Three Elevens.................. Down the Rabbit Hole

 

I felt like Alice in Wonderland  when I opened the e-mail announcing that I had won a blog award: “I wonder if I've been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!”― Lewis Carroll

First I got Big! Oh, the head doth swell with pride when one "wins." Something about our human-ness makes us want to be a winner. 

I followed the linking trail back to my benefactor -- the delightful and gracious author of: Green Eggs and Goats.  (Thanks Heather.)

Then I got small. 

I did some research. Apparently the award origins go back several years to a German blogger who sought to build the readership of, and relationships among, other bloggers. In other words: You win a Liebster award if you are small. It is to help others find you.

“Mad Hatter: Would you like a little more tea? 
Alice: Well, I haven't had any yet, so I can't very well take more. 
March Hare: Ah, you mean you can't very well take less. 
Mad Hatter: Yes. You can always take more than nothing.” 

I looked up the word Liebster and smiled like the Cheshire Cat: German adj."meaning favorite, preferred above others; liked or loved above others"

Okay, then it is good to be small?

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don’t much care where--" said Alice.
"Then it doesn’t matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you’re sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough.”

But you don't get to just BE an award recipient, you have to perform, because you must post 11 random facts about yourself:
“No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise.”

So here are my 11 random facts:

1. I have chandelier crystals hanging here and there in my backyard, and as a result, dancing rainbows appear inside and outside our home at different times of the day.
2. My first pet was a chameleon that I named Greeny-Browny.
3. I made lemon balm tea last week.
4. The color "Christmas Red" bugs me.  I like Barn Red, though.
5. I am currently wondering who is going to bother to read these random facts.
6. The first college I attended was in Wyoming; I wasn't sure where Wyoming was. I was 17. Enough said.  
7. I like stirring compost.
8. I'm getting sick of the word I.
9. I watched the 2012 version of the Les Miserables musical 3 times in the past 3 days.  I think I'll watch it again tonight.
10. I also think I will look for a version of Alice in Wonderland on Netflix.
11. I just learned how to spell Netflix; my spellchecker already knew.

Then there are 11 questions to answer. Sooooo, here are the questions Heather asked me:

Are you married? If so, how long?

I've been married to a prince-among-men for 33 years.

Do you have any children?

...four lovely daughters who are now my friends; one lives next door.

What was your favorite game growing up?
I've never liked games much, but we had an awesome chess set. The base of each piece had spheres-within-spheres of intricately carved ivory. My father taught me to play. It is one of a very few memories of him.

Do you consider yourself a serious person, or a goofball?
That depends on the situation.

  “Off with her head!”~ L.C.

.
Do you feel like you have a calling in life?

Absolutely! Becky, Honey, Mom, Mimi
What is your favorite color?

just one?green. ( That is my sneaky way of including yellow and blue.)

What is your favorite movie of all time? 
Glory
If you could go to any live concert, who would you go see? 
May I wear jeans?

What superpower would you like to have?
Power is dangerous!
Describe a pivotal moment in your life.
The moment my first child was born, I knew what I wanted to do.
When was the last time you went on vacation, and where did you go?
A few years ago, Jim and I spent every other weekend at my parents' cabin in the forest on the Mogollon rim. Then it sold.

Okay, that's it for the acceptance speech. 

“It was much pleasanter at home," thought poor Alice, "when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down the rabbit-hole--and yet--and yet--...” L.C.

The third part of my job as recipient is to nominate others. The rules state that I should nominate 11, but in wonderland we don't follow rules, exactly.

We make new rules in Wonderland.
I'm giving the award to the list of bloggers below, not because they are small, but because I like them and would like to learn their answers to my 11 questions. Note to these bloggers:  You are NOT required to follow these rules, or even accept the award.  Believe me, I know what a rabbit hole this can become. But if you accept, here are my questions:

1. Do you feel that you are a different age on the inside than your chronological age?
2. What are some thoughts that make you really happy?
3. How do you like your steak cooked?
4. Do you have a pet peeve?
5. If you had to choose another country in which to live, where would that be?
6. What’s the best decision you ever made?
7. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
8. Do you think people can control their own destiny?
9. What’s something you wish everyone knew about you?
10. If you made a movie about your life, who would you choose to play you?
11. What are some of the first things you do in the morning?

"Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then,
if I like being that person, I'll come up: if not, I'll stay down here
till I'm somebody else"--but, oh dear!' cried Alice, with a sudden burst
of tears, 'I do wish they WOULD put their heads down! I am so VERY tired
of being all alone here!”  ~L.C.

If you are not on the following list, you might like to click on the links and visit. 

A Suburban Farmer

Black Fox Homestead

Everything Home with Carol

From a Montana Front Porch
Green Circle Grove

Lally Broch Farm

Maple Grove
Radish Girl Thymes
Sunshine Sisters Farms

Clipboard Wall Art

Our office is a long and narrow room.  When we began a remodel this spring, exchanging twenty-something-year-old carpet for wood, olive green for hummus colored walls, and adding a skylight, we also took down a giant map of our city.  I know, maps as wall art are all the rage now but in this room it took over.  It had to go. We were left with a 15 foot expanse to fill.  In short: We had a wall conundrum.

In addition to the long wall, three other factors had to be considered:
Cost...under $100.
Contrast...the need to keep things calm with low contrast is my home decorating M.O.
Capture... since what we do in the office is run our landscaping business, I wanted the wall art to capture, relate and inspire the garden theme.

For months I looked for inspiration on Pinterest and Houzz, while also searching in the usual places, like Target, Home Goods and Goodwill, finding many likable candidates, but nothing that jumped up and down saying, "choose me!"

Then, one Saturday morning, a few weeks ago -- inspiration appeared in the form of a photograph of three botanical prints hanging on clipboards in a kitchen.  I knew in a heartbeat that this was my answer.  It fit right in with all my design musts.

www-livelovecreate.tumblr.com/

All I needed to do was figure out the placement, find inexpensive clipboards, and locate some beautiful botanical art.

The art search came first. I have always been an admirer of  people who can create pretty pictures with talented strokes and dabs.  My mom can do it and so can my sisters. I have attempted to develop this skill, to no avail.  Instead, I paint pictures with objects, plants, flowers, rocks, trees and shrubs, words, love, and my camera; the draw and dab skills do not belong to me.

Not yet  but still hoping...

As I often do, I went shopping in my own home and found a book filled with botanical drawings from over 100 years ago.  It didn't take long to find the eighteen pieces of pure inspiration that I needed. They all depict lovely birds and plants; twelve also name the months of the year.

 NO I did not cut up the book.  I Could NOT.  Instead, I made color copies on card stock.The traditional and inexpensive clipboards are hanging on clear push pins... genius. Right? Not easy to get just right, however.  It took about an hour of planning and measuring to get things lined up.

Notice how the colors blend with the wall color? One of the unintended results of using the clipboards as frames is that the paper flutters a bit in the breeze of our ceiling fan.  I've considered using photo corners to secure them, but I'm mesmerized by the fluttery movement on the wall, like leaves on a tree or birds in flight.

While hunting for art, I remembered my mom's old easel, stored in a closet, waiting to be used again.  It still donned a few splashes of blue and white from the brook in this painting she did in 1949. The overflow of love -- and the easel sang to my heart.  Then there was some re-measuring.

My prince helped me figure out how to assemble the easel.  It adds just the right elements of whimsy and drama, as well as vertical movement to balance the horizontal movement of the grid on the wall.  I found this botanical in the closet too. I'm planning on picking up a canvas or a painting in the future, but for now, this one works just fine. Who knows; the wall, now replete with examples of nature drawings and the splotched old easel might inspire another attempt to draw or paint one on my own. Just Maybe.

and just maybe not.

(My prince suggests cutting up a pair of jeans and some old boots for the other wall. )  Ummm...nope:-/

2013 update: We re-purposed an old dining table.  You like?

~Blessings~

If you would like to read more stories about people gardening, creating, loving family,homesteading, homeschooling, and making things for under $100:

The Lettered Cottage

Here: Under the Table and Dreaming

wildly-original-linky-party @ I Gotta Create

 click here:  My Simple Country Living

and here:  A Rural Journal

 and HERE: Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party

OH, and HERE as well! The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday

and here as well...there are so many creative people out there!

Grandma's Apron

Ada's Apron hangs awaiting duty

Oh how I'd love to have my grandmother to lunch today.

I would serve something light, probably salad...and I would wear her apron -- the one that hangs on the side of my fridge...and I would arrange our salad on Grandma's desert rose plates.

She would arrive smartly dressed, and properly shod and I would probably get a mini-lecture about the importance of wearing shoes when she saw my bare feet.  But it wouldn't be long before Grandma would laugh.

And when she began to laugh, I would think to reach for my camera to capture the sound.  Then, on second thought, I'd realize I have the sound of her laughter stored in my head.

After "luncheon," (that's what she called it when she got together with other women for this meal ) I would definitely sit her in front of my piano, secretly wishing I had called the piano tuner one of the hundred-and-one times I thought of it.  She would be thrilled to see that I have her music, but not nearly as thrilled as I would be to listen as her hands began to coax the keys to play...Everybody Loves Somebody...sometime.

She would notice the keys that don't sound right.

How long would it take for her to notice the lamps from her vanity, or the painting that once hung in her guest room?

Not long.

Grandma noticed things.  And she would notice things all over my home that she once touched, cleaned, arranged...loved... things my children and grandchildren think belong to me.  I would finally get to ask her about them. What was their history; where were they from?

I would introduce Grandma to my grand children. She would size them up, and when I wasn't looking, she would stealthily stuff a $20 into their hands.  I would be able to tell by the way they acted afterwards.

She would miss seeing my prince, who is off working in the 100-plus degree heat today.  But she would wisely tell me to take good care of him.  I know this because she always said it.  Grandma took care of things. That must be where I got the take-care-of-things-skills!  That must be why my mother is so careful to take care of things too! I  guess this is good news for my grand kids and their future spouses...grand kids who will one day realize that I was NOT old today...the day I had my imaginary luncheon with Grandma.

Grandma, I miss you! I cherish my memories of you.  I adore your taste in home furnishings, and I'm sorry I thought you were old when you were only 56.

I was inspired today by another blogger's post about aprons...you can read more or add your own story at Little Homestead on the Hill
and here
Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Sunshine

She penetrates the Earth with her energetic, constant flame

She coaxes life to burst forth and say,

 “I'm here”

“I'm growing!”

Who sends her?

 Who directs her efforts?

Who stokes the flames she casts across the expanse to heat and heal?

 He ~ who holds our times in his hands

He ~ who knows our thoughts before one of them is expressed

He ~ who crafted our inmost parts

 He ~ who knit us ~ according to his plan,

They work together 
 steadily ~ lovingly

 Indiscriminate love

Day SPRINGS into being

The crocus Reveals what has been hidden

The babe’s lungs Fill

Sunshine!

Chicken By Products / My Ah-ha! Moment

I'm so excited... I just have to share.  I've been making stock in my crock pot for awhile now, using a whole chicken carcass after roasting it and eating what we want.  This time, I boiled eggs in the stock .....and cooked the stock too long...the result ... EVEN THE BONES are able to be crushed with my fingers and fed back to the birds.  THIS BRINGS THE WORDS, CHICKEN-BY-PRODUCTS, TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL!   And it brought me to an "ah-ha!" moment.  Here is my story:

 Three original chicken "pets" have grown to 7 birds that have brought so much joy into my life, adding - -  Chicken-by-products.  Here are just a few of them:

Chickens filled my empty nest with something to take care of after our children were grown and gone.

Our son-in-law built me a chicken coop that is just right for our hot climate because it has plenty of airflow.  Then he and two other sons-in-law and a daughter's boyfriend hoisted it over our fence.  I had to ask my neighbor for permission to bring a coop through his yard.  I would have loved to see the look on his face when  he saw it happening!  (Thanks Rudy!)  I know Jim wasn't pleased to see it come in...oops!

Then I got busy making it look cute!  This is a creative work in progress.  One of my favorite things is the sign made by my grandson, pictured here with five of my hens. He used a magnifying glass and the hot Arizona sun!

Lucy (in the planter) showing four of her sisters how to enjoy (destroy) the basil

The mirror is real,  The hearts were added in Picnik

Needing more space, I extended the run and added two new chickens.  This required a temporary home, so I fixed up a rabbit hutch that my daughter found on Craigslist.  And of course, I decorated it too.  My children used to play house in these Oleander shrubs.  

Here is the "ugly duckling" before.

Here it is after some fixing up and decorating.

My third attempt at curtains was a success

Eggs.

Wonderful eggs!


 --the main by-product of my new hobby.

  Pictures of eggs

 Is another by-product

    Joy...

Is yet another.

And good, fresh, healthy food is yet another...
   

Fresh Eggs are delicious.   Here is a meal I served to a vegetarian friend for dinner: 6 eggs, cracked but not broken into a casserole ...3/4 cu half and half poured over the top ...then a can of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes, (some crumbled bacon when not serving vegetarians.) shredded cheese and fresh basil.  Baked at 350 until set.   YUM!

Another by-product: I recycle what the hens don't eat into compost.  They contribute droppings.  I use the kitchen scraps, dryer lint, coffee grounds, grass clippings and eggshells to make great dirt!  and the dirt makes great flowers.

FRIENDS are a by-product of chickens.  I have met some new friends on Facebook who share my crazy chicken love.  Many of them frequent the Fresh Eggs Daily  page. (https://www.facebook.com/FreshEggsDaily)

FED is where I submitted this photo that won a 2012 calendar for our wall!

So here is the point:

The cycle of life... 

We feed the chickens the things we don't eat...the chickens eat the plants we grow, provide the eggs that we eat; we add the shells to the compost that enriches the dirt that we make with the plants that we compost that enriches the soil where we grow the plants to eat and feed to the chickens who make droppings and eggshells ...

You get the picture?

One more thing:  I have more eggs than we can eat, so I share them with our neighbors.

And the cycle goes on! 

and on... Remember when I started this story, it was about turning a chicken (not one of mine!) into stock, boiled eggs, dog food, and mush that the chickens eat?  The discovery of even finding a way to use the bones was an "ah ha!" moment -- I just had to share!

And the cycle goes on:

and on

and on

and on

and on

and on...

and on

and on

 Smile ;-)

and even Jim got used to the idea!

Up next...

Decoupage the coop walls!