A little tea for Twins

Hi everyone, Right after Christmas, before I took down the decorations, I invited little two year old twins over for a tea party! I set up a little table (actually a foot stool covered with cloth) and all the little chairs I could find with some little friends for the girls to have tea with. There were bears, a Cabbage Patch doll, and a fuzzy snow man.

The little twins had not expected this tea party. They were just going to "visit" with their parents, so were they thrilled. In the center of the table was a little rotating music box and the table held a tiny plastic tea set. It only took them a minute to get all involved in this tea party which went on for about an hour! I was surprised that they played there so long.

There were lots of smiles on faces all around when the tea party was over!



I think I enjoyed it more than they did!

A Late afternoon Walk ........

Hi everyone, Last evening, right before the sun went down, I walked around the property to see how badly things were affected by the freezing temperatures we have had. Actually, teh only things hurt really bad were the tomato, pepper and basil plants. The broccoli and cabbages still look good, maybe just the slightest color change on some leaves, but I think they will be fine.
The roses love the cooler weather, I guess.

This bougainvillea is blooming profusely and the color looks great against the white of the house!

Along the property line, there is a maze of various tropical plants, vines and palms. You can see the sun making reddish looking trunks.

The Florida Flame Vine (originating in Mexico) is now blooming and soon, if the cold keeps away, it will be a mass of orange trumpet blooms!

I love the way these very old, big Live Oaks look with the sun reflecting red on them! It is right before the sun sets.



Sometimes a walk about the place is just what I need to put me in a great mood! Awesome nature!

The Cotswolds, England

Hi everyone, I have been looking through a beautiful book by Lesley Holmes, A Cotswold Sketchbook, and thinking about how very much I would like to go there to paint, sketch and take photographs. I have looked up many towns there on the internet and the scenery is so quaint and charming! Have any of you been there? I would love to hear about it, if you have! Do any artists out there know of a painting holiday there. Maybe one would do better just going on her own with a friend or fellow artist instead of an organized painting holiday. Let me hear from you if you have been there!

"Making Greeting Cards"

Hi Everyone, It is so cold right now in Florida! Tonight we are supposed to get a hard freeze, so I have been out covering up my big tomato plant, some lettuce and the broccoli and cabbages. It probably won't hurt the broccoli and cabbages, but I fear the tomato will not make it and it is full of nice green tomatoes . I remember the same thing happened last winter!

So today I have been inside painting and working on some projects in the studio. Just for fun, I got out some fabric scraps and buttons, etc. and made a few greeting cards!

Not too long ago, I found so many blank cards at Michaels. Some were nice colors with scalloped borders, some mostly plain and others with borders.

Here are some samples of ones I made. I cut the little sunbonnet girls from print cloth, "sewed" around them with a fine tipped pen. I used a glue stick to glue them onto the card first.

Then I got in the button bag and used parts of silk flowers and buttons to make some flowers on some of the cards.

Some of the flowers were cut from the print cloth, too.They remind me of quilt appliques.

Well it was fun, and I think those who get one of these from me will really enjoy

a handmade card. Now I am thinking Valentine's day!

"Think Ahead"!

Floral Paintings and Plants around the Studio

Hi Everyone,
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I certainly did! Had lots of family here and we had your basic "Eat Fest" ! I must now get down to the business of eating healthier and trying to lose a few pounds. Today, I froze the remaining cookies. They will come in handy later for taking to my quilting group!
For some of you, new to this blog, I have another blog, as well. It is http://egrettawells.blogspot.com/ On it you can see lots of my paintings and click on an icon to the right that will take you directly to my gallery on Daily Paintworks.
Here are a few of the floral paintings I have posted.

I love doing florals, and there is a wealth of material around the property here. Right now the hibiscus is blooming profusely, as well as bougainvillea, many annuals, etc.

We have finally had a low of 50 degrees, so it is very pleasant, sunny, but not hot.

A painting of a pink geranium.Notice I posted this painting sideways....see the signature!

This is a lovely poinsetta I bought for Christmas...don't you just love the color? I hope to do a painting from it soon.




Below are various plants from the back porch. Notice the blue watering globes. They work well!

Got to run...I must begin working on my New Year's resolutions. Have a great day!

Merrry Christmas to All!

Hi everyone, Thank you for looking at my blog and for all your nice greetings and comments throughout the year. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas, filled with good times with family and friends. Happy New Year, too, filled with good health and prosperity.

As we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, let's remember that there is only one gift that "keeps on giving". And that is the gift of Jesus Christ in our hearts!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

I am sure you are as busy as I am and are enjoying guests, too, just as I am. We jokingly say that we are having an "Eat Fest". Already I am thinking about those resolutions I will have to make come Jan. 1 about losing weight. I don't recall a year in the past that I haven't made that same resolution. I wonder how many of you have made it, too.

Oh, well! For now, lets just enjoy all those special goodies. Tomorrow we can think about dieting.

Merry Christmas!

Baking, Baking and more Baking!

Hi Everyone from Ten Gables,

Well, yesterday after church, I got right into marathon (almost) baking! I also dipped pretzel rods in white chocolate and milk chocolate, decorating them a little bit. My children love these treats.

I made molasses crinkles a recipe that most people seem to have on hand. I also made Magic bars, using condensed milk, graham cracker crumbs, with butterscotch and chocolate chips. I had these in Minnesota and found the recipe on the internet!

I made Crispy Oatmeal Sugar Cookies and then Soda Cracker Cookies. I have given out both these recipes on this blog.




Finally I made Caramel puffed corn and put it up in airtight jars. Below is the recipe for Caramel puffed corn.

Caramel Puffed Corn

Buy two bags of Chester's Puffed Corn in the potato chip section of your grocery. Dump it into 2 baking pans with sides, so you can stir it. Puffed Corn looks like packing peanuts!!! Now melt in saucepan on the stovetop, 2 sticks or 1 cup butter, 2 cups of brown sugar (I used dark brown) and 1/2 cup of either light or dark corn syrup. (I used Light, since I used dark brw. sugar). Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of soda, then pour over the puffed corn. Coat all the puffed corn. Now put in an oven preheated to 250 degrees and bake for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. It will be very crisp. After cooling, put in air tight containers. I had 5 and 1/2 containers! Delicious! Happy Christmas cooking to all and to all a good night!