A D&G Production

Today was our Dylan day this week. We try to find a special something to do with him on these days and today Dylan and Gramps made a bird feeder out of an empty plastic jar, like the one that holds Lucy's treats.

We soaked the jar in soapy water to remove the label.

Gramps attached wire around the top of the jar to make a hanger.

Next holes were drilled for the perches and an inch above the perches
holes were drilled for the birds to be able get to the seed.

Dylan asked his Gramps if he could hold the drill.

He checked out the handle attachment.

Then he helped his Grandfather sand the dowels that would be used as the perches.

The dowels were put through the jar.

Another inspection...

The "boys" the filled the jar with bird seed.

Dylan screwed on the lid...

and outside he marched

to hang it on the hook where we had our feeders.

We'll have to wait and see if the birds like it.

The feeder went home with him tonight.

Looking forward to having Mariah with us soon
on upcoming grandchildren days.

Gardening Cheaper Than Therapy

 Thought I had lost this painted fern over the winter but old faithful is showing her colors again.  She was a little late popping through the soil but I was happy she made it over the winter and I will get to say hello everyday on my way to the studio.  

Gardening...It's Cheaper Than Therapy

What's for Dinner?

Between 4-5 pm every afternoon, my dear husband asks, "Have you thought about dinner?" I hate those words.  After a long day in the shop, I hate to think about making dinner.  So I look for easy.  Found this recipe on Pinterest from http://realmomkitchen.com/.  We had it with a salad, Lou liked it and it was quick and easy.

Italian Crescent Casserole

     

Ingredients

1lb ground beef, cooked and drained
1 cup garlic pasta sauce
1can (8oz) Pillsbury refrigerator crescent dinner rolls
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves

 Instructions

1. In skillet, mix cooked beef and pasta sauce. Heat over medium heat until warm.
2. Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place dough in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate in spoke pattern, with narrow tips overlapping rim of plate about 3 inches.
3. Press dough in side and bottom of pan to form crust and cover the pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese over dough in the pan.
4. Spoon meat mixture evenly over cheese.
5. Bring tips of dough over filling to meet in center.
6. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the dish followed by the basil. Bake at 375°F 15-20 minutes.

Streetcars in Baltimore

I know I am dating myself, but I do remember riding on a yellow streetcar on Belair Road, the street in these photos, when I was a child.  My parents had one car and my Dad took the took the car to work.  There were many days when my Mother would take my brother, sister and me to my grandparents house on the streetcar.

 photo credit Kevin Mueller

We would walk to the corner of Belair Road and Glenmore Avenue, ride the street car into the city, and spend the afternoon visiting.  My Father would meet us there after work, we'd have dinner with my grandparents and my Mother's two sisters and we would drive home together.

  photo credit Kevin Mueller

The photo above is Belair Road in Overlea, MD.  Just about two blocks north of this section of the road was the car barn, where the streetcars followed the track around the building to go south again.

  photo credit Kevin Mueller

I am just thrilled to have found these photographs of the Overlea area where I grew up.  So many wonderful memories.  I believe the streetcars in Baltimore were replaced around 1963 with buses.  Thinking a trip to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum might be a good idea one day this spring.

To Crochet...

My daughter Meagan is an amazing artist and I have always been so proud of her accomplishments. We have had lovely paintings, sculptures, photographs and even a wooden coffin with photos printed on glass of sculptures from Green Mount Cemetery decorating our home. She has a degree in fine arts from MICA and now works there.

Several months ago she decided to teach herself how to crochet.  I think she was inspired to try because there are so many babies joining our family this spring.  The photo above is a hat for her cousin Jamie's son to be born baby boy Braden.  She made a beautiful blanket for her new niece Mariah. I do wish I had a photo of that to share.  Another project was a bear hat with ears for cousin Mike's new baby, John Henry, and a baby blanket for Jillian, her cousin Nick's baby girl.
I am impressed that she taught her self to crochet although
this should not be a surprise to me, as she has always been able to do anything
she sets her mind to do since she was 2 years old. 

Let's Mulch It!

This is a what my dear husband brought home for me today...a trailer full of mulch. He got out the pitchfork, two different shovels and the wheelbarrow. Then he promptly took off in his truck with his brother.  I weeded and mulched and weeded and mulched and was able to get  much accomplished but still have lots more to do.  I just hope this old body will be able to get out of bed tomorrow. Already feeling a bit stiff and sore.  It's going to be raining for the next day or two, but the very next nice day I do believe I should flatten the old man's tires so he has to help me finish the gardens.

Raindrops

We've had brush fires here in Maryland for the last several weeks as. Very unusual for this time of year, but we have had a very unusual winter and spring. For weeks we haven't had any real amount rain, sometimes a sprinkle over night but only enough to make the top of the grass blades wet and under the trees, the wet stuff never made it to the ground. Tuesday I finally pulled out the sprinklers to give the grass a drink and Lou washed both the truck and the car because they had a yellow/green coating of pollen dust. That was like doing a rain dance. Yesterday was a wonderful drizzly, rainy day giving the raindrops a chance to soak into the soil. This will make it much easier to pull weeds later today.

Finishing my last swallow of coffee and will be heading up to the shop. Have orders to fill, including several like the sign below, in different colors...so many babies being born this spring into the family and the Moms all want one for their nurseries.


www.countryworkshop.net

Fun Filled Tuesday

Yesterday, was a long day. Lou and I met my dear friend Bonnie for breakfast at Bob Evans. Holly joined us with the children so Bonnie could see Baby Mariah and to hand off the D Boy to us for the day. Had a lovely time time at breakfast. Bonnie was able to cuddle with the baby...and she needs the practice as her daughter Erin will be having a baby girl next month.

We then took Dylan to the Wild Bird Center to pick up bird seed and a new goldfinch feeder. He was fascinated with the bubbly water fountains

and the whirligigs outside the store...pick me up Gramps

We went home and played in the dirt...watered the garden, and Dylan and me

While I was cooking dinner, I set up the laptop for him to watch Donald Duck cartoons and when I turned around from the stove I found him sound asleep. We also did some face painting, as you can see the moon on his face...the other cheek had a star and his arm had a green snake.

But before he fell asleep I noticed Dylan's right eye was a little bloodshot...within an hour he had green goo running out of that eye and 20 minutes later...the other eye was the same. Called Holly and said, "I think Dylan has pick eye so give the pediatrician a call." The baby woke up with it this morning. I spent the morning wiping every surface I remember the child touching yesterday but I'm sure it's probably far too late for that as we were
receiving hugs and kisses all day yesterday.

Off to the mirror to check my eyeballs...I'll take a look at Lou's eyes as I run through the wood shop on my way to the mirror in the bathroom. No green goo so far.

Coloring Glass Bottles and Jars

I believe this is something I'm gonna have to try. It says it's waterproof and I'm thinking I can color some jars and have them on hand for the summer to use as vases when I want take flowers from the garden to friends and family.

You can find the directions for this on mydesignfolder.com

A Perfect Day...

Hope you all had a perfect Easter Day.

Our day was wonderful. The weather was beautiful and we had brunch here at home with
some of our favorite people.

Dylan was thrilled with how his magic beans had grown.

Our sweet little Mariah J was adorable in her bunny hoodie and got to meet her great aunts and uncles who hadn't gotten to see this baby bunny before.

We had an egg hunt and Darlin' D had a grand time gathering all the eggs.

And Lou and I discovered that preparing brunch for a houseful of family and helping the Easter Bunny with egg hiding duty isn't as easy as it use to be. After everyone left for their next Easter Day stop, we cleaned up the kitchen and then sat down in the living room to relax a bit. We woke up several hours later. We must be gettin' old!

Magic Beans

Last weekend, after coloring eggs for Easter, a Little Boy and his Great Grandmother planted magic beans...beans that were the colors of the rainbow.

Although many were planted, the Little Boy thought, "These beans are so pretty, I think I must eat a few to be sure they are as tasty as they appear. "

The Little boy then took the pot of magic beans outside in the sunshine to cover them with soil and push them way into the pot to be sure they would grow.

He tapped, tapped, tapped the soil to be sure the beans would be nice and snug in the pot.

Just in time for Easter, the magic beans grew into lovely large lollipops that are the color of the rainbow. On Easter morning the Little Boy will see how the magic beans grew into such beautiful and tasty treats.

From our Family to Your Family
Wishes for a Beautiful Easter

The Dogwood

This morning, when I let Lucy out, I noticed how many flowers my dogwoods have this year. I'm sure that is due to the mild winter we had.
The trees should be in full bloom for Easter Sunday.


Several years after we moved into our house, Lou came home with 2 small dogwood trees as a gift for me. That was over 35 years ago. My Mom had planted 2 or 3 dogwood trees in the backyard of the house where I grew up and I always knew I would want one in the garden of my home. On my wedding day the trees were in full bloom and photos were taken of the bridesmaids and the bride, posed in front of the large white flowering trees.


It is fitting that the dogwood trees will be flowering fully for Easter.


I found the dogwood story on http://www.care2.com

The story goes that when Jesus was awaiting crucifixion and when the crosses were being made the trees begged God to spare them, but the Dogwood begged not for it's life but for the life of Jesus.

The Roman soldiers picked the Dogwood.

The Dogwood pleaded with God to use another wood but God did not intervene. The Dogwood would now carry the body of Christ to his death and the Dogwood knew that for all eternity Dogwoods would be known for this horror.

God in his wisdom spoke to the Dogwood and understood the tree; in that time Dogwoods were tall straight trees that provided sturdy timber for homes and vessels, safety for the animals. bowls for food, utensils to cook with; and God spoke.

God told the Dogwood that the burden that was carried would be carried only one time, and from that time on Dogwoods would be knarly small trees with poor timber size so not Dogwood could be used in this manner again, God told the Dogwood that the Dogwoods would now be responsible for eternity to help people remember.

The Dogwood would only bloom for a very short time before and after the date of the crucifixion, the flower would have just 4 petals representing the hands and feet of Christ, they would be marked with a hole and the blood of Christ and the center of the flower would be circular raised and represent the head of Christ wearing the crown of thorns.

And so it is today, the Dogwood is a small twisted tree, it blooms at Easter and the flower....well look for yourself.