Friday, April 13, 2012

Blooms, Dollhouse Crochet & Blog Friends

Our farm plantings are beginning to awaken.. the Star Magnolia puts out such beautiful flowers!
Some of the flowers have shorter petals, and the one below has longer ones.  There is a lot of lichen on this little tree. 
I added this one so you could see the bud at the top. 
The "Oregon Grape" is in bloom.. and thanks to my readers from across the pond I now know that our Oregon forefathers played fast and loose with plant names.. that this is known in England as "Mahonia".. and indeed the Governor's Mansion in Oregon is called "Mahonia Hall".  I get a kick out of them naming it Oregon Grape and making it the state flower. LOL! 
It certainly brings color to the farm yard! 
The bees were so happy that these are in bloom and there was a quite a bit of buzzing around the plants.. see the big huge bumblebee dining on the nectar? 
Rhododendrons are in bloom in many places, but ours are withholding judgement on the weather and are waiting... 
The 3 goldfish and 2 koi are coming out of hiding a bit more.. hope the dastardly great blue heron and equally murderous raccoons don't get them. 
Looking to the left of the pond is our woods.. a patch of sun shone on the Trilliums there. 
Did I tell you that I found a crocheter on Etsy that specializes in tiny dollhouse miniature crochet?  I ordered this little afghan and it's only about 4 iches square.. the stitches are TINY!
It is too small for the bed, and I *could* put it on the crib.. but for now it's laid on the porch swing for a cool nights swinging.
I then ordered 4 little pillows for here and there in the house.  These are about 1 1/2 inches square.  They are on their way here now.  The crocheter lives in Canada. 
Each one has a pink flower on one side and lavender on the other side.
This has sure been a busy week for me.  Sunday dinner at our son's house, Monday dinner at our other son's house. Tuesday I drove my sisters to Springfield to testify to leave a motor ban on Waldo Lake (it's one of the 3 purest lakes on the planet!) - the vote was 3 to 2 to leave the ban on by the Oregon Marine Board. I didn't get home until midnight and had to be up at 7 am to lead a bus tour of the gorge for the Friends of Multnomah Falls on Wednesday.  Yesterday I volunteered at the falls and had a wonderful surprise, a blog friend of mine came to visit me there, Betsy from Spokane!  Today I had lunch with my blog friend Gracie and then went swimming.  I never imagined that I'd make such wonderful "real life" friends from blogging.  It's the best bonus of it all!  Thanks for visiting and the delightful comments.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

19 comments:

  1. Brilliant pictures, Teresa!!! Thanks again for meeting me for lunch. Making real life friends through blogging is a wonderful bonus I had not expected, either. (: Now I am off to meet Betsy at her blog. Thanks for the introduction! [I hope you have restful fun this weekend, Teresa.] <3

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  2. What a beautiful farm you live on, it must be hard work to keep it so lovely but worth all the effort! Those miniature crochet pieces are amazing. Such patience from the maker. X

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  3. Gosh Teresa, those tiny crochet items for your dolls house are amazing. I think the little afghan looks gorgeous on the porch swing. Yellow is one of my favourite colours so as you'd expect, I think those 'Oregon Grapes' are beautiful.

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  4. Beautiful blossoms - the likes of which I've never seen! It amazes me how the shrubs and plants of different locales are SO varied! And those teensy tiny stitches! Can you imagine? Mercy! What beautiful work! My eyes are in NO WAY capable of such things! I love the blankie on the porch swing! SO CUTE! You're a busy lady, Teresa! Verrrrrrry busy! Whew! Have a great weekend! Hugs to you. Annette

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  5. You are always crazy busy. Love all the beautiful flowers surrounding your home.
    Hope you have a relaxing weekend,
    Meredtih

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  6. Hi Teresa,
    Happy Sunday to you. I'm back from PA. and catching up a little on blogs. I read your last ones (2) and wowzer have you been busy. Love all the photos of the g.kids. The girls have really grown, especially the oldest. Love your photos of the flowers in your yard. The star magnolias are beautiful and I adore your koi pond!!!! I have always loved that look and the peacefulness of sitting and watching them.
    I hope you have a wonderful week. I hope to get back on track soon. xoRobin❤

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  7. The flowers are just photographed so beautifully. Great job.

    The dollhouse miniature yarn work is amazing and makes it so cozy looking

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  8. I really like the little Oregon Grapes, or Mahonia or whatever you want to call them! The bright yellow is so pretty and the shape of the flowers makes me smile. And I can't believe how tiny that blanket and the pillows are! How can the talented woman even see what she's doing? Wow! She did an excellent job. I hope you enjoy your new additions to your dollhouse and that you have a wonderful weekend.
    ~Lacey

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  9. So sweet and totally AMAZING miniature crochet!

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  10. Fab pics as always. Lovely inspiration for my Grandbaby's Sylvanian Family House which I bought her at the thrift shop today. Might copy the idea for the cushions for the lovely sofa that came with it. Have a restful weekend,you certainly deserve it!
    ps we have Mahonia in Scotland too! I've just chopped mine back this year as the leaves were so prickly when it came to weeding underneath it! I prefer the 'Oregon Grape' name for it too.

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  11. I love Magnolia, your Star Magnolia is beautiful. Your dolls house crochet is so adorable too. It looks so homely and perfect on the porch swing. Yeah for blog friends. :) x

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  12. You have been a busy bee Teresa. The photos are lovely as ever. We have two star magnolias in the front garden it jas been beautiful. Those crocheted pieces are just stunning. Glad you and Gracie got to have lunch together. Anne x

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  13. I love the little crocheted dollhouse blanket! It looks so cute on the swing!~Hugs, Patti

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  14. It was so good to meet you "face to face"! Now I need to get busy and update my blog. I love, love that little bitty blanket and
    Pillows. The patience it must take for that tiny thread.

    Hope to see you again soon and maybe "do lunch" like the fancy ladies! :-)

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  15. It was so good to meet you "face to face"! Now I need to get busy and update my blog. I love, love that little bitty blanket and
    Pillows. The patience it must take for that tiny thread.

    Hope to see you again soon and maybe "do lunch" like the fancy ladies! :-)

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  16. I hope you will continue to share details of your dollhouse. I find it adorable and cannot believe how small the blanket/pillows are!

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  17. Lindas flores.
    Lindas fotos.
    Lindos squares.
    Parabรฉns.

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  18. Hi.. love the photos.. love spending time outdoors myself and flowers always make me smile. Looks like a very happy place! Shari

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  19. How wonderful! I'm so glad you were able to meet these ladies! The farm is looking so pretty and colorful!

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