New Rosaries

  For the last few months i can do nothing else with my free time, than make rosaries, prayer beads and chaplets. It's all i want to do right now, so i'm going with it!

 

 This full size rosary is devoted to St Jude. I prayed to him a LOT when i was a girl, and it seemed like he always listened. It is both hand chained and the Pater beads are wire wrapped to make them stand out from the Ave beads.

 The Ave beads are a nice earthy Jasper and the Pater beads are Hematite.

 You can see the different wire works in this picture...

 This little pocket rosary is a Three Hail Marys Chaplet

 This little chaplet is called Mary's Garden, and it is all wire wrapped and has bronze components

 This is another wire wrapped chaplet in bronze and the beads are Chinese Rhodonite.

 This little rosary is non traditional. It's a devotional to Quan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion and Mercy...I love Quan Yin...

And last, but not least, this one is called Mary of the Snows, made of bronze, wire wrapped, and the stones are crackle quartz, which to me looks like ice. They are all waiting in the shop here!

Bwahhahahahahahaha

What's Bloomin in the Garden!

 I have been an absentee blogger as of late. I've been away for a number of reasons, but a big one is this! I've been working in the garden. My old raised beds were just not working so I finally decided what kind of raised beds i would set up in the side yard (better known as the dog's yard) I went to Tractor Supply and bought three cattle troughs and my daughter drilled some drainage holes in the bottom of the tubs, and i filled them with good soil and planted my herbs. Here are a few photos i took just last week.

 Since these pictures were taken we've had quite a bit of rain and even a few frost warnings, but things are really coming along! In this tub i have my chives and sage and some parsley... The orange buckets have potatoes growing in them.

 The other two tubs have lettuce, green onions and garlic planted so far. I've given up on growing any kind of grass or ground cover on the ground in the dog's yard. It's just not happening with all those paws hitting the ground. So i am laying down lots of mulch and straw little bit by bit.

 As you can see, Little Honey loves to roll in the cedar mulch. I use cedar to control fleas and ticks. They don't like cedar at all...

 Here is my crab apple tree called "Prairie fire". Since these pictures were taken the flowers fully bloomed and got knocked off by a hard rain before i could take more pictures...

 I love flowering trees in the Spring

 My little mini Japanese Maple made it thru another tough Winter. (The newer, smaller one didn't make it tho...) My daughter Katie and her husband Ben made me some wooden boxes with open bottoms to replant the small trees in. This will keep them above the dog's level, but will allow the roots to go down into the ground and be better protected in the Winter months.

 Here are my strawberry plants!

 

 In my front yard garden my flowering almond bush took a beating this Winter, but is still blooming...

 And here is my lilac "Pocahontas". It is a dark purple, highly scented lilac. I missed these lovely blooms last year while i was in the hospital, so i am really enjoying them now!

So that's where i've been...busy digging in the gardens! More photos to come! Now i think i will go visit all my blog friends and see what you've all been up to!

What's Bloomin? Everything's Comin up Yellow(with a little bit of blue too)

 Happy May! Spring is HERE!!! And the endless work in the gardens begins....

 The first thing to bloom in my gardens after the long Winter is the forsythia...

The only other color in the garden besides green and yellow is this little patch of blue...I planted these tiny bulbs years and years ago and they come up every year. I can't remember what they are called. Anybody out there know their name?

 We have a few daffodils that still pop up too. Somehow the squirrels missed digging these up

 I've got the deck set up and swept, and this week i'll plant some geraniums in the pots out there. I have some perennial herbs to put into the new raised garden beds in the dog's yard too...

It's so nice to have flowers in the gardens again! It looks like maybe next week the flowering trees might bloom!

Blessings....

 One year ago right now (6:50 or so) i had my cerebral hemorrhage. And that event totally changed my life and my way of thinking and feeling. I am so grateful for this past year. I could just as easily be some ashes blowing around my favorite place. I swear i'll never take anything for granted ever again. So this is sort of my 1 year birthday for my new life. Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I really do appreciate that!

Brother and Sister

 Little Honey and Rubie Dubie, curled up for a nap

Bears and Buns-Knit and Crochet

 I've been busy with making my rosaries and have had a little pile of bunny and bear bodies waiting to be stuffed and sewn together for a while now. So i took a day, put the little critters together and here they are!

 This little bear is Tulip! She is knit with 100% all natural soft cotton yarn and stuffed with polyfil.

 She is a sweet little bear who is looking for a little girl (or a big girl) to love...

 This is Everett

 He got his name because the yarn he is made with is the same color as our evergreen trees. His fuzzy "fur" comes from his mohair like easy care acrylic yarn.

 He's waiting for his new friend too...

 And last but not least, this is Tilly! Tilly is crocheted from a pattern i have had here for years and just never got to try it out. She is crocheted amigurumi style. She has a sweet little round head and a little pot belly and i love her. She is crocheted of a mohair like acrylic yarn, and also stuffed with polyfil.

All of these little bears and buns are safe for children young and old, as their features are embroidered on and their little arms and legs are sewn on securely. Come and visit them in my shop by clicking here

Lola's First Poem...

This kid is amazing... and yes, she did come out slow...

(I'm crazy about her...can you tell???)

Cat Bird

Balance Beam practice

Rosie on Safou's cage...

Dusting off the Old Playpen!

 Look what came out of the closet! Lola's old fashioned playpen.

 and somebody else is really enjoying it

 Zoey is scooting all around, getting up on her knees and rocking back and forth...

 everything goes into her mouth for inspection

 she's rolling around

 choosing her own toys and playing with them

 eating her books(hahaha)

 it is amazing how fast she is growing!

Another Artist in the Family...

 I am so proud to announce that out of thousands of talented students in this Capital Region, my Grandson Seth was chosen to display his artwork in the 25th Annual Arts and Enrichment Student Art Show.

 Here he is standing next to the piece his art teacher chose to represent his school. He was a little overwhelmed with the attention we were giving this achievement, but he took it like a pro and posed for this picture next to his art work.

There were so many wonderful pieces of art exhibited at the show, but as you can see, i only had eyes for this fabulous artist...