Tulip's Turn

The tippy toes of the tulips

Remembering Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki

Newman Lake

Today was one of our glorious north Idaho Spring days! This kind of weather is what lures folks into moving here. The temperature rose to over 60°! This means, of course, time for our first "Top Down" ride of the season in our convertible!

Dale and I drove through the countryside to Newman Lake.

Since it was late afternoon, it was feeding time for herds of white tail deer in the meadows.

[Click for larger image]

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Next time, I'll bring my "big girl camera" instead of using my phone's camera. Oh! This leads to happy juices running through my head. With the wind in our hair, all our troubles blow away.

Purple Knit Scarf

Now that it's Spring, I finally finished my latest winter scarf. Ah, well. Wearing it can wait until next October.

This is the rib stitch scarf I started way back on December 27th, when I taught Jodie how to knit.

I used a Lion Brand Yarn called Tweed Stripes. The color is 201 Orchid. It has a fairly loose twist, so I had some trouble with the knitting needles piercing the yarn and splitting my stitches. That, along with my very slow knitting style (inexperience), made this project last much longer than anticipated.

I used two skeins of yarn for the scarf, making it nice and long.

It looks quite fetching with my purple wig, don't you think?

Don't Let It Fool You

This looks like a Spring sky, right?
... we had snow this morning.

Livin' la vida loca in north Idaho

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Happy Easter

Nothing says Easter to this gal quite as much as milk chocolate covered caramels.
Mmmmm

Painted Crocus

I am bereft of ideas for a blog post today. I worked with over 30 photos, trying to find one worthy of editing. I roamed around the web looking at blog memes. I browsed through files of blog fodder and heart inspiration.

Some days are blah like this.

I finally went back to the last crocus pictures I took with my phone's camrea. They are pretty, but so DONE already. Now the crocus in our yards are withering and trampled and drowning in the rain.

So I played with one last crocus photo, and took it into my paint program. Then I pretended to dabble in oils.

Sometimes, inspiration finds a home while messing around and playing with old tools in new ways.

Rainbow Stump

Walking along a narrow path through the forest yesterday, I happened on this gorgeous tree stump.

[Click for larger image]

Nature put impossibly beautiful colors and textures together. It's art!

Now, what room in my home can I decorate with this color pallet? Or perhaps, I can use these hues in my next coloring meditation. Yowsa!

Signs of Wildlife

I went for a walk in our local wooded park this morning. Hanging above a picnic table I found this notice.

I'd heard there were moose in the area. My neighbors saw the mother and calf last winter. But I kept missing it. So on my walk, I kept my eyes open, hoping for a peek.

I must have been close, because I found this scat deeper in the forest:

Alas, it must have been dropped a while ago. It was not steaming in the chill morning, but it was fresh!

I'm so used to living in this beautiful part of the world, that I sometimes forget just how lucky I am. Next door to this park is a summer camp for kids where memories are made each year of living among nature. I get to be here year-round.

More photos from the forest floor to come!

Introducing Project Pinterest 2016

Project Pinterest 01: Easter Wreath

Since I have some extra time to pursue creative interests this year, I've decided to jump into my Pinterest boards and make as many projects as my heart desires this year. I'm calling it "Project Pinterest 2016." I don't plan on having a schedule for completing each project, because I want to let my curiosity lead me and some projects will take much longer than others.

Today I'm starting out with an Easter wreath. You can view the YouTube video at the bottom of this post to see my inspiration. This was fun!

Here's the finished wreath hanging by my front door.

The wreath cost a total of $4 and took about an hour to make. Most of the supplies came from our local Dollar Tree: a wreath form, tissue paper, garland, and glitter eggs. From my stash I had Mod Podge, a disposable foam paint brush, and a ribbon.

I did make one alteration to the garland. It was white with pink, yellow, and green fringe. I thought the green was too bright (rather than pastel), so I cut those sections out before winding the garland around the wreath form.

Also, were I to make this again, I'd use pastel tissues in blue, purple, pink, and orange, but leave out the yellow and green. As you can see in this close-up, once the Mod Podge dried, the green wreath form was too visible through the light yellow and light green tissue paper.

I also altered the eggs and bows. The eggs came with the yellow ribbon connected to the yellow egg, etc. But as I removed the eggs from the skewers, the bows separated from the egg. I decided to mix the colors up when gluing the bows back onto the eggs.

I don't have a lot of the "Easter Spirit" right now, so having this bright spot of color welcome me home puts a smile on my face.

To see how to make this wreath, watch this video. Honest! There's still time!

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Inspired by Yolanda Soto Lopez
of All Crafts Chanel

My Sewing Nook

Within my Studio is a nook that holds my sewing supplies and my trusty old sewing machine and serger friends. I've had my sewing machine for over 40 years now, and it still works well. I love having all my equipment organized, within reach, and ready to go.

#CornerOfMyHome

Welcome, Spring!

Two bright cups of color in our back yard.

Flutter

This week's coloring meditation

Love’s Philosophy

I was reminded of this poem this morning while walking through the forest near the river with Dale. We were surveying some of the damage the winter had done to the tall pine trees. They didn't reach to kiss the sky quite so much after their tops snapped off due to the weight of the snow.

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Love’s Philosophy

BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine?—

See the mountains kiss high heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?

Love on the Wing

Hearts here
Hearts there
Hearts flyin' everywhere

As I was changing the bed linens, this heart fluttered out of the pillowcase to rest on the mattress.

Forlorn

This little guy has been standing on a fence rail all winter long.
What's he waiting for?

Lit From Within

This year's crocus have begun to bloom

Jagged & Gorgeous

From the 2014 Autumn archives

Ivy Love

More hearts in nature

Children's Literature

I've been a book lover all my life. These are a few of the titles from my childhood that have a place of honor in our home library.

#CornerOfMyHome

Newborn

Lovin' the jagged little fingernails.

Shriveled on the Vine

Roger That

Ghostly

Foggy morning at the stop sign.

Cubed

Sweet!

Playing with shape, form, color, and texture today.

China Cabinet Memories

This is one of my favorite pieces that I inherited from my mom. When I was growing up, this beautiful serving bowl was brought out only on special occasions like Thanksgiving. It has a place of honor in my mirrored china cabinet, and glistens beautifully in the soft light.

The teacup was a gift from one of my best friends.

These pieces warm my heart each time I take time to admire them.

#CornerOfMyHome

At the Llama Farm

A blast from the past. In May 2014, my daughter Jodie and I visited a llama farm in Hood River, Oregon. It was waayyyy out in the hills. We just kept following signs and trusting they would get us to where we wanted to go. What a great day. What a terrific view!

[click for a larger view]

Maple Leaf

Berries on the Fenceline

Love the wave of brilliant colors. Looking forward to more sunny days.

More Popcorn Love

I found this sliding around with the salt in the oil at the bottom of the popcorn bowl.

In the Weeds

ColorLove

Time for another Corner Of My Home post.

The inviting yarn shelf in my studio.
Now, where's my crochet hook?