The Quilt that Mom and I made

While I was in El Paso, my mom and I made a quilt. This is from material I bought last year in Grand Junction when Bekka took me to the quilt store there. It's waited an entire year to be put together, but I thought it was the perfect project for us to make together since my mom is a superb quilter. This was a two day project, with both of us working on it.

The Cat

This in my bathroom sink. All ready to be used:








My point......

This is my bathroom sink when I want to use it:





Furby makes himself right at home!!!

Very long holiday post

I have been totally remiss in updating this blog. So, here's 3 or 4 blog posts in one. If nothing else, I am efficient.

Blog 1:

We had the kids help with the decorating. So, this is not one of my cheapo, buy the tree on clearance on Dec. 24 trees. But is wasn't terribly expensive, and it sure was a full, squatty tree. First we made a Gingerbread house. (We also made a Gingerbread train, but that didn't turn out as good!). This is one of those kits that you can buy at WalMart.



Let me tell you, they are not as easy as you would think. And the icing sets up like concrete--it can take days to get if off your counters!!

Next we have the kids decorating the tree. CJ first. It was easy to tell where he put his ornaments, front and center at the bottom of the tree, 2-3 ornaments on a branch!!



Next up is G. He's older, so he has the concept of decorating a tree pretty much down. He can even get the back of the tree so from the outside of the window it has ornaments!



Next up is Miss M. She's getting older, and really likes to decorate the tree. She had to have all the glass balls to put on the tree!.



And somehow I missed a picture of the tree, which really looked good, especially when we had all the presents under it.

Blog 2:

This year, I decided that the girls' Fancy Nancy needed a new outfit. I made three of these outfits for three different Fancy Nancys.


Blog 3:

After Christmas, for the first time since I have lived here in the Springs, we went to the Electric Light Parade at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Great lights, lots of animals out (but my favorite, the grizzly bears, were hibernating......Bah!!), and not too cold. We all went, five grandkids, daughter, two daughters-in-law, and one son. Oh yes, and Grandpa and Grandma.

Goofing off.

One red tree, I really liked the lights!

A sunflower by the Big Backyard exhibit, taken diagonally on purpose (in case you were wondering......no I hadn't had anything to drink!)


And this one that I especially like. Those lines of light in the background are the city lights framed by the zoo lights. It was a magical view!!



The youngest, W, in his stroller. Only way to stay up with this one!!



Outside the zoo, CJ starting to climb a tree.



Blog 4:

We still have snow in our backyard. There has been no warming to melt this stuff, so it's the same stuff that fell at the beginning of the month. Miss M in all her winter glory:



We took the sled down into the gully behind the house in the hopes that the snow was deep enough still to sled. It was, knee deep at the bottom. So we did some sledding. W was really into this, I don't know if he had done any before, but he really wanted to go.



Miss C helping her brother go down the hill:



And Mom had to get involved. She did remark that sledding with a 2 and a half year old was a lot of work!



Miss M thought this was a lot of fun!



And Miss C was really getting into it!



Mom and W on another run.....look at that look on Mom's face!!



CJ thought it was fun too!



And W at the bottom of the hill....



Miss M and CJ at the bottom on the last run:



It was a busy day, and the hot chocolate we had afterwards was really yummy!!

the things I can find to do.....

I should be painting. It's amazing the things I can find to do to avoid that activity. And it's not that I don't enjoy painting, it's something else.

So, today, what did I do?

1. Went to Serrano's for hot chocolate and a newspaper, which I came home and read completely.

2. Chopped firewood. Actually I used my chain saw to cut up 4 logs, and trim off the slash.

3. Cleaned up more of the dog yard.

4. Mowed the side yard and the back yard.....again.

5. Swept the patio and rearranged the tables and chairs.

6. Swept the walkway thru the garage into the house.

7. And then, I cleaned all the kids' stuff in the living room, built the $15 bookcase I got from Target for the closet, and rearranged all the stuff from one bookcase to two. I sorted crayons, pencils, paints, paper, brushes, scissors and glue also. Got them a lot more organized.

So.....this is what the kid's korner now looks like:




And here's one of all the games organized on the bookshelf in the closet. Of course, you know that this meant I had to clean out the closet too.



But doesn't this all look so nice and neat? And then I made lasagna for dinner, and now this is the second blog post in two days. Like I said, the things I'll do to avoid painting!

new paintings at dream pastries

It's county fair and rodeo week in Castle Rock. So, I have three new paintings hanging at Dream Pastries in honor of the week.


ODD COW OUT This painting I have done before in colored pencil as part of a collage of cowboy pictures. Changed a few things, and tried to keep the background simple so that the cowboy and the cows would show up.


JANIE JILL - This is from a photograph that I took at a clinic several years ago. After the photo was taken so I could frame the painting, I changed the hat to a darker brown, and made the shirt red so they would pop against the sky better. I was in a hurry so I didn't take a whole lot of time for critical thinking.



THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY - This is also from the colored pencil drawing of the cowboy scenes. I've used this cow three times now. One in colored pencil, with the horse turning it, one in watercolor with a tessellated background (not one of my better paintings), and this one of the cow by itself.

So, which one do you like the best?

Mary, Mary quite contrary....

How does your garden grow?


With silver bells and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row?


All of these pictures were taken around the patio and driveway. The second picture is one of the herb pots that Clyde has started. This one has rosemary, basil and spicy basil. The others have more rosemary, oregano, lemon thyme, and mint. Very pretty, very scented.


Petunias.

Strawberries.....

And more strawberries, with real strawberries !!

More petunias and lilacs and hollyhocks.

The pansies are really going to town.


Sunflowers with my friend Linda's old bicycle. I think the sunflowers are going to hide the bike before they bloom! Better planning next year.


Rhubarb, which is the best growing plant we have. We also have pumpkins, chives, and some volunteer squash. And the tomato plant even has a couple of tomatoes on it.

And the best part? It's been raining so much to water them!

The painting -- Opportunity

Here's a photo of the painting that took honorable mention in the watercolor section of the PLAG spring show this year. It's a little distorted, and has some glare from the camera since it was under glass in the frame. (Some day I will be a little more proactive and take pictures the correct way--before framing and with the tripod so they aren't distorted.)

Until then, you all will just have to suffer with my bad photography. LOL!

However, if I can brag, this is the second year in a row that I've gotten a ribbon. Not the best painter, but at least the judges like what I do.