Red Geranium on Black

Don't you just love Geraniums...minimal care and lots of color all summer long. This year I found a variety called candy cane for my garden. The flowers are pink with red stripes. Something a little bit different. Looking forward to later in the season
when they are large and bushy and covered in blooms.

I painted this Welcome sign with pretty geraniums and it will be hanging on my front door for the season.

Summertime Offerings

I had the chance this week to get some other items painted. I usually get so busy with signs that I don't always get to work on the smaller painted items I really like to do.

Years ago, when we were participating in shows for Longaberger Basket consultants and collectors, I had hundreds of designs on tie on and clip on ornaments for decorating baskets. Of course they could be used on other things, but were perfect pieces for those "Crazy Basket Ladies" This time of year we would be getting ready for the 3 day Dresden Days street fair which was held in conjunction with the Longaberger Basket Bee.

Those days are done, but I like to have these painted shelf sitters and ornaments when I set up for a show. Something to add some extra color. I am slowly adding them to my website. The blocks are perfect for that special little spot where you would like to add a bit of color.
Tuck on a shelf or maybe sit on your desk.
The hearts can be tied on to a purse, basket or a peg.

Click here to see the shelf sitters and here for the ornaments. Filling The Country Workshop website is taking much time but I'm getting there. But I surprise myself and my family. There was a time I didn't want to ever know how to use a computer.

Hope all are having a great summer day. Lou and I will be heading across the street to my daughter's house for steamed crabs this afternoon to celebrate Father's Day. Meagan was in New Orleans last week for a wedding so the family is honoring Lou today!

Is It Just Me?

An "old" friend put up the link below on facebook. Makes a person my age happy to know it's not just me! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Ode to Forgetfulness

Recording Memories...

For the past several years I've been asking what I need to put all the video tapes we have from when the girls were young onto dvd. For my birthday, my girls and their guys, gave me a tape,dvd player/recorder. Because Meagan was in New Orleans this weekend for a wedding, we are celebrating Father's day next Sunday. Lou and I decided the time was right to sit down and figure out how to actually work the machine.

We pulled out the tapes and tried to determine what kind of order to record our holidays, vacations, school plays and dance recitals. This is going to be a very time consuming project. The tapes are labeled but we are finding that we jump from a vacation in 1987 to a Christmas program one of the girls was in, in 1990. This means we probably should actually watch each tape before it's put onto the dvd. We've also found that on some of the tapes the tracking is off and the new machine will not record it. I think we may try the old vcr to see if the tapes play better on that...old tapes, old technology?

Below are my Dad and Holly jumping the waves in Ocean City, Maryland in 1988.
He did the same thing with me when I was 8. My parents were living just outside of OC and my girls would spend a week or so in the summer with my Mom and Dad. I am sorry that my sister's children never got to know their Grandfather the way mine did. I think I will probably put together a recording with bits of family happenings for my niece and nephew so they can actually get to know the loved ones who were no longer with us by the time they were born.

We spent hours yesterday recording tapes from the summers of 1987 and 1988. Those were just of the beach and the pool we belonged to when the girls were young. I kept saying to Lou, "I forgot about that!" We laughed that his hair was dark and that he actually had hair. We laughed that I hated that he would be taking a movie of me when I thought he should be filming the girls. We laughed remembering the wonderful times we had with the families. We have so much history yet to watch. Holly was in middle school and she had a project to interview the oldest person she knew. We took that big old video camera to my Grandmother's apartment (she was 91), set it on a tripod and let Holly ask the questions on her list. My Grandmother told us stories of her life as a child. She remembered being evacuated from her home during the Baltimore Fire of 1904 and being at a church, watching the flames go through the city. Her Mother had died of consumption when my Grandmother was 3 and I believe her sister was 5. My Great Grandfather had to cope with raising 2 little girls without their Mother. This is such a wonderful piece of family history and I am so grateful to the teacher who assigned the project. I knew the stories, but we actually have this recording with my dear Grandmother telling her memories, and would probably not have this without that assignment.

Our sweet Lucy watched with us...she got to see and hear one of the pups who came before her.
So funny, she barked at Alabaster barking on one of the tapes.

We have probably 40+ tapes to watch and record to dvd. I am sure that I will come across more times I don't remember even though I was the person behind the camera. But in doing this, I hope I will be giving the next generation a glimpse into what goofy, silly, wonderful people they come from!

Slippin' through my fingers...

Two weeks ago we changed from cable to Fios for internet and television service. By doing this I can get so many channels on my tv in the shop, it's a wonder that I get any work done. I usually have the tv on for background noise. I one time realized that I could sing the jingles for all the commercials but had no idea of what was actually on the screen. But now, besides having umpteen channels, I have on demand. Yesterday I watched/listened to Mamma Mia, a movie I can sing along to. The song below is a wonderful reminder for Mothers and Daughters. I am so blessed to have had two amazing girls who have grown to be amazing women. These words are so true, the time has just flown by. So here's to you, my Baby Girls!

You can click below to hear this song form the movie soundtrack
Slipping Through My Fingers


Siobhan McCarthy - Slipping Through My Fingers Lyrics

Schoolbag in hand
She leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye
With an absent-minded smile
I watch her go
With a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm loosing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes
Her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake
I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone
There's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt
I can't deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
Well some of that we did
But most we didn't
And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers -

Schoolbag in hand
She leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

Not just fluff for brains...

There's more to Pooh than meets the eye!

If You Can't Stand The Heat...

You know the old saying...If you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen? Well I have a new saying. If you can't stand the heat, what in the heck are you doing setting up for an outside show when the temperatures are in the 90's with 100%humidity? For the first time in 20 years, Lou and I set up for a show and ended up not doing the second day. We participated in the Potomac River Festival this weekend in Colonial Beach, VA. We rolled into town and were able to set up the 2 tents and the display on Friday evening. We found that we could not stake the tents down because 4 inches below the grass, there was concrete. We lowered the tents to table height and strapped them to the cash and wrap which weighs about 150lbs and decided to buy concrete blocks for each of the tent poles for Saturday. Saturday morning was beautiful, a wonderful breeze coming off the river. By 1 o'clock the breeze had stopped, the temp and humidity had risen and it was miserable. Around 4, another vendor saw on his phone that severe thunderstorms were heading our way...that made our decision for us. It was time to start breaking down, tents and all. I didn't want to chance losing merchandise and tents in a storm. When we got back to our motel and checked the weather, there was beeping and the red traveling message along the bottom of the screen warning about a storm. It ended up bypassing the area, however the forecast for Sunday was for hotter temperatures and earlier storms. We decided we couldn't physically set up and break down again in the heat.

Our friends Shar and Bill, who set up their booth next to us, rented a golf cart to breeze around the town in on Friday

Friday night was the Fire Company Parade. Sirens wailing and horns blowing, fire companies from Maryland and Virginia made their way through the town.



Saturday morning, a crabber checking the pots, a beautiful sunrise. Along the main road of the town there are platforms on tall poles with the nests of ospreys.

Our display...we made some special items just for the area.

Thought this was so cute. A young couple were trying to sell puppies. They had the crate on a hand truck. I then thought of why we had never bred any of our dogs...I would never have been able to sell them and we would have ended up with a house full of cocker spaniels.

Saturday night the town had a fireworks display off the end of the town pier. The town made for a wonderful weekend for visitors with several parades, live music, a carnival and fireworks. If you get a chance to visit this river town, take it.

I think maybe we are just getting "too old" to do shows in the heat...Unfortunately one can't control the weather!

Getting Ready for Another Show...

Several years ago we participated in an arts and craft show in the town of Colonial Beach, VA. Friends had done the spring show there and talked us into doing the one in the fall with them. What a quaint, little town filled with beautiful old buildings, many of which have been turned into B&B's. It sits on the Potomac River and as we set up on the beach for the show early in the morning, we watched the sun come up.

The booths were set up in the sand and customers strolled the boardwalk in search of unique handmade items.

There are wonderful old houses throughout the town, some large Victorians and some tiny beach cottages.

And at the end of the day more beautiful views.

So we are planning on setting up for the spring show, the Potomac River Festival. I believe this one is set up in a park, very near the beach. This time Lou and I will be sure to slop on the sunscreen more than once a day. Eventhough we were under the tents, we looked like cooked lobsters from the glare of the sun off the sand and water by the end of the day.

We've been working on special signs for this show such as Welcome to our Rivah House (which was a special request from one of the locals there)...Life is Good on the River...and
Colonial Beach, Virginia Incorporated 1892.

Thinking of maybe staying an extra day or so after the show to ready get to enjoy strolling through the town.

Cadmium in Shrek Glasses Heads Up

Just heard on the news the Shrek glasses that Mcdonalds has been giving out contain cadmium which, with extended exposure, can affect the kidneys and cause bone softening. The doctor speaking of this said it is worse than being exposed to lead. I actually thought about getting some of those glasses for Dylan, thinking when he got older he might like them. Glad that I didn't get around to doing that.

May Photos of My Darlin' Dylan

Dylan and his Dad...Look at his face, he just loved the swing. Told "Gramps" after seeing this that we need to replace the swing he made for the girls when they were little. It was in the old oak tree in the backyard for years and the branch it was tied to died about 5 years ago. When the branch was taken down so was the swing.

Dylan and his cousins from North Carolina...Kylie and Kiersten

Don't you just love those little toes?

Tomorrow is my day this week to watch him...can't wait to kiss those chubby cheeks!
He's going to hate these posts when he gets older!

For the Greatest Man I Ever Knew

Father's day is June 20th and here are several ideas for that most important guy.

A personalized Man Cave Sign measures 8x24 inches.

For the man whose tools are borrowed and never returned.
Lou is thinking of starting a sign out book for the shop.

And this one is especially true for my husband...just ask Dylan!

For more Dad Stuff visit
http://www.countryworkshop.net/