A special report from the front porch.....

we had a very peaceful 4th of July!

Yes, these rocking chairs were put to service!

We visited our friends, Mr. Pear brought the camera along.....

Their old farmhouse is now in town and has beautiful gardens. These friends are truly "green" and animal lovers, I'm sure their gardens are just full of fairies!

We are looking at some "triple" ( more petals than just "double") daylilies here...

By the way,this bouquet features a daylily from my garden which also seems to be triple or even "twisted" triple, and a soft yellow gladiola which is from some "church bazaar" bulbs which my mother brought to me from Wisconsin....this is the first time I've seen what their bloom would be....(maybe I like gladiolas after all....?)

The baked goodies are chocolate chip oatmeal cake (which I made for the party)and plum buckle (which I am enjoying for breakfast now!)

Celebrating the 4th with a look at an American ideal....the front (or back) porch!!




I love the nostalgia of the porch! This green cottage is located near our Art Center of the Ozarks. Wouldn't you love to sit and rock for a bit?

Porches come and go in history and location around the world. They are very popular in the South. Porches provide and informal area....shady out of the total public view but not as private as being in the house itself.
African rulers are said to have used the porch concept as a place to interact with those wanting an audience. Under the porch roof, everyone was out of the hot sun, yet not intruding on the privacy of the living quarters of the ruler.

This is my own back porch, we don't have a front porch,.......... just a big yard with a huge elm tree!

These photos were taken today. It is cool and cloudy...we've had a couple of rather rainy weeks.

I use one end of the porch for my art studio (ha! I paint "all over the place") and the other end for reading, birdwatching and peaceful meals.

[I am getting very frustrated with Blogger...I am here in a stuffy " computer room" when I could be out on that porch...so I may not blog (log computer time) as much for a while...HA!]

(I spent a long time trying to do a link to a wonderful book about porches...http://www.amazon.com/American-Porch-Informal-History-Place/dp/1592282717/ref=sr_1_1/002-4074307-0771253?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183472513&sr=8-1 this is as good as I could do...after spending an hour trying to hide all the programing, I'm giving up and posting it this way....not too cute! But the book looks great and some copies are only $0.01!)

For the Fourth of July, we will be visiting our friends in a nearby town. They have an old farm house with a wonderful front porch....I'll post photos in a day or so!

I'm off to the farmer's market now for ingredients for ratatouille! Wishing all who see this a happy, healthy Fourth of July holiday! (overseas readers, have a lovely week too!)

A new perspective......

I subscribe to an on-line newsletter for artists written by Canadian artist, Robert Genn.

Above: a rock from my gardening friend Paula Mariedaughter, worn by years in a river bed.

Below: bamboo stumps....see those grasping roots?

Last week he wrote about "Miksang" the Buddhist tradition of finding peace and joy by looking closely and carefully.

This can be done with the close-up lens of a digital camera.

Other images here include columbine seed pods, a day lily on a windy day, and new growth on a yew plant.

(Robert's newsletter link:http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/giftscribe.php )

Exciting news for us today..........



Our daughter had her ultrasound and the results were......It's a boy!

(of course we would love either!!! and big sister is almost 8 now!))

I heard this news on my lunch hour and made plans to head to the children's department as soon as I was off the clock!

9 little outfits later.....in several sizes...we have pj's and play clothes featuring airplanes, the cow jumping over the moon, teddy bears and bunnies....sale racks are much easier than sewing!
So when the little guy finally arrives in November, he will not go naked for long!!!

Thank-you for letting me share on of life's fun little moments!

Now here is a fun test I just found on Carmen's blog (you can visit her from my comments...)

You Are 45% Left Brained, 55% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Wishing Julie Marie at Celtic Woman, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

(illustration of a watercolor by Elizabeth Blackadder.......
simple but it "sings")

In the garden with Daisy.....

A peaceful image for a special day of fun and play, this is a painting by Margaret Tarrant an early 20th century illustrator. (She illustrated "Water Babies" in 1908.)

Today we can celebrate Fairy Day in honor of our late friend and blogger, Daisy Lupin. Daisy loved the idea of fairies and fairie day. It was she who made us more aware of these summer garden visitors!

In playing along with this, Carmen, of Strawberries and Champagne gave a link on her blog to find your fairy name. This is fun! (Like we need to have more names to remember?!)

Mine is Diamond Honey Nameen. My granddaughter is Diamond Heart Pomegranate and Mr. Pear is Pomegranate Hop Trail (as in "take a hike"? he does love hiking!)). [The funny thing is that our granddaughter had named him "Pom-Pom" when she was just learning to talk!]

It's late and the weekends are my busy time with my part-time job so I am wishing you all a happy Fairy Day. Do something fun for your inner child today!

Evening update: after work

Mr. Pear aka "Pomegranate Hop Trail" and I went for a walk this evening through the old part of town where one can find cottages and cottage gardens....we looked for elusive fairies.

Perhaps we were a bit early, not even the fireflies were out yet....but here at home, I was able to finally post a digital photo rather than a scan of the fairy doll made to celebrate midsummer. Here is Lunarose, the moonlight rose fairy flying near some calla lilies...you can almost see the rose tatoo on her ankle!

This is my first time to post for Show and Tell Friday hosted by Kelli!

With summer here, I wanted to show you my mermaid ornament.

She is of shimmery blown glass, about 6" tall, holding a "fan" of scallop shells.


I wish she had a lovely family story attached but she was the only, lonely mermaid hanging among the Christmas ornaments in a local store last September.....must have gotten lost in her deep ocean swims....


I love her "almost red" hair!


Perhaps I will get a mermaid doll (or 2) made this summer....she needs some friends!

Mary Timme has posted about celebrating your potential accomplishments...."Fall in love with potential accomplishment".

My potential accomplishment for today is to sew this dress for granddaughter Lili's 8th birthday....and maybe even get the package ready to mail....of course, that means leaving the computer! so, I'll be back later.....

[I have made dresses for Lili for years...( and I often like to work in 2's...making just one is not enough sometimes) ..a few weeks before her 3rd birthday, we were talking on the phone and I told her that I was making her "Two new dresses!" She called out to her mom with delight, "Grandma Lila is making me tuna dresses!!!!"

...so I often put a label in the dress I make for her which says..."Tuna Dress for Lili"!]

The second scan is of the finished dress being twisted to establish the wrinkled, crinkled look of fashion....I am posting a photo of the finished dress.

This is Lunarose, the midsummer fairy doll I finished today. She flies around gardens in the moonlight, sipping dewdrops and looking for the perfect rose!

[I'm sorry to only have a scanned image....I have some really cute ones on her in flight, but we've had some technology changes with the computer/printer system since the last time I uploaded digital photos...I can get it into a viewer, but not a file for saving and using on my blog....oh, well! (I'll post those whenever I do get it "worked out")] She is sparkly and shimmery and is very proud of the tatooed rose vining its way around her left ankle. (May be visible in a "flying" photo!)

Lunarose is going to a new home this evening....at our

DQS* Summer Solstice party to welcome the fairies back for the summer....she is going home with Lizzzzy as this doll was made for her in our doll swap!

* DQS is a small group of friends, all of whom used to hang out at my quilt shop....one of our sons called us the "dead quilter's society" (after the movie with Robyn Williams, "Dead Poets Society") Lizzzzy had jokingly commented that perhaps we are also the Drama Queen Sisters....take your pick!

This is the watercolor bouquet that I have just painted.

Pink and orange dahlias, fushia zinnias,blue-violet larkspur, pale yellow snapdragons and dark pink batchelor buttons are from the farmers market. The daisies are a wildflower which is in bloom now.

Here is a clear and lovely photo of the flowers! Watercolor is so much more pastel...unless you really get a lot of pigment with the water!

I really like the spiky orange and yellow dahlia!

Looking for ways to celebrate the solstice....maybe watching the movie, "A Midsummer Night's Dream".






Mr. Pear is home with bronchitis...resting in bed and taking his Rx.....but I have to share the computer with him (glad to of course!) He works on-line.....

So this will not be a long post.

I went to the farmer's market and bought a lovely bouquet....tried to post a photo of it, but it wouldn't load onto the computer....the flowers (bouquet) are the beginning of my summer solstice celebration. I will try to get them posted eventually.

In the meantime, I had been reading the early months of Daisy's blog....(what she posted before I had been reading blogs).
She wrote about loving art featuring windows. She collected art postcards on this theme. I love it too, and decided to use a painting for this post since my bouquet photo wouldn't co-operate. (I may do a watercolor of the bouquet and can scan that later)
This is a Salvador Dali painting.....I think it says a lot!

Daisy's garden...with baskets of flowers!

Daisy Lupin as a young mother.(from her post in January 2007)

[I borrowed this image from Ninnie's blog.....]

We have lost Daisy Lupin, wonderful writer and mentor to many of us bloggers and doll makers!

Her daughter, Lydia, known to us as Sweetpea, posted the news of her mother's illness and passing today.

I started blogging because of Daisy's blog. I feel a great void....

Daisy's tours of her world in the village in Cumbria, and her tales of folk lore and traditions were enthralling.

What she wrote about would spark other research and directions for us all....I often quoted her or referred to an illustration she had chosen!

She left insightful and encouraging comments for all of us....

"Astilbe's always amaze me, I always seem to think, oh the frost has killed them off, then suddenly by surprise they burst through the soil, and grow magnificently. Mine are profuse this year, as is my angelica. I adore petunias of all colours and types my pots and baskets are full of them."
by Daisy Lupin 4:13 PM June 10th, 2007

Still in shock, I cannot say how much she will be missed. Her baskets of flowers and of friends were full and overflowing!

I'm home!


At Ozark, I left the interstate and took "The Road Less Traveled"! In fact, I never saw another car in front of me or behind me in my lane!



From Wikipedia....."SCENIC HIGHWAY 23 - A National Scenic Byway connecting from Hwy. 71 south of Booneville, northward from Ozark to its junction with Ark. Hwy. 16. The Byway is known as "Pig Trail" to Razorback football enthusiasts. "
[I'll try to do some sketches to illustrate why I love this road....it could be a few days (or not), as I have to work all weekend!]






Waiting for me here, was a package from Carmen!


I had won her journal giveaway....well, the package was a bit larger than that....she included a jar of her homemade peach and pepper jam! ...I thought, this is the best smelling package I have ever received!....hmmm! What? More goodies?
The wonderful smell was the lavendar soap! and a pair of taupe cotton socks...love those! and a little bird cookie cutter , perfect for cutting tea cookies! (of course, I have a recipe for lavendar tea cookies, too!)

The journal has a perfect rose and a quiet little bird....until it begins to sing, I'm sure!!!! I will love writing and cutting and pasting in this!!!!!

Thank-you Carmen!!!!!

I just found a link to this inner child "test" on Corey's blog, Tongue in Cheek....
Mine says that my inner child is "surprised".
I'd say that this rings true and the post above rather backs it up! I do find wonderful things in the ordinary....

Your Inner Child Is Surprised

You see many things through the eyes of a child.Meaning, you're rarely cynical or jaded.You cherish all of the details in life.Easily fascinated, you enjoy experiencing new things.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Lots of "green" things in my world this week!!!!!!

This is a planter from last summer now filled with ruffled petunias from a friend...I had recycled the soil and planted on last year's memories. I was sure that the astilbe had died over the winter.....but this week I found it growing up strongly through the broken Buchan stoneware mug (from Scotland with a Thistle handpainted on it).

These moments are similar to the ones in "The Secret Garden" where they find that lost and supposedily dead plants are still "wic" or alive!

I always feel blessed when something I though was lost, comes back to me like this!

The photo of the geranium and the birdhouse shows that after a long winter inside, this plant is also "greening and growing"!

[These garden photos were taken by Mr. Pear this morning....I will be leaving him on his won for a few days while I go stay with my mother who is having cateract suregery.]

At mom's I will be handquilting on this "Summer Roses" quilt which uses some of the Kaffe Fassett fabrics (fat quarters) which I had purchased in October. I have framed this small quilt with a lighter border to represent a window frame...looking out into a garden!

And I am going to be eating a green cake at my mom's....this is called "Watergate Cake" as the recipe became popular about the same time as the Nixon scandal....

Here is a recipe with a frosting called "cover-up"..LOL

One more "green" thing (a blessing) was meeting Annie, of "Little Rock Daily Photo" blogfame...[her blog background is green and Little Rock is a green and leafy city on the Arkansas River!] , who stopped by my place of work yesterday for a few minutes!

Annie is a delightful person and a wonderful photographer/writer!

Finally, one very,very,green thing,emerald green,in fact....my friend Carmen has posted about the doll I made for her, Esmeralda!

I may not be near a working computer this week, so I'll catch up when I get back!!!!

This is my new little "model", Tomasita, she won't charge much to pose for me while I paint!

(Of course, you can't really paint unusual vegetables like this one, no one would believe your painting....they would think you just couldn't draw a round tomato. One more reason why, for a painting, we have to find the beauty of the ordinary!)




[In case any of you missed my video montage of 30 of my favorite watercolors, please go to my "Painting
my 'art out" blog (either from my side bar, upper left, or from my profile page) and watch...it has music too!]



Back to how I met my willing tomato model.....



I was reading how everyone was getting carried away with their new digital cameras so decided to take our camera on an outing this morning.....






The place I went has lovely well- tended flower beds with many exceptional plants and also has benches for sitting and watching people....





You can feast your eyes, or the camera, on delightful sites....like this pile of radishes....just look at those colors...pinks, carmines, magentas, all the way to purple!

Maybe you guessed it....I went to our farmers' market!
(That is where I found the cute tomato to post for you! I'm sure she will taste wonderful with some of the basil I picked up too!)


















Here are ferns from the shade garden side of the square........Japanese painted ferns, transcantia, columbines. large hostas and a white and yellow day lily which is coming through the hosta leaves!






It is a lovely morning on the mountain top...around the square with an old post office building in the center! The temperature is about 70 degrees and a bit of wind makes the shopper's hair blow and causes some of the vendor's to lower their shade umbrellas.










In additions to home grown (mostly organic) produce, we have handcrafted items....wooden spoons, homemade jams and syrups and a booth with baskets made by the Gibson family, basket makers here for generations..( in the Smithsonian, too!)


I don't go as often as I could....once I am there, I hate to leave!!!!!


A final note.........

Tomasita is gazing wistfully out the window....I suppose she'd like to be back at the square too!( or maybe she overheard about the basil...my plans for her...)




[ How fun for my hubby, "Mr. Pear" ( Loretta, of Pomegranates and Paper, didn't seem to mind if I follow her lead in giving a husband a "blog" name!) when he walks in from work today and sees her...empty nest syndrome strikes again!]

On Daisy Lupin's blog, yesterday, was a picture of this painting by Van Gogh. One I don't remember seeing before!

I had to "save" it to spend some time looking at it...so much blue, including indigo, a dull olive green and the large amount of blues (which recede visually) being balanced by the soft buttery yellow daisies. A very soothing painting! (What would be lost if the dark blue/black anemone were not in the bouquet?

I think it serves to sort of "ground" the fluffy lilacs and is definitely a focal point, leading us into the painting.)

Speaking of art....I just played around and posted a video montage of my paintings from last summer here!

Take a peek!

A Legend for Today......


1070 Today is traditionally held to be the day that Roquefort cheese was first made, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France, when a young shepherd, eating his lunch of curds, saw a beautiful girl in the distance.

Abandoning his meal in a nearby cave, he set off to meet her. When he failed to catch her after some days, he returned to his now mouldy lunch and ate it out of pure hunger, but it turned out to be delicious ...

Information from Pip's Almamac...more about that later...must run to work!

(tuesday morning...the info: To subcribe to a daily e-mail update from Pip's almanacWilsonsAlmanac-subscribe@yahoogroups.com trivia related to each day.)

My contribution to Daisy Lupin's "Poems we loved as children"....

What is Pink?

by Christina Rossetti

What is pink? a rose is pink

By the fountain's brink.

What is red? a poppy's red

In its barley bed.

What is blue? the sky is blue

Where the clouds float thro'.

What is white? a swan is white

Sailing in the light.

What is yellow? pears are yellow,

Rich and ripe and mellow.

What is green? the grass is green,

With small flowers between.

What is violet? clouds are violet

In the summer twilight.

What is orange? why, an orange,

Just an orange!

Looking back, I realize just how much I have always loved color! (And there is

a pear again, in her visualization and description of lovely things to paint!)