MARTHA! 

It was a random drawing.

Six names on identical cards.

Folded and placed in a hat.  Jordan chose one, eyes closed – and it was Martha.

I have a couple I made last year and I made two additional ones this year.

So I’m going to try to send out a couple more. 

This was fun- I really like giving STUFF away!

Congratulations, Martha!

Or actually only one- The Oak Cupboard in Smithville.

This is where I buy my flour.

And a lot of other STUFF.

Sometimes it feels like my life consists of  STUFF, the getting and transporting and messing about with and putting away and ultimately disposing of STUFF.

This is some of the stuff I bought today.  Some will be sent to Meredith- some stuff will be used in the making of cookies- some stuff will be put together into a bagel and pretzel kind of snack for Jordan.  The rest is just stuff.

This is a commercial crust guard to keep your pie crusts from burning.  It is $4.95 and can be used several times.  It is basically more STUFF. This is a whole shelf of Halloween candy- colorful and rather inexpensive.  More stuff- but I didn’t buy any of this stuff.

And here, is yet another teapot.

Bought at The Oak Cupboard.  Placed on my tea table in the living room.

Yep- you guessed it!  More STUFF!

I’m a rather cluttered and confused individual.

And I collect STUFF.

What do you collect?

  The trees are turning,

and people are trimming off the dead and dried branches.

Atnd leaving them at the side of the road.

But just in a leisurely walk around my neighborhood, the air is so humid and the

temperature is in the 80’s- which is hot in my book.

I know it is hotter elsewhere- Portland, Oregon was 95 degrees, yesterday.

But I’m looking at pumpkins-

and thinking it should be cooler.

These are so pretty and so were the flowers-

and Cynthia ,of course!

But we just picked up some jack-o-lanterns and pie pumpkins

and put them on the front porch.

Then I came inside and turned up the AC- and now I’m going to take a nap.

Yawn- this is hot and humid weather.  Yuchkkk!

He’s done.

  I braided his tail and added a ribbon.

And like all cats, he’s content to sit on a pillow in the sunshine.

People are always telling me that I shouldn’t care if people comment or not. 

After all- I did say that I needed to write and this is a good way to do that and keep in touch and to mark and remark upon the happenings around me.

That is all true.  But I LIKE it very much when I get some response to my scribblings and odd photos.  And lately- there has been little or no comments.  I know I’ve moved around a bit and that can be disconcerting and that it has been a little difficult to comment, but hopefully, the bugs have been all worked out and now it is easier to comment and read.

Today, I wanted to share a craft I’ve been making for the last 25 years or so.  I saw some for sale at the Herb fair at Quailcrest and was rather disappointed in the quality and style.  So I made a couple of my own and dug up some that I had packaged for sale and gift giving over the years.  The give away is a fresh lavender wand and it will go to a blog reader who comments on at least 4 postings over the next week.  Once you qualify, I will have Jordan pull a name out of a hat and I will notify you here and then send you the wand.

Lavender wands (sometimes called lavender bottles) have  a long history.  At least since Elizabethan times, women in their still rooms have been weaving ribbons into the stems of lavender and enclosing  that wonderful scent into a small area where the fragrance of the flowers is preserved .

You start by picking an odd number of long lavender stems.  Then you match the area of blooms so that they are in a small bunch.  Choose a strong satin or grosgrain ribbon and tie a small knot at the bottom of the bouquet-close to the last blossom.

Turn the bouquet around in your hand.

Then gently, carefully – without breaking them, bend the stems down over the blossom heads so that it looks like the skeleton of an umbrella.  Make sure you do this evenly around the bunch so that the stems are all around the heads.

Then start weaving the ribbon over and under the stems.  Since you have an odd number (9,11,13) stems, you will be able to go around in a descending spiral and capture all of the blossoms within your wand .

Continue to weave, over and under, catching the one  you went under the last time to be on top on the next circle.

Depending on the size of your ribbon(nothing wider than 1/2 inch- 1/4 inch is optimal) and the number of lavender sticks you use, and of course the tightness of your weaving,  you should end up with something looking like these.

Or you could just comment and maybe win one of these beauties!

Don’t forget, you need to comment on at least 4 different postings to be in on the giveaway! 

Hope to hear from you soon!

I really like dried gourds.

Cynthia and I found a booth at the farmer’s market in Chincoteague that was selling them 3 for $5.   So we bought 6!   I sanded them down and put a maple stain on them and buffed them up a bit.  Except for those warty ones in the back- I’m going to spray paint them silver or gold for the holidays.

But the big ones have the seeds dried out in the middle of them- so they rattle  when you shake them.  The one in front is a really good shaker, and I decided to do something special with that one and give it to Aidan as a noisemaker/rhythm instrument.

But I wanted it to be cute for him to hold-

so I painted a cat on it.  We saw a whole bunch of cat gourds at the Herb fair last weekend- but they all looked like scary Halloween cats.  And I didn’t want one of those cats –  I wanted it to look happy when he shakes it silly!

I drew up what looked like a kind of happy cat.

And painted it on the gourd with acrylics.

He doesn’t look quite as happy as he did on paper.

  But  I really like his tiny little body and paws with claws.  I think I’m going to paint the rest of the gourd a solid color for better contrast and then braid some dyed raffia into his “tail’ and give him a raffia bow around his skinny little neck.

I know it is not a really great cat- I’m not really even a good folk artist.  But then again, Aidan isn’t an art critic either.

And I think he will like it.

Actually, I’ve always been in love with texture.

Linguini disguised as lo mein noodles=lunch.

But I did get the camera in today’s mail, and I went on a texture hunt.

I’ve not  only been a texture junkie- but I’m also into tactile.

And scent- fragrance totally blows me away.

This is lavender, lemon grass, parsley and rosemary.

It smells heavenly.

This is a toad watering hole-

I want to make these, someday.

And here is a preview of Fall in my yard…

Then I made it to my fern garden and found these lovelies waiting for me!

Maidenhair ferns  and  Irish moss.

I got a little carried away.  The little garden walk about I do everyday became a

picture shoot.  Because I took lots of more pictures!!

And THAT isn’t even a third of my pictures.  But I will stop posting  them because … I really just wanted to celebrate my new camera!

Such wonderful sights and sounds and tastes and smells and crafts- I love this  event every September.  They hold it in the gardens and there is always something special and new and tasty and fun.  This year Willow and Aidan met Allyson and I there and we picnicked on the lawn then played with the rocks, listened to the music and ate home made ice cream while we were playing in a twirling, swirling blue glass and copper sprinkler.  Aidan and I got rather damp, Ally and Willow kept a good distance and were only slightly moistened!

But the crafts, OH MY!!! Wool and felt galore -made into flowers and pins and pin cushions and pumpkins and gourds and ears of corn!  And so many wonderful stone masons and cutters- I would REALLY like to get some goggles and stone cutting tools and make my own whimsical sculptures!

Cynthia and I bought some gourds in Virginia last month and I am going to paint them and stain them and make them into cats and centerpieces.   That is the worst thing about going to craft and herb fairs when you are a maker of crafts…

you don’t buy because…well…because you can make it yourself!  But then…you don’t.  So you just have great expectations and plans that are stymied by the lack of interest or initiative or time or – I don’t know for sure- I just don’t usually follow through. 

Except that Chad is trying to help me set up a small internet business where I could sell cookies and felted purses and the stuff I make.  I don’t really have much in the way of inventory- and I’m not sure if this is the right venue for me.

What do you think?  Should I try to sell stuff online?  I do tend to make stuff every year because I used to do a couple of  craft fairs and I’m just used to making lots of items- like packages of  my own Chai tea with cinnamon stick stirrers, and sage sticks and lavender wands, gingerbread cookies, and so on.

Ally is supposed to send me some pictures- so I will put them up when she does,  I hope you all had a BeeYOOtifull day!