We're Halfway to Halloween!

A few days ago, between the bare trees and snow on the ground, it was definitely looking like Halloween here! This was our backyard on the morning after Easter. I was feeling very sorry for this poor little bunny all alone in the cold.

Until she started kicking up her heels and dancing around in the snow like it was the best thing ever! Wish I'd been quick enough to record it. Life is definitely what you make of it and that bunny was making the best of it! 

I wasn't really too upset about winter hanging on either, although I passed on dancing in the snow. Most of my perennials never got properly pruned last fall and it's been so cold they just stayed dormant. That gave me some extra time to get it done. How's that for silver linings? So now, at the end of April, the snow has turned to mud and it's looking a little more like spring - inside anyway.

A couple of weeks ago, around Easter time people were posting about it being 200 days until Halloween. Then just recently Disney started selling special treats and putting out press releases about Halfway to Halloween. This sounded like a great excuse to do a little spooky decorating.

Burt and Ivy volunteered to search the internet for more Halfway to Halloween ideas. As usual they strayed from their task and ended up watching silly videos on instead. 

When I removed the Christmas Village, shortly before our renovations began, the curio cabinet turned into a multi-holiday, store-all. Who knew there would be an excuse to get out the Halloween decor in April? I had no idea where the regular contents of the curio had ended up last fall, so there was lots of room to display my latest finds with some seahorses and Easter eggs, of course. 

Bunnies and pumpkins are a great combo, since they both live in gardens.

Burt and Ivy didn't come up with many ideas from the internet, so they made do with some new finds, some creepy Easter decor and the Toad Witch, who always manages to avoid being packed away.

His Madness decided Halfway to Halloween needed its own special treat, plus he'd been watching a few YouTube videos and wanted to give this idea a try. The recipe is easy, it starts with a piece of ready made puff pastry cut into four sections, then the top half of each section is cut into thin strips. 

Chocolate chips are spread on each section.

Then they're rolled up, starting with at the solid end and ending with the cut end. Some of the chocolate chips fell out but it was easy enough to just shove them back in under the strips.

After an egg wash and a generous sprinkle of sugar, they were baked at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until they look golden. 

They may have looked like scary monsters but they tasted great! A newly made up treat for a newly made up celebration! Now they need a name, any ideas?

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Happy Halfway to Halloween

It's Been Awhile!

This post was meant to go out into the blogosphere last month while the Rooms of Blooms event was still on but hey, its Earth Day today so it's still kind of relevant, right?

I just couldn't begin a blog post with such a crappy photo but I've been absent for a very long time (due to renovations, obviously) and felt an explanation was in order. We didn't think it was going to be so bad, especially since the contractor said it was a simple job. The next thing we knew our whole house was torn up with gaping holes open to the outside in below freezing temperatures. Then it all ground to halt for a couple of weeks. Why do we continue to trust these guys? It was really irritating but after a couple of days I started to feel stupid about being so upset because this was nothing compared to what the poor Ukrainian people are going through! Donating to worthy institutions - Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders - always makes me feel better and it was at least something positive to do. As for the building site we currently occupy, that's still an ongoing situation but it will pass. 

 Every other year the Paine Art Center in our town invites local florists to showcase their best creations. Ivy and Burt are always eager to see something new and scare up some fresh ideas for this year's garden or maybe even Springoween!

Ironically, this slightly autumnal color scheme of oranges and golden yellows was very much on trend throughout the rooms but there was a lot of pink mixed in, too.

For the most part it's a great collaboration since the mansion was originally designed to be a stately family home with formal gardens. Filling the whole place with over-the-top floral arrangements really brings the period rooms to life.

Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence was featured in the gallery this year. It's a traveling exhibition of bead art done in the ndwango technique that was developed by a community of women from an agricultural area of South Africa called KwaZulu-Natal.

The Ubuhle collective was started as a way to create profitable employment for rural women by using their traditional skills. Abstracts of cattle and Christianity made up the bulk of the subject matter in this show, which I guess was fitting for the season and all of us cheeseheads.

 Actually, this group of women artists are credited with created a new form of bead art. Each piece is crafted by applying glass beads, traditionally used to embellish their headscarves and skirts, onto a black fabric base, which is stretched on a frame like a painter's canvas. I can't imagine how much they must weigh or how long it takes to create one.

Due to the translucency of the glass, each tiny bead catches the light differently, creating a shimmering surface as you walk by them. The effect was absolutely magical, unfortunately my photos can't do them justice.

 I would definitely recommend paying a visit to the show if it turns up in your area; these pieces of art are much more beautiful in person. If you're in the area, the exhibit will be up until May 22.

 As much as I love this event, I wish they would skip putting arrangements in the gallery. It's just my personal opinion but with works of art, especially these that are done with such intricacy, they end up being more of a barrier than an enhancement. At best, the flowers look out of place. (Although this combo caught me totally by surprise and no thanks to my farm girl upbringing, I laughed way too loudly!) I went back for a better look at the art when Rooms of Blooms event was over.

In honor of the African artists there were lots of exotic blooms of the Protea shrub everywhere. They originated in South Africa and Australia and are sort of new on the North American garden scene. It would be fun to give them a try but they're only hardy in zone 8 and above. 

In the great hall the florists team up with caterers and bakers to see who can concoct the most elaborately impossible dining situations you could ever imagine. I'm sure I would catch a sleeve or my hair in something and bring down the whole display.

Visitors can vote for their favorite but somehow the winner never seems to get mentioned, ha! It's all very wonderland-ish and whimsical. Sitting down to have even a cup of tea would be nerve wracking but still, they're fun to look at, especially the ones with extravagant fabrics and sparkling dinnerware. 

It's always worth the walk through the snowy gardens to the conservatory where they serve afternoon tea. This year there was even champagne!

The conservatory also gets done up for the event but it's a lot more casual than the mansion.

It's generally something fun, like dresses and hats made out of flowers, anything they wouldn't dare do in the mansion. I used a light bulb vase like these to hold incense in my college dorm room. It was against the rules but somehow I got away with it. Of course, that made me think it was really cool, ha!

Would you stand underneath them though?

The autumnal color scheme was on display again. Currently, I'm on the hunt for whatever sort of colored film they used on these windows! Could this be a preview of the colors they're planning to use this summer in the formal garden? That's something to look forward to - if it ever warms up!!!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!