Easter Decorating

I've been doing a bit of decorating for Easter! 

What? It's about time, you say? 

I know! 

Here's my centerpiece. 

Real hand painted eggs in a hand painted vase. 

A gift from my daughter a few years ago. 

My thrifted glass rabbit candy dish holds foil covered chocolate eggs. 

I am hosting Easter Brunch this year and wanted to see how my table settings would look. 

I painted the berry baskets blue and filled them with foil wrapped candies. 

The napkins are my Mother's vintage eyelet. 

I also painted this little basket that holds my flocked rabbits and glass eggs. 

It looked like this. 

While I had my paints out, I also painted this tin heart. 

Doesn't it look better? 

I also put out my 'spring' Whitman Sampler tin. 

The needlework says, 'Glory in each morning' with a cross stitched morning glory.  I found it years ago at an antique show. 

I just repainted the brown frame green.

I added some Easter touches to my Kitchen Queen. 

A clay rabbit holds a pink egg. 

My Dear Mother made this little rabbit in the basket about 20 years ago. 

I made this little couple at the same time. We used to have a shop together. 

Mr. Rabbit holds a carrot with a crocheted top in his pocket. 

Mrs. Rabbit has pockets full of little ones. 

Mom's Rabbit holds a striped carrot. The cabbage is made from crinkled heavy paper and he wears a tiny blue heart. 

We didn't make much money, but we did have fun dreaming together. 

This little sweetie is all dressed for the Easter Parade. 

My treadle sewing machine holds my hanging egg tree. 

Eggs do grow on trees, don't they? 

It sits on top of my vintage embroidered cloth with basket design. 

A large decoupage' egg with sweet birds was a gift from my daughter. 

Another little basket holds hand painted wooden eggs, collected over time. 

Fresh cut daffodils complete the scene. 

I'm looking forward to having my whole family together for a very special day. 

I hope you have a Very Lovely Easter! 

Just don't eat too many Jelly Beans! 

xoxo

One of Those Days

So I sat down at my vanity to brush my hair this morning. 

I was wearing my favorite gardening jeans. 

See the little hole right above the pocket? 

Not the big tear, that wasn't there yet. 

I mean this little hole right there. 

Which wasn't even that big and I didn't notice it. 

Now see the curly cue metal chair? 

That little hole somehow hooked onto that little curly cue and.....

I was stuck. 

To the chair. 

I couldn't stand up and I couldn't for the life of me get myself unhooked. 

And I fell over. 

Yes, on the floor with a chair stuck to my butt. 

And nobody home. 

So I started yanking on the back of my jeans. 

My favorite ones. 

And they ripped. 

But not in the right place. 

And I was still stuck and couldn't get up and couldn't move. 

Then the dog started licking my face. 

Yup, this dog. 

I got a good face washing, let me tell you. 

Meanwhile the other dog was tearing apart his stuffed animal all over the floor. 

I was laughing and crying at the same time. 

As I wiggled myself out of my jeans. 

Which wasn't easy. 

And I think I hurt myself. 

Yea, I was a sight. 

So, after putting said jeans back on and washing my face, I decided to soothe my harried nerves by doing a little weeding outside. 

I got out my kneeling pad, put on my gloves and went to work. 

But pretty soon my nose started twitching. 

There was this really awful smell. 

And it seemed to be coming from close by. 

Yup, it was me. 

I was kneeling in dog doo. 

And not only that, but it was all over my shoes, my gloves, and my jeans. 

Because I had put my kneeling pad right down in it and also stepped in it and handled it when I moved the kneeling pad. Then I put my hands on my knees. It's a wonder it wasn't in my hair. 

It was one of those days. 

What you laughin' at! 

Hope your day was better! 

xoxo

Companionable Silence

In honor of my sweet Husband's birthday, I am republishing this post originally published on 6/23/11. 

I recently found this Norman Rockwell print at my local Thrift and Gift and brought it home to hang in my kitchen. Like all of his works, this one had a thought provoking message, and a quite humorous one. I don't know the title of this print and I didn't want to take it apart from it's beautiful framing to try and find out, so I have nick-named it 'Companionable Silence'.

I started thinking that this might describe my marriage. You see, Hubby and I have been together a very long time. We met at the beginning of High School. We were 'High School Sweethearts'. I knew the moment I looked into those amazing blue eyes, that he was the one for me. And although we were young, 'too young' some would say, we married right out of school to begin our life together. We couldn't wait. We had to be together. This means that we pretty much know everything there is to know about one another.

And so, there is not this need to talk so much. We are comfortable just sitting together. We don't need to spend every minute together. We each have our own interests, duties and hobbies. Today, Hubby is out playing golf with our eldest Son. I have the day to myself. I was allowed to sleep in.

Hubby has a demanding job. He is constantly on the phone, on the computer, talking to business associates, clients, co-workers, all day long. Sometimes he just wants some silence. This is hard for me at times. I like to talk, to plan, to analyze life. And I have to give Hubby a lot of credit. He is amazing to talk to. He is intelligent, kind, compassionate, agreeable, and has a wicked sense of humor. And he also knows when to keep his mouth shut.

But all this talking gets to be too much for him sometimes. He needs his solitude. He needs time to let his mind wander. So out the door he goes.......

This is a man who needs to stay busy. But he needs mindless activities to let his thoughts wander. I know that I can always find him if I need him in his favorite places.

This wonderful man of mine cuts and hauls in approximately 8 cords of wood every year. Every evening I can hear him, out chopping wood on his enormous chopping block. We buy it split and delivered, but the wood always needs splitting again, not to mention stacking. But he loves to spend time at his wood pile. He loves everything about it, the fresh air, the smell of freshly split wood, the exercise, and especially the solitude.

In the dark of winter, I go out with him in the cold, crisp air to be his silent companion. We live in cougar country and I worry about him out in the dark. I help him carry in the armloads of wood. We light the fire and sit together every evening, he on his laptop, me reading or crocheting while we watch our favorite t.v. shows. Once in a while we have a thought to share. Most of the time, one of us will say, 'I was just going to say that!' We are in sinc.

In the warmer months I know I can find him in his workshop. He loves to tinker. He keeps all of his tools neatly organized and well taken care of. He is a fixer. Anything that I need fixed, he is right on it. All I have to do is mention it. Sometimes I forget I have asked him, and he will present it to me already done without a word. The 'Strong and Silent' type, I like to call him. My very own 'Clint Eastwood'. 'Man of Few Words'.

Did I mention that he had a wicked sense of humor? We share the same outlook on life. We find the humor in most every situation. It is a wry sense of humor, we two share. We love irony.

So even though we live in Companionable Silence most of the time, Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

This is a man who has stood by me through thick and thin. And believe me, there was plenty of thin. This was a man who has worked hard all of his life to provide for his family. This is a man who never blinked each time I told him that our family was adding one more, and who actually greeted the news with joy. This is a man who built me a home with his own two hands.

So at the end of each day, while we sit in Companionable Silence, watching the setting sun turning the hills to gold, I count my blessings. In Silence.

Happy Birthday my sweet man. 

My best friend. 

xoxo

Spring Scenes

Yesterday, as I was coming home from shopping, 

I had to pull over to take some photos of our beloved Mt. Rainier. 

Can you imagine being these happy cows and horses? 

We had a very rare day of sunshine after a very stormy week. 

Just the day before it looked like this out my windows! 

That's not snow, it's hail! 

We had heavy rain, wind and hail, alternating back and forth for days. 

And then suddenly, it all stopped. 

The skies cleared, revealing fresh white powder. 

The ski resorts are still going strong. 

We have one just 45 minutes from us, appropriately called Crystal Mountain. 

The main highway going through our little town was filled with skiers and snowboarders

 heading to their destination. 

I always avoid it if I can and take the back roads. 

Once down in the valley I spied these blooming plum trees on either side of the road. 

Sorry for the reflection,  (my unzippered purse!) I took the photo through the windshield. 

The Valley is approximately 3 weeks ahead of us with signs of Spring, than here in the foothills. 

This little speckled starling was so busy looking for bugs in the grass in the parking lot, she didn't even notice me taking this photo. The birds are starting to nest here now and maybe she already has a little family. 

Her speckles were quite fetching. 

I had a lovely day with my daughter, meeting for lunch and a bit of shopping. 

On the way home I took some photos as I ascended the plateau towards my foothills home. 

This beautiful barn caught my eye. 

Here's the little farm it belongs to. 

Here's a wider view. 

Be still my heart! 

Another farm with an amazing view. 

And another...

This is a working dairy farm, one of the few left remaining in an area that

 was once known for it's dairy farms. 

Notice the corn stubble in the foreground. 

If you can take your eyes off the view! 

I love the new green roof on the large barn. 

My children went to school with the family who owns this farm. 

One last glimpse of the beautiful farmland as I turn into the forested lower foothills. 

The sun is low in the sky, illuminating the many street signs along this stretch of road. 

I turn right before the hills ahead. 

The golden rays of the setting sun reflect on the pavement behind me. 

And as I take my final turn before heading up my winding mountain road, the sun sinks below the horizon. 

A lovely day, spent with my lovely daughter and a beautiful ride home.

Linking to: 

http://www.theviewfromrighthere.com

xoxo