Autographed Star Trek Books on Ebay Auction

Two autographed Star Trek books are currently up for auction on Ebay.

Autographed Star Trek Book Proceeds Benefit Missouri S&T's Leach Theatre

Two autographed Star Trek books are currently up for auction on Ebay. Proceeds of the books will benefit Missouri S&T's Leach Theatre, which is currently fund-raising to buy furniture for its public reception area.

The two previously-owned books were autographed by William Shatner when Shatner was in Rolla, Missouri October 29, 2017 for his one man show at Leach Theatre here in Rolla, Missouri. I can't think of a better way to personalize a gift than to have it autographed by the original author, and actor, can you?

These were the flyers associated with William Shatner's visit to Rolla October 29, 2019.

The 1994 Star Trek movie book features interesting photos behind the scenes as well as stories about the iconic Star Trek movies.

This is 1975 First Edition Star Fleet Manual autographed by William Shatner up for auction.

The Star Fleet manual is a 1975 1st edition that will delight any Star Trek fan. It includes a lot of interesting details including to scale plans to make Star Fleet uniforms as well as William Shatner's autograph.

The Ebay auction ends Sunday, December 3, 2017 around 7 p.m. CST. Ebay fees will be covered by Bluebird Gardens LLC so all auction proceeds will be donated to Leach Theatre. They are buying new furniture for the public reception area so it will be a gift that keeps on giving, or at least helping!

Charlotte

Gardener's Honey Sampler Gift Set

Bluebird Gardens honey sampler joins favorite gardener gifts in this custom gift set.

Gardener's Honey Sampler Gift Set

Every year, we have some customers who seem surprised that Christmas rolls around mid-December so we have ready made custom gift sets ready to ship. This year, I made up some custom gift sets with honey samplers that include 2 oz. each of raw, strained honey, comb honey and creamed honey, products of the hard work by Bluebird Gardens honeybees.

The bees were working among the many flowers that grow in our 1-acre garden so this Gardener's Honey Sampler Gift Set also includes a pair of my favorite leather gardening gloves; metal plant snippers; handmade, long-lasting gardener's soap; one of my favorite books about how flowers got their names, a pack of wildflower seeds and a wooden honey dipper.

The book comes in handy at the end of a long day in the garden. I enjoy the stories about how the flowers were named, from their Latin beginnings to more recent history. It's interesting how many of them have roots in Greek mythology.

Wildflower seeds, plant snips, leather gardening gloves, gardener soap and a honey dipper.

Gardener's Honey Sampler Gift Set is packed in a gift box with a ribbon with a free gift tag, all you need to do is tell us what you want on the gift tag. We can also gift-wrap if you want an added element of surprise. The box will be added to another shipping box for safe shipping.

This is a custom, one of a kind gift, we did the shopping for you.

If there is another theme gift you need, just let me know.

Please order no later than December 10 to ensure arrival by December 25.

Charlotte

Route 66 Handmade Lap Quilt

First place winner in the 2017 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild Quilt Show in Rolla, Missouri.

Route 66 Handmade Lap Quilt

When I think of Thanksgiving, I can't help but think of driving, lots and lots of driving. There was a time when the long Thanksgiving weekend involved several thousands of miles getting to a variety of relatives homes, with a lot of "are we there yet," a tradition that came to mind when I saw this interesting Route 66 Handmade Lap Quilt at the 2017 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild Show in Rolla, Mo.

The hand-embroidery lured me in, so unusual these days to see in a handmade quilt. Then I saw the first place ribbon in the quilt corner, someone else also appreciated all of the embroidery work.

The first place ribbon in the shape of a flower is also a unique way to recognize these quilts.

This next Route 66 Handmade Lap Quilt block shows the detail of not only the embroidered block but how the machine quilting adds a nice three-dimensional effect to the overall quilt.

A close up of the traditional Route 66 sign in the embroidered design.

The old Route 66 highways were dotted with old gas stations like this one. There still are some still working but most have been memorialized in photos or designs like these.

The details of this gas station are impressive down to the glass window panes.

The top of the Route 66 Handmade Lap Quilt has some more personalized details including license plates and old oil cans. I have one that looks like the oil cans on the right.

Close up of the old oil cans in the top banner of the winning handmade quilt.

This is a very personalized quilt and gift, the quilter took the original design and personalized it for her husband:

Every quilt has a story and this is the story behind this Route 66 Handmade Quilt.

It's a lovely handmade quilt, with an even nicer story behind it.

Charlotte

Fun with Pink!

These are the last two hand woven kitchen towels I have from a lovely handmade collection.

Fun with Pink!

One of our customers wanted some custom gift sets so I made several that include honey samples.

This Pink Kitchen Towels Honey Sampler Gift Set came together as if it was meant to be. The two lovely hand-woven kitchen towels are the last ones I have from a collection I purchased several years ago from a local weaver. As I was boxing up the towels I found another box full of handmade flower pins and one was the exact same pink color, how could I not add it to the towel?

Lucky that the handmade flower pin happens to match the pink kitchen towels!

Since the one of a kind gift set includes a sample of honey from my industrious bees, I added my favorite tea infuser so the lucky recipient can get a start enjoying their tea with a dab of the sweet stuff. The choices are raw, strained honey, comb honey or creamed honey. Decisions, decisions!

If you need some custom gift sets, let me know, I will be glad to make some for you, too.

Packed together, the hand towels and pin are ready to serve up some tea and honey!

Whoever gets this unique gift set will definitely be "in the pink!"

Charlotte

A Honey of a Personalized Gift

Here's a sneak peek at how we personalize some of our custom baby crib quilts.

A Honey of a Personalized Gift

A beekeeping friend's daughter was having a baby but due to complications, the baby wasn't going home from the hospital.

Daily updates were heart-breaking as the family shared their fears, joys, hopes - that the little new life would pull through and finally get to go home and start life as a normal addition to the family.

I wasn't a family member nor did I live close enough to share in the hospital watches but I wanted my friend to know I had hope that she would have a new beekeeper in her family. 

One of the advantages of running my own business is that I can shop from my own inventory and I picked this vintage printed honey-themed baby quilt Honey Bears Baby Quilt to ship, along with a little bee toy, to deliver my best wishes.

The little Gund honeybee is delivering the free gift tag with the handmade baby crib quilt.

Isn't that little bear cute peeking out from the corner of the gift box? One of my favorite parts of this business is gift-wrapping, as if you can't tell. 

This was a fun baby quilt because the panel was hand quilted, giving the quilt an extra dimension. If they didn't want to use it in a crib, it could easily have been made into a nursery wall hanging.

The baby quilts and baby crib quilts are one of a kind so we don't have any more of these but I still consider this one of my favorite baby gifts. 

Interested in the vintage honey bear quilt panel? I found another one on Etsy if you are looking for one.

Charlotte

September Gift Flower: Asters

September gift flowers are New England asters, which are a favorite fall garden flowers.

September Gift Flower: Asters

There is such a lovely variety of colors in this family of flowers, asters. Some of my favorite fall blooming plants belong to this group: White Boneset, White Heath Asters and one of my top favorites, New England Asters.

According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, "Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, commonly called New England aster, is a Missouri native perennial which occurs in moist prairies, meadows, thickets, low valleys and stream banks (Steyermark) throughout the State. It is a stout, leafy plant typically growing 3-6' tall with a robust, upright habit.

New England Asters feature a profuse bloom of daisy-like asters (to 1.5" diameter) with purple rays and yellow centers from late summer to early fall. Rough, hairy, lance-shaped leaves (to 4" long) clasp stiff, hairy stems. Flowers are attractive to butterflies" and I will add bees, too.

How to Grow New England Asters

Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun, prefers moist, rich soils. Good air circulation helps reduce incidence of foliar diseases. Pinching back stems several times before mid-July will help control plant height, promote bushiness and perhaps obviate the need for staking. Pinching back will also delay flowering.

Most New England Asters are sold early fall when they are in bloom. I buy the plants after bloom, remove the spent flower heads and make sure they are well watered and mulched when I plant them. Any dead branches get left on to help protect the new growth that will start at the plant base. I also give them some water for a couple of months to make sure their roots get established.

Since this is a native Missouri wildflower, it's also easily seen growing on road sides, my garden and a friend's garden.

These are wild Missouri asters growing in a beekeeping friend's side garden.

According to the Language of Flowers, the Victorian Era practice of giving every growing thing meaning. The Victorians used this vocabulary to send secret messages in flower bouquets. In this flowery world of meaning, asters represent "variety" and "spontaneous impulse."

Charlotte

Butterfly Throw Personalized Gift

Different fabrics form the applique butterflies in this personalized gift.

Butterfly Throw Personalized Gift

An office colleague made this lovely butterfly throw as a gift and the simplicity of the design, and intricacy of the execution, is a good reminder that a quilt gift does not need to be - well, complicated.

The throw - a standard one is 50x60 inches - is a good size for a gift quilt. Throws can be used to curl up in and can easily be tossed over the back of a chair or used as a wall hanging.

Secondly, the theme was a universally-liked one, butterflies.

This butterfly is a cut out butterfly giving the insect more dimension.

The design could have stopped there but this quilter decided to add some interest in her butterflies by having them in different shapes. Some are solid fabric, others are cut-outs. The variety adds to the overall design.

This is one of the solid fabric butterflies up close in the custom-made butterfly throw.

When joined together, the butterflies make a wonderful visual message of beauty to a parting colleague and friend.

The butterflies were quilted in outline to finish their design.

The machine quilting was done on a home sewing machine so this was truly a custom, handmade gift!

Charlotte

Bridal Veil Wedding Gift Idea

This sprig of bridal veil was cut when most of the flowers were closed.

Bridal Veil Bush Wedding Gift Idea

One of our customers wanted to add a living plant to a country double wedding ring quilt she purchased as a wedding gift and bridal veil bush was one of the recommendations I gave her.

This long-lived perennial bush is lovely as is, even prettier when it is in bloom. The delicate white flowers give the bush its name.

Bridal veil bush has delicate leaves and makes a nice focal point in a garden corner.

In addition to being easy to care for, the cut branches are long lived as cut flowers for inside vases. I like the delicacy of the white flower clusters and how they fall on the long branches.

A cut branch from bridal veil bush in a vase on my mantle.

Other growing wedding gift ideas I passed on was to select the plant for the month of the wedding. Not all of the traditional flowers are perennials but they can inspire similar plants that come back every year. The following are the flowers for each month:

January: Carnation

February: Violet

March: Daffodil

April: Daisy

May: Lily of the Valley

June: Rose

July: Larkspur

August: Gladiolus

September: Aster

October: Calendula or Marigold

November: Chrysanthemum

December: Narcissus

Not one there you like? Then Bridal Veil bush it is!

Charlotte

Personalized Blue Blocks Quilt Throw

One way to personalize a handmade quilt is to add names in each of the blocks.

Personalized Blue Blocks Quilt Throw

It is one thing to talk about a custom personalized quilt but I know it is more helpful to see examples. This is a custom personalized quilt throw we made as a gift that included the names of all family members along with military insignias and a pink breast cancer ribbon.

This is one of the reason why we offer a variety of handmade quilts and throws with blocks, it gives you several options to add custom embroidery, such as ribbon flower garden throw.

In this example, not all blocks were filled but they were centered through the available blocks to keep a pattern to the throw.

Blue Blocks handmade quilt throw custom embroidered blocks.

Names and dates hold very special memories, as do military service. One way to mark that contribution is to add the seal of the particular service in custom embroidery:

Custom embroidered Navy emblem to mark military service on this special quilt throw.

One more special touch to this handmade quilt, a tribute to surviving breast cancer:

Custom embroidered breast cancer ribbon as part of this personalized handmade quilt throw.

There are many other things that could have been added to this handmade quilt throw but these were the final ones included.

Names and military symbols could have been included in the same quilt block, and several names could have been included in one quilt block to represent one family.

I though this one turned out well as designed.

Charlotte

June Gift Flower: Rose

Pink climbing roses growing across the street from Bluebird Gardens.

June Gift Flower: Rose

Roses are by far one of the most popular flowers in the Victorians "Language of Flowers," each type and color having a unique meaning.

Some meanings have evolved. According to Cindy Brick, yellow roses meant 'untrustworthy' to the Victorian, but by the mid-20th Century had come to symbolize friendship.

As June's gift flower, roses in general stand for beauty and love. 

There is a distinction between a full rose in bloom and a rosebud. One red rosebud represents "purity and loveliness; youth and beauty." A white rosebud represents girlhood.

A rose in full bloom represents adult love and devotion, or true love.

Luckily these days, people appreciate any rose, and I most appreciate those growing in my garden. Or in the case of these photos, the climbing roses growing literally across the street!

Cluster of pink climbing roses growing across the street from Bluebird Gardens.

Although clusters of climbing roses are hard to cut for flower vases, they are not impossible. I recommend cutting them when they are still in bud form, which gives them extra time to unfold and show their loveliness.

The pink climbing rose shrub that has formed over the years across the street.

Cut roses are wonderful but I recommend if you want to give roses, give a rose bush. That way the plant can be added to a flower bed and keep giving roses for many years to come!

Charlotte

Father's Day Gift for Mom

Mom's father's day gift included the prettiest handmade flower card in our collection.

Father's Day Gift Card for Mom

Every holiday we seem to have a customer who stands out with their thoughtfulness, creativity and ingenuity with their custom gift idea and this Father's Day was no exception.

This customer wanted to send his mother a special gift for Father's Day. She enjoys quilting so he selected one of our custom, one of a kind vintage sewing baskets with hard to find quilting and sewing "goodies," then asked that we add a special card.

And not just any card.

He wanted to make sure the inside had a very special message so he sent me the exact wording he wanted included, and asked if we could print it off and include.

After seeing the message, I looked for the prettiest of our handmade flower cards to carry this very special message inside:

Inside, I added the custom message sent to me to include. Now that's a personal gift card!

Now isn't that a thoughtful card and gift to send Mom on Father's Day?

Charlotte

Cat Gourd Gift

This little cat gourd birdhouse was missing an ear so I added one. Can you tell which one?

Cat Gourd Personalized Gift

My bee buddy David has this cat. Well, actually, the cat has adopted this family that includes my bee buddy.

Smokey, a black and white cat, had been hanging around David's house for a good 2 years before they were able to coax him close enough to pet him. Then one winter, Smokey moved inside and has since comfortably settled in, especially whenever he can find David's lap. The other two cats are also rescues but Smokey has made it clear now that he's inside, he has no plans to go back outside.

I enjoy hearing the adventures of Smokey as we head off on a swarm call or, better yet, wait for a bee colony to march into a hive box after we've coaxed the queen bee inside. So when I found this black and white cat gourd on sale at a local thrift store, I didn't have to think twice about picking it up for Smokey's family. The only problem was the little gourd cat was missing an ear.

I'm not a big woodworker so it took a little time to find a wood scrap to make a new ear and to check the real model out to see if his ears were all black or had any dabs of white on them. Smokey is not shy but I can't say he's very excited to have me coming around him trying to take a close peek at his ears, either. Luckily I had several pictures of him to check closely to determine that both ears were all black as I finished making the necessary adjustments.

Once completed, I left the finished cat gourd on the same deck chair where I first saw Smokey sitting. Seemed an appropriate way to mark spring's arrival, and Smokey's decision to permanently settle in. Welcome home, Smokey!

Charlotte

March Gift Flower: Daffodil

Miniature daffodils "Tete a Tete" were a gift from an east coast friend last fall.

March Gift Flower: Daffodil

March gift flowers have to be either borrowed from someone who grows them or given as bulbs the fall before. That's how I received mine last year, two bags in a small box from a friend I had not heard from in some time. We had worked together a few years back and enjoyed comparing notes about our gardens.

His was a more formal design, with clipped topiary Boxwoods, old Weeping Willows and lovely Drooping Cherries - I used to tell him his garden sounded a little sad based on his description.

By comparison, my hillside garden is a combination of native redbuds and compact fruit trees sprinkled with anything that blooms. No grass to mow, ponds, lots of birdhouses, bird baths and bees. And frogs, lots of frogs. 

Frogs, he would say. 

One of my spring peepers makes a cameo appearance on a deck shepherd's hook.

Spring peepers, I would say, nodding. Little frogs with a big sound, they make a lot of noise on the first warm spring-like day, everyone knows just when that is. It's special.

We would go on with our business, no more garden talk until later, when we would be sharing a meal or waiting for something to start. The conversation would inevitably come back around to these little frogs and what they did.

Well, I would say, giving it due consideration. I find them swimming in the water in my empty flower pots. They sit under plants. They suction cup themselves to my windows. 

And peep?

They peep. Usually in spring, when the daffodils are blooming.

I didn't say it was scintillating conversation, now, did I. 

So when I opened the box of miniature daffodils, I knew exactly why he sent them. They were for the spring peepers, tiny flowers for the frogs.

Happy garden, happy frogs!

Charlotte

Follow That Butterfly

I caught this cute embellished and hand-applique butterfly out of the corner of my eye.

Follow That Butterfly

We had stopped by this fabric store because - well, it's a fabric store. In between the various specialty rooms, some with bolts of fabrics, others with crafts supplies, there were a number of items hanging on a wall.

As I slowly moved around the wall, a little butterfly caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't claim a bad winter as the reason; actually spring is arriving a good 3 weeks earlier than usual this year. But even warmer than usual days doesn't mean my garden is fully engaged. My honeybees are out foraging; birds are checking out the available birdhouse real estate but I have yet to see any butterflies.

Moving closer to this little pink and blue species, I wondered how soon my garden would be full of swallowtail butterflies again. Last year, two of the potted orange trees served as butterfly nurseries for caterpillars to consume the fruit tree leaves as they moved through their various growth stages.

A pile of bolts of fabric had hidden the cute applique flower garden underneath the fabric butterfly so I moved them.

Below the butterfly, a very sweet blooming garden of applique fabric flowers.

The applique flowers were a combination of cotton fabrics and felt, giving the flowers a three-dimensional feel. 

When pulled together, the flowers and butterfly were a lovely excuse to have a jacket on when walking through a spring garden.

The garden was on the front of a charming green jacket, perfect for a spring garden walk!

The jacket wasn't for sale, it was a class project that still needed a few details before it was finished but I knew the maker would enjoy it when it was finished.

And considering that spring was still a couple of weeks away, I think she will have this ready just in time for spring!

Charlotte

Rose Pen Gift

This handmade rose pen is a cherished gift I found on my office desk many years ago.

Rose Pen Gift

If you are a fan of one of those pin your favorite "I can make this" ideas on an online board, it is easy to be seduced into thinking handmade flower gifts have to be complicated, intricate and expensive.

I submit exhibit A, a handmade rose pen gift. I found it a good 6, maybe 7 years ago lying on papers on my work desk.

I used to bring fresh flowers from my garden in for the office coffee room. It was during the craze to decorate pens with silk flowers. I had admired a number of them but not had the time to make one for myself. My first thought was that one of my colleagues may have made this one for me.

As I asked around about who had made it, a colleague friend said several days later that her young daughter had suggested she should make one for me. Her daughter at the time was not very old but she liked to pop into my office when she came by the office after school.

My friend said they had meant to make it at home but time had caught up with the looming holiday so they brought the leftover supplies from another project to the office when she had to work late. She had forgot to check for floral tape. Doesn't this have "not going to come together" written all over it?

I said who was it that said improvisation is the mother of invention, or was it masking tape will do when duct tape is nowhere to be found. Either way, it was not a problem.

This gift was quickly made by wrapping tape around a silk flower and writing pen.

Green floral tape would have finished it nicely but frankly when I look at this tape now, I have fond memories of the little girl who used to visit me on her way to her mother's office. I can also still imagine her carefully wrapping the masking tape around the flower and pen for me.

And look, no need for duct tape, it's still holding up after all of these years!

No floral tape? No problem, any tape will work. No one will see it once it's in a floral vase.

This very simple, inexpensive but thoughtful gift has literally lasted years, keeping me company in two offices and now decorating my little office corner in my kitchen.

So looking for a simple, quick, last minute Valentine's Day gift idea the kids can make and not sure this will work?

Trust me, it will be just fine.

Charlotte

February Gift Flower: Primroses

These sweet pink primoses are now giving my den a splash of spring color.

February Gift Flower: Primroses

I picked up this little pink primrose grocery shopping last week. It was one of the last little pot of flowers left, most of the flowers dark or shriveled so the flower was on sale. I love primroses but I haven't had much luck getting them past their inside blooming stage.

Primrose History

Diana Wells, in her book "100 Flowers and How they Got Their Names" said the primrose is the prima rosa, or the first rose of the year. Diana said the shade-loving plant is also named for the first spring flower. 

How to Grow Primroses

According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, primroses prefer cool temperatures, a rich humus soil (lots of compost and leaf mold) and partial shade. They appreciate full sun in the spring, but must have semi-shade as the temperatures warm.

Luckily for me, they are quite tolerant of being transplanted, even when they are in bloom. They should be planted in a cool, partly shady area in the garden with rich, well-draining, slightly acid soil (pH 6.5). Primroses need to be planted so that their crown is right at soil level.

The Key to Growing Primroses Indoors

Missouri Botanical Garden's website said Primroses may be grown indoors "if you are able to provide them with cool night temperatures of 50-60° F, high humidity, filtered sun and moist soil." That may explain it, my house tends to be dry in winter. Maybe if I place the potted primroses on rocks in a saucer will help its growing conditions.

When they have finished blooming in the house, the Missouri Botanical Garden said  it is best to plant them directly into the garden, or summer them outdoors in their pots and move back to the house at the end of the summer. I may just try that. Our summers tend to be very hot so I doubt these cool-temperature lovers will like those conditions. 

My basement, on the other hand, is quite cool, perfect conditions to keep this primrose happy, I hope. Wish me, and this sweet little pink flower, luck!

Charlotte

Personalized Book Gift Idea

One of my favorite gift books, it features a chapter a day focusing on the good and positive.

Personalized Book Gift Idea

I forget now who first gave me a copy of this book. It was years ago, when I was going through a very difficult time in my life, and the last thing I was doing was - well, focusing. As I started to read a chapter a day, I found myself thinking about the good things I had in my life, being reminded of how blessed I was. That little shift in thought the book reinforces helped me move past the overwhelming feelings of loss - that, and the good friend who gave me this book.

Since then, my original copy has been shared, and re-gifted so many times I have lost track of the original one. Now I pick up copies whenever I find them, keeping one in reserve for those times when I know the book can help someone else.

I had two last fall and now am down to none again. One copy went to a friend who lost her husband to cancer, and this copy was mailed to a friend who's husband had an accident that resulted in debilitating brain injuries.

Only this particular copy, and the accompanying book mark note, didn't make it to its destination. I received a notice from the Post Office a few weeks after it was mailed, with the original address label attached, saying the item had been lost. The notice also gave me instructions on how to file a claim and my first thought was, I have to drop my friend a note, she must have thought I was not thinking about her.

She emailed back quickly a thank you for thinking of her and said her husband had given her this book years ago but she had not read it. She found it in her family library and thanked me for giving her something to look forward to reading every day.

This is one of my many favorite chapters, this is one about the "world is too much with us."

A sample chapter, one that reflects how I feel some days, and how I focus on my blessings.

Over the years when I have mentioned this book, friends who have read it have smiled. The book sharing has created a supportive community of women who understand - the need for the book, the message of the book and the caring that goes into sharing the book.

Doesn't matter what book you share, I love sharing a sweet garden book about flower names. Now I have something else I can discuss with gardening friends who also enjoy knowing something about the history of flowers.

It's not the book that's so important, it is the sharing that connects us.

Charlotte

Inspire Your Heart with Art

Have you seen these old-fashioned flower of the month quilts? i am making one for a customer.

Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

No surprise that I love floral quilts. A customer just sent me 12 embroidered, flowers of the month floral panels to make into a custom quilt for her bedroom and I was delighted to go through the blocks, they look very similar to the red floral quilt blocks quilt I found at an estate sale.

I suppose it's also no surprise that I enjoy all manner of handmade items, from little pottery bowls to oil paintings including my personal favorite, kindergarden student drawings of their teachers. Art is all around us, if we just take a moment to appreciate it.

That also applies to where many think "real art" is stored. When I visit a museum, I like to take my time. I make a beeline for the benches some have scattered around. Benches give me time to let my mind and heart settle on whatever catches my attention. Sometimes I wonder what the artist was like, not so much by reading a biography but by what life experiences we may share. There's a smudge in a corner, did the artist's cat helped by walking across the canvas?

Some art is downright inspiring. Original oil and water color paintings of - well, yes, flowers - speak to my soul. I came across a traveling exhibit of Claude Monet's water lilies a few years ago. I was sitting on a bench looking at it next to an older gentlemen. We seemed quite content in sharing our quiet moment together until I leaned over and pointed to a corner of the water color, where a particular lily had caught my eye.

If you haven't seen his Giverny water lily paintings, look up Oscar-Claude Monet, he was a french painter 1840-1925 who established the Impressionist Era, particularly the plein-air landscape paintings. In his later years as he became more successful, Monet also became an avid gardener. Basically his paintings interpreted what he saw in nature. My words, I am sure if you are a Monet specialist you can correct me but that's how Monet's art speaks to me.

With a twinkle in his eye, the man sitting on the bench whispered back "they thought Monet was crazy because he wanted to spend all of his days in the garden."

We smiled at each other. I do the same, in part because my garden inspires my creativity, in part because I feel closest to my maker among my flowers. There seems to be a balance, and perspective, in a garden, even when nature is furiously working her magic. It's a very personal experience, and it's a gift of time I give myself. 

I showed him my roughed up, nailess, almost clean, gardening hands. He showed me his gnarled, roughed up, nailess but spotless hands. We smiled again.

Guess we gardeners are all just a little bit crazy.

Charlotte

January Gift Flower: Carnations

Pretty bouquet of pink carnations brightening up my kitchen for my January birthday.

January Gift Flower: Carnations

Carnations or Dianthus, their Latin botanical name, are the January gift flower of the month, a nice idea for personalized gift-giving. I should know, I have a January birthday.

Carnations, along with a number of favorite garden flowers, are ancient flowers, possibly named from the Greek word for flower garlands, since this long-lived flower was a popular choice for those floral decorations.

According to the Victorian-era language of flowers, carnations in general represent fascination and divine love. Each different carnation flower color also has it's own special meaning:

Pink carnation: I will never forget you

Purple carnation: Capriciousness

Red carnation: My Heart Aches for You; admiration

Solid carnation: Yes

Striped carnation: Sorry I can't be with you or Wish I could be with you.

Yellow carnation: Rejection, you have disappointed me.

White carnation: Woman's good luck gift.

Some carnations are nicely-fragrant, especially ones out of home gardens. One of the advantages of carnations is that they ar

Popsicle Stick Tree Ornament

We all have them, jars and stashes of extra buttons we could use if we could just find them.

Ok, maybe it's just me but what a wonderful use of those unused extra buttons. This charming popsicle stick tree Christmas tree ornament was hanging in the center of a tree at our local city hall. My friend Millie guessed some staff youngster must have added it to the tree since it's not only the only one but is hanging about midway up the tree.

Handmade popsicle Christmas tree ornament hanging at Rolla City Hall.

The popsicle tree ornament looks simple enough to make. After gluing three popsicle sticks into a triangle, paint green and allow to dry. Add buttons, a top star, a trunk at the bottom and paint. Add something to tie it to the Christmas tree.

I would encourage signing the back with a date to ensure this is an heirloom ornament.

Popsicle Christmas tree ornament hanging mid-tree.

Charming project for little hands to make over the holidays!

Charlotte