... It's CHRISTMAS!

I was at work until 6:40 on Friday preparing for my substitute.

{and making my room pretty for Christmas}

I didn't want to go downtown for jury duty;

what was it going to be like anyway!

This morning, the roads were greasy...traffic on the interstates was rush hour thick.

To find parking, I had to use the ginormous parking garage of a major hotel.

Security confiscated my camera until I left the building.

{I see this rule as very archaic since all of us still had our cellphones}.

There were 125 of us in one of the courtrooms.  We filled out all the paperwork

...and waited...

for our numbers to be selected for a jury.

...we waited some more...

{Was this a good sign?}

It was!

A jury was not needed since the people settled out of court.

We were all dismissed.

I had the afternoon off.

Another Christmas surprise.
Sometimes God's gifts come in unexpected packaging!

Heaven knew I needed a break.

~

Our group was dismissed.

But there was another jury there today, in a different part of the building,
determining someone's fate.

The news teams were all there.

~

Such a different day for me.

It was a real learning experience.
There's quite a process to justice.

 And,  it's so much better to be on "this side" of the law.

~

Jury duty in America is not optional.

If you are called, you must go.

What does your state or country demand of you?

Have you ever been called for jury duty?

~
I hope your week started out well.
It's very cold here ~ keeping warm under lots of wool!

Wishing you all

peace, joy and warm hearts

{A Hometown Sky Watch}

They really do a wonderful job decorating in my hometown.

I love how every streetlamp has a lighted wreath.

Every flagpole is another reminder of the long but pretty winters in Central New York.

One of my favorite flower shops, Pires,

welcomes everyone with great cheer!

I just love this tree with its rustic flare and

of course,

all the little birdies!

poinsettias!

A wish for a wonderful weekend to all my

magnanimoose friends!

Happy Sky Watching

* look out for snowflakes *

and

Happy Merry watching too!

~ Have a sweet and lovely weekend my friends ~

Love, 

Maria

Visit Sky Watch Friday for amazing skies the world over!

 

Thank you Sky Watch Team!

A View of the Land

"Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar."

- Isaiah 33:17

 

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.”

-  Dalai Lama

“Storms make trees take deeper roots.”
- Dolly Parton

“Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.”
-  Winston Churchill

“Trees are Earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.”
- Rabindranath Tagore

The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone.  

- Johann von Goethe

 

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the seat of scoffers?
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night,
And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season;
And its leaf does not wither:
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
- Psalms 1 :1-4 

 

~   ~   ~

 Dear family and friends,

... Let us seek ...

Beauty

Truth

Strength

Goodness

Heaven

~ Thatcher State Park in NY

A Flourishing Finish

Enjoying the

 grand finale

of summer gardens

find Summer's end in all it's glory

at a

farmer's market

 

Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden.

~Robert Brault

 .  .  .

Gather the bounty of Summer

Enjoy an autumn feast! 

Sky Watch at Indian Lake, Adirondack Mts. New York

We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
~
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

Can you paint

with all the colors

of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest

Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth

Come roll in all the riches all around you

And for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers

The heron and the otter are my friends

 And we are all connected to each other

In a circle, in a hoop that never ends . . .

~ I imagine Our Creator to be in the center of this circle ~

and

my heart is filled with gratitude

~  ~  ~

Every August

my husband and son camp at Indian Lake in the Adirondack Mts.

The main event is the Perseids Meteor Shower.

This year, skies were cloudy during the day creating spectacular sunrises and sunsets

and super clear at night to see the meteorites!

Neither Chris nor Jason had a watch or cellphone.

All elements of time were left in the car.

They loved this!
and

They love having this time together.

~ ~ ~
{photos taken by husband, Chris, at sunrise other photos by Chris and Jason}

Click here:

and find hundreds of people from all over the world sharing a glimpse of what they discovered while sky watching.

A BIG shout out to our hosts at  Sky Watch Friday

Thank you so much: 

Klaus Sandy Sylvia Wren Louise Fishing Guy

I am also participating in Friday's Pretties.

Enjoy more beauty at I Love Pretty Little Things

~ Thank you Joyce for Hosting Us ~

Thank you, Disney
and 
Thank you Pocahontas for the beautiful lyrics!