February Fun

I began the month by altering the decorations on my porch. I needed something a little more romantic in honor St. Valentine's Day so I turned to coffee filters...naturally. I created this wreath with tea-stained coffee filters, a styrofoam wreath base, and corsage pins.

I also used the coffee filters and some dictionary pages to create flowers to go in the 'window box' alongside some dried hydrangeas. I was pleased with how it turned out. It set a nice romantic tone.

And then comes St. Valentine's Day...

Vintage valentines...

...around the base of a cake stand...

...that holds a cheesecake shipped in from Chicago...

...that was obviously very yummy!!!

Did you notice the vintage-esque decorative pics?

But we had to eat our dinner before we could have our dessert.

Herb had deep-dish pizza shipped in from Chicago.

This was sooooooo good!!!

It was enjoyed by all!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Then comes the final festivity to be had until Resurrection Day...Shrove Tuesday.

A simple but yummy meal - pancakes, sausage, stuffed strawberries, and chocolate milk.

Good company and good times.

We are now prepared to enter the more somber and reflective Lenten season.

Ash Wednesday

Lord, who throughout these forty days for us didst fast and pray,

teach us with thee to mourn our sins and close by thee to stay.

As thou with Satan didst contend, and didst the victory win,

O give us strength in thee to fight, in thee to conquer sin.

As thou didst hunger bear, and thirst, so teach us, gracious Lord,

to die to self and chiefly live by thy most holy word.

And through these days of penitence, and through thy passiontide,

yea, evermore in life and death, Jesus, with us abide.

Abide with us, that so, this life of suffering over past,

an Easter of unending joy we may attain at last.

-Claudia F. Hernaman, 1873

February's Free Family Art Day

With the Winter Olympics and the Lunar new Year just around the corner the arts council presented Olympic "medals" and dragon puppets as the craft February's free family art day.

Aren't these dragons fabulous?