On Becoming G.G....

Way back, many years ago, I had a child, followed in rapid succession by three more of the same. They were wonderful, it was hectic, but they all grew up. Next came grandchildren, six in all. They, too, were wonderful, and their parents handled the hectic part.

Then, two and a half years ago, wonderful took on a new meaning with the birth of my first great-grandchild. I soon began to understand the use of GREAT as a prefix. Those of you who follow my daughter's blog, the hellhole diaries, know him as t-willie. To me he is just plain Toby.

I was waiting outside the delivery room when he was born and held him in his first hour of life. I've watched him grow from a tiny baby to an active toddler who surprises us every day with his antics. Unlike the grands who grew up living far from me, he is only 15 minutes away, and always accessible. He calls his mother, "mama", his grandmother, "gammie", and me, "G.G.", short for great-grandmother. When he wants to see me smile, he calls me "geej" or "geejer"...

He fills my life with wonder and my heart with love. In the years to come, hopefully there will be many more great-grands, and they, too, will be wonderful, but I'll always remember that it was Toby who taught me the true meaning of GREAT!!

Flutterby

Flutter by and check out these great butterfly creations from my TEAMEPE team mates. All of these shops are part of EtsyProjectEmbrace and donate to the American Cancer Society. Click on the above links to see how you can help.

botanicalbird-garden themed jewelry

beckandcallgirl- fiber arts supplies

blacksheepdesigns-be different

caelum-handmade paper goods

Rough Magic Creations-handmade in Maine

5gardenias-vintage

adornbyamysingley-unique artisan jewelry




Butterfly photos were taken by me in my yard last summer.

The Colors of Nature

I'm not sure why, because I neither knit nor crochet, but I just love all the handspun, hand dyed yarns on Etsy. I often search them out and use them in my Treasuries. While trying to think of an interesting way to post some of my macro flower photos, I thought of how nature is so often the inspiration for colors:

SPRUNG?

Spring has sprung; finally!! Is there really such a word??

After the coldest and snowiest winter in many years, temps are mellowing and bulbs are sending up their pretty flowers to make us smile. All along the old stone wall between my upper and lower front yards, the daffodils they call buttercups here in Tennessee are multiplying daily. As soon as the snow melted, there were four inch budded stems just waiting to be uncovered. I sometimes wonder just how many years they have been returning to put on their show. I've been here 28 years and they were here long before me.

As I walked around the yard this morning, observing all the yardwork that I will soon have to tackle, I couldn't help but think how the changing seasons are something we can always count on. Used to be when I was younger, fall was my favorite; a time to relax after the long hot summer days of gardening, picking, canning, freezing, and trying to stay cool. But now I don't do much of that any more, and my AC follows me from home to car to work. So, as beautiful as fall is, I do believe that spring now takes first place for me. Seems that every day there is something new to catch my eye; tiny pink buds on the redbud trees, soft green ones on the maples, and emerging flowers everywhere.

I am very fortunate to live on 25 acres of mostly wooded mountainside overlooking a beautiful valley, and even more fortunate that I love to work in the yard and dig in the dirt. Last summer, I finally began to realize that my flower beds were too far-reaching and somewhat beyond my ability to care for them all. Not to worry! I just began digging up plants and moving them closer to the house. I really can't imagine a home without flowers or a year without seasons...

"Old" Friends

Among the more than 200 caring members of
TEAMEPE, there are several vintage sellers including me. Although we do not claim the artistic talents and creative juices of our handmade sellers, we do cultivate the knowledge required to search out, identify, age, and price the treasures we sell.

(Thanx KarmicBook for the use of your "OLD FRIENDS" print!)

Here are a few interesting listings from some of my favorites:

opendoorstudio





ProsperosBookshelf



goldnuggets




5gardenias

terabg

tmariepenrose

Antiqueish

The Other Bella

Bella came to live with us several months ago, soon after we had lost our black German shepherd, Heidi, to diabetes and blindness. We had come to love the breed, and so would settle for nothing less. It took some extensive dog shopping, but we finally found a white German shepherd that we felt would fill the gap. Since Bella weighed in at almost 60lbs. and could put her front paws on my shoulders in jubilation, I never quite accepted the fact she was just a puppy. It didn't take long, though, for that to become apparent. All she wanted to do was play!! With me, with my husband, with the cats, and with anyone who happened to stop by. The first time she saw snow, she raced around the yard snapping at the flakes and sliding down the hills. Anything left lying around the yard was fair game to Bella; a bucket, a rag, a newspaper. She soon began gathering her "toys" into a pile on the hill behind the house. EVERYTHING was a game to her...and still is.

Now that she will be a year old next month, she has become an integral part of our family. She is often too rambunctious, always unruly, sometimes troublesome, but through it all, full of unconditional love. I've had one dog or another through most of my life and suspect I like it that way...

Hickory Haven

Way back in 1998 when I bought my first computer, long before the days of blogs, my son taught me html and how to make a webpage. I titled it Hickory Haven since I live in a rural community called Hickory Valley. I started out with a bio and moved on to my flowers, my pond (which he and I built), and eventually, my travels, including our unforgettable Australia trip in 2000. It now has 25-30 pages, lots of photos, and a couple of slideshow/photo albums. My only regret is that the earliest pages include photos taken before I owned a digital camera. Recently I added a page telling about my Etsy shop, and last night I included a blurb about my team, Etsy Project Embrace or TEAMEPE.

Now that I'm a blogger and have discovered the ease of an html editor which does most of the work for you, I wonder at all the effort it took to complete these pages. Looking back, though, I feel an immense sense of accomplishment, far greater than that I feel when google helps me add a new post to my blog.