Monday, December 29, 2008

~~ It's just one of those days where the sun wants to shine, but the clouds go scurrying past, giving the sky a strange glow ~~ Then the clouds all go away, and the sun tries it's best to shine and warm things up.

The temps here have been sooo weird -- today it's struggling to get 50, yesterday it was OVER 75..then last night it rained, poured, the wind blew and it felt like the woods were going to try and jump into the house. We made it thru the stormy weather, and now it's much much cooler, and the temperature is dropping like a rock. I finally broke down and got a fire going in the woodstove, 'cause I realized my fingers were cold, and I kept feeling like I had a drippy nose. WELL -- no wonder!! I looked at our new thermometer and it's reading 66 in the house. Sorry Pal. Tha's just too darn cold for this girl!!


Got a couple projects in the works.. will post shots of 'em tomorrow. I got off to a weird start this morning with a frame I bought over the weekend. I'd just come in the studio to get painting, an' I needed to wash out a paintbrush..so when I went into the kitchen, I'd Just started the kitchen faucet, an' look out the kitchen window in time to see a tow truck pulling up in our driveway!! YIKESS!! The tow truck company I called last week, was already here!! -- even tho the ol' guy said to call him first, then he'd be here to get The Very Fine Automobile!! DOUBLE YIKES!! Thank heavens I get dressed first thing in the morning! So I had to keep Sara away from the dear old man (he looked 70) an' tried to find the right key for the car..yup, it'd been THAT long that I didn't even know where my car key was!! So, off goes my car (bye! Bye!! Miss You!!) an' then I gotta quick fast make sure the car dealer is even OPEN!! -- yup. They are, an' zoom, there goes the work on my car!! yyyyeeeeaaakkkssss...

Then I started for a 2nd time to get a second coat of primer on my frame, an' the dog starts being a %^#3 an' Noah's bellyachin' about somethin' -- the phone's ringin' an' I'm SERIOUSLY thinkin' about going anywhere South..BUT -- I finally get to work on my frame (looks pretty white an' good...) AND ~~ Got a coat of paint PLUS the start of collage -Stuff on another canvas !! Yee gads...no wonder I'm feelin' tired now that it's after 3 p.m.!! I finally broke down an' got a lunch!! ~~ 'cause I realized my stomach was growling!!

I think I need a Vacation...

>> But since tha's not gonna happen, my canvas is lookin' like a Vacation, so in a way, I guess that makes up for no time off for Me!! ZZZippp-a-dee-doo-dah!! -- I can't wait to show off the new canvas!!

But tha's gonna be tomorrow! ~~ Now I gotta go get some E-6000 on some stuff...play aroun' with some more paint...an' hope that when the Dealer calls about my car, it isn't going to make me fall over!!


~~ Lady of The Tulips ~~

Friday, December 26, 2008


>> Here's a bit of something I did I think last year -- or maybe the..no, wait. Yeah -- it was last year, for an Art challenge. I considered posting a shot of the cloudy damp and grunky sky that's covering the Sound today, but since Far Too Much of the U.S. is covered is something similiar, I decided to go with a Little More Cheerful Color for the Day <<

And Too --- Here's A Belated Merry Christmas!, to everybody!! I was so wrapped up in getting the dinner, cleaning dishes, gathering things from one end of the house to the other , all day long, that I did't EVEN have time to wish everybody a Merry Christmas!! Our oldest, Dan, was able to come down for the day. He layed on the couch, which seemed fitting for a bachelor!! Gabriel, the middle one, was working, so he was feeling like a Mixed Mess for the day >> Here he hasn't had a job for something like ForEVAH, and when he finally gets something, it's only for ONE day..an' naturally, at a Resort, that day happens to fall on Christmas. Ahh well. At least he gets a little bit of spending money (but that'll only go to pay bills, alas..) and some extra days towards a chance at full time work.

Dan & Gabriel are going to try and come down next weekend for the whole weekend. Gabriel hasn't yet seen our little cabin, and Dan has been so busy with his work, that he hasn't had a chance, 'cept yesterday, to come down for any length of time. Hopefully it'll all work out & they can see the Sound and mess around out in the yard. With the little bit of rain we're getting now, hopefully after the full blown storm comes thru THEN goes off shore, it'll be nice by the end of next week. I keep seeing different things about the weather, so it's almost anybody's guess as to what's gonna happen. And those Weather Guys get PAID to make mistakes...jeesh...

I'm in the middle of a couple Art Projects. Hopefully The Camera will behave for me tomorrow an' I can get a couple shots of what's goin' on over on the little table. I'd gotten a canvas board nearly done with an abstract that looks pretty promising, and now am in the middle of a pretty spiffy collage based on the Shore >> Like that's nothing new..BUT -- this one has a few more little treasures on it, so it should end up all right. The camera has been set on the WRONG setting, that's why some of my pictures have been SO CRAPPY ~~ An' here I thot the poor lil' thing was just on it's last legs..shows what I know! SO ~~ the pictures should get done fairly early, then we have to go take lil' miss sara to the vet -- she has sone kinda lump on her back, and a couple on her belly and side. They don't even REMOTELY bother her, but they bother the livin' #%^#&" outta me, so I'd rather take her in an' be sure of what the things are, than to jus' blow it off.

The Very Fine Automobile is STILL waiting to be fixed. I finally got all the info. I needed to have a local dealer get the right parts for the broken wagon...an' then the Holiday came along, an' I figured, well, tha's ok, I'll get everything set up on Friday. HA!! Where's MY brain today?? HELLO??!! Some people have THE DAY OFF!! -- see, with Tom's job, it is a cold day in H*** that the drivers get a day off, ok, yes they DID get Christmas off, an' an UNPAID day for Christmas Eve (somethin' new & NOT COOL!!) but I figured that the day AFTER christmas, it'd be Business As Usual...Ooopppsssiieeee....down in the little town just "yonder", no, NO -- businesses are NOT open the day AFTER christmas...an' so, with Tears in my Eyes, and Sadness prevailing around me..it was with just an IMMENSE (or however that word is spelled..) PAIN (or just being Pi**ed off..) I had to call BACK to the tow truck company & say...Uhhh...you wanna hold off on towin' my car down Ocean Highway?? HA AGAIN!! -- he ALREADY KNEW the dealer wasn't gonna be open...so he just casually sez. "Wellll..you wanna take care=a this on Monday Mornin'?" Didn't I feel like a sharp marble...

So it's yet ANOTHER week, an' I STILL waiting for my Very Fine Automobile to get fixed...Wwwaaaaiiitttttiiiiinnnngggggg...............

And in the meantime, Tom has come home early from the truck terminal, so I guess it's time to C wha's goin' on..it's one thing after another 'round here..!!

Lady of The Tulips

Tuesday, December 23, 2008


>> Well >> After trying for what seemed like HOURS and forever and EVAH -- I decided that it just wasn't worth the time spent WAITING AND WAITING for my computer to work the way it should, and just Download a picture I wanted to post on this Blog.

See -- what I have is a Dilemma -- or however one spells that word. What iit is IS >> I have a set of serving items..two "Spoons" that my dear son Gabriel and his (At the time) wife found for me at the thrift store. They are a fine pair, two silver pieces. One is a basic Serving Spoon, flat with a slight curve along each side. I know it has a "Proper" name, but for the life of me, I slap Can Not remember it. AND -- the other piece is very ornate..all curley-quee and wonderful, and it Too has a NAME, but for the life of me, I once again can Not remember.

And since like, in what, 2 DAYS it's Christmas...well, you SEE...I had planned on very nicely setting these pieces out on the table, to make all the dinner and Goodies just look fabulous and Very Fine on the dining room table. And, naturally, when one of the sons would Politely Ask, "What is that spoon/sering/THANG?" I would just casually say, "OH!..well, don't youKNOW??!! It's a..." and then stand there next to the dining room table with my mouth hanging open, and nothing but a squeak coming out of said open mouth..Because I CAN'T remember the name of that serving piece. Goes to show what being a mother is all about. The old broad gets up in years an' she can't even remember her own name..No -- it's not actually THAT bad, but you get the idea. And for 3 days last week, I walked around the house humming, "Oh!, the ol' grey mare, she aiiint what sheee used to be, aint what she used to beee, aint what she used to bEEEE..." And now look what'z happened. The Old Mare can't remember nothin'..


But onto ART NEWZ -- 2 of my collage/mixed media pieces are spiffily hanging over on Church Street (or the main drag of town) in the little county art league/Art Gallery -- they look very nice, even if I don't mind saying so., One is a mermaid that I posted on here quite a while back, and another is an untitled piece that I posted, I think, last month. They are hung in one of the back portions of the gallery, but they are under a set of lights that just highlight the heck out of the glitter paints I used on one of the corners near the little mermaid. I'm pretty jazzed about how they look, and I'm optimistic they'll sell FAST!! --

But for now, I gotts to get painting on some papers..I just ordered some Sea Life type fabrics from a store up in New England..seems kinda funny, to order fabric with shells, seaweeds and sailboats from a landlocked call-center, but that's what it is..I also have some new sketches of sailboats and some shells to make up for a couple of new pieces, too. So before I get to baking and cleaning and doin' STUFF for Christmas, I need to get the little details worked out Ahead of Time...never a dull moment around here!!

Oh >> And if you're wondering why I posted the pictures of the Daylilies from last summer?? !! Well -- since most of the country is buried under far and away too many inches of snow, I thot a nice Summertime Picture would cheer everybody up!!

Enjoy!!


Lady of The Tulips

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

>> This is one of those afternoons, where the weather is trying to make any sane person want to find a way to board the next Space Shuttle, and go float around Earth for 10 days or so <<

Yesterday was rainy/drippy/cloudy and flat out Ugly. The day before was sunny & decent, then it just all went to %^#^ in a handbasket. We got the woodstove going by 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday, and watched the thermometer fall like a bucket into a well. Today started off chilly, and the temperature took off into the outer limits. It's somewhere over 60 degrees, and now more clouds are skirting the skyline. My poor little puppy...well..ok, our Large and Overweight Dog is just beisde herself..she's laying on the floor, within eyeshot of the backdoor. Which is open, so the dog has an opportunity to see the backyard thru the stormdoor. I think I'm sweating while sitting at the computer, and have had to take my 2 pairs of socks off, 'cause it seemed sortra weird to be wearing 2 pairs when the gauge behind me on the old dresser that sez "TEMPERATURE" is reading 70 !!! I'm scared the weather is going to drop into something like the 20's, we'll have heavy frost/freeze warnings, The Dog will want to do something crazy, like say, go jump in the river and swim toward the Outer Banks. Weird Weather makes animals and humans do crazy things.

I've got GOOD NEWS!! ~~ On the Art Front!! ~~ 2 of my pieces have been accepted over at the Art Gallery in town!! WHOO HOOO!! ~~ The woman reading the information to me didn't say which one was rejected, only that it"Didn't fit the standard of the frame", so I'm not sure A) what that means, and B) just which piece had an "Issue" with it's frame. Did the piece have a fight with it's frame after I dropped it off? Did The canvas decide that it wanted to come back home to it's little cabin, and never want to see "Downtown" again?? Shwoo..these things keep me awake at night..

But actually, I'll go see which one needs to be fixed on Saturday. Today I spent something like an hour & a half talking with the Service Department over at the local Ford dealer...we have finally found somebody that can repair the Very Fine Automobile!! And the cost, well, the Estimate for Repair is about $300 less than where we used to live, so THAT'S a plus. Now we just have to switch some funds in the bank from one account to another, then get the logistics worked out on how to get the dead car from our driveway over to the car dealer. It's gonna take a couple more phone calls, but once it's all said & done, I'll be able to drive my Wagon for the first time in over a year....an' won't it be NICE!!

Must go & check the woodstove..the weather is Doing Something Again..I can hear the wind moving a little quicker in the pines...an' it was starting to look kinda nasty over on the water...hmmm...this may not be good...

Lady of The Tulips

Monday, December 15, 2008

>> Just a quick little hello from here along the shores of the COLD Sound -- I took a look out the studio window a little while ago, and inbetween the trees and branches that are all bare now, I can get a teeny glimpse of the little inlet on the opposite side of where our cabin is. <<


The water looks all grey and choppy -- not at all happy and blue like it does during the spring and summer. We had some nahhsty winds on Saturday, that made it feel horrible outside. I know it wasn't like some of the winds out on the Plains or up in the poor Frozen New England countryside, but for here it was just Not Welcome. Then yesterday, it was a complete reversal -- warm, sunny and one would think, a completely different time of year...not December. And just a while ago, Tom called to say that, No, the temps didn't get up to 75, just & only 70 degrees...just what in the TAR is goin' on with this unpredictable weather, WHAT THE TAR< I ASK??!! is goin' on?? It's beginning to sorta kinda get me freaked out, I'm tellin' ya!!

BUT -- onto ART NEWS!! -- I successfully took 3 pieces of my collages/mixed media art to the local gallery in town. Rode the bus, and with all the shaking and bumps, I am very happy to say that nothing got broken, no glass, no beads falling off of the canvas, nothing BAD. The woman in the gallery was Very Nice, and helped me label my works, got each one a different tag, got the work all lined up so the Jury Committee can look it all over. Now, the hardest part is the WAITING -- Waiting to hear positive words on the work -- positive words that the work will sell -- positive words that the gallery wants to have more work bought in. And there's nothing I can do 'till I hear from the gallery. My nerves are shot, my stomach feels like it's in a pinch, and I keep getting little stabbing headaches...and Tom's not even at home!! HA!!


Anyway -- I was told that by Thursday or so, I should hear something, so I''m trying to keep myself bizzy. Yesterday Tom & I went to the discount/old-freight business, where there are tons of merchandise that stores either quit carrying, or just have ordered too many of. I found 2 more frames for a total of $13.00 or so -- We looked at Big Lots, but either the frames were over $10, or the frames were beyound ugly..sorta like a bad hangover from the 70's. That would just NOT do, I'm telllin' ya!! Do I was happy to find a couple that paint up really good with a little primer, and now it's the decision of what color to paint the final coat >> Why this is never easy for me is one of The Great Mysteries...you'd think I'd just DECIDE one stuiped color & be done with it!! <<

We went to the Outer Banks on Saturday, but we didn't stay overnight..it was BEAUTIFUL over there -- Sunny, but with a nahsty stinging wind. We scouted out some places that looked like possibilities to stay at later on this winter. The main reason we were over, is 'cause Noah found somebody selling a used chain saw for under $40 !!! AND -- Another person GIVING AWAY FISHING TACKLE!!! WHOA!! So we beat feet over the river and thru the woods to get the stuff...Happily, the chain saw works, noah's been cutting firewood this afternoon, and the tackle, poles and lures and STUFF in the tackle box are all in pretty good condition -- 3 (!!)) fishing poles, mind you, for FREE -- and all the goodies...oh, noah's just one happy guy. And so am I, actually. I REALLY want to go fishing, but there just aren't any fishies in the deep right now that want to be Caught...bums...

Must check on my paint on the frames behind me -- I think these will be a combination of blue and greem...No, wait...maybe Blue and Dark Blue? --- No...wait...how 'bout...uhhhmmm....

Lady of The Tulips

Wednesday, December 10, 2008


Here's a snippet of one of my pieces that's goin' to be juried this week over on main street...this lil' girl is sorta cute -- well I think she is..I've got another picture of her, an' the whole piece somewhere on this blog, but right now I don' remember what day it was that I popped it on here. She is ONE OF MY WORKS..so I don' want no body thinkin' of "Borrowing" it for anything..I'll have to sick Sara on YOU if you do anything with this!!

As for anything else happenind here...I got some work done -- well, STARTED getting done on a frame I discovered at a local thrift store...I was SOO jazzed on finding an unopened frame!! In a thrift store, that I really didn't take a good look at the BACK of the thing..

Well -- HA!! -- the thing had a top coat of some kind of varnish, which is all well and good...but then, once it got sanded down a teeny bit, jus' enuf for me to put some primer on...WELL..whatever the stain/paint is/waz whatever..just keeps bleeding thru the primer..an' with 4 coats of that, plus 2 of a basic white acrylic...I very nearly went out the door...SOO..to top it off...the little prongs that hold on the backing board an' the whole kit & kaboodle?? -- 1/2 of those are MISSING..Sweet. Jus' Sweet.

So, that little frame is sitting out in the laundry room, keeping the spiders company, I guess. OK - the thing WAS only $1.59..so it isn't a lot of CASH. But it's the nature of the thing. You Expect Something. Then it storms on your parade. Or something close to that --

I think I'll check out the local dime store (Do they still call them dime stores??!) this weekend an' see If I can discover anything else that'll work. And too, there are still some things out in the shed..oh boy -- lets jus' hope that all the critters are ASLEEP out there for the winter. I am NOT in the mood to wake up ANYBODY!! --
(collage: Spring Bay Studio 2008)


Lady of The Tulips

Monday, December 08, 2008


"Untitled" -- 2008 Spring Bay Studio

Whoo hooo!! Finally got this little canvas it's very own home!! I worked with the frame to get the blue on it just enuf so that it doesn't overwhelm the color on the canvas. Tom was pretty suprised at how it came out. 'Course there are a lot of things that suprise that man, but that's a whole other story...

Went to the Mall-Wart yesterday..the original idea was to pick up some mat board an' then grab 10 things in the grocery department. HA!! We only got 1/2 way into trying to FIND the mat board, an' I happened to glance over at Tom...he wasn't exactly sweating bullets, but I could see his eyes were starting to glaze over, and he was looking at all the people acting manic, while grabing things off the shelves for their Christmas Shopping...well, the combination of it all was just too much. I changed my mind about getting groceries, said, "Le's just uhhh.." Where At the same point, Tom sez, "Ok -- lets just get the mat board an' hooks an' stuff an' get outta here!!!" So much for enjoying the Holiday Crowdz...

So - to make matters worse...Tom didn't really look at what was all in the shopping bag when we left the store, an' when we finally got home, he got REALLY irritated, because he realized that he'd left the OTHER bag at the store...We got all the way home w/one frame, and that was all. There was a 2nd bag w/the mat board, some eye hooks, and trail mix for my lunches. No -- Iwill not go into detail how bad it got about the bag being left behind, but suffice to say, that I drove allll the way back to Mall-Wart, found the stuff at the Customer Service window, an' finally got home. 50 some miles to get the things I needed, an' Toms fit to be tied. No tellin' why the check out girl didn't say anything to us about the bag bein' left at the check-out..maybe she was new. But I DID get to drive Tom's new car, and it drives like a dream...'cept I didn't know how to turn on the headlights, so I drove in the dusk w/the running lights on, 'till I was almost home...Good move, eh?

Now I've got to get my last piece ready for it's frame...and get some painting done on another canvas. I also got some paint for the studio -- a very mellow warm yellow -- "Pecan Dream" -- not bright an' all flashy, just a warm color for these poor walls. The wall paper will come down in the next couple days, an' then Bingo -- COLOR for the walls instead of smoke stained wallpaper!! YEEEAAAA!!!

Lady of The Tulips

Thursday, December 04, 2008




Have something of an "Before, After and Now" goin' on here -- the 3 shots are of the frame I bought over the weekend @the discount store up the highway -- the original color was much, much too dark for my tastes, so I added a nice coat of primer, a clean white, and then got going with the final coat of Blue -- I think it's Cobalt Blue. Whatever the name, it seems to make the frame look pretty spiffy, if I don't mind saying so myself.

And on to the homefront -- yesterday morning, at the really wonderful hour of 3:45, our little miss ray of sunshine, decided that when she went out to do her business, she had to somehow find the bag of trash, loaded to the gills with the leftover bones from our turkey dinner. Oh Joy. So -- since Tom or noah decided that the bag couldn't go in the TRASH CAN like it should, the dog took advantage of the situation, dug aroun' a bit, found the bones, and was happily chewing away on some, when something told me to look outside & see what she was up to. What she was up to, was No Good!! Little Brat!! I got her in the house, but she came inside the laundry room, still clamping a batch of bones in her mouth...I tried to pry her mouth open, and get the bones out, she just clamped down harder...Finally Tom realized there was Something Amiss in the laundry room; came over an' promptly pried the dogs mouth open, and pulled out a HUGE turkey bone...I don' even KNOW what bone it was, all I know if that it was thrown into the laundry sink, and the Dog got yelled at A LOT!!

Now -- about 4 hours later, maybe a little longer, Noah had let The Dog back outside for her little investigation of the yard...an' sure enuf, she hauls off and finds some MORE of the bones that Tom didn't clean up when he picked up the bag of trash to throw SOMEWHERE ELSE earlier in the morning....that dog has a nose on her that would make Scotland Yard happy...So, once again, I had to get bones from her jaws, successfully this time...an' kept a running RANT at her for the next, oh, 5 hours.."SHAME ON YOU!!! TRASH DOG!! AAHHHKKK!!" She got the idea...kept slinking away from me once we made eye contact...Don't know where the bag of trash is now, but she is Keeping Away from it for the duration. Or 'till tomorrow when we go to the hardware store & buy a trashcan with a closing lid. No wonder I feel more batches of grey popping up on my head...

Must go and take my blood pressure medicine...for some reason I"m feeling woozy...

Lady of The Tulips ~~

Tuesday, December 02, 2008


Some days there's just too much stuff -- today is one of those days, where too many things are trying to crowd into the work that I want to get finished -- And the things are not FUN at all -- i.e. >> Housecleaning...Blahhh >>>i.e. >> Washing clothes...Blah >>>> i.e. Attempting to organize Tom's stuff..DOUBlE BLAH!!

So, I just decided to toss away all those Ugly Things that need to be finished, and instead am now in the process of painting my frames. 2 down and one to go. Toocool -- found a frame for some of my little bit larger canvases, for the total price of $5.99 -- You best believe I didn't pass that great buy up!! The one shown here on my little work table finally got it's self finished. It seemed to take forEVAH, but it's done. I have the first 2 primer coats on the new frame..I'll show a Before & After tomorrow.

Got a bottle of blue paint that I can't decide what to do with -- I mean, it's wonderful to use in my collages, but I'm afraid that it may be too dark to use on a frame. But if I can dig around out in the shed and find another frame that the previous owner left, then I may use one of those and experiment with it & the dark blue paint. The bottle was in one of the big discount stores, where everything is super CHEAP -- all gleaned from other discount or department stores. It's not Big Lots, an' for the life of me, I can't remember the name of the place. Suffice to say, that there are good buys inside. Matter of fact, when I was in the store last week, I spied a set of 3 glass baking pans, all good quality, for something like $7.99 -- Naturally I didn't have the $$ on me to pick it up, and figured that the collection would be available on the weekend. HA!! What waz I thinking?? Where there had been 8 - 0 - so sets, there were NONE -- talk about feeling like a sharp marble...Tom jus' looked at me an sez, "Well, there'll be more later on.." I'm fuming at my delay in the purchase, an' I mumbling to myself, "You really did it this time, toad..."

The thing is, there probably WILL be more of the collection in the next couple weeks. I'm going to try & remember to have some extra $$ in my billfold JUST IN CASE..

Must go an' get some primer goin' on this frame. It amazed me that I could find something,; but then, I wasn't even LOOKING for frames for my art, I was jus' bee-boppin' along in the store, trying to find cleaning supplies for the week...jeesh..

Lady of The Tulips ~~

Monday, December 01, 2008



Just had to show An' Tell what'z been happening around the studio -- the canvas is W.I.P., and the wonderful piece of furniture is what I brought back from an area thrift store/antique shop/used "Stuff" warehouse. I'm pretty happy with how they both look, an' am Sooo close to getting the canvas ready to frame.

On Saturday, I met the local Art Association President at the nearby Ruitan Club, where some women were showing/selling craft items. Lots of sweet quilts of all different sizes, shapes and styles. Lots of great handmade jewlery, and several different raffle drawings. I happened to stop at one booth where a fine lady was selling an assortment of handmade purses, handbags, and quilted items. She is the one who is the President of the Art Association, and once we got to talking, I just felt an immediate conneciton with her. I'm happy to say that she asked me to bring some of my canvases to the gallery smack dab in the middle of town, hopefully this week. The weekend at the very latest. She wants me to have my pieces available for sale, which I thot was Fabu!! Wow!! What a great bit of the Heavens working for the Good!! I'm now nearly in a panic, trying to get frames finished, an' see what I've got that is framed, ready and sitting on the table in the back of the house, ready to go out the door.

The next thing is to get my new frames painted that I bought at a local discount store. $5.99 for one that can be made into a new color, instead of a dull brown. Must get the Beach Color THANG goin', know what I mean!!??

Must check on some phone calls I'm supossed to be making. My middle son wantz is to help him out with some $$ -- but we've done that for the past couple weeks, an' I have nothing to show for the help. I suggested he come down an' work at one of the restraunts here, but he refused that idea. I also suggested some other day-labor jobs, but he blew that idea away too..soo..wha's a mother to do?? He sez he'll ask a brother for help, but that waz suppsed tp have been done 4 weeks ago...No wonder I'm on the verge of a splitting headache..Ack!

Lady of The Tulips

Saturday, November 29, 2008

>> Just a quick note to say I'm alive and well. Am looking over at my craft table, with the canvas I've been working on..it's waiting for the papers to be applied, and it's final coat of matte medium <<

The camera, which I WAZ going to use to take a couple pictures, is behaving Rather Badly at the moment, so instead of throwing it out the back door and watching it sail across the yard, I've decided to calm down, take 234,496 Deep Breaths, and try tomorrow to take the shots of my Collage. And -- the NEW storage cabinet I bought today!! WHOOO-Hooo!!! Le' me TELL you -- when I saw this piece of furniture the other day, I immediately knew it was just the right thing for my studio. After my neighbor & I watched the nice men in the Antique Store load it in her truck, we said thank-you about 3,432 times, then brought it here. It Did take a lot of cleaning, but once I finished it up with a last wash of Mr. Clean Bleach Sponge, it came out just very nice and mellow looking. It amazes me, that it also appears to be hand-made. Like one of the farm families in the area had had their grandfather or father make this for the house. Some of the hardware on the doors I haven't seen available in years and years. The handles are some old pieces of wood, that look like left over scraps from other projects around the barn. Very humble piece, and it fits absolutely perfect in the room.

Will talk more tomorrow or monday about a Wonderful Moment I had at an area Craft Show. I didn't have a lick to sell, or show, BUT -- I did meet the local president of the county Arts Association...and was asked to bring some of my work to be juried for an even this next month. I've got no words to express how amazed I am that THAT happened. Wow.

Must go an' gather goodies to make dinner with. And stand and stare at my new piece of furniture.

Lady of The Tulips

Friday, November 28, 2008


The sky today is tryin' to be cloudy, but it just can not make up it's mind. And our "friends" are still hangin' around, which drives our next door neighbor to havin' hissy-fits. He doesn't like our resident birds, an' thinks that they should just all go away. My whole take on them, is if they wanted to go some place else, they would've gone there by now.

I've gotten thru the Thanksgiving Day Festivities. There was probably far too much pie eaten to be thot about (by me) and there was undoubtedly far too much stuffing stuffed down the mouth by somebody (by me, actually ) and there was probably too much turkey eaten too. But that is not as bad as eating all the pie. Well -- actually I only ate 2 slices, but my luck, those 2 slices made my cholosteral levels go thru the roof all over again, so when I see the Dr., he's going to instantly KNOW what I ate, and immediately start tapping his fingers on his desk. Again. We ARE so grateful, tho, that we even HAD a thanksgiving dinner. In the last few years, it has been somewhat thin, to say the least, when it comes to having any kind of "celebration" for the holiday. Even had our son buy the thanksgiving food items for us the other year. So, my yes, we are very grateful for Tom having a job. And having the income to BUY the food this year. And grateful that Tom's boss/driver manager gave all the drivers a gift card to one of the local chain food stores, for Thanksgiving. Wow. Very, Very Grateful.

Will post tomorrow -- some shots of my frames that are done. Plus a canvas that don't look too shabby, even if I don't mind saying so myself. But for now I gotta go check the mail. And make sure the woodstove is burnin'. And tomorrow I'll tell the tale of Tom, Noah, and The Standing Dead Pine Tree. Only would those two get something done with a couple ropes. Some chopping with an axe. And lots of yelling..pushing..and general Stuff. No wonder my nerves are shot...

Lady of The Tulips

Wednesday, November 26, 2008


~~ For most of the summer, we had the "pleasure" of dealing with squirrels. Not just once in awhile - seeing them bouncing around in the yard & trees. I mean, seeing them everywhere -- in the yard, on the deck, sitting on our little table. Jumping on the front porch from one of the pine trees. Everywhere. Then, when fall started to arrive, one of the females started to drop pine cone pieces on the deck. And in LARGE numbers. It got to where we had to sweep the deck up to 3 times a day, trying to avoid stepping on pine cone pieces..the ones that have sharp points..and the left over inner core of the pine cone. A sticky mess, and one that would leave me yelling at the squirrel as she sat very contentendly up in the tall, tall pine tree.

Well -- it so happens, much to my dismay, that Said Squirrel was stuffing herself silly with the heart of the pine cones, because she was ready to have a litter. Which she did, and I've been watching the little babies as they've grown. One afternoon, I sat in my porch swing, laughing at the antics of the babies; they with their little faces peering around one of the trees, looking at me with the most interest in the world. And then they'd meet one another near the base of one of the hardwoods, sniffing each others faces, then bounce straight up, gather themselves together, and go bounding away in the trees. A true source of entertainment.

What I didn't know, or couldn't figure out while all the trees were in full leaf, was just where the nest was for the female. And with the snow "Storm" we had last week (look, for this area, it really was considered a storm..don' ask...) whipping the last of the leaves off the hardwoods, I was able to discover jus' how close to the house the nest actually is -- or was -- or both. There it is..as close to the deck as possible..right overhead, actually. And the female is still meandering around. Well..I think it's the female. Whichever one it is, it Still is crawling around our house. I can hear it up on the roof, doing Whatever it is squirrels do in Fall. Maybe planning their get away to the Florida Keys. Who knows. All I do know is that the babies have found their own little abode for the winter. And the adult is showing up less and less. But I fear getting my hopes up that she's gone for good. Seeing the nest this morning while bringing in firewood made me wonder if the adult isn't just getting itself more dug in for the duration. Which means listening to it frockling up on the roof for the foreseeable future.

Not much to show for my art today. With the hours of messin' around yesterday discovering what there is at the thrift stores, left me with no energy to finish my frames or my latest collage. But all is not lost..today is the final coat day for the frames, and the collage is getting it's last 4 pieces. Final top coat, and it'll be done.

But fixin' the dressing for turkey day tomorrow is gonna happen tonight. Then baking the pies first thing in the morning..both Danny & Gabriel have said they're coming to the cabin for thanksgiving. Gabriel hasn't even been down here since we moved, so I wonder what he'll think of our little place -- Danny will probably want to go over to the fishing dock & check out the river & Sound. Should be an interesting day.

Lady of The Tulips

Tuesday, November 25, 2008


YUP!! Sara just hauled off and decided that it was all just too much for her...heaved herself up on mom's bed, and fell asleep. Well, after all she DID have to go outside and investigate all the new smells around the trees, and she also had to smell where the neighbors dog walks around by the back of the deck, AND she ALSO had to smell around where the clothesline is. So the Poor, Poor Baby!! Look at Her!! She is just flat wore OUT. Such is the life of a dog...


I got back home a little while ago from riding around with our neighbor to some of the area thrift stores. I mentioned that Tom & I had tried to find a local thrift store/"Antique" store on sunday, but we couldn't find it. WELL --- turns out that the building where the antiques are located, happens to be shared with our neighbor, where they have their vending machine company!! WHOA!! so lois took me in the building this morning, and lo and behold, there...right in front of me, is a nearly identical farmhouse pie safe..tho a little more worse for wear than the one we saw Sat. for $625...this one is a little larger -- and was on sale for $135. HA!! Guess who bought it?? ME!! SCORE!! YAAAA!!! So now we gotta get our neighbor to bring it over here, with the use of his truck. his wife said it wouldn't be a problem, so I'm finally going to have the storage I need. No more papers on the floor!!

I also got to one of the area bargain stores. Bought some goodies for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. 3 types of coffees, a big jar of maple syrup, and then got over to wallmart an' bought some pens I needed. All together a very good "Junkin" day!! Saw some shirts that may be good for noah, and tom needs some stuff too. Plus one thrift store had some dishes for less than $30 -- may get those too. Weee...!!!

Got to finish some work on me little table. And the dog wants something...blasted animal. But I love her to pieces, so off I go to spoil her some more!

Lady of The Tulips

Monday, November 24, 2008


>> This is how I'm feeling today -- sort of sunny, happy and glad that the snowstorm we experienced on Friday has all gone away <<


Actually it went away by 1:00 that same afternoon, but suffice to say that I was one of probably 12.349 who waved it away off the coast, never EVAH to see it again. Tom had to rub it in, that up where he was at the Port of Virginia, it'd stopped snowing somewhere about 9:00 -- it kept going, and going and Going down here till almost 11:00 -- He thot it was funny. I jus' thot it was a pain in the ____ and didn't like the fact that I had to tiptoe out on the deck to let out Sara. Her reaction to the snow is still Not Known. She did, however, have a Very Bad Look on her face when she realized that the Stuff was falling down around her, and it wasn't going away any time soon. Well, eventually it did, so she made the best of it, and sprawled out in the grass, sunning her big ol' belly. No, I didn't get a picture of THAT, but it was kinda funny looking. Kinda like seein' me in a bathing suit, laying out in the sun...

We went to the Antique Mall on Saturday!! AND -- no, we did Not buy the antique hutch I'd had my heart on buying. It was still there, tho, all pretty, perfect and wonderful. AND -- it was also $625.00 ~~ Uhh...yes Martha, it DOES make sense to actually look at the price of an item before getting totally enamoured with said item. So ~~ With tears in my eyes, I walked away, but not before buying some antique lace placemat kinda things. Very old. And I Will take a picture of them today & post 'em here so you can see them. They are all handmade by someone who definetly liked to have "Pretty's" around their house. I had had several, but Tom's mother made it a point to throw them all out. And in no uncertain terms, she let me know EXACTLY that they weren't welcome in her house. Even tho they were packed away in storage boxes, that we were in her house to bring back to our place. So -- that's where buying these came in. I'll never see my great-aunt's pieces again, so these are a good replacement.

I've got some new pens (!!) that I'll be working with today -- $2.00 at Dollar General. They seem to work all right, so I can put 'em to use right away. I'd bought an extra pak of pens just before we moved, an' when I went to use a new blue felt marker, it wasn't in the box that I'd stashed for Immediate Use when we moved down here. Some how it left Dodge, and disappeared. Very upsetting when I was 3/4 of the way thru one project, and discovered I couldn't finish with the same color. Now I have something Close Enuf. So it'll be zip-oh-louie-done today. It'll be fun.

Must go check on the woodstove. We're having a Heat Wave this morning.,it's supossed to get up to 55 today! WOW. Then later in the week it all falls thru the floor an' gets cold. Funny thing about november, huh?

Lady of The Tulips

Friday, November 21, 2008


So -- there I was, all sound asleep this morning, when I slowly wake up hearing Noah starting up the woodstove..which he usually doesn't do. But, I think to myself, well, maybe he just wants to get an early start to the day, an' what better way than to get the cabin warmed up. Then I hear him stomping down the hallway, and saying, "Hey Ma!! Take a look out the window.."

Me being me, I jus' think maybe there's something wandering around in the yard ~ maybe the deer is standing on the deck waiting for a handout., But lo and behold, I DO take a look out the window, and what do my little eyes behold? WHITE!!! SNOW!! YEE GADZ!!!

So with that observation, I get out of bed, grab some clothes, stomp out to the dining room, and stand by the woodstove, mumbling things that I won't repeat here. See -- just this morning, very early when Tom got ready to go to work, we both had stood in the same spot, marveling at the fact that it SEEMED to feel warmer this morning, at 3:54 a.m. -- and with that thot floating around in my mind, once I locked the doors and crawled back into my warm little bed, there was NEVER EVAH a thot that I'd wake up to SNOW...Maybe I should have paid more attention to the weather forecast last night. But with that being said, here we are, with about an inch of snow on the ground. Finally around 10:45 it stopped. And for this area, things really and truly DO shut down when it snows. It's just 'cause it happens so so seldom, that there is no getting used to it. And like the nice man on the weather channel had to say MORE THAN ONCE, "And it's Even snowing on the Water!! All around Elizabeth City!" -- and proceeds to point out a VERY LARGE BLOB on the weather radar...as if I can't see it outside my window. I mean. Come on.

So we now are begininng to have teeny slivers of sunshine. Noah got disgusted with the whole thing, bundled up and rode his bike over to the hardware store. Sez he's getting some kind of saw. He looked like he was ready for 10 more inches of snow. Bundled up to beat the band, he is. The Dog went out in the yard, came back in very unimpressed, and Iam still listening to the baby squirrely bouncind around up on the roof. Frolicking, they are. I already yelled at them once this morning -- "STOP THAT FROLICKING UP THERE< YOU!!" They ignored me. Bums.

Must go and check the woodstove. And make sure some of my glue on some heavyweight paper has actually worked. This is one different piece, let me tell you. Tomorrow I hope to show and tell. AFTER we get back from the antique mall. I have my dimensions at the READY -- got the exact spot picked out for the storage piece, and a new work table. Keeping my fingers crossed, and all that...

Lady of The Tulips

Thursday, November 20, 2008


Here are some of the little paintings I've been messin' around with..there are more on another sheet of watercolour paper, but for now, I wanted to show a couple of the squares I've put together. May not keep one of them..but this gives you the idea of what I'm putting together over on my little table. The canvas is ready for the 1st. part of this project, an'after this paint dries, then the other pieces will get added. Think of the colors as something that wakes you up in the middle of the night after eating pizza at 11 p.m., topped with italian sausage. That kind of color thing.

We are feeling warmer this morning!! YEAHH!! Noah is out sorting some of the lumber that's been sitting behind one of the sheds. I asked him how much we have out there, as I have this batch of ideas of things to make for christmas. With our new little cabin, we need to decorate for the holidays, and what better way than to make new christmas decorations for our new place!! HUH?! clever, no? I think some glitter is Definetly in order, and I will also look around to see what kind of ribbon is stashed away. Tom has no inclinkling toward decorating..'cept to sit on the couch and point in the direction that he thinks something should go. Great help that boy is...

I've got to run an' check the woodstove..haven't put wood in for a couple hours, so it may be time to stoke the fires! And there are more paintings to get finished. This'll be fun..

Lady of The Tulips

Tuesday, November 18, 2008


Somebody asked "Who do you know?", and I had to think about it for awhile. Sometimes it makes a great deal of difference in certain settings, to know just the right people. People with Great Importance. Well -- I am here to say, LOOK!! I've got friends in High Places. SEE?? There's a couple of 'em, right THERE!! But I'm not sure if they'd know a particularly "Important" person or not. They may know what's Important to Them, but as for humans, they really could give a hoot..or croak, actually (Vultures make a weird croaking sound while they communicate w/each other) ~~ So -- Here Are My Friends In High Places. Am I important now??

>>>> On to other news, last weekend not only did we have a fun time exploring the Antique Mall, but we also attended the monthly Community Pot-Luck Dinner at the clubhouse. Lots of Food, since it was the Thanksgiving Dinner. There were a LOT of dishes layed out on all the tables..I bought a square aluminum pan to bake a good batch of Green Bean Casserole. YUM! And I guess most of the people attending thot it was Yum too, as it was nearly all gone by time we brought the pan home! Suprised me! There were too many deserts to list, and the turkey was to DIE for -- lots of good dark and white meat, tender and cooked just right. I also tried some other vege dishes, and tom was beside himself when he discovered a big crock pot of gumbo -- I think he ate that bowl in less than 10 minutes. Our next door neighbor and I discussed our "Friends" (pictured) and how it is that they come up to the pine trees bordering our properties EVERY NIGHT, like clockwork, to make lots of RACKET...then roosting in the tall tall pine trees for the evening. At least we know there won't be too many mice, or other rodents creepin' around the property!! We all had a very good time, got caught up on Community news, and came home Stuffed.

We had a good soaking rain/thunder storm Right after we got home. Actually it started to rain right when we walked out of the clubhouse and walked REALLY fast to our car. For whatEVAH reason, Tom decided to walk thru the grass to get to the car, which naturally left him sinking into the ground, and muddying his shoes to no end. One of the attendies took one look at tom & sez, "YOU GONNA SINK!!" But tom, being the stubborn goat he is, just kept on going, slogging thru the rain and puddles. By the time we got home the storm hit like a banshee and we had several large branches smash into the roof. Sounded like a cannon went off. Tom thot one damaged the roof, but all the branch did was hit REALLY loudly, then broke into pieces when it bounced off the roof, and landed on the deck. Jeesh. At least it's being used for mulch now. Today the weather is cold, highs should reach 45 or so. Good Bye to Summer, and Hello Fall Big Time!!

~~ Must go check some painting I got done yesterday. I'm 'bout ready to show some "Stuff" I've been messin' with..quite different..you'll see...

Lady of The Tulips

Monday, November 17, 2008

>>> This morning the weather is telling us that yes, it really and truly is Fall <<< When I got out of bed, this back portion of the house was feeling just a little bit chilly, and the dining room wasn't much warmer. Noah was sitting at the kitchen bar, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. I could see that the woodstove needed to get started up, an' zoom, that's 'xatly what I did. Now it feels good, warm and toasty thru the cabin. The wind outside isn't all that strong, but with the temps just out of the 40's, it DOES say FALL!!


This last weekend was quite the "Discovery" weekend for me. I'd wanted to go check out some thrift stores for frames, which I need for my canvases. At first I'd planned to go up into Elizabeth City to search out what there is...But on the highway leading into town, right along the secondary road, was this Big Blue building, with the words ANTIQUES -- AUCTION. printed in relly LARGE letters. Now, I've gone past that building for who knows how many times, and I swanny, I've never taken one look at it, till Saturday afternoon. "WHOA!!" I say to Tom. "What's that," He sez.. "LOOK!! You can't see that?" He, driving the car, doesn't want to look away from the road.."See what?!" "That antique store..ohhh..wait, It's an Antique Mall. We're goin' in.!"

So, with some reluctance, tom pulls the car into the dirt driveway, an' since he can be a 3 year old, "I don' wanna go in..I know..You go in first, an' then come back out & tell me what it's like.." That produces headache # 4.565 for the weekend..ANYWAY -- I go in an' immediately Thot WHHOOOAA..this is way too cool. An' even tho I was on the hunt for frames, I quickly changed that idea to a "New" work table. I walked back to the car, told tom my plan of attack, walked back in, an' found just the right size table. It's not that old, maybe 1950's -- wood,with something like a pine stain on it, solid top and gently curved legs. We didn't have the $$ right then, but since the place was nearly deserted, we figured that if we go back this sat., then we can pick up the table. I also found some really old handmade lace table runners, crochet doilies, and place settings. They are to die for. And a collection of 3 was $3.50. Yeah, I'm definetly goin' back an' pick up some of those. I also will be looking for a small hutch, to put in here for storage. I've given up on the idea of shelves attached to the walls; tom & noah have no inclination to do the work, so I know I saw 3 small hutches that would fit along the wall by the doorway, giving me not only space to store things inside, but also 2 shelved on the top of the hutch to display items. It popped into my head last night while reading, an' I thot, "Ok, tha's what I'll do!" So it'll be good to get some work started in here..it's rather dark an' miserable in this room, what with the old wallpaper, smoke stains...yup, it needs some work!

~~ Muse go an' check the woodstove, make sure Sara isn't getting herself in trouble on the deck, an' see if noah is getting the wood box filled. A good monday I'm wishing for you!

Lady of The Tulips ~

Thursday, November 13, 2008


"Untitled" ~ Spring Bay Studio 2008

One of the pieces I worked on this last week. I got it finished around the time that I started taking my dumb meds. The said Meds are something Satan has created, I'm sure. Ok, OK...they aren't REALLY, but the "Minor Side-Effects" are not exactly FUN. But I think this little piece is just the fun thing for a rainy day.

I called my Dr. office to find out why my combination of meds has been making me WAY too dizzy and icky-stomach-feeling. "Oh, it's the side effects, but it shows that the medication is working." Idon' know whether to feel good about that answer or not. But then there are days like yesterday where I felt fit as a fiddle. (But how a fiddle can feel fit is anybodys guess..) Even took an hour to clean off the piles of leaves that covered the driveway. But zip-a-dee-do-dah, today I feel like somebody slapped me with an ugly stick. Thank the stars in heaven, I only have a few more days of the stuff. At least the antibiotic. The Blood Pressure stuff is probably here to stay.

>> The weather here is cloudy, the temps are nearly hot for thi s time of year, so we're begining to hear thunder rumbling to the west of us. << Sara hates, loathes and dispises any NOISE , so she is sitting nearly in this chair with me while I tap, tap away. The weather people said jus' some rain, but it's beginning to look like maybe I should get the weather radio into order, just in case we get a warning. We get some weird storms along this side of the Sound, and sometimes they aren't even affecting anywhere else. Just within a 10 mile area. Very strange. Tom drove thru a frog strangler on his way home from work one night, pulled into the driveway, and discovered it was as dry as toast here. "What the ??!!" So it's a guess as to how the weather is going to turn this afternoon.

~~ Have to check some painting on the work table. Well, that's if I can get past the dog laying RIGHT next tot me. Ever have a 90 pound dog in your way? ~~

Lady of The Tulips

Tuesday, November 11, 2008


I have my "Golden Parachute" thank you very much ~~ When I look out my bedroom window every morning, this is what I see -- A fabulous color explosion that makes the room glow when the sun bounces along the branches and leaves. The Golden Parachute -- is ALL MINE!! -- It makes me sing and feel the beauty of the woods -- I hear the soft sounds of birds going thru the leaves - searching for whatever they can find...while one at a time..the soft, brilliant colored leaves, fall, fall, fall from the tree. It makes me sad that summer is over, and that Fall is decending now. But the color of my Parachute makes up for any loss of summer fun, the beach or anything else connected to summer.

I was somewhat suprised by how quickly it seemed that the trees started to turn color. Maybe I've not been paying enough attention to the woods, but it truly seems so FAST -- one week there are Green Leaves throughout our woods, and then there is one morning, when I open the blinds and see this fabulous color explosion directly above me. Where is the summer? Oh..hmm....it is November, DUH .. So the trees have been doing what they need to do this time of year, and from some of the trimmings Noah did last summer, there is extra room for the trees to grow outward even more. Noah cleared out a large patch of overgrown trees, most which had grown into a terrible tangle of vines, baby trees, small wild bushes and long pointed grasses. I feared he'd be bitten by a snake or something. Ugh. But he cleared and cleared, so now when Spring comes, the soil will be able to accept seeds, and the trees will be able to send out their branches without any more plants keeping them from stretching to the sky. And that feels good to know.

Must go put another coat of Gesso on a frame -- If my camera behaves itself, I'll post a picture of what I'm doing...it's kinda cool.

>> Lady of The Tulips <<

Friday, November 07, 2008

~~~ There are signs outside that something called the SUN is attempting to make a comeback to our neck of the Sound. We've had rain, and some horrendous winds this week. The trees, which are starting to turn color now, were being battered, whipped and altogether treated terribly in the storm. Fortunately we didn't have anything bad happen to our woods, but every now and then I could hear pinecones landing with a Thud on the roof. I was sitting at my little table when I nearly jumped out of my skin, hearing a Very Loud THUDD. A very large branch had landed on the roof, and it's still sitting where it landed. It's smaller branches have been hooked along the roof seam where the front of the cabin meets the back portion; looking like the branch is trying to clumb into the hallway thru the roof. ~~~


I have a wip, and have about 7 sheets of paper I'm going to be cutting up today. With this infection, I've not had the energy to do much of anything. And actually, yesterday, I truly did nothing...laying on the couch and staring out the window was the most activity I accomplished for the day. The Dr. did get me a good amount of meds, which Tom picked up for me yesterday just before he went to work. We are fortunate that his terminal is just down the street from one of the national chain drugstores, which makes it easy for him to eigher drop off or pick up meds. Plus, one of the medications the Dr. prescribed for me was FREE!! Get That!! I nearly fell over when Tom told me. So that news made up for me feelin' so puny all day yesterday. I'm experimenting with some gel - type paints I bought for Fifty Cents -- they are quite old, and are something of a chore to work with, but once I figured out a way to thin them, it's been interesting to see how they blend with acrylics. The canvas is taking shape, so I am waiting for the most recent coat to dry, while I cut my papers.

** Since the Fall Colors are starting to Really pop in all the trees around our cabin, I'm going to take some pictures of how they look. It's reall quite wonderful, how each tree develops it's own series of colors from branch to branch. And thre may be 4 Oak trees standing near one another, but each has it's own color combination, making for a vivid tapestry effect. Quite soothing after the storm we had. The pictures will be quite nice, I'm hoping. **

Must get to the work table an' start measuring papers. The Dog is laying in the kitchen near the woodstove. Even tho it's warm today, we are hearing rumblings from the Weather Service that the Cold is coming toward us here on the edge of the Albemarle Sound. So it's time to gather some wood from the stack outside, and make sure that the kindling is stacked and covered inside the wood box. Sara has a tendancy to get too close to the stove sometimes, which makes Noah tell her, "Hey YOU!! Would ya watch your tail, there?!" She gets very confused, which makes her get up and meander over to another portion of the dining room, away from the woodstove. Sometimes that dog puzzles me...

~ Lady of The Tulips ~

Wednesday, November 05, 2008


" Bohemian Work Environment " 2008 Spring Bay Studio

This is one of the pieces I worked out last week. The colors just seemed to say "Tropics!!" to me when I was digging thru my little stash of Stuff. The flip-flops are just too much!! I'd love to find a Bright Orange pair for ME, but since it IS November, I guess it's too late in the year to go and find some decent flip-flops!!

I finally went to the Dr.!! Yeah!! The ear is doin' it's thing, and its not so good. I guess it's just like my Dr. told me..."Don't you know??!! You don't go stickin' things in your ear any larger than your elbow!!" Ever wonder why it is that I want to go jump on the next freight steamer at the Port and go sailing away?? THAT little ditty from my Dr. is ONE OF THE REASONS!! I am glad that he did give me a good batch of antibiotics to get rid of whatever is trying to set up house in my system, tho. The little boogers are trying my nerves to HERE!!, let me tell you. The good thing about the whole day, tho, was that Tom didn't loose too much work hours. We devised a PLAN!! >> what I did was have him take me to the Dr. office, then when I was done, he took me over to Gabriels house, so I could hang out with him and just do Nothing for the day, 'cept have fun with my middle son. FUN!! Then when tom got all finished, we went to the closest Polling Place for Gabriel so he could Vote, then we stopped to have dinner, then got back down here. WHY AM I TIRED TODAY??!! Wayy too much for this girl, I'd say. But Gabriel & I had a Blast -- he let me check out his new little house, with all it's Old nooks and crannys...the arched doorways and the Ancient plaster walls. Very Cool old house, probably built in the 30's. We had a good time doin' just about nothing..Well, actually I sat on the couch and watched him do horrid and terrible things in some weird Video Game he's had..I MEAN...some Really Odd and Bizaar THINGS in that game..creatures that I kinda see when I eat anchovies and have beer just before going to bed >> THOSE kind of weird creatures...

I'm going to have to go on medication, now, so I'm kinda bummed about it. My Blood pressure is absolutely thru the Roof -- I kept writing it off to the trip up to the city, but after the Doc took a good luck at the past readings for me, he put his foot down and said "Young Lady!! YOU are going on Blood Pressure Medication!!" I kept telling him I was in denial, but when he showed me the chart, I really and truly felt sick. Yesterday my readings were (Honest) 179/120 -- Yeah. I'm a heart attack waiting to happen. BUT ~~ It's true ~~ The fact is that most people don't feel BAD when they have high blood pressure. I have felt funky for years, but never has anybody in the Dr. office I used to go to, EVAH taken a good look at my readings. So when this particular Dr. took a look in less than 30 seconds, he about jumped up off his chair!! So -- Tom has to take the 'scripts in tomorrow, an' by friday I'll be on the meds. Plus the stuff for my ear -- drops and some kinda Stuff --- the meds name sounded like the Old Timey Bactine Spray that my parents used in the 60's to keep cuts and scrapes from getting infected. My Dr. took a look at me an sez, "NO!. Oh, YOU!! It's not that..well, actually it's sorta like that - but not really. Make sense?!" Somedays I wonder about him...

Must go and see what The Dog is doing. She was SO funny when we got home last night -- an' that wasn't until nearly 8:00!! Poor Sara had missed her mommy BAD, and was literally hopping up and down to get my attention when I walked in the door. She went into fits and spits when she sniffed my sleeves and pant leg -- Gabriel has a CAT!! ~~ And don't you KNOW that dog sniffed each and every spot that cat had crawled, sniffed and poked me with his little teeny paws. And too ~~ Gabriel gave us a box of food and some t-shirts he'd won during a concert...so we got some coffee (YEAHH!!) some dinner odds and ends for a chicken casserole, and some rice mixes. Very Cool!! He just wasnt gonna use 'em, so WHEE -- we will!!

Lady of The Tulips -- listening to some Jazz on the Satellite..very nice on this cloudy and VERY windy morning ~~

Monday, November 03, 2008


*** So here it is, another day where the weather just can NOT make it's mind up ***


We have temps up in the 70's, the sky is sometimes cloudy, sometimes sunny...the wind is blowing around little teeny clouds, that float beneath other large-stormy-ugly looking clouds. It's as if the sky will not decide from one minute to the next what it wants to do. This makes Sara very upset, as she THINKS she wants to go outside, but then she looks around at some of the teeny tiny drops of rain water that have collected on the grass - where we had a "Rain" for about 10 minutes, that did nothing but make the grass damp. but OH NO!! sez Miss Sara -- it's RAIN, and I DON'T LIKE WET GRASS under my feet...I swanny, I have never seen a dog be more picky about where she walks than the one we own. Tempermental, stubborn, cranky a LOT >> this animal takes the cake. It is absolutely like having a 2-year-old in the house. And yes, she talks back, too. I can sit and tell her, "NO! You do NOT want another dog biscuit "BARK!!BARK!!" "Don't Interupt me!!" "BARK!!! BARKBARK!!" "SHUT-UP!!" "BARKKK!!!"

So it goes..in the house, with the doors closed and the windows too. The wind comes in kinda Just chilly, then when the sun comes out, it warms up again. My windows are getting the workout that the engineers designed them for. MaybeI should call and see if I can make a commercial on how well they operate after nearly 30 years.

Noah has gone off on his bike somewhere. I think he's applying for yet another job. He got to work at a peanut factory last week...he was pretty glad about finally getting the job..the temp agency that lined it up for him, had taken their sweet time getting it all finalized. Then Tom dropped noah off REALLY early for the job, so Noah had to sit for over an hour before the start of the day. Then after 2 hours, the Supervisor came to tell him, that the Temp. Agency had sent too many people for the shift, and that Noah could go home...Which of course he Couldn't, cause he had to wait till after 5:30 when Tom would get off work and come pick Noah up. So -- he sat around for the next 7 hours, cause there wasn't a bus that would come to the bus stop till later in the evening, and there was no where else to go...

Needless to say, Noah told the agency to do SOMETHING else, but he didn't tell me his exact words...I don't think he was very polite -- which under the circumstances makes a WHOLE lot of sense. So he's off down the road to try yet another job...hopefully its gonna work out. There are jobs out there, but who really wants to be the ditch digger putting in cable lines for Fiber Optics Corporations, at $6.00 an hour?? Well -- some people may say it's looking a gift horse in the mouth, but trust me -- digging in clay and mud for 7 & 1/2 hours does not quite qualify as a pleasant job. So Noahs off to try and find something else.

I'm still battling with the ear infection that's been plagueing me for the past week. I finally got ahold of the Dr.s office, an' have an appt. in the morning. Shwoooo -- it's really a PAIN right about now, this little bit of Stuff that's floating around in my ear. I don't know what it is. I don't know WHY it is, and all I want is for it to GO AWAY. I haven't had something like this for nearly 10 years, so it's way past irritating me...sort of like being a thorn in the side. Yeah. That's it...

Lady of The Tulips - listening to somebody pounding something across the street..sounds kinda scary, it does...

Friday, October 31, 2008


"She Sells Seashells By The Seashore" 2006 Spring Bay Studio.


>> I Did this piece for a show back in '06, and since I just got off the phone a little while ago with the local fishing center, the 2 goodies seemed to pop into my wee little brain as being a good combination -- GET IT??!! Seashells...Fishing License?? HA!! <<

'K -- so maybe there isn't too much of a connection with the license and this piece, but I DO like how this collage turned out. I entered it into a show up "north" from here..didn't win anything but was very glad it was accepted to be IN the show. I'm not sure if I'll try an' have it in something down here or not. Haven't gotten that far in my little thinking. There are some pieces on my little work table that in THEORY will be a new collage, but right now they are just not going together like I want them to. I've reworked the layout more times than I can think...something about getting the colors to not wash into each other seems to be the sticking point with me. I just need to get a good color choice -- so that there is a distinct opposite to each paper. No visual blending for his new piece, I think a good Opposite Attraction is the key for me. I can't seem to JUST get the decision made. And it's driving me about out the window.

>> The last couple dayz I've been battling a little bit of an ear infection...It's so DUMB how it happened << I was scratching my right ear, right near the opening, and by accident, my fingernail caught just a bit of the interior portion of my ear canal, and WHAM -- it hurt like all He** and get out. Then it Stopped hurting, and I went on with my little life. THEN ~~ 'bout 3 dayz ago it REALLY started bothering me, an' I realized it's also getting swollen...DAYUM..and hurtz too. So -- since it takes everything this side of an Act Of Congress to get up to the city to see my Dr., - - I'm going to Instead, go to the Herbal Grocery Store tomorrow an' try some Herbal Ear Drops, an' see if they get rid of the little Stuff that's happening in my ear. I can hear fine, an' all that..it's just sore and bothers me -- my equilerium (Oh HUSH about that spelling!!) is kinda off, too. Like when a cat gets some of it's whiskers cut or mising, they kinda walk sideways ~~ That's what I feel like. Like I'm walkin' all sideways or something...Blast...

So -- that's it from the Edge of the Sound -- I tried to tell Tom that I wanna get my liecense to FISH..but he was off on some tangent 'bout a song he heard on the Oldies radio show...no wonder my nerves are so shot these days...

For all of you going out & About tonight ~~ Be Careful ~~ Don't wake up feeling all wonky and all THAT from too much FUN on Halloween!! I don' wanna know about any guggy headaches tomorrow!! HA!!

Lady of The Tulips -- wondering when the last time was when she went out for Halloween...wow...longer ago than she really wants to know...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008


>> Some days it seems that I have far too many things on my work table <<

Then there are other days where it seems that I probably can just squeeze in a couple other storage boxes ~~ maybe one of those little ones that are on sale at a low price department store..one of the many "Dollar" stores, where the IMPULSE to buy, buy BUY gets wayy too overwhelming. But then ~~ I look at what space I do have available, and think that there needs to be a larger TABLE. Not more storage boxes. And so the Debate continues. Do I get a bigger table? Or do I squeeze in another box to keep brushes, pencils, erasers, and all the other "Tools of The Trade" on my little work table??

This morning is absolutely FABULOUS -- we have come thru the wind, rain and cooler temps. I had to go outside early this morning, as Little Miss Muffett had to see what there was to look at, smell completely, and walk around "HER" yard to inspect things. We have a decent wind today -- I haven't looked at the weather map, or listened to the Weather Report for the day, but the wind is probably near 10 m.p.h. ~~ we had much stronger winds last night, with a driving rain that seemed to come up out of Nowhere. I'm sure it was predicted, but after the weekend spent lazily watching dark clouds skirt across the sky, the LAST thing I wanted to do was see even MORE cloudy skies. But it was very unexpected, the storm that sprang up last evening. The rain spit across the windows facing the Sound, and when Tom came home, he said there wasn't weather like what we were experiencing, anywhere else along the highway. "I'm tellin' ya, ma, we just have our seperate weather systems here..." He may be right, as we seem to get squalls and driving rain, when just up the highway there is barely any sprinkles. I write it off to the Sound, with it's massive surface of blue water. Sure. I'll blame bad weather on anything else.

I'm in the process of working out a canvas that seems to have me stumped, right when I think I've got something goin' on. I think I've sketched at least 4 little streamers, going across a sheet of watercolor paper, trying to match the size of each streamer with the border of a piece of fabric. My ability to make somewhat even lines is no doubt hampered by the fact that I have never, EVAH been able to draw a good straight line. And THESE aren't even STRAIGHT!! They have a sweeping angle to them...but for some reason I can't get the ends of each line to match the opposite end, as they curl around the fabric. My mother used to say, "It's just 'cause you're left handed..." I never could decide if that was a compliment or not... SO ~ In the meanwhile I'm thinking that I'll just haul off and SKETCH SOMETHING near the blasted piece of fabric, an' let it go AT THAT!! THERE!! HA!!! Show's who's boss around here!

Must go and get a couple pieces of firewood in the woodstove. I put some in about an hour & a half ago, so it's time to get some more burning. The wind is making little sounds around the cabin, and the pine trees are swaying away, like their all practicing for the Nutcracker Ballet ~~

Lady of The Tulips ~~ wondering why it is that Sara likes to be warm, but won't lay by the woodstove too terribly long...maybe 'cause she get's too hot??

Saturday, October 25, 2008

At The Edge of the Yeopim River and the Albemarle Sound ~ ~

Here is what we have for today..clouds, some wind, and hopefully no Flooding! We had rain overnight, but it seems that most of that has either soaked in and enhanced the shrubs and trees, or has gone on down the little creeks and streams out to the Sound. We are supossed to be "Warm" today -- actually the weather people are calling for temps in the 70's, but with the wind, that may be a tad optimistic as far as high temps go! The clouds seem to be floating past with a real urgency, as if there is somewhere they must be as quickly as possible. Maybe there is something coming up that we humans just don't know about.

Yesterday while I took a break from working on one of my current projects, I happened to sit out in the front room, and just for a moment layed down on the couch. While I just glanced out the picture window, there VERY suddenly came swooping thru the yard, one of the most beautiful small hawks I've ever seen!! I was so startled by it coming across the yard SO fast, that I barely had time to take a good look at it. The wings were a beautiful deep rust red, and the body had a grey-ish color to it. The very tip of it's tail was the same color as it's wings, and the shape of the body was somewhat tapered. It flew up to one of the telephone poles down the dirt road, and then, after getting it's bearings, it then came BACK across our side yard, flying low over the grass, then suddenly flying straight up into one of the pine trees near the side of the cabin. WHOA!! I was so suprised!! So, I ran toward the back of the cabin, tried to look out my bedroom window up into the trees, but whereever the bird had landed, it was up too high for me to see. I don't know what it was after, or if it possibly caught something while swooping across our yard, but it was such a surreal moment. I've not seen something like that for some years, not since we had land down in South Carolina, and usually I saw birds like this while the hawks and other large northern birds were traveling South for the winter. My guess is that this bird was one of the ones traveling South, and stopped along the way to grab something to eat. Sounds like most of us during a bizzy workday!! HA! sorry 'bout that bad pun...

Today I've been laying out pieces of paper, trying to figure out a new collage. I re-discovered some little papers I had tucked into some storage bags, so I'm trying to put them to good use. Tom & Noah are out and about for the day. Noah has somebody to buy some display cases he had for use at Baseball Card Shows. He only used the cases once or twice. He felt that somebody else who could use them should be able to pick them up, so he listed them on Craig's List, and within less than 3 hours he had a buyer!! SWEET!! And, he also found somebody giving away some storage items, so he decided to get 2 things accomplished at once today ~ get the display cases to the new owner, and pick up the storage stuff at the same time, just down the Interstate. That boy is clever, I'm tellin' ya!! Tom was going to do something at the same time, too, but he sorta-kinda-mumbled too much for me to really catch what he was saying...bum..

Lady of The Tulips ~~ listening to a great old recording of a jazz tune from WAYYY back in the 30's...Sweet!

Friday, October 24, 2008

*** Maybe today will be the day that my internet connection will work ***

I'm going to make this short, as I am totally unsure of what will happen once I try to post this ~~ Yesterday I tried 3 times to get something posted...even tried to download a couple canvases, but nothing happened. I am probably the last person who is computer savvy, so it is absolutely one of the most hideous things for me to try and understand. WHY doesn't my connection WORK??!! I know the canvases aren't everybody's cup of tea, but at least I'd like to TRY and get them posted on my blog so at least SOMEBODY can see them. But when I even went to get my last post yesterday, it literally DISAPPEARED into that great cyberworld SOMEWHERE..An' I don't even know where to start to yell at somebody about it.

The skies are cloudy -- we are supossed to have rain and wind today. Then it turns Cold -- well for here it's supossed to be cold. Highs in the 40's in a couple days, so we have the woodstove ready. And the Yard is somewhat cleaned up so we don't have to go out in the rain an' cold to mess with anything. YA!!

Lady of The Tulips -- crossing her fingers an' hoping this post WILL post...

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

>>> Here it is, another day where the sun is shinning, the birds are flitting, and I'm sitting in my little studio, wondering just what went WRONG!! <<<

Not too terribly long ago, Tom & I went to our most wonderful department store, Big Lots, and bought a spiffy bright yellow and altogether good looking vacuum cleaner. Price was right in our range of Not-Too-Cheap, but Not-So-Expensive-That-We'd-Cry-And-Walk-Out-The-Door. We happily brought it home, plugged it in, and went all up and down the hallway, skimming along, watching the very sleek and modern charcoal grey dirt cannister fill up with all sorts of odds and ends that had been lurking in our carpet. Very interesting to see, but kinda creepy too..those odd things lurking under the fibers. BUT ANYWAY -- we kept using it off and on, well, 'bout every week.

But THEN ~~

It started to Act Badly. Stopping While In The Middle of Work. Beginning to Smell Horrid and Overheat.

So we did what any smart person does. NO!! ~~ We did Not bang on the side of the machine. We cleaned out the filter..washed out the Sleek Grey Dirt Cannister.

And the machine continued to Overheat. Then the START button got stuck in the ON position, giving Lady Tulip a very NEARLY HORRIBLE heart attack every time she plugged in the vacuum cleaner. Tha's because she'd plug in the sucker, and it'd IMMEDIATELY start up and make All Sorts of Terrible Noises.

So ~~ Fast Forward to This Morning ~~ Lady Tulip had washed out the filter..cleaned out the Sleek and Altogether Modern Looking Dirt Cannister. Checked out the filter brushes. Did what every good and noble person does before attacking Odd Things Lurking in the Carpet.

The ON button actually worked correctly..and with a START push...the Vacuum Cleaner absolutely and Terrbily went into OVERDRIVE...Running nearly 1,239 times faster than it's supossed to run...the little motor started smelling like burnt wires, bad metal that's seen better dayz, and Smelled Up the Front Room. And it wouldn't turn off..Leaving Lady Tulip no other choice but to yell assorted and varied Bad Words -- run over to the electric outlet and UNPLUG the vacuum cleaner. While the motor came to a slow and smelly HALT...Lady Tulip became immediately AWARE that perhaps the Great Purchase of the YEAR was not such a good idea after all...and it was also On Sale. Which should have given Lady Tulip some WARNING about the Working Order of said vacuum cleaner.

All which means, that the DAYUM THING hauled off and killed itself. And smelled up the house at the same time. DAYYYUUUMMM...

So now there are STILL little bits of those hideous Odds and Ends covering the carpet..and Who Knows What Else lurking under all those fibers..Plus all the bits of old wallpaper backing that didn't get swept up in Lady Tulips bedroom..Needless to say, Lady Tulip is Feeling Out Of Sorts now..mainly because she has to haul off and look for another stuiped vacuum cleaner. did I say DAYYUUMMM at all today??

Lady of The Tulips -- listening to Noah up on the roof cleaning off 34,605 pine needles that flung themselves on the roof during last weekends Nor'easter...an' the weather persons say we may have another one this coming weekend..