Going Nuts this Winter

The days are c..r..a..w..l..i..n..g by....
Can't wait till Spring!
Curly the Squirrel is going crazy in the back yard digging up my bulbs for some reason, and leaving them on the back steps. Does anyone else find this highly unusual?
I guess I am doing unusual things myself inside - looking out through my window...longing for that happy time where I can weed my garden while eating a mango popsicle.
So...I drew Curly. My swirly version of him anyway...He is quite entertaining - but keep that a secret. I don't want him to know I am preparing for my usual summer battle with him. He usually wins, but the squirrel baffler still has the tags on it, and hopefully that will add to the "fear" tactic.
Happy February friends!

It is a rainy day, but it is Spring!!  So that is awesome...and, I have 4000 bags of mulch down now in my yard after the Black Friday mulch sale..Okay, not 4000, but it feels like it.  I like the look of mulch, and less weeding, so I do it.  There was a break in the rain so I ran out to stare at my flowers. 
Thank you Lord for all of the beautiful things you have made for us! I love the colors you have created!!

Doodle Kind of Days..

Lots of rain here in the south this spring.  The rain that has followed lots of ice, and snow, and an overall massive decrease in the vitamin D level of most living things.  But, alas, we must concentrate on the good things!  So as I sit and munch on my stash of candy hearts (which should be termed - my super, gigantic, I need counseling kind of stash), I have been listening to sermons online and drawing or doodling as I listen.
I recently listened to a sermon on "Hope" and this is the finished product.  Hope is what keeps us going many times, and my hope is in Christ. He promises that if my hope is in Him, I will never be disappointed! 
"Faith" is in the works, and it is still raining, so I will probably make a lot of progress on it!

Wedding fun! The Hobbit Theme Groom's Cake!

Well, the my son and his beautiful wife are now enjoying married life.  The wedding was wonderful, the honeymoon is over (haha)...better said, completed - and they are working on all the excitement of where to live and face things like "wow, this queen bed is small" (believe it or not - they have never slept together before the wedding).
My mom has been making beautiful cakes for 40 years.  She says this is her last cake - she is almost 80.  She keeps saying that and then does one more. She was doing all of the super cake stuff WAY before Martha Stewart and all of the cake shows on TV.  In fact, she could show all of them a thing or two.  I helped make a few of the fondant pieces just for fun, but she didn't even mention working on this - she drove it 2 hours to my house for the wedding and then proceeded to put all of the bouquets together (in some sort of flash, record speed unknown to common man).

I am going to pick up acorns with her today - I am thinking we will work on some crafty thing to do with them which is of course my tease for the next post!

It was super cute, but also very delicious.  Some did not understand that it was a Hobbit Hole from Lord of the Rings, but those who did, stood in awe - haha!!

Whooo loves ya?

I have been busy doing some really exciting things this year!  One of which is the joy of leading up a 'Painting for Paisley" two night event that raises funds for a wonderful family.  I admit, I have some years experience teaching middle school age kids, but never have tried this kind of thing with adults.  I noticed during the event, nobody (that I caught anyway) kicked each other under the table, or tried to paint on someone else's canvas (much like middle school), so that part was refreshing! 

I saw some really nice art (we painted owls) that inspired me, so I went home and on my snow day (double back flip) from school, I painted this guy.  I have another friend in a fierce battle with cancer, and this is her favorite verse.  Mr. Who hopefully will grace her wall and remind her of the great Love of Christ and also that many people love and care for her.
It is March, but it is snowing...my daffodils are hovering...come on out soon boys!

Soapy Saturday

I am having so much fun making soap these days.  I admit, I am not a cook - I am more of an artist, so I don't measure very well - I add color and fragrance until I like how it looks and smells.  Today I made this beautiful soap!  I discovered (the hard way), to buy suspension formula melt and pour.  This is just a white, olive oil soap base from Hobby Lobby.  I added orange essential oil and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Fragrance (from Nature's Garden), along with grated orange peel, oatmeal, and pecan meal.  It smells super fantastic!  Put in a plastic loaf pan and wait awhile....Now, I must rush off to Hobby Lobby for more soap and my next adventure!

Fall in Tennessee

Fall is in the air here in Tennessee!  I pulled out my collection of stuffed owls (yeah, I know - who on earth has a collection of stuffed owls...well, I should say they are, cute, whimsical ones of course).
My hubby valiantly got this giant white pumpkin at Kroger for me and put it in the buggy after I started squealing at the sight of the pumpkin display (any size for $5.99!).  I said I wanted a really big one naturally! A guy passed us after hubby put it in the buggy and yelled out "hey buddy, did you have to get a crane to get that thing in there"...yikes - I guess it is a good thing my hubby didn't have to go into traction...

 

Thus, he wins 47 brownie points!  I scooted it into the living room and then glued on sunflower seeds for eyes with button centers, an acorn from Big Lots (cut in half - Styrofoam center makes it easy), and pine cone ears.  Mr. Punkin is very happy currently and brightens my day!