I have a new blog which you can find here:

You may be wondering why I have started a new blog. There are several reasons.  Since the Charm & Grace web magazine is published seasonally, it isn’t updated frequently and isn’t a great place to put new and fresh content. This blog is greatly personal in nature… featuring my artwork, my travel snippets, and my personal feelings about this or that… the posts here can tend toward wordiness, lengthiness, or complication. I wanted to have a place to share little bite sized flourishes of loveliness about all sorts of things and to be able to post even more frequently than I would post them here on my more personal blog. I also wanted to “test drive” the features of a “ready made” blog from one of the major blog hosts. So Charm & Grace Cottage — via Blogger — was my answer. I am hoping to have something short and simple, yet fresh and new each day to inspire and promote creativity.   So if you enjoy those kinds of things, drop over for a visit.  The door to the cozy Charm & Grace Cottage is always open, the tea kettle is on and waiting for you.

In honor of Mother’s Day I thought I would share about a wonderful outing my mother and I attended together recently.  Our local library sponsored an event they called “Afternoon with Jane.” They advertised it as a time for tea with Jane Austen and asked us to bring our own teacups.  My mother had been given a lovely floral tea set by her stepson who had found it and thought of her.  Being very delicate and beautifully decorated, they were just perfect for the event.  She used one with rose petals, and I used one with dogwood blossoms.  We walked into the room at the library to see many people of all different ages… both men and women, young and old… and all with such interesting and varied teacups.  We were treated to our choice of loose teas which consisted of Earl Grey Creme tea, a Caribbean tea flavored with coconut and strawberry guava, and English Breakfast.  Along with tea we were treated to  apricot scones accompanied by clotted creme, fresh lemon curd, and strawberry preserves.  After we had all filled our teacups, gotten our scones and made our way to our places, the lady who runs a local tea room talked to us about the history and heritage of tea.  It was a very interesting and informative talk, and she even told us how to naturally decaffienate our own tea!  We also learned about loose tea as compared with bagged teas.  And she discussed the differences between green tea, white tea, and black tea. 

Once she was finished, the local president of the Jane Austen Society talked to us about the traditions and practices of Jane Austen’s era.  He was very well read and knowledgable about all manner of things relating to Austen and her era, and he even took the time for discussion and to answer a few questions.  It was a really lovely afternoon, but even more so because I got to have a tea party with my mother.  

:)  I love you, Mama.

I am a member of a wonderful online community called The Bliss Guild, which is a group of women who are pursuing their dreams (bliss) through their own businesses.  This group originally formed in response to Victoria magazine’s The Business of Bliss, a book highlighting women who had taken their passions and turned them into profitable businesses.  I joined this group in January of 2007, just after I determined to learn web design and start my own online web magazine called Charm & Grace.   Since then I have been pursuing my dreams of doing artwork through web design and, as I have shared with you here, more recently through fine artwork.  It is such a blessing to be a part of this wonderful and talented group of women.  I have learned so much from so many who are part of the Bliss Guild community, and I am excited to tell you that right now on the Bliss Guild Blog I am the featured member. So, be sure to stop by and read my interview to learn all about my “bliss.” 

Lorrie at Fabric, Paper, Thread of Vancouver has tagged me to list seven random facts about myself.   (Thanks for thinking of me, Lorrie.)  Since I generally consider myself to be fairly uninteresting, this will be a tough one (don’t you all find it much easier to write about things other than yourself?)   The hardest thing about these challenges is finding someone you can then “tag”… but I am looking around… and it just might be you.

Here are the rules:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them (I like Lorrie’s approach, which I will describe later.)
5. Comment on their blog to let know they have been tagged.

So… 7 weird or random facts about me…  here goes:

1.  When I was young I wanted to be a fashion designer, stay single, and never have children… (thanking God that those dreams did NOT come true, as I am now happily married with 3 beautiful children!)

2.  I once rode across a 4 lane highway in a golf cart… with my grandfather.

3.  I am so fair that the lightest makeup almost looks dark on my skin.

4.  As a young girl I had over 30 cats; I am now allergic to cats.

5.  I have coordinated several ladies retreats which took place in the Smoky Mountains.

6.  I have a bottle of perfume on my dresser, Princess Marcella Borghese’s Giardini di Montecatini XII, which lists on Overstock.com for $499.99.  Not being a huge perfume person, because I tend to get migraines from some scents, I probably have a grand total of 5 bottles of perfume in all. I first saw this brand in the original Victoria Magazine and once I had tried it, just had to have some.  (No, my hubby did not pay that much for it when he bought it for me years ago.  This price is very puzzling to me…)  Incidentally, the fragrance I wear most often is Burberry Brit.

7.  I have been doing hand calligraphy for 22 years, now.

So, I’d say those are pretty random facts.  As for the lucky ones to be tagged next, you are listed below.  (I tried to look back a bit and make sure you hadn’t been tagged for this one recently …and just so there’s no pressure, this is a no obligation tag!)

Lidy from French Garden House

Ruth from Artful Creations

Mimi from French Kitchen in America

Jo from NeereAnDear Blog

Bebe from Peaches-And-Dreams

And (taking a cue from Lorrie) if there are others of you who would like to participate, please leave a comment and then follow the rules listed above.

Hugs and blessings,

Christi

It has been nearly a year since I started the Charm & Grace website.  And while my blog has seen quite a bit of traffic over the months, the main website has not been profitable.  It tends to have a good bit of traffic, but it hasn’t been as financially successful as I need for it to be.  I put Google ads there hoping to generate enough revenue to pay for the hosting and justify my time in writing and design on the site.  I am now in the process of reevaluating that concept.  I lean toward revamping and refining the site, so that in the future it won’t take quite so much time to update the articles.  There are so many things going on right now, I just haven’t had the time (and believe me it takes gobs of time) to do a winter 2008 issue of Charm & Grace.  I hope to have a spring issue, albeit pared down and reconfigured, out sometime in March.

Having said that, today was a day to experiment with my new paint brushes and watercolors.  After a fun day of playing with paint, I am glad to sit down to the computer and share with you what I’ve been up to.  (No I have not made any progress on the comment spamming, although I have spent quite a bit of time trying.  I will let you know when I get a solution.  Special thanks to Karla and Bebe for your great suggestions.) Anyway, since I am now back to doing fine art, I will also be looking for a way to coordinate my creative pursuits with my web design.  This is all such a wonderful opportunity to learn new things and new ways of incorporating all my artistic endeavors, and I really am excited about what the future holds. 

Color is an amazing thing, and for me, being able to play and experiment is just such a blessing.  And it’s something I haven’t afforded myself the luxury of doing in quite some time.

On a side note… a few days ago I was looking for a container to hold and sort my brushes, when I had a wonderful inspiration.  I had purchased this lovely tulip vase last summer and haven’t used it very often as a vase.  When I saw it I knew that it would be the perfect (and very aesthetically pleasing) brush holder.  I love the way the brushes look held so gracefully by the creamy white vase.  Blessings and hugs…

 I admit it… this picture is a teaser so that you’ll read to the end.  (Shameless, aren’t I?)

OK, I have to confess that these past few weeks have been hard… I woke up about four weeks ago to excruciating knee pain.  Ask me how I did it… I’ve been asked a hundred times… but I just can’t tell you.  I just woke up that way.  And from what I have read on this great internet-medical-information-highway, there is no cure except rest, ice, and wrapping with an ace bandage.  Try telling that to a busy mom of 3 with as many activities as you can cram into a week.  And of course it’s my right leg… you know… the one I drive with.  So, I have had to stoop to being driven around by my 16 year old… not that I mind, mind you.  In fact, I could really get used to being chauffeured.

And on top of the knee injury, my laptop screen has died.  My laptop… the one which contains half my life… the websites I design, the calendar, the list of my favorite blogs, all my photos, the scans of my artwork, etc.  The screen just died one day… and you can’t do much without a screen.  I am now using it with a very large external monitor, which works just fine, as long as you’re sitting in the same spot all the time.  I am too accustomed to being able to take my life (I mean computer) with me. 

But there are certain benefits to being temporarily immobile, the foremost at the moment has been that wonderful husband has taken nicely to kitchen detail.  He has not only cooked (brilliantly, I might add) and cleaned, but has discovered he has quite a penchant for baking… homemade breads, rolls, cookies, etc.  We have been the beneficiaries of this newfound love over these past weeks. 

So, while knee injuries and computer failures can be vastly inconvenient, there are some benefits… namely, fresh out of the oven, piping hot, crusty, yummy, homemade bread.

And not just bread, but THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted.  I may post the recipe one of these days… if you beg me.  Really these are too good not to share.  They are perfection in your mouth.

Yes, that is wonderful husband’s actual hand dipping the cookies onto the parchment. 

Are they as good as they look, you ask?  Nope… much, much better!  I think it may be a really long time before my knee recovers. 

Some of you may notice my blog page looks a little different.  My former blog pages were not really “blog friendly” as far as allowing you to comment and allowing me to type and post.  It was also limited in that it didn’t link to other blogs or allow categories for easy searching.  So, I have incorporated a blogging software called WordPress into my website.  The learning curve on this has been pretty large.  It took me quite a while to get things positioned as I wanted, but now they are pretty close.  Because there are templates with the blogging software, I have had to try to adjust things to fit my color schemes and styles… most of this has been done through trial and error.  There are still some changes I may make later, but for now at least you can leave comments if you like.  You can also see the post names and categories on the left navigation bar.  Below those, you’ll see links to other blogs and underneath those you’ll find the posts categorized by month.  What’s really wonderful is that the WordPress software does the categorizing automatically. 

And you can just click the tab at the top if you want to return to the Charm & Grace main page.  Thanks for stopping by and checking out the changes.

We have just returned from eight days in Michigan…eight perfectly beautiful days of tempteratures in the upper 70s and even down in the 50s some nights.  I have never been to that part of the country, and I must say it is very beautiful.  Between weeping willows and blue spruces, I think I could get quite used to it.  I wanted to get to Mackinac Island, but we didn’t quite make it that far.  I will have to save that special spot for my next trip that way.  We visited Spring Arbor, Ann Arbor and Detroit. 

The males in the group were very excited to see “The Big House.” (photo left) For those of you who don’t know, that is the University of Michigan’s football stadium.  And it is indeed a big house!

I have come home to find that it has rained significantly since we left.  The flowers that looked parched and dried out when we left are actually looking good today.  I was concerned that I would not be able to water them for that long, but I needn’t have worried.  They are all perking up quite nicely.  

I didn’t have a lot of time for blogging this week, but I took a ton of pictures.  I have gotten a new digital camera since I last posted, and I have been having so much fun with it.  Some of the pictures are quite beautiful, but some are really terrible.  I still have a lot to learn about the features.  There are so many beautiful things to take pictures of, and I am looking forward to sharing some of mine with you.   The campus we visited had the loveliest pots of flowers all over the grounds… (photo right) geraniums, morning glories, daisies, etc.  It was a pleasure just to walk along the sidewalks, surrounded by the beautiful scenery and the cool breezes.  What a lovely week!

As of yesterday summer is officially here, and I must say it is here with a vengeance. Does it just seem hotter or is it really so? I think it must be the lack of water from the heavens that makes it seem so. I am doing my best to keep the green flowering things moist enough to survive in the midst of quite an unfamiliar drought. It is amazing how creative one can get with conserving water, and as my family and I have observed, we should have been doing it all along. It only makes sense to save the water that runs out while you are trying to heat the water before showering. It also makes sense to catch the condensation from the air conditioner and use it. We have become quite resourseful since being threatened with sanctions. Along with quite a few new plantings in our yard, we are also trying to keep tomoatoes, peppers, and squash plants alive and productive. We are fervently praying for rain.

And now, with the official start of summer, comes the finalization of the summer articles for Charm & Grace. There are so many fun summer subjects with which to deal, I am quite enjoying myself in the process. However, I am still learning so much about the ins and outs of web design and coding, that it really cuts into my creative time. Hope to have the new articles up and running sometime tomorrow. So, I must get to the task at hand. May you find something joyful among the summer articles which will enrich your day! TTFN… (that’s “Tigger-speak” meaning Ta Ta For Now!)

There have been some spectacularly cool late spring days these past few weeks. Being outdoors has been so refreshing. There are beauties blooming all over my yard. The hybrid tea roses are outdoing themselves. At last count there were eleven blooms on my bush called Gypsy, there are several Tropicana buds, along with a few Tiffany and First Prize buds. Next week they should really put on a show. The rose bushes are only one year old, so I am very impressed with their performance. Along with the roses, I have had yellow and orange daylilies, pink and white hybrid lilies, and lovely hydrangeas. I must admit, the drought is really taking its toll on my oak leaf hydrangeas which are too far away from my watering source to water regularly. I picked the first gardenia blossom today and the scent is just fabulous. I have it sitting on my computer as I type, so that I can enjoy the aroma.

These past few weeks have been a lot of fun with the ending of school and beginning of summer. We have been making plans for all the summer fun we’re going to have. Although I am a little worried that as it hasn’t rained in days and days, that this summer may be full of cloudy, rainy days. Let’s hope not; the kids are looking so forward to having the freedom to golf and swim. And speaking of golf, I got an e-mail from my mother today. She is in the United Kingdom for a few weeks. Here’s what she had to say, “….we are going to St. Andrews today. Rode the beautiful countryside yesterday …. Lots of sheep, castles. Had lunch on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Saw Prince Andrew. Walked nearly 6 miles… We are well.” Well, indeed. Now, if that doesn’t sound amazing, I don’t know what does! I CANNOT wait to hear about the trip and see wonderful pictures of the Old Course! Maybe she’ll even let me share some with you.

Til then, dreaming of bagpipes…