Wednesday's Wishful Thinking......

Using my 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby I bought a new set of color for my life. As I get older and keep graying and aging, I think I need some new color.

I started an acrylic painting early in the year while in the art room sub teaching.  I used up most of my acrylic paints when we painted the mural a couple of years ago so it was time to get set up again with some basics.  I normally would not buy just pure pigment colors but I can mix these into many different colors. The price was more than just right.

It is my goal to start painting a series of paintings based on this one painting.  I want to use the same compositional ideas and to develop a few new different paintings.








I am supervising a student teacher and also teaching history next door.  It will be a busy day.
Thanks for stopping by my post.

Tuesday's Trivial Things........

This is one of wild fowl collection  figurine that expresses a mother's concern for her two young.

A small hand painted plate that we picked up at an antique mall.  It is handpainted with two robins sitting on a branch.  The carved openings on the plate and the glaze are wonderful.  I am sure we picked it up for a dollar or less. It is such a real  example piece of American craft.

And B J Miller painted it. I doubt I could ever find the artist on the net but I probably will look.  One of my former art students does china painting. She sells works from small items to painted toilets and sinks.  She ships all over the US.

Giving you a peek of the progress of the violet slips that I planted a week and a half ago.  They are still standing and not one has rotted.  The plastic helps create a greenhouse effect that keeps things from drying out to quickly.

I am an all day librarian for the middle school-high school. It is very quiet work and I spend more time checking out computers than anything else.

I had ice on my windshield this morning but it was minor.  I think the worst part of the storm is staying north of us.  I see Duluth, Minnesota is predicted to have 10 to 15 inches of snow.  We may be too warm for snow and just get the needed rain.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. 

Thinking about the summer to come.........

I purchased a packet of these over the weekend.  I would like to see if I can get a few more colors of them growing on my trellis.

My blue morning glory didn't bloom last year so I will have to dig up some more seed from my seed box. A friend had given me a lot of seed a few years back and it does keep well.

 None of these are blooming right now as they are archived photos.  I just wanted to show you the colors that I had and to show you the packet of colors that I am hoping to have this summer.
 
This darker red color has done well for me each year.  They are so fun to catch blooming as they don't always bloom the same time of the day.  They only last one day and then they are immediately gone.

For some reason my blog I posted earlier lost some of it's pictures.  I have had to start over with this one and still can't get it to load some of the other pictures that I wanted to share. 

Thanks for stopping by my post.

Snow on the multiple roofs.........

It is Saturday and I am still plugging along slowly.  The week long siege of the head cold and such took its toll on my energy level.  I work for a while and then I sit down.  I have some framing to mess with today and we also need to go get some mat board for some new projects.

 Someone brought me their replica of a $100,000 check that he won in the lottery games.  They want it framed but don't want to spend too much on it.  Catch the joke there?   He said it he didn't want to put too much money in the frame or the job in general.  You can see why I have worked myself out of the business as much as possible.

I asked my wife if we went to Hobby Lobby to get framing and art supplies that maybe we could pick up a sandwich somewhere.  We might actually venture over to a bookstore or something like that.  It will be nice to get out of the house.  We are out of dog food and orange juice so we have to go somewhere anyway.

My Christmas cactus has decided to bloom all over again.  I bought it with a third of it in bloom and wow it is has new buds all over it again.  I guess my climate is so different than the greenhouse it came from that it thinks it is spring again.  It has been a week since I started the violet slips and they are all looking very good.  I slipped the whole container of new starts into a clear plastic bag to help keep the soil moist.  I will have to remember the date to see how long it takes them to sprout new leaves.

Speaking of the subject of coffee prices, they sure crept up and stayed there.  With the gasoline prices being forced onto us and the coffee being so sky high I am wondering what next will we be hit with in the future.

I did finally buy a six dollar jar of peanut butter the other day.  It was a very large container and it ended up being about what the regular price should be if you proportioned the amount per cost.

I am taking a break from coffee for a while and the price should be of no concern.  I will be back on the wonderful beverage some day again but not right now.  I bet the price will still be high when I return to it.

It is sunny again today and the temperature is 16 degrees this morning.  I guess we will get above freezing later today but the sunshine is so welcomed.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Friday's final finish..........

It did snow in Iowa.  It started on Thursday afternoon and continued late into the night. We have sunshine this morning and it looks like a frosting has been coated on everything outside.

The make up of the snow made it coat everything heavily.  The honeysuckle bushes look like they have been flocked by a snow machine.

The shine from the snow is created by out great sun shinny day.  It is another healing day for my body. I feel much better but am not going to be building any bridges.  It is Friday and I hope you have a good weekend.  Thanks for stopping by my post.

Thursday's Thoughts.......

The flower that scientist have recreated from genetic finds of prehistoric pods, seems to me to look a whole lot like our wild sweet William or wild phlox.

And then I looked again and I say never mind.........

I had never seen the close up view to see what all was going on with the center of the flower. It does have the same number of petals and the similarity stops there.

Have a good day and thanks for stopping by my mini posting.

In Progress.....

It is a very large frame and it is in good shape except for this corner.  It looks like  it has been rubbed against something as the gold on it has rubbed off and or faded.  I have a gold pen that i am using to restore it but my gold paint does not have the shine as the original one does.  I my have to put a shiny clear finish on top of it to get it to shine like all the rest.

I have a large photo to mat and frame with glass for my older gentleman friend.  He had me restore another frame holing a photo of an old bridge.  This poster will also be of a bridge but of the modern one that replaced the older one.  I will show you when I am finished because as you can see it is in progress.

I am in the at risk room today helping people to get their homework caught up or done.  It is a great way to keep track of some who need to be hovered over a lot so they will be able to  pass in their studies.  My cold is better, I don't feel great, but I can work.   Thanks for stopping by my post.

Grandpa Burgus' House

Murray, Iowa

I never met my Grandpa Burgus so this is what I always considered my Grandma Burgus' house. They had lived in three other farm homes before they ended up in town in this small home.  They had ten children and as they all grew up and moved away this two bedroom home was sufficient for them.

The bay window is a lot like the one in my house where it projects out at least two feet or more.  In the photos below you can not see that.

This is Grandma Burgus holding my oldest brother Ronald probably in 1941.  Grandpa Burgus was still alive then but he isn't in the picture.  He died in 1949 the year before I was born.  I figured that I sort of knew what kind of guy he was as I knew a couple of my Uncles that were built like him and probably had his personality.

The bay window in the background is where my Grandma gardened year round.  I can remember the various plants and cactus that sat in that south window. Tall cactus and old vines that were handed from neighbor to neighbor.  Violets of course were in the window too.  The old fashioned variety which had the single petals and were dark violet, purple.

This photo could have been taken at a different time as the one above.  I didn't change this from a sepia to a black and white.  The stuff in the window looks the same though and dad has been through basic training.  He may have been there for my brother Rex's birth which would have been in 1942. He wasn't serving overseas until the next year or so.

I have one other photo that seems to be buried in my picasa files.  It is one of various cousins sitting on the front porch of the house.  If I eventually find it today I will post it.

I am at the tail end of a three day siege of a very bad head cold.  I am going  back to work today and will just do minimal things.  I didn't have to sub so I can change ink cartridges in  printers and straighten computer labs with ease. I even will sub for the librarian while he, the sub librarian goes up town to buy some lunch.

Thanks for stopping by today at my posting of memories. It seems I have so many relatives that stood on the porches of houses to have their pictures taken.  Sometime I get the porches confused and an older first cousin of mine straightens out my mix up.  Have a good day.

No more cake, either..........

I posted that I had the last brownie eaten..  I didn't mention that my wife made me a red velvet cake for Valentine's day.  Unfortunately it is now gone also. We do have some Girl Scout cookies squirreled away if we get desperate.  Our neighbor lady brought us some chicken and noodles today to help us both fight our colds or mild flu.  We should be at the end of this round soon.  I plan to return to work tomorrow.

We are going to receive rain today.  It is just sprinkling right now and Barney and I just made it inside after our walk before it started.  It isn't cold enough to be cold but the weather guy keeps mentioning snow.

I have a box to be made for the shipping of an artwork that my wife has sold.  No mail today as it is President's Day.  But we will mail it out tomorrow.  Della had a commissioned work of a dog portrait that she created of someones dog that they had lost to old age.  With Della's business I have learned how to make boxes efficiently out of scrap boxes and flat cardboard pieces.  We buy glass by the case and I will have to use one of those boxes to create my shipping box today.  I am resting up right now to get the energy to go do that.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

The last brownie..........

Taking it easy today. Caught another cold from whatever child I was with in whatever classroom.  It has been tough this year catching every germ that shows up in front of me.  I have tomorrow off but don't tell anyone or they might ask me to do something.  Take care and thanks for checking in on my post.

Plant doctor.........

I had a few plants in different planters that were the survivors from funeral arrangements of the past. Most of the plants in each planter, died, but one lone survivor was joined with another two survivors. New soil and a good trimming of dead leaves made them look a little more healthy.  I fertilized and watered well and put them into a sunny spot for revival.

I placed some soil into a plastic storage bin, I won't use the lid, and started taking leaves from my violets. I didn't have violet potting soil but this product looks like it will work just fine.

I took slips from my red African violet that has plain smooth petals.  It was so healthy that you really can't tell that I trimmed them off of the mother plant.

My red ruffle-leafed violet seemed a little wimpy.  It is alive and well but I didn't take very may slips from it. I took two from it and the rest are variegated violets.  I didn't take any starts of the single old fashioned purple violet ones as I have too many of them.  I plan to start giving some of those away to good caretakers of plants.

Since the doctor had his sharp knife already dirty, surgery was done on one deformed violet.  I separated the violet into one new plant and the remaining parent plant.  The main plant is still very deformed and I am not sure if it will ever become a good shape.

I think this plant will have to be divided again in another year, giving me two plants.  I will just water it a let it grow to see what it will become.








We had a busy morning with two different people dropping off special items to be framed.  They will be fun to frame but are not your normal kind of frame jobs.  One of them is a piece of window glass with a Sylvania emblem attached to it.  The sticker was an ad from the fourties and I am going to frame it to protect it and to also show it off.

Thanks for stopping by my post.  I am sure my regular readers are breathing a sigh of relief today.  I have whined about getting new violets started for three months.  No more whining, at least about that anyway.  As my friend Claude in France says,  "Ah, tomorrow!"

Friday's Findings.............

I looked up while in the dining room and snapped them again. The first one is my creation, the second one is a creation to sell to the California tourist trade, Pottery Shack, and the third is a tourist creation from New Mexico, purchased 50 years or more.

I had a wild fowl collection that my wife kept up for me, one a year, and then they stopped making them.  Trends are so trendy and then they vanish.  This is a porcelain piece she purchased for me to honor that collection, even though it is not of the same vein of style or material.  I really like it and that was the stopping point for my wild fowl collection.

No flowers blooming outside like some people who live in the south, so I will show you again how my garden is growing on the inside.  Maybe this weekend I will finally make some slips of these and start some new ones for sharing.

Espanol will be my subject of instruction today. It is Friday and for some reason has been a very long week.  Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Old photos in a photo..........

Andrew and Aaron

Sitting in the high school science room the past two days, I was reminded of days gone by when both of my boys attended kindergarten in the same room.  The building has been remodeled and a wing of classrooms was added but the kindergarten room really is almost the same room in tact from years ago.  The alphabet floor tile has been removed and modern windows have been added and the room was enlarged  in length.

I snapped this photo of photos off the shelf last night and I guess the informality is there because that is what it is.  Andy is a Lake Pokegama playing with his plastic boats.  He had a fleet of those cheap dime store boats and this one had a string so it wouldn't get away from him.  Aaron is sitting in the kitchen holding his shoes ready for someone to put them on his feet. The old kitchen carpet is long gone now and so are those stylish appliances. Andy is 35 years old now and Aaron in 32 years old.

I was out of pictures to use on my blogs so I snapped things that were sitting on the shelves in the fireplace area.  I miss the antique store that had been in Osceola, Iowa.  It was large with two floors of booths from various sellers. I bought this down there a few years back.  I would stop in on the way hone from visiting mom maybe twice a year and usually found some figurine object or planter.

I will finish off today with a small glazed piece that my wife has in her collection.  It is a collection of pieces that have the pastel colored glazes.  Unlike the chicken above, she collects the animals and people who are created in this style.  I believe they are all high fired porcelain pieces but they were low priced finds.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

It may be all apples and oranges.......

But it really could really be pears, red ones at that instead of apples and oranges. And how many reallys can you have in a sentence?

I am a high school science instructor today as well as a middle school pe instructor.  We do have an abbreviated day so my day will be shortened by an hour and a half.  Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Busy creating.......

Charles Schultz's little guy is busy making a Valentine perhaps because he doesn't want to buy a card.  I did get my flowers ordered for my wife Monday evening and they are paid for and will be delivered today.  I bought big this year because I don't buy her flowers very often any more and she does deserve them. She has put up  with me for 27 years plus and she still remains my Valentine.

I forgot how some adults who work at school love Valentine's Day.  One lady makes gourmet cupcakes, many kinds, and another was just busy with the sugar cookies and pink frosting.  I have resisted so far and will make it through first hour before hitting the sugar!!!!!!!

I had to scrape ice off my windshield this morning.  It wasn't too bad and it wasn't very cold compared to the temperatures we have been having.  I think we might even melt off some of our snow today as it will be three or four degrees above freezing.

I am a band teacher today.  The first hour is a study hall which has nothing to do with the teaching of band.  The middle school students though during their band perioud are to take off and play their instruments all at the same time, but they won't be playing the same song.  I guess that is called non band to me because of its lack of organization.  I hate non band.

I am taking my wife out to eat for the big V day but it will be tomorrow.  We are going to do a few errands at the same time so we will make all of our experiences happen on the same day.

 A reposting of some of my antique Valentine's from my mom and grandma's collection.

Everyone have a good day today and thanks for stopping by my post.

Schefflera......

 I can imagine a lot of my blogger friends are smiling because I bought another plant.  I don't need any more plants. The thing is that it is so extremely cold and when you go to the store and see the green living thing, you have to buy it. It reminds me of what life might look like in spring.

The neighbor lady was telling of her piles of garden catalogs that were tempting her to buy plants for spring.  I guess that if I do plant tomato seeds that I must do it next month for sure.  After last years crop I swore that I wouldn't plant any tomatoes ever again.

It is a nice little schefflera that said "buy me" so I did.  We had a large plant like this for years and it finally got so big and lanky that I somehow left it outside to freeze one fall day.  This is only about 7 inches tall and I will have to repot it soon.  I know the greenhouse that it was in made it look extra green but I will keep it in a window and make it grow big.

The site is back and you can watch these two while they nest, lay eggs and hatch out their babies. You have already missed the mating part but we are certain now that the eggs have been fertilized.  She hasn't lain any eggs yet but it is expected to happen soon. Check it out and bookmark it for your own personal curiosity. They successfully raised three chicks last year.

Click below on site that is in light gray. It is so light gray that you can't see it.

The Decorah, Iowa live cam website.

American History, Economics and 7th grade history is the name of the game today. Thanks for stopping by my post.

Palm Sunday and the Pope........

A older Bible that was brought home from the farm held a flattened fern or palm in it.  Who knows who did it and when.  I suspect it was my wife's mother who pressed it in there from a Palm Sunday service. I could not find a date of its printing anywhere in the book but I think it looks like an adult's handwriting that had written 1957 one of the  inside pages.

Signed by the Pope.

One of my friends brought in this document that is rolled so tightly that I can't really unroll it.  He tried to show it to me and I told him not to as it will tear and all would be unhappy.  I took the beginning of it and rolled it very carefully onto this small cardboard tube. It was not easy and as you can see I have straps on it to keep it in place.  I may spray a fine water mist on it to get the fibers to let up a little with the tight surface tension that it has.

The document was signed for my friends parents declaring or blessing on their marriage around the date of the anniversary back in 1958.  From what I could sort of see, while forcing it onto the roll is that is has a photo of the pope glue to it and there is some fancy painted decorated lettering on it.The paper must be a special parchment paper and I think it had been rolled up tightly and stored in a damp basement.  That sort of seals the fibers into a shape that it doesn't want to change.  It has a spring action

I will keep you updated on the progress of the unrolling of the paper.  I will use a lot of patience and wait for it to loosen up as time goes by.  I will find another larger round tube to transfer it to when I can and eventually I will let you see what I will see once it is flattened. I told the owner that I had no way of promising that I could pull this restoration off safely but I sure would work as carefully as possible.

I don't have anything else creative for you today.  I hope it has warmed up for most of you as it suppose to become a lot warmer today. It was around 5 degrees F this morning.  Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Saturday's Posting......

Yes, it is a brownie and they sure do taste good with a hot cup of coffee. I had one this morning while watching the birds and squirrel at the feeders. 

I had to rework a frame job today.  A cross stitched work that appeared to be very stable and flat didn't stay flat after it had been framed for a while.  I removed it from the frame and stretched it out on a piece of foamcore. Stretching it four ways and temporarily holding it in place with push pins helped it a lot.  Then stainless steel pins are placed between all the spaces of the push pins to hold it into place.  When I remove the push pins all stays stretched and tight over the foamcore. 

The piece had stains on it from the hoop and dirty hands. The lady said not to wash it just cover them with the mat.

So I did cover up the stains and it looks good.  I may have posted this months ago but the person didn't come to pick it up and that's how I noticed I had to go back in and stretch it. Better for me to notice and do it than having them bring it back later. That rarely happens except when a piece is a flimsy quilt block and it has loosened up even after it has been stretched.

The Gene Autry poster is now mounted and placed in the frame.  I still don't have the hanger on it but that may happen before the day is done.

It was a working day today for the most part but we did venture out to the store to get a few groceries. I didn't want to get out in it but the weekend is our only free time that we have to do it. It was busy at Walmart as everyone else was out in the 26 degree F. temperatures.  The windchill was bad so one didn't tarry long waling from the car to the store.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.