Faerie doors

My very talented younger brother made some faerie doors for the little girls. I saw some in Ireland last summer that were very cute but made out of very thin wood, I could have broken them with my finger tips. He used cedar wood, I painted them with acrylic paints watered down more like a stain and son put them in the trees. There is a cavity in the backboard big enough for a little treat. 

More little treats were placed behind the doors before we headed home.

The magic of childhood. —Ann—

 

Wind

 

Last Thursday was hot and humid like the middle of June hot and humid minus the picking of strawberries hot and humid. The weather forecast said there would be storms that afternoon they hit southeastern South Dakota mid to late afternoon.  I could see the dark clouds approaching from the southwest. The 5:00 news was all weather warnings.  The sky kept getting darker by 5:15 it looked like night, darker than the total eclipse of the sun in 2017 which was covered with a thunderstorm in eastern South Dakota…..so dark. Was this what it looked like in the dust storms of the thirties? I never imagined it could be as dark as it was during daylight hours.  Rain started hitting the windows it looked more like a smear of mud. The wind was getting stronger,  trees were bending not just swaying.  At 5:30 the power went out, a few minutes later a 30+ foot tall spruce tree fell fortunately it missed the deck and the house.  More rain…..enough to clean the windows gradually the sky got lighter and that wall of wind and dirt moved on to do more damage across the county and state. The sky cleared as quickly as it came then turned orange as the sun was setting a bright pumpkin orange. The next morning was fairly calm with a clear blue sky as blue as a fresh squeezed tube of cerulean paint. The sky is always the most beautiful after a storm.  Thousands of trees were blown over and lots of buildings were damaged, thankfully no serious injuries where I live.

This came like a panther prowling and stalking then attacking with an arsenal of offensive maneuvers. None of Carl Sandburg’s little kitten feet and fog.

We were without power until about 9:30 Friday night. We heated water on the grill for coffee and used the pour over coffee dripper.  I think all power was restored Sunday night.

My youngest brother is on the farm where I grew up, he lost a lot of trees and some buildings were damaged but mostly just missing shingles. The cluster of ponderosa pine trees that my dad planted when the house was built in 1959 were broken and uprooted. I used to leap over those trees when I was little zig zagging from one end to the other and back.  My brother was cutting down a damaged hackberry tree on Friday the wind caught the branch just as it was falling and took out the swing set that my dad built in the 1960’s.  This was a swing set to rival any country school swing set. A wind storm blew the windmill over one summer so dad repurposed the angle iron into the legs and supports of the frame and used the water pipe for the top crossbar.  I spend many hours in the wooden swings with my brothers and playmates growing up.  I hope my brother can repair it.  

The only thing left is the stump.  Counting our blessings that no one was hurt.  --Ann--

blue sky

Those first couple days in June were perfect, the temperature, the breeze, the cloudless sky.............then we had an excess of heat, humidity, wind and clouds with thunderstorms. 
It was a perfect morning, the sky was blue the grass was green the sunlight seemed brighter,  I wanted to hang laundry on a clothesline.  I haven’t had a clothesline since five moves ago and I still don’t. It took me back to my childhood sitting there in the tire swing begging for a push while mom hung clothes on the line.  The colors of everything seemed more intense.  Is it my imagination or is it real? Fewer cars on the roads, fewer jets in the air could the air be a little cleaner and the sky brighter?

I tried to draw a tire swing from memory, not so good neither drawing nor memory,  then I tried to find a picture of a tire swing on the internet none were similar to the one I had as a child. Then an aha moment look in the photo books. I watched my dad make the tire swing for my kids. He cut an old tire (not the steel belted kind just a plain old tire)  with his pocket knife and he cut ears for the rope so the seat would stay in a chair position then he drilled a hole so rain water would drain. Not fun sitting in a puddle.  He used the anvil to turn it inside out making a very comfy seat. I spent hours in the tire swing as a child so did my kids.  Happy memories in a world that has come unglued  --Ann--

Walking

I never pass up the opportunity to crunch through leaves when I go for a walk.  I used every ounce of restrain walking past one very impressive pile of leaves.  I would have had to deviate far off the path to jump in the pile.  I can just see the report in the paper 60 some year old woman caught jumping and scattering a pile of leaves, home owner called in a complaint of malicious mischief.  I'm so mature some days.  The sound brings back memories.  We didn't have many trees on the farm when I was growing up, the trees were as young as I was but we would frequently go the the state parks near us.  Mom would pack a picnic and Sunday afternoon we would crunch through the leaves and we would pick the bits out of our socks all the way home.  I have seen a few people raking leaves and only one child jumping in them the rest are  using their baggers on the mower or the leaf blower in reverse vacuuming clean their grass.
Some of the leaves stained the sidewalk on a wet day but it fades so quickly.  --Ann--

lunch with cousins

Ok lets do a selfie..........how am I supposed to push the button when I'm holding it like this.....okay you hold it and I'll reach over and push click..........now another one on my phone..........

I had a delightful lunch with cousins last week.  One lives in Kansas so I don't get to see her often enough.  Cousins are the best childhood friends.  I'm sure Grandma bought us the fancy dresses and she's got the cute little Mary Jane shoes and fancy socks!  Mine are plain with lace up shoes.  We've still got bangs.  So glad we got together  --Ann--

the 60th anniversary

The 60th anniversary of my 2nd birthday!!! the celebration commences  --Ann--

maple seeds

 The maple seeds have been whirling from the trees then leap frog down the street.  In past years they have either been green or tan but this year they are pink or maybe I just didn't notice. Nature does pink so well. They are probably all from the many Autumn Blaze Maples in the neighborhood.  In an older neighborhood where we lived 20 some years ago we had a maple that dropped larger seeds that were about 3 inches in length. These pink seeds are just over an inch in length.  The longer seeds would soar down like a helicopter, these do to but since they are smaller they whirl faster.  They always land seed first into the grass.  Throwing the seeds back into the air kept my little boys busy for minutes many many minutes.
Summer memories.  --Ann--

Kaleidoscope

A very productive day in the sewing room yesterday, half the blocks sewn. I sewed one block at a time so I could keep each set of eight triangles together.  A little slower going but I was enjoying the process.  No two blocks are the same so far,  just like turning a kaleidoscope.
I remember my mother making a kaleidoscope for me when I was a little girl. I kinda remember begging for one I saw in the five and dime store and not getting it but she made one that was so much better.  She had some narrow strips of mirrors but I remember them being dark and not at all like a real mirror.  Anyway she taped these three long mirrors into a triangle then slid them into a sturdy cardboard tube that was exactly the right size because the long triangle did not rattle around, then she fastened a circle of stiff plastic inside the tube and we put some sequins and other little trinkets in and topped the end off with another piece of plastic that she scuffed up with steel wool so it was translucent.  She cut an eye hole in a piece of cardboard and taped it to the other end.  Light could get in but it was cloudy enough that I couldn't see things around the house. It was better than a store bought kaleidoscope and it kept me busy for hours,  she made another one for my brother because she knew we would fight over it.  My kids even played with it.

Every turn or tap of the kaleidoscope and the design would change. Cherished childhood memories.
--Ann--

Out of the Cupboard

My maternal grandmother made this quilt in the 1930's, it has always been a source of awe and inspiration. It was on my parents bed for many years, the colors have faded, I tweaked them a bit and brought them back to their original brightness I wish I could do that with the quilt, that and stretch it to a queen size. When I was a little girl I used to walk with my fingers across each color to the center of the quilt. The colors changed so comfortably from one print to the next like the sunset. And Grandmas tiny hand quilting stitched through a heavy wool batting. My mother sewed a satin blanket edging to one side to protect the fabric from chin wear. The colors have faded as summer has faded into fall here.--Ann--

Books and fashion

March came in like a polar bear here on the prairie with record cold temps it can't last too many more weeks.
Latest reading list and a fashion show circa 1972

1. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson  for book club
2. Christmas Letter by Debbie Macomber 
3. The Old Christmas Magic by Linda Raedisch                      Daughter and I went to Saving Mr Banks back in December which prompted me to read:
4. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
5. Mary Poppins She Wrote by Valerie Lawson   P.L. Travers had a lot of issues to deal with and had very definite ideas about how the story line and movie should be  made. The book Mary Poppins is a series of short adventures not a story with a beginning, middle and end. The movie follows some of the adventures very closely and others not so much. The Disney creation will always be my favorite.
6. The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott  This is a Titanic story and we all know how that ends but do we? The main characters are a dress designer, her husband and secretary, who were all real people and survived. The story is told through the secretary who is trying to escape her station in life as a servant in England. She is an accomplished seamstress and wants to be a dress designer. What luck to meet the designer on the wharf and agree to be her maid on the journey.   There are conflicts of loyalty, romance, the vote for women, betrayal, the hookless fastener, shorter skirts and Margaret Brown, then there were Senate Hearings in the US and Britain.                                                       A fun book to read.                                                      In that vein a peek at this seamstress of a lifetime ago.  All polyester double knits and short skirts! They were fun to wear and easy care. I could make a dress with a little over a yard of fabric!!--Ann--

Vintage Valetines 3

 So many of these old Valentines have moving parts, her arm moves covering the  writing, move the front wheel and the cupid disappears,  the slider is too short for the slot but the soda disappears and their eyes blink as it goes.
These Valentines used to keep me entertained for hours.

 I just love the honeycomb tissue fold outs, this one is in pristine condition its about 10 inches tall.

 And these dimensional stand up cards some needed a little coaxing to open and one needed a weight. the three little girls pop up when you pull the tab. Small treasures for Valentines Day hope you do something special for your sweetie. --Ann--

Vintage Valentines 2

 A couple more times through the box of Valentines I found the one I was holding in the black and white photo in yesterday's post. My favorite puppies and kittens with clothes.

 These are all Valentine cards from my childhood, my mother put them all in a scrapbook with my baby cards, birthday cards and  other  holiday cards, all fastened with cellophane tape so everything is falling apart. And look no syndicated characters. --Ann--