I Hope You'll Dance Today!

There is a time to mourn ... a time to dance!

(Eccles 3:4)

He (God) turns our mourning into dancing!

(Ps 30:11)

Praise His name with dancing!

(Ps 149:3)

Visit Charlotte and Ginger for more uplifting, Spiritual Sunday posts today!

WOW ~ Now that's a DC Rally

These photos were emailed to me today... I'm putting them on my blog because I was amazed by the amount of people who gathered in Washington, DC today.

This is it!

The last goodies of the summer...zucchini, corn, tomatoes. It's all going bye bye.




*Sniff*

The tomatoes were home grown, the zucchini and corn were bought at a local farmer's stand.

I decided to make my new favorite zucchini dish as we were using up the last of our summer produce.





Diced up two tomatoes and made a "salad" by adding onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and sweet basil.


Set it in the fridge for a couple of hours.



Then right before cooking dinner, I took two zucchini (the larger the better)

And cut them in half.





Carved them out to look like "boats."


Lined a baking sheet with foil and placed the zukes in a row.




Filled the boats with the tomato salad mixture. Added parmesan cheese to two of them for Dear Hubs...(he has a low tolerance for cheese.) Added provolone to the other two.




Baked them for 30 minutes at 400 degress. Larger zukes take longer to cook.



Paired them up with angel hair pasta




And a fresh salad...grape tomatoes came from our deck container garden!



MMMMMMmmmmm MMMMMmmmm.




Delizioso.

Cottage Dreamy

Last week Dear Bebe and I went to visit a friend at her summer cottage. This is where she and her family go to get away from it all. Their cottage was built in 1900. It is surrounded by other cottages and woods in a cute artsy, camplike setting. I wrote about our last trip to this area a few months ago when Dear Hubs and I took a Sunday drive. (We rarely get to go on those!)

There's not a whole lot of TV, computers (blogs...ha!), or electronic gadgets to distract you. It's well, it's kind of nice!

And relaxing.

This charming cottage is decorated with all kinds of vintage pieces. To let you in on a little secret...she is actually one of our fellow antique dealers where Dear Hubs and I have our antique booth.

Look how sweet she decorated!

And this was a great idea for placing notes or hang artwork. So cute!

This vintage sink even has charm!

And a claw foot bathtub!

What a dreamy place to go for a retreat. Dear Bebe and I enjoyed our outing and seeing her dreamy cottage. Where do you like to go to get away?

Simple Words With Big Impact

(Lebanon, PA Townhall Meeting, August 2009. Arlen Specter US Congressman)

Recently I was feeling anxious and worried about things happening in our country, to our country, and with our country. I probably don't need to explain any further.

Here is what comforted me:

Psalm 91 (New International Version)

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

It may sound old fashioned, outdated, and a bunch of gobbley gook to those who don't read the bible...but what happens when we pull some of the basic context out of the phrasing. These words are simple, but stand the test of time:

Rest
Refuge
Fortress
Trust
Save
Cover
Faithful
Shield
No Fear
No Harm
No Disaster
Guard
Lift Up
Love
Rescue
Protect
Deliver
Honor
Satisfy
Salvation.

What an awesome promise.

Gee, I think I can handle that.

For more inspiring thoughts today visit Charlotte and Ginger's blog for Spiritual Sunday. The list of participants is growing each week.

Back to School!

My sweetie pies (neice and nephew) went back to school this week.

Are they adorable or what? I especially love the school uniforms. My Sister and I didn't have to wear them. Makes it easy to figure out what to wear!

I remember that first day back to school feeling. Excitement, anxious about the unknown. Will I like my new teachers? Will I see my friends?

Wasn't being a kid grand?

I'm Going to Miss...

As Dear Bebe approaches her one year birthday I am realizing how much I'm going to miss my little baby girl. Yes, she'll always be my baby girl but this was our first year together and it was special!

I'm going to miss seeing her Grandmothers hold her for the first time.

And her Aunties.

I'm going to miss her little chubby cheeks as I dressed her in "too too cute" outfits.

Like this one with ears.

And the bunny suit. Gosh that was cute.

And I'm going to miss how much she hated her first bath. No, scratch that. I'm not going to miss that. I felt terrible. Just look AT THAT FACE. The "Why are you doing this to me face."

But then look at that sleeping cherubic face!

Or this one. So sweet! I'm going to miss these moments.

And the way she discovered new things.

I'm going to miss how proud she was of herself for sitting up in a real chair.

And I'm definitely going to miss how she hooks her little feet onto the tray of the high chair.

Well, I'm just going to miss just about EVERYTHING!

But I look forward to more. More things she will learn, more ways I can teach her, and more ways that she teaches me things about my life.

Thanks for a great year, Sweetie.