Sunshine at last! Flowers happy too!

Yes, the sun was out for a short while this morning. But I guess I jinxed it because while I was writing this post the clouds have returned again. This has been the rainiest July that we have ever had. But I am not complaining too much as its kept the temps down and made the flowers grow and my garden too.(Lots of weeds grew in the garden too!)
The picture above is of my hibiscus bushes. They are finally blooming and are full of buds. One of the bushes really got beat down by the hard rain we had last night. We even had tornadoes in the area last night. Its rained every single day this week except for Tuesday but it started on Tuesday night.
I worked a couple of days this week and it was nice to be back. I think it may be a little better this year. Especially knowing I am going to be off a lot more days.
Monday night Mom came over and spent the night and we did a lot of artsy stuff. I am now trying to draw a lot more. I use to draw a lot but got out of the habit. So I drew this picture Monday night. Its a "Wood Nymph". I think it turned out okay but i have a long way to go with trying to make my eyes more even.
But I still kind of like her. I am working on another one now. I am enjoying drawing and using my watercolor pencils and inks and markers. I also love the watercolor crayons too. I am still doing zentangles on days when I don't have time to do much art. But I am trying to do some kind of art every day.
Oh Good, the sun has returned. I need to go fill up my Hummingbird feeders now. Then I have to take Mom to get an echo sound on her heart.
I hope every one has a great Friday and a wonderful week-end. To my dear friends out west, I hope the temps cool down for you all, and I will try to send some cool rain your way.
xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxo

Lazy blogger

So I haven't posted in a week. But I have a few excuses. Number one I have been battling yet another sinus infection. This is like the 5th or 6th one since spring. Went to the doctor again and back on yet another round of antibiotics. If it keeps occurring then I will have to go see a Ears, Nose, and Throat Doctor. Hope this one takes care of it.
The garden is finally slowing down although I am now starting to get my green beans in and they are so good. And still getting okra and tomatoes, next thing will be butter beans.
I have been doing a few little artsy things. The pic above is a small canvas that I did this past week. And below are some tags that I am doing for a tag swap. I made them in the shape of fish. I then did some stamps and placed a vintage sunbather on them. I used Ultra thick embossing power on them so it looks like they have a resin top coat. I used a actual swivel hook and then tied ribbons and fibers and beads and shells to them. I thought they turned out pretty good. The scan really doesn't do them justice.
I have to officially start back to work on August 10th. But I am going to work Wed-Friday of this week just to get some comp time. Since I went to a 10 month position again I do not get vacation time except the 2 weeks at Christmas. I still get sick time but I thought it would be nice to have a few days that I could take off when I needed too.
I hope every one had a wonderful week-end. I am off to catch up with every one.
XOXOXOOXOXOXOXO

Wonderful Monday!

Isn't this a wonderful card? My dear friend Janet sent it to me. She is a wonderful artist and such a really good friend. I think we have been blogging together for at least 3 or 4 years now and I have so enjoyed watching her Art change. Her journals are amazing and I wish I could be as dedicated as she is about working in my journal every day. Thanks Janet for making my day!
Wow, our weather has been amazing! We had a record breaking week-end with very abnormally cool temperatures. It felt like Fall here and we LOVED it. I don't ever remember being able to open our windows in the middle of July. We are usually in the mid to upper 90s and 100% humidity by this time of year. I woke up yesterday morning to hear my Mom's furnace going. Ha, they are pretty cold natured and she got really chilled and turned on the heat. Its suppose to be nice like this most of this week and some more rain coming in tomorrow night.
Mom and I started some more Party pickles yesterday. They are a 4 day process. They are so pretty as we use food coloring to make them red and green. Here are a few jars that we have already made. We have about 14 jars now but we are giving away a lot of them as Christmas presents.
They have a spicy, sweet taste to them. And even though they take 4 days to make they are not that hard to make. I also made some more Watermelon rind pickles. I think they are pretty too but they don't show up so pretty in the picture.

They are actually transparent looking in person. You also put thin lemon slices in with them too. They are really sweet and yummy. I have really enjoyed putting up veggies and pickling this summer. My kitchen floor is a mess and I am going to strip it and polish it after I have finished pickling.
I have been doing some art lately. I am in a ATC bird swap, a tag swap, and a charm swap. Below is a picture of my Bird ATCs.
I don't know why I can't scan any thing straight. My scans always come out crooked. I will post my other art projects on another day.
If you saw my post last week where I showed off where I sit and blog and play on my computer, then I have to show you what I saw while I have been sitting here blogging today.
I have a bird feeder and a silverware and beads windchimes on the big tree in front of my window. This little guy was sitting on top of the windchimes patiently waiting to get to the feeder.
I hope every one had a great week-end and hope you have a wonderful Monday too!
xoxoxoxoxoox

Garden Delights!!!

Guess who decided that my garden was going to be a wonderful Breakfast Bar today?

So yes, I walked out on my deck this morning to see this visitor in the garden. And enjoying it quite well, thank you very much.
Um, please tell me that your not eating my lima bean plants? Have all the cucumbers, zuchinni, and peppers you want but stay away from the beans, please
"No, honestly its not a bean plant that is hanging out of my mouth, promise!"
So, yeah,,I let her have a few more bites and then politely told her that is was time to go check on Bambi. She was ok with that but I am wondering "how many more will she bring back with her tomorrow?"
Yesterday I spent all day working outside. I mowed the whole 2 acres and then worked in the garden the rest of the day. It was HOT and HUMID! But by late afternoon a nice big Thundershower came through and cool it all off. I actually stood in the rain for while until the lightening started popping a little too close.
So this is what I got out of the garden yesterday.

Yes, I felt a little of my Irish blood after digging the potatoes up. My fingers tips are so sore this morning. I just can't wear gloves, I have to feel the dirt in my bare hands. So yes, my nails look like crap in the summer but its worth it. I also harvested several heads of cabbage. We will make freezer slaw out of it.
Below is a corner of my kitchen where I keep some of the produce until I freeze it or can it. I picked the Patty Pan squash and the zuchinni yesterday too.
Some time today I am going to try to take a picture of all the pickles we have canned so far. There is quite a bit of jars now.
The last picture is of where I sit in the mornings this summer and blog. Its in my Art Room and I open the window for some nice cool and fresh morning air. I can look out over my front porch with the hanging ferns and see my flower beds too and all the birds and squirrels who are scampering around and singing to me. Its very relaxing.
I hope every one is having a wonderful summer week! And have a great Thursday too!
XOXOXOXOXO

Sunflowers for a sunny day!

These beauties are planted around the outside of my garden! I knew when I planted my garden that I had to have these surrounding it as I just think they add more flavor to the garden. Can you see the big bees that are all over the flowers? They really didn't appreciate me getting close to their flowers. A lot of times I will have yellow and black and purple finches all over them too.

Below is some pictures of the garden. I need to spend a whole day in it doing some serious weeding. Its been a pretty rainy summer for us which is great when you don't have to water the garden. But it also makes the weeds go crazy. The first picture is tomatoes, marigolds, okra, and cucumbers.

Next, you can see the row of corn that is in front of the tomatoes. The hub decided at the last minute that he wanted some corn so it was planted a little late. I think it will produce before the first frost as our first frost usually isn't until mid October. It growing really fast too.
Next is my pole bean tepee. I am going to have quite a few of them too. I already have small pods. Last week I discovered that the pesky little Japanese beetles were totally munching down on them so I had to discourage them or my plants would be gone. They were also enjoying my Okra too much too. They also will destroy Roses, Hibiscus, and other veggies and plants.

And of course, Mr Owl is on constant duty to protect from intruders. (But he doesn't scare the Japanese Beetles). He stands by the peppers, cucumbers, and squashes.

My herbs are doing really good! I have some in the garden and some in pots by my deck so I can run out and snip some while cooking. Here are my chives and my basil.

I have been making some Pesto out of my basil from a great recipe my dear friend Jeanie sent to me last year. Its yummy and you can also freeze it for later use. I have also been drying and freezing my herbs to use all year. More pictures of that later.
On Sunday I picked some Patty Pan squash and Green tomatoes and fried them for dinner. Oh, my,,they were just way too good.

I could live off of these yummies! I have really enjoyed having a garden this summer. Its a lot of work but well worth it. I have put up Yellow Squash, Patty Pan Squash, Zucchini, Okra. And Mother and I have canned so many kinds of Pickles. Dill, Bread and Butter, Party Pickles, and on Saturday I canned some Pickled watermelon rind. That is good stuff! I will take pictures of the various canned items as they are so pretty. What I have learned about gardening? Well, to not plant so many cucumbers, banana peppers and zucchini,we have had and over abundance of them. Giving them to neighbors as we have had so many. My disappointment has been that my tomatoes have not done so good but in talking with other gardeners its been the same for them. They are full of green tomatoes but having a hard time turning red. They probably will all at the same time. I have several egg plants, and also some Lima beans that will be coming in soon. I have Irish potatoes that will be ready soon and also cabbage. Mine and my parents freezers will be full for the winter and I can't wait to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Thanks for letting me share!
Have a Terrific Tuesday!
XOXOXOXOOXOX

Monday's Art

Happy Monday! I hope every one had a great week-end. I spent most of mine putting up veggies and making pickles. I even attempted pickling watermelon rind. Just sharing some of my latest art from some of my journals. The first picture is one I did on a 8x 10 canvas.

I have been trying to do some kind of art every day now since I am not working this summer. I have a pen, marker, and watercolor journal and a mixed media journal. I Love doing the mandalas and zentangles they are so relaxing.
Have a great first of the week!
xoxoxoxooxoxox

River Fun

What a fun time I had at my brother and sister-in-law's house. I LOVE visiting with them and always have such a great time. I got to go out on the wonderful Tennessee River on Wednesday. It felt so good to be back on the river that I grew up on and learned to Ski on too. Too old for that any more. When I got down there on Tuesday, my niece came over and brought my cutie pie Great Nephew, Samuel. I can't believe how fast he is growing and just a sweetie and a half.

See all the plants hanging up on their patio? My sis in law has a very green thumb and there patio was like a tropical paradise. Their boxer, Andy, enjoys the coolness of it too!
On Wednesday we went out of my brother's bestfriend's cabin cruiser. The weather was perfect and so was the water. Below is a picture of Interstate 65 bridge that goes over the River.

This part of a big creek that comes off the river, Limestone Creek. There are Alligators in this creek so I had no desire to swim in it but its really pretty.
The captain and the co-pilot, they live the easy life after taking buy outs from GM a few years ago.
Next is my Bubs cooling off in the river.
And then its me and Bubs. I was kidding him and telling him to suck in the Beer Gut.
It was a wonderful little vacation and I so enjoyed visiting with them! Thanks so much Bubs and Sarah!
I hope every one else has had a awesome week. Its getting hotter and more humid here.
Have a great week-end!
xoxooxxooxoxxo

Design Gives Back

Recently when I was out doing a little web surfing, I came across this site by way of another blogger. Kelee Katillac is a really neat artist and she came up with a way to help Dogs and Cats who are "lost", meaning abandoned. She designed a scarf with her dog's name on it, Oliver Wendell. You had to write her and ask her to mail you scarf and then you decorated it and made a picture of your dog in it. You then e-mailed her the picture and if she got 150 pics of dogs wearing the scarf she has a sponsor who would donate $2000 towards an association who helps with abandon animals. So of course I jumped right in and got a scarf for Lady. The deadline to have the picture sent to her was today. I got my scarf on Friday and decorated it Saturday and promptly took the Brat's picture and e-mailed it back to her. If you look at her blog she has several posts of the different dog's pictures with the scarves on. Here are some of Lady modeling the scarf!

She is going to make a video and a post after today's deadline so I will post a link here when she does. Doesn't the Brat make a cute model? It went to here head though and she walked around the rest of the day acting like a Prima Donna,,HA!
I hope every one had a great holiday week-end! I am headed to my brother's tomorrow to spend a few days and go out on his boat. I can't wait!
XOXOXOXOXOXOOX

RIP #9

We had a terrible tragedy here in Nashville yesterday. Steve McNair who use to the quarterback for my beloved Titans Football Team was murdered. He played with them for many years and was a great player and the Titan's fans loved him. He went to play at Baltimore for the past 2 years but retired in April. I never met him but I know people who have and described him as a very nice person. He also had several charities for Children.
Its sad that he was killed and also a young woman was found dead with him too. So far the police seem to think that the woman shot Steve several times and then killed herself. He was married but apparently was having an affair with this young lady. He leaves behind a wife and 4 sons.
It was so senseless and every one has been putting him down. Yeah, what he was doing was wrong but he didn't deserve to die because of it. In my mind he was still one of the best Quarter backs in Titan's history. RIP #9!
I hope every one had a great Fourth of July! Ours was great except the fireworks got rained out. But still had a good time any ways other than the tragedy above that cast a sad feeling during the celebration.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO