Giveaway is on its way

to Maija. Here is a closeup of the collage and the goodie assortment I sent with it. Hope she likes it all. I tried to color coordinate and pick a mixture of paper and fabric ephemera. From what I could see on her blog she has a wide variety of interests. The little green bag is what all the small pieces went into to be mailed and then I wrapped and tied everything up inside the large red napkins with red ribbon.

I've been with Mom today, running some errands and doing the grocery store thing. It is full-on summer here now, very hot. Even my Mother, who is very cold-natured, was hot. In the car I worried that I had the A/C turned too cold for her and she replied, "No, definitely no, and no!" so we left it blowing and were very thankful for it. I was for sure. Kerry and I worked in the garden almost all day last Tuesday and I very STUPIDLY did not think to put sunscreen on. I wore a tank top and now have ugly red blistered skin on my upper arms and the back of my neck. As a matter of fact, the back of my neck is literally blistered up. Yuck, that may fall under the T.M.I. category, sorry! Someone on a blog I saw yesterday is sponsoring a "I See Red" month where you photograph the red you see around you. Most I looked at are beautifully photographed vintage items or sweet little vignettes in gorgeous homes. I was thinking I could take pictures of me and my BBQ'd redneck and share, but I'll be kind to those who are sweet enough to check my blog out and spare you the sight. I'm applying aloe vera liberally and using an old home remedy Mom used to have us do which is laying a vinegar-soaked cloth on the blistered area. Makes it feel better even if I do smell like a salad.

In sharing that with you, makes me think again of those lovely blogs with the beautifully photographed art and vintage items that I mentioned above. I do LOVE to visit those type blogs. I think sometimes about mine NOT being like that, but early on I received a good bit of advice from someone who visited my blog during the OWOH event and I try to remember it. They advised to be sure to make my blog be true to ME and not to try to make it be something that I thought someone else wanted it to be. SO, I recall that and just try to be myself, for whatever that is worth. Maybe someday, I'll evolve into a great photographer with a talent for capturing a moment with the camera or develop some web design skills or great writing talent, but for now I'll just be me and share as I feel led and as I'm able. I do love to visit blogs of all kinds, so I'm grateful for others who take the time to share their art, wisdom, some of their thoughts and dreams.