Tweak and Tweet

I spent a little time today tweaking a few things at Connie's.  I absolutely love this little bird....it's so sweet!  It now sits safely on the little pedestal perch.







Every single piece of of art you see here except this little bird was done by Connie....even the angel plaster casting.  She's a wonder!

During the treasure hunting we found this lovely watercolor that she did years ago. It's now part of the new garden inspired collage wall. At some point I will share some of the other beautiful pieces we uncovered.

The bigger picture...still a few things to tuck into this part....but it's coming along.

Do you remember her oil painting of the jar and how we reinvented it to give to special people?  If not...check it out here.

Traditions

I love traditions!  No matter how simple or elaborate they might be...there is something comforting about a tradition.

We have lots of traditions in our family....especially when the boys were growing up.  One, for example, was always putting up our Christmas tree up on December 2nd...the anniversary of Paul's and my first date where we decorated a little tree in Paul's college dorm room. Another was the "Christmas elf" coming every night from December 1st until Christmas leaving a little something for the boys on the coffee table in their little Christmas boxes. Sometimes it was a candy kiss, sometimes a quarter...and every once in a while a little toy or a book.  It took the edge off during that long season of waiting.

To this day...something is always waiting in the boxes on the coffee table for my "older boys" when they visit for Christmas.

               







My friend Anita is on the third year of a new tradition making some sort of little tree place holder/favor for her Christmas table.  This year she made these sweet little trees that hold nine Hershey Kisses and a couple of Nuggets.

It all started with these sweet little stacked box trees topped with a paper star. We made them in our church project group for a holiday fair a couple of years ago...and Anita ran with the idea at home. 

In one box was a Christmas quote, in another a joke, and treats in the remaining two.  What fun! And what a great addition to the Christmas table.                                                                                          

Last year Anita made these sweet little pyramid trees with little treats inside.

I love a tradition!  Nice job Anita...it will be fun to see what you come up with next year!  And thanks for sending me the pictures.

And Nate and Sam....the elf is still watching!

Little Surprises....

....tucked in the lawn and garden.

Last week I was greeted by these funny little mushrooms in Maine.

I did a little reading on line and found that it's a combination of moisture, shade, and organic material in the soil that promote mushroom growth. I know there are some old tree stumps rotting under the ground and this part of the yard is pretty shady these days...so I guess that explains it. 

According to this article, "most of the time, the fungi just stay hidden, breaking down organic material.  But, when the conditions are right, they burst forth, like desert flowers blooming after a rain." That makes it sound like such splendid "event."

Are they cute...or are they kind of strange and creepy? I vote strange and creepy.

"Desert flower" was an interesting description....because when I came up today... this is what they looked like...an actual bouquet of flowers. And just for the record...I raked them all up today...still a little creepy. 

And speaking of desert flower...the bud on the succulent has really shot up... I think it's going to be orange.

And there's another one just starting.

The White Box

We're making progress in Connie's new space...and here's a little sneak peak. It's still a work in progress...but it feels good to be finally hanging things on the wall....including a lot of her own artwork.

I really wanted to show what we started with....a white box...almost literally.

I have to chuckle because the idea of a "white box" reminds me of another Connie story. Paul and I moved into a newly renovated church parsonage 6 years ago...and once we were settled we had an open house for the church folk.  As Connie left my house she put her finger in my face and said, "when I have to move out of my house into one of those white boxes...I want YOU to help me fix it up."  She kind of scared me to death...but I also took it as a compliment...I think she liked my house.  I did help her with that first move 5 years ago....and now here we are again.

The walls changed from off white to wallpaper...a nice soft textured green with a little hint of blue.  It goes nicely with the treasures Connie picked.



Here's a peak at a new bookshelf located on the short wall next to the TV in the photo above.  Again...still a work in progress.

More treasures that will have to wait until my next visit.

Words and Pictures

I saw these leaves on a walk a few days ago...the color is amazing!

Treasure Hunting

a few of Connie's treasures

Part of the process of getting ready to set up Connie's new space has been treasure hunting.  As we "shopped" the apartment....the question I kept asking her is..."do you love it?"

I need to walk around my house and ask that same question.

It reminds me of a quote that I have always been drawn to...

...I'm working on it.

Speaking of Succulents...

...isn't this a sweet little painting?

It's watercolor and pen and ink...and was painted by my friend Connie! You can see some of her amazing work here.

Because she is in the middle of a move...Connie and I spent time going through her art and supplies. We came across this sweet little painting and I just melted. So guess who got to take it home?  I will find a little frame for it and hang it in a special spot.

Thanks Connie!  I love it!

Pretty soon I will share some of our progress in her new space.

Propagating Succulents

I love growing succulents! They are easy to care for and come in great colors and textures. A pot of succulents is perfect for the deck in Maine...because they can go weeks without water and they love the sun. They thrive on neglect!


But they do need to come in for the winter...so every year I make room inside for the succulents along with the ferns and begonias I can't bear to toss out. It saves me a lot of money in the spring.

I had several containers this summer....this one sat on a table on my back patio in Lexington. I added in one of my favorite tiny perennial grasses....that I just plunked in the ground for the winter. I will pot it back up in the spring.  But the succulents had to come inside.

This one was in Maine this year...and now has moved inside to the dining room. There are a couple of buds so I will wait to cut this one back.

This whole pot was propagated from last years plants!  They did well!

Over time the succulents can get a little leggy...but they are very easy to propagate.  I was doing it wrong until a few years ago when I came across this article on Pinterest. Now I know what to do.

To propagate I top off the plants and pull off the bottom leaves exposing the stem.  Then I let them sit for several days so the ends dry out.  I used to put them in the soil right away...but I learned that the ends need to callous over or they will draw up too much moisture.  Now I know why I used to have mixed results.  I let them dry for 3-5 days....checking the ends every few days.

Here are a few of them all potted up ready to root.  I just have to find a somewhat sunny window.

The "mother" stubs should grow new plants from the places where there were leaves.  After a few years they get thick and woody so sometimes you just have to let the "mother" go.  I generally have plenty of new plants from what I topped off. The picture below is from the article. Mine on the left should do the same thing.

Tracy Taylor!

That's the artist's name!!!  Remember the story about the canning jars? Well....I have yet another layer to the story. If you haven't read the first part of the story use the link above...it will be helpful to better understand this new layer....it already had several layers.

As I mentioned in the post...the story about the canning jars gift was good enough...but then Patsy recognized that a tropical fish painting in her hotel room while on a trip Hawaii was done by the same artist.

Well, just the other day I was checking out a local consignment store in South Portland, Maine called Heirloom Consignment.  I walked in and the first thing that caught my eye was a tropical fish painting...I loved the colors...the loose painting technique...just what I said about the jars!

Sure enough....same artist!

Her name is Tracy Taylor and her website can be found here....which is where I was able to get the great screen shot of the canning jars above....which, by the way, is called "fresh canned."

This painting is called "starkissed" and I was able to get it at a very reasonable price...the owner of the shop liked my story too.  It makes me smile and it will find a great spot for it in Maine.

I also loved Tracy's painting of the boats from her website...the colors are awesome!

And here are a couple more of her fish paintings that I thought were fun.

Simply Beautiful!

Anita and I walked by the window boxes at Rancatore's ice cream parlor a week or so ago and couldn't believe how beautiful they were. Pansies can handle the cold...but I forget about them for the fall. They look great with the kale.

Not your typical fall display...simply beautiful!

And this is what the boxes looked like all summer!  Whoever does them...thank you! What a gift!