Spring is in the air

I started seeing daffodils first show their pretty little flowers about three weeks ago and now they are blooming all over.  Of course the pansies and flowering kale have been around all winter.   Half of my pansies got bugs and I had to throw them out so now before I can plant them again I have to get rid of all the dirt and try to get the containers as clean as possible.  That’s a problem because the planter is lined with that straw like coconut filling. Will work on that in the next couple days.   It’s supposed to be 75 on Wed. so I will also trim the knock out rose and a couple fringe plants that have gotten pretty big in the front of the house.

There are a couple trees that are showing red buds and a yellow shrub, don’t know if it is forsythia or not.  Like other parts of the country it is early for all this to happen.   A big concern here is the peach crop because the buds need to stay small and unopened in case we get a freeze.   The last freeze here is April 15. I would certainly miss those delicious peaches this summer.  I couldn’t get enough of them last year.  Last yer the brilliant azaleas were blooming by mid April so I wonder how early they will come this year.

Bob got the patio cushions out a few days ago and we sat on the screen porch.  I saw a robin and much to my delight a pair of bluebirds.   I so hope they make a nest in our blue bird house. I don’t really know if the robins ever migrate away from here in the winter.  Of course the cardinals and many other small little birds are feasting at the bird feeders. We have so many beautiful bird songs all day long.  The last few days, and in the middle of the night, I have been hearing the owls hoot.   That is so special.

I got an email yesterday that Furman is having a gardening class but haven’t decided if I want to take it yet. I just don’t have the gardening itch like I did when I was 20 years younger.   I’m happy with my herbs and flowers in pots.

Smoky and Sabrina love the warm weather and laying in the sun and rolling on the warm cement.  They don’t go very far from the house and like hanging out with us if we are outside.

Our March activities are pretty minimal, especially when compared to February.  I will tell you more about that later.

I have been writing this blog for 4 years and made over 550 posts.   That’s hard to believe.   Hope you still enjoy reading about our adventures and life here in SC.

What does Valentines Day mean to you?

I think Valentines Day is great because it is a day to tell others the positive, happy, loving thoughts we have about them.  Our life is so fast paced that I don’t think that happens as often as it should.  I don’t mean a text message or a tweet to say “lov u”.   Valentines Day is the opportunity to have a more meaningful interaction with your family and friends.

Is Valentines Day about giving cards, candy, flowers or jewelery?   That’s what all the commercials would have us believe.  I say too easy and shallow.  But having said that,  Bob got me a beautiful orchid plant and I love it and I certainly don’t want to give it back.   He knows I don’t often treat myself to things I enjoy and so it is a special gift that shows his love for me and taking the time to show it by giving me a gift.

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to stay more in touch with my family and friends so I have been thinking about this day for awhile.

• I made about a dozen handmade Valentine cards and sent them to family and friends.   If you didn’t get one that means I ran out of time and materials and you should look forward to St. Patrick’s day!
• I sent our god daughter a nice little package of handmade gifts and got a great phone call from her last night.  It is so fun to give Amanda gifts.
•  On Valentines evening I am having three couples over for dessert fondue and the ladies will go home with  handmade gifts.
• I will be making phone calls to family and friends to tell them I am thinking of them

There is still time to make those in your life feel loved and if you can’t do it today than there is always tomorrow.   Love is not confined to Feb. 14.   You can share your love any time.  It really feels good!

How did we come to have Valentines Day?  This is from Wikipedia.  It’s history goes back centuries.

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day,^[1][2][3] is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.

The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“).^[1][3]

Hobby Time – Woodworking and more

It’s been awhile since I posted any photos of what Bob and I have been working on.  Enjoy!

Bob and I just got over colds and that slowed us down a little.

Today I just got a new kit to help me take better pictures.  I don’t think it provides enough light but will play around with it some more.   It’s a start of something better than a white sheet for a backdrop!  Really a pretty good deal for $38.  There are two lights, four different color backdrops and a tripod for the camera and all in a nice carrying bag.

This box is maple and walnut and I really like the shape of it.   It is about 8″ long.

When we were at the Woodworkers Guild for our band saw box class we saw someone working on what he called “tiny boxes” and they were so cute.   We got the directions and here is our second one.  It is about 3 inches wide and the lid is hinged on little dowels.  It is mahogany and oak.   We will definitely make more of these.   It’s a good way to use up scrap wood.

For Valentines day we combined several ideas we have seen for boxes and made this simple heart box.   Once we figured out how to do it the construction was pretty fast.   The openings are drilled in.  The box is mahogany and is about 3 1/2 inches.  The inside is flocked, like felt.  I think it is really cute.  We can use the same concepts for almost any small box shape.

We tried another natural edge box but with a much different bark than the first sycamore ones.  I think it is made from a cotton wood tree but no one at the Guild knew for sure.   It is about 7″.

I also have been making glycerine soap and practicing my origami.

Some is scented and colored,  some with lavender buds in, some clear.  You can see the swan and heart origami.  I’m really, really excited that OLLI, at my suggestion, will be having an origami class next term.   Hope enough people sign up for it so the class is a go.   I have been wanting to study this more for decades but I’m not very good about figuring the folding out when I just look at a sheet of paper and instructions.   I do much better with videos.

Last but not least, we still make some pens.   These are from two beautiful exotic woods.   The striped one is Bocote and the dark one is Indian Rosewood.

I have a couple small boxes and two larger boxes that will soon be finished and made some Valentine cards. That is what we do to keep busy when not taking naps, swimming, petting the cats, going to classes or doing fun things around town.   More on those activities later.

The Evolution of Privacy (or lack of) on Facebook

We should all be very concerned about our privacy both on line and off line.   There is no shortage of bad guys trying to get our personal information and money.   My cousins husband put together some information he found about Facebook.   I thought one link that shows the evolution of the availabilityof your private information was  very interesting.   Here is the link http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/  once there click on each year to see how information availabilty has expanded.   This chart ends almost two years ago.   I’m afraid to think what it looks like now.

A recent issue of Time magazine had a lengthy article on what’s ahead for Facebook with it’s new timeline features and it’s IPO.  With the 60 apps out there you can choose to be linked to many services outside of Facebook.   Right now I am thinking “too much information” both for me and about me on the internet.

Time has a video to introduce you to the Timeline.   It might help you http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1416391174001_2105574,00.html  It’s only a couple minutes long and worth watching.

Am I being an “old fogie” and showing my age or am I being simply cautious and concerned?

One more time, where is Greenville SC?

It’s been awhile since I reminded everyone where I live.  My town is Travelers Rest, SC and it is very close to Greenville SC?   Why am I doing this you might ask.  Many of you travel for business or pleasure.  I just want to make sure if you are nearby you consider including us on your trip.   If you are driving we are a great place to spend the night, or more.   Don’t get Greenville SC confused with NC.   We are in South Carolina.  If you are flying you can fly right into Greenville.   We are 20 minutes from the airport.

Greenville is this far from:
Atlanta, GA 3 hours
Knoxville, TN
Charleston 4 hours
Savannah  4 1/2 hours
Williamsburg, VA 7 1/2
Charlotte, NC 1 1/2 hours
Asheville, NC 1 hour
Lexington, KY 5 1/2 hours
Nashville, TN 6 1/2 hours
Orlando 10 hours
Twin Cities 22 hours

 Map Link:
View Larger Map

Please keep us in mind when you make your travel plans.   We would love to see you.

Going to the ballet

We are using two of our $5 tickets on Sat.  to go to the Peace Center for a ballet.   I ordered many tickets quickly when they came on sale months ago and just skimmed the short descriptions of each performance.    Now I go back and read it again ” Ballet’s brawniest and bawdiest superstars return for another athletic and uproarious spectacle. “Part goofy, part glorious, all man,”    as in an all man drag ballet.  Should be a one a kind performance.   My only experience with a drag performance was many years ago in New Orleans and I expect this will be quite different.  I’m really looking forward to seeing it.

The ballet is Les Ballets Trockadero.   This is from wikipedia:

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is an American all-male drag ballet corps which parodies the conventions and clichés of romantic and classical ballet. The company was co-founded by Peter Anastos, Natch Taylor and Antony Bassae in New York City in 1974, producing small, late-night shows, in off-off Broadway lofts. Their first show as on September 9, 1974, at a second story loft on 14th street, in the heart of the meat-packing district.^[1] The current artistic director is Tory Dobrin^[2].

After receiving a favorable critical review in The New Yorker by Arlene Croce, it was discovered by a wider audience. The “Trocks” toured the world, with prolonged engagements in many major cities. In 2008 they performed at the Royal Variety Performance, in front of Prince Charles.^[3]

The dancers portray both male and female roles in a humorous style that combines parodies of ballet, posing and physical comedy with “straighter” pieces intended to show off the performers’ technical skills. Much of the humor is in seeing male dancers en travesti; performing roles usually reserved to females, wearing tutus and dancing en pointe.