Away in a Manger

Forget the countless Santas, artificial wreaths, shiny glass ornaments and yards of ribbon that have come and gone in my Christmas decorations over the years. The one thing that I most enjoy putting out year after year is this wooden nativity set that I painted sometime in the early 1980's.

I worked on it for several weeks as a project in a folk art class at Barbara's Tole Shoppe in Little Rock, Arkansas. Later when I had my own shop in Texarkana, I taught it for a class project. And over a period of several years in the mid to late '80's I cut the wooden shapes on my band saw that LBeau gave me for my birthday one year and sold these nativities at craft shows and gave them as gifts.

All of the main characters are there, of course. There's Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus with the donkey standing by.

The shepherd has brought two of his sheep.

And the wise men have come bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Meanwhile, the Angel of the Lord announces the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Through the years little hands have rearranged these figures countless times, and they're beginning to look a little worn around the edges. But that just makes them more special and helps me to remember the reason for the season.

Now be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see what special decorations others are sharing on this Pink Saturday.

A Roll in the Hay (or the Mud, Perhaps)

When I got this picture in an email earlier this week from my sister-in-law Susie, I knew I had to share it on Pink Saturday. It makes me happy just looking at it.

It also reminds me of a saying that I have pinned to my bulletin board. I'm not sure who gave it to me, but I think about it all the time, since I'm married to an engineer. So here's my thought for the day.

"Arguing with an Engineer is like wrestling in the mud with a pig. After a while you realize that the pig enjoys it!"

Happy Pink Saturday everyone. Be sure to stop by Beverly's place at How Sweet the Sound for more Pink Saturday posts. By the way, I just love Beverly's new fall "dress."

Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary

It’s the one year anniversary of Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Be sure to visit Beverly to see who else is helping her celebrate this monumental occasion.

One Friday night when we were on our way to meet friends for dinner, I saw this little outfit hanging in the window of a children’s shop. With Lauren soon to be born, coupled with my loved of pigs, I made up my mind to go back and purchase it. The one hanging in the window look like a toddler size, so I was tickled to find it in a 3 month size.

The top is actually a onesie, so you don’t have to worry about keeping it tucked in. Then it has cute pink and white striped coordinating bloomers that fit over the onesie. How could I possibly resist. I can’t wait until she’s big enough to wear it.

Baby Lauren

On this Pink Saturday nothing seems more appropriate to share than pictures of my new granddaughter. Lauren Elizabeth was born at 8 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 18. She weighed 7 lb., 15 oz. and was 19 1/4” long.

Little Miss Lauren will probably keep people waiting all her life. She was due May 7, so LBeau and I had our trip to Annapolis carefully planned. We would leave Birmingham on May 13, get in a couple of days visiting my cousin in Accomac, Virginia, move on to Annapolis to see Brent receive his master of liberal arts degree from St. John’s College, and most importantly welcome our new granddaughter.

Wrong. By Monday when it was time for us to head back to Birmingham, she had still not made her appearance. We left Annapolis at 5 a.m., planning to make the return trip in one day and knowing we needed an early start to get around Washington, D.C., without traffic delays. By mid-morning we were sight seeing along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park when Brent called to say that they were headed to the hospital.

We continued to get updates throughout the day. Finally, just as we arrived in Birmingham, Lauren decided to make her grand entrance, and we missed the whole thing. Fortunately, we will see her soon when we help them move to Savannah. I can’t wait to get my hands on her.

Big brother Walker loves to hold her, but after about 10 seconds, he’s had enough and says, “Your turn.”

For more Pink Saturday posts, be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

For Lauren – Pink Saturday

It’s Pink Saturday, and it’s time I really started thinking pink. My granddaughter Lauren is officially two days past her due date, so we are all anxiously awaiting a phone call. LBeau and I will be heading to Annapolis next Wednesday for Brent’s graduation from St. John’s, and we’d certainly like to meet Miss Lauren while we’re there.

I want you to look at this cute diaper bag that my friend Connie’s mother made for Lauren.

She selected these cute coordinating fabrics and covered the outside with a clear vinyl that will be so easy to wipe clean. Those two pockets on the outside will hold all kinds of things that moms need.

Inside is a coordinating changing pad that is backed with vinyl. Again it makes for an easy clean up. And look at the cute holder for wet wipes that she covered in the same matching fabric.

The inside is completely lined and also has a pocket to hold more of Lauren’s things.

I thought it was so cute that I had her make one for me. Since I don’t really need a diaper bag, I’m going to use it for my summer purse. She even monogrammed it.

The two pockets on the outside will be great for holding my communication devices. I carry a Nextel two-way radio for talking to my subcontractors and suppliers, but I don’t like Nextel’s cellular service, so I also have a cell phone. I need for them to be handy, so this will work just fine.

Here’s a peek inside my new purse. Cute, isn’t it, and I love the colors!

Now head on over to Beverly’s at How Sweet the Sound where everyone is thinking pink.

PEZ and Piglet – Pink Saturday

Tucked into my mailbox one day was a small package addressed to me with a return address of someone named Carter from somewhere in Georgia. I was pretty sure I didn’t know this Carter person, so I was a little hesitant to open it, but curiosity got the best of me.

Inside I found this precious PEZ dispenser featuring Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. I learned that Carter is a high school classmate of my sister-in-law Susie. A collector of PEZ dispensers, he had read my blog about my passion for pigs (click HERE) and sent me this special gift. Now wasn’t that thoughtful!

So I’m wondering if it’s now time to break into the package and begin passing out those little candies. Maybe they’ll turn out to be an antidote for swine flu.

You can visit others who are in the pink by heading over to Beverly’s place at How Sweet the Sound.

The Best Easter Eggs Ever – Pink Saturday

Growing up I always felt sorry for my friends who got hardboiled eggs from the Easter Bunny. What in the world could you do with a hardboiled egg after you found it? My eggs were just as colorful as their eggs, and they came filled with candy. Sometimes there was even a quarter inside.

My family has always made Easter Eggs this way. Starting several weeks before Easter, my mother would begin saving the egg shells as she used eggs in cooking. She would carefully tap the small end of the egg on the countertop and break out a hole a little larger than a quarter.

Then she would rinse the egg and store it in an empty egg carton.

A few days before Easter is a good time to dye the empty egg shells. I don’t remember what brand of Easter egg dye we used back in the day, but I like to use PAAS. I just follow the instructions on the PAAS package and soon I have bright colorful egg shells.

Once the eggs are the shade I want them, I stand them on the open end and let them drain onto paper towels until the outsides are dry to the touch. Then I put them back into the egg carton so that the inside dries out completely. Here’s Brent working on some Easter eggs on our porch back in the early '90’s. I tried to dye my eggs on my screened porch this year, but it was too windy, so I had to work inside on the island in the kitchen.

Now comes the fun part. You can fill your eggs with any kind of candy you like, but we have found that the ideal Easter egg mix is M&M’s, candy corn and Planters Spanish Peanuts. These are the small salted peanuts with the red skin on them. What’s really good is if the Easter Bunny hides the eggs outside early in the morning. There’s something about the dew on the grass that helps to blend the sweet and salty flavors.

Once the eggs are stuffed, I close the open end with a crepe paper flute or some colorful Easter grass like the PINK grass I used this year because, would you believe, Michael’s did not have crepe paper.

These eggs are all going into Ben’s Easter basket that I painted back in 1988. He and Claire will meet us in Memphis for church and lunch. I hope he’ll enjoy his Easter egg dessert.

On this PINK SATURDAY please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see what others have to share.

The Simple Life - Pink Saturday

This pink Ford pickup truck sits just off the highway to Altus, Arkansas, and advertises the Leding Vineyards.

If you are familiar with the first season of The Simple Life you may recall that the Ledings were the family that Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie lived with. I never watched the program, but a friend told me that this truck was actually used in the series.

To see what everyone else has found for this Pink Saturday, follow the link to How Sweet the Sound where Beverly is so graciously hosting.

Pink Piggies

If you've followed my blog for a while, or even if you've just glanced at my header, you probably know that I have a thing for pigs, and quite a few of them are pink.

The Good Luck Pig sitting in my kitchen window was a gift from my friend Janice. In Germany, when someone is lucky, it is customary to say, "Ich Habe Schwein Gehabt," which means "I have had Pig." This tradition dates back to hard times, when if you had a pig to feed your family you were considered fortunate.

With flames coming out of his nose, this pig doubles as a lighter. Linda gave it to me. I tried to light him for the picture, but I was having difficulty managing the camera with one hand and the lighter with the other without getting burned, so you'll just have to imagine the flames.

On the other side of my kitchen window is this collection of miniature pigs, including a couple of pink ones, that Diane sent me for Christmas. Diane is my daughter-in-law Katie's mother. I figured she spent the whole year just scouting for pigs. In fact, a lot of my pigs have come from friends, and I treasure all of them.

These two pigs sit in my grandmother's rocking chair along with my doll Liza, who is probably about as old as I am. The one on the left is actually a book that my sister Margie gave me just before Walker was born. My friend Luna gave me the cute little plush pig. He squeals when you press on his belly. The needlepoint pillow, also showing pink, once belonged to my mother-in-law.

I bought this fat chenille pig at market. He likes to sit in a window seat in my guest bathroom and watch the world go by. Maybe Walker will enjoy playing with him some day, or he can just continue being fat and lazy.

This little beaded pig coin purse was a gift from my friend Patt. He's just the right size for carrying a stash of mad money in my pocket.

If you have a minute and would like to read more about my pig collection, go here.

For more pinkness be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. You'll find that lots of bloggers are in the pink.

Pretty Pink Posies

Living in a house full of men and boys, I just haven't accumulated a lot of pink, and most of what I have is confined to my guestroom. When we built our house almost eight years ago, we didn't know it would become our home. We built it as a spec house, but when we sold the home we were living in, we decided to move in "temporarily," since this house was almost completed.

Trying to appeal to home buyers with daughters, I had used feminine colors in one of the bedrooms. It's still my "girly" room, even though it served as Brent's room when he was home from college.

One of the pictures hanging in the room is this watercolor of pink roses sitting on an open Bible. It was given to me by my aunt when she sold her home to move in with my mother and dad. I had always admired the painting, but I didn't learn until then that it was painted by Mema, my paternal grandmother, pictured to the left.

That just makes it more special and more reason to hang this touch of pink in my "girly" room.

Be sure to see who else is "in the pink" by visiting Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

One for the Pink Team

After three sons and a grandson, we finally got the news on Christmas day that a granddaughter would be arriving in May.

Katie had had a sonogram the week before Christmas, but she and Brent decided to postpone finding out the sex of the new baby until Christmas day. They had the technician seal the sonogram results in an envelope, which they wrapped up for Christmas and hid under the Christmas tree.

Brent has always been a snoop, so I was surprised that he didn't take a peak early. However, when they unwrapped the special box on Christmas morning, it appeared to be well-sealed.

After Christmas I made a digital scrapbook of our Christmas celebration--everything from decorating ahead of time to playing games and working jigsaw puzzles in the days after Christmas. All of the pages had a Christmas background, except the two pages devoted to the best present of all.

You can check out other Pink Saturday participants by visiting Miss Beverly's How Sweet the Sound.