Photo Challenge: Day 12...The End

via Bonnie at {PaperKeeper}

What Makes You Happy

Today marks the end of the first Mercantile Muse photo challenge. I can't stress enough how awesome it's been. For me, it was like getting little gifts in my inbox. I loved seeing how each one of your interpreted any given theme. Some shots were just plain fabulous, some were fun and made me laugh, all of them were greatly appreciated. They came from far and wide, from Australia to France to California and everywhere in between.  I hope you had as much fun as I have.  It's been really wonderful getting to know the participants better, taking a peek into their lives via the challenges.

So here we are, at the end of the line, and what a way to end.

Happiness Is...............

oh....a baby....always a blessing

'Welcoming Nolan', via Kathy at Double Nickels and Beyond

A pooch always makes me smile. 

'fetch', via Bonnie at {PaperKeeper}

A boy and his dog. Even better. 

'pals', via Bonnie at {PaperKeeper}

The boy again, sans pooch.

'floating', via Bonnie at {PaperKeeper}

You never know where you might find a toothy grin.

'you say tomato, I say smile', via Cari-Jane at Hybrid Handmade

I admit it, I took a little editorial license with this challenge and combined a bunch of things that make me happy. Most of the shots I took, but you can tell the ones I didn't take because I'm actually in them (except bookclub....I did take that one too...it was a timed shot).

'happiness is', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

Many many thanks who participated, it wouldn't have been much of a challenge without you. 

What makes you happy?

In other news that makes me happy,  there is still a day and a half to enter the August Giveaway which is not anything you want to miss. I can't thank my sponsors enough. $150 worth of handmade is nothing to shake your head at. They are the best!  Remember, you can't win if you don't enter so what the heck are you waiting for?

Tomorrow is the start of another party around here, so if you have a shop and/or blog be sure to stop back to link up. It's my way of supporting the handmade movement and my fellow bloggers.  If you don't have a shop or blog, you should still stop back to see all the great places the link party can take you.

Right now I've got to run this print off..........

via Bates Mercantile Co.

.....and ship it off to Brooklyn.  Other things on the list include graphic design and bookkeeping. Oh, and another coat on our new chalkboard wall. Yup, you heard me right. I finally got around to painting the wall I've had planned for a chalkboard makeover. Only problem is, you have to wait three days before you can write on it. A practice in patience to be sure.

Have a fantastic Wednesday in your corner of the world and I'll do the same in  mine.

Ciao for now,

Photo Challenge: Day 11

via Pam at Mercantile Muse

Landscapes

Happy Monday gang. It was a jampacked weekend. Gar spent most of Saturday in the well again, installing the new foot valve and tweaking some plumbing on the pump. I'm here to announce, the pump is completely fixed. Woohoo! We just need neighborhoodlum Tom to tip the pump house back up and over the well and we can put that little episode completely to bed. Had fun with the Dublin visitors and I'll tell ya more about our weekend tomorrow.

I can't believe that the end of our little photo challenge is within sight. Just today's theme and Wednesday and we are fini, but first, landscapes.......... 

a reminder of the seasons

'pondview', via Karen at Bridgit's Bell

'autumn leaves begin to fall', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

'colorful addition', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

'gorge-ous', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

'like water through stone', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

'encased', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

'wonderland', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

Western vistas.............

'pining for peace', via Bonnie at {PaperKeeper}

'beautiful dreamer', via Bonnie at {PaperKeeper}

'on the edge', via Bonnie at {PaperKeeper}

Sandscapes.........

'land of sea and sand', via Cari-Jane at Hybrid Handmade

Close to home......

'field study', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

'ebb and flow', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

'happiness of light', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

'golden hour', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

'mending wall', via Kathy at Double Nickels And Beyond

The landscape shots are like taking a little mental break, don't you think?

I hope your week is off to a great start. We've got water, so ours is smoother sailing so far.  As I mentioned, there is one more challenge left if you want to join in. You just need to get me your submissions by end of the day tomorrow.  Submissions for the Giveaway are also coming to a close, so if you haven't entered out, do it now before your time runs out.  

If you have a business or blog, it's Meet Up Monday on the Bates Mercantile Co. facebook page. Stop by, share a link and meet some new people.

Make today great and I'll talk to you tomorrow,

Country Livin' and Sky High

via Corrine Douglas

Well What? 

You know you live in the country when you have to learn to be a 'jack of all trades'. Literally. This is especially true if you own your own home in the country.  I know some of you are nodding your heads.

Due to the hose incident (which you can read about here), we hadn't had water in a couple of days. The water has recharged itself in the well, but the pump didn't want to cooperate. Not much use having water in the well if you can't pump it to the house, right? So the G-man spent the day in the well, working on the pump. Actually, first he hung upside down into the well for a good while untile neighborhoodlum Tom came over with his tractor and took the house off the well so they could have more room. 

Ugh. My poor little pump house.

THEN Gar spent the rest of the day IN the well while he, Tom and Fred troubleshooted what in the dangnabbit was wrong with the pump.

Did I say this went on ALL day? I don't mean to be repetitive.

You see the pump would run and work getting water to the house, but it wouldn't shut off. Finally, they decided that the switch was gone. Off to Home Depot for a new switch, back to install it and still.....run, run, run.

Really?

Yup. Really. This was not making any of too happy. In fact, I was far from happy.  They were far from happy.

Neighborhoodlum Gerry had just gotten home from work and they called him to see if he had a gauge. They wanted to measure the water pressure so see if they'd missed a leak or something else during the replumbing and switch install that was causing low pressure. Then, just as Gerry was walking over with the gauge, it stopped. It did what it was supposed to. 

Life really would have been 'crap' if we'd been out of beer for these guys after that nightmare of a fix.  Luckily we have the best neighbors in the world who are always here to help.

So after it finally 'did what it was supposed to we held our collective breath, did the snoopy dance, then breathed a sigh of relief. Though it does seem that the pump is still not cycling 'quite' right, it is in fact doing it's thing. This makes me incredibly happy. Thank you men. Hello water. Hello flushing the toilet without having to fill up the cystern with water. Thank you men.

This morning Garrett is off to the plumbing store for a new foot valve. What? You don't know what a foot valve is? Well, he's getting a new one and we're hoping that will fix the 'not quite right cycle' issue. Fingers crossed. Then perhaps the house can go back over the well.

How's your week been?

Photo Challenge Day 10: Sky High

What a great photo challenge this has been. Fantastic submissions, super sweet people particpating (if you want to be one, read this), a chance to get to know each other better. These were a bright spot coming into my inbox the last day. Thanks for that.

Take a moment, step outside, direct your eyes skyward. 

The signs are everywhere.

'look up', via Karen at Bridgit's Bell

Take it all in.

'spectacular spectacular', via Karen at Bridgit's Bell

You never know what you might come across.

'stag's leap', via Karen at Bridgit's Bell

One red balloon.  Not 99.

'the one that got away', via Ashley at Papyrusaurus

One tall tree. Not 99.  I know there is not song about 99 tall trees, but I thought I'd throw that in there anyway.

via Corinne Douglas

Maybe there should be a song about 99 trees.

via Corinne Douglas

Guess where the next one was taken. Go on.....guess.

'East Meets West', via Emma at My Boju Life

What's not to love about exploring tidal pools with blue sky above?

'tidal sky', via Cari-Jane at Hybrid Handmade

One of my favorite spots in the world. FYI, just bhind that tall building in the front is Wall Street. I hear it's a pretty happenin' place.

'tall ships, tall buildings', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

Yesterday ended better than it began.

'nothing but blue skies', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

'coppertone', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

Two more challenges left. If you're participating in the next, 'landscape', you'll need to get me your submission by end of day Sunday. 

What's hot for the weekend gang?  Our Dublin family Part Two arrives this evening. We will be spending time chillin' with our peeps. Pool time today for sure as it's supposed to be in the mid 90s. Tomorrow looks like rain, not a bad thing for the well and I know my nieces will be able to think of something (read shopping) to do.

Freeform Friday

I found this video last weekend while youtubing. It was a one thing leads to another discovery. It makes me happy. Even though I have no idea what they're singing, it makes me happy. O Rappa is from Brazil and they have a new fan. What I really love is the way everyone is singing along, and not just to the chorus, but to the entire song.  It's got a perfectly wonderful, lazy summer feeling to it and that's my wish for you this weekend.  Click here if you're reading the Muse by email.

Peace out,

Color of Love: Photo Challenge Day 9

via Pam at Mercantile Muse

All You Need Is Love

Is it really Wednesday already?  Lots done, lots to be done. Good news, bad news. It's always something, right?

Bad news first. We left the hose faucet on. It had a sprayer on the top so this shouldn't have been a problem. However, from the heat of the sun and perhaps a faulty connector the sprayer popped off. What this means is this, the hose ran and ran without our knowledge until our well was pretty spent. Done. No agua. Zippo. By the time I noticed that the hose head had popped off  (due to weird chugging noises coming from kitchen sink where water supply enters house), it had spewed our dang water all over the backyard. All in all, not good considering that we were on the low side due to lack of rain this summer. Good news? It came back up some overnight. It rained a bit this morning and there is more expected later.  We have ways to conserve water and have gotten pretty good at it over the years. I'm not sweating this one. I might not get a laundry done for a couple of days while the well comes back up, but that certainly isn't the end of the world, is it? We have a pool, so we won't be too dirty. And any moment now my mother will be emailing or calling me to tell me I can use her shower and her washing machine if need be.  More good news? Spur of the moment visitors from Ireland on the heels of the ones who were just here, and a week before our other Dublin family arrives. It's all good. The Bates of Clonsilla, minus sister in law Angie will arrive Friday night. Yay. I'm confident all will be well by the time they arrive.... get it....well?

Need more good news? How about love?

Today's photo challenge is all about it. The color of love. 

Red and blue hearts from Karen. They really do speak to the color of love, because if you've been around awhile, you know that love isn't always moonbeams and roses.

'my achy breaky heart', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

A pink peony...soft, tender, with a little rough edge. Perfectly wonderful.

'a peony for my love', via Karen at Bridgits Bell

Love can be as strong as granite and comes in as many colors.

'hand in hand', via Karen at Bridgit's Bell

Ashley couldn't pick just one color so she went with the full gamut, which includes her husband being a goofball.

'parlez vous rainbow?', via Ashley at Papyrusaurus

Glistening white snow. Just how you feel when you're in love.

'the way you make me feel', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

Love is always a bright spot.

'shining through', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

And love can make you glow.

'from within', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

Love of life can be as pure as the driven snow. 

'leaping for love', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

The color most widely associated with love.

'anchor my soul', via Pam at Mercantile Muse

Home is all about love.

Cari-Jane has found that home isn't a place, it's wherever your heart is.

'good to be home', via Cari-Jane at Hybrid Handmade

Thanks for your submissions ladies. If there are anymore of you out there who would like to join in the last few challenges, please feel free. You can find more info on the Mercantile Muse photo challenge here.  Next up: 'sky high'. I'll need your submissions by end of the day tomorrow for Friday's post.

Hope you are all having a fabulous week. Mine was made even better this morning by a couple of things:

* Great business advice from Nichole of The Paris Print Shop via etsy's Quit Your Day Job article. It's so refreshing to read something in this series that actually makes real sense. Too often they feature people who haven't even come close to being in the category of 'quit your day job entrepreneurs', but Nichole's interview was on the level with real meat.

*and THIS. Nothing short of amazing. 

Ta ta for now.

Peace out,