Invasion of the Cows

27th Anniversary Cruise Celebration

Day 10 - When we made plans for our wedding we knew it would be in my hubby's beloved hometown. We wanted a small intimate wedding with a few friends so we married in my dh's home place. I loved their old Victorian home. Surrounded by poinsettias and great friends we were wed in his living room. I made my way down the winding staircase to the entry way and my step dad escorted me the rest of the way. My mil catered all the food and setup all the arrangements. Their wonderful neighbors allowed my family to use their home while they were away during that week. Our honeymoon was in the town where we now live. We stayed in the Williamsburg Inn and enjoyed all of Colonial Williamsburg. I loved bringing in the Yule Log and other festivities the Inn had planned during the Christmas season. It was an enchanting time - one filled with beauty and wonder. Love was in the air!

Invasion of the Cows

Have you seen the traveling cow exhibit? Here you can read a little history on where and how it all began. Cows invaded our mall last year. They were everywhere. Artists made and painted large cows and were exhibiting them in different malls. They weren't just plain ole' cows. They were all decorated and very colorful.



Everyone visiting this area was talking about the painted cows. Children couldn't resist climbing on them and many passersby stopped to have their picture taken with a cow. They made you laugh. Even my dog was fascinated by them. I believe he thought they were real.

My friend in Florida shared her cow story with me. So I am working on a floating cow quilt piece for her. Shhh!! Don't tell her. I hope she doesn't read my blog today.

Let's Live It

27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

Day 11 - and counting! One day this year my dh left the house to get a cuppa java at 7-11. Many times he goes to the "landing" to pray and find solace. On his way there he called me and began to share about an unusual siting. As he passed by a church, sitting there on the steps was a lady with two dogs. He proceeded on to his destination but something inside him stirred seeing her sitting on the church steps on a hot July day. When he left to come out from the landing the lady was up and walking toward the roadway. He called me to tell me of this unusual thing because here in our neck o' the woods one doesn't see many actual homeless people. And even stranger, a lady walking with two dogs and pulling a large bag of stuff. When he called me my first response was "What do you suppose God wants you to do for her since you are so drawn to her." He hung up with "I don't know." Before hanging up one thing he shared with me was his concern for the dogs on such a hot day.

Seconds, minutes, at least 30 minutes, an hour had passed by and he had not returned home. The phone rang and he began to share with me that he had gone to the grocery store to buy her a few things. Especially on his list were water and dog food. He found her not too far from where he had last seen her on a side road near a campground. He stopped by her and began to exchange conversation. She shared with him that she had began her travels in NY and moved through PA to Virginia. He asked if she would like to use his phone to call someone; relatives or friends. She responded with "No there was no one." She showed him her sketch book and drawings of historical places she had visited. She talked of a desire to attend the 4th of July fireworks at Duke of Gloucester in Williamsburg and that eventually she wanted to make her way back to Philadelphia. She took the water and fresh fruit and a few other things. They fed the dogs and gave them water from a dog bowl my dh bought for them. Before they parted company she gave my husband a precious gift, probably the only belonging that was special to her. She dug deep down into the bag and pulled out this beautiful necklace.

I must say when he returned home and shared this story with me and showed me the necklace I figured he would give me the necklace. It was such a beautiful piece of art made with her own hands. But he surprised me. He was so impacted by this event that he wrapped the necklace around the mirror in his truck to remind him of the need to help others and to pray for the dogs and her safety in their travels.

He has not seen her since that day. The necklace is beaded with a braided heart and cross in the center. I wonder who touched whom the most!! Who was the bigger blessing? During a season of
giving its easy to find ourselves being generous but how about the rest of the year? Where is your heart in helping others?

God Uses Unusual Ways

Yesterday I did not want to walk my dog in the afternoon but he persisted with kisses and his way of letting me know "would you please walk me." As I passed by a large field I saw two pieces of hot pink and lime green plastic wrap laying on the ground. What unusual colors I thought to myself. I was going to pass on by but felt a prompting to pick them up. I shoved them in my pocket and walked on.

Coming up on a car wash area I noticed a nice book placed on the edge of a cinder block. Oh my! Someone had cleaned their car and left this wonderful book. I love books and to think someone forgot their book! I was going to pass on by but felt a prompting to pick it up. "Blood Orange" it read on the cover; um, never heard of that book or author. But I had plans for the book - its very popular right now in mixed-media art to alter books. I had wanted to do one but could not stand the thought of altering one of my books but a found one - that was different. I walked on reading the book. An interesting paragraph caught my eye in the novel. It read "Have You Seen This Little Girl? Seven year old abducted from her home..... at time she wore a pink and lime green ....." Now God was getting my attention. I walked on.

Not far from here I found a penny and placed it in my pocket. I walked on thanking God for my found penny and pondering what had happened so far. I felt myself asking what does "blood orange" look like? But I walked on.

I continued to find orange items; a color I usually don't see on my walks except lately in the leaves. I found a flattened cup with a print of an orange hand on it that read "Strength" and a card that said "Believe It or Not" and orange stuff. But I walked on, pondering it all.

I turned around to walk back home and found another penny. I began to thank God again for my found penny and a story in the Bible captured my thoughts. In 1Kings 17 Elijah is fed by ravens. I felt very impressed that the question in my spirit was "Do you trust me to feed you anyway I see fit. Will you trust Me," God was asking me.

Further in the passage Elijah goes to Zarephath, where he meets a widow down to her last meal. She had only a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug. Elijah said to her "Don't be afraid, first make something for me and then for you and your son. " Then he gives her a Word God spoke to him - "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land."

When I finally returned home I remembered my "man droppings." So I took pictures of all my found objects. I decided to write about all this today. But during last night while two sons and I watched the "Tin Man" I shared this story with them. They laughed and said, "Well mom what do you think all this means." My youngest responded, "It's just coincidence." But you know I don't believe in coincidence.

A little blurb at the bottom of The Adventure Bible" for children I was reading from said "God's Care - God takes care of children through their parents. There are many ways you could be used by God to help someone."

What all of this has brought to the forefront for me are all the missing children in this country. Abducted ones, run aways, abused ones - ones that probably wonder "Does anyone care if I am dead or alive? Do I matter to anyone?"

P.S. - In my walk this morning I found this child's lime green toy. The pics color is off but it's lime green. What's with this?

You - Light of My Life

27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

Day 12 - Reminds me of the Twelve Days of Christmas and my true love gave to me....

I used to love reading Christmas books to my children. And I loved "singing" or that's what I called it, to my sons. At least when they were younger they would always ask me to keep singing. I figured it out - I thought they liked my singing - now I realize it was just a ploy to stay up longer. But I always snuggled up with them and I fell asleep.

With my youngest he would always request a back rub. He still comments on the lack of said affection. Occasionally he will come up to my bedroom, sprawl out across my bed and say, "Mom would you rub my back?" At 6'3" that is a lot of sprawling. But I would not trade those moments for anything. I am just glad at 19 he still feels he can do that if he wants to.

Light - Jesus Is The Light

This week the SaltFaith challenge is "Light." The snowflake piece was created the same way we did when we were children cutting paper-folded snowflakes. I fused it onto the black background. Then I cut out the black design centers of the snowflake and inserted a shimmery fabric in the openings to create the illusion of "light" coming through the snowflake. The muslin was painted with Neocolor II pastel wax. I love how the piece turned out. I have never attempted anything like this before. But I would like to try more.


In the smaller picture is a Christmas postcard I created from my snowflake quilt piece. I have never made a scrapbook-type postcard and I am not very good at using paper and scrapbooking items - yet. "Practice makes perfect," they say. I went into my Scrapbook program and created a template for a photo postcard. I dropped my snowflake picture into the template. I added the text "Shine, Jesus, Shine - Hallelujah" in a concave layout and printed it out on glossy Digital Photo Paper.

The package of paper was purchased at a Roses store on the Eastern Shore for a buck. Now I wished I had bought every packet they had in the store. I glued the piece onto yellow textured cardstock, then onto another purple textured cardstock. An entire packet of cardstock (over 125 pieces) was on sale at Walmart for $7.00. I thought that was a great deal.

I played around with a drinking straw and some expensive hand-dyed yarn this week. I attached the covered straw to the top of the card to add even more texture. At the very bottom I glued on three brad nails to symbolize the nails used to crucify Jesus.

For me Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus. May we all brighten up others lives during this special time of year.

Beauty In Lines

27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

Day 13 - My oldest son grew up watching Bay Watch. When he was 15 he decided he wanted to be a lifeguard. He took all the classes to be certified and applied for jobs in that field when he turned 16. It seems there are never enough lifeguards in the Summer. I was a bit concerned because of the responsibility placed on a young person life guarding. But I know prayer makes a big difference in outcomes. Many days throughout the day I would find myself praying for him while he worked at the retreat center. In his career as a lifeguard he had several saves. I am so thankful he was alert and attentive to young children in the swimming pool.

I remember watching my youngest do hand stands off the diving board. He loved pushing the limits. He has always been very agile and gifted in sports though he never was interested in anything except soccer. He loves David Beckham but then who doesn't.

The glitz and glamour of a lifeguard wore off and my oldest realized it was a long, hot day everyday. One that tired you out sitting in the sun. He realized his mind had to stay engaged in the activity going on around him. Every week there were different campers and so many at times that spotters were assigned to assist him. Some days I would stay at the pool and observe. I realized my son was very responsible, caring and tender with the children.

The ones that challenged him were his peers. He was not intimidated or fearful of them and knew his job was to make sure all swimmers were safe. Sometimes that meant asking people to leave the pool. Which he did, all in a days work!

Beauty In Lines

I went to visit a friend and take pictures of her wood shed, roosters and turkeys. I have been taking pictures for several years of industrial buildings, sheds, and animals. I want to incorporate them into a quilt someday. But for now I play by working them into small works of art through fabric postcards. The lines are so beautiful and just draw me in.
I hope by taking these pics I can get better in doing abstract

postcards. It was fascinating to watch the turkeys. One male and three females. Each of them were different colors and very entertaining. One female jumped on the mail box and observed me. I could tell she was contemplating whether she should jump on my shoulder. Thank God she decided to just watch me. Why is it in the animal kingdom the male is much more vibrant in color and more beautiful?


Here is a rooster fabric postcard I did this past summer for a "Shakespeare" theme.
He was very whimsical and very primitive. The recipient of the card had given me the yarn, so I incorporated it into his feathers and sent it back to her. She was quite delighted with the card.

A Stranger In My House

27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

14 days remaining - 2weeks - I awoke at 2am out of a dream where we are running to catch a plane. I awoke just as we were getting to the door of the plane. Were we allowed to board? In the dream I left everything on the plane - all luggage and all my carry-ons and ID. They were already on the plane. Not a good feeling.

I remember when my DH came home and told me he had been checking out all the county communities for our permanent home. He found a sweet little new development close to the town limits and wanted me to go look. At that point in time I couldn't even find my way out of what they called "Confusion Corner"; it was where all roads seemed to converge and you had to know where you were headed. I am definitely directional challenged. lol. He had picked a lot out on the main road. I could see that was not a good selection if you had children. We drove up into the cul-de-sac and there is where we found our lot. We contracted to have our home built and made a few changes to define it as ours. We had placed our mark on our little piece of "heaven" on earth. Our backyard neighbor was a wonderful, older couple that adored our little son.

Once when I decided to take a quick shower our son decided he wanted to investigate outdoors without me. He had figured out how to unlock our front door. I will never forget that day stepping out of the shower upstairs and hearing a strange voice talking. Talk about unsettling. Thank God he had wondered into our backyard and our neighbor had noticed him by himself and brought him back inside our home. He was probably about 3 or 4 at the time. After that episode we bought a deadbolt and I locked it during the day when we were home. Needless to say I never took a shower during the day again for a long time. Shortly after that we also fenced in our backyard.

That favor was reciprocated years later when we found a little boy wondering on the main street in dead of winter with no coat and no shoes on. He was headed to the playground to have fun. He was able to direct my hubby to his home. The only difference was that his mom was inebriated and passed out in the bedroom. Even after explaining where he was found, she didn't seem a bit concerned about him.

Quilting Arts Inchies from Houston

Quilting Arts magazine gave the FAT group an opportunity to exchange inchies by way of mail. You sent in a certain number and in return you would get the same amount from people around the world. One of mine came from France. I love the diverse group of inchies I received in the mail. The felting, texture, embellishments and fibers are wonderful on each one of these little works of art. I love the little shovel on the first one and the map and letters "GO" on the second. Its amazing what can be placed on something this tiny. Barbara at Quilting Arts did a tremendous job organizing this project.

A God Moment - What Do You Believe?

I wasn't going to post this but I can't resist. The biggest reason for posting is to ask for your prayer. Yesterday after work my hubby came home. I asked him to listen to a message on our phone from our neighbor who lives in the northern part of the state. She rents the home next to us out. During the conversation he brought our neighbor up to speed on our boys and what they were doing. He mentioned to her that our middle son was now a police officer in the county and wanted to buy a home. Actually he has always teased his dad to sell him our home and us move into a bigger home. As the conversation went on she mentioned a price she would be willing to sell her home to our son for under market value. She remembered all the times she watched him and I play ball in our backyard. Her feeling was "how could she not offer him an opportunity to buy a home in the neighborhood he grew up in." Up to this point she has never wanted to sale that home though other renters have made offers.

I am not sure where this is all going! He will inspect the home tomorrow with his dad. If he qualifies for the financial part I believe he and his fiancee will purchase the home. I laugh because the property and home are bigger than our home. I love it when God moves in such tangible ways and we get to go along for the ride of our lives.

My hubby said last night he would love having his son next door to him. I know my son would feel more secure knowing his dad is next door watching over his family and home while he is protecting and serving the people of our county. My son's concern and I quote, "We could remove the side fence and fence in both yards so Bear could have more room to run." What a hoot!! What does God want in all this? The possibilities are endless if only we believe.

Gone Fishin'

27th Celebration Cruise Countdown

There are only 15 days left and counting. We live only an hour from my DH's home place. When my FIL was alive we would go home on weekends to relax. Dad loved cooking for us when we went to his home. We owned a little john boat and were given rights to fish a private pond near their home. When my oldest son was little he loved going out on the pond to fish for blue gill, croaker and bass. There were even nasty pike in the pond. Occasionally we would see water snakes zipping around in the water. For me that was a bit unsettling but we never caught one and they didn't bother us.

My little man would get in the boat, put the worms on his line and fish all day. He didn't care as long as he was spending time with his dad. But the holder of the citation bass, 8lbs some odd ounces, was yours truly. Purely by accident, mind you. It wasn't even much of a challenge to get it into the boat. Once I caught it, that ended our fishing for the day. My hubby rushed to get the fish down to the local hardware store so it could be officially weighed and counted to the areas catch for citation bass. I received a certificate and plaque with my name and the weight of the bass emblazoned on the award from State Fish & Game. After that catch, the fun in fishing came to be if anyone could beat mom. Those were the good ole' days.

Tags-Step 2C - Marbling

The next step for The Artists Circle Tags was posted yesterday. I printed them out and placed them in my folder to do for later. But toward the end of the day I found some free time and decided to give it a try. I had the shaving cream and lumiere metallic paints from an earlier art project. So I was set and ready to begin. Before I began I cut two pieces of muslin for experimentation too. I hate wasting supplies.

I was a little too heavy-handed when running the fork through the shaving cream and paint to get the swirl effect for marbling. So I lightened my touch and the marbling effect worked better. Here are three of my tags. Two look like double tags. They will be made into pocket tags later. I used "pearl turquoise", "metallic gold", "metallic bronze" and "Halo violet gold" Jacquard Lumiere paints. I love the feel and textural look of the finished tags.

I probably should have used a softer background when taking the pics so
the focus would have been on the tags. The fabrics behind the tags are the two pieces of muslin painted with the left-over shaving cream and paints. Beautiful green and purple. I am pleased with the results but need to work for better control in marbling and swirling the paints.