Sunday, February 27, 2011

Better than Hartley's Pork Pies?



We definitely think so! Not saying that Hartley's aren't simply wonderful. You haven't tasted heaven til you've had one of these pork pies - mine OR Hartley's!!
;-)

Friday, February 25, 2011

Meghan Harp




Victoria Lynn Schultz demonstrating the Meghan Harp. I love hearing the harp - such a peaceful sound. Annabelle continues to decline. :.(

My First Fondant

This is a 3-layer red velvet cake I made completely from scratch (not boxed). But the reason why I am posting a picture of it is, look at the fondant that I made and topped the cake with. That is my first attempt at fondant, and wow - I really impressed myself! ;-) But to be fair, it wasn't all that hard. And while the cake is certainly pretty in its white fondant wrapping complete with fondant ribbon and a bow in the top center, it was far sweeter than I liked. I probably won't do fondant again, but what a pretty picture it made!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Best Friend Therapy :-)

Okay, I have been sleeping propped up on the couch in the living room so I don't keep hub awake all night with my tossing and turning, coughing and choking; have been steaming water on the kitchen stove and inhaling it from under my bath-towel tent; have been having hot water steeped with lots of fresh lemon and honey; have had chicken soup and green tea with mint; hub has been completely spoiling me...and yet I was still completely wretched and miserable until the phone rang and it was "her" :-] Okay, I'm still not better, and I did see my doctor today, but hearing from my best friend since 9th grade.....well, if I get better, and I'm planning on it
;-) I'm sure it was that phone call along with the long-distance cup of tea with my friend that did it. Love ya Cha! :)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Down Time

I'm sitting here sipping hot water with lavender, lemon, and sweet clover honey. Every bone in my body hurts. I'm really too miserable to write, let alone post a photo or make small talk. I hate getting sick :((((((((((
...be back after I'm better.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Dreaming of Summer Days...

It's lightly snowing today, but in a few short months there will be warm gentle weather again and walks on the beach. Can barely wait! Happy Birthday Keith!! Love, Mom xo...heading to the kitchen to wrap a present and make a cake. :)

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Wash Day























Am I the only one tired of winter and thinking of summer days? This is a 10x10 painting I did on a lovely summer afternoon after I had the wash on the line to dry. The little dress at the end of the clotheline is a clothespin bag I made. It looked so cute with its little skirt blowing in the wind that I just had to include it in my painting, along with the daylilies.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

While She Sleeps...



On Celtic Harp, in traditional Welch. I am profoundly sad and just don't know what else to say right now - thus, the words to this hymn. For Annabelle, who quietly sleeps.





Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee, all through the night.
Guardian angels God will send thee, all through the night.
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping, hill and dale in slumber sleeping,
I my loving vigil keeping, all through the night.

While the moon her watch is keeping, all through the night.
While the weary world is sleeping, all through the night.
O'er thy spirit gently stealing,visions of delight revealing,
Breathes a pure and holy feeling, all through the night.

Hark, a solemn bell is ringing, clear through the night.
Thou, my love, art heavenward winging, home through the night.
Earthly dust from off thee shaken, soul immortal shalt thou awaken,
With thy last dim journey taken, home through the night.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Lullaby for Annabelle

Annabelle sleeps in a cradle in my room by my bed. She seems peaceful and comfortable. I hope she dreams of happy summer days and knows how much I love her. :.( This lovely celtic piece, "Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod", performed by David Coffin and his sweet daughter, Linnea, is for my Annabelle.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Nine Lives of a Cat

I haven't been counting, and somehow I reprove myself for that fact. How many lives might Annabelle have left, or, has she now reached her last? As she sleeps in her favorite cozy warm spot by the window (in the painting below), I find myself thinking of summers with Annabelle, how on hot days she'd plow through the tangle of pink cosmos and curl up in the shady understory like a fat catepiller and doze away the afternoon while I tended to my garden nearby. I'm thinking of our walks down the hill to the mailbox every morning, just my little friend and me. Halfway down the long driveway there was a particular tree she'd dash to every day and climb, as though trying to impress me with her agility and skill - or maybe she was just exercising, because a girl needs to stay fit. She'd slowly back down the tree while I waited for her below. Sigh. I am praying there is another life for Annabelle. Please God, just one more life :.((

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Annabelle at the Window - A Painting

My cat Annabelle is a large beautiful Raggamuffin - yes, that is the name of the breed, and so very fitting. She liked to chase snowflakes and butterflies, just a big sweet beautiful baby her entire life. She's bravely wrastled with snapping turtles (although it took a while to nurse her back to health after that one!), and has stared down coyotes and dogsover 10 times her size. Annabelle is 15 years old now, far older than me now - in cat years. Yesterday, Annabelle started falling down with each step, is barely eating and drinking, and just wants me to hold her and sleep where she purrs in my arms. As I write, she is sleeping, snug and warm under the warmth of an old gooseneck lamp. She'll sleep by me in my room again tonight where I can check on her during the night. I don't know what the morning will bring. I'm not ready to let her go - I need a few more days to let her know how very much I love her and will comfort and love her till the end. :.[

The Red Sled

 
I spent the afternoon painting my old sled a bright winter red. Here it is, propped up in a corner of my kitchen, its new coat of red paint nearly dry. Can't wait to sled down the hill on it, and judging by all the snow this winter, that shouldn't be too long. :-)
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Monday, February 14, 2011

Momma Hen

Here is a picture of the little Sweetie who laid the giant egg. No, not the Momma Hen, it was the sweet baby chick all snuggled in close to her momma and who now is all grown up. She grew up to look just like her mom, and seeing the momma hen is seeing her. If anyone were to ask me how much I love these beautiful and sweet, gentle little creatures, I'd have to answer, Let me counts the ways.

This picture of my Momma Hen with her Baby is living proof that real love, the true and profound love that you hope for in life, is the same the world over - no matter who you are or what you are. Momma hen and her chicks: this, too, is love. Wishing a Happy Valentine's Day to all.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Mother Egg

One of my older hens definitely outdid herself today, and honestly, she acted so darn proud of herself, and rightly so. Look at the size of her egg - it's as big or bigger than a goose egg!! The other eggs in the carton are what would be considered medium or large eggs by grocery-store standards, so I just had to get a photo for comparison.

The shell looks different on that Mother Egg too - it does not have the usual soft glow or bloom to it.

Okay, I just had to crack it open to see what was inside. I'd thought maybe the shell contains triple yokes or at least double. But neither turned out to be the case. I got the fry pan going, and after I melted some butter in the bottom and cracked open the egg, it contained one HUGE yoke, and the entire egg - yoke and whites, took up the entire bottom of the pan. As much egg in that one egg as at least 4 eggs.

Well, I could not get the cover of the egg carton even partically closed with that gigantic egg in it, so I had the egg for supper. :-) Nothing tastes better than a fresh organic egg from your own happy hens. Yum!! :) I figure this huge egg was an early Valentine to me from my hen.

Mr. Handsome: A Portrait...

Snowy was sooooo darn cute that I did a portrait:-) 7x7 oil on board unframed. $60 + $5 shipping in US.




Saturday, February 12, 2011

Snowy the Snowman

He's just too cute! It wouldn't be winter without a SNOWMAN! :-)
7x7 oil on board, unframed. $60 plus $5 shipping in US.




Friday, February 11, 2011

Snow Day

Snow days - we've certainly had a LOT of them this winter! And what is cuter than a child all bundled up, out in the snow building a snowman! This painting is the first of my three-part snowman series.
Oil on board, 7x7, unframed. $75 plus $5 shipping in US.




Thursday, February 10, 2011

Egg Fabric

I LOVE this fabric! I found a few yards of it on ebay and of course got it, and so far I've made place mats with it for my kitchen table and larger pads for the seats of some pretty gilt French chairs I got at a antique's auction nearby. The chair pads look so pretty on the French "bergere" chairs, but the real reason I made these for the chairs was to protect the seats from my kitten's claws. So far so good. :-) Since I still have a few yards left of this fabric, I want next to make an apron. And after that, who knows - maybe a fabric purse. Like I said, I LOVE <3 this fabric!! :)

My Fine Feathered Friend

This little book was a Christmas gift from my dad's girlfriend, and while it was a perfectly delightful little read (I'll let you read about it in amazon), what disappointed me about the book was how the author failed to provide safe night-time quarters for that sweet little hen(!) and shudder to think what became of her. If you purchase the book, please let me know what you think after you finish it as I know I was saddened by its ending.

Farm Painting

This is an oil painting of a farm that is near where I live in rural New Hampshire. The silos still stand, but the fields are empty of cows - most likely since the government bought out many of the New England farming operations a few decades ago now. The farm had a quiet dignity about it, and in my mind's eye I could picture it back in its heyday, the hard work, the cows and the tractors and chickens - even the manure pile behind the barn. I could picture laundry day and the farmer's wife in her tidy ironed apron hanging sheets on the clothesline to dry.

Oil on board 5x7, unframed. $75 plus $5 shipping within the US.

SOLD

Buff Orpingtons

My little flock of hens are cooped up for the winter - and in many ways, so am I. There's 4-feet of snow on the ground with more coming. My hens are Buff Orpingtons. They're beautiful and have such a sweet disposition. Two of them beg me to hold them, and I do - I love these sweet little creatures.

My days are busy as I move from one detail to the next: cooking, baking, sewing, writing, painting, knitting, crocheting - although not necessarily in that order. I finished another small painting tonight when I finally had a bit of time to myself and the house was quiet. And my writing beckons - maybe tomorrow I'll have more free time.