(Way Cool) DIY Project

DIY 1920's Decorative Window (poster)

Vintage Window Art(1920's); Decorate 'as you wish.'

Crackled White Paint Patina (that I love); 1920 Window Art

A Decorative Valance of Vintage Napkins (they were folded and kept by my mother-in-law Barbara Powell :-) )

Add Any Decorative Items of Your Choice...

This was a $5.00 'find' at an antique fair rummage in Oshkosh, Wisconsin purchased 

the weekend of the (now famous) large antique 44th (!) annual car show in Iola, 
Wisconsin. Hang on study wire and hangers for a decorative reminder of 
better days gone by. Add vintage iron hooks to hang dried flower bunches or 
vintage lace or delicate vintage hand towels of your favorite fabric of the era from the bottom...Change the decorations to suit your fancy and for each holiday! 

Or line from behind with decorative vintage wallpaper for a sleeker,  

altogether different look.

lg :-)

Happy Garden!

The 2016 Garden Through the Window...

Fabulous Squash Plants

Fabulous Squash Plants All Lined Up in the Early Evening...  

Plantings in this, our happy 2016 garden in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are as follows.

Fairy Tale Eggplant

Big Whopper Eggplant

Dusky Eggplant

Pretty and Sweet Peppers

Yellow Squash

Zucchini

Early Bird Tomatoes

Better Boy Tomatoes

Wisconsin Tomatoes

Jalapeno Peppers

Sweet Pimento Peppers

Garden Salsa Peppers

Bell Peppers

Okra

Better Bell Peppers

Baron Red Bell Peppers

Sugar Snap Peas

Kuri Squash

Collard Greens

Peppermint Swiss Chard

Cauliflower

Scotch Bonnet Peppers

Purple Cabbage

Kale

Radicchio Lettuce

Beets

Broccoli 

(Watch for the produce to be photographed as it arrives...) :-)

My Patriotic Poem...:-) Happy, Blessed 4th of July to my 'U.S.er' friends...

(0n) Journeying Well       

Mountain beyond mountain-
all places we must go
Mountain beyond the one I'm climbing
preparing me, you know…
Mountain after mountain
each journey worth the climb
Mountain peak and mountain view
each one special, each one new
Horizon after horizon-
all calling me to push
venturing beyond what is safe
with limit after limit breached
and all upon this dusty foot…
Sunset after sunset
with color that never pales
Until I reach my resting place
pressing, I will prevail.
Mountain after mountain peak
and singing all the way
What I see from the valley fair
is calling out to me.
Mountains, limitless mountains
all standing in a row
Like soldiers they remind me of
places I have yet to go.
Glory upon glory
and wonders all around
I stand and gaze on mountain peaks
for this is hallowed ground.
Mountain after mountain peak
and pressing all the way
with story upon story to tell
I must be leaving-on my way.
Fair mountain you are a friend to me
I tuck you near my heart
Calling out to travelers everywhere
to up and run, to leave...depart!
Shake off the dust of yesteryear
And breath in something new
Fair mountain with one hid behind
is calling out to you...

So pack then, lightly friend-
brave travelers alike
And we will feast on mountain airs
on this, our lofty hike.
Soldier on, yes soldier on
and we will greet the day
Standing where our ancestry stood
stalwart, come what may.
Mountain fair, O Mountain friend
to you we rise and sing
all gathered 'round
as children clad
receive this-our offering.
Mountain looming, mountain next
to you we must away
and stand where our tomorrow shines
brighter than our yesterday.
Fair mountain on horizon, towering
you beckon to me and call...
I will conquer and upon you stand
for you are fairest of them all!

Arise, O slumbering nations!
and enter into rest...
Banishing strife and your warring cease
to receive this-our Maker's very best...
For we each are gentle warriors
on this, our Earthly home;
each precious day a gift on display
to unwrap, to discover and to humbly hold.

And treat this one time journey
just like a loving child...

held so sweetly to your breast

never left soiled, tired--undressed
And with a lightness in your step

run free, run brave, and run wild.  


© K. Annie Powell

Sweet petal of silk is my...

Front Yard Rose

Front yard rose
basking in the sun
Front yard rose
to see you is to come undone
Front yard rose
a bloom for passers-by
Front yard rose
sweet petal of silk is my
front yard rose.

Ode to a Wildflower Patch

Tiny purple patch
the smallest of wild flower
Tiny violet patch
quaking under the wind's power
Tiny blooming bunch
you rise to greet the day
Tiny cornflower stars of blue
you grace the first of May.

Luscious, precious petals,
four and a tiny face…
too small to gather in a bunch,
the mountain wood your vase.

Tiny violet bloom
alone up on the hill,
pressed in the pages of my heart
Remember you, I will.

(By K. Annie Powell)

Find

      A rare 4 leafer which I would like to dedicate to Christina Victoria Grimmie, a very young singer who has been in the news from 'The Voice' and from YouTube, who passed from this earth well before her time. I had just heard of the sad, sad news and was feeling low myself as a result. I do not know Christina, but I had watched her on 'The Voice' and even had voted for her to win her season, so I knew of her...I am a 'Voice' fan and have been for a few years. I went to sit down for a spell in the backyard and spied this unusual specimen almost immediately :-( It is for you, Christina (March 12, 1994 – June 10, 2016.)

After searching for about 20 years (in Boone, NC most recently) I looked down yesterday (in our own backyard that is now in Milwaukee, WI) and this was the second clover I laid my eyes on. It kind of dawned on me that sometimes it is the little things in life (that bring us comfort and perhaps, even joy...) and that can help us to carry on in spite of all of the turmoil, stress, and sadness in life that periodically comes like waves to sweep over us in our lifetime. This one is for Christina.

Architecture

...examples I love.

On our drives (out and about) from time to time I must stop and photograph great homes that intrigue me and that inspire. Here is one of them!

This is an actual 'shotgun' or 'row' home (that is for sale) on Main Street in Racine, WI.
Is it not fabulous?

What a compelling specimen of period architecture this is! This home was built in (here it is....) 1855!

Think about that! As my husband would say: "They knew how to build (things) back then!"

A Dutch roof (the house next door) drives me wild (as well.)

Cheers!

lg

Power outage for a day and one half and a tree split open!

                                                                                                        (This Sunday past...)

I'm exhausted. But we are OK! And our dog, Ginger (my big black collie) that ran right out under the tree just as it split and began to fall and then ended up trapped by it is OK, too.

 We seemed to dodge a bullet, thus far....

Karen 

How much can one...

                                                                                                     Red Church Front Door, Racine, WI 2016



...'love' a church (red) front door?

Excerpts from "55 Reasons."

The following is a writing I have never put "out there" before. Here are excerpts; numbers 17 through 23 from "55 Reasons;"  a piece I wrote nearly 12 years ago (now.) As you can most assuredly guess, they are 55 reasons...not to give up. Accompanying them are a series of photos to calm and to reassure. (I wrote this during and after a very difficult time in my life. They helped me pass through a firestorm of bad circumstance...)

                                                                                             (Asheville, NC church door)

                                                                                      (Small mountain waterfall somewhere near Boone, NC)

 17. R-E-L-E-A-S-E. Find and offer up your (own) individual 'release valve' and allow God to show you the mechanisms and the coping strategies for releasing negative energy, tension, all fear and every intonation(even...) of self-doubt. Release guilt. Face your past and release past memories that haunt you or bind you up. Release your anger from the past. Apprehend help in this process if you require it friend. There is no shame in this. We are all 'in process' (a little 'Wayne Dyer' here; :) how right he was...)

Finally, release your fears one by one-both the large 'monster' fears and the creepy-crawly ones.You must face your (own) fear friend. Own it. Face it. And subdue it.

Recognize that God Himself designed you with such  a release valve; He designed you with purpose, a set place and to here be released... to be... made... whole. Fully functioning and fully... 'released' in your wholeness. To be released is to be made whole.

                                                                      (Photo of a tree my husband took)

18. Recognize that man was born for adversity. From each day itself, there will arise trouble, that will be sufficient for the day in and of itself. This is how life works. I want you to ask yourself this- if trouble arises each and every day, and man was born for adversity; is there not something inherent within each one of us that would equip us or enable us to overcome trouble?? To be catapulted to individual greatness...on the wings of trouble  (even)? Think about it. I contend that <trouble> is all about recognizing who you are...

Have the faith required to believe God... that He (alone) is sufficient in and of ((Himself.))  He will meet you at the point of your need... and that He will deliver you out of the midst of all of your trouble.

(There is a fourth man in the fire friend; even when the heat gets HOT.)

                                                                     (Photo of a front yard rose in Boone, NC entitled "Inner Flame.")

                          

19. ROLL it. A very wise kindergarten teacher taught her class; when the burdens of your heart are heavy; let Jesus roll the burdens of your heart away. Let Him ROLL the STONE away today (from your heart)... instead of giving up to the pressures and the burdens of life that you carry, cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you.

                                                                         (Hawk's Beak, as seen from Blowing Rock, NC)

20. Help someone else whom you can regard as being WORSE off than you. I know that it sounds trite.....and f-a-r   t-o-o  simple, but it is truly an effective strategy for pulling yourself OUT of the quagmires, the rocks and the crevices of life. Help someone else friend. And you will be helping yourself (too.)

21. Are you (overly) stressed and well...really and truly burnt up and fried out? You must take the time for important enjoyment and to de-stress in life. This is an essential key to happiness that one must employ (to overcome.) So- take a trip! Walk the beach or the forest path; behold the sun, the moon and the stars or a simple flower. It is a thing of beauty. All of nature sings praise. It can help you find a song of love that pervades all of nature (a heart song really...) and of admiration, too. Take a moment...to be refreshed and to be renewed. All of nature will cooperate with you friend.

22. Remove the red flags of life. Are there issues and problems that you CAN deal with...but haven't?? Have you begun to procrastinate?? Remove these obstacles (those that you can) and you will find r-e-l-e-a-s-e. It's like you're snagged on a rock... begin again... today, to float the current of life.

23. Find an eddy in the current to rest. Perhaps God is speaking "Rest" to your soul, friend.

                                                                                                         (Cool mountain stream near Boone, NC)

A smattering

...of sunrise shots from years past.

"Good morning...good morning!!"

(...Imagine Debbie Reynolds singing that to you! ;-) )