Failures

Not all watercolor attempts turn into art. After jarring my beauty loving eyes long enough, I weeded these failures out of my portfolio, took pictures to remind me of my humanity, and tossed them in the recycling bin.

This painting was more fortunate than the rest and ended up in a card making stash.

Two Pairs

In one day I washed my first pair of hand knit socks and finished knitting my third. Very satisfying.

 

Child Development

Joseph changes so much between each time we see him. On October 7th (pictured) he astounded us by his attention to careful Duplo construction. Now he has us in stitches over his nose blowing skills and sneezing mimicry.

Begonias on a Winter Day

Christmas Day 2021

"I will exult You; I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure."

- Isaiah 25:1-2 -

The Lamb

"For the Lamb... will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water” (Revelations 7:17).

The Shepherd, yet the Lamb.
God, yet a Baby.
The Judge of our sin, yet the substitute for our punishment.
Astounding!

Merry Christmas!

Aunt of Two

Welcome, Evangeline!

September Twelfth

Another treasure from my phone's and brain's memory.

Garlic Bulbs

It is once again time to sort through my photos and share a few treasures. Including these garlic bulbs grown by Dad that happened to be one clove each.

Impressive!

Powdery Snow

Three Birthdays

Three months. Three birthdays. Three cakes. And yes, they are all chocolate.

October: Mom

November: Joseph

December: me

A Westerly Wind

In our neck of the woods, all weather is to be expected. When a snow-melting warm spell was followed up by rain which turned into bouncing pellets and then into snow two weeks into December, we just watched and waited to see what would unfold. A night with a report of the first recorded December tornado to be sighted in our state several hours south of us and thousands of power outages resulted. Here the night's drama was less intense with only a few short outages that turned off our bedroom airfilter (unbeknownst to my sleeping self) and the familiar winter music of wind howling through leafless trees. And then the joy of waking to a fresh coat of snow and a Christmas wreath plastered in white from a snowy, westerly wind.

Frost on Asparagus and Espalier

Remembering Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pie

Family

A little tractor lover

"All good gifts around us
Are sent from heav'n above;
Then thank the Lord,
O thank the Lord
For all His love."
- Matthias Claudius, trans. Jane M. Campbell -

Frances Was Here

Ice Puddle

A Perfect Combination

A cozy, yak-down sweater and well fed fire were not a good combination this afternoon, but fresh air and a hot drink were perfect.

(Mug from Evergreen Studio.)

First Snow

Flowers of Quiet Happiness

"...but if the path set before her feet was to be narrow she knew that flowers of quiet happiness would bloom along it."

-Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables -

Sunset Light

Yesterday many aunts and uncles and a few friends emptied our basement of the majority of its contents in preparation for mold remediation (date pending). We are feeling blessed, though the mold sensitive ones of us are experiencing varied levels of ill from disturbed micotoxins. One of us is in extreme levels of pain. Could you lift her up in your prayers?

Today after lounging in my bed after a luxuriously long afternoon nap, I enjoyed a couple moments of crisp but remarkably warm November air and stunning sunset light.

And leaves that  refuse to give up the ghost.

Fading Zinnias

Grasses Aglow

A Foretaste of Autumn

My Perfect Triad

If I had only three pigments in my watercolor palette, it would be these three:

- quinacridone pink (or rose)

- French ultramarine

- nickel azo yellow

Look at all the lovely colors they create when combined!

...until it finds its rest...

"Thou has made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee."
- Augustine -

Pickles

A week or two ago I pulled out Mom's yellowed with age refrigerator pickle recipe with grand plans of converting it into a sugar free treat for the coming months using our overabundant cucumber crop. Alas, my energy levels deserted me, and the recipe was set aside in the corner of the kitchen where way too many recipe cards accumulate. The next day after Mom had thoroughly leafed through her recipe box, I noticed her pouring over bread and butter pickle recipes in a few faithful recipe books. Sheepishly I took the "missing" recipe card from its hiding place and handed it over. Since that day, three giant batches of pickles have been made. We will be happily crunching our way through the winter.

[A Tiny Fraction of] Today's Harvest

 

Would-Be Inspiration

If I were a dress designer, this gladiolus would be an inspiration.

Peace for Bluster

"And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord... And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city."

- II Chronicles 32:17-18 -

The Enemy's tactics don't change.  Noise. Fear. Persistence. What is our defense against this bluster? Like Jesus, we must continually go to a quiet place to commune with the Father (see verse 20). In that place we can hear the voice of Truth, escape the persistent barrage of the Enemy, and leave our fears behind as we walk forward in confidence in the mighty and victorious God.

Photo: watercolor play from last winter

Hidden Treasure

Dad's pulling out the broken dishwasher to troubleshoot revealed some long lost and very dirty treasures including this bakery schedule from January 29, 2009. This day was obviously off season. (So short and simple!) A recipe development day is my guess.

Succulent Beauty

Forty-Four

Last Saturday marked forty-four years of marriage for my parents. Family lake time, sailboat rides, locally famous burgers (for the non-food-sensitive individuals), and a lake circumnavigation pontoon ride made up our celebrations. What joy to take notice of such a beautiful and increasingly rare commitment!

To judge by their smiles, Joseph and Hannah agree.