Stars & Stripes....striped cat anyway!

Memorial Day to July 4th is all red, white and blue around our home! You will probably recognize some of the original art I have collected, so I want to give the artists some recognition. Gritty Jane painted the patriotic angels. You can always recognize her work by her spiritual style! The primitive dolls and eagle are by Starla Myers at Briar Rabbit Primitives. The decorated boxes and painted trinkets are made by me, Kristin Lily!

A Hare Raising Experience...

Two weeks ago our cat, Molly, blessed us with this sweet little rabbit. Once we released him from her clinched jaws, he lay limp in the grass. We thought his hind legs were paralyzed as he lay there starring at us with those big brown eyes. We immediately treated his wounds (bites, scratches and one deep puncture). Next, we rounded up one of our many cat carriers to serve as his recovery room. The next day, we took him to visit our vet who gave us an antibiotic and wished us luck. He said wild rabbits get infected easily and do not adjust well to captivity. But, we were hopeful. I picked purple clover and fresh strawberries for him twice a day. Oh my, what a big eater...big eater! I started worrying I might be overfeeding him, but I figured two square meals a day would help speed his recovery. With each passing day, his wounds improved until the day finally arrived. Today was the day for him to see the world again. We kept all the cats inside for the entire day to make sure he had plenty of time to get acclimated. We released him at a neighboring farm. Hopefully, we will not see him again anytime soon. But, we will continue to enjoy the pictures since we got extremely attached to him.

Memorial Day ~ In Flanders Fields

Poem ~ In Flanders Fields:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie?In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Strawberry Pickin' with my friend, Nanci!

My good friend, Nanci, scheduled a trip for us to go on a farm tour. We took a bus with 20 or so others to visit two farms, River Ridge Farm and Strawberry Knob. At Strawberry Knob, we picked strawberries for almost 2 hours. I cannot wait to try the strawberry jam I made...yummy!

The Winner Is...America Alcala!

I just went to America Alcala's blogspot to let her know she won my blog giveaway. Today she posted a giveaway on her blogspot. Here is a link to site: http://lovelylovelyart.blogspot.com.
I am a firm believer that you get back what you give. I was recently at Lowe's and gave the lady in the checkout line behind me an extra coupon I had. The next day at Hobby Lobby I had a woman ask if I would like her buggy when she was leaving the store and then she returned to give me two coupons.

I hope you enjoy the video. Lil brings such joy to our lives. She is so full of personality and sweetness. I knew she would do a great job selecting the winner. Jack wanted to help, but she let him know she had it handled!

Blog Giveaway & A Big Thanks to 100+ Followers!!!

I promised Lil she can pick the winner! Since she enjoyed picking up many of the spacers we used when we tiled our basement, I feel confident she can handle a small piece of paper. It might take me all week to number each one, but it will be worth it. I am going to video the entire drawing, so everyone knows Lil did not listen to Jack. I have a feeling he is partial to Jenny!

If you are currently following my blog, you will be entered automatically. However, if you would like to leave a comment that will give you a second chance to win the giveaway. I will run the giveaway for 7 days and announce the winner next Wednesday. If you win, please e-mail me at theoldoakenbucket@comcast.net with your contact information.

Here she is, my little Spring bunny painting giveaway for reaching 100+ blog followers. I really cherish the friendships we have formed thanks to these wonderful blogs. I especially love the passion we share for all things creative!

I Caught a Little Red Bird!

As most of you know, I am a huge fan of Johanna Parker's artistic creations. I regularly follow her blog http://johannaparkerdesign.blogspot.com/ and I was the first person to catch one of her original creations! She created a Collector's Catch where the first person who contacts her can purchase one of her original creations. I love this little red bird because it is an all-seasonal piece. Also, it coordinates better than I expected with my Spring decorations.

Another great blog I follow is Jenny Carter's Alley Cat Rescue at http://allycat-rescue.blogspot.com/. She just e-mailed me tonight say I won her blog giveaway for an ipod cover she made. Jenny is an incredibly talented artist and she has a huge heart for cats. She just rescued some kittens and was able to find homes for all of them!

As soon as I reach 100 blog followers, I am having a giveaway! I will enter everyone following my blog automatically, so you do not have to leave a post. For those just visiting, you can leave a post and I will add your name to the drawing. Thank you for leaving such wonderful comments...I love following your blogs! Please watch for my upcoming post about the giveaway...