pumpkins, chipmunks and boy scouts.

Howdy, all you blog friends.

October has already been a busy month for the Far Studios crowd. With the cooler weather comes long hikes, campfires and camping trips. It's also conference month at school and inventory building at the studio.

Evie is working hard on a special order table that is in a style new to Far Studios. We can't wait to see the finished product. She's also crafting small and smaller pumpkins that are sure to grace many a mantle or flower pot this fall.

We have been hiking the Arabian mountain and Panola trails this week. Such beauty made so accessible by the good folks in Dekalb county, Georgia. We've seen deer, tons of vocal chipmunks, squirrels, snakes, and bugs. We even ran in to signs of a beaver population today.

God's creation is so varied and beautiful that we find ourselves thanking and praising Him every minute of every day. What a great and glorious God we are privileged to serve!

The Boy Scouts have been busy these last two months with many projects including the wonderful Weebloree at Burt Evans Scout Reservation. It does our hearts good to see how the older scouts teach and look after their young Cub brothers. Scouting has had 100 years of growing boys into responsible, productive and giving men. Our thanks to all who have given their time, energy, finances and caring to this worthwhile endeavor.

Does anyone know how many different sounds a chipmunk can make?

Bye 'til next time!

wedding march

Hello, again. We (the Georgia contingent) made it back home from the Ohio wedding. As most weddings are, this one was lovely and both bride and groom were everything they should have been - lovely (handsome), sweet, happy (and relieved, I'm sure, that it's all over). Hope to post some pictures soon as I figure out how.

Lena, our ribbon artist and the bride, did most of the decorating herself. The wonderful ladies at Pat Catan's in North Canton (Canton) made beautiful bouquets for bride and attendants. The guys flowers and the mothers/grandmothers flowers were just beautiful. A big thank you to Lena's boss who became the much needed wedding coordinator! It wouldn't have been the same without you!

The groom's father walked Lena down the aisle as Lena's dad left for Heaven a few years ago. Mr. Holl also spoke a lovely bit in honor of Allen (Lena's dad) at the reception.
He also acted as best man. What a busy guy!

Audrey, our jewelry artist, was maid of honor and was just beautiful. Jordan, Audrey's daughter was also an attendant and did a great job. Mindy, the groom's sister, was absolutely lovely and did her duty despite not feeling well. (Here's hoping you've been able to rest and recuperate, Mindy!)

You would have all gotten a kick out of the ringbearer, Morgan. His mom, Jennifer, was another beautiful attendant to the bride. She had difficulty staying up front when it looked like Morgie wouldn't be able to complete his trip down the aisle. He was so brave, though, and stared at the ceiling the whole way down so he wouldn't be scared. He made it all the way without any trouble and we are all so proud of him.

The groomsmen, Chris and Joe, were real pros and did a fantastic job. Chris, a professional (and very talented) artist (and Mindy's husband) really knew his stuff and was such fun to talk with at the reception. Good luck at the Cleveland showing Chris.

Coming home for we Georgians was a real experience. We hit some storms in Kentucky and had a bit of trouble. We didn't realize how bad our back tires were. We did the classic spinout across two lanes and into a 10 foot deep ditch. But God is good and saved us from being hit by traffic or turning over in the ditch which was filling quickly with water! What an adventure! No one was hurt and there was only minor damage to the car. It got us the rest of the way home after Ray's expert driving got us out of the ditch.

Isn't God good. This whole trip could have been so different. Bless God from Whom all blessings flow. Bless Him all creatures here below. Bless Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

Well, gotta go. Be watching the Far Studios Etsy site for new items coming soon!

catching up

Sorry it's been such a long dry spell. A lot has been happening.

As we stated before, the FAR Studios crowd got together in June for a few very short days. One of our members had to rush home to be with her fiance who's mother was very ill. His mom went home to Jesus a few weeks later.

Good news though. Our artist and her man did marry last weekend! They ditched the big wedding plans in favor of speed and had a lovely little ceremony in a small chapel in our home church. No white wedding for them. Red and black and silver were the colors they chose. Mom thought it sounded ghastly but it really did work out well. More red than black helped.

Our youngest artist has had a lot of adjustments, too. Her mom was the bride. A change in houses, city, and school will be easier to take than the loss of her two cats. Her new daddy is highly allergic so the kitties couldn't make the move with the family. They have been turned over to really nice people who will find them loving homes.

Evie and the boys are on their way to another scouting weekend. This is the cub scout Webloree! (That's pronounced wee blow ree.) Tons of work but also tons of fun.
The oldest son is den chief for the younger son's pack. He has a lot of responsibility this year but his scoutmaster has full confidence in his abilities.

Speaking of scouts, Honor Court was this last week and older son earned his first class rank and six more badges. He's already well on his way to his Star rank.

How are all of you feeling lately? Has h1n1 reared its ugly head in your lives yet? Both boys and their mom have had the flu already and have suffered with secondary infections after. But they are healing and are no longer contageous. Mom's mom has somehow missed out on the Ugh so far and hopes to stay healthy. Maybe it's all the fruits and vegies!

Ray is still deployed out east (mideast that is). We miss him terribly and pray for him constantly. Hopefully we'll have him back before Thanksgiving.

One of mom's paintings sold last month on the Etsy site. The buyer wrote happy comments after receiving the painting. Now mom is thinking of doing a new work. She's been kinda discouraged by what she considers her lack of talent in this area but if someone likes it, maybe it's OK to do what she loves. Whadya think?

Had an interesting visitor in the back yard last weekend - a beautiful beige colored heron glided gracefully across the back yard just as mom glanced outside. What a wonderful blessing from God to be allowed to see such sights. The deer have been stubbornly absent of late so the bird was a great surprise!

Well, it's been nice bloggin' ya. Have a great weekend and remember Our Father in all you say and do and think! Love ya! Bye