From the Blacksmith

 A couple of years ago my husband was able to participate in a demonstration of blacksmithing making an "S" hook.  He did such a great job and has delved into this hobby by reading books and articles on working with metal.  

He joined a blacksmith guild soon after the demonstration experience and hasn't looked back.  He has made knives, hooks, hangers, candle holders, dinner bells and many other items.

Here is his latest budding project- Copper Roses

Aren't they beautiful?  He's done such a great job.

I had been working on Ancestry.com to build our family trees and was concentrating on his side of the family.  On the day we returned from his hands on experience I uncovered that his great grandpa had been a blacksmith.  

Later after joining the blacksmith guild, he met up with a guy who was from the same community that my husband was raised and they spoke about their grandpas only to find out that my husbands great grandpa and his had been in the blacksmithing business together.  

Funny how things happen to come about and that this new found hobby of my husband has connected him to a former resident and also to his great grandpa.

Oh The Places You Go......or the things I've been doing

It's unbelievable that I haven't posted in such a long time. I guess life has been seriously busy. 

We are getting  ready for Halloween and three special goblins to visit soon. Planning a small gathering and a visit to a pumpkin patch- weather permitting.

Hope to share more in the near future.

I've been working on quilts, table runners, bench pillows, wool applique and a lot of other fun things.

Hope to have pictures to post real soon!

Craftsy Block of the Month 2012

Blooming in Hooterville

Stick a Lilly in your garden and be Happy! 
If you remember from an earlier post, I mentioned my "Hope" garden.  Well here are three examples of  "Hope"  in my garden! 
DH decided that he would assist me a couple of years back and mowed, moved and unearthed my growing patch.  Please let me state that yes there were a lot of weeds in that patch, but there were a few non weed plants.  The pictures shown here are the remnants of that patch.  A happy resilient group of Lillies.  Kinda a wrong name for those blooming plants if you ask me.  They should have a strong name like gladiator or something more creative.

All is not lost though.  The local garden centers have placed their blooming plants on clearance. Which I have taken full advantage of.  I have purchased several flowering bushes and perenials that will not only bloom in spring, but summer and fall.  I have also been hosting some winged creatures that has made my little backyard blossom with activity.  I have a determined hummingbird that is kinda aggressive.  I spotted a dragonfly......one of my favorites.....resting near our deck.  Also, colorful butterflies have been fluttering around checking out the new residents in our backyard.  

We have spent more time this year in our backyard thanks to the weather cooperating and the humidity not being out of site.  Hopefully one of the next few posts will be about another activity we've got going on in our backyard!

Oh the Places We've Been





Have you ever felt like you were a part of the Dr. Seuss Book "Oh the Places You'll Go"?  I believe we experienced every page.  We traveled to visit our newest grandson and his parents by car. (Just a couple sleeps away and a lot of road time) We returned via Amtrak. (Just a couple sleeps away and a lot of rail time) An exciting adventure, full of beautiful scenery and some not so pretty.  But none of it looked near as good as the green grass of  HOME!  The closer we got to home, the greener it got and boy green looked good to us!

 Its probably just a mom thing, but it was good to see that our kids, even though they are adults, were safe and sound.       

Our visit with our kids was a good one.  It was nice to see where they had put down some temporary roots.  DH and I had never traveled that far together in our many years of marriage.  And I might say that we had a great time together.  One interesting story -on the second night of our trip via car, we stayed at a hotel and our room was on the second floor.  The next morning, DH was loading the car and I was doing  a once over on the room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and low and behold in came a small white curly haired dog with a couple of pony tails......he looked just like my dog I had left with our oldest son and his family-2 sleeps away!  I picked up this little ball of white fur and started talking with him, wondering where in the world he came from, then in walks DH.  His first question was, "Where did he come from?"   Both of us a little dazed and thinking that son #1 was going to appear at any moment, came back to reality noting that this little maltese was not our Solomon.  After a little lovin' on the dog, which we later learned his name to be Pirate, we chuckled making comment about this dog magically appearing in our room and how my mom would love this little guy because of his name. (She had been wearing a patch for some eye trouble she had been experiencing, thus the pirate connection.  arrgggh)  We began to walk out of our room, only to see a man that could have been a pirate and a disgruntled pirate at that, walking toward the three of us.  We had a very quick conversation ending with him asking for his dog and telling us that he had another maltese waiting for him that some lady was holding for him while he looked for Pirate. Poor little Pirate!  We should have taken the little fella as a stow away.
Even though we were 2 sleeps away from home, thoughts of home were with us! Here are a few pictures of the sights we saw.

                                            

Dad and son!

Well worth the trip!!

Unexpected Spring Visitor(s)

Imagine my suprise while outside looking for signs of new life, my DH (Darling Husband) motioned for me to look behind me and there she was....my red chicken.  Stolen from home and strolling back to the old watering hole to wet her whistle.

There's just something about home!!!

Then if you notice a few extra visitors in the background and along the fence.

HMMMMM do you think its a coup from the coop?

All I can acknowledge is that it is gonna be a fun summer in Hooterville!!  Maybe it should be Beakville instead?

Say it Ain't........ SNOW...........

......but it won't last.  Only 10 days until the official day of spring. The ground is bringing forth signs of spring:

Look very close.....hidden beneath the old is the new!




Don't you like the daffodils?  But if you notice, they are inside and not out.  They are my interim daffodils.  A welcome gift from a friend.  And as soon as the weather is cooperative, they will be moved to the great outdoors.

The Garden of Hope Guardian Angel watches over the signs of life in the below picture

So take heart.  Spring is just around the corner!