Grateful Things

This summer has moved swiftly. It's been so fun. Soon (as in this week) we will wrap up our summer-time agenda and head in to the responsibilities for the new school year. Thankfully, I got to sneak in one last get-away with girlfriends this weekend to attend the Becoming Conference in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We stayed about a mile away from the conference center in a comfortable old cottage tucked into the side of a mountain. 

The weekend was filled with everything I needed: friends and sugar... with a few workshops in between.  I am grateful for the things I learned and experienced, both practical and personal, but I'll highlight the top five:

1. New and old friends are good for the soul. Especially when those friends are laid back and easy... grace-filled women make the best of friends. My prayer is that I will always strive to be one.

2. Feedly is a great reader for those of us who are still bitter reeling from Google Reader being yanked from the net. I know I'm probably slow on the draw. You may have already moved on to bigger and better things, but I was still trying to figure out how to keep up with the few blogs I still read. Now I've no need to fear.

3. When registering and paying for a conference Photo Walk workshop, be prepared to ask MANY questions. The rain found us sitting underneath a bridge for the first hour, and the photographer in charge had planned the whole walk around our need/questions while taking pictures. The second hour found sunshine, and hair curling humidity, and maybe a less than stellar attitude about wanting information I didn't know to ask for...  Next time I'll be prepared with a list of questions just in case we end up trapped under a bridge during a rain storm with students of varying experience.

4. I know I've been living under an internet rock for a year (so this might be old news to you) but check out PicMonkey. This is a photo editing website that you can use to edit photos. Although it is completely free (with limited access), it is well worth the yearly fee to access all the other tools. I'm already thinking I'll be making our Christmas card with it this year.*

5.  I don't know why an old farmhouse with the original sink and windows makes me swoon, but it does.  There is something lovely about simple things and it makes me want to throw out all this modern stuff and raise chickens in the country. Of course, I'd have to take my camera, and computer, and sewing machine, and .... well, never-mind. But old houses with modern conveniences and lots of room for people and memories are the best kind of houses for me.

* Picmonkey collage. Go and try it!