Easter Egg Tree

This is a tradition that started many years ago when my children were tiny and we still carry it on today. It so easy and fun so give it a try.
First you'll need a large branch or small tree. A dogwood branch is my personal favorite, but a failed ficus tree or fruit tree branches work well too. Paint the chosen piece white with spray paint and give it a glitter sprinkle if you're a glam sort of person. After it dries, anchor it in some oasis or floral foam that's been stuck in a clay pot or container with floral clay. Cover the top of the foam with moss or excelsior. Voila! You have an Easter Egg Tree. From now til Easter, when you use eggs, blow the contents out instead of cracking them. This is a good time to make lots of pound cakes and omelets. Now dye the eggs with food coloring and vinegar then decoupage them with pictures of flowers, birds, and bunnies. Attach a loop of satin ribbon covering the hole in the end of the egg and you've got decorations for your tree. Little baskets filled with Easter grass and tiny chicks look cute hanging from the branches and you can top off the whole thing with a big bow.

Leap Year

That fascinating day that occurs every four years, February 29 has come around again. If you were born in a Leap Year that means one real birthday every fourth one. I always felt sorry for those kids even though it is a rare and unusual occurance. What about the fable that says a lady could ask a man to marry her only on a Leap Year. Woman today would laugh at that old story as they regularly "get men's digits" and take men out. Guess that's the difference between a lady and a woman. Call me old fashioned, but I have a hunch real men prefer the old way of doing things.

So today there will be real birthdays for those rare folks born on February 29 and proposals will be made by those rare folks called ladies.

Vizcaya One More Time

While we were in Miami last week we had a couple of hours of free time so Hubby and I took our oldest daughter Em to Vizcaya. We had visited the grand villa before she was born on my first trip to Miami and knew she would love all the fabulous gardens and rooms there. John Deering built the Italianate villa in 1916 when it was still legal to remove antiquities from European countries. As a result, there are Roman vessels, Elizabethan ceilings, Louis XV chandeliers, and Medieval Danish tapestries all in one house.The city of Miami runs the villa as a museum and it is number one on my list of things to see in Miami. This is the side of the house that faces Biscayne Bay. The weather vane has the sea horse motif that is repeated all around the house. It was the choice of the decorator. John Deering wanted a caravel(Spanish ship) so those are also found in stained glass and reliefs. This is probably my favorite room although it's very hard to choose just one. The Louis XV chairs and settee and massive chandelier make it feel like you've just walked into Versailles.

Cute Little Bunnies part deux

Time for more cute little bunnies.

You can't eat African Violets, bunny. We can see all the action from up here on top of the cabinets.

What a view!
Better to be on the tureen than in the tureen.

Craft Thursday

Craft day got postponed this week due to events I blogged about earlier. When the dust settled, here's what I ended up with..................................................... It's my first stab at paper/collage art in a while. I've been collecting all kinds of bits and bots so now it's just a matter of putting them together in a fun way. I especially loved that polka-dot ribbon when I found it and couldn't wait to find a use for it. The baby is a long lost distant cousin. It's a picture among several old ones that my grandmother had saved. The back of it says, "To Aunt Leigh and Uncle Hugh, J.D. Hutchins, Age 7mo, 17 days , July11, 1908." His Aunt Leigh was my great-grandmother and her wedding pictures are in the stash I found. Can't wait to use them.......maybe this June.
This is just step one for the little guy. He's either going to end up in a shadow box or part of some other construction. I'm just waiting for lightning to strike and get my brain going.

Eclipse

Tonight everyone living in the United States living east of the Rockies will be able to see a total eclipse of the moon starting around 6:30 eastern time. The moon will be completely shadowed by the Earth at 10:26 EST.It will take almost four hours to go through all the phases and should be spectacular if it is as clear as it was last night in most of the country. Take advantage because this is a limited time offer. God only gives us a few of these in our life and the next one isn't until December 2010.

A Worthy Woman

We are traveling to Miami today. My mother-in-law passed after a long illness. Thinking of her reminds me to always keep these verses in my heart.
A Worthy Woman
An excellent wife, who can find her?
For her worth is far above jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands with delight.
She is like merchant ships; she brings food
from afar.............
She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard........
She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hand to the needy.......
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
Proverbs 31

Learn Your Lesson

Land ho! I just made a discovery that I can't believe I've missed all these years. Those smart girls who already know about this will just roll their eyes and say,"Where have you been?" , but I'm so excited I have to share. I just found the Mary Frances series of books which were originally published in 1916 by Jane Earye Fryer. The first story, Adventures Among The Thimble People, tells how Mary Frances learned to sew with advice from tools in her grandmother's sewing basket like Fairy Lady, Tommy Pin Cushion, and Sewing Bird. Throughout these charming stories there are actual instructions and 33 patterns for sewing doll clothes.I learned something just from reading about the Mary Frances books.Have you ever heard of a sewing bird? Well I hadn't and it is an amazing little item. Mary Frances has other lessons, too. There are books on first aid, knitting and crocheting, cooking, gardening, and housekeeping which includes etiquette and social graces.The housekeeping book comes with the Paper Doll Family of Sandpile Village to make the lessons more fun to learn.The Mary Frances series can appeal to a wide range of ages as older sisters can read them to younger siblings and any girl could read them with their Momma and learn all the valuable skills for the time when they have their own homes and children.

Your Easter Bonnet

In your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.
I'll be all in clover, and when they look you over
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter Parade.
On the Avenue, Fifth Avenue,
The photographers will snap us
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.
Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter Parade.New for spring.........COLORS!!!!!
Lots and lots of color.
They look so bright and springy, just like all the daffodils and crocus that are blooming in our gardens. Spring has sprung.

What will you be wearing this Easter?

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all my internet friends! Hope you get lots of non caloric sweets from your sweety and beautiful bouquets from your beau.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Holley

And The Greatest Of These Is Love

How beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves.
Song Of Solomon 1:15 Arise,my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
For behold the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers have already appeared in the land.
Song Of Solomon 2:10-12
How much better is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils. Song Of Solomon 4:10