I found this on Etsy and and couldn't believe how unique and lovely this is...this is a quilt! yes, a quilt....I am just starting to quilt a little, and so admire this....isn't it great? and the price is not bad, considering all the hours of work done on it....the artist has several more in her etsy shop so I couldn't leave you hanging, here is her link...The Quilted Cottage
************************************************************************************

I was listening this morning to the Bible reading when Boots decided to join me..he's our kitty who is ill with kidney failure....he still enjoys life and is doing well...we are taking it day by day. He likes to be right where I am most days...
guess I should have closed the closet door, that's all shipping materials...

Wednesday Pet of the Week

This is Boomer, and Tiger.....their owner became very ill and could no longer take care of them...they are pure bred poodles and very sweet dogs...poodles make great pets, intelligent and loyal.....the owner had only good things to say about them and was so sad to give them up..they've found a safe haven at the Sun City k-9 Dog Rescue but need their forever home, they can be adopted separately. Poodles are good dogs for people with allergies as they don't shed but do have to be groomed on a regular basis.

I was on the phone with Alan about 11 yesterday morning when the trash truck came by..the noise from the truck is always loud but it seemed to get louder and louder..then the walls started shaking, with a rolling motion....the liquid in the oil lamps was slopping around, I told Alan, "I think we have a earthquake."..he said, "funny, I don't feel it"...he was driving....our cats ran and hid...
we turned on the news, and they were reporting an 5.8 earthquake with the epicenter in Chino Hills, which is about a hours drive north of us....such is the living in Southern California.....what impressed me about this quake was the noise..sounded like a freight train rumbling....
This morning, they are showing some damage in Chino Hills, shelves falling, etc. but thank the Lord, no one was hurt and they changed the magnitude from 5.8 to 5.4 which is still a good shaking...
As I've lived my entire life in California, these are not very alarming to me...and "they" have been saying for years that there will be a big one right around the corner...which I have no doubt will happen one day..most homes and buildings are built here with that in mind so we will probably not get as much damage as other areas of world with less stringent building codes.....we have earthquake insurance also....
Alan did a lot of driving to different jobs yesterday, I rode on two of them in the afternoon as they were out in the country. I went on one way out in a orange grove, so lovely and as we drove, you could smell the orange blossoms. So much of this land used to be like that, glad to see a few places left. I forgot to take my camera but did find this lovely postcard and the groves were much like this, with the mountains in the background...the house we re keyed sat on a hill surrounded by groves, what a view they had! and it was so very quiet, with only an occasional bird call....I think this is as close to Eden as we can get here..

Irena Sendler vs Al Gore

When I heard Irena Sendlers story..I was so moved that I wanted to post it....she was a brave and strong woman who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids.) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most of course had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Here is a good Youtube video that explains in more detail what a great and good woman she was....



Guess who won the Peace Prize? not Irena, but Al Gore for his slide show presentation.

Happy Monday

Good morning! I slept in a little this morning as the boys got home really late from Magic Mountain.....its a two hour drive each way and they stayed until closing (10:00), drove back and got something to eat at 12:30 in the morning....didn't get in the house until 1 a.m. I wasn't too worried (much) as they did call....Matt said he was glad we were still up as it made him feel good.
They both have cell phones and we let them drive our car, not Donny's rattletrap truck. He's a good driver. He also gave me a tank of gas. They said Magic Mountain was fun but there were 1-2 hour waits to get on the rides...Donny broke down (hes a real tightwad) and bought them both fast track passes to get ahead of everyone so that helped.
Magic Mountain isn't our thing...not any rides old Mom and Dad want to tackle...we prefer Disneyland and Universal Studios...did you know I was one of the early early visitors to Disneyland when it opened in 1956? I have a photo somewhere of me standing in front of the cigar store Indian on main street at 5 years old. When the kids were little, we had year passes to Disneyland...the year of the Lion King, they had the most fantastic parade, I've ever seen..Donny ran out into the parade (he was about 9 or 10) and danced with some of the characters.

We both miss those days when the boys were little....cub scouts, school voluntering, soccer and Little League, Sunday school, the golden time of parenthood....Alan coached both soccer and a Little League team for almost 6 years....I was a volunteer in the classroom for 5 years too and even won a volunteer of the year pin two years running.
Matt turned 17 today...its his birthday!
I am going to bake a cake, cherry chip...and although we don't have much to give him, will try to have a nice day today....his big trip was yesterday....

...Noah's Ark Opens In SCHAGEN, Netherlands

Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch creationist, Johan Huibers as a testament of his faith in the truth of the Bible.
Its two thirds the length of a football field (150 cubits) and as high as a three story house (30 cubits).
The builder is a contractor by trade and he built it out of cedar and pine..he built most of it himself by hand with help from his son, Roy and started it in 2005.
Life size models of animals are on the main hold and he plans a petting zoo on the uncovered top that isn't finished yet...
Visitors on the first day were stunned on how large it was...
There is enough seating in the keel for 150 seats and they plan on having film theater so kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah.
Huibers hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands where church attendance has fallen in the last 50 years.
There are more photos, and a great story here about Johan Huibers...

This will give you the chills.......
GOOD chills.>
A young man had been to Wednesday Night Bible
study.
The Pastor had shared about listening to God
and obeying the Lord's voice.
The young man couldn't help but wonder,
'Does God still speak to people?'
After service, he went out with some friends
for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.
It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, 'God...If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town,he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk.
He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?' He didn't get a reply and started on toward home.
But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel
ran to Eli. "'Okay, God, in case that is you, I will
buy the milk.' It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, 'Turn down that street.' This is crazy he thought, and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and
headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, 'Okay,
God, I will.' He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi- commercial area of town.> It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either.
The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, 'Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.'> The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked
like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat.
'Lord, this is insane. Those people are
asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.' Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, 'Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay.
I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here.'
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, 'Who is it? What do you want?' Then the door opened before the young man could get away.>
The man was standing there in his jeans and
T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. 'What
is it?'
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, 'Here, I brought this to you.' The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway.
Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.
The man began speaking and half crying,
We were just praying.We had to pay some big bills this month and we ran out of
money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.'
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, 'I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?'
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears
were streaming down his face.
*************************************************************************************
God is always speaking to us, but are we listening?

Sale now open and more!

I have opened my booth a little early for the Christmas in July sale....the main sale starts at 12:00 noon central time....please check out all the great booths, many primitive style handmade items, candles, e patterns, antiques, clocks, and more...there is also a chat room with games and prizes.
To go to my booth, just click on the EZ shoppe logo at the left...when you want to see the different booths, or the chat room, there is a directory link at the top of my store banner.
What a nice way to spend the hot afternoon, strolling through the sale in the comfort of your home...no crowds, confusion or parking problems...get your holiday shopping done early or in my booth, get a pattern to start making that special gift.

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


I usually have a Wednesday Dog of the Week but because of the sale, I am going to report on some of the dogs that I have posted in the past...
Glad to report that Tommy has been adopted! Elvis, Teeny, Rusty, Ben, Tornado and Squeaky have not.
A few of the other dogs that I have not featured were adopted also including Lulu who is pretty white small poodle...if you are curious about the ones I've mentioned, just scroll back through the posts for their photos or click on the Sun City K-9 Dog Rescue link. They also take donations through Paypal and are a nonprofit organization so you get tax benefits. No worries, the rescue is a nokill shelter, so the dogs have a safe clean place to wait. But no matter how good the shelter is, its not home.

BIG SALE STARTING TOMORROW!!!!!!!! CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Just a reminder that the Christmas in July Sale starts tomorrow, the 23rd and runs through August 6th.. I have over 65 goodies in my booth and if you are interested in more details and a preview, please visit my other blog, The China Lake Newsletter
I am really pleased with some of the patterns I've gotten in..almost didn't want to sell them...so if you are a crafter or know someone who is..this is a great time to take advantage of a super sale. I know as a needle crafter, I would love to get a nice selection of patterns as a gift.. I have not only cross stitch, but plastic canvas and greeting card books/pamphlets at very low prices.

Previews of the Chinese Olympic Game Landscaping

Here are a few previews of what the Chinese are accomplishing for their Olympic games. Lovely, huh? I have mixed feelings about the games themselves...with their human rights violations, slave labor camps, Christian persecution and cheaply made goods....I can only hope these games will somehow show light where there is darkness.
tell me what you think...