Lavender and Bell

I hoped to have something extraordinary to blog about on my 200th post. Hmm.....I'll just tell you about my Monday. ;-)

Busy as usual, I was able to accomplish quite a few things. I got a good head start on a rather large printing project that's set for this week. With only one minor setback, I'm hoping to finish it in record time! If you're at all familiar with the thickness of "Manuscript Evidence" you may be skeptical.....but I AM determined. :-)

The thought occurred to me yesterday that our lavender may be ready to harvest -- our lavender that we planted several years ago and is finally producing a good size harvest! Last year, since I was in Thailand I missed the harvest so no dried lavender for us. I barely caught it this time! I absolutely LOVE the dark shade of the Hidcote Blue lavender. Definitely my favorite variety.

    

The evening concluded with a FABULOUS concert featuring violinist Joshua Bell. I have been wanting to see Joshua Bell live in concert for years now, so to finally have the opportunity was incredible! It was actually a late birthday present for Christopher, but he confirmed my thoughts.....it was worth the wait. A few months ago I was listening to the classical music station (at a time I wouldn't normally) and I happened to hear them mention that Joshua Bell would be in Bellingham! *Gasp!* He usually only comes to Seattle and the tickets are outrageous. Well.....you can't beat $30 tickets at the Mt. Baker Theatre in Bellingham! I know....I was shocked myself. And of course, the place was sold out. :-)

This is a piece that Joshua Bell performed last night. It was unbelievable! His music nearly brings me to tears, it's so beautiful.

Well, my blog may continue to remain quiet in the coming month or so. I am preparing to go as a counselor to youth camp next week and I am SO looking forward to that!  Then....take a breath......I'll have a weekend to prepare for a lengthy trip to Mexico. More about that later.

Repurposing Beauty

I love my sheet music. I love the way it looks, especially old vintage sheet music. One of my favorite places to find old sheet music is the thrift store because it's super cheap. Now, as much as I love to play music, I wouldn't necessarily use everything I find.  Inspired by some of my "blog friends" and some of my "real life friends", I began to research different uses for this beautiful sheet music, specifically in decorating.

I wouldn't say that my room has a theme right now.  It's a hodgepodge of several bookshelves, a beautiful painted fan from Thailand, some picture frames, and a desk purposed for school.  None of these things really comes together at this moment, but I have often thought that I would LOVE to have a room (not necessarily my bedroom) that is a library/music room. For several years I have thought about what my dream music room would look like.  Just last week I saw it on a magazine! Exactly how I have pictured it.  But after searching the internet I cannot find a picture remotely close to what my mind sees.

Anyway, I say all that to say that I've thought about different ways to decorate with sheet music and I've come across these neat ideas. 

Found these beautiful ideas from Tip Junkie.

I really like this idea of a paper wreath from Mitzismiscellany.  I would do a different center and it would also be beautiful with sheet music!

I love this idea for the Christmas tree! Found at Thrifty Decorating.  I'll certainly be trying this come Christmas time. :-)

These candles are also on my "to do" list!! Found at Confessions of a Plate Addict, they look super easy to make and they are beautiful!

Have you ever thought about repurposing something like this?

A Beauty To Behold

This afternoon was spent with friends at Deception Pass with Whidbey Coffee in hand. That's the way to go! Although...it makes climbing on rocks rather difficult when you only have one hand free. I only nearly fell to my death once....Not too bad. ;-)

It was absolutely spectacular!  Words cannot even express the beauty. I praise God for allowing me to behold His wondrous creation this afternoon.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Worship In Song!

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Once I began to reach the point with my piano abilities that I could produce beautiful (tolerable?) music I would be immediately drawn to the piano as a sort of comfort in times of trial.  The music blessed my soul and gave me a certain peace.

I'm so grateful to the Lord for the gift of music.  God created music to give us a way that we could worship Him! I know He delights in listening to His children sing praise to Him.

To study classical music at school gives me much pleasure and is certainly challenging.  However, at the end of the day, I will choose a hymn in worship to my Saviour over any Chopin or Bach piece.  Earlier today I did my normal routine of going down to the church for a few hours to practice piano and voice.  My heart and mind has been very full and heavy these past few weeks and as I sat down to warm up my voice I pulled the hymnal down from the top of the piano and began to lift my voice in praise. It then ceased to be a warmup and turned into my own private time of worship with my Lord. Practice time turned into praise time and Beethoven was left behind. As I left to walk back to my house my heart was overflowing with joy.  No longer was it heavy and feeling like it dragged as I walked. In fact, I felt like skipping home! :-) God is so good like that.

So I encourage you to take a look at your hymnal a little closer. If you don't own one....get one!  Who says worship in song should be restricted to Sundays and Wednesdays?!? :-) I think you'll find that with a song in your heart and a tune on your lips you'll have a lighter heart and you'll bless those around you.

Psalm 7:17- I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.

 Psalm 150:6-  Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD

New Favorites and Old Favorites

Here are some new things that I've come to love and some old things that I am SO glad are available here....even if they do look different. hehe


Passion Fruit.....absolutely delicious! Now I can understand why it's called PASSION fruit. :-)

Old favorite....Cheetos! Haha....Thai style. Actually no. If it were Thai style it would either be fish flavored or have flames on the outside.

Passion Fruit Jam! (Can you tell I like this fruit? hehe)  No I did not make this.  A lady from the village made it.

New favorite.....riding on the motorcycle. Don't worry....I don't drive. But riding is very fun!

Old Favorite.....Starbucks. So glad they have this place here. And it tastes the same!

Old favorite......Spoons! (Check out the Whidbey Island cards)  An old favorite played with new friends. So much fun!

Hanging out with my new little buddy.

A beautiful red dragonfly we spotted walking home from the office.

New favorite......Spring Rolls from the Vietnamese restaurant right around the corner.

Me and my passion fruit jam! :-D

My Island

Drizzly.....cloudy. It's a normal Whidbey day. Sometimes the rain falls a little heavier, then it subsides and continues its monotonous sprinkle. As I drove back onto my island today coming back from school, I soaked in this beautiful view. I realized how much I take it for granted.

As I rounded the bend by Pass Lake, my breath was taken away. The whisps of fog hovering over the water and Mt. Eerie with it's cloudy crown in the background all reminded me why I love Whidbey. Waving goodbye to the beautiful lake, I started to ascend. I drove up the hill that makes its way to Deception Pass and I looked around me. Stately, lush trees on either side as if from a fairy tale. Looking straight ahead I see more trees and the sky shining from between them as they have grown up on the side of the cliff. I've reached the top and as I curve to the left I see the most splendid view. The bridge! Driving onto the bridge I can't decide which view to look at: the endless sound on the right, or the many islands overflowing with trees on the left. So hard to choose. (I guess I should have been looking straight ahead since I was driving but that's no fun. :-p)

This is my favorite thing about my island. It's a span of about ten minutes, but as I drive it six times a week (to and from school) I am reminded of our Creator. His artistry goes beyond comprehension and I feel so minute in comparison to the beauty I see around me. I am so grateful that He has given me this opportunity to witness such beauty so frequently.

(These pictures weren't taken today....obviously since it's sunny.)

The Long Awaited Cinnamon Rolls

I've been wanting to make Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls for quite a while now.  We got the stuff to make them when my Dad got home and I just haven't had the chance yet.  Then I was going to make them, but Josh had his wisdom teeth taken out and he LOVES cinnamon rolls.  So I was nice and waited.  And ever since then I've just been SOO busy!  So.....I've finally made them. And they're delicious! (As usual) 

The Final Product!

I had mentioned that I needed a cookbook stand and Christopher went in his room and made this out of Knex! Isn't he a genius?

If You Like Musicals...

If you like musicals, you might enjoy watching A Christmas Carol: The Musical. It's been a favorite for while now, but we watched it again last night. Love it!! It's definitely a keeper. Check it out!

My Favorite Things

"These are a few of my favorite things!"

Three of my favorite bros:  Josh, Chris and Buck

I love the look on his face as he chews on the toy!

Great Thrift Store Finds!

My favorite little brother and my favorite little dog. :-)

My Bible!  Right now I am reading through Genesis.  After doing Module 1 of Old Testament History in Bible Training Institute I am finding more things jumping out at me!

Beautiful flowers from my Secret Prayer Sister.

(picture taken from my front porch)  Living so close to the church that...

I can go in the big empty auditorium and play as LOUDLY and as long as I like. hehe

Sending care packages to my Dad overseas.

What are some of your favorite things?  I would love to hear in comments!

My Favorite Things

Here are some of my favorite things about my day...

My friend, Chester, keeping me company as I get ready for work.

Spiced Pumpkin Latte from Whidbey Coffee. YUM!

Beautiful Mums.  Love this color!

October Roses still beautifuly blooming in the Rose Garden.

A Four-O-Clock that has FINALLY bloomed after waiting ALL summer!

My pals: Puma, Carhartt, Cashmere, and Deuteronomy (the one jumping)

This is Deuteronomy, who happened to be a girl we found out.  She was thus dubbed "Dudette".

A beautifully sunny October sky.  I love those sunny days with a little chill to them.

And to end my day, Finale Songwriter!  I am working on a few new songs and I am looking forward to how they turn out. 

I am hoping to make this a weekly thing.  I had the idea to do a "My favorite Things" post this morning and I found myself always looking for things that I liked throughout the day to take a picture of.  How fun is that?!  Needless to say, I realized that my life is comprised of hundreds of things that I enjoy.  Why shouldn't that make me smile?!?