Christmas 2020

Christmas this year is going to be difficult for a lot of people including our family.  My mom was moved to isolation due to Covid in the nursing home at the end of October with several other residents.  She was in isolation for several days.  It was a very difficult time especially since the nursing home has been shut down since March.  Once she got out of isolation she was extremely weak.  We got a call on November 18th and our family made the decision to bring her home.  My sister, husband, and I became her caregivers along with a great hospice team.  I so desperately wanted to get the Christmas tree put up for her but that was not to be.  She passed surrounded by her family on December 1st.  We are so blessed to have spent her final days with her, loving on her and feeding her sweets to her hearts content.  She was so very happy to be with us and now she's spending Christmas with so many other family members including my Dad and my brother Joe.  She was 1 of 14 children so there's a huge reunion going on in her heavenly home.  

Wishing each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Baking, Decorating for Fall, and Camping or How to Overcome the Isolation Blues

 Rick and I may not come out of 2020 without having gained a few pounds, but baking this time of year is one of my favorite things to do.  We are enjoying each and every bite too!

Yesterday I made these Candied Pecans from Lauren's recipe that you can print from her blog. 

"Tastes Better From Scratch"

I quarantee you it's fabulous and tastes exactly like the warm Candied Pecans you purchase from vendors at festivals!  It says to let them cool completely and store them in a tight container, but they were extra good while they were warm.

I also made some very yummy gluten free pumpkin bread the week before.  I used my regular recipe but substituted Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 flour.  I've used this recipe for years and it makes one bundt cake and a loaf.  It's perfect if you want to gift one!  I don't think this happended this time though, Ha!

A rather large crack developed in the center of the loaf, but tasted great!  

My only fall decor has been limited to my crocheted items and a few other pieces.  This black and white plaid pumpkin I crocheted a few years ago goes perfectly in my kitchen with my new curtains, therefore I placed it on this old scale.

My living room had a few more pumpkins made with yarn wrapped over cheap pumpkins from 

The Dollar Store.  Simply cut a hole in the top and bottom of the pumpkins removing the stem.  Wrap the thick chenille like yarn through the top and bottom all the way around and add a stick for the stem.  

 I did crochet a Halloween pillow for myself and my daughter, Amber.  You can find the pattern for the pillow here at TLB Patterns.

This cute plaid garland came from either Michael's or JoAnn's.  Isolation is messing with my memory!

These little wine cozies were crocheted using a pattern from 

The Midnight Stitcher.  I got the leather "Wine O'Clock" and "Whine Not" tags from

Angie & Britt.

To keep us from losing our minds this summer we got out and went camping at local state parks every month.  Even though the last trip this fall was rather rainy, it was still good to get out of the house and into  nature.  Get creative, bake, or get out and enjoy the beautiful parks around you.  You'll be amazed how much better you'll feel.    

We like everyone else have had some tough things to go through lately and I won't dwell on that here, but how are you doing and what are you doing to overcome the Isolation Blues?

Halloween 2020

"Halloween 2020"

I wish I had a new Halloween painting for 2020, but this year being what it is, I haven't had much inspiration to paint.  Instead, my husband and I have spent alot of time camping and getting away from everything.  It's been great for us and our dog, Daisy, and I hope at some point I get some inspiration to get back to work.  For now, I'm just going to sit near a camp fire by a lake somewhere.  

These are my two nonspooky Halloween prints that are my best sellers in my Etsy Store.  If you would like to check them out click here.  Once you arrive at my store, click on "Halloween Prints" in the top left column and you will see all the prints I have available in that category.  What are you doing for Halloween this year?  

"Pirate's Cove" 

"Echoes of Trick or Treat"

Jack O' Lantern Lane Original Halloween Folk Art Painting

 

"Jack O Lantern Lane"

I just finished this little 6" x 6" painting and listed it in my Etsy Store.  Halloween will be here before you know it.  I'm sure the candy sales will be way down during this pandemic or all of us adults will be eating it as we work from home!  I'll miss the kids coming by in their costumes.

Ethel and Fred built a house when they got married 45 years ago. Connie and Horace built their house next door and a deep friendship between the neighbors blossomed and they became family. They loved the little trick or treaters who visited every year on Halloween and both couples placed carved pumpkins on the fences posts. That's how their little road became known as Jack-O'Lantern Lane.

We don't get as many trick or treaters as we used to because they go to the nursing homes and churches, which I'm sure is a lot safer.  They won't be going to the nursing homes this year though.  How sad.  My mother loved handing out candy last year to all the little ones coming through the nursing home.  What are you doing different this year?

Personalized Original Christmas Painting

This week the heat was getting to me so I decided to paint a Christmas scene that can be personalized.  I wanted to paint something small for a change and haven't done that in quite some time.  It was so fun to work on and now I'm ready to start another small painting this week.  

This Christmas Painting is now available in my Etsy Shop.

 The painting measures 6" x 6" and looks so cute sitting on a table or shelf.  The name will be painted in a light blue with touches of white snow on each letter.

The depth of this canvas, 1.5 inches, makes it stand easily or it would also look nice hanging on a wall.

How's the weather where you are?  Are you ready for fall?

Sweet Water Stables Folk Art Painting

I can't believe it's finally finished!  I got caught up in gardening and kept putting off working on this painting.  Yesterday it finally clicked and I got on a roll to complete this summer scene "Sweet Water Stables".  I'm ready to do some camping this summer and relaxing!  

This painting is now for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Summer is always full of activity at Sweet Water Stables.  Peggy is busy with the horses and giving riding lessons while Dave drives into town for supplies. 

The Jones children know how to have a good time at Sweet Water Stables.  Once chores are done they head for the pond to cool off.  April, Tommy, and their neighbor Danny jump right in.   Mary reads and dreams in her favorite spot up in the tree while John sways from the tire swing.  Little Billy is giving Lady and her two new pups a tour of the farm from the red wagon.   Life on the farm is never boring!

Have you been able to do any gardening or outdoor activity this summer?  This has been a summer we won't soon forget!

Summer Folk Art Painting and How to Have Fun on a Farm

What have you been doing during this time of isolation?  I did finally work on trying to finish my painting yesterday.  Who would love to live on a farm right now if we have to be at home and make our own fun?  

I'm tired of everyone criticizing everyone online and the media pitting us against each other.  No one is right because this is new and no one knows whats best.  This I do know about myself, if I had children to feed and no income coming in, I would be going back to work.  No, that doesn't mean I want more people to die.  It means I want to feed my family so they don't go hungry.  I have a mother who I miss dearly who is in a nursing home.    That's what I miss the most, my mother.  We are Americans and need to pray for and love each other and do what we have to do to get back to normal and not make this the "new normal".  What do you miss?

New Folk Art Painting Progression

 Yes,  I'm still plugging along on this new painting.  The farmhouse was finished and flowers were planted below the picket fence.  A horse drinking from the creek was added in the background and I began the lower area of the painting.

I started painting the pond and the large tree with boards nailed on for climbing.  

A young girl nestled into the lower branch reading a book while her brother swings lazily from a tire swing.

Our terrorist terrier, Daisy did a little mole digging and had to be hosed down.  What's new at your house?

New Summer Folk Art Painting

I've put this off long enough and it's time to get down to business!  While a lot of you have been busy spring cleaning and reorganizing, I've been busy working on a new painting.  I have done enough cleaning and organizing to last me for a while now after having the floors refinished and the countertops replaced.  

It's always hard for me to get started painting once I've been away from it for a while.  My sister and I used to take turns visiting our mother in the nursing home every other day.  Since we aren't allowed to do that now, I've decided to try to get my mind off of it for a few hours each day.  I painted this on a fireplace screen years ago that I sold to a dear friend and thought this might just be the perfect way to get going again.  I really don't like painting the same thing twice, but this has been fun for some reason.

Winter and fall scenes always sell the best, but due to the Corona Virus, I needed to paint a summer scene with some sunshine.  I'm seriously ready to get out in my yard again to do some planting once this dreary weather clears up.  I haven't seen any flowers for sell locally except for pansies so I got online to order some flower seeds.  We'll see how well that works for me.  Have you been able to buys plants?

I'll keep you posted on how this painting is coming along!  Let me know how you're doing and how you're keeping yourself busy.

Sunlight Patterns

The sun shining through the windows on the front of our house in the mornings brightens my day even if the high for today is only in the 40's.

Loving the light shining in the entry on my newly refinished floors.  I can't make myself put a rug down because they tend to darken the floors.  Most people come to our back door anyway.  I may eventually add a rug.  It's kind of like hammering nails into newly painted walls.  

Lovely dappled light shines through my lace curtain.

Bright light always streams through my art room window on the second floor and spills onto whatever I'm painting.  It feels good to paint!

Are you a morning person?

A Man and His Dog, Daisy

I'm not sure how or when this happed, but Daisy has become Rick's constant companion.  I'm not quite sure how to feel about this.  She listens to his every word and gives him goo goo eyes.  She gives me occasional attention if she's not getting it from him, but she truly adores Rick.

I need to figure out how to get some of this lovin'.