Fat Froggie

My college friend, Amy, asked me to share my mother's Big Mouth frog joke.

Click here to go to THE BIG MOUTH FROG

Most of you know why I paint so many frogs, but maybe a few of you still wonder.

I have been taking a blog break.
I do that with stuff to refresh.

It has been a hot summer, and we still have August to go! Yikes...🤤

Time is going so quickly.

I have stayed busy.

Charcoal doesn't like this hot weather, either.  I almost have to push him out the door to go potty--he must have an iron bladder.

Just like many of you, life has been challenging for me, but everything will somehow work out.

At the same time, some areas of my life have been going really well, and I pray they just keep getting better.

That is life.

I just pray that God's Will be done in my life, and that I will Keep listening for His still small voice.

Here is a little something for you.
He can be drawn on cards, embroidered,  inked, watercolored, painted...use your imagination...

Link to free Fat Froggie

I hope you are happy.

I hope you love yourself.

I hope you feel loved.

I hope you know that YOU MATTER
And you are needed.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world and for your love, support and encouragement of me.

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Poppa Bear

I am blessed.

I have to remind myself of that when things go wrong and/or break.

I know,  it is just part of life, but, sometimes, enough is enough. 

We all get to that point. We take a deep breath and go on.

It is ok, as long as we don't allow ourselves to wallow for too long and stay there.

Some days, we just have to try a bit harder to remind ourselves of our blessings. 

In a few days, it will be 15 years since Daddy died.

May 24th would have been his 95th birthday.

Still, it hurts as much as ever.

Grief has no time limits, like some may think.

Y'all have heard me tell so much about Momma and Daddy,  and it makes me smile to know how many good memories I have of them, both.

I was a Daddy's girl to the core.

Brian would make me go ask Daddy when he wanted stuff, cause he was convinced that Daddy could not say NO to me.

What he didn't understand, was Daddy would do anything humanly possible for any of us--anything! 

He made my life too easy, but he taught me so much by watching him. He lived his life the same as he spoke, though often, his words were few.

Don't get me wrong, that man was a talker.  When people described him as quiet, they didn't know him.

He didn't speak loudly or unkindly. He spoke his mind. He was not a mushy person, but was never afraid to cry. He loved children, and was a sort of baby whisperer--a crying baby was little challenge for him! 

You have all read this before...

Recently, I was painting the second installment of 3 of Amy Mogish's Going to Market Club. It was an ear of corn. She described "corn hair", and I burst into laughter. I hope that will forever be in my vocabulary. 

Corn, of course, makes me think of Daddy. 

So often, I have heard people talking about FINALLY getting a day off of work, after maybe 7 days or more, or even less.

I chuckle, because, Daddy worked 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.  Those cows needed milking twice a day--no matter what.

He never complained...

BUT, the difference was, He loved what he did. It wasn't simply a job, but a way of life. He knew he was blessed.  He loved the land, and took care of it, as God told us to do. He loved God, too, and put Him first in our home.

After Daddy "retired" from milking cows, he and "the old man who lived down the road"  starting raising a big patch of silver queen corn. After Mr. Arms died, I became the main "picker" with Daddy. 

Daddy drove the tractor and we threw the picked corn in the front end loader. I am pretty sure I can't count how many ears of corn I had the pleasure of picking with Daddy.

As his health declined, I knew he would keep going as long as he planted the corn. I would breath a sigh of relief each spring when that planting took place.

Sure enough, the last year of his life, there was no corn planted...

So, here we are again as another year without him ticks off the calendar...

I wouldn't have him in his earthly body for anything, but I miss him as much as ever.

I know how blessed I am.

So, thank you for allowing me to mumble on, some more...

You KNOW I will keep doing it.

I just think we need to share our joys with each other.

So, here is a little something I have decided to share with you.

Happy hedgie...Click here to download the pattern.

Daddy was forever bragging on me and my creating...

One day, he showed something to the meter reader, and the man wanted one.

Daddy told him that he promised if we didn't have one, then it would be painted by the next day...Daddy even went and cut it out, just to be sure! 

Well, after I arrived home from  12 hours of being gone, he smiled and told me about "the deal"...

I wasn't as happy...

I said, unless he learned to paint real fast, he best never make THAT deal again...bwah ha ha ha...

Luckily, we had one ready to go! 😉😀😁😂😃😄

Yep, I would have painted it,  if we had not had one. I would have done anything for him! 

That is what love is all about.

So, just like most of you, I pay the price of love--grief.

BUT I know that

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Click here if you want to read more about my sweet Daddy

The BIG MOUTH FROG

In honor of what would be My Mother's 85th birthday, I want to share her favorite joke she told many times.

Boy, do we need to laugh!

It won't be the same as her telling it, because her facial expressions and voice fluctuations made it funnier.

Daddy couldn't tell a joke to save his life, but Momma could...

The BIG MOUTH FROG

One day Miss Frog had a baby. Being a new mother, she had no idea what to feed her baby. She decided that she would hop around the zoo and ask the mothers what they fed their babies.

Miss Frog hopped up to the monkey, and in a loud voice, with her mouth opened wide, she said:

Mother Monkey, what do ya feed your babies.

Miss Monkey said: bananas.

Miss Frog, said: oh, thank ya very much...

She hopped on to see Miss Robin Red Breast and asked in the same loud, Southern voice:

Mother Robin, what do ya feed your babies?

Miss Robin replied: big fat juicy worms!

Miss Frog said: oh, thank you very much.

Next Miss Frog hopped to Miss Sheep and asked:

Mother Sheep, what do ya feed your babies?

Mother Sheep replied: grass

Miss Frog said with her loud voice : oh, thank ya very much

This went on for most of the day--mothers sharing, as only mothers do, when Miss Frog hopped to the other end of the lake and saw Mother Alligator sunning herself.

HAPPILY, and loudly, Miss Frog asked:

Mother Alligator, what do you feed your babies?

Mother Alligator, with eyes fixed, and in a cold, Harsh voice replied emphatically: BIG MOUTH FROGS...

Miss Frog in shock and through tightly pursed lips, very quietly replied: Oh, thank you very much!

This is why I paint so many frogs. It is a way to share a memory.

Mother and Daddy were my biggest fans. With every stroke of my brush, the love of my parents flows onto the surface.

I have no clue why I won the lottery when it came to parents, but I cherish the memories and am thankful beyond words for the Godly example they were to us and to our community.

I joked at the funeral home, as I proudly stood by Mother's casket, that she LOVED everybody. Yes, she really did. She loved people who treated her harshly, but she prayed for them and always offered a smile, even though I know how tough it was. You see, I was one of those awful people. While I knew how loved I was, I was often unkind and ugly, yet, she loved me unconditionally and replied to my ugliness with a heartbroken smile and "I LOVE YOU."

I share this today with you in hopes YOU will see your own ugliness and repent, because once you say words of hate, they never can be taken back. One day, you will regret them.

The Great news is that YOU ARE LOVED by a Father who loves you unconditionally and who sent His only Son to save You--not to condemn you. He can change YOU. He will forgive you and make your life whole, beautiful and new.

This is what I know Mother would say to all of us. She would also say, in her lovely southern accent: I love you.

She shared John 3:16 and always shared verse 17, because she said it was important to KNOW that there is no condemnation given by God, through Christ Jesus. She shared this message with thousands of people and always ended with: if you haven't been told today, then know that I love you and God loves you.

Accept the love shown you, and return no man, evil for evil.

I am simply blessed to create ~charlotte ♡


Most of these patterns can be found at  THE DECORATIVE PAINTING STORE (CLICK HERE)

OR in my etsy shop By clicking here

Orange Cookies

As you know, I have my days and nights mixed up, 

and try as I may, I cannot get on a

 normal person's schedule.  

And when I try, I just make it worse.

This week, I am on the get up at 2 am schedule.

SO, at 4 am, I was making cookies.

Yesterday, I had crushed the Vanilla Wafers 

in a zip lock bag.

I sat the Orange Juice out to thaw.

I was committed at this point to finish!

As always, I seem to have a helper 

that had his own ideas.

After melting the butter, 

I thought Charcoal would like to 

lick the butter wrapper and plate.

He did...

He also ate the wrapper.

Paper is one of the main Food Groups for Labs.

Did you want the wrapper back?  Did you have plans for it?

I got the cookies made, and Look--he got the roll of Butter Rum Lifesavers off of the table and brought them to his "safe place".

Mean ole Mommie took the lifesavers away...

This is one of my most favorite cookies.  

I love that they have been in our family 

almost as long as I have~~lol

Ok, so I was 10!

My cousin, Cheryl, gave Mother the recipe in 1972.

Mother loved them, too.

She loved them rolled in Coconut.

Not me, so she rolled me some in Powdered Sugar.

That was the kind of Mother I had.  

Actually, that is how most Mothers are--

always thinking of others.

\

Now, the problem with this recipe, 

and hundreds of other recipes that are in our families, 

the boxes have 

gotten smaller and smaller 

through the years!

This called for a 1 pound box of Vanilla Waffers, 

but the boxes are now 11 ounces!!

You can buy 2 boxes and weigh them 

with a kitchen scale 

OR Do what I did

I tried to just make things (kinda) match.

I used the 11 ounce box of Vanilla Wafers

I had a 32 ounce bag of powdered sugar, 

so I squeezed 1/3 of the bag to made it 

ABOUT 11 ounces

I used 2/3 cups of Pecans

1 Stick of Melted butter 

(can you have too much butter?)

And my can of Orange Juice was 12 ounces, 

so I eyeballed what I thought 

was a little less than half.

I added all the ingredients to a freezer zip lock bag

to mix them--watch your zip lock, 

because sometimes they break open.

You can mix these in a bowl, 

but I already had the bag.

I also put my powdered sugar to roll them in 

into a zip lock bag.

To roll out the balls, I used a spoon to 

get the dough out of the bag.

I added powdered sugar to my hand.

Placed the dough in my hand

And rolled them.

Yes, powdered sugar was everywhere, BUT

my hands didn't get sticky one bit!

I think my favorite thing about these cookies is

Putting them on my 

bunny platter!!

I love these cookies

They are so fresh tasting!

It turns out that Charcoal still had a few tricks left in his bag...

He found this on my stack I was cleaning/putting in boxes

And he had plans for some chewing

as he tossed it on the couch

(that is the blur from throwing it)

Charcoal is ALL BOY!!

I am so thankful for all the recipes 

that have been passed down 

through my family.

Sharing with friends is such a gift.

As I held the recipe card, 

I got the warmest feelings and 

such great memories of making and taking 

handmade items to friends, and yes, to strangers.

I hope you each are taking the time 

to do things with your children/grandchild/pups =) 

to pass on heart memories.

I am thankful for the talents that 

my parents help develop.

NOW...off to have another one (or two) cookies!

I am simply blessed to create~~charlotte♡

What if NOTHING ever changed? Serendipity Sunday

Am I the only one having trouble keeping up with what day it is, much less what the date is?

It seems that I have spent the entire year just figuring out how to get to such and such date, and now that I am here, I’m not sure that I am really here, or even where HERE is!  LOL

I’m not going to lie—it has been a tough year.

All of the craziness around me hasn’t helped, either.

I have discovered that my heart hurts when my friends hurt or argue.

We ALL think we are right and we have no clue how someone can’t see things as we see them.

You know, it is called LIFE~~Plain and Simple.

We believe the way we believe because of the way we were raised and with the experiences we have had.  We all were raised differently, and we have had different experiences, and THAT simply is WHY we are unable to see things as others see them, and sit down for this one~~PEOPLE are thinking the same way about YOU that YOU are thinking about THEM.

I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you that… =) (nope, not really.  It made me giggle. Yes, there is still much work left to be done on me!)

Because of our differences, we have to work a bit harder to learn to live Compassionate Lives.

Today I am 54.  54!!

I am now OFFICIALLY an old maid.

My Aunt Lattie (Daddy’s only sister) was the measuring stick for me being an old maid, because, you see, she was 52 when she got married and was happily married for over 25 years to one of the kindest men that God placed on this earth.

I guess, really, I have been official for a while, now.  I just felt the need to confirm what I suspected…LOL

It’s ok, because thinking back over the Frogs I have kissed (sorry frogs—I don’t mean to use you as something evil), I am pretty happy to be right where I am and to have escaped some close calls~~whew!  Thank you, God, for protecting me when I was foolish.

It is tough not to look back on my life on days like this, especially when the world outside is so calm and quiet, so my mind can walk down the trails I have journeyed.

Yes, some tears have fallen, but that is nothing new.

It is so easy to go to the “poor pitiful me” parts and look around and feel lonely.  Time has a way of changing things, as it should, for where would we be if we stayed stagnant and didn’t move….if things never progressed, or yes, even digressed?  What if we had no serendipity moments…no moments that took our breath away (both for the good and for the bad)…how would we learn if we didn’t have experiences?  If we stayed in the past, where it might not necessarily have been safe, but comfortable, how would we revel in the goodness of mankind…the beauty of nature. 

What if NOTHING ever changed?

Boy, howdy, wouldn’t THAT be awful?

As I reflect on the changes I have been trying to make in my life, I still feel the old me constantly emerge, and it takes a sledge hammer on many days to wake me up to ME being a big ole brat.

I have worked on being compassionate~~to realize that I MIGHT not always be right (I said MIGHT)…to acknowledge that the times I want to share that I am RIGHT is not nearly as important as having PEACE in my life.

I cannot do one single thing about anyone else.  I don’t possess the power, and really, we should ALL be very happy with that fact. =)  BUT I do have the power (on most days) to control ME and how I react to others and how I treat others.  I can only hope that I will make a difference for someone, and let me be clear, THEN, I want to be certain to point them to God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, as the EXAMPLE to follow, and not me.  I just pray that my life will not turn people away from God.

You know how hard it is to change YOU?  Then image the impossibilities of changing someone else!!

I have lived the most blessed life.

You have patiently walked with me as I have retold the journeys I have made.  You have encouraged me when I felt as if my world had fallen apart.  You have lovingly given words of support when I needed them, and most of the time, when I did NOT deserve them or expect them.  You have listened to some crazy ideas that I have had, and either laughed and said, “there she goes again” or some have actually heard my heart’s cry for change and have made the efforts with me.  You have bought my patterns.  You have bought my hand painted items.  You have gone “oooo and aaaahh” when I have shared what I am doing. Yes, some have even told me when I was wrong.

You have been a family.

So, as I reflect on the past year of my life, while I have fought to stay positive and to keep the faith through trials, you have been there with me and for me.  I hope I have learned some lessons to make my life easier, but then, maybe I will make some of the same mistakes, BUT one thing is for sure, I know many of you will be right here cheering me on, and praying for me.

I have written down 10 items that I would like to ask you to join me in praying for in my life as an “unspoken prayer” because God knows, and if the time comes for me to share, I pray I will be willing to do so.  They aren’t frivolous items, but real needs.

I look forward to living each day to its fullest~~ To LIVE…to THRIVE…to PARTICIPATE!

I hope to remain Thankful.

As I look back to this day in 1962, I am THANKFUL for being placed in a Godly home with a Father and a Mother who led by example. ..Who allowed me to grow and to make mistakes...Who taught me what was important, and allowed me to have fun adventures.

I am grateful that I had two brothers, who loved me for part of my life, and I can only hope, who are thriving and living their lives to the fullest and are clinging to the values that our parents taught us and are passing them on to others.

I am so glad that Daddy was able to get that $500 loan to pay for me!!

I laugh as I remember the stories of Mother telling that she was not allowed to let her feet touch the ground for her 10 day stay in the hospital—10 days, folks!  LOL

I pray that I will continue to develop a heart of Christ.  That the things that break His heart will also break mine, and that I will do what I can to HELP.

Thank you, for continuing to stop by my little corner of the world.

I am simply Blessed to Create~~charlotte♡