Butchart Gardens...

When I went over to my parents home a few days ago, my dad gave me The Butchart Gardens 2007 Calendar. It is so beautiful and so dangerous to look at. Now I find myself dreaming of getting back to those beautiful gardens contantly. C and I went on our honeymoon trip to BC especially to visit these gardens and I have visited there on two other occasions, but now I want to visit again. Bristish Columbia is one of that most beautiful places I have ever traveled to and now I have this wonderful resource which is Lilli's blog that has so many fun ideas for places to shop and to visit. (The image above is from the Butchart Gardens site.) If you are looking for a wonderful place to visit... think of these gardens and you won't be sorry... the rose gardens are blooming in June....

Where else can you travel to visit an amazing garden?

Eastery Things...

I love Easter colors. I love eggs, chicks and bunnies.
I love spring flowers. I painted this box in 2004. I gave one like it to Alexandra Stoddard to celebrate what was then her new book, Things I Want My Daughters to Know, which is still a favorite. It has yellow daffodils on the cover.
I made these eggs last spring and Emily reminded me of them in this post.
Little c's candy from Nammy.
I like this cute bucket and bunny that I picked up yesterday at Sur La Table.

Island of the Blue Dolphins...

Cousin Blake recently recommended this book on his blog and C also mentioned that it had been one he liked as a kid, so I got it from the library on tape for little c to listen to.

Classics are usually classic for a reason and this book is no exception. I really enjoyed reading it because I just finished reading Robinson Crusoe several weeks ago and it was fun to compare the two. Little c loves historys and historical fiction and so it was a big hit. She insisted on listening to the entire book in one sitting.

My good friend Michelle first encouraged me to check out books on tape, a practice that has changed my life. I love to be able to paint, do laundry or whatever and still be reading. Some of the tapes that I have checked out from the library have had such excellent readers that it gives the book a whole new dimension. A Tale of Two Cities has long been a favorite book, but listening to it on tape last summer was an expansive experience almost like the difference between reading a Shakespeare play and seeing one performed on the stage. The actor did such an excellent job making each character a unique voice. However, the most impressive thing about listening to books on tape is the added amount of concentration and increased vocabulary that it gives to a child.

The Miraculous Journey...

I got this book at the library, but If we hadn't just finished it, and if I had known how good it would be, I would have picked one up for the Easter basket. This book is the story of Edward Tulane, a proud and spoiled, china rabbit who goes on a miraculous journey to find that love is the most important possession in life and that to learn to love others is what life is about. Kate DiCamillo's writing is very fine indeed and adults will enjoy The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane every bit as much as their children.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...

This is one of those books that I picked up at the library knowing it holds a place in the American literary canon and thinking it's one of those books one should read before they die. It is a classic for a reason.

The book details so much of what is a common American experience. Grandma comes to this country with nothing, her children work very hard to scrape things together, but with the opportunity of education the third generation rises to prosperity.

There are several other themes in the book that I enjoyed. I loved how Francie, the central character, feels about Brooklyn. She adores a place that is her own home town, but she feels that she'd rather not introduce the place to strangers because they would see the shabbiness of the place rather that the magic.

I loved how loyal the family was to each other including their alcoholic father who often made life more difficult rather than easy. The families kindness to each other along with their shared imagination and dreams for the future carry them through the tough times. I love how the mother constantly says, "Don't say shutup to each other," until at the end it becomes a family joke.

The happiness, hope and the imagination of this immigrant family begin in the mind of the old grandmother who in her broken English explains to her daughter that the key to rising above comes from education. She tells of two important books that will not only help to educate and inspire her children, but will teach them wisdom. She instructs her daughter to read to her children one page each day from The Holy Bible and one page from the works of Shakespeare.

If that isn't a recipe for success, I don't know what is.... This is a classic, if you haven't .... read it.

Bird's Nest Cookies...

Several years ago, Jenni gave me a cookbook that I love. I love it because it has so many classic recipes and a few that I just like because they are yummy & simple.
In that cookbook, is a recipe for no-bake cookies. At Easter time, we like to make those cookies into little bird's nests.
You can also make them a bit larger and put three little eggs in the nest.
We think everything is more fun tied up with a bow.
Hope everyone has a fun Easter week!

Alexandra's April Newsletter has posted...

See it here.

A Bargain...

I love the message in this book..."Do you want to be careful, or do you want to be friends?" It is such a good lesson for young girls to learn about friendships and the importance of having integrity and being trustworthy as a friend... not to mention... Who didn't want a real china teaset with flowers in blue?

Lovely Spring Flowers...

Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of their character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning. ~Lydia M. Child

Bluebirds...

The last few bluebirds have flown so quickly... I put another one in the shop just in case someone needs him.

New Boxes in the Etsy Shop...

See them here.

The Ordinary Princess...

When the fairies descend on the the castle after the birth of the seventh little princess, one of them gives her the gift to be ordinary. Is being ordinary a curse, or is the fairy a wise fairy who has given the little princess something very precious?

I am just a little bit into this book, but I think it's so cute. It has darling illustrations every few pages and it is so imaginative and fun.

Easter Flowers...

Sydney Poitier...

Since I have been painting so much recently, I havn't seen much TV. But when my mother told me that Sydney Poitier was going to be on Oprah, I knew I didn't want to miss that. However, I was bit disappointed with the program. It touched on some good things. It was mentioned how Mr. Poitier was able to become an actor. With only two years of formal education, he could barely read and he was helped to learn by a man that worked in a cafe with him. He instinctively knew that he needed to do away with his accent and much like Grace Kelly and Julie Andrews coached himself in diction by listening carefully to a man on the radio whose voice he admired. Those things show determination and enabled him to be a centerpiece in some very imporatant moments in American history.

In 1963, he was the first black actor to win the Oscar. That year gave him the opportunity to make 3 landmark films in 1967: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? To Sir With Love & In The Heat of the Night. I think these films are three of the best films in American film and all made in a single year.

Our country, while it still suffers bigotry and other problems was a different place in 1967 and I believe that these films made a difference. They made a difference to me. I didn't know a single black person, not one. But I had seen Guess Who's Coming to Dinner & I had seen To Sir With Love many times. I was a fan of Sydney Poitier.

Fast forward with me a little to 2005. My girlfriend Karen invites me to the Rose Wagener theater in SLC where Karen, a Canadian citizen, will be sworn in as an American citizen. She has jumped thorugh a lot of hoops to be able to achieve this and as I am driving to the city, I am really excited for her.

The ceremony is lovely, patriotic and very touching. In the end, the officiating judge points out the we have new citizens from something like 60 different nations. He asks if any of them would like to say something. Several of them spoke and they said beautiful things, but it was this tall black man from Africa that said what impressed me the most. He said that when he fled his native land, he had been offered the opportunity to settle in several differenent nations. He mentioned that he could have gone to England, Ireland or Poland, but he was desparate to come to America instead. He said that if he had become a citizen of one of those other countries, he could live there all his life, but he would still be an alien from another country. He said, "Today, as I have taken this oath, I am an American."

The work of Sydney Poitier is important because it asks us to look at the heart of a person, to find the humanity, beauty and grace in every kind of people without prejudice.

As I sat in the Rose Wagener Theater with tears in my eyes after the man from Africa had finished speaking, I looked around that room. People from 60 different nations had become citizens of the United States of America that day and I thought... Look at him.. he fits right in.

The Princess and the Pea...

I must apologize because I have posted about this book before. However, the more I read this book, the more it becomes even more of a favorite. The Princess & The Pea has always been a favorite fairy story, but Lauren Child's intelligent, charming and fun writing adds so much. Then, the pages are mesmerizing. Remembering that the back drops are made from corn flake boxes and each little something inside is itty bitty, I could stare at each page forever. There is so much imagination in them and so much that inspires imagination and creativity. Little c gets lots of ideas about things to make and I have had a few myself. And if that wasn't enough, there is this perfect message. A message that maybe 9-16 year olds girls or maybe even girls from 1-100 need to be reminded of... The following is an excerpt from the book:

The king and the queen said, "The thing is, our dear son, what you are really looking for is a real princess, and a real princess is a rare thing indeed." "They do not grow on trees," said the king. "No, no they do not," said the queen. "You see," said the king, "a real princess is not only mesmerizingly beautiful and facinatingly interesting, but most important of all..." "She has manners," said the queen. "No one should ever travel without them," said the king.

The more I read this book, the more I am glad to read it. It is a wonderful message for me too because who doesn't want to be a real princess after all.

Two little maids from school are we...

These two little maids are in the Etsy Shop today. And, I am painting more eggs... don't ask... it's an addiction. Have a happy day!

Note to Michelle, Beth and all other sewer friends... I think you will be interested in this post.

Boo is back...

Right Boo? See her new posts here.

Studio Happenings...

I wanted to show you this cute jacket that I ordered from Harold's. They are having a lovely sale. This is in the "Outer Wear" section of the sale section. I was going to post a pic from their site, but they won't let me... and I was going to post a link, but it wouldn't let me do that either...and their pic isn't very cute anyway. I never find clothes that I like that also actually fit me and are flattering. I love this color. And, the jacket has princess seams front and back which I also love.
I finished a couple more Kokeshi dolls today. They will be in one of the shops sometime tomorrow.
Little c painted me this lovely watercolor for my inspiration clothesline. I love that spring green, blue sky and bright sunshine... not to mention the pretty flowers. Little c is my favorite artist ever! Whenever I see paintings done by children I think of how Picasso wanted to be able to paint like a child again. His parents may not have been happy to hear that since he painted all over their walls all the time, but look at this picture with the customary bright yellow sun... it just makes you happy to think of a day like that. ... Then, look at this. A few weeks ago, I was the recipient of a beautiful package of lovely things from my friend Kerri whose husband recently returned from serving our country 16 months in Iraq. He returned safely for which we are profoundly grateful. Kerri sent me this lovely cross that was made in the Middle East. Thank you Kerri. I will treasure this gift. As I was looking at it today, I was thinking that before the Savior, this symbol must have been one of great fear. Now it is a reminder of one who was able to rise above all things, even death... the entire point of Easter.
May He watch over all of us and especially our soldiers and their families, who also sacrifice so much. We have so many friends & family who either are or have been involved in this current conflict. We are grateful for, mindful of and praying for each one.

Thought I was finished with eggs...

...but I decided that I needed yellow too!

Three Weeks With My Brother...

I am just about finished with this book. It has not been really great writing, but instead follows what makes Nicholas Sparks so popular; he knows how to move a story along. I found the arrangment of the story going back and forth between a trip around the world and his life experience very compelling.