A Valentine Arrives!

The Valentine from one of my Swap partners, Sharon Callahan of Prim Thyme, has arrived.


When I went to the mail box yesterday and saw her box waiting for me, I was so excited! When I got home and opened it, it was like opening a box of sunshine! Her package really made my day! Especially after the nastiness of the recent winter storm. A wonderful scent met my nose as I unpacked goodie after goodie. There were the most lovely Prim Hearts setting on top - both very Prim and yet very romantic.


And as I went further into the box, I found candles and handmade soap (with a lovely Civil War era picture attached), bowl fillers and a lovely Austrian Crystal bracelet and a precious card with three sweet little birds singing a cheery song.



Sharon has a most generous heart and is such a lovely person. Please check out her blog (link above). She also an Etsy shop, an Ezshoppe, and she sells on eBay. Links to all of these shops can be found on her blog.

Thank you Sharon! Happy Valentines Day!!

Winter Weather

I wanted to share some photos I took around my yard and in the WildWoods after the recent winter storm. We were very lucky here and did not receive the ice nor cold temperatures like other areas of the state (or even country). Here's wishing warm thoughts to everyone affected.

A Wonderful Discovery

I have been doing some cleaning, sorting and straightening in my studio area. It's something I try to do every year about this time. Sometimes I discover half finished projects. (Yes, I'm as bad as the next person about that.)

And other times I find wonderful treasures.

I like to go to auctions to see what bits of vintage this and that I can find. Quite often the best finds are those that are buried deep in a box I bring home. This is one of those treasures.



A deck of cards made for the game of Rook. Rook is a trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards. The game of Rook was introduced in 1906 by Parker Brothers. A Rook is also a member of the Crow Family. Hence the Crow on both the box and one set of cards.



I think these cards will be awesome to use in a creation! I shall have to consult my muse......

A Welcome

Oh my, it has been cold here! And I've been staying inside next to the fire working on this and that. So I really haven't had much of a chance to go meet the neighbors and see how they liked their new home. I hoped they were getting settled in okay.


But, earlier in the week, we had a break in the winter weather. So I thought I would bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies and take some over to the neighbors.


Kind of like a 'Welcome to the Neighborhood'.

I decided to use the good china. It's just so pretty and cheery! And the cookies looked so good on the plate. Can't you just hear them screaming, "Eat Me!" ??

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As I approached the neighbor's house, I didn't see their car. I wondered if anyone was home. I knocked, but no one came to the door. Maybe they had gone to the Market. Or they were out visiting.....


I decided to leave the plate of cookies on the chair by the door (after I moved the box). That way the neighbors would be sure to find them when they came back home.

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It looked like they had been busy unpacking. Moving boxes and paper were here and there.


There was a lovely wreath hanging by the door.
And the horse shoe hanging over the door - Oh My, how it glistened in the sunshine! I wondered if it was gold ??


I wondered if it came from the Unicorn that had pulled the Moving Van ??

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I turned around to leave when I realized I had forgotten to leave a note! How would the neighbors know who had brought the cookies?? So I ran back home and grabbed a pen and parchment. And jotted down this little verse.

Welcome to the neighborhood.
We're so glad to see you're here!
Welcome to the WildWoods!
Where everyone is Dear!

{your neighbors in the gray house}

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I do hope the neighbors enjoyed the cookies!

Swap Partners

I have my Swap Partners for the 2009 Prim and Whimsy GirLs Little Token of Love Valentine Swap. They are Wanda Clark and Lynn Kestrel.

Wanda is a military wife with two boys, a 13 year old and a 4 year old. The 4 year old is autistic. She and her family are currently living in Fort Benning, Georgia. She has an Etsy shop full of wonderful vintage bits of lace, buttons and pins. And she loves to 'Swap'.

Lynn lives in Richmond, British Columbia. She makes the most wonderful jewelry using vintage crystals and other wonderful finds. She has two lovely daughters that keep her busy. She has an Etsy shop as well.

If you're out and about, stop in at their Blogs and say, 'Hi'. Or browse their Etsy shops. You might find something that you can't live without!

Happy Birthday Edgar!

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet and short story writer. He is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre.

He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents died when he was young and he was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia. His publishing career began in 1927 when a collection of his poems was published anonymously. He spent the next few years working for periodicals and literary journals. In 1845, the poem, "The Raven" was published and became an instant success. Poe died in 1849, two years after his wife, Virginia. The cause of his death is unknown.

His list of works are numerous and classic. Poe is considered the "Father" of the detective novel and contributed to the then emerging genre of science fiction.

Tales "Berenice" "The Black Cat" "The Cask of Amontillado" "The Fall of the House of Usher" "The Gold-Bug" "Hop-Frog" "Ligeia" "The Man of the Crowd" "The Masque of the Red Death" "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" "The Pit and the Pendulum" "The Purloined Letter" "The Tell-Tale Heart" "The Oblong Box" "The Premature Burial" "The Oval Portrait"

Poetry "A Dream Within A Dream" "Annabel Lee" "The Bells" "The City in the Sea" "The Conqueror Worm" "Eldorado" "The Haunted Palace" "Lenore" "The Raven" "Ulalume"

Other works

• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) – Poe's only complete novel
• "The Balloon-Hoax" (1844) – A journalistic hoax printed as a true story
• "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846) – Essay
• Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848) – Essay

Thank you Wikipedia for providing information.

What I've been up to...

I haven't been sitting idle since I posted my last art piece in December. I have been elbow deep in lace, beads and vintage style Valentines! It's been oodles of fun! I can remember helping my Mother make these types of Valentines when I was a kid.

A couple of the Valentines are for Swaps



and two of the Valentines are now in my Etsy Shop . Feel free to take a look!

A Monday...

Did you ever have one of THOSE days? You know the kind. The ones where every time you turn around, you're getting yourself stuck in something???

That was my day yesterday! A Monday even! What a way to start the week.

First I superglued a pair of scissors together. (Don't ask! 'Cause I'm not quite sure myself!) Well, I figured I could just pull them apart - there wasn't that much glue on them. I got them apart all right, but broke the handle in the process. Gggrrr!

And then, as if once wasn't enough, I did it again. Only this time with a different pair of scissors! I couldn't pry, pull, or even break this pair. So I thought to myself, ' Let's use some lacquer thinner to take the glue off. ('cause it works well in taking super glue off stuff - as long as the stuff can withstand the lacquer thinner) Dumb move! Lacquer thinner when applied in enough quantity begins to melt plastic. (the scissors had plastic handles)

Okay, so now I have managed to ruin two pair of scissors. So, to console myself, I grabbed a piece of chocolate. (you know, Valentine candy is out in the stores!) Well, the chocolate was now stuck to my thumb and finger. More superglue! Aaagghhhhhh!!!!!!

But this was an easy fix! I ate the chocolate! All except what wasn't stuck to my finger or thumb. And had a second piece just for good measure!

(Sorry no pics! Was afraid to touch the camera for fear I'd stick to it, too!)

January

January! Where would we Gardeners be without this month? I know, it's cold and dreary outside. The Holidays are over. The company has gone home. And how we long for those funny, sunny days of Spring!


And ALL those Plant and Seed catalogs we've been getting sure don't help the matter any!

They're such a tease! A taunt, if you will. Luring us into the depths of a gardener's would-be paradise! And I am as guilty as the rest. I look at those catalogs and dream about how my gardens would look with all those lovely flowers!

Imagining those luscious strawberries just waiting to be picked....



Smelling the fragrant perfume of the rose bush by the Garden Shed....



Seeing the butterflies and bees busy about their daily business amid the blossoms and blooms....



But we need this time to plan and sketch. And to dream. And then plan some more.

My gardens always start out with a grand design. (Whose wouldn't after looking at all those catalogs!) But they evolve over time. Usually for a much simpler, lower maintenance plan.

But that doesn't stop me from reading about and dreaming about all those wonderful plants that just won't grow here! And maybe thinking about getting just one more exotic plant for the Courtyard 'cause I know I can squeeze it into the greenhouse for the winter!



My plans this year aren't so much to add flowers, but to rearrange the ones I've already got. Shade envelopes more of a flower bed, as trees grow and their canopies enlarge. Some plants have outgrown their corner and are beginning to bully their neighbors. Others just don't like the neighborhood they're in. But I'm sure, I'll probably be able to find room for maybe one or two new acquisitions.

I must go now and look at the latest catalogs that came in today's mail!

I'll keep you posted on my finds ....

New Neighbors

For the longest time the place next to ours has sat empty. Well, at least for as long as we have lived here (and that's been a couple of years). Hubby and I weren't sure if it needed more repairs than someone was willing to put into it or maybe it was the fact that it was located in the country. Personally, I would have thought that a Country Home would be desirable. But to each his own.

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And so it sat, through rain, snow and blazing heat of summer. A forlorn little place just waiting for a family to move in and call it Home!

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One day last week, I noticed a lawn chair sitting outside the door. And a wheelbarrow! Could we possibly be getting new neighbors? Had someone(s) decided to move in??

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And then yesterday I saw activity by the place. I ran inside to tell Hubby. I wanted us to go over and Welcome them. But he said we should give them a few days to get settled in before we went over.

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A moving van was pulling away from the place and . . . . is that a Unicorn pulling the wagon? Oh my! This must truly be a magical family that has moved in!

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I would go offer to help move the boxes, but I don't want to appear to be the 'Nosy Next-door Neighbor'.

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And so I shall wait till they get unpacked and settled before I go over. Maybe I shall make them a nice batch of cookies or a cake. And I'll drag Hubby along. (I know he is secretly longing to look at their car - he thinks it's a Pierce Arrow!)