~~~ Just a quick note to say that there are some projects sitting on my little work table out in the studio. ~~ They haven't got a real home yet. but they do have their very own file folder so they have a nice place to stay till their home gets built. Or, being applied to a canvas board, whichever pops into my head.

The reason the projects are still in the Workin' On It mode, is because the studio doesn't have air conditioning, and with the summer gettin' going, the weather has made it just a touch too uncomfortable to stay out there for too long. Thursday I checked the thermometer and it was 90 Degrees (This before Noon) and the humidity was over 80% -- Not the best working conditions for concentrating on Art. So, I brought in as many things as I could fit on the dining room table, and made some small collage pieces. These are now joining the others from last week, and once it all gets organized to where it makes some kind of visiual sense, then they'll get onto a canvas board. I've got a good idea of what I want to do, but right now it just isn't jelling for me. It's the Heat. Yeah, that's what it is. Sounds like a good excuse for now...

The garden got a good soaking the other afternoon. Somewhere between 1 1/2 " fell in a couple hours so the Corn really took off. I'm gettin' the camera ready to take some shots of the vege bed. The 2 extra plantings of green beans have finally sprouted, so we should be in good shape for those. And for some reason, the spray that I got from the hardware store has withstood the big storm we had at 3 a.m. yesterday morning. None of the little aphids or whatever they were, are still around the plants. Maybe they drowned. Really got no clue...just as long as they're gone who cares where they went?

Lady of The Tulips -- who discovered why The Dog likes laying under her favorite bush in the backyard..it's nice and damp mud, and never gets any sun on it AT ALL...when she stood up and I petted her side, it was as cool as can be. No wonder she looked at me like I was the dolt in the yard...

Have these little guys sitting on my work table out in the studio, and am having a time just deciding if there is something more that needs to be added to either one. I'm sure that when my back is turned Something will pop into my head and say "HEY!!" and let me know.

Does it look like some more pieces of whatever need to be added? I haven't decided whether or not to take off little odds and ends on each piece...Decisions ~~ Decisions...

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who walked out into the studio where the current temp is 92 with over 70 % Humidity...I think I just melted but don't quote me on that...

One of a few w.i.p. that are waiting for me to do something with them -- What needs to be done with them? Let me know -- Lady of The Tulips

~~ OK ~~ First things first ~~ If any of you read my post yesterday, and looked at the photo of the lil' mermaid an' thot that you were having a deja vu moment..well, you weren't -- Actually it was the same picture I'd posted a few months ago, and of course, since I'm getting more and more drifty these dayz, I didn't check any of my earlier posts to Actualy SEE if I'd put that particular shot on here before. AND to top it off..the earlier photo was much better -- go figure!! So -- here and now I will say I am terribly sorry for any anger you felt during those moments when you thot there was something amiss. My brain jus' isn't functioning the way it should these days, and I'll be the first to appoligize for any inconvience my dolt-ness may have caused you...

Now -- on to other things....there are some pieces of paper that I splurged and bought last week that are calling my name this morning. But they'll have to wait for a bit, because The Dog is having one of her early mornings that are just like having a 3-year old. The Dog has this uncanny sense when I'm working on a project, or even if The Husband and I are sitting on the couch having a discussion...she will absolutely get her face right up close to me, and either hit me with her front paw, or jump up and down like she just HAS to let me know there is someting she;s thinking about. And, in the mornings, she will do a similiar thing..stand in front of the french doors that lead to the studio, which in turn goes out to the side yard. She makes these little squeaking noises to let me know that RIGHT NOW is when I have to get my self together AND PAY ATTENTION TO HER!! Or like just a bit ago, bounce around in the dining room, run around the dining room table, make a bunch of rattling-bumping-into-chairs-kind-of-noise, just to make sure that I realize she has to go outside and literally smell the flowers. I've given up on the idea of coloring my hair, because between The Dog, The Husband and other assorted things, my hair would fall out at the rate I'd need to color all the grey hairs that pop up on my poor head every day. Sorry all you corporate people who sell hair color, or whatever it is you do...my spending on your products has come to an abrubt (is tht even close on how to spell that word?) end and I'm so sorry if I've let your company down.

In just a minute I'm also going to make another post to let all of you see what I finished in the bathroom the other week. Now my eyes are on the Black-painted bedroom of my middle son. I still have some Kilz on the storage shelf, and I'll probably need to get another gallon -- maybe 2 to cover those walls. I found a similar color as in the bathroom to paint my son's room. He recently DID CALL ME (!!!) to say he's now working STEADALEEE and is actually sharing a new place with a couple of his friends. I'm optimistic that this will last... But back to the topic...The new color will make the room much more mellow, and with maybe a little curtain (he took the old one down) it should make a great deal of difference!! Those black walls...my word...now way can I say how they look...well, I mean, naturally they look BLACK...but oh my, how depressing they are!! Onward and upward to new color!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who has to decide now what type of color to paint the kitchen...the old wallpaper from the 80's is REALLY getting to me...Pink and Blue...how have I not had indigestion immediately when I walk in that room??

Sorry for the nahhsty glare of the camera on this shot.guess it may be time to find someone who knows how to take a picture for REAL and then download it for me -- This is one of my "girls" and I did have fun with her...

And I've been away for a spell, now, haven't I? There has been so much going on that it almost makes me feel dizzy -- lots and lots of things around the house, lots and lots of things around the yard, the garden, the various odds and ends of day to day living. Most of it was just too much at the time and so I got totally swallowed by it all. And now today I'm gathering my strength and getting back online and hoping that the rest of the summer will go much smoother. Maybe it was all because the start of Summer came along, and sometimes just the event of the Summer Solstice is enuf to throw many many things into a State...sometimes good, and for some people it throws them into a tizzy -- I know of a Few people who went into said Tizzy, and I'm not too sure yet if their just right now or not. Only the next few dayz will tell. I'm just glad that I've gotten out of the line of fire from their deal, and am here to tell. Hopefully They will get better.

Lots of things are in the Works in the Art space...there are a batch of Wormwood stems drying out on the floor, and so The Dog has had a field day trampeling (boy oh boy is that a bad spelling...) all the leaves into the carpet. But the good thing is, that as good as the herb smells, every time that ol' dog smooshes more of it on the floor, the better the room smells. OH!! And speaking of The Dog -- This is a No Lie, This Really Happened Thang...

A couple weeks ago, while I was getting a batch of green beans up and running, I was happily standing in part of the vege bed, minding my own business, watering the beans, and generally having a very nice day, thank you very much...Then, while the neighbors daughter was having her graduation from High School Party, one of the local little neighborhood BRATS who likes to drive 40 mph in a 25 mph zone, took it upon himself to just up and FLOOR HIS CAR THRU THE NEIGHBORHOOD...couldn't tell if it was 45 or so, but suffice to say it was Way over the posted 25. So, if that wasn't enuf...while I'm in my garden having my Good Moment, here once again comes The Neighborhood Monster, backing up out of the neighborhood park across the street from our house...flooring the car as fast as it could go in reverse..got to the middle of the street, turned the car down the side street, and floored the car once again down the street. Me, being me, totally lost it (after making sure there were no people in the way to get run over by The Idiot) and screamed at the kid and who ever was in his car "SLOW DOWN!!!" Some dame in the passenger seat said, "ok..." like it was all a joke.

Now, what this has to do with the Dog, your asking? Well, last time I got Pis*** off at the kid, he threw raw eggs all over the side and front of my car, all over the back door to my house, and all over the wall of the house. And, if THAT wasn't enuf, 4 dayz later, he and his pals threw 5 or 6 40 oz. beer bottles all over in my yard. Yes, this person has EARNED the nickname Monster. So -- after I yelled at the kid, I immediately realized I'd be in for IT...I knew he'd do something else again...SO --- long about 4 days later, I took my youngest to the herbal store to get something for his never ending cold and sore throat. (That's another story but keep with me here...) We got back to the house, checked on the Dog to make sure she was ok under her little favorite tree in the backyard, which she was....and went over to another herbal store so I could get some of my vitamins. We came back to the house, and while the youngest went to check on The Dog, I made a quick call to The Husband jus' to let him know what was going on.

While on the phone, I see my youngest take off tearing down the street on his bicycle...and I start looking for The Dog in the backyard, and am suddenly realizing she's not in there...I mean NOWHERE...I start to think, well, I am just about half blind, but now, just wait a minute...And about the same time as I'm thinking this, here comes the youngest tearing into the yard saying GET YOUR KEYS!! THEY'VE TAKEN THE DOG!!!

My knees immediately turned to jelly, and more or less my remote control, I grabbed said keys, got in the car and drove off down the street, asking 3,305 questions of my son ~~ Both the backyard gate and side yard gate were shut, but for the first time EVAH the backyard gate hadn't been LOCKED...and by the looks of things, somebody came in thru the gate, grabbed the Dog, drug her out threw the side gate, and let her run off without her collar (we still haven't found the collar..) ~~ We found the poor thing down a couple houses on another block, tired, hot and panting in somebodys yard. The youngest had a TIME getting her to get in the car..tying her leash around her neck to lead her to the car. She was a MESS and I was nearly beside myself.

Remember what I said about The Monster doing things when provoked? Well...even tho most people would have called the Police and made a notice (Or whatever it's called) I realized that I couldn't ~~ Why? ~~ because said Neighborhood Monster has a father AND mother, who work for the City Police Dept. ~~ And, yup, if somebody makes a report about their Beloved Person, there is never anything done about it...Or, better yet, (As happened to my youngest one time) the father comes to the house, and proceeds to yell, curse, scream and threaten the person who he thinks would bring some sort of "Pain" to his Monster ~~ In other words, I was Sc***** ~~ and without so much as a kiss...

So -- now the back yard gate is Firmly Locked when we leave the house...and the only way we could figure out how the monster knew we were gone, was when I realized that over at the park I mentioned earlier, were a carload of his friends, sitting and watching our house...Without even knowing it, we were sitting ducks....Sigh...Such a warm fuzzy feeling I'm getting just remembering the whole thing...

And now I'm getting thru the start of the week -- got the veges fed with a good dose of Compost Tea -- soaked them all really good, because this week is supposed to get HOT ~~ weather people say 95 or so in 2 days..then I went to The Big Box Chain Hardware store an got some organic spray for the bugs in the garden..I've used one particular brand for Years and tho I could not find a concentrate to blend with water, I still found a spray to use, so I'm happy. All the plants got a good spray, and there were lots of small white flies and some other Things I could't tell..but they flew away and hopefully For Good...

But for now I must go and tend to some other things...and get some water to drink, and see what kind of mail is waiting for me...

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who has realized that there has not been one inch of carpet vacuumed in her sones room for probably far longer than she honestly wants to consider...and I''m sitting in said son's room....hmmmm...

I wanted to show some of the detail on a frame I made up not too long ago. This was one of the unfinished pieces I bought at the craft store. I was a little afraid of just what to do with it, but once I got into the whole texture thang, it started to take on a life of it's own. Once I got to painting it, I had the idea of driving over to the ocean front and layin' out for the afternoon. However, good sense took front and center stage...in other words, I don't think the locals were ready to see a beached whale on the sand quite this early in the season.

I've also got some new paints that haven't been put to use on any projects, so they may get some thing to work with. I had this whole Tropical Island thang goin' after painting the frame above. And REALLY wanted to go on vacation somewhere ELSE...just not maybe down the road. I've always wanted to see some of the islands south of Florida. But, now that the summer is creeping closer and the heat & humidity is creeping upwards too, well, I think a Tropical Vacation may wait till next fall. I'll stick to the Feeling of the Tropics with the paint colors I've got floating around in the studio. The Husband said that when he went down to the islands south of Florida in the USN, that the color of the water was the one thing that stood out in his memory the most. Just an incredible color of turquioise he'd ever seen. And the clarity of the sea water was beyond words. He said that there were so many of the men on board who'd never been in the southern part of the U.S., who were amazed at how HOT it was the further south they got. I can't really go into too many details of just where they went, but suffice to say that it was wonderful once they got done with all their military things, and got the chance to go and play in the water. I've got a big shell that The Husband brought home for me after one cruise. It's not been broken after nearly 20 years, so I don't know if that tells me how strong the shell is, or how scary it looked to all of my kids when they were growing up....

I'm taking a break from the work in the bathroom. All I have to do is a little finishing up on one wall. I'm glad the big stuff in the bathroom is finished. I was very nervous once I got the paint on the walls. Oh, I mean, the color is very soothing and mellow, butI wasn't sure that the youngest would like the color once it was finished. Yahhooo and yippiee, he walked into the hallway and took a look at the walls and actually said, "Nice!" How one little word can make a day is really somethin'. I was thinking he'd mumble like he did the first time I textured and painted the walls. But this time I completely changed the whole thang, and it is a vast difference from what I did before. And The Husband was glad the color was somethin' he had in mind when I told him what I'd envisioned for the walls. Sort of like the old adobe walls in houses of friends I grew up with in Southern California. And some of the places I'd seen and been in out in the desert - Palm Desert WAY back in the day...like early 60's late 50's -- most of those old old buildings have been torn down by now, I'm sure. But they were so cool and wonderful to me when I'd walk into them. Old walls and wood porches that rattled with every step across them. Lots of old pottery jugs across the front of the buildings with flowers planted in them. Oh, I just loved them. And once I started on this house, I knew that what I wanted in here was the look of those old places. I've got a collection of old 1900's photos that were made into calendars some years ago -- some of those I've framed, and some others I'm getting ready to find frames for. I've also got some mandelas and sponged painted walls that mimic the old walls of those adobe buildings. So, naturally the bathroom was the next place to get similar work done. The kitchen is next...GONE will be the very 80's wallpaper...and somewhere along the line I'm going to check out those weekend workshops at the large hardware stores, and see about taking a class on laying out tiles. Don't know if I'll do as large a space as my kitchen floor, butI'll start out with something!!

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who now has realized that it's after noon, and there is still no work done on a sheet of drawing paper that was going to be started on 2 hours ago....too many distractions...

** I can not believe it's been nearly 2 weeks since I last got onto my lil' computer and wrote on this blog...there has been so much work done on projects around the house...now I'm tired and sore, but all the work is DONE!! The major painting/texturing in the front bathroom is finished and now the fun part will be getting the fabric for the curtain, deciding which shade for the wall color and getting some new odds and ends for storage. Some of the old glass jars with metal lids had to get thrown away. I was suprised to discover that the rims of the lids had developed rust and were not looking too good. Major sadness. But, being resourcefull, my youngest looked at me and said, "Well, just go get some new ones.." ~~ You better believe that was the best thing to hear..I mean, being given the green light to go and SHOP ~~ It's something I very rarely do, so having someone say GO AND PURCHASE didn't take too long to sink in. Now I have to make sure NOT to go overboard in Big Lots or where ever I find treasures.

The youngest and I have the garden pretty well finished. A couple plants still have to get set out, but the majority is growing nicely. We transplanted tomatoes, green beans, and I built up 3 beds for corn. Got the potatoes planted earlier and they are growing like crazy in their part of the garden. I made sure to apply LOTS of compost to the bed for them, and my youngest made the discovery of a rotted tree trunk right next to the garden beds. So, while he digs up the leftover wood from the tree -- we apply that on top of the vege beds, and it has helped a LOT on keeping the beds nice and damp. It's been up over 85 already, and right under the mulch of wood and other stuff from an old compost pile, the soil is wonderfully damp and cool. I try and make some compost tea at least once a week, and a good dollop of that on the plants has gone really well. I gave a drink to the perennials last week, and some old yarrow plants have taken off in the front flower beds. I'd just about given up on them, but after 3 drinks of compost tea, I have 5 new plants taking off, and 3 have some new flowers on them. Very pale shades of pink and one with yellow. The lavender is smelling wonderful, and the whole plant has blossoms on it, along with some flowers on the pansies...still!! Our corn in the vege bed near the white picket fence is coming up better than I'd thot it would. The bed didn't get really mulched and dug up till just before planting, so I wasn't too sure if the corn would come in decent. Ha -- goes to show what I know. 15 - 20 plants so far, and I made up a new bed and planted 10 or 15 more last weekend. Some basil was set out yesterday just before I made up some homemade salsa for dinner, and wouldn't ya know it...when I went to check the plants this morning, something had chewed a couple of leaves off one of the plants..but left the leaves on the ground. HA!! stuiped lil' critter..thot they'd get something Tasty...Suprised them! Hope they get sick..

Anyway -- haven't had a chance to do any Art these last couple weeks ~~ all my energy has gone into the garden and the house. I'm kinda payin' for all the physical work ~~ my left hand is pretty swollen, and my left foot is too. But the work and effort is so worth it. The bathroom walls came out just the way I wanted them to (Picture will come later) and even The Husband noticed A) That something was different and B) That there was a new color on the walls. (Even tho it's just the white primer...) "Did you do that work?" The Husband sez...My Mercy!! My last good nerve is just about to snap...Why is it that Just Sometimes I feel like running away and never ever coming back?? Hmmm....

There are several projects that have been getting some development on the little work table, but nothing more than little piles of papers, stamps, paint bottles moved here and there and some watercolor tablets moved from one side of the studio to the other..I know there will be something to show for all of it shortly, but just not yet. The Husband said I should take a break and play with my paints, but I told him I'm too tired right now to do much thinking about color harmonies and paint choices. Next week after I get the storage things and the curtain made for the bathroom, THEN I'll get the projects put into gear. Right now I'm enjoying just Sitting in My Own House!!

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who has some very nice little baby oregano plants that need transplanting...and wouldn't ya know it...the extra large flower pots I was GOING to plant them in, already have something ELSE planted in them....sigh...

** I spent the good part of Saturday working the vege beds and layering compost in a site where corn is going to be planted. **

I know it's kinda late for planting corn, but it's been so damp and rainy, it scared me away from the garden. Guess it's the fear of spreading some kind of disease in the garden with too much rain and who knows what all else. The big thing that was just too cool, was that after he got off work, my youngest came home and dug up a Gold Mine for the garden ~~ where we've been letting an old tree stump rot out in the lawn for what seems like forever...it has now become mostly an underground blob of old watery wood junk -- perfect for composting the garden beds. He was originally going to expand the garden bed for the green beans, but then discovered that it was where the tree stump had been...we'd let the grass grow back over it after letting layers of clippings, leaves etc., sit on top of it for 4 years or so. !!! Now it's in a stage where it can be torn/shredded apart and layered in the garden. Poor Kid -- after working in the furniture factory all day, you'd think the last thing he'd want to do was DIG in the garden. But that's what kind of guy he is. He's always liked to garden, and now he's layered lots more stuff in the garden!! I'm so happy.

I've got only a couple minutes before I've got to get to the hardware store...after The Husband picks up the youngest at church...I've been working off and on for the past couple weeks at texturing the front bathroom, then I'll repaint the walls and get a new curtain rod up an make some new curtains for the bathroom. I'd used a "texture" paint a couple years ago, but it didn't make the walls look quite the way I wanted them to look. So, using a technique I'd done down in our house in S.C., I got the medium 2 weeks ago, and started on the walls one afternoon while waiting for The Husband to come back to the truck terminal from out of state. The walls are beginning to look the way I want, the work goes easy, and it's relatively cheap to do. The Husband likes the way it's coming together, and he's not all grumpy like he was with the texture paint I used before. So, that means that it must look sorta decent...he's such a grump sometimes!!

Now I've got some other projects to finish this week too ~~ Got 2 new collages in progress, and tomorrow I get the Saturn to drive (!!) so I can get to the Art Store and get some supplies I need to make new frames. I've got some little bits and pieces to finish on the w.i.p. 's -- so once their done it's frame - time!!

Lady Of The Tulips ~~ Who has to find her coupons for the store...did the classic, Put them Away in A Safe Place....so safe they've disappeared. Man-O-Man I hate when I do that....

This is one of the frames I'd worked on a few weeks ago...I couldn't get a photo of it on the dining room table, so I found a towel in the studio, set it & the frame on the dog's couch and took this shot. I had fun with the color, and am wondering if it is something the lady over at the Bay would like. I have to get ahold of her tomorrow, and will take this frame and probably another piece I got finished on Friday. I've fallen in love with a varnish I discovered in the art store. It was a little more than I had wanted to spend, but I think the nice satin finish is just enuf for a frame like this. Didn't want to go overboard with high gloss. Let me know what ya think.

Right now I'm resting up from working out in the garden. My youngest dug up some old tree roots that we've left to rot over the past couple years, and now their good an' mushy for mulch in the garden beds. He spread some of these pieces out last weekend, and this morning before he went to work, he told me to lay out some more compost on the vege bed, then he'll set some more of the rotted wood down over the weekend. I got 3 beds dug earlier..one I put in potatoes, and 2 others will have green beans in 'em. I'm going to wait 'till it cools off a little 'cause like a TOAD I went to work outside, wearing a Black t-shirt...Well -- it's fine if one really wants to work up a good healthy sweat, but that wasn't my idea at all -- I just wanted to get some work done before it rains tonight. So, actually I got a couple things accomplished...I feel like I lost 45 pounds with the melting I was doing, all while digging up the garden beds for the veges...

Now I'm waiting for the laundry to get dry outside, and will got back into the Other vege bed and get it layered with more compost. It got some last week, but now it's ready for the seeds to get plopped in 'em. The youngest wanted to grow corn this year, and they are a heavy feeding plant, so the more compost in their beds, the happier they'll be. The land we had down in S.C. had been planted for decades with corn, so once it got developed with our little subdivision, the soil was pretty well worn out. Thru years of putting in compost and mulch, it still wasn't that good of soil. I just hope whoever has since bought the house and acreage has done some more to make the ground work. I know now, that the garden beds we've been working in the 4 years we've started adding heavier layers of compost and mulch, have really payed off. The last of the tomatoes from '05 are finally finished from the freezer, so this years plants are gettin' goin' at just the right time. And their bed will have probably 2 layers total to start, of compost. That's on top of the 3 layers from last year. Heaven knows what I've unleashed in that garden bed. However, I am happy to say that I'm finding LOTS of earthworms, and there is no better sign that soil is getting good, than with a gazzzilion earthworms crawling thru the beds. Yahoo!!

Must go and paint some fabric with matte medium. Then I can apply it onto a collage that's in the works. Some little fishies, and a very cool sun I rediscovered..ya never know what you can find when cleaning out some drawers in a file cabinet...sheesh...

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who was so glad to find some corn seeds, that oh dear, she's put them away real good an' now doesn't remember where they are...oh my stars....

Yesterday I'd barely gotten awake, when I realized that I was hearing a sound that I wasn't quite sure of. Oh, it sounded like something familiar, but it just had this different sort of something to it...made me think for a minute that it was not quite right. What it was....was...The Dog snoring over from me on the floor. And I'm not saying it was just this cute little sound...I MEAN it was a full on, loud, rumbling SNORE. At first when I realized what it was, I was all ready to jump up and yell something at The Husband. But then it dawned on me, that it wasn't his fault this noise was happening...it was The Dog. And she was making snores that sounded like nothing I've ever heard before. Almost put The Husband to shame.

So -- this is how The Dog looked the other day. But not the same day as the loud snoring. She was waiting for me in this picture, to get something for her, and I was taking my sweet time about it. And as one look at her face can tell...I was taking much too long to get whatever it was that she felt she was entitled to at that EXACT point in time. Not unlike having a 2-year old in the house, wanting something 15 Seconds ago...instant pout, and you are suddenly mud in their eyes. So ~~ after The Snore happened, I told The Dog that she just needed to get out to her little couch and make her self comfortable before I was going to let her outside, or get her one of her favorite doggie treats. Well ~~ She actually does NOT need to have any doggie treats, as she is developing quite the mid-life stomach flab, but don't tell her that, as she may go into another funk and we'll all be hearing about it shortly.

The Husband has decided that it is a good idea to use the outdoor clothes line now. And with the warm weather about to decend upon us, I'm just glad he's not still addicted to pushing the button on the dryer. He'd do a teeny bit of laundry, I mean, barely enuf to get wet in the washing machine, and then put the wet clothes in the dryer, and run that poor defenseless dryer for 40 minutes. No wonder the poor thing gave up and quit running. I would too, after all those clothes being swipped around in there. So now, The Husband has this idea that he's doing so much good for the environment, or some such thing, because he's now hanging his clothes outside. It'd be really great if he'd put said clothes AWAY once he gets them inside the house. But most times, he spews them all over the front room, and it looks like a hurricane just blew threw, and we need to call the insurance company. I mean, he has this thing about decorating the couches and the dining room chairs with shirts, socks, jeans....the shorts are usually put somewhere like the bathroom, so maybe they don't technically count. But it drives me to distraction...I MEAN!!! One look at this clothes - strewn - room and I can feel the hair on the back of my neck getting ready for the yelling that's about to take place. And it takes everything I've got not to just scream like a madman...but I try VERY VERY HARD not to go off the deep end...and nicely say.."Honey...can you pleeze put your Stuff in the closet...puuhhhlllEEEEZZEEEEE..." My success rate for this request is currently at an all time low of somewhere around 35%...

Have started a new collage today. Was all ready to spray some clear sealer on a couple little things I used watercolor pencil on...AND MY CAN OF PAINT IS DRY!!! ARRGGGHHHHH... I felt like crying, but since The Dog was sleeping over on her couch, I decided not to go into hysterics and went to the trash can an' threw the can away. I'd almost gone out on the stoop by the studio door to spray the sealer, but then realized I'd just set out my little baby vege plants...and I don't think they'd do too good with sealer all over them. I've got 5 or so tomato plants all happy in the sun now..3 or so green beans and 3 Basil plants. My oregano is still teeny and it worries me...butI think once they get transplanted in the garden, they'll perk up some more and be happy. And so far...SO FAR...the little brown bunny that meanders in the garden at night hasn't come near any of the plants. Last year or the year before, I can't quite remember...the blasted little creature ate 5 of my plants that were ready to go in the garden...MY GGGHHAAAADDDDD I was soooooooooooooooooo mad...I've never felt like killing a sweet little bunny ~~ But when I saw all my plants 3/4 eaten...oh, let me tell you. All bets were off. But then, The Dog decided she'd lay around in the same spot as the plants had been, so maybe the scent from her large-ness will keep said brown bunny away....well...that's in theory...

Lady-of-The-Tulips ~~ Who is waiting for a call from The Husband...I think in a call earlier he'd mentioned going out of town...but now I can't remember if that was suppossed to happen today or tomorrow.....

** Not too many weeks ago, my middle son was working on this computer, and said he was going to add a few things on here that wouldn't take up too much space, or make this poor old computer take forever when it loads pages and things we have in it's inner parts. **

Well -- the oldest came over last night, and tried to fix one of the internet explorer thangs I've been using for over a year. He looked at all the little things my middle son had added to this computer, and lo and behold, there were a LOT more than I had thot...actually a long, long list of things he downloaded, and all add up to making this poor thing work very, very slowly. This added to my disappointment with trying to get access to other websites FAST and FASTER...and now it looks like, even with highspeed internet, this computer will still be going, SLOW and SLOWER...maybe along the lines of worse, and worse. I told my oldest Thank You, but it wasn't really the good news/good outcome I'd been hoping for.

~~ So now, I'm wondering whether this thing is going to last for too much longer. I've got absolutely no way to contact my middle son, and ask him if he could DO something with all the stuff he crammed in this machine. Makes me very sad. Not just about the computer, but about the fact that I have no idea of where he is, and have no way to contact him. Very frustrating.

But on a brighter note, I've found that the seeds I planted out front, of Hollyhocks, and Sunflowers, are starting to take off. It looks like just about all of the hollyhocks are sprouting, and one of the Sunflowers is actually getting quite tall. I know we have a wild bunny that zips around the yard in the night, and I'm hoping it does NOT see the flowers trying to come up out front. I'm going to also make another planting of both hollyhocks and sunflowers in the side yard where the vege garden is. I've also got some good sprouts on some potatoes, so those will get put in the ground this afternoon. We finally have a day without rain, and it looks like it'll stay warm enuf for at least 4 days, so that should give all the seeds and sprouts a chance to come up and be happy.

I've got another frame finished..well, just about. The varnish is drying on it now, so I had to walk away before I stuck my finger in the wet stuff. I have a terrible habit of sticking my finger in wet paint. Guess I never learned when I was young. I remember a couple years ago when we were getting ready to move from South Carolina...we were getting some odds and ends packed into boxes, and The Husband & I had looked out the kitchen window at the same time, and saw our neighbor sitting in a garden chair, staring at a picnic table he's just finished painting. Naturally, The Husband being the smart ass he is, goes out on the back porch and yells, "Hey Brad!! You watchin' the paint dry!!??" I won't say exactly what the neighbor said, as it's too crass for young readers...ahem....but let's just say he definetly got his point across. Which made The Husband roar with laughter. I had to wipe the tears outta my eyes. Cryin' from laughin' too hard. And, naturally I wanted to go over and REALLY see if the paint was wet...stick my fingers right in it. No -- I kept my paws away from it. But it took all my self control, let me tell ya...

~~ So now I'm gonna see what baseball game is on tv, check on the varnish in the studio, and see once again which green beans have sprouted in the peat pots in the western sunroom window. All but 3 have come up. I'm pretty excited. The youngest said something about getting the tomato cages out of the backyard and getting them ready by next week. We should have enuf dry weather by then to set those up, plus cages for the beans. Ahh...there is nothing like homegrown 'maters. Just like the song from the 80's, "Homegrown Tomatoes, Homegrown Tomatoes, nothin' is so good as Homegrown Tomatoes. Only two things that money can't buy, an' that's true love, an' Homegrown Tomatoes...." 'Nuff said.

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who wants to make a very fattening cheese and tomato pie, but isn't sure if she can convince The Husband to go buy some pie shells AND sour cream...sigh...

I think a few weeks ago, I'd mentioned that I had a problem every time I planted something in the garden..well, actually, I don't have a problem with planting: just after I put seeds or little baby plants in the soil, I can walk away from where I worked, and absolutely forget what plant is set in which seed bed.

~~ So ~~ this year I went ahead and made some plant tags. I've been interested in buying those spiffy metal tags that are in gardening catalogs; very nice looking, metal, and can be reused every year. All you have to do is write out what plant is located under each tag. Nice. However, that is too dull for me. So -- while I was cleaning around my work table, I found some scraps of foamboard, and went to town making them into little tags for the garden. I've got them painted and covered in varnish, and I'll see if they can hold up for a couple weeks in the garden..what with the rain, mud, dog meandering around and her infernal sniffing...well, you get the idea. And, I didn't want the tags to be boring. So, I sorta decorated them up.

I have other tags, but I thot I'd pop this one on the Blog, just to make some cheeriness for the day. We're having rain, drizzle and muck today, after 3 days of wind, wind and more wind. I was going to get my laundry done yesterday when the sun was shining and the wind was beginning to slow down a little. But, things happened, and I didn't get my clothes out till nearly 5 in the afternoon...and forgot they were out there till The Husband was on his way out the door with The Youngest to go to work...and it was RAINING. I'd asked BOTH of them yesterday, "Is it supposed to rain tomorrow or tonight?" and they both said "No" --

So in with the crummy weather and raindrops making my clothes dripping, I thot this bit of bright cheerfulness would improve my mood. The Youngest thot this was going a little over the top for the garden, but I told him that with my bad eyesight, these are Definetly not something I can miss outside. I have other ones for the veges too, but this one really got me in the mood for making the garden BRIGHT!! --- If all goes right, I should be able to see these from any window in the studio, and know exactly what's planted where. And, even if they fall apart, then I can go to the art store and get those little pieces of wood that are maybe .45 cents, and paint them up the same way.

Now I'm gonna go back in the studio and work on a frame I put together yesterday afternoon. I bought one of those kits at the art store a few weeks ago, and it went together faster than I thot it was going to. And all the pieces were on sale for less than $2.00 so I lucked out on the cost. Now it's the decision of what color or colors to paint the frame...le's see....uhhh...hmm...

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who has this idea floating in her head of little crabs and clams playing on the frame but can't decide on how to make them sit still and behave...

~~ I'm adding the rest of the TAGGED people..don't know why I didn't in my earlier post...maybe 'cause I let my cup of coffee get cold...and it made my brain freeze...

Tammy at Mimmiscal Creations

Jolene at The BLue Cottage

Kristin at Walking with Kristin

Sharon at Rabbithopdiva

kim at photoartist1

Le's see what YOU have for us....


Lady of The Tulips ~~ Who has to go check on the tomatoes an' peppers. The Dog was near them earlier and I'm hoping they didn't get smooshed from her dog-ness this morning...sigh

This is my new and improved studio space...actually it's the opposite wall from my work table. These are the books that I've had for over a zillion years, and most are old, but I'd never throw them away. My youngest has repeatedly told me to throw away lots & lots of them, but I can't find it in my heart to throw away any reading material. And since I've been a librarian, the whole idea of getting read of books makes me ill. This space was occupied with some sort of weird thing when we first bought the house, and I immediately knew once looking at the space, that it would house all our books. The majority of childrens books have been thinned out, and are now taking up space in the attic. What are left on the shelves are ones that I either love to look at and read breifly (i.e. -- procrastinating while at work...) or just have some kind of great artwork in them. The adult books are pretty basic...no shocking types are on the shelves, no outrageous trash novels. Agatha Christie is as risque (is that right?) as I can get on the murder genre.

And now I've found out I've BEEN TAGGED!! OHHH>>>> I'll get YOU my pretty...ms. Bluejude done did this to me.....hmmm..

OK -- 7 things about me? -- Ah HA! I know...

1. -- When I get really stressed out with The Husband in a conversation, I start to stutter.

2. -- I hate shaving my legs...drives me up the wall.

3. -- I have a fondness for beer. Think I've mentioned before, I'm English, Irish and German. Kinda makes sense I'd like beer...Tom T. Hall has a song about beer, too.

4. -- I dispise mopping my kitchen floor. Even after buying one of those nifty Swiffer goodies...and what IS that blob by the dishwasher, anyway?

5. -- I drink my strong coffee with milk. If The Husband makes a pot in the morning, I have to thin it with water AND milk...yeah, it's THAT strong...

6. -- Love to get tan in summer, but am terribly afraid of skin cancer now...besides...think of Beached Whale and me laying in the sun...

7. -- I sometimes laugh so hard when listening to my middle son tell stories, that I nearly have to go change my pants...and I have to continually wipe my eyes because I laugh so hard I cry. Which makes it very difficult if I listen to him while driving The Very Fine Automobile...

Think that's all the Tagged Stuff. Now I'd like to tag Ms. Colleen @ Loose Leaf Notes and Ms. Ruthie too at My Heart My Art...lets hear (Or is that see?) what there is with YOU!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who has to go in a round about direction to get on her Blog, 'cause her internet explorer is trying to die...over an hour with "Tech Support" and they couldn't do a THANG!!! and wouldn't ya know it...I"M OUT OF TUMS!!!!!!!

In an attempt to be very helpful to his Mommy, my youngest did a Very Good Thing, and had me help him bring home a new dishwasher...only problem is that it has been in the Studio/Sunroom for the last 3 months. It was pulled out of an old apartment that was being renovated into brand new Condo's, and since the machine is only 4 - o - 5 years old, he figures it is better than the existing one we have in the kitchen. The one in the kitchen is probably 20 years old, spits water all over the kitchen floor, and has a tendancy to dump water down the drain while it's supposed to be "washing" the dishes. My middle one said he remembered one like ours in a neighbors house when we first moved down to South Carolina in 1988...The door is made of metal, is heavy, and has left bruises on my shins on more occasions than I care to remember.

Anyway...here is the machine, with books leaning against it...various THANGS all around it...and it still is waiting for The Husband to hook it up in the kitchen. I think I've given up on that happening, and am trying to put a good face on things at the moment. I am also furious that when I try to log-on to this Blog, the internet explorer I normally use keeps crashing..and little messages tell me to do this and that...all of which have failed...so I think I'll direct my anger to this poor neglected dishwasher in the sunroom...collecting dust...and it may have some spiders inside now, too. I haven't checked the inside for awhile. But it is a good holding place for me to stack magazines (Good for looking at color combinations for collages) assorted catalogs (seed catalogs are my downfall...I usually want to order 1,596 things from each one...) Sample magazines for subscriptions (You'll love our editorials!!) and some pots for planting seeds, transplanting baby tomatoes, or flowers. The only problem is that it just sits..SITS, this machine with black on the front....and collects dust. It isn't washing dishes like my youngest wanted it to do...and The Husband has decided it's better to call a plumber to install the thing, instead of him..."I may mess it up and it'll leak or somethin'..."

The machine we have ALREADY leaks water on the floor...so you KNOW how well this cop-out has gone over..But the bigger question remains...what to do with the machine near my work table?? ~~ Do I bite the bullet and pay a plumber? Do I say OH BLAST and try to find somebody to hook it up? ~~ Or....do I just leave it where it is and continue to dance around it and hope I don't keep stubbing my toes on the thing?

Lady of The Tulips...who isn't quite as angry over the Technical People who have done nothing to help with problems with my internet access...but maybe I will take my anger out and attack some of the weeds in the vege bed...poor things...they won't know what hit them...

"Kind Ocean Lady" 2007 Spring Bay Studio L.P.

This is one of my newer lil' pieces, with a new frame that I worked on for a couple dayz. I had a real time with the color on the frame...actually the color wasn't Really the problem. I was the problem...trying to decide whether or not I liked the results after painting and painting...truth be told..the inner critic was heavily at work, making me a wreck until I told it to SHUT UP and go sit in a corner.

Finally I got all the work done, and even if I don't mind saying so, this turned out pretty groovy. I layed out the actual collage pretty quickly. But then I had to decide how to adjust some of the color for the background and the seaweed along the bottom. That was something that took most of 2 hours. I always feel like I'm taking too long if one project takes longer than an afternoon, and this one took close to 4 days. I'd keep saying to myself, You have to work faster, 'cause I'm sure everyone ELSE does this type of work faster than YOU!! ~~ Inner Critic Once Again.

But I wanted this mermaid to have a good place to play and enjoy her friend, so I took some time getting her just right. And I wanted the frame especially to highlight her just enough, so that she had a good place to be. So here she is, with her friend, and they do look kinda peaceful, don't ya think?

The weather here has been so crazy: last friday it was very very warm, then we had a batch of thunderstorms that flooded the garden beds. And just yesterday it got up to 90 Degrees...followed in the early evening with a round of thunderstorms. Naturally The Dog had to run into the front bedroom and hide under the computer desk, shaking and making little whimpering noises. The lightening was really nice to watch, and I kept looking at it while at the same time watching the Red Sox game on t.v. ~~ Today now, you'd never know it was as warm as it was yesterday...rain and drizzle, mucky cloudy day, and The Dog didn't even stay out in the backyard more than 45 minutes. The grass is still drenched, so she just got miffed about it and came back in the house. The vege beds got a good soaking tho, and that's just what they needed.

I've spent the last 2 days turning the soil over in the larger vege bed...well, actualy both the beds are pretty big, but the larger of the 2 got worked on ~~ Got a little more mulch put on yesterday. I've had a pile of old leaves, branches and "Stuff" out in the backyard for some time, and it's just now composted enuf so that it's nice and crumbly for the garden. Got that topdressed where some of the compost from last year has already been pretty much decomposed into the soil. I like to try and keep a good amount on the soil surface, that way during the hotter summer months, we don't loose so much soil moisture. I also got some compost tea made up and poured on some of the perinneal (would you look at the horrible spelling? you'd never know I really know english...) flowers. The one flower that I'm happy about is the Foxglove. It had been growing like crazy during the earlier part of winter, getting lots of new leaves on it, and enjoying the unusual warm temps. Then it Finally got COLD, and the poor thing got freeze burned so bad, it looked like it was done for. But just in the past 3 weeks or so, it's finally making a comeback, with lots of new growth, and perked up after I gave it a nice drink of compost tea. And we have some new plants of Yarrow comming in to. That's another plant that had nearly died off, but last summer I started giving it lots of Tea, and it finally looks like it's going to make a go of it this year too.

So all in all, a very busy last 2 weeks. I've been checking the new plantings of vege seeds, and have tomatoes coming up, along with Basil, Oregano, green beans, and bell peppers. The west window in the studio is completely covered in little 3" pots, with little baby plants in each one. Makes me hopeful for a good growing season.

Lady of The Tulips -- who is now finally going to go get something to eat...had toast for breakfast and that lasted about as long as my patience at a long traffic light...with some kid behind me trying to smash into the backend of my Very Fine Automobile 'cause He's in a hurry...sigh..

YAHOO!! And can we hear it again!! YAHOO!!!

There has been a delay on the posting of this blog due to some unforseen circumstances beyound my absolute control -- that is -- this old computer has been giving me fits, spits, ulcers and other assorted things that I wont go into here ---- suffice to say that today is the first day that I've been able to get back HERE!!

I've been working away on lots of little projects -- and probably will be able to post them tomorrow. I've gotten my frames all done, and am hoping that the weather will cooperate enuf so that when I take some pictures of them, the sunlight will show some of the detail I've made on each of them. I've gotten so sick of painting little pieces of tissue to adhere to the wood of the frames, that I started to question my sanity. I mean, I know I'm sorta cracked, but after tearing pieces that were sometimes less than 1/4" in size, and tearing LOTS of them, I really sat at my little table and wondered if this was the best thing that I could be doing. Time consuming, sure, but the overall effect was well worth it. I may even make a couple more using the same method but I have to take a break from all the little scraps and give 'er a rest.

We've gotten our vege seeds in the mail, and now that the weather is finally cooperating, I've started lots of little pots of seeds...3 pots each of 3 different varieties. I've gotten away from using slicing tomatoes for paste and salsa, and have only used paste tomatoes for the last couple years. We grew so many 2 years ago, that the freezer has been stocked ever since. And just this last week, my youngest said we're finally down to the last 6 quart bags of frozen tomatoes. So, my planting was done in the nick of time. Roma has always done really well here, and I've got those in little pots. Speckled Roman tomato is one that I'm going to try this year, and I've had success with Banana Legs too, so those are all comfy in their little pots. I found some good prices thru Pinetree Garden Seeds for a long time, and bought some Basil, Oregano and Chives seeds this year too. I had some hollyhocks in the garden a couple years ago, but they finally died out, which made me sad. So this year, I got some more of those, and a packet of Monets Sunflowers. They did really good in one of our flower beds along a big fence last year, and after The Husband staked them up after a tropical storm tried to knock them down, they bloomed EVEN MORE!! So those are going in the front yard this year, and along the backyard fence again -- kinda hides the thing so it doesn't look so ugly.

I got some little signs made up for the vege beds and the flower beds this year too -- I am ALWAYS forgetting what seeds I plant in different beds every year...no matter how hard I try, I meander out in the garden, pop the plants out of their little pots, (where the label clearly says what each one is) get 'em in the ground, and promptly forget which plant is which. The only way I can tell the tomatoes from one another, is once they start to develop the actual "Fruit" ~~ then I know. But in the meantime, I'm as lost as can be. It drives my youngest to absolute fits with me -- "You can't remember what you have out there??!!" "Uhhh...well, actually...uhhh..." Makes me feel like an absolute toad...and speaking of toads -- We've had a REALLY large toad living in the front flower beds for years ~~ Every now and again I'll see him and it sorta freaks me out...this big ol' brown creature popping up outta the mud...but I had an even bigger Suprise the other day while weeding the bed for the St. John Wort...got to pulling some clover out (Which got put right back down for mulch) and was setting some dried leaves back in the bed, when something got flipped around in the air with the leaves, then plopped back down in the middle of them. I took a second look to see what it was, and at first all it looked like was some sort of maybe large coin...sorta grey/brown, round with little bits of yellow edging. WELL -- I came to an absolute STOP right then, and veryy gingerly picked up whatever this little thing was. And lo and behold -- it was a baby TURTLE!!! OH! my Stars and Garters!! It was the cutiest little thing I've seen in a long long time. I turned him (HER??) around in my fingers, and it stared at me and actually blinked it's eyes at me. That made me feel terrible, like I disturbed it's routine or something (Do turtles have a routine?) So I very carefully laid him (her) back in amongst the leaves, and ran in the house to tell my youngest.

Ever get a look from somebody like, well, maybe you've had too much to drink, but in actuality you're absolutely stone sober? That's how I felt when I started to tell my son that there was a baby turtle in the flower bed. There was this...SIGH...then he came outside to see for sure that I wasn't making this story up. HA!! Wasn't HE suprised when he saw the little critter too!! An me being me, I'm gushing all about this little thing, walking thru the leaves at their SLOW pace.."AHhh...LOOK!! at his little tail!!" I'm nearly yelling....The youngest wasn't all that impressed and went back in the house to check some prices on baseball cards...humph....shows what kind of wild animal lover he is....NO -- he really does love things in the yard, but he just wasn't all that excited about the turtle. Maybe this just shows that perhaps I need to get a life or something....

Well -- it's off to the art store to get some more poster board and a sheet of mat board too....I've got to get some paper painted this afternoon before driving over to the truck terminal to get The Husband...he's got his truck back after it needed some work done on it...the alternater (sp) was trying to burn itself to pieces 2 weeks ago, while The Husband was sitting in traffic, so the dispatcher decided to give him another truck in the meantime...I'm too chicken to ask how much it cost to make the repairs...actually I'm glad I DIDN'T have to pay for it!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who has The Dog laying next to her on the floor..we had a little rainstorm and she naturally came in here to hide..if she was snoring any louder I think my youngest could hear her in the front room....sheesh...

You may be thinking that The Dog is listening for the Easter Bunny to come thru one of the windows to the Studio/Sunroom, but in actuality (glad I wasn't an English major in college with that spelling...) she was listening to the wind that has suddenly picked up outside. She has this thing about the wind..and even worse, if there happens to be a storm brewing. When wind is combined with rain, and Especially THUNDER -- this animal turns into an absolute WRECK. I've always written it off to the fact, that she was a Rescue Shelter animal; she'd been horribly abused at the "home" she was taken from...so anything that sounds extremely loud sends her into fits. If a dog could cry, I've always felt that she would have an hysterical crying jag every time there's a thunderstorm. She will go to any length to crawl into a closet and hide; barring that she'll crawl under my son's computer desk and squish herself under the computer slide-out shelf. Actually, that's where she is right now...she quit shaking, but I can feel her warm body right next to my right foot.

I know some people have wanted me to get a picture of her on my Blog -- so here she is. She is a very sweet dog...spoiled rotten and has The Husband totally wrapped around her little (or not so) paw. She has HIM trained, so that the minute he walks in either the front or back door, she immediately jumps to the edge of the kitchen floor, gives him this absolutely PITY - PITY POOR ME look and naturally he falls all over himself, and promptly gives her a dog biscuit. She then gladly waltzes away with said biscuit in her mouth, eats the thing in less that 2 minutes, lays down on the floor and looks at The Husband as if to say, "You're such a wimp over me.." And, yes, he admits that he is a wimp as far as she's concerned. She is really a trip. What's really funny is to see her romp around in the back yard..she'll run around the pool and get herself around the edge of the backyard fence REALLY fast...how she does it really confuses me. I mean, she isn't the smallest animal I've seen, yet she's able to zip around out there like she's in training for some sort of Animal Olympics. I have actually seen her run to come in the house when I call her. But that's only when she's been outside for most of the day, and she really wants to come in the house. Amazing I tell ya.

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who is now so comfortable with The Dog keeping my feet warm that I don't wanna move...but have to go out in the Studio to get some paper's cut for a collage I'm starting on. ** OH!! ** And I do want to wish all of you out there a Very Happy Easter!! Maybe what The Dog heard really WAS the Easter Bunny...how would I know if it was or not?

"Le Mer" -- Copyright 2006 Spring Bay Studio

This is one of the pieces I got finished just before the crush of the holidays last year...I'd been looking at some pictures of mermaids that some artists had done way back in 1918 or so. I was amazed by some of the oils and watercolors that I saw in a book that my middle son was given a few years ago...this isn't anywhere close to how wonderful the paintings are in the book, but I felt the freedom that the mermaids looked like they had in those paintings.

I'm trying to get a picture of the frame I just finished painting the other day, and have this piece set very carefully in said frame...but I keep having problems either with the camera, getting the frame to behave itself with some hot glue I used to attach the glass...or else some little teeny bit of paint gets chipped, and it's back to the fine liner brush to spot paint the chips. My nerves are getting the stretched-thin-treatment and it looks like I'm either going to go scream at The Dog innocently laying down in the grass next to the backyard fence, or I'm gonna take it out on some poor soul who calls the house trying to sell me some type of magazine subscription...never mind that I'm on the Federal Do Not Call list...

It's a Holiday today, for some people who have "regular" jobs with a salary and parking space set aside especially for them. However, in this house The Husband doesn't have a salary, but an hourly wage, in a job that doesn't care 2 cents about holidays . There's freight to be moved, never mind that the highways are getting PACKED with people going somewhere to relax an' have a good time. What it'd be like to go on vacation is something I've been pondering for a few years...and The Husband is sitting in traffic trying to move 75,000 pounds of "Freight All Kinds" no more than 4 miles down the Interstate. I'd love to know what the people sitting in traffic are thinking while their on their way to Relax and Have A Good Time...probably cussing the truck drivers who can't get out of their OWN way, let alone get up enuf speed to get out of the way of a speeding car. But -- for those of you with Vacation time...WOW!! I'd love to be out relaxing an' layin' around some place...Definetly would be something literally out of the ordinary!! So -- have a good time...take lots of pictures of where ever it is that you've picked to relax at/in. Don't get too sunburnt (for those going to warmer climates!) and don't come back with stories that you can't really explain all the details about...cause those WILL come back an' haunt ya!!

The Dog is absolutely amazed -- in her own way -- I cleaned out the Studio/Sunroom the last 2 days. I'd been dancing around some big storage boxes that my youngest had set near the french doors. He kept insisting "I'll get them up in the Attic..." but there they sat..taking up space and making it clever for me to hop around. It got pretty dicey when The Dog wanted to go outside, cause I'd have to sorta hop/jump around the boxes, make sure The Dog didn't knock anything off the top of said boxes (stacks of seed catalogs, books with no home to go to...that kind of thing) and then get to the back/side door an open it FAST when The Dog had to go out NOW...

I got 4 or 5 large trash bags full of old childrens books..some old college text books I haven't had the heart to throw away yet, and some old cow figurienes (butchered that spelling, didn't I...no pun intended after cow, by the way...) that I'd had for over 15 years...got em all packed up and now are sitting at the end of the hallway in the house, where The Huband sez he'll get set up in the attic. This remains to be seen, as he's also said he'll "Get to " some other things around the house that I've been waiting on for, oh, le's see...6 years...So -- this will be interesting to see. The large storage boxes that held some old books that just wouldn't fit on the bookshelf in the studio are so HEAVY that I thot I'd literally fall over when I tried to get them up into the dining room, drag them down the hall, and set at the end of said hall, right against the interior wall. I started to push/shove one of the boxes and realized the reason the thing wasn't moving was because it'd gotten hung-up on some carpet in the dining room that has never been attached to it's backing correctly...so there's always been this little "bump" between the front room and dining room. I'd always ignored it, thinking it'd just be THERE an' wouldn't bother me. UNTIL one of those days when I knew I'd have something to move across it. And wouldn't ya know it -- THAT DAY HIT YESTERDAY!!

I could feel the blood veins in my forehead starting to pop out, and it felt like my legs were gonna start shaking, I was tryin' so hard to move this stuiped box. Then I got stood up straight, took a look at the problem, an' said out loud, "WELL What The *** is THIS??!" Made The Dog look up from where she was lying down in the front room. Naturally I had to appoligize to her for that bit of rudeness...But -- all the boxes are now sitting at the end of the hall..all lined up like their waiting for a bus to take them somewhere. My back suprisingly isn't sore, an' when I thot my legs were gonna be REALLY in pain this morning, I was pleasantly suprised to find they were just fine. YAHHOOO and YIPPIEEE....Guess all the daily workouts have come in handy; haven't got the OH-OH I Did too Much thing goin' on.

So -- when the camera decides to get it's #"@ together, I'll take a couple shots of the wall of books an' all the other lil' goodies that are sitting on the bookshelf. it's starting to look less like the inside of a 3rd grade classroom, an' more like a Studio than it ever has. Sigh. Now for some pictures on those walls, an' I'll be in Business!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who just now realized she's got the front door open, an' even tho the storm door is closed, there's enuf gap in the doorframe that lets in the chilly afternoon air...an' now the heater/furnace is running to beat the band. Are those little dollar bills I see drifting down the hallway, or is it my imagination??

~~~ First of all ~~~ I must apologize for the post last week, because of the LOUSY way the picture came out after I downloaded it. Coulda fooled me. I thot that once my son had gotten it into my folder of pictures, that it would come out wonderful and clear once I popped it up on this blog...when you click on the larger image tho, it REALLY looked like somebody did something extremely Weird, an' it's all fuzzy. Kinda like if I try to look at somethin' without my glasses on...So -- please forgive the fuszzy-ness of the closeup of that picture. When my son comes back I'll ask him what the deal is with it.

I've got 2 more frames painted an' all ready to go. I was gonna take a while today to take shots of them so I could post 'em here, but in 'bout 15 minutes, I (just recently, after drivin' all over creation an' back already this a.m.) I gotta take my youngest to get a pass so he can start a new job at one of the local shipyards...he finally got one of the jobs he'd applied for in the last couple weeks. I think I'd mentioned how he'd appied to a few places, but there hadn't been any replies on one of them. He plugged along, an' got to check in with one of the employment agencies he's worked with before, an' lo & behold, they had a position available. It's on the bus route, but naturally the busses don't run as early as he needs to get a ride in the morning, so ME gets to get up at 4:00 to get him to the office for the company at 5:45...then they have a van to take the crew to the shipyard. This afternoon tho, I have to take him to some OTHER office so he can get a pass that'll allow him to get into the Yard, so he can work...I'm sorta tired from the 3 1/2 hours out drivin' around already, an it'll probably be another 3 before it's all said an' done. An' here I thot I'd get some more work done on a piece today...HA!! Shows what I get for thinkin' --

So -- one of the local art stores has frames on sale, so when I get a chance this week, I'll go an' pick up 3 or 4 of them...then it's off to the races with the paint brushes an' whatever else may be in my line of fire...or is it whatever is closest for me to grab an' slap on the wood?? Either way, it's gonna be fun to make up some more frames. I just CANT let a frame be Plain and BORING...Must have some Color an' LIFE to it... man - o - man. Dull is just not where it is... More fun color is what I like...maybe one of the new ones will have purple on it...well...maybe not...

Must run an' pretend that I'm excited 'bout driving around for the next 3 hours...can any of you see the grey hair popping up on my head? Oh -- an' that little cloud of smoke you may see off in the distance is just part of my brain frying because of the irritation I'm feeling from all the speeding crazy drivers...do not let the smoke bother you...it will dissapate shortly...

Lady of The Tulips -- who is now wondering if she has any change for putting gas in the car...I did have $5 but that seems to have disappeared, an besides, it won't get me too far down the road anyway...

"Untitled" Spring Bay Studio -- 2005

I'd been thinking of this piece the last couple days...there's been a whole lot of stuff happening 'roun' here, some of it good (Art Stuff) but a lot of it has been dragging me thru the mill, Hell, an' lots of other places. So -- this lil' face seemed to be in my mind, something of a peaceful spot amidst all the turmoil. Family stuff, an' lots of DRAMA with capitals not even beginning to touch the depth of happenings. Le's jus' say that it's a good thing I gave up on Gin way back in the day...I shudder to think of what I'd do with it now.

The Art stuff is jus' a shade from being completed...I'm excited about it..an' naturally want to grab all of the things that are nearly done, but know that the minute I touch any of it, it'll get ruined. All of them are drying with the last coat of varnish, so it's naturally making me want to touch an' see --- "AREN'T YOU DRY YET??!!" -- The Dog jus' pokes her head up from whereever she happens to be laying at the moment, an' gives me this "Whaa??" kinda look. There are dayz that I am one happy lil' person that she can't talk. Expecially when The Husband has hauled off an' spouted off something stuiped...OOPS !! Did I say that? Well, he usually is the first to admit that he said something off the wall..but STILL -- Hmm...where was I? OH!! -- The Dog will jus' look at me if I'm trying to have a conversation with one of my pieces on the table, but she must be used to my muttering, because she doesn't seem to mind.

I've gotten the bug to go off an explore some of the neighborhood yard sales...with a lot of the seniors moving out of their homes (some have been the original owners from the early '50's) an' selling off all that STUFF in the attic, I'm REALLY tempted to go an' grab what ever my lil' hands can stuff in a bag. But, since I also have these things called Utilities, they probably need to be taken care of first...then find the yard sale stuff later. It's sorta sad to see some of the neighbors go -- the other thing that REALLY sucks, is some family members have gone the "quick" route of selling the homes to Contractors, who in 3 days, come back to the house after the sale, start ripping the place apart, remodel the entire thing to appeal to high-end buyers, an' sell for outrageous prices. The house across the street had that happen, an' even tho the young family is quite nice, the Contractor was one of the most arrogant, boastful $"^%_{#&_^+&| I've met in some time...he had this grand idea of selling the place at over $45,000 more than the value of the place....his lil' bubble was quite burst when it sold for less than $200,000. Greed always comes back an' bites when you least expect it...

So -- I'm sad to see some of the folks leave. But that's one of those things. One of my neighbors is 86 an' still drives everywhere..is super busy with lots of public service things. She nearly wears me out. An' she walks up an' down the street nearly every day. Puts some of us (ok, ok -- I don't do walking, but at least I do exercise for 1/2 Hr/ to 45 min. every day) to shame. I know she's thinking about sellin' her place an' movin' back to Georgia..we'd discussed it a little over a year ago. She may stay...

So -- the quandry is to not go overboard on the sales...not fill up what space I have out in the studio with lots more stuff...But at the same time have treasures that'll go really well with my work. It's drivin' me nearly over the edge, I'm tellin' ya!! What to do, what to do...

Lady of The Tulips -- who is nearly standing over her tulip beds tapping her foot waiting, now, IMPATIENTLY for the tulips to start popping up out of the ground. The daffodils are goin' overtime with their blooming, but the Tulips are either waiting for a bus ticket to Omaha or something else hat I probably do NOT want to know...

*** Well I am very sad to say, that with all my best intentions, I never did find any of my food coloring for St. Patty's Day...I didn't exactly sit down an' cry, but I realized that I'd just have to have my beer "regular" instead of Green...an' lets face it, it's better than nothin'...

I've been painting a frame that just made it's way into my lil' studio the other day...I was absolutely a wreck tryin' to decide whether or not to go ahead an' paint it. I mean, the voice of "You're gonna screw it UP!!" was workin' overtime in the back of my head -- I MEAN -- it was jus' about to make me ill. So, I finally took the plastic wrap off the frame, an went to work. It's gonna get posted on here probably tomorrow, 'cause right now it's dryin' out in the studio. I slapped gesso on it, then painted a spiffy pale blue with lil' lines that resemble waves. Had so much fun with it, I was almost sad that I got it finished!! But, Not To Fear!! -- I picked up a couple other ones, so that'll keep me busy for the rest of the week. Once they finished dryin' then some of my pieces will finally have some nice new homes. I don' want them to feel like they've been left out in the cold...

An' speakin' of cold -- I think I'd mentioned that we dropped a bundle not too terribly long ago on our furnace. The entire idea behind the work, was to get the blasted thing to run the way it was designed to run -- an' it was anything BUT running the way it was suppossed to...we had these horrendous gas & elec. bills during the winter...more than I care to say...well...I will...over $150 for a month of heating!! SO -- with the maintenance guy tellin' me that with the most recent visit, "Your furnace will be runnin' like it's suppossed to!" -- I was naturally skeptical. Well Yahoo an' La-Dee-Dah!!! -- we jus' got the recent elec. bill, and it DROPPED $50!! It's still high, but it's gettin' back to where it should be. -- Now just as long as the winter makes up it's mind to pack 'er up an LEAVE, we'll be doin' allright. Now watch, now that I've said that it'll be 32 degrees tomorrow...sigh..

Have to make this short..well, sortta short -- got to go check the paint an' see what The Dog is up to -- she got herself all worked up last night 'cause The Youngest sprayed her all over with flea spray...you'd a thot she'd been given some sort of shot for nahsty attutide...she was MIFFED!! -- I mean, she ran herself all over the kitchen, the studio, the front room, dining room, into my youngest son's bedroom, all worked up an' acting like it was the end of the world...then she finally layed down in the front room, with her back to everybody else, an POUTED for over an hour -- wouldn't look at ANYBODY no matter how hard we tried to make her turn around an' look at us -- talk about a rotten spoiled brat...great day....it's was actually really funny, but we tried VERY hard not to laugh out loud. She kept starin' at us like we were absolute Scum - of - the - earth. Am I glad dogs can't talk...sheesh....

Lady of The Tulips -- who is now considerin' whether or not to get some paint to cover up a mess the middle one made on his walls...he painted all of his bedroom walls black....my nerves...

~~ Some good news on the home front ~~ An' it couldn't be any better than happening on St. Patricks Day!!

Recently I'd mentioned on here that The Husband had taken his DOT physical so he can remain a certified Truck Driver...the only problem with the test was that his blood presure was about to literally drop him dead on the street...he was given 3 months to have it straightened out by the Clinic where the physical was given. He'd also gone to out regular Dr. to get on some kind of medication to help...the tests for those came back good, so the Dr. said that the main thing was for him to do what every Doc sez...Loose Weight...Eat Healthy...Cut Sugar..blah, blah, blah...

Well ~~ we immediately got into WOAH mode, an went to a Herbal Shop to find something that one of the Longshoreman told The Husband to get that would lower his blood pressure, was organic, and cost only $20 for a bottle that would last over 2 months. We were all over it in a (no pun intended..) heartbeat. Found what's called Blood Pressure Drops -- their made up from Cayenne Pepper and some other herbs -- taste like the very devil, but by gosh and golly, those things have dropped his blood pressure enuf that he was certified to have his CDL for the next 2 years!!! Zippa-Dee-Doo-Dah!!! My oh My, what a WONDERFUL DAY!!!

The Husband has also been taking a combination of Hawthorne Caplets plus some other drops, the name of which escapes me at the moment ~~ But the main thing is that they work, were less than $50 and the cost savings was so much less than if we went the conventional route, with pharmacys, Dr. bills, etc., etc -- I'd known about some of these herbs for awhile, but it never really meant anything 'till we went to the Herb Shop an' the woman was wonderful with us -- pointed out what all would combine to work with another herb...that type of thing. Now the hardest part will be the losing of weight...he does work outside a LOT -- but the sitting inbetween changing out containers is whats the bad thing. He has started back in eating veges, which he'd gotten away from...Got into this THANG with eating hamburgers from the local drive-thru...I'd been tellin' him it'd come back an' bite him HARD...well, I didn't have to say TOLD YA SO...jus' the scary part of possibly losing his job was enuf to lay back on the junk food.

The attending clinic Dr. said that the herbal treatment is a good idea, an' since we've got zero insurance, I do not EVEN want to think of the cost of prescription meds...The Dr. said for The Husband to stay with what he's takin', since it seems to be working. To say we're relieved is putting it mildly...But how GREAT is it that the good news came on St. Patricks Day!! I can see my grandfather dancin' a jig now!!! -- Way up in the clouds!! --

Lady of The Tulips - who's still wonderin' where her green food coloring has gone...I just recently found one of my very best ever beer mugs, an' it'd be a CRIME not to have green beer today...now -- where is the box of food coloring??? sigh....

"His Calculations Were A Bit Off" Copyright 2005 Spring Bay Studio


I'd thought about this piece the other day while my middle son & I were driving down the street goin' somewhere -- I think to get him some odds an' ends at the music store...

We'd passed a car "parked" on the side of the highway...with both the front tires all lopsided from the rest of the car...front end smashed all to pieces...basically the car was abandoned. The first words out of my son's mouth were, "Looks Pretty Good!!" I naturally started laughing so hard I nearly cried. But then I told him it looked like something that would happen to one of our cars...jus' have the entire thing fall apart at the biggest intersection in the City....Whereas this particular vehicle was left on the side of the road an' nothing happening around it, I told my son that if that had happened to me, I'd probably be in jail wanted by the FBI, CIA, ABC, CBS -- you get the idea.

So after getting home an' goin' back to doin' the mundane things that are lurking around the house, this piece suddenly popped into my lil' head. I'd thot about some of those scientists who claim to have all these absolute methods on achieving some sort of "Discovery" --whether it be in space, mining for gold...whatever. Always with the most exacting methods known to mankind. Only, once in awhile they, uhh...jus' happen to fall short of the goal. Sort of like the car we saw on the road...sortta jus' stopped short of it's intended destination -- wherever that happened to have been.

I've also gotten about 3 pieces in the works -- little pieces compared to some of the other ones I've been making. I recently picked up a pack of those prefinished canvases, in the hope that I can corral the amount of work I put together, and get them onto something that will be a little easier to frame. I'm STILL working on getting 4 pieces framed for the shop over next to the Bay...I'm suppossed to call the owner by next week or so an' see what she has available in terms of space to hang some of my work...I'm REALLY excited about the possibilitiy of having my work Out THERE for people to see. My middle son thinks it's jus' too cool for me ot have this chance. Some of the local galleries don't carry something like what I do, an' I've lost track of the people who have told me, ~~ "We Ohhnly tahhke SERIOUHHS AHHHHRRTTT..." Jus' what the H*** that's suppossed to mean is any guess, but it seems to mean that they jus' want to keep some of their cronies happy by keeping the same-ol same-ol in their walls an' call it a day. Too bad for them ~~ There are probably some fantastic artists in the area that wouldgive their eye teeth for an opportunity to get their work out in the public view...but some snoot has this thing about keeping apparences (man, I really spelled that one lousy...) spiffy for her / his friends...Sad...

So ~~ It's off to the studio for now -- my youngest is now looking for another job...but the recent find for him -- in way of applying for a job --- does not entail ME driving all over creation to get him from point A to point B -- the newest interview will be over at the oceanfront, and it's ON THE BUS LINE!!! YAHOOO!! I MEAN -- LE'S HEAR IT AGAIN!!! YAHHHOOOO!!! I've ranted too many times on the Really bad drivers here, so any chance to have one of the son's get a job opportunity that's on the bus line is an absolute PLUS in my book! Now -- jus' as long as he get's the job we'll be doin' fine!! The job he's had for the past few weeks has only been payin' him (get this...) $6.00 an hour --- working in a warehouse loading trucks with freight for Wal Mart....I guess the lousy pay goes along with their slogan -- "Always the Lowest Price...Always!" Goes for workers pay, looks like....sigh...

Lady of The Tulips ~~ Who has to decide whether or not to paint a frame a pale, pale blue, or go with White like all the other "Beach" frames she's been seein' at local Surf, Beach an' "Stuff" shops....Which oh which shall I use?? ~~

~~ Shame ~~ Shame ~~ Shame ~~ Everybody knows yer name...

Well...tha's one of the sayings that I often heard when trying to explain away some event that I'd somehow over looked, or blew off -- or jus' flat out forgot...

It isn't that I forgot to get something on this blog for OVER A WEEK -- it's jus' that there have been -- les' see....24,596 other things that have come up -- happened -- occured -- all that and more. Then -- out of the blue, one of our "friends" suddenly popped up with a new girlfriend, never mind about the wife back home an' all of that...jus'came over to the house with new "friend" like there was nothing out of the ordinary...got to admit, a lawyer would have a field day with that lil' occurance...I'd just come in the door from retrieving something that I'd left at the grocery store, in the shopping cart, so I was already NOT in a good mood...an' the WIND was blowing me all over the place...so my temper was less than short...my mood matched the black-inky dark night (it was after 8 p.m. at this point) and then there were probably 2,890 bad drivers on the road in the short mile-and-a-half from the grocery store to my house...an' I drive up to see this CAR in my driveway, an' my mind is sudenly a whirling dervish...Walk in the house an' WHAM -- see all this nonsense at my dining room table...

Well -- there have been so terribly much more THANGS happening around here, but this is not the afternoon to rant....I'm trying to limit the rant-ness to less than 4 times a week around the house, an' figure that the rant-less I am in the house, then by all that's right an'; spiffy, there sh0uld be less on my blog, too -- SO -- that being said...I've gotten a LOT more accomplished on the ART side of life...I'm thinkin' that there must be some kind of muse that's set up shop jus' over my right side, who's gettin' me into the creative drive that I'm sure has never occured before. I got up the nerve to finally get some of my work framed...I've applied hanging wire to the back of all my collage pieces to this point, but recently I'd taken pieces of my work to a local shop, an' the shop owner wants them in her place (!!) but I have to frame them. I'd been afraid to do this...why, I've no idea, but when I realized that there are frames deep enuf to gather all my piece an' extra goodies on them, then it jus' came down to what size I needed to get . A quick drive to the art/craft store was the EASY part...the hardest part was gettin the frame that I thot would look best for each piece...so they aren' t cookie-cutter looking. And once I got the first frame, then it seemed that all this NEW stuff has suddenly jus' started bubblin' up from somewhere that I didn't even know existed...SO -- the finished pieces will go into the newly bought frames, then the works in progress will get finished over the weekend, an' framed probably by the first part of next week!! That's so much fun!!

I'm also gettin' the vibe for SPRING!!! -- While I work on my various pieces..there is sometimes out of the BLUE one of the Surf Tunes poppin' up in my head...usually when Istart to gather pieces of collage paper that happen to have water designs, or if I gather some pieces of Shells, Fish...whatever the piece seems to call for...In the last month or so, one of the Beach Boy's songs was floating around in my head..."We've Been Havin' Fun all Summer Long..." -- this while I was trimming some blue shaded pieces of cardstock...I usually have some music playin' in the studio, but it seems when the radio isn't on, then these ol 60's songs jus' come floating back to me. An' especially when the Mermaids start to get more developed while I'm sketching them out ~~ WHOA!! ~~ Then the Beach Music really kicks in... An' the weather man sayin' that the temps are "suppossed" to be warming up "like just before the spring temps will arrive" -- Ohh...I'm all about the SPRING happening here!! An' with the new work gettin' underway...well..Naturally I'm all about finding some t-shirts in the storage basket...An' if some of those winter pounds have gotten in the way of the t-shirts fittin' like they did last year..well then, that jus' calls for another trip to the thrift store!! HA!! None of that going-to-the-new-store- business...NO!! I'll gladly let some other sap pay the high price for some thing that was sold for over $20....I'll pay the $1.99 thank you VERY much!!

Some craft items have also found there way into the studio in the last couple weeks...I'd tried not to let some lil' items get into the shopping cart not too long ago. But they looked so forlorn jus' sittin' there on the shelf...an' I truly do not like to see SAD things on the shelves of any, an' I mean ANY art/craft store, so NATURALLY they had to come home with me..They will behave nicely an' join in with the other pieces in a collage gettin' together on my lil' craft table -- an' before ya know it ~~ WHAM!! ~~ A whole new piece, filled with joyful happy craft pieces, swayin' to the Surf Music an' havin' a good time lookin' forward to Spring!! Bright colors of BLue paint..some clever cardstock pieces of squares, triangles, rectangles...an' of course, some Fish stamps!! Les' hear it for the arrival of SPRING!! WHOO-HOOO!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who was all about diggin' out last years flip-flops...but had to make a sad face when she realized that she literally "Blew out my flip-flop..." -- the bottom of my most favorite pair of flip-flops came apart one afternoon jus' when I got back home, and realized they were Deader than a Door-nail....very, very sad...