Winter Remembrances

 Looking at past blogger posts, I came across this one that is still relevant to my life 10 years later.

As we head into the winter phase of the year, I'm remembering how much fun snow and ice was for me as a child and young adult.  The good times at the skating rink and the warming room with the pot~bellied stove where we would take on more energy and give it several more spins out on the ice to piped in music!  Sledding and snowball fights.  Tunnels in the deep drifts of a northern Minnesota post~blizzard.

My birthday falls in the dead of winter so it was always celebrated at the rink, or Mom would decorate the house and invite my friends for cake and games.

When did winter become such a drag???  Now it just means icy roads, shoveling snow and longing for warm sunny Spring days to throw off the jackets, earmuffs & gloves and to spend time outdoors. 

Dreaming of warm sunny beaches

 Way back in the 80s, in order to escape Minnesota winters, my parents flew down to the very southern tip of Texas. When I could get off work and family obligations, I would fly down to visit them. Mom and I loved to go to Matamoros, Mexico and shell all day. Of course all our treasures came back with me to Spokane, and we've been hauling them from house to house every move since.

 Asked t.o.b. if he knew where that box of shells might be, and he knew exactly where it was in the garage, brought it in and the memories rushed back.

 Here are a few photos I took using the light of new snow outside my slider.

Pastels so soothing to the eye

Clam Shells ... I couldn't get enough!

Some were almost colorless

And I wish I had a dollar for every sand dollar we picked up

This is about one/tenth of my collection.  What oh what do I do with all of them?

 

Days Like This

 On a lazy winter morning, with nothing much to do, we spent a good deal of time bird-watching.

With the ground frozen and the temp in the 20s, they were voracious today.  We always have finch, sparrows and juncos at our feeders, but today we have chickadees and I spotted a rare red breasted nuthatch. One little wren is with us all seasons of the year. Guess it pays to take the time (of which I have much of) in studying the birdlife in our area.

Sadly we don't have the colorful song birds like in the rest of the country.  Finches, both house and gold, are the most color we get from the bird world.

They are messy as you can see.  A cleaning job for Spring.

We have a large laurel bush in our planting circle that the birds love to hide under and a small evergreen tree for them to perch on.  I'm loving our small back yard. 

Happiness!

Looked out my front window this morning to see this greeting from my neighbor across the street.  Created by a couple of adults (she's a grandma).  Brought a smile to my face.  Another reminder that you're "never too old"!

A walk in the woods

After scoping out several trails and walking areas this past year, we have found our very favorite!  It is woodsy, near the river and oh so quiet and peaceful.

The dampness of the weather lately makes for heavy moss on everything where we walked.

 and, at this time of year, I will take "green" wherever I find it!

Luckily we are still getting snowless days.  Fifty degrees yesterday on the trail.  Easy walking on groomed paths and off-trails leading up hills and rock ledges.

Christmases Past

In the throes of another holiday spending season, I think back to my childhood and the sparse Christmas spending in my family.  I was always thrilled with my gifts ... especially those from Santa, but it was not an avalanche of extravagantly wrapped and beribboned glut.  People didn't go into debt to prove their love in those days.

I grew up with all four grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.  We would all get together on "the day", eat heartily and play games after doing the dishes.  Sometimes we  kids would each get a dime and walk down to Main Street to the movies.  (In other words get out of the hair of the adults!)

Several years ago I sent my Mother this picture collage that I put together showing us being dressed alike.  She made most of our clothes.  The blouse in this photo was made from a silk parachute my Dad sent or brought home from his time in Europe during WW2.  We made good use of it as undies, these blouses, etc.

Who else had Mothers who sewed?  And made look alike clothes for you?

Wishing you all wonderful memorable meaningful Christmases with your families.

Winter Quilt

I like to change the quilts on my bed at least three or four times a year.  This one to me evokes wintertime.  Like greens and berries poking out of the new fallen snow.  It's one of my favorites and, best of all, it was in the free bin at Hospice Thrift.  A big yellow stain right in the middle made in unsaleable.  Took it home and threw it in the washer (what did I have to lose) and it came out so clean.  It has that vintage feel . . . soft, slightly worn and faded!  Just like me!!

Four Pin Friday

Love these old illustrations of ice skaters.  Takes me back to winters in Minnesota where skating was where it happened in my little town.  There was a huge inside rink, and it connected to a warming house with a big pot bellied stove.  I can just hear the skates on the wooden floors and feel the warmth in that room from the stove after skating until my fingers and toes were numb from the cold!

I may not have been so graceful and lovely as these pinups in my ski pants, head scarf, mittens, scuffed up skates and all bundled up, but I enjoyed every minute of it every chance I got to get to that rink!

and one more

4" x 4" painting . . . Aurora Borealis!

Next project is building 2 ATCs to send my trading partner in Colorado.

Feeling that old winter creative punch that happens when it's too chilly to spend much time outdoors.  You can only watch the birds feeding for so long, and I'm not into daytime TV.

A Rockwell Christmas (repost from four years ago)

1894-1978, American illustrator, b. New York City. An enormously popular illustrator, Rockwell specialized in warm and humorous scenes of everyday small-town life. The cover of The Saturday Evening Post was his showcase for over forty years, giving him an audience larger than that of any other artist in history. Over the years he depicted there a unique collection of Americana, a series of vignettes of remarkable warmth and humor. 

You just can't beat this American gem for down~home illustrations.  Always been one of my favorites since I was a little girl and my Grandma turned me loose with scissors and all her past subscriptions of Saturday Evening posts!  It kept me quiet for hours and allowed me to gain a deep appreciation for art.

A lightbulb moment

As every photographer knows, natural light is THE best for taking pictures.  Filtered light rather than direct sunlight is even better.  Winter in the Great Northwest can be cold, wet and not conducive to outdoor photography.

Well . . . T.O.B. solved that problem for my eBay and etsy picture~taking.

Who knew!?

The little ol' greenhouse is a perfect solution.  Light comes in from all angles making for fewer shadows.  I set up there today with an outdoor temperature of 38.  In the greenhouse it was 71 comfortable degrees.

Devised a clean white backdrop and with my tripod . . . voila! perfect pictures . . .

Why didn't I think of that!?

tins and bottles and jars and magnets ... oh my!

The weather has been beastly.  Can't get out and walk on these rural icy roads and so lately nearly everything in my craft room that doesn't move has been getting a facelift.  I've had my eye on a little square glass jar for months and it hasn't budged!  So ... yesterday, just before friends came to do some Valentine crafts, I decided the piece needed a new wardrobe.

So many beautiful perfume labels on the net.  The one above fit my needs but here are two more that were in the running . . .

Andra and I went on to finish some of her awesome magnets that she plans to give as Valentine gifts.  And then we decorated a large glass vase with burlap bands and our originally designed burlap flowers with large faux pearls in the centers and bits of tulle poked in here and there.  I failed to get a photo of our creation, but perhaps she will post it on facebook and I can transfer it here.

It was a very productive, messy and fun day in my craft studio . . . just what's needed on a sub~freezing snowy day out the window!

Still Walking

"Every mile is two in Winter."
-  George Herbert, 1651

 

Our winter, being fairly mild this year, has allowed me to walk outdoors at least 3 or 4 times a week.  Once I get bundled up ... head band, double layer pants, gloves, t~shirt and sweatshirt under my down jacket ... ahhhh, I am ready to roll.  Never feel more invigorated than after a good long walk summer or winter.  I definitely recommend it for clearing your head, getting creative juices flowing and quiet thoughtfulness! 

Four Pin Friday

Hope for the New Year

Rather than making resolutions for the New Year, I am hoping

that my grandson comes home from Afghanistan safe and sound

that my little family stays healthy and happy

and that they are all employed in jobs that challenge and reward them

that I can keep my friends and neighbors close to my heart

Christmas Tree Elegance at the Davenport Hotel

"Davenport Hotel of Spokane opened its doors on September 1, 1914, and was soon acclaimed one of the world’s grand hotels. Spokane already had fine hotels, but civic and business leaders, intent on increasing the population of the already flourishing city, were convinced that a large, elegant hotel attracting more conventions, business people, and tourists would help achieve that goal. In restaurateur Louis M. Davenport (1868-1951) these promoters discovered an ideal man to carry out their project. Louis Davenport hired Spokane architect Kirtland Kelsey Cutter (1860-1939) to design the hotel, and Cutter's dignified building and aesthetic interior appointments resulted in an unsurpassed facility. Davenport’s genius for restaurant and hotel management provided hotel guests from presidents to humble traveling salesmen with a level of comfort and hospitality that would become legendary." To read more about this legendary hotel click here.

Yesterday my next door neighbor Patti invited me and two other friends to the Davenport Hotel's Christmas Trees of Elegance display and raffle.  We were treated to a wonderful lunch, each a raffle ticket for a tree, lots of laughs and a great getaway!  Twelve gorgeous trees were put on review on the hotel's mezzanine to be raffled off

Lunch in the lobby was made extra special with live piano Christmas carol music

Lighting around the trees was at a minimum so as to show up the trees and their wonderful ornaments (this is my attempt to excuse my less than perfect photos . . .

 Just a few of the twelve trees raffled off

I needed a closeup of this feathery delight!

The trip to the Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, Washington would not be complete without mentioning the fact that Bing Crosby (born in Tacoma) grew up in Spokane.

 He holds a special place in the hearts of Spokanites and the hotel!

Four Pin Friday

Who here remembers having your milk delivered daily?  "Harrington Dairy" was our main source of milk and cream back in the days I was growing up in a small Minnesota town.  This time of year, we made sure we grabbed the bottles from our back steps early and brought them in the house before the precious contents froze, popped the cap and expanded an inch or two above the lip!

If you are interested, click History of the Milkman

for more pictures and information about the mid~century daily life of these deliverymen who got up before daybreak to make sure you had milk for your cereal and cream for your coffee. 

Photos thanks to Pinterest!

Four Pin Friday

I simply adore vintage photos and pictures of children so decided to "Pinterest" a few winter scenes for you . . .

 a sweet sepia~toned card

 a hand~tinted girl holding holly

 

 black and white bundled up youngster

 and me and my little sister growing up in Northern Minnesota back in the day