Psalms & Phlowers – Sing to the Lord
Author: Timelesslady
Married with children and grandchildren. Reader, writer, painter - maybe a bit of an artist. Gardener... Led by the Spirit.
Painting – Faux Botanical/Zinnia
I love botanical watercolors, but I don’t have enough minutes in the day to attempt painting one. If truth be told, even if I had the time, I’m not sure I would have the inclination; botanical watercolors are painstaking and precise. I like having a bit more freedom and fun when I paint. Instead of following the traditional route I paint “faux” botanicals, or maybe a better term would be a floral portrait. At first glance my watercolors appear to be botanicals, but on closer inspection a professional would see there are many flower details left out.
Step by Step Slideshow
Watercolor Tip – To remove a finished painting from a watercolor block, use a piece of an old credit card and slide between sheets. Gently work the card around until the paper completely lifts away from the block.
Thanks for looking! 😀
Of course, I had to include the inchworm.
I’m pleased with the new addition to my “faux” botanicals in the hallway.
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Preparedness & Proverbs – Wisdom on Wednesday
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Paranoia – YIKES!
My son and I were cleaning up the yard after a birthday party for my husband when we noticed this strange object on the ground beside the oak tree.
Have you ever seen or come upon one of these? YIKES! You are correct if you guessed the object is a snakeskin. I don’t know if you can ascertain the length or not, but I know the size after stretching it out alongside of myself, almost five feet long, just about four inches shorter than I stand.
We stared at the skin in fascination and noticed it was very fresh, it hadn’t even collapsed upon itself yet. Uh-Oh! We looked around and sure enough, just a few feet away we saw this guy or gal in the grass. Double YIKES!
A black racer…he didn’t like us anymore than we liked him. Racers can be mean. They have been known to charge those who get too close, hissing and trying to bite. The bite might hurt, could become infected, but racers are not poisonous.
I said to my son, “Don’t let it get away until I get a photo,” and ran into the house to grab my camera.
When I came back my son had a strange look on his face and asked, “What did you expect me to do if it started to get away?”
We both laughed, the strange, strangled laugh that quells up inside when you find yourself in a situation you don’t want to be in. I took a couple of quick photos, but the racer took offense at my proximity and slithered away into the ivy.
I had recently noticed the chipmunk problem in my yard had diminished. Now the mystery of their disappearance is solved. Snakes might be scary, but the harmless kind are beneficial in keeping the rodent population under control. Even though I don’t want to find this guy under my feet, he is welcome in my garden.
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Prompt – The Daily Post/Flashtalk
Today’s WordPress Daily Prompt: Flash Talk – You’re about to enter a room full of strangers, where you will have exactly four minutes to tell a story that would convey who you really are. What’s your story?
If I had only four minutes to explain myself I would use these pictures of my roses. In yesterday’s blog post I posted a photograph of utter simplicity, vased roses on a tabletop.
Today’s Photograph of Roses in Morning Light
Today
Today, the morning sun slanted through my window and threw stunning light upon the arrangement. “Voila!'” As if by magic the illumination exposed shadows and brightness. The different nuances and aspects of the roses are so indicative of the different depths within me. Not so simple at all, for hidden within the grand design of the petals and stem is strength and fragility, softness and prickliness.
My sister once said I am like “Velvet Steel.” Wow! That wouldn’t even take four minutes to say…and it is exactly what I am.
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Photograph – Silent Sunday/Simplicity
Image application courtesy of Photocat.
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Praise – Days of Elijah – “Oohrah!”
Watch this one all the way through…you will be uplifted all day! Oohrah!
The Story Behind “The Days of Elijah.”
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Philm – The Roosevelts
I enjoyed the recent airing of “The Roosevelts.” I found the series to be interesting and felt it was truthful concerning their lives and their presidencies. If you missed it, try to find it online. The presentation was well worth the time I spent watching it.
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Perspective – The NFL & The Unborn Child
This is a photo of the confusion of magnets, artwork and bits of paper on the side of my refrigerator. The shining star of the assemblage is the ultrasound photograph of my new grand-daughter, due in a few months; I already pray and think of her daily.
There are other precious babies, as yet unborn, who are in jeopardy of ever having a chance to walk this earth. Wouldn’t it be great if the mainstream media, newspapers, social media sites, and radio hosts would give as much time to saving them as they have to condemning the alleged abuses of a handful of men in the NFL ? I am not in any way condoning or diminishing the abusive behavior exhibited in the incidents, I’m just wishing as much verbal and written bravado was shown toward saving the unborn. It also would be encouraging to have several politicians actually fighting to diminish the ease with which the unborn are terminated rather than just giving “lip-service” to the pro-life movement.
Hmmmm…I just caught myself in my own net of condemnation, because isn’t that exactly what I am doing here…only stating the obvious? Speaking out against abortion is at least a toeing-up to the starting line. What are you saying or doing about the horror of abortion…anything at all?
And a thank you to my cousin Lisa, for opening up my eyes to the fact that I need to do more to uphold the right-to-life of the unborn.
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Project – Tutorial Trio/Snowflakes & Floral Bows
It’s the time of year to begin gathering ideas for the upcoming Autumn and Winter seasons. I’ve posted all three of these tutorials in the past, but decided to resurrect them for the coming holiday seasons. I will be starting to cut snowflakes for December decorating any day now. I like to have eight in each window. When you add it up, that’s a lot of snowflakes to cut. If I cut one or two per day I have more than I need by December 1st.
The first video in my trio explains how to create paper snowflakes.
The second snowflake video shows you how to coat the paper with wax so that moisture from the winter windows does not ruin all your work.
The third video demonstrates how to make a large-sized oblong bow for wreaths or packages.
It’s a good idea to get a jumpstart on plans and crafts for the upcoming holiday seasons of the Autumn and Winter. A little bit done each week equals less stress as the holidays draw near.
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Phun – Swings
I will never be too old to swing.
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Product – One for the Ladies
One for the Ladies: Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer
My lip shimmer favorite is called Peony. I am thrilled with this product. Usually, when I try to buy color for my lips I struggle to find the right product. Let me count the problems I have encountered. Quite often the shine is too metallic, or nonexistent and overly matte. Sometimes the consistency of the lipstick accentuates wrinkles, or is the wrong color. Let’s see…what else annoys me about buying lipcolor: shade changes, dried out lips, doesn’t match the color on the display chart, is discontinued, outrageously priced. Does any of this sound familiar? I have to admit, I have wasted too many dollars trying to find just the right shade of lipstick.
I was going through the dilemma of trying to find a new tube of lipstick, when by chance I happened upon the Burt’s Bees display. Hooray! I felt like I hit the jackpot the minute I spotted the tubes. How have I missed these little gems? Because I love the lip balm, I had an instant intuition that the lip shimmers would be grand, and yes, they are all I hoped to find in a lipstick…only better.
They stay put, the color is subdued, delicate, but long-lasting. I get a pleasant little tingle when I apply it to my lips, much the same as the lip balm delivers. I must admit they are not inexpensive, and they are rather small, but still, at $4.95 compared to 8.95 & up, they are a real bargain. They sell in my area in drug stores, larger retailers such as Target, and even in the supermarket. I bought two, one for my makeup bin at home, and one for my purse. Happy Smiling!
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Photograph – Luke 6:45
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Prompt – A Round Tuit
“Quickly list five things you’d like to change in your life. Now, write a post about a day in your life once all five have been crossed off your to-do list.”
My Daily List would look like this”
1. Get Around To It
2. Get Around To It
3. Get Around To It
4. Get Around To It
5. Get Around To it
Yes, I definitely need A Round Tuit. Would a round tuit point me in the right direction?
I think rather than composing lists a mile long, I need to make a list within the list of things that I need to prioritize.
My Secret: I LOVE making lists. Sometimes the lists give me more satisfaction than actually crossing off the items I’ve accomplished. Creating lists means I AM ALIVE and I have HOPE for the future. Hallelujah!
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Plants – Three for Autumn/Lobelia, Echinacea and Cockscomb
Blue Cardinal Flower (Lobelia siphilitica) is a perennial lobelia. The flowers bloom in late summer. I love this plant, and if you saw my gardens at the moment you would not need an explanation as to why; the plant is growing EVERYWHERE! I started out with one plant over twenty years ago. Blue cardinal flower produces large amounts of seed, microscopic, they make up for their size by plenitude, hundreds upon hundreds of seeds in each pod. Each blossom develops a seed pod. You can imagine the millions of progeny that have been distributed in my garden beds over the years. I have also helped them out and broken pods over each and every flower bed on my property.
Yesterday I spotted a hummingbird sipping nectar from a blue cardinal flower growing in the front garden. I was ecstatic, I thought the small winged creatures had already left for warmer climates. Blue cardinal flower is an excellent hummingbird plant.
Excuse the quality of the goldfinch photograph. The moment was captured through my window screen. Goldfinches are feasting on the seedpods of my echinacea plants. They quickly flutter away anytime I try to approach them with camera in tow. Echinacea is the workhorse of my garden.
Beautiful, and full of goodness also, Echinacea is a tried and true herbal remedy. The maturing seedpods draw Goldfinches. Attracting Goldfinches is always a desire of those who watch birds.
Cockscomb (Celosia cristata), what a beautiful plant, is a perfect choice for an Autumn ornamental. I purchased this plant from a farm market this week. It is a perfect disguise for plants that are beginning to wane and fade away.
Happy Gardening!
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Product – Chocolate Cheerios
Oh the JOY! Chocolate Cheerios are delish! I found them in the grocery stores a few weeks ago. The grandkids and I have devoured them ever since. 🙂
Light chocolate, dark chocolate…both are scrumptious. We don’t eat these Cheerios in milk, we eat them out of hand, dry and portable in small bowls.
Even better they are low in calories. Hooray!
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Prompt – Magical Memories
Daily Post – Hand Me Downs – September 10, 2014
Clothes and toys, recipes and jokes, advice and prejudice: we all have to handle all sorts of hand-me-downs every day. Tell us about some of the meaningful hand-me-downs in your life.
I live amidst many memories and I cherish their presence.
Pinocchio, a book that sat on my father’s bookshelf when he was a child brings me joy. I like to look inside and read his name written in my grandmother’s hand, Jimmie Davis, Christmas 1943. In 1943 World War II was being fought across the water. Although far removed from the fighting, my father and his family lived in a state of preparedness for an air attack from the enemy. My grandfather worked in the Shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. If there had been an attack on our shores the Newport News Shipbuilding would have been a prime target for attack. Someday I will give this book to my oldest grandson.
I love these fashion sketches my mother drew the year I was born. I like to imagine her, large with child (me), passing the time away creating beautiful outfits. Her drawings have such a lovely style. The same fashion and decorating sense has carried over into everything she does today; anything she wears or decorates is lovely!
I cherish the Bibles of my grandparents. So often I will hold them in my hands, open the pages, and read some of the verses they found precious enough to underline or comment upon in the margins.
A dry sink built by my grandfather now holds toys for his great-great-grandchildren.
A cabinet built by my grandfather holds treasures too…
…a purse handed down from my great-grandmother…
…flowers pressed from eighth grade graduation, and a devotional book, once belonging to my grandmother.
I hear the ticking of my grandmother’s clock every day. Its chime often connects me to thoughts of her.
My great-grandmother used this iron to get the wrinkles out of her clothes and household linens. She would set it on the stove or beside the fire until it was hot. I am so grateful to have this in my home as a keepsake of her.
And last but not least, a throwback to a post I made about all my stacks of books. The love of books, and the books themselves, were given to me from my grandmother. She loved to read and when I think of her I see a sweet lady, curled into a corner of the couch, feet drawn up under her, smiling happily as she read her stories.
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Quotes – Talents
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Phacts – Tuesday Trivia/Little Known Phacts in the life of Vincent Van Gogh
Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh was a Christian Evangelist before he became an artist? Van Gogh had such empathy for the poor villagers he gave away his clothing.
“I knew him some forty-five years ago in the Borinage where he was an evangelist (not a pastor, as he had no theological degree). Faced with the destitution he encountered on his visits, his pity had induced him to give away nearly all his clothes; his money had found its way into the hands of the poor, and one might say that he had kept nothing for himself. His religious sentiments were very ardent, and he wanted to obey the words of Jesus Christ to the letter.” M. Bonte
This excerpt was taken from the article titled the Van Gogh’s Letters
Another controversial fact revealed in recent years is the theory that the suicide of Van Gogh was a fabrication to protect the person/persons who accidentally shot him.
The Death of Vincent Van Gogh is an excellent article on this subject.
The television show “Sixty Minutes” presented a very compelling episode on this same subject.
Although time has drawn the curtain on the true facts ever being known, Van Gogh’s paintings will forever be center stage as some of the world’s very best works of art.
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Plants – Water Lettuce/Pistia
I have a pond filled with a late summer carpet of Water Lettuce. Water Lettuce, or Pistia, is an aquatic plant that can be grown in aquariums or in outdoor ponds through the summer. Water Lettuce was first discovered in Africa. The rosette-like leaves float on the surface of the water with the roots growing from the center of the plant.
Water Lettuce outcompetes algae for nutrients and thus helps control excessive algae bloom.
The mother plant is connected to her offspring by a stolon. The plants reproduce so quickly I have had to weed out half a dozen or more several times this summer. My plant came from the productive water lettuce plants in my sister’s pond.
As I was surveying the water lettuce yesterday, wondering if it was time to weed out a half dozen again, I noticed a small frog. Grown from a tadpole we captured in a local lake this year, he quietly watched me, deciding if he needed to jump for safety. He stayed quite still as I took a few photographs, but when I brought the camera a bit too close, he jumped beneath the cover of the water lettuce leaves.
