memories collage

The catalyst for this creative therapy challenge is
what's your happiest memory.
I have
so many,
I can't
really say
this one or
that one is my absolute happiest. They're all interwoven and
mixed together, some I'm not even sure when they were, some
are more feelings than exact memories. The images on the
collage wrap around to the back, and the journalling is
essentially a big long list of happy memories--a "count your
blessings" kind of list, and there were more, many more, but I
ran out of room. Look, being easily amused and hard to offend,
I've got a lot of happy, okay??? :)

Redemption and a little bit of art stuff

So, #1 and #4(sons) are into
this game called Redemption. It's a Christian card game, but it's
a little weird in that you're "battling" another person in order
to save "lost souls." Anyway, #1 hosted the state tournament
at our church, and I got to be the responsible adult to hang out
with them all day. And by "hang out," I mean, put out clothing
for the clothes give away we have there, and sit in the kitchen
with dd and #1's girlfriend.

Hadn't made any ATC's for a LONG time, but the girls got me going,
and the dd made SEVEN collages! That girl was having a party!
The Star Trek one cracks me up.


Well, okay, so I didn't say they were particularly good ATCs,
but they're not totally stink.
(Okay, had to take this one out for a submission! :)
Look at
little Mary Pickford--doesn't she make a sweet fairy? (dd's)

This one is a riot. Good old "The Old Star Trek!" Gotta love it. :)

card challenge

I'm really NOT a card maker, but Christie has a little challenge
going, and the colors are great, so I gave it a go. It's Basic
Grey, SEI, and some other paper, a couple of Stampin' Up stamps,
Old Paper Ranger Distress Ink, and Timber Brown StazOn.
Brown grosgrain, etc. Hey, it may not look like much to you,
but as far as cards go, this is pretty good for me. Something
about cards just makes my brain stop functioning on any creative
level at ALL.

It's my own pet "block." If anyone would care to adopt it, please
feel free to contact me.

introducing the amazing Zoltar!

Here he is, the chicken who would be a person.
Raised in a house by a well-meaning foster family,
this fine bird had a difficult time adjusting to
country living. (Face it, Kathleen, you warped him
for life!) He has repented of his unnatural interest
in inanimate objects, such as water guns, garden tools,
etc., and decided that life among the henny penny
is alright. He's quite handsome and friendly--never
once had to meet the business end of my work boot
or broom.

However, he remains somewhat taken aback at the
notion of living in a barn.

Zoltar still comes to the back door, and walks right
in if it's open. If not, he knocks. Loudly.

I'm not even joking.

Anyway, the art room is rearranged, and essentially clean.
This is a fantastic feat, believe you me. Found some really
nice stuff, too--it was kind of like Christmas.

Number 2 son said (after helping me move tables and such):
"I'm pretty sure dad doesn't know you have all this
stuff. If he did, surely he'd make you get rid of
it." This boy is a smarty pants.

And puh-leaze. Not only does dh KNOW, he paid for it,
and smiled all the while.

And too much??? That would be like telling
Tipper she's too country.
Or Rhonda that she has too many stamps.
Or Lola that she has too much fabric.
Or the Contessa that she has too much, umm, wait,
she probably does have too much!! ;)

I'm pretty disgusted with the world in general right now.
War, plague, famine, pestilence--you know, the usual. Add
dial-up to the list, and my angst is complete.

Feeling very Ecclesiastes.
Or Marvin the robot, if you know what I mean.

*sigh*

a little vacation

So, we're back from our little vacation in the Ozarks--Branson,
to be exact. The weather was perfect, there were no crowds, and
our villa (yes, it really was called a villa) was delightful.

One night, at 1:00ish am, whilst lying in bed, I heard a curious
"th-fuh-fuh-fuh" sound. Not a bird. Not a moth. What does that
leave, ladies and gentlemen????

Yes, yes, a bat, flitting to and fro above our slumbering heads.



I let it out of our bedroom and into the living room, but instead
of flying out the front door, it seemed more intent on
eavesdropping on the conversation between the 19-year-old son
and myself. So, I stepped outside and called to it sweetly,
"Oh, Mister Bat, come outside."

And it did.

Go figure.

And guess what else? Came home to find that a collage I
submitted to a magazine has been accepted for publication.

Well. A week of firsts.

Twinkle twinkle, little bat,
How I wonder what you're at?
Up above the world high,
Like a tea tray in the sky . . .

Oh, really, Mr. Ed???

Well. I hear my veracity has been challenged.
Really, Mr. Ed, didn't they make you take a "Stuff I Can Eat If
I'm Stuck In The Wild" kinda class when you were all Marined up??

Yes, you can SO eat cattails. You can eat the shoots like we do,
as described in a previous post, or the pollen can be used as a
flour to make a kind of dumpling, and the roots can even be dug
up and the starch used as a food source.



Cattail Recipes
(A straightforward type of title, yes?)

Pretty much everyone knows you can eat dandelions, just as long as they aren't contaminated with herbicides. We don't spray anything on our yard, due to children and animals, plus I like "weeds." They're interesting.
Dandelion Recipes

Okay, this one you probably SHOULDN'T eat, but if you cook the
YOUNG shoots of pokeweed, or poke salat, or poke salad, for fifteen
minutes (as you would greens), it's considered edible. But since the
mature plant is poisonous, I'm thinking I'll stick to the dandelions,
thanks. BUT the poke plant is really big and gorgeous and tropical
looking, so we let it grow in certain spots in the yard. Plus, we make
ink and dye from the berries.


Now this is one I've let grow because it's pretty, but haven't eaten--it's called purslane. BUT you have to make sure you're getting purslane, and not the poisonous plant that looks kind of like it. It's easy to tell them apart by breaking the stem--if it's milky inside, DON'T eat it. Here's some
purslane recipes.

We also have something called Black Medic which grows in a pretty big patch in our yard, which is raised as a food source in some areas of the world, but we haven't yet tried to harvest any. Here it's used for animals, or considered a weed. Black Medic information.

Now, it's back to the kitchen. Basically avoided cleaning out my artroom
this week (I still feel pretentious calling it a studio. Personal hang-up. It sounds great when anyone else says it, but I just feel like a ninny). This has been accomplished by planting the garden, working in the yard, cleaning out the pantry, the cereal cabinet, and the vast majority of our kitchen cabinets. There is a huge pile of things to give away, and it's true I've been productive, but in an "avoiding-the-big-issue" kind of way.

And it is a big, and deep, and wide issue . . .

attracting butterflies

Last summer, we left some watermelon rinds in the compost
bucket by the back door, and in the morning--voila!

A BAZILLION BUTTERFLIES! (and a few flies.)

But there were SO many butterflies, it was easy to overlook
the flies, and we took to leaving our rinds on the deck
table, to make for a better view. These are the close-ups
I tried to take , which turned out okay. We fairly recently
had a flock, or herd, or whatever it is, of monarchs resting
in our trees during their migration--that was amazing.
Have NEVER seen that many butterflies in one place before.

Anyway, over In My Kitchen Garden, there is a
giveaway for a wonderful butterfly book. Which I didn't have to
mention here, but thought you might like to know . . . ;)

have you ever eaten cattails?

We eat them every spring; they're yummy! Just separate the two outer leaves, grasp the two inner leaves near the base, and slowly pull out. Eat the pale end, until you get to the fibery part--it should be tender/crisp, not fiber/chewy! Very delicate flavor, we just eat them raw and plain, but some prefer them with a little dressing. They'd be good in salad, or on a sandwich. You can pretty much live off various cattail parts if you have to, but we've never tried any part but this, in the spring.

Some other lovelies growing in our yard--the pears, apple, and wild plum are all bloomed out, the redbuds are almost finished, and the lilacs are heading out, too.
The crabapple was a corker, for as small as it was. The storms hit the blossoms pretty hard, so if we don't get enough crabapples for jelly, it's going to be a sad thing. The daffodils were INSANE this year! The brand new iris bed is actually starting to bloom--planted them last fall, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Smith at church. Yes, their names really are Mr. and Mrs. Smith! She was my Sunday School teacher AND my piano teacher, truly one of the nicest people on the entire planet. And the shrubby peony bush is going full tilt, it's gorgeous this year. Don't know the real name for it.

Touched my first frog and turtle of the year, saw the first lizard, have touched two squirrels (squirrel touching is our new sport), but dear husband saw the first snake.
We generally don't try to touch those . . .

***So: Two days later, and what happens? We're on our way to violin, and a big ol' snake is sunning is long ol' self in the middle of the driveway. It would NOT
move, but it DID flex itself so its scales became all bright and "scary." (We were amused rather than scared. Sorry, Snake!) It was asking for it--I touched it. THEN it moved, and FAST, thus not being run over by late violiners,
thus living to see another sunny day . . . ***

Spring is grand! Don't miss it by sitting around playing on the computer too much!
:) (Julie, what blooms in Alaska in the spring???)

faith tiles

The creative Therapy challenge for this week is "What you like best about yourself."

That would be my faith.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

At least one other person has chosen
the same; I love looking at how
everyone interprets themselves.

some more pendants for the Aunties and Cousins

Omni gel photo transfers on bamboo tiles, Basic Grey rub-ons, beads, charms.
It's my grandma in most of the pics, one when she was 16, the one by the car when she was 17. The other is my Aunt June and Aunt Helen. These are all for gifts.