It is less than a week now until we leave on our long awaited and long planned anniversary cruise.  I wanted to do something special for the 40th anniversary and  it became my most beloved piece of CQ.  ..  

The inspiration for this project was a piece of cross stitch I did for our first anniversary.   So I began  by doing the main focal point  of a floral heart and bluebirds.

Now what to use for a foundation?  I had an vintage tea table cover of lace and linen.. The linen had several holes and was stained spots.  I had just waiting for the perfect project...  The linen center is about 20" square so it is a substantial piece.  It not a piece I can carry about to work on.






I had been collecting hankies for years and had all these lovely hankies.. and with all the hearts and roses it seemed like a match made in heaven.  Many of the hankies belonged to my late mother-in-law.

Once I got started the rest just seems to follow...I surrounded the focal piece with laces and began the secondary bluebird images. Except for replacing one hanky that didn't work, there were really no big problems or decisions...  It all just flow from my heart.  I never worked on it that I didn't think of our marriage and all the memories.

Our first date was Halloween 1976 and we eloped 3 weeks later Thanksgiving weekend...flew to Hawaii and got married..  Everyone thought we were crazy but it has been the best decision I ever  made...

 

Daffodil days - finally!!!

 Daffodils at last... My favorite spring flower.  I had to buy these at the grocery store as it is still a couple weeks away before any bloom in my garden.  It has been such a long hard winter and we were having company for dinner Sunday.. I just couldn't resist setting a yellow table.. daffodils and goldfinches...

 

Lily's portrait on a button

Beloved Lily is Nicki Lee's theme for CQJP2017 and she had me paint her portrait on a button... Have you ever seen a dog with such a happy smile.  It kept me smiling as I painted it... The portrait is on a antique 2" MOP button.

I'm so grateful I can still paint on buttons... In  fact it is the only stress-free  hobby I have now...  The only really useful vision I have left is the peripheral vision in my left eye.. and it is nearly impossible to keep anything focused as either things or my head shifts.  But because the size of a button is such a small field of vision and I can keep it both it and my head still, I can still enjoy painting....or course the large magnifying lamp is a godsend..

Talk about nit-picky!!!

There were times when the chickens got table scraps and were glad to get them but my chickens are not only particular about their scraps, they are particular about how they are served.  I had lots of squash I grew for them last summer and every week or so bake one for them... One time it was a larger squash so I put half in their usual paper bowl and wrapped the other half in aluminum folil.   The following day I folded the foil back and put it by their chicken food.  By the end of the day they had not taken ONE bite of the squash.  I took it back in the house and served it to them the next morning in a paper bowl and they gobbled it up.

 Sunday we had breakfast out and I brought home a carry out container with grits, biscuits, and  cooked apples. Wasn't sure they'd eat the grits but I KNEW they'd love the biscuits.... Yum!  They refused to even look at it.  So this morning put it all in one of their usual paper bowl  and they were immediately fighting over it,

They  will eat stale bread but pick at it...  They prefer I put some broth or soup on it.  They will not eat vegetable peelings unless I cook them in the microwave.  I was a mom who was relentless about her kids eating everything served to them and here I am coddling these silly chickens...

And I suspect they sent me this email!....

Old beloved rusty stuff...

Last summer I gather up some old iron wheels to act as a support for a clematis I planted here... Then every time I ran across a rusty broken tool I put it here along with some old rusty watering cans.

I have used this rusty old wheel barrow for about 40 years.  I liked it because it has a flat shallow bed perfect for moving pots etc. even after the bottom was rusting through..  Last fall one of the handles broke.  I thought I would make a new handle but know I won't but I will still love it forever... so it has a resting place with the other rusty stuff.  If I leave it stand alone I know DH will want to haul it to the dump... but now it is a part of a vignette.... and is officially "garden art."  Yesterday I surrounded it with dwarf iris, hardy geraniums and brunnera.  Tomorrow I'll poke in some daffodils also.

Lots of my "garden art" gets moved about.  This sign I made from an old pump has stood by the shop in the barn since the nursery days.  I gave it a fresh look-over today and decided it is due for a makeover and I'm thinking that maybe by the chicken house would be a good place.. repainted "Fresh Eggs by Happy Hens"

I found another old pump by the pond and it has   a wonderful patina and I am mulling over where it can go..  Not sure where yet but I'm thinking maybe in the peony patch.. Isn't it too gorgeous for words... DH just will never understand how I can love this old junk...

The rustier and crustier the better..












And earlier this month I mentioned that I had heard from a dear friend who I thought I had lost touch with forever... Well today she came and we chatted   for

hours and were able to catch up with all that has happened in the last few years and we vowed to always keep in closer  touch.. She had gone through many life changes since I had last seen her and I was so glad to see her so happy now.  She is the most positive person I have ever known... beautiful inside and out...She whistled bird songs with the symphony orchestra last winter.. You have to love somebody who has that talent....