hOw tO wait

We know how to wait. We have all had to practice patience

Over and Over.

We know how it feels to want something here NOW

or gOne NOW.

Waiting isn’t seasonal. It is a constantly repeating cycle of life.

Over and Over

Time takes it’s own time, so we WAIT…

For a beginning, for an ending, for relief, for a cure, a birth, a sonrise, a spring, a king.

As we WAIT we must keep our FAITH in the things that should be

and HOPE in things that could be.

but LOVE is for NOW

during the waiting and wOndering and wOrrying.

LOVE NOW.

while yOu wait

Think of those Os as eggs or seeds.

Eggs wait.

Seeds wait.

But they need things NOW!

grOw while yOu wait

lOve while yOu wait

yOu help others grOw nOw

when it is cOld.

yOu be the warmth.

when it is dark

yOu be the light.

grOw lOve nOw

grOw nOw

lOve nOw

nO waiting

nOw

 

I call myself an uncomfortable Christian. Too many questions and doubts.

Good Friday is hard for me to wrap my head around.

Such extreme good and extreme evil in one place.

I do not deserve this Jesus, but I need him.

flOwer

 

 

 

 

Egg Deco Steps

Choose napkins with images and patterns that will fit onto your eggs.  My friends and I look for lovely napkins year-round. (We also decorate Christmas balls.)

Peel off the back 2 ply sheets of each napkin. You may want to cut up pieces before you get glue on your hands.IMG_7371

If a stick can be stuck into the egg, it is easier to handle. If not, I balance them on plastic cups with the bottoms removed.

Use foam sponges to cover part of the egg with Mod Podge glue. I use Matte finish for subtle colored napkins and Gloss finish for bright ones.

Place a piece of napkin on the glue covered spot.  Smooth it down with your finger or your brush. Cover the piece with more glue.

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Continue this method slightly overlapping each piece. I usually work on four to six eggs at a time, so that I can rotate working on different ones as others dry.

Let the completed eggs dry. Then cover with another thin layer of glue. If there is a hole where the stick went in, now is the time to cover it with a small scrap of napkin.

Glitter can be sprinkled on lightly at this point if desired.  I use more glitter if I hate how the egg looks.  (Think of it as egg “make-up.”)

Let completed eggs thoroughly dry before spraying them with a sealant. I use either a spray with a matte(flat) finish or a spray with a gloss finish. Spray eggs outside because the sealant stinks for several hours until completely dry. Spray in a bent up foil pan so the eggs won’t roll around.  The sealant sometimes reacts with plate surfaces, so foil is best.

I try to buy my eggs just before Easter, while they are marked down and use them the following year in my workshops.

I like wooden eggs, but my favorites are the foam ones covered with a plastic coating of various pastel colors with brown spots. Do not buy dark colored eggs.

I like using various sizes of eggs also.

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This is a very enjoyable hobby, especially if a group of friends does it together.  I enjoy watching people get hooked on it.  Young artist are especially inspiring to observe.

Once you have the supplies, you can do it year after year and share your creations.

I gave my trainer one of my favorite eggs today.  She really liked it.  She deserved a solid gold egg. Thanks Ronda!

P.S.  Get ready for a FLOWER blitz. No, I do not mean blooms. I mentally write while I drive and garden. Since I have done a lot of driving and gardening this week, I have many thoughts to share.

My next post will be on WAITING, because Good Friday is a hard day for me. Please don’t send a sermon. I taught Sunday school and raised two children in the church, so I have had to explain “shepherds killing Jesus” over and over. This was the words the young children used. Everyone in robes was a shepherd.

Another post in the works is entitled “From Now On, NO!   Ladies this is for you. I have been making a NO list. I have acquired many responsibilities that are getting ditched.  These tasks are in my way. I will be purging my list. Look out friends and family. Flower is taking back her power.

Be inspired or irritated.  Your choice.

Flow

How My Lent is Spent

While the pious people give up something they love for Lent,

the Flower shamelessly indulges in one of her favorite activities.

Don’t judge me!

When else would I decorate Easter eggs?

When I start this activity, my library is clean.

As I progress, the napkin pieces pile up and scraps blow down.

The glitter gets scattered and the glue gets smattered.

Clean up?  I find neatness stifling to my creative spirit.

I do occasionally sweep a path so that I won’t slip on a swath

or roll to my knees on those fancy microbeads.

The mess progresses until I am finished… Otherwise…

If one cleans up too soon, one may find it necessary to sort through the trash for a needed scrap.

When I finally finish after weeks of play,  I mean work;

I fill baskets with my tiny masterpieces and give them to the people that I love.

Or strangers.

This is how I pass my time WAITING (Foreshadowing for future pOst)  for spring to arrive,

Playing with paper flowers inside until all the real ones can bloom outside.

 

Wildflowers by the Highway

I had the great pleasure of visiting a local garden club meeting this week.

Their group was a delightful mix of flower folks.

The room was surrounded by vases of flowers from their gardens.

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The meeting was at the new Lake Norman State Park Visitor’s Center. If you are local, it is a great place for mountain biking, swimming, hiking, camping and boating. I always see wildlife as I pass through this lovely park.

I attended this particular meeting because there was a guest speaker from the North Carolina Department of Transportation Roadside Environmental Unit.

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Derek Smith gave an informative and entertaining program about the NC Wildflowers on North Carolina Roadsides. I wanted to take photo of each slide, but there was no need. We were given a fabulous booklet of all the flowers and a packet of seeds. My kind of party favors!

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I am so proud of my state for having such an environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing program.  All the plantings are funded by the purchase of customized license plates.

The plantings include about one third annuals, one third perennials and the last third native wildflowers. There are meadow mixes and pattern plantings that include stripes, checkerboards, stars and even an outline of our state.

There is some good science involved in this program. Density planting keeps down the weeds and flowers are pollinator friendly.  Compost is added to deficient soils.

These plantings provide a much needed corridor for pollinators to travel on. Trucks aren’t the only traffic along our highways.  Bees, birds and butterflies use these plantings as rest-stops between fields and farms.

Next time you are passing through North Carolina, look for these beautiful and functional plantings.

FLOWER

 

 

The Stone Tool

I live along the Catawba River.

I see all kinds of rocks.  Round river rocks and white quartz catch my eye.

The stone I found yesterday stood out because of its perfectly flat polished surface.

I turned it over in my hand several times.

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There were also polished indentations on each side.

I put the stone in my palm and wrapped my fingers around it.

Worn spots for index tip and side of thumb. Slick flat bottom for grinding.

It fit just like a glove.  It was like connecting with an ancestor.

The photos do not do this justice.  I wish you could feel this in your hand.  It is amazing.

The grinding tool/manos was made for a person with hands the exact size as mine.

Indentation worn for the thumb.

I would never have figured this out if I had not turned it around in my hand.

This isn’t just a tool, it’s a treasure.

FLOWER

A Child of the Woods

Back when I was young, I spent most of my time outside.

I have always been fascinated by nature.

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We would include rocks, plants and animals into our play.

When my sister and I took a walk this afternoon,

we saw a lovely stand of white wildflowers.

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I wanted to call them another name, but “blood root” came out of my mouth.

The scientific name is Sanguinaria canadensis.   Sanguineus means blood red.

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That name was way back in my brain. We used to play with this plant.

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The roots bleed red, as the name implies. We would paint ourselves with its dye.

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I was thrilled to have that memory brought back to me.

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You may take the Flower out of the woods,

but you cannot take the Woods out of the Flower.

 

If I’m not Weeding, I’m Reading

We had some snow here today, so the weeds had to wait.

I made progress in several of the books that I am reading.

I only read non-fiction right now.

My last book of fiction made me so mad that I tossed it.

I can read books simultaneously if they are dissimilar. Otherwise, I get them confused.

Tristan Gooley’s How To Read Water is a hit with me.  It is even better than his book, The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs.

A Woman’s Place is at the Top by Hannah Kimberly is a fascinating story of the mountain climber, Annie Smith Peck.  I admire her determination, but she was not as civic-minded as my two heroes, Marianne North and Beatrix Potter.

Gretchen Rubin inspires me with her thoughtful pursuits at improvement.  I have just started Happier at Home,  but I really enjoyed her book, Better Than Before. 

Elizabeth Kolbert is a really great science writer. Do not let the “science” deter you. Her book, The Sixth Extinction is on my top ten list.

In case you are wondering what the bunnies do in wet weather, they chew on sticks.

I caught Charlotte wistfully gazing out the bottom panes of the French doors today. I know she would hate it out there in the cold, but she still wanted out.

They enjoyed eating bark off of fruitwood sticks. These are now ready to burn.

Tomorrow will be sunny, so I won’t be eating so much…I mean reading so much.

FLOWER