Just thingz...

Leaves are opening up!  Trees are blooming. It is beginning to look a lot like spring now.  A few warm and sunny days and all will be green again!

Next moth the doll club I belong to is having a program on Annalee, felt dolls and figures.  I started putting some in a box and as I passed by the box it was so colorful on a rainy day that I had to take a quick photo. Colorful!

As I was wandering through the area. I took a few more photos of thingz.

A trip out in a downpour for errands and a quick trip to the shore to our favorite book store...

Soon there will be leaves and flowers there, too. We have more rain in CT than in many years. Ponds are filling, rivers rising and there is an element of lushness everywhere.  This has been a long drought so the rain is welcomed-- at least by me. 

Next week it is going to be REALLY arm here and I think all the leaves will open at once and the lilacs will bloom. The fragrance of lilacs is something I love. What is happening in your world?

Onward to the weekend...

until the next time,

enjoy the day! 

 

 

Almost here...

Christmas is almost here!

My wish is for all of you faithful readers to have a happy holiday however you celebrate it. If you have time, pop over to Martha and Jane and see the story behind the above photo.

Thank you for all the wonderful Christmas greetings here and by snail mail. My Internet friends and readers are special to me and I think of you all a lot... and thank you for indulging my whimsy... and for the love and support you show through the year... as we "play with dolls" and "enjoy the days."

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Brrrrr!!!

It was only 8F when I got up this morning. It has risen to a brisk 14F but may get a little warmer. This is weather we hate in January... and has arrived early this year.

Things are buzzing along here. Cards are finished, gifts are ready and/or mailed, and there are just a few small details to attend to. It is a far cry from when my children were small, life was rushed, and there was never enough time, money, or energy to get everything done in time. Still...I miss that.

Since Hank had his teeth cleaned, he is bouncing around like a puppy. He wishes you merry holidays. So do I!

Stay warm if you need to, keep a song in your heart and a smile on your face...no matter what. If you have food, warmth and shelter, you are truly blessed these days.

And as always,

enjoy the day!

Vegetablez...

It's exceedingly humid and warm here...and I often complain. But one of the positive aspects is fresh vegetables...and fruits and berries, too.

We love vegetables here so I am always trying to incorporate them into our menu as often as possible.




It is time for salads and local produce. I grow herbs out on my deck and also have grape tomatoes growing in Earth Boxes.

Personally, blueberry season is my favorite time. I would be ashamed to tell you how many fresh blueberries I have consumed lately. They have been mostly from New Jersey farms and have been great! Ditto for fresh asparagus.

A few years ago, I was inclined to make a whole set of artist trading cards out of fruits and vegetable images that I swapped with my friend.

Don't forget to eat your fruits and vegetables!

And as always,

...enjoy the day!

P.S. My artist friend and I have been making art as usual...and we have a little book on eBay....here. If you like Boston and Yorkshire terriers, take a look!

Listen to the mockingbird...

My dear friend the mockingbird started his song at 3:3o this morning. This is how I am feeling now.

No, he is not the bluebird of happiness. He is a lonely guy looking for a mate. Last year he treated us to operas from May to August. Please send thoughts this way that he finds a lady friend soon.



I am hoping to feel much happier later today, though the prospects seem questionable. It will be in the mid 90's today which is way above normal for us here in May. I refuse to turn on a/c in May and have resolved to stick it out with fans and the curtains drawn against the sun. Wish me luck!


Nevertheless, I am resolved to make the best of the day. I think I need more coffee, though. I hope that happiness will find you today, too.

As always, and in any weather,

enjoy the day!

Spring ThingZ...

Spring is finally here!

Here are some of the things

I have been working on.

Little chicks...

Chipboard box

Tiny mouse for inside the box.

Looking forward to the long holiday weekend...

so for now, wishing you

Happy Easter!

Happy Passover!

Happy Spring!

Some artzy thingz...

Some pretty art from friends...

"Cupan tae" by Marty has

many wonderful details

including Irish history of
tea drinking

on the back of the tea pot.

How about the pretty

little cat she drew!
Know what is amazing?
She has just started
making paper art
and made her own shamrock stamp!

Carol painted the
beautiful tulip.
Carol and I swap art
nearly every week.

The square opens up

to a full sized painting
on both sides.
Wonderful!

This art doll that I made

has been waiting patiently

to visit this blog.

She was gift

to someone who

reads this blog
and she has now moved
to her new home.

*****

Unseasonably warm days

are gracing us

in time for the

upcoming weekend.

Enjoy the day...

and happy weekend!

Birdz...

Here is a relatively easy project. I purchased a bird cage in a craft chain store. After making a bird, and adding some embellishments, it has been transformed into a birthday gift for a friend.

The bird pattern is from Spool. I added some wings to it and cut out some of the floral print and attached them in random places. Those are fabric yoyos on the bottom of the cage in pastel colors. You can fly over to Flickr and see what others have done with the bird pattern, too.

Today is St. Patrick's Day. It will be 60 sunny degrees today! In fact, a warm sunny week is on its way!

Top of the morning to you!



Enjoy the day!

Heartz and thingz...

Valentine's Day is approaching. It's my favorite holiday--as I have mentioned before. No pressure...just prettiness/cuteness/fun in mid-winter. It doesn't have to be just about romance. Remember when we were kids and we sent Valentine's to all our friends? I still do. Have been working on them this week. Here's one to you.


I heard that this year there is a brand of candy hearts that says "tweet me" keeping up with the times! E-cards and smart phone apps are the Valentines du jour these days.

Last night we introduced three fish ( black skirt tetra) into the aquarium. Since it is still in its initial nitrogen cycle, we will will have to see how they fare. So far, so good.

A winter storm is on its way tonight. Could be a big one or nothing at all. The predictions are contradictory as usual! We will have to wait and see on that, too.

The weekend is almost here. Hope that you have a good one and if you get that storm, you will remain warm and safe. The world is a troubled place. "There is no place like home"...a good place to be in a storm.

Enjoy the day...



and happy weekend!

Tiz the seazon...for heartz and thingz...

It will soon be Valentine's Day. It's my favorite holiday.

Why? It is the holiday that marks the midway point of winter. It's about feelings, hearts, flowers, colors like red and pink. When my kids were young, I used to make heart shaped sugar cookies with red sugar on them for their after school snack that day. We were all into those heart candies with the sayings. Over the years, we all received flowers from from relatives and/or friends.

My late uncle used to send me flowers every year on Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day conjures sweet memories of love in every form: young love, old love, family love, lost-and-found love. Valentine's Day can be many things to many people. It is a time to care...and remember. It is a hopeful time, too. Spring is on the way.

So, I am working on images in between other projects... looking for happy bright spots in winter days. As always,

enjoy the day!

Posting for charity...

I am donating here:

http://doctorswithoutborders.org/

and sending aprons here:

http://www.donkey-dreams.blogspot.com/

Think about donating to any good cause...


and enjoy the day!

Good Thursday morning...

After roaming around a great deal this summer, it is time to get back to business and get caught up with things.

We have had glorious weather the past few days. Since it has not rained in a month, there is a strong hint of autumn in the air. Plants are turning brown, maples are tinged with orange and red, and the crickets are extremely loud day and night.

There is much to think about in autumn. For me, it is a time of refection and a time to get organized. It's time to put away summer clothes and find the things I put away last spring. It is 49 degrees here this morning, so we know that fall is encroaching.

What are you up to, dear reader? Are you getting organized? Preparing for the next season? There is much to do around here. Whatever you do today in your world...

be happy...

enjoy the day!

Monkey business...

I continue to needle felt tiny monkeys and wanted to create a little art from them. The monkeys cavorted on the table and took over the art. All of these guys are under 4 inches tall....but I really like sock monkeys made from real socks. I have a vintage sock monkey here and would like more, but they take up space. The little ones fit in a mug!

It is raining again. It is a cool morning and as verdant and lovely as one could hope for.The day ahead is filled with possibilities. The weekend looks promising.

Have a wonderful weekend...

and enjoy the day!

Painting bunnies...

This past week as I was painting, I contemplated all things economic as I listened to the news on satellite radio. It soon became evident that I needed to refresh my vocabulary. Certain buzz words needed revisiting: derivatives, hedge funds, short selling, mortgage backed securities.

I thought I had a good working vocabulary but I wanted to know how this financial terminology was adapted to the dismal current domestic and world economy. So, I searched out various definitions in financial glossaries and cut and pasted them into my own financial mini-dictionary.

I probably should have left well enough alone. "Ignorance is bliss" and people are quite blissful when they discuss the economy. As a follower of politic and finance, I have to say ...it is easier to paint bunnies than have an intelligent conversation on this subject.

"Painting bunnies" is my new euphemism for tuning out when I hear totally unresearched opinion or statements on the airwaves or falling out of the mouths of the blissful. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand the most basic terms but there seems to be an abundance of bloviating floating about. Even if I cannot paint bunnies on the spot, I can paint them in my head!

Back to painting bunnies here...enjoy the day!

Have a loverly day!

Valentine's Day is almost here...I hope that yours will be a happy one.

I read somewhere that Americans are the only group of people who give Valentine cards and gifts to friends and family. In other cultures that celebrate the day it is purely a romantic holiday and one only sends cards to a romantic partner.

I am glad that we like to celebrate it in a broader sense. It is my favorite holiday! Sandwiched between the winter holidays and spring holidays, it provides a prefect excuse to buy flowers and/or eat chocolate. When my kids were young, I liked to bake heart shaped sugar cookies sprinkled with colored sugar. We cut out construction paper hearts and paper doilies creating homemade Valentines.

Romance is not required to enjoy the day although it is certainly nice if it exists. I like to think of Valentine's Day as unexpected flowers blooming in the snow.

I love all flowers and would be hard pressed to say which flowers I like best on this day. A bouquet of mixed carnations would be quite fragrant for the weekend. What's your favorite flower for Valentine's Day? I suspect that roses are the most popular flower most associated with the day.

Happy Valentine's day and enjoy your weekend!

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!

M is for mint and also for Monday. The weekend flew by in a blur and here it is Monday all of a sudden. Auction, soccer games, shopping, errands, shoreline, dining out...it just went too fast.

Speaking of shoreline, we stopped to get out take-out clam chowder at our favorite shoreline seafood restaurant. We drove off to to drink its goodness to a beach with a beautiful view. The clam chowder that most Yankees love best doesn't have cream or flour in it or tomatoes. It is clear clam broth, with tiny diced potatoes, onions, celery and chopped clams. Aside from being truly delicious, it is also very low in calories. This clam chowder should have tiny oyster crackers to float in it. Our soup was excellent.


It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful to look out onto Long Island Sound. It looks cold, but it was actually about 60 degrees with a light warm breeze.

This particular stretch of beach is closed to the public from June until October. In the off season, people come here to kayak, walk on the beach, take photos and dine in their vehicles like we did.

There are literally thousands of mansions along the CT coast and this beach has its share of multi-million dollars vacation homes. Some really are the mansions from the days of the robber barons of the past, but many are newly built to look old. They are so skillfully done that they look like they were always there. This is to the credit of planning and zoning boards who frown on disrupting the tranquility of these affluent coastal areas. These are homes that might be used for a week or two throughout the summer.

These tiny parking/viewing areas can be used during the off season, so one can still get a nice view from time to time, if one doesn't own a mansion with a view.

Today it is raining and cool and I am glad. We need to see some spring before we blast into the heat and humidity of summer. The weather has been extreme the past few years. Oh, to be one of those with a mansion on the beach!

Enjoy your day.

"W" is for woodpecker...but also for weekend and the weekend is here. This is another letter from my ATC alphabet with nature images.

What a fast week! It was incredibly warm here yesterday. We still have the furnace on at night but could have used an air conditioner by mid-afternoon.

I spent the day working on a customer's doll that needed repair. This is an interesting doll purchased in the 80's and made from vintage & antique fabrics.


The body is made from bark cloth (probably from the 1940's), the legs from authentic Civil War calico and the head is painted with oils. The use of old fabrics to create a new doll is not always a good idea. The fabric is literally disintegrating and I spent a lot of time reattaching limbs, patching holes, reinforcing seams, etc. She was made to look old and the construction was very primitive but her joints were attached with plastic buttons and she was sewn with polyester thread. I took her photo in a computer chair so you can see how big she is. Truly a great doll and I will miss her sunny presence.

Enjoy your day...and your weekend!

The weekend is almost here again. We did have the fabulously warm weather yesterday. As I predicted, it went really hot right away. With no leaves on the trees, it made for an extremely warm afternoon. It had been in the 30's in the morning and was over 80, in the afternoon.

The weather prediction is for five days of rain, so I don't think we will see these "uber" warm temperatures right away. I was able to get some raking and trimming done, so I am happy.

Happy weekend...and enjoy your day, rain or shine!

A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

A friend and I were talking about this nursery rhyme this morning. She is a few years younger than I, but she also knew the verse. It was a fave of my mother and grandmother. My friend said that her mom had said it, too.

We were thinking about how kids today probably don't hear these little rhymes like we did. I remember memorizing poetry in elementary school right through high school.

It is true that these little rhymes are probably very dated or could be considered cliches. On the other hand, there is a kernel of truth in these little allegories. I always loved Aesop's Fables and Poor Richard's Almanac.

In a "sound bite" culture, I would think that these sayings could once again be popular. They are short and sweet and to the point!

On another note, the owl above was a metaphor for being quiet and listening. I don't see a lot evidence of that kind of behavior anywhere nowadays--not even in a movie theater. Maybe we all need to listen more, react less, and think before we speak. Who knows?

Enjoy your day...and listen if you can.