Sunday, July 29, 2012

An Impromptu Mad Tea Party...and an Art Giveaway...♥

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As many of you know (much better than I, probably) yesterday was the 5th Annual Mad Tea Party in the blogosphere...
I'd read about it in the Stampington publications, long before I started blogging myself.
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I'd always thought, "How cool!"; but had never thought about actually having one...
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Then, yesterday I was looking at Vanessa Valencia's wonderful blog, A Fanciful Twist, and reading about her party, and many, many others...
And I thought, "Why not?"...it wasn't too late...
Sooooo...I went to Walmart...(very impromptu...no time to bake... like I would, LOL) ~
I found pretty cupcakes (only now am I realizing I could have put these in some prettier papers), and various lovely cookies and treats...
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Then I bought edible glitter and pearls and pink sugar to further embellish them...
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I came home and got out my Grandma Launius's teacups and her little rose-sprigged creamer and sugar bowl; my Mom's pretty cakestands ... and polished up my little silver teapot (the one I used in my painting Tea With the Earl, also with my favorite teacup from Grandma...) ~
Next came zinnias from the garden to pretty-up the cupcakes even more...(I saw this at A Fanciful Twist, as well...).
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How do you even begin to explain to a couple of fellows (who barely get the whole concept of blogging, anyway) why you are buying and gathering all of this, and then taking it all outside to set up and photograph??
:^)
Makes me smile, just remembering the looks...
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Mom has finally "gone 'round the bend", yes she has.
Jonathan helped me carry things out, though.
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Okay, it's all set up (such as it is...next year I will do much better)...now I just need some guests...
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Jonathan politely declined (but asked me if we could eat all the stuff I'd bought after I was finished taking pictures...I said "yes").
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So, I brought my little angel statue over, as well as my vintage photos...
I can have my little Victorian children there in spirit!
I added my Mom's little photo, too.
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The kitties wanted to come, of course, but since they don't go outside (and would be totally freaked out, outdoors, even if I got Jonathan to hold them) they would have to wait until I came back inside to have some Mad Tea Kitty Treats...
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I apologize for the repetition...I was excited!
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Someone needed to actually have a spot of tea, so I did (Earl Grey)...
This is my favorite cup and saucer, on my very favorite transferware plate...(I love fruit motifs!) ~ ♥
The sprig of Plumbago and the delicate Cosmo look so pretty, don't you think?
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Fairy Dust makes absolutely everything better...
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Back inside, here are my kitty party-revellers... Leo (top), Cyrus, and Tallulah (with Leo checking out the zinnias)...
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Now, for my art giveaway...I will give one of my hand-pulled and watercolored linoprints (the winner's choice of Tallulah (above), or Beloved (the Calvary angel) approx. 9" x 12") to one of the commenters on this post...(All you have to do is leave a comment for me!) ~ I will have this go through Thursday, August 2nd...then I will put all the names in a hat  and have Jonathan draw one (to further confuse him about blogging!) ~ I will post the winner on Friday.
Sound good?
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This is especially for Beverly's special "Pink and Yellow Saturday"! (Happy Birthday, Beverly ~ a bit belated!)...
Thank you for reading all my Tea-Party rambling...♥
Have a wonderful Monday!
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Friday, July 27, 2012

Friday Evening Photos-to-Share...(Updated)

A little revision here...Kathy (at http://oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy.blogspot.com/) suggested I add these photos to Sepia Saturday, so I decided I would!
Before doing this, I also added my "A Little Fur in the Paint" info to them, but as promised, if anyone wants to use them in something creative, just e-mail me at anne@octobermoondesigns.com and I will gladly send you the (large) files without that information on them. :^)
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I want to share some sweet images with you,

Feel free to use them however you wish, but if you share them, would you link back to me, pretty please? :)

This cute little fellow is my Mom's cousin Carl Collier, in the 1920s...it looks like he's on his way to mail a letter!

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These are both from the family album of a friend of my husband's family, from Cairo, Illinois.

He did not have children, and really had no family left.
He loved Nelson's family, and left many things to them; we wound up with these pretty cabinet card images from the 1880s...
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This is another Collier cousin...
Don't you want that fabulous rocking horse??

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And finally, just for smiles, I had to show you this card that was in some of my Daddy's photos from his college days at Mizzou...
Evidently, hitching a ride was not only not considered dangerous, it was encouraged!
The university had printed up these little cards for students to hand out...
This was probably from 1939-40.
How times have changed!
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Have a great weekend, all!
Anne

and

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Rain!

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Thankfully, we finally got some rain this evening, a little over an inch, and it's still raining lightly...
So happy! (So is the garden!)
I hope everyone else that needs rain is as fortunate...♥

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Also, in the mail today I got this lovely kitchen towel (I can button it right on the oven handle!) from Mare Ball of Adventures in the Ballpark for being her 100th follower...
Thank you so much, Mare!...It's too pretty to use!

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 Look at my Sweet Annie...she looks like she's growing cheerleading pom-poms! Is this the way she's supposed to look? :)

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And the last thing tonight...

Today I was going through some things and re-found (a perk of being un-organized...re-finding items you've forgotten about...) this wonderful vintage postcard...
Isn't it the cutest thing?
It's titled "The Portrait Painter", by Margaret W.Tarrant.
There's so much going on!
One of the bunny "sitters" is running away;  another is s-l-i-p-p-i-n-g off the Pixie's lap...
and the mice are having a field day with the artist's paints...

Such fun...I think that's what art is all about!
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 Have a wonderful Friday, all!

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Anne

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Cypress Vines (& Tuberoses)...

I know, I know....more tuberoses... ;^)...

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I was experimenting with taking photos tonight with only the patio light...and I just had to share them...:)

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My post tonight is really about Cypress Vines, though...

Are you familiar with them? Such tough little plants; they sprout in about three days, and then they climb and climb...on anything available! Bright red is the most common (they're also called Cardinal Vine), but there are also white and bright pink varieties (you can see some pink ones in the photo above...) ~

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We have them coming up EVERYWHERE...even in the joint lines in the patio concrete!

I have seeds I'd be happy to share, and if you live anywhere you don't get a frost until late fall, it's not too late to plant some this year...
Or, you could save them for next year...:)

If you'd like some, e-mail me at anne@octobermoondesigns.com ~

See you tomorrow...Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Anne

Monday, July 23, 2012

Heart-Shaped Rock...

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Not long ago my youngest son Jonathan and I were going through boxes of rocks (two categories; fossils ~ considered more serious finds ~ and sparklies)...we had just brought them home from where they'd been in storage for several years.

Neither of us can pass up a nice rocky creek (or public landscaping gravel, for that matter)!

So, we sat down in the middle of the living room floor and went through the boxes, rock by rock...

"Look at this, Mom!... Oh, I remember this one!"

Exceptionally good ones were first passed over for his Dad to see, then were put in another little pile to separate them from the rest.

We really did have some interesting ones!

Much more important was spending time with my soon-to-be Senior, who this time next year will be setting off for college...

All of a sudden Jonathan said, "Oh, I remember finding this...I kept it in my pocket, and gave it to you on the way home"...(we used to go rock-hunting in the creek that ran behind the kitty-shelter where we volunteered)...
He told me to close my eyes and hold out my hand...
and there it was...doubly lucky, heart-shaped and with tiny fossils!

I don't know why I didn't keep it separate at the time, but now it has found a home in the little dish (above) on my nightstand.

They just grow up too fast, and rock-hunting opportunities get fewer and farther between...

We're planning a little rock-hunting trip now, before school starts.

No matter what we find, though, this one will remain my treasure...♥


Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Still no rain...just hot wind...:(

Still hoping...and watering.

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Anne




Saturday, July 21, 2012

A Saturday Evening Toast...

To my Grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Yancy Launius, first of Bloomfield, then for the next 50 years, Essex, Missouri.

E.Y. and Gertrude...

'Lish and Gertie...

The tuberoses blooming make me think so much of them...

I've read that our sense of smell can evoke the most vivid memories, and I believe it.

My daughter Katie thinks Grandma looked like Kate Winslet ~

Grandpa looks like my oldest son, Mark...(that should be the other way around...;^)

So young, in 1916.

Grandpa was born 100 years before my youngest son, Jonathan; 1894...1994.

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The little sugar bowl and creamer were a wedding gift from Grandma's mother...I'm so pleased to have them...♥

I'm making my post short, tonight...my computer keeps freezing up...
Maybe my fun PicMonkey is to blame?

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful, (rainy, where needed) Sunday...

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Anne

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Garden Goodies

Good Thursday Evening!

I thought I would share a few photos from the garden...it's still hanging in there, even with the lack of rain...

(We actually got about 5 minutes worth of raindrops today, but I don't think they disturbed the dust too much...)

We have an abundance of squash and tomatoes, although the Cherry and Roma vines (in a separate raised bed) are practically dried up...and we have been watering and watering...it must be the extreme temperatures...:^(
'Maters like heat, but even they have their limit, I guess...

Last year we had tomatoes through October, but I don't know if we'll be as lucky this year...you can water, but there's just not much a person can do about the heat...

Today set another record for the date, at 101...so far, the highest it's gotten is 108.

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I thought the squash looked so pretty in this vine-y basket...and the one little Cherry tomato...he looks like he's out-numbered, but holding his own!
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This was the first time I've tried the PicMonkey collage (don't you love PicMonkey?...my girls laugh every time I say it...) ~ anyway, it was very easy... easier than Picasa, I think ~ fewer steps.
Fun, too!

I can't believe how fast this week...this summer...is flying by!

Personally, with temperatures like this, I'm looking forward to the cooler days of fall...
and I'm being very thankful for central air-conditioning...
(How did we survive??...sticky nights...a little oscillating fan...a mosquito in the room (or several...that managed to get in around the window screens...ugh, I'm itching just remembering)...counting my blessings now!)

Have a wonderful Friday, all...
 I hope everyone who needs it gets rain!

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Anne

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A Few More Zinnias...

Just a few more zinnias for you...I think I've got Zinnia Fever!

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Someone splashed these beauties with crimson paint!

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I read today in my Southern Living Everyday Gardener that the more zinnias you pick, the more blooms you get, so I went out and clipped off all the fading ones and picked several to put in my Mom's little "frog" flower bowl...

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Singles, doubles, and everything in between!

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Even "Fairy-Sprinkled" ones...;^)

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A whole row of fun!

The SL book also said that zinnias love heat and humidity, and can easily withstand drought...
So glad I can accommodate them!
;^)
Still no rain, though it rained all around us today...it just skipped right over us...

It got really cloudy, though, and "missed a real good chance" as my Daddy would always say.

Please keep sending those rainy-day feelings our way!

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One more thing...(no, not another zinnia...) ~ my first tuberose is blooming!

H-e-a-v-e-n-l-y fragrance, if you've never experienced one...just a very heady, intoxicating scent! And, it becomes much more pronounced after dark...
Last year we had Hummingbird Moths visit the tuberoses almost every night... amazing creatures!

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Okay, this really is the last thing...

A few sources for Zinnia seeds for next year... there are some really interesting ones!

http://www.seedman.com/zinnia.htm
(I like the Benary Giants and Chippendale here...)

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/annuals/zinnias.html
(Check out Queen Lime, Zahara Double Cherry, Envy, and Starlight Rose...Yumm!)

http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/zinnia_seeds.html
(I like the Carousel Mix here...)

I don't think I can wait until next year!...It said 6 weeks from "planting-to-bloom"...and we don't get a killing frost until very late November... (Did we even have one last year?? The petunias that are still blooming from Spring 2011 say "No"...) ~ I think I'm going to have to order from Swallowtail!

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

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Anne

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Zinnias!

Zinnias! This year is my first time ever to plant zinnia seeds...my dear friend Elaine and I saw some gorgeous ones last October at a pumpkin farm in Arkansas, so I put them on my mental "must try" garden-list...I'll have to admit, I wasn't too impressed with them at first...they were kind of straggily-looking for quite a while... They must love sun and HEAT, though, because now they're robust and blooming profusely...(even without the Miracle Grow...I just gave them some last night, so who knows...it may be "Katie bar the door" in a couple of weeks! I'll keep you posted!) ~ :)

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I set these up out on the front porch yesterday afternoon late, just as the sun was starting to set...you can see that glow on them!
I think this looks like a watercolor (top), don't you?

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SOMEONE needs to do a Rain Dance here...it is SO dry...(I saw our little Missouri Bootheel colored in red for "severe drought" on the national news this morning)...we just can't seem to water enough.

Things are hanging in there, but barely...our tomatoes and squash are still producing amazingly well, though some of the plants look pit-i-ful...

The cotton looks good, however ~ because it's planted around every subdivision and farmer's "holdout" inside the city limits, it's the only crop I've seen. Farmers have to be suffering, too, though.

Almost every day for the past couple of weeks it clouds up and looks like it might rain, but it always passes over...

Soon, hopefully...fingers crossed!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday! Wish us a rainy one!

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Monday, July 16, 2012

A New Week...

Hope everyone had a good Monday! I have to get back on a normal schedule...I've gotten so used to staying up until the wee hours...it really makes more sense, though, you know? No matter how much sleep I've gotten the night before, I'm not a morning person ~ creatively, especially. I can do simple chores, water flowers, etc. ~ :^) ~ but paint...nah. The longer I'm up (within reason) the more I seem to get done...I've always been like that. Most of the rest of the world just doesn't work that way, though!

Here are another couple of pictures from the Depot show. I promise not to keep this up too long! But, it really did do wonders for my self esteem to manage to get all these paintings finished...it was very nice to see everything framed and in one place...

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Above are the two linocuts of Cyrus and Leo that I forgot to photograph before they were framed...

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I set up the last of the hydrangeas earlier today, thinking I might give the blog a more "summery" look...Leo just wasn't feeling it, though ~ I couldn't get him to get really close to the typewriter and look up at the same time, like the current banner photo...(that one was just a "happy accident", I think...maybe I should just leave it alone!)...

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That's all for tonight...I spent some time setting up a little still-life of some zinnias this afternoon, too ~ I'll show you those tomorrow. :)
Have a great Tuesday, everyone! Where is the summer going??

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Anne