Looking Back at those who made it happen!

Zina, Wendy and Diane who used every last flower and they were beautiful!
Tim on the left who coordinated the whole wedding and did a spectacular job decorating! Just look at the bridal table behind him. Cheryl on the right who along with her husband worked so hard to get everything done. It is days after the wedding and I am still so thankful to them all. I told Cheryl that when one of her other daughter's gets married I will be there, she laughed and said we are going to tell them to elope! Her daughter had a wedding at this exact spot 2 months earlier and Tim also helped with that. He is quite simply super-man!

Diane, Wendy and Zina stayed at my house while we went to the rehearsal and the dinner afterwards working on the flowers. When I came home they were just finishing the last ones. It was a wonderful sight and I can't brag about them enough!

I asked someone " how do you thank someone for being so good to you? " She replied that they don't expect anything in return, they are just doing it because they care for you.
I am feeling very cared for at this moment - it is a nice warm fuzzy feeling!

Oh what a Day !!!

It is the day after my daughter's wedding and I am feeling so happy that I can't stop smiling. I can't wait to see all the pictures from it.
Am sharing this one from the rehearsal. Pastor Judy, standing to the left had come to the part where she would say "you can now kiss your bride" and said they could practice if they wanted. This was how Nat responded and we all whooped. Ellen was fanning her face when she was standing again... woooh.. think this will be a good marriage!

The wedding was wonderful!! So many special moments.
The ceremony took place in a meadow and when I walked down before it was to start, it was wonderful to see all the smiling faces of friends and family gathering there.
It had rained cats and dogs 3 hours before so the woods smelled so green and fresh

The music was playing, a violin and piano and it was just magical.
Bryan escorted me down the aisle and then the parents went up and lit two candles under a wooden trellis that was draped with gauzy fabric blowing in the breeze and had branches interwoven on the top.

The bridesmaids were met at the bridge by each groomsmen and came down the grassy aisle carrying the bouquets my cousins had made and parted at the kneeling bench and stood on either side of the trellis.

Gary did a great job carrying the ring pillow and looked so handsome in his little suit with Elsa the flower girl (who is 3 ) scattering the rose petals from her basket. When they came to the front, she started to follow Gary as he sat down by me and I whispered to her to go and sit with her family. She turned and saw her smiling Mom beckoning to her and spread the flowers all the way to her seat - it was so sweet.

Then I rose to lead everyone in singing "Seek ye first". Ellen has always wanted that sung at her wedding. We turned and saw her come across the bridge where Dan was waiting for her. She looked so beautiful with flowers in her hair and I was so proud of them both as they came down.

They stopped just in front of Pastor Judy and stayed with arms linked as Grandpa Seis read and Grandpa Eldon led us in singing. These would be her last moments with just our family before she began a new family with her husband. It was very meaningful to me. I was looking at them and feeling a mixture of love and sadness that she was leaving us. Then I looked over at Nat and felt secure in the knowledge that he would take good care of our girl.

The bride was then given away and Dan shook his hand and put Ellen's hand in his and came and sat down beside me.

When Nat was saying his vows to Ellen, his face was shining with love and the sound of his voice when he came to the part where he said he would never leave her, made me cry happy tears.

Yes it was a wonderful wedding! Afterwards I followed the bridal party down and went across the bridge and up the steps and there they all were all lined up. I felt so thankful to them all for making this such a special, special day that I said I have to hug you all . I was smiling and crying and feeling oh so happy for Nat and Ellen.

3 Days and Counting !!

Diane, Wendy, Me and Ellen in our basement turned flower shop!
Woke up early and was at the Farmer's Market, 15 minutes after they opened. Hoping there would be lots of flowers and Cathy from Tidey Farms came through for me. There were these big beautiful bouquets and I went crazy and bought tons!! I had to call Dan to bring the VW camping van to bring them all home.
My cousins Diane and Wendy came over and we spent the day separating them all by color into buckets. Wendy very nicely ran to the dollar store to get us some more buckets, as we had every available one filled and there were still more bouquets. Now have 30 buckets of flowers.
My basement has never looked prettier.

Nat and Ellen stopped by and loved them so we took some pictures. We are so excited! It looks like the weather is going to cooperate this weekend - so Hooray!

Tomorrow bouquets, corsages, boots, Friday centerpieces and Rehearsal. Saturday - Wedding!! They look so happy!!

Flower Power Wonders Getting Ready!

My cousin Diane working on a sample bouquet for Ellen's wedding at my house. They are going to be beautiful!! The hydrangea's are from a friend and we are also going to use the sedum and vines I have growing in my yard, they are all a pretty shade of green. The flowers will be purple, cranberry (to match the bridesmaids dresses) and a little yellow to make the colors pop.

It's hard to believe that the wedding is in 10 days. Sometimes it feels like a dream and other times it is very real. I go back and forth between trying to stay calm and feeling very happy for Ellen & Nat. They are more excited about being married than having the perfect wedding, and that is the way it should be!

Tomorrow starts the harvesting of all the flowers, the ones that I have been growing and the hydrangea's. Then we will decide what else we need to make everything. It is a tall order! 6 bouquets, 12 boutonnieres, 10 corsages, 20 centerpieces for the tables, 2 sprays for the ceremony and 3 big ones for the reception. I think we can pull it off!

The Flower Power Wonders Team consists of my cousins Diane (the designer) and Wendy and my sister-in-law Zina. They will be doing the actual assembling next weekend and insisted that I not help, as they know I will be very busy with getting ready for the big day.

When the fog ( that I'm sure I will be in) lifts - days after the wedding, we will have to all go out and celebrate. In the meantime I will just listen to what Wendy keeps telling me.... "Breathe ...... just breathe!" = )

Winning Flowers!!

My flowers on display at the County Fair in the Wednesday flower show.
Since I have been babying these all summer, I thought it would be fun to enter a few.
My two mixed bouquets (pictured) took 2nd and 3 rd place.
My Cosmos took 1st and the Oriental Lilies and Balloon flowers each took 2nd.

It was fun and very easy to do. Much more relaxed than last year when I entered my art. We brought our entries in on Tuesday then Gary and I went yesterday to see if we had won anything. His Lego creation didn't get a ribbon but he was okay with that, this was his first year and he really liked the one that won 1st place. Proud of him for trying and other fun things to do there.

Gary loves to talk to all the men who come to the fair each year.
We stopped and watched a blacksmith who stamped his name on a horseshoe after heating it up over hot coals. The wood carvers with their chisels making art out of logs. The metal engineers with their hand-made creations that move and remind me of miniature oil drills.
The farmers who let him turn a hand grind to get the kernels off of dried corn.

Then there are all the animals - he loves to pet them all.
His favorite is the pig races.
There is a little track set up and the pigs are put in starting blocks and race around to the finish line, where is waiting for the winner an Oreo cookie. The pigs have fun names like Arnold Schwatzenhogger, Hammy Sosa and Brittany Spareribs.

Had our traditional funnel cake and corn on the cob. Yes, a good year at the fair!!

Art Is Waiting For Me!

I feel it is more interesting to post a pic when I write. And since I haven't found much time to do art, I am showing yet another oldie but goodie! This is one of my very first acrylic paintings done on canvas paper. I think I named it "Misty Waters". I still like the look of it and can remember all the feelings I felt while working on it - which ran along the lines of ..." hey! this is fun...... surprise! maybe I can paint....arrg! why won't this part look right?....oops! should have left that area alone....... hey, this is Fun!"

I miss losing myself in the process of creating art. I am hoping that after this break, I can start again fresh... with new ideas and my art will be bolder, brighter, better!! Maybe take another class? Visit an art museum? Go back to copying pictures I like, as this one was, though I changed it? Take a vacation to somewhere new?
Ohh, like the sound of that one !! I've read of artists whose work was influenced after traveling - though (of course) it was to exciting places like Italy or Paris or even the desert. I may have to stretch that one and see what inspiration I can find in Wisconsin, as I have told my Mom that I will visit after the wedding.

The wedding of my daughter that is, which is now less than 4 weeks away. Everything is moving along, the flowers in my garden are growing, the reply cards are coming in, every thing is bought. Except my own dress, I am working on that one. I will know it when I find it and I remind myself that I only need one and it is out there waiting for me somewhere!

The waterfall reunion I wanted to plan with my family never got off the ground. A very busy summer for every one including me. Maybe I will wander out to the falls some day and take lots of pictures and then make art from those. I 'll bring a sketchbook along and just doodle as I sit beside them and see what happens. Like my dress, art is waiting for me somewhere out there too!

First Oil Painting

It was an exciting day for me when I first opened my new tubes of oil paints to try them out, 3 years ago. I wasn't expecting much - just exploring.
I chose my smallest canvas and put it on my easel. I squeezed out little blobs on to my palette and decided to try them all to see how they looked.

The colors were so rich and creamy ! It was a joy to run my brush through them and see how easily they blended. I went back and forth many times and it just kept getting better! It was like playing with finger paints for the first time.

The center colors looked like a flower so I carefully "pulled" out the petals with a few strokes of my palette knife. I was cautious enough then to quit while I was ahead. When I look at it now, I remember how fun it was to try something new.