Riverdance

Kate and Chris had surprised us for my birthday and our anniversary with tickets to the Broadway production, Riverdance Farewell Performance.
The use of lighting/backdrops and silhouetting the dancers was very dramatic.
I actually reeeeally liked the black starlit night side backdrops, with machine fog at the base .....
it reminded me of a dark night at the ocean with the waves rolling in.
Matt Bashford played the moving, mournful, Uilleann Pipes. In contrast,Niamh Ni Charra was fun on the fiddle, "dueling" with Mark Alfred on the Bodhrain, (I enjoyed her on the concertina more though), and the Bodhrain....oh, be still my heart palpitations........how I dearly love the Bodhrain!

We both really enjoyed the humor of the dueling dancing "Trading Taps" between the Tappers and the Irish Step Dancers. Seriously.....is it humanly possible for feet to move that fast???
DeWitt Fleming, the lead tapper is soooo good! [All photos fromRiverdance]
Truly a "joyous riot of celebration."
Not a mistepped Irish step anywhere. They are so amazing.
Farewell, Riverdance, Farewell.

So very glad the fever I got that night and still have 3 days later, waited til after "the party."

Captive Audience

Thanks to Opa and Nana......... This little firetruck jewel is sooooooo cool. The kids loved extending the bucket ladder and running the truck all over the place. The most dominant feature on the truck is the most uber annoying siren you've ever laid ears on..........even with a cotton ball and tape muffler............just ask Kate.....she is on "bedrest" on the couch......a captive audience. (Doesn't she look thrilled?! ) She thought it was staying at our house....silly girl!

She was even happier than usual to "get to" go the Dr.'s office! Is she a cutie or what? Love that girl!

Stayin' Alive O O O O

Stayin' alive. Stayin' alive.
Yep, I think I may just've pushed my little laptop to the edge of the gigabyte cliff! I need to burn back-up disks sooooo bad! Have been livin' life........fully.........not having time to post about it. We're still alive and kickin' so, keep checkin' in....'K?

Lord, Light the Fire

Don't let our love grow cold
Cause I'm calling out
Light the fire again
Don't let our vision die
I'm calling out
Light the fire again
~Brian Doerksen

Yesterday as we worshipped and sought the Lord, singing "Lord, Light the Fire", I was reminded of a recent conversation with the Little Farmgirl. She was kneeling in front of the fireplace with it's electric logs.
"Can we roast marshmallows, Nanni?"
"No, Sugar, those logs don't have any heat."
"So they're just FAKE, huh Nanni?"

Lord, let that red light bulb, be a warning to not just put on a "light show." Let us not make the "sounds" of being real, but actually being the noise of cheap tinsel, twirling round and round.....
Lord, light the fire again.....that we might shine for You, sharing the warmth of Your love, and spreading sparks......


Linked to Motivational Mondays at What's on My Mind Happy Blog hopping!

Making Butter

Playing the Oregon Trail Game at school, learning about pioneer life, Big Sister was wanting to make butter. We put heavy whipping cream into pint jars, and went to shakin'!

Shake little Sister,

Shake!
We've got butter!

We drained the buttermilk off in a strainer.

Then washed the butter in cold water, til it was cool and clear.

My antique butter mold

The butter was packed into it,

And then pressed onto a little scalloped plate.

i Carley

Rather it's.... "Eye Carley." Ashi wanted it named "Carley"after her little neighbor friend that just moved away. Yesterday was gorgeous weather out, but I had a major sick headache that finally sent me to bed. That was sooooo maddening. There was so much I planned to do outside.


Today, it's drizzly again, so I finished the monster for the monster......


And......


made potato rolls to take to dinner at Anna's. She fixed a turkey with all the trimmings, since she didn't have to work today. It was reeely good!


American Idol tonight..... Throughout the competition, Scotty has stayed true to his testimony. "I believe in Jesus, I talk to God."

Trivet Pursuit

When Mom had gotten home from the hospital from her surgery, we had gone over for a few days. She had mentioned she wasn't happy with their guest bathroom....it needed repainted, she wanted to ditch the lace valance and get something different, etc. So this trip over, I went armed with a small ladder, paint cans, sewing machine, fabric.... I decided a bathroom makeover would be our Mother's Day gift to her.

I found this fabric, and it reminded me of her. Maybe because it is reminiscent of her dishes in the 70's, I'm not sure. But I thought it would go well with the counter tops Dad had built in there.

He had torn out the old vanity and custom built this one. (He's meticulous, and does an awesome job with wood....my grandpa would be so proud of him)

They weren't happy with the yellow walls and almond trim in there. Yellow is Sooooo hard to find a nice shade in...can be too bold....too acid... etc. So I painted the walls a Ralph Lauren "Sailcloth", and the trim Behr's ultra white for baths and kitchens.

Mom wanted to de-clutter, so we kept the countertop, and wall decor very simple. She had a small antique, picture of boats and fisherman, that was really cool. The old bright yellow Nana and Opa bath plaques have been retired....YAY! (I can say that because I had made them...a zillion years ago.) (Mama's very sweet & sentimental)

She also had this really cool wood carving in the living room, that I wanted to put in here....but come to find out it was very special, carved for her by a friend. (Should've taken a picture of it...simply amazing) It was real dark wood, and had carved flowers. Anyway, it got me thinking about those trivets from India. We were going garage sale-ing (Dad and Jim's fave pastime) so I was on the prowl.....

Found one at a Re-sale store, and another at a charity thrift. I stained them to match each other better, but they weren't dry when we left, so didn't get them hung above the towel ring. I think we need one more there anyway. I love these little jewels...and can picture them painted .....all sorts of cool colors, yeh, gotta find some more of these babies.....definitely.

Chippin' Away

(AOL DIY)

aol DIY has some ideas for those of us who have more collections of paint chips than Benjamin and Sherwin put together. (You know who we are!) I see rooms and rooms of Elvis and Marilyn in our future, Dot and Kate! "It's not really mossy green....more like a granny smith....well maybe more like an osage orange/hedge apple......"

Mother's Day 2011

The special bouquet for Mom from the Kansas Kids.


Mom is recovering really well from her back surgery.
ONLY 2 more months of wearing body armor....YAY!


We got snowed on as we traveled home.
These are all color pictures; not black and whites.


This one is a clone of Martha's front yard! :=) The new Spring moss on the trees shone like gold as we got closer to home.

The trees remind me of some kid's book or show...can't place it.....

I picture them with faces, talking.....

Looking back at whence we came...from our road.

High Five!

We went over to Anna's for a small family birthday supper for little Sister.

A birthday cake topped with little Pet Shop Pets.

Off to the park with Nanni.

Scootin' on her new birthday scooter from Joel, Mama, and Big Sister!

Ashes for Beauty

Here in the Valley, we have very restricted burning regulations. Every year, our burnpile grows and grows, and we struggle with tarps and weights to keep the winds and rains off of it until we have a burn day. Since we have a lot of trees and pruning on our property, the pile gets quite large and feels overwhelming. Saturday, I worked on burning it from noon until evening. Here's what's left:

I looked at the ashes this morning, contemplated the burden that was gone, and then continued my wandering....

and saw the beauty that had come from it. I was reminded of this song..............

(See the Youtube post below)