A New Purse

I bought it on Ebay. It came like this. A vintage Paragon crewel kit dated 1969. When I opened the box I was surprised and relieved to see how much of the work she had done. She had completed all the embroidery! All that was left was to put it together and embellish it.

Of course I don’t know who she is. I only know she had intended to make this lovely purse and only got so far. But I finished it. I added some jewels and the rose for personal flair. And I will use it. I wonder how she would have completed it?

I will never know. I don’t know who she is or was. But I know she worked hard on it… and I really appreciate that! I love our new purse.

Roll Call ~ Picasso the Amazon

Meet Picasso!
He’s my 13 year old Lilac Crowned Amazon Parrot.
I call him Picasso because he’ so colorful and at times quite unpredictable. Especially in the spring months. He’s quick to tell me that He’s a “Good Boy!” and would surely chat on the phone if he could just pronounce his L’s. He greets each ring with a happy hello which sounds much more like “Hawoah!”
As these birds live so song, I can see us sitting in a rocker on a sunny porch in our old age… yep, me and the green bird… sitting and rocking.

Some Day Visitors

I had some day visitors! Not the kind you might think though. This cute couple dropped by to check out the backyard squirrel feeder. She politely waited in the tree while he checked for reservations! Finding the feeder too difficult to maneuver in the light of day, this shy couple took their leave.

I’m sure the feeder will be empty tomorrow when they can work in the security of darkness. At that time the yipping little dogs, the two year old and the lady will all be fast asleep.
Bon appetit!

Opossum facts:
-Gestation takes only thirteen days!
-It has thumbs on it’s hind feet.
-It ranks higher in intelligence than a dog, and is closer to the level of a pig.
-They have a higher immunity to disease such as rabies than domestic animals.

Links

Animal Train Mural

Mural #2 of four. I painted this one in the pre-school room, using familiar shapes and bright colors. This was much harder than I thought it was going to be, as everything needed to be taped off to get good crisp edges. If the backgound paint isn’t dry enough, you risk peeling it off with the removal of the tape!
It extends around both walls at the ends, but this is the major portion of the mural.
Click to for detail.

Jungle Mural

This is one of four commissioned murals done for a church elementary classroom. It measures about 9 x 20 feet. I enjoyed doing these, as each one had a different theme and style.
They found my business card on the bulletin of a local art store!
Click for detail.

Story Hour and Other Two Year Old Phobias

Today I took Liv to story hour! “This will be fun for us” I thought. I’ve been so busy or under the weather that we haven’t been in four months, so I was feeling more than a little guilty.

Well apparently, this four months was just the right amount of time for her to enter the “Everything scares me” stage! The stage that sends a two year old into hysterics because her fingers and toes are wrinkled from the bath water! So I guess it only natural that one should be leery of scary librarians wearing puppet bears on their arm and singing the teddy bear song! Who knows what they’ll wear on their arm next!

To top it off they ended with a parachute activity! It seemed quite innocent to me, but Olivia could see the evil plot behind it. The sound of happy children and ruffling fabric sent her into overload and she headed for the door!

Fine .. OK, lets go upstairs to the section where the grown ups escape. Only I had the idea that we should ride the elevator. The thought of three flights of stairs with a two and a half year old and a very heavy bag of children’s books, chosen mostly for me, was the forerunner to my decision. Well the motion of the elevator was far too weird and as the door opened she let out a blood curdling scream as each and every peaceful adult face looked over the tops of their books in horror! We stepped out, turned left and walked down three flights of stairs to the check out!

Oh yes, this is life with a two year old, it’s just been so long since the others were this age, I guess I’d forgotten! However, we remain undaunted and we will try again next week!

Snow Scene Mural


This is a mural I painted for a local company in an older shopping center. It’s funny to me to paint an icy snow scene in Houston but that’s what they wanted! Hidden in the heavily marbeled wall are about six names!

Too Many Valentines

Is it possible to have too many Valentine’s Day Sweethearts? Well I’ve got five!
One is the traditional sweetheart, the one that holds my heart, but he doesn’t like to be blogged, so I’ll just say…he’s my number one! ;-)

The other four, I love even when they are sometimes not the most lovable. They are my babies. I’ve always left them a little sweet something to wake up to on Valentine’s Day, but now some are grown up and I have only two left at home.

My oldest is my son, who will soon be done with his Accounting Degree! whew! He has his own sweetheart to share Valentines Day with!
I have three lovely daughters, the oldest is in school getting her Theatre Degree!
The last two are still at home. One is a Senior in High School and will graduating. Soon she’ll be studying to be a teacher.
And last but not least… is my little spud! The two year old going on forty! That says it all!

These are the goodies the two at home will be waking up too. Well, this and a little chocolate!
So maybe five isn’t too many Valentine Sweethearts at all!

If fact, I think it’s just right!

Margot Austin's Church Mouse Stories

Sometimes I forget all the wonderful books I have until I slow down and peruse the shelves and discover old treasures anew, like this one.
It’s a 1960 copy of Margot Austin’s Church Mouse Stories. I found this in a thrift store a few years ago. I remember being amazed at the soft and stylized depiction of her characters. What a wonderful example of stipling.

I don’t know much about Margot Austin.
I know that she was born in Portland, Oregon and attended the National Academy of Design in New York. Between 1938 and1963 she illustrated 27 books and contributed to many magazines.

There is so much to be learned from the artists before us.
Click to enlarge