Rosemary's 80th

       My beautiful cousin Rosemary had her eightieth birthday this past Saturday. A week before, in the Family Morning Love Club note, Rosemary’s sister, Lorraine, mentioned they were having a surprise party for her. Rosemary doesn’t get our morning notes so her surprise wasn’t ruined.

          “Are you going?” my oldest and much-adored sister Patti asked.

          “I wasn’t invited,” I told her.

          Patti laughed. “I’d go anyway. Crash the party.”

          Later that same day I did get an invitation from Lorraine.

          “We’ll be there! What can I get her?”

          “What does an eighty-year-old woman need?” she replied.

If it’s anything like this old woman, the answer would be, “Nothing.”

“You could make her a card,” Patti suggested when I asked her. I do like to make homemade cards. And for special people, I’ll even paint one.

I was mulling that over, trying to decide what I could paint for her. Flowers? Birds? I was browsing Pinterest when I remembered something that happened years ago. Mike and I were hosting a get-together and I gave everyone there a choice from an assortment of stained-glass items I’d made and had hanging all around the patio. Rosemary liked a bird I’d made but it had already been claimed by someone else. I think it was a little chickadee. I decided to make her a bluebird. I’d only made this pattern one other time and I couldn’t remember who I’d given it to.

I called my Miss Rosie. “Did I give you a blue bird sitting on a flower in a wire circle with beads?” I asked.

“No. I don’t have anything like that.”

“I gave it to someone. What if I gave it to Rosemary?”

“If she has two, she can put them in different windows,” Miss Rosie mollified me. “Or she can give it to me.”

A lot of thought and love go into homemade things and this one took a couple of days. Once the bird was done, I striped and twisted a bunch of wire. I had the whole thing laid out on the table and was trying to figure out how I wanted to put the beads on.

I’ll use blue to represent the sky, I think and fish a bunch of blue beads from the jar. Green for vines. Maybe some red berries. I always know when it’s enough because an inner voice says, “That’s enough!” I wasn’t hearing that voice. Maybe if I put white beads with the blue, it’ll look like clouds. It didn’t. I arrange and re-arrange. Add beads, take beads away. Use big beads, small beads, and consider getting out the seed beads. Almost all of the wire had beads lined up next to it when Mike came out into the craft room. Okay! Okay! It was the kitchen. Mike came out into the kitchen where I sat at the table working.

“I’m trying to figure out how I want my beads.” I move a few beads around and Mike glances at it as he walks past.

“Don’t put too many on,” he advises. “It’ll be too busy.”

My philosophy in my artwork is, if I don’t like it, add more. More paint, more colors, more glitter, more clay, more beads, more, more, more! But Mike was right. In my heart of hearts, I knew he was right. It was too much! I pick up the bird and wire and sweep all of the beads to the side and start again, this time with a minimalist attitude in mind.

It still wasn’t talking to me.

Sigh.

I glance up at the wire and bead butterfly hanging on my door and see the flowers I’d woven in. That’s what it needs! Flowers! I got wire and twisted up some flowers. When I made them before, I’d used nail polish. What a pain  hat was! I tried dipping these in glue but the glue just dripped off. I needed something to hold the glue. I know! Toilet paper! I glued bits of toilet paper on, and just so I didn’t have to wait, I dried it with my handy-schmandy hair dryer. I didn’t even have to get up and go get it. It lives right by the table leg in my craft room — err, kitchen. Once dried, I painted them. And because I wanted them shiny, I used my homemade glass paint.

“Homemade glass paint?” you say.

It’s melted down Styrofoam.

Then I made a homemade card for her, too. I got to use my Sizzix machine for the first time and cut out letters and circles.

I was ready.

Early in the week, leaving the driveway and going past Vernon’s field, I saw two bucks showing off for an audience of three or four does. I didn’t stop and watch because I was on my way to the church and didn’t want to be late.

Mike and I were going into town and saw this guy crossing the road using the overhead wires.

“It’s safer up there,” Mike said.

You’ll be proud of me when I tell you I learned my lesson. I let my birdseed cups dry on the drainboard instead of drying them in the oven.

We had a nice day and took a golf cart ride. We’re past peak but it didn’t stop me from taking pictures.

Bittersweet.

          Spitfire decided to take his nap on the rug in front of the kitchen patio door. I couldn’t use that door for hours! I know it’s silly to not want to bother the cat, but trust me, if I really, really had to go out that door, I would’ve made him move. Instead of getting wire from the patio, which is where I would’ve gone to get it had he not been sleeping there, I went into my old craft room and got wire.

I haven’t been taking many sunset photos because I can’t see when it’s pretty anymore since Mike enclosed the patio, but I did take this one! 

Then it was Saturday and time to go see the birthday girl.

What is that?” Mike asked. Even as it went past we didn’t know what it was. Whatever it was, there were two of them. There was another truck behind this one hauling the same thing.

We stopped at the car wash and I was fascinated with the colored water drops on the window. I’m going to paint them one day. 

Runaway truck ramp. I wonder if it’s ever been used. 

I didn’t know what would be served in the line of food, so Mike and I decided we’d stop on the way and have a bite to eat. I had eggs, bacon, toast, and Mike had a triple club.

My view.

“Peg! That’s not nice!”

I know, right! But I had to see it so you do too!

I have road pictures to show you, but first, I was thrilled with all the raptors I saw.

A hawk and three crows in conference.

I was taking pictures of the cows when I see an eagle in a tree. I’ve seen eagles here before.

Luckily, it’s a nice long stretch and I was able to get my zoom camera up in time for a picture.

I only got the one shot of this eagle and he’s pretty far away — but I saw him!

I tried cropping it. You can almost tell it’s an eagle, can’t you? 

I never had a second chance with this eagle and even cropping it, it’s not very good. So, I won’t show you. But I still like the overall composition of the shot. See the bull?

That’s four eagles and two hawks!

Without further ado, here are the road pictures on our trip to Rosemary’s birthday party. 

This barn has some kind of a picture formula painted on the side. Something, something, plus cow, minus something, plus corn, then whatever’s behind the tree, equals question mark. I wish I’d’ve seen the whole thing. Maybe one of my peeps knows what this is. 

Then we were there. Lorraine met us at the door for hugs and Rosemary soon joined us. She opened our gift right then and there. Sorry, Miss Rosie, she loves it!

“I see all the beautiful things you make and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get you to make something for me,” Rosemary said.

“Rosemary!” I exclaimed! “You’ve never told me that you wanted something!”

It wasn’t long until I noticed Rosemary digging around in a drawer. Then she turned and stuck a hook on the window and hung her blue bird up.

I smiled.

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that mine was the only gift she received, it wasn’t. I didn’t document all of the nice gifts she got.

Rosemary and her handsome husband Carmen.

Rosemary is a very talented lady also. She makes beautiful quilts and she made these beautiful sweaters. Don’cha love them! 

We got everyone together and made a group photo. We are such a good-looking group, don’cha think? 

Then we did a family photo.

Then it was time to sing and cut the cake. 

A birthday kiss. After all these years, they still love each other.

Cutting the cake is Stephanie, Lorraine’s daughter.

“I can’t do this with all the pressure,” she said. We were all watching. Steph did a fine job of cutting and dishing it up. Lorraine passed them out, making sure everyone who wanted one, got one — and I got a small piece of both flavors! 

I think everyone had a good time visiting with family and friends. I know I did. I spent time visiting with a cousin who’s the only girl in her family and oldest of seven. Two of Janet’s brothers were there and one of them made it a point to tell me that he remembers when Momma was a milk tester and came to the farm and tested his milk. That was a long time ago.

I only want to tell you one more story before we get on the road and head for home.

You’ve met my cousin Stacey before. Her children came with her to help celebrate Rosemary’s birthday. Her son Ian made a really fabulous dip. I was asking about the recipe.

“I’ve never seen him use a recipe,” Jake, Ian’s partner, said.

“I look at recipes as suggestions,” Ian said.

He’s talented, too! Cooking is a talent and Ian loves to cook. It brought to mind my younger sister, Phyllis. She’s also a genius in the kitchen! Me? I have to have a recipe.

 Mike went around the corner so I could get this photo.

“Barns aren’t supposed to be yellow!” I said. A long time ago we passed a blue barn and I said that barns weren’t supposed to be blue. Mike remembered I’d said that.

“Nope. They’re supposed to be blue!” he said.

“No they’re not! Barns are supposed to be barn red — or they can be white!"

But that’s just my opinion. 

We pulled into our driveway and six deer were in the yard.

           Let’s call this one done!