Merry Christmas 2015

We had a fun Christmas Eve at my sister's and brother-in-law's home.  My sister-in-law brought a selfie stick so we could all get in a group selfie.  Four brothers were there - but two sisters weren't able to come (one in Ventura with her daughter's family and the other sister lives in Colorado.)  It is hard to get the eight siblings together at one time.  It's always great to get together with my brothers and sisters, I love them all.

Can I Learn to Draw?

I recently won a giveaway from Marva at Purplepaint's Muse.  Her giveaway included this book by Danny Gregory that is a learning to draw tutorial, and a moleskin notebook.  I have always admired Marva's drawings, and I do wonder if I can learn to draw.  Marva assures me that I can.

I must confess that I have yet to draw the first thing, and the pages of the moleskin are pristine - always an excuse - you know, Christmas shopping and decorating etc.  But I will dive in one of these days real soon.  And when I've drawn something that looks better than my drawings when I was five, I'll share them with you.

Thank you Marva, I love it and promise to do my best!

My Article is Published in the Winter 2016 Sew Somerset Magazine

I received my complimentary copy of the Winter 2016 Sew Somerset magazine where I have an article published.  Then I saw it at the book store yesterday.  This magazine has been a favorite of mine for several years, and I'm happy to be part of it.

I wrote a how-to article about a series of mixed media cards I created using rusted fabric, vintage lace, buttons and original old photographs.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

We got home this past Tuesday, I got everything unpacked, and my guest room ready for one of my sisters who will stay a few days with me.  Our family gathers at my brother's home for Thanksgiving. I bring the sweet potatoes, and I'm also bringing a bag of Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend coffee beans.


I haven't created anything for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'm sharing a hand painted card my mother's cousin painted for her.  Gleva painted a number of holiday and birthday cards for my mother over the years, and I'm lucky to have a few of them that I treasure.  This Thanksgiving card isn't dated, but then sending Happy Thanksgiving wishes is timeless.

        Happy Thanksgiving to all of you

California Bound

We have been having a nice trip back to California, and had dinner with old friends who live near Dallas.

In Odessa we stopped by the Stonehenge replica. 

We hope to visit the real Stonehenge in England someday. 

A visit to old town Mesilla, NM is always a nice break - and the New Mexico Mexican food is the best!

The Basilica of San Albino is a beautiful church on the Mesilla Plaza. 

The wind came up before we left town, and we are traveling in our first real dust storm - not much traffic except the tumbleweeds. 

Rusting Fabric on the Back Porch

Have I told you before how much I enjoy rusting fabric?  The rusting process works quite fast here in Kentucky, and I decided to use the back porch for the process this year.  I have a bin of rusty items: Nuts & bolts, railroad spikes etc.  You can find the post I wrote about the rusting steps in this link.

Here are the latest pieces hanging in the breeze.  You'll find some of them for sale in my Etsy Shop under the Rusted Fabric Section.

Baby Sis Came For a Visit

My youngest sister, Jodi, came to Kentucky for a two week visit and we had a blast.

I didn't even give her a chance to unpack, because the morning after she arrived we went for a three day two night stay in Paducah, Ky - home to the National Quilt Museum.

National Quilt Museum - Paducah, KY

While we were in Paducah, we attended a class on Gelli Plate printing taught by Kristin at Ephemera.  We had never heard of Gelli Plates, but we are officially hooked.  The class was so much fun!  The class size was limited to six, and we had five ladies who took this Saturday morning class.  Now I want to take a mixed media class at Ephemera - maybe next year. I wish Paducah was closer.

Gelli Plate Printing Class at Ephemera - Kristin in Red & Blue

Inside Kristin's Shop

Paducah is a cute town and the old downtown buildings are being used for shops and restaurants.

Near the River

The old Coca Cola plant has a coffee shop in one end, and a craft brewery in the other end.

Everyone told us that we needed to stop at Patti's for lunch on the way back from Paducah.  It was delicious - we had pork chops and wonderful desserts - I had the six inch high meringue pie.

At Patti's


Of course Jodi and I had to buy Gelli Plates, and we set up our own craft tables in my sewing room. When I get better at printing, I'll share my prints with you.  But trust me, it's fun

Jodi Happily Gelli Printing

Jodi helped me host a luncheon for friends.

John and I took Jodi to the races at Churchill Down - Jodi was the winner that day.

Jodi - Twin Spires in the Background

Seeing the horses up close at the Paddock 

At Churchill Downs With a Gallopalooza

California to Kentucky

I have been absent from my blog since the end of May, and thought I'd catch up with a post about our trip to Kentucky the beginning of June.

We spend every summer and fall in Kentucky.  We take about a week or more to drive from California to Kentucky in order to see family, and to also see a little bit of the country along the way. We didn't stop at any of the National Parks in Utah this year, but there are places to stop and see the beautiful state just about everywhere.

Utah

Utah

Utah

John has a son near Denver, and I have a sister in Colorado Springs, so we ended up spending four days in Colorado - such a beautiful state.

Fruita is the first town after crossing the border from Utah, and we have eaten at The Hot Tomato a couple times now.  They serve pizza with homemade sauce and craft beer - yummy.

Hot Tomato Cafe

 The Enstrom candy factory in Grand Junction was making toffee, and there were samples - did I say yummy?  I bought a box for my upcoming visit with my sister.

The visitor center in Eagle is a great stop.  There is a cute gift shop that is in what looks like an old house, and a museum in a white barn.  They are next to the river, and there is a path along the river.

John outside the visitor center

Eagle Visitor Center Front - so cute!
That's the river on the right

There was still snow on the ground when we got to the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels - brrrr,

Eisenhower Johnson Tunnels

We had a great visit with John's son.  Living so far apart isn't as hard when we get a chance to see them at least once a year.

Maura, Jim and John

Next we went to visit my sister in Colorado Springs, and she hosted a barbeque for us.

Pallas and Becky

Becky had to work during the day on the second day we were there, so John and I visited Garden of the Gods.  It is spectacularly beautiful and free to visit.

Garden of the Gods

John at visitor center overlooking the park
That's Pikes Peak in the background

Plaque

Our Docent

Balanced Rock

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

John outside trading post

After leaving Colorado we headed through Kansas.  The stop at the visitor center gave me a chance to clown around with some "old friends".

Pallas on the Yellow Brick Road to Oz

In Topeka we stopped at the First Presbyterian Church to see the beautiful Tiffany windows.  They are stunning.  I wasn't able to get any photographs that would do then justice, so I bought a little book and you can check out their website in the link.4

One of the Tiffany windows in the church

Antiques in Topeka, Kansas

Of course any trip wouldn't be complete without stopping to do a little antiquing.  I bought a few linens and an architectural salvage piece that I will post a picture of in a future post.

Lunch With Author, Barbara Anne Waite

Barb and Curt

Barb and Pallas

At the close of our beach trip, John and I met with Barb and her husband, Curt, for lunch in Oceanside. Barb and I became acquainted through email, and we set up a lunch date to meet.   Barb wrote a book that I loved, "Elsie - The Arizona Adventures of a Frontier Teacher 1913 - 1916", and she is working on her second book about Elsie's days on Palomar Mountain - I'm looking forward to reading that one too.  I was thrilled that she  signed a copy of the book for me as my copy is on my Kindle - thank you Barb.  Barb has an interesting website where she describes her book, and also includes interesting old photos.  In addition to the link in this post, I have also included a link to her website on my sidebar.  The book about Elsie can be purchased from her website as well as from Amazon - I highly recommend it!  It is a wonderful glimpse into life 100 years ago through Elsie's diary and letters home.

Barb's Book

A Beach Getaway

Each year around our anniversary, John and I enjoy a couple days at the beach. May weather isn't always predictable, but we were lucky to have sunny days. The water was cold, but I braved it one day. Our villa had its own patio, barbecue and fire pit. Wouldn't it be nice to live at the beach?