Amendment

I made this purse a few weeks ago and didn't add the finishing touch right away.

Making the flower embellishment required using a hot glue gun, and I couldn't remember where I had seen mine when we moved into this house. 

Besides, I'm pretty sure that we lived in California when I bought the two that I have.

That was before email.

It's safe to say that if I were to even locate my glue guns, they'd need to be replaced.

This called for a trip to the craft store.

(Twist my arm!)

In the meantime, I had the opportunity to join a friend for the Houston Quilt Show. 

It was spectacular, and I so enjoyed Lou Ann's sweet company.

We were at the show for most of the day, and the ready-made, impulsively-purchased handles of the purse ended up really hurting my shoulder.

I decided to go ahead and replace the handles by making fabric straps, instead (which is sort of what the intelligent designer of the pattern suggested in the first place).

*sigh*

I learn the hard way.

As seems to be my M.O. these days, a major boo-boo was quite obvious after I finished the entire project. Just scroll back up to that photo at the top of this post, and see if you can figure out my blunder.

A nice person on Facebook said that she actually prefers the flaw rather than the "right" way.

It just doesn't bother me enough to redo it.

Seam ripping bothers me.

Green Goodness Dip

It's been a while since I've said that I love my Vita-Mix, so I'll open with that thought.

Yesterday we gathered with all of the cousins again for a multi-birthday meal, as several of us have recently entered a new year of life. 

I haven't been feeling well lately, so I got away with only being asked to bring a salad. However, I do have a "staff" of helpers, so we added a fruit salad to our contribution, and instead of a green salad, I decided to take crudités with remoulade and one other dipping sauce. 

I wanted the second dip to be green, but I couldn't find the "Green Goddess" recipe that I printed long ago. An online search yielded a seemingly infinite number of choices, so I decided to trust my culinary instincts and wing it.

Here's what I ended up tossing into the Vita-Mix:

Green Goodness Dip

madebydayna

yoghurt

(plain, fresh, homemade)

avocado

(bad news for my male family members)

a few garlic cloves

(this may sound scary, but I believe garlic can't be overdone; besides, it's a natural immune booster)

a chunk of fennel bulb

(my new favorite vegetable; jicama is my other new favorite vegetable; but I digress)

cilantro

basil

sea salt

freshly-ground pepper

juice of one lime

dash of cayenne pepper

ground celery seed

I didn't write down my ingredients as I added them, so a day later it's possible that I've forgotten something. The beauty of it is that it's mine, and yours can be yours! Change whatever suits you.

By the way, it tastes just as wonderful on Day Two; and if it accidentally mingles on your plate with the remoulade, worse things have happened.

Just go with it.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Craig and I recently had our bikes serviced so that we might begin to explore the territory around our neighborhood. I was so excited when he sent me a text on his way from work on Friday, telling me to "get changed" for a bike ride.

I hadn't ridden for a while, so I'll just say that after a moderate ride, I was hoping that my weekend wouldn't involve much sitting.

The soreness didn't last long, thankfully. I enjoyed "breaking in" my new seat.

We had a marvelous evening ride, complete with some bird spotting. My camera is broken, so I'm having to use my phone for now. (Please forgive the quality.) Sadly, I didn't get any bird photos.

At one point, we came upon a flock of water birds that flew up and circled overhead, leaving me motionless in awe. 

It was magnificent!

Just as they began to take flight, Sara Groves's rendition of "Breath of Heaven" began to play in my earphones.

The piano intro was the perfect segue to what seemed like a choreographed dance in praise to our Creator.

It brought tears to my eyes.

I felt a little like this guy.

Suddenly I realized that Craig hadn't stopped with me. 

It took some effort to catch up with him.

At this point, we realized that we were approaching a private residence, so we turned around and headed back.

Although I was thrilled to move to the Houston area, I was afraid that I might never see anything green. To my great joy, I learned of this place, and our family headed into the city for their get-acquainted-with-the-outdoors event.

We enjoyed a birds-of-prey demo, which was the biggest highlight for all of us.

Craig couldn't wait to see a falcon, since he's wanted one for several years. This one is rather young and still in training for doing demos; but we enjoyed every minute!

We got to see this hawk "hunt" for the "prey" on this leather lure. What a treat to get a close-up view. It was literally right beside us.

This is probably cheating, but our boys were glad to see an airsoft booth at the event. I'm sure they meant this for younger children, but Craig Grayson & Graham couldn't resist the challenge of target practice. Graham walked away with the record for the most targets hit in the least amount of time.

Craig Grayson did well, too; but he couldn't keep up with his younger brother.

He's always a good sport, though.

Gabriela wanted a turn, too. She did well, considering that she hadn't shot before.

There were many other exhibits, including this wildlife center that had a few reptiles on display. We miss our ball python, "Kaa", which we gave away when we left Alabama.

The Hunter's Education booth was a favorite of the guys. They're anxious to get "legal" in the state of Texas.

Craig was intrigued by this gentleman's tales of hunting in South Africa.

I'm still amazed at the idea of electric cars. This booth was advertising "charging stations", two of which are already available in the city.

Snow cones in the shade

On Sunday, we were privileged to join our friend, Leo, in watching his son's team play (and beat) the Texans here at Reliant Stadium.

With my puny iPhone camera, I managed to at least show proof of Stefan talking with his uncle/coach, Steve Wisniewski, before the game.

Football fans really are a rowdy lot. My ears were ringing long after we returned home.

We had loads of fun, though.

We were especially grateful for the stadium's roof, as it rained quite a bit yesterday.

After the game, I ended up taking off my shoes, which were irritating my feet. We had a long walk in the "cold" rain to where Craig had parked, but I felt like a kid splashing barefoot through the puddles and dodging rocks.

A shower never felt better.

Moving: Part 3

Right around 1400 miles is the distance between our old and new homes. Caelyn was my sleepy-time driving relief, but the guys got no such luxury.

Jon has been a blessing to our family in many ways, and in this case, he agreed to drive one of the 26-foot U-Haul trucks ALL the way to Houston, help to unload both, and fly back to the 'burgh just in time to be in his friend's wedding... in Ohio. That's some kind o' tough.

This was one of our frequent stops for food/fuel/potty. Many thanks to Kaitlyn for assembling our sandwiches while I finished packing.
(We miss you, Kait!)

Morgan's even adorable while eating a sandwich at the side of an interstate highway!

We received the tremendous hospitality of friends in Tennessee. Truly, their homes were an oasis to us. At the first home, where we actually slept, the chocolate lab had a litter of puppies.
AH-dorable!
At the second home, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner and wise counsel, a calf had been born the day before.
I. Love. Tennessee.
If we weren't so thrilled to be in Texas, I'd be bugging Craig to take us to the Volunteer State.

This family really ministered to ours, and our children had a wonderful time talking, playing with the dogs and seeing the farm.
After a refreshing breakfast & lots of stimulating conversation, we were off...

... Sadly, after 20 miles or so, Craig's U-Haul had a blow-out.
But!
Praise be to God for His marvelous works!
As we approached the interstate, a torrential downpour ensued, then stopped & made way for glorious sunshine, just minutes before the tire blew.

We stood on the roadside of I-40, about halfway between Nashville & Memphis, for close to three hours. It was a perfect opportunity for family bonding & more stimulating conversation.

The dogs traveled very well. I'm sure they were relieved by our own frequent stops for potty breaks.

Rhodes wasn't the only one in need of exercise after so many miles.

I'm so thankful for Caelyn, who served as my relief when I got sleepy behind the wheel. Unfortunately, our three hours on the roadside created an imbalance in my schedule. This, in turn, made it necessary for me to stop and sleep twice when Caelyn was also too tired to drive. In the end, we arrived in Houston about eleven hours later than we had hoped.

BONUS:
*Having family in Houston*
We were pleasantly surprised to find that they had already been to our new home.

I love the sign they made. Notice Chloe's clarification of where "Home" is located.

And so it begins...