A Sweet surprise in my Mailbox

  
           Recently my husband & I took a week & went to Colorado...
           This was here waiting when we returned.
            Isn't this just the most thoughtful gift??
                                                   

  
             You see recently Kathy over @ Sweet up north mornings was having a contest / give-away.  She & her sweet husband took a trip & asked us along.  She blogged about thier travels & had us guess where they were.   And I won... with the most correct guesses.   Yippee!!!
      And I do confess, that I knew a few, guessed at a few & then googled one or two :)
                So Kathy sent me this great gift.  She packaged it just as one would expect from such a creative girl.... What fun to get a pink pkg. !
   And then her artful, fall notecard, that I know she must have made herself, was just too sweet.  She said, "Because you are a new blogger & I want you to really love it"  
    Well, so far I really do LOVE it.... I have not posted many yet. (I don't even know how to "Grab a button"  or "Join a party" :)   I am sure that this will help a LOT.
               Look at some of the great articles
                                                                        

                                                                            

                                                                               
       It is filled with beautiful pictures, very helpful & interesting articles.
  There is an article about The Vintage pearl, an online shop & blogging jewelry maker that I just Love. It was very encouraging to me, as you see I am contemplating an online business... (I will share that some day soon )
   There are articles on blogging etiquette, & how to take great pictures.
         This is 145 pages of blogging inspiration & encouragement.
  
              
       If you have never been to visit Kathy's place, you need to stop by... here
  She has the SWEETEST blog, takes the most incredible pictures & was the very 1st blog that I followed. So this is a very special deal for me.
   
      Thank You Kathy (& Dave) for such
                     a thoughtful gift!!
                             

































































                                                                   

Just about Perfect Weekend!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
         We have an "Up North Place" here in Michigan. 
   And we go just about every weekend. This time of year is deer hunting, so if "we" (DIL's & I )  want to spend time with our hubby's, we all go. 
    A Perfect Friday would include a ride up, hitting every Thrift Store along the way. And I wish that you could have been along for the ride.... The color here in MI. is SOOooo beautiful right now. 

  This is in the parking lot of the little grocery store I stopped at on the way .

                  Getting close..... 
   Did you know???  The more red the leaves, the more sugar in the sap...

                    (Husband & sons do Maple Syrup also )

                
                  Part of my drive ......

 

Seriously?  Who but God could have thought of/created those colors?

                                  
 
                   Then on Saturday afternoon 2 of my DIL'S & I took a drive to the little up north Michigan town of Onekama.... wine tasting our way there
                                                                                    

                                                       The Winery on the way

                
                                                      Lake Michigan from Winery

                                                                                  

 Then...don't know why, but I have no pics of the town that was having an Oktoberfest  ?????  But we did a little wine tasting there also...                
                  (I didn't do much... designated driver...... but that may explain no pics :)    75 & sunny, little art in the park, in a park on the lake.....    
          a little shopping, beautiful day, beautiful color all around
                                   
          Sunday afternoon included a little river fishing.....

                                               

                                                     
                                                         
                            A little lunch at the river ........ 

                         
    And then as the guys took back to the tree stands we did a little more picture taking..........    (view from our bedroom window )

                         
                              Underneath an old railroad bridge
                              

                                                   
               Then Carrie snapped a pic of Chuck & myself...
       (I never share pics of me...... this will be it... squinting & all :)

The only thing that would have made this weekend more perfect, was had our youngest son & wife been there....

 they live in Colorado, moved there to do a Church Plant.... BUT...... we are leaving in just 1 more day to visit.....

.........just a little of our life........

             Linking this up to Simple Pleasures @ A little of this and that                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

A Little / A LOT of Art....& I am a Winner....

       1st........  I am a Winner.... : )
        
 
   Recently Kathy over at Sweet up North Mornings was hosting a party/contest. "Where in the World are Dave & Kathy?" They went on a fun vacation & invited us to go along. As she posted about thier travels, she asked us to guess where in the world they were. I was the lucky one to get the most correct guesses....
  This is especially sweet for me. You see I am a new blogger, don't even know how to do it all yet. BUT Kathy's sweet blog was the 1st one I followed.
 I don't even remember how I found her, but one night I just followed a blog trail & I came upon her lovely blog & spent the rest of the night visiting. 
  She has a wonderful, restful place, & takes absolutely fabulous pictures that make you just want to grab a cup of tea & sit for a while.
   Kathy is the one that inspired me to start. I am always anxious for her new posts, to see what great idea she has come up with now.
    Thanks Dave & Kathy for bringing us along on your travels.
   It was GREAT FUN!
     Make sure that you stop in & visit her here
. 
   
      And then earlier this week I spent an evening at Art Prize in Grand Rapids Mi.  An art contest/exhibit with over 1700 pieces of art, scattered all over the city.
  It was a beautiful Michigan night, perfect weather, huge crowds & some fabulous pieces. The public gets to vote & there are some huge dollar prizes.
  
                  A few pictures......

                       This lovely quilt was made from much smaller pieces than you can actually see here.... & with my LOVE of fabric, sewing & quilting, I was incredibly impressed with this one.

                                                
                     The painting above is not a painting but a mosaic.
                                Currently in the top 10.

                    This floor art is made entirely of sand.... a shame that it will be    swept up & soon, gone... : )

                                                 

                          Lion made entirely of nails...... & then the cubs....
                             This piece is also in the top 10

                         
     A penny made entirely of pennies... also a top vote getter.    
    
                 And then some questionable art ???? :) 
                                            

                                      
       This was a pile of junk....looks like it came right from the scrap yard.. :)
      If you look real close.... that is my DIL Carrie in the mirror & ME.. taking the picture :)
                And then my cheesy little camers died....
    We took in a lot in one evening & hoping to go back one more time. 
  There is one more week. Now, the voting is just for the top 10. All, in that group will take away some money, from $7,000 to $250,000 for the winner.  It is a fun way to spend some time..... with art & food vendors all over the city.
   This is only the 2nd year for Art Prize, but it has grown since last year & is bound to only get better.... A brilliant idea of Rick DeVos.....
                                                                                                    
 Linking this with Pam @ Becolorful for MotivatedMondays