Just Practicing

My mosaic making that is and I see that I need a lot of practice. Why oh why won't my lines go straight and uniformly? My subject is "Breakfast on the Deck." Breakfast out there was good fun as it was sunny and pretty warm with lots of birdsong. (Don't let that much loved flannel shirt fool you!)

I'm practicing because Mary at Little Red House is going to begin a "Mosaic Madness" if she has enough takers. Would you like to join the party, too? Just stop by and let her know.

Procrastinators Party-The Big Reveal

If you are arriving via Melissa's The Inspired Room, welcome! If you're a regular reader whom I have been teasing with a big reveal since *this post,* I'm so glad that you put up with me and thank you for checking back.

Here are a couple of the before photos so you needn't travel back to the former post unless you'd like. As a brief refresher, this is a jelly cupboard. After some reflection, I realize that I've hesitated to paint it for years because my daughter painted the little picture on the side. I was treating it as a treasure not to be destroyed under any circumstances. Now I see that I can have a picture and the memories and be perfectly okay with it.

























Without any further ado or drama or anything even remotely like that, I present to you... Gee, I do hope that you will tell me what color you thought that I might paint it. Only if you really want to, of course. But I would be very curious to know. Course as many of you know, since I talk about it often, my favorite color is yellow...a creamy sort of buttery yellow, but any yellow really is nice. Yes, yellow is my color. Okay, on with it...








Oh, Melissa hinted yesterday that we all might have little secrets to share. I confess that I do and here's mine:



I've been so excited about this party and can't wait to visit all of you to see what you've been up to as well. You may join the party right *here* and I hope that you will. It's going to be fun!

Have a great Thursday!

Where is Everybody?

It's been so quiet in Blogland. I hope that it means that everyone is enjoying fair spring weather, that planting has begun in earnest or even that lawns must be mowed. I'll mow mine today for the first time this year myself.

Don't forget to swing by tomorrow for the big reveal.



Wasn't I clever not to give a thing away? Have a wicked good Wednesday!

Ready for the *Tin Man

(*photo deleted)

Another sweet little haul from the local flea market this week...a book, a spatula, and an oil can. Funny how these things delight us so.

The oil can is a vintage Singer made in the U.S.A. I love a "made in the U.S.A." label.



Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot tells the story...oh I'll just pop in another picture...



Perhaps many are familiar with this quote: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. ~Jim Elliot

The thing about this is that John has been talking about this story a lot in recent weeks so to find this book on top of a stack of others for a pittance was almost providential. Further, it has a little provenance as there is a bookplate inside that says that a copy of this book was placed in a certain church library in memory of a loved one. That church happens to be in my dad's hometown. Whom has John been discussing this story with? My dad. Father's Day coming up next month... Hmmm... We'll see. Gotta love God breezes.

Look at this fantastic spatula. I have nothing like it and have always wanted one to frost cakes with because I frost cakes all.the.time. once or twice a year.

I was planning to bake Mary Todd Lincoln's Almond White Cake posted by Suzanne on May 8, but found that I had no almonds. Figures. Anyway, I had to make it up to the man somehow. Have you ever seen a man's face fall when he's expecting cake and realizes that it isn't going to happen? Sad...very. I remedied it this way...Crumb Cake for breakfast.



Crumb Cake Receipt (An Old Family Recipe)

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
¾ cup shortening (I use butter)

Make the above ingredients into crumbs. Save 1 cup for topping.

1 cup sour milk (add 1 TBS white vinegar to fresh milk)
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cloves (I used a half teaspoon of nutmeg...no ground cloves in this house either)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg

Add to the crumb mixture, beat well, cover with crumbs.
Pour into an 8x8 pan.
Bake at 350° for approximately 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Create yourselves a wonderful Tuesday...

It All Went By in a Blur

And you thought that I was kidding!

No, Mother's Day really took off with bang once my son and the grands arrived. They were very busy grands. One is terribly interested in photography...



The other terribly interested in flower arranging...



Yes! That's my beautiful bouquet, which I discussed on Saturday and which you can see in better times in my footer.

Sorry that I didn't take photos of the gift I made for my mother. As it happened, I did no sewing because the ink in my printer ran out. Specifically, the yellow ran dry. (Go ahead! Try and figure that connection. I dare ya! =D ) I was able to finish a journal and another small project. Then I wrapped them in vintage linen...a table runner and a doily...and called it done. Only I (and now all of you) know that I didn't do all that had been intended.

I received petunias from my son and daughter-in-law, pansies
from my beloved, and a fuschia from my daughter. I also have a very nice gift certificate to Olive Garden. (Don't read that last bit, Pat.)

So much to share this week and I'm really excited about Thursday. Have a happy Monday, everyone!

Mother's Day 2009

collage photos source