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Botanical Beauties - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
BOTANICAL: pertaining to plants
Many people think that the desert is nothing but prickly plants and blowing sand. Believe me, there are plenty of prickly plants here in the Chihuahuan Desert, and, at times, plenty of blowing sand. But there are a whole host of other plants that bloom beautifully and are much more friendly to the skin. The Chihuahuan Desert is termed a "cold desert" since temperatures often drop below freezing during the winter with occasional snowfall. It is, on average, higher in altitude (El Paso is at 3800 ft / 1200 m) than the neighboring “hot” Sonoran Desert around Tucson (2643 ft / 806 m) which rarely experiences freezing temperatures. While Tucson and Phoenix bake for several months with triple digits, summer temperatures in the Chihuahuan desert are more moderate, our hottest month being June. Triple digits, yes, but for only a few weeks. Rainfall averages less than 10" per year, most of that coming during the monsoon season, normally July through mid-September. Amazingly, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature has indicated that the Chihuahuan Desert may be the most biologically diverse desert in the world! Our plants just tend to be built on a smaller scale than those found in the Sonoran Desert.
A Sense of Fun - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
This week’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade blog post is called A Sense of Fun. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of “fun” is “that which provides amusement or enjoyment.” I am often delighted and amused at the creativity of my artist friends and ALWAYS enjoy browsing their shops. And since Mother’s Day is almost upon us, any of these picks will make wonderful gifts. Buy Handmade - buy a gift that was made from the heart.
Star Stuff Harvesting Star Light - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Dr. Carl Sagan is a major hero of mine. As Wikipedia explains he “was an American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences.” he was often called "the astronomer for the people." Quite the Renaissance man! I remember being glued to the TV when the groundbreaking TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage was first aired. Dr. Sagan was able to explain complex ideas in a simple way that a layperson could understand. Being a science geek, especially when it comes to space, my mind sailed on its own voyage of personal discovery each week (and with the reruns that I always managed to watch). I still remember vividly and muse over certain parts of certain episodes that particularly touched me. Unfortunately Dr. Sagan died in 1996 at the young age of 62. I still miss him and all he had to offer. He returned to the star dust he so loved.
Countdown to Mother's Day - Handmade and Vintage Gifts - Week 7
Can you believe that week 7 of the Countdown to Mother's Day, hosted by Julie and Blu of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog, has come and gone?. Forty-eight (48) artisan handmade items were left in its wake. Mother’s Day is quickly approaching! Now is the perfect time to browse gift ideas and buy that perfect gift(s) for your Mum. Any one of the mostly one of a kind handmade items and vintage items shared this week are perfect for even the pickiest Mom. Visit the shops of the artists featured and buy Mom something that was handmade from the heart.
Happy Easter! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one pagan and the other Judeo-Christian. Both pagans and Christians have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the spring equinox for millennia. A majority of religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier pagan celebrations. The name “Easter” itself originated with the names of an ancient goddess. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first mentioned in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. The "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility was also known as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eastra and others.
Countdown to Mother's Day - Handmade Gifts - Week 5
Week 5 of the Countdown to Mother's Day, hosted by Julie and Blu of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog, sped right on by. Sixty artisan handmade items from twenty artists were left in its wake. Mother’s Day is fast approaching! Now is the perfect time to start browsing gift ideas and buying that perfect gift(s) for your Mum. Any one of the mostly one of a kind handmade items shared this week are perfect for even the pickiest Mom. Visit the shops of the artists featured and buy Mom something that was handmade from the heart.
Second Page, Second Artisan Item - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
What beautiful artisan handmade items are included in this blog post! But, then, ALL the items included in my blogs the last two years have been beauties. This edition of Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade is a melange of items, a random choosing of the second item on the second page of the artist's shop. I hope you enjoy the items featured.
Countdown to Mother's Day - Handmade and Vintage Gifts - Week 4
Week 4 of the Countdown to Mother's Day, hosted by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions on their The Blu Print blog, has come and gone. Sixty-three mostly handmade items, with a few vintage pieces, were left in its wake. Now is the perfect time to start browsing gift ideas and buying that perfect gift(s) for your Mum. Any one of the mostly one of a kind handmade items and the vintage items shared this week are perfect for even the pickiest Mom. Visit the shops of the 21 artists featured and buy Mom something that was handmade from the heart or that will re-live as a vintage piece.
Easter Perfection! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Easter will be here before we know it, on Sunday, April 16. It was a family tradion, a week or so before Easter, that my Mom would take my sister, my brother and me to the local dry goods store to shop for a new Easter outfit to wear to church. My sister and I always ended up with frilly dresses in pastel shades, new white shoes, lace edged socks (sometimes in colors matching our dress), white gloves and a new mantilla or flower headband. My brother, always with not much choices, ended up with khakis, a white shirt and new brown shoes (and sometimes a new plastic dinosaur for this extensive collection). Were we ever Easter styling! Hopefully all photos of us kids decked out in our Easter finery have been lost.
Colorful Creations! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Whether you have had lots of snow this winter or lots of brown (such as can be found in the Desert Southwest), I bet everyone can agree that we are all longing for color! Colorful flowers, grasses greening, big blue skies, etc. The list can go on and on. This week’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade features a wide range of colorful handmade creations by artist friends. Any will make a perfect pick-me-up gift for a loved one . . . or for yourself! Enjoy these “Colorful Creations”:
