Mag 8

The Painted Egg

Nicole brought the ostrich egg home from the antique store because it reminded her of her Grandmother Anna Nicolette Roman and her love of painting. Entering the front door, she placed the decorated egg, along with it's fine silver stand, upon the entryway table. While the egg was no Faberge, she still thought it worthy of admiration.

Though Grandmother had been formal and old fashioned, Nicole remembered her with fondness. Whenever she visited, good manners and propriety had been stressed to the children, ahead of fun and ease. Nicole didn't know much about her early life. Grandmother always changed the subject as soon as Nicky brought the topic up.

A few years ago, upon learning that he had terminal cancer, Nicky's aged father began sharing stories of his childhood with her. He told her of the numerous visits that his mother had received from adults with heavy accents. About his curiosity and her unwillingness to answer his questions. The whispered conversations he'd overheard about her heritage. About her hatred of Bolsheviks. These facts added to the mystery rather than solve it. He told Nicky of his growing suspicion as an adult, that his mother might have a secret identity. Only at the end. had grandmother whispered her real name to her son: Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. Could the slurred whispers of an old, sick senile woman be believed?

Unsure of what she thought of the implausible story, Nicole nevertheless found herself unable to resist the egg. Picking it up from the stand, she once more turned it over studying the tiny details. Here in the bright afternoon light she noticed a detail that had escaped her in the dim light of the store. On the bottom of the egg, in minuscule scratching it read; ANR, 1918.

To read more tales prompted by the photo click here.

I get a Kick out of You

I love Paris in the summer, when it sizzles. -Cole Porter

It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely -Cole Porter

You'd be so nice to come home to. -Cole Porter

Thinking of Paris tonight.

"He is Risen, just as He said"

Easter Traditions

I don't know about other parts of the country, but here in the South getting new clothes including new shoes and socks to wear to church Easter Sunday was a Spring ritual when I was growing up.

My mother made all of my sister's and my Easter clothes. Most of the time we had matching dresses. This particular Easter (1962) was memorable because my siblings and I had chicken pox (we were in the dried scab stage so we didn't feel bad any longer) and weren't able to attend church, but we got dressed up for pictures in the yard anyway.

Here I am at 8. My sis had a dress like mine but in a different color. Notice the pose. My mother had a thing for the Shirley Temple look.

Here's Rachel in 1987 wearing one an Easter dress my mother made me. See how I had her pose? Like mother like daughter, I guess.

When my kids were growing up, we didn't always have the money to outfit everyone in all new clothes and shoes. Sometimes the guys just got new shirts and shoes or shirts and pants. But for Rachel, I always made a new dress, except for the year she wore my old one.

So what about you? Did you have to have a new outfit to wear to church on Easter Sunday?

Gardens...part 2

Last weekend 2 of my granddaughters spent some time with me while their parents had a weekend getaway. These 2 girls are full of energy and I thought it would be good to use some of that exuberance up outside so we went to the Japanese Gardens. While I posted photos of pretty flowers and beautiful scenery earlier this week, I didn't show you what they were up to.....

Since I had to work Friday and Saturday morning they stayed with their Aunt Rachel. When I arrived to pick them up they were outside playing a wizarding game they'd made up.

We packed their stuff in the trunk and we were off, stopping on the way into the Gardens at the gift shop where my friend works....but we didn't stay long...well long enough to try on all the jewelry, play the percussion instruments, check out the neat little thatched cottage domajigger and generally make me pretty nervous.

So, on to the garden. Study the big map. Stop at a planter to finger the tulips. Swing a minute while Gramma takes some pictures. Run, don't walk through the woodland area. Argue with one another over nothing.

Pose for pictures by making crazy faces at the camera. Ignore the "Stay on the Pathway" notices. Pause in wonder when noticing a bonsai bush.

Really sit and contemplate the raked meditation garden. Listen while I tell them about poems called haikus. We make up one together. Avery decides to write her own and proceeds to do just that. Begs me to let her take some of the rocks home so she can rake her own garden of rocks.

Find some other children. Become instant friends. Run through a hole in the bamboo bushes. Find a "mummy and a sarcophagus" and run back out screaming. (did I mention their great imaginations?)

Discover huge Koi in the lake. Spend 30 minutes lying on the rocks trying to catch minnows and tadpoles. Have the umpteenth fight at the red bridge. Explore a thicket of bamboo. Ring the big bell/gong.....a million times, until I finally had to get onto them. Cry and say they want their parents. I tell them tough..."you just have to mind me!"

We hobble, I hobble-they're fine, back to the car. We stop on the way home for Mexican. We drag all their stuff up the steps and into the house. I collapse into the chair. I'm done for the day!

The breeze is blowing
the glassy rocks glittering
they make me calm

Mag 7

the daffodil

swaying dancers nimble
with wind timed movement
bowing low, springing back
swirl about the garden
in a sunny Conga line.

harbingers of summer's approach
hot days of fecund growth
flowers dirty dancing
in unrestricted abandon...
daffodils herald it all.

For more Magpie tales click here.

Saturday in the Gardens...part I

The Japanese Garden is part of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, which includes a conservatory, the Southern Living garden, two rose gardens, a herb terrace, as well as a wildflower garden and more.

After a short walk down a woodland pathway one reaches the entrance to the 7.5 acre Japanese garden. Enter through the red torii (gate to heaven) and wander along the pathway. It will lead you past a 16th-century Sukiya-style tea house, a karesansui garden with its bed of raked gravel, and the Long Life Lake.

There are many benches along the way where one can rest and enjoy the extraordinary views. Which is exactly what I did!

Char at ramblins... did the same thing yesterday. Pop over to her blog to see her beautiful pictures.

Awareness Test

Have you seen this video...be sure to watch it all.

Lake Geneva

My maternal Bigmother, as we knew her, loved to travel. She would take off alone or with a child in tow to travel across the country in order to visit friends or relatives. My mother recently gave me a large envelope full of Bigmother's postcards. This is a postcard folder which she sent, from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to her youngest son in 1952, two years before my birth. Bigmother was middle-aged when she had my Uncle Don. He was the caboose of 6 children, my mother being the 5th and 9 years older than her baby brother.

The postcard describes Lake Geneva as having "charming scenery and excellent facilities for outdoor sports." In addition, there was a "picturesque auto-drive of thirty miles completely encircling the lake." Red Cross life guards patrolled the beaches, making it a safe place for children. There was a library open to summer guests and golfing for dad. One could fish, sail, go motor-boating or hiking as well. The second largest (in 1952) astronomical observatory in America, Yerkes Observatory was located at Williams Bay, Lake Geneva.


There was even a wild-flower and native-tree preserve to be found at Lake Geneva, which I am positive my Bigmother made sure to visit. She was a life-long lover of gardening. When I was a child her backyard was one big winding flowerbed. The only grass was the pathway. She was a long time member of her local gardening club as well as one of its past presidents.

If you care to read more about Lake Geneva, Wisconsin click here.

This post is a combination of Postcard Friendship Friday and Sepia Saturday.
Please visit both sites to read more posts like this one.

Chocolatey Party Favors

My friend Pam (on the right) asked Nancy (on the left) and I (behind the camera) to help her make these cute party favors for a mother/daughter banquet in April. I thought some crafty blogger out there might like to try this if you have an event coming up and want a cute favor to giveaway at the end of the evening.

Supplies:
Craft glue
Patterned scrapbook paper (heavy weight works the best)
Assorted matching ribbon
Scissors
Hole punch
Stickers, punches, die-cut shapes...anything decorative
Hershey chocolate bars

Cut the paper into rectangles large enough to fold over candy bars adding 1/4th inch on the long side of rectangle and 1/2 inch on the shorter side. Score for the folds. Fold into a rectangular shape around the candy bar.

Apply a thin bead of craft glue. Press together until tacky. The seam can be further secured by using a sticker to hold together. We used address labels with a Bible verse and the name of the event on each. Remove the candy bar.

Use hole punch and put two or three holes in a row about one inch from one end of the rectangle. Insert ribbon through both sides.

Insert the candy bar into the end with the ribbon. The ribbon will wrap around the bar and form a holder which when pulled will pull the candy bar out of the holder.

Tie the ribbon into a cute bow and trim the ends. Decorate the box with stickers or glue or decorative shapes.

Voila! Super cute party favors.