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    T Tuesday: flora and fauna edition

    This Memorial day marks one year since I lost my mom. She was on my mind all day. Half way through my first cup of coffee I made the decision not to be sad but to reflect and remember the good things, The funny memories. The things that make me smile.

    As I walked around the yard watering before it got too hot, I thought about her green thumb. She had flowers galore and a big garden. Houseplants too. I guess I’ve taking after her in that way. I love spending time tending to the garden. Making it beautiful and productive,

    My newly sewn and strung garden bunting made me smile. Mom was no seamstress. In fact she hated sewing. She was so happy when I learned how to sew in school and gladly passed all of her supplies on to 13 yr old me.  I’ve never stopped sewing since!

    After finishing the outdoor chores I headed inside to do a bit of art journaling. I was really feeling inspired by nature.

    The background colors I laid down didn’t scream nature. They were the colors that spoke to me though. Sort of a hard edge along with nature.

    Layers upon layers stacked. This fussy cut stamped birds nest was the perfect way to embrace nature. I used watercolor crayons to color the robin eggs then used diamond glaze over top to add dimension. The addition of the thread help sell the idea of the nest for me.

    I added the skeleton leaf for balance.  As soon as I added the leaf, the words “live gently upon the earth” jumped out at me.  This page made me smile.

    Linking up with Art Journal Journey for Flora and Fauna

    Art Journal Journey
    as well as T stands for Tuesday today.
    Eight days of school left. Whoop, whoop!
    What are you doing today?

     

  • Around home - Blog - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: missed a week edition

    Last week is a whirlwind in my mind. I’m not even sure why I missed T stands for Tuesday but I did. So this week will be a bit of a catching up….again.

    I think we shall start with Mother’s Day.Mothers day sushi

    Take out sushi from our favorite local sushi resturant. We actually had this on Saturday since we spent Sunday at my in-laws house. Since their health isn’t the best right now, I brought the meal. The boys tackled the spring/summer to-do list for their folks. It was a good day. Staying busy  was good so I didn’t dwell on my first Mother’s day without my mom.last concert

    Last week also brought the last choir concert for J. Its an emotional concert for me…even before having a graduating senior. The last two songs are always the same and they are sung by all members of all choirs. Real tear-jerkers. As they sing the seniors come off stage and bring their parents a rose. Pass the tissues please…..

    senior rose

    They also have a fun slide show of highlights and the guess the baby photo of the senior. So awesome! When we got home it was late and I couldn’t bring myself to dig in the storage room for a bud vase especially when the recycling was so close. A wine bottle works well. And bonus it hits the T stands for Tuesday beverage as well. 🙂paint to paper

    Workspace current view…

    I haven’t really had any creative mojo for the past week or so. I’ve put paint to paper but completed nothing.

    Most of this past weekend was spent outdoors. We scrubbed the deck which was long overdue. We decided that once it was scrubbed the weathered barnwood look was quite appealing so we’ve decided to just re-stain the railings.

    Marvin approves. We used some plywood to provide a temporary gate so he could enjoy the a little sun on the deck with us. Of course he has his own personal greenhouse. Cats and boxes…

    Anyway…we were enjoying the sunshine on the deck after long weekend of toil which also included planting in the garden.

    The shed garden doesn’t look like much yet. Once the seeds sprout the space will quickly fill.

    These onions are a funny story. Last fall I dumped this planter box into the shed garden figuring we’d just use the rototiller to mix in potting soil from containers into the garden. As I was pulling weeds, I noticed that this brick of soil was sprouting onion up from underneath. I tipped it back over and had all these green onions that were curling around the edges seeking sun. I tossed it back in the planter box and watered to see what would happen. Now a week or so later they are wonderful.

    After we took the patio set and chiminea out of the shed and set it up we noticed that the chiminea is on its last summer.

    The crack in the terracotta has grown exponentially. We need to be very careful with how we treat it over summer.

    This week is slightly quieter than last…I think.

    What are you doing today?
  • Blog

    Postcrossing

    After a bit of thought I decided to give Postcrossing another try. In 2011, after completing the second of two postcard books with traded postcards from both Postcrossing and Swapbot, I took a break. A long break as it turns out.

    This is the postcard I’m sending today. It is heading to Russia. After looking up the postage cost I am beginning to remember why I quit. Oh well. We’ll see how long I continue with this 

    I have a stash of vintage postcards from our trips and travels as a kid with my parents. This is the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge in Colorado. I can remember the feel of the bridge under my feet. I think perhaps this was one of the experiences that gave me my extreme fear of bridges.