One of my love experiences is finding toss-away pieces of furniture n' turning it into objects of art, such as I did with this sturdy, solid wood, kitchen cart. I found it at my local thrift store, looking so unadorned... but with great potential, that I bought it and with the help of my son, Joshua, carted it home. Sometimes I know what to do with a piece when I find it. But most of the time I like to live with it for awhile until the right image comes to my mind...after pondering 'what to do'...I saw grape vines encircling the top and cascading down the sides. Perfect! I decided on using one of my favorite colors for the cart itself, the color of clotted cream; but first, I had to visit my paint store and have them mix-up this special color. My next step was sanding the wood until it felt smooth. I followed this step with a double coat of clotted cream over the entire surface of my cart. O' how nice it looked. When the paint dried I sketched in the design with a soft pencil, pulled out my acrylic paints n' chose the palette of colors to use for the grapes n' vine. Across the top I hand painted in black, a Shakespearean quote in French... this has become one of my favorite pieces.
I always thought it would be good to grow my own grapes; to have the sweet grapes for eating, to make jam... even my own wine. And then, what wonderful wreaths the vine would make.
"*The Complete Grape Growers Guide" ... is a good resource for growing your own grapes and reaping the fruit from your vineyard. *You can find it where it says 'click here'.
May your life be full of blessings and they become you, Elizabeth
My Amish doll n' grandmother's patchwork quilt, an acrylic painting, I did a few years ago. It is one of a series of still life's where my focus was on dolls; here is another one called "Strawberries n' Red Shoes". Both painted on canvas. I really like being creative but I have a problem, I'm eclectic and all these ideas keep coming to me. I'm interested in exploring so many different styles n' techniques. Right now ( in my time to stress down ) I'm working with a mixed media, primarily, oil pastels in floral still life with a doll here n' there. I love flowers, but have never tried to do any real floral painting until this summer.
So much I want to do in life n' so little time in which to do it. There is that old adage that I try to remember... 'This is the first day of the rest of my life'... and live it I must!
Do have a beautiful day and may blessings flow over you n' become you,
Elizabeth
If anyone is interested in quilting, please look into 'Patchwork Quilts...Easy To Make!' Just click on it... It's the 'easy as method' ... an shows examples of a some quilts easy to make.
My dear friend n' prayer partner, Sandy, sent me "Manna for Thought" this morning. I was so struck by the images this left me with that I just had to share it. I thought, my goodness how true, that each food does resemble the part of who we are and benefits that part. And really, I'd much prefer putting God given food into my body verses man made medicine. Now don't get me wrong, I believe medicine is needed as long as we don't over medicate and that we really need to question what are the alternatives.
*GOD'S PHARMACY*
It's been said that God first separated the saltwater from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...
* God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!* * God's Pharmacy! Amazing!*
*A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.*
*A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. ** **All of the research shows **tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.*
*Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.*
*A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.*
*Kidney Beans* actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
*C**elery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.*
*Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).*
*Figs* are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
*Sweet Potatoes* look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.*
*Olives* assist the health and function of the ovaries*
*Oranges, * *Grapefruits*, and other *Citrus* fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.*
*Onions* look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.*
A working companion... *Garlic*, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.*
Here is a great way to put in a garden if you have limited space and want to grow your own "God Pharmacy". Look on the side of my blog for" Homemade Hydroponics" and look into the beginners manual for organic gardening... "Organic Food Gardening"...
May your garden grow as God blesses the seeds you plant, Elizabeth
"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. "Aristotle
I have a special friend, who along with her daughter, owns the local coffee n' florist shop..."Petals & Beans". One of Carey's many hats is that of a beekeeper. What is this long tradition of gathering honey... from John the Baptist who lived on honey n' locust ...to today, where we are finding out the health benefitsfor seasonal allergies.
O' for a cup of tea and a spoonful of honey... and a thanksgiving for 'The Beekeeper'.
This story is based on an e-mail The Beekeeper's received a few weeks ago:
Jill lived in a small city and kept bees in the backyard. It was legal to keep bees in the city, but she kept them hidden and didn't tell anyone about the bees because a neighbor had once found out and complained constantly about every flying insect that passed nearby and said he would sue Jill if she didn't get rid of her hives. But the mean neighbor moved away, and now Jill had a new neighbor she decided to never tell him about her hives.
For two years, Jill kept the secret of the hives. When the neighbor noticed bees flying around, Jill pretended they were flies. When the neighbor talked about ecology and environment and how important birds and flowers and bees are, Jill bit her tongue and never mentioned her bees, which she continued to keep hidden in the bushes behind her house. Mostly Jill just avoided visiting with the new neighbor.
Finally, the neighbor was moving away. He said to Jill that he was sorry that they
never became goo friends, and he was wondering if it was because Jill was afraid of bees that he had been hiding in his back yard for the past two years.
Join me in a cup of your favorite tea n' honey and think about being a bee keeper and share with your neighbor... Look on the right side of this blog for good information in becoming a beekeeper. "How to Start Beekeeping"
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May your day be full of peace n' prayer for others,
I'm about to tell you what the title of this blog means to me. The "Cabbage Roses", symbolizes the beauty of my present moment, my children and what I try to keep my thoughts on; the "& More" is all that my life touches... which encompasses the Author of my life. As a novice, I'm always amazed at the art work that I'm able to do here ...all with the help of my computer. I started doing this just a few years ago and really enjoying this aspect of my life. I believe one is never to old to learn new ways. As an artist, I have worked in many different medias; right now the subject matter... is floral still life using oil pastels... & more.
Madonna of the Evening Flower... a religious poem by Amy Lowell
Then I see you, Standing under a spire of pale blue larkspur, With a basket of roses on your arm. ... You tell me that the peonies need spraying, That the columbines have overrun all bounds, ... You tell me these things. But I look at you, heart of silver, White heart-flame of polished silver, Burning beneath the blue steeples of the larkspur, And I long to kneel instantly at your feet...
May your day be full of laughter and joy and all your dreams come true,
This has been a rainy, chilly week in the northern region of Minnesota... but as I always say, "What can I expect, I live in Minnesota!"
Gideon was in a playful mood this morning… dashing all around. I believe time forgot to tell her she is an older cat (14 years now)…for she is in denial and enjoys all the fruits of a younger version of herself. I just had to laugh at her good morning to me, she looked up at me from the end of my bed and all I could see were these marmalade ears and big green eyes. As if saying, “Look Mom…here I am!”
With this cooler weather the flowers should be full n’ beautiful. It’s showing in the lilac bushes that are just beginning to bloom… I can smell their sweet fragrance! Today would be a good day to cut a few branches and bring the fragrance into my home.
Please stop in again, I’m working on developing another web site devoted to my art. It may take awhile… but it is on the horizon.
"Now that lilacs are in bloom She has a bowl of lilacs in her room And twists one in her fingers while she talks. "Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know What life is, you should hold it in your hands"; (Slowly twisting the lilac stalks) "You let it flow from you, you let it flow, And youth is cruel, and has no remorse And smiles at situations which it cannot see." I smile, of course, And go on drinking tea." Excerpt from T.S. Elliot's "Portrait of a Lady"
God bless and enjoy this day as the gift it is, Elizabeth
lotted cream; but first, I had to visit my paint store and have them mix-up this special color. My next step was sanding the wood until it felt smooth. I followed this step with a double coat of clotted cream over the entire surface of my cart. O' how nice it looked. When the paint dried I sketched in the design with a soft pencil, pulled out my acrylic paints n' chose the palette of colors to use for the grapes n' vine. Across the top I hand painted in black, a Shakespearean quote in French... this has become one of my favorite pieces.
