POETRY POST: Langston I Love!

I was needing a poem and this one is just right for this rainy day. 

In the Time of Silver Rain - by Langston Hughes
In the time of silver rain
The earth
Puts for new life again,
Green grasses grow
And  flowers lift their heads,
And all over the plain
The wonder spreads
   Of life, Of life, Of life

In the time of silver rain
The butterflies
Lift silken wings
To catch a rainbow cry,
And trees put forth
New leaves to sing
In joy beneath the sky
As down the roadway
Passing boys and girls

Go singing, too
In time of silver rain
  When spring and life are new.

Its' getting close!

Garden time that is.  Yesterday there was a brief reprieve for our stormy rainy weather.  I was just going out to take a look at what I needed to do, and decided to jump right in.  My kids were getting restless and needed to get outside anyway!

lots of fun, before it got REALLY MESSY!

We cleared out some beds, planted some seeds and bulbs and I moved some planters so that I could see them from my sliding door.  I am determined to make this cement slab backyard bloom.

Little Garden Girl next to budding Hydrangea

The soil has poor drainage and I was getting discouraged, but then I noticed that my 2 Iris bulbs said "grows well in wet areas".  Just what  I needed! So I planted them and am hoping for the best.

baby Iris bulb sprout

 Max planted some cilantro seeds in pots for me and he planted some freesia bulbs.  That will be his container. Lavender helped me plant forget-me-not seeds.  I also planted some basil seeds and thyme seeds for my herb collection.  I planted some salad greens in my big galvanized bucket.

Now it's pouring rain, which is the best after planting seeds....at least they won't dry out.  Hopefully after a couple of weeks of sunshine, we will have seedlings!

My clematis is sending up new shoots!  This plant has big lush white blooms, like peonies.  It's a fast grower and vigorous climber.  I gave her a larger trellis this year.

Spring is on it's way!

Coming Together...

My rice bowl quilt is coming together. I have to say, digital cameras are great for taking a step back and looking at your work from a different angle.

An applique block ready to stitch

 I love the hand sewing.  Sewing applique always stresses me out because I cannot control things like I can with a needle and thread.  I can make minor adjustments and align everything just so. Plus, if I mess up, it's much easier to take hand stitches out.  I have all of the blocks pinned. Now I need to stitch as fast as I can I want this done in two weeks.  We shall see....

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Culinary Exploration

It's so fun when you kids get old enough to inspire you to try new things! My son was reading the paper and ran across a recipe for Roasted Potato & Asparagus Soup.  What's not to love, potatoes and asparagus tossed in olive oil with garlic and onion? I had all of the ingredients and just had to give it a try!

Max helped me chop

Roasted (I could have eaten it like this!)

Both added and ready for the immersion blender!

The "Chef" at work!

A squeeze of lemon to finish!

It was DELICIOUS! 

Max's Quilt

I finished this quilt in 2010, but I have to add it to my collection of quilt posts.  This is my first quilt.  It took quite a while for me to finish due to the hand embroidery.  It was fun putting the colors together and watching the quilt grow.  I started off with a few pinwheels and kept adding.  I had no idea how it would look in the end, but was happy with the finished result.  The best part is how much Max loves it!

Cactus Bloom

These little plants have long fascinated me. I love the contrast of the smooth shiny leaves and a very textured effect of the leaf arrangement.  I had never seen one bloom up close....now I am more intrigued than ever!

Beautiful shiny buds open up to yellow and orange tipped flowers.  I love having these little wonders on my windowsill. They add something special to my daily dish washing! I have a few other types of these plants on my windowsill. Can't wait until they bloom!

All Creation, Each Little Miracle, tells of Jehovah's Love, Wisdom, Brilliance and Glory!

Thanks Bob!

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is my new Friend!

I followed the Yogurt Whole Wheat Pancake recipe off of "Bob's" bag...and it was delicious!  I like using whole grains when I can, although sometimes the end result is heavier than usual.  Well, this recipe solves that problem in two ways!  Extra fine flour and yogurt make for light fluffy and delicious.

I added chocolate chips as a treat for the little ones.

   They came out picture perfect!

 Picky Pants Taster Approved!!!

Playful Pinwheels

Close up of the playful kids print

This is Oliver's Playful Pinwheel Quilt.  The fabrics are from the American Jane Recess collection.  I love the primary colors and the vintage prints.  I used a charm pack which is very cost efficient and 1 panel of the kids playing.  I love the old time toys featured.  The stitching is done with pearl cotton in blue and larger stitches.  It's so fun to make quilts for your own children, because you can imagine them taking naps and getting cozy with the finished product.  Oliver loved to watch me work on this, I let him play with the quilt blocks before they were put together.  He learned a new word as well- "quilt!".  So much fun. I want to work with more of those bright cheery colors!

WARNING: New Project Obsession

Here it is! My latest quilting project block number 1!  This is a special gift for my Hubby.  I have made quilts for the boys, which he is always trying to share during the sofa cuddles.  Problem is, Oliver's quilt is kind of short for two.  Max's quilt is larger, but he likes to keep if for himself.  So; since Hubby's "big vacation" is coming soon, what better gift than to curl up with his own quilt!  I wanted a quilt that was not juvenile  or cutesy, but still fun.  I saw a the rice bowls quilt in the Kaffe Fasset quilt book and I knew it was right!   I just want to get my chores done quickly so I can work on it!

Something Old, Something New, Something Blue!

It's blue mostly, with dashes of pink here and there. It's new: I FINALLY finished this quilt! It's new because I have never done prairie points before, which is the snazzy name for those cute little triangles along the edge.  It's an all together new experience for me in that I have never made a quilt SO LARGE before.  I quilted it by machine; this took me a great deal of time to muster up the courage to tackle.  I had to get a clear mental image of how I would manage all of that fabric.  I went to the library and checked out the Singer Machine Quilting book; very helpful.  After a few on-line searches and you tube moments, I was ready to go!  As for the "old" part, I didn't have any fabric that I could patch together to make wide enough for the backing but then I remembered a white duvet cover that I had in my linen closet.  It was supposed to be a queen size but my duvet never fit it right. So, I took it out of hibernation, cut it up and had the "old" duvet become part of the new quilt!
The  best part is that this is a gift for my sister Michella.  I can't wait to hear how she likes it!

As it stands

I am posting here and now, my new blog in it's "unfinished" not quite exactly perfect state.  I have learned that "perfectionism" is a killer of creativity, or at least greatly impedes the process! I had a hard time finding a name that would explain everything that I want to see, say, be and do with my blog.  I decided that there is no one word, phrase of photo that would explain it all.  I can say, my dream blog is multifaceted, like a gem; (ha ha) I like this, that and the other thing; DO I HAVE TO PICK JUST ONE TOPIC! I was never born to pick just one topic!  To begin with, I am Multi-Ethnic. I'm not "black" or "white" I am BOTH (in current terms, African American and Irish)   I've got curly hair but get a mean sunburn and about 500 freckles every summer. I have a grand passion for the glam black pump, while at the same time I love my clogs (wooden ones thank you very much; I only croc in the mud!) I sew and knit and quilt and glue and stamp.  I can be neat about some stuff and a "Messy Marvin" like the best of them. (usually when I am in the heat of some serious creative insanity, I  mean inspiration!) I get excited about crystal champagne flutes and MASON JARS! Heck, my last pregnancy surprised me with TWINS, but boy/girl of course!

So, I am glad to take a moment to celebrate all that excites and inspires me, things that interest and perplex, that make me cry and make me laugh.   So much more to learn do and see.  Especially LEARN.  Along the way, to celebrate and treasure the little miracles that happen every day if I stop and pay attention.