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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Bakers Dozen


I see that the followers to my blog have reached a Bakers Dozen. It might seem small to you but it feels good to me! And it makes me think of that bonus ear of corn the Farmer gives me when I buy 12 ears. And the extra bagel thrown in the bag at the Bakery. Who doesn't want another bagel?

So in the Spirit of the Bonus, I am doing that bloggy thing and having my very first GiveAway! Become a follower and your name will go in the hat and we will have a drawing May 15th. For those of you already followers, your names will go in the hat as soon as I stop typing :-)

This is what you might win! Good Luck!!!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Time to Grow




Growing Season has to be around the corner. It just has to be. The temps and the weather indicate otherwise. But for my 42 years, Spring always has followed Winter. Always. Sometimes it is abbreviated and Summer takes over pretty quickly. Not sure what is up with it this year. Each Winter we flirt with the idea of starting our veggies and herbs but we have yet to take that initiative. So along comes Spring (presumably) and we are kicking ourselves again for not starting our plants in the Winter. Quite the little dance. Last Spring we decided to do Square Foot Gardening. We have the space, but our soil is crap. And we were tired of dumping so much time and money into a garden that was hit or miss. So we made our boxes and mixed approximately 2 tons of peat/vermiculite/compost. We were filthy and it felt goooood. We were so confident in our new soil so we planted tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snaps, string beans, lima beans, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, peppers, corn, potatoes, onions, carrots, radishes, butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash, cilantro, parsley, chives, dill, basil, rosemary, and nasturtiums. It took off like wildfire! Our garden was finally something to be proud of :-) All this waiting this year--waiting to just prep it--is driving us a little crazy. Our mouths are watering over the idea of fresh salsa and bruchetta, butternut risotto, grilled squash & onions.....we decided to finally plant garlic last fall(after years of saying "we should") and they are poking up now, so that is hopeful! The chives have me concerned, though. Usually they start growing the first warm day of the year. But this year, nothing. If chives are my indicator of Spring, it is still a LONG way away. A few changes this year. After several years, I have convinced Crow (my husband) that the corn takes up too much space and doesn't yield more than one meal. So the corn is out. We will buy that from the Professional Farmers at Farmers Market :-) And even after the Square Foot Miracle Mix, my carrots are still not worth the space given to them. So they are out. That leaves room for more successful veggies. Last year was the first year we planted potatoes and they did great! We had a potato contest---whose box grew the most. Winner got bragging rights. It was a tie :-) We are thinking of canning. Just thinking about it. It could take a few more years before the thought becomes a reality. Truthfully, the idea scares me. But I may warm up to it. There is a lot to learn from a Garden. A whole heck of a lot.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Sally at Wireworked has a Giveaway---Check it out!



Sally's Jewelry Blows Me Away!!! Absolutely blows me away. What comes out of her head and heart and hands has passion in every little twist of wire and color choice. She is having a Giveaway. Post a comment and become a follower and you might win a pair of earrings shown here!

Friday, April 15, 2011

7000 Bracelets for Hope Blog Hop


Here is THE LINK you need to find all the fabulous jewelry artists who are participating in today's Blog Hop! There are 112 of us! Lori Anderson is the force behind this event. Info on the Global Genes Project can be found via this link too. 7000 Bracelets for Hope raises awareness for people (particularly children) who are living with rare diseases.
http://lorianderson.blogspot.com/2011/04/bracelet-blog-hop-7000-bracelets-of.html

I am brand spankin' new to blogging and have not quite found my way beyond inserting a picture, so please forgive my lacking blogging abilities. I will get better. At least I hope I will!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Treasure Tins





My Friend Lindy is an Artist.
She recently made these Treasure Tins and asked on her Facebook page "what tiny treasures do you carry with you?" It was hard for me to answer. Sometimes it is a tiny piece of driftwood. Sometimes it is a pebble. Sometimes it is a wheat penny. Sometimes it is a bead. Sometimes a concert ticket stub. Sometimes a button. I will carry something around for several weeks or months, never knowing why. Sometimes it is some little item my kids give me "for good luck", when I am in extra need of that. I won't yet tell them we are all in need of that on a daily basis.

If you are interested in these little Treasure Tins, for your beadwork or needlework or lucky charms, please contact Lindy through her website: www.lindyivey.com.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

First Friday Art Auction


Home with a sick kid for 3rd day in a row. Not feeling too articulate.
But wanted to get this info out there:
This Friday from 6pm-9pm(as in 2 days from now), the MAC Gallery at 123 Wyoming Ave is having an Art Auction to benefit First Fridays in Scranton. Rumor has it this bracelet of mine and a gorgeous piece of Sally's will be auctioned off. There are many other items being auctioned off. I may not make it there (too much on the agenda), so if you go, tell me all about it!
Hoping for better weather and good health!

Friday, April 1, 2011

HayWire


Sally tries really hard to teach me wire. The problem is me, not her. If you check out her blog (see sidebar: Wireworked), you will see what a beautiful and creative jewelry artist she is; and she is a great teacher, as her sold out classes prove. The problem is clearly me. The center pendant in this picture, I made back in the fall. I decided I would take what I learned in Sally's recent wire class and in the freedom of my own home, with no one watching, I would wow myself by making a ring to wear on my right hand. Well, the wire disc you see in this picture is my "ring". After a few days passed, I licked my wounds and used it to make this pendant. I made a couple more yesterday, after putting the first one out of my mind for several months. My family (aka: my biggest critics) love them, much to my surprise. My oldest did give me a few suggestions as to how to tweak it to make it better. I will try her suggestions in the next round and see how it looks. Not sure if these are winners or not. Just putting them out there.