Monday, April 30, 2012

Bottles and Feeder

Continuing with my theme this week on lilac love,

here are some miniature glass bottles with small cut blooms.






I also employed my antique chicken feeder to use as a way

to corral these bottles in a group.







This is my favorite rusty shot.





















Time for a rustic lunchbreak!








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Saturday, April 28, 2012

To Market, to Market...

I'm having some ways with lilacs this week.  I have many darling photos I will be sharing with you.

Natural daylight has been in my favor today, after many long and gloomy days.

I took advantage of it, and have a treasure trove of lilac love for this week.

This post features Miss Kim lilacs in my new/old 7 Up crate ($5.00, thank you! 
Love the red script on her.)


















































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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Blooms, Buds, and Nosy Busy Bodies

It's been chilly around here, but spring has sprung...




...the lilacs are blooming,




and the iris are getting ready to explode
with their flags...





...all in all the front bed is filling in nicely.






This young clematis is starting to bloom early.






Go away fly!  You were not supposed to be in my picture.






Some very beautiful young Norwegian pines have been added to our parkway,
courtesy Dan.
Hopefully they will survive... they will be fun to decorate in winter.






The front yard is really neatly trimmed
and very green.

There is a lot of work that was put into making this yard pretty.

When we first moved in, this house had been vacant for a year
and was completely overgrown and in need of major repairs.

You would never recognize it now from when we first bought it.






A small grove of cherry trees has also be added to the backyard...courtesy Dan.
The puppies keep digging at one tree in particular,
so there are some bricks at the root to discourage that.





When we first moved in,
Dan started his garden.

Every year he adds more beds, and it has really grown.

This year, we added some decorative fencing around it,
mostly to prevent the puppies from stealing.

We're going to grow roses over the arbor
and more grapes on the front.





Here's the other side.
You can see our other grapevines along the property line fence in the back.

And now for the the busy body gossip.




You can see our chicken coop has been moved.
It was not something we wanted to do.
But Dan felt we should attempt to compromise.

I will reference my HEDGE on the east side of our property.
You cannot see it in this photo, it is on the far side of the house.
It was planted to block out the view of them.

They started planting tall hedges along our fence several years ago, to block US out,
so we planted BIGGER ones in response (to show them how it's done, of course).

For those who have read here before, you know we don't get along with this particular set of neighbors.

They will never talk to you unless there is a "problem."

BTW, there's ALWAYS a problem,
and we ALWAYS seem to be IT.

Let me tell ya, we're not the heavy drinkers on this street.

It doesn't matter that we completely turned this whole property around that they are adjacent to.

We're such troublemakers!

Our hens woke up sleeping beauty.

The SHAME of it all.

How dare they start trouble when their own property
is in disarray and their own animals are loose for hours at a time and running wild through the neighborhood peeing on everyone's flowers and knocking small children off of bikes and growling at people?

Well, someone went home with an awful nasty EARFUL this time.

I usually keep my mouth shut and don't complain because we tend to stay private and mind our own business at all costs...
but if you poke a sleeping grizzly with a stick, you're going to get a ROAR.




Here's where our coop was before, outside our back picture window,
where the kids could watch them.  The grass has already been replanted.




And here's where our hens are now.
They will be happy here because they are good girls.

And we will make the best of it.

And yes, this is my venting outlet of the day.
Always best with visuals!

I'm pretty sure I should add, 'to be continued.'

Hmpf.

Monday, April 16, 2012

This and That

I found a new typewriter to add to my collection.

I  figured I wanted to acquire approximately three really nice ones, and then I'll stop...

unless...

of course...

one comes along that blows my mind.

Enter my new Remington.






She was picked up yesterday by moi at my fav local antique mart.
It was love at first sight.

And they always give me great discounts because I'm a frequent shopper and
the shop clerks are old school Catholics, which I relate to very much.

So now my Corona has a playmate.






On another note,






...the newest issue of Country Living is out.

The turquoise tables gracing the cover immediately made me think of these cuties...





...that I salvaged, refurbished, and sold last fall.

Turquoise is still HOT! 

Good thing, because I still have a gallon of it in Ben Moore,
and you all know how much Ben Moore costs.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Lion and the Lamb

Happy Easter to All!

Let us all revel in the miracles of God.

Today, I'd like to tell you a love story about my friend, "K."

For K, March came roaring in like a lion.





K was just diagnosed with a rare, aggressive ovarian cancer, at age 19.
The stakes are high.
She is a stunning girl, a former student and recent graduate of mine.  She had been my student for four years and is one of the most dynamic artists I have ever been privileged to have in my classroom.  K is a gifted painter, a very hard worker, a dedicated artist, and an utterly good person. 

Everyday, she inspired the younger students to work harder,
to challenge themselves as she challenged herself.
I know this, because they have told me.






She has been confronted with a beast of a disease.
She is truly a tender lamb
who knows the difference between right and wrong.

She is a young, courageous woman.
She has recently selflessly cut off her own hair to donate to others.
She wanted to do it on her own terms.







We are all asking God to be her lion right now.

To be her champion.

The battle is His.

Her tumor has been completely removed
 and she begins further treatment next week.

K, I am praying for your full recovery.

 
You are in my heart daily.

I love you!
I have loved you since I met you as a freshman
and understood your creative hunger.

I love you more now for the person you have grown into and become
over the last five years.

 
Me & K (before she donated her hair).

May we all have courage and faith in life's trials.

Peace to you all, this week.  Jesus has risen
and He taught us to trust!
 
 
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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Follow


It is the night of the Last Supper.

The road to tomorrow is dark and fearful.





Let us all remember and carry the cross in our hearts.




Sunday, April 1, 2012

Braiding Your Sunday Palms: A Tutorial

Every year on Palm Sunday, I braid our palms from mass in a traditional Polish braid.




Here are our freshly braided palms from this morning.
Today, I will show you how to braid your palms.
You must do them soon, before they start to dry out.
A dry and brittle palm cannot be braided.




I braided these in the car this morning after mass.
The penny is there so you can understand the scale of the braid.
Larger braids can be more uncontollable.
It is much easier to split your palms into more narrow pieces before beginning.
This will make your braid easier to manage, especailly for a beginner.




Step 1:
Take your palm and split it into two pieces.  Try to make sure they are about the same size.





Step 2:
Make each palm into a loop (near the bottom of the flatter edge).
Let the top tapered edges be free for now.





Step 3:
Insert one loop into the other.
Hold securely.

Everyone still on board?
This is where it gets tricky.





Step 4:
Take the one end and loop it.
Insert THAT loop BACK INTO the other one.





Step 5:
Hold securely as you go or it will all pop open.
Get ready to tuch and insert another loop.





Step 6:
Tuck the loop in.





Step 7:
The braid is getting established now.
Keep holding securely and tuck again.





Step 8: Con't progress...
Keep making a loop and tucking it into the other loop.




Photos on continued progress...





Hold tightly as you go...






Here's a snapshot of what you should have so far.






Your braid should be growing...





Step 9:
When you're getting ready to end it,
insert the TIP of one end into the loop and PULL.





Step 10:
Crease that little part you just pulled so it's secure and will no longer unravel.






Now, what do we do with these bottom ends?






Step 11:
Tuck one end in.





Step 12:
Pinch and crease that bottom corner so that piece does not pop out.






Step 13:
Tuck the last end behind a woven one and insert.






Step 14:
Pinch and crease those last rounded loops so they don't unravel.






When you flip it over, you now have a beautiful woven palm.





Display your palms all year as a reminder of your King of Glory.


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Bunny Blog Hop (April 2nd)  At the Picket Fence

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