New Toys

Flower Paper Punches!
Fun!
What will come of these new toys?

The song Anyone Else But You from Juno makes me long for my old guitar (that I gave away years ago...what an idiot!). I'll have to restring my son's guitar and give it a try. Only two chords, C + G, for the whole song so I think I can handle that.
I was so excited when Diablo Cody won for best screenplay for Juno. I loved the wildly original dialog.
Here's the song:


later...
left hand nails clipped. right hand nails long. guitar restrung and tuned. wrote down the lyrics. now i'm strumming away. it's the antidote to news of death threats to Wangari Maathai, Bush's threat of vetoing a water-boarding torture bill passed by the Senate, news of high concentrations of mercury and flame retardant chemicals in fish in the most isolated reaches of National Parks, record profits for Exxon as they whine about a settlement for Prince William Sound at the Supreme Court, and much much more. a sweet song goes a long way to soothe an otherwise crazy world.

A New Apron for Spring

My old apron was getting pretty tired looking so it was time

to infuse the kitchen with some new vitality.
The old one made for a good pattern to cut out the new one.
I just looooovvvvve crocus,
and this one has to be one of my favorites.

New Sheets

I love new sheets!
Here are the latest,
after their first bath,
in front of one of my oil paintings
in the fading afternoon light.

bursting

My sweet plants are emerging from their winter rest with color, texture and fragrance. I love the just emerging buds of the Cornus mas. Such delicate bloom has to be appreciated up close with the blue sky of a crisp cool day as the backdrop. These beauties (Viburnum bodnantense Dawn, Crocus, Cornus mas, Hamamelis Arnold's Promise) exhilarate me to no end.
Thank you lovely beauties for the happiness you exude.

xo

Bias Tape

With ready made bias tape in short supply this handy tool makes bias tape construction a breeze. Yards and yards of tape used up a bit of that fabric stash that i am trying to whittle away. I'll show you what i used it for later.

pam

© All rights reserved
my own pattern
cotton crochet, needlefelting + couching
lining from an outgrown oilily dress
dedicated to a friend that was a crochet expert

Latest Birdie Basket

When it's cold outside the sweet little birdies are hunting all over for bits to keep them going. I like to see them close-up, so I put up my wire birdie baskets, full of black oil sunflower seed, to keep them happy. This birdie basket took all day to make. But it is a very meditative process to make a basket. In my father's opinion the lowest occupation on the totem pole was the basket-maker, and there were threats that if we didn't do well in school we would turn into a basket-maker. I however think it is a beautiful avocation to sink hours into, and wouldn't he laugh to see me now enjoying it so much.

Yesterday there was a line-up on the tree branches while each birdie took their turn in the basket. Spotted towhees, house finches, Oregon juncos, chickadees, nuthatches and sparrows take to the queue. Some days the nasties come by: pine siskins. They are meanies. They fight with each other and scare the other birds away. But none clear the basket faster than the stellars jays. With their size and squawk all others scramble to get out of their way.

Today marked a new level I will go to to try and rid myself of pain: acupuncture. Only one of the needles hurt (in my neck) going in. I was surprised that the one right into my forehead didn't hurt. Towards the end of the season the bottom of my feet felt all tingly like they were electrified. Maybe it was the chi flowing through my body at last. It seems that acupuncture allows your body's energy flow to be restored. When I lived in San Francisco I always wanted to join in on the early morning tai chi that was practiced by the dozens in many city parks each day. But off to work I would go watching the rhythmic flow of synchronized bodies from my seat on the Muni bus. After my kids were born I did enroll in a tai chi class for a year and felt great after each session. I should have kept with it. But there was something fundamentally genuine about those groups in the park, back in San Francisco, through the fog or drizzle, no matter what, those older people, wrapped in black Mandarin jackets, would get themselves out and together each and every day, as opposed to a second story community center room under florescent lighting in Oregon.

Tussie Mussie

Just a tiny bouquet to say thank you.
I just love finding little jewels in the garden this time of the year.
The witchhazel smells sooooo good.
And what a happy yellow it is!

Sun Seeker

No matter how small the space, if there is sun to soak up then that is the place to be.

Watching the Snow Melt

I love having a bit of springtime inside this time of the year.
The forced narcissus bring a sweet air to the kitchen.
They seem to be looking out the window thinking,
"I'm glad I'm inside today!"

Decorated

Of the 243 rabbits entered at the 4-H show today who would have ever guessed
that the little visitor to our garden, that we nourished back to health would, in just one month from when he was found him in our vegetable garden as simply skin + bones, would today win Best of Breed (receiving lots of praise from the judge!) and be in the final 15 rabbits in the Best in Show. Our sweetie deserves lots of cheers for visiting us that fateful day knowing full well of his potential in our loving embrace.

Free Rice

While exploring on my son's computer I ran across a cool site that he had bookmarked. It's called Free Rice. It's a vocabulary game that earns donations of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. Take a look and expand your vocabulary through various difficulty levels and help others at the same time. Sounds almost too good to be true.

Happy New Year!

Still Blooming

After hard freezes, snow, pounding rain and wind these tough gals just want to keep blooming at the end of the year: camellia sasanqua 'setsugekka', viburnum bodnantense 'dawn', kerria japonica, rosa 'the fairy', jasminum nudifolium, prunus 'accolade'. They're inspiring for their fortitude, and a welcome foreshadowing of spring.

Wishing You A Wonderful New Year

Go out and get some exercise, eat well, laugh lots, tell people you love them, give to the less fortunate, teach someone something that you are passionate about, plant a tree, kiss a bunny and smile because you know you are beautiful. Peace.

Brule

Each year I make a new catnip mousie for the wild one. She chomps on that thing like it is a real critter. Then she gets worn out and tucks in for a long winter's nap.
What a lovely holiday! Snow falling all day long adding that extra touch of holiday cheer to our day. We finished our high caloric intake day with creme brule. I don't think I will be hungry again for three days.

Fluff

Ahhhh, it feels good to sit down after baking all day. First up were dinner rolls, then creme brule, then I needed to use up all those egg whites so meringues followed in the oven. The house is nice and toasty with the oven going all day. Time to sit down for some tea.
Cheers.

Ho Ho Ho

This cookie baking season I had a revelation. In the past my sugar cookies never held the cookie cutter shape very well after baking. They always seemed to ooze out of their shape and get quite flat. I always wondered how my favorite bakery made cookies that had such crisp edges compared to mine. Thank goodness for grocery sales, because one brand of butter was ridiculously inexpensive compared to my usual brand and so I purchased this other brand for my holiday baking. Well, what to my wondering eyes should appear but perfectly intact shaped sugar cookies so happy and dear. Yay! I'll never go back to my old brand of butter.

Blocked

Early this morning a big bang was heard at the front of the house. Birds crash into our windows often, so I looked for tell tale feathers on the windows, and a body on the ground. But nothing could be seen until I looked out over the porch roof where an immature goshawk was splayed out on the roof. Alive but stunned, its legs were horizontal on the roof. I watched as he gathered his composure and after several minutes he hoped up onto the talons of one foot, the other tucked up under his body. Did he break a foot? His cadmium yellow leg beamed in the morning light against the black roof. His head pivoted back and forth to gage his surroundings. Such a range of motion for that majestic profile! I retrieved my binoculars to get an amazingly close view of the creature. His banded feathers, that beak, the tail feathers helping to prop up his body, oh so beautiful in his unfortunate state. Then it was time for Nini to head out the front door for the school bus and the sound of the front door slamming and her presence gave him such a start that he mustered all of his strength and took to flight right above her. Glad he was able to fly again she gave me a big smile. Good luck birdie and look out for windows!

This is the first year I haven't made linoleum cut holiday cards in probably twenty five years. I had a design all created and purchased a block to carve, but I just didn't have the energy to expend on the carving. Pain has just zapped my inner resources to create. I feel so weak and a shell of my former self. Am I a hundred years old? It feels like it. Tomorrow marks the solstice and is an important marker for my psyche. It means the return of light. No more sliding further into darkness. Perhaps my pain is amplified by the season of cold, damp and dark. Tomorrow it should be better.