Something I Haven't Done in a Loooong Time

... is sewing.  I used to love to make clothes for Clare.  I think I've still got it.

The grandgirls certainly think so.

Life Through Unexpected Lenses

Or photos by Christa.

The photographer herself.



Signs of Spring

Cardinals singing.

A cluster of dandelions.

And snowdrops, beautiful snowdrops.

Lenten Prayers....Keep'em Comin'

Let nothing disturb thee,
Let nothing dismay thee,
All things pass:
God never changes.
Patience attains
All that it strives for.
She who has God,
Finds she lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.
    -- St. Teresa's Bookmark

The Optimism Prayer

Whatsoever things are true,
Whatsoever things are honest,
Whatsoever things are just,
Whatsoever things are pure,
Whatsoever things are lovely,
Whatsoever things are of good report;
If there be any virtue,
And if there be any praise,
Think on these things.

--Phillipians 4:8

A good and holy attitude for the beginning of Lent.

Thinking of Snow...Thinking Ahead

I've missed the snow this winter.  And I'll even venture to say that I've missed the cold.  It has barely seemed like winter.  No sledding, no snow ball fights, no snow folks on the lawn.

But being an optimist (mostly), I'm thinking ahead to colder temperatures in December.  I even have a Christmas postcard in mind, based on the illuminated snowflakes used to decorate the main streets here in Springfield. 

Snuggling with Poppy

No words needed.  Ken's smile says it all.

On-the-Job Training

The resident bread-baker in training, June Elizabeth, loves her work.

Can you tell?

Someday, A Series

I'm working on a series of fruit paintings, from photos taken while in Germany last summer.  Everywhere we looked, we saw abundantly fruitful trees.  The colors and the smell linger in my mind. 

I hope you enjoy them.  

Pretty Girls

The grand-daughters stretch, grow and change before our eyes.  They are lovely in every way.

Our Hearts Washed Ashore in Iona

Hiking around the isle of Iona last summer with Ken, we found these two rocks nestled, scrunched up close together in a crag of moss-encrusted rocks.  They reminded me of my life with Ken:  close, protected, lovely.

It had to be a painting.  And it became a painting that I donated to the Springfield Regional Arts Council for their "Heart for the Arts" event. 

I will miss it, but I hope the new owner will enjoy it.

A Morning Prayer for the Utterly Exhausted

God, grant me the power
To get out of this shower.

--Monica Sheehan from "Prayers for all Occasions"

Crystal Bridges Visit

It's the setting, back in the woods.  It's the plantings and the integration of the building with its surroundings.  It's the water in the middle of the complex.  It's the marriage of glass, copper and gleaming wood.

It's the artwork. 

"Room" by Alison Elizabeth Taylor, an entire room of marquetry, a craft of the wealthy and elite.  Yet in this room, she shows the most mundane articles of American life.

"After the Last Supper" by Devorah Sperber, a life-size reconstruction of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" using spools and spools of thread.

"Red Flowers and Sailboat" by Marsden Hartley

"Motive of Space and Form -- A New Jersey Village (Montville)" by Oscar Bluemner

"Nudes" by Milton Avery

"La Mort des Enfant[s] de Bethel" by Bob Thompson

It's the whole enchilada. 

It's a wonderful day trip to Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.