Snow Day...I'm Playin Hooky

Charmed !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yippee!!!!!!! I got my charms! 25 of them! This photo doesn't really do them justice...they are all awesome! I went into town yesterday and bought some 16 gauge wire so I can start making the bracelet...actually...I'm not sure if I'll do a bracelet..or a necklace??!!!
I love doing these little charms so much that I joined another charm swap yesterday through my creative journey group..this one is hosted by Kristen Robinson....the first swap was hosted by Dawn Sellers....FUN!
Yesterday we had a HUGE storm! It rained...hailed...snowed... through all of it the wind was howling...the pine trees up here on the hill were swaying back and forth...then thunder...and huge cracks of lightening...a totally outrageous storm! I happen to LOVE storms!!!! I don't like driving in bad weather..but when I'm all save here at home with the pantry full...and a fire going....I go sit out on the back porch and watch the storms...they energize me! Another storm is coming in later today...more snow!
I'm still busy with the family history project...going to go through some boxes today...and I feel like baking a cake!

Saturday's Heart

This beautiful heart arrived Saturday from my talented friend Cris Cunningham..you can check out all her beautiful work at http://www.enchantedheartsstudio.typepad.com/ I haven't had too much time to be on the computer....it's been storming for days...and tomorrow they are calling for SNOW again....I need to prepare today....when it snows here ....we are pretty much stuck...we live a little less than a mile up a hill on top of a mountain...since we don't have a 4-wheel drive ...driving DOWN the hill is just too dangerous and scary. I'm going to run errands today....get some groceries...pay some bills...and go to the post office.
I've also been busy working on a few things in the studio....plus going through some boxes of "family history"....trying to get some papers organized etc. I just recently made a connection with a cousin (lets see....he is my Dad's 1st cousin...so I am guessing that would make him my 2nd cousin). He actually found me through this blog! We are sharing family stories...and old photos from the Bates side of the family.....My Grandmother's maiden name is Bates. I have always loved learning about my family history..I still have lots of old vintage photos to post. This is a time consuming project...SO...with everything that I NEED to do around here...and everything that I WANT to do...the days go by so fast...I try to spend some time each day on the computer..but... I'm not always able to. I do read most of my favorite blogs...but..I don't always have the time to make comments...I just want all of my BLOGGING buddies to know that I LOVE and appreciate them!

Family History

I am so excited to have found this photo...from the left..my Grandfather, Laurence Enyart...my Grandmother Edna Viola Enyart (Bates)....My Great Grandmother, Mary Enyart (Gosney) and in the back far right is my Great Grandmother Losy Lee..the man on her right is her brother Gay Lee...and his children. This picture was taken in Oakland on my Grandmother and Grandfather Enyart's wedding day in front of the house they were married at...which belonged to Uncle Gay Lee. I am so thrilled to have a photo of my Grandparents...and both of my Great Grandmothers all in the same picture! Yahoo!
(I love my Granmother's dress)....

Vintage Photos

This has got to be one of my very favorite photos of my Grandmother Edna Viola Bates Enyart Klare. Taken in 1911. My Gram was an original pioneer woman born in Verdi Nevada.

This is the Lee family.....That is my Great Grandmother Losy Lee...my Grandmother's Mother, and to her left is her brother Gay Lee.

This is Uncle Salem...looks like he's been duck hunting...taken in 1914.
I really love this photo...I don't think I've ever seen a picture of Salem with such a big smile on his face!

Hey Alvin....Do you remember this? This is Alvin Bates...my Grandmother's brother (Salem's) son. Alvin and I just recently connected after many years through this blog...we are sharing photos and information that we both have gathered over the years from our parents...grandparents..aunts...cousins etc. Maryellen...my cousin..also shares what information she knows...so....Maryellen these are for you also!

More Vintage Photos

This photo says "Juvenile Orchestra" Oct. 1944....Alvin, Violet, Leonard, Barbara, Berne?, Billy and Baby Donnie.

This is my Grandmother's brother Salem..."Sal"...Alvin..this is for you...I hope you see it! I got your message from yesterday and I've been trying to get in touch with you...If you read this leave a comment....or e-mail me at vican100@hotmail.com
I have lots of family photos that I know you would like to see...plus maybe you could help me with some family information about the Bates side of the family. Hope you are well!
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The snow is finally starting to melt...fast....it was fun while it lasted. More rain is expected...then back into the 60's and 70's.....I have housework to do today...with breaks in between to work in the studio..hope everyone has a warm and cozy Friday.

Happy Things Friday

footprints in the snow
rushing brooks and dark, quiet forests beside the road
the first snow of winter
chocolate milk
afternoon naps
food that mittened hands can grasp
cloud watching
cinnabar beads
homemade soup
the need for imagination
back doors: the ones best friends enter by
the six sides of a snowflake
a seasonal collage of pictures of your house
jasmine flower
the heightened awareness of the sheer joy of nature, the stillness, the changing patterns of light and shade, the small sounds of honeybees, the gentle cooing of doves
wooden bridges
sipping a coke
variety being the spice of life
reading all the books you never had time for
and the last one in honor of this Friday........
good food for a cold afternoon: piping-hot chocolate and crispy, home-fried doughnuts

24 Hours...What a Day Brings...

To This....(just beginning to snow)

And....Finally This.......!!!!!!

This is for a 6x6 RR Collabrative....Karen did the background...I did the main focus...and Barb does the embellishment...Barb then sends the finished canvas back to the owner Karen.

RAINY.......NOT !!!! It's SNOWING!

I said it was raining!!!! It just turned to SNOW!

Rainy Day

It's coming down in sheets out there this morning!!!! I've been outside sitting on the porch...listening to it...smelling the fresh air and the wet earth. I especially love to go to sleep at night while listening to the rain....I'm in my jammies today....puttering around the house...have a nice fire going in the fireplace....and hope to work in the studio....
The picture above is a collage I did for a calendar swap.

Vision

This is a 4x4 fat book page for Patti's swap...the theme for March is "Games".Very quiet around here today...I've been hunkered down in the studio....watching the clouds roll in...it's supposed to rain tonight.....

Outdoor Beauty

These last few days have been so nice..I could not resist taking lots of photos. The top photo is the 3 forked Mimosa (or silk tree) in the front yard. This is the home of the tree house that I can't bear to tear down...next photo is a red geranium that I planted yesterday... I know I post alot of these Quince flowers..but they are so breathtakingly beautiful...the bushes are just masses of color....
I haven't spent too much time in the studio lately...(other than to clean something)...it's been too nice outside...Andy had four days off...we spent alot of time raking...burning...weeding...putting grass seed down..I've taken lots of walks with the camera around my neck and the animals at my heels...
I've also been going through stacks of old magazines..Oprah...Living...Home Companion...Real Simple...This Old House...Handyman...Christmas...Rosie...Victoria....I am such a magazine FREAK! I can't throw all of them away...but I can weed them out...I've also been reading like crazy lately...I just finished a book ...A Storyteller's Life by Anne Chisholm. ...It's about the life of Rumer Godden..who wrote two of my favorite books....An Episode of Sparrows...and... In This House of Brede. I read both of these books when I was a teenager, and have never forgotten them.
Today..maybe art...maybe outside....maybe some of both...it's abit cooler but the sun is shining bright!

The Italian Cypress tree in the front yard....this tree is huge....I love to stand and put my head back and stare at this tree...I've never seen a cypress tree this tall. I remember when my Dad planted this tree for my Mom...many years ago...maybe 30?! The picture above is the lower road that comes into the front of the place...there is also an upper road...it makes a loop.

Old Bird

Somebody put a fake bird in one of the trees...while I was walking yesterday I came across it...it looks like it has actually grown to become one of the tree! Ya never know what you might find on a walk around here....

Front and Back View

Top photo is taken from the front of the house...and 2nd photo is one of the views from the back of the house....this is just one of the reasons why I LOVE it here...and why I am so grateful! The days have been so beautiful...and I am starting to get spring fever...although I know we still have some winter....I've been outside every day digging in the flowerbeds...today I have a new rosebush and a new geranium to plant...
This poem by Mary Oliver is perfect for this wondrous morning....
*************Morning Poem***********************
Every morming
the world
is created.
Under the orange

sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again

and fasten themselves to the high branches-----
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands

of summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails

for hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
And if your spirit
carries within it

the thorn
that is heavier than lead-----
if it's all you can do
to keep on trudging-----

there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted------

each pond with it's blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,

whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have dared to pray.

4x4 fat book page for Patti's swap. The theme is "Games". I used felt...fabric...mesh , and my sewing machine.

Outside Beauty

I love walking around the house and taking pictures....It was in the 70's yesterday .....I couldn't resist .....the first one is my poodle Toby...He's looking out the bedroom window...one of the views from the back of the house (look at all the green)...the HUGE Quince bush and I managed to capture one of the bees on the Quince....I think I'm starting to have Spring fever already...I know Winter's not over..but these last few days have been glorious.....Today would have been my Mom's 90th birthday...(Happy Birthday Mama)...An and I are going to plant 2 new rose bushes in her honor...we worked in the flower garden yesterday (I'll post more photos later)...we also had our first barbecue of the year...I finished the 6x6 canvas..and got a few things ready to mail....I'm excited today because it's so beautiful outside....Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Friday Happy Things

riding the wind
a baby's yawn
when hiking through snow, using the footsteps of one who has boldly gone before you
the way your lover looked at you the first time you met
the meaning of a bird's song
tulips pushing through rain-soaked soil
perfume vials
a private collection of pleasures
dark blue sky
a smile from a stranger
sharing things: toys, fun, giggles,secrets
the fairy-tale factory in your mind
when, in the middle of a quiet, milder than usual night, the accumulated snow on the roof slides off with a thundering crash
paintbrushes
pillow fights
part of you always being a child
rosy mornings
big red barns
the uncurling of a fern
collecting handbags, supermarket art, framed cards, bowls, antique agate boxes, art deco,pictures, rugs, hearts, wooden eggs, matchbooks, pasta seashells, salt and pepper shakers, buttons, printer's type, perfume bottles, labels, copper pennies, quilts
Okay.....that should do it for this Friday! :-) I got a late start this morning...Andy did some much needed maintenance on the computer...he is off for 4 days starting today! I am getting some art ready to mail and just finished making some blueberry muffins...It is glorious outside today...temps. supposed to be in the low 70's.....the sun is shining so bright! I wish everyone could come over ...share some ice tea... sit in the front yard and listen to the bees and hummingbirds buzz around the Quince bush....the closer you walk torwards the bush..the louder it gets....there are some very busy bees in that bush ! I am going to try to get a photo of it today! Hope EVERYONE has a stupendous Friday and better than ever weekend!

Beauty in February and Peanut Butter

It looks so beautiful outside today...crisp and clear...the sun is shining brightly among the shadows....I snapped a few photos of the primrose that I spotted coming up in the flower garden...and the outrageous Quince bush that is just a mass of color...the gigantic Quince is over 40 years old !!!
I turned the morning news on just in time to hear a warning about peanut butter...Peter Pan case/lot number 2111..turns out people have been getting sick with Salmonella and they have narrowed it down to this peanut butter...guess what!??? We just bought peanut butter last Sunday. I went out to the kitchen to check the lot number which is on the top of the lid..and sure enough the number read 2111...I immediately called the store to tell them. I didn't eat any of it...either did my Dad...but Andy had some the other day...I called him at work to tell him about it...he's feeling fine..thank goodness!
I'm going to take a nice long walk today with the animals....and work on some projects...a 6x6 canvas from Barb...and get the postcards ready to mail for Jane's swap....It's supposed to be almost 70 degrees tomorrow!!! I almost feel guilty saying it...after hearing about all the cold terrible weather in the mid-west and East....Bbbbrrrr...hope all my friends who live in those areas are keeping warm and safe...

"Hearty Breakfast"

I made this breakfast for my Dad this morning...A big HEART-shaped blueberry pancake with some small ones surrounding it! He loved it!

The third postcard is finished!

Valentine ATC's.....

Some Ways to Say "I Love You".....

Chinese-Ngo oiy ney a
Dutch- ik hou van jou
Filipino- Mahal Kita
French- Je t'aime, Je t' adore
German- ich liebe dich
Hawaiian- Aloha wau ia oi
Irish- Taim i' ngra leat
Italian- Ti amo
Korean- Sarang Heyo
Norwegian- Jeg Elsker Deg
Polish- Kocham Cie
Russian- Ya tebya liubliu
Spanish- Te quiero/Te amo
Thai- Cahn rak khun (to male)
phom rak khun (to female)
and of course..I LOVE YOU in ENGLISH!!!!!