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    T Tuesday: great outdoors edition

    This weeks T stands for Tuesday is dedicated to the great outdoors. I wish I could take you on a current up to the moment tour but…its raining…again. You’ll have to settle for some photos that have been taken over the past week or so.

    Shall we start with the pest that is digging up my garden?

    Cute isn’t she…pain in my @$$ is what she is. Her and her now babies are digging up plants everywhere!!!! Did you notice she seems to be red and grey…I looked it up and there seems to be some crossing of the species. These squirrels are closer to grey squirrel size but with a red squirrel temperament. “Fantastic” she says dripping with sarcasm.

    We’ve also had a bunch of deer around eating my tiger lilies…I can’t blame this little fawn…mama left him rest in the tall grass by the fence.

    She’s looking at me like I’m the paparazzi….

    Here’s some adorable and equally destructive critters in the patch of clover my neighbor has in their yard.

    This robin and the cedar wax wings are busy eating the service berries from our tree like they do every year…the only problem is the berries seem to go right through them if you catch my drift.

    Do you notice the netting over my patio tomato plant? Squirrel deterrent. My in-laws used to have a huge strawberry patch…this was the leftover netting. Thank goodness!!

    I also have it on my deck boxes and the raised bed. Marvin is out on a supervised visit of the great outdoors on one of our non-raining moments.

    He’s such a handsome guy. I love how he poses for me.

    He enjoys sniffing the air, watching bugs and birds and generally lounging around.

    How do you like my new signs….

    My MIL bought them for me. There are a few more but I need to repaint to reflect what I actually have planted.

    My garden is finally looking pretty good. I’m excited to see how the yellow pear tomatoes do in this garden vs the raised bed by the deck.

    Yesterday I put up a few flags…immediately after placing this one atop the fence post on the garden this dragonfly landed. Must have been an excellent hunting position since he would not move even when I adjusted the flag.

    Marvin doesn’t love the heat…even though we’ve brushed and brushed him…he still has quite the coat. We know he’s warm when he does this… His other position is belly up on the floor. Poor baby…he’s a winter cat.

    Are you still with me…I know its a long post…

    For my art/beverage tie in we have this journal page. I kept meaning to post it but it never happened…as you can see by the date it’s a couple weeks old.

    I love how the book page shows through the napkin so much!!! The page really didn’t need a whole lot more in my opinion. A little recycled sari fabric and found text…done.

    Tuesday has lots of errands in store getting ready for the Independence Day holiday.

    What are you doing today?
  • Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: mini vacation edition

    Hello and welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday. Last week I had mentioned a mini-vacation was on the schedule. We left Thursday morning and were about 20 mins from our finally destination when it started raining…pouring really.

    It was cold and rainy pretty much the whole time we were there which was a really big bummer. Mini-me and I passed the time by doing a puzzle and playing pictionary. Neither one of us slept very well that night so we got up before 5am…

    I made some coffee and picked up my knitting. Evidently I was tense or just out of practice because it was so dang tight I couldn’t continue. I pulled it all out and grabbed a crochet needle…

    I made three dishcloths in short order to leave at the cabin.

    Just as the weather was starting to clear, we headed out for a college visit that was almost an hour away.

    Mini-me had missed the tour I took J on a couple years ago. I knew right away that she’d love this college.  After hearing about it she wanted to visit on her own. I think its at the top of her list of schools.

    After our visit at Morris we headed back to the cabin. That evening we got to enjoy time with family and PUPPIES!

    I only have this one picture of the smallest of the dogs…all huskies. At one point I had two puppies on my lap and one of the big huskies trying to climb up too. Just call me the husky whisper I guess. It certainly was entertaining with 4 dogs running around.

    We headed home on Saturday morning since had other things going for Sunday and Monday…more on that next T stands for Tuesday.  As well as a garden update. It was off to a slow start but has really come a long way in the past week or so. Hopefully I’ll have some photos next week. Raining like crazy…again…as I write this.

    This week has appointments for me and a Costco trip with the neighbor. I gave up our membership to Costco when I started working since going on the weekends is less fun than poking your eyes out with a rusty fork. Lucky for me, I have a sweet neighbor who is willing to take me along or pick up a few items as needed. I honestly haven’t missed Costco as much as I thought I would and likely don’t spend as much when you figure waste and impulse items.

    I’m still working on reorganizing my craft area and supplies. Purging some stuff I’ll never, ever use. I’m sure over time there will be a thing or two I will have wished I saved…always happens. I just feel like we have too much stuff in general. I’m attempting to get rid of the extra; the clutter, the un-needed, un-wanted and un-loved. Not Marie Kondo style…that’s a little intense for me. But at my own pace with the end goal in mind…less stuff.

    What are you doing today?
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: AJJ edition

    Since I’m guest hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month I thought I’d make this a twofer post.

    The journal page I created for my theme of Words to live by completely fits the bill.

    I wish I could remember exactly who gave me the stamped handmade paper piece but I’m not sure.

    I have an idea but maybe if she recognizes it she can speak up and I’ll know for sure.

    I have quite a bit of coffee themed items that were collected and traded for long ago to create an altered book. With that book complete, I now have lots of fun items to use in other creative ways.

    The background for the page was layered with random papers from my scrap bucket. Over the top I spread red, turquoise and cream with my fingers in a loose fashion…almost giving the appearance of peeling paint. The colors were a bit to bright so I first used some distress paint then glimmer mist to tone it down. Now I was at the color I was searching for.

    I added washi tape with my sentiment boldly across the page then softened it with some torn washi in a complementary color. I then added a stacked button flower embellishment from my stash for a bit more interest.

    This is another loose leaf journal page sized for a new art journal I’m working on. I love working in loose leaf. Being able to add stitching, eyelets or brads simply anywhere frees my creative process. Of course this page is not an example of that.

    My new journal is an old recipe binder. I cut pages to fit out of black card stock and will adhere each completed journal page to the card stock.

    The binder is yet undecorated as I’m not sure what I want to do with it. I was thinking about giving it some gorgeous texture but now I’m leaning more towards a fabric slipcover. Indecision at its best.

    I’m not even worried that the journal pages I create are an exact fit for the pages.

    This page from my previous post will leave a bit of black page showing on both sides. I almost prefer this look to the fit of my coffee page.

    This week has a college visit tied into a mini-vacation for Mini-me and I. We are both super excited for a little time at the lake. Hopefully the weather cooperates with us!

    What are you doing today?
    Art Journal Journey