Spring Is blowing In! And Sand, and....

Hi! Look a the these ''whitecaps"--- rough seas outside my window today!

Old Man Winter has been trying to puff himself up for a final assault! High winds here at the beach ...but a softness, an early spring is in the air.

Remember my dollar bulbs, Home Depot at Christmas?

I don't much like the bulbs flowering at Christmas, my house has too much going on as it is.

inspiration/ incentive

I like to save the bulbs for winter and my plating right after the tree is down and the last ornie is back in its box.

I started the bulbs by my deck door, nice cold draft and sunshine...

The paperwhites start in the corner cupboard where it's quite dim in January.

The hyacinths are cute...if stunted.

The scillas are just grass, no sign of flowers, and the other daffs are going slow.

But Oh the paper whites!

Despite their overwhelming, uh, fragrance, they are just the Best!

Aren't they!

For a dollar a bag I had to experiment...but in the  future? Paperwhites for me!

love

lizzy

       .....gone to the beach

What Was in my Pocket

Well, not much!
The gentle winter has wreaked subtle havoc with my beachcombing. It takes big wild waves and wind and chaos to unearth [un-sand?] the treasured relics of my beach's past.

Instead the sand is nearly pristine...

a clamshell here,

a feather there...

Instead of gathering odd items I gathered images of larger flotsam....





Wouldn't this make an amazing table? It is well-constructed, of smooth heavy wood, quite large. 6' x 10'? 12'? The pale silvery grey is sunbleached aging, not paint. Satiny smooth. It just needs some cool old legs....oh and a forklift to get it home!

...and brought home only these few shards...below, a piece of a yelloware bowl or crock, quite rare.

some treasure bottles...

a length of rope...

a skeletonized whelk..,,

not pretty now but my trusty can of matte white Rustoleum will make it into a beauty in just minutes1

Too bad there's not Rustoleum make-up for me, huh? Zap...pretty!

remembering summer

Oh well...

love

            lizzy

gone to the beach.....

Homemade Valentines

Hi! I couldn't show you my handmade Valentines before now because Valentines are...shhhh!...a secret, right?

My family has a tradition of making Valentines at home [not that I don't love a pretty store-bought card!]. My mother made elaborate frilly heart collages for family and friends and my dad, once he discovered computer graphics, loved making up a Valentine for my mom on his pc. Some were sappy, some were tacky, but all were made at home...

This year I just had No Ideas. During my January clean-out session I threw out all my many years' collection of Valentine papers and doilies and  pretty stickers! [It could be worse, last January, I discarded ALL my books, including a huge library of classic quilting book, sigh. so sad...].
But on Monday night before V-Day, I realized I better have something for friends and family! Oooh, can we say ''last minute'?

I grabbed a brown paper Trader Joe's sack, some cute fabric scraps from my sewing table...some pretty vintage buttons...and...sewed up some Valentine hearts! (but a glue stick would work just fine!)

Here they are! I think they're so cute....

And everyone loved them, I think.

Now about the classic dozen Valentine roses:

On the fifteenth I had to go over the bridge to the big supermarket. And right inside their front door were many tubs of gorgeous roses. Every color you can imagine! No red, but pink, coral, peach, yellow, pale green, cream with pink, deep pink, pale pink, mixed bunches, too....


the beautiful pink lilies were a gift to me
from a dear friend...



The sign said $39.99!
Then that was crossed out with Magic Marker: Sale! Doz roses $4.99.

Hmmm...is this what we mean by price gouging?

I don't think the husbands and boyfriends fell for that first huge price, at least not at the grocery store. There were lots of roses left and every woman who walked into the store seemed to stop and choose a bunch or two of the leftovers. And the ladies, including me!, seemed very happy...

love

            lizzy

                    ~~~~gone to the beach...