Porch Days

Hearts Project

2012-01-26T22:23:00.001-05:00

This is my new mystery project. All I'm saying is that it also involves an empty container of Hershey's Baking Chocolate. I created these hearts on the computer. It was fun making the plaids and other bases then cutting them out with the cookie cutter brush.

Fun with Altering

2012-01-23T01:09:00.001-05:00

Yes, it is fun to play around with photos. This is shot of the trees in my yard in Virginia. I love the photo but I thought maybe I could do more with it. So I inverted it and then played with the colors. When the vote was taken at my house no one liked it. "Ghostly," was the comment. But I like it - love the lacy look of it. When seen without the original, it becomes almost an abstract.

So what it your vote? Do you like the altered photo?

Head over to Little Red House and see her new design for this weeks' mosaic at Mosaic Monday.

A New Look

2012-01-19T20:47:00.002-05:00

This is another crop from the Cookie Cutter Tool in Photoshop Elements. I love to play around and experiment like this. You may recognize this photo from my collage for Mosaic Monday. Here is a new and closer look for you. This stream is just off route 6 in Andover, CT. There is an old stone dam and the stream has detoured around the side of the dam. Don't you love the lichen and colors on this large rock? I was very satisfied with the look of the water in the photo. My goal was to learn how to get that smoothly flowing look to the water.

Tiny Mushroom

2012-01-18T20:14:00.001-05:00

Isn't this an adorable tiny mushroom? The unusual crop shape is the result of my experimenting with Photoshop Elements. This is created by using the cookie cutter tool. After I cut it out in this unusual shape I put it on a solid colored background. I like it. What do you think?

I'm linking to Outdoor Wednesday. Visit A Southern Daydreamer and see the other outdoor photos.

Rushing water and mossy rocks.....

2012-01-17T13:17:00.001-05:00

This collage is pictures I took in November and early December of streams near home. I love streams tumbling over rocks - the sounds of the water, the mossy rocks. All my life I have wanted to live on the bank of a stream like these. It hasn't happened yet.

I have been focusing on learning how to get that look of silky flowing water. It required a Natural Density filter and knowing how to set the aperture, shutter speed, exposure and type of light. I sat on the bank of one stream for an hour and a half and took numerous pictures. For the photo on the top left I was standing in the stream wearing my gardening shoes when I stepped in a hole and the water poured into my shoe. It was worth it for this shot.

Go over to Little Red House and see the other photo mosaics. Try one yourself!

Cozy and Inviting

2012-01-12T15:17:00.000-05:00

Doesn't this look inviting? I suppose no one was home as there is no smoke rising from the chimney. Maybe I could add some! This picture is the result of time spent playing with filters in Elements (cutout, twice) and a texture on top. Then I searched for a quote.

Picture yourself in a rocking chair pulled up close to a woodstove with the doors open. The logs are snapping and crackling. A book is in your lap and you have kicked off your shoes. Do I smell hot chocolate?

What next?

2012-01-12T01:04:00.000-05:00

I have really been wanting to work with my fabric now that the monkey (my photo exhibit) is off my back. So am I working with fabric? No! I did a macro photo shoot of a stack of old books and a pair of antique eyeglasses on my coffee table. Those are not finished yet but I did get a few good shots. Then I went into the woods and took pictures of tree stumps. Yes, tree stumps. The grain of the wood is so interesting.

Tonight I have been playing around making wild abstract art on Photoshop Elements. What fun. I'm thinking these can be printed on fabric and they can be stamped, stitched and embellished.

This first one is a collage of two pictures. I'm linking to Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Join the party!

Take my Heart!

Don't you think the next two should be called Lollipop Trees?

So many possibilities - I don't know where to start!

Photography Show Opening

2012-01-08T14:28:00.000-05:00

It was a successful opening. The food was good and everyone was very complimentary about my work.

I was determined to wear my new red shoes (love them!) even if my feet became numb! I managed just fine. My daughter and son-in-law took family and friends out to dinner afterwards. They toasted me and I thanked them all for their support. And I thanked the family for putting up with the mess in the house as I framed 34 pictures. The son-in-law is cooking dinners for a week to give me a break after all the Christmas cooking I did. My next projects will be fabric and I'm planning to submit works to all the juried shows I can.

Today I will watch football with Mr. B while I try to organize things on my computer. My new book is calling me. Thanks family for the Amazon gift cards! The Best of Quilting Arts: Your Ultimate Resource for Art Quilt Techniques and Inspiration. Notice in the sidebar that I follow Melody Johnson's Blog Fibermania. Melody has a section in this book.

"Nature Unscripted" - Solo Exhibit

2012-01-06T01:13:00.001-05:00

"Nature Unscripted"

by Nancy Hoffmann

Windham Hospital Gallery

Willimantic, CT

January 7-29, 2012

Opening Reception Saturday, January 7, 4 pm

An eclectic mix of photographs highlighting the beauty of nature

we sometimes fail to take time to notice. Also included will be fabric sculptures.

Since I agreed to have a solo photography exhibit I have thought of little else. Had I realized how much work was required I would have said no. But all along I knew I would be glad I had done it. January is not the best time of year for such an undertaking unless you are an incredibly organized person.

To make matters more complicated, my son-in-law and I painted some of the kitchen cabinets the first part of December. That involved stripping and sanding and three coats of paint. The kitchen was a mess for a week. Utensils were in boxes in the dining room/studio next to my boxes of framed photos.

I did get all 33 photos framed before I devoted a few days to cleaning the house before the Camera Club Christmas Party was held here on December 13.

Then the family started to arrive and there were numerous trips to Providence and Hartford airports, both a little over an hour away. There was no time to even think about the show until the last guest went home on New Years day.

Suddenly I had to print business cards, name each photo and prepare a list with prices and print info cards for the photos. A Bio had to be printed and mounted on foamcore board as well as a title of show piece. And the bio had to be written! I asked my daughter to do that as I was stumped as to what to write about myself. Boy, did she do a great job. When I read about myself I thought, "Wow, I would love to meet this talented woman." She made me sound wonderful!

Framing in Progress

Framed photos ready to go

Use what you have, even a laundry basket

Partial view of the Gallery. I have to thank Mr. B for naming most of the photos.

He has a real knack for it. And he named the show -- "Nature Unscripted."

My Bio mounted. The basket holds business cards. This is first time I ever cut foam

core board. It was not as difficult as I had feared. The secret is a very sharp blade to

get clean cuts. Spray adhesive ( great stuff) was used for mounting. I taped wire

on the back for hanging.

Tomorrow I go and hang my fabric art. I have sent emails through all the organization

I belong to and there are newspaper notices as well. The hospital is providing refreshments

for the opening on Saturday, January 7 at 4 pm. I think I should do some baking to supplement.

THIS IS EXCITING STUFF!

Can I call myself an artist now?

Frosty Leaves

2012-01-02T01:44:00.000-05:00

Frosty Leaves

Since our disastrous October snowstorm, we have had no snow. Yes, no white Christmas in Connecticut! But we have had some lovely frosts. This photo was made the day after Thanksgiving when everything was white with frost. Every leaf on the ground was lined with white. There is beauty in the most ordinary things.

I'm joining Dear Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Click on the link and see the other mosaics.

Quick and Easy

2012-01-02T00:01:00.001-05:00

This is an ornament I made for my tree a few years ago. For people who love snow, it could hang on the wall year round.

The backing wood is a rough piece of lath. Mr. B and I were completely remodeling a log cabin and exposing the logs inside, so there was plenty of lath as I tore off the old plaster.

The "Let it Snow" was cut from a piece of fabric and fused to another piece of fabric, in this instance a green check. The fused fabric was glued to the lath and two buttons were glued to the corners. Two short pins were driven into the top and a ribbon was tied around the pins as a hanger.

Simple to make! This is a "Nancy Original." Dimensions are 4 1/2 inches W x 1 1/2 H.

Here it is!

2012-01-01T18:58:00.000-05:00

I'm certain you have all been waiting to see a picture of MY FAMILY'S TREE. : )

It is ten feet tall and gorgeous!

My friend in England told me it looked sophisticated. I really appreciate that comment, but if he could see it in person he would see the milk caps with glitter and a five-year-old's picture in the middle. That five year old is now thirty-one and you can see his photo in the side bar. His two brother's pictures are also on the tree.

Somehow their sister does not have her picture there but her handiwork as a child is well represented. She drew angels on pellon, colored them and cut them out. And someone cut a bell out of a styrofoam meat tray and glued fabric squares on it. Maybe I should look for initials on that one. Every year we all come to attention as we hang the two miniature cans of spinach on the tree. My children were Popeye fans and those little cans are a must!

Each ornament is a memory. My Aunt Lucy's knitted bells are there and my mother's crocheted Santa face and little wreaths. And there are so many ornaments I have made. (And keep making!)

Our young friends (our daughter's co-workers) went with us to choose and cut the tree. Three of them had never had a live tree in their house so they were eager to set it up and help decorate. It was a cold windy day, but after a lunch of chili everyone was ready to get to work. The ladder was barely tall enough. The angel on top had to be tossed up and stayed a little crooked. We thought it looked like she was flying. We listened to Christmas music and sang along. And everyone chose to have marshmallows in their hot chocolate.

We go to Allen Hill Farm in Brooklyn, CT to cut our tree. Last year we bought their special tree stand that has a 5 inch peg in the middle. They bore a hole in the tree trunk, then the tree balances on that peg. And it is perfectly straight and secure! It is a miracle! Of course we went there again this year and topped last year's nine foot tree by a foot. Next year I take a tape measure with me - or buy a taller ladder. Really, I think nine feet was tall enough.

The nest is empty again and I miss them all terribly! How nice for Mr. B and me to be sharing a house with our daughter and her husband! We will have a few quiet days before I launch into overdrive to hang my solo photography show.

Winning Photo and Others

2011-12-14T23:50:00.002-05:00

Shelia of Starshine Through My Windows and MerCyn of Six Decades and Counting- Life Reinvented, asked to see a closeup of my winning photo in the University of Connecticut art contest. The catagory was Nature and the Environment, an artistic celebration of the natural world. Ladies, thank you for your interest. The photo below is the winner.

"Evening Mirror"

And here are my other entries.

"Good Night and Good Luck"

"Autumn Reflection"

I did win a prize!

2011-12-11T20:20:00.001-05:00

I never meant it to be this long between posts. My photography seems to have consumed me! I have even had to give up reading novels for several weeks to get everything done.

I won a prize in the University of Connecticut Sustainable Depictions Art Contest sponsored by the University of Connecticut's Environmental Policy Department!!!!

Here I am at the opening reception with my photo. The one on the right is also mine. The winning photo is Mr. B 's favorite. He named it "Evening Mirror."

Suddenly Christmas is almost here and I am still madly framing photos for my January show. But I took time off to paint a section of the kitchen cabinets with my son-in-law. Busy as I am, I volunteered to host my Camera Club Christmas party. So now I have two days to get the house cleaned, organized and decorated.

We had a tree cutting and decorating party. Friends were glad to go with us to cut a ten foot tree. After a lunch of chili we decorated the tree as we listened to Christmas music and sang along. Several of our young friends had never had a live tree in their house so this was an experience for them!

I haven't forgotten you all and I plan to post regularly again!
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas!
Nancy

Coventry Fair

2011-10-16T23:14:00.001-04:00

Mr. B and I went to the Coventry Farmers' Market today. I had heard it was a nice market. But I was stunned when we arrived to see how large it is! There were plenty of food booths and judging by the lines, the food must have been very good.

There were vegetables, fresh CT grown meat and lots of crafts. I saw lovely hemp skirts and bags, jewelry, photographs and hand woven scarves. There was even a baker who specializes in gluten free food. I took her card for when my daughter-in-law visits.

So for those of you who live in New England, you must visit the Coventry, Connecticut Farmers' Market. It is held every Sunday, 11-2, June through October at the Nathan Hale Homestead.

Oh yes, there is live music as you can see in the picture.

Join Mosaic Monday at Little Red House and see what everyone has been up to!

A Favorite Photo

2011-10-12T23:33:00.001-04:00

In my last post I was dreaming of winning a prize at the juried show. That didn't happen but there is always next time. This is one of my photos in that show.

This was taken at the lily pond at Gillette Castle, a state park in East Haddem, CT. I waited until late in the day so the sun would not be too bright.

You thought I was relaxing?

2011-09-26T12:22:00.000-04:00

No, I haven't been sitting by a lake watching the sunset. Instead I have been taking hundreds of photos while fighting gnats and hordes of mosquitoes.

I am finding shows where I can exhibit my work. Currently I have two photos and one fabric collage in a juried show in Willimantic that is sponsored by ARTS Fiesta. The camera club show opens at ART SPACE on Main Street in October. And I am making arrangements for my own show at the hospital gallery in January. Heady stuff, all this. Also expensive to frame or mount everything. It would be a dream come true to win one of the three prizes at the Fiesta show. A girl can dream, can't she?

No email - no blogging -- no internet!

2011-09-01T00:29:00.000-04:00

As you can see by the photo, our cat, Big Guy, stayed dry during the hurricane. Schedules were disrupted Sunday morning as the wind was blowing too hard to let the cats outside. You know how disgruntled a cat can get when he wants to go outside and can't? Pretty grumpy.

We were fortunate and suffered no damage from "Irene." Lots of limbs down as this picture of the front yard shows and a major cleanup to be done. The bottom picture of the pines show how large they are and how close to the house. I was very worried about them falling, but when the other trees were thrashing wildly the pines were not moving that much.

A tree came down on the wires in the neighborhood and some people lost power. Luckily we didn't so we could have a hot breakfast as we watched the storm from the many large windows in the house. But no cable and no internet!! We had no idea what was going on in the world. My weather radio was equipped with batteries just in case. It goes off frequently to warn us of thunderstorms and severe weather. But strangely, during the hurricane it didn't go off a single time. The day after the storm it went off with a warning of floods.

We were suffering withdrawal from lack of news. Monday we didn't try to venture out until late in the day and all the newspapers were sold out. Tuesday Mr. B went out early and bought three newspapers! News at last. Reading that 80% of homes in Eastern Connecticut were without power made me realize how lucky we had been. Many traffic lights were out on one side of town and it was chaos.

Cleanup is underway and the front yard is clear. Now the back will get our attention. As much as I hate leaf blowers, I have to say using one is much faster and easier then raking. A neighbor who has a yard service is going to chip all our limbs and leave me the chips.

I hope everyone came through the storm with no damage!

Join me for Mosaic Monday with Mary at the Little Red House.

Pulled through a knot hole backwards!

2011-08-14T22:59:00.000-04:00

Have you heard the phrase "Pulled through a knot hole backwards?" That is how I feel. I used to create photo mosaics in Picasa or I made them myself in Photoshop Elements. So when I opened Picasa and started to choose the photos for this mosaic to upload, it started to upload every photo on my computer! NO! NO! I DON'T WANT THAT! So I quit and tired again. Same thing. I hit quit. No way do I want every photo of mine on Picasa. I feel like I'm losing control.

So I went to Mary's blog, The Little Red House, and read her tutorial on how to make a mosaic. Then I had to try and remember how to deal with Flickr. Where is my password? What? This is Yahoo? Which email, which password, which "screen name?" EEEEEEEEEEE! HELP!

I'm into Flickr and have uploaded my photos. Now Mary says put them in Big Huge Labs. I'm in Big Huge Labs. How do I get my pictures there? I need a photo set??? What is that? Back to Flickr. Found the button and created a photo set. Instructions say hit the mosaic button. Where the hell is it????? Back to Big Huge Labs. Oh, I have to create an account. And link it to my Flickr account? Click here, click there. What am I agreeing to? Is this worth is? Okay, I'm linked. Put in the URL of the Photo Set! Does this never end? Choose colors for background and border. If I don't like the colors can I go back and change them? Apparently not. How many pixels between photos? How do I know how large a space 5 pixels is? Can I shuffle them?? Don't know. Okay - create. Figured out how to export and there it is on my desktop. Then I had to resize it!

I'm exhausted! Will I ever remember how to do this again?

I have not been able to find a free download to help me create a collage on a Mac. Photoshop Elements will create one like snapshots or other fancy things, but not like the style above. If you type in Google "create mosaic" you get those things where tiny pictures create a large picture like in the shape of a heart. And lots of the things don't work on a Mac. If anyone has any advice, please tell me! Please! There must be an easier way.

Now that I have calmed down, I will tell you I have been in the yard taking pictures of mushrooms. When it rains they magically appear the next day. Aren't they lovely? The one in the top row in the center is the largest. The top of it is about as large as my hand. The others are from one and a half inches to four inches. I wish I had a mushroom book. Will have to check for one at the library.

I need to go to bed and rest now. My brain is smoking.

Oh, forgot to say I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Monson, Massachusetts

2011-08-13T21:44:00.000-04:00

This winter Mr. B and I went to Monson, Massachusetts. I was entering some photos to be considered for a juried show. Unfortunately they were not chosen, (what were they thinking?) but I thought it wonderful that such a small town has an art center. And many people were arriving with entries while I was there. Later I went back to see the art show during their opening day and it was packed!

We thought Monson a charming town. A river runs through it and there are old mill buildings. Sadly a tornado hit the town this summer and toppled this beautiful church steeple.

There are a number of large houses in town. Isn't this a beauty? How would you like to heat this? I would love to see inside! It is beautifully restored.

And this one. If it were a B & B I would spend a weekend there! Sign me up for the tower room!

We haven't been back since the tornado hit. I hope these lovely houses were not damaged.

A Fun Photo Day

2011-08-11T20:02:00.000-04:00

The air is drier and there was a breeze all day. Mr. B and I felt like getting out. We picked up my photographer friend and her granddaughter and went to see the Windham Regional Arts Council Show in the gallery at the hospital. The challenge for the show had been to use words in an image. Some artwork did that very well. Others looked like the words had been an afterthought, and some had no words at all.

Having a challenge pushed me to experiment and I'm glad. This is the photo I entered in the show. The background is a scan of a page from an old textbook, "Eldridge's Business Speller." The copyright is Great Britain, 1913. The book belonged to my great uncle. The photo is 8x10. Since it is a business speller it is divided by verbs, nouns, etc. and the words are not in alphabetical order so I couldn't find a page that had "bird" on it. Even so, I was pleased with the outcome of this female goldfinch perched on a sunflower seed head in front of iris leaves.

I have really been studying photography and my Photoshop Elements. Here I had to select the bird, feather the selection and decrease the opacity of the layer. The bird was one layer, the scan was the second layer and the green was the third layer. Then they all had to be merged.

After the art show Mr. B and I had errands to do. A stop at the hardware store yielded small hook eyes and picture wire to complete another project. Then we went looking for the Girleyville Gristmill in Storrs, CT. Those pics aren't ready yet so I will share them another day.

When we arrived home I had a little time for more photos before starting supper. This is the best "yard shot" of the day. All in all, a lovely day. And still time to try printing photo cards on my new Big Boy!

Attractive?

2011-08-10T00:38:00.000-04:00

Is this a face you could love? The turkeys came frequently last winter. They started by eating out of the bird feeder. When we realized they were hungry we put out corn for them. I came across this picture while looking through my photo files.

Having realized I have taken over 9,000 photos in a year and a half, I decided it is time to view them all in iPhoto and make some tough decisions. Of course, I delete some when I load them into the computer, but still I have lots, and lots. I love having someone to show my photos to. Do you some time? Don't worry. There are only about 8,000!

There is a new Big Boy at my house!

2011-08-09T22:18:00.001-04:00

AND HERE HE IS!

An Epson Workforce 1100 that prints 13 x 19 and uses pigment inks.

Now I have no more excuses! You know how that goes. "If I had a better printer I could....... print larger photos and sell them for big money....... print my photos on fabric and make wonderful art quilts worth hundreds of dollars!"

It is "put up or shut up time" and I am terrified! What if I can't do all those things I always thought I could?

Can I possibly claim I need any more equipment or supplies?

Here is my "old" printer, my scanner, my sewing machine, and an antique treadle machine.

Do I need more?

Because we haven't been able to sell our lake house in Virginia (see the side bar), we are feeling the pinch and need some income. I have tried to get a job. Really, I tried. I applied for a few. But employers see me as "over the hill." And I have no one to recommend me because I was self employed for years. And I really don't want to go out and work and miss all the fun times with Mr. B. We have been giggling a lot lately. Would I want to miss that?

So, Etsy store, here I come. With fear and trepidation. Can I do all the techie things necessary? Advice anyone?

Just so you know. I didn't spend big bucks for Mr. Big Boy. He was the cheapest wide format printer I could find that uses pigment inks, the kind that last 100 years. He was on sale for $99 and free shipping from Amazon.

Avery Point, CT

2011-08-07T23:27:00.001-04:00

For my son-in-law's birthday we took him to Avery Point for a lobster. A branch of the University of Connecticut is there right on the ocean. Since it was a weekend, the huge stone mansion that houses offices was not open to the public.

This little house sparrow was on the railing next to the outdoor eating area. Don't worry. Mr. B shared his roll. Click here to learn about house sparrows and hear his chirp.

We ate at Finn's Cafe on the campus. Our group had lobster, hot lobster roll, lobster bisque and fried clam strips. The clam strips were by far the best. Don't order the lobster bisque if you like the traditional flavor. The atmosphere and view were better than the food.

As we ate we could watch the boats coming and going. It was a very gray day and the light was dull, so I transformed this picture of the view to black and white.

This Avery Point Light has undergone a half million dollar restoration. This site shows a Before picture. There are two other lighthouses at Avery Point.

There is a nice brick path along the rocky shore where you can see the "Sculpture by the Sea." I loved this pink pig.

I'm joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Stranger and Stranger

2011-08-01T21:45:00.002-04:00

I was drawn outside by the rays of the sun slanting across the lawn. The threatening storm had passed over us and since I was surprised to see the sun, I grabbed my camera and headed outside. After taking a few pictures, I walked around to the front of the house and looked up and saw these incredible marshmallow clouds.

As the sun colored the sky this is what I saw. Notice the two clouds in the center, just above the tree line. Look at the bottom picture and you will see those two up close. Don't they look like two faces, male and female? Strange! I have never seen anything like this!

As I was snapping shots, Mr. B drove up and asked if wanted to go where I could see more of the sky. I jumped in we were at the golf course in a few minutes where the sky was very dramatic.

All in all, a very satisfying evening! I sent my sister a picture of the strange clouds and she checked in her cloud book and told me they are Mammatus clouds. Here is the link so you can read about these fantastic clouds.

I'm linking to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House. Visit and see all the marvelous mosaics.

Cirque Du Soliel - Quidam

2011-07-31T00:05:00.000-04:00

Mr. B and I, along with other family members went to see an amazing show! Cirque Du Soliel - "Quidam" is the most unusual performance I have ever seen. If you have a chance to see Cirque Du Soliel, don't hesitate. Thanks to my eldest son and his wife for the tickets!

My middle son has seen the same show -twice! - and was very excited to hear we would be going.

This act in the wheel was one of my favorites. Truly amazing! But then I could say that about all of the show!

The performance was in downtown Providence, RI at the Dunking Donuts Center. Historic Providence is beautiful, clean and full of flowers. I hope to have another chance to visit and take in the sites.

Special Visitors

2011-07-30T11:03:00.001-04:00

It is always busy at our bird feeder which is about twelve feet from our front door. Sometimes if I sit quietly on the front porch, the birds will keep coming and I can take pictures. The red bellied woodpecker is an exception. He keeps flying from tree to tree and complaining about me. I tried standing in the open doorway but he wouldn't accept that either.

As I was sitting in my chair on the porch, drinking coffee with my camera in my lap, this hummingbird flew in front of my face (about 3 feet from the tip of my nose), hovered there and seemed to look me in the eye. Probably thinking, "Put your coffee cup down and take my picture, you dunce!" But I blew it and didn't have the camera ready until he (she?) landed on the feeder.

A goldfinch couple has been working on the sunflower centers. Ironic that these sunflowers grew from seeds spilled from the bird feeder and now they are feeding the birds! These two pictures were taken from the living room window. They would have flown had I opened the door. She had her tail pointed at me so I focused on him. The sunflowers were bobbing in the wind and he was constantly pecking. Conditions that made it difficult to get a clear picture.

Next time I won't let that hummingbird sneak up on me!
I'm linking to Camera Critters. Check out all the other critters caught by a camera.

Buttonwood Farms - Sunflowers & Ice Cream

2011-07-18T00:04:00.000-04:00

If you live in Connecticut and want good ice cream in a lovely setting, go to Buttonwood Farms in Griswold. Buttonwood Farm Ice Cream, Inc - 471 Shetucket Turnpike. They make all their ice cream. Butter Brickle was my choice in a fresh made waffle cone. Mr. B enjoyed Maine Blueberry, my daughter tried Almond Coconut (I was tempted by this) and my SIL had chocolate cherry. There are many flavors, even bubble gum.

The sunflowers were not in full bloom yet but should be next weekend, July 23, when they sell bouquets for $5 and donate the money to the Make-a-Wish-Foundation.

There were plenty of photo ops and my daughter and I took advantage of them. Mr. B commented that had he realized it was a photo trip, he would have taken a book to pass the time! You'll be seeing more photos of an old house, a barn, stone walls, and of course, more sunflowers!

Hop over to Little Red House and experience Mosaic Monday. I'm joining the party!

Munching in the Garden!

2011-07-12T23:47:00.001-04:00

The exciting news is that the hydrangeas I planted last fall are blooming! I had a friend visit today and we did a photo shoot in the yard. She is giving me some pointers on Lightroom and here are the results. I am so used to finishing my photos in PhotoShop Elements that I'm having to push myself to use Lightroom. It requires more thinking!

Something has been eating my flowers, both the blooms and the leaves. I saw some shinny trails that I recognized as slug trails. So every evening I go out and put out my little cans of slug bait. Little swimming pools for them! Since I didn't want to sacrifice my good beer, I made a mixture of warm water, yeast and sugar. Works great. The slugs can't wait to crawl in and drown.

As I was putting out the slug pools tonight, in the dark, with my flashlight, I discovered what else is MUNCHING my plants. There were earwigs and beetles on the daisy blooms and the zinnias. So I picked them all off and crushed them. In the morning I will empty the slug pools and squish any slugs still alive. I sound blood thirsty, don't I? But I don't like seeing holes in the plants leaves and half eaten flowers.

I think I'm in love!

2011-07-03T21:39:00.001-04:00

My first ever rose bush has its first bloom! I've been like a new mother, checking it every day for aphids and spraying it if I see even one. As you can see, it is gorgeous! Here it is from a bud to a full blown flower. And as a bonus - it smells good. I take full credit!

Don't you love the color?

It was raining today as I took these photos. I always knew I could grow roses! I am just sooooooo proud!

My rose is "Tropicana." The label says "Very fragrant, coral-orange, flowers bloom above glossy, dark green foliage. Hybrid Tea Rose." I planted it this spring (early May) as a bare root plant.

Join Mary at Little Red house for Mosaic Monday and see what everyone is up to.

Fall into Color

2011-06-28T00:40:00.000-04:00

Doesn't this picture make you want to jump right into the center of this lily? Imagine being the size of Thumbelina and sitting on a petal and drinking from a raindrop. Oh the pure color of it!

Join Little Red House for Mosaic Monday and see the wonderful mosaics everyone has made.

Still Raining!

2011-06-24T20:42:00.000-04:00

My neighbors keep saying this weather is "unusual for Connecticut." They said the same thing about the snowy winter. I suppose Autumn will be "unusual" too. I would love to see some sunshine! But the flowers are thriving in the rain - except for the pansies which look drowned. Here are pictures of wet flowers in my garden. I am so pleased to have some blooms to show you.

Mr. B surprised me. He was waiting in the car while I did an errand in Home Depot. When I returned to the car, the back was full of flowers. He had bought two large pots of yellow yarrow, one of my favorite flowers! So today when we went to Hockanums Greenhouse near Storrs, to give them flower pots to reuse, I bought him a butterfly weed plant, his favorite. For Father's Day I gave him a yellow begonia.

This is a gerba daisy that Mr. B bought for me at the grocery store in February. It graced our dining room table until the blooms were gone then moved to a table in the living room in front of the large windows. This spring I planted it outdoors. It rewarded me with three blooms and two more coming. Do you suppose I can pot it this fall and winter it indoors? Don't you just love the color?

Given the choice, I would rather spend money on buying a plant than eating out. But today I was lucky and got both - lunch out and a pot of "snow in summer"! I can't go to a place that sells plants and not buy something! I just can't!

Father's Day Outing

2011-06-21T00:15:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed a Father's Day outing to Captain Scott's Lobster Dock in New London. The weather was perfect - not too hot - and a few hundred other people had the same idea. But with Mr. B wanting lobster, we stood in line. An hour later we had our food. The children were treating us. After whole belly fried clams for me and a hot lobster roll for Mr. B (both delicious) we finished with an ice cream cone. Blueberry for Mr. B and toasted coconut for me. I loved the coconut!

It was outdoor seating and there was a pavillion where you could get out of the sun. We enjoyed watching the gull on the piling (no, he wasn't giant sized), and looking at the boats. It was a perfect afternoon. Since there were six of us and our cars only carry five, we took two cars. The children drove and all we had to do was enjoy the scenery while they followed the Google Map directions I had printed. It was a perfect day! I hope your Father's Day was just as nice.

Join me with a visit to Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Raindrops on Flowers

2011-06-13T17:50:00.001-04:00

After a sunny and hot spell, we have gone into a period of rain. The transition was marked by severe thunderstorms and devastating tornadoes an hour north of us. I find it difficult to garden in the hot, humid weather - one of the reasons we left Virginia. The rain has been good for all my fresh plantings. On the downside, the mosquitoes are thriving. It is cooler now and good gardening weather, but still rainy.

This lily is one of a group I started indoors in February. When it warmed up, I took the lilies outdoors everyday for a little sunshine. See my post "Sun Bath for Plants." It is nice to be rewarded for all that work with these lovely blooms.

Join Mary at Little Red House for more photo collages on Mosaic Monday.

Working Indoors on a Rainy Day

2011-05-23T14:23:00.000-04:00

Go to Little Red House and see the other photo collages on Mosaic Monday.

Yes, it's raining again. Raining buckets actually. But between the downpours I was able to garden two days. Enough to make me relish a few hours in my recliner with the heated pad for my aching back. So today I can enjoy some Studio Time!

The Windham Regional Arts Council is having a members' show in June and the entry deadline is Saturday. Being a new member I didn't realize this was coming up until I received the notice a week ago. Can I have some good things ready in time? One moment I say "yes," next moment I say "no." I don't want to embarrass myself with my entries. What to do? This is not a jurried show but all members can exhibit. That means I have no check on my entries.

I have been working on my "Organic Crochet," for lack of a better description. In trying to finish old projects I found two of these balls and decided to enhance them and add a third. Looking at these now, I realize that creating these years ago started me on my crochet and fabric sculpture path. This led to other creations and my tiny fabric brooches.

The picture below is one of a set of three Organic Crochet Balls. You can see all three on the worktable above and close up on the top right in the collage.

Mr. B and I went with friends to the Chihuly Exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I was struck by how the shapes I am using on these Organic Crochets are similar to the shapes he uses in his glass sculptures. This photo taken from the internet of a different exhibit.

I'll take the week to get some photos ready for the show and decide about the crochet.

Devastating news today about the tornado in Joplin, Missouri. Those people didn't have a chance. It makes our many days of rain such a minor inconvenience by comparison.

My Garden - A Work In Progress!

2011-05-17T19:43:00.001-04:00

No long list here of what is blooming in my garden. I'm creating a garden. Even though we bought a 45 year old house (with our daughter and son-in-law) there are only foundation plantings. No yard full of daffodils; No perennial beds; No rosebushes.

We do have azaleas and rhododendrons that are so overgrown they reach to the roof. When they finish blooming there will be some serious pruning going on. The downpours this week are really beating up the azaleas.

These sticks are three lilac bushes. Will they bloom next year?

Two of the lilacs are pink and the center one is purple. Won't that be beautiful?

In future posts I'll share more of the beginnings of this garden. The Windham Garden Club (Connecticut) is having a plant sale on Saturday. You can bet I'll be there! Members are dividing perennials and selling them along with donations from greenhouses. I am a member but have nothing to share yet. If the garden grows well, next year I can share bee balm, silver mound artemisia, Shasta daisies and more.

I'm joining The Little Round Table for "This Week in the Garden." You have to see the beautiful roses!

Wet Spring Green

2011-05-15T21:41:00.001-04:00

Wet was the word for today. We had several downpours. The puddles had bubbles in them just like I remember the puddles from my childhood in Georgia. I managed to get out when it was only sprinkling and enjoy the wet greeness of everything. The moss was plump and soft. The ferns were brilliant.

These little blue flowers didn't mind the rain. Look at their soft "bed." Does anyone know the name of these flowers?

Join the Mosaic Monday party at Little Red House and see all the lovely collages.

Homemade Pie Crust

2011-05-15T14:25:00.001-04:00

I'm not much of a pie maker but Mr. B really loves pie. Give me a cake any day. But in my efforts to please Mr. B I decided to make a pie crust. I used to make the kind that came in a box and you mixed it. Then I found the Pillsbury pre-made refrigerated crust to be excellent and easy. Our pantry has been overflowing since we shop the "buy one get one free specials" or the "ten cans for ten dollars" bargains or buy the cases of cans at BJ's. In my effort to eat from the pantry I found a can of pumpkin pie filling left over from Thanksgiving. You-know-who LOVES pumpkin pie. Not a favorite of mine so I am not tempted to eat it. There was no ready made crust in the refrigerator but I thought, "I can do this."

Cooks.com gave me this recipe by Julia Childs for a crust made in the Cuisinart.

JULIA CHILD'S CUISINART PIE CRUST

1 3/4 c. flour
1 stick (1/4 lb.) butter, cut up
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt

Blend flour, butter, oil and salt in Cuisinart until crumbly. Add 1/4 cup of cold water and continue blending until ball forms. Makes dough for a double crust pie or 2 single crusts.

***********************

It sounded easy enough. It really did form a ball which I halved and rolled out on a large cutting board. Rolling a circle is not easy, but that done, I draped it over the rolling pin and transferred it to the pie plate. The second crust I rolled out and put it in the pie plate and refrigerated it for another day.

Here is my crust. I'm not an expert on the pinching to make it pretty but this is not bad.

Here is the finished product. I was so proud of myself! Mr. B loved it! I have to say the crust is not as tasty as the Pillsbury kind. Maybe I should try one made with Crisco. Any suggestions for a flaky crust recipe?

Paws was very interested. Maybe I should make him one filled with tuna fish or chicken!

Nesting Time in the Park

2011-05-08T22:33:00.000-04:00

In my last post about Gay City Park I promised more photos so here they are. Mr. B and I sat at a picnic table to gaze out at the water. There was a small island with a goose on it. He was motionless. As I was taking his picture I saw another goose. It was the female getting out of the nest. And there were four little ones at her feet! Papa goose never wavered from his job of sentinel.

Underneath are other photos I took in the park - the creek through the skunk cabbages, ferns unfurling, and a small waterfall. Even a small waterfall sounds good as it gurgles. Mr. B and I returned to the park another day planning to watch the geese and have a picnic. But we couldn't see any geese and a cold wind and then rain drove us back to the car. We ate our pimento cheese sandwiches in the car but there was a lovely view of the woods and blooming trees.

Stop by Little Red House and see the other collages on Mosaic Monday.

Gay City State Park

2011-05-04T00:36:00.001-04:00

I've had the opportunity to choose my Mothers' Day gift. Even though we moved into a forty-five year old house, there are no perennial flower beds, just foundations plantings of azaleas, rhododendrons and junipers. I am eager to start some flower beds and have four, 4x4 cedar raised beds ready to go. My gift is a load of mulch and a load of mixed compost and topsoil. Oh, happy gardening-days-to-come. You may think that is like getting a washing machine for Christmas, but I assure you, this gift will make me very happy. Throw in a little fertilizer and I am a contented woman. Thanks to my daughter and son-in-law for this lovely gift!

On the way home from the landscaping place, we decided to check out Gay City State Park. What a find! Water, wildlife, serenity and place to sit and enjoy it all. It was a warm sunny day. While the "kids" went to explore the dam, Mr. B sat and turned his face to the sun, and I wandered down a path with my camera and monopod, feeling quite like a professional photographer. That is until I was almost run over by a dog on a leash that seemed to be pulling a man on a bike. After I recovered and quite was restored, this squirrel came through the woods and stopped to rest.

In this close up you can see the dirt on his nose. Don't you think he had just dug up the nut?

There were wet areas along the creek and they were full of skunk cabbage. Reading about skunk cabbage, I learned the plant can generate heat which allows it to push its way up through the frozen earth. Next spring I'm going to start looking for it earlier so I can see the bloom which is inside the spathe, the first part to push up.

Don't you love the way the leaves look with the sun shining through them? I like to look up close and see the details like the veins in the leaves.

Gay City State Park is in Hebron, Connecticut. According to Wikipedia it includes the remnants of an 18th century mill town which was named after the Gay family, who made up a large part of its residents. The Blackledge River flows through the park and there is a dammed pond. The extensive trail system links to other parks.

In my next post I will show you more pictures taken in the park.

More Azaleas

2011-05-02T23:19:00.000-04:00

Deanna of "My Loves, My Life" expressed amazement that an azalea bush would be twelve feet high. All you southerners know they get that tall and even taller. But I didn't expect to find such a tall azalea in Connecticut. Here it is as seen from the window of my former dining room, now studio.

Here is the same azalea as seen from the path to the back porch.

These bushes are near our lake house in Virginia. They are six to eight feet tall.

If you want to see amazing azaleas you should go to the deep south in March. Nothing can rival the beauty of azalea time in Savannah, Georgia. I'm from near there and I can tell you that every yard has azalea bushes, many of them huge!

Azaleas in Virginia

2011-05-01T23:25:00.001-04:00

Mr. B and I left Connecticut in a cold rain and headed to Virginia. We took turns driving through heavy rain and fog. In Harrisburg, PA it was Mr, B's turn to drive and my turn to nap. I woke up outside Chambersburg, PA in a different world. Blue skies, warm sunshine and the middle of spring. It was lovely! Dogwoods, redbuds and azaleas were in full bloom! Here are some of the azaleas I enjoyed in Virginia. The butterfly on the flower in the collage was taken in the yard of our Virginia house.

I took the hammock south with us and the night we arrived it was up and I was in it! It was a warm, breezy evening and I could hear the night sounds. Believe me, that hammock was well used during the time we were there. Oh, so nice to have some Porch Days!

We met with the realtor and our lake cottage in the woods is for sale.

Visit Mosaic Monday and see all the lovely mosaics.

Off to Virginia!

2011-04-23T00:40:00.000-04:00

This pink azalea bush behind our house is a riot of blooms! It is about twelve feet tall.

Mr. B and I are going to Virginia to check on the house at the lake. I'm taking my hammock with me. Hoping to have a little time to swing, read and nap. There is no TV and no internet in the house!

Little People

2011-04-18T00:23:00.001-04:00

I enjoy creating many different types of things, from photo cards to fabric sculptures. These little people are a favorite of mine. I think of them as the Mr. and Mrs. Sheila of Starshine Through My Windows saw their picture in a post about my new studio location and asked me how their bodies are stiff enough to hold them upright.

The torso is actually a pill bottle. The rest is a bit of fabric, felt and pantyhose. Oh, and her purse is leather. My supply area is well stocked enough to have all this on hand!

Every well dressed lady has her earrings on.

Who lives in your "hood?"

2011-04-17T20:31:00.003-04:00

Mr. B and I went for a Sunday drive and this is who we saw. I'm never fast enough to get a good picture when a bird flies across the road in front of us. I barely caught this egret before he landed in a flooded area where we couldn't see him at all. This donkey I wanted to hug but settled for a rub on a velvety nose. The goose was serenely watching the water flow by. We wondered if it was a male being a lookout for a nesting female.

After the downpour last night, the creeks and rivers were roaring! We saw some amazing waterfalls going over old dams. It helps me understand the power of water and why there were so many mills in New England.

Visit Little Red House and see other photo collages.

Sun Bath for Plants

2011-04-12T15:07:00.004-04:00

My plants are traveling all over the house in search of sunshine! We have to be careful where we step. Here you see my Asian Lilies in plastic bottles I cut off. Mr. B and I bought a box of fourteen bulbs at BJ's. They had white tops which are now turning green.

Only the squash seeds came up. They are thriving in yogurt containers which I will wash and recycle. I think it is not warm enough in the house and there is not enough warm sun for the flower seeds to germinate. We could feed the whole world if everyone would eat squash! I can't get everyone here to eat it unless I make it into zucchini bread. Maybe I should put it in the blender and hide it in spaghetti sauce. Would that work? I'm talking adults, not children.

At last, we had a day warm enough to take things outside! My coleus have done fairly well. I cut off the tops and root them and then pot them in soil. And of course I am always pinching back so they will be bushier.

One day of sunny warmth and now back to three days of rain. No sun anywhere!!!

New Studio

2011-04-10T22:35:00.006-04:00

It wasn't even my idea! But it all fell into place so beautifully. My daughter suggested we move the dining room table into the sunken living room so we could eat by the fire. Certainly the living room is large enough. That got me thinking about what could be done with the dining room.
Why not turn it into a studio for me? It would bring me up from the basement where I only have one very small window and where I feel very cut off. The downstairs studio can store my supplies. Now I am next to the kitchen and laundry so I can work and then dash off to stir the pot or transfer laundry. In the photo you can see past the kitchen doorway and into the laundry room.

Where my worktable now sits is where the dining room table was. And I just had to add the shelves for storage! I am trying very hard to keep it neat but am thinking it is not in my nature to work neatly! I am being much more productive in the new location! And there is light - a whole wall of nearly floor to ceiling windows!

Here are my little people and some of my photo cards.

The collage (made in Photo Shop Elements) shows my wild crochet, one of my photos framed in a shadowbox and a basket of fat yarn.

Thanks to all of you who gave me suggestions for making photo collages. I'm going to work with Elements for a while and see what I can come up with.

I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Check out all the mosaics there.

Now a question for those of you who have Etsy shops. Is it hard to do? Does it pay off? How do you get business? My attempts to find a part time job have not succeeded. I'd rather be home with Mr. B and working in my studio. But a little income would be appreciated. After all, a girl has to buy photo paper, frames, fabric and books. I need to support my habit! Thanks in advance for your answers!

Reception at Akus Gallery

2011-04-07T21:47:00.006-04:00

Exciting evening!! This is me posing with my photo "Shenandoah Valley Mule" at a juried art show at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut. This is the first time I've had a photo in a juried show. I am so proud of myself! Mr. B took family and friends to dinner after the Reception at the gallery.

Click here to learn more about the Akus Gallery. Below is the poster for the show.

There are many opportunities here in Connecticut. Hopefully there will be more shows in my future. I plan to continue with my photography but am also crocheting and working on my fabric sculptures. Let's create!

Spring Collage

2011-04-04T00:52:00.001-04:00

Darn! I seem to forget how to use Picasa from one week to the next! But I can't find a simpler way to make a collage. Certainly I don't want to pay for software. When you goggle "photo mosaic" you get those things that look like a puzzle. Does anyone recommend an easy, free program?

Well, here it is. I took this picture last spring. We aren't this far along in Connecticut yet. Maybe in couple of weeks. After I created this in Picasa I put it into Photo Shop Elements and put a border on it.

I am deep into family history research. Learned that some family stories are just that - stories. I've been able to disprove one with research and census records. So rewarding to find tidbits of information.

Join Little Red House to see other photo mosaics.

Snow is almost gone

2011-03-14T23:35:00.004-04:00

The woods are almost clear and I have been out exploring. I learned that the ticks are alive and well two days after the snow melted! Who would have thought? I made the mistake of lying down to take the photo of the tree.

As you can see by the photo on the right, things are starting to grow. The tulips I planted last fall are poking their tips out.

Mr. B and I went to BJ's for groceries and were snagged by a display of flowers in boxes. They were bulbs or bare root plants. I chose Asian lilies and echinacea. It was hard to pass up the roses, the hydrangeas and the dinner-plate-sized dahlias. I'm ready to garden!

Echinacea is in the daisy family.

After our furnace needed an emergency repair and we had to replace the burner, we realized we need a newer, more efficient furnace. But none of us like burning oil and the cost keeps going up, so I called a geothermal heating contractor to come and give us an estimate. He did come and measure so now I am waiting to hear how much it will cost. It means changing from a hot water baseboard system to a hot air system. But we need to replace four very old wall unit air conditioners. This way we put it all into one system. Will the cost be prohibitive? I thought our oil bill for this winter was prohibitive!

Friday they come to give us an estimate for a new oil furnace. We have been looking at wood pellet stoves for the living room fireplace as another source of heat. I'm not sold on a pellet stove because of the noise of the fan and the auger. I admit handling the pellets should be easier than stacking the wood and carrying for a wood stove. I'll keep you posted.

I'm joining Mosaic Monday.

Working Woman

2011-03-07T15:18:00.004-05:00

I've been back to work at the furniture consignment shop. My friend had a long bout with the flu. Still cold there but I wore my long johns and knee socks and boots. Big difference! In between customers I took some photos.

Visit Mary at The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Even if you don't need anything, it is such fun to browse in antique and consignment shops. You never know what treasure awaits! And it is a good chance to shop for friends and relatives who collect things.

I have joined a photography club to learn more, but mostly I'm learning that everyone's photos are better than mine! But on the upbeat, I did have one photo chosen to be in a juried show at Eastern Connecticut University. A real boost to my ego!

My son-in-law recently gave me the gift of Adobe's Lightroom. I'm struggling with it. I downloaded a guide but I'm thinking I need one of those Dummy books. The instructions say click on a certain button and then I can't find it!

What I'm really doing is fighting off Alzheimer's. Mr. B tells me that speaking two languages can delay the onset of Alzheimer's. He speaks Spanish. Since I will never learn a second language, I'm keeping my brain active by studying photography books and software!

Keeping Warm

2011-02-26T11:41:00.002-05:00

Sheila of Starshine Through My Windows asked about what I call my Polar Coat. So here is a picture. Mr. B gave it to me for Christmas. I'll give you a hint and tell you the sizes run small. But isn't that the excuse we always give? So, slim as I am(Ha!), I had to exchange my large for an extra large.

It has metallic cloth to reflect my body heat back to me. It is made by Columbia Sportswear. The tag says "Thermal Comfort, OMNI - HEAT." There are lots of pockets and zippers under the sleeve and a detachable hood. It keeps me warmer than any coat I ever had, even my fur coats. Shelia lives in Alberta, Canada and deals with temps way below zero. Maybe she can recommend a type of glove that would actually keep my fingers warm.

How about these?

This online site called "Heated Gloves" has gloves at reasonable prices. The ones pictured above are sale priced at $19.95. On some sites they are $100 and above. And why shouldn't I keep my feet warm at the same time? These insoles don't even need batteries and can be used time and again. Just put in boiling water to reactivate. Price is $39.95.

I helped out a sick friend this week and minded a furniture consignment shop for a day. It is in a charming old building but the heat came out near the ceiling and never got near the floor. My legs were numb from the knees down!! I was wearing regular shoes and socks as I had not been warned. These heated insoles would have made my day a lot more comfortable! They should be great for snowshoeing, too. Something I would love to try. I'm getting lots of ideas for next year's Christmas list!

Turkeys everywhere!

2011-02-23T22:12:00.002-05:00

We did buy corn for the turkeys and they are here at least twice a day to eat. Now in the mornings we hear the males gobbling. They are displaying and strutting for the females.

Here is a closeup. I can't find out anything about that cone on the front of the head. I've been doing some research online. Check out this site for more information and to hear a turkey gobble.

This guy decided to go across the street to eat at the neighbors so I only have the back view!

His Lucky Day!

2011-02-09T16:07:00.003-05:00

This little fella was so happy to discover the peanut butter suet.
And he didn't even have to climb anything to get it!

Sunny Skies Overhead - Ice Underfoot

2011-02-04T21:13:00.005-05:00

It's a hard winter for everyone. Many roofs have collapsed, mostly businesses and large buildings. Today some local schools were closed while the National Guard shoveled the roofs. They were asking for people to loan shovels. We're getting more snow and rain tomorrow.

This morning my daughter woke us up calling, "Come look out the front window!" There was a turkey eating sunflower seeds that had spilled from the bird feeder only a few feet from our front porch. We went to the farm store to get whole corn but they were out so we'll try again tomorrow. We plan to throw the corn off the back porch and it should slide on the ice down to the back of the yard. The turkey was walking on top of the snow and the ice crust was supporting him so the flock should be able to walk in the back yard. Hopefully the flock we saw this summer has survived.

This is the second day the ice has stayed on the trees even though the sun was shinning. Walking anywhere is treacherous. Mr. B and I went downtown to Main Street for lunch but had to give it up when we couldn't cross the big slushy puddles and get up the steep ice bank on the other side. A nice young man offered to help us, assuring us that since he is a volunteer fireman he is very capable. We believed him but decided it was safer to give up and go elsewhere. Now I understand why people go to the mall just to walk.

Winter Continues

2011-02-03T00:32:00.001-05:00

Wow! I feel like I am under house arrest! Yesterday was snow and freezing rain. Today was freezing rain and fog. No point in trying to get out. Walking is a risky business but I did get out to take a few pictures. You can see the ice on the limbs and dripping from the leaves.

I thought I was doing so well this winter. After all, this is no worse than last winter in Virginia. But suddenly those ads on TV for Caribbean vacations with gorgeous blue/green water and white sand beaches are looking pretty good!

And while we haven't had a tree fall on the house like last year in Virginia, we have had furnace trouble. We are planing to replace it in the spring and hope the repairs will last until then.

That translates to no vacation in the sun!

Big Snow!

2011-01-12T21:32:00.003-05:00

My seeds! They must be here somewhere!

Lots and lots of snow here. How nice not to have to go anywhere. I did a little shoveling and took some pictures in the yard.

I need snowshoes to get into the woods! Has anyone tried these new types of snowshoes? How about these from LL Bean.

I kept my promise!

2010-12-18T17:04:00.004-05:00

I never meant to take such a long break from blogging. Getting the house in order has consumed me and I am not finished yet. I did keep sorting my lifetime accumulation of goods (good stuff!). I had promised to have the garage ready to park cars in by winter. Today we drove a car into the garage!

This picture is of one side of the garage soon after we moved in. The whole garage looked like this!

We thought we could get two cars in but - not yet. If you follow my blog you remember that I first tired to get rid of my excess by having a yard sale. When there was a lot left over Mr. B and I took the small things to a flea market where we only earned enough to pay for our entry and table. Then I checked out an auction as a means of selling the furniture but prices were incredibly low. Then I checked out consignment shops and decided to list things on Craig's List. Most of my responses were scams and nothing sold. I ended up selling things to a consignment shop for half the used value even though the furniture was new! That loss really hurt! But it helped me clear out the garage. Now I still have many boxes of antique collectible items to sell.

Some of my children are home and we have baked tons of cookies. A neighbor sent a wonderful box of fruit. More children still to come and friends will be spending Christmas day with us.

Have a glass of wine and sit by the fire. Merry Christmas!

White Flower Farm

2010-11-19T21:32:00.007-05:00

To start our garden at the new house, we took a trip to White Flower Farm in Litchfield, CT. It was a cold windy day so I didn't tour the 5 acres of gardens open to the public. I focused on the sale items and bulbs.

Here is the house at the farm.

There were lots of wagons waiting for shoppers. It would have been easy to fill several wagons with good stuff!

This bench looks like a nice place to sit and contemplate things.

There were several areas with shrubs, bulbs and pots for sale. It was hard to set limits, but I knew I couldn't buy more than I could plant before winter.

Here is a hydrangea that was still in bloom.

I bought two hydrangeas, two peonies, two astilbes, three hostas, and lots of bulbs. It has been a real push to get it all planted. I finished a few days ago. Many days I had to forego planting to rake leaves.

After shopping we drove slowly through Litchfield. It was full of lovely houses, nice fences and an interesting downtown.

Reflections and Gardening

2010-11-12T22:23:00.003-05:00

While working in the yard I looked at the house and was amazed at the reflections in every window. Here is a picture of one of the windows.

Most of those beautiful leaves have fallen now and I think we have several tons of leaves! As much as I hate leaf blowers, when our neighbor offered the loan of his, we accepted. (I had already spent two days raking.) Even with the blower, the mower and the rake, my SIL and I only managed to clear the front yard in a day. There are several piles still to be picked up.

We made a huge pile of chopped leaves in the middle of the yard. This will be our lasagna garden next spring. We started the garden with the moving boxes that were too worn out to use again. They were collapsed and put on top of the grass and some dirt scattered on top to hold them in place. The leaves were next, then the kitchen waste gets dumped into the leaves. It is amazing how much we generate - coffee grounds with the filter, tea bags, egg shells, peelings, etc. By spring it should all be nice rich compost and we can plant in that bed on top of the ground.

I have planted bulbs - daffodils, crocus, autumn crocus, tulips, iris and grape hyacinths. Also planted peonies, hydrangeas and astilbes. There is a garden club in town and I have been invited to attend. I'm looking forward to meeting other gardeners. Now that it is winter, I'll tend my house plants and write up my order for some David Austin roses!

Yellows in Fall

2010-10-17T22:08:00.002-04:00

The rain storm and big wind did not take down all the leaves. There is lots of color still. The light has been golden, especially as it shines through the yellow leaves. Our house has many windows which provide views of the large trees.

These photos were taken today as I walked around the yard when I took a break from digging flower beds.

I'm joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Check out some of the mosaics.
Thanks for stopping by Porch days.
Nancy

Great Photo Opp!

2010-10-15T11:42:00.003-04:00

We were enjoying a perfect day of exploring and savoring the fall weather and colors. The road was following the Connecticut River. We saw a pond that drained into the river and we crossed the bridge with the pond on one side and the river on the other. And there they were - five swans. Three were the gray youngsters and these parents. Mr. B stopped on the bridge and I quickly took a few shots as the traffic pulled around us. Perfect!!!

I'm joining Claudia at Finding Beauty Fridays. I'm sorry she is discontinuing this. Unpacking and settling in has consumed me and I'm sorry for not participating more often.
Nancy

I Need to see the Ocean!

2010-10-14T01:00:00.007-04:00

Today I just felt the need to see the ocean. Do any of you have days like that? It really isn't far from us so we drove Route 1 along the coast starting at Guilford Center. We found a lovely beach where I picked up gorgeous shells and made some photos. Then we drove through Madison (picturesque) and on to Old Saybrook. The weather was perfect, the sky and water a bright blue. The foliage was colorful and I loved seeing all the picket fences and the beautiful churches. Since it was my birthday, we did everything I wanted, even stopping at Blue Moon Artisans Shop where I could drool over the crafts. Snack was French fries and senior cokes at McDonalds. What a great day we had!

This photo I made a Hammonassett Beach. I loved the dunes and the shadow of the fence.

I'm joining A Southern Daydreamer for Out Door Wednesday. Drop by and check out all the photos.
I put Southern Daydreamer's logo here as a picture.
Is there a way to make it a link?

Fall Orchard Visit

2010-10-10T22:12:00.005-04:00

I took a day off from "the house" and Mr. B and I went on an orchard tour. My middle son (see the side bar) is in NY and is coming for a short visit. He wants to visit a farm stand so we took a day to check out what is in this area. And we found three winners! Flowers, pumpkins, apples blue skies and perfect weather - what wonderful parents we are to sacrifice a whole day to find the best farm stand for the son. We even had to drink cinder and eat some cider donuts (delicious!) in the name of research!

On my stop at the visitors center soon after we moved, I picked up a Connecticut Farms map. It really was a help as it listed all the farms, what they sell and it gives directions and places them on the map. We had no trouble at all. Mr. B drives and I navigate.

We thought Woodstock was one of the prettiest towns we have seen yet. There is a museum on the main street I want to go back to see.

Or course we bought a squash, a HUGE mum and two kinds of apples. We have discovered Honey Crisp apples and they are a wonderful sweet eating apple as well as good for cooking. I bought Galas and made applesauce.

I love Fall, and not just because it is my birthday and anniversary month. Since I love orange, red, gold and brown, is is only natural that I love Fall.

I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Click on the link and check out the other participants.

Basket Collection

2010-10-07T10:18:00.006-04:00

I'm sitting on the loveseat looking into the treetops. The tree trunks are dark from the rain and there is color in the leaves. We have been promised clearing skies today so I am hopeful after many gray days. I'm thinking I should ask for one of those special lights for SADD for my birthday. In Virginia there were many sunny days in the winter but that might not be the case here in Connecticut. I know I get depressed when deprived of sunshine whether the cause is rain or short days. I learned that when I lived in Maine for eighteen years. Plus I was always cold! Grumpy is what I was! Don't want to repeat that or the inhabitants here might expel me from the house! No, on second thought, they wouldn't kick out the cook, would they?

Those of you who have been following Porch Days know I have been trying to thin out my possessions. The word here being "trying." Finally I got to the boxes marked "Baskets." Here below are most of them. Nice collection don't you think? The large ones you can see further down. I was a good girl and culled between a third and a fourth of this bunch.

But I use my baskets, I really do! This basket full of books is waiting to head to the studio.

The next two large baskets are old ones bought at auction in Maine. The top one I placed temporarily and threw a pillow in it. Soon it was the cats' favorite place. The bottom one is an old laundry basket with a mouse hole in one corner. It has character. Now it is full of books but sometimes it holds yarn or cloth.

Today Sylvie chose the cloth bed instead of the basket. I do love to see a cat curled up in that basket!

We're switching from DSL to cable internet tonight. I'll have to change my Porch Days email address yet again. Hopefully there will be no interruption.

Have a sunny day, friends!
Nancy

Rainy Days

2010-10-06T23:55:00.004-04:00

It has rained for Days! We had tropical storm Nichole, one day of sunshine and back to more rain. But the sky was pretty bright today and when I went out with my umbrella to the compost heap, I noticed things I just had to photograph. Here are photos shot under an umbrella.

Isn't this leaf a standout just lying there amongst the pine needles?

You can see that we have puddles, but look how bright the leaves are in the right of the picture.

I love the pattern the water made in the pine needles as it ran down the slope of the driveway.

Unpacking boxes and sorting things has occupied me for weeks. I did take a break to create a flower bed and do some planting. I love the color of these mums and they blend with the brick of the house. I'm hoping they survive the winter and come back and bloom like this next fall.

Great strides have been made with the sorting and decision making. We gave to Goodwill what was left after our Tag Sale and the day at the flea market. But we kept the furniture. Now we have to sell that furniture plus a few other pieces. After talking with some consignment shops, we have decided to try Craig's List. I do hear stories about bad things that happen. We will deal only in cash and people can come and look only when everyone is home. Are there any other precautions I should take?

Chaos

2010-09-30T23:30:00.003-04:00

Many of my craft supplies are kept in units of plastic drawers. When they were moved it seems they were turned over as they were handled. One unit of eight drawers was even sitting in my studio upside down! The result was utter chaos. My drawers of thread looked like this.

After sorting you can see the result. This is only a small bit of the organizing the studio needs. My first effort was to get things out of boxes so there was room to move around. I stuffed everything willy-nilly onto shelves and into cabinets. Now I have to make sense of it all.

In the midst of the chaos, this guy sat quietly, not realizing THE HAND loomed!

Tag Sale to Flea Market to Goodwill

2010-09-22T21:26:00.006-04:00

After the tag sale in which there were lots of left overs, we decided to try the flea market. The largest flea market in Connecticut is only a few miles from our house. We left home at 6:30 am to sit in line to get into the drive-in where the flea market is held. You pay for a space and you can pay to rent a table. Six hours after the opening hour we packed up - only $30 ahead after the fees.

Goodwill here we come! This is a super nice Goodwill store and they have two lanes for unloading under a canopy. And they help you unload. I decided to take a quick look in the store. Geez, it looked like a regular department store! There were clothes from LL Bean and Coldwater Creek!

In housewares I found this lamp and didn't hesitate an instant. When I learned it was part of the 1/2 price sale I counted my money and realized I had the amount and even a penny extra! Mr. B ambled in at that point and asked if I needed any money but I told him I had it covered. A large, heavy brass lamp for $5!!!

It looks good here . . . . . .

And here.

For now I have left it in the entry. I like having a lamp there so I don't have to keep the chandelier on. I'm in the market for a planter for the plant here perched on the too tiny pot. Saw some nice things at HomeGoods.

Maybe a smaller version of this planter would work.

Peaches Anyone?

2010-09-17T21:33:00.003-04:00

Mr. B and I were driving down the road when I spotted a sign for a farm stand. "Turn there," I cried as we flew past it. So we turned around and went back and as we were going up a long lane we kept thinking, could the stand be this far off the road? The lane was bordered by a stone wall and tall trees made a tunnel. Suddenly things opened up and there was an orchard full of peach and apples trees. As you can see, the trees were loaded.

The rows were alternating, peach, then apple trees.

And in the barn were lots of vegetables, fruit and these lovely sunflowers. There was no one in sight. It was all on the honor system! You weighed your purchases and put the money in the box. How nice that things can still be done that way!

Tag Sale

2010-09-16T23:51:00.003-04:00

So I really did it! I made lots of decisions and that "Get Rid of Pile" I posted about (click here to see the photo) made it into my Tag Sale. Here is one of the signs we hung on the main road.

And here is what helped me get ready for the sale!

As you can see by the photo, I really did have a sale. The whole Pile was priced and put out in the driveway with the SIL's help. Mr. B was the cashier, I was the roving salesperson. Problem is, not much of it sold. I priced it low, even the furniture.

This is furniture left over from the store we closed. It is new, pine and is made in Pennsylvania. The corner cupboard was originally priced at $1,350 and in the tag sale at $225. But there was really no interest in the furniture. We did an ad in the paper explaining we had new furniture.

At the end of the day the whole pile moved back into the garage. Tag sales are not my favorite things. I don't mind the getting ready so much, but I hate people offering me 25 cents for my possessions no matter what price they are marked! As Janean of Old Sweetwater Cottage says, it is the bargaining that keeps her from doing sales. She would rather give items to a thrift shop! We really hoped to turn the items into cash to go into a special fund to buy Mr. B a larger TV, a desk and build shelves into the TV room closet to hold the TV.

Our tradition on yard sale day is to treat the "workers" to pizza out of the profits. It keeps morale up! So off we went to Willington Pizza where my SIL and I celebrated the completion of the sale and moving it back into the garage with a beer. I tried some Gorgonzola bread on my daughter's recommendation and it was mighty tasty! The cheese with herbs is on French bread and warmed.

There is a separate pile in the garage of boxes full of small antiques. We have attended an auction and it doesn't seem to be a good time to sell anything. There is another auction coming up Monday that we should attend to judge prices. I just no longer want so many small antiques on display like a copper kettle, an old rolling pin, vegetable choppers, crocks. And baskets! I unpacked at least three boxes of baskets and many of them are quite old.

Believe it or not, I still haven't unpacked all the boxes. More sorting to be done. Thank you all for your words of encouragement!

Rockin' with Roy and Neil

2010-09-15T00:02:00.004-04:00

As you know, we have just moved in and I am in my third (?) week or is it fourth week, of unpacking and sorting. Things were going into the discard boxes at a rapid rate. Then I had to drag all those boxes back in from the garage (up four steps - oh, my aching back!) and price them for the tag sale. I took a second look and decided to play some of the tapes I was thoughtlessly discarding. Well, I'm telling you, there was good music in those old tapes and I was having fun. I turned the volume to "loud" and got my exercise for the day by dancing. Roy Orbison and Neil Diamond never sounded so good.

Actually Neil Diamond sounded great at the concert I attended. I'd go again in a heartbeat if someone bought me tickets!

Our chadelier had six bulbs burned out. Wouldn't you know I couldn't match the bulbs. They were the chandelier type elongated bulbs. Since none of us liked the chandelier very much, Mr. B had the idea to switch to round bulbs for a more contemporary look.

This is the result. Doesn't it look great? We can all live with the fixture now and spend our money other places.

Next time I'll tell you about the tag sale!

Lebanon, Connecticut

2010-09-06T23:01:00.004-04:00

Mr. B and I love to explore. He has an excellent sense of direction and I'm a whiz at reading a map, so we just get in the car and go. It is exciting to have new territory to discover.

Only a few miles from us is the lovely, small rural town of Lebanon . There are a number of farms in town. Lebanon is know for its role in the Revolution. Its governor, Jonathan Trumbull, was the only British colonial governor to side with the American patriots. The Council of Safety, which managed the affairs of the Continental Army, met over 1,100 times. Most of the meetings were in Gov. Trumbull's home on the town green.

Lebanon has one of the largest town greens in the nation and it is still used for agricultural purposes as were all town greens originally. The day we were there hay was being raked on the green. There are several museums surrounding the green, including Gov. Trumbull's house. The walking path around the green is well used.

Top left photo is the Congregational Church
Top right is the path around the green
Bottom left must be for joggers going to the path
Bottom right is a stable (yes, a stable!) facing the green

Governor Jonathan Trumbull's House

We plan to go back and visit some of the museums.

Lebanon is going green and recently installed a wind turbine on a tower between two of its schools. It is also buying 40 % of its electric power which is produced by renewable energy sources.

A Rash Promise!

2010-08-27T06:05:00.006-04:00

After years of my stuff being in the garage while I remodeled a 1,000 sq ft log cabin in Pennsylvania, then in storage units in Virginia while I expanded our 800 sq ft lake house, my "stuff" is now all under one roof here in Connecticut. Granted a lot of that roof is a two car oversized garage which I must empty before the snow flies so the garage can fulfill its purpose of housing cars.

Some of this stuff has been packed in boxes the fourteen years since we left Cooperstown, NY. That house was fantastic! Imagine 4,200 sq ft that I remodeled with great storage. I'm seeing a thread as I write this - Stuff, moving and remodeling. And I'm at it again. I swear this is the last move! Have I said that before?? I'm just too old to do it again!

It's put up or shut up time. After years of, "Where is your ----?" And the answer, "It is in the storage unit with all my other stuff!" Now the Stuff is together and I promised I would thin it out and make it all fit in this house and get rid of what does not fit. Did I really make such a rash promise? Can I hide some of it under the bed??

Jayme at Tales from the Coop Keeper blogged about this very problem of excess stuff which caused me to write this post. I have been struggling with this issue every minute since we moved in here over two weeks ago. I am enjoying seeing all my things. They are like long lost friends not seen for fourteen years. But after the reunion, where do all these things go?? If I managed to stuff them all under my bed, the bed would be up so high it would go through the roof!

This is the "Get Rid of Pile."

I could stock my own library or used furniture store. Certainly I have enough craft supplies to open a store! What is this "Less is More" crap? More is better as long as you have space for it! And there is the rub. My daughter and the son-in-law live in the lower level. I get a shared studio down there. I'm plotting to make that my "under the bed storage" but don't think I can get away with it. They are wise to my strategies and it is more difficult than ever to "hide" my excess stuff.

Will I have to admit defeat and (gasp!) thin out the possessions? A Tag Sale is being considered for next weekend. It will take me all week to price the items. And it is so HARD to let go!

Teaser

2010-08-26T00:13:00.003-04:00

No, I haven't given up blogging. Just trying to get settled in after our move. Some of the boxes I am unpacking I haven't seen for fourteen years! How can I own so many books and dishes? And craft supplies??

When we dash out to to the store it is wonderful to have things so close at hand! Today I spent thirty dollars on cleaners for - wood, stainless steel, brass & copper, the stainless steel sink and an all purpose cleaner. Lots of scrubbing going on in the kitchen that involves a toothpick for the detail work.

We are having issues with our DSL. At times four of us are using our computers and I keep getting kicked off the internet. Patience is required. I heard Mr. B talking to his computer, "What do you mean you can't find Patriots.com?" The son-in-law has nearly a full time job here at home with all our technical requirements. The DVD player is not hooked up yet. The sling box is not working to sling the New England sports to the son in Baltimore. And tonight he set up my new email address with AT&T for Porch Days and my Google Account.

The following pictures are just a teaser for what I will blog about in the coming days. Don't you love the big frog? He is one of several on the Frog Bridge. Yes, he is sitting on a spool of thread. Willimantic, CT is know as "Thread City."

Settling In

2010-08-20T00:27:00.003-04:00

It is great to be in the new house! There is so much space I am getting lots of exercise just by walking from one end of the house to the other. My bedroom and the kitchen are on opposite ends so there is lots of back and forth. We rushed to unpack the latest load and get set up before son #1 (child 2) and wife arrived for a visit. The visit was scheduled far in advance but we just barely arrived before they did.

Thank goodness I had gotten the furniture placed and lots of boxes stowed in closets on my last visit in May. And of course the daughter (child 1) and hubby are living here and they have been mowing the lawn and seeing about things.

The house has worked beautifully for us. We seemed to have developed a tradition when anyone visits as we are all trying to get something from the kitchen that someone hollers, "Everyone in the kitchen!" and we all crowd in. The Virginia kitchen was full with two of us but today we tried it here and with six of us in the kitchen there was still space. We will try it at Christmas when there will be nine of us.

Today at one point the daughter was napping in our bed, the daughter-in-law was doing yoga in the living room, Mr. B and son (child 2) were watching TV downstairs, and the son-in-law was making me a Margarita as I sat at the bar downstairs. Absolutely great space!!

The cats are a little less jumpy but we have not let them outside yet.

Pictures to come later. I seem to be having trouble keeping track of where I set my camera down!

Heaven is a TempurPedic

2010-08-14T01:32:00.004-04:00

We have arrived and I am blogging from the TempurPedic. Feels pretty good on a tired "behind" that was in the car twelve hours! The cats howled for two hours then every time we hit a bump or stopped. I got over being so angry with them for the merry chase they gave us this morning. Now they are in the garage and everyone ate and drank. Maybe they will forgive us in a few days.

It seemed so difficult this morning. And it was so hot and humid that I was limp by the time the TV, DVD player and the computers were loaded. Oh, and the four cats. Plus so many odds and ends. I put the bread in the container of dry cat food. We were so short of space that there will be many surprises for days to come.

It wasn't until we were eating pizza at 11 PM that I realized it was Friday the 13th!

Here is a photo of the living room. Look at all that glass and the view of the trees. See why I was excited about the house? And our daughter and s.i.l. are happy to have us here. Can you believe the night is cool (and dry) and we have the attic fan on? No A/C!

Thank you all for your good wishes!

There is a TempurPedic calling my Name

2010-08-12T22:18:00.008-04:00

Actually it is a Cloud Supreme and it is going to be wonderful. It was delivered to our bedroom in Connecticut THREE months ago! In the meantime we are in Virginia sleeping on our double guest bed which has two layers of egg crate foam with another three in a strip across the middle where Mr. B says the mattress hurts his hip. That would account for your seeing a hump in the middle of the bed!

Is it any wonder my patience has run out? I missed gardening season. I missed three months! But finally we are getting underway. And Mr. B better not hurt his leg again! The truck is like a van and has no steps to climb up. (His leg injury from the last UHaul took two months to heal.)

The closet is looking empty. There is box with two bottles of Virginia wine for the daughter and S-I-L.

The bag is the last load of books to return to the library. The UHaul box has been used for several other moves and has lots of labels marked out - all the way back to D&D items for the boys who are now 28, 30, & 32. When can I stop using my moving boxes?! Dare I get rid of them this time? Maybe I should take them to the UHaul store and put them in the place where people can pick them up for free.

The house plants are gathered and ready to load.

See the canisters on the kitchen counter? I bought them soon after we married. Any one want to guess how long we've been married from that color scheme?

If I believed in signs I wouldn't make this move. After buying the house in CT nothing has gone smoothly. There was Mr. B's leg injury, and realtor and market problems in VA. Today we drove the UHaul home and the engine light was on. Roadside assistance had to come from an hour and a half away to reset the light because the gas cap had leaked. They only finished a half hour before our loading men showed up. We were worried that we weren't going to be able to load if the truck couldn't be fixed.

The four cats get so upset when they see their crates that we have been giving them a product the vet recommends called "Compose." She says use it instead of sedating them. I read the contents of the product and wondered how it could be effective. So this morning the lawn guys show up and they have a mower, a blower and a weed wacker going at the same time. Two cats streaked out of here so fast we didn't seem them for hours. Only the thunderstorm brought them running for the house. When Paws came inside and saw the cooler he thought it was a cat crate and he freaked out!! He howled to get out and them peed on the floor. So much for Compose!! Then he ran downstairs to the bedroom where I had hidden the cat crates and got under the bed! I moved the crates to the other bedroom and shut Paws in. I didn't think he could handle watching the washer and dryer being moved.

My "magic chair for my back" is on the truck so I am trying to get comfortable on the bed. Lifting boxes was not the smartest thing to do today. Mr. B has served my night time cup of coffee. We have a 10 hour drive tomorrow. How long can four cats howl?

One nice thing. Our loading men are also our carpenters and they have put in many hours working on this house. They said the two hours today was a farewell gift for us! Isn't that sweet?

More in my next post if we survive this!

I'm joining Amanda for her Dishing It! Summer Rewind Party.

The most exciting thing you did this summer. - It is that I am finally moving!

Best New Recipe - No, we are both dieting.

Trips - No, just waiting to move.

Best crafty thing - None, all the craft items were packed and moved in May!

Favorite Book - I read about 10 books a week but the most exciting was my Fire Mountain Gems catalog.

Coolest New Bog - I love Housepeepers.

Favorite bargain - We did buy some sheets for the yet-to-be-slept-in-TempurPedic from Bed
Bath & Beyond and had a 20% off coupon plus a gift certificate.

My Best Post - I liked Beautiful Sunflowers.

What is left on my To-Do-List for the summer? - Get the Connecticut house in order and ready for Christmas. Unpack my Studio. (I'm going to call it My Studio from now on instead of My Craft Room.) Maybe paint the living room. Hopefully empty the garage so we can park cars in it instead of boxes and furniture!

Recycling Flowers, Cars and Everything

2010-08-10T00:55:00.005-04:00

Portulaca is Mr. B's favorite flower, so I plant some every summer. Being sure we would be moving in the spring, I only planted a few pots using last year's dirt (recycling). I planted impatience and begonias in the railing planter on the boardwalk. (This is the one the raccoon dug up twice!) And what should come up as a reminder from last summer but one sprig of portulaca. This is the third flower on that stalk. I'm letting the seeds mature and then being sure they fall in the dirt. Maybe we will have an encore next summer.

All the impatience which I have blooming now I carried over the winter. I'm really proud of that. This hanging coral impatience spent the winter in the dining room window where it bloomed profusely. After a trim (all put in water to root) and going back to its hanger on the porch, its blooms are feeding two hummingbirds.

We recycle everything we can. Granted we are limited here to Numbers 1 & 2 on recycling plastic, but we can now recycle cardboard and junk paper. This means a trip every week to the recycling station. Of course, recycling is not mandatory and not likely to be in the foreseeable future in Virginia.

Being believers in recycling, it is only natural that we buy used cars. Worried that our 1995 Toyota Avalon needs to take it easy at 285,000 miles, we bought a young 2008, Kia Rondo with only 34,000 miles. And it is not beige! Hopefully, this car will be a little easier to find in a crowded lot. It doesn't have an antenna to tie a plastic flower to, but has one of those little magic twangers with a button to push that makes the lights blink and the horn honk. That should do the job!

White Creepy Things

2010-08-07T20:35:00.006-04:00

Yes, those little white fizzy things are still on the tree limb. After posting pictures of them a few days ago I had a response from Rebecca of In the Garden telling me they are Longtailed Mealy Bugs. I think she is right and what I am seeing is the nymphs. They have changed since I first saw them. They suck the juices from plants and are great pests in a greenhouse. Outdoors they mostly live on fruit trees.

Since I don't have a greenhouse or any fruit trees, I guess I will just leave them alone.

Rebecca, thanks for the answer. How did you know?

San Diego and the Ocean

2010-08-05T23:30:00.004-04:00

On our trip to San Diego last summer we went to Coronado Island. We didn't stay at the Hotel Coronado but we did enjoy seeing it. The grounds were beautiful and it is directly on the ocean.

The hotel is enormous.

Here is the view of the hotel from the beach. No, that is not me in the bikini.

There were lots of people under colorful umbrellas enjoying the beach .

The ocean looked inviting but it was ice cold!

This is me taking pictures of seaweed.

Isn't the pattern of the seaweed interesting? And the sand was sparkly.

This pelican was wondering around among the people.

Even when he walked near people they ignored him.

I grew up in south Georgia and often went to the ocean at St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. When I married we went to live in Maine and for the first time I saw the ocean frozen. I love the Maine coast and all the rocks which is so different from the flat, sandy Georgia coast. Then we lived for a year in San Juan, Puerto Rico where the ocean was the most beautiful color. I swam in it every afternoon when it became calm. It was so warm! The trip to San Diego was my first view of the Pacific Ocean.

Creepy little moving white things

2010-08-03T21:30:00.005-04:00

I'm a little late for Mosaic Monday since it's Tuesday. But here is my collage. Another walk out my back door and into the woods where I made these pictures.

Don't you love that twisted shape on a limb and those three red leaves? I think they are part of the Virginia Creeper, just missing two parts. How about that fern spotlighted by the sun in the vee of a limb. And who do you suppose lives in that perfectly round hole?

There was one more thing. I looked up and saw something white on a limb just above my head. It looked a little fuzzy so I thought maybe it was a lichen. I grabbed a leaf and pulled the limb down and the whole things started to vibrate. At first I thought it was a type of plant and it had little stems topped by a little white puff.

On closer examination I realized the part on the tree had lots of little white legs and each one was moving and waving the white puff above it. And all the little white puffs had feathery white threads going straight above it.

There seemed to be hundreds of them. Does anyone have any idea what the little things are? I haven't been back to see if they are still there. I wanted to be sure none of them fell on me! It was kind of creepy.

I would love to hear your ideas on this.

San Diego

2010-07-30T20:16:00.005-04:00

During last summer's visit to San Diego we spent a couple of days in Balboa Park. This Proud Mama had to see her son who was appearing in several plays during the Shakespeare Festival in the Old Globe's outdoor theater. (He is there again this summer.) If you are looking for a destination, Balboa Park has gardens, the San Diego Zoo, The Old Globe Theater and a courtyard with studios where artists and crafts people sell their products.

There are twenty gardens which are free of charge, including a cactus garden, Japanese garden, butterfly garden and a rose garden. There is a fantastic Botanical Building - not a green house, because it is constructed of wood strips so it is open to the weather. It is full of ferns and other plants, some of them blooming.

This plant in the Botanical Building caught my eye because it seemed to be in the spotlight. Isn't it a luscious shade of green? You can see bromeliads in the background.

This is the Botanical Building where we picnicked on the lawn. There were several musicians performing in the open air which added to the atmosphere.

Join Claudia at Dipity Road for Finding Beauty Friday.

Sleepless Night

2010-07-30T01:18:00.005-04:00

I couldn't sleep last night and that is not normal for me. In my family I'm know as a champion sleeper. An hour after I went to bed my eyes popped open and my mind turned on. Then the worry and the wild imaginings started. And even though Mr. B was cuddled up next to me I started to worry about him. How do you make yourself stop worrying and go back to sleep? After an hour of lying still - trying not to move for fear of waking up Mr. B, I slid out of bed, grabbed my glasses and a book and tiptoed into the kitchen.

Four Ritz crackers with peanut butter later, I sat in my "therapy chair" and picked up my MacBook. The therapy chair is a new, contemporary, leather recliner that I tried out in the store two months ago and refused to get out of. Mr. B tried to make a deal to let me spend the night in the chair at the store. Failing that he bought the chair for me. I had hurt my back unpacking boxes at the house in CT and came back to VA with no comfortable chair to sit it. In my wisdom I had moved my recliner because my back was not hurting at the time. So, I really, really needed that chair. And now my back is better!

When I have a rough night, which seems to be happening more frequently, I make a hot drink and head for my lovely Corinthian leather chair! There is a lot to worry about now as I wrote about in Stressful Days.

So it was four in the morning (I only went to bed at 2 am) and I decided to try to learn how to layer photos to keep my mind occupied. Keep in mind that my special book of instructions on how to use Photoshop Elements is .... where else but CT! I find it hard to read online help while I try to remember the steps and carry out the operations. It is easier when I have the directions in my hand to read as I search for the correct menus, layers palette, gradient tool and where is the blasted "Layers Mask?"

I improvised and here is what I came up with. The writing is the bottom layer and the rose is the top layer. The exercise was to take away parts of the top layer and expose the bottom. Well, I couldn't do it the way the online directions were telling me to. Where is that "Layers Mask?" Instead I used the erase tool then used a filter for effect.

I decided not to post this when I finished it in case my lack of sleep was having an effect on my judgement. But nearly 24 hours later I think it is okay. Not great, but I did learn a few things. And then I really went crazy on this second photo. The bottom layer here a picture of a display of ties at Men's Warehouse. The Shape Tool is responsible for the leafy red shapes. I was having fun.

It is 2 am. I'm hoping that I will be tired enough to sleep peacefully! Can't keep my eyes open ....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Ever wish you could live in the catalog pictures?

2010-07-28T12:23:00.020-04:00

Do you Blog Hop? I do and often realize two hours later that I am 20 blogs from my starting point. On this Hop I found Thrifty Decor Chick which is a really great blog. I enjoyed her post about Catalog Envy and how unrealistic the pictures are for our real lives. But oh such fun to look at!

Thrifty Decor Chick (Sarah) found an amazingly funny blog called Catalog Living by Molly Erdman who is an actress, improviser and writer. This is Molly in a Sonic Commercial. Catalog Living is the story of a couple, Gary and Elaine, who live in the catalog pictures and it is beyond funny. Below are several of her photos with captions. Molly was kind enough to give me permission to show her material.

Light up the Sky

Gary hung the chandelier for me as a surprise. Why heavens no, I’ve never raised my head enough to see what it’s hanging from. Let’s just enjoy our limes under glass.

Keep Your Hobbies to Yourself

Gary, we were having such a lovely afternoon with the Andersons until you decided you just had to show off your string ball.

Hungry for More

After Elaine left the table with tears in her eyes, Gary knew he should have held back his comment that the starfish were a little chewy.

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I'll never look at another catalog without thinking of Gary and Elaine!

Portland Head Light

2010-07-28T01:50:00.004-04:00

Last summer we took a trip to Portland, Maine. Even though we lived in Maine for eighteen years, we had never been to Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, a few miles from Portland. I'm glad we finally visited because it is a beautiful sight.

According to Wikipedia, construction on the light house began in 1787 at the directive of George Washington. Originally whale oil lights were used for illumination. After many revisions in height, both taller and shorter, today the lighthouse stands 80 feet above ground and 101 feet above water. The keeper's house is connected to it.

The lighthouse sits atop a cliff. There are cliffs all along the coast here and the waves crash at the base.

These pictures make me wish I were there feeling a cool ocean breeze. The clouds and sailboat in the last photo look too perfect to be real.

I'm participating in Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer.

Beautiful Sunflowers

2010-07-27T05:53:00.003-04:00

Don't you just love sunflowers? They are so bright and cheerful. These were on display at Miller Farms Vegetable stand near Fredericksburg, VA. We go there to buy very fresh vegetables right where they are grown. It is a forty minute drive for us but worth it.

Aren't these lovely?

Adorable Squirrels

2010-07-26T23:25:00.006-04:00

It's Monday again and time for Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

I love to watch squirrels. And I NEVER pass up a chance to photograph one. That is probably why I have at least 100 squirrel pictures. But every one is sooooo cute! Look at these and deny it!

This guy sat and groomed himself long enough for me to get some good shots. I love the way one arm is holding the other. Have you ever seen a squirrel sit like that?

This picture of the squirrel relaxing on the deck railing is my favorite. He looks like a roller ran over him. I think we need a cute caption on this. Any suggestions? I could use him on a card - something like "I was so busy I missed your birthday."

What can I say? Adorable.

Anyone else enjoy squirrels?

Butterfly Napping

2010-07-23T16:06:00.006-04:00

I can see a lot from my favorite chair - birds, deer, raccoons, squirrels, cats - and now a butterfly napping. It is soooo hot today, (100 degrees) that I was eating lunch in my chair instead of in the hammock. Imagine my surprise to see this butterfly land on the hammock and proceed to nap.

After checking the internet I now know that butterflies don't really nap, they only rest. They don't have eyelids and don't snore. If they did, wouldn't you love to hear a butterfly snore? I imagine it might sound like a cat purring. This fella rested for fifteen minutes.

Our stressful days continue. Mr. B and I have felt quite "down" but are starting to feel more optimistic. We are laughing again. Nothing is resolved.

I'm joining Claudia at Dipity Road for Finding Beauty Friday. There is always something to appreciate if one looks for it!

Bunnies at Dusk

2010-07-19T20:48:00.006-04:00

I'm joining Little Red Schoolhouse for Mosaic Monday. Join the party!

For a week I have been walking down the lane at dusk to get a picture of the rabbits that feed there every evening. They would hear me coming and run, or a car would drive by. Tonight after tiptoeing quietly, I was successful. In fact the bunnies were relaxing and posed for me. Aren't they cute?

Stressful Days

2010-07-15T01:41:00.005-04:00

It is hard to stay upbeat when one is living with uncertainty. We made the decision to leave Virginia and buy a house with our daughter and son-in-law. I posted about the purchase of the house in Connecticut in March. We are planning to have so much fun! Next thing to do was start moving and list our Virginia house with a realtor. On the first trip north with the UHaul Mr. B injured his leg on the truck step and required 35 stitches. After two months his leg has healed!

In the meantime we accepted an offer on our house. The would-be-buyers have been very demanding and keep threatening to back out every time they can. We have agreed to all their demands and now one more thing has come up. This is so very stressful. No plans can be made and we sit here awaiting developments. This is after already postponing our move for the two month healing time.

My craft room has been packed and moved. Half the kitchen is moved. We are having to eat our popcorn out of pots because the bowls are gone. I had to mix a cake by hand and bake it in a broiler pan because I moved all my equipment, never dreaming I would be here in VA so long.

I have nothing to do every day but lie in the hammock and read. That may sound good to you but after two months even that gets old! I'm reading a book and a half a day! The stories are starting to blend together. It is too hot to take more than short walks.

I'm eager to start decorating the house in Connecticut. All four children will be home for Christmas and I want it to be perfect. After this small Virginia cottage we will have all the space we need in the new 4200 sq ft house.

And all my surplus furniture (yes there is lots!) is in the garage in Connecticut. Some of the boxes in the garage have been packed since we left Cooperstown, NY fourteen years ago! Haven't had space for it all since then. Cooperstown was also a 4200 sq ft house. When we closed our two furniture stores there was furniture left over. And the ironic thing? The new house has lots of windows, walls of closets and very little wall space for furniture placement. I love furniture and now have room for very little of it. And I have to clear the garage for use before the snow falls!

Mr. B and I have tried to just enjoy this quiet time. But now my patience has run out.

This is a picture of Paws, one of our four cats. Added to all the other worries is that my daughter has seen a fox or coyote in the yard several times in the afternoon. I'm afraid to let the cats out in the yard when we move but they are used to being outside. What to do? I'm wondering what kind of fence could keep cats in.

It seems like I'm just one big worry these days! Trying hard to keep my sense of humor but failing some days.

Nature Collage from my Yard

2010-07-13T01:29:00.005-04:00

Every time I walk out the back door I think I can't find anything to photograph. I have been over this territory a thousand times. And yet, I do find something special like the sun highlighting this fern frond, or the large spider on a leaf.

There were a few of these flowers along my lane and this decomposing mushroom in my front yard. So I will keep going out with my camera in the territory around my house. You never know what you will find.

I am joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday and some fantastic photographs.

My Quirky Cat

2010-07-12T01:10:00.003-04:00

This is my cat Paws, named by my children because he has extra toes which make his front paws look like catchers' mitts. To say he is quirky is an understatement. He is the only one of my four cats who likes to lie on this too-small table for extra attention.

He really like it best when Mr. B puts his hand on the table to act as a pillow. He makes that table look pretty comfy, doesn't he?

Living in the Woods

2010-07-06T12:20:00.011-04:00

You can see how much in the woods we live. This shot is of the back of our house.

Doesn't the house look inviting at twilight with the light beckoning? We added the boardwalk so we could go from the driveway into the kitchen and not have any stairs. It's a nice place to stand, lean on the railing and watch the wildlife.

The other side of the house faces the front yard. Check out the sidebar (Our Cottage in the Woods) for a picture from the front. Looking at these pictures, the right end is all glass and faces the lake. That is where the hammock (see my header) hangs on the porch and is the place to be on a lazy summer day with the ceiling fan stirring up a breeze. I must have read a thousand books while lying in that hammock. You can see the hammock through the glass. That is how Mr. B keeps track and knows when I need a snack or a glass of lemonade or another book.

Usually there are several cats sharing the porch. I've had a hummingbird buzz my head, a bird light on the end of the hammock and a squirrel stand on the railing two feet away and study me.

On July 4th, we stood on the porch and watched the fireworks display over the lake. We had to look through the trees but we could even see the reflections in the water.

Butterfly Collage

2010-07-05T22:55:00.004-04:00

Please join Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Here is my offering for this Monday. This butterfly posed so nicely for me that I was able to shoot many photos. You'll be seeing more of him/her in other posts. I love the way his shadow shows through the leaf! Just click on the photo for a closer look.

This yellow begonia is my favorite flower of the summer. It is blooming in a planter on the railing of my deck. It survived being dug up twice by the resident raccoon.

Since I have not been very happy with my other mosaics made with Picasa, I put this one together by layering these photos onto a background in Photoshop Elements.

Dogwood in the Spotlight

2010-07-03T00:02:00.005-04:00

This is my entry for Macro Flowers Saturday. I took the photo this spring as I was walking around Gordonsville, Virginia.

I love the way this blossom seems to be in the spotlight. You can see the texture of the petals and the shadow of the flower center. Click on the picture to see a real close up.

My Favorite Stump

2010-07-02T21:32:00.003-04:00

Does anyone else have a favorite stump? This is very near the end of my back walk at the edge of the woods. I first noticed it last summer when it was this brilliant shade of orange.

Here it is during the winter. The orange is not quite as bright.

Here is the stump this summer. Notice how the color has changed and there is now some green on it. And a Virginia Creeper has taken hold.
I'm joining Claudia at Dipity Road for Finding Beauty Friday. Beauty can be found in some unusual places, even an old stump.

Special Blogs

2010-06-29T23:37:00.002-04:00

There are so many wonderful blogs. I especially enjoy the ones that feature photography. Many of you know about Mary Carroll's Little Red House and her Monday Mosaics. Mary has another blog named In a Soft Light which is full of lovely photographs. She mentioned Shadowhouse Creations which features a lot of textures which are available for download. I decided to try using one of the textures and here is my result. I'm sure there are better ways to use these textures. I will keep experimenting.

Duck Collage

2010-06-28T22:56:00.004-04:00

One day recently Mr. B and I had a picnic across the street from our house. The creek is surrounded by community property where it flows into the lake so feels almost like our front yard. We sat at a picnic table in the shade and just enjoyed the day. The boats in the slips were bobbing in the current, fish were jumping and a cardinal was singing. Two ducks swam up the creek, got out and groomed themselves, had a flurry with three other ducks and then they all headed down the creek and into the lake.

Luckily I had my camera with me. I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Summer Porches

2010-06-25T23:02:00.005-04:00

Today I'm featuring Summer Porches in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Twice a week Mr. B goes to the clinic to see about his leg. So I ride with him and eat a porch chop biscuit (see Favorite Breakfast) and read a book while I wait. Several times I walked a few blocks and admired all the flowers and porches, and one day I was smart enough to take my camera. These photos are the result.

I had fun choosing which photos to show. Some of them I used filters on, just for fun! I hope you enjoy my tour. This is my Friday Finding Beauty offering for Claudia at Dipity Road.

I hope you love summer porches as much as I do. I'm spending lots of time on my porch, always with a book and a cool drink. Thank goodness for the ceiling fan. And yes, there may be a nap or two as I swing gently in the hammock!

Woodland Mosaic

2010-06-21T16:59:00.004-04:00

The woods are only a step away from my back door as you can see by the photo in the sidebar, "Our Cottage in the Woods." So I walk into the woods often to take pictures. When I snapped these I stood very still and watched a bird land right above me. Of course I took his photo and he is in the collage on the right. A friend of mine identified him as a yellow billed cuckoo, a bird I had never seen.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states that he is a very shy bird that is heard more than seen. You can even listen to his call at this web site. It was quite exciting for me to realize I had actually photographed a bird I had never seen before now. And this was sooooo close to my back door!

I am joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Join us and view all the lovely mosaics!