brown paper packages tied up with string...

....These are a few of my favorite things! (this spring)

1) New Espadrilles 2) Lilies in my living room 3) Easter Cross at Peachtree Presbyterian

It's Official!!!!

WE ARE MOVING TO DURHAM....ENGLAND THAT IS.



Cullen was accepted to Durham University's PhD program. We will leave Durham, NC in the end of June and head to England in August. The photo is of Durham Castle where Cullen will be attending classes- not too shabby.
photo credit

Spring is in the Air

After the cold and rainy week today's 70 degree weather was marvelous. I got outside and created my EASTER TREE. I have to find the ornaments I made last year and it will be complete.

I also planted some grass in egg shells. I have seen this on a few blogs, but I thought I would try it myself and see how it turns out.



I will take more pictures as it grows.

The Fly

Last night there was a fly in our house...



Apparently Weldan hates flies and went berserk!

Love is in the Air

Happy Valentines Day!!!

(these are my beautiful V- day flowers)

Hope you have a good one!

Lots of Love, Pamela

Fredrick Douglas

Today is a sad day, a day we will all remember.

Fredrick Douglas Tison Baddour has left this world for a better place,

we cannot be for sure where that place is, but we know he has a place in our hearts.

Douglas was an adventurer. He never settled for the vase he was in. When given the chance he would take the risk and seek the impertinent danger that lay ahead on the kitchen counter.

He was tough but had a warm soul. He loved to graze the waters edge when he knew you were near, he loved people.

"We were the best of friends, I wanted to eat him, but only because I loved him deeply" recalls his brother Winston.

Douglas joined the Tison/Baddour family in 2009. He came from a noble family line of ikan bettah. He succeeded the fish that has no name.

Douglas is survived by his parents Katie and Michael Baddour and his brother Wintson of Atlanta, GA.

We will all miss him very much, peace be with him.

He was an impressive fish....one of the best I've ever met, Pamela

image by Betta Fish Eggs Pictures

Eat n' Run

That phrase has a whole new meaning when you enter the
KRISPY KREME CHALLENGE.
This morning Cullen, Graham, Elizabeth and I set out in the pouring rain with 8,0oo other people who thought eating and running was a good idea. What does taking on the Krispy Kreme Challenge entail you might ask?

1.) Run 2.3 Miles to the Krispy Kreme.



2.) Eat 12 Doughnuts, aka 2,400 Calories or if you would like to think of it as 132 fat grahams (11 per doughnut!), that works too.

Here is Graham's technique for consuming a dozen:







3.) Run 2.4 Miles back to the finish line, keeping your doughnuts down,

Good luck!

Christmas is a Comin'

We have been blessed in Durham to have lots of SNOW!



Weldan has really enjoyed it.



She is almost camouflage!



We also had a delightful TACKY CHRISTMAS party!





Weldan even got dressed up.



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Winter Works

Here is my most recent floral creation. I love the smell of paper whites in my house during the winter and wanted something cool on my coffee table. Thanks to the wonderful flower shops in Atlanta I can create such masterpieces....Durham is not the hot spot of foliage!

Turkey in Style

Cullen and I had a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving this year. My family spends Thanksgiving at our (meaning my parents and aunt and uncles) lake house on Lake Lanier. The lake house is pretty wonderful (I should have taken more pictures of the actual house).

We shot skeet before linner- lunch/dinner.



The spectators



Dining in style.



Feeling bloated and lazy later.
Not everyone is in this picture, but here is the Elting side of the fam.



All in all a great trip home!

Fall is Here!

The other weekend Cullen and I went to Athens, GA. On the way home we stopped at Jaemores, one of our favorite spots (I have mentioned it before). We went pumpkin picking at there enormous pumpkin farm and we unfortunately got there to late to buy tickets to the corn maze!


(is this not amazing!!! )

Cullen and I of course came home with three pumpkins and a gourd of course

Speaking of Pumpkins... we went over to someones house for dinner this weekend and I made a pumpkin pie, yum!

Did you know okra grew like this?
At the farmers market this weekend they were selling bunches of okra. I thought it looked super cool, so of course I bought some. I love it!

Alright, that's all the fall I have to share :)

It's always something

So, I like doing projects and sometimes I like to bite off a bit more than I can chew. Thus, why not refinish a table? I have had this green desk for a few years and have always wanted to paint it. But painting didn't seem like the appropriate plan of action.

(Here is the table before, also in our old loft)

I started stripping the paint and realized I liked the wood underneath so I scrapped off all the green paint on the top of the desk. The base would have been WAY to much to handle with all the nooks and turns so I decided not to scrape it.

I painted it a creamy white and then scrapped in a few spots to roughen it up a bit. I think as it gets more wear it will become better looking.

I really love to top, but the verdict is still out on whether or not I like the white paint color I chose? Thoughts?

Break Time

So Cullen and I moved a few weeks ago. We are loving our new home and I promise pictures will come soon! But one thing we learned while packing and moving is that good breaks are important! We needed a lot of motivation to get our loft packed up and my favorite break is above...why not drink smoothies out of silver mint julep cups?

Great Day of Service

Today Cullen and I took part in the Great Day of Service at our church Blacknall. We worked at the Genesis Home which is a great ministry that works to end homelessness for families with children and young adults by providing housing and supportive services to foster independence. Genesis Home creates a community in which everyone lives in safe and sustainable communities and shows compassion to neighbors in need.

We had a great time meeting new people and really appreciate what Genesis Home is doing for our community!

Kids Art!

I wanted to share with you some of the amazing things my students have created. I am a Pre-K and Kindergarten art teacher and love seeing how creative my students are. I have selected a few of my favorites from the earlier part of the year.

FROG PROJECT
I purchased some African Frogs in the beginning of the year for my classroom and thought it would be appropriate to have the kids draw them.



FALL LEAVES
The PreK created these fall leaves out of clay during the fall. I was so impressed with the way they turned out!



JASPER JOHNS
When the Kindergarten was studying America we learned about artist Jasper Johns. The students used crayon, colored pencil, oil pastels, marker and water colors.



FISH
I did these clay fish with one of my aftercare groups....I wanted to steal them all and make a wall of fish!



VAN GOGH
Another one of my aftercare groups, just as a reminder these kids are 5. I think that's pretty impressive! Van Gogh would be pleased.



Just a taste....there is more to come!

True Love

Cullen and I have fallen in love with little Weldan! She has been a wonderful addition to our life in Durham. Here are a few pictures:

We took her swimming, which she loves. When we adopted Weldan, the woman at the shelter told us she was the cleanest white dog she had ever seen, which we were excited about but didn't think much of; well take a look at those paws (her belly was the same color). When we got home from the river she was spotless...not a single bit of red clay on her...? Do we have a self cleaning dog - amazing!