Little things

 It was a very frosty day.  

I took a photo of the Flowering Crab that is near where I park for picking up groceries.  It is full of frosty berries.

Grocery pickup was not remarkable.  No Glad Press and Seal...I prefer it over Saran Wrap...they have substituted that once already.  No Original plain Naan Bread...just Garlic ...no thanks.  At least there were no huge mistakes.  In the messages I put my suggestions and their prior weeks errors all in CAPS!!  Since I show up every week about the same time...I am sure they draw straws out back to see who wants to bring me my groceries.   This was order #43...same time same place.   

I handed Far Guy my camera on the way home...he took some frosty photos. 

I joined a Zoom meeting Book Club...only four people were there. I ordered the next book  Untamed Land by L. Snelling hope it gets here in time for me to read it!  I have always wanted to join a book club...and Zoom works better for me than a gathering.  Safer!! 

Talking about little things...look at these little stitches! 

Jen made these...a Partridge and a Pear 

I think this is Number 1 as it says so on the back...must be a series!  I cannot believe how perfect her French Knots are.  She loves working with felt...her Great Grandmother also loved to work with felt...I can recall Far Guy's Mom looking all over for felt kits to make Christmas Stockings because she knew her Mother loved to work with felt...and her stitches were perfect also! 

Far Side

Little things

Far Guy has been vacuuming up beads for days.  When I am sorting for a project…beads may get away and end up on the floor.

I love all the new eye glass cords that I made.  I wear a different set every day.  I had a request for a “manly set of cords”  a fellow from carving admired my newest creation and asked if I could make him a pair. ( Nothing sparkly!) Sure…next week I will deliver it.

The beads have been sorted and they are on my desk. Manly colors: browns blacks tan. I hope it works up okay.

My desk is full again…I have about four projects going at once. Three beading projects (with another tucked up in my mind) and some odds and ends that will end up as cards.

 

Watercolor paper stamped, then colored with Prismacolor pencils, a bit of Gamsol blends the colors together and I finish them off with a little sparkle…I got a bit carried away with the glitter glue on that one butterfly.

I finished a few watercolor Fall cards and I must make a few more wintery ones soon.  I like doing different techniques.

I went back to woodcarving.  My hand/wrist seems no worse for the activity.  The guys all noticed that I was going to carve again instead of work on bead projects or color on cards.  I am carving the little cottonwood bark houses….one of my favorite things to carve.

Mints

I just finished a batch of homemade mints for a gathering this weekend.  They are drying out a bit on the counter before I pack them away in the fridge.

I made spearmint flavored leaves and amaretto flavored sunflowers.  Yes I know it takes a bit of imagination to make a sunflower out of the yellow ones….oh well they taste good anyway.

The recipe is simple enough 1 brick of Philly Cream Cheese and a bag of powdered sugar. Mix well and divide mixture in half or thirds for whatever coloring or flavors you wish to mix.  My big mixer came in real handy. After mixing chill your batches, I threw mine in the freezer because I wanted the mixture to cool fast so I could finish this project!

We have many different molds…and they have been used over and over…I think the first time we made mints was back in 1994 before my oldest daughters wedding…Arvilla and I used the molds while my Mom mixed up the batches. 

I sprinkle a bit of sugar into the mold, then roll a ball of mint and dip it in sugar and press it into the mold, level off the back of the mold and then lift gently on the outer edge of the mold and release the mint and then dip it in sugar….repeat…until all your mixture is used up…allow mints to dry a bit before packing away.  They freeze well and can be made ahead of time.

The leaf and sunflower I used are in front.

Flavorings can be purchased in a bake shop/candy store, food coloring is just the normal one from the grocery store.

Little Things

I have been thinking that I need a shop vacuum for my garage…Far Guy agreed.  So we went to the helpful hardware place.  Finally a shop vac that can stay put…I won’t have to search for it and the accessories and then an extension cord.  Far Guy even gave me my own extension cord! 

I can vacuum my car when ever I want cause it is handy!

Surprising what makes you happy when you get older.  Now I can get busy cleaning up my garage…and yes that makes me happy.

I have mastered the 2 gallon gas cans…who ever designed that green cap thingy that has to be lined up just so should be shot.  If it is such a great design then why did I get gas all over my hands…it is supposed to be a no spill gas can?  Some things make no sense to me at all.  Obviously I need some remedial gas can training. I am happy with the size of the gas cans just not happy with the green thingy.

We cut down some of the brush that has been hitting me in the face when I mow…that is a relief.  The Thornapple has been removed it was threatening to decapitate me or at the very least scar my shoulder and arms every time I passed by on the lawn mower.

I made some more glass flowers.

A vase, a large plate, a small red plate, a glass tray and a star candle holder.

A glass, a plate, ash tray and a vase.  This is one of my favorite pieces!

I hope you have had some “little things” in your life lately that make you happy.

Little Things

I have been enjoying the little things in life.  Cool water on a hot evening.  A evening ride with the guys.  A Flea Market trip and the guys returning with the mail!

I resisted this purchase until I told Far Guy about it..immediately he saw why I was attracted to this little piece of art.  So he bought it for me!  I am not exactly sure what it is..a watercolor maybe it has a sealed back and I hate to disturb it.  It looks like a Collie to me..or a Sheltland Sheepdog watching over a flock of sheep in the evening light.

It isn’t very big and hardly takes up any space at all.  It came with the cute little stand.

We couldn’t resist this either.

The Gene Autry Collection grows..we aren’t actively looking for his “stuff” anymore. Isn’t that the way it goes..when you stop looking for something you find it all over.

I got a very nice surprise in the mail.  I won a drawing over at Punkin’s Patch.  Thanks Sara!

This is her collection of Christmas Cards.  She knows I love me a Border Collie!

They are wonderful and whimsical!

Here is the rest of the loot! What fun to get a package in the mail! :)

Silverware Art

I do appreciate some art..and if it is art that makes me smile..well that is a good thing.

Someone took a spoon..and welded it to a rod.

Then they made a second part using silverware handles. They look like Dragonflies. The two Dragonflies are connected by a rod.

This part balances perfectly on the spoon..even in the wind..the Dragonfly is stuck forever in a balancing zone.

It doesn’t take much to entertain me anymore.

This is the work of an Artist in the Fergus Falls Minnesota area, he or she must be a very clever person.  Yes, I splurged on a piece of art..after all it was made in the USA and it looks great in the Daylily bed:)

Little Things and Thanks Lisa!

This is a tiny, tiny flower.  I found these at the edge of our woods.  It is a Sedge more specifically Carex pensylvanica or Pennsylvania Sedge.   This is a native plant in Minnesota.  It grows well in Oaks, which was no surprise to me.  There is a little ditty that goes Sedges have edges, Rushes are round, Grasses are hollow, What have you found?  No one but a plant geek like me is probably interested..BUT  did you know that Sedges do not have a ligule?  Only Grasses have ligules, now a ligule is easy to find, and can be found in all grasses..it is the little tongue like projection at the junction of the leaf and the leaf stalk.  Next time you grab a piece of grass to stick in your mouth have a look see.  Oh come on..you never put grass in your mouth?  To me it has a kind of a fresh greens taste..

This is a bunch of little Grape Hyacinth's or Muscari.  Tiny, tiny blooms that look like bunches of grapes.  I remember when my eldest daughter planted these one fall all in a row, she was surprised by how small they were when they bloomed the next spring..in plant catalogues they are portrayed as being much larger than they actually are.   They are so tiny that if you ever plant them, plant a whole area of them. I love their blue color.

I received a package in the mail yesterday, I won Lisa's give away over at South View Farm.  What I won was a to die for woven dish towel.  Lisa said to report back to her after I have used it to dry some dishes and I will..BUT when I first saw this "towel"  I thought..it would be perfect upstairs on my hutch that Far Guy built..what do you think?  Thanks Lisa! I love the earthy sage color, and from now on when I look at this fabric towel that you wove, I will think of you:)