Striped Cardigan, Cocoa O'Hare and Precious E-Mail

I hope you will indulge me again; I received another sweet Easter e-mail from Little Man (with the help of his Momma, my baby):

Dear Noni,

Momma pulled out the sweater you made for me last Easter. It's now a perfect fit! She told me that she wanted to take some pictures, and I insisted that we bring Cocoa O'Hare along, too. Hope you enjoy.

Can't wait to see you!

Love,

Little Man

The sweater is the Striped Cardigan in Sirdar's baby bamboo knits (323 Code B).  As evident, it was a little big last year.  I used the bamboo yarn recommended in the book.  It is incredibly soft.  I love that he is getting two years wear out of it.  ;)  And, I cannot wait to get some of those sweet little sugars (though I hear he has gotten quite stingy with those).

The bunny is a pattern by Susan B. Anderson from her Itty Bitty Toys book.  It is done in  a Brown Sheep cotton/wool blend.

If you want to see it from beginnings... to ready... to on Little Man, just click on the links.  Oh, my goodness, I can't believe how much he has grown and changed since last Easter.  Time is slipping away.

I am linking this to Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays!!

My heart is humbled as I remember the cause for this holiday celebration. 

He is risen...

blessings ~ tanna

First Bloom

First waterlily bloom of 2011

 

I was going to try to post this yesterday, but the week continued to throw its curve balls.  An early morning call from the floor guys (refinishing the original hardwoods in a unit of one of The Old Girls) had me adjusting to a budget and schedule change.  Seems there are always surprises when you renovate.

This particular surprise was a hole in each of the bedroom floors the size of a full sheet of plywood... well, not a hole exactly, since the plywood was there... but the hardwood had been "replaced" with plywood, subsequent to some repair in the past, and covered with carpet.  This required the adjustment for cost of repairing the holes (large project) and staining the floors as well as sanding and coating with polyurethane.  Cha-ching.  I could have opted to just cover them up again with carpet, but my goal is to get them back to their original glory.  So, we are another week behind on finishing... and over the initial budget.  Life in the lovin'-The-Old-Girls stlye.

At any rate, we had our first waterlily bloom this week!!  And, the Fish Boys are growing and enjoying the warmer weather.

I, myself, enjoyed some sunshine and a Coke Zero earlier today right in this spot.  I was celebrating finishing a report for the Historic Tyler on Tour committee!  yea!  Still have one more report before passing on all my duties to the next in line.
 

Hope you are having a swimmingly fine weekend!! 

blessings ~ tanna

Noni's Easter Angel

Little Man sent his Noni an e-mail today... and, it couldn't have arrived at a more appreciated time.  We have been keeping a busy pace around here and it is starting to wear me down.

I can't tell you how much finding these photos of our precious Little Man and this sweet, sweet e-mail lifted my spirits! (Thank you so much, Little Man's Momma.) 

Dear Noni,


I am counting down the days until I get to see you and Pop Pop next week. I can't wait to dye Easter eggs and hunt them. You will help me, won't you?


Be on the lookout in your mailbox for my Easter bunny footprint art. Momma sent it out today. Until that arrives, here are a few pictures just for you.


I love you to the moon and back and can't wait to see you!!!


Lots of hugs and kisses,
Little Man

Noni can't wait either!!  XOXOXOXOXO

Trick for Stripping Old Hardware and THANK YOUS!!

Ever had a beautiful piece of old hardware covered over with layers and layers of paint?  Don't despair!  There is an incredibly easy way to strip the old paint off back down to the original finish.  I'm in the middle of restoring another unit in one of The Old Girls, so this trick is very fresh on  my mind and I'm happy to share it with you!

Take your crock-pot (This one is vintage 1974.  If you are using the one you use to cook, you might want to line it with one of the cooking liners you can get by the foil and plastic bag section).  Place your old hardware inside, squirt in a generous squeeze of your favorite dishwashing liquid.  Add water (trying not to suds up too much) until crock-pot is full and hardware is covered.  Turn it on low for 24 hours.  Let it cool down and scrub the hardware with an old toothbrush and/or one of those green scrubby things.  You will be amazed at how easily the layers of paint and grime wash off.  It is a WOW.  If you discover a finish that isn't great, it is ready for a nice crisp coat of spraypaint and it looks as good as new.  These, I LOVE!

Replace them on your freshly painted doors and enjoy (this in NOT a freshly painted door, but one painted over three years ago next door to the one I am working on now)!

I had two really great events this week in the blog world!!  This wonderful diet/cookbook came in the mail from JoAnn at Moogy and Pap from her giveaway!  Yea!  Thank you so very much, JoAnn.  I really, really need to get on some kind of diet! 

Next, Melissa at Melissa's Heart and Home featured my blog on hers!  Incredibly nice!!  Thank you so very much also, Melissa!!  If you get a chance, stop by and say hello to these wonderful ladies.

And, lastly, I want to leave you with one more WOW for this Wednesday at Kim's Savvy Southern Style!  This is one of my friend's backyard.  It is one of the anchor houses of the Azalea Trail.  If that's not a WOW, I don't know what is! 

blessings ~ tanna

Clearing Up Any Misconceptions...

All of your kind and generous comments lead me to know that some of you are giving me artistic credit where none is due.  Most of my paintings are based on projected views of photos that I have traced the outline onto watercolor paper to then paint.  I am not an artist.  One day, I may decide to learn to draw.  But for now, I am content to be in my second childhood with a new box of crayons in the form of watercolors.  A couple of the flower paintings I drew... nothing too complicated.   I am amazed at the wonderful, gracious, kind treatment from my blog friends.  I cherish each and every wonderful comment.  I just don't want to take credit where credit is not due.  I hope you will still join me in the adventures of this granny learning to "color" with watercolor.

Thank you again and again.

Blessings ~ Tanna

Saturday Play Day!!

I have things I needed to be doing, but declared it a holiday!  Evan was off to a gun school for the day and I was gathering my painting stuff by 6:45 this morning!  A whole day to paint!!   This is the sunflower I started a few weeks ago... I'm finally calling it finished.

Of course, I am having to take another shot at it... So, this is Version Two in process...  I am just fascintated by the properties of watercolor; it is almost like it participates in the painting.  Lovin' it.

If you note the technique book on the right, you can guess what I'm up to next!

Yep, that's right.  Insanity to attempt people... but, I just can't help myself.  I have already missed the shape of his cheek!  Doggonit!  But, it will be good practice and let me judge whether there is any possibility of this or no...
Hopefully, I will have more to share on this (if it doesn't get shredded!). 

And, lest Baby Boy be forgotten, I worked a little on his nightgown yesterday.  I should probably stick to knitting!  LOL! 

Hope everyone is getting a chance to pursue something they love this weekend! 

Blessings ~
Tanna