Who 'dat?

It has been a long, hot and dry summer here in the Lilac Thicket.  I have been away from the blog for quite a while.  There is no one reason for my absence, other then life. 


The Professor did a wonderful thing a few weeks ago, he bought me beautiful flowers.  He had walked up to our Farmer's Market and brought home vegetables, homemade bread and a bunch of flowers that included gladiolas, Gerber daisies and a lovely stem of this lacy looking green fern.  I have the pictures now to enjoy as the flowers dried up.

The secluded Thickets all over are parched and brown.  Many trees are dropping their leaves and the farmer's crops are bad.  I found life in pictures of various flowers I have come across, like these knock out roses in Independence.

Our family has spent way too much time at our local hospital.  Brother 2 had his appendix rupture as the surgeon was removing them and then they couldn't stop his bleeding.  He ended going home for a couple of days and returning with a horrible huge abscess from tummy to back.  14 days in the hospital!  It was not fun for any of us, but he is going back to work on Monday.  Praise the Lord!

Mom ended up in the hospital this past Sunday when she couldn't breath.  She did the right thing by going to the emergency room.  She did the wrong thing by not calling any of us until the next morning.  She went home late on Monday with lots of medication to treat her severe bronchitis. 


On a lovely note she had the prettiest Hydrangea bush.  They were spectacularly colored blooms.

Last month down the street was a hibiscus bush with blooms as big as my face!  I had never seen those flowers with such huge blooms.  Of course I needed pictures.

This is a lovely bar stool that the Professor and I bought at the Thrift Shop for three dolla'!  I love it.


My schedule at work has changed and I am now off on Fridays and Saturdays so we miss the Monday half price sales.  That being said, the Thrift Shop is still my favorite place to haunt.

I fell in love with this lovely swing for sale up at my favorite HyVee.  Being a poor soul, I could only sit on it and ponder all the joy and peace I could enjoy resting in it at the Lilac Thicket.  It was gone the next day and I hoped someone had thoughtfully dropped it off at the Lilac Thicket, but alas...no!

I had mentioned in a post some months back that I had broke out the sewing machine.  I had made a really cute sun dress but it is too small and I became discouraged.  I have the dress hanging in the closet for the day when I lose enough weight to wear it.  I did start my inspiration book with a lovely pink blingy journal someone gave me.

I am filling it with swatches of some of the fabric in my stash and ideas of...

girlishly delicious elements and designs I like for my future creative endeavors.  I love ruffles and flowers!

Inspired by a t-shirt I saw being worn by a woman on television, I want to create my own blouse with fabric I have pulled in my own collection.  I envision a camisole style with a strip of one fabric around the bust and  then strips of different prints as the body.  I would like to overlay different lace pieces I have where the seams of the strips lay, down the entire seam.  I want a collar like this:

The tutorial is here: http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2010/07/gardens-at-dusk-tank-tutorial.html

It has been too hot to do much cooking or baking.  Our little Thicket is only about 850 square feet so it quickly heats up.  It isn't too hot though to collect yummy sounding recipes.  I found a wonderful sale of locally grown zucchini which I shredded and froze for wonderful future bread.

I have been feeling super for the past couple of months.  I have lost some weight and I have been taking green coffee beans, just 2 with each meal and I have been losing weight even though I haven't changed what I eat.  The girls at work are doing this and some have lost and some haven't.  It was worth a try and it seems to be working for me.  I have a doctor appointment Monday so I will find out just how much I lost since March.

Mom gave me her tread mill.  I wanted it to walk, it really isn't like walking down the street, it is harder, I must be doing something wrong.


Well my dearest readers that is what is happening here, just simple life! Stay happy, Stay Blessed!  God Bless!