Stuff

What do you think of this big guy? Mike hollered at me yesterday and said Man! Look at this!
It's almost 2 inches long. It's the larvae of a giant ground beetle. When I put it back out on the ground it crawled upside down (like it is laying in the photo) and is a digger. It lives underground.

I love shadows. My photos don't show what I see though. This was really pretty. You can see the chimes that are hanging outside.

Finally, the little one was a week old yesterday. He has doubled in size and is now more than a quarter inch long. He is a ravenous eater. I have been worried for the ones that are out in the tree because it has been very cold, windy and rainy the last few days. They seem to be doing ok though! This little one is very spoiled. :) He will never have to worry about a fly or wasp laying eggs in him.

Dedicated to my Mom

Photo Monday is on hold today. This is the 3rd anniversary of Mom's passing. Her birthday is St. Patrick's day. She died just a couple weeks before she turned 80. She wanted to be 80 so bad but it just wasn't meant to be. So here are a few pics of Mom.

This was taken in 1946. She was 20.


This one was taken in August before she died. My daughter Rhonda and I had went up to Illinois for 6 weeks to take care of her when she came out of hospital. She was being her silly self.


And this last photo used to be my header. On the left is her and Dad's wedding day and on the right Mom about 23.


Mary Lain 3/17/1926 ~ 3/2/2006



Mama by Il Divo

Mama thank you for who I am
Thank you for all the things I'm not
Forgive me for the words unsaid
For the times I forgot
Mama remember all my life
You showed me love,you sacrificed
Think of those young and early days
How I've changed
Along the way (along the way)
Bridge:
And I know you believed
And I know you had dreams
And I'm sorry it took all this time to see
That I am where I am because of your truth
And I miss you , I miss you
Mama forgive the times you cried
Forgive me for not making right
All of the storms I may have caused
And I've been wrong
Dry your eyes (dry your eyes)
Bridge
Mama I hope this makes you smile
I hope you're happy with my life
At peace with every choice I made
How I've changed Along the way
And I know you believed in all of my dreams
And I owe it all to you ,mama

We have winners!!

I went to Random.org and let it choose the numbers:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
28
16
52
Timestamp: 2009-03-01 15:36:43 UTC

So here ya go!!
28th comment is:
Lisalou said...
Congrads on the big 100!!! Love the pictures and the bag, of course!! Beautiful!!lisaallbright@hotmail dot com
February 21, 2009 6:33 PM

16th comment is:
creative breathing said...
Hi Carla, Wanted to tell you, the chandalier did fall! That is what brought the "ears" to the room! They acted as though they knew nothing about it. Because the visit was so politically important, nothing was said! I am fascinated that you have an orange tree in your yard! You never cease to amaze me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing all of these interesting things with us. You have to check out the wildlife on MandaPanda. It will bring tears to your eyes. Then go to Lallee's Cottage for an animal smile. Have a great week! Eliz
February 18, 2009 5:12 PM

52nd comment is:
Emmy said...
Thorougly enjoyed your blog. Your photography is wonderful. I'm on the east coast of Florida. I bookmarked your blog in my daily folder.
February 24, 2009 11:10 AM

Girls, send me in private email your addresses to DollArtistCarla at aol dot com and as soon as Lisalou chooses which one she wants, then Creative Breathing will choose from the remaining 2 and Emmy will get the third.

Thanks for playing. I wish I could send something to you all.

Little Hooter Flew in!

Just look at this darling owl I won from Aunt Pitty Pat's! Isn't it sweet? Thank you so much! I just love it.
:)

The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly egg hatched!

I'm a mom! Well, kind of. LOL It was so exciting! We were looking at the egg this morning and I told Mike I'm sure it is going to hatch soon and it did! While we were looking at it again this afternoon it was hatching right before our eyes! I brought it in until it is a little bigger. I don't want anything to eat it. Right now it is only 1/8 inch long. Even though I have a super macro setting on my camera, it was still hard to get photos. But, here are a few.

This first one is the egg this morning. You can see the caterpillar inside because the egg is no longer yellow, it is clear.

At 2:41 this afternoon it is hatching. Sorry so dark. Couldn't get it in a good light.:

At 2:46 it is out of the egg:

At 3:18 it is eating it's egg sac:

I can't wait until it is a little larger. I will put it back on the tree. I really want to see the chrysalis! If it makes it that long, I will bring the chrysalis back in until the butterfly emerges.

Photo Monday late today and giveaway update

I've been pretty busy lately trying to get the other 2 gifts made for the giveaway. They are finally finished. The little doll is only about 12 inches tall. The pincushion has a basket but I don't think I'm going to permanently attach it just in case the person who gets it doesn't want it on there. Don't forget to click on the giveaway button on the right and enter at that post!


For photo Monday I thought I would show you a wasp I found on a leaf. Mummified with strange twig things coming out of it. Almost like a scary movie. "The Wasp That Turned Into A Tree". Oh, and those white things. I'm not quite sure what they are. Eggs of some sort or mites or mealy bugs. Just don't know without doing some research. They are all over all 5 of our orange and grapefruit trees.


Next is a macro of a hibiscus flower.


Hope you all have a good evening.

Don't pass up this free pattern list

You know (well, maybe you don't!) that I have a list of free web patterns on the side there. Well, I just found another blog with a great list too. Don't pass this one up at The Princess and the Monkey! She has something for everyone!
YAY!!

Pinkie

Pinkie is so named because of her nose (plus, I'm terrible with names). We got her at St. Francis Animal Rescue. They estimated her birth at May 2, 2006. She chose me August 7, 2006. We just went in to look and I went home with this baby. She's not a snuggler but I love her anyway. I just wanted to show you her photo. This is the best one I've taken. She is not photogenic.

Butterfly Update!

We were outside watching the Giant Swallowtail going from tree to tree laying her eggs. She layed one right in front of us! This egg was laid at 11:49 am today. I can't wait to watch it from egg to birth to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. It's such a wonderful sight.

Photo Monday, Gifts, Give Away

I had forgotten I won a prize and when it came in the mail Saturday I couldn't figure out why I was getting a present. Well, a few weeks ago Vickie at 2 sisters and me had a little contest and I won! Look at what she sent. I forgot to put the cute little heart note pad in the photo. The candy hearts too. See the empty candy wrapper. Mmmm it was good. The little button angel is sitting on the windowsill overlooking the sewing machine.


This is a Goldfinch. When we get them down here they are no longer the beautiful yellow that you see in the North in the summer.


Here is a Giant Swallowtail. She is laying eggs in the orange tree. Soon we will have caterpillars that look like bird droppings LOL


You know it's spring soon when the bees start pollinating the orange blossoms.


Sure wish you could smell this orange blossom. Such a lovely fragance!


Here the bee is on a very tiny wildflower. I hate to mow the yard. I don't like to mow down all that the insects eat from.


One of the little baskets I've been making. It is only a few inches high and about 6 inches long. Pattern is listed in my free patterns under cute basket.


Last but not least. This is my 100th post. I am going to give away 3 things. This bag I just finished is one of them. It is quite large. 18 inches by 13 inches with the pocket you see on the outside and 2 large pockets on the inside. The other 2 gifts will be ready to show hopefully tomorrow.

I will draw 3 names from this post on March 1st.

Coffee ring snowflakes

I don't think I've been so amused in awhile. I must have played at this site making snowflakes for 30 minutes and went back for more. This would be fabulous if done on fabric!!

http://www.mccafesnowflakes.com/

Just a couple more photos

I just had to show you the moon tonight. I normally wouldn't have seen it but Mike was outside and told me to bring the camera. ---A few people have asked me how I got the moon and not just a white circle. I put my camera on manual and set my speed to at least 125. This one is 1/200 at F6.3. This one is still a little dark. Remember, the moon is bright like the sun so you need a faster speed.---


This is one of the hibiscus in the back yard.


Last one I promise!! I finally got a good photo so I can rest easy now.

Monday's photo of the week

I didn't get out to take as many photos as usual this week. Mostly all the same thing... birds. I've been a birdwatcher for many years and a nature photographer for almost as long. I love all nature, especially bugs. On my flickr you will see snakes, spiders, bugs, birds, and, well, anything that moves. I have sold many of my dragonfly photos and a few others. What a thrill when someone appreciates something you have done. Since we moved back to Florida I haven't been out as much as I was in Georgia. I will though as soon as it warms up.

Here is a baby quilt I'm making for my granddaughter, Anna Grace, who will be born in April. I can't wait to get it finished.

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Here is the Painted Bunting again. Such a pretty bird. I hope he stays around for a while more. Sure wish I could get a decent photo before he leaves.

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Pinkie is bored.

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Star jasmine outside my bathroom window.

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I'm not sure which post this is but it's close to 100. I'm going to have a give away but I'm not sure what yet. Probably a doll. If you are interested keep an eye out for the post. It won't be long now.

Edit: this is post 97. OH!! I forgot. Look what I won from Vickie! I'm so excited. It's so much fun to win things!

Caution.....!! Cute Overload Ahead

I saw this on another blog and had to go to youtube and find it. I must have said awwww 50 times!

DUH!!!

Hey there!!! Boy do I feel dumber than a can of dew worms. Color and font have been found. All this time I've been composing in the edit Html thing and doing things the hard way. SHEESH!! Never thought to look in the Compose tab.
Who knew that just before they hit the water, pelicans turn upside down?

Wear Red!

Tomorrow is National Wear Red Day!! Everyone can support the fight against heart disease in women by wearing red. It's a simple, powerful way to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke. Check out their site. http://www.goredforwomen.org/national_wear_red_day.aspx


OH, an after thought here. Would someone on Blogger Please tell me how to change colors and fonts in the posts. Pretty please? My grandson has it set up with a mess of html so like when I did the red in this post I had to do a bunch of other stuff.

Michael Miller Fabrics

Great blog with lots of tutorials HERE. I love the childrens aprons and chefs hat and first sight quilt. The fabric is so colorful!

Picture of the week

Here I am officially starting my picture of the week. Yesterday we had the most beautiful Painted Bunting visit our feeders. He was a hard one to get a good photo of. He is the most colorful bird of the U.S. I've heard. His back is lime green, belly bright orange, head bluish purple and a different green on his wings. It's a real joy to see one. Although the books say they are common, around here they are not. Here he is in the best photos I could get.

She's Got You

Patsy Cline is my most requested when we perform so when my son-in-law sent me this spoof video, I couldn't believe it. HOW FUNNY!! Well, I think so anyway LOL. I'm going to do this on the 13th when we play next. Hope you enjoy.

CPSIA lead-testing law is delayed

Quoting from Craftzine.
"Thanks to the incredible grassroots movement against the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which would have gone into effect on February 10, 2009, the commission that created the law has voted to stay the legislation for one year.

"The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children's garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission."

Read the full statement here.

Senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina has sponsored an amendment in order to reform the law.

It's certainly not a done deal, but it's a step in the right direction."