HodgePodge

I’ve got a lot of ramblings swirling in my brain this morning – so today’s post is kind of a hodgepodge. Interesting. I never realized (or thought about for that matter) that hodgepodge is all one word. But I digress. If you’re up for reading through my musings, grab a drink and buckle in.

I’ll start off by talking about the weather. Here in the PNW, we were really starting to wonder if summer was going to come around this year. While the rest of the country has been enduring sweltering heat, we’ve had cloudy and rainy weather with temperatures not willing to go above 70. Now, some people might think that sounds perfect – but up here in PNW, we need some sunshine every now and then.

Many will tell you that summer doesn’t officially start here until after the 4th of July (and you’re almost guaranteed rain on the 4th). Well, sure enough – on the 6th, it came in with sunshine and temps around 80. And then climbed to 90 plus for the past two days and expected for today. Crazy. Not to complain or anything because I really do enjoy the sunshine – but 90 is too much. Thankfully, last year, Curt and I bowed down to the pressure and bought a portable air conditioner. It sure is nice having one room in the house that we can retreat into.

WEEKLY FAVORITES

Cheryl (Even More Scrapping) – makes my weekly list again. This time with THIS layout. I love the circle (made with CM’s large circle cutter) and the vibrant colors. It makes me want to pull out my Splendor paper and create something.

Lori (Scrapinglori Blogspot) – Right about now, I wouldn’t mind being in Lori’s shoes. She just got back from Maui and is now in Washington DC for the Close to My Heart convention. Be sure to check out her blog – she has some sneak peeks of new things coming out in the Fall/Winter catalog (which goes live September 1st).

Vicki (Wizard’s Hangout) – no surprise that Vicki has another winner of a card HERE. How does she come up with all of these beautiful creations?

Julee Tilman (the Verve Girl herself) – I really like Julee’s style and THIS card really caught my eye. I’m still trying to pinpoint what specifically it is that draws me to this card though. Maybe it is the brown and pink. Or maybe it is the round corner in the upper right. Or maybe it is the butterflies.

The Pioneer Woman – check out THIS recipe. I already have this printed off and sitting on the printer because I have to take this bad girl for a run. It looks like it is to die for.

Karen Russell – I had the pleasure of taking a photography class from Karen last summer. I learned so much and I like to follow her blog to see the pictures she takes of the everyday. I especially enjoyed THIS post. Not only did she get some really great shots, but if you scroll down to the shot of Coley (just after the Crater Lake picture) – she about made me cry when she told him that he just needs to look at his eyes in pictures she’s taken to see her. So cool and so touching all at the same time.

I’d also like to share a least favorite post for the week – and only because it breaks my heart that someone would do this. It is THIS post – also from Karen. Whoever did this to Karen is a despicable person. Why would anyone WANT to do something like that? My heart goes out to Karen, Josh and Annie.

So, on that note – I guess I’ll close this one out. I had more but it really isn’t important. Hope you all have a great Friday and a great weekend!