Summer into fall...

My summer sprite doll is standing on some autumn leaves. Is she trying to tell me something? When I filled the bird bath this morning, there were yellow leaves from our locust tree on the lawn. We have seen many sugar maples tinged with red as we travel around. The transition to the next season has begun!

I made this doll from the pattern in "Soft Dolls and Animals Magazine" a few months ago. The blank doll was designed by Ike Putney of Pip Emma Creations and doll makers used their imagination to interpret the pattern. I thought she would make a good sprite.

Next week I will try to pop in and out of here. We are officially on vacation but only have short trips planned so far. My dental work ended yesterday. It started in May. We cold have bought a used car or gone to Europe instead. I have spent a considerable amount of time at the dentist and have one more follow-up visit in a few weeks.

Enjoy your day! Enjoy the holiday weekend. Stay safe until we meet here next.

Shaker style.....

Just popping in for a moment today. I was going to use this device when I realized it might make an interesting photo.

What is it?

It's a Shaker Drying rack. It was made by one of the artisans at the Hancock Shaker Village named Cloud Kennedy. She is a wood worker who does demos on site and some of her work is sold in the shop at the Village. She uses tools of the era and replicates Shaker designs. I saw it in the wood shop and was entranced with it and she told me that they could be purchased.

How clever is this? It folds flat perfectly. It is entirely held together with string. By setting this over and/or near a furnace vent, one is able to dry socks and "underthings" and small items rather quickly. Today I am using out on the deck since it a dry and sunny day.

Okay...I am out of here. I am falling behind in all that I want to accomplish this week. My tea break is over! Time to step away from the computer!

Enjoy your day!

Truth in advertising...

As you might have guessed, this is a hot dog stand. It is one of our favorite summer places to stop. It is immaculately clean and the food is great. It is also extremely hot in that little trailer for the lone cook when the weather is tropical. It doesn't have a/c and is a converted travel trailer.That is a real taxi there with two mannequins in the back seat. There are picnic tables nearby and it is on a busy state highway outside of Middletown, CT.

The hot dogs are those sizzling, popping type and they serve them with crunchy, crunchy home-made style sauerkraut.

It was only a moment when cars started pouring in and would have ruined this photo for me. I have been trying to get a photo without cars in it for seven summers!

Summer is winding down for school and college kids, but it doesn't really end until the third week in September. So, we are looking at the best weather, wonderful produce from farm stands, and cooler days and nights followed by three months of autumn which is glorious here. This is a great time of the year and this weekend was the kick off!

Enjoy the waning days of summer and enjoy your day!

If you don't like the weather in New England, wait a minute.

That was true this past weekend. We were in Vermont and the sky was blue and it was in the 80's. Suddenly it began to rain and then hail. The temperature dropped from 83 to 53 within minutes. The hail began to pile up everywhere.

We stopped for lunch and a respite from the driving rain. We had to find our jackets because it was so cold and foggy and we were dressed for a hot summer day.The hail stuck around for an hour or so and then were on our way. Vermont is a breathtaking, mountainous state and every corner has its surprises.

So here we are on Friday again, and I am still thinking about last weekend. One doesn't have to travel very far around here to enjoy different sights.

The other evening we were at a jazz concert in front of the town hall on the green in our town. It is a few blocks from here. I turned to my husband and said, "can you believe we are listening to jazz where George Washington camped?"

(For those who don't know what a green is: it is a grassy area usually in the center of town set aside for common public use. In New England the green is usually surrounded by churches and the town hall. I am not sure if the term green is used elsewhere.)

There are bronze plaques all over our town noting where Washington and his troops camped. There are plaques all over New England with historical references to battlegrounds and encampments. There is one at the end of my street. We look at these things so often that they become familiar.

As the music played, I looked around and wondered what Washington would think of technology, politics, and society now. It was perfect summer night and the music was excellent. Old and young were seated together. We were sitting on a bench next to a couple our age from India and the wife was wearing a beautiful cotton sari. In front of the bandstand little kids were dancing to the jazz. Across from us was an elaborate picnic complete with candles and looking like Martha Stewart had just stepped in. Next to them was a young Asian man in cycling garb and helmet who was bicycling by and stopped to hear the music. It was perfect moment on an old army parade ground.

Enjoy your day. Enjoy your weekend. And carry a sweater and umbrella just in case...

Hancock Shaker Village, more of the weekend...

As we traveled last weekend, we stopped at one of our favorite places: Hancock Shaker Village in Hancock, MA. I have many more photos of the wonderful environment here. It is also known as "The City of Peace" and it lives up to its name. As we wandered around the grounds and visited the houses, it was like being transported back into a rustic, quiet time.

We recently bought a niddy-noddy at auction. One of the volunteers gave me a demo on how to use one. I am not a spinner or knitter, so I didn't know that skeins of yard are wound on these and/or folding swifts. We believe that our own niddy-noddy is Shaker made.

The round barn is worth the trip alone. The Shaker innovations are used to this very day. Our own home is filled with Shaker influences and furniture My husband (a talented wood worker) has put in solid cherry Shaker paneling and other touches--a thirty year project.

The week is flying by again. One could wonder if this "doll maker who paints" is making dolls or painting. I am doing some of both but am involved in other stuff, too. We have wonderful autumn-like weather which is invigorating after two months of heat and humidity.

I want to say thank you to all of the people who sign my blog and also for e-mails I receive about things that I post. I am never sure when or where to thank readers. But, without readers, it would like giving a party and nobody attending! So, thank you for reading.

Enjoy your day.

Home again, home again!

We are enjoying the last days of summer and continuing to explore the region. We needed another trip trip back to Shelburne Fall and the Bridge of Flowers. This time we dropped by the little Trolley Museum and took the little ride that they offer. It is wonderful to imagine oneself in a long dress and parasol and viewing the same landscape a passenger would a have seen one hundred years ago. Trolleys are making a comeback and there are those who think they never should have gone away. They provided relatively inexpensive mass transportation and could do so again.

This trolley was saved and resided on a farm for many years and was used a chicken coop for a while. (The other trolley cars were burned and the metal was salvaged from them.) The farmer whose family owned it for more than 60 years was able to ride in the restored trolley again for a few years before he passed away. He sat in the same chair he sat as a child. There is a dedication and photo near the seat. One could imagine him as little boy and the wonder it must have brought him at the turn of the last century.

The Bridge of Flowers will soon be in autumn mode and the dahlias and asters are beginning to bloom. We hope to return to see the foliage later this year although any ventures into the Berkshires as a leap-peeper need to be planned with a road less traveled or one encounters monumental traffic jams.

Back to a normal schedule here, but I have many photos of other places to share over the next few days. It is always great to get away from the norm and gaze upon nature's gifts here in New England. We will have many warm summer memories this winter when snow covers the greenery enjoy now.

Enjoy your day.

Friday again! Where does the time go?

Remember when you were a child and the summer was endless? The long lazy days stretched ahead into what seemed like infinity.

Does time speed up as we age? It seems impossible to capture that luxurious sense of time we enjoyed in youth--when we proclaimed we were bored! In a few short weeks school starts, and for all practical purposes it will be autumn in my hemisphere. Summer will dwindle away to frost and pumpkins and crunchy colored leaves underfoot.

Today I am seeing a friend. For more than twenty years we see have seen each other on or around our birthdays. We usually shop or go to a museum and we always have lunch.

We planned a museum visit for today and lunch all fresco, but there is a prediction of heavy rain and violent thunderstorms. Maybe a mall trip would be better considering the prediction is for hail.

Whatever you do today, enjoy your day! Above you will see Henry, my latest creation/character, sending you wishes for a happy weekend!

A cake made from flowers

Grand art!

More Grand Art!

Tote Bag Made by Eileen

Paper doll made by Carol

Bookmark by Harriet

Birthday loot!

It was a wonderful day yesterday. My grands (aged seven and nine) chose IKEA for a destination for a special lunch. They created some very nice art for my birthday! Their mother knows my addiction to Kathy Van Zeeland handbags and you might be able to catch a view of the paisley print in my birthday hand bag behind the little Russian doll in the bottom photo.

How about a cake made from flowers? My brother and his family surprised me with this one. Very beautiful and no calories! Truly a cake I can love!

Do you see the beautiful tote bag in the gorgeous Indonesian fabric? That was made by our very own Eileen! She used an Amy Butler pattern called "Birdie Sling" and it is as divine inside as it is outside! She knows that I go to flea markets, auctions and antiquing every weekend so you know that I will will be the "cat's meow" when I use it. Nobody appreciates this kind of bag more than other arty people and collectors. I expect lots of compliments! It has compartments inside....really wonderful.

The little paper doll was made by my friend Carol who also gave me the little Russian doll. Carol is talented painter and sells art on eBay and other places. I only wish I looked as good as the paper doll she made to look like me!

My friend Harriet in Chicago made a bejeweled book mark for me that is so lovley--with turquoise and rhinestones!

I was very spoiled this year and I should be quite embarrassed at such super birthday loot! My DH gave me a digital photo album which I can carry in my purse. He knows that eleven years of digital photos have ruined me for ever printing any photos. I never have any photos with me to show anyone.

Lunch was so dee-lish at IKEA (love the salmon!) and dinner was just as luscious as I "transitioned" from Swedish cuisine to Italian later in the day.

So, I say thank you to EVERYONE....there are some gifts and remembrances that are not mentioned here. It was a great day and I will be thinking about it for many days to come.

Now, back down to earth here! I am days and days behind on everything from housework to art projects so I had better get back to work.

Enjoy your day.

Today is my birthday...and a busy day is ahead. I will be back tomorrow to show you some amazing hand made gifts and other things. To all you other Leos out there....happy birthday!

Enjoy your day!

A quilt saga....

Well....I made a quilt. I had big intentions of making it for a much larger doll bed. When I took out the bed, I realized that it is way too big to display here and the bed would be much better donated to someone who has more display space than I.

Eileen and Ulla have a summer stash challenge going on. You can see some photos of the fabulous work being done here. Needless to say, my little quilt is less than the size of a real quilter's square! (My apolgies to those of you who have made some wonderful quilts. I urge everyone to view them.) I made a slightly larger version last year and tossed the remaining scraps and squares into a basket. It is five inches by five and a half.

The dolls love the new quilt and there was a toss-up as to whether Edie or Hitty would end up with it. Edie is my 4 inch cloth travel doll I made many years ago from the Edith Flack Ackley doll house pattern. I carved Hitty from maple many springs ago and her actual name is Hitty Primavera. To be honest, they both have tons of quilts and other accessories but a new item always seems to stir up competition. Hitty won.

The heat waves seem to be over here for the moment and the crickets are very loud this morning signaling mid-summer. Summer isn't really over until late September so we are heading to some very nice weather now. I always thought that it was shame that children return to school in the nicest part of the summer.

I see that it is the weekend again. Where did a whole week go? Enjoy your day! Enjoy your weekend!

When is a tree not a tree?

We were standing in line at a grocery store in the Berkshires recently and saw this sad looking tree in the parking lot sticking out above the cars. The folks in front of us asked if the tree had come down in a recent storm that caused a lot of damage and power outages in the area.

The cashier laughed and said, "it isn't a tree" and suggested they check it out. Of course, I had to check it out myself.

What could look like that and be smack dab in the middle of a busy strip mall parking lot? A drive up ATM!


Here it is Monday again. That and other goofy weekend adventures are behind us as I write.

I like Monday. I liked it as a child when I was in school and never stopped. I have known people who get depressed on Sunday night knowing the week is about to begin again. I always viewed Monday as a clean slate and a new beginning.

These days I work at home and kind of miss going out and the rhythm of the work week. But, I start new projects on Monday and catch up with housework and laundry as well. How many of you like Monday?

Enjoy your day. Enjoy your Monday!

Weekend again!

Can it be Friday already and the first of August? This week flew by in a flash.

I have spent a lot of time on various art projects this past week. Here is a small sample. They can be very addictive and I have been creating them for several years. I will use these images in a variety of way in different projects.

They are a nice break from reality, the news, and darker images that seem to be everywhere. They are rather innocent and on the childish, naive side. They are the kinds of drawings that one could never submit to an art professor or could even imagine to be "serious art." Yet, they are light hearted and whimsical and often ironic and humorous. My grands love them and so do my friends. There are many artists creating happy little figures these days and I love them all when I see them.

Have a creative day yourself...no matter what your artistic genre might be. Have a wonderful weekend, too!