Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Key West Fabric
Monday, January 29, 2007
Big GWTW Fan
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Great mail day
Friday, January 26, 2007
Old Post Cards
1st.card is of the lower river trail to Lovers Leap and the 2nd. one is Lovers Leap. This is Starved Rock State Park located in Utica, Illinois, in rural La Salle County, Illinois, about 75 mi. west-southwest of downtown Chicago. The Park is 2,630 acres in size and includes 13 miles of hiking trails, numerous waterfalls and other landforms. The park contains 18 sandstone canyons carved over the last 12,000 years by a combination of surface water runoff and groundwater outflow. Starved Rock itself is a large eroded buttle overlooking the Illinois River. French explorers built a fort called Fort St. Louis atop the rock in 1682 but had abandoned it by the early 1700s.
The rock derives its name from a story that a band of Illiniwek was trapped in the 1760s on the rock by a band of Potawatomi trying to avenge the death of the Ottawa Chief Pontiac. The Illiniwek then scrambled to the top of the rock, where the Ottawa and allied Potawatomi laid siege until the Illiniwek starved to death. However, the authenticity of the story has never been verified, and the story is now considered to be more legend than truth.
Visitors are advised to stay on the trail for their safety. Typically, at least one or two individuals fall off a cliff each year. There were 4 deaths from falls between 1999 and 2006. There is a lodge that was built of full timbers in 1930, overnight accommodations, a restaurant, and conference Center. Starved Rock State Park is one of the busiest S.P. in Illinois with yearly attendance over 1 million visitors each year. There is a great deal of botanical diversity found there. As an example, 18 species of ferns have been identified in the forest,wetland, and canyon habitats.
I think it is amazing that I was born and grew up less that a three hour drive from this place and never went there or for that fact, never even knew about it. Mmm, I wonder what I am missing in my own back yard here in north Florida. How about you, have you scouted out your area?
Something Different For Me
I made this a few days ago, it is my first non paper ATC. I must have scanned it crooked but it really isn't. I'm so sorry the felt background which is magenta color does not show that well. This piece is backed with black card stock.
The three leaves are made of beads and sequins. The hardest thing to add was the fibers around the edge. I twisted them so as to get all of the color going. Then sewed them down with magenta colored thread.
There is four different colors, blue,turquoise, purple, and green. This stuff screams peacock to me so I hope to find a project where I can combine the fibers with a peacock.It is to bad this lost it's vibrancy when it was scanned.
Hope to get back to Blogland later today, maybe with another post, I have some neat old post cards from Illinois I would like to share. We'll see how the time goes.
So for those of you making ATCs , have you tried new mediums ? If so what, and which do you like working with the best? This was fun but a lot more time consuming.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Summer Fun
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Free Ride
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
ATC from a friend
Monday, January 22, 2007
Pencil Drawing
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Sunday, January 21, 2007
2 Very Different
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Cracker House Poem
It's just a little Cracker house
By a dusty road
The boards are gray and splintered
It's nobody's abode.
Ropes of vines encase the porch
Where good ol' boys once sat
Talked of crops and deeds and herds
Then tobacco spat.
The rotted door hangs crooked
It welcomes no one in
For collard greens and biscuits
And then a swill of gin.
The window frames are sagging
The tin roof creaks its woes
Beside the sunken mossy steps
One bright red flower grows.
Here people laughed and people cried
Each knew the other's load
And shared this little Cracker house
By a dusty road. By Katherine Von Ahnen
I decided to type this in as it was so hard to read in its original form. Not sure if you can see it but in the picture up by the front porch there is a circle, that is the red flower growing.
CRACKER HOUSE
Dear Editor,
We read the Farmer & Rancher regularly and enjoy it very much. Your April issue had a really good article in it about the Cracker rose. I moved to North Central Florida about six years ago. (leaving out the part about why).
I have been extremely interested in the term "cracker" and have done some research on it. We have several old deserted cracker houses near our place and I am truly fascinated by them. Their stories cry out to be heard. One cracker farm near us still has the edges of an herb garden which at one time grew outside the kitchen door. Though the house is neglected and forlorn, there is one bright red flower that blooms every spring right by the front steps...seems as if it's saying "I'm still here...I'm still here".
When I lived in N.J. , I was awarded the title of N.J. State Poet of the year four times in a row. When I moved to Fl. , the poetry moved right along with me. Katherine Von Ahnen
So this is my post for today unless I finish the ATC's that are keeping me WAY TO BUSY, that's right I have found my imagination again. Don't you just love old places like the one in the photo? Hope everybody is able to read the poem ok. Do you have old "forgotten" places where you live?
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Thirsty Soul
This art work is called Springtime of Life, about 1870 and was done by a french artist, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. It is an oil on canvas, 41 3/8x 29 3/8.
I remember Thee and Meditate on Thee.
Along with prayer and reading God's Word, we should strive to center our thoughts on Him day and night. Remembering God must not be an occasional occurrence, but a repeated experience of looking unto heaven in praise, acknowledging His presence and lordship, and communing with Him. Nothing would be better than that our first thought in the morning and our last thought at night be on His grace, character, love, and plan for us. And when we find it impossible to sleep during the night, we can again turn our minds and hearts to God.
O GOD, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou has been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. PSALMS 63, 1-8
Thursday, January 18, 2007
WHAT A FIND
My Flower
I am a |
This came off of Janets blog:
You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
HAPPY CATS
Saturday, January 13, 2007
OLD POSTCARDS
So have any of you seen post cards like this before? Wonder what they are worth?
I have GOOD NEWS I will be taking momma and her kittens to a no kill shelter Tuesday morning, they called and they finally have room. I'm doing a happy dance now! I posted their cute little faces on a previous blog.
Friday, January 12, 2007
DAYS GONE BY
Thursday, January 11, 2007
DAYBREAK & DUSK
Farewell Old Friend
Yesterday was one of those difficult days that we all have to deal with if we have pets. Eli was born in the summer of 1984, he left this life Dec. 10, 2007. He just came to the end of his days.I had to make a trip to the vets so he did not have to suffer as he was having a hard time getting his breath and he could not get up. I stayed with him to the end. He is resting beside his mother that we lost last Sept. We have a kitty cemetery, thank God for three acers
and soft sand. We had graveside services, some of the other cats came to say, "goodbye". Eli leaves one sister, Sarah. She seems to be in good health and is one of the sweetest cats we have ever had. For those of you that do not have pets you are probably saying, "Is this lady nuts"? But for those of you that have four legged members of your family you will understand. Eli you will be missed.