A treasure from Mom's house.

This is a church cookbook. It is full of confort foods!!!!

The cover is oilcloth with pinked edges. It is over 1"thick with typed recipes on the fronts and backs of each page.

It was published by the American Lutheran Church Women of Tolna, North Dakota, in 1969.

Julie Marie did a beautiful, soulful tribute to her sacred life in North Dakota on her blog yesterday, so I decided it was time to share this!

Inside the book, we have lots of cookie, cake, and dessert recipes and of course "hot dish" recipes(potluck-ready casseroles to carry to church suppers!). One of these has the fun title of "Shipwreck"

Here is the recipe.....

Shipwreck

Slice onions in bottom of buttered pan. Over it place raw potatoes, sliced. add a layer of browned hamburger, a layer of uncooked rice, a layer of chopped celery and a can of kidney beans, drained. Season each layer with (canned) tomato soup diluted with a little water. You may also add a little ketchup. Cover and cook 'til potatoes and rice are done.

Clara Forde

See more show and tell at No place like home . Kelli has a wonderful quilt posted today!!!!!

Mail....both kinds!!!!and mermaids too!!!!

(Synchronicity at work!!!!)

Arriving home yesterday, I was greeted by a lovely e-mail from Carmen. She had photographed my name spelled out in seashells, beside a piece of mermaid art. Stunning!

Carmen tells me that the mermaid is from Gemma's "pay it forward" art offer. I love redhaired mermaids....and here is a watercolor I did last year of one who is maybe a litle vain? (Aren't most of us who blog!!!???)

I also had a package from Arizona!!!!

A few weeks back, in a greedy moment, I left a comment with Gemma to "win" some of her art work in the "pay it forward" art offer. [I have some "Gemma art" already, the "indigo pears" in my sidebar!]. Never-the-less, I wanted MORE....she came through with a lovely 5X7 collage/watercolor with pearls and feathers. It is about my name!

LILA

Origin: Sanskrit Meaning: Divine Play

Origin: Persian Meaning: Dark Haired Beauty

I have read about my name a lot over the years, and do so appreciate having this to hang in my art studio. I think the "divine play" aspect will be a blessing for years to come as the "dark beauty" fades...(remembering the Michelle Pfeiffer 400 year-old witch in "Stardust", LOL)

Thank-you, Gemma. (now I need to do the art for those who left comments on my "pay-it-forward" post!)

One last package contained two items from Corey at Tongue in Cheek Antiques !!!!

They are antique French postcards and Limoges charms found by Corey at the Paris Flea Markets. Now I can touch and hold in my hand something related to her wonderful blog!

"F" is for finishing!

This is a pastel by artist Sally Strand....she is fantastic! Taking ordinary subjects and truly illuminating them with her use of light and shadow.

I think of the hours of "finishing" handwork done to hem and sew the last details on the dresses my mom and I have made!

While away from home,

I have received some e-mails with more photos from our family wedding party and even, now of the honeymoon couple!

The photo on the right is of my son, my daughter and my new daughter-in-law at the picnic the day before the wedding.

Then the wonderful wedding day itself.....cutting the cake (which had wildflowers on it) and walking in sunshine! A truly beautiful afternoon!

Then off to the tropics for much deserved R and R............

......a honeymoon along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

They are back in Flagstaff now and letting us all know that things are going

well for them!

Another window painted by an artist!

This one reminds me of the east window here at Mom's where she has her Christmas cactus and African violets. The morning sun comes streaming in on them much like this!

William Hook is a Western artist. He has wonderful use of color and his paintings are straightforward and verge on minimalist. He does western landscapes as well as still life. Here are 2 more of his.....

And one of mine!!!!!

I realised, I had done a window painting last summer, too!

I'm on archaeological dig here at Mom's!

She has flown off to Wisconsin and I am tidying up her home. She has lived here for thirty years now and let's just say that for the last 20 or so she hasn't had to heart to throw much out!

So, I am sorting and discarding and finding many things from days gone by!

It is slow work, and I know there will be several trips to donate things she no longer needs. Of course this has stirred up my dust and mold allergies quite a bit!

So, to preserve my health and sanity(?), I will be taking breaks and dropping by some friendly blogs!

(Photos from Google photo images.....not mine!)

Sunday Dinner(tomorrow) for relatives dropping in.....everyone will be wanting to see the great niece! "Baby Ella"!

Since we don't know how many will be here, I will make chicken gumbo and "dirty" rice...yummmmm!

Must go, Baby Ella just arrived!

Spending the weekend with my mom and cooling off at the movies!





Yesterday, Mom and I saw "Hairspray"....with a very talented young newcomer playing the lead role of Tracy.

We laughed out loud at least once...so that was a success!

Last Monday, I saw "Stardust". It too made me laugh as 400-year old witch, Michelle Pheifer, was battleing age spots with magic spells!



This is becoming habit-forming so I'm planning to go to the matinee to see "Becoming Jane" this afternoon......movies are cool and it is about 100 degrees here in the afternoon. I love the visual delights in period pieces like this one....the costumes, houses and English countryside!

I have been knitting socks [that is "knitting on socks"...I am not whipping out pair after pair!] and reading "The Yarn Harlot", the funny essays of knitterStephanie Pearl-Mcphee. She writes and knits with apparent abandon!

My niece and great niece from Wisconsin are here to take Mom up to the dairy farm for a visit...so I will be giving all of them a lift to the Little Rock airport early Monday morning.
The niece brought us a dairy-land treat....squeaky curds....yes, cheese so freshly made that it squeaks when you bite into it!

I'll be back later to post about the other book I am reading....(I visited a locally owned bookstore in my hometown last week and found two non-fiction....the Yarn Harlot, and a book about the naturaly history of the palette...colors, you know. ) I am considering reading "The Golden Compass", chosen for the children's book club on the Today Show. I also saw previews of the movie based on the fantasy book at the theatre yesterday. More about this later!

For Daisy Lupin's poetry fest!



Let Evening Come

Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.


Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.


Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.


Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.


To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.


Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.


Jane Kenyon

Photo of old Arkansas barn and passionflower by Mr. Pear. August 2007

Just taking it easy this week......

I'm curled up with library books and am mentally at least a thousand miles and a few hundred years away!

Back to blogging later!

It's Sunday morning, time to post another painting featuring windows!

This one, "Flowers on the Windowsill" is by Swedish artist, Carl Larsson. He was a contemporary of the Impressionists. His wife Karin was also an artist. They created a lovely home for their family with lots of light and decorative elements. Tourists can still visit the home today in Sundborn, Sweden.

I like the light ,clean, fresh look of his interiors, usually with the family doing domestic tasks. In this watercolor, the knitting lying on the table and child watering flowers help us to appreciate and celebrate the beauty of the "ordinary" day.

Hoping each of you has a beautiful, if "ordinary", day!

Two new "things"........

This is a magic (I'm sure) hammer....it is purple floral and comes from my friend Macrina who got it for me at the Blue Bird Circle Resale shop in Houston. (The shop is mentioned in the mystery novel/altered book, "Journal: The short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason" by Kristine and Joyce Atkinson ....)

The hammer handle open and contains several screwdrivers.

Just what a gal needs in her art/sewing studio!

This auburn haired mermaid ornament found me again! She was the only mermaid in a Christmas shop in Flagstaff...all ornaments were on sale.

She seems to be playing a lyre...rather similar to angels!

I am trying to buy fewer "things".....but as an indecisive Libra, I waiver!

Most "things" are made in slave labor camps in China under a brutal regime (they executed a person recently for "errors")....and our balance of trade is way out of wack..

Everything for sale where I work is made in China.....and it was getting to be that way with most of the fabrics in my quilt shop (they might be printed elsewhere, but the goods were woven in China).

the good side is that countries who are trading partners may think twice before going to war.....

I think the only place now to find local goods is in re-sale shops!

This is the art print which I gave to Gemma...it had come into my life at an artist's reception for Alice Lynn Greenwood. Alice's spiritual journey can be felt through viewing her art....for instance she has a pink rhinoserous in much of her work, its job is to help protect her boundaries....in another painting, "Dating Neptune", she is a mermaid....and one shows her exhausted by a riverbed and says something about needing to find a blackbird. This piece shows the blackbird with a broken heart in it's beak. In Celtic lore, the blackbird figures as a guide to the underworld.....

Immediately after finding this art, I was greeted by crows everywhere...and found out that they are my totem animal...I even heard them cawing softly at my son's wedding!

Gemma has the crow totem too so I know this was meant for her...at least for now!

The first stop (after the airport) of our Arizona adventure was to find breakfast and meet a blogging buddy!

Gemma, my grandaughter, Lili, and myself (also present were my daughter, my mother, who took this photo, and Mr. Pear)

My daughter drove us to La Grande Orange where we met Gemma! What a delightful way to start the day, with crepes, fresh squeezed orange juice and a dear friend!

Gemma is an artist who made the "indigo pears" piece in my sidebar and here.

" Indigo Pears" by Gemma

We did an art exchange, this is the collage on a watercolor which I sent to her...

I really think the lady popping out of the vase is Gemma.....don't you?

[ I hope to travel some more and contact more of you lovely bloggers!]

The wedding theme was mountain wildflowers, Andrew and Mary
met a few summers ago in the Tetons, where he was working in a lodge
and she was working as a naturalist/guide for the national park service.

This wedding quilt is called "Teton Meadows". It has lots of blue

for western skies and bright wildflower colors. It was on the

welcome table at the dinner/reception. (to see more of this quilt and other quilts I've made, go to my "Lila's quilts" blog)

The Ceremony......




As they were taking their seats, guests received this vellum covered leaflet with the order of service inside....and some verses from the "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.



[ I was planning to insert the video ceremony here...but it was too long for You Tube or Blogger....so just imagine perfect weather, a crow cawing, classical guitar music and a soft breeze in the Aspen trees as the couple recited vows and exchanged rings.]

Photos were taken after the ceremony.....(this is the only one I have yet...)

[Mr. Pear and I are definitely in the shadows of the tall couple here!]

This photo of the "beargrass" table (following the wildflowers theme) shows lively conversation between the grandmothers and the mother of the bride.
(That's my pink silk jacket, just in case it got cold when the sun went down.....)

Which it did in a beautiful Arizona sunset!

Many of us went outside for a few minutes to enjoy it!

Then we came back inside for lots of fun,

a slide show of family memories from both families, a kissing game and finally....

Andrew and Mary's first dance as a

newly married couple.

The celebration begins......

"Les tres chic" guests begin arriving....

large and small!

Mr. Pear and I pose while Heather, the professional wedding photographer, kindly snaps our photo on our own digital camera!

We are definitely beaming! (Fashion notes: My dress is a silk chiffon tea length by Karen Kane....Mr. Pear is sporting a Gerry Garcia necktie! Corsages and boutineers are mountain wildflowers!)

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

On a gorgeous, clear, 70 degree Saturday afternoon, we rode to the mountain top in chartered buses!

( you should be able to see my daughter, "blue eyes", son-in-law, "locks" [not cutting his hair until the baby is born!], and granddaughter, "lovely lili" as well as some beaming cousins in these photos!)

After the picnic......

Come with me to see the location for the ceremony.....

The Arizona Snow Bowl in the San Francisco Peaks. A deck surrounded by blue spruce, aspen, and pine, from which one can see one hundred miles....to the rim of the Grand Canyon!

Talking with the minister.....tomorrow is the wedding!

A Family Gathers.....


These baby girls are second cousins, meeting for the first time at our pre-wedding picnic.

The picnic was held in Flagstaff on the grounds of the Riordon Mansion State Historic Park. The park is the 1904 Craftsman style house and grounds of the Riordon estate. The Riordons (who came from the Chicago area) had the first sawmill in the area and became very wealthy from harvesting the large Ponderosa pine forest in the surrounding mountains.

We were so blessed to have time to spend with cousins, most of us normally separated by miles and busy lives!

This is Mr. Pear, visiting with the bride, Mary and her father.

The weather was absolutely perfect for all of our events!