ibises in flight

Spring! At the oldest house in historic Wilmington

time with my granddaughter

Ashley and I tried a new place in town. Smoothie/frosty teas.

Butter mints

I got the heavy piece of marble a few weeks ago, then I forked out $30 for a good candy thermometer, and now I am learning to make butter mints. A true Southern delicacy. On my fourth try, I came up with these delectable sweets. They are still not good enough to give away, but I am close to making it happen. And so soon! Since I have never seen any one make butter mints, or pull warm candy, I learned most of what I needed on youtube and a couple of other read only sites.

This is a short version of how it is done. Sugar, water and butter brought to a boiling point of 260. Then pour boiling syrup onto the marble where it starts to cool immediately. After about a minute and some folding it onto itself, it is cool enough to handle. The pulling begins, which, I have figured out, is the main thing. The thing that you have to get the feel for. When that is done, you cut them in pieces and then put in a can to cure.

I put no color or peppermint oil in these white ones as they were an experiment in pulling, but nothing was lost. They are buttery and delicious as they are. I am about to get the hang of it.

A Piece of Real Art

Last month I helped one of the members upload his images to the website for the upcoming art show. I was glad to get to know him a little better, plus he is my age and a Wilmington native. In appreciation for my help, he insisted on giving me a print of a painting done by his good friend, a well known artist here who died a few years ago. I accepted. He gave it to me rolled in a thick tube, and when I took it out for a look, it was a painting I recognized, titled "Gathering at Airlie." Size 18x24. Yesterday I had it framed, and as I looked closely at the print, the quality seemed to be very good. The colors are vibrant and the the lines have movement. I am thrilled to have it.

After church

These handsome men showed up to go to church with me. The fact that we are all wearing purple was unplanned and funny! I had to stretch and stand on my tiptoes to get in the picture.

Stopped for a train

Repurposed Cottages

Four of the old cottages on WB that were around when my mother used to take the trolley to the beach have been moved inland to the welcome area. That way, some history is being preserved. The most recently brought in is up high. I asked about it, and after some work, it will be put on footings on the ground.

on her 92nd

Aunt Margaret who turns ninety-two tomorrow is our longest living relative. Tonight she was honored by some family members. Her toast to us was, "I hope you live to be as old as I am. And I hope you keep your sense of humor because you're going to need it."

some things that happened today

Twice this week, because I am president of the art group, I have received requests from people who need help with getting rid of art supplies. The first batch of goodies consisted of a beautiful wooden box of thirty-eight unopened tubes of good quality oil paints and a nice tabletop easel. A great find! We were able to auction them off at our general meeting on Thursday evening to benefit our Spring Art Show. Today we dealt with some pieces of what may be loosely called furniture, drawing tables and such, that were in a vacated studio over a garage. A former member, now ninety-four years old, used to paint there, and her family wanted to get rid of the things before the new owners move into her house. I asked Stuart and sons to help with the lifting, and they were kind enough to do so. Three vehicles full, the stuff has now been dispersed to many people. Out of today's batch, I got a couple of art toys, plus a big slab of marble. Not an art supply, but I have wanted to make butter mints forever, and now I will try them. Plus while I was in the studios, a cute young couple came by and asked if they could buy a painting I did a couple of years ago that I really did just for my studio wall. They were thrilled to get it. Surprises such as these are part of the fun of being in the art world!

Geese

It's hard to get a decent picture of Canada geese, but the camera did pretty well with them at dirty Greenfield Lake this gray day. They are smart creatures.

Tribute to a Father

The Billy Graham funeral today was touching and emotional.
One of his daughters told a story about how he welcomed her back home after she went through a tough time, and how that helped her to understand how God the Father loves her. It reminded me of a time when my daddy was especially kind to me.

I was sixteen and hadn't had my drivers license very long when Daddy let me drive his relatively new, red Chrysler New Yorker to school so I could leave early for a dentist appointment in downtown Charlotte. About one pm I left, and I was still on the two lane country road when I came upon trucks stopped for road repairs. I realized I was going to have to drive around them, but I had never done such a thing and felt nervous. So I tentatively drove around, a ditch on my left and the truck on my right. I must have been scared I was going to land in the ditch, because I pulled back in too soon, hitting a truck at an angle that caused the right side of Daddy's car to peel back like it was opened with a can opener. It was horrifying. I was ashamed. But what I remember most is how kind my daddy was to me afterward. He didn't fuss, raise his voice, or make a big deal out of it. I knew he forgave me and loved me in spite of  my inadequate driving and wrecking his nice car. And it had a profound influence on me. One thing is, because of my earthly father's love toward me, it has been easier for me to grasp my Heavenly Father's love, even when I screw up or feel unworthy.