Someday My Princess Will Come

Someday My Princess Will Come

Here he sits in quiet despair

Waiting for his princess fair,

To take his hand, give him a kiss,

He wonders if she does exist

The lady who can change his life

The one that he would make his wife

With just one kiss the prize is won
And then his froggy life is done.

I am so excited I had my second sale on Etsy last night. My sweet frog prince will be leaving and going to a new home and a new princess. I was beginning to wonder if anything would ever sell. I wouldn't have stopped creating my art dolls because they are so much fun to make. So.....here's to Frog Princes wherever you are....your Princess will find you soon.

Home from Kentucky

I am home from Kentucky and missing my beautiful girls. We had such a good time while I was there. I can't believe how much they have grown. Like any grandmother, I must tell you how amazing they are. One is a very talented writer ( I couldn't believe the stories she has written) and the other a gifted artist. She says she gets it from her daddy and me. They have adapted well from the bustle of Florida to the slow pace of Kentucky and I can tell that they really like it there. I am so glad they are happy, I just wish they were closer to me. When you have them from the time they are born until they were ten and twelve, it is hard for them to be so far away. I am just thankful for all the years they were here and so glad that I am able to visit them.
I know that the girls were sad to see me leave, but it looks like Daisy was relieved. I can't tell if she has a headache or was just tired from someone extra in the house. Maybe she's just a lazy little girl.

Stephanie did a lot of canning while I was there. The fruits and vegetables were delicious. It seemed as if almost every house there had their own little patch growing. Stephanie and Dennis had a small garden up near the house and a larger one down in the hay field. The corn was so sweet and the tomato right out of the field were so good. I wish I had a bowl of tomato cracker salad right now.

I guess Stephanie gave me the bug, because I wanted to do some canning myself when I got home. At one time, I did it a lot, but haven't lately. So, I broke out the canning pot, put on my apron I got at the Almish store and got to work. I had picked blueberries earlier in the summer so I started with blueberry jam. Then I decided I wanted to make salsa. It was fun. I just wish my three girls had been here to help me. I really have the bug now. I can't wait for the grapes in my garden to ripen so I can make grape jelly. I also have a friend who has guavas and I am hoping to get some of those for jelly, too. I better hurry up....school starts in three weeks. Where has the time gone? I am having the rest of my floors tiled this week, and I need to work on my art dolls. It seems I never have time to get it all done. Wish me luck!

Kentucky Visit

I flew into Lexington on Sunday to visit my children. They moved from Florida to Kentucky last summer. The purchased fifty-seven acres and are living on a small farm. I was so glad to see all of them. My girls look like they have grown a foot since I last saw them. They had made several greeting signs and had them posted around the house for my arrival. Lester, the pig, was in charge of this on on the front porch. The girls designed and made the outfit he is wearing.

My granddaughters are members of the Kentucky Juniors Historical Society. For Kentucky's birthday the girls were asked to choose any famous Kentuckian past or present and research them. They were then to make dolls to represent that person to be displayed in the library. They decided to make Jemima Boone and her friends Betsy and Fanny Callaway on their canoe ride before being captured by five Shawnee braves. They made the dolls from two liter bottles, plaster wrap and creative paper clay. Their hair is made from yarn. They painted the dresses and used cloth to make the aprons and bonnets. Maybe I'm a proud grandmother, but I think they did and excellent job for a eleven and thirteen year old.

This is Daisy. She is the real ruler of the farm. In Florida she was a pampered air condition hound. Here, she loves being outside herding the chickens and guinea hens. She also loves lying in the sun on the porch, watching the birds, and begging for a bite to eat.

Speaking of birds, they are everywhere. My daughter has bird feeders all around the house and the birds swarm to them in flocks. I have never seen so many colorful birds. The most fascinating of all to me are the tiny hummingbirds. They are seen at the feeders every morning and evening. They dart in to take a sip and then they are gone. There is on male that the girls call the bully. He buzzes in an hits the other hummers away from the feeder. Sometimes he hits so hard the tumble to the ground. I haven't captured and imagine of one yet, but hope to do so before I leave.

There are two bee hives on the property, so the hummingbirds must share with the bees. They are on the feeders all day long.


There is a large hay field on the front of the property and you must walk a quarter of a mile to the road to get the mail. On the way down, you pass the pond, the corn field and all the blackberry bushes. We picked some blackberries on the way down.

Mr. Bumble Bee was having an afternoon snack on the clover. There are wild flowers everywhere. The first thing I wanted to do was pick a bouquet of Queen Anne's Lace, but the girls stopped me quick. The said it was chigger weed. I guess that's like moss and red bugs in Florida.


When we checked the corn field we found that the raccoons had a feast the night before. They would take a bite out of an ear of corn and throw it to the side and have another. We decided we better pick some for supper in case they brought all their friends with them tonight and finished off the crop.

The girls helped to pick the corn. We helped, too. The weather up here has been wonderful since I arrived. It has been in the fifties at night and the low eighties during the day. I left one hundred degree temps in Florida. I've had a jacket on in the evenings.


When we got back to the house the girls and I shucked the corn for dinner. Their mother made good old southern fried corn to go with our meal. It was some of the sweetest corn I had ever eaten. They told me it was Peaches and Cream Corn.

Tomorrow we are going to the Amish Market. The girls tell me that when we go to town I will see people driving horse and buggys. That will be a new experience for me, one that I am looking forward to.

Mother Earth ADO Elements Challenge

Gentle winds that softly blow

Help scatter the seeds to the earth below

There to be warmed by the fiery sun

Keep shining; keep shining your work is not done.

Down comes the rain

The sprouts burst through

And grow into flowers for me and you.

So bless the wind and the cooling rain

The sparkling sun like sweet champagne

Like a butterfly at each rebirth

These are the blessings of Mother Earth.

The old fashioned wild roses in my garden were the inspiration for my elements challenge doll. They require limited care and bloom profusely throughout the summer. Therefore I give you a single rose scattering her seeds while being kissed by a butterfly. She represents the earth as "Mother Earth", but it takes all the elements to keep the earth healthy. Gentle winds to scatter seeds, cooling rain to water the seeds and make them grow and the heat or fire of the sun to warm the planet.

Please visit the Art Dolls Only Blog to see a list of all the excellent artists participating in this blog event, then visit their blog. I know that you will enjoy all of the imaginative creations made by so many talented artists.

Unexpected Beauty

It's hot and humid here today and the weeds are growing like crazy. I went out with the Roundup this morning and ran into some unexpected beauty. This is a weed that grows up the cypress trees in my backyard. It is sometimes covered with purple flowers that look like morning glory. I couldn't spray it.

These little creatures were growing in the crevice where lightning hit this oak tree several years ago. I didn't think the tree would survive, but it did. It has a split from the top to the bottom. The lightning hit the top of the cypress tree next to it and bounced to the oak. The cypress tree died.

I don't know the name of this butterfly, but they are all over my backyard this morning. Not only are they on the flowers but they are scattered like stars on the grass. When you walk, they float up in bunches like clouds.

My friend, Mike, gave me a plant last year and told me it was a blackberry lily. It was blooming for the first time this morning. I love the speckled orange color of it. I wonder why they call it blackberry?

The faries must have had a party last night. I found their resting place this morning....or maybe they danced the night away around the toadstools growing in the yard. I know my neighbors thought I was crazy when they saw me lying on my stomach taking pictures.

I am heading for Kentucky this weekend to visit my children. I can't wait to see them. My next post will probably be from there, not Florida. I have never been there before so I am exited to see a different landscape, but not as excited as I am to see my granddaughters. I can't wait!

Bunny Family

I have a family of swamp rabbits living in my backyard. I have seen three at the time grazing in the grass, but they are quick to escape when I come out. I didn't know that they could swim, but I have seen them swimming from one side of the canal to the other. I enjoy watching them and the birds.
I haven't posted in a while because my house is in a mess. I am in the process of replacing my floors. I now have beautiful tile in the laundry, art, breakfast rooms and the kitchen. I absolutely love them, but not the mess it made getting them. You never know how much junk you have until you start moving it. Believe me, I had a bunch. So....I decided I was going to get rid of some of it. I have been sorting and throwing away. I have painted and everything looks so fresh and new. The only bad thing is that I am redoing the family room, living and dining rooms and the bedrooms, too. Half down and half to go. It will be wonderful when it is finished. I can't wait!

AMERICA

My country 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrim's Pride.
From ev'ry mountain side
Let freedom ring.

Rev. Samuel F. Smith

This Patriotic Santa is a one of a kind handmade art doll. He has a styrofoam armature and is made from paper mache. It is only fitting that he come out at this time of year to help celebrate Independence Day, and to honor all the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. Pray for all those who defend us today and bring them safely home to their families.