What a wonderful son I have....

This is my sweet son, Jon.  He was about six here, I believe.  He's a kind, considerate young man.  He loves to help others.  Jon at twenty is the same kind, giving young man he was as a little boy.

I'm remembering a story about that little boy today.  We were at a park, and the kids were swinging and sliding, doing all the things little boys do.  I was sitting on a little hillside watching them.  There was another little boy in the playground area, and another mother a few feet away from me on the little hillside.    Suddenly that other little boy started crying.  Jon grabbed him by the hand and said, "Here, go to your Mommy."  The other mother said, "No, don't come to me!  Go play!"  Jon stopped in shock, and you could see it all over his sweet little face.   That's okay, though, he quickly recovered, and just changed his path, saying "Go to my Mommy.  She'll help you."  I kind of looked at the other mother, because I didn't know if she would object.  She went back to whatever it was she was doing.  I soothed both boys. 

I just remember this as one example of my son's kindness.  He's always sharing what he has.  That day, he shared his Mommy.  It was, to me, an example of how Jon reaches out to others.  He does it easily, without thinking.  

Another day not so long ago, Jon and I were at Barnes & Noble when a young man with a trolley full of books did something that made him spill the books.  Jon and I were talking close by, but Jon jumped right in to help that young man pick up all those books, stacking them nicely on the trolley.  

This just illustrates how wonderful my son is.  I know God is going to use Jon in a mighty, mighty way some day.  I can't wait to see what that is. 

Houston!

Since I have last been blogging regularly, I have moved to Houston.  I was in the Austin area, then I thought I wanted to move back to Nashville, but that didn't work out.  My sons stayed in Texas, and I just didn't want to be that far from them, so here I am.  Funny thing.  I really like Houston, even more than Austin, though I like Austin.

 I love the beach!  Galveston is just a little over an hour drive from my home, so I go on a whim.  There's more than just the beach in Galveston, but the beach is the big draw for me.  There's another quieter beach down the road, too, called Surfside.

Houston has great parks, and a lot of them.  It's also a great city if you happen to play PokemonGo. Ha!

Houston has great museums, and you can get in for free on Thursdays.  These  were taken at the Museum of Fine Art.

I went and saw Wicked at the Hobby Center a few weeks ago.  It was fabulous!

And, of course, it's the fourth largest city in the U.S.  There is shopping, entertainment, anything you want  or need.  Yes, I really like Houston.  It's a great place to live.
 

I've discovered a new hobby.

 

    I'm a crafty person. By that, I mean I love crafts. I like to try new things.  Craft stores are some of my favorite places to shop.  

I've discovered a new hobby.  For years, I've admired my sisters' art talents.  It seemed that was a gift that had passed me by.  Then one day, I was out shopping and saw a shop called "Painting With A Twist".  Have y'all heard of these ?  They're all over. I looked them up online, and I got to thinking I might could do this.  After all, a few years back, I painted some Christmas ornaments, and they were pretty cute.  I mean, you don't have to  be Picasso.  When I look at some of the artwork on my walls, they're not advanced artwork, but they look really nice.  So I thought I'd give it a go.  

      

This pretty lady above is my version of a painting I saw online, I believe she was a project at one of the Painting With A Twist shops.  She's darling, I think.  She's ready to go out dancing.  I haven't decided where I'll hang her yet.

 

 This pretty dancer was another something I saw online, and I think it was also something that had been done at Painting  With A Twist.  I tried her, and I really like the way she turned out.  I like pictures of dancers.  They always look so joyful.

This little birdie was inspired by a plate  I saw at Hobby Lobby.  Cute, yes?

So I'm really enjoying this!  Maybe I have a little talent.  Or heck, maybe anyone can paint!  

I'm telling you, I have found a lot of great teachers on youtube.  I watch a lot of videos.  Look up theartsherpa, Painting With Jane, Ginger Cook, Clive5Art.... those are just a few.  They give good lessons for beginners and more advanced artists.  I like Giner so much I joined her online academy. 

A Castle! I've found me a castle!

I spend a lot of time on Realtor.com, because I dream of buying a house.  Sometimes I dream of a million dollar house, sometimes I dream of something more affordable for someone like me.  You know, a working class single lady.  Whatever. This house caught my attention today.

  
It's a castle, I do declare!  It's a castle.  I mean, look at it.  See that round tower on the side?  I mean, how castle is that?  All it lacks is a moat, right?  I mean, this is Houston.  How hard would it be to catch a couple of alligators?

  Now see here.  You walk into your castle you look to the left.....  yep, that looks very castle-y.  Maybe even a bit dungeonesque.... 

Uh-huh!  The queen is in the counting-house, meeting with the royal lawyer, counting out her money.  She sit's in her throne.  She has her choice.  There is more than one.

 The balcony.  How very Juliet.  That's right.  That's me.  Juliet. 

I included this picture only because, well, it's interesting, isn't it?  The stools, well, zebras.  The cabbage on the walls.... well, there you have it.

The breakfast room.  Pretty, yes.  For eating bread and honey.  Biscuits.  With honey.  Whatever.

This is a closet for a queen, no?  Jules would love this closet.

Very, um, interesting.  I like it.  I do.  I like it.  It's in the castle.

This. Is where you cook outside.  Very... very, yes?  I might be overwhelmed by this.  I could handle it, though.

There you go.  The pool.  Because you have to have a pool.  For royal bathing, you know?  It's hot in the summer.  The pool boy will make sure the royal alligators stay out of the pool. 

Now.  Don't you want this?  And get this.  This castle costs a mere million dollars.  Oh, yes, you read that right.  Just a million.  One.  One million.  For a castle.  Grab your  checkbook!