What I StumbleUpon

Sometimes I need to get my creative juices flowing; in order to find something to post about. Not often because most of the time ideas pop into my head all the time.

So when I have bloggers block, I Stumble! No I don't mean I get rip-roaring drunk and stumble around. I mean I go to a great website called StumbleUpon. Actually I have their toolbar and their toolbar has a little button that says Stumble! I click on it and I am magically transported to random blogs/websites/gaming zones/videos, etc, etc. The possibilities are endless. I can even set up my interests and choose for instance online games and it will go to unending page after page after page of online games for me.

It's awesome, I love it. If you would like it then just click here:

So I was stumbling and I came across this beautiful work of art and I had to share.

Is that not right up there with the Mona Lisa? I know it puts a smile on MY FACE! That's my absolute favorite pastry, Cream Cheese Danish...and now, I can make my very own!! Or at least I have the recipe to make it when the temperature is not hell and a half outside.

I stumbled onto a website called Joe Pastry, Baking News, Tips, History and Science. Joe has a whole list of "How To" make things, but I found the How To Make Danish Pastry, of course! It's really an awesome website with easy to follow recipes and great step by step photos.

Well, I can't actually bake right now, but I can do the next best thing. I'm off to make pancakes, but please go visit Joe Pastry, you will thank me!

Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer

I decided to post my Iwanna Wednesday just a tad early, although to be fair on the East Coast it is already Wednesday. So technically it's not early; I just live in the wrong time zone :-)

Anyway, Iwanna participate in A Southern Daydreamers Outdoor Wednesday event. And since my Iwanna post was about the outdoors and Bluebirds and stuff I figured it fit. So don't forget after seeing what Iwanna you can go to A Southern Daydreamers blog and see what else everyone else is doing outdoors while you're indoors reading blogs!! Just kidding, I know ya'll get out there sometimes. Ok...so scoot, go see what others are doing.

Be Well!

Iwanna Wednesday

This is for the birds!!

No, I'm not fed up with Iwanna Wednesdays. How could I be fed up with being able to shop for beautiful things and post them here for all to see? What's for the birds is. . .

wait for it~~~

wait for it~~~

wait for it~~~

Ok, so maybe I do watch too much "How I Met Your Mother", but what's for the birds that Iwanna this Wednesday?

BIRDBATHS!

Why? Because we have lots of beautiful Bluebirds in our back yard and they love it when I turn the sprinkler on. They play in it and flutter around and then they eat all those good bugs that come to the surface. So I thought maybe they might like a birdbath.

And I found some beauties. I never knew there were so many styles. I assumed I would find a white plastic one like I had about 20 years ago, but check these out . . .

This one I loved because those little birds can just kinda hang out and wait their turn for the water, or if they drink too much they can just sit there and wait til they sober up so they can fly straight! (No, I'm not planning to put tequila in the birdbath...the tequila is for me!)

This one is great because I do so badly with growing flowers...and this one is ready made with lots of beautiful flowers!

This one is the Minnie Pearl model. Oh come on! You don't know who Minnie Pearl is? What?? Oh, I'm dating myself? Ummm, no, I just know a lot of trivia, I'm not really old enough to know who Minnie Pearl is. Anyone want to guess why this is a Minnie Pearl model? If you can't guess, go here and see if you can get a clue. They have a lovely photo of Minnie and a great story, but then don't forget to come back cause we got lots more Iwanna lovelies to see.

Go on now...I'll wait.

Hey welcome back! Did you guess? I knew you would, you're a smart buncha people!

Now this next one I loved because the bath itself is copper and would reflect the sun so nicely. But would it maybe reflect too much and make the water too hot? I don't want Bluebird Soup! Nor do Iwanna blind the poor things with the reflection. Ok, so maybe not this one, but it is beautiful isn't it?

Awwwww, one after my own heart. I love Angels. Especially Angels who bathe! And obviously birds love Angels since Angels have wings like they do. If you notice some have already come with the birdbath to keep the Angel company.

Now I don't know about this one. Iwanna like it, well actually I do like it, but doesn't it look a lot like a Venus Fly Trap plant? But birds aren't flies, so maybe they would do ok? What do you think?

And last, but not least Iwanna this one. Awwww, isn't this adorable? This would even be cute hanging in your bathroom with a plant or some pretty hand towels or scented soaps wouldn't it?

Yep, I think the Bluebirds would be happy in any one of these. And we should be getting quite a few more Bluebirds cause don't birds fly South for the Winter?

Huh? What? What do you mean Southern California isn't the south birds fly to.
Oh well, no matter that is what Iwanna this Wednesday.
Which is your favorite?

My Mother's Talented Hands

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? ~Milton Berle

It's amazing that with only two hands mothers do as much as they do. My mom is a perfect example of that. Growing up I always remember my mom busy doing something, sewing, cleaning, cooking, painting, crocheting...and since we're at crocheting I'll stop because that's what I wanted to talk about today and share with you.

My mom has always been great at crocheting. She once did the whole Last Supper in crochet. And I'm not talking some little piece that goes in a little frame...this was a HUGE piece which was framed and hung in her kitchen for many years. It probably measures 6feet by 4 feet. It looks something like this one, only much more massive.

Unfortunately I couldn't photograph it because right now it's sitting in the frame on the floor behind her very heavy china hutch in her kitchen. But it's mine. She gave it to me many, many years ago. I have no idea where I will hang it because I really have no walls in my kitchen, but I will knock out a window and make a wall out of it if I have to!!!

But ok, before I start knocking out windows and building walls, let me just get back to the subject of my post today. My mom has started crocheting again and her first project was this little beauty for me :-)

A beautiful butterfly panel. It's pretty big as you can tell from the photo below. This isn't a love seat it's a chair and a half and this fits clear across it. I would love to display it differently but I haven't found quite the right place yet...but I will.

Mom is currently working on another project which I hope to post for you as soon as it's finished. I think it's going to be about as big as the one above, and she's only half done.

My mom taught my sister and I both to crochet, and I've made a doily here and there. I have posted one here. But I have no where near the talent or determination my mom does.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment!

Be Well!

Fondue'ing it Up!

"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate." - Linda Grayson

Yesterday my daughter, April came for the day to visit. She lives about 4 hours away so she had quite a drive before getting here. She, my mom and I first did a little bit of thrift store shopping where we found some treasures...as usual; but I will post about that later.

April had invited her friend Mary to come and have a barbecue with us. But it was actually 102 degrees yesterday, so we opted for hamburgers made inside and potato salad. It was still super hot in the kitchen, but well...we had to eat.

Mary brought her sister Amy and we had a great time with them. They were super nice people and I'm glad my daughter has such good friends. After dinner April had a special dessert planned.

It started out with this electric Fondue Pot, 5 bars of milk chocolate, milk, whipping cream and marshmallows, plus a LOT of stirring~


Mmmm, melting marshmallows ~



Almost done, just a few stubborn marshmallow bits. This was soooooooo sinfully delicious.

And what would melted chocolate be good for if you didn't have something to dip into it? Actually, I could have just used my fingers at that point, but well...we did have company so we used all these delicious things. Fresh strawberries, raspberries, bananas, pound cake, salted pretzels and marshmallows!

(The little pink serving tray above was purchased for me by my mom at a Goodwill for about $2.25. Isn't it beautiful?)

This beautiful Mikasa serving plate was a gift from my mom that she purchased many years ago at a Mikasa outlet store. This is actually the first time I've used it for anything other than decorative purposes. It's just as beautiful as the fruit it held.

Well we had a really great time, even though it was so hot. If you've never tried Chocolate Fondue, you really should. It's amazingly delicious and a great way to share food, time and stories.

Remember the Date and Honor Those Who Serve

Sue from Sullivan & Murphy posted a very special video today. About a way to thank those in service to us in our military. I'll let the video speak for itself except to further say, "God Bless America".

A Cloche for April...not the month...the daughter!

Hi and welcome to my first ever Cloche attempt!

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life is hosting a cloche party, so I'm trying my hand at creating one. No easy task as it takes a creative mind and yours truly isn't exactly creative...most of the time. But here goes and I hope you like it!

Some of you may be asking, "What is a Cloche"? Cloche is french for bell. It's formed of a piece of glass shaped like a dome and it's purpose is to protect garden plants from cold weather and frost.

I didn't have a formal cloche or bell jar or apothecary jar, so what I did was take my hurricane lamp and turn it upside down, which makes a bell shape...hence a cloche!

I thought long and hard about what I would put under my cloche. I wanted something fall like, even though it's still in the high 90's outside. So I decided that I would do a little display for my daughter April.

A few months ago she took a job about 4 hours away and I've only seen her once since then. She's coming home this Saturday just for the day and so I figured I would go ahead and use some of her most loved things.

So here it is...my Cloche. April is collecting tea cups. This is the first one that she has found. She has four others because she's claiming the four that belonged to my former mother-in-law, April's grandmother...lol. Right now all five are in my possession. Also pictured are April's Russian Nesting Dolls which I gave her as a gift this year for her birthday...on Aprils Fools Day and yes, that is her actual birthday. I added the tray, flowers and candle just to give the display some fall colors.

I'm going to display it on my kitchen table, but I might move it on the weekend to my coffee table so I can see it while I do my "couch potato" thing. :-)

Here's a closeup of the cup and saucer. I love this picture, the way the light is reflected in the glass and mirror on the tray.

Here's a closeup of the Russian Nesting dolls...I felt they had great fall colors. The little orange candle in the background just is a nice fall color and also smells great! The little brown tray is from Goodwill and I've been debating painting it. It has a mirrored bottom and I keep it on my kitchen counter.

And the silk flowers were given to me by my sister. The rest of them are displayed in the barrel planter on my patio. I do great with silk, not so much with real flowers. I believe these would be mums?


So...what did you think of my first every cloche? I had a fun time creating it and now I hope you all head over the Marty's, A Stroll Thru Life and see what everyone else created!