~A Day at the Fair~

**Update**
Despite the cloudy and rainy weather, I've taken pics of Miss Merry.
Here is a link to both Ebay auctions:

My Ebay Auctions

Starting today, and all through the week on Ebay, TDIPT (To Dwell in Primitive Thymes), will be having a group launch. Here is a link to the group's Ebay offerings:

TDIPT on Ebay

The theme for the launch is "A Day at the Fair". I've made two items for auction this week that are "Fair" related. One is more "whimsical" than the other. The first offering is a watercolor painting of a sheep. The sheep was a lot of fun to paint. I'm not sure why, but I have a "thing" for sheep! I have a small flock scattered around our home as decoration.

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The second offering is Miss Merry. And yes, she is very whimsical! I had fun creating her too....you can only imagine the comments I kept getting from my boys! But after I painted her face, her "cherry-headed-ness" won them over.

Here is a little poem about Miss Merry, written mostly by my husband (with a little help from me), after I woke him from his afternoon/weekend nap to ask for help!

~Miss Merry is Quite a Cherry~
(a compilation of sweetness and silliness by two cherry lovers)

Miss Merry had always loved cherries,
They were her favorite treat.
She loved them because they were round and red,
And she loved them because they were sweet.

All recipes calling for cherries,
Miss Merry would happily try.
But of all the ways she prepared them,
Her favorite was cherry pie.

At the State Fair she entered her pastry.
And waited for each judge to taste.
In the end, when the votes had been tallied,
Miss Merry was given 1st Place.

The Week That Was

We are closing in on the end of school, and I'm not sure who is more excited, the boys or me!
My oldest is actually finished, having now completed his first year of high school (that makes me feel really old!), and my younger one will finish on Monday. ~Yes, the taskmaster of a teacher (me) will make him work on a national holiday! Shhhh, he won't even realize it!
And then.....(drum roll please).........we will be done!! Woo-hoo!

In the above photo, you can see what sort of summer our dog Roscoe is in for! He is a sweet puppy and poses for the camera, but this is what happens when young sons have too much unstructured time on their hands. Guess I'd better start making a summer schedule to keep the boys busy....for poor Roscoe's sake!

Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!

Water, water, everywhere.......

Amid school, finals, ortho appointments...and everyday life, we've had a little excitement here at our home this week. A friend from church came to lend his expertise to our lawn care. A sprinkler system is being installed and lots of dirt, digging, rocks, and crawling under the house to tap into the main water pipe has been the "guy" thing of the week.

My boys don't mind a little dirt, if truth be told they'd probably never bathe unless I threatened not to feed them. So, this was a "perfect week" for them! Our friend rented a trencher (ditch witch) that left minimal ruts and upturned turf, and was really loud, but fun to watch.
My heart skipped a beat when he offered to let my younger son steer the beast! He did just fine, and was quite proud of himself. I thought I took a pic of him in action, but I must have been turning away in fear.

Here are a few pics of the big day. The sprinkler heads are now in and the drips will be put in next week. Our lawn and garden are going to love the summer!.....and we will love having a smaller water bill!

The Primitive Gathering will be updated on the 15th.
Please visit to see the new offerings of the artists who update on the 15th.
Here are my offerings for Mid-May. Please click the link to visit my page.

Me on The Primitive Gathering

Charlotte~ A watercolor profile portrait.
Also viewed on "Profile Portraits" on my website: www.peartreeprimitives.com

Profile portraits (as well as silhouettes) were painted by itinerant artist to quickly and affordably capture a person’s resemblance. This original watercolor portrait is of Charlotte when she was nineteen, the year before her marriage. As a young girl, after her studies were complete, Charlotte would spend her afternoons wandering the family’s substantial gardens and estate. She drew and painted her findings. Charlotte measures 6 ½ by 7 ½ framed.

Charlotte’s Journal~ A watercolor nature journal.
Also viewed on "Early Wares" on my website.

Charlotte enjoyed studying the flora and fauna of her family’s estate. She found it helpful to make her own journals, ones that were small enough to slip in her pocket as she walked the estate. This pocket sized journal is painted on “aged” watercolor paper, and measures 4 ¾ by 4 ¾.


Thanks for peeking!

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The excitement around here is the sprinkler system that is being installed this week in our yard. My boys were so interested in the big trencher that came to pull the hose underground...I'll share some pics friday.

Rock 'n Roses

Son: "Mom, can I use some of your red paint?"

Me: "Why?"

Son: "I want to paint something."

(Not wanting to squelch any artistic endeavors, but VERY cautious of loaning paint to sons who ask for RED paint).

Me: "Ok, but you need to put paper towels or newspaper down before you start and please be sure to have plenty of paper towels handy 'just in case', and make sure you have all of your supplies ready, like a paint brush, water, etc. before you start, and either take off your shirt, or put on an old one." (Yes, that was said all in one breath).

Son: "Ok, will you get them for me, and can I also have the black?"

(....and just because it's easier and I have all the supplies handy....)

Me: "Yes, but you need to clean it up when you're done."

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So for Mother's Day I was presented with red roses stuffed in a vase (I'll try to give them a little more room in a larger vase soon), and a red heart-shaped rock with black lettering.

Translation: I heart Mom

Oh, and he cleaned up....guess that was part of my present too!

How was your Mother's Day?

Theme? Oh!, Flowers!

Somehow I've missed a whole week of blog posting. The week flew by, or rather it was a busy week, and we (the family) went along for the ride. So, I haven't had a chance to gather thoughts for a post.
("Gathering thoughts"~ not an easy task when all of your thoughts are scattered here and there.)
So, if you choose to read on be forewarned, you are in for a rambling post! I'll try and tie it all together with a theme, uh......how about flowers?

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Spring finally came to Boise! And even though "they" are telling us not to plant our gardens until after June 1st!, at least the flowers decided they were ready to bloom; and everything else is green again.

The lilac trees, (aka: formally neglected bushes), along our fence are gorgeous and *Sniff* smell wonderful! We inherited a row of lilacs when we moved into our home almost three years ago. (Roscoe is standing guard on the right!).

They now grow a little taller than the not-so-attractive cyclone fence we also inherited. A wood fence is on the list for the ever-growing remodeling projects, and since last summer's project of the bathroom remodel has been checked off, I'm hoping a fence might be making it's way to the top of that list. (Maybe I can help it find it's way to the top?!)


Ok, back to flowers....must stay focused. The home school year is winding down and we are able concentrate on just a few subjects that need completing. My youngest has a unit in Literature to finish and he needed to go to the library to find a book he chose to read.

When we arrived at the library we discovered that they were having a Book Fair! He found his book at the Book Fair so now he can read it and keep it. And I found a few goodies too!
Oh, and they were books with paintings and photos of flowers for inspiration for my new love.....no, it's not that...I have enough men in my life!


During my busy week I took some time out of it to try a new medium for me....watercolor. I usually paint with acrylics because they dry quickly, and I've also painted portraits with oils. But I've not tried watercolors....and I have found a new love!! So, because it is spring, and the flowers are blooming, and I have new books for inspiration, I've sketched and painted a few flora and fauna paintings.
These papers will be compiled into a booklet as a lady's journal....more on that next week.

And now back to flowers, well, gardens. If the weather cooperates, we'll be out in the yard this weekend finishing the raised beds for the veggie garden. Not sure we'll be able to wait until June 1st to plant though!

Have a great Mother's Day weekend!

The Sweetest Surprise

“A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.”

Winnie the Pooh
Pooh's Little Instruction Book

I've been blessed with VERY sweet customers since I've started selling online. It's an interesting way of "doing business". For me it doesn't always seem very personal, you never actually "meet" a customer face to face, and you always wonder if they are really pleased with what they've purchased from you. But so many of my customers have made it a personal experience by sending cards, letters and emails, even phone calls of encouragement... and many have become friends. One of my friends surprised me with a very sweet gift this week.

My husband brought the mail in and handed me a package. His first words were, "So, what did you order?" I had to think, "Now, what Did I order"? I turned the package over to see the address of one of my customers.....Hmmmmm?
That made me curious.....so I opened the package and look what I found inside!!!!

I was so overwhelmed! (Still am!) Look what sweet Patti hand-stitched for me! At first glance I saw she had stitched a beautiful prim wool pear....and added a piece at the top to give the pear dimension and the stem a place to sit! I was really impressed with the detail.
Then, I picked it up to see what pretty fabric she had chosen for the back (at this point I thought the front was the pear!), and then I saw the GORGEOUS stitchery!! Wow!!!
(please click the photos to enlarge)

She used a pattern by the talented Stacy Nash and put her own special touches on it and adapted it to add my business name! Patti stitches over one and that is really tiny! It is so very intricate and delicate and lovely! I am extremely grateful for her thoughtfulness in making me this special gift...... What a sweet surprise!


(Here it is in it's new home....on top of my desk.)
Have a wonderful weekend! And "thank you" again Patti!

"Passed" Painter~ Revisited...Again!

Well, you may be tired of me mentioning itinerant painter Ammi Phillips yet AGAIN!....but, I do enjoy studying his paintings and seeing how his artistic style developed over his career. I'm not well-versed enough to be able to say, "Well, that painting looks as if Ammi painted it between the years 18__to 18__.", and I probably never will, but I believe a progression of skill can be seen in his paintings. I suppose Ammi is an example of how "practice makes better".
I would think that is the hope of every endeavor of life, be it artistic, or otherwise...that you are able to see a "progression of skills" or growth in your work. (I look back on photos of some of my earlier paintings and my first thought is, "What was I thinking?")!

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Ok, on with "not-so-philosophical" thoughts! The reason I bring up Ammi again is that I've just completed a portrait for TDIPT for this month of May. This new portrait is my interpretation of his portrait of "Mary Elizabeth Smith" © 1827. Two years later, Ammi used the same setting to repaint another little girl in almost the same dress and chair, and called her "The Strawberry Girl" © 1830.

I used both of these paintings as references for my own. My little strawberry girl doesn't have a red necklace.....but she isn't sealed yet, so?????, maybe I'll add it later, I just couldn't decide!

I'm also offering a painted silhouette of a small child and a horse pull toy. This painting is reminiscent of the profilist Merryweather's original 1850's papercutting. Please click the links below to visit these offerings and many others by some very talented artists on TDIPT.

Me on TDIPT

To Dwell in Primitive Thymes Mercantile