LAST DAY IN MARCH

MARCH is not going out like a lamb. It is cold, windy with fine misty rain which could turn to snow.

EASTER EGG DYEING

Something different to try, traditional Easter Egg Dyeing with glitter. The results are very pretty and they really jazz up the baskets and centerpieces!

WINDY MARCH DANDELIONS

SMOKEY S. VISITS THE VET

Smokey Siamese has been sneezing at night for the last few days and acting a bit quiet. Since he was due for his annual checkup, I made a visit to the vet this morning. After breakfast he was groomed and ready to get into his cat carrier and go. The vet checked Smokey out and concluded that his night sneezing was probably due to a seasonal allergy and prescribed Lyzine Paste as a supplement. Otherwise, he is in fine health and was able to receive his boosters and a nail trim, and a new toothbrush.

SPRING RIDING

Chris had his first riding lesson on this cold, crisp Spring morning.

TECH GUY

We had an interesting evening at the Middle School last night, reviewing the accomplishments of the tech student presentations. Dessert including layer cake, coffee, cookies and brownies was served following the awards.

BOOKENDS

We celebrated Bob's birthday with many stories, many plans and great surfer food!

SPRING SNOW

The light dusting of spring snow that we have received in the last few nights has been pretty to wake up to. The buds on the peach tree are almost ready to open, and the cherry tree will be right behind it. The pansy faces are frosty and quite warm in their bamboo-lined pots. .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Fred, my forever young, heart and soul man! Love, Cher

MILLENNIUM COFFEE

I love a delicious cup of coffee, strong and hearty, freshly brewed early in the morning. I knew that when my Mr. Coffee coffeemaker finally expired, I would get back to basics and replace it with an electric percolator. My new Farberware Millennium coffee pot arrived the other day. It was the same type that I had received as a newlywed 38 years ago. It is simple, very heavy gauge metal parts, easy to clean, (no reservoir), takes up little counter space, and it perks!

BLUE VIOLETS

GARDENING WITH CHICKENS

Now that I am sharing the kitchen garden with my chickens, I have had to take extra care when planting the young seedlings. The lettuces and garlic chives are together in the plastic containers and the raised beds are covered. The bamboo hoop house is almost finished and the peas are secretly planted in covered spaces next to the bamboo.

WHEN THE CROCUSES BLOOM

BUTTERFLIES AND SILKSCREEN

Now that the studio is fixed up and the new silkscreen paper has arrived, I am starting a new printed series on butterflies. I have prepared the paper with ink in two colors and mica dust, so all of the backgrounds are different and the effects unexpected.

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!

MOSAICS AT ST VLADIMIR RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

The one word for the glittering mosaics at St. Vladimir's Russian Orthodox Church is awe-inspiring. Tiny pieces of glass and stone make up the stylized figures on the exterior of this golden-domed Byzantine Church, built in 1938. Byzantine icon artists invented an ideal geometry and depicted human forms and features according to it. Here, the circle foms the underlying geometric figure, emphasized by the form of the haloed heads.

A ROYAL FIND!

I love vintage, manual typewriters and I have been looking for a good, usable one for quite awhile to print my mimeograph stencils. Today, at the flea market in Cassville, I found two! One is a Smith-Corona, 1950's and in a case, the other a heavy black Royal, with glass-top keys and in excellent condition, probably 1940's. After Cassville, we drove on to New Egypt Agway to buy chicken feed, but I really wanted to see the new baby chick arrivals, the Buff Orpingtons and the Aracaunas, quite adorable, I have put them on my Wish List!