Birthday Numbers. Winter.

This Saturday past was my 57th birthday, which, coincidentally, was the year I was born. Falling this close to the end of the year/beginning of next has left me rather retrospective. Isn't it peculiar how from time to time as we age we reflect on where we've been and decide on where we're going. Out with the old/in with the new, so to speak.

There was a time in my past when I considered myself to be the "Queen of Swords" (back when I read tarot cards). I chose her because her description read something along the lines of "a Woman of Sorrow Who is Powerless to Change". A good description of the loveless marriage I believed myself to be stuck in.

The last two years have given me a lot of time to watch, listen, think and plan. To that end, I've made a conscious decision to enjoy the present in spite of the past. I believe anything is possible as long as I stay true to myself.... Much like the fool.

But enough about me. . .

Can you believe this was taken today on Christmas eve? This is off one of the local dirt roads. You can see where animals, probably deer, have been bedding down in the goldenrod. Although there was rain and fog in the morning, it stopped long enough for Bandit and I to get some fresh air and exercise. Normally at this time of year the woods are full of snow, much like it was for Thanksgiving last month. 

On the Assembly Line

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.

Guess I'm getting old 'cause I miss the kids trick-or-treating from door-to-door. Now-a-days most children go to events organized by local fire departments and schools. Perhaps it's for the best. I remember walking from house to house in the neighborhood freezing as the sleet/snow fell around us all. The loot we'd bring home was well worth it -- even if it was confiscated and doled out a little at a a time. I remember the joy of dumping a full shopping bag out on the floor and sorting through it for favorite stuff. The first night sister and I were always allowed to eat until we pretty much fell into a sugar coma. Great memories!


Several projects are underway at the Petunia Magpie factory in anticipation of the forthcoming holidays. For example, this trio of googlie-eyed ponies await final assembly. When completed they'll look very similar to the ones below.

Am trying to decide on a color for their mane and tails. Should I stick with the color of their bodies or mix it up a bit? Any suggestions?

These are child-safe. Crocheted by hand using Morning Glory fiberfill and Red Heart yarn (both products made in USA). Machine wash and dry.

Happy "Snow-vember"!

Work...Work...Work...

Hairatio Burrows

Those of you who know me know that I've been out of work for a while. Right now I'm in the third week of training at my new job and I couldn't be happier.

The trainer, technical support and my classmates are all a super bunch of people. Expectations and performance measures are clearly defined. Feedback and problem resolution are immediate. The commute is fantastic! (I'm working from home.) The virtual classroom is pretty cool too. Reminds me of a few Coursera classrooms.

Today I'm feeling blessed to have such an incredible opportunity with a true performance-based company.

[You can check their website http://www.teletech.com to see if they're hiring any more @Home agents or not. Note: Everyone starts part-time.]

Anyway... After "being lazy" (looking for work, painting, crafting) for a while, I'm having trouble motivating Etsy shop work. Many projects are close to completion and will be photographed and uploaded as time permits. 

Right now I'm off to seize the day on this next-to-last free weekend I'll have for the foreseeable future.

May your day be peaceful and warm.

Petunia Magpie: The shop.

#CY365 Prompt: For Sale

Let me first say: A big thank you to all the friends and family and strangers who have supported my artistic endeavors for the past several years both in-person and online. I couldn't keep going were it not for y'all. The compliments and suggestions are always most appreciated. It's a humbling experience to see the joy on a child's face when they listen to a toy's story and hug a crochet elephant for the first time. [Y'all know all animals I sell tell a story. It's part of their charm.] I am especially grateful to those who have directly encouraged my painting. Thank you all for your kindness.

Putting items online for the first time is a daunting task. There's all those pictures to take/edit/upload, descriptions to write, measurements to note (height, width, weight), shipping costs to assign.

With me there's always the added "Man, I wanna keep this - it really turned out nice." conversation going on in the back of my mind. As a matter of fact, there are two gourds with what I call a "crazy quilt" design that have become part of my private collection. Well.... perhaps only one will be mine.

Some of these gourds took days to paint and selling them for about $20 each is heartbreaking, but a must. Like a long lost friend (Kim) would say "Christmas is coming. Mama needs a new pair of shoes."

With that said, the majority of the birdhouse gourds have been listed in my Etsy shop. Am reviewing inventory and putting the products I pulled from the shop to go to Festivals and Markets back in the shop.

Y'all will be happy to know that after a road trip to Amish country this summer, I DRASTICALLY REDUCED the price of the quilts to the price others in the area are selling comparable products for.

IN THE WORKS: gourd ornaments.... Stay tuned for more info.

Meatless Monday. 6 October 2014 Photo Challenge: Whole.

I must admit to being a bit let down with the food vendors at Alumni Weekend. Not that their food was bad or anything. I had some delicious vegetarian chili and brought home a cinnamon bun that when heated in the microwave was quite good.

I was let down simply because they didn't have any food that was pumpkin flavored. The very next time I hopped on Facebook a friend had posted a link to Pumpkin Pie Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal.

With those two prompts, I decided that today's post is going to be all about the Pumpkin! Er... the eating thereof.

Besides thinking of "Uncle Harry" and pumpkin pie, I got to thinking about the delicious pumpkin muffins served at the Country Cupboard downstate in Lewisburg. In all our years of traveling through there on our way to Coudersport from northern New Jersey, I don't think anyone in our family ever had a bad meal. There and back again. Aunts, Uncles, Grandma, Grampa, Mom and Dad. We've all stopped in there a time or three.

What's so great about it? Courteous staff. Rarely a wait for a table. Very reasonably priced. More than ample sized servings. Nope, they're not paying me to say any of this. Simply stating what me and mine have experienced as a guests. If you want to find them on Facebook, they're listed as Country Cupboard Restaurant and Shops.

But to get back to the pumpkin,

Sunday: A Traditional Day of Rest.

Being a vendor yesterday at the University of Pittsburgh's Alumni and Family Weekend was a lot of fun. Was nice to see some familiar faces and speak with some of the students. What a great bunch of students from UPB! Got to see the Pitt Panther (mascot) and lots of little ones getting their faces painted and painting pumpkins. Isn't it great how children brighten our days?

While it was fun, it was also tiring. Loading. Unloading. Not to mention all the prep work that goes into being a vendor.

Today truly is a day of rest for this tired old lady. Right now I'm sipping a cuppa coffee and watching the wood fire flicker and dance.


 As to the #CY365 photo challenges...

Photo Challenge Prompt: Out of Focus

Wasn't quite sure what to do for the "out of focus" prompt. Usually my camera is set to "AUTO" and it takes care of the heavy lifting.  Sometimes the "LIVE" setting takes a better picture. Those are my "go-to" settings. Never had any formal training even though biological-Dad is a professional photographer so all this talk of aperture settings and f*stops never made any sense to me. I guess you could say that until today I was a point-and-click kind of photographer.

Today that all changed.

The other buttons on the camera were experimented with. AFTER - mind you - I couldn't get any of my shots to be out of focus. Isn't that a riot? Even the close-up's I was attempting were crisp and clear as a Blue Ridge Parkway overlook on a cloudless, low-humidity day. lol

Buttons were played with.  More on that when it's not the day before festival (and two cords of wood are on their way here for me to stack).

The picture above was taken using the "fisheye" effect. Turned out rather cool, eh?

October 2, 2014 Photo Challenge. Prompt: Line.

Thought about this photo prompt while running errands this morning.

Considered lines on a parking lot, white "X" lines on a shed, cars lined up at a red traffic light and lines at the grocery store.

Even considered taking a photo of the lines on my face as the 'lines' from that old Eagles song "Life in the Fast Lane" played in my head. You know the one:

There were lines on the mirror.
Lines on her face.
She pretended not to notice she was caught up in the race...

Then during the last 1/2 mile homeward lo and behold: turkeys. A whole line of hens walking across a neighbor's yard headed into the shelter provided by a stand of trees. Luckily the camera was ready and there were no other cars on the road.

October 30-day Photo Challenge

I'm joining a friend in a 30-day photo challenge in hopes that it will inspire a bit more consistency for posting this blog. (So little time, so much to do.) It's the first Photo Challenge I've ever done and looks like a lot of fun.

The photo prompt yesterday was "Signs of Fall" and after going through yesterday's snaps, the picture I chose was taken on the Blaisdell-Emery Trail.

Today's photo challenge is "Lines"... Will post that after errands are run.

Want to join in the fun? Go to Capture Your 365 to view and download (or "Pin") the October 2014 Challenge and tag your photos #CY365.

Two days left before the 2014 Alumni and Family Weekend at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and I'm scurrying to finish tagging products. Here's a little something to bring with you to the event. Hope to see you there!

Meatless Monday.

Yesterday's dietary overindulgence has led to today's (and possibly several days this week) menu: Vegetable Stew. Some call it "Kitchen Sink" stew, but what it really is is the last of the fresh vegetables from my organic garden in anticipation of the killing frost that's right around the corner.

Except for the corn and garlic, everything you see pictured came from the raised beds in the back yard. The corn and garlic are from a "certified organic" farm.

The carrots and potatoes grew to amazing sizes this year. Shown are not the largest - but they're all sweet and fresh. Wishing the basil had done better this year; hoping perhaps under the grow light they'll reach for the sky.

Am mixing everything together and simmering it over a slow fire in a big enamelware pot for as long as it takes the flavors to meld together. Will use home-canned stewed tomatoes as a base.

Rest of ingredients?

Bradford Farmer's Market.

It was a rather pleasant day at the Farmer's Market this morning. Gray clouds threatened overhead, but the crowd didn't seem deterred. Lots of folks were out and about looking at all the lovely fresh produce and baked goods. The sun finally made an appearance right around noon and traffic picked up a bit.

Truly a great selection and competitive prices too! (I can't resist Mary's baked goods. mmmm... chocolate and peanut butter. Pistachio bread too!)

Most of the vendors are local. They make and sell things as a hobby or to earn a few extra dollars that our grandma's would have called "pin money".  Many have been there for years, although this is it's first year in the present location. I'm told that in years past the Bradford Farmer's Market was downtown in the historic district. Nice location, but not much room for growth.

This week I met a couple new vendors with great ideas.

Hurry Up and Wait (Prep Work)

Having spent the last three days playing with paint and the gourds shown here, it was time to break the morning routine and prep some future projects.

A while back some vintage, wooden-handled hand saws became available and have since been languishing the year away in the "workroom".

Two hand saws and a bare-wood occasional table were pulled and moved to the glass-top table on the back deck. Fine steel wool gently removed all remaining surface rust and debris.

Sunday: A Traditional Day of Rest... 17 August 2014

Yesterday was spent wandering the back roads of McKean County. Stopped at a friend's house and wandered their fields for a while. Snapped a few photos along the way even though the day was overcast and cool.

The strange looking flowering plant you see at the left is Teasel. Dipsacus fullonum according to Wikipedia.

Although it looks delicate the "cones" that hold the blooms (and subsequent seed) are actually quite sturdy when dried. Many people use them to add interest to dried arrangements. When an opportunity for harvest presents itself this is one of the plants on the list to add to the 'mostly' native garden out back along with Turtlehead and another as-yet unidentified flower (which doesn't happen all that often). It gives both Summer and Fall interest PLUS is a Winter food source for finches.

As a child I often wondered if pioneer women used teasel to comb tangles out of windblown locks. What do you think?

2014 Mt. Jewett Swedish Festival

The weekend blew Summer into being as temperatures soared into the lower 80s. Hoards of rain-weary people flooded the streets of downtown Mt. Jewett, PA for the 44th Annual Swedish Festival with the motto "Let's Swede It Up".


It's so nice when a community comes together to welcome strangers into their homes and businesses for a few days. What a great job the festival committee did making sure the activities were continuous. We came away with so many wonderful memories of the festival, community, other vendors and most important: YOU our customers!

A big thank you to everyone who came out and showed their support. Until we see you next we thought we'd share some photos of the festival with you.  Enjoy!

This may look rather odd...

But I thought you might want to see a work in progress.

One of the reasons I like working with acrylic paint is it's so versatile. It can be used in the consistency of watercolor, tempera or oil. Also, it cleans up easily with soap and water when still wet - yet dries to a surface that can be built upon for depth.

The field flowers sketch on this wooden tray (the last wooden tray I have in stock) is a rough draft showing the basic form and elements that will be included in this painting.

Shown below is the current rendition. Some elements will be staying, some will be erased (the Columbine looks simply horrible) and some will be added.

Where does the time go?

So much has happened since my last post I don't quite know where to begin. For starters, check out this small flower box painted using stylized rosemaling.

What is Rosemaling?

Almost like magic...

The pussy willows sprouted into full bloom. Yet it wasn't magic that caused such rapid growth, but rather unusually warm temperatures. According to Weather.com, the average high for Bradford, PA in April is 56 and the average low is 32. Which makes today's high of 77 and low of 51 a bit of an anomaly.

Not that I'm complaining. After this past winter, the heat is a welcome guest.

Hope that y'all had a chance to get out and enjoy some of that sunshine.

Easter Sunday 2014

When I first moved back to PA in 2011 spring was absolutely perfect. W and I refer to it as "The Year of the Apples" because the apples were so profuse. He's been asking me to paint him a picture of an apple tree ever since then. Although this is not what he had in mind, this is the picture I painted for him. It shows an apple tree in the foreground with rolling farmland, a barn with silo and fall foliage. It's a work in progress that may never be finished, but I wanted to share it today.

It's been months since I last wrote in this blog with any regularity. Mostly because I have been trying to decide which platform I wanted to continue using. There are so many choices for blogging platforms (weebly, blog, wordpress, etc.) and I have been experimenting with several of them. Trying to do everything I want on one platform, but that doesn't seem possible without either coding the pages OR paying a premium. Blogger seems to have the majority of features I desire so until I have the money to pay for a commercial site it will be the platform I use.

Last Hike of the 2013-14 Winter Season; Countdown to Spring.

Yesterday morning when I saw that the temperature was 55 degrees I knew we couldn't stay inside all day minding the fire. So I put together a crock-pot of soup using a recipe* a pal had posted on Facebook and we headed out the door and down the road. Because the Poop Trail, the closest local trail, was too muddy to even attempt we made a b-line to one of our alternates -- an oil road out Droney way.

We got to the t-junction by the access road after a little slip-and-slide on the ice and at first I wasn't sure the Jeep was going to be able to get all the way off the road, but we did it! Took three attempts with the fellas at the factory watching* to get in exactly the right spot. Drove right up the snowbank that the plow had been building up all winter. Was kinda wild; the Jeep kinda teetered there for a second, but we made it.

There's A Storm Rolling In...

...from the Northeast where the Great Lakes lie in their winter slumber. As of February 14th, eighty-eight percent of the Great Lakes are covered in ice. At least, that's what CBS Chicago reports.

All I know is that it is unseasonably cold. Cold enough to keep me from getting my daily exercise by walking the trail. And with no exercise... So I've decided to haul the elliptical out of the back room and into the living room. Time to get rid of this paunch. Besides - if I don't do it now I won't be able to go for those long hikes once Spring arrives.

Daily Journal - 20 February 2014

Lately I've had the good fortune of seeing some amazing scenery in movies. I'm enamored of how the story line fits in with the background images. Oh to be a director of such wonderful things. To be able to visualize what the author of a story had in mind - or to adapt our thoughts of the scenes in a way that reflects at least the intent of such a huge endeavor.

Palaces in Italy. Fishing boats on the high seas. Wolves running free in Yosemite.

All the places that I'll never get to see.

Beating the Winter Doldrums.

Maybe It's Me...

For the last couple weeks I've had a hard time finding scenes to photograph. Most of the time the weather has restricted our movement, but today the sun was shining and the temperature was quite a bit above zero. Twenty-six degrees Fahrenheit to be exact.

Yet STILL nothing I saw on the trail was worthy of even temporary storage space on the Cannon's SD Card. While the sight of the sun streaming through the trees and the blue-tree-shadows that lay across the road were enjoyable, I never once got the urge to reach inside my Carhartt Active Jacket to pull out the camera.

Old Friends Are Gold.

Thinking of the faces in the window

That you passed along the way

-- Kris Kristofferson "This Old Road"

This morning brought a cloudless sky and temperatures well below freezing (-6 degrees Fahrenheit at 6 a.m.). So cold that the morning paper stroll merged with the morning constitutional as paws warm from slumber sank through a crusted top-layer to fine powdery snow beneath. Good lighting to sit by the window to paint, yet here the time passes with laptop on thighs. Alternating between watching wood embers glow, surfing the internet and listening to thoughts wander.