Thinking of Spring

A little bit of spring in my craft room.

Get a small canvas,...cut out  & glue 2  fabric birds, a felt heart {add a little embroidery},

 color in some scallops on the top..outline with ink...

have fun..make it yours..

Headboards

I saw this headboard on the BHG website..how easy would this be to make?
When Cindy and I were at the Farm Chicks Show last year...we each bought an old linen grain sack...I think we both are using them on our ottomans or coffee table...if you had a King sized bed..you could buy linen, painters tape and create your own stripes for this look....this might be a project in my future...

Being Retired...and not just tired..

We are so blessed...being healthy, happy and retired..we all have 24 hours in our day..we all have different demands on our days and choices we make on how to spend those 24 hours...I believe that being retired gives you more choices on what you spend your time on...for me it is my family, friends and my crafting time...reading in all the formats available to me..Here are a few ways I keep busy...my magazines that I buy or subscribe to as well as my Kindle..either buy or download books from our library in the Okanagan or here from the library in Apache Junction..these books are currently on my kindle..another birthday gift last summer..it was a good year❤
Population 485 by Michael Perry..
what a good read..(we met Mike and his family in Panama)
Island beneath the Sea.. Isabel Allende
Beyond Religion...Dalai Lama






are you a busy working mom...or somewhere in between...how do you spend your 24 hours?

Sea shells and burlap..

Bringing home the shells, sea glass and coffee from Panama 

was one way to keep

the memories of our trip fresh..

Playing around with them....delightful!

I hope you have time to try something new and fun today!

Love for color continues...

Ever since I found design-seeds.com..I have been hooked trying to figure out to how recreate some of my photos, as well as picking colors from the photo to make them in a similiar design....with the help of my trusty side kick and dear friend Christa,...she figured it out, skyped me..walked me thru Picasa, Picnik, Flickr....and I showed her the eyedropper and how it relates to capturing these colors in this format.

Here is our collaboration!

{still needs tweaking within the margins}

World Cancer Day

Today is World Cancer Day...let's celebrate all the Survivors and remember all those we have lost!
Happy to report that Harry is making wonderful progress.
Update next week!

 

photo: Martha Stewart

Crazy for Color

If you read my blog..you know how much I love color..it just makes me so happy...I think color does that for me...Here are a few color palattes from Design Seeds..I just downloaded their book...the photography and color combinations are amazing..see for yourself Here

Back home to AZ..

I really like to hang our clothes outside after doing the laundry..this is one of my favorite ways to dry them..just hanging in the breeze from our trees...as we have an enclosed garden...no one gets to see my dresses dancing in the breeze...

The cacti are growing really well...the light was just right as I shot this cactus and ice plant

Goodbye Panama

The drive to the airport..with all the building in view...this Iconic Revolution tower will be open this year...what an engineering feat.








It was a great holiday. Az. Here we come.

Happy birthday, Mayachel

We sang Happy Birthday to Mayachel in 4 languages at the potluck supper we shared on Saturday night. This is what makes a holiday so special..the people you get to meet!


Juana, myself, Mayachel and her little sister..Thanks Carol for taking this photo and sharing it with me.




I crocheted this little necklace for her...we all agreed that she is adorable!
Heading out this morning to return our rental car, staying in a hotel close to the airport before flying back to Az. tomorrow....a part of my heart will be left here in Panama.

Panama City...old and new...

With 200 new buildings under construction, a subway underway, upgraded sewage treatment plant to safeguard the shoreline in Panama City, this is a world class city...There is an elegance about it...there is charm..there is history and most importantly, there are the people...In the month we have spent here and travelled much of the country, the most outstanding thing that I am going to take home with me is how warm and friendly the people are...This is just a few of the photos I wanted to share with you today.


The old and the new residing together...we took the bus into town..1 hr 15 mins... $2.50 each. We met up with our wonderful guide Miguel..we had met him on the Panama Canal tour and he was so knowledgeable....what a joy it was to have him drive us around as well explain the history of this vibrant city.



The amazing skyline.......


The Trump Tower...


The churches...the wonderful restored facades!


The colors are still pretty spectacular....


Last but not least, the balconies..wrought iron, flowers and as always....colors

Natá de los Caballeros

It is hard to believe that the sleepy town of Natá de los Caballeros, in the province of Coclé, was once more important than Panama City. As a matter of fact, when the old city of Panama was sacked and plundered by English pirate Sir Henry Morgan in 1671, this small community briefly shared duties as the country's colonial capital with Penonomé, 20 miles to the northeast, until the relocation of Panama City two years later.

Natá was founded early in the colonial period, in 1522. Its name ("de los Caballeros" is Spanish for "of the gentlemen") comes from the fact that the community's first European inhabitants were Spanish noblemen, sent to conquer a rich plain settled by a progressive, Native American nation. It is said that when the first Spanish came they found enough food in town to feed an army. The Spanish devoured a year's worth of supplies in only three months, married local princesses and blended their culture with that of their hosts to form the Mestizo population of Panama's interior provinces.

The main legacy of those times is the town's church, the Santiago Apostol Minor Basilica, the oldest in the entire Western Hemisphere and declared a National Monument in 1941.source


How it look long ago....how it looks today...


This is such a beautiful old historic church...one of the treasures of Panama..so glad that Jim and I were able to see it on the way back from Boquete this week.


They had to replace the four bells as they were made out of solid gold and sacked by the Spanish...can you imagine how much those bells would be worth today and how they would of helped pay for the restoration of this church! Amazing!

seashells, sea glass and crochet thread

When we are not travelling around Panama seeing the countryside, we can be found walking the beach, sitting around the pool or under the shade Palapas keeping busy making little gifts...my friendship bracelets are a big hit...I thought adding some shells would be fun...and here are a few I made...









this is my necklace..the prototype....I am so happy wearing these colors...good thing I have found a lot of shells with small holes in the top of them..makes it easy to thread them thru the crochet thread.

Artworks in Boquete

This painting was in the common area at Villa Marita..along with their tame white pigeons..it was a colorful place to have breakfast as well as use their wifi.



There were a few of these statues scattered around the grounds..they looked old and perfectly placed to give a sense of history of how old this country is.



These charming painting were in a real estate office..I find if I ask if I may take a picture, most are happy you have shown an interest. Lovely aren't they?



I bought a small handmade tile from this shop...but I would of loved to buy this one that was framed..$320.00 would of been worth that price as I know the hours that would of taken to make this!



These two sisters were the artists as well as the wrappers and cashiers...on the right side you can see the tiles they are working on..They never spoke any English but their sweetness was evident.


The young girl in the pink was working on these tiles as I was admiring her work.


Wish I would of bought this one as well..These are the houses on stilts over the water in Bocas del Toro..we never made it up that far, another time perhaps.

Coffee and Flowers

This coffee company is owned by Mireya Moscoso the former Panamanian President..All of their coffee is exported to Europe, except for what they sell to tourists like us in their coffee shop...freshly roasted and finely ground...it was delightful....









After enjoying this very fine cup of Joe..we headed into the hills on to the back roads and looked around...the flowers are amazing..the air plants that just grow on all these trees are so interesting......a photo opportunity around every corner!