Comfort Cottage

Happy Blooming Pink Saturday!

Happy Pink Saturday!  I'm so glad to be participating today.  I have a special treat for you.  I hope you have your walking shoes ready, because we're going to take a tour of everything pink at Longwood Gardens.  Before we begin our tour, I'd like to thank Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday.  It's such a wonderful way for us to stay in touch.  If you would like to see all the Pink Saturday participants, just click on the Pink Saturday icon in my right sidebar.  Also, I visited Cindy at Cindy Adkins' Whimsical Musings for the first time this week.  She designs for Shabby Cottage Studio, and she is very creative and talented.  Stop by and see all of her lovely creations, okay?

 

And now, as promised, we return to Longwood Gardens to see all that blooms pink.  

 

 

The outdoor Garden Walk is breathtaking.  I had no idea there were so many different varieties of Columbine!

 

 

If you love tulips, this is the place to be in April.  There were  thousands of tulip blossoms in every imaginable color.  Of course, I have photos of the pink ones!

 

 

 

I haven't been able to identify the next one.  I tried their web site, but couldn't find it.  I'm sure one of you gardening enthusiasts will know.

 

 

The foxglove was magnificent!

 

 

There are beautiful fountains at Longwood.  This is the Italian Water Garden.  Dupont's design was based on the Villa Gamberaia, near Florence.  It was completed during the 1930's.

 

 

There was a whole grove of Kwanzan cherry trees, and of course, the ever-present daffodils.

 

 

Now that we've seen the Garden walk, let's head over to the Conservatory.  This palatial building was built by Pierre Dupont.  It opened in 1921 and in addition to the incredible indoor gardens, it houses a massive pipe organ.   The current organ replaced the one initially installed in 1921.  It is three times the size of the original.  It was recently completely restored and it's thundering tones were heard the day I visited.

 

 

 

 

The pink conical plants are the Tower of Jewels-member of the Borage family.

 

 

 

I love the astilbe.  They look like delicate lace.

 

 

 

I have never seen such gorgeous hydrangeas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bouganvillea dripped from the walls!

 

 

The biggest part of the lily exhibition is yet to come, but there were plenty of these beauties.

 

 

 

I think these are gerbera daisies.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, when I thought there wasn't anything more spectacular to see:

 

That concludes our tour of Longwood Gardens.  If you would like to see the first installment of the tour, you can click here.  Have a wonderful weekend, and God bless you!

Until next time,

 

 

From My Art Journal

After all the frenzy of activity over the past week, it was nice to get back to my studio and paint.  I had this one in mind for awhile, but I just couldn't seem to get to it.  I really am the happiest when I'm painting.  Everything else just seems to fall away.  Faith is good for that.  It allows me to entrust all of my cares to Him and concentrate on the gifts He's given me to work with.

 

 

 

Have a wonderful day, and please keep in mind our fellow citizens down South.  Their cares are mounting with every destructive storm.  Say a prayer for them, won't you?

 

God bless you until next time,

 

Spring At Longwood Gardens

I have something very special to share with you.  Yesterday was girl's day out.  My sister, my niece and my grandniece met me at Longwood Gardens.  It was a picture-perfect day to be outside.  The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing and the flowers were in bloom.  It will take several installments to show you everything we saw, but there wasn't enough time to see everything Longwood has to offer.

 

 

The story of Longwood began in 1700, when the Peirce family purchased the land from William Penn and started a working farm.  They planted an arboretum on the farm in 1798.  The land was then purchased by Pierre Dupont, in an effort to preserve the trees.  Between 1907 and the 1930's, he created most of which which we see today.  The land was turned over to a foundation set up by Dupont in 1946.  Upon his death, the first director was hired.

 

 

Dupont's first contribution to Longwood was the flower garden walk.  Many lavish garden parties were held here.

 

 

 

 

 

The anemone, particularly the blue, is one of my favorites.

 

 

 

I had no idea there were so many different varieties of columbine!

 

 

There were dogwoods everywhere.

 

 

There were thousands of tulips.

 

 

 

 

 

There were many varieties of phlox.  This is the Sherwood Purple creeping phlox.

 

That's all for now.  Join me on Pink Saturday, April 29, to see more.  We'll visit the pink blossoms on the garden walk and we'll also tour the conservatory.   Wear your walking shoes :) !

Until next time,

 

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter.  I've been away from the painting studio all weekend, so I don't have a new painting to share today.  Since I missed Pink Saturday (We went to my sister's house), I thought I'd post photos of her gorgeous cherry tree.

 

Lorrie's cherry tree is in full bloom.

 

 

Aren't cherry blossoms delicious?

 

 

They remind me of cotton candy...soft, fluffy, and scrumptiously pink!

 

 

 

I'm not usually covetous, but I have to confess...I'm coveting my sister's cherry tree!

 

 

 

My grandniece, Evie, likes it too.  Isn't she adorable in her new Easter outfit?  Lorrie made the dress, bow and even matching pantaloons. 

 

 

 

Those cheeks are just wonderful to kiss!  She's been picked up by a New York modeling agency....I can't imagine why :) .

 

 

Spring is a time of hope and new beginnings.  It's promse is as fresh as the dewdrops.  Thank you, Lord, for new blossoms, new little people, and new hope.

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faith

As Easter draws near, I'm reminded of what faith means. 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Until next time,

 

 

Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!

Can you guess what the subject of today's post is?  My sister Lorrie and I took another trip out to Intercourse, PA last week.  I don't need to tell you what we did there...you can fill in the blanks!  Needless to say, it involved fabric.  We made the rounds.  We hit four fabric shops that day!

 

After a marathon shopping spree and a delicious lunch featuring cranberry chicken salad and homemade bread, we ended up at my favorite spot, The Old Country Store.  After finding some wonderful fabric, we went upstairs to visit the Quilt Museum and the museum shop.    I took lots of photos, so you could join me on a tour.  Are you ready? 

 

They regularly change the quilt that's hanging behind the cashier.  They are always hand quilted.

 

 

 

Cathedral Windows

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I love all of the miniature quilts.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a whole-cloth quilt.  The ornamentation is in the intricately stitched quilting patterns.

 

 These boxes all held sewing kits.  They nested inside of each other and when you removed each lid, the sides fell open like petals on a flower.  Each layer held more sewing items.  They were crafted by a local artisan.

 

 

 

 

 

Primitive hand made Santas.

 

 

 

 

Both of the Noah's Ark sets were hand-carved and painted by a local artist.

 

 

 

The Old Country Store is  a wonderland of hand-made treasures.  If you're in Lancaster County, PA, a visit here will be a treat.  If you would like to see the fabric shop, pantry quilt room and main area, you can click here.  I hope you had fun!

 

 

Until next time,

 

Wild At Heart

Many of you have seen photos of my quirky gray tabby, Arthur.  He's a favorite subject of mine both for photography and painting.  I often watch him as he leaps from chair, to sofa, etc.  He springs to the window sill and swishes his tail madly at the birds, all the while making the most curious noises.  Even though he's just my furry friend, I get the impression when I look at those eyes, that his heart is far away on the plains of Africa.

 

Alas!  My painting is the closest Arthur will come to the outdoors.  He came to us declawed, and I wouldn't dream of allowing him to fend for himself outside.

 

 

Often, like Arthur, I long for the wild open spaces.  How about you?

 

Until next time,

 

 

Bloom

This is a late Pink Saturday post, but better late than never!  To find out what Pink Saturday is all about and to see all of this week's pinkness, click on the Pink Saturday icon in my right sidebar.  Thank you again, Beverly, for graciously hosting our celebration of pink.  

 

This week, I visited Jany at Look in the Nook for the first time.  She does some lovely graphic design work and she generously offers some of her designs for your use in your art work.  Stop by and see some of her wonderful Easter designs.

 

I was late this week because I was trying to finish up a new painting for my art journal.  I love this quote because it reminds me that I can bloom in whatever circumstances I happen to be in.  Not only that, but it is often in the darkest places that we are capable of shining the brightest.

 

 

 

I hope you have a lovely weekend!  God bless you.

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

Joy

What gives you joy?  For as many people as there are on the earth, there can be just as many answers.  For me, it is painting, or hiking in a quiet, remote place, or sharing a laugh with my sister.  It is knowing that no matter what happens, God is still looking out for us.  There are many things that give me joy.  When I came upon this  quote for my art journal, it reminded me that there is a joy that extends way beyond my circumstances.

 

 

All of you who come here to visit give me joy.  I love to share with you and I love visiting you to see what's happening in your life.  Tell me, what is it that brings your heart joy?

 

Hugs and blessings

until next time,

 

Stop and Watch the Ripples

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I spent Sunday working on another watercolor painting for my art journal.  I often wonder about how much I miss because I'm so engaged in every day concerns.  I love ponds-they're just teeming with life.  I adore seeing turtles, frogs, and the waterlilies in bloom.  I love to preserve their beauty in my paintings.  When I paint something from nature, I'm forced to sit still and really study my subject.  The more I study it, the more appreciation I have for it.  There is so much beauty in the world around us if we will look at it with new eyes:  eyes that take in all the details and recognize what a wonderful work of art the natural world is.

 

 

Take some time this week to stop and look around-even if it's just a few minutes.   Often we're living for the future...or the past, and we miss out on the only thing we have for sure.  Let's celebrate the now. 

 

Hugs and blessings

until next time,