the other day this bluebird did something i found very strange~

 for over an hour it kept hitting my window- (on the second floor) and then clinging to the screen for awhile. i took many photos of it as it continued to fly away and then "clunk" scratch, scratch...it would be back. don't know what that was all about- but i decided it was the bluebird of happiness trying to alert me that something REALLY GREAT is coming my way!

here's a couple more photos favorites from last week.

                                          monarda

                               anise-smells like licorice-yumm

                                   a single morning glory leaf

                 and this spectacular zinnia? look closely, it's a triplet.

sometimes i wonder what my neighbors think when they see me outside early in the morning in my nightie and slippers, camera in hand. bent low in front of a blossom.

i love the little things in life. the things that slow me down in wonder.

be blessed today,

xo beth

yard sales are the bEsT!

look what i found for 5 bucks today!!!! umm hmmm- an old typewriter. it's the most to die for color- turquoisy green, still has a ribbon in it that works and it's value on e-bay? up to $325.

got in the car and my heart was racing a little bit. just say'n.

if you want, i'll type a letter and send it to you! i will!!!  in jr. high i could type about 70 words a minute on a manual typewriter. it was one of my favorite classes. the boys didn't like it as much if i remember correctly. my bff naomi was the fastest typist in the room and they used to torture her by walking up to throw away a spit ball or something and they'd hit the return button on her machine-making her loose her place. dumb boys.

give me $20 and turn me loose on a thursday morning. i think it's a little like
winning the lottery on a good day.   :  ) 

hope your weekend is filled with sunny skies (and temperatures that never get close to 90).

xo, beth

keep calm and bring home the gold !

i wasn't born with an athletic bone in my body (even though my calves look like i am a runner-it's just all smoke and mirrors folks) - i do however love to watch super athletes compete. i love to see all the human interest stories that tell us what these amazing people have accomplished to get to compete in the olympics. i love it that there are more women than men competing from the good old USA this year. i love all the "keep calms" (in case you aren't in the know- that expression started in England during the war).

let the games begin! i'm in my easy chair, i'm ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GIDDY UP! GOD SPEED & GOOD LUCK !

eucharisteo

about a year ago i read a book that changed my life. the title is One Thousand Gifts. the writer, ann voscamp, challenges you to begin living a life of gratitude. she freely admits that she'd suffered in her life and that she was stuck in the fear of what else bad could happen. she was having a hard time being hopeful and then she started writing-every single day-what she was thankful for. it changed her. she had a goal to get to 1000 things she was grateful for. well she hit that goal and kept on going.
i decided to buy a beautiful book and  start my own one thousand gifts.

what it becomes~~~ is a gift to yourself. even on the most frustrating days, if i take a couple of minutes to think back on my day- there are always blessings. whether they are simple-like the first cosmos blossom of the season or something huge like a new job...i get into bed with a lighter heart~ bathed in gratitude for the many gifts i have been given.

eucharisteo is thanksgiving. giving thanks.   if i ever get a tattoo, it  just might  be that latin word. am i too old for a tattoo? do you have any? do you regret getting them?


feeling grateful this morning,

xo, beth

yep...it's love

this is my sweet niece and her boyfriend/husband. they were just on a vacation and she posted this picture. i think it's as adorable as she is- and this boy? he ain't bad either! they just celebrated their 3rd wedding anniversary and i want to wish them many, many more romantic sunsets together.

love you guys- hope you don't mind me sharing the love!!!!

xo, beth

in the news

it has been kind of a long time since i have worked in my studio. yesterday i was home alone and inspiration struck.   sat. on the way home from a friends i stopped and bought some new jewelry supplies and yesterday i got busy...  : )

the results were several pairs of earrings for a fall sale and THEN i even started crocheting a hat. it felt good.

i also enjoyed watching the season finale' of the bachelorette. there is something so darned sweet and totally sincere about that emily. and jef? adorable right? i think they are perfect for each other and i LOVE seeing 2 people completely head over heels in love. (i called it on the date where they were playing with puppets. i went to work the next day and told my boss that i knew he was "the one").

so...it's finally the week of the olympics!!!!!!!!!!!!  i really should be in london right now, settling into my hotel and practicing my british accent. i'm part english, so it comes pretty naturally. just ask my family~~~ no don't! they'll say i'm not that good, but trust me, i am. love me some olympics.

and lastly-  did you hear david hasselhoff turns 60 this week? the hoff~ 60? i so remember watching his show when he was young and hot and being kind of shocked at all the footage of young female lifegaurds running on the beach~ breasts bouncing up and down in slow motion.

rahrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 i want to know, are you one of the people who have stolen the life sized posters of him from around the nation? haha they said on the news this morning that there are 54 of them missing.
  i find comfort in the fact that some of the famous people in the news are still older than me. when that changes and i am older than all the people making the news i think it's going to be very sad. like i'll be saying "who???" who are you talking about? never heard of him."

sposed to be ridiculously hot here again today-

thank you GOD for airconditioning.

amen.

NOW, COME ON MONDAY, LET'S DO THIS!!!!!!!

xo, beth

it's saturday

and i am having such a great "girl" day with

a dear friend~

we have talked, shopped, seen a shoplifter being arrested.(stilletos and handcuffs~

 not a good look),

 eaten cream filled donuts, and a delish mexican lunch with margaritas~arrrriba!

we've worked on blogs, taken a lot of pictures

laughed at each others jokes

and marveled at the wonder of her precious little one.

can't think of anything i'd rather be doing.  : )

what are you doing today?

xo, beth

p.s. i took the photo above last week, it's one of my favorites!

today i'm going to share some snapshots from our lodge up north.

vintage minnow bucket from a friend~

the beginning of a wall of family memorabilia~this wall will be upgraded to actual wood someday.   haha

i love books. just love em.

my gram made this bear out of an old coat in the 70's. what a treasure.

this pillow was a birthday gift

and then there's duke (doogie to me). he's always a part of our weekends there with our oldest son.

this game board was my sweetie's when he was a child. (that makes it old). : )

this is not photoshopped. promise. it's really a little hummingbird hanging out at my feeder.

our vacation this summer will consist of going to our cabin. a lot. so that's where most of my pictures will be from. it's our happy place now.

i hope these pictures made you a little bit happy too!

xo, beth

just say'n

right?

: P

a day without flowers is just...well, it's just sad.

and i don't like to be sad...so as usual, when we got to our "lodge" last weekend, my guy and i headed out on 4-wheelers to check on our crops, that being the sweetcorn, pumpkins and melons we've got growing, and also my FLOWERS!!!  not much is blooming yet in the garden, so we headed out on the trails and there was an abundance of "pretty" just ripe for the pickin'.
here's my weekend's kitchen window bouquet. (note the curtains i made last week).

and  because there is a simple abundance of wildflowers on our land, we picked enough for several other places and vases- like this.      : )

last time we were up, i picked and froze rhubarb too and so for the first time ever in my hunting lodgey-like kitchen, muffins were made.

other highlights of the weekend included:

the whole larson clan being there together~ 7 + 2 dogs

part of my bedroom getting painted~

mulch being spread~

a new lawnmower being purchased....(no more hauling ours from home on a trailer)~

and we tubed on the crow wing river on a hot, lazy sunday afternoon~

*life is being so good to us, and we are very aware of it.

if the only prayer you said in your whole life was thank you, that would be enough.

thanks,

xo, beth

good morning and happy friday!

today's post is going to be really random...cause there's just a lot of good stuff i want to share with y'all. the good stuff is backing up~ it's about to burst- : )

let's start with this book: traveling mercies, by anne lamott. i'm about half way through with it and loving every page. one review says this~

"as confiding as one of j.d. salinger's narrators, and as funny-she draws you in...putting the book down would be like hanging up on a dear friend." -austin american-statesman

would one of you please read it and let me know if you love it too? thx-you're the best!

************

now, how fabulous are these pillows? wouldn't a whole bed full be the cat's meow.

(pun intended)

they look like they'd be easy to make actually, don't you think?

i have a thing about pillows. pillows, and honey bees and tiaras and/or crowns, berries, any hurting child, iced coffee- (yumm- i make it the night before, stick it in the fridge and it's there waiting for my on these sticky summer mornings, when a hot beverage sounds awful).

i also love berries in flower arrangements, knit headbands, white sheets and towels, a different pr. of reading glasses in every room and a stack of books to go with them. oh and little birds serenading me outside my window.

i also love cameras and pretty pastries, great gardens and old chairs...

 

braids, silver jewelry, anything that makes me laugh out loud and

situations that call me to be a better person. yesterday i had one of those ah-ha moments.

*********

 i had clients come in that had driven a long ways to have

their daughters senior pictures taken. this family was not the typical family that comes to our studio. we are used to clients with very comfortable lives. people who live on the lake and who's teenagers have quite possibly not ever had a job.

the family that i worked with yesterday had no gps to help them find our studio. they don't own a computer either. just trying to help them figure out how they would get across the city to excelsior, mn. was a challenge. the whole family came too. the senior girl. mom, grandma, dad, the brother.

when i saw them i was a bit shocked i must admit. sleeve tattoos, long unwashed hair. poor hygiene.

 like i said, not our typical clients.

what i also saw was pride. the same kind of pride on their faces as our clients who live on the lake and have computers in their cars. they wanted nice pictures of their daughter and they were excited. the senior girl could have brought 6 outfits to be photographed in. she wore one and brought one other t-shirt. she loves hearts and she loves baseball games.

annie found a wall with a heart sprayed on it and also dug in the basement and found a ball and glove she could borrow.

i asked her if she'd ever been to the new stadium in town. she said no, she just loves to watch it on t.v.

by the time they left i wanted to take their whole family to a game. i will admit that when i first saw them i felt a bit of disgust...(the smell, the clothes...) but as i worked with them i was reminded that although they may  not have been as "clean" as most of my usual clients, they loved their daughter the same way. they loved her and they wanted her to have this rite of passage-beautiful senior pictures.

i can only imagine how hard it probably will be for them financially to afford what we offer.

but love comes in all shapes and sizes doesn't it? inside old clothes and under hair that hasn't seen a hair salon, maybe ever.

today i am reminded of the goodness of the human heart, and how we may all look very different on the outside when inside, we are all so very much the same.

*i'll be back on monday- with pictures and stories and a bit more of my story to tell,

~thanks for reading,

*(i warned you this was going to be random...it actually ended up even more random than i even thought it would be. :  ) i just write. i never know what's going to end up on these pages!)

xo, beth

too good not to share~

i subscribe to this blog called the brave girls club. (this is re posted from their site.)

i get their daily feeds and its surprising how many days their well written words speak right to me & seem to be just what i needed to hear.

if you are interested just google them and get in on all the goodness.

these 2 chicks, melody and kathy have come up with such a brilliant "why didn't i think of that" idea. it started with their blog, which is alllllll about encouraging women. next they had a twice a year camp they called SOUL RESTORATION and it has grown and blossomed and NOW they are opening a year around camp out west that i would like to add to my bucket list. you get to go and hear other women tell their stories, encourage one another~ make all kinds of art, eat, rest and restore your soul. all of this on the banks of the idaho river in gorgeous star idaho.

be still my heart.

from one brave girl to another,

make it a great day!

xo beth

umm hmmmm.

oh how i wish i had an overhang. with an overhand one could easily ask your boyfriend to make you
one of these swing beds. if  i had one of these swing beds i'm pretty sure i could become a napper. i'd take a stack of delicious magazines and a cool beverage with mint ice cubes in it, and lie swinging on my cradle in the early morning sun.

looks like a little slice of heaven to me.  amen

hope you have the kind of day that leaves you smiling,

xo, beth

my oldest had a birthday yesterday....his pop suggested that "we" make a cake and decorate it with a shotgun shell. we're very classy.

i am surrounded by redneck hunters people~ i even gave birth to 3 of them! the other 3 are my hubs, grandson and my daughter's boyfriend.

if you can't beat 'em, join 'em i always say. (actually i never say that)

lars baked the cake, lemon by request, and i took it from there.

you don't believe i made this do you? the sheer talent it took to make this may have you doubting me.

i took this picture to prove it was actually made here in my kitchen:

 the hardest part was turning store bought white frosting into deep red, oh yeah and washing my decorating bags and tips afterwards.

the birthday boy grinned from ear to ear when he saw it... whatever you do don't tell him i put his picture on my blog though....he doesn't have the same appreciation for social media that i do.

: )

this nice boy is single. i made sure to give him the piece with the word "women" on it. he saved it for last.  : )

one of his birthday presents was this bandana for his new doggie, how handsome is duke with his new scarf?

we love birthdays at our house. the birthday person gets to choose what i cook and what kind of cake they want...and of course there are presents-and every year the same old happy birthday sign gets hung on the wall. little sister runs upstairs and plays happy birthday on the piano too....EVEN when brothers beg her not too...hahaha (that's always a highlight for me). what crazy-fun stuff do you do at your house for birthdays?

xo, beth

oh the "wholesomeness"

who doesn't love a good old farmer's market? on sat. my friend cindy picked me up in her yellow bug (with the floral wheelcover) : ) and off we went to the mill city market!!!

it was the first day that hadn't been a soaring scorcher for so long that people were out in droves. the granola people, the babies in strollers, the bikers-hikers and slackers. sporting bandanas and bike shorts, sundresses and graphic t's, together we spent the morning looking, taking pictures, buying, eating and exploring the area. i'd never walked across the scenic stone arch bridge or watched a boat being lowered in the lock at the dam. i told ms. cindy that i felt like i was on vacation---i was full of questions and like a little kid full of wonder.

here in pictures is some of our fun~

  
there are many farmers markets to choose from in this big buzzin city i live in, but this was one of my favorites. big enough to be interesting, small enough to feel quaint and "hometownish".

i even got $7 in change like this~ & harldly knew what these coins were...haha

these yarns were so yummy i wanted to eat them, or buy them allll and learn to weave, or maybe just get my own sheep?

the mighty mississippi.... (i have always loved spelling mississippi out loud--you just did it too didn't you? come on, i know you did!)

i need to own one of these babies~

i came home all sunkissed and tired out- happy as a clam from my mini vacation to the big city. this county girl sure enjoyed her trip to the city on saturday.

xo, beth