The House that Christmas Built...

 Christmas parties.  They are fun!  The party I attended last night is party that is CHRISTMAS!  The decorations start to come out in October, except for the basement, which is left out all year.  This year she moved everything around! 

This party provides visual stimulation to the eye.  This bedroom is a bedroom of trees.  This photo was taken after I stepped into the room.  It's full of trees!












 Turn right in the bedroom, and this is what you see!
More trees!!!!

The main Christmas tree in the room!  Isn't it beautiful?

The light wasn't the best, but this bathroom is not usable.  It's full of Santa's!

Santas to the left of me....

Santas further to the left of me!

Santas to the right of me! 

And that's only two rooms in the house that Christmas built!

30 Word Thursday:: The Leaves Are Gone

Sculptures,

living and strong.

Bare

Open

Naked

Ready for the rigors of winter.

Twisted,

Gnarled,

Reaching Beyond the Earth.

A sign from the grave of winter,

The sculptures will bud.

From Erin's Blog

Treasures Found:: Inspiration is Everywhere

The premise of 30 Words Thursdays is simple...

Take an image (preferably one you shot, or have permission to use).

Write 30 Words about it. No more. No less.

Post it each Thursday.

Add your link to the InLinkz on my 30 Words Thursday post.
(InLinkz code will be open for one week.)
Enjoy seeing what others have captured by visiting them and leaving a comment.

At last! It really is fall!

It was a long, hard summer.
I'm really glad it's over.
Winter almost came way too early,
but now,
We're back to fall.
Colors that didn't exist yesterday
were sprayed on the trees
to make the leaves
a blend of maleable gold and rust
with speckles of green.
Winter is a peek around the corner,
but, no matter what,
We are headed towards spring!

I Accept the Challenge!

I hope, in a week, to show some photos of what I made, and I am being challenged! Thank you all who left comments!

The winners seem to be tree beads, roses, hollow beads, and white enamel! (There was also an invitation to visit Germany for inspiration, but I am thinking I might become a permanent guest in that studio because I would want to fondle all the beads! They are amazing!)

My goal will now be to produce tree beads with roses, enamels, and, a hollow with a tree bead on it! Yikes! That might be a tough one, but it's a wonderful challenge! I hope to post these beads in a week, October 20th. I hope I can.

You will see my efforts whether they are good, bad or ugly. This is really going to help me grow! Thank you!

My Science Experiment

I feel like a kid with a new science experiment.
When Spike and I were out walking the neighborhood,
I noticed that there was moss growing on the trees.
I remember thinking,
"This could be fun."










I peeled a little bark from 3 different trees.
Each bit of bark had bits of moss growing on it.



















Sorry about the photo quality on that one!



















I filled a small jar with some pebbles for drainage and some soil that I had.



















I added the chips of wood and a little bit of water.

In an hour, I already saw a difference!



















We'll see what happens as my mini garden grows, if it does. No more watering, now, for a while.
I'll let you know how this experiment goes, and whether or not, it will become a bead!

We Had Quite a Storm This Morning

I was actually going to write on a different topic today, but then came the storm. It is no joke when I say that the sky darkened, and it was as dark as night. Automatic lights came on. You could hear the thunder in the background as it drew closer, then the storm hit. The winds were extremely strong. I tried to get a picture of the trees being pushed into odd shapes by the wind, but it was too dark for my camera to record. The rain was falling in sheets. It was hard to see. I'm so lucky I was at home. I would have hated to be driving in that weather.

The storm seemed to rage for an hour, but it was only about a half an hour. After the storm ended, I went outside to check for damage. I don't know how or why, but there was no damage in my yard or to my house. However, the neighbors on both sides of me had damage to their trees. I was shocked to see what the storm had done. My neighbor to the left of me had this damage to her tree. The tree is a beautiful one in the fall. I'm not sure it can survive.
My neighbors to the right of me had a big and beautiful maple tree. I was shocked to see the damage the winds had done.

That looked like the extent of the damage in our neighborhood. I walked around my house and checked, but I didn't see any damage. I feel very grateful for that. I found a small branch on my deck. It was nothing significant compared to these trees. I'm sorry about the damage, but I am glad that nothing more was hurt. As I walked around our neightborhood after the storm, I looked up and saw the sun. It's good when things return to normal.