The Life of Mrs. Miles

BASEBALL FRAME/ELEMENT/TEMPLATE SET

Photo for Baseball Frame courtesy of Janiss Paulk (sxc.hu)

Photo of Baseball player courtesy of GeekPhilosopher

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Wow - the past few days whizzed by far too fast! I had fully intended on blogging yesterday, but it just did not happen. I had too much to do & no elements ... and, it was a SUNNY day to boot. I hope you enjoy today's download - I created it at a suggestion from blog reader Lynne - who wishes to make a layout of her son. I've noticed that you in the USA are simply PASSIONATE about your baseball, while we lean towards hockey. (not me, personally - we've never watched a game. Our folks do, and my dear Dad, now passed, used to follow it religiously!)

Keep your suggestions rolling in. If I think I can make it - I'll give it a whirl!

Beautiful Cat Layout by Melusine (Norway!)

Credit:
Frame by Lindsay Jane
Tapes from Tapes Elements #14 by Mrs. Miles
Staples by Mary
Font: Auburn

What a georgeous cat, hey? I told Melusine I'm betting she does not wear black clothes.... Thanks for sharing your layout with us! I would love to feature your own layouts using my elements here - just send me a link!

The graduation was wonderful. One graduate was raising six - yep, I said SIX children while attending school - another had several children, a full time job and is hoping to go on to be a nurse. I am in awe of these people!

BY PERSEVERANCE - THE SNAIL REACHED THE ARK

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial"

James 1:12

PROGRESS HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH SPPED,

BUT MUCH WITH DIRECTION

"Happy is the man who finds wisdom,

and the man who gets understanding,

for the gain from it is better than gain from silver

and its profit better than gold."

Proverbs 3:13

I felt fulfilled to stand on the stage with our friend Garry to give a $475 dollar bursary to a computer student in the memory of Garry's wife Val who passed away last year, of cancer, two months short of her own graduation ceremony. She was 48 (my age now!) Her death and watching a 'pay it forward' show of Oprah, spurred me to create and collect for this fund. The monies we managed to secure will allow 5 awards to be given over the next 5 years in Val's memory. I was able to put together a biography of Val's life to go along with the money - her memory will go on, as a person. This was important to me as Val was an only child, and she and Garry had no children themselves.

Miles and I want to take this time to publically thank our friend Melanie Olsen for always being there for us - your help is always welcome and appreciated - your friendship is the sugar on top of it all! We asked Melanie at the last minute to help with the graduation decorating and setup - she made the load much lighter for us!

BUZZY BEE

I awoke yesterday to a request to do some quick graphics work (gratis, of course) for a local newspaper. It was a snap with all the stuff I've been soaking up and learning - making elements for you! You see, I took a decision a long time ago about work. Miles and I made a decision for me to stay home and make do with his wages. It was a big adjustment, but we've managed, and in the last 10 years we've grown so close. I truly value that I have not had to work outside our home, and I know how fortunate this is for me. I know many of you who HAVE to work outside the home. Staying home means a completely different lifestyle - I don't think I've bought one item of clothing new in the last year - but I'm lacking nothing.

A long time ago, I prayed to our Lord that if I surrendered control of our finances and stayed home, that He would bless our decision if it was His will. Yesterday was a confirmation of His hand as I think I will be able to do some freelance graphics in the future. If I had not stayed home I would have never begun this blog (which was dedicated to our Lord on Day #1) so I would not have made all your elements, and I would not know all the graphics. My graphics and elements are not mine, my friends, they are a direct gift from my Creator. Won't you trust in Him to release your talent for you, too?

JUST WHEN YOU THINK HE'S ALL YOU HAVE

YOU WILL FIND HE'S ALL YOU NEED

"But my God shall supply all your need

according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Phillipians 4:19

FAITH IN GOD MAKES ALL THINGS POSSIBLE

"But with God, everything is possible."

Matthew 19:26

LOVELY LUPINE

Miles came in from outside yesterday morning crowing about the beautiful morning. He insisted I should clear some time and hang outside for some time, if possible... So later, toward lunch, I put on some shorts and a big ziplock freezer bag and spent an hour collecting more Saskatoon Berries. I thought the bushes were looking a little scarce but I managed to fill the bag (a big one) 1/2 full by the time I was through. At first I was holding the bag in my left hand, picking with the right, but my hand started crabbing on me, so I switched to holding the bag in my teeth, which after a while had me slobbering like when the dentist puts one of those icky rubber dams in your mouth when isolating your tooth for a root canal or filling (eww... why did I have to go and say that - I can SMELL the drill!! ) sorry.

At any rate, I came away with enough berries to fill an entire cookie sheet - I will freeze them for a rainy day's jam making.

The other night, Miles and I took a walk down along the waterfront. When we were strolling along, just before the sun was about to sink over the horizon, in the cool murkiness of evening - we saw some bats. We paused and stood very still. The bats were amazing! They flew in a delicate ballet through the air in search of bugs. They went up and swirled - then fell speedily and swooped along the ground. What was exhilirating was when they flew full force toward us and veered off a the last possible moment. I'd read somewhere that its an old wives tale that says the bats will get stuck on your hair, so I was fine. I'd read that of course, if you had a big mop and the bat happend to hit it by accident, it may panic and of course get wrapped up in the strands in its wanting to escape (poor things probably scareder of you than you of it!) then it may end up lodged... I was not afraid, and stood and soaked it all in - but Miles was not convinced and a close encounter would send him ducking behind me each time!

AN ODD WASPNEST!

Today in History:

1787 - Edward Gibbon completed The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

1884 - Lawrence Corcoran pitched his third no-hit baseball game, leading Chicago to a 6-0 win over Providence. Corcoran set a baseball record for no-hitters for the feat.

1885 - Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter applied for a patent for the gramophone. The patent was granted on May 4, 1886.

1949 - Captain Video and His Video Rangers premiered on the Dumont Television Network. Captain Video was initially played by Richard Coogan. The voice of radio’s Green Hornet, Al Hodge, replaced Coogan in 1951. Don Hastings played the roll of the ranger until the series ended in 1955. Maybe, if you check the basement or the attic, you’ll find your Captain Video decoder ring. Now’s the time to use it, kids!

1955 - The first Wide Wide World was broadcast on NBC-TV. Dave Garroway, of the Today show, was the program host.

1969 - New York City police, attempting to serve a search warrant, charged into the well-known gay hangout, the Stonewall Inn. Events quickly got out of hand. Police ejected customers, managers, bouncers. Everyone got booted outside onto the sidewalk. The crowd became increasingly unruly and someone threw a bottle at the police. The plain-clothes police team was trapped inside the bar for over two hours before the the NYPD Tactical Patrol Force arrived and drove the mob from in front of the Stonewall. Police arrested and jailed many of the chanting gays. For the next few nights, the Stonewall Inn became the focal point of gay protests. The gay community began to organize and form committees to bring about change. Many feel that the Gay Liberation Movement had its beginnings with the Stonewall Inn Riots.

1970 - The Jackson 5: Marlon, Tito, Jackie, Randy and Michael, jumped to number one on the music charts with The Love You Save. The song stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks. It was the third of four number one hits in a row for the group. The other three were I Want You Back, ABC and I’ll Be There. In 15 years (from 1969 to 1984), The Jackson 5/Jacksons had 23 hits, scored two platinum singles (Enjoy Yourself and Shake Your Body [Down to the Ground]) and one gold record (State of Shock).

1975 - Sonny and Cher (Bono) called it quits as husband and wife. They were divorced soon after their CBS-TV variety show was canceled. Sonny went on to become mayor of Palm Springs and then a U.S. Congressman from California. (He was killed Jan. 5, 1998 in a skiing accident.) Cher married rocker Gregg Alman just days after saying “bye-bye” to Sonny. She continued her recording career and became an Academy Award-winning actress.

1980 - The the National Anthem Act, making O Canada Canada's national anthem, was unanimously accepted by the House of Commons and the Senate. Royal assent was also given this day. O Canada, written by Calixa Lavallee and Adolphe-Basile Routhier, was officially proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980.

1984 - The Federal Communications Commission moved to deregulate U.S. commercial TV by lifting most programming requirements and ending day-part restrictions on advertising.

1988 - Mike Tyson quickly retained his undisputed world heavyweight title by knocking out Michael Spinks in the first round. Fight fans at Atlantic City Convention Hall had paid big bucks (up to $1,500) to see this one. The match, touted in advance as “Once and for All” was all over in 91 seconds. No report on how many people blinked at the wrong time.

1999 - Juli Inkster won the LPGA Championship in Wilmington, Delaware. She was the second woman to win the modern Grand Slam in the LPGA. Of the eight players who have won the four major championships of their era, no one took as long as Inkster: 16 seasons from the time she won the Dinah Shore as a rookie [1984] to her victory in the LPGA Championship as a 39-year-old mother.

BARB'S HANDY TIP #290

New Look to an Old Search Engine

I've always been partial to the search engine AskJeeves... perhaps because it seems like the underdog. I've used it for a decade, and still wind up using it - even more than Google, believe it or not. Recently AskJeeves updated their look and added more features - why don't you give it a whirl?

ASK JEEVES