Time to say Goodbye...

Another sign of spring is seeing Girl Scouts and Brownies out selling Girl Scout cookies. These cookies sure are popular and they've been a tradition for a long time. Growing up I remember the anticipation ... 'what types should we order'? and 'how many boxes can we order'? I don't ever remember selling Girl Scout cookies myself (although I was a Brownie, I was never a "Girl Scout"), and as a mother of 3 boys we've never had the task or opportunity to sell them, but they've become part of our family tradition just the same. Our family favorite is Thin Mints, and I always remember to by some Trefoils (old-fashioned shortbread) as well because they are my personal favorite. The official sale is now over, and I'm rationing the supply that I purchased. When they're gone - there're gone, and ... we'll just have to wait until next year.... ;-)

Happy St. Patricks Day!

My eldest son Ryan gave me this dear Irish mug for Christmas in 2007. The Irish blessing on the page is from the reverse side of the mug. Having a redhead in the family really launched us off on the Irish path. My husband claims his family is more Scotch than Irish... but oh well that doesn't seem to deter our boys. Over the years all 3 boys have become attached to the idea that they have some Irish heritage, and we've collected a variety of Irish shirts, drinking glasses, socks, etc. We all have a soft spot for Ireland, and hopefully we'll get to visit Ireland ... someday...

I wish you all a Happy St. Patricks Day !!

May there always be work for your hands to do
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. -- Irish Blessing

March Money Madness

Its almost time for 'March Madness' as in basketball, and we're in a heap of a mess with 'money' at the moment....

When I did this page I was looking for something quick to do, and I was thinking 'green' for March... I grabbed a dollar bill, and then I got the idea to connect a few ideas with: 'March Money Madness' (MMM). Sort of random connections... but I had fun.

Mission Accomplished

Saturday morning I looked outside and was delighted to see good weather for the weekend. I was overdue on completing my yearly task of getting all of my roses pruned. Two weeks earlier I managed to prune about half of them, but the remaining half hung over my head during the recent rains. So, with the sun out - I was headed to the backyard to finish my pruning task. I enjoyed the quiet time in the yard by myself - and did a bit of reflecting as I worked. It was pretty exhausting task, but I felt such a relief when I finished the whole job. Mission Accomplished!!

Later in the day when I was thinking of something to sketch -- I thought of my old clippers that I cherish because my Dad gave them to me, and my work gloves that were very dirty from use. I set the clippers and dirty gloves on the table and then lost myself in drawing and painting them. I thoroughly enjoyed the artistic outlet and reflection on my adventures in the garden. Now I can't wait for my roses to bloom!

Two of my favorite art tools

I wanted a simple drawing to add to my blog header - so I drew 2 of my favorite art tools....

Christmas Cactus

The Christmas cactus was a bit slow this year -- didn't start blooming until February! But I really enjoyed watching the 2 blooms emerge and develop.

Lemons, lemons, and more lemons...

Lemons .... last weekend I took a pencil drawing class with Kristen Doty. Since I had a bounty of lemons on my tree at home I decided to take in some fresh Meyer lemons to sketch. This is my drawing from class, that I did in using woodless colored pencils. I enjoyed using the 'side' of the pencil for this sketch. Kristen suggested using the same tool for artwork and lettering in a piece, so I lettered the text with a woodless pencil using a pressure technique. The experience was an interesting change from watercolor.

I love thinking about lemons... a familiar quote comes to mind "when life gives you lemons... make lemonade". Friday night I found another variation in the latest Womans Day magazine on the Table of Contents page, "When life hands you lemons, make a gorgeous dessert" with a reference to a recipe for a lemon tart with fresh strawberries. I offer yet another suggestion... "When life hands you lemons ... grill chicken". A family favorite lemon recipe is "Lager and Lemon-Grilled Chicken" using a bottle of beer. Whatever your pleasure ... this is the season to enjoy lemons!