A friend stopped by

Right in the middle of a long computer glitsch session

Karen brought Tulips from her garden, Biscotti cookies she baked yesterday, Choke Cherry Preserves  (hers are the most delicious) and Parsnip seeds for my garden.

Wishing you a good friend, just when you need one.

Have a great weekend, my dear  blogging friends

Gina

The unannounced contest

A surprise Contest

 Out of the kiln this morning
and the winner is Mark of
AllThingsRuffnerian

Mark had the best answer to my previous blog post

Mark I think that you like the unusual

so I'm sending you this 6x6 inch tile. A place to rest your coffee cup upon.

Gina

Want to be admired?

Instant Hero status with this amazing "no knead bread"

It was a success the very first time I tried it

I've been baking it ever since, only 4 ingredients required: flour, yeast, salt and water.

How do you feel about  blog posts  accompanied by music.  Do you find it distracting or do you welcome it?  I would like to know.

Gina

Easter Dinner

Christine and Steven are coming for Easter Dinner Tonight

The Menu, Cornish Game Hens baked in the Roemer Topf

Do you think that they will notice if I switch their name plates around?

Happy Easter my dear Blogging Friends!

Do you still use name plates?

Gina



New Discoveries

Every Year I make a new discovery

This winter I discovered that I can grow Icelandic Poppies in my unheated greenhouse

Now I can add Poppies to my sky blue Petunias and orange and yellow Nasturtiums

Poppies of many colors

There is always something blooming in my greenhouse, always enough to brighten the dinner table.

And in my Garden?  There have been a few snowdrops

And today, my very first Daffodils

Have a wonderful Sunday, my dear blogging Friends

Gina

What a handsome little Fellow

His Mother loves him and so do we

Only a few hours old

What makes this little fellow so special?  He is a Miniature Hereford, a recognized, registered breed.

Her name is April and this is her first calf.

For now, I have named him King George.

But he is not mine, he belongs to our neighbors, Karen and John.

Happy Spring

Gina

Hand Paintd Easter Eggs

It's the perfect time to get out your paints

And paint a few Easter Eggs 

I paint Duck eggs, they drop them willy nilly all around our pond.  We also supplement our chicken feed with Abalone shells.  Eggs are not as fragile.

Maybe throw in a few golden eggs, antiqued to make them more interesting

Place them into a bowl, hang them into a few forced blossoms or hide them under a cloche, on a bed of fresh moss.

 And if you have a little extra time why not gild a few eggs.  I will show you how

here and my goose that laid the golden egg here

Paint with a lot of different colors and don't forget the important white.

They don't have to be Faberge eggs, just begin and have a lot of fun.

Gina

Art in Bloom

An event held at the Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

I was invited to interpret a painting with flowers

The rose you see attached to the sword had to last for the duration of the Exhibit.  I dried many a red rose in sand from the Great Salt Lake to match the exact color of the ribbon on his chest.

Only a few Floral Designers were invited to participate from our Salt Lake City area.  I was one of them.

Making these exotic flowers last for an entire week was a challenge.  They had to be "conditioned" properly.

The German Officer's  sword was given to Gene from a very dear Friend.

The antique French Urn was purchased many years ago.

Floral Designers, Rob W. McFarland and Jerry Stanger

Floral Designer, Amy Lewis, Diane Donahue, Peggy McLean, Carrol Mitchel, Lake Roland Garden Club

Floral Designers, Barbara Baldwin, Georgia Grey, Garden Club of Denver

Floral Designer, Holly Clark Wright

Gina

From the book entitled "Art in Bloom" by Victoria Jane Ream

Photography by Sjur Fedje

Publisher-Deseret Equity

I'm not jealous

Why should I be?

We woke up to fluffy, pure white snow this morning.

So go ahead and show me your beautiful Spring flowers.  I do have an Icelandic Poppy blooming in my greenhouse!

Was it only yesterday that the sun was shining brightly.  By noon today the snow will have melted and the little lambs will again frolic in the sun.

Have a lovely weekend my dear blogging friends

Gina

Little Things mean a Lot

One hundred years ago,  a simple little farmhouse stood on this piece of land. Earlier than that, Native Americans (Indianer) used the area around our pond as a meeting place.  The simple farmhouse was abandoned and permission was given for our local volunteer fire department to use the structure for fire practice. 

So, it is not unusual for us to find a few artifacts now and then.

Yesterday, Gene brought in a little treasure to show me.  He found it at the edge of our pond.  It was filled with mud.

Gene filled it with little white snowdrops...to keep me company while I was painting tiles for a new client

Little Things mean a Lot

Gina  

Girlfriends came from the City today

Very special friends came for Lunch

There may be snow outside, but my greenhouse always provides flowers for the table

My lovely friend Joanne used to own an antiques shop called "Arsenic and Old Lace".  Joanne collected fine antique linens.  She not only collected them, she truly loved them.  Joanne would spend hours on one cloth making sure that time had not left too many marks 

Champagne was on ice

Joanne brought a large box of beautiful antique linens

So that I could pick and choose

And so I did

This tablecloth may be my favorite

All the while, a large pot of home made chicken soup was waiting on the stove.

Do you collect antique linens and do you use them?

Gina

Today I'm joining http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
Today I'm linking to  http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/
Today I'm linking to  http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Out of the Kiln this morning

A typical firing

Tiles, bowls plates and then some, all fit into one firing.

Intentional flaws created with wax resist to give more character.

Pyrometric cones are used to check temperature during firing.  Cones are programmed for precise temperatures.  I fire to cone 06 which should reach to about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.  The unused cone (on far left) is placed into the kiln during the firing process.  The cone in the middle shows that my kiln is firing too hot.  The shape of the cone on the right is perfect.  I made the adjustment before firing by changing the firing schedule to cone 07. 

Everything fired perfectly.

Come for a visit and I will show you how.

Gina