Since I already have the parlour pretty much the way I want it, I like to do small things to make me happy; such as tie a burlap string around a stack of books. I'm easy!
I bought two of these needlepoint pheasant pillows on e-bay.
I've posted this photo before but haven't shown it hanging on the wall. It's one of my favorites taken in Stratford-on-Avon. I made it into a black and white photo and then hand-colored it using transparent oil paints. Pretty cool, huh? Excuse the reflections of the curtains in the glass.
A bevy of family portraits on an end table. I threw in the turquoise frame to shake things up a little.
I have matches in this box which hangs to the left of the fireplace. There's a story that goes with this box.
I think I was college age and our family was at this bluegrass/craft festival up in the Smoky Mountains. I saw this box and really liked it. Daddy, being the sweetie he is, said, "I'll buy it for you." I only ever remember him buying two things for me; this box and a Sarah Coventry bracelet that I still wear forty years later. And he's taken my brother and me to the country store for many ice cream cones.
I remember one time he was taking us fishing, and we stopped at this same store for lunch supplies. As a special treat for dessert, he got little cups of pudding but failed to buy any spoons. Of course we didn't discover this until it was time to eat. We didn't know what we were going to do short of sticking our fingers into the pudding, but Daddy being ever resourceful, looked around and saw some reeds on the river bank. Walking over to them, he cut a long one. As he walked back to us he cut it into three pieces, each piece about the length of a straw, and handed one to me and then one to my younger brother.
We looked at each other and then over at Daddy who had stuck his reed into the pudding and was drinking it like a milkshake. We thought he was a genius for being so innovative. He was and is a genius still. He's one of the smartest men I know. And one of the kindest. I love my daddy!
My latest watercolor painting was inspired by photos from the Sea Cottage blog. You can see her photos here: http://seacottage.blogspot.com/2012/03/seaside-covesea-and-sky.html
February, March, and April are prime gardening months in Georgia. After that, It'll be too hot to garden except before sunrise and after sunset. Even then I'll be dripping wet when I come back inside because of our high humidity.
"Trailing clouds of glory do we come from God." William Wordsworth
Well, I finished the tiny watercolor that was based on an original by Jules Pascin I wrote about here: http://artfulaspirations.blogspot.com/2012/02/keeping-on-with-painting.html. I think it turned out fairly well. The paper was a little quirky and soaked up the paint and water much too rapidly which made it difficult to do what I liked with it. Maybe I'll try it again someday on a different paper.
I set my phone alarm for 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock in order to pray the hours of the day. Unfortunately, my phone alarm clock has a snooze button which keeps ringing every five minutes if it isn't turned off.
Grandson #2 spent the night with us last night. While waiting for church this morning he found the laundry room full of rainbows.
I've been trying to be more mindful during our church's worship services and really notice the words I'm saying and singing. Some things I've been practicing during this Lenten season are helping. I'll share more about those later.
Since I already have the parlour pretty much the way I want it, I like to do small things to make me happy; such as tie a burlap string around a stack of books. I'm easy!
I've been re-reading through some of my old blog posts and the comments that followed, and I'm struck by the wisdom and wit of so many of you.
