Okay, I found a picture...

After checking out the gorgeous sunflowers for $15 at Wild Oats, I settled for the $3 clearance ones at Kroger. They lasted about 4 days. Not too shabby...

I finally learned "take a picture, it lasts longer!" is really true...for flowers, anyway.

Unfinished Projects...

I have recently gotten into an art called Reborn dollmaking. Originally this art form started with taking vinyl play dolls and "refurbishing" them to lovely collectible dolls. I found it through eBay and I fell in love. The art has progressed so far it is now pushing boundaries, making more and more lifelike dolls. I found this cutie at Savers for a dollar and decided to try it for myself:

After I took the doll apart (removing cloth body and sleepy eyes), I washed her vinyl parts in baby shampoo and let them dry. Then using a special heat-set paint, I began to try to make her skin more lifelike:

So far, I have finished the paint (shinier than I wanted, oh well), added eyes and eyelashes (very time consuming, frustrating, and had many do-overs) and am in the process of rooting her hair with curly black mohair:

Pretty painted fingernails...

She is looking quite Native American, due to the low hairline. I had to bring it further forward on her forehead because of the grooves that were already there and I didn't have a dremmel to remove. In order to give her a full head of hair, I have a loooong way to go! And then it will still need to be cut and styled.

I have a cute, soft body all ready made for her by Gia Heath of Babycre8tions.com, and I just need to finish that head! I am posting this in hopes it will motivate me to finish.

Finished Projects

The front door is finished, and I decided to embellish it with a W! Nate says people will think it is in support of the president. :-P. I painted it myself--the color on the front matches the house, and the sides are the same as the door. I really like it!

I also made a keyholder, which conveniently hangs right next to the door.

And got a chalkboard through Southern Living which I put near the door to the garage. It is supposed to be for reminders like "Put Out Trash" so we'll see how it works...

Blooms, Critters, and Spring Projects

Spring has officially arrived (well, come and gone, really) in Arkansas, bringing lots of stormy weather all over the state. This spring has seen more devastating storms & tornadoes than many past, as well as flooding. And though I am used to the blooming season being in May and June (growing up in Maine), the spring blossoms are about gone here! I have a couple of lovely rosebushes that were planted by the previous owner of our house growing right by my door, and in spite of needing some good pruning, they produced some lovely deep red roses with a gorgeous "deep red" smell. The other bush has pretty off-white roses with just a hint of lavendar tinging the edges of the petals, and a delicate pink smell to complement the color.

As the flowers have arrived, so have the critters! We had originally planned to put a garden in our upper back yard this spring, but were unprepared when the weather got nice enough and decided the land needed a little more preparation than we could give it this year. It's a good thing we didn't plant anything up there, anyway! Just about any time of day we can look up in the back yard and see rabbits nibbling the weeds and grass. Also, early in April, I noticed that something had made him/herself a nice hole going under our storage shed. A couple of weeks later, I glanced out the kitchen window and saw a big, fat groundhog eating our dandelions. Uh-oh! We still have yet to figure out what to do about the critter, and now the problem has gotten bigger--literally! Last week I heard some commotion in the backyard, and when I went to the patio door I saw two groundhogs racing by, playing a cute game of tag! So now we really need to do something--or we are going to end up with an entire groundhog family! Usually they are shy about getting their pictures taken, but Nate managed to get this good shot on Saturday:

And of course, what is spring without spring house projects! While we have yet to finish the trim in the front room, we did manage to paint our front door--red! Nate found some quality paint on clearance because it had been tinted improperly, and we thought it would do for the door color. After we applied it, though, we decided it was too orangey, so I opted for a quart of cheap exterior paint in a deeper red for the outer coat. It still needs one more going-over, but I am pleased with the results.

Updates, Updates, Updates...

Since some people think that I don't update my blog often enough (yeah, what's with that? heehee...) I am posting several items at once to get y'all caught up to the present in our lives. Older stuff is at the bottom.

Our drive to Wattensaw (wildlife management area) didn't yield many wildlife sightings, but we did get to see a pretty sunset.

Aaron got a lot of good pictures. You can see them on his blog--link to the right.

A nice action shot of Nate.

Aaron proved surprisingly good for someone who has never played...or else we are just not as good as we think. (; Finally, last week Aaron flew down from snowy Maine to visit and go fishing. Too bad we just had major flooding all over the state! But we did find some spots near Greer's Ferry Dam and we had a good time. I forgot the camera, of course, so you can't see that I caught the biggest fish (I really did!) but I got some good action shots at the park when Nate and I taught him to play disc golf (or frisbee golf) for the first time.

Later the week after the snow, there were spring flowers everywhere!

After a winter of Nate telling me "we usually get one good snowfall," we finally did...in March, after a weekend of 70 degree weather! It made for some pretty pictures and snowmen, but melted off within a day.

My Breezy. I enjoyed her brief visit.

Curled up in her favorite basket. In February, we added a new member to the Williams' household...Bagheera, a little black cat. She was a starving stray rescued by my friend who then lived in Kansas and was visiting her relatives in Colorado at the time. Bagheera is a bit of a spaz and we laugh at her antics constantly. I think she is still getting used to us, but we get along quite well, as long as we respect her independence...and feed her on time. She loves to sleep in "her" basket and adores our large picture window in the living room; she is quite ferocious with her toys and lets us know if she wants something. (:

My family.

Vijay meets his great-grandpa Brown.

I got to hold my little nephew for the first time at Christmas.

The Christmas Tree decorating committee: Me, Jo, Jen, and Jess.

A taste of Maine winter!

Nate's first real snow at the airport.
We got to go to Maine to spend Christmas with my family, and it was an enjoyable time of fun and fellowship with all kinds of family members. And we were happy to have snow for Christmas!!

The kitchen took two days to complete.

Get that tile straight, Nate!

I am proud that I helped pull up the nasty kitchen carpet!

Gene and Nate putting in the final piece of hardwood.

Nate, Gene, and Matt work on the floor (it was quite dusty in there...).

The front room after we removed the carpet.

I was glad to see the carpet go!

In December, we installed hardwood and tile in the front room and kitchen of our house. Nate's dad graciously gave us the supplies left over from a house he was renovating and helped with the installation, as well as his brother, Matt. Nate and I did the entire kitchen (tile) by ourselves. Then he spent 7 hours grouting it alone while I recouperated on the couch from having wisdom teeth out. (o:

HOUSE PICTURES!!

Here's our little house as you come up the hill...

This is what you will see when you first come in the door.

Looking back at the living room...

We love the bar area in the kitchen...great for using the laptop (that's what I am doing right now...)

Down the hallway to the bedrooms (1 bedroom, 1 junk room, and 1 study...;))

The hall bathroom is unfinished, but we're working on it. We tiled and painted, and still need to put in a new vanity...

Right across the hall is the study!

We love the built-in bookshelves...a cozy little nook.

Our bedroom is a little smaller than we are used to, but cozy!

The window faces east...so we get a bright awakening on sunny mornings!

The back patio is a nice place to hang out on a sunny day!

Here's our extended back yard! I am excited to have a garden up there next summer!

Looking back down toward the house...

The house came with a storage shed full of tools and supplies.