Good or Bad Witch?

Good or Bad Witch?, originally uploaded by phatpuppycreations.

As Halloween is coming up . . . this beautiful photo seems fitting!

Apparently this is supposed to be the good witch, Glinda, breaking free of the Wicked Witch --

I love the colors and staying true to the Oz storyline with the poppies and the yellowbrick road.

It is feeling more like Fall around our neck of the woods. A great wind blew last night and has really cooled us down. Still the sun is out brightly this morning and my husband has planned for grilling chicken for dinner.

This morning I got a suprise as I had a pleasant call from a brother I have not spoken to for some time. I love weekends!!!

Days Gone By . . .

Meet the Rohde's..., originally uploaded by jbpics.

A contact friend of mine on flickr.com comes up with the neatest pictures from days gone by.

This one struck my eye for the beauty and detail found in the stove. But, not only the stove causes me to study this photo more.

I look at the man all proud of his ability to provide the finest for his house.

Also, the wife as she stands by the stove looking at her husband appears to admire her husband in his happiness.

She has her hair done up for the time period but to me today it appears so tight that I almost have a headache coming on thinking about what it would be like to wear mine the same.

Her attire is of "days gone by" what a stay at home wife would wear around the house everyday. With this as a comparison to me, I am happy to be sitting in front of my computer in jeans and a t-shirt living in the here and now.

This is one of my favorite things to do, though, looking through photographs of days gone by. . .

Ma & Pa in Hillbilly Town - Embroidery

I have been embroidering Tea towels to sell at future Farmer's Markets or local craft sales.

Recently I decided to make something a little different and continued to embroidery on a piece which I am turning into a table runner or table scarf.




The patterns stiched have a cute name of Ma & Pa in Hillbilly Town. They are hard at work with Market Day, Clean Day, and Bake Day. I like the humor in each scene.




I have been working on a Christmas whimsical piece as well and will have it on here soon for my next entry.

Quilling - A Delicate Paper Art

I have been exploring a new artform here recently and wanted to share some of my first creations.



My thought is to use these as Christmas ornaments or to hang in a window anytime.



From Wikipedia: Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper is wound around a quill to create a basic coil shape. The paper is then glued at the tip and the coil shaped, these shaped coils are arranged to form flowers, leaves, and various ornamental patterns similar to ironwork.


I love mixing different colors and time flies quickly when creating one of these ornaments!

Inexpensive Decorating

I must report how thrilled I was to find a beautiful quilted fabric placemat and napkin set for my table at Goodwill this past week for only $3.99.

Also, the simple layout of the placemat can be used by myself as a reference for me to create others in the future.



I love the garden angel in the fabric as shown here.


Another surpise is that the placemats are reversible with a bright cheery pumpkin pattern on the back. Halloween is just around the corner!!

"What the Hay!"

Thought I would share an activity my whole family took part in this past Sunday. We took a pretty long drive to Utica & Hobson, Montana for the "What the Hay" hale bale art contest.


The scenery around us were the Belt Mountains, wheat fields a plenty, and hay bales everywhere. Also, there were horses and livestock to be seen. My husband said he even spotted some elk in the fields. Wynston kept pointing out the many bee houses in the fields also to keep his younger brother excited (scared is a better word).



There's no shortage of creativity in the 20-year-old annual What the Hay contest. Entries from recent years include, Yosemit-Hay Sam, Osc-hay-r the Grouch, St-hay-te Rivals, En-Hay-Gizer Bunny and Grizzly B-hay-R. (TRIBUNE FILE PHOTOS)

This being our first time to participate in the drive through of this art exhibition, we noticed a lot of political opinions were expressed. Also, as shown here some reality t.v. was the inspiration for some hay bale art entries.



I wished I had been able to get some other pictures, but the traffic was pretty busy and the paper reports that some people stopped counting cars after 1000 early in the day. That is quite a turnout for these two small towns of probably a little over 1000 people total in them.

Nature Walks - Beautiful Scenery

My family and I have been blessed to return to Montana. I am not writing or saying that Tennessee was not a lovely and colorful place with plenty of nature to see all around us, but we have been enjoying outings and taking more pictures here recently of things we are seeing and appreciating.

This picture is of the kids walking across a little bridge at Lewis & Clark State Park and Fish Hatchery.



These pictures of trees were taken at the Goat Lick in Glacier National Park.




The kids played in the water at Whitefish, MT where the scenery is gorgeous. A good time was had by all, including the ducks that visited me for some potato chips.


Here are Avery with his new found rock and Wynston all smiles in the water.



The scenery back behind them was as breath-taking as ever -- The Big Mountain, a busy ski site in the winters.




This picture was taken outside my aunt and uncle's house. I years ago stepped outside during the winter to take a picture of the snow covered scenery and the trees, only to get locked out and no one else was home. I had to travel and visit a neighbor for short while during that mishap.

On the way home from our Labor Day weekend travels to the Kalispell area, we decided to take a little bit different route. We drove through smaller towns like Choteau, Valier, Bynum, and Fairfield. Here are a few photos while driving that my boys took from the van. Also, thrown in is a little humor -- Wynston said the shadow reflection our van was casting off looked like SHREK . . . so we were following him on our way back home to Great Falls, MT.

The Surround Toothbrush

On a recent trip to the dentist, my daughter Savannah and I were introduced to the Surround Toothbrush. It was made for those with special needs, but is also a good toothbrush for anyone who wants better care for their teeth. I have located the website for these brushes and they are pretty reasonable at one for $5 and three for $13.

The information from the site is as follows:

The unique Surround® Toothbrush has 3 rows of bristles that surround the teeth to clean front, back and biting surfaces all at the same time. This means that more tooth surface can be cleaned in the time that a caregiver is allotted, especially when the degree of cooperation is limited. The soft, end-rounded bristles and smooth, heart-shaped, compact head make brushing safe and comfortable. The improved Surround Toothbrush is easier to grip, and helps protect the oral environment if the person moves unexpectedly during brushing. The brush head and neck have been re-designed to make brushing safer, even for those who have a tendency to bite down on the toothbrush.

You can click on the title of this blog or anywhere on this blog where the word Surround® Toothbrush is found for ordering information. I receive no benefit from the company, but just want to spread the word that there is something out there better designed to help our dental needs and yet affordable also.

Varigated Threads for Embroidery

Varigated Threads for Embroidery, originally uploaded by WonderlandShoppe.

I visited Pam's Knit 'N Stitch on Central Avenue in Great Falls, MT and found these beautiful colors of floss for my upcoming embroidery projects.

I am definitely going to have to go back there and play!

Pam was so wonderful and invited me to attend The Embroiderers' Guild of America, Inc./Rocky Mountain Region local meeting this evening. I might just have to take her up on it and see who else is stitching in this town.

A Little Angel

A Little Angel, originally uploaded by jbpics.

An angel is someone you feel like you've known forever
even though you've just met.

Angels have a hidden agenda....LOVE

Angels encourage everyone in the right direction...up.

An angel's art is his heart.

Angels paint with sound and sing with color.

Sometimes your best friend is actually a guardian angel in disguise.

Smiles are the next best thing to halos.

Angels occupy the loveliest corners of our thoughts.

Angels don't run away from life, they fly towards it.

If you seek an angel with an open heart, you shall always find one