Turkey-lurkey

This week is dedicated to family and home arts. Lots of gathering, pie baking, table setting, crafting & stuffing!Some of our typical Thanksgiving holiday traditions . . .

S – O   •   T – H – A – N – K – F – U – L – L !Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Henny-penny, Cockylocky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, Turkey-lurkey, and Foxy-woxy!

So Much Life

The ‘so much life’ I mention in the last post was certainly felt the second week of our mini art camp. Besides Independence Day falling smack dab in the middle, I began the week by stepping on a sliver of glass going for my first cup of coffee Monday morning. Unable to retrieve it on my own after soaking and searching with magnifiers, I bandaged and hobbled through the best I could.

The second surprise was a phone call from my aunt Lois who was just in from Texas. Although aware of her trip, she phoned to let me know that she had decided on this visit, to bring my grandmothers photos, collected over at least three lifetimes! This, at my periodical requests to document (some day) the rarely seen (Tuesday’s) treasures, with hi res scans (on my equipment) and hopefully gather the accompanying family stories/history. How could I pass on this opportunity, right? Naturally, I could not . . .

Making time for everything was more than challenging but recognizing the rewards in all, I wore myself out trying to keep up. Did I mention, all took place during a period of record breaking heat and drought not felt in Missouri since the dust bowl years? Ten days straight, over one hundred degrees. Whew, brutal!

After most of the work was complete and a major clean up, I saw a podiatrist the following Monday. He successfully removed the obstacle of the pain in my foot. Ah, relief. Staying off my feet for a few days . . . doctor’s orders! ;-D

A Father’s Tribute

Tribute – A tribute (from Latin tributum, contribution) is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance.   ~Wikipedia

trib·ute

noun \ˈtri-(ˌ)byüt, -byət\

a : something given or contributed voluntarily as due or deserved; especially : a gift or service showing respect, gratitude, or affection <a floral tribute> b : something (as material evidence or a formal attestation) that indicates the worth, virtue, or effectiveness of the one in question <the design is a tribute to his ingenuity>   ~Webster
For the ‘Holy Week’ 2012, I am posting images of my father’s art, depicting the Crucifixion of Christ, John F. Wecker, created in the mid 1960’s. As I remember, he did a series of sketches and color studies on the subject. He completed one final painting in oil but began two others much larger, from which these fragments of the preliminary sketches were taken.
A most dear, Treasured Tuesday feature.

Feather Tree Fences

Treasured Tuesday – My friend Melissa made a recent comment about one of my feather tree, Christmas fences so, I’m sharing them all today. I have three that I like to incorporate into the holiday decorations. They’re too nice to pack away afterward so, I try to keep them displayed all year long in a variety of ways.

I found one article that offered this bit of information:

Antique Christmas Tree Fences

Fences for the Christmas tree were made of a variety of materials. Some of the earliest were made of wood or cast iron, then later versions introduced sheet metal and plastic. The cast iron fences mimiced the elaborate detail of the Victorian fences surrounding people’s homes. Wood fences were constructed of twigs, feature tree branches, or the more common wood planks. One can also find fences that were pre-wired and contain sockets for lights on the fence posts.

Some fences came in sections allowing the consumer to create any lenght of fencing that they desired. Many fences had one section that contained a gate for “entrance” into the enclosure. Inside the fences people included small cardboard houses, composition animals, Erzgebirge pieces, dolls, toys, or any other items that they wished to use as decoration. Some built elaborate putz scenes or Christmas gardens, with the fence enclosing these wonderful creations.



The one above needed a lot of restoration when I discovered it. My brother-in-law Paul helped out in the putting back together process.

Thanks Melissa, I really like them too.

This one landed here and doubles as wall art in the guest bedroom, off season.

Tuesday’s Tree Treasure

It’s been a long time since I posted a Treasured Tuesday. First up, cookie cutters, one of my favorite collections just right for the holiday season. During the twenty years that Tidings of Great Joy manufactured Christmas ornaments, I collected dozens of cookie cutters, used to cut shapes into the clay. I love using them now, as they were intended, cutting cookies! Most are vintage in many unusual shapes and a variety of sizes. I was able to utilize them again in a recent Christmas fabric line called “Cookie Cutter Christmas.” When not in use, they are perfect to double as ornaments for a decorated kitchen tree and door wreath.

This year I placed these fun tin toys underneath the tree. They are a child’s full set of cookware (c1950’s), including tiny red cookie cutters. When I spotted them in a shop (still in the box) they reminded me of some that I may have had. I remember spending an over night at my Gramma Wecker’s once, when she actually let us bake in our muffin tins. I thought at the time what a special treat, one of those grandma indulgences.

Treasured Tuesday

Wow, ever since the blog break I took in June, I’ve struggled to get back to faithfully posting. It has been an unusually busy summer and not over yet. The one thing that’s become clear to me, is that time remains a most difficult element to manage at this point of my life.

So, the long over due Tuesday treasure I’m sharing today is, no matter how busy things get, making time for our tiny treasures, like SLEEPOVERS in the “nursery rhyme room” at gram’s, is of the utmost importance.