Daybreak

While cleaning the garage, I came across a box of my books - among them - a book of Maxfield Parrish art and illustrations - one of my all time favorites.


This print hung in my grandmother's guest bedroom- I remember staring at it as I fell asleep, always a source of wonder. And, probably a little scandalous!

Tea on Tuesday

Last week, the bluebirds had returned, the temperatures were in the upper 60's, the horses were enjoying the warmth- as was I, and last night we had a mini ice storm! Today, the temperatures are in the 20's-30's, and everything is covered with a gloss that closed the schools and makes driving (or even walking out on the front porch) treacherous!

As I sip my tepid, yet energizing yerba mate tea (and yes, I am using the gourd and cane straw!), I watch the birds tussling for seed outside my basement door. The sliding screen door to their usual feeding station upstairs was iced shut!

Enjoy these photos from this past week- that went from warmth, to heavy winds, to forest fires( which made the air smell like the inside of a wood stove) and finally to coating it all with a glossy sheen. Sigh.........


Smoke from the Peak Mt area- probably started by high winds downing a tree which fell on a power line.....

 

Below is that same view off my front porch, the next morning, after the smoke blew away

Then, the wind changed direction, and a whispy cloud of smoke emerged.

Bringing the haze and smoke that  spread and hung over everything.

This morning (above), the smoky haze is replaced with a snowy/ rainy /sleety cloud cover.

I am going to walk out later and check to see if my old lilac bush has any buds-that will cheer me up with the promise of true spring around the proverbial corner..............

Please feel free to join us for tea on any Tuesday - drop by Kimmie and Patty for a list of all our tea partiers!!

It's Me!!!!

Some things are better left unknown or shrouded in mystery................but since Penny asked, and Nathalie was brave enough to.........

I am posting me sitting where I blog. This is really right now - after starting the day all neat and tidy, having a good hair day- I am ending the day having been at  the barn, all windblown, gritty, head resting on my hand (causing wrinkles that do not really exist! Really, they don't!!!! Ha!).

So, there you have it- altho', if you are my FB friend, you have probably already seen me.

           .......I am she and you are she as you are me and we are all together....
                                                                             BLOGGING


                   (with sincere apologies to the Beatles for tinkering with the lyrics /I Am the Walrus)

Just a reminder.........

......that my new daily blog "threesixtyfive"    is still up and running. Please come follow me for all my "days" !

For the first few days, the blog was a combination of a small stone- and a daily photo. A small stone is a daily writing exercise I discovered on another blog.
It was fun, and got the brain going in the morning, but I have decided to go back to the original purpose- to just record a photo a day, from my daily life, for a year (!).
I will let the photos speak for themselves, and read into them what you wish!!!

Like this photo - I'll let you guess where I wish I was right now.............................

Tea on Tuesday

Well, my yerba mate gourd arrived just in time!! Yesterday was a happy mail day- the gourd came, some fabric for a baby quilt from Fabric Artist, and some silverware from Nathalie. All in all, a great day to go to the post office!!!

This cute little gourd came from ma-tea.com  The cane straw is very neat - open at the end you sip out of, closed at the other end, with tiny holes up the sides of the "straw" for the tea to come thru, without the tea leaves. 

My first try with this (no, I haven't tried it yet) will be to put the leaves in a tea bag, and try it.The loose  or chopped leaves are supposed to be put in the gourd without a back. this came with instructions for use!

My daughter looked askance at me - the inside of the gourd really isn't finished or sealed in any way - she thought it was gross that I would actually drink out of it!!LOL

 The little leather "coaster" the gourd is sitting on, is an embroidered leather thrift store find. (More about that in another post)

The fabric came from  Jerre at Fabric Artist - it's so cute - and she sent along 3 of her new iron on appliques - a heart, dragonfly, and butterfly - be sure to check out her Etsy shop! Thanks, Pat, for the lead!!!

The last happy mail was from Nathalie's Etsy shop, Ruby Floy

I love the little card she made (along with the orphan saucers she sent for my orphan teacups!) - photo from a 1959 Kansas City Star- ladies having a proper tea!!! Reminds me of Aunt Bea from Mayberry and the Andy Griffith Show!!!

My purchase from Ruby Floy was this group of vintage silverplate silverware- for altering- very cool!! My supply was running low!!! So carefully packed with egg cartons for cushioning and some more of the Kansas City Star lining the bottom.

Please feel free to join us every Tuesday for tea- drop by to see Kimmie  for a list of all who come to tea!

Sunday Thoughts

                                                            THIS THOUGHT

 

Soon turned to this

Making the first thought a distant, fuzzy memory

when

I

                                                                              it!

Very Interesting Reading..................

Egmont posted a link to this very intriguing article about poetry, art and mental instability. Worth a read!

Out of pain comes beauty.


If you have time, you should check out his blog(s)-he has some down loadable bookmarks using his photo collection, and an interesting slide show on a series of photos - Typography Graveyard

Tea on Tuesday

 I'm enjoying a cup of yerba mate (pronounced MA-TAE) tea. Supposedly very healthy, with more antioxidants  than green tea, it has a slightly different flavor. Real yerba mate is not a tea, but an infusion made from a South American holly plant. Who knew?????

It is sipped out of a hollowed gourd, with a straw (called a bombilla).

Mate leaves apparently never wear out, because traditionally, the gourd is refilled over and over with hot water, and shared among friends!
My yerba mate is by The Mate Factor- and is a blend of organic yerba mate, green tea, ginseng root, echinacea leaves and root.
For the real thing, check out these links- ma-tea.com, guayaki.com, and yerba-mate.com 
I may have to get myself a gourd and bombilla!!!

With my tea, I am enjoying the Trader Joe's goodies my brother sent from California! He mailed them in my mother's old suitcase! It still has her initials on the front - and was a gift to her from her mother, when she graduated high school, which would have been around 1945! It is filled with boxes of chocolate covered edamame and pomegranate seeds, pfeffernuse, truffles, and more!!! YUM!

I will finish off today's post with a peek at my vintage display cabinet- ALMOST in order - kind of a work in progress!

My teacup collection is taking it over, with some of my pottery teapots on top. I really think I need another cabinet!!!The bottom two shelves have some of my dolls and hunt collectibles- they are going to need their own display!!
I love this cabinet - it has the original wavy glass and door lock. Back when I used to make window treatments for a living- a client traded this to me for some balloon shades - she thought it was ugly and was going to throw it out!!! Best trade I ever made!!! And, knock on wood, the wavy glass has survived my kids growing up, dogs wagging tails and several moves!!!

You might want to visit  this blog - Teapots, teapots, teapots    with fabulous links to wonderful, creative, and off the wall teapots. There are Baltimore pottery teapots, raku teapots, and industrial metal teapots. You could spend a day checking out the links!!

Please drop by for tea on any Tuesday and visit Patty and Kimmie for a list of other tea participants!

Quilting Questions- HELP!

To all you talented quilters out there- I have a question or two.

I am making 2 baby quilts, and am looking for an online source for really cute fabric. My fabric sources out here in the boonies, are slim to none, no brick and mortar stores within reasonable driving distance, no really appealing fabrics.

What are your favorite online sources?

Also, what are your favorite methods/products for transferring photos to fabric?

Thank you!!!!

Don't Forget.....................

............to visit my new blog. 

                It's short, sweet, and daily.

                      Please become a follower!! Nothing would make me happier!

Tea onTuesday

Well, today's Tea on Tuesday is a veritable mishmash of different stuff- which loosely translated, means I had no clue what to write about today!!!!

Happy February all !!! Can you believe that Valentine's Day is a mere 13 days away!!! Where did January go!!!

The above pic is of a cool mouse pad/calendar that my daughter found for 50 cents at Michael's!!Each calendar month features a different cup - they are all really coffee - but the cups are very cute, regardless!!!

Below, is my tea today - a chamomile citrus, sent to me by Peggy, over at Passions of an Odd Chick- thank you, thank you!!! Very delicious!!!

This tea is going in an "orphan" thrift shop teacup-Aynsley bone china- it's really quite pretty - the photo doesn't do it justice at all!

I really need to stop rescuing cups that are saucer-less. I am running out of room!!!

Below is a new favorite antique shop find - I am not sure if it was meant to be a baby quilt, or was just made as a lap quilt. It is of vintage flour/feed sacks for the most part. I love it!! It was a little more than I usually spend - but at $10, it was still cheaper than it would have cost me to buy a couple of individual vintage feed sacks!!!

I am starting to amass a collection of locally made, and what I call "character", quilts. They are all pretty darn unattractive, but have alot of character!!!Despite their outward appearance, they are serviceable and very warm! And, they all took someone a long time to make.

The white flowered print on the right is my favorite - almost a seersucker type fabric.

 The reverse really is unattractive, and totally keeping with the theme of my collection!!LOL

Please feel free to join us every and any Tuesday for tea!

Visit Kimmie and Patty for a list of all other participants!!!!