The Cowardly Lion picks a winner! (and lots more!)

Have you met the Cowardly Lion? Are you afraid of lions - don't be! This one is really, really sweet! She is wearing her badge of courage here for all to see~~~


This little "Cowardly lion" is all set to pick a winner - someone very lucky is going to spend some wonderful days at the beach!

Her ears keep falling off! We have to push them back up on her head just to take the picture!

Maddy girl loves CAKE. (she just likes to eat the icing.) Every time she sees her Auntie Vicki - she says "cake" and shakes that little head up and down. She still remembers the cake that we had when she picked the winner of my birthday give away. (this kid remembers everything!!!) So - we promised her cake AFTER she picked the winner of this contest. She said "yea!" and threw her hands up in the air!

"Where is your tail little Cowardly Lion?"

Here it is!

"How does the Cowardly Lion go? Grrrrr!"

(I forgot that I was wearing my glasses -

the very latest in the "school marm" look!)

Those ears about to hit the ground again!

Here we go again - she does this EVERY time! (and then we have to pick up all the papers again and put them back in the basket!)

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We have to take a little break here and run into the house~~~ and climb a stepladder and look into the kitchen cabinet and take EVERYTHING out and put it all back in and finally after looking for 20 minutes because we know it is there someplace ~ we finally find the edible writing pen so that we can write the winner's name on the CAKE because we promised the Cowardly Lion that she could have cake after she picked a winner!!! WHEW!!!

And the winner is DEB from the blog Mountain Musings. Congratulations dear Deb - Maddy girl wants to share her cake with you! Email me privately for your details! We will expect to see some serious vacation photos on your blog when you return. Details! Details!! We want to see it all! (where you eat - where you shop - the beach - if we can't be there - we want to live it through you!) Please join me in saying congrats to Deb on her win! (I know, I know, it is no fun to lose - but there will be more chances - I promise!)

~~~For those of you who played to win - entered every single day without fail - I can only say that I love you and I read EVERY SINGLE comment. I so regret that only one can win - but do not fear. If I remain so blessed - (and the storms do not blow the condo into the ocean!) we will do this again in the near future.

Here she goes - into the icing. The "DEB" part is about to go away!

A kiss for Auntie Vicki!

The Cowardly Lion strikes a pose.

"The End"

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How about a little bit of baby love? Want to see some new photos of our sweet little grandbaby? Kerri Beth is about 4 months old in these photos. (She is almost 6 months old now - so I am a little slow about posting these!) Will definitely try to do better!

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This photo makes me laugh!! She is just learning to laugh out loud and smiles all the time. Admit it - she is adorable!

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Don't you just love these little hands and feet!

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Do they love her or what!

We can hardly stand to be away from our sweet grandchildren. For those of you who live away from your grandbabies - you understand, I know. Our precious little Mason lives in Atlanta - 8 hours away. This little grand baby is a little closer - an hour and a half away - but even that is still too far.

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How about a little craft project for Halloween? This blog post has it all doesn't it! A Cowardly Lion - a beautiful grandbaby - and now a "way cool" little craft project that you are going to LOVE!!!

And you thought yarn was only for knittng or crochet! NOT!! Look what my friend Mary made with her yarn stash! She took a wooden stool - and wrapped it with yarns and then decorated it with a Halloween theme. Is this not the cutest thing ever! (and so easy - even I can do it - I think!)

Here is what you need for supplies - yarn, spray tacky glue, and a variety of embellishments. I know after you see this that you are all headed out to your closest Hobby Lobby!

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Seriously - you are going to make this aren't you! I am headed to the beach in a few weeks and I have my stool ready to go - while I am there I am going to craft one using a beach themed decor! Shouldn't have to go far to find some embellishments - just out to the beach! (that's the kind of friend I am - I have to copy all the cute stuff that Mary makes!)

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If you make this - your friends are going to think you are "super cool and crafty!" (and they will all want one!)

Well, no Halloween crafting for me! You just know what I am working on! Isn't there a requirement that you have to be near the water if you are working on "shorebird" nests?

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Just trying to enjoy the last days of summer here. The leaves are falling like crazy and it just seems like summer is going to end soon. (sigh -so sad!) So--- let's give a welcome to Fall with a new giveaway! Something so perfectly "autumn". Join me on October 1 for a "Harvest" surprise~~~

Vicki

"Washed by the Sea"

The sea is calm and unimaginably blue~~




The waves are small and rhythmic, soothing in their repetition as they quietly and softly roll ashore. The sea is powerful and unending - it's waves rolling again and again and again. Reminding us that it is both a treasure and a threat - it can feed you, it can kill you, it can create beauty, alive - but still only drops of salted water. Reminding us also, that when small things stand together they can create power.




The glass washed by the sea, is shaped by the waves that come again and again. For me - it is a visible proof that we should never give up - that if we consistently focus on things that we want to change, that after a while, - we will finally shape it.


The Gardener and I just returned from a wonderful (and romantic) cruise to Bermuda. One of our primary tasks - to find out if the legend of the "seaglass" beach was true~~

We had no idea what was awaiting us as we climbed down the crooked little winding stairs that led from the top of the hill to the beach below. Some creative person had embellished the stone walls and staircase with bits of seaglass and pottery. That someone would take the time to create such artistry was a delight for me. It was all sort of "corny" - and yet - I so loved it ! Taking these photos was such fun!

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We had found a seaglass lover's paradise! The most amazing sight - the entire beach was covered with bits of seaglass - in a variety of colors like we had never seen. Frosted whites, dark green, teal green, light green, brown, frosted brown, amber, yellow, pink, and a few precious pieces of that elusive blue!

My goal was to fill 2 gallon size zip lock bags. I could have filled 2 dump trucks! And at the shoreline, as the waves gently rocked against the sand - I listened to the constant jingle, jingle, jingle of the glass as it tumbled against the rocks and shore.

The first day that we visited the beach - we stayed there and played for over 3 hours. At one point we were trapped in a late afternoon rainstorm - so we donned our Gortex jackets and huddled under a tree against the hillside. When the rain was done - and we returned to the glass - the beach shimmered in that wet glow that makes the seaglass so beautiful. The colors were more vibrant and each piece seemed to shimmer and shine - saying "pick me - pick me"!

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We carefully selected each piece of glass that we chose - finding something special about the way it looked, and curved and shined~~

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Along the top of the beach - the glass was several inches thick in places. (good thing I brought those brand new water shoes!) This was one beach that you really did not want to walk on with bare feet. The glass was all tumbled and not sharp - but there was so much of it!!!

True seaglass collectors know that blue is one of the most desirable colors to be found. When you are lucky enough to find a piece of blue - it is often tiny - like this one above. (I brought home a nice bag of little pieces like this.) Those little treasures are headed to the "shorebird nests"!!

There were also bits and pieces of broken pottery - an amazing asortment of colors and designs. Can I just say that this still seems like a dream that we had really found such a place as this!

This view is of the "other side" of the seaglass beach. As you climb down the stairs - you can see that there is a beach on each side. We had to come back on a second day to scour this side of the beach. And when we did - the first thing I found was a beautiful piece of sapphire blue glass laying right at my feet!

See our happy "seaglass" smiles! Don't you love my fashionable pink water shoes! When we returned to the ship - don't you just know that I washed and examined every piece of glass - still unbelieving that we had found such treasures.

Legend has it that a kiss under a moon gate will bring you "forever love" and make your most secret wishes come true. This beautiful Moon Gate was not far from one of the seaglass beaches that we found. Bermuda is famous for their novelty Moon Gates. I will tell you more about this very special moon gate in a little bit when I post more photos of our wonderful trip.

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As summer draws to an end here for us all - I hope that you have enjoyed the bright and sunny days. Fall is in the air - I can smell it, I can feel it, I can sense it in the wind. Visit with me on October 1, if you can, for a special welcome to the Autumn season. And if you are waiting on those "shorebird nests" - they will be coming up soon!

Vicki