Prose and Phavorites – A Little Princess

On By TimelessladyIn Phavorites, Prose2 Comments

I was a constant reader as a child. I had many favorites, Heidi, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Laura Ingalls Little House books. One of my favorite authors was Frances Hodgson Burnett. I loved The Secret Garden and also A Little Princess. As an adult I sometimes revisit these books. I take after my maternal Grandmother in that characteristic, she loved children’s classics too. Recently, I had an inclination to reread A Little Princess. It was just as wonderful a story as it was when I first read it near forty-five years ago. I was struck by the wisdom I found in the book. I especially liked this paragraph in Chapter VI.

“If Nature has made you a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that-warm things, kind things, sweet things-help and comfort and laughter-and sometimes gay, kind laughter is the best help of all.” 

 

Painting – Acrylics/Sunflowers Part I

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Longwood Gardens Sunflowers

This sunflower photograph was pleasing, but pointing in the wrong direction, I flipped it in my photo workshop, and added it to my final composition. I will have to be careful that I don’t misrepresent the direction of the shadows when I begin to paint.

I am very new at painting with acrylics. I have painted with watercolors for well over twenty years, and I still plan to use this medium in the future, but I have been enjoying the boldness and opaque qualities of acrylics.

To start I coated the 18 x 24 inch canvas with a layer of gesso. I don’t have as large a palette of colors with acrylics and used a combination of cobalt blue and ultramarine blue to begin painting the sky.

I had a good time creating the clouds. In watercolor the use of white is taboo.  You must save portions of the paper completely without color to give the effect of white.   This can be difficult and one loose drop of paint can spoil the effect you are attempting to achieve.

In acrylics, the whites are opaque, and produce good coverage. I was able to actually enjoy painting the clouds, and painted exuberantly, rather than holding my hand and creativeness in check.

I blended the cobalt blue into the white at the bottom of the clouds to give them some stability and shadow. I used medium extender to keep the paint wet longer, giving me more time to move it around.

I will update the progress of the painting in a few days. So far I am pleased with the progress.

Pleasures and Projects – Handmade Cards

On By TimelessladyIn Pleasures, Projects2 Comments

My sister Amy created a handmade card for my birthday this year.  She drew leaves, watercolored lightly, then filled in the shape and other areas with an ultra-fine felt tip pen. I love my beautiful card.

Project & Pleasures – Paper Snowflakes

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TIME TO CUT THE SNOWFLAKES

PART 2 SHOWS HOW TO ADD A LAYER OF WAX TO THE SNOWFLAKES TO REPEL MOISTURE FROM THE WINDOWS.

I posted these last year, but they are worth repeating.

Postcards – Vintage Thanksgiving and Autumn

On By TimelessladyIn Postcards5 Comments

I collect old postcards. I don’t have a preferable style, but I do tend to collect the years of 1900 through 1910. Many of the postcards are related to holidays, birthdays or seasons of the year. I’ve included two Thanksgiving postcards here along with an Autumn Scene.

So often my postcards will have a picture in a picture…in the case above a landscape within a seasonal depiction of a turkey.

Many postcard collectors prefer pristine cards that have no writing and have never been mailed. I am just the opposite; the more cramped, old-fashioned writing a card has, the more I love it.

I also find the wisdom of this postcard mailed a hundred years ago to be as true today as it was in the early 1900’s – Live for Today.

It can be quite a challenge to read the writing…scrawly, in this case written by a lefty, and using expressions not common today, but it is a challenge I love. A good way to attempt to decipher the cramped writing is to scan the card and magnify on your computer screen. Here is how this postcard reads:

Dear Effie I rec. (received) your card and was glad to hear from you and (a name I can’t read), I will wish you both a Happy New Year. Will (unknown word) and write soon. My head is troubling me. I suppose you have not the cold winter where you are as have both. Altog (?altogether?) we have had it very mild so far. I hope it may continue for I do not like the cold. With lots of love. Your old friend Ada.

Perspective – Killing Kennedy by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

On By TimelessladyIn Perspective1 Comment

 

 

A strange fact crossed my mind a year or two ago. I commented about it to my husband, “Do you realize,” I asked, “The percentage of people who remember the day Kennedy was shot is much less than those who don’t remember?”

This felt like strange territory to me. It was another instance  that gave me pause about the fleeting nature of life. How could this be?  I was just barely six years old on November 22, 1963. I was a first grader at Mount Pleasant Elementary School in Easton, Maryland. My father was the pastor of the Wesleyan Church, known then as the Pilgrim Holiness Church, at 620 Goldsborough Street.  After lunch the principle of the school, Mrs Lyons, slipped into the door of Mrs. Johnson’s first grade room. We were told that President Kennedy had been shot and we all closed our eyes, bowed our head, and prayed for him.

Oh, how times have changed!  In the age we are living in now the truth and calling upon God would not be allowed. How many lawsuits, how many newspapers articles and newscasts would happen if as a school and nation we were (with utter sincerity and purpose and not just as a convenient sound bite and spin) called upon to pray for anything? How we have fallen!

When we were dismissed we found out, from the parents who suddenly drove to pick up their children who always walked home, that our president had died.

As  young as I was I remember the solemn hush that fell like a dark cloud. I remember watching the funeral, the procession on black and white television. I learned a new word I had never heard before in my young life when the commentators spoke of…”the caisson carrying the president.”

Caisson – A horse-drawn vehicle, usually two-wheeled, used to carry artillery ammunition and coffins at military funerals.

I relate my experience of the Kennedy assassination to recommend the book written by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.   The book was very well-written, and I came away from it with a new appreciation for John and Jacqueline Kennedy. The book was not a whitewashed account. Flaws and weaknesses of the president and those around him were honestly revealed, but without being sensationalized.  It is regrettable that his assassination eclipsed so much of the good JFK accomplished while he served his term as president. I’m so glad to have read this honest and factual work. It is a terrific book.

Thursday will mark the forty-ninth year that has passed since JFK was assassinated.

Photographs & People – Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom

On By TimelessladyIn People, Photographs2 Comments

Today is my parent’s anniversary. Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom…and many, many more! I love you…always.

Beautiful…and she still is! She has always dressed so pretty and refined. I love the pocketbook, the gloves in her hand and the hat. What a lady!

Handsome…and he still is! Look at those socks and cuffed trousers. Wow! I love it.

A recent photograph of Mom and Dad

Perspective – Amazing Video and Project

On By TimelessladyIn Perspective1 Comment

I’m not sure I can sufficiently explain the idea behind this haunting video, but it seems appropriate to post it now with what is going on in the Middle East. Children are still dying. Wars are still being fought with possible horrific consequences for us all? Does anyone know the answer? Although this video and the butterflies were made in 2010, the purpose behind the project will never end. We should never forget what happened in the Holocaust, we should guard against it happening again.

Here is the link to the author of this video’s blog post: The Butterfly Mandate

Phrustration – Disappearing Act

On By TimelessladyIn Phrustration3 Comments

Decided I wanted to bake.

Had the bright idea to quickly soften the butter outdoors in the sun,

Waited an hour or so, did some chores in the house.

Time to make the cookies…

Went outside to fetch the butter…

One stick was gone…

I should have known better.

My butter was thirty feet away.

Under the pines…

Ravaged,

The paper torn askew.

The butter exposed…

Chewed, gulped, swallowed and wallowed in. Bah!

I hope that ornery squirrel had a big bellyache.

Projects – Vermicomposting/The Worm Farm Update

On By TimelessladyIn Projects3 Comments

A quick update on my vermicomposting project. Vermicomposting is a fancy name for worm farming. You can read my initial blog post on worm farming here: The Worm Farm.

The “farm” is doing terrific. I found a wonderful blog that is helping me along. Vermicomposters.com contains the answers to any question a newbie vermicomposter has about worm farming. You can take a look at the site here: Vermicomposters.

One of the topics I found to be of great help was on the subject of what the worms like to eat. I saw that cantaloupe and other melons are a worm favorite. I had an old piece of cantaloupe rind in my fridge that was beyond the date of safe human consumption so I decided to give it a try. I scooped out the interior of the melon and placed it in a corner of the worm farm. What a surprise awaited me in about ten days or so…the cantaloupe seeds had sprouted. You can see a few of them in the picture above. After reading a blog post on Vermicomposters.com, I was assured that this is common and is an indication that you are doing things right. You can read the vermicomposting post here: Sprouting Seeds

Another surprise has been the fresh air smell that wafts out of the composter. I was prepared for a sour odor…not so…the smell that awaits me each time I feed the worms is that of the floor of woodsy forest. It is in no way offensive.

I feed my worms every five days. So far I have given them lettuce, apple peels, crushed eggshells, a minimal amount of coffee grounds, and the cantaloupe. They are thriving. The bottom layer of newspaper bedding I added at the start has since turned into compost. I’m thrilled! The liquid capture kitty litter bucket has been filled with bits of compost and liquid, again no odor, and I have added this to the water I give to my houseplants.

Need I even say that so far my worm farm has been a success! If you’ve ever felt a nudge to give it a try…please give into your inclination. It is so much fun.

I will post updates about my worm farm progress through the next few months…check back.

Plant & Project – Sweet Potato Vine Update

On By TimelessladyIn Plants, Projects12 Comments

It’s time to begin a few indoor gardening projects. At the top of my list is growing a sweet potato plant with my grandchildren.

Growing a sweet potato is easy. Buy a good-sized sweet potato or yam from a farm or organic market; they are less likely to be treated with chemicals to prevent sprouting. Insert three or four toothpicks around the widest circumference and place the bottom in water. A flower vase with a slender neck is the perfect container to choose.

The tuber grows quickly and develops a large root system. In just over a month it will be ready for planting in a pot of soil.

I left a portion of the tuber above the soil line. I think it adds a bit of interest to the look of the plant. I also like the way the tuber mirrors the golden-orange brown of the pot’s ceramic finish.

Growing a sweet potato is a fun and easy project for Autumn or Winter.

Plant, Pressed Flowers and Preparedness – Wild Cress

On By TimelessladyIn Plants, Preparedness, Pressed Flowers4 Comments

I have pressed flowers for years. I usually begin pressing in late winter or very early spring. One of the first pieces of foliage I press is a feathery little weed, which for years I have called, “My favorite weed.” Imagine my surprise and delight when it suddenly began to grow in the terrarium I created months ago. Recently my happiness was doubled when I found “my favorite weed” on a preparedness site and learned its proper name, Wild Cress. It turns out this little gem of a plant is not only perfect for pressing, but also is a wild edible, full of vitamins and nutrients.

Here are a few examples of my pressed flower cards using “My favorite weed,” Wild Cress

Wild Cress was eaten by early settlers to ward off scurvy in the winter. It has a peppery taste and makes a great salad green.

Wild Cress is a natural home remedy for many ailments. You can read more about it’s medicinal properties here: Wild Cress in Home Remedies

Wild Cress gone to seed will pop into your eye. I’ve pulled it out of my flower beds and closed my eyes while I’ve done so many a time. Read about this fact along with how to feed wild cress to rabbits here: Wild Cress/Popping Seeds

Wild Cress is easy to identify and is one of the most edible weeds. I doubt I would ever mistake anything else for Wild Cress after handling it for over twenty years. Great caution must be taken when eating anything growing wild. Some wild plants are deadly poison. Don’t eat anything wild unless you are absolutely sure  it is edible. Here are a few other edible weeds: Edible Weeds

Pleasures and Pinterest -Natural and safe aromatherapy

On By TimelessladyIn Pinterest, Pleasures, ProjectsLeave a comment

Yesterday my grandson was baptized. Afterwards family and friends gathered at our home. Since the weather is cooler, and there has been so much moisture in the past weeks, the house smelled a little musty. It was the perfect opportunity to use an idea for naturally freshening the air I found on the Pinterest site.

Fill an aromatherapy pot, a small crockpot, or a pot on the stove with water. Add a capful of pure vanilla extract, some fresh lemon peel and snips of rosemary. I used fresh Rosemary, but I think dried would work just as well. Heat to a simmer. This fragrance is soft and natural and doesn’t seem to cause anyone, even those with allergies, any breathing or headache problems.

Be watchful of heating elements and be aware of possible fire hazards when in use.

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Phun and Play – Scattering Paint with a Straw

On By TimelessladyIn Phun, Play1 Comment

Once again, I made good use of the Pinterest Boards and found a “phun” project for the grandsons. Materials: paper, googly eyes and other lightweight decorations, markers, washable paints (we used Crayola brand) and a straw.

Using a measuring spoon I doled out about 1/4 tsp of two paint colors onto the paper, fairly close together. The boys then blew on the paint through the straws to move the paint in every direction. The colors blended together forming a third color. Because wet paint acts as a glue when it dries, we added our decorations: pompoms, googly eyes, foam stickers while the paint was wet.

When the “creatures”were dried we drew arms and legs. The boys had a great time making this project. It was challenging enough to keep the six year old interested and easy enough for the three year old to do without feeling frustrated. SO MUCH PHUN!!!

Plants and Pleasures – Scarbourough Fair Part II

On By TimelessladyIn Plants, Pleasures8 Comments

Culinary Herbs grow well on a kitchen windowsill. I like to use antique planters as étagères for my herbs. The steam that rises from my water faucet helps keep their environment humid. The herbs grow well in their small pots. I have found I need to water them in five-day intervals.

I use my fresh herbs to whip together a delicious and healthy salad dressing.  The bright green color reminds me of Springtime, and somehow the light taste captures a bit of sunshine too.

Spring Salad Dressing

4 tbs of olive oil

1 tbs vinegar

Dash of Dijon Mustard

1/2 tsp Adobo Seasoning

Varying amounts of oregano, dill, thyme, parsley and basil.

Whip until combined with fork or whisk, or even better, use food processor to combine ingredients. Refrigerate. Use within a week.

The salad dressing thickens in the fridge, but when spooned onto salad greens immediately liquifies once more.

Plants and Pleasures – Scarbourough Fair Part I

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I love fresh herbs. They grow very well on my kitchen windowsill. I feel blessed to have them. They infuse health into many of the foods I serve my family. My local supermarket offers these herbs, organically grown, at a reasonable price. They cost less than buying a bottle of dried herbs.

Pictured from left to right: dill, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, mint and sage. I call this my Scarborough Fair windowsill. When I gaze upon this lush display of plants the Simon and Garfunkel song, “Scarborough Fair,” plays in my mind.

The original ballad is probably over a 1000 years old. I’ve included the full set of lyrics at the end of this post. More information can be found at these two sites:

Scarborough Fair
and
Scarborough Fair Songfacts

Scarborough Faire

Are you going to Scarborough Faire?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lived there.
She once was a true love of mine.

Have her make me a cambric shirt
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Without no seams, nor fine needle work.
Then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to weave it in a sycamore wood lane.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Gather it up in a basket of flowers
Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Have her wash it in yonder dry well
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Where water ne’er sprung, nor drop of rain fell.
Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Tell her to to find me an acre of land.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Between the sea foam and over the sand.
Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Plow the land with the horn of a lamb.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Then sow some seeds from north of the dam.
Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Have her reap it with a sickle of leather.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Gather it up in a bunch of heather.
Then she’ll be a true love of mine

If she tells me she can’t, then I’ll reply.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Let me know, that at least she will try.
Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Love imposes impossible tasks
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Though not more than any heart asks.
And I must know she’s true love of mine

When thou has finished thy task.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Come to me my hand for to ask.
For then you’ll be a true love of mine

Additional verses:

Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
And then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Ask her to do me this courtesy,
Parsely, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
And ask for a like favor from me,
And then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Have you been to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Remember me from one who lives there,
For he once was a true love of mine.

When he has done and finished his work,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Ask him to come for his cambric shirt,
For then he’ll be a true love of mine.

Psalms and Proverbs – Wisdom on Wednesday/Psalm 65

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Karen’s Desert Trees in Autumn

PSALM 65
 

What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
for you answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you.
Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
you forgive them all.
What joy for those you choose to bring near,
those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us
inside your holy Temple.

You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.

You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!

Thank you to my cousin Karen for the use of her beautiful photograph of the Nevada desert.

Purpose – Every Vote Counts

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If Godly values haven’t guided your decision on Election Day…you are making the wrong choice!

Photographs courtesy of Morgue File

Phavorites – Manic Monday

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Hurricane Sandy postponed our Halloween and Trick or Treating here in New Jersey. Today children will wear their costumes and ring doorbells. I discovered this amazing Jack O’Lantern choir while bike-riding Saturday. I couldn’t resist driving by again on Sunday, this time with camera in tow, to take a picture. I love this!