Some Fun with a Sewing Machine

About a week ago, inspired by a postcard my cousin Terrie sent me, I made a few small collages that combined rubber stamping, color copies of old photos, handmade paper, tickets, doilies, and machine stitching. It was quite a lot of fun. Here are a couple of samples. These measure about four inches by five inches.

Ruffles, Ridges, Twists, and Tangles

Iris opening…

A dead tree trunk…

Edge of a cardinal feather…

Raindrops on leaves…

Poison ivy…

and part of a neighbor’s trash.

It’s Official.

Spring is here. Ramps are breaking out all over. Arla and I spent a lovely hour or so on a hillside in Pocahontas County, digging enough for a supper of chicken enchiladas with ramps. Good eating tonight!

Fun in the Snow

I am visiting friends in Batesville, VA and we are enjoying a spring snowstorm. It won’t last long, but it’s beautiful and fun while it’s here. We had a lovely walk, and then we built a snow-bunny. It fell over and smashed, but not before we took this photo. (The eyes are almond cookies.)

 

In the Bleak Midwinter

Actually, it has not been bleak. Some days it has been sunny and beautiful—but cold! We haven’t had much of this frigid weather in southern West Virginia this winter, and I welcomed the three-day excursion into the teens and twenties, not the least because of the ice sculptures that appeared along the Carriage Trail. Here are few more examples:

 

 

 

 

Snowdrops and Raindrops

Today was the day. I have been watching a little patch of earth along the Carriage Trail for the past week or two, wondering whether last week’s spell of warm weather would bring out the snowdrops. The first green blades began to appear about four days ago. And then the weather turned cooler again; we’re actually having seasonable temperatures. I like the cold.

Snowdrops must be okay with cold weather, too. Once they decide to bloom, freezing temperatures don’t seem to daunt them.

Today was a drizzly, dreary day, and I almost talked myself out of walking up the hill. Had I done so, I would have missed this first flower, bejeweled with raindrops. It made the walk worthwhile.

Something always does.

 

Happy New Year from Harpers Ferry

I spent the few days leading up to this New Year in Harpers Ferry, visiting with my friend Neal, playing many games of Scrabble, walking all over town, discovering a wonderful local public library in Bolivar (adjacent to Harpers Ferry) and an incredibly good bakery, Royalicious, in a shopping mall between Harpers Ferry and Charles Town.

I’m not kidding about that bakery. If you are up to eating a flaky-yet-substantial pastry crescent that is stuffed full of marzipan, topped with sliced almonds, and dipped in dark chocolate—a pastry that will hold you until supper—this is the place to find it.

The whole downtown area of Harpers Ferry is part of a national historical park, and it’s a charming place to walk. The first two of these pictures were made on a bright and breezy day. On New Year’s Eve the weather turned grey, and it seemed appropriate to stroll through the old Harper Cemetery.