Things of interest...

Photos : Google Images

Thanksgiving Table

Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's house.

It's always a happy place to see upon arrival.

Everything meticulously placed, and decorated.

Beverages chilled and served.

Hello, again.

Grandmother Dow's bread recipe. 

...oh geez, I'll NEVER be able to make these!

Brussel sprouts, upon request from our Canadian.

At the table...

and NO...we did not eat all of that butter.

With full tummies, it's time for a Turkey Day Nap.

Eureka, Kansas

My hometown...Eureka, Kansas

Have you seen the movie "Sweet Home Alabama"

...one of Reese Witherspoon's "classics"

....that's kind of what Eureka is like. 

More to follow.

The ocassional "dump"

Handsome...enough said!

Choral festival at St. Mary's Cathedral.

That's Bruce Neswick, he's kind of a big deal.

A few folks from St. John's attended. 

It was an Ol' Miss football game, obviously that detoured some members.

I'm looking for a chandelier that looks like this.

This one is HUGE, probably 60" across. 

Let me know if you see one. 

A $15 chair from Gary's Antiques got a new hide!

A new favorable "saying" to add to the pile. 

I've been spending a lot of time at NPR-WKNO 91.1

lately.  It's a lot of fun, but a new kind of stress to learn to manage. 

Also, these photos were taken on different days and I am wearing 

black and white in both and I have the same mug apparel.  

I'm such a creature of habit. 

Some new coffee table reading.

The orange book on the right is a fabulous book. 

It's by Heather Clawson. She's got a killer blog! 

The book on the left, it needs no introduction.

A new restaurant in our  neck of the woods. 

"Local" is what it's called...I think. 

It might be "Local Gasto Pub" but I really 

can't tell based on the excessive signage.

Anyway....fabulous addition to the 'hood.


AND.....

Handsome.  The end.

Thankfulness

Photo: Geoff and Hilary in Prince Edward Island, July 2012

Our study of "thankfulness" has begun at St. Mary's Episcopal School (where I work). We teach the girls that thankfulness means being grateful for the things we have, the kindnesses shown, and the world around us. When we talk about the things they are thankful for, they ask me, "Mrs. Ward what are you thankful for?" The very first thing that comes to mind is my darling husband, Geoffrey.

As we continue to study what we are thankful for this month with the girls, I know my list of gratefulness will expand in response to their question.  But for now, I start with my most precious friend and companion, my husband.

Bits of my week...

 White tea roses in my black vase.

 Always something going on in the sunroom.

More on THIS CHAIR soon. 

Turns out, it was the deal of the century. 

 my WKNO-NPR playlist on my hand.

 Inside the studio

Visitor mic tree

 transition between summer and fall make up.

thank heavens it hasn't been as hot. 

 My fave fall shoe/bootie.

Miss Wilson and I went for the black and white

 stripes with red look earlier this week.

Good people.

I am currently taking a special education class in this graduate program that is for teachers who don't teach special ed. More to acquaint you with the happenings of special ed I suppose. Right now we are talking about Autism. Sort of a laugh and a half to me. I love that the book is attempting to tell me about what I've personally lived and lived everyday for the first 18 years of my life. And guess, what....it doesn't completlely account for a large percentage of elements as well as being a very biased and somewhat biggoted book. Since I think this about content I am familiar with, I wonder how accurate the other sections are? Anyway. I came across this quote and have been holding on to it for a few weeks.

I've taken into consideration the concept of quality in many regards in addition to the quality of the company one keeps. There are many folks who wouldn't probably consider Patrick to be good quality company, but for our family he has been the best. When I was younger I used to say that I had the best brother ever. Because when I told him something, he never repeated it. While this is slightly...something....(because Patrick can't talk)....it was a way to deal. 

This photo was taken of my brother and I in June of 1999. I was a sophomore in high school, Patrick was a senior.  I remember having these photos taken as though it was yesterday. It was quite the  task.  Patrick is not known for sitting, posing or doing what you want him to do in a timely fashion in any regard.  He's more of the "let's do what I want to do and when I'm finished you can have your turn" type of fella'. I'm not sure if that's an Autism characteristic or a Dow characteristic! HA! Some of both I'm sure. 

I promise, I do still exhist.

The past few weeks are steam rolling my person.

Geoffrey returned home from an 8 day work trip on Monday night. Goodness, do you know how long 8 days is when you've not been away from your spouse EVER like that before.  It's the worst thing ever. Fortunately, friends and activities kept me busy in addition to the mound of homework and gigs I keep accumulating. (sheesh)

My newest work addition is that of a "dj" for 91.1 WKNO Memphis and 90.1 WKNP Jackson, NPR stations for the Mid-South. This opportunity came out of nowhere and immediately it was part of my weekly schedule.  And guess what...I LOVE IT.  I never in my mind would have dreamed this to come true.  Kind of amazing. The days I'm on vary from week to week, but have been approximately 2 times per week for the past month from 12-4pm.

My homework is escalating as I can see the finish line for this degree program.  What a good thing it is too.  I'm tired of Masters degrees. My capstone project is more time consuming that I imagined it would be, and by the way we have to do 300 electronic note cards.  Yeah, that isn't fun...AT ALL!

I took the GRE yesterday.  That was maybe the worst thing ever. I haven't had a math class in over 12 years, so guess how that went?!?! Good thing I have a general sense of how to guess my way out of a timed question. (again, sheesh)

Saturday I take another section of the Praxis.  Needless to say I've paid my dues to standardized testing this month.

This week seems to be a mound, and I'm looking forward to being a human again come Saturday afternoon when it's all over. My heavens, will Saturday ever get here?

4 Things to look forward to:
1. FALL, the temperature in Memphis is finally livable which greatly aids to the construction of cute outfits.
2. Geoff and I celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary on October 1. That's hard to believe we have been together for 10 years. That time has gone by like a blink of the eye.
3. Application season.  I'm applying for more school. Can you believe it.  After I've gone and complained about homework.  I'm a gluten for punishment. 
4.  I anticipate a visit to see my parents in the near future, and I'm looking forward to it. It seems like a long time since I've seen my family.

I hope fall is treating y'all gently. What's up with y'all?

Feathers

Feathers by Paule Marrot

I absolutely love this piece of artwork it's so beautiful.
The print comes in two sizes, big and even bigger. So at least it's a big piece

....and slightly expensive. And I'm talking about the print, UN FRAMED.
I shutter to think about how much it would cost to get the piece framed. 

I guess I can add it to the "sigh" pile....

Let us say together....

Siiiiiiigggghhhhh

Did ya have a good day?

I found this on a blog earlier today and thought it was worthwhile to share with others. I had a really good day today and though I didn't do all of these things, I did partake in a few. Other things that contribute to my "good day"....
1. Going to school (I think all teachers should like going to school...not just going to work)
2. Learning something new everyday. (This usually happens while I'm at school.)
3. Going to school school (our household term that means I'm going to school not teaching school.) Thank the precious Lord and GOD WILLING, I'll graduate in December with Masters degree #2.
4. Making music. (Again this usually happens at school, but sometimes it happens at home or at church.)
5. Petting my kitty. That little furry animal brings me so much joy I can hardly sit still.
6. Hugging my husband.  Our 7th wedding anniversary is coming up. I wonder how many times I've hugged him in the nearly 10 years we've been together?
7. Having something tasty to eat. Let's face it, who likes cardboard food? Not me. I try to eat things that aren't God awful, but ya know...sometimes you just need to eat a cupcake. Hip, hip, hooray!
8. Do the laundry. I sure do like having clean clothes.  Sometimes this means dropping off at the laundry and sometimes doing the laundry at home.  Either way, there's nothing like fresh clothes.
9. Saying a prayer. I had a teacher once say about public schools, "As long as there are tests in school, there will always be prayer!" Maybe others have said this too. I don't work in a public school, but in a private school where prayers are said openly. Whether the prayers is said at school or at home, in the car or at church, I LOVE to say a prayer for me, you, whoever!
10. BEDTIME. I love sleeping. I know there's that terrible saying, "You can sleep when you're dead." BUT...I like to sleep now too. I always feel better after a hearty night's sleep. If I were to ask Handsome my cat, he'd say that's 18 hours. For the rest of us, isn't 8 hours just grand?

I hope you're having a good day and on the way to a fabulous first week of September!

If you're curious...

I am seriously neglecting my personal blog. Well who am I kidding...I have been for months. If you are curious what I'm up to, I'm currently blogging more often through my school blog. Unfortunately, this blog is completely school related. It has lessons, what's going on at school, etc. There is no commentary on curtains, Handsome T-H-E Cat, or fabric samples. Just school. Sorry to disappoint. (ha) Should you be so inclined to see this blog <---there is the link. School starts next week, and I couldn't be more excited. Happy reading. And yes, I'll be back soon to discuss curtains, Handsome T-H-E Cat, and fabric samples. I know you'll be sad without.

Desktop Photos NYC

These photos have been on my desktop for about a week.

Thought I'd share...as I'm sure that was my original idea. 

My class in NYC was the best week of my 22 years in school. 

It was literally one of those moments to use the phrase...

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE"

Alas, I'm still finishing up work for summer classes 

and am void of witty commentary (sheesh is that all it takes?).

Once again, and for now....here are some photos.