Lush

Aunt Beverly has a lush and beautiful back yard filled with birds and wildlife. (some not so welcome) The red bud is just about done but the lilac is in its full glory! Beverly is still still mowing this big yard at 80+....she's amazing!


We had a great time in southern Iowa....but today it was time for the road trip back to Minneapolis. Thanks Aunt Beverly!

Elaine and Beverly

It's been a full family day filled games, good food, and great conversation. I heard lots of stories about my aunt Beverly's life growing up with my mom who was 10 years older. My mom died when I was in my late 20's...so hearing these stories and spending time with her sister has been priceless! 

Here are some photos of the sisters....Beverly and Elaine...some of which I had never seen before.

 

 

Win Win!

Nancy and I had a road trip today....we drove from Minneapolis to southern Iowa to visit my aunt Beverly....my mom's only sister.  It was a lovely drive through farm country with lots of time for visiting.

My aunt is a wonderful artist...and it's fun seeing what's on her easel.  I thought one of them looked familiar....another version of "The Walking Path" I have hanging in my living room.  I wrote about it here in a post called "Pearls."   I love the tulip painting!



I was fun to see this working phone in the room I'm staying in!  I love it!

I went to college here in Lamoni, Iowa and I have lots of great memories hanging out at my Aunt Beverly's house. It's good to be here! And...I'll get some time with my cousin Cindy and her family...and my sister Angie.  Win Win!

Little Red Windows

Nancy's husband Craig is quite handy....an artist really.  He can build or carve just about anything you can imagine.  And Nancy is a master gardener....so they're a match made in heaven.

There are many beautiful architectural and functional structures in their yard....and some of my favorites are these trellises with the little red windows.  I wrote about them a couple years ago  in this post called "Oasis in the City"...but I'm celebrating them again. This one has a kiwi plant growing on it.

It's pretty chilly here today and there were snow flakes in the air....but there are certainly signs of spring in Nancy's yard.  It's a very special place!

And this one is ready for beans or whatever else Nancy need to climb.  

Sister Time!

I'm so lucky to be spending a week with my sister Nancy....some of the time at her house in Minneapolis...and some of the time visiting our Aunt Beverly in Iowa. Minneapolis is one of my favorite cities!  Yay!

Whether I go up the front walk....or the back one.....it's inviting and fun. There's lots of really cool stuff going on in Nancy and Craig's yard. More to come.

Another Rainbow

Almost a year ago I posted a rainbow from my yard.  Here's.....

Word Wishes

It was a joyful birthday all day long! Since this blog is about my joy...It's what you're going to hear about today.

It included a morning walk with Anita, project group at church with interesting and wonderful women, lunch downtown with my son Sam, a few chores at home, a call from my sister Angie, a quick after work visit with Paul (we celebrated on the weekend), dinner with Connie, and the start of a new evening art class through the Lexington community programs. (more on that later...it's going to be awesome!)

I got a delightful hand made card from my sister in law Liz....complete with a little bag of word wishes for my day.  And...just for the record it was all of these things.  How awesome is that!

Perfect morning for a walk.

Yes....someone in Jamaica Plain loves me!

 

I even got to blow out a candle at Connie's...thanks to her daughter, Becky.

It was a full and fabulous day....I feel blessed!

Full Circle

This card has come full circle.  It was the cover page for a little package of Peace coloring pages I made for Margie, my mother in law, for her birthday in November. You can read about it here.  She colored it...and made it into a birthday card for me. You can't tell from this picture...but the peace sign is metallic gold.  I love it for so many reasons....


1.  It's repurposing something old to make it new.
2.  It's clever....love that arrow thing.
3.  Margie took the time to make it for me.
4.  It made my day!

Thanks Margie! I love it!

Little Lovlies

Every time I take the time to really look....nature amazes me.

I trimmed the dried dead heads off my oak leaf hydrangea and couldn't resist a little photo shoot with these little lovelies.

"Don't Blink"

Some friends and I stopped in to see the new "Impressions" exhibition at Gallery Blink today. I highly recommend it!

"Don't blink or you'll miss it."  http://www.galleryblink.com/

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy how Gillian Ross integrates the 200+ art pieces into her home. Her attention to detail and little touches make me almost giddy as I walk through.
From the inviting rambling front porch....to the creative artful table settings...the whole experience is a real treat.

I look forward to seeing Gillian's mantle displays and I loved this one with the oversized red berries. Can guess what they are?

                                                                                            

I Spy

I felt like a kid playing "I Spy" when I cleaned out my bird houses in the back yard a few days ago....I was fascinated by what I found inside. This one was jammed packed full of really cool stuff.

I couldn't believe how many little sticks, feathers, and fibers I scraped out. I was quite fond of the red and gray feather and what's not to love about the blue paper strips. I'm not sure what it is...but I'm guessing some sort of packing material from someone's trash.  

And if I really zoom in there's also some sort of green fiber...and a whole lot of black thread or something.  I love the image in my head of this bird gathering whatever she could find to prepare and decorate her little home sweet home.

Beach Walk

I spent the day with my friend Jane at her beach house in Southern Maine.

The ocean is just steps away from her house and it was a great day for a beach walk. Thanks Jane!

Posies

I'm playing catch up with Folt Bolt's January color scheme.

I've always been drawn to these tight bouquets in simple vases....I used the same idea with the hydrangea. This piece is completely inspired by and designed around those original 2 circles I made back in January. I've since made a few more and am putting together a bouquet of felt, wool, and button posies.

I played around with fabrics for the background....and in the end decided to keep it simple...I wanted the attention to be on the posies.  I'm not sure if I'll wrap the fabric around the paint panel...or attach the finished piece to the top.  I'll make that decision later on when the hand work is done.

I backed the fabric with fusible and I cut away parts that wouldn't show.  You know I don't like to waste fused fabric. Below is what the back looks like...just like the front with just a little overlap for fusing.

 

I attached a piece batting the size of my canvas before I began my stitching. This will give it a little loft and hide the bumps of threads...a lesson I learned with the green scheme.

Then I started topstitching.  I chose a chevron pattern for the vase...I wanted to create simple texture. 

Now its time to settle in and hand stitch. There will be lots of stitching, beads, and buttons.