Happy Pink Saturday Birthday!

Yes - Happy Birthday, Beverly - or Happy Anniversary - and many thanks with a host of happy returns of our Pink Saturdays, where all and sundry gather to celebrate all good things and beauty wrapped up in PINK!

You might have thought with my notable absence these past few weeks that I would miss this special day.  Not so!  First, in honor of such a grand event, may I offer you my first rose of the season -

From my famous rose bush that still hosts the remains of last season's final rosebud (in the foreground) of which I waxed poetically in January, February, and March . . .

And, then - how could I pass up a chance to dress up in all my pink glory for Beverly's FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY hosting Pink Saturday each week in Blogland!  I have been up to my ears in projects that have kept me away from you all and am taking some time this Memorial Day Weekend to do a little catching up.  What better place to return to the blog-fray than our own Pink Saturday - and in this smashing pink hat!

Not to mention my thrift store pink jacket with shoulder pads for days . . .

And - lest we forget:  A matching calico pink print skirt - all five yards of it - gathered over a hoop skirt . . .

All coming together in my 2013 period costume for this month's Founder's Day celebration in my hometown - celebrating 152 years of Vineland history - pictured here along with Jim the Piper-man who piped our Civil War re-enactors onto the grounds during our opening ceremonies!

Here, on Pink Saturday, we may only be celebrating a five year anniversary of kindred spirits and fellowship of all things pink and lovely, but I thought my 19th century ensemble just right for the occasion!

Thank you, Beverly, for hosting such a splendid weekly Blogland event - and for the opportunity to meet and make so many wonderful friends from far and wide!  Expect to see more of me this summer - my busy is about to be done and some much needed R&R is on the horizon.  This means that multitudes of posts are to come with all the news of all I've been up to these past couple of months!

Want a sneak peek?

Tune into live.ccvineland.org to see me performing in our Calvary Chapel Christian Theatre production that I also had the joy to co-write and co-direct:  THE INVESTOR'S CHOICE
 

It's Psalm 23 set in an art gallery where the paintings come to life and challenge visitors to the gallery with the stories they tell - yes - a picture does paint a thousand words . . . and then some!

We stream live online - Click this link: live.ccvineland.org

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 

May 30, 31, and June 1 at 7:00pm EST.  

I'm very proud of the production and hope you'll tune in. 

Sharing Happy Pink Saturday Birthday at Beverly's PINK SATURDAY at How Sweet the Sound. 

Back in Blogland Part 2: Easter Tag Journal Retrospect

AH!  SPRING!!

We had temperatures close to 90 degrees this past week in Southern New Jersey!  My house was a balmy 81 degrees for two days!  I toughed it out - no air conditioner til it becomes thoroughly unbearable.  I don't like unbearable electric bills.

The unseasonable summer temperatures have returned to more normal April readings with signs of spring popping up all over my yard - new life!  God is doing a NEW THING!  He always IS doing a NEW THING!  That's because of the ETERNAL THING He did on the Cross - as celebrated this past Resurrection Sunday!

My Easter Tag Design

As stated in Part 1 of my Back in Blogland Series last week, I spent Easter in New England with my grandbaby - making me a bit late in posting all my "to-do's" of the past month!  Most worthy on that list is how the Circle Journal Group I belong to celebrated the joy of the Lord's Resurrection in a very creative way:  We made Easter Tags for each other and my living room hutch is sparkling with such beautiful reminders of the Love of God shed for all mankind!

Just look at these beauties!!

Our own Pink Saturday Beverly's sweet as can be egg shaped tag, above, came with a couple little friends with a cheery wish!

And, Grace from Pink in the City secured the "oooo-ahhhh" factor with wispy feathers - not to mention the amazing packaging (which, sad to admit) I did not photograph.  Boo on me! 

LaVerne at Riverside Studios made my heart skip a beat with lovely vintage images like this bird in flight . . .

And - just for me - a nod to the traditional Easter Bonnet - which I just loved!

Susan at Blackberry Creek chose a vintage bird image, too - a sweet songbird at rest in such a lovely color palette!

Speaking of songs, Shelia's NoteSongs put an immediate smile on my face when I was greeted by this darling hand-stitched bunny!

And, Nancy at My Crafty Little Page created this precious glitter blue bunny - loved her post on the actual creation of the tags, too!

Plus - she "initialed" me on the back with a happy wish!

Of course, Dana at The Stone Rabbit would have perfection in a rabbit motif!  Love this dapper vintage fellow:

And, on the back - another happy hopper - and I must add a cheer for the burlap!!!

Jeanne our Backyard Neighbor had a fantabulous idea:  Vintage Easter Postcards for the body of the tag!  Mine was stamped on St. Patrick's Day - March 17,1933!

She embellished the other side with personal touches - and I love the lace frame!

What I did NOT expect was to be blessed in the mail with a couple of other springtime treats from dear Blogger friends and talented artists!  Lady Linda wanted in on the swap, so I sent her one of my tags and just look what treasures she sent back to me to mark the season!  Upon opening the little box I found a tiny bag with tinier treats:

Then, under the bag was a delicate PINK hat box with a little "peep" inside!

Isn't she just darling!  And - wearing her own Easter Bonnet!

To that end - I just had to post a shot of me from one of my Easter shows wearing my favorite PINKS - snuggling with a storytelling friend I call, "Funny-Bunkin"!

Is that enough PINK for you?? 

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE!

Out of the blue, Shawn at Poetry in a Pot of Tea blessed my socks off yesterday when I opened a thick hand addressed envelope (always the best things in a thick hand addressed envelope) - and I was the recipient of one of her beautiful hand-made cards from her studio - with a SHEEP MOTIF - so in keeping with my devotions over the past few months on Psalm 23 and the play I'm currently working on!  I was speechless at her generosity of thought and lovely handiwork.  Shawn always has some wonderful tutorials - user friendly - and I love her teatime posts, too!  Blessings, friend!

In fact - a hearty THANK YOU to ALL my dear Blogging Friends who have blessed me with such creative and artistic fellowship!  You are a sip of water and renewal of energies when my work-a-day life needs a rest with creative activity just for fun!  I so appreciate being part of your lives - and having you impart into mine!

COMING UP:  Back in Blogland Part 3: The NEW Ross Road Pathways!

Stay tuned!

Sharing Back in Blogland Part 2:  Easter Tag Journal Retrospect with Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

Back in Blogland Part 1: Where I've Been

I just can't allow another Pink Saturday Weekend to pass me by without posting!!  I have missed the luxury of weekly and regular posting - and blog reading due to some rather hectic calendar demands, not the least of which is this SWEET reason for being off the grid for a couple of weeks:

See what I mean?  Can you really blame me that I skipped town and took an Easter week trip to New England to enjoy our little Mackenzie in all her precious selfness -

Complete with bunny ears, egg hunting, and the just plain "thingness" that she is (pictured here with her cousin, Pedro)!

  

This Nana took her kite flying . . .

AND - we had a lovely bunny of a time Easter morning hunting for eggs and blowing big bubbles!

Sorry - only have one grandbaby and yes - I gush about her all the time.  I am not alone, though.  Her other grammy harmonizes with me in the "Oooooo" and "Ahhhhh" melodies, and we are quite a pair when we get going.

So, that accounts for where I have been throughout the end of March.  And - the beginning of April?  Well, look what I came  home to . . .

GAH!  That's the problem with taking vacation.  You return to a mountain of paperwork and backlogged projects that simply will not be silent!

To that end - I am slipping in today to post PART 1: Where I've Been, in a three part series to catch all and sundry up with all my busy!  In a nutshell - here are just a few snippets:

Homeschool Classes:  Taking tea with my Intermediate Civil War Diaries' ladies as we enjoy some home-made hardtack by Sophia (the young lady in the center) that is only edible when you dunk it in something.

Civil War soldiers kept rations of it in their haversacks because it didn't go bad.  There are some stories, even, of how it was so hard it could deflect bullets!  Hmmmmm . . .

Sophia had a great presentation of the teatime treat, too.

She antiqued copy paper in a tray of tea and coffee and brought the hardtack wrapped in the paper and tied up with string.  Bravo, my girl!!

Play Rehearsal:  We are well into the rehearsal schedule of our drama at church in which I serve as writer and director along with the assistant pastor.

Between the two of us, we are leading a cast of twenty-five with a strong technical and artistic design support staff for our show-dates on May 30, 31, and June 1st!  The play is called, THE INVESTOR'S CHOICE - Psalm 23 set in an art gallery.  Curious?

And, apparently, if writing and directing the full length production were not enough, it would seem I wrote one of the roles with such elevated vocabulary and language that we could find no one to take the part.  So - yours truly will also be acting in this one, too!  In addition to that - I have some production responsibilities with costuming which is requiring a number of period outfits including a fabulous fairy tale princess dress so there has been some fabric and thrift store shopping taking whole afternoons!

I will have the link up for you to watch the show streaming live on the internet on the production dates.  Hope you'll tune in!!

Oh - and - did I mention . . . TAX TIME????

I am posting the above encouraging little thought since I usually need a detox from numbers and Excel spreadsheets and would rather think as little about taxes as is humanly possible.  However - it is that time of year.

Stay tuned for more in this series:

Part 2:  Easter Tag Journal Retrospect

Part 3:  The NEW Ross Road Pathways

In closing, one last order of business - THANK YOU to everyone wishing me well throughout my Blogoversary month in March.  I fear I did not get to post nearly so much as I would have liked.  However, I gathered up all the names of those who commented for a drawing to win my Give-Away:  A vintage paperback edition of one of my very favorite books about St Patrick, How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill - and a couple little surprises just for our special winner tucked in to bless!  I was thinking of you all when I picked up this special copy at my favorite used bookstore in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of March - Kelley's Used Books.

Don't you just love all the stacks!  And the perfect bookseller behind the desk . . .

And, my very favorite shelves where he keeps his oldest volumes - and, yes - I did take a couple of them home with me!

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Sharon at Sharon Sharing God

YOU WON!!

Ha!  Not only did she win - but she also guessed that I took the little pink kitty-cat home with me from the Across the Pond Tea Shop in my Tea Shop Quiz from my last post!  Good guess, Sharon!  There were some other clever ladies who guessed the kitty, too!  I'll be emailing you, Sharon, for your snail mail info and get your prizes off to you soon!

I am looking forward to many new blogging adventures and friends this year.  I made it to over 200 followers in two years - perhaps I'll add to that number in year three, too!

Blessings this Pink Saturday!!

Sharing Back in Blogland Part 1: Where I've Been with Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

Tea Shop Quiz!

All things PINK and cheerful are the order of the day each week when Beverly hosts Pink Saturday at her  place on How Sweet the Sound!  Terrific!  But, when one's home is mostly decked out in greens and golds and burgundy's - well - sometimes finding my pinks to share can be a challenge.

Not to fear this week, though - I had another lovely visit with my friend, Karan, over at her delightful tea shop called, ACROSS THE POND, where she stocks all things teatime and British!

Karan and I are planning a teatime event at her shop in April focusing on the medicinal qualities of tea and the benefits of essential oils to enhance tea flavors, health, and wellness.

My husband and I have been growing in the use of essential oils over the past year and a half, and have come to enjoy the benefits of wellness, increased vitality, and pain management without chemicals and prescription drugs.  I'm starting to learn of their value in the kitchen, too - and have been enjoying a couple of oil blends in my green tea!  Yum!

Ed and I are now openly sharing what we've learned.  Visit our new website HERE to learn more - and even shop and order these quality essential oils for yourself! We're so glad we took the time to seriously look into this holistic alternative in health and wellness.

Now - about those tea shop pinks I promised you - well, last week Karan had all her green going on in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  This week, however, the bunnies came out to play with plenty of pinks to be seen in corner and crevice.

Now - pay attention!  There will be a QUIZ after the photo show!

How do you like this darling children's Easter tea set, displayed with plenty of whimsey on a kid sized cafe table and chair set . . .

And, speaking of tea - I truly wanted to leave the shop with this amazing Fitz & Floyd teapot, creamer, and sugar set!  The details are exquisite!

But, then again - this little "love" teapot was beckoning, along with stationary to write up teatime invitations.

Trees, it would seem, are not just for Christmas.  Easter trees in both purple . . .

And pink . . .

Capture one's imagination with so many delights - and lights - adorning the branches!

Then, there are the cupcake trees bedecked with faux cupcakes, of course!

Floral arrangements in all their pink splendor are complimented by a darling miniature parasol . . .

While a fanciful pink kitty cat . . .

Waits patiently near a cheerful birdhouse with pinks a'plenty, in the hopes of a feathered friend flying by!

And, lest we forget . . . well . . . the TEA!!

QUIZ TIME QUESTION:

Which little bit of pink did Miss Kathy 

have to take home after all?

HA!  Leave a comment with your guess, and when you do you'll be added to the hat for my GIVE-AWAY this month - my BLOGOVERSARY MONTH!

Yep!  Two years in Blogland and loving every minute of it - only wishing I had more leisure time to enjoy the writing, reading, and application of all the inspiration for good things, beauty, and creativity I've found here!  Not to mention, the pleasure of my readers' virtual time.

In light of St. Patrick's big day this month, I've set aside a copy of one of my favorite books on the subject of Patrick, Ireland, and Christian history:  How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.

Of course, the package will come to the winner with a few little extra goodies tossed in for fun and surprises!

TO ENTER: just leave a comment on this post - or any of my posts this month (sorry, there are so few).  On March 31st, I'll gather all the comments up and pull a name out of a hat with the winner announced soon after.

Many thanks to you all for making my time in Blogland so joyful.  You have all been such a blessing to me and are a constant source of encouragement to continue to grow and use the gifts God has given me!

Blessings and beyond, one and all!

Sharing Tea Shop Quiz with Beverly on Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.