Life's a birch

...at least it was today. The birch tree had been dying for some time but we decided it needed to come down when large chunks of branches began to fall off. We weren't too worried about our yard but it was next to the neighbors driveway and since no one was parked there this morning my husband cut it down and into firewood while I shot these pictures and stacked the wood.
Of course the whole time I'm picking up wood I'm thinking craft projects. I'm sure that doesn't surprise anyone, so far the top ideas are: holiday centerpiece, bird feeders (the type you drill out and put suet balls or plugs in) and...well, I'm still thinking...everything seems to be art supplies these days and I wonder why I don't put some of that effort into other things like a career that actually pays. That really would be "making something out of nothing". Stay tuned I'll keep you posted on my progress.

My favorite table

I" found "these while hunting up some old photos for one of my cousins. I sold this table years ago but was reminded both of the one friend that built it and another friend that bought it as well as the years between them that I worked and reworked it, loved it and used it. It's funny how our favorite people and things in life come together in unexpected ways ...each one adds something wonderful to the mix. That table went with me to 3 different homes and so did all the great people that have supported and encouraged me through it all. Thanks so much. I hope you enjoyed seeing these pictures as much as I enjoyed telling you about them.

Creeping Craft Monster

No, I don't mean that guy in the photo....It's what I call it when a few projects turn into a few more and fill so many rooms that they've finally spread to another whole building (or as much of a building as we've been able to put together so far).
These crochet potholders are a great first project for anyone that wants to learn to crochet and I'm always helping someone get started on them. Right now I'm just making a few for my own kitchen because the last batch of them wore out ( after YEARS of use).
My house is only 604 square foot so you can run out of room in here pretty fast. It felt great to send all of the painting things out to the studio and have a bit of company in the dining room for a change. It still feels a bit like having company in your sock drawer but it gets a little better all of the time and I'm looking forward to helping people with all sorts of projects soon.

hippie season

Ha, Ha, Made you look... Somehow it sounded more fun than just calling it fall or the change of seasons here...and speaking of seasons (an old favorite tea brand comes to mind) I find myself wondering when and how to pick and process the rose hips for tea. Like most years when the time gets away from me I'll probably just leave them for the animals as my little urban experiment here is actually certified wildlife habitat. I'm indoors more days now and took a pile of discarded jeans and other denim that people keep sending me into this small quilt which I bound with a strip of patchwork left over from another project so I feel like the new season is off to a good start here and I hope it is for you as well

Walnuts

You can see the size of the problem around here when you notice how much taller those trees are than any of the buildings around here and it's surprising the speed the walnuts can pick up on the way to the ground so it looks like it will be a while before we're having campfires again (without wearing hard hats anyway ; ) Another problem is that I have no idea what to do with them ...I don't even eat walnuts and all of the trees need trimming (one of them needs to be cut down too) but on the bright side it does kind of make me laugh to think of the Laura Ingals Wilder books and my own little "Walnut Grove" with my "little House in the big woods". I hope something made you smile today too.

Very vine indeed

I walked into the room an thought it was kind of neat the way the leaves vines I'd painted on the wall blended in with the potted plant on my bookcase so I thought I'd share them here and you can help me decide whether or not I should keep on with my little experiment in wall finishes. I'll be anxious to hear what you think of it.

I like it vine or leaf it alone

This is the third in the series of cigar boxes I've been working on. Each time I try something a little different and get a bit more practice with various subjects and techniques that interest me. I'm grateful to Karen for bringing them by and hope they work out well for both of us.

Recycled cigar boxes

I'm decorating some cigar boxes for a friend to market at a quilt event. This mixed media piece is the first. I've added wood bits and embroidered appliques over the acrylic paints and had a bit of fun painting some of the flowers from my garden on it as well. I'm painting vines on a larger one now and haven't quite decided what I'll add to it yet ...

Keeping Busy

An afgahn like this is always a challenge. Strips and blocks in different sizes made by dozens of peolple , some pieces were knitted and were some crochet in colors that porbably shouldn't be in the same room, let alone the same afghan but they needed to come together in a way that would share the warmth, energy and heart of the "Busy Hands for Love" crochet club with someone in need of comfort. (the group donates items to several differnt charities) I'm just glad I could help.

To market, to market...

If you click on my photos you can see them full screen and get an idea of the texture and depth of the brushstrokes and other paint work (palete knives,fingers,sticks,spoons etc.)

I listed these 2 paintings for sale in the neighborhood today. Can't keep tripping over them forever and in a 604 square foot house 44 paintings are just too,too many to deal with and I've decided that I need to get out of my own way both literally and figuratively so I can make better decisions when it comes to life, hobbies and finances, Wish Me Luck!

Seconds

Today was all about second chances, these rosebushes are blooming for the second time this summer and I pulled everything out of the strawberry box, got rid of the weeds , trimmed the strwberries and replanted them for next year. The people that think gardening is boring haven't been around them enough to realize that they change almost everyday and there's always something else happening. It's a lot of work but I really enjoyed it this season.

Letters from my front yard

We took a few minutes to share summer morning with you. Doug put the video together and I shot the pictures while drawing pictures on some letters for his Aunts. Yes, I'd grown and arranged the flowers I was drawing too.

My favorite things this morning

Isn't it amazing how much things change from day to day when you step back and look at things around the yard and garden? I loved the way the sun was filtering through the trees and the way that light green chair shows up so much better in the corner than the bench did. (don't worry about the bench, it's very happy hanging out on the patio these days) Everything fits somewhere, it just takes some doing to find just the right place for everything and the season is short so I keep at it whenever the weather allows. I'm going to cut that sunflower today so that I've got something to work from as I paint a bird feeder and a couple of other small wood projects. I may even put them on a dala horse...

Art is for the birds

...at least this is. While working around the garden I'd been cleaning and refilling bird feeders and decided some of the old, plain wood ones could use brightening up ( it also helps hide nails and flaws in the wood) Anyway, it was fun and I enjoy the look of them again so all that remains is to see whether or not the birds like them too.

Dead grill act two

What do you do with an old grill That's rusting through after only 15 or 20 years of use? If you're like most people you pay someone to haul it away but by now you know I'm NOT most people (and pretty glad of that I must say ; ) Anyway, I decided that what made it bad for grilling made It perfect for planting,after all, it's got plenty of drainage holes. I rounded up some hosta, violets and lily of the valley that had run wild in the yard and I'm calling it good for now. The lid sits on the ground in front old the ruins of an old brick and stone bar-b-q and the base of the grill sits behind it. From the patio you can't even tell that those planters were ever anything else and until I can manage to do anything else back there I take comfort in the fact that rich people hire someone to build them a stone ruin to give there garden character, apparently all the character this place needs is this one and her shovel.

One potato, two potato

Well, today was payback time for the fingerling potatoes I'd given my best patio planter, container mix , time and attention. I'm an impatient girl and was wanting that planter for flowers and other plants so I dumped the potatoes and let them take care of lunch (time for them to take care of me).

Some meals I've boiled them, sometimes I roast them but today we were in a cheeseburger mood so I made fries. Not the healthiest way to cook them but they were fresh and raised totally without chemicals so as the old song goes "two out of three ain't bad".

Now I'm excited about the new things I'm planting and the fries were delicious so life doesn't get better than that today.

Anything that gives you food, exercise and something to look forward to can't be all bad.

Who knows, tomorrow could get interesting...

I Love it when a plan comes together

While sorting through things today I came across a flour sack dish towel. I can't recall where that came from but I grabbed a pencil and drew a picture on it which allowed me to use an embroidery hoop from one friend and the embroidery floss that another gal had given me to give myself a present that I'll enjoy using for a long time.

If you're the sort that enjoys getting something for free you can see why I was excited about this. If not it wouldn't really matter because you wouldn't be reading this anyway.

Well, there was one more of those towels and I guess I'll draw an Iris on that one.

I don't know too many other people that still embroider these days - do you?

More of the same

Here's a pail of garden pickings (currant & sweet pea tomatoes, green beans and a few potatoes). I went back indoors to list more arts and crafts for sale and thought it was an interesting comment on how quickly the summer was passing to shoot that Christmas Stocking up against the grapes. Somehow it made the task less tedious and put a spring in my step as I headed back to work.

Can you believe the size of this thing?

...And No, I don't mean this gardener. What you're seeing next to me is ONE tomato plant surrounded by some beans. (Yes, the plant with the red flowers are the beans) I never got around to buying tomato cages so I propped some of it up with that white garden edging but other than that I'm not sure what's holding the whole thing up-I guess the tomato and the beans are just hanging on to each other but the whole garden has gotten away from me and is beginning to look like something out of a sci fi movie. Don't you think so? Oh well, it's wild but then so am I but that of course is another story...stay tuned...

Try not to look at all the weeds running around the garden. I'm ignoring them for now and tending to other things but the whole situation and these photos made me laugh and I thought it might entertain you too.

A dull but pleasant day

I spent more time outdoors working on the yard and garden, then indoors for excitement like laundry, dishes and sweeping floors so you can imagine what a treat it was to go down to the lake for live music and the farmers market (one of the vendors even had egg rolls and that's the first time I noticed that-as usual I was looking for the pizza ; )
Now, I'm relaxing at home with a nice cup of hot chocolate with waaay too much whipped cream and thinking life (except for my diet) is good.

Not tonight, Julia

Well, by the time I got to the restaurant they'd already bought the pieces they needed and my paintings sat at home "all dressesed up and no place to go". These things happen (Especially to gals like me) but I did make some interesting discoveries, the best of which is that I am making progress. In the last 7 years I've managed to get rid of HALF of the paintings I arrived with(In case you're wondering about numbes I've got 44 left in various stages of completion). I've sold a few, donated some for auction, given lots away, painted over a few and destroyed enough to vent a bit of frustration now and then so I'm managing to get out of my own way and starting to feel like creating some new things so I'm feeling pretty good about it anyway. In our own ways we all "make the best of things" and these days I get a kick out of the fact that it's in style again-don't you?

Back in the yard

Took some time away from working on the garden as I had the opportunity to place some paintings with a local restaurant. It was nice to be able to work outdoors as I cleaned and got things ready to go, you might say I was getting a little pruning done on the size of the art collection instead of the plants. Either way I'm making things ready for new growth because
I may feel more like painting more pictures with some of the old ones out of the way...and I've been thinking about painting favorite bits of my garden. It might get interesting...at least I hope so.

My yard this morning

A bit of sewing and a few flowers picked from my gardens. I'm sewing some old fashioned fabric yo,yos with a fun spin because one of the fabrics has beat nick poetry written on it and since it reminded me of graffiti it made me laugh to think Yo! like the young kids say it. All the sudden my little scarf was cool...at least I thought so and it made it more fun.

Rainy days and Tuesdays

Sounds a bit like an old song, doesn't it? I wouldn't say that they always get me down but it was sad to see the live music cancelled at arts in the park and to find our favorite bench by the lake surrounded in goose poo. This is a park that doesn't allow dogs who of course have owners that clean up after them. Somehow I don't think tap dancing in goose droppings is an improvement but I will say that the irony of the situation amused me.

The Glass Garden

Over the last few years I've managed to collect a number of garden stakes made from stained glass and copper in the shapes of my favorite flowers,butterflies etc. and they've been scattered everywhere.
This week I brought them all together to brighten a shady and forgotten corner of my backyard and was pleased to see the way the sunlight filters through the trees and creates a lightshow of sorts as it dances through the various bits of colored glass.
To really enjoy the experience of it all I've added a nice , sturdy bench and a bright little end table so I can bring my coffee and a book along when I want to take a little break from working on the garden.
It's a special little place that's all my own with a great view of all the wildlife and the rest of the gardens here.
I'll be painting a few leaves & vines to brighten the bench and I've repurposed some bits of metal fencing that I'm painting in a riot of colors to place near one of the trees and mark the path to my latest happy place. Even when I can't get there I can see it from my window and sometimes even that is enough to make me smile. I hope something in your day makes you happy too.

Berry fine day

Good morning,
It's overcast and a little cool out this morning so it will be a good time to get some work done in the garden but I'm feeling a bit lazy so all I've done so far was pick a few strawberries and raspberries to toss on my cereal for breakfast.
Well, I'll grab a cup of coffee and get back to this later.
Have a great day.

Ta da dump,dump,dump

An odd title for this post but a bit more fun because it sounded to me like old time theme music for movie serial or television show and a lot less like the boring reality of hauling a trailer load of trash and recycling from all our building & clean up projects around here to the processing center.
The great thing about having done that is that we can get back to work on the old garage that we're converting into an art studio and workshop.
Which of course goes back to the garden because my inspiration for everything comes from all the plants and flowers here...and of course you have to create a great garden to work with when your favorite things to paint & draw are florals.
We're also planning to use some of the scrap lumber we've set aside to build garden arbors that I will also paint...probably with vines & flowers which of course brings us back to the garden again...which brings us back to the art, which brings us back to gardening etc.,etc.,etc.

A little vacation

A friend came to pull me out of the garden over the weekend and we went to see a play that one of the gals she works with was appearing in. It was great to see a local production do so well with sets and costumes for 60. I was simply amazed to see that many people on stage. What a great change of pace from all the weeding and translplanting, I can't remember the last time I got cleaned up and went anywhere without a bit of dirt under my fingernails and an urge to get right back to work. Live music and a bit of entertainment made all nthe difference for me this week.
It was the little vacation to refrsh me and take the boredom out of unloading those last 6 bags of ceadar chips in that back corner of the yard.

July, already. Summer's moving fast...

So many projects plants and flowers have gone by since my last post that I'm not sure which of them to tell you about first except that we've had some interesting visitors in our little city yard this week. The most noteable was a turtle who was apparently headed to the lake a few blocks from here. Traffic of course being what it is we decided to give it a lift over there in my garden pail. This worked out really well because the section of shoreline on the end of our street had just been restored with native plants etc. and our little friend was very excited to find himself/itself/herself? there. How do you tell what a turtle is? I must have cut science class that day...Anyway, I spent today trying to cut the grapevines out of the big rosebush and of course I've got NO idea how they managed to get tangled up in the first place. I hate it when plants get taller than I am, don't you? That definately needed to be cut down to size...as do many things in the garden and elsewhere. Guess that's all for now. Hope y0u're enjoying your day too.