God Gave us Memories

The November

Art Center for the Islands Show

is coming up quick.

I'm entering my mixed media piece

I finished this week,

God Gave us Memories

 It measures 11 by 18 inches.

I love the quote by Barrie.

The theme of the show is

our interpretation of

Thanks for the Memories,

so I hope this fits in well enough.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

River of Life Tea

If you have never visited any tea websites

you might think about visiting some of them,

because they are full of

information and fun.

For todays

Tea on Tuesday

I am having some

Tazo Awake Black Tea.

Tazo actually means

'river of life'.

It is a blend of several black teas.

Their website

tazo.com

has free tazo wisdom,

a place where you can consult the tea leaves,

info on their social responsibility program CHAI,

and much more.

Starting My Day with Silence

 It seems some days are just busy and full of noise.

These days I've learned how to cope with noise better.

I remember those mornings in the city (many moons ago)...

the noise started with the morning alarm,

and then went to ringing phones,

traffic noise, construction clamor etc.

By the end of the day I was longing for a silent retreat.

Excessive noise can jangle your nerves.

It can also raise your blood pressure

and believe it or not it can

interfere with digestion.

I believe you need to create

 an oasis of silence

in your everyday life.

You need to build up reserves of inner quiet

in order to be less bothered by the noise you can't control.

So find some quiet time in your life.

You will feel calmer,

 you will feel less stressed.

Enjoy Tea on Tuesday with us

by visiting Kimmie

at Art in Red Wagons.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

October Trade Days

October Trade Days was windy but successful.

I was able to get around and take pictures

 before it got too busy

We had a great crowd.

There was the local car club,

music, food, arts and craft vendors,

and the barbeque cookoff.

We also had a silent auction

going on in the old bank building.

Some of these old cars are valued up to around $30,000 or more.

Amazing isn't it.

This is what my DH enjoyed seeing!

This beautiful car belongs to my friend Ann,

well...until she sold it, that is. 

Beautiful car!

This is our old fire truck and the old bank in the background.

The bank is now a museum,

thanks to the Riviera Beautification Association.

This is my booth, as my DH and I were setting up,

with my blue bottle trees etc.

Thank goodness he had made lots of stakes to hold things down,

because the wind got really strong.

We had a great day, and thanks to all who stopped by!

I sold all the blue bottle trees, and more.

My DH did a great job building them!

Everyone ooooohed and aaahhhed

and most had never seen one before!

I also passed out a paper about the history

of the blue bottle trees,

which everyone found interesting.

This was one big barbeque pit!

Trade Days is a good way to meet new people,

see old friends, and just get outside and enjoy some fun!

Later that night there was more music and fun,

so we sat on our yard swing at the house,

resting from the long day,

and just enjoying listening to the music.

We live just a few blocks from all the activity.

Nothing like small town fun!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

A Few New Creations

I've been keeping busy in my studio.

 Here are some things I've been creating.

This one above uses copyright free photos

printed out on muslin,

old quotes, vintage lace,

and old buttons,

on hand painted fabric.

The blue heron above was inspired by a photo

taken by my late friend Darlene.

She encouraged me to create a fiber art piece

from her photo.

I used some of my hand dyed fabrics

and did a lot of free motion stitching to the bird,

added a border from some marbled fabric

that I had made (and didn't really like for anything else),

and added a few feathers

that I had collected here and there.

Darlene did not get a chance to see it finished,

but I think she would have liked it.

This African piece is made from

paper fabric painted with acrylics

and embellished.

It was fun to do!

I have made several of these.

These two small pieces were inspired by my talented friend
 Lana, of Lana's Threads and Musings.
They are made from small pieces of fabrics and trim.
I have them in my guest room for now.
I may make more of these.

It's fun to take bits and pieces,
hand made items,
old buttons, laces and things
and turn them into something
you enjoy looking at.
My friends inspire me,
encourage me
and help me to.....

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Sing the song of Life

I always enjoy getting together with friends
who enjoy the same things,
who appreciate art,
who love life,
who savor each day,
who encourage and support you
and who make you laugh.

Enjoy your friends...
for one day they will not be with you.

I lost a friend this week.
Her name was Darlene.

So, I am posting as usual about
getting together with friends,
and then at the end of this post
I am remembering Darlene.
I will miss her.


  Out To Lunch Bunch Quilting Bee

Ann and I rode over to Shirleys
to meet with our little group of 5.
We have show and tell,
we share things,
we talk,
we laugh
and then we go out to eat!

 Joyce gave me some frogs,

and some marble like rocks.

Very cool!

Brenda brought us all a scissors fob.

Here's mine below.

Isn't it the cutest thing!

For the Saturday Quilters group I belong to,

 Shirley has the challenge block.

This is my finished block.

I had the black and white fabric to start with,

and had to come up with a 12 1/2 inch block

in an African theme.

I always like showing quilts

that Shirley has made over the years,

and believe me,

she has made quite a few.

Here is another one to feast your eyes upon.

It's very patriotic.

You will want to enlarge the pics

to see the detail of the quilting.

Each block on this quilt has a different quilted design.

The block below was significant to Shirley.

The basket full of fruit and vegetables

symbolized her family of ancestors

who were fruit and vegetable farmers

here in the Wild Horse Desert of Texas.

Every block was discussed with the quilter

in order to come up

 with the design, Shirley said.

Below is Shirley standing in front of another one of her quilts.

This one is a scrappy Log Cabin quilt.

I lost a friend this week....

 "In the presence of death, we must continue to sing the song of life."

---from the Roman, Seneca

---In Memory of Darlene---

Darlene passed away this week

from bone cancer.

I will miss her.

I would like to share what my friend Happy Jonas

said about Darlene.

"Some friends stay with us forever,

coloring our thinking,

directing our talents

and wanting the best for us,

Darlene is such a friend.

I expect overwhelming sunrises and sunsets

now she is in the studio and working the colors...

Look for her creations..."

Savor Each Day!

Darlene did!

Yvonne

Whimsical garden additions

What do you do

 when you want to have a little garden

around one of your trees,

but the roots are too close

to the top of the ground

to plant anything?

You make an oobos garden!

AND...

what do you do with 5 cases of empty blue wine bottles?

Make blue bottle trees, of course!

My DH is making several of these,

for the next trade days.

Blue bottle tree history.....

used today as interesting garden ornaments

Colorful glass garden art

is on the upswing

as upscale garden shows

(including the Chelsea Flower Show in London)

will prove. 

Blue has long been associated with ghosts, spirits, and

"haints". 

There is even a blue paint

used around windows and doors of cottages

 to repel spirits

called

"haint blue".

"Haint" is from the root word "haunt"

which is most likely from the

 German-French-Middle English word

 "hanter"

which meant to inhabit.

Hollow glass bottles

appeared in Egypt and Mesopotamia

around 1600 B.C.

Soon after that

 tales began to spread

about spirits being caught in the glass bottles

and then morning light destroying them.

Bottle trees have a long tradition of

keeping the bad away

and bringing the good into

your home.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

 

Tea Day--agave and prickly pear

AGAVE

For todays Tea on Tuesday

I'm having

 Lipton Bavarian Wild Berry Black Tea

sweetened with a bit of

Agave Nectar.

Madhava Agave Nectar

is a product of Mexico.

It is 100% pure and organic,

made from the juice of the agave.

This product is good to sweeten many things,

cold or hot.

It has a mild flavor and will not crystallize

like regular honey.

The best part about agave nectar

is that it has a

low glycemic index.

Visit Kimmie

at

Art in Red Wagons

for a list of participating

Tea on Tuesday bloggers

on her sidebar.

PRICKLY PEAR

Below is a photo of a prickly pear cactus flower

in full bloom.

Prickly pear is a jointed cactus with pear shaped, edible fruit.

  The thornless pear cactus is my favorite variety.

You can make some great tasting jelly

from the pears,

you can eat the fleshy pads

and you can use the cactus for decoration.

Native plants have many uses.

Is there prickly pear in Heaven?

 

My friend Shirley made a quilt

called

My Harsh Homeland.

Is there prickly pear in heaven?

The challenge presented to her

was to make a quilt that had wings in it.

I thought this was very clever.

--close up of cowboy with wings--

--close up of prickly pear cactus--

hand dyed fabrics

and metallic thread thorns.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Manzanilla Tea

Good morning.

It's Tea on Tuesday already.

Glad you have joined me.

This morning I am having

Chamomile (Manzanilla) tea

This tea is from Tadin Herb  and Tea Co.

http://www.tadin.com/

out of Vernon, CA

The term chamomile is applied to 2 separate genera of plants.

When you make your own herbal chamomile tea

you want to use the M. recutita flowers,

also called Sweet False or German chamomile.

The small daisy like flowers smell like apples

and the leaves of the recutita chamomile plant

are feathery and very lightly scented,

unlike the Roman chamomile,

whose leaves are strongly scented.

Chamomile Herbal Tea Mix

 This is my favorite homemade chamomile tea mix ...

1/2 cup chamomile

1/2 cup peppermint

1/2 cup verbena

These proportions are for the dried herbs.

Use one heaping Tablespoon for a mug of boiling water.

If using fresh herbs, then double the amounts given.

Our local stores sell manzanilla by the dried bunch.

I used to have a big herb garden

but do not have one established here yet.

I love chamomile tea, with a bit of lemon.

Hope you give it a try,

in your garden,

and in your mug.

Enjoy your day,

and visit Kimmie at

Art in Red Wagons

for more Tea on Tuesday bloggers.

Hope you join us.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Serenity

 Her name is Serenity.

The Art Doll Cool-aberration project

dolls are arriving at their first stop.

Serenity is my first doll in the rotation.

I received her in the mail today from

Amy in Central Texas.

You can find Amy at

http://www.anlinadesigns.com/

Amy created this doll start

and a journal start

that is very interesting.

Beautiful needle sculpted face,

a torso with beautiful fabric,

and an interesting journal.

So now I have to listen to Serenity

as she settles in,

and figure out what to do.

The journal is handmade

by Amy herself.

I have a lot to ponder

with Serenity....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Dia De Los Muertos

Dia De Los Muertos

is not far off....

November 1st.

The catrina is a popular figure

that is seen almost everywhere.

Awhile back I made a catrina figure

and decided to use it in a cigar box assemblage.

 Day of the Dead

and the art of that holiday

 acts not as a warning of death’s inevitability

so much as a reminder

to enjoy the sweetness of life.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Art Center for the Islands Reception

The reception last night was so nice.

It was such a pleasure and surprise

to walk in and see my

Love's Sorrow art quilt first thing.

Mary Rose did a fabulous job

displaying everything.

We had a wonderful, fun crowd,

although I didn't take many photos.

I actually got busy talking

and forgot all about taking pictures. LOL

I did get some pictures when we first arrived

These are the chairs from the Tarpon Inn

that were up for auction.

They had all been painted by different artists

and were all very unique.

We had music and food

all thanks to the art center.

These are two of the guys

in the 5 piece Art Center Band.

My Bears Went Over the Mountain piece above

sold last night while I was there,

along with my

Abstract Flowers in Copper Vase.

I got to talk to the lady who bought "Bears".

Her mother lives in New Mexico

and she said there are lots of bears around.

She said she hopes this piece

gives her good luck

at keeping the bears away

from the house.

I hope it does too.

I will keep that in my thoughts for her.

It was so nice being around the other artists,

 and the people who love art and life.

Afterwards, my DH and I drove the long way home

and saw this beautiful sunset over the water.

Every sunset I'm blessed to see,

 reminds me of this Maori proverb....

"Turn your face to the sun

and the shadows fall behind you."

Savor the Day!

Yvonne