FORCING SPRING BLOOMS

Ahhh!  Spring has to be here!  I forced some more of the blooms from the tulip tree and they came out in only 3 days this time!!

It was as though they were opening before my eyes, so pretty! 

So pretty and welcome this April 1st to remind me that Spring WILL arrive~ha!
Forsythia branches work really well for cutting and putting in water inside for forcing blooms.  Unfortunately, I have none growing in my yard.  The snow is mostly gone now and the sun shining more each day.  I have a neighbor that loves to walk just as I do and we took a long walk yesterday to a flowing creek but it was still to muddy to go down the trail.  Soon though, as I am anxious to take photos.

Are you itching to get out in the yard?  I am.  Friends brought me some perennials in the fall and I can see them coming up through the dirt, I am excited!  Also, I have a neighbor in back that has discarded a metal children's cart that has faded to a gray/red.  When I see them again, I will ask if I can buy it.  I would love to paint it brightly and put potted plants in it for yard decor~~fun!

Have a wonderful Day, And don't let the April jokers get you today!

Lost Teapot is found...

 I had bought this neat teapot for my daughter for Christmas as she collects them as I did when I was young.  When I was packing her Christmas package, I could not find the teapot anywhere!!  I am painting my living room (please see Kerrie's Krafts) and I decided to clean out the closet.  I was so thrilled to find the pot-LOL!  So it is now packed and ready to be mailed!
St. Patrick's Day will soon be here and I will have to display my Mom's Cup and Saucer that I treasure.  It is very old and was given to her by a dear friend many, many years ago.  

Do you have cups that have been int he family for a long time?  I would love to see.  Comment with your link so I can visit.  Thanks!

My heart to yours...

WAITING FOR SPRING...

I sadly do not know who the author of this poem is but the photo and following poem was posted on my face book page this morning and as a poet and lover of poetry, I had to share.  This was very meaningful to me and comforting...

I'm Standing Next To You

You can't see me or touch me
but I'm standing next to you.
It's sad to see you cry for me
I wish you only knew.

I'm standing next to you.
Even though you think I'm gone,
I've really never left your side
I've been here all along.

So please be brave and dry the tears,
don't let your grief show through.
I love you from a different place,
and I'm standing right next to you

(If anyone knows the author, please comment to me :) )

The photo makes me want to paint and the poem inspires 

me to put pen to page....

Have a most wonderful day and share this lovely poem if 

you are also touched by the words.

My heart to yours....

BEAUTY IN WINTER...

Winter here in Central NYS can be brutal but beautiful!  I went to my cousin's house on Saturday to visit.  She lives at the other end of Owasco Lake in Moravia.  It is a 14 mile drive along the West side of the lake and a beautiful view all the way!  Saturday, there were ice fishermen on the lake in tents and portable enclosures.

The lake was totally frozen over and the surface was like a giant mirror.  As I drove along I could see men pulling rather large fish up from an ice hole here and there.  Note the buds on the tree branch.

Further up the lakeside there are gullies and woods where my hubby once hunted deer as a youth and the many waterfalls were completely frozen in silent motion.

I rolled down the window to take this one and you can see the flakes of snow coming down.  It would only have been better had a deer or two crossed the path...
There is always something beautiful to see no matter what the weather.  I enjoy that trip any time that I go.  Many good memories of swimming in summer and hiking in winter on beautiful Owasco Lake, Auburn, NY.

Thank you for coming today and do leave a comment for me as I treasure them! ♥

My heart to yours...

FEBRUARY COMING SO SOON...

HELLO!  Did you think I got lost in the cyberspace shuffle??  My computer has been down and boy, did I miss it!!  Thanks to a very knowledgeable neighbor, I am gladly and thankfully up and running again!

My first great Granddaughter just turned 1 year on January 28th.  She is the light of my life and so precious.  Thank goodness for computers to keep me up to date on her growth and pure cuteness!! ha! ♥ 
It has been icy and snowing in SC and this little one didn't know what to make of it.

She is walking now, developing a vocabulary and a joyful blessing to all.  Her parents are the best ever.  She is also my daughter's first grandchild so she is eating up all of this cuteness and love.

Darrell, Sofiah and Grandma Barbie

Children sure keep you young!

I have been getting re-acquainted with a snow shovel, icy roads and bone-chilling cold-LOL!  But in spite of it, I have been out walking, driving and snapping photos of the wildlife in my yard.  See http://kerrieskorner.blogspot.com 
I hope you have enjoyed your visit today and come back soon.  Have a most wonderful day!

Kerrie  

I treasure them!

The Blessed Season of Christmas...

Now that I am living in my old home town in Central New York State, I get to enjoy the snow for the Christmas season and I am loving it.  My little tree is trimmed and many ornaments that we made in the past are all around the house.

 

This is the creche that I had sewn many years ago.  I bought the printed fabric, cut out, sewed and stuffed and embelished the figures. The "stable" had to cut and covered from cardboard and I loved the way it came out.  Now it would not be Christmas without it!

 

So many of the decorative figures were made by my husband and me.  I miss his creativeness, and his love of woodworking. 

This is one of my favorite Santa's that we created. 

 It was a face I had been drawing since my childhood.  I made the beard longer and stylized in my drawing and then my hubby cut the wood out using the Intarsia method of cutting all the pieces out, then beveling the edges.  Then they were glued onto a back board one by one until they were Santa again.  He is hanging on the dining room wall  and measures approx. 8" x 13".

 

The bookcase shelves are filled with Santa's also.

 

I love looking at them and so do visitors.

This one was cut out and all the features were painted on.

 

As a child, we went to bed right after supper on Christmas Eve.  Then Dad would call us back downstairs saying Santa had come and left presents!

 

When we came down, there would be presents under the real tree and Dad would be standing by the front door ringing a little bell behind his back.  This was the sound of Santa's sleigh leaving and we had just missed him.  There were even sleigh tracks in the snow.   Delightful!  I have always loved opening presents on Christmas eve.  I love singing the old familiar Carols.

 

 

 

This vintage songbook for piano is one of my treasures!  And this Santa was made from an Intarsia pattern that my hubby bought and made.  I painted the pieces.  I have so many favorites!

 

This is a Victorian Santa that Bill created and he swivels on his base.

And this is my homegrown gourd Santa that I grew, dried and painted complete with stem to form his hat-ha! He has beads on his bottom so he will stand upright.

 

Thank you so much for coming and letting me share my treasures with you.  If you have time, please visit my other blogs that are listed in the side bar.

 

Today I am linking to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound where you can go and see what others are doing to decorate for Christmas.

 

                    My heart to yours...

Frost on the Pumpkin

There were some nights this last week that indeed brought frost in the pumpkin, the lawn, the roof-tops, just a reminder that winter is very near...
  But meantime,  I am just enjoying the rustling of leaves underfoot, the rich colors of Autumn and little ones who came in costumes to my door.
  Yesterday I took a ride to the cemetery where several members of my family are buried.  It was a beautiful sunny fall day with lots of wind.  I stopped to take photos of field corn in the field...

I love the color of the dried corn stalks and remember my Mom making dolls from corn husks...

 

I visited my friend in the country as I do each Thursday.  Though bound to a wheelchair from stroke, she still smiles and laughs. She amazes me that she can manage to get on a riding mower and cuts the extensive lawn around her house!  She is alone except for night time, too.  I try to bring her different suppers to eat and she is always so appreciative.

And though temperatures may be dropping, the sun makes my little sunporch cozy and warm.  Lilly loves snoozing there in the sun spots.



 

Trying new things at church, practicing a song with Pastor and his daughter to sing one day at service.  He is learning to play banjo and I play my guitar.  Right now we sound like a weak Bluegrass trio but it is fun and we will improve!

 

To see more beautiful Fall photos and a love story, please visit my Kerrie's Korner, Auburn, NY blog. 

 

My heart to yours...

Kerrie