Favorite Friday... Secret Life of Bees and Lie to Me

Technically I am writing this on Monday but I didn't want to miss a favorite Friday, so better late than never. Finished SLoB finally. Not the first time I've read it, which is probably why it took me so long to finish it this time. It was just as good if not better the second or third time around. Again, I won't give you a synopsis - you can get that on Amazon- but I will say this a fabulous book. I am a bee lover, so I probably enjoyed even more. It's not too long, easy to get into and has a natural pace that kept me wanting to read, even if I didn't get to whenever I wanted.This post is for not only the book but the movie as well. The actors all did a great job. They were entirely believable in their various roles. But Queen Latifah was fabulous as August Boatwright and I was pleasantly surprised by Alicia Keys performance as June. 

The only complaint I had with the book, same as the movie, was the father T. Ray's foul mouth. Why do authors do that? 

The other fav today is a new show I found. It is such an intriguing show. Brief synopsis: A man who has studied people, their facial expressions, body language, verbal cues, etc. for decades now owns a company wherein they are hired to find the truth in many various matters. Through interrogation and observation they watch for signifiers, micro-expressions, gestures - basically anything to determine what is the truth or a lie, what is real or fake, genuine or counterfeit. Check it out on Hulu. It's still early in its first season, so you could catch up quickly.

Ribbons - check! Snowflakes - check!

This is a long one folks! Get a snack before you sit down to read, it could take awhile.

I'm finished! I can't believe it but I am finished. And I am so pleased with the results. The snowflakes have been done for ages, but I didn't want to post pics of them and no ribbons, effectively killing any motivation I might have to finish. So the point is, you get the pics from start to finish on both projects even if I posted them once before. (Now do you see why I told you get a snack?)

Snowflakes

I don't recall where I even got the idea for this, probably swiped it from someone else's creative brain, but they have been so fun. When Esther counted last there were a zillion, but I estimate somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-350. I've said it before, but I love how they dance around with the air currents. It's almost magical.

They started out something like this.

Every night after dinner, we would pull the scissors out and cut away. When the Elders were over, we took advantage of the extra pairs of hands too. Its one of my favorite holiday memories now.

Finally, we attached them to fishing line and then to the ceiling.  I am almost ready to take them down but I have to come up with a replacement idea first. 

The architecture of this place really lends itself to my creative whims. 
I love the flakes against the persimmon hue of the curtains. The contrast is so pretty.

Ribbons

I had so much fun seeing this project come together. It was interesting to see people's reactions to it at different stages.  For awhile I thought I had overshot on the amount of ribbon, but I almost wish I had used more.

So cutting to length 1000 yards of ribbon was my starting point.

Then I had to transport the ribbon from one room to the next, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but I had to keep it from tangling and dragging. 

After attaching it to copper electricians' wire, up it went. It was heavier than I anticipated which made hanging it tricky, but Jon made it possible with a little of his magic. 

I really liked it at this point, but I could see the kids using it to play Tarzan or circus or something crazy. Plus it did nothing to light the room when enclosed. And yes - that is a Christmas tree in the background. :)

So this next part was the most time consuming - hands down. It involved me on a ladder with a staple gun in hand, balancing myself while trying to find the right length or swag for each piece. Furniture had to be moved to accommodate the ladder and I really had to get over my fear of heights.  This post might have been done months ago but for this step. The fact that I am a bit of a perfectionist didn't help either.

Finally it is finished. I think it is so striking. The pictures don't do it justice. The colors are so vibrant and the ribbon has a nice sheen to it. It's fabulous! I think I will keep it up forever!

Short and Sweet

Long story, I'll make short.

The furnace wasn't working well for a day & a half (62 in the dining room/maybe 60 degrees in the rest of the house). We were sitting in the dining room (warmest room in the house) on the floor - kids doing schoolwork, me writing a talk. Why on the floor you ask? The heater vents run along the entire south wall.

I thought Sis fell asleep in her book. It was so freakin' cute. Turns out...
Not sleeping. Just "resting her eyes", zoning, faking, who knows? Still, too cute.
I love this little person and I love this pic. It's so totally, completely her.

(Just a short one today as I am posting my finished ribbon-project tomorrow.)

My Cup Runneth Over

So you've heard the saying March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb... Well it's roaring here! I woke up to snow this morning. All day it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. The schools were closed, MICA (grad school) included. You would think all that snowing would have left piles of snow, but no... maybe 3-4 inches. I loved it though. It is the biggest snow storm we have had this year.

This is all the snow it takes to close down the city for a day. (That little slope in the far left corner is a stump, not a snow drift BTW.)

Today was a busy one. It was Elder Kirk's birthday and we had signed up to feed the Elders, so my natural response? PARTY! I wanted it to be as close to home as possible, so there was some prep involved. The biggest task of the day was making the 16-layer cake. I only make this cake a few times a year. If I ever make it for you, you know you are loved. It isn't difficult to make, just a bit time consuming. I was curious about how long it really took, so I timed it today. Start to finish - under 2 1/2 hours. I know that may seem like a long time, but it flew. I've got it down to a science now. Usually it's 16 layers, but today I managed to get 17. I know you're all wondering - how?! How, if the recipe is the same every time, did she manage to squeeze out an extra layer? It's just been that kind of day my friends. Good things have been happening all day! True story.

We fed 6 hungry Elders tonight. Most of them had seconds and dessert. I thought of the scripture in the Old Testament in Kings 17 when Elijah went to Zarephath. He found the widow the Lord had prepared and asked that she make him a cake first and then for herself and her son. In verses 15 and 16 it says, "and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail according to the word of the Lord.." I tell you every time we have the Elders in our home, I feel that blessing come to pass. Every single time!  I purchased just enough food to feed us, the Elders and one other family we had invited and there were leftovers. We had so many leftovers. I sent food home with the Elders and there was still so much left. My cup runneth over and over and over.