Milestones and links to Winter in July Wednesday participants.

I am reaching a few new milestones with this post.

This is my 175th post,

and as of right now, I have 51 followers (welcome and thanks to all of you).

Winter in July Wednesday went very well, there were five participants that I know of. Each was unique and wonderfully done. So if you are still too hot, check them out.

Ann-Jen

Corner of Cats mind

Brians home

tk furrever home

ten lives second chances

Meanwhile, back at Kat's Corner, it is summertime and life is good.

I will post the report and pictures from this year's Belle Chere either this evening or this weekend at the latest.

See you then.

Kat

Winter in July Wednesday!

Winter in July Wednesday is here. I grew up in Northern Utah. They know know about snow. They hosted the winter Olympics a few years back. As a kid, I loved snow. I did not care if it was cold and wet. Once when I was in kindergarten, it snowed the night before and there was no time to play in it before school. The snow all melted before recess and I was convinced it was an evil plot.

I thought the janitor had shoveled it all away somewhere.

In the summer of 1973, my niece and nephew from Texas came to stay with us for a couple of weeks.

When my Dad found out that my little niece had never seen snow, he decided to do something about it.

We dug up coats and boots, piled into the car and drove up into the mountains till he found snow we could play in. This was on the fourth of July.

What a great way to cool off! We even brought some snowballs back in the ice chest (they didn't last long).

As a grown up (OK, most of the time, grown up), I am not so nuts about the white stuff.

When winter is actually here, I long for summer.

However these are the dog days and it just stays hot.

So I dream of Winter in July. This is the niece that started it all.

This is her brother and one of my big sisters.

This is another one of my Nieces and an earlier winter, just goes to show,

they do snow there.

Every few years, we get one good snow storm here.

This is what our winters usually look like.

My favorite winter picture.

One of my Christmas Card designs.

I have to work today so I will publish links tomorrow for everyone that I know is participating.

I feel cooler already, hope you do too.

Kat

Summer Tenants at Kat's Corner.

We have some new "people" living here with us for the summer.

Kat's Corner is now home to a bunch of tadpoles and baby frogs as well as a friendly praying mantis. The amphibians live out by the old barn. The biggest ones are about the size of my thumbnail right now. The praying mantis is up on the balcony. He sat by my shoulder this morning while I had my first cup of coffee. They are such characters.

Well hello there.

Take me to your leader?

He still has his tail.

Three together. Somewhere between tadpoles and frogs.

I think I need to dry off a bit.

 

 Don't know if I have shown you this guy before or not.
I still think he has a silly face.

Don't forget "Winter in July Wednesday"

See you there.

Kat

Short post, extend the winter challange!

Just a short post. It has been a busy weekend.

So far I have only had one response to the challenge, but it is a great one.

Have a peak at winter in summer and future let me know if you agree.

Zuzana even went back to the location of her winter photos to show us what it looks like right now.

I would love to see more winter in summer. Lets make next Wednesday Winter in July Wednesday.

Show me pictures, tell me what your favorite Christmas song is. Tell me a Christmas story or write a winter poem. Anything wintry post it next Wednesday.

Tell your friends ahead of time and see if you can get them to play too.

Come on, just one cool day.

 

What do you think?

Kat

Wintery Wednesday

It is nearly 80 degrees here at kat's corner this morning and the sun is not even up yet.

I know 80 degrees does not sound like a lot, but it will be a lot warmer later. Thank goodness antebellum builders knew how to compensate for summer. With a few windows and a fan we are quite comfortable right now.

I posted winter pictures the other day and my friend at Life Through Reflections...  reminded me that I posted a challenge last winter for summer pictures.

So now I am posting a challenge for winter pictures. There are no prizes, this is just for fun.

So dust off your favorite winter pictures and lets see if we can't all cool down a little.

1. Post your best wintry photos to your blog.

2. Leave a comment here with a link to your photos.

3. Check out the other participants blogs to see there photos.

Easy enough?

My favorite part of these things is getting to share some of my favorite blogs with you.

Here is my entry.

 Snowy back steps.

Snowy old oak.

Snowy Barn.

Snowy Antebellum.

There now, don't you feel cooler already?

Cheers,

Kat

Lets cool down for a minute.

I added a page for the house, somewhere I can share some of the trials and tribulations, as well as the joy involved in loving an old antebellum house like this one. You can click on the tab at the top to see it if you like. While I was looking for pictures, I came across these and you know, I can appreciate them a whole lot more right now. So here goes,

Daffs in the snow, these photos were taken and posted in Feb of this year.

This Antebellum lady looks cold.

The old barn on a snowy evening.

Our guardian tree, remember, this was not typical winter weather in these parts.

Yes, we went for a walk in it, of course.

My favorite photo of all!

There, now don't you feel a little cooler too?

Cheers,

Kat

White Tiger.

I have been playing on the computer today. 

This is what I have come up with so far,

This one is from the carousel at Myrtle Beach, I am going to do a series of them.

I am not sure what I will do with them, but they are fun to do. 

I am quite pleased with this one.

 

What do you think?

Kat

And the winner is.....

The verdict is in. My Sweet Hubby read through all three entries a couple of times and had a tough time deciding who the winner should be. Cat's story was romantic and cute it made us both smile, you really do have to make a great leap when you give up your old life to make a life with someone else. Bay Tree Poet's entry was very creatively written and she too had to be quite brave, if I am reading it right, she also made her leap for love.

My Sweet Hubby, (after much deliberation) says that Brian's great leap was probably the hardest to make. He had love and family as well as a good job, he risked much. All three are fine writers but only one can win. My Sweet Hubby chose Brian.

Congratulations Brian, email me with your Snail Mail address and I will put the earrings in the mail for your Sweet Heart.

Brian can post this on his sidebar if he would like, perhaps with a link to his winning entry.

As for everyone else, if you are looking for a great read, start with their entries as shown below, then go on to read other posts. These are excellent blogs, you will enjoy them and you will want to go back for more.

http://cornerofcatsmind.blogspot.com/2010/07/great-leap.html

(Bay tree poet's entry is over three posts)

http://baytreepoet.blogspot.com/2010/03/truth-will-out.html

http://baytreepoet.blogspot.com/2010/04/truth-will-out-pt-2-story-of-lost-key.html

http://baytreepoet.blogspot.com/2010/05/truth-will-out-pt-3-turning-over-new.html

http://www.waystationone.com/2010/07/icarus-on-rocks.html

Cheers,

Kat

Thus far, contest entry and a cool kitty.

So far we only have one entry, Bay Tree Poet. Her entry is over three posts and was not written specifically for the contest, but fits nicely. All of her posts are worth reading, she is a good find. See for yourself.
http://baytreepoet.blogspot.com/2010/03/truth-will-out.html
http://baytreepoet.blogspot.com/2010/04/truth-will-out-pt-2-story-of-lost-key.html
http://baytreepoet.blogspot.com/2010/05/truth-will-out-pt-3-turning-over-new.html
You can review the contest here http://akatscorner.blogspot.com/2010/07/great-leap-challenge-with-prize.html

In the mean time, this is how Spontaneous likes to keep cool.

Have a great weekend,

Kat

How I have managed to completely avoid accomplishing anything today.

We had planned on a day out, but the well was having issues and we had to wait for "the well guy".

(No worries, he fixed all)

My Sweet Hubby glanced out the window and said "there is a deer in the yard". We followed him around the house, quietly, sneaking from window to window as he nibbled the grass. Careful, if he sees movement, he will be gone. Quietly, softly, he is just a young one (I assume it was a boy, I did not want to frighten him by asking, it isn't polite).

Amazingly, he seemed content to munch the grass and the weeds, I would have thought he would find the lavender tasty. We also have pink impatiens blooming on the porch, (I showed you the white ones a few days back,) but I think they are out of reach.

I walked up to put the mail in the box and kind of got lost on the way. I know where I was, but it was such a lovely morning, I am afraid I dawdled a bit. The sun was already starting to make it's presence felt. You can tell it is summer outside. Even the mornings are warm.

Pandora looked so lovely in the early morning light,

She stands in the shade all day and doesn't do a thing, kind of like Spontaneous. I had to take a close up.

How cheeky, she is wearing one of the necklaces from my shop. (Had to get the shameless promotion out of the way). Don't forget the contest runs till Monday. (Scroll to the previous post for details if you missed it)

This butterfly has extra color, they usually don't have quite so much of the light blue banding. I have see a few like this, but most have a lot less, I wonder why? How can you not be distracted by such things? Feathery soft, but don't touch. If you are lucky, they might land on a finger or an arm.

Have I shown off the tomato and basil plants yet? If you look carefully behind the leaves their are tomatoes hiding in there. I can't wait, home grown tomatoes are so much more flavorful. We have already been getting into the basil, great on salads.

The afternoon has slipped by while I was goofing off. I had good intentions, but the table is still a mess. Maybe tomorrow. Why do they call these the dog days? I feel much more like a cat.

Cheers,

Kat

Great leap challenge with a prize.

I have taken several great leaps in my life, giant steps forward over chasms of doubt.

Questions of "Do I dare?" try to hold me back.

"What if?" sings a siren songs from both sides,

"What if it all goes wrong?"

"What if it all goes right?".

Some great leaps are over life changing matters, "Should I marry him?" (Best one of all!), "Should I Join the Air Force?", "Can I make it through Nursing School?".

Some just require us to be brave for a few minutes. "Shall I cut my hair?", or "Should I get rid of that?".

I am making yet another great leap, (ok maybe it isn't as dramatic as some, but it is something I have wanted to do for a long time) I have opened an ETSY shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyGoodCompany

You see, people keep trying to buy my jewelry. Seriously, I have had people stop me in line at the grocery store and offer money for jewelry I was wearing. This inevitably when I am wearing something of my own design. My Sweet Hubby thinks I have a knack for it. He has several of my original pieces, they are always conversation starters.

So, in order to introduce my shop and hopefully help promote it, I am having a contest of sorts on this blog.
The prize,

a pair of Peacock Pretty earrings They are made from glass and abalone beads with sterling silver french hooks.

Now I know that some of you don't wear earrings, but wouldn't your Sweet heart look great in these? Especially if she knew you won them just for her?

Here is the challenge:

1. Write a blog post about a "Great leap". It can be what you feel is the bravest thing you have ever done, or something you are still dreaming of. Tell us all about it. Pictures are great, but not required.

2. Post a comment to this blog with a link back to your posting by next Monday July 12, (make sure there is a way for me to reach you just in case, if you do not wish an email address to appear, you can email it to me at akatscorner@aol.com )

Easy enough? Just two steps.
My Sweet Husband does not know it yet, but he will be judging the entries, I like all of you too much to be fair.

Mercury thinks these are some PrettyGood Earrings.

You are all invited to check out the shop, but that is not required in order to win. I currently have two necklaces on offer and will be posting more over the next few days.

I can't wait to see your entries.

Kat

What a stretch.

Spontaneous is doing what she does best, napping in the sunshine.

She says take it as easy as you can get away with.

Have a great Monday.

Kat and Spontaneous

Summer Mornings and the Good Life.

I woke up to a lovely morning today. My Sweet Hubby made Earl Grey Tea (my favorite). I had my first couple of cups out on the side porch. We sat on the bench, wiggled bare toes, listened to the birds and just enjoyed the moment. It has been quite hot but this morning their is a cool breeze. I can smell the grass my Sweet Hubby mowed yesterday and the Cedars near the driveway. The squirrels are busy elsewhere, but there is a bunny nibbling away at something under the guardian tree. A very fat bumble bee is investigating the railing and our bees are just waking up to the day.

The barn looks great in any season, you can see it from here. The honey suckle vines growing on one side are quite fragrant but I can't smell them this morning. There is green everywhere I look.

My Sweet Hubby planted Impatiens for our porch, we have a pot of pink Impatiens too. They greet you as you come up the steps. Hopefully they will attract a lizard or toad. We have had both living in the planters in previous years.

After we enjoy our tea, I am off with our outgoing mail.

Oops! Sorry their, didn't mean to startle anyone. I think he startled me nearly as much as I startled him. Rabbits are such graceful creatures. They are quite small and very shy.

Down the dirt road, keep your eyes open, I have seen all sorts of wonders in this little stretch. Sometimes, early in the morning when I leave for work, deer will jump across in front of me. A chorus of birds goes from tree to tree ahead of me. I imagine they are singing good day, but it is probably just a warning to other birds that someone is coming.

The mailbox isn't far at all. Once my mail is placed safely within, I put the flag up so our Mail lady will know we have something waiting. The low lying plant behind the box is Kudzu.

Past the meadow on the way back to the house. It is a meadow for now, but it is full of baby pine trees. It will be a forest again, eventually. For now, it is full of little birds and wild flowers.

We are gardening in pots this year. This one has tomatoes and basil. One of my favorite combinations. Have you ever had a tomato and basil sandwich on buttered toast? If not, you are missing out, try it, you will see. Tastes like summer to me.

Once I am back in the house, (looking for another cup of that lovely tea) I find that my Sweet Hubby has been busy. Good things happen when he starts rattling around the kitchen. I think my early morning labors are about to be rewarded!

Yes, indeed, a German Apple Pancake. Served here on blue willow (with plenty of tea). Who would want to go anywhere else? Not me.

I am staying right here for the holiday.

Time to dig in. I have several of my favorite blogs to read and no where I have to go.

Happy Fourth of July!

Kat

>^,,^<