“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Friday, September 8, 2017

A Look Back at the MN State Fair

Hey Our Minnesota State Fair has a gopher for a mascot ......
With his striped jacket and his jaunty straw hat, Fairchild the gopher is a bouncy, furry representative of the Minnesota State Fair. He became the Fair's official mascot in 1966, which means he's celebrating his 51st birthday at this year's Great Minnesota Get-Together. I had no idea until this year that he had a name.


Fairchild back in the early years with red stripes. Sometime they changed the stripes to green...? No clue why.

Did you ever see the play or movie "State Fair", maybe the lyrics below will jog your memory....

State Fair
Our State Fair is a great state fair
Don't Miss it don't even be late
(our state fair is great)
It's dollars to doughnuts at our state fair
It's the best state fair in the state
-chants-
OUR STATE FAIR IS A GREAT STATE FAIR IS A GREAT IS A GREAT IS A GREAT STATE FAIR HEY!!
Source 







Seriously though, our state fair IS A GREAT STATE FAIR! We got there bright and early and visited the animal barns. It had been a few years since we'd done that. It was fun but always a bit smelly! I didn't take that many photos as we were in and out pretty quickly.







Had to get a picture of this adorable bunny though!






The  poultry were fabulous and very noisy! We also checked out the sheep and horse barns. Then we needed some refreshment, fresh squeezed lemonade!!




Next we checked out the Creative Arts building for all the prize winning entries. The food was gorgeous! Arranged by type and even color. Cakes and more cakes, and muffins, cookies, breads, pies, jam, and oils.. wow!

























I love how the preserves and oils and vinegars were back-lit so they shown like jewels!


After all this marching around I needed a pick-me-up.  The maple creme nitro coffee did the trick.  You notice it was half gone before I thought of taking a picture!!




Then we had lunch, Tipsy Pies! We ordered two and my husband and I split them. We loved the Boozy Blueberry Lemon and the Onion Gouda! No pictures, we tore into those and well it just wasn't pretty, but it was delicious!!

After we listened to free music in one of the many park/stage venues we were ready to venture back into the Creative Arts building for more cool stuff!!





The button dress amazed me.  I can't imagine sewing all those on, and oh my I bet that it's heavy!



This is adorable, a hand crocheted tea set! It folds up into a tote bag! Maybe for your picnic tea party!



There were many beautiful quilts and of course lots of cute stuff like the crocheted animals below!




Well that's it folks! Thanks for joining me at our state fair!



The pretty dahlia above is in my garden right now. We still have a beautiful month of flowers ahead before the leaves all fall. Hope you have had a wonderful summer.

I'll be around to visit soon! ~~ Diane

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Spring into Action




Spring will be here in just a few hours, the calendar says the first day of spring is March 20th. I am happy to say that it is starting to look like the beginning of spring around here too. Some plants are emerging from the leaf litter and showing their little green leaves.  The grass is starting to grow.

The most evident sign of spring was last week, when I heard a flock of geese overhead.  They were surveying our lake to see if there was open water to land.  Our pond has melted at the edges, just enough room for the ducks to start paddling around. We have a flock of about 25 mallards here right now.  Some of them will head on north as the ice melts off the northern lakes.

The geese stopped to look around a bit for nesting spots, but left in search of a larger lake.  They will come back as things melt and they have more room to swim around.  We may have some flowers soon if the warmer weather continues! Until that happens, here are some cute Vintage Spring things to cheer you up!

For more information about each item, simply click on the highlighted title above each item.

Isn't this just one of the cutest bunnies you've ever seen!

Bunny Rabbit Planter




Here are more cute things I've added to my shop this past week.  Some have been sitting on shelves for awhile and it's time to send them on to new homes. Just remember that even if you are in another country, like the UK, as long as you've been a follower and have left comments here, I will gladly quote you a shipping price. Just go to my Etsy shop CraveCute and leave me a message.




Fuzzy Duckling Book






Three Lambs Jumping a Fence














Bunnykins Windy Day Mug









Yellow Chicks Salt and Pepper Shakers











Rosina "JUNE" Teacup

























These cute chicks aren't listed yet, but should be in my shop soon.







I hope you enjoyed this little spring trip through my shop.  If you're wondering, the "paintings" are my photos digitally enhanced with photo editing tools. Just another thing for me to waste time with! I do like the way they turned out though! I wish I could actually paint like that! Thanks so much for visiting, I'll try and catch up with your blogs soon. ~ Diane

What kind of things are you doing to 
get ready for Spring?



Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Be of Good Cheer



Vintage Illustration from "The Happy Rabbit" by Patricia Barton

Even though the snow covers the ground and the cold air took my breath away when I stepped outside this morning, I experienced something that made me very happy.  I couldn't help but feel joyful when I heard the cheerful voices of the finch and chickadees today when I went out to refill the bird feeders. 

So this afternoon while starting to write my blog post, I thought about complaining about February seeming like the longest month of all, but I stopped and I decided to change my mindset. No complaining about the weather because it is what it is.  Instead I thought about this morning, enjoying the song of the happy little birds and the pretty shadows on our new fallen snow.

Occasionally we've all had heartbreaks, illness and innumerous sufferings that have troubled us.  I know a few blog friends who are going through really difficult times right now, and they are in my thoughts and prayers. I'm sorry for any of you that are going through rough times now that I'm unaware of.  But, if you're like me and you're in a good place, then for goodness sake don't let the little things get you down.

Try and find a bit of joy in your day... 
it can be as simple as the song of a little bird.

~~ Diane ~~

What kinds of simple things give you joy in your everyday life?









Sunday, February 8, 2015

Snow Moon


I'm behind a bit, the Full Moon Of February actually occurred on the second day of the month, alright... so I missed that. We are now in the phase called the Waning Gibbous, 82% of a Full Moon. Another blogger gave me the idea about the moon the other day, however it had been on my mind for a few weeks because of a cookbook, I'll explain a bit later.  First you probably want to know more about the February Moon.....




"Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult."           ~~~~ from The Farmer's Almanac


Therefore, this month, we have the lovely Snow Moon.  The moon is shining so bright these nights and reflecting off the snow, that we thought the neighbors had left a spotlight on outside.  Of course it was the beautiful Snow Moon instead.  I actually took these photos a few months ago, the clouds were illuminated by the reflecting light and made for some interesting images.




Now let me explain about why a cookbook has me thinking about the moon.  Well it is the illustration of course. As you look at the photo below you will see that the words "Cake Secrets" are encircled by a full moon.  That is what attracted me to the cookbook from the beginning, the gorgeous artwork on the front. The lovely swans on a moonlit lake with the dark blue background is just beautiful.


The photo below is of a cookbook from 1925, called "Cake Secrets".  Few of you have probably heard the name Igleheart in association with cake flour, but what about Swans Down? The Igleheart Brothers sold the company long ago, but Swans Down Cake Flour is still around today.




Cake Secrets Recipe Booklet from Igleheart Brothers which became know as Swans Down Cake Flour. Published in 1925 by Ingleheart Brothers of Evansville, IN.  This book sold a few weeks ago. If I ever come across another I will snatch it up!

















I digitally cleaned up the image from the cookbook, removed the lettering and turned it into the lovely image above. Unfortunately the original artists name was not mentioned. 

Who knew that a cookbook could be so lovely?  I must say that so far this is the prettiest cookbook I've ever come across.  Everyday I find something beautiful to enjoy, whether it be a little cookbook, a fluffy cat or a blue sky.  I hope you find something enjoyable in your day too.

~~~ Diane ~~~



Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Keeping Christmas















































Merry Christmas
and
Happy New Year!


 Thank you for visiting throughout this year!
I look forward to reading your blogs in the New Year
and hope you'll enjoy mine too!


I'll be seeing you on New Years Eve! 
Blessings and Joy to all of you! ~~ Diane


**image source
**Quote



Friday, July 11, 2014

Nature in Glass

Summer in the Arboretum Garden ...

My house-guests are away visiting other relatives for a few days but will return on Saturday. I thought I would write a quick post on one of our activities that I had been looking forward to for a few weeks.

We spent several hours at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum where we toured the grounds and checked out one of the summer exhibits. This is the largest public garden in the upper Midwest and is over 1,000 acres (4.60 km2).

The arboretum features unusual art works every year and this one is quite stunning!  It is called Nature in Glass and features the work of Craig Mitchell Smith.  The exhibit contains 32 unique and stunning glass sculptures that adorn the Arboretum outdoor gardens and collections.

Mr. Smith designed large iridescent, fused-glass sculptures that were created specifically for the Arboretum's unique outdoor setting. This is one of the best exhibits I have seen at the Arb. and I was very happy to find several of the pieces of art and photograph them.  I missed a few, and will return later on a less hot and stifling day! 



"Fireball"















I love the roses! The scent was amazing too!













"The Grape Arbor"



"The Hollyhocks"




"The Hydrangea"




"The Poppies of Oz"





"The Road to Provence"




"The Rose Blossom"




"The Water Garden"



"The Wisteria"


I hope you enjoyed this little tour. I'll be back here again before you know it, but right now I need to start getting ready for my guests return! Please have a lovely weekend! ~ Diane