May the Bird of Paradise ...

Now I have already teased Chocolatechic about this... Do you imagine that she laughed herself silly to think of those who would attempt what "the boy" showed us how to do two days ago? (Don't let that moniker fool you. This "boy" is a serious student at a Culinary Arts College somewhere in Ohio.) Sooo, did you see it? Did you try it?

I did. Oh yes, I hauled my apple, my lemon juice water, my sharp little knife, and my sorry self to sit before the monitor in an attempt to very carefully copy the steps. To the tee. To the best of my abilitee. But somehow this is what I got.



Woodstock!
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Celebrating Winter

The Garden Gate

This is the painting that led me to Nita Leger Casey's blog Gingerbread Art Studio. Images of New England are so pleasing to my eye. Must be because I adore the familiar for these are the scenes I see all around me this January.

Nita has been so kind to give me permission to show some of her paintings. She told me via email that she lives in a gingerbread house in New England, visits Maine often, and also has a blog about France where she was born. Those paintings are beautiful as well, but my focus today is on her artistic view of New England.



Both my daughter and I were charmed by this painting of Owls Head, Maine. She and I have only seen it in summer so the winter view is new to us. If you are a longtime reader of this blog, you may remember my discussion of Owls Head from this photo.



Let's get back to winter, shall we? I'm going to stop typing and allow Nita's paintings to speak for themselves.


Winter Shadows


Pepperell Street


Once in a Blue Moon

Nita shares the most celebratory winter story of "Once in a Blue Moon" right *here.*

If you happen to be at Logan Airport in Boston, you can see some of Nita's work in person. Just check her sidebar for more information.

Please visit Gingerbread Art Studio and be charmed as well. There's so much more to see!

Yesterday, I was visiting Dear Diary - Cait O'Connor where Cait has written the most wonderful poetry named A Walk in the Snow. It made me yearn for the outdoors and, though I couldn't go for a walk, I did lean over the deck railing and inhale the wonderful, crisp air. I'm all for celebrating winter since it will long be with me and this poem will help you celebrate winter, too. Just see if it doesn't!

Thank you for visiting me today and remember to Celebrate Winter!

Our Weekend

We, John and I, seldom have time away from the house together so it was wonderful to go flea market shopping Saturday afternoon while my daughter stayed with her great-grandmother.

Antsy, I have been; too much at-home-all-the-time. Even Nan has complained of being cooped up. I feel her pain, but she truly can not handle the frigid temperatures, the ice and snow nor do we want to risk her becoming ill with all the flu and colds about. Taking her anywhere is a major effort for all of us, but we shall get her out again even if it looks as if she'll have to bide for a few weeks.

Saturday was a crystal clear blue corker of a day with the temperatures hovering in the teens and a brisk wind blowing. We caught glimpses of our beloved Mt. Washington's eastern face on the horizon across the fields and I thought of our beloved Vermont on its western side.

Coming down from the ridge we found ourselves on the plains where the flea market "open every day except for Christmas" sits beside a pine grove. We wandered about for nearly an hour before leaving empty-handed. Perhaps it was the very first time that I looked at stuff and it was just that — stuff. Nothing that I wanted, needed or even liked. I may be ill.

A quick trip to Wal*Mart proved a boon because we found boxes of candy canes for seventeen cents! Needless to say, we'll be fueling our addiction for some little time.

Yesterday, we had a sweet little visitor come to see us. Her grandmother, John's daughter, brought her and we laughed and delighted in her cute expressions and the way she was interacting with her great-grandpa.



The pastor is visiting today. Isn't it wonderful to have a pastor who makes home visits? It's a blessing to have people come to us since we are so rarely able to go to them. Another one of the many reasons why I love Blogland so very much: human contact...after a fashion.

Enjoy a blessed day!

Letters to Emily

The premise is reminiscent of Charlie Shedd's book Letters to Karen, except that the letters are to a young mother about raising children. There are also many encouragements concerning marriage and family. What am I talking about? A new-to-me blog that I stumbled upon (via a comment left yesterday) and a most delightful find it was.

No pictures save those created with words alone, but the entries are concise and poignant with wonderful touches of humor. Look for My Letters to Emily on my blogroll from now on and do visit to see what I'm raving about. You'll find that each entry is a treasure; I'm certain that young mothers and even grandmothers would enjoy reading them.

One that had little to do with child-rearing turns out to be *my favorite.* You'll see why right away.

This is a bit of an unusual twist for a Sunday entry here at Haven, but so delighted was I to see this unique, encouraging blog that I could not help myself.



Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ~Matthew 5:15

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