Little marble chaser toy

This is the latest marble chaser Galen finished making and I just painted. It's a little marble chaser compared to the much bigger ones he's used to making. It's table top size and small enough to put on a table or desk, or put away on a shelf in a closet. Children love playing with them, and it's also a good thing to have around for the grandchildren.

You can find this on my etsy shop whimsytwo.

Below is a short video to show you how it works.

A collection of paperweights

Over the years I have collected paperweights and I think what started it all was my love for color and colored glass. I can remember when I was young how I would pick up a piece of broken colored glass on the ground and hold it up to the sunlight. I was always in awe of the beautiful stained glass windows in our church too. I get lost in the colors!


So how can I resist!
Such a beautiful little piece of art!

A gallery trip

On the weekend Galen and I drove to Rocky Mount and visited the Mims Art Gallery at the North Carolina Wesleyan College. The featured artist was an acquaintance so we thought we would take a trip and see her art. We've never driven around the campus at Wesleyan College before so I thought I'd take some pictures of that too.

This was a large tapestry on the wall inside the gallery.

Susan Fecho is the artist and this is some of her work.

The artist resides in historic Tarboro, North Carolina, and an art professor at Barton College in Wilson, NC.

Otis and Riley's 5 meme...

Otis and Riley were tagged for 5 meme from sweet Benny @ postedfromhome. Thank you Benny!

5 favorite songs...

1. Under the Tuscan Sun (while napping)

2. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

3. What a Wonderful World

4. Some classical music

5. Some jazz

5 favorite toys...

1. Old stuffed squirrel

2. Any stuffed animal

3. Empty plastic soda bottles

4. Warm blankets

5. Squeaky toys

5 things you love to eat...

1. Dog food

2. Beef treats

3. Doggie crackers

4. Carrots

5. Leaves

5 favorite activities...

1. Riding in the car

2. Running around at the rec center

3. Soaking up the sun

4. Taking walks

5. Napping on the back of the sofa

5 bad habits...

1. Digging holes in the back yard

2. Barking at the squirrels

3. Barking at the birds

4. Barking at anyone that comes in the house

5. Barking at any movement they see outside the front window

So now Otis and Riley will pass this on. But since we only know Dasher over at sunnispace, we will just tag him and hope he plays along with this fun game!

Sunshine

Another post on sunshine, does this tell you something about me? Sometimes I think I should be living on a tropical island somewhere where it's sunny and mild all the time. Anyway, the brightness woke me early this morning peeking through the bedroom window, and I knew it was going to be a good day. Any day with sunshine is a good day for me! So I poured my coffee and sat with Otis and Riley for a few minutes. They always want me to sit with them first thing; it's a ritual we go through every morning; Otis on my lap and Riley snuggled beside me. This is when I get a chance to read.

So after a few cups of coffee, I managed to get some cleaning done and put a roast in the oven. Otis and Riley found a sunny spot in the study which I thought was so cute. Otis looks like he's soaking it up and Riley is working on a bone. They follow the sun around the house almost as much as I do in the winter.

Below is a "sunshine" sign I painted that hangs on the back porch.

Well, that roast is beginning to smell absolutely divine and I'm looking forward to hubby coming home this evening after a hectic week on the road.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Morning sun

I just had to capture the sunshine coming in on the back porch this morning! It was so bright and cast the prettiest shadows.

~ just lifts my spirits!

Decorating books

Yesterday, Mary over at little red house, had a posting on her favorite decorating books. I too love decorating books and magazines so this morning, with coffee in hand, I headed for my cozy spot by the fireplace with my favorite decorating books, and of course, Otis and Riley by my side. Two that I usually read over and over are Cottage Retreats by Lisa Jill Schlang, and Garden Style Decorating a Sunset book which I picked up at Lowes some time ago.

So I enjoyed some morning time getting lost in the pages of beautiful rooms and gardens.

Paintings

I just finished two more paintings. A big bright cheery sunflower and a pretty ivy topiary. These will be framed and put on my etsy shop.

sunflower on paper, 5 x7

ivy topiary on paper, 4 x 6

Have a great day!

Hearts

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, these are some heart decorations that can be found in little corners of my house.

A silver filigree heart I found at the thrift shop...

A picture frame of hubby and me on the bulletin board...

A glass blown heart ornament from my sister...

A homemade heart from my granddaughter...

A glass heart ornament from my son-in-laws mother ...

and a heart that I painted, now on my etsy shop.

Happy day to you!

Otis and Riley

This is a video of Otis and Riley playing in their blankets. I had just laundered the blankets and took them out of the dryer and put them down on the living room floor. They were in them immediately. They play like this together all the time.

Happiness

The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.
Henry Ward Beecher


Have a great weekend!

Brrrrrrrrr

It was so cold out this morning I thought I'd go out and warm the water in the bird bath.

Then I put some seed out for the birds.

This is my favorite piece of yard art. It's a beautiful stepping stone my granddaughter made for me with her little palm print on it and decorated just so. It makes me happy everytime I go out in the garden.

Then it was back to reading some more of Rosamunde Pilcher's "Carousel". She's one of my favorite authors and this was one I hadn't read before.

Hope you all have an enjoyable day!

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality. Thank you Rhoda! The rules are I have to list 4 things about me and then tag 4 more people. Ok!

4 jobs I've had
attorney's office

public defender's office

state and county probation/parole offices

conference center

4 movies I watch over and over

You've Got Mail

Under the Tuscan Sun

The Lake House

Must Love Dogs

4 places I've lived

Cape May, NJ

Elizabeth City, NC

Lancaster, PA

Greensboro, NC

4 tv shows I watch

Home & Garden

Survivor

CSI

House

4 places I've been

Key West

Cozemel, Mexico

San Francisco

New York

4 people who email me regularly

hubby

my one daughter

my other daughter

my niece

4 favorite things to eat

scallops

subs

butterscotch sundae

peach pie

4 places I'd rather be

the beach

a book store/coffee shop

on a road trip

Italy

4 things I look forward to this year

more painting

gardening

going to the beach

going on a road trip

4 people I will tag

I am going to tag:

Jen at sunnispace

Mary at littleredhouse

Julie at farmerjulie

Suzanne at painterofthepast

So that's enough about me! Hope everyone has a great day!

Another little painting

I just finished another one! These little paintings are so much fun to do. I decided to paint a sunflower, since for some reason I have flowers on my mind right now. Rosie over at rosieswhimsy has just done a posting on some of the paintings I've done. She's bought a few and gave some away for gifts. Go over and visit her to see more. (thank you Rosie!) I will be putting this little sunflower on my etsy shop.

These are little free standing paintings done on wood.

"Seven Things Meme"

I've been tagged for the "seven things" meme from Kate over at ourredhouse. I'm to list seven random and/or wierd things about me. Ok, here they are.

1. I've had secretarial jobs all my life. I've worked for attorneys and public defenders. I've worked for county and state probation/parole offices and I've worked at a conference center.

2. I was a majorette in high school. I twirled fire baton in parades and at football games.

3. I grew up in a small town, Mount Joy (Lancaster County) Pennsylvania, met my husband there, he entered the US Coast Guard, we married, and both of our girls were born in North Carolina while hubby was still in the service

4. My favorite flower is (actually I have two) ~ sweet peas and daisies.

5. I carry vintage cotton hankies in all of my purses and bags.

6. I collect paperweights.

7. I love a road trip.

So there you have it! I am to pass this on to seven more people, but most of the ones I was going to choose have just recently done this, so I hope you will just enjoy mine, and wishing you all a very happy day!