Spring is Here...

I was so excited to show you pictures of my lampshade makeover last week that I forgot to also post  pictures of my birdcage centerpiece that I talked about. To refresh your memory, I bought a small concrete pedestal (the kind you might put a gazing ball on) and placed a birdcage on it. A wreath of tiny pink flower buds crowns the top along with some spring greenery wrapped around the cage.

Inside the cage are three nests that I found during my walks with the dogs or left on the grass in our yard like a tiny gift from God. Lovely little things - two very small ones...wispy and fragile...a finch nest perhaps. Another large one with three blue eggs in it, sitting frozen in time. They all rest on a bed of moss and are carefully tucked in their places.

Louie our cat is very curious about the whole thing. He lurks under the curtains in the dining room and jumps ever so softly on the table every once in a while to check it out. I wonder if he is confused with it all? Sometimes he will sit on a small shelf near the kitchen sink near the windows that look out to the back yard. When they are open and the birds are calling he seems mesmerized with their chant. I long to let him go outside but alas, he is an indoor cat. I am afraid to let him roam for fear something will happen to him. Very attached to that cat.

You see, Louie was the first animal that my youngest son, Matt acquired as a young man on his own in the city. After graduation last year from a small college in Ripon, Wisconsin, Matt headed to Logan Square a charming neighborhood in Chicago. He spent some time there his junior year in college at an exchange semester sponsored by his school. Best thing for him. Learned to maneuver in the city. Embrace everything there is to see, smell, taste and hear. But I'm getting off the track. Louie came into the picture when Matt decided that he wanted a pet. However, there was a small catch...NO ANIMALS ALLOWED in the apartment! He got the cat anyway and after a few weeks he was "found out". The cat, named Spaghetti at that time needed a home. Always wanting a cat and with little convincing of my husband (he's not as found as I am of felines) we gave Spaghetti a home. He looked more like a Louie and his full name is Louie Mozart...Mozart being the street that Matt lived on. Louie is like having a little piece of Matt home with me. A reminder of his "coming into his own" time...of all the precious visits and adventures that we had and are still having when we visit him.

This painting is now on exhibition at Gibby's Wine Den in Geneva, Il. I have several cat paintings as well as other mixed media art there for the month of April. Come on in if you are in the area...grab a glass of wine. Great shopping close by and Geneva is such a lovely little place to wander. My opening was last evening. Went with friends and had a wonderful time. Some new friends stopped by as well to show their support. They bought a painting from my husband at his show last month and were kind enough to come in and view my work. One of the nice things that happens when you exhibit your art are the people you meet and the friendships that come out of it.

Enjoy your spring and find beauty in the smallest acts of nature...