What I Been Up To The Past Few Weeks

I'm so happy, happy, happy to have my computer back up and running as of today! Hooray! My hanging baskets are overflowering with the Pansies and Begonias I planted in them in early Spring. My yard is exploding with bright, vivid, vibrant colors. Along the fence, my yellow Daylilies are blooming like there's no tomorrow. Tee-Hee. Which there isn't if you're a Daylily.

'The whole of life lies in the verb seeing." ~Teilhard De Chardin

This past weekend we went to the annual Melrose Plantation Arts & Crafts Festival near Natchitoches.

http://www.caneriverheritage.org/main_file.php/melrose.php/

(Kelly, Pammy & Quid, it's close to where we stayed along Cane River last year.) This beautiful lady is Ms. Alma, a retired school teacher from Minden, Louisiana who is a fabulous primitive artist. We bought one of her paintings of an angel with a dove on her shoulder. She was kind enough to pose for me and tell me how her friend made that amazing dress for her although she did the intricate handwork herself. We lived a few years in Minden and she may have taught one of my daughters. She had a joie de vivre like no one I've met in a long time. I really admired her for wearing that period costume because it got into the mid-90's by noon!



One of my favorite parts of the festival is re-visiting the magnificent old trees which provide much appreciated shade. If this one could talk, I'm sure it would sprout stories as numerous as its leaves!


This is a partial shot of the front of the plantation. That's Taylor, April and Ray posing for me. I always forget to get a pic of myself. Ha-Ha!


I acquired a new kitten last week. This is Romeo (see the cool little soul-patch on this chin) hanging with Cody. The very day April gave him to me, he immediately took to Cody. God bless that dog. Surely, he was a cat in a past life. He just loves kittens and they worship him right back. Romeo has no tail---well, it's a nub of a tail. He's a bobtailed cat. I named him Romeo because the minute I picked him up at April's house, he began purring very loudly and shamelessly flirting with me. She wouldn't let me have him, but later changed her mind and brought him to my house. Just what I need, another cat!

One of my showy Sunflowers. They're almost bloomed out now, but I'm planting more seeds today. We planted an Orange tree a few weeks ago and it already has tiny oranges on it. I hope it survives. I've been babying it and giving it lots of water, compost and love.

The snowy, tiny, white Yarrow flower with it's feathery green leaves. One of my favorite herbs to grow. I made my own Yarrow sticks for practicing the I Ching one year. Yarrow flowers have long, sturdy stems.

"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware---joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." ~Henry Miller

And I leave you with a photo of April's latest work of art. It's a large painting of her sitting with pages from her favorite books and comic art (Emily the Strange) decoupaged onto the canvas. She's so talented! See you all again soon. I've got to go read blogs now and get caught up!!!

Hugs, Blessings and Love,

~Marion

"The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair." ~Walker Percy

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"Why tell animals living in the water to drink?"

--West African Proverb