=== this is going to be a short post as i have to get up in the attic, and begin the purge - of - all - things - old ===

we have word that the buyers of our house may delay the closing on the sale of our house, so that kinda gives us a couple extra dayz to clean not only the attic, but the shed and carport. actually there aren't that many things left in the carport, but the shed needs thinning and the attic is a disaster waiting to happen..no...it's not actually that bad, but there are boxes of old papers that i just never got around to throwing out -- i mean - like old receipts from buying flowers, bulbs, trees and seeds from nearly 20 years ago..i kept them up in the attic, with the thot that they'd get looked at, but the ' look at day' never came around -- till today.


the husband is ready to start the throwing-away-all-the-stuff --- at least that's what he's telling me..if i can get him up to bringing the ladder in the house and actually setting it up at the door to the attic, then i think i've accomplished something. he's not one to hop up and down on work around the house, so if he sez he's gonna start readying us for the move, then by all means i'm gonna take him up on it...never know what you can find in an attic..


lady of the tulips -- who waz gonna ask her son about this keyboard an' it's spitting/hissy-fit way of working lately..but he's been working late an' by the time he comes in the house, i'm sound asleep...whatta party-hardy i am...

--- i finally have quiet --- i finally have quiet --- i finally have quiet ---


this may not seem so tra-laa to most people, but after 3 dayz of lots of saws, hammers, generators shovels, yelling, shouting, and general mayhem, i am very happy to say that our house is finished. well -- except for the windows, but the other fix-it's are now done. it feels so good to have the yard without a lot of people going here and there..hammers crashing and bashing...and the sound of each square of shingles as it hits the roof with a horrible thud..makes the chandeler in the front room rattle and sound like it would fall outta the ceiling. the dog has been very good thru all this and i'm happy she didn't totally flip out with all the people. she was pretty overwhelmed an' i can't say as i was in any better shape. now as long as the other crew comes back and cleans up all the leftover stuff -- lots of garbage and shingles..bits and pieces of paper..cardboard from the packing wrappers...my word, there is so much...


i'm getting to the next piece in the studio..thot about how the layout should go, and am 98 percent sure of what i want to do...naturally the piece will be something concerning sea life, and it will be mellow and calm with blue's and greens..i worked on the background color yesterday while the last of the shingles went up on the roof. i really don't know how i got as much work done on the piece as i did, concerning all the hoop-laa. but i kept workin' on it, so it would be finished and ready for all my tid-bits. i've got to find some other paper that i set into a folder, but i'm not sure where the folder went. it has some pages with fabulous color designs of retro paisley and faded blue's -- i grabbed the sheet at the art store the minute i saw it. i think it actually called my name...know what i mean -- with all the cleaning i've had to do for the showings of the house, and the inspection and appraiser in the last3 weeks, i'm suprised my hands are in as good of shape as they are. and if that blasted folder with that sheet of paper shows up, i can really shift into overdrive an' get that collage finished...weeee...

must get some housework done -- didn't have time this morning, as the youngest had to go get coffee...not just once but twice...man - o - man i will be so glad when he finally gets his drivers license. shwoo..then i had to drive not too far away from the husbands terminal and pick up some papers for the youngest..get back on the highway an' not get run over by some jerk in a very definite race to crash into some poor unsuspecting guy. i'm nearly ready to kiss the ground in my yard everytime i make it home after driving around this area ---

lady of the tulips - who still has trouble with the shift key and is nearly ready to throw the whole mess in the chesapeake bay...but that'd be littering an' i'd get a fine...sheesh...

examples of entertaining spring -- 2008 -- spring bay studio --



this is a piece that i've entered in the newest mojo over at mojoartgroup -- i'd type out the full addy but this ancient computer isn't working right again..sometimes the capital key just sits and pouts an' i can't get it to do anything...so that's that...


i've got the red sox game playin' in the background on the cable...my starz an garters, it's one of those type of games where the score goes back an' forth..first the sox get a run///the angels get some runs////my nerves are goin' haywire --

the roofers finally showed up an' for the past 2 days they've been tearin' off the old roof and finally started gettin' the new one on with a real serious push this afternoon..the reason their taking so long is 'cause there were 2 layers of shingles up there, and it takes that much longer to pull the old mess down. they didn't show up till nearly 10.30 in the morning yesterday, but made up for lost time this morning by showin up before 8 a.m. an' the blasting radio started it, and the hammer smash an' crash followed soon after. the dog is beside herself and is not impressed with all the mess goin' on -- an' then the other carpenter showed up to install a new vent hood in the kitchen, replace some bad wood on the carport ceiling, and fix some loose bricks on the front steps...no wonder me an the dog are tired...whatta whole lot of stuff goin' on at one time...


we got word that the new windows will be installed next week...the day after we're suppossed to be all moved into our new place over in carolina..we're still workin' with the buyers agent to see how to manage all this stuff, an' she said the buyers should be fine with handling the windows since they'll be the owners of this place..too confusin' for me to keep up with, le' me tell ya....but all the stuff that needed to be taken care of has finally gotten going..an' most is nearly completed, thank heavenz. its now the time to start pulling junk down from the attic an' throwin' away a lot of it..most of the old papers can be shredded -- yeah -- an' some of the christmas ornaments will be probably divided up between the son's. they have room in their apartments, so they can keep whichever pieces they want. seems only fair...the little cabin doesn't have that much storage space in it's little attic, so we'll have to see what we can do with it once we get over there. we have 2 sheds on the property, but they don't look like they've been taken care of an' one has the severe leans..like it's trying to sink itself into the woods...yee gadz..

must go an' get something put together for dinner..my stomach is letting me know that it'z way past time to get some food...i think i had lunch, but with so much goin' on i really can't remember..

lady of the tulips..who really an' truly does wish that her shift key would haul off an' work..

** this iz gonna be QUICK as I'm waiting for the roofer to call & tell me if they can get work started today. It's been pouring rain for 2 dayz an' I hope he's not gonna try & show up in the puddles...But who knows, some guyz are die-hard workers, and will tough it out. But the roof may get screwed up w/no shingles if he pulls the old one off & the rainz start again --

Yesterday we had 2 crews here at once...the plumber to fix 3 leaks and replace a pipe -- another guy from a heating & air company replacing loose piping under the house (and all these guyz crawling under the house in the pouring rain -- my hatz off to them for workin' thru the glop..) and some vent pieces in the kitchen. 4 hourz of work an' lots of sawing, hamering, cussing, yelling and general STUFF -- the poor Dog didn't know what 2 do...plus it was raining so she waz NOT going to go outside -- she juz laid on her couch with a VERY pout-full face. Poor Thing. After all the work waz done it really hit me as to the COST of all this stuff..an' I fretted on how much we'd have to pay at closing...worries, wurries wurriez... Actually 1 Co. didn't charge too much, but the other hasn't submitted a bill yet...


The Husband is getting ready to get hiz vacation pay available, so we can use that for renting a moving truck. He said it will only be a day & a half for us...I think he'z being overly optimistic, but I won't spoil his bubble. He also got a BUNCH of FREE boxes from one of the Logistics Centers just down the highway from our house..that was So Totally unexpected..they would've been thrown out, so we drove over the other afternoon after work & picked 'em up -- Right by the place is an old storage yard for boxcars & passenger rail carz...Wow-- 1930's type passenger rail cars...kinda gave me the creepz..But The Husband is really getting ready to move..expecially after some dolt passed him & The Youngest around a No Passing Zone, next to 2 lakes...the poor guy coming in the other direction almost drove into one of the lakes to avoid a head-on...So ...The Husband is jus' tired of all the aggresive drivers, an' even tho he drives the truck in the mess daily, he just doesn't like to drive the car around in it anymore. Can't say as I blame him..I can't stand it either.

I"ve got 2 projects near completion, & will post later this afternoon -- The Youngest put this darn computer shelf on lock, so I'm balancing the keyboard again on my thumbs, juggling it an' trying to keep from droppin it on the floor...my armz are gettin' kinda tired, an' I jus wish he WOULDN"T DO THIS...no wonder he left to a temp job this morning kinda in a hurry..probably knew I'd YELL at him...toad..

>> But back 2 the projects >> one is in colors I've never really used, an' is a work for me...somethin' new!! The other is a Sea Life, but it's just takin' longer to do 'cause I've worked on it in-between all the workers...My Poor Carpet!! oh well...I'm gonna go out & get 2 more strandz of beads done, an' then put together my sea piece..it's kinda trippy, but I fig'red if The Husband likes it, then it may not be too bad! -- He's usually Very Critical of my stuff, so that keeps me on my toes!! Lots of greens are comin' 'round on this one, too.

Lady of The Tulips -- who's gonna go rest her thumbs from holding this ratty old keyboard...shwwooo..

>> This morning is just one of those Spring Days where everything feels so very alive and full of potential >>

So with that I'll make this short and get back out to the studio and work on the 3 projects that have been calling me for the last couple dayz -- There are bits and pieces of paper, ribbons and a nice blue pastel crayon sitting waiting VERY patiently for me to GET GOING and put 'em all together...There has been a good breeze drifting in thru the window in front of my little work table, and that helps to create a good vibe and all that --


We had the inspection/appraisal of our house today -- the guy came thru pretty quick and said everything looked very good -- no problems with anything that he could see. We have the roof getting all new and shining this Tuesday -- A plumber coming in and doing hiz thing on monday morning, and if the order is on time, we'll have the new windowz installed at the end of the week. And then the appraiser will come back and take newer pictures of all the new additions and we can get the papers signed and we'll be moving within 2 dayz. I'm getting tired just thinking of all the work thatz gonna get done this week, and my big puzzlement is just how all these guyz are going to stay out of the way from each other while getting their work done. I can see something like the Keystone Kops goin' on here -- it may either be absolutely a hoot, or it's gonna be a giant nightmare --- I'm goin' on the absolute hoot myself --


I've got to get some painting done on some watercolor paper an' then get some other pieces that I worked out coated with some matte medium -- I'll get those on here tomorrow while the youngest is out of the house --- other wise he throws a hissy fit if I try to use the computer while he's tryin' to take a nap -- kinda like tryin' to wake up an old grumpy bear from it's winter sleep....sheesh...

Lady of The Tulips -- who's computer is having another one of those cruddy dayz and is getting on my last good nerve...

"Untitled" -- Spring Bay Studio 2008

Worked this piece out the other day while waiting for some phone calls about the house...our real estate agent here was going to call with the info on the repairs we need here, and it seemed like it took him ForEVAH to call me back..most of the pieces within this collage were done a couple dayz ahead of time, so it was just putting them together that was done later...very fun to do and I just love the colors of some of my papers...


I mentioned not long ago that I'd re-discovered some of the papers on this collage...I'd been so super good at putting things away, so that the room would be neat and clean when the realtors showed the house...well, I get this THING about putting files into other boxes and other boxes into other boxes....that once they are all put together, I have no earthly idea where they all have gone, let alone what the #%"# is inside of each box...


Opening each of the storage boxes is a little like christmas morning...you never know what'll be inside the clever little box until you open it up! And these papers seemed to just go together much better than I thot they would...sometimes little suprises are the best...


>> Good News!! >>>


We have been given the go ahead to start moving some of our things into the new cabin!! How cool is THAT??!! I almost started crying the other day when our realtor down in Carolina gave me the news...she said that the sellers don't have a problem with us getting some of our things down there since we have to be outta here on the same day that Our Buyers are supposed to be moving in HERE...Acckk...this all getz so confusing that my brain just starts to short out and not want to work AT ALL >> But we've gone ahead and made a reservation to get a moving truck for two dayz ahead of time, so we'll be able to get stuff out in time for our buyers to get here...

And other good news is that the repairs on this house have already started!! And on tuesday we get the new roof on!! YAA! The roofer came by the other day and said he can get it up on our house in about one day, and the second day will be mostly the last of the clean up --- and getting any of those NAHHHSTIEEE roofing nails outta the yard -- sometimes you can find those things for Months after a roof goes on...we had to replace a Lot of roofs when we lived further south...Hurricanes had this THANG about peeling off every roof we ever had put on...that poor little house, it just seemed to get hit every year with a storm...

And the other news is that The Husband is getting a quarterly bonus!! He waz thinking he wouldn't get one, but he was wrong on it...so we're gonna put the bonus toward some of the new appliances that we need to get for the new place...washer and dryer probably...the buyers of our house don't want the pair we have here, and they are kinda old...so they'll go out on the curb for the recycle truck, and we'll get a new pair in N.C. -- The fun (not really...) thing now is to go price appliances...and I hate all the pricing that I have to try and write down and REMEMBER to put down the model of washer or dryer...thank heavens I can get the work done on the computer an' n0t have to go store to store and wear myself out...an' have sore feet...and a VERY grumpy husband at the same time...oh my stars, he HATES to go shopping for jus' about ANYTHING -- 'cept food...

Lady of The Tulips -- who has to start that blasted last house check-up...we have an apraiser coming over tomorrow, so I have to go shine and polish EveryTHANG in the house...you never know what one of those guyz will say if there is a speck of dust somewhere....ugghh...

Dreamboard...

I put this together not too long ago, and the effect from it has been overwhelming, exciting and soo incredible, I can't describe it --


3 dayz afte I put this together I was picked for winner over at Mojoartgroup for the mojo for march...2, 2 cool!! 2 dayz later we had a buyer for the house...5 dayz later we found the cabin across the border, and now all of the final work and paper trail finishes up on sellin' this house an' movin' down to the new place the 30th of this month...!!! I have so many feelings that seem to contradict each other, and then just feel so very very happy..all the things that sellin' a home entail..

No wonder I'm finally beginning to SLEEP!! -- the past few months there hasn't been much sleep 'cause of all the stress of getting this place sold...an' now that it's down to the final dayz it's been a bigger relief than I thot!! An' yesterday I actually slept in till nearly ten thirty in the morning..haven't done that in YEARS!! Wow!!

If somebody sez that making a dreamboard iz nothin' but hooey, I've got to say WRONG!! this little dreamboard has just made a tremendous difference in our lives..I highly encourage everybody to create there own TODAY!!


Lady of The Tulips -- gettin' ready to read over 7 pages of Legal Stuff our closing att. sent to us...why so many pages, Ms. Tulip asks??...

--- I'm close to doing my little happy dance today ---


All the hard work we've been going thru for the past few months is about to come to an end..and that is a good thing. We've put an offer on a little house across the border in N.C., and are ready to close on the sale of this house and close on the purchase of the other house. I told The Husband that as soon as I come back home tomorrow from the Home Inspecton of the "new" place, then I'll feel like I can finally relax. The nightmare of negotiating for this, that and the Other is just about done, and we can look toward the moving in just shy of 3 weeks. I was really frightful of everything falling apart, but the last of the paperwork is getting wrapped up before the middle of nextweek. And if it all goes the way it looks, we won't even have to show up at the attorneys office, as we have the option of signing the forms with a power of attorney and then can move into the "new" place the same day as we close on this house...funds will be wired to the Att. down in the city by the cabin and we'll be DONE....


~~~ And for other news ~~~

I've looked at the little dreamboard I put together for just this entire process...getting this house sold, finding and putting an offer on another place near the shore. Within 3 days of completing my Dreamboard, all of this began...a buyer for our house...a showing of the little cabin down near the shore of the Sound...the paperwork getting all lined up and ok"d by all the legal people..(who always want Their Cut..) and then the final word that We'll be able to Afford the new place, and at the same time same near ly $300 a month in costs that we're paying now...I'd always believed that a Dreamboard would be the key to where we would be going, and now there is no way anybody could tell me that it's just a waste of time..I KNOW IT"S NOT A WASTE OF TIME!!! I'm so blown away that it all has gone thru the ups and downs and is working out for us!! As soon as I get back tomorrow I'll post a picture of the Dreamboard so ya'll can take a peek at it...My happy pink and blue thots have come around, and I'm just shy of doing my happy dance!! Can we hear a Woo Hooo??!!!

Have also made some sketches and played some more with my markers...I'm going back out to the studio now to put all of the pieces together on my canvas board...I'll get the different works on here in the next couple days...they were FUN FUN!! to do...and all the fishies have been Very Good and gotten along like they should...I think you'll see what I mean!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who has to go & check on The Dog -- she's in the yard sniffin' aroun' 'cause a little sweet bunny had been hoppin' around where she usually lays at the edge of the lawn...so you KNOW that dog is goin' NUTS!!!