Mosaic Monday: I ♥ Hyacinths

This was one of those weeks when I couldn't think of a single thing to post here. That is when colorful papers and full-to-bursting archives come in handy. :)

The hyacinths are from last Easter. I remember that they perfumed the entire house. And I think they are a particularly beautiful color. But then, at the end of February, almost any flower color looks good. :)

We do actually have a few snowdrops up in the garden now, but they need some sunny weather to open up. Maybe later in the week... :)

The tea cups with violets belonged to my mother. They are among my favorites -- so very delicate, and they remind me of a spring morning. (Can you tell I'm longing for spring?)

And the bookmark was handmade by my friend, Toni Anne. She is an incredible artist and crafter, and a constant source of inspiration to me. The purple papers, in case you are interested, are available from Florabella Collection. You can make up these mosaics in Photoshop. If there are enough people interested in learning how to make them, I might post a tutorial. Let me know... :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

In which I am shown to be pathetic...

How did it get to be Saturday already? I mean, really?! This week went by in a blur of sun and rain, warm and freezing, -- the epitome of late winter in New Jersey. Finally, most of the snow is gone, but now we have mud. Of course, we could very easily get more snow. It's not unheard of to see snow in March, and even occasionally April, in these parts.

(Please God, no!)

Ah well, every day is just a little bit longer than the one before, and with the snow cover gone, hopefully we will see some snowdrops popping up soon.

(Please?!)

Pictured above is our dining room, with it's French doors that lead out to the deck and the garden. We have spent the last several months peering out at the snow covered deck, remembering lazy summer evenings spent taking a leisurely dinner while the fireflies danced around our candlelit table.

(That sound you hear is my husband softly whimpering. He misses his grill.)

So until we can bring the deck furniture out of storage, you can find us here almost daily, looking out the deck doors and sighing. Yes, we are pathetic. Just don't tell my husband I told you about the whimpering. :)

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Are you all ready for another Mosaic Monday? We had several new participants last week, and I'm so thrilled that they could join us! I will put the link up on Sunday evening, by 8:30 pm Eastern time, USA. Looking forward to seeing all your mosaics!

I've Got Mail!

Don't you love getting packages in the mail? I swear, I still feel like a kid at Christmas when I see a pretty package addressed to me.

This one came all the way from Sweden, complete with beautiful stamps. :)

I won a giveaway on Maria Kallin's beautiful blog. Maria is a wonderful photographer! You can see her work on her blog, or at her flickr account.

Maria also has an etsy shop, which you should absolutely visit. Her prints are gorgeous!

I'm going shopping tomorrow for a frame for this beauty! :)

Maria is currently running another giveaway on her blog. So go leave a comment, and tell her Mary sent you. :)

Maria's blog

Maria's flickr stream

Maria's etsy shop

Mosaic Monday: Longing for Spring

We had a little taste of spring weather this past week, but it's back to winter now. That little tease had me trolling through my archives to find some reminders of springs past. So here are a few blooms, all from my garden, complete with precipitation that is not snow. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

A Good Thing

Well, my little pot of calla lilies is still going strong, and it's a good thing, as Martha would say. We have had a few days of warm weather, which was heavenly, but with all the snow melting, things are looking a little muddy.

My daughter is home from school for the long weekend, so I made her favorite Baked Macaroni for dinner last night. We'll have some fun over the next few days... and I hope you all have some wonderful weekend plans as well. :)

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I have absolutely no idea what to do for Mosaic Monday this week, so I guess I'd better start praying for some inspiration... :) But I look forward to seeing your mosaics this week, as always. The linky thing will be up on Sunday night, by 8:30 pm Eastern time, USA.

Tulips and Sunshine

A bunch of tulips from my honey on Valentine's day, and some much-needed sunny weather, combined to raise my spirits this week. Isn't it amazing how little it takes to raise my spirits? lol

Of course, the tulips immediately went in a milk glass vase, and the vase went on my favorite tole tray.

I am so thrilled to see the sunshine -- it's been so cold and gray and snowy this winter that a little sunshine is an amazingly lovely sight.

I adore pink tulips... and purple and white and yellow... well, you get the picture. :)

So that's about as exciting as it gets around here -- I've got tulips and sunshine!

Mosaic Monday: True Love

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death."

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Do you know the story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning? Elizabeth Barrett was just shy of 40 years old, and an invalid, when her volume, Poems, rose to prominence in England. It inspired the poet Robert Browning, who was six years younger, vigorous and worldly. They met in 1845 and thus began one of the most famous courtships in English literature. Their courtship and marriage was carried out secretly, because of her father's disapproval, and in 1846 Browning carried the invalid poetess off to Italy, where they lived for the remainder of her life.

Valentines and hearts and flowers are ubiquitous today, and they serve to remind us of all that is sweet and pretty; but this is true love, not the Hallmark version. "I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light..." And after all, isn't that what love is all about?

Happy Valentine's Day, dear bloggers!

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Inspiration

No, it's not Mosaic Monday, but sometimes I just like to put a few photos together that seem to "speak" to each other -- either in tones, or subject, or time...

I know that a lot of you fulfill your creative urges with crafting or sewing, with working in your gardens or decorating your homes. I see the fruits of your creative endeavors every Monday. :)

I am so inspired by each of you. Every week I see a color or a landscape or a tabletop arrangement that gets my creative juices flowing -- and for that I am truly grateful. So I guess I just wanted to say thank you for being a part of this terrific community of creative women. You inspire me.

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I can't wait to see what goodies you have in store for me this week! The linky thingy will be up by 8:30 pm Eastern time USA, Sunday. Hope to see you there!

The Calla Lilies Are in Bloom...

I think everyone who knows me or reads this blog would agree -- I tend to start getting a mite cranky in February.

I miss spring.

And when I see flowers on sale at the supermarket, I just can't resist. Besides, I have this thing about photographing flowers.

I waste way too much time doing it. :)

I'm really more of a country or cottage garden sort of girl, but I picked up these calla lilies because I thought they might make for some interesting photographs. And so I took advantage of the little bit of sunshine yesterday to shoot some calla lily portraits. :)

Am I the only one, or do calla lilies automatically remind you of Katharine Hepburn's famous lines in Stage Door? I used to love quoting those lines in my best Larchmont Lockjaw accent when I was a kid.

I was such a dork.

My mother actually met Katharine Hepburn once, when she was staying as a guest at the home where my mother worked as a maid. My mother said she was very elegant and gracious.

Rather like my calla lilies. :)

Mosaic Monday: Old Books

"A book reads the better which is our own, and has been so long known to us, that we know the topography of its blots, and dog's ears, and can trace the dirt in it to having read it at tea with buttered muffins. "

~Charles Lamb, Last Essays of Elia, 1833

Do you have a favorite book, battered and dog-eared, that you read again and again, for the sheer joy of it? You know the sort I mean -- the one where you slip gently into the story as if visiting with old friends. Just the act of opening such a book can sweep us away to another world.

There is a line from one of my favorite movies -- You've Got Mail -- where the main character wonders whether her quiet life has been a timid one: "So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?"

As someone who has also led a "quiet life," I'm not sure if I'm the right person to answer that question. I quite like my quiet life. But I am an enthusiastic visitor to other places and times through my favorite books. And it seems to me that a really good book can lead us to discover our own inner landscapes as well.

So don't forget to tell me in the comments, what is your favorite book -- the one that you read over and over again, the one that takes you to new places?

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

My Little Bit of Hope

How are you, my dear friends? I hope this Saturday morning finds you well, and warm and cozy. We are expecting more nasty weather here today, but not nearly as bad as earlier in the week.

So maybe we will squeak by this weekend without ice.

Hope springs eternal. :)

And here is my little bit of hope -- a beautiful blue forced hyacinth that graces the chest of drawers in our dining room. Yes, I know the green paper is kind of tacky, but actually I'm enjoying that burst of spring color almost as much as the blue flowers themselves. (Blue is my favorite flower color.) And oh, the scent! I swear, one hyacinth can perfume the entire house, and make me a very happy girl. :)

So I hope you are all warm and dry and cozy, and looking forward to all sorts of fun things this weekend. And finding your own little bit of hope, too.

"May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy."

Anonymous

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I am so very behind on visiting you all from this past Mosaic Monday, but I hope you will forgive me and join the fun again this week. The linky thingy will be up by 8:30 pm Eastern time USA, Sunday. Looking forward to seeing you all then! :)

Weathering the Storm

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And when life gives you ice, take pictures. :)

We were actually very lucky here at our Little Red House -- we did get a lot of ice, but only lost power (and internet connections) for about four hours. And our cellar didn't flood. Yay!

And while shoveling ice and slush from the driveway was a really big job, taking pictures of the trees in their glittery garb was my reward.

As much as I long for spring, I have to say that the ice was beautiful.

I hope that wherever you are, you weathered the storm. :)