Lady Of The Tulips

2011-10-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

Don't know if this is as clear as I'd hoped, but I was washing dishes in the kitchen the other day, an' as usual, we were having rain...

But by this time of evening, oh, somewhere around 6:30, we started to have some very light sprinkles..and when I went to put some paper towels in the recycling bag..look what I saw out the laundry room window??!!

A rainbow!!! ~

This particular one isnt as bright as one the week earlier..but like a toad, I didn't grab my camera in time to get the earlier one, but I made darn sure an' tootin' that I got this one in my sights ~

It lasted for quite awhile ~ The interesting thing is that the right hand side of it leads into the old farm at the end of the road down from our place..and the rainbow has the appearance of landing in the soybean field...

maybe when the harvest happens, the farmer will find a pot of gold..wouldn't that be wonderful for him?! ~

Have some stuff goin' on..am in the process of getting an announcement ready ~ It isn't there yet, but will be in a little while.

Got to run ~ Must make a last minute trip to the grocery store......grrr..

Lady of The Tulips

2011-09-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

>> Sorry for no picture today <<

I seem to having a day from hell with all things computer and pictures..there are days where I can't seem to figure things out that have to do with technical items, and it gives me so much stress!! ~ Adding insult to injury, if I happen to get a chance to have some techie person try to explain the situation to me, they talk way WAY above my head, making me feel as ignorant and stupid as can be! ~ Which, naturally adds to the stress level, and makes me more upset than I was originally! ~

But, I'm so very very close to presenting some of my new work ~ If all goes well tomorrow, I'll be showing some of my new items, and having them available on my site @Artfire ~!!~ I'm so excited, I can hardly wait ~ But I have to do some last minute things here before I drive up Ocean Highway to get the paintings taken care of ~ These little details seem to be adding up, but since there has been so much work done, I refuse to eliminate any details that have to be done ~ There are pieces and parts that I don't want left out, and this may be my undoing!! ~

However, the littlest details make all the difference in a painting, and if they are left out, then the entire piece becomes lacking in many ways ~ I so enjoy the creation of something that has little things that make the piece sparkle, shine and become totally different than what any other person is creating ~ That's the joy of being an artist ~ Oh, and when I'm able to step back and look at the completion..sometimes I simply can't say a thing ~ Just give praises to Him who has given me this unbelievable ability to make something ~ How astounding! it all seem to me! ~

So, that's where this little girl is this afternoon ~ Odds and ends...pieces and parts...my oh my, it doesn't seem to end! ~

But there will be more later!! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-09-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of one of my mermaids from I think last year..I jus' can't remember if it was fall or just when it was that she came around...

I have to say that she was very cheerful, but she's sitting in the hutch at the moment, and she just really can't decide if she wants to come out and play or not...

I'm having difficulty deciding if she should have some changes made..maybe a new frame, maybe some new colors on the background, but there's just something that needs a bit of a touch up..wish I could decide what it is!! ~

There are some projects that seem to be laying around everywhere in the studio..and now, I'm embarrased to say, they even are starting to head into my bedroom..and yes, they've taken over one of my chairs..and there are one if not 2 that are sitting on my bed...I have, I think, what a lot of artists and craftpeople have...the "disease" of "I'm Almost Finished"...

And there the project sits...yes, it is nearly finished..but it's not complete...there are parts where some paint needs to go..there are portions where some papers needs to be attached..perhaps some beads..

It's a disease that seems to creep into ones life, when everything seems to be swimming along nicely..after all, there IS work being done..

It's just that.......

It's not COMPLETED!! ~

And that's what I'm facing this afternoon..all these things, just staring at me, and I must say, I am EVER so glad that there are no sounds coming from them, like in cartoons, where boxes and inanimate objects have the ability to TELL YOU just what's what...I'd be deaf from all the screaming to GET THIS DONE...

I feel like a heel...

But not so much so, because yes sir and yes ma'am...

I have another project in the works on the work table...

Oh bother..

Must go and Get Something Accomplished! `

Lady of The Tulips

2011-09-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

>> Well, it's not totally what I wanted when I started out earlier this morning, but this lady has somewhat changed the look of the blog here <<

I had tried to download a nice header to coordinate with this, but that didn't seem to want to happen, and then I started developing a tremendous headache, then the hubs ran his mouth at me about "can't you "just" do something??"....

So right now I'm contemplating why in the world I don't drink, but then the memory of those horrendous hangovers come flooding back, and I just shall decide that I'll go with taking some aspirin instead, and hope that something will come along giving me great insight as how to do something with my header...

In the meantime, I'm working like a crazy person, painting like there was no tomorrow, and trying not to throw paint all over the studio ` I've tried very hard not to get the walls covered, and so far (but it is early in the day..) I'm succeeding in that - In 10 minutes this may be history and there could very well be shades of blue near the front window..

I jus' don' know......

But I need to go find that aspirin...get some glue onto some fabric, an' hopefully catch something decent on tv...or jus' read a book...Ah Ha..tha's it - a book will be much more enjoyable! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-09-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

>> I do want to say, that the post below, has the wonderful letter from the Brave Girls Club..if I can set the link I will be every so happy <<

They are the most wonderful women, and give the best-est advice to people everywhere ~ I was so very fortunate to have a friend suggest reading their letters and I have been so so happy that I have a daily email from them ~ A true breath of fresh air! ~

But back to the work table I go ~!~ More will be discussed later, but I seem to be on a roll this week, so while the Mojo is Floooooooowin', I gotta go with it!!! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-09-15T07:18:00.001-07:00

>> Here's a little something that has made me jus' about the happiest I've been all week <<

>

This is one of the emails that I receive each and every day ~ This letter happens to be for today, Sept. 15, 2001 ~~

I can't begin to tell you how these beautiful women have made me feel that each and every brush stroke, each and every strand of weaving, and each and every bead that I add to a strand, all of them make me who I am, and that yes, one day, all of this work will be something that will be enjoyed by others ~

I am getting past negative, getting past the "Your not like us!!", I'm getting past the daily onslaught of people being rude, ugly, and trying to show me that their form of existence is whatI need to follow ~

What I believe more than ever, is that this is my life! ~This is what I am doing, and this is what I will be doing until the Lord tells me to do something else ~

And it is enough not only for today, but it is enough for the future as well.

Lady of The Tulips

2011-09-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Lauri Perry when I had my stroke 4 years ago, we had no health ins. ~ Within less than 30 days, that hosp. was all over me like flies on you know what ~ Before I even set up some kind of payment arrangement, they were threatening to take our house away in lieu of payment...I am so sick of these people who think it's funny to make fun of those of us who don't have a lot of money to pay for things ~

This is in response to the debate last evening ~ The audience applauding when the comment came up about letting a person die who had no health insurance...

2011-09-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

>> 'k, so no picture today..it's been that kind of morning already, an' my poor brain feels mushy. Yee gadzzzzz <<

I will now say, that on the art front, this here is what I'm planning on doing ~

I've had my Weaving site working for just about a year, but to date, there has been little to nothing going on with it ~ I wove, wove and wove some more projects, got them all photographed, popped them on the site...

And have sold one piece since last fall.

This is not what I had in mind when I set out to make some fun funky and all together groovy handbags ~ If I stop and think about the hours of work, all the details and bits and pieces that have gone into each and every one..well, I get tears in my eyes, and certainly want to either start up recreational drug use, or start drinking again...

Neither one a positive outcome for just trying to make some items to sell..

So, once I get the "ok" from the powers that be where my weavings are being sold, I'm changing out the shop, and putting in prints of paintings and mixed media pieces that I've been doing for the last few months ~ There are quite a few available, all of them different from the other, and each and every one is full of color, life and fun ~ I've tried to make sure that they are something that will enhance a room, and make the viewer feel that they can be in the place where the artwork is placed..being in the center of where the situation is, where the artwork is showing itself to be ~ A place other than the stress filled place where most of us find ourselves each and every day ~

I'll price them accordingly ~ Nothing too over the top, and certainly not for super duper cheap ~ That is something I made the mistake of doing a couple years ago..spend hours and hours on work, took them to a shop, and for nearly 10 pieces of art, I made a whopping $45.00....

I've gotten smart since then, and decided that those people who want to get something for nothing will have to look elsewhere! ~

So, as I wait for the prints to get ready to be previewed at the printing shop, and get my orders for packing and shipping supplies, I'm looking so forward to people enjoying a little bit of Beach Life..a little bit of Romance, and a little bit of in-between pieces of original art that will bring joy to any room ~

Thats my news from here near the shore ~ I've got some work that needs to get going over on the work table, and of course, some pieces of fabric, papers, embellishments and assorted odds and ends (No!, not tom, tho he certainly is an odd one, tha's for sure...) All waiting for their place to be ~

In the meantime I'm thankin' our lucky stars that the hurricane that was suppossed to smack into us, well, that's what the weather people were hinting at last week...well, that thing has gone out to the Atlantic, and good riddence to it! ~ I don't think I could handle any more storms right now..too much going on.

And a good note to end on ~ I was so very sad and felt heartbroken after Irene, because I hadn't seen the family of bluebirds that live in the treetops of our property ~ They always feed right in the front of the little cabin, and they can always be heard tweeting and chirping happily between all of them...but I hadn't seen them since the storm, and I feared that they got displaced at best, but my heart felt that they were killed in the rain and wind...

WELL! ~ this morning I finally saw them, flying between the pine and hardwoods along the dirt road once again..Oh, it made me feel so incredibly glad!! ~ They are such a joy to watch, and the sound of their silvery little song is just breathtaking ~ I am so relieved that my tiniest of neighbors are now save and sound, and are gracing out trees once again ~ Miracles continue to happen!! ~

I am so blessed ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-09-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

WELL...Jus' wanted to show off my brand spankin' new Banner! ~ There was a super nice lady @Artfire who helped me out with this ~ I could not for the life of me, figure out how to get the font set into the banner the right way so it'd show up in my shop without getting covered up by my picture...I was literally in TEARS trying, trying, trytrytrytyring to get it to work...but she somehow, an' believe me, I've NO idea how, but she somehow got it to work!! ~ GHAWD!! ~ I nearly jumped up & down ~ Maureen is a wonder, tha's all I know!! ~

But onto other things...I may have some really good news to share in jus' a little bit ~!!~ I don't want to pop up an' blurt it all right now 'till I"m positive that it's a goin' on thing ~ I've worked really reallyreally REALLY hard on some stuff, shed tears, felt like I was having a heart attack an' numerous other things, but it looks like there may be some news on the ART front from here!!! ~ I should know in a day or 4..not sure, but it's EXCITING!! ~

Donchya love being kept on pins and needles...??!! ~ tee hee...

An' it's a holiday weekend here in the States..."LABOR DAY"...no, I'm thinkin' of NOT doin' any labor on the labor day weekend, but then, if I don't do SOMETHING, then how the @"$+ does anything get done? ~ Humm..??!! ~

Answer me THAT would ya??! ~

'k, so I probably have had too much coffee today, but I did get a lot done so far, so I guess that I need to go back over to the work table & DO something constructive..

Wishing Everybody a Safe & Wonderful Weekend!! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

>> Here is what became known at the Bus Festival, as the "Tiki Bar" <<

A great idea put together by the fellow on the right ~ He'd bought the nice pink umbrella, all sharp in color, fluffy with whatever it is that it's made out of...an' got a small cooler, a portable table, placed with rocks etc. on the bottom underwater to hold it in place...an' Voila!! ~ A tiki bar was born...uhmm, or made up...or, well, you know..

The shot I got of the "Bar Owner" and the fellow on the left, who put together the entire Bus Festival, was too good to pass up ~ Both looking like they were having "Serious Discussions"...the irony being, what kind of Serious Discussion(s) could ANYBODY have during a Bus Festival?? ~

Thus the picture of two minds doin' Lawdy knows what...

It did make for some interesting questions between the Hubs & me..he said it almost looked scary, with those two jus' standing in the water..looking like there was something afloat...but not the "Bar" itself...

Jus' another one of those crazy moments in the dayz we were up on the river..

AND ~~ I am happy to say that we survived the Hurricane with very little damage to the house ~ 2 shingles on the roof were slightly damaged from one or 2 very large limbs that came crashing down on the house, and bounced onto the ground ~ One hit the very edge of the rain gutter, but considering that particular part is something in the range of $3.50, that doesn't really count as an "Expense" toward repairs..and as the gentleman at the local hardware store said, "It jus' isn' worth it to say anything to the Ins. company anyway..." Isn't that the truth!! ~ So noah got a tube of whats called Roofing Tar, and will make the small repairs today ~ The yard is still loaded with a lot of small branches, and one or two broken limbs, but all are very minimal to the few that were really quite large, and actually scared me when I saw just how big they were...I went to lift one up, thinking I would jus' casually move it off the steps of the deck...Ha!! ~ Who was I kidding?? ! ~ So, noah got that moved, plus some others, and that's where we are today ~ So very very blessed to have such minimal things happen ~!~

We heard from different sources that we had somewhere around 90 mph winds, and that sounds just about right ~ When the hurricane made it's turn to go off further in the Atlantic, then of course the winds did the most "damage" to our place as earlier...during the night at some point in time, (the electricity was out..) I was laying awake suddenly, don't know why...but as I layed awake, I suddenly heard this wind just picking up more and more and more...while I layed in bed thinking, "Well, now, why is the wind starting to get stronger again?..this doesn't make sense.." , I then heard the wind hit the back side of the house with a huge WHOMP!!! ~ WHOA!! ~ I layed in bed thinking, "Well, now, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind to hear today..", when Tom very quietly said to me..."What was that?"...I very politely told him, "I think we jus' had us a tornado, dear..." ~

He didn't have much to say after that...But, again, blessings abound! ~ No damage from that, so we are nearly dancing in the street!! ~

'K, maybe not in the street, but at least we're pretty darn glad!! ~

And I've got some paintings that are done, 4 to be exact! ~ An' 2 in the Almost Finished But For Teeny Bits to Add stage....ugh...those little tidbits that drive me to distraction!! ~ But they've made all the difference in the world!! ~ YAY!! ~

Other news will be coming later this week I believe..something that I've been trying to do for forEVAH!! ~ Ohh...I'm trying not to get too excited, but it Will be pretty cool!! ~ Yup! ~

But for now I need to finish some paper cutting...so,

I'm Gone.........

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

>> I MEAN<<

How cool is this Bus??!! ~~I had to get a picture of it when we were at the Festival last month (GHAWD! A month already??!!) ~ the people were just down the way from us, and were more thn happy to let me get a shot of this - I don't know what type it is - there are so many variations of the Bus, an' I don't know all of 'em - but this one is so very unique, it was just screaming out for a picture!! ~

And on a brighter note - I called a local printer, and to my much and great relief, I can get prints made from a batch of my original paintings/mixed media pieces, and they "clean" up any bad mistakes I made in taking the photos!! ~ I was sooo relieved when I talked to the shop person, you have NO idea!! ~ So, now all I have to do is make a few adjustments to some paintings I have and get them onto a SP card, and then take them in nextweek ~ I will also be trying to get some into a file and be able to download them here and get some other touches cleaned up so they can be seen by one and all!! ~

It's been a lot of work, and I'm trying to learn how to get some tweaking done to get rid of little boo-boo's when I use my son's camera ~ Oh! ~ Yes, our oldest loaned me his much much newer camera, and sloooowly I'm learning how to use it, download pictures onto a "zip" card, an' get them ready to make into prints ~ I'm tired from lots and lots of work with the thing, but I'm a tad better than I was over the weekend..I was SO frustrated with the thing...an' tom is absolutely NO HELP!! ~ I was crying and crying, trying to figure out how to make the pictures RIGHT!! ~ to no avail, and finally in a fit of crying and anger, I told tom, "Well, then just go ahead an' get a big ol' trash bag out, I'll just throw it all away, an' go back to cleaning toilets again...all these rich people need a girl to do that kind of work, they can be rude all they want, after all, I'm jus' a cleaning girl!!!".....

Tom just layed on the couch & never said a word..encouragement for my art would have been nice, but its not been around for a long, long time, so THAT aint gonna happen!! ~ So..it's all up to ME!! ~ An' I'm pluggin' away, learning bit by bit..'course it's gonna cost a lot more to get the prints made than I'd hoped, but that's how it goes ~

I will show some of my WIPtoo!! ~ They are fun, an' bright, and I hope one and all will enjoy them! ~ I've tried to get some different things done, so there is a bit more color and texture ~ Oh, it's been so much fun! ~

But for now I gotta go an' get yet another painting going! ~

Lady of The Tulips ~

2011-08-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

>> Sorry for no picture today <<

I'm somewhat shaken by the events of the last couple dayz, and my brain couldn't figure out what I wanted to download on here...sheesh.......

First we have that charming hurricane out in the atlantic..looking to bear down on us..sometime during the weekend..probably a Cat. 3 or so - winds over 110..YeeHaww!! ...

Then we had some of the ruuumbling of the earthquake yesterday that was centered in Mineral Va. - it felt like the kind of shake that somebody does when their trying to gently wake you up...something I'd not felt like since living in Calif. all those years ago ~ Very strange, yet so familiar. Till I realized "We're not in Cali. anymore!!" ~

So now, after having one of those horrible ph. calls w our mtg company..all rudeness and ugliee..always lookin' out for the bankers, rich folks and investers, never thinking THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THESE HOUSES YOU SELFISH JERkS!!!

Sorry..I really Do Not Like Them ~

I a still literally shaking from the phone call - I can no longer deal with the ugly way they are - always rude - trained to be rude ?? ~ WHY ~

So I'm attempting to get some art ART!! ~ Done ~ It's such a terrible thing when all I want to do and have a strong desire to do is my art - to continue painting, getting things done on a canvas that looks nice, gives a feeling of comfort..yet all these other things, and people filled with evil and hatred jus' bearing down on me...I am left drained and wishing for it all to go away ~

When I get this other painting finished I will post it - yeah yeah..I keep saying that, but the camera of mine is 1/2 dead..and the one I borrowed is not as "EASY!" as the manufacturer sez it is...ahh the learning curve of a new thing..never a snap to do! ~

But I will persevere!!! ~

Must got for now~!~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Look! ~ One of my buddy's out on the river, floatin' away an' havin' a good time! ~

Now that I'm older & wiser, I will get something like this for a float, or maybe try to find an inner tube..I was being extra cheap this year, an' bought 2 floats @ one of those dollar stores..tom used it an' went merrily floating off down river..me? I tried to use the thing, an' accidently slid my fingernail into one of the groves on the float, an immediately sprung a leak & started to sink!!! ~

Spending a little more next time...

I do have to say that at least today the weather is absolutely wonderful ~ A lot like it was in this wonderful picture ~ Not too overly hot where one wants to just stay in the water and never come out...an' not too humid today either! ~ Oh, it is such a relief when there isn't that haze of humidity over the trees, an' lurking over the Sound...ugh. And I am so glad that the temps are somewhere in the mid 80's..where they will probably stay for at least a little while longer...shwooooooooooooo

I have more projects over on the work table..I had so wanted gabriel to come down here an' help me out w/taking pictures and doing some work on my blog for me...but alas, he has something else to do, and it just hasn't happened yet. I want to share the pictures, but I don't have the right attachment for the camera that was loaned to me from our oldest dan - he has a much better camera than mine, and it seems to be a little larger, so I have my fingers crossed that the pictures I take w/that camera will be better. I need better today! ~

I still have some lingering problems that are off on the horizon, but so far the bad news from them hasn't hit yet...I know their out there, but for now it's quiet, so I'm thankful for that. As long as some of the people I know will just leave me alone with their negative beings, then it will be much easier for me to deal with other things that I'm attempting to negotiate ~ I have so much that's in the works for my self and my Art ~ I just want that to be the highlight of everyday and not the negative people and their negative energy bearing down on me ~

Must check on a painting that I have nearly done - it's really something different than others ~ Oh, its Beach related, but that's about as far as that goes ~ Kinda retro..kinda surfy..kinda all of that combined. Tee Hee.............

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

>> Sorry for no picture today..I'll try and make it better with a little bit of color for the print, will that be ok? <<

I just had one of those afternoons where it doesn't seem like there will ever be good news - all these corporations demanding something from me that does not exist...too much bad, always bad news to me, and I'm just wanting something good - is it wrong these days to want something good? ~ I'm beginning to think it is ~

I once belonged to an organization, where people there would tell me that to want something was indeed wrong - that "was being selfish!!" ~ I was to only consider things that were necessary, not some things that would be fun - nice - different. The people were absolutely evil, and had an amazing ability to absolutely deflate me at every opportunity. I withstood it for just so long, and when I made my leave of them, it was as if the sky opened out and truly a ray of light emerged over me ~ I honestly felt the sky smiling at that point, and I have chosen since then to be very aware of people who sap the very living depth of ones soul, the very core of a person..those are the kinds of people I avoid.

Yet, it seems that corporate america goes out of their way to make sure that they do crush the spirit of a person ~ I just had 2 telephone calls that were this way ~ It stunned me with the first, and by the second, I was and still am, completely deflated ~ I feel as if there was a huge boulder pushed on top of me..and the people giving me the bad news, telling me that I was wrong in not being able to do what they wanted me to do...this was the crushing - and it didn't stop 'till I hung up on the people.

I am very sorry this is not a positive post...but this is how it has been for me these last couple weeks - it's as if the time away is now looking like it never was...

But now I have to leave..interuptions...I am once again wrong in what I do...lord knows I'm exhausted........

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

Early morning at the campground...

This was taken just after the sun came up over the opposite side of the river where we camped w/the Bus Festival ~ This was what greeted me every morning - a soft and floaty fog over the water that hung all whispy and thin - so amazing to sit and watch with a cup of coffee - the movement of air over the fog, moving it to one direction, then another ~

I am so sad that we weren't able to stay up there - here it is just one hard thing after another, and I'm having a difficult time keeping my head above it all ~ Too many things that are dragging me down, and I feel as if the crush is just around the corner ~ I have some real fears and some very scary and upcoming events that are just a ways away, that are tearing me apart ~ I can't do anything about any of it, and the sad thing is, that some people who had said they were "friends" have absolutely turned their back on me ~ Leaving me to shoulder far too many things alone ~ Oh, the hubs is "here", and so is noah, but neither of them can do anything to stop the train wreck is that is just around the corner ~ I am so overwhelmed and burdened, and I have no relief in sight ~

I am trying to continue painting, and hoping for more miracles to happen ~ But for now I am nearly incapable to painting one brush stroke ~ That's how bad it is for me - I hate to shoulder all this weight by myself, but hubs has never been one to take on any thot of jumping in and trying to do more than he can - indifference is something that he completely feel toward anything that he doesn't want to face ` So it leaves all the ugliness on me to handle - take care of - do something about ~ And do it with a smile on my face, and a bounce in my step ~

Right now I am nearly crawling, the pain and heaviness is so much for me -

I must leave, for now - and I will hope that this image will be something that I'll be able to think of in the coming days ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Hubs was busy doin' something when this picture was taken..we were walking back to our campsite @ High Country Bus Festival...we'd gotten a ride w/the owner on his little golf cart to visit friends at a section called "Primitive" - it was a bit of a walk, and the shade under all the wonderful trees was fabulous...

But I still have no idea what hubs was doing here..'capt that he got (you can just make out the roll) an incredibly large roll of trash bags..I've no idea how many are on the roll..but by the looks of it, we'll have trash bags for the duration...

What caught my eye was this wonderful cab-style (it has a specific name, but at the moment I can't remember..) vw..it's older than ours, and the guy who had it was all camped out with enuf things for what looked like a summer - worths of camping ~ Can you see the neat old cooler?..it was something I saw right away, an' was going to ask about where he found it, but by that time hubs was on his way down the dirt road, and I literally didn't want to get left in the dust.

It was so amazing to see what different styles, colors, and ways that owners have their vw busses done - bright colors, muted colors, some with custom paint that made me literally stop in my tracks (but was also sadly when my camera batteries died..boo..) - so fun, and everyone so eager to talk about what they have - and share! ~ Oh, how everybody wanted to share things - food, drinks, an'yup, even trash bags! ~
No!, you go ahead an' take 'em! ~ You never know when you'll need some extras! ~ I always take a lot of 'em with me!"

But now that particular week plus is all over, and the grind of daily life hits - too many sad things have happened since I got back, and it seems overwhelming to me - I keep going knowing that God has something at the end of all this for me, so that is what drives me - I am excited to say that this weekend me & Gabriel will finally get together and rework my blog..add pictures, possibly music..stream some pictures..oh!, so many ideas an' I'm looking forward to all the work.it's going to be a long day, but well worth it when it's all set up ~ Relief too, as some things that I want to debut will be ready ~ Oh!, just wait & see what's new! ~

But that's in a few days, and right now I have to get some fabric stabilized for cutting out, and some ribbons unearthed from their storage box..never a dull moment in the studio~

I'm Gone....

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

I discovered this wonderful piece of art one morning while we were camping at the Bus Festival..I was so taken by the absolute perfection of it, I immediately went & grabbed my camera so I wouldn't loose the work..

It was fairly early in the morning..maybe 7 or so..I've no idea why I woke up so early, but after I got my bearings a little, watched some of the whispy fog float over the river and feel a wonderful soft breeze go across my face, this piece of nature at her best was what greeted me ~

It was so peaceful - the beauty of the web..the stillness of the morning, and the cool of the day ~ I wanted that moment to last till forever..I know it wouldn't so I did the next best thing I knew, and took a picture of the web...

Then this morning, tom had the opportunity to stay home a little longer than usual, so we were sitting on the couch, looking out the front room window, and my eyes caught a similar web strung from our wind chime down to the railing of the front porch...this was even larger than the one in this picture, so I was amazed that spiders can create such breathtaking things ~ Then I thot, well if the web of the porch is THAT large...uhmmmm...how big are the items that this spider is trying to catch??

'k..so that started to freak me out, so I decided it was best at that point to just get a cup of coffee, give the hubs a quick hug before we went up Ocean Highway to the big city, and start the day...

The heat is definetly ON, and the humidity is stiffling ~ I went to get what groceries I could afford for the week ($15.00...) then came back home and layed out to get cooled off in my bedroom...no breeze, just a tickling whisper of air coming in the window...why is it that when you absolutely need some wind, not just a tease of a wind, I mean a wind thru the window to cool you off?? ~

It's never there...

I'm optimistic the weather will finally break this week...maybe midweek the weather people say, but they've been known to flap far too much hot air about a lot of things..so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Onward to work over on the table...and hopefully some cooler breezes! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-08-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

So, what happened waz...after talking with the intake coordinator, and waiting to see what would happen w/Noah...

We were suddenly suprised to find out that he was being discharged from the hosp. within less than 5 days of being admitted...Everything that I'd gone thru was completely thrown out the window, and then he was back in the house, and nothing has changed..

What Tom & I then decided to do, was something the intake coordinator had told me to do from the very beginning - take some time away, get a breath of fresh air, and just try and do some relaxing - where there had been very little to none what so ever.

The picture is from the New River, where once again, we went to camp for, longer this year, 6 days all together...with a lot of other Bus enthusiasts, and did what was much needed...

Nothing.

Well, there were some moments of playing around in the water..laughing with new friends, visiting with other friends we hadn't seen in some time (always a treat), and doing as little as possible ~ It was heavenly ~ And lifted quite a deal of heavy weight from me and the stress level that had felt overwhelming for some time. I was thrilled to discover that we could camp directly above the water (tho this picture is taken from another portion of the campground, called "Primite" sites ~) and have our little shade set up, and were able to get the most wonderful view of not only the rest of the campground in either direction, but of the shoreline directly across from where we had set up ~

Exactly what the Dr. ordered...well not literally, but somewhat close.

It was fun, restful, and always a treat when seeing a small creature along the opposite shore, maybe a turtle, a sweet little otter, who was quite busy doing whatever she/he was up to...seeing quick fast little darting fish..maybe trout?, maybe smallmouth bass..just flashes of color, a swift flick of a fin, and then disappearing into the deeper water.

It was such a let-down to have to come back home - nothing has changed here, there is still the sudden and viscious loud screaming - shouting/cussing/slamming of objects inside the house and outside in the shed. I find myself thinking of the calm sound of the water splashing over the rocks of the New River..seeing high high up in the sky, some large hawk, or maybe an turkey vulture...and I so terribly want to go back, immediately, and grab something of a moment of that quietness.

But it won't be until possibly next year - unless we discover another Bus camp-out within the next couple months, before the weather turns cold once again.

I'm longing for the quietness..the peaceful moments of rest that the depths of my soul are in need of...just waiting for another part of that which would envelope me in the comfort of softness.

I will strive for it till the next time away..........

Lady of The Tulips ~

2011-07-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

>> Well, I am sorry to say that I don't have it together enuf today to post a picture <<

I have gone thru some extremely difficult things this week, and I'm hoping that by the end of today that some good news will finally come 'round ~

Noah finally had a quite terrible manic episode on tuesday ~ So much so, that I had to go across the street, and make a ph. call to the sheriffs dept. from a neighbors house ~ He'd been trying to call a girl/lady (not sure of the persons age..) that he claims he knew from some years ago - but her father showed up here monday afternoon, demanding to talk w/noah...saying no, no, mistaken identity..

Then noah tried to call her tuesday am. ~ All hell literally broke loose, the father calling and threatening me w/ harm..threatening noah...on and on...

Shaking so very very badly, I called the state mental health dept. ~ went thru all that happened, and then had to call the local magistrate's office ~ Started to explain the situation to him, but noah grabbed the ph., and began to absolutely come unglued.

Long long story short ~ I had to file a petition w/the magistrate to have noah sent to a hosp., for treatment ~ One of the sheriffs that came to our place escorted noah to the local hosp., and with some last paperwork w/a local office o/the mental health board, I got thru the initial round of paperwork.

Yesterday noah finally got sent to an inbound facility ~ I've no idea of how long he's to be in the place, but I am beginnng to feel realived that he is finally being taken care of ~ I'd been trying to get him to a facility for some months, but it never happened ~ An absolute crises had to come around in order for something to be done ~

The magistrate informed me, while he was filling the paperwork for the hospitalization, well, in his words, "And we'll take care of the _____ County business" ~ meaning, the father that repeatedly threatened me & noah w/harm...I don't want to go into more detail of it, because I haven't heard back from the magistrates office, so I don't know what or if there is anything else I can say ~

I'm not sleeping well ~ Still terribly afraid of this yokel, and his friends showing up at my door - unannounced and evil ~ "I'll bring a group of my friends down there, an' we'll make sure to take care of this business..." ~ Gee, he sounds like such a nice friendly guy! ~ Maybe I should invite him &his friends to join me in sunday school this weekend..? ...

Uhmm...probably not....

So, I am trying to finish/re-paint one of the frames I worked so hard on a couple years ago...aged it and made it look all antique-iee...it didn't sell, so hopefully with one of my new works in it, it will move this time....

That's about it from here ~ I'm going to have another glass of ice coffee, and attack the frame over at the work table..the only comforting thing for me right now, is to continue my work..it's just all about the work and art for me now - I can't seem to focus on much of anything else these days, so I just keep going in the direction that the Father is telling me to head toward. And listening to that brings me such comfort at this incredibly difficult time..

I must be going ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-07-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

"Deep Moon Man" ~ 2011 - C. Spring Bay Studio ~

Tom isn't thrilled with this particular piece, 'cause he sez it's too dark..I thot it has the depth that I wanted surrounding the moon, and the face looks old and craggy enuf to make you want to look at the moon this week, as it becomes full ~ There are all the nooks and crannys that I always find facinating when looking up, wondering always what it is that makes the moon such an incredibly moving force for us small people ~

I got part of those feelings on this canvas - not all, but some of those ~ I wanted to see where the texture would take me ~ See whether or not there could be an additional layer ~ There always is room for added things, this is true ~ But I couldn't feel my way into that layer, so I went into the color of the piece instead ~ It feels like it's at the place where it needs to be, so I'm leaving it for now at least ~

I had so much time spent with the layers - putting bits and pieces into the background, feeling where it all should be appled - kind of like when I have conversations with some people I know - there is always so much that you feel that needs to be added, but the layers that get in the way keep you from saying things that should be included - sometimes that becomes a problem, other times it's for the best - and that's what makes some relationships so difficult ~ I have one person that is so extreme for me - some days so light that it makes me feel positive that it's a good time for both of us - then there are other days that feel as if the weight of the world has decended on this person, and there is no way out of the darkness that surrounds them ~ I have such difficulty with communication at that point, that I nearly choke ~

Ah ...well, today is another day, and we shall see where the hours go - I have several projects in the works - tiny parts here and there of what will be some paintings - some mixed media things - all a jumble thru the studio...

But the back door has slammed once again, so I know that I need to see what kind of fresh hell is waiting in the front room..
Lady of The Tulips

2011-07-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

"Gazing" ~ Spring Bay Studio ~ c.2011 ~

Here's a little something that I finished not too long ago ~ It's one of the pieces that I have come to realize are in a set of "Star" or Solar pieces that I'm working on ~ At the time, it didn't seem like I was creating a series, but it seems that I am - or have - or however you'd like to say that ~

I'm disappointed that the picture is so washed out - the blue is actually a lot darker than it appears in this shot - but at least you can get an idea of what I've got going on ~

The next couple are completely different ~ Yet the "same" ~ All having to do with Stars, Moon, Sun ~ I've no idea what came into my head, or why these have suddenly materialized ~ One that I finished the other weekend, left Tom with a most astonished look on his face ~ I was afraid that he'd start telling me something horrid - not like noah yelling at me and telling me that what I was doing was evil -

Fortunately tom was very suprised, but in a good way - he really liked what I painted, and said it had a lot of movement and shape and any number of things going on with it ~ I'd never heard him say something like this about any of my work before, so that made me feel like I'm going into another direction ~ And growth is such a good thing ~So I felt far past relieved ~ Something like a cloud lifted off of me, and I began to feel that perhaps this is what I've been working toward all this time, but didn't or wasn't quite aware of it ~

And now I've got some other paintings that are in the works, and naturally these too will be posted here ~

And with all this ~ Our one son had talked to me about changing my blog - maybe making the blog and some of my art, and some of my weavings, and music into an all inclusive piece online ~ I told him I'd contemplate it ~ It's going to take some time for me to process all of it ~ To decide just how far I want to take this new work and the new outlook of mine ~ Into the next phase of my artistic self ~ It's scary and exciting at the same time - but perhaps it's what is needed to continue to grow as an artist ~

My! ~ The wrens are suddenly just making the most noise out on the front porch!! ~ Maybe they are encouraging me in this new path I seem to heading toward! ~ Wouldn't that be exciting! ~ They are, the wrens that is ~ Once again eyeing my flower that's been out on the front porch for the last couple summers...eyeing it as in they want to build their nest in it again ~ Well, there isn't much I can do about stopping them - even when I over-water the plant and soak their nest, they somehow just sit inside of it - look out at me, and not make a peep ~ I guess maybe the cool water under them must cool them off? ~ who knows - but they are so funny, and so busy ~ I'd like to have them for neighbors again ~

Must go - the dynamic duo is coming back to the cabin in a bit, so I need to get going - they don't like it if my "self" is doing something on the computer...pooh...they just rattle my nerves, that's what they do! ~

I'm Gone ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-06-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

So, yes, this is a photo from last year, but the azaleas look so cheery in this picture, that I wanted to share them again -

I just got some more bad news from the secretary o/HOA here..she's now decided that we owe more $$ for our assessments than she or the other board members told us - the day I was told of our ID theft, one of the board members swore up & down that that particular payment would be waived, an' that I could just go on after that...

I knew better than to believe her - after all she'd lied to me before, an' Voila!! ~ Once again we're gettin' the stab in the heart - I came home shaking - I'm so upset - I told this mean woman that Tom had finally gotten a bonus for the 1st time since 2008, but here it was going to pay for our stuiped assessment..her quote..

"I don't care about that!! ~ We have this payment to take care of!! ~And you still owe us extra money!!!"

Yup - fell apart when I got home & am still crying...these people are so out of touch with us working class people, it is just terrible - pompous, mean, arrogant and viscious -

Thats the best I can say about them - and I can't just not pay, 'cause legally they can literally take our house away from us - It's just the worse thing I've gone thru, and it won't be over for some time to come.

I was going to try & get a new project going - well, I have the base coat on a canvas, but I wanted to get part of the 2nd layer on...

Not now - I'm still shaking like a leaf - and these horrid people don't care -

Not one

Little

Bit.................

I'm going to go an sit by one of the windows where there's a breeze..this one window in the studio doesn't cool the room down at all - so the 70% humidity & 84 degree heat isn't helping things either.

I just know I will lean on Him who protects me - just shudder to think what these people will reap when it comes around back on them...........

Lady of The Tulips

2011-06-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

> < 'k...I know that sometime's I may not feel like the sharpest marble in the bunch..well, actually I usually feel that way ~

But after I took a look at this picture today, I realized that sometimes it takes something like this to make me realize that I am just a vessel that seriously needs to be filled with something other than what I think is my smart brain..

I mean, LOOK AT THIS!! ~

I had thot that by saving a little bit of money, and waiting for a couple of days, I would "save" some cash, use something other than what the manufacturer calls for - to use in a dishwasher, an' then, oh yeah buddy, I'd be all cool and wonderful, an' be saving a "whole" lot of money..

Yee gadz....I think it's being called out on being a little bit self centered.."I" was being the smart one, instead of listening to that voice that is much wiser than I am, and the "I" said, "Oh, ho! ~ I KNOW what I'm doing..." - uhhhhmmmmm...

So here's the jist of it..in my selfishness, I "knew" what to do, and instead of just making a load of dishes nice and clean, an' then putting them away, and going back to my work in the studio, I (and that's the important thing here..) decided to get in my own blasted way, and with "my" knowledge, I went ahead and did something that IS NOT what your suposed to do...

I used regular liquid dish soap, and threw a bunch of it into the dispenser of the dishwasher, an' figured that nothing would happen, but my super-wonderful brain told me, Well! - look, these will turn out wonderful, an' look how you'll save money, an' be just the best little housewife since June Cleaver...

God has these clever ways of letting us know that we're getting in our own darn way - Instead of saving money, I had to wash (by hand) almost all of the dishes that were in the dishwasher, then dry them all by hand, and then use another cleaner to clean up the mess I made all over the kitchen floor...Uhh..where's the savings in THAT? ~ You may ask? ~

Tee hee..instead of walking to the less expensive "dollar" store that is RIGHT next door to the grocery store, I thot I'd be uber cool an' make it all work for me..

Get it ~ !~ Me? ~ Well, I kept feeling this voice saying"HEY!! What are YOU doing??" ! ~ But I was so much in my own way, I didn't take the 35 seconds to listen...

And after an absolutely horrific week, I am once again listening - and I mean, Really listening to the voice away from me, and Paying Attention to It ~

I could have saved almost $3.00 on a bottle of dishwasher liquid...but instead of humbling myself off of my high horse, and going someplace else (where some dolt told me wasn't just good enuf for her to shop, - i.e., therefore not good for me to go either...) I choose instead to be proud...

And look where it got me...

So, these days, I've been working on a whole lot of Art that is not at all like what I've been doing in the past - lots of colors that I never EVAH thot of using before..and the result is unlike anything I'd ever thot would come out -

In other words -

I've gotten MYself out of the way, and actually LISTENED to what God is telling me to do...

Uhmmm...in other words, I've gotten out of my own darn way! ~

And it feels so much better ~!~

I am happy to say that there are some pieces that I'll put on here in the upcoming days, that I think are far different than what I've done - and I really want to see what the pieces look like to you - Tell me what you think - and then I will see if they are what God has been slapping me upside the head to SAY HEY!!! ~ DO THIS! ...I think both of the answers will be purdy darn close to the same thing ~

That's all I gotta say for now - I'm getting one of my old frames refinished this weekend..well, actually I'd thot (here we go again...) that it'd just be quick-yahoo! finished in like, a day or something...But now that I'm totally into it, it's looking like it's going to be all weekend..

Details - Details make all the difference in the world ~

So, I gotta go see if the breeze is coming into the bedroom, so I can make sure all the windows are open for the nice night - the weather people say it's gonna be cooler...le's just see about that! ~

Tha's all -

I'm gone.................

Lady of The Tulips

2011-06-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

'K...so there isn't a picture today - I was trying to get one on here, but I only have a zip of a minute to post something today, an' noah's gonna come in here an' shoo me off of here..so no time to try & find the picture I have - but can't find to post here!! ~ Ahh, so irritating!

Anyway- the progress on the Busses has ground to a halt - Well, they actually are goin' along just fine, but I don't have the extra $$ for gas to get up to town, an' then add in the cost for shipping the little box out in the mail ~ How stuiped is that? ~ We're so broke I can't even afford $25 right now! ~ Tom went a little off the deep end w/$$, an' now we're at zero in the checking - I know, I know, never air dirty laundry, but shit fire, here I am, workin' on 7 different projects, an' I can't even get $$ together to send out some pieces that are DONE!! ~ I keep trying to be upbeat about my art, but there have been nothing but roadblocks each and every step of the way for me to get things in a gallery - The work I have started doing, well, honestly, some one who I am close to (our son, actually) told me, "THAT WORK IS PAGAN!!! YOUR A PAGAN!!!"....'cause I've done a series of moons, stars an' a couple sun's...So, if he's all off about my work, I have a bad feeling that the local place isn't going to go out of their way to accept it either - They were very reluctant to take some of my beach items the first time I went in, so what's to say they accept some of these new pieces? ~ Its a very very conservative area, an' I'm not quite in their "mainstream" mode of work...

ok, I'm not going to show how really depressed I am right now - I've got some new work, but I can't do a thing with it - so I just will rework some old pieces that I never finished, an' see how I can adapt them to a gallery nearby - maybe they'll take some of my things again...they didn't even talk to me once I paid the membership dues last year - never heard a thing 'till it was time to renew my $$..an' I didn't even know about 4 shows that had happened/ -

Oh shit, noahs comin' in - gotta run away ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-06-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot I'd made this..gee..maybe a year or more ago - all on the 'puter, but it was so much fun !~

I have a couple projects in the works right now - my most-best-EVAH news, is that I've been asked to make up some of my Busses for a fundraiser -another woman who owns a Bus is doing a cross-country trip in her own VWBus, and is raising awareness on AI - auto-immune disease - her mother passed away from one form of this illness, MG, and wants to make people aware of the problems in diagnosing the illness, and then the correct medication for it ~ I am so thrilled to be doing this for her - If I can relocate the link, I'll be sure & post it on here -

So I am finished getting the loom threaded today, and will start weaving tomorrow morning - then the cutting, painting, glueing, all those little things that go into making the little Busses - not to mention the stranding of all the beads that are used to hang the Bus from the rear view mirror - Shwoo!! ~ I have my work cut out for me this week!! ~

I also have another painting in the nearly-finished stage as well - I am debating the center of the piece - haveall 96 1/2% done so far, but haveing a dickens of a time deciding the last bit of color...urrgghhh...it truly shouldn't be THIS difficult! ~

But other news - the HOA here is finally being "somewhat" decent over the recent theft of our $$ info. - the last of the court cases are being heard tomorrow and next week for the suspects - I'm not so sure that any of them will see the amount of time the president & board of directors are thinking these slobs will spend behind bars..it's more than likely they'll be in at the most one year...a somewhat decent lawyer can get them out probably sooner than that - and since there are some flimsy "witnesses" to the thing, it doesn't look like much more than that will happen - I am STILL battling with accounts of ours - most companies have been pretty understanding - one I fought with today for over an hour...I finally got someone to listen to me, and they said, "Oh!" - but there are still others that I"m not so sure about...Lord willing it's gonna come to an end pretty soon...

I have to get flyin' on some work now - The weather the last 3 days has been so wonderful - much much cooler and a nice gentle breeze has been drifting across the studio - I am in 7th Heaven..no humidity - no high heat blowing into my face...I nearly want to bottle it up & keep it for a cold cold day in winter. But alas...that is not to be...

I'm Gone ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-06-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

WIP ~ Spring Bay Studio ~

This is another of the pieces that I have in the works - I got started with the lower part of the largest heart, and started cutting the fabric into pieces that I thot would look somewhat decent with the paint that I'd already applied to the canvas - I have a bit more to go with this, but at least you have an idea of what I'm working with ~

As for the "Fun & Games" we've had -

We were the victims of ID Theft ~ the culprits were caught pretty quickly, but the damage and insuing crap that we had to go thru and are still going thru is exhausting - I didnt even make it to church sunday morning - I am just so tired of battling w/banks, and especially the people who were lax in their "safety" of our checking information ~ Any idea of who it was? ~

The Homeowners Association where we live - We pay our assessments for the land & house for "Association dues for various projects.." blahblahblah...since we don't have the $$ to just hand over the full year's amount, we make monthly or weekly pytms - for us & the slow economy, it's all we can do for now-

The problem is there are 3 (!) people who "handle" the monies that get paid..and the one "gentleman" who's "In charge!",,,has repeatedly left my checks in the clubhouse (not like what you think...it's a big ugly building that looks like it got bought cheap..an' no bar/sandwich place - nothin' inside but a big empty storage thing..) office for as long as 3 weeks at a time - I'd always thot (silly me!) they'd be taken care of..well..

Long story short - the checks of ours & a few others were stolen..the guys got caught, but now it's time to clean-up our credit report, an' all that crap - the Board of Directors have treated me like CRAP ~ the man I talked about earlier actually screamed and yelled at me..(I took it for 10 seconds an' hung up..the conversation had been bad enuf before he started in on that) - then the other board members got even more rude..told me"We'll take your house!! ~ You better get that money in here!!!"

It's been horrible an' I'm nearly regretting moving here ~ Our bank has been great, tho slow to get our new # set up - but I'm getting things straight sllooooow but sure...

NOTE~ if you have one of these organizations, don't do like I've done - make sure they are a lot more organized in regards to how they handle your money - here it's just a lot of "Ho hum..don't care, we're wealthy & you arent!"...I am serious when I say, if you have to push like I did, it does all work out - just try to avoid the roller coaster like I rode on...

Now I'm trying to get back on track, an' fortunately Tom has had a couple weeks of work that are nearly 35 hours...still way way short from 3 years ago, but it's creepin' bit bybit back to where it was - My painting has been a God-send to me - let me release a lot of tension and anger- I've prayed for the people involved to just be dealt with as God sees fit - it's not for me to deal with ~

So, that's where I am this week - Keep me in prayers if you could - this has been a very rough learning experience - there's a Board of Directors meeting @Sat., so some of the people that haven't been told their checks were stolen, will undoubtedly show up & I'm thinkin', they aint gonna be happy ~!~ I haven't decided if I'm goin' or not - I just don't feel like listening to the cop-out answers any longer from these jerks...

Must go get some stuff one -

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2011-06-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

~~ "Star" ~ Spring Bay Studio ~ 2011 ~
'k...K!!..I know its been something like for-evah since I've been here - but Life as we know it, comes bumbling it's way along into the face of everything we think we know - what we do, where we drive...then the next thing you know, it's wayy past time to sit and have a sweet little chat with a friend, and then you remember you left a dozen cookies baking in the oven, an' now look at the mess you've got ~

That's how it's been here for me lately - Some totally horrid things happened (when I get a chance to really breathe, I will post about all THAT...) but for now suffice to say that there have been days recently, that I stop & think, "Ya know, drinkin' like a fish way back in the day may not have been such a bad thing after all..an', whoo, ya know, those hang-overs weren't half as bad as all this $"$^"*()"$ that's hittin' my face.." ~ I will expound on all that later this week, but for now......

I'm sorry for having been gone ~ I missed chattering away about the woods...the birds who have come back to stay for their summer whoopie-time - I was not so thrilled with the 13-year cicadaes (sp) that came out of the ground, and made an all 'round mess of things...I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to show you some of the flowers that popped up in the yard, but I didn't have the brains to grab my camera at the time...

I'm really glad you didn't have to hear some horrible things that were screamed at me - Glad you didn't have to hear and see some ugly things that were flung in my direction....

But for NOW - Here's a little bit of what my work has moved in to - I'm not doing all that much weaving - it isn't doing what I'd hoped for - and I'm considering other avenues at the moment - This canvas is an example of that - I'd been playing around with some assorted paints, fabrics, and then I realized how much I'd missed just painting - the flow of the acrylics on the canvas..the scent of the paint, and the fun letting-go motion of the different shading and blending brushes - I realized that I'd let it go for other types of creativity, and that I needed to change gears into something other than what I was doing - This piece is actually part of a series that I've started- I don't know where they came from in my head - Don't know how many there will be - And the amazing thing, is that while I've been praying about each and every one of these to say something, there has been so very much more that has happened within me while I've made these - Some things that came out of me that I never would have thot would materialize - but all in a very positive and good way - Tom is pleasantly suprised with this piece, and some of the other ones that have come about -

I'll share those in the week to come -

Right now I'm just trying to get some rest - take it easy this evening - I've been doing lots of reading and trying to stay focused on the work - the work of Art - and letting all of the negative that's wholloped me slide away - I'm looking forward to what that release is going to produce...

I'll let you know -

But for now ~~~~

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2011-03-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

> One of my recent sketches, that hopefully - will get placed onto one of the little cell phone bags that I have some yarn worked up for <

This was one of those afternoons, where I needed to feel like I had something accomplished for the day, but there was nothing left in the ol' Mojo inside o' me ~ I could NOT for the life of me come up with anything that seemed like it would come out the way I had it looking in my little head..

But then, this sort of grew out from another sketch that I'd made some time back ~ And even tho I love-loved that sketch and eventual painting, the DISASTER was, that when I put the final painting onto a weaving that got made up into a cell phone bag..

The bag ended up with a hole in it ~ !!! ~

I have no way - at least to my mind - of repairing the hole, and there isn't any way to fix the hole that doesn't look like something BAD has happened..so I'm stuck with a nice painting, don't get me wrong...but the Cell Ph. bag is a DISASTER~!~

And then this whole week has been one disaster after another..too many off the wall weirdness to talk about..including my handbag (that I use everyday) getting thrown out into the middle of a rainstorm, into the back part of the property..) ~ Yeah, it's BEEN that kind of week!!

But there are some nice little new goodies that have been made, and barring another disaster with the final touches of a cell phone bag here and there, on here there SHOULD be a couple of these sweet goodies all polished up an' lookin' good ~ !! ~

As long as the Universe doesn't throw another loop in my face ~ ! ~

Must go as I'm starting to hear some bADDDDD noises from the other part of the cabin ~

I'm Gone ~~~~~~~~~

LAdy of The TUlips ~

2011-03-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

So..here are a couple pictures of one of my little "vans" ~ They are so much fun, and they just make me smile everytime I look at them!!

I was kinda suprised when Tom told me he saw one (tho not this particular color) buzzin' along the highway not once, but Twice (!!) this last week ~ He was "racing" along in his truck, an' lo and behold, he sees a Blue Bus goin' down the road ~ He nearly went off the road when he saw it~!~ 'Course, it wasn't near here at all, but it was lookin' pretty sharp!!

And I have a couple new pieces that are in the works ~ Not "Vans", but something a little different ~ I'm really suprised how the initial piece has turned out, so I'm hoping that I can pull together the rest of what I want to do with it ~ It has a certain glimmer to it that really looks sharp! Just you wait and see !

Right now Noah is out in the kitchen rattling the pots and pans ~ I found a nifty bag of beans in the store this morning ~ It has a combination of types of beans in it ~ The bag doesn't say specifically that it's for soup, but Noah's sounding like that's what he's going to make with it ! It smells delicious!! ~ And for less than $2.00, who can beat it?? ~ A little onion, some spices, an' Boy Howdy, there ya go!! ~ I'm going to be chewing the table by the time the pot of goodies is done, but it'll be soo worth it!! ~

So The Hubs is comin' home for the weekend ~ We're havin' a rough time of it w/little work, an' some bills that we weren't expecting, so he's not spending so much $$ on gas, an' being a "Bachelor" with danny ~ They just sit and veg in front of the tv, watchin' Sports!! ~ Ugh, I hate to think of what their eating for "dinner" ~ Tom sez it's "Good Stuff", but look, he thinks a hot dog smothered in mustard counts as a "Good Meal", so Arhhhh...who knows what their eating!! Tha's ok, once he gets back in the Dr. office, I'll probably be able to hear her chewing' him out while I'm sitting out in the waiting room!! ~

Must get some work done ~ I'll post one of my newer projects here hopefully by monday..it's Fun, Fun, Fun!!

Lady of The Tulips ~

2011-03-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

Here's another of my fun little vans ~ I just love-love the color of this piece, and it turned out the way I wanted it to, so that's like getting 2 things for the price of one !

I've had the beads for some time, and I never could decide what to do with 'em, but once I started putting this piece together, everything just seemed to go together perfectly ~ My muse was in high gear, an' it seemed like a flash by the time everything was finished.

Tom jus' thinks these are the best Evah ~ An' comin' from him, that's sayin' somethin' ~ Noah, on the other hand, still is grumpin' all over the place about my work ~ He's insisting that what I'm doing, "Isn't work!! ~ Working at Wall Mart, or even at the office for here is work!!"...so much enthusiasm over what I do...oh well, as long as I'm gettin' things done, that's what matters to me! ~ An' I'd like to see HIM try an' get all those gazillion threads done right on the loom!! ~ Ha! ~ He'd be all about throwin' a fit if one of those things got into a knot!! ~ Ohh Boy, you'd hear him loud and clear!!

I'm going to do some other designs starting tomorrow ~ I have a couple rough sketches in my book, but nothing that I'm quite ready to lay out on the final paper ~ I have some ideas of how to finish them off too, but it may have to wait a week or so before that happens..I don't quite have the $$ to get the supplies I need..story of my life!! ~ But tha's ok, 'cause in the meantime I get to mess around with my sketch book an' plot out ideas an' whatever isn't good, well by golly, that sucker can go in the trash!! ~ So There!! ~ I'm thinkin' of a lot of things to make but I have to remember that I'm limited by how the final weaving turns out, and how to make the design work out on the woven "fabric" ~ Quite the challange!

So I'm waiting for the weather to do it's thing ~ We were warm today, around 65 or so, but it's gettin' ready to storm to beat the band, so I guess it's going to haul off and drop thru the basement tomorrow ~ Highs back in the 40's, so today was jus' a tease of spring!! ~ Blast!! ~ Oh well, there's next week..IF it is warm, then I'll start dancin' in the street..oh, no, check that ~ No Dancing Allowed in THIS "neighborhood" ~ Some yokel would call the Sheriff an' I'd get hauled off to the slammer!! ~ Tee Hee...!!

Must get goin' before it all breaks loose out there! ~Yikes!~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-03-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Soooo..here's
what's been happening with the loom. the paintbrush. and the beads around the studio these dayz...

I've had so much fun making these little goodies up, I honestly started laughing out loud when I made up the first Bus..I mean, I could NOT believe that it was something that I made...I MEAN...

An' because it IS ST. PATTY'S DAY...naturally I had to post one of my GREEN busses...what Else could I do??

And there are others but those will be posted on a day this weekend..right now there are some other things that are calling my name over on the work table, but I JUST had to post these ~ !! ~

HAPPY HAPPY St. Patricks Day everyone ~ !! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-03-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sooooooooo This is what happened to my little fairie friend ~ She got her own cell phone bag, and is much happier with her own home..tee hee.......

I have some other work, actually a number of pieces that I've finished in the last week or so, and I'll post those..maybe even put up 2 today, just so you can get an idea of why I've been gone so blasted long~~ I don't mean to go away an just disappear, but I get so wrapped up in all this stuff, that by the time it's dark outside ('specially now that it's daylight savings time..) I am sooo tired, that by 7 p.m, this little chickie is in bed and jus' about asleep ~ !! ~ I admit, I AM a lightweight ~ !! ~

But it is very time consuming to do weaving, then the painting and other things that go into one piece alone...and there are several that have been done since this sweet little girl was finished ~ So, I'm getting lotts of goodies made up, but boy-o-boy does it wear me out ~~

Tom is livin' most of the time up in VA., 'cause the price of gas down here is so thru the roof, that it wouldn't be worth it for him to try & drive back and forth everyday ~ Our prices are $3.79 now..up over .25 in less than 6 days, and probably by tomorrow it's gonna be higher ~ So Tom's stayin' at danny's condo, an' that way he only has a10 mile commute to the terminal..makes it less stressful on the driving for him, and if he has to go out of town for a trip w/the truck, he's not as tired at the end of the day, so that's a big help ~ It's sad that the economy is so screwed up, that we can't afford to live together now, but there is no end in sight with all this $#^"& so we'll just try to tuff it out and hope for the best ~ Some days it jus' makes me sick, but whattya gonna do?? ~

So I need to go over to the little work table & check on my recent painting ~ I'll post one of my other goodies in jus' a minute ~ !! ~ Weeeeeeeeeeee

Lady of The Tulips

2011-02-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

Now the little fairy has some more oomph to her, and she's just about ready to go to her home...I've got it just about finished, so she'll be all comfy ~ We don't want to go into a nice place to "live" and not be comfortable, now, do we?? ~!~ Tee hee...

Anyway ~ I've got some finished projects that I'll get into my shop first thing in the morning ~ They took a little longer than I thot they wouldn but they are done ~ I'm pretty happy, and they look good, well at least I think they look good ~ !! ~ And there are going to be a few more in the next 2 days too..Yes, I WILL post pics of them here, so you don't have to wonder jus' what in the tar it is that I'm doing ~

The Valentines Day stuff is all done ~ I didn' do one thing ~ Tom's up in Va., and I went to bed at something like 7:15...I worked really hard on the projects for the 2 days of the weekend, and by last night I was flat wore out ~ The thing that confuses me about Valentines day, is how much money people will spend on stuff, that by and large, gets thrown away today ~ !! ~ Our oldest had the evening to work at the old restraunt where he'd been a valet for a number of years ~ When they get short handed, they call him to come in, so that gives him a chance to make a little extra cash ~ And you better believe that he's all about havin' some extra $$ in the pocket ~ I was kinda suprised that he was goin' in, then it dawned on me>> Oh Yeahh...it's Valentines Day ~ !! DUH>

Jus' cause I haven't gone anywhere for Valentines Day in nearly 10 years, it's not a problem...

But onto a brighter thang...I've got some paint that I played with a little bit this afternoon, and the effect it's making on a current project is just amazing ~ I didn't think it would work out the way it has, but when I post the picture on here, then you'll see what I'm talkin' about ~ Gee..the product does what it sez on the label...whodda thunk?? ~ Tee hee.......

Gotta run..I hear Noah walkin' up to the back door...sheesh, wonder what it is this time...

I'm Gone.........

Lady of The Tulips

2011-02-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a very rough shot of a painting I've been working on ~ It's drying w/the final coat of matte medium as I'm writing this ~ The final piece will go on the outside of a bag that I'm getting done at the same time..why sit around and do only one thing at a time..know what I mean??

And ~ While both of those are doing their thing, I've also got 3 other bags that will hopefully, be put in my shop today ~ I've got some other new things too..but it's been one thing after another around here ~ I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right about now, but I wanted to get back to doing some of my painting, and I figured that combining the two - weaving and a little painting, would probably go together ok ~ I'll have to wait and see how it works out ~ Hope Hoping that it will be a good thing ~

I've been really busy with things around the house ~ Tom & I went to the thrift store last weekend, and even tho I'd been thinking of buying curtains to finally put in ourroom, the cost for them just about knocked me to the ground ! So I figured out that buying some sheets, cutting and hemming them, adding this and that around them, would make for some pretty cool sheets ! So while the paint finishes on my last bag over on the table, I'm going to lay out one of the queen size sheets that we bought ($2.99 ~ !! ~) and get it ready to sew up ~ I also found some curtain rods, "wrought iron" style, very nice..$10.00 ~ !! ~ at one of the dollar stores ~ 'course they aren't really thick metal, but the look is more of what I'm after than the actual "designer" type of curtain rod @Lowes, Home Depot or where-ever ~ And the price can't be beat ~ !! ~ I finished w/4 strands of beads, that I'm re-threading, and those will go inbetween the panels of each of the curtains, hung so that they are a little shorter or longer than the one to the left or right ~ Sounds weird, but when I get them done, I' m bound and determined to take pictures ~ !!! ~ When I was in the middle of some work last week or so, thebatteries of the camera went slam dead right between picture 3 & 4...oh, my nerves...!!!

But that's it for now ~ Off to do some sewing - cutting - threading- and probably grabbing anything that's sitting on the floor of the studio for longer than 3 minutes...tee hee...........

Lady of The Tulips

2011-02-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

Whoo Hoo ~~ Check this out ~ I had the most fun EVAH making this sweet little handbag..this really was something because all those Polka Dots ~ And add to it the weave of the red & white..there were times where I had to stop working because it felt like my eyes were going crossed ~ But it is a fun little clutch purse, so thats what counts ~

There are some new projects over on the work table, and there are some new threads on the loom - I wanted to take a short break and get something on here..mainly this sweet bag ~ And to say that I'm branching out, as it were, into some other designs, and hope to show those by the first of the week..Right now I'm typing like a mad mad (or lady, as the case may be..) because noah just came in the house from outside, and I know that if I take too long, he's going to do his bit of standing in the hallway and sighing reallyreally loud and starting to stomp his foot, all because he doesn't feel that its right that I'm taking my time on this computer He feels like its just is all his HIS and I should stop everything I'm doing and go find a real job that pays...his idea is something like wal Shit, so there ya go..

Sorry so short folks, but this is it for today ~ I shall try to do better tomorrow...Wheeeeeeee

I'm Gone ~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-01-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

So, since the weather has been this side of horrid, what with far far too much snow and temps that refuse to come UP to 30 degrees, I decided to throw a picture on here of the Bus Festival we went to in Betsey last July..

Why yu Ask?? ~

BECAUSE..tha's why ~

No, serious lee...because it's just a touch warm today, and I'm not throwing in as much firewood into the woodstove this afternoon, so I'm starting to think of the coming season for camping, hangin' out w/fellow Bus People, and generally Doing Nothing but jus' havin' fun ~

Cold Weather has a tendancy to do that, don''cha know??

And I'm also blowing off a project that I've been battling with for the last 3 days, so to me, it's far far more fun to look at some great spots that we've spent time at, chillin', talkin' with folks ("Volks..") an' doing nothing. Beats work anyday..

But then ~ Work has to Get Done, so I'll probably HAVE to get back to my little table and get something accomplished, but for now I'll jus' sorta sit an' look at this fantastic location, and think about how I'm gonna start looking for supplies to get ready for the Camping Season that's just a matter of weeks away..Yikes ~!~ For Real - In march, is a get-together, so I better get myself in Gear..or something!

I'm Gone ~~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-01-27T08:03:00.000-08:00

Well now..

Here's another one of the clutch purses that's been all gussied up an' lookin' fine - I had so much fun makin' this up the other day ~ I felt like all I needed was a pair of black low-heeled shoes, with polka dots, a 1950's style dress an' I'd be rarin' to go ~ !! ~

But that would not happen, no matter how hard I tried for that entire afternoon, so now I'm content to look at this little project, all finished and sweet for Valentines Day ~ And I have some others that I finished just on monday - all so nice lookin', I can hardly stand it ~ But I'll get those on here hopefully tomorrow ~

AS for now - I just had some shmo come to my door (I could hear him outside trying to talk to noah..as if noah would answer some stranger at our deck...) an' honest to goodness, he was selling Electrolux Vacuum cleaners...HUH?? I thot those things went the way of the '57 Edsel or somethin', know wht I mean?? But for real, I mean FOR REAL the guy was tryin' to sell me one..but I quickly put a damper in his mid-morning deal and told him the truth..We're so broke right now We can hardly afford to pay attention..an' that about 10 of the truck drivers Tom knows have given up their trucks and are lookin' for other work...That kind of put a damper on the guys sales pitch, so he walked away..

I mean...vacuum cleaners door to door.....

Well anyway, since I got distracted from my current projects, I decided that I'd spend the time wisely and let ya'll know of jus what's going on around here - Noah absolutely had to go back to the ER yesterday, instead of waiting for his Dr. appt with the foot dr. - he insisted that he was having "complications" from the little bit of stitches he had in his foot...don't ask how somebody could have complications ("I could like, have a blood clot and DIE!!"...) so ok..we went back to the ER, an' somebody took the stitches out, an' put on some butterfly stitches that will disolve on their own, so noah doesn't have to go to another Dr. - I don't know what the ER doc said to him, but he came out of the room all pissed off an' grumpy lookin' - all shakin' his head and mumblin' to himself...

No wonder I had a headache the size of Texas by the time I got home last night...good mercy...

So today I'm takin' my frustration out on my poor defenseless loom..well not entirely ALL of my frustration..just enuf of it to get the work done that I started yesterday before I absolutelypositivelymustgorightnow had to make a trip down Ocean Highway....Humm...wonder what else will happen before this week is out???

Got to zip back to my project ~ !! ~

I'm Gone............

Lady of The Tulips

2011-01-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now here we are ~ !! ~ I had a horrendous experience jus' a minute ago - seems that if I hit the backspace key too many times, any picture I post on here will go far far away, an' heavens to betsy, you can just imagine how that makes me feel ~ !!! ~ I mean, here I do all this STUFF an' then I want it to go far far away?? I don' think so ~ !!!!!! ~

So here's another little purse that's all sweetness and light - full of fun and games and what ever else you want to do for Valentines Day - it has just the perfect color, and looks quite good in your hand, trust me. I think I've got about 3 other bags that are just about ready to have their final touches andthen I'll get those on here too - it's kinda hard to keep up with all the work, and then try & remember to post on here..some days by the time it's 7:30 at night, I'm already in bed!! Let alone trying to remember to get something on here that shows that for real and for true I AM doing work, and jus' about every day too ~

'Cept for yesterday - Well, I STARTED to work, an' noah was bizzy once again cutting down one of the trees on our property..he did get the tree down, an' he even knows how to make the thing land just right where he wants it to..tha's that engineering part of him that jus' makes me sick..I MEAN..how do you figure out the whole space,weight, MATH stuff??.. Well anyway - he got the big ol' tree cut down, an' started to cut the trunk into sections so that he could get those cut into the right size for the woodstove...when he had something of an accident..

Fortunately it wasn't as bad as it could have been..he hit the top of his foot with the axe while he was getting ready to cut a section of the trunk..it was more of a glancing blow, but it was enuf that I had to make a trip down Ocean Highway to the next little town down the way...to the ER and wait while they stitched him up - he was very very fortunate, an' didn't do more damage than he did - he does have to go and see a foot specialist, as he partially knicked one of the tendons in his foot - I don't even know how you can do that & not have something SERIOUS, but that's what happened - We are sighing a huge sigh of relief..an' will take it from there -

I have some work that I'm trying to figure out for my purses..no, I know what I want to do, but after yesterday I'm feelin' pretty drained, so I'm jus' sorta piddlin' around the house instead - cleaning, putting oil of lemon on all my antique furniture..doin' small things while my muse decides to do whatever it is that it wants to do - jus' takin' a breather I guess ~ !! ~

So I need to go rescue my laundry 'fore noah does something with it...Shwoo...you never know with that guy...

I'm Gone.............

Lady of The Tulips

2011-01-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

So...here's a little touch of the holiday that's coming up ~ I had more fun making this little clutch purse ~ All sweetness and light ~ I usually don't DO pink, but this is getting to be pretty fun ~ And doesn't this LOOK fun?? ~ It would luck so perfect with a sweet t-shirt, some fabulous heels..a great pair of skinny jeans...Yeah baby ~ Tha's what I'm talkin' about ~~ !! ~~ It is available in my little shop, an' I think you best make up your mind to get this right away before it gets gone before you get a chance ~ !! ~

I've got a project just, and I mean JUST finished on the loom - like less than 5 minutes ago, I have a fun little Valentines Day clutch - really going to be fun to decorate it too - I found some great sequins that I forgot I'd bought sometime wayyy back in the day - Got zero idea of what I was going to do w/them, but the weaving is just cryin' out for some - at least some of them..oohh boy, it'll be so cool ~ !! ~

Been doin' odds and ends here - tried to get some supplies over the weekend, but that fell all to hell in a handbasket - Tom had other ideas, an' instead of me gettin' the things I NEED right away, we instead, went & rescued The Very Fine Automobile...remember that vehicle?? Well..tom & our middle son had come w/this "Agreement" - our son would pay for the car/station wagon, an' pay towards the extra Ins. on it - Sooooooooooo what happened waz..nothing. No job/less job/ sorta/kinda gettin' paid BLAHBLAHBLAH..then the car dies on the way to a show he had to do..long story short, it was parked on the street up in Va., an' if we didn't get it- it'd be towed off an' THEN we'd have to pay all KINDS of money to get the thing out of a yard..fines..ugh..

So instead of me havin' fun & groovy times in the craft store...we drove around an' I eventually followed Tom home- he drove The Very Fine Automobile & I followed in his other car..NOT what I'd wanted to do on a saturday..so now 4 projects can't get final touches on 'em, cause I don't have the supplies to work with...

I'm not a happy little artist at the moment...

But - I am gettin' ready to get my warp on the loom, an' start another project - this is going to be totally different from what I've been doing these last couple months.Nope - I'm not goin' to tell..you'll just have to WAIT..an' see..

An' with that...

I'm Gone.............

Lady of The Tulips

2011-01-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

So here's a shot of the Bus..she wasn't impressed at all, not one little bit...when this picture was taken ~ This was the first "snowstorm" that hit our little neck of the woods a couple weeks before the BIG storm of Christmas..

I wanted to post this, 'cause the Weather People (and they know who they are...) are saying we're going to have "some kind of weather"..and it could be snow..could be ice..could be SOMETHING..but no actual word of just what that Something will be..

So I'm staying indoors, after running all OVAH - well, 'k, not really ALL over, but I did make 2 trips in betsey to the "convience center" - or what used to be called the dump..we don't have trash pick-up here - we haul it to the big ol' giant square boxes, an' some poor guy who probably hates his job, gets to pick up said giant ol' square box an' take it somewhere else..

Anyway - we made 2 trips, hauling off old leaves, stale trash..all those things that drive noah off the deep end. But at least it's not gettin' so bad that the trash cans are having little fumes coming out from around them..and now the little furry critters in the yard will have to look for some other spot to stay warm this winter, 'cause some of the yard waste has been taken away..THEN..after all that, we "had" to go to the hardware store, 'cause noah HAD to have a brand new jackknife...not just any one kind, oh no, it had to be Just Right. Fortunately the nice old guy in the hardware store has finally gotten to like noah (only took 2 years...) an' so he found just the Right One..an' $9.00 later, noah's happy, I'm Really Happy, 'cause now I'm not out in the cold, and bundled up like there's no tomorrow..

Well, there will be Tomorrow...it just not going to have Me out in the cold/snow/ice/sleet/ STUFF drivin' around in betsey..An' no, I'm not sure why noah had to have a new knife...carving something I think, is what it's for. Just don't quote me on that ~

Gettin' ready to get another clutch purse into my little shop - it's really cute, even if I don't mind sayin' so me-self - all pink and hearts, and pink and sweet...for those who Like Sweet, it's all about it, let me tell ya! And today, I've even gotten a little more ahead, and made up some tidbits/embellishments for my St. Patricks Day purses too - I'm trying to find where I very very carefully set some patterns of 4-leaf clovers. Yup - I did it again - I put them away realllly carefully so I'd know where I have them, so at This Exact Point in Time, I'd be all about findin' them, an' tellin' myself, "Well now, aren't you jus' ever so lucky an' smart and'.." AND NOW for the life of me, an' anybody else, I can't for jack-$#@%@ find that stuiped pattern..

No ~ Wait...

I'll find the Dayum thing when I'm gettin' ready to make up embellishments for 4th of July..no joke, I can jus' feel it...

Sucks to try an' be organized..........

So - I'm off - well, you ALREADY knew THAT..

I MEAN - I'm off to get some work done on the little table, an' sew up another Valentines Day purse..then it's time to start dinner...GHAWD, no wonder I'm hungry - look!! it's 4:21 in the afternoon..

No..you 4 20 people, I'm NOT talkin' about THAT time of 4:20...silly silly...

I'm Gone ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lady of The Tulips

2011-01-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

So...there we were minding our own business on Christmas evening...driving home, an' out of the blue, Tom sez, "You know, I think it's trying to snow..." ~

Me being me, said very quietly, "You need to shut up..."

But, as much as I hate to say, the cluck was RIGHT - even tho all we saw on the way home were teeny little drops, across the other side of Ocean highway, our middle son was driving not 10 miles away, and it WAS COMIN" DOWN..he said it was really goin' - but he had to be somewhere, so like a smart guy, jus' kept goin', and thank the stars and moon, he made it to his destination ~

We woke up kinda early on the 26th, an' something told me that it jus' seemed too quiet outside..like even the little snow birds weren't makin' any noise, an' there are a couple that will let you know it's time for Good Morning, and How ARE YOU!!! ~ So...

I took a look out the window, an' part of this storm is what I saw - no, I mean, the other window faced due south, an' there wasn't a good spot I wanted to take a picture of..TILL I walked out in the kitchen, an' after finding out that everything in town & the COUNTY was shut down, I took a gander out the kitchen window...

An' there sat poor little Betsey Bus...getting HAMMERED by a Big Ol' Snowstorm ~ !!! ~ I mean, Look at HER ~ !!!! ~

Ok, so these vehicles are made in Germany, and yes, it does snow there..but for HERE??? - It just is so unusual..'specially this early in the winter..

And when the total numbers came in - 8" + for our area...16" up by where Dan's condo is in VA., an' the numbers 'course got worse in Jersey & New York...

But tom had no work the following monday..everything was shut down at the port, and his driver manager even called him on his cell phone, an' honest to goodness, I could hear the guy yelling, "NO DRIVERS OUT ON THE ROAD TOMORROW!!! REPEAT !!! NO DRIVERS ON THE ROAD TOMORROW!!!"..
'k, geeze..like somebody would WANT to go out in a storm like this?? -

So that day w/out work messed up our finances, but it's ok - now it's all melted, the sun has been warm: toasty in fact, an' the temps rebounded to nearly 50 degrees -

So naturally it's supossed to snow tonight an' again on thursday evening..an' tom's been driving nearly every night this week - this should be interesting ~ !! ~

But I've been doin' my best to keep weaving - working out some new purses, an' have some other new things in the works - Got some seasonal items ready to set up in the shop, and also have some other goodies that I'll post on here later this week, or early next week -

so it's been bizzy and bizz-ee-errr than a blue tick hound runnin' after a deer..shwwoo!! An' right now I gotta run 'cause some stuff is dry out in the dining room (I've been workin' by the fire to stay warmer than workin' back here in the studio..) so I gotta run like a bunny ~ !! ~

I'm Gone ~ ! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-12-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

Here's one of the little ornaments that I made - I know, I know - it's past christmas - but I wanted to also let you know that there will be a sale on all my stuff next week - I tried to get the sale going today, but it's just been one of those days that I won't go in to - Just let's say that it's been one where I would rather be on some nice warm beach and enjoying one of those little cute drinks, with the teeny little umbrella in them, and lots of crushed ice and all yummy..

Mainly because I've never had one of those type of drinks, and after a Shopping Trip from Hell today, I'd REALLY like a nice cool drink -

Any way - I do want to say Happy New Year toEveryone ~ ! ~ It's going to be a great new year, I can jus' about FEEL it - I had a less than wonderful '10, so it GOTTA get better!!! ~ And too, I've got a batch of new products that are nearly ready to put into my shop ~ !! ~ And have some Valentines things too ~ !! ~ Whoo - So I have been a busy little girl, and will hopefully get some things ready by monday to post here and let ya'll see what's been goin on in the studio ~

I have just a minute to get this posted, then it's into the kitchen to make sure I got all the things I need for tomorrow - our oldest invited us up to his condo in VA., so I'm bringin' goodies to make and odds and ends to mess up his kitchen with ~ !! ~ Tee Hee ~ !! ~ He can clean it all up, not me ~ Hoo!! ~ Hoo ! ~ !

Have a SAFE and wonderful New Years EVeryoNe~~~!!!~~~

I'm
Gone.......

Lady of
The Tulips

2010-12-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

So..no photo today ~ and I am sorry, 'cause I know I probably said I'd get some more pictures on here - but wayyy too many things have gone on, and it's all too boring to post, so I'll just say that we Did have a very Nice Christmas - we went up our oldest son's condo, an' our middle son gabriel & I made the pumpkin pie...oops..but we forgot to add the sugar to the mix..

Ok, so yeah, it tasted uhhmm...kinda good w/the spices all mixed in, but Not So Good without the sugar..tom just poured sugar over the top of his slice, and what leftover we brought home, noah poured maple syrup on his slice of pie. I just can't believe I didn't remember to add sugar..well, w/2 people yakkk-yaking in the kitchen, I mean Come On Now, how do you Remember something like...reading the Directions?? ~ Huh! ~ Maybe next time I'll pay better attention.......

Been making some new clutch purses - and in my shop I'll be doing some new stuff too - got lots of little embellishments all made, and last week before me & Tom went to the truck company dinner @ a steak house (they'd paid!!) I was at danny's condo, and made up some other embellishments for the clutch purses too - So hopefull they'll all get done before the end of the week -

Anyway, yes this is short, but noah is crashing things around in the kitchen, and it's starting to not sound so good, so I better go see what the $^&"$"( is going on....

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2010-12-17T06:47:00.000-08:00

Here's another ~ !! ~ Look at how sweet this lil' guy is ~ I mean, what could be more Christmas than a little gingerbread boy, all decked out with pale "icing" of pearly white?? ~ He has little dark glass beads for eyes, and 2 pearly white beads down his tummy - Yum ~ !! ~

And the best thing is if you decide to have him w/breakfast, he won't make you gain weight ~ !! ~ What's not to love about that??

Ok, so anyway...I'm in the middle of getting finishing touches on the last of my Christmas ornaments - nothing like waiting for the LAST minute - sheesh - I got wayy behind this year, but now that I'm older and wiser, I know to start these things about a month earlier - So, with that thot, I'm already underway w/things for Valentines Day ~ !! ~ And if my little brain is right, there should be some supplies down Ocean Hwy. that I can use for St. Patty's Day - Hey ~ There's nothing like planning ahead - And for my shop it's all about getting your product out there for the public to see and not to get behind - Competing with the Big Boys is a nightmare as it is, so why make it harder on myself ? - So, there ya go ~ !! ~

I'm so tickled with how noah decorated the house - I'm going to take some pictures of how he did up our little christmas tree - the little thing is only 3 feet tall, but he made it look like a million bucks - It almost made me cry, it came out so good ~ !! ~He's got this eye for things that just has always amazed me -makes the most of every inch of space that he's workin' on...me, I just sorta throw ornaments all over the place an' hope for the best ~ !! ~ Tom knows better than to even try - he is Not The Person to have to get near ornaments, Especially ones that break...like a bull in a china shop...yup, that's him ~ !! ~ So he just sits back an' lets the things get done. Smart guy ~ !! ~

And - now that the day is WARMER...yesterday we had a bout 1 1/2 " of snow, so naturally everything in the county was shut down...unbelievable - I took pictures of Betsey in the snow...poor little Bus..she didn't look at ALL happy...but today the Bus is defrosted, and is looking sharp as ever ~ !! ~ We may have the $$ to buy a heater for her..hopefully next week - got one we're thinkin' about..but it's always having the Money...ugh...drives me up a wall ~ !! ~

Gotta run & get some more weaving done - Noah's outside an' I think he's considering me driving in the slush somewhere...joy oh joy...nothin' like a vehicle w/out any heat...Anybody know what to do with Hypothermia???..jus kidin' ...!!

I'm Gone ~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-12-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

With a sweet cobalt blue ribbon, and coordinating blue christmas trees, this little ornament is just too too sweet ~ !! ~ I had more fun making this little piece, I was suprised that it had so much color to it when it was finished ~ I guess the old saying, time flies when your having fun, really did come true for me ~ !! ~

I've also got some other pieces that'll get posted on here later on - tomorrow most likely, as right now I'm in the middle of working out a couple other ornaments, plus a new (!!) clutch purse, so my day looks to be pretty productive ~ !! ~

Even with the COLD - and I MEAN cold we're having - the windchill is somewhere in the mid-teens, and the wind itself is somewhere around 35 mph - I'd considered going to the dollar store, but the Bus must have been sending me those "OH NO YOU DON'T" vibes, 'cause once I really took a look out the window and saw the trees blowing all which-way, that made me change my mind - and with tom's incident with the big ol' deer last week, I'm not in the mood to have to talk with the car ins. company again - But it REALLY is winter-feeling outside right now - I've got the woodstove going into overtime it seems, but I had to finally face facts and close off some of the rooms just so I could concentrate some of the heat in to the studio - I won't be weaving today, so that room is closed off - the windows may leak or something, 'cause it feels like a deep freeze in there - we've got Anderson windows in there, so there really good, but I think there may not be enuf calk around them - Noah's gonna have to take a look at 'em when it warms up a little -

Speaking of noah, he seems to be more cheerful these days - we had a little incident a couple months ago, and to make a long story short, he spent 30 days somewhere...an' now his attitude seems to be better - time will tell if the whole thing was worth all the horrid nightmare - too long to talk about, but let's just say that I survived, he survived, an' that's that -

But for now I gotta go take some pictures and post some other stuff in my studio - And check on the fire in the woodstove - BRRRRR!!!!...

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2010-12-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ah Ha ~ !! ~ Her's another of the fun little Christmas ornaments - All full of color and look so nice when they are hung up - I tried out a couple of them to see how they would look - Not so bad..well, actually they look really good ~ !! ~ And I made them ~ !!! ~

So what else is new?? ~ I got some more thread and yarn at that "Wall" store the other day - ugh - here it was, later in the afternoon, and the place was beginning to get that "OH NO!!" kind of feel around it - What's up with people?? Listen, this may come as something of a suprise, but folks, ___Mart is open 24 hours a day ~ !! ~ AND - they have one of the most huge-ee-ola distribution processes on the PLANET - 'k?? - so, le's not go into Panic Overload now - whatever you want, you can call the 800 number - for real - on their website, an' it can be delivered to the store - ?? - yes..

But THAT'S where I come it - see, you don't have to walk up and down isles looking at weird things that you flat out KNOW you will never do one blasted thing with - No,NO - do NOT but that horrid looking greenish-looking-sparkling-sorta-sweater thing for your grandmother...for real, an' I mean FOR REAL..it does look downright horrid..an' your granny may be getting on in years, but do you think SHE would WEAR that???

So..rather than going thru all of THAT - look - right HERE (well, actually over there...) right on this page, you can see my little ornament, and if your REALLY good, you can go to my shop and buy this ~ !! ~

And NOT have to walk by another one of those horrid greenish-looking-sparkling-sorta-sweater thingie one more TIME ~ !! ~ Shwoo ~ jus' think of how good that's going to make you feel ? -- and the super plus - you don't have to feel guilty, knowing that you are supporting a AMERICAN made, RIGHT HERE artist...and not having some poor 10 year old making 30 Cents a day making 43,502 items to be shipped where EVAH -

So..that's where I am today - And I think just a little while ago I discovered some sparkle paint in my hair..yee gads ~ !! ~ But that's the fun of this time of year - the paint goes everywhere around the studio..glitter appears all over the place, and when you buy one of my goodies, I am not in some far-far away country..tho some of my old friends think where I live in too far far out in the woods to suit them..But that's their problem ~ !! ~

So celebrate the Holidays - Buy American - And remember me !! -

'k, so now I gotta run & see what some of this banging/rattling/odd sounds are just down the hall..sheesh...........

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2010-12-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

What better way to say Christmas is here, than with a sweet little gingerbread boy ~ ?? !! ~ I sat at my loom and put together this wonderful little guy, and even If I don't mind saying so, he did turn out awfully cute, didn't he?? I sat and thot of how much fun it is to do weaving, and by the time I got him all done, the time just seemed to whip past -

I've got some other pieces to show too - all cheery and very fun - I think personally that they just have to be in everybody's home for the holiday - ! - And they are so full of joy, I can't stand it!! I've had so much fun putting color and beads and collecting up my yarns for these little pieces that it almost doesn't feel like work at all ~ !! ~

Tom's work is slowing down - again - and we're trying not to get scared about it - the truck co. manager at his particular terminal is one of the most difficult people to work with, and it looks like some of the contracts they've had in the past are leaving - a bad reflection of management, but the drivers can't do anything about it - just try and live with less and less work...sigh...an' what a horrid time of year to be losing work ~ !!!! ~ I'm trying not to get discouraged by it, but it's really hard - tom just keeps on keepin' on, and really, that's all one can do under the circumstances ~~

I have to run - tom's already done for the day & is one his way home - it's been a rough week for the poor guy - a deer slammed into the right front end of his honda car @2:30 a.m. monday, then 2 days of short work..he's somehow keeping cheerful thru all this, but don't ask me how ~ !!! ~ an' to add insult to injury, when he was coming home yesterday afternoon, he sees THE SAME DUMB DEER eating along the side of the road, none the worse for wear after messin' up toms car ~ ! ~ Can you believe that??!! He was about speechless when he saw the thing ...dumb thing...

'k - gotta zip away ~~~~~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-12-01T05:33:00.000-08:00

ok..OK ~ !! ~ I know it's been nearly a month since I was on here, but I've been weaving away 'till the cows come home..or at least 'till the cows meander over to the feeding trough next to the highway..which is usually what I see them doing down the way. Funny lil' things ~ !! ~

Anyway, since it IS December I thot I'd share some of the Christmas ornaments that I've been working on for these last couple weeks. I got some patterns worked out, and started goin' crazy with yarn, ribbons, beads an' whatever else was within close distance to my grubby little hand - if it sat for longer than a day, it was fair game ~ ! ~ I had all these beads for Evah, an' now they jus' look so sweet on the little tree ~ !! ~ I wanted to see if the yarn would hold up well to a bit of stretching and other abuse...well, maybe that's too strong a word, but I did mess with the yarn, an' by the looks of it, it seems to work well under a bit of pulling. Yay ~ ! ~

I think I'll try an' share one or two of these a week 'till the Big Day - I have some more in the works, an' today I'll be messin' with some paints and some more glue. I've fallen in love all over again with my glue gun, let me tell you ~ ! ~ It has given me new appreciation for all things sticky ~ 'course I hate to think what it's made of, but hey, if it can make up something like this, then I'm gonna turn the other cheek...or at least look in the other direction when it comes to finding out the ingredients for glue...and say Whoo - Hoo For All Things That Glue ~ ! ~ ...at least it doesn't smell bad enuf to make the wallpaper fall off the walls !!!

The truck company tom drives for has been slowing down..again. The owner threatened all kinds of #^&&"+ to the drivers..like cutting pay..releasing drivers...but they've heard all this so many times before that most of the drivers just sorta slept thru the "Important" meeting, an' ignored the hot - air the guy was fillin' the room up with. But it may pick up by the end of the month...problem is that during this time of year, a lot of companies don't do as much in production, so it's gonna be interesting to see what Really Happens. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a decent end to the year!

Must get going - gotta get the warp set up on my loom, an' then I gotta get to the store 'cause we're all out of odds and ends..jus' food, no problem...!!

I'm Gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-11-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

>> Welll, see what happened iz <<....

I started to get a picture on here of one of my handbags, and then the phone rang..then that conversation ended, then the @^^*(_}!@ phone rang AGAIN...then I got thru w/THAT call..

And my entire line of concentration went out the door and got swept into the ditch along the dirt road, an' now I couldn't tell you what day it is to save my nosy....

BUT other than that - the GOOD news I do have to tell, is that some of the BRAND NEW things that are getting woven are just about ready to get some pretty cool embellishments on them - jus' think of stars, glitter, sparkle and something coming up tha's pretty significant...Tee Hee - tha's all the preview I'm gonna give you for now!!

I've got some pretty cool ribbons ~ ! ~ too, an' found some SPARKLE !!! paints - I am gettin' all worked up over what's gonna be happening around here in the next couple dayz - I haven't felt this good about the upcoming thing in Some Time - guess w/the economy being in the tank for the last 2 years, it's pretty hard to get excited about much of anything these days, but I am beginning to think that its all going to start to turn around, and I'm REALLY thinkin' that some of the things that I'm making can be one of those new and pretty groovy things that'll at least bring some smiles to some people's faces - Did I write that right? - Hmmm..maybe -

But the other groovy thing that happened is that one of my friends took me out to lunch the other day - how cool is THAT?? - We had some shrimp an' hushpuppies and I also had Brunswick Stew - the local seafood place was having a pretty good special so we dug in - boy oh boy, the local seafood is soooo much better than havin' something that's flown in from Wayyy off somewhere else - the shrimp was super sweet, and the hushpuppies were to just fall over for - YUM ~ !! ~ I am glad that I'm workin' on the loom today, 'cause w/all those calories that I inhaled the other day, I'm sure that a good day of exercise will be just the ticket to makin' sure none of those said calories will stick around for too much longer ~ !! ~

We had something of a horrid day yesterday - I still can't wrap my head around the whole thing, but suffice to say that I slept in this morning an hour and a half later tham I usually do - I'll write about the entire incident from the very beginning in a couple dayz or so - It's been an incredible roller coaster for me & Tom - but it's lookin' lilke the worst is over - at least that's what a lot of people involved w/the whole thing are tellin' us - so that's good news -

But I really have to get back to the loom - I've got one piece done this morning, and I have the warp about 1/2 way done for the second piece - I'm prayin' that I'll get 2 done today, then go to town w/ all the other things - Tee Hee - NO - I'm not gonna say NO MORE ~ !!! ~ Hee....Hee... You'll See ~ !! ~

I'm Gone --

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

"Blended Amber Handwoven Clutch Handbag" - Spring Grove Handweaving -

Here's one of the fall handbag's that I got done just the other week..I kept meaning to post this but so many things have popped up around here that it didn't get done till now ~ !! ~ I really like the amber, cream and flecks of brown/black on the yarn that makes up the body of this handbag - it reminds me of some of the clothes that were worn up in the little mountain town tom & I lived in way back in the day - Everybody had at least one sweater with this kind of yarn!! So I was glad to find some of it on sale an' Tom grabbed it before I did!! He had a couple sweaters with this style yarn wayy back in the day!! It looked really good on him too..

Anyway, back from the 70's...Tee Hee...I have some new projects lined up - I've been trying to get the warp done on my loom this morning, but tom's been messin' with the stereo & hooking up the cd player...he's one of those type people that has the sound WAY UP LOUUUDDD !!!! so everytime a bit of wire makes a connection ITSUDDENLY GETS WAY LOUD!!! BAM!! HEY!!....so my nerves are definetly shot already today!! I NEED to get weaving, but there is no way till all that $^&()"& gets done out in the front room - YES!! - that's how loud it is - clear back here in the back of the house - that's how SCREAMING LOUD he's got the sound up...

But It's time to make christmas items, so that's the goal for this afternoon - I'm hoping that I can get up at least 6 ornaments & get them into my shop by tuesday at the latest - so many interuptions (sp) lately, an' I've got a ton of ph. calls to make tomorrow an' tuesday too...so wish me luck ~ !! ~ GoodVibes ~ !! ~ whatever you can!!

I've got to take some aspirin...that $^"&"( &*)+ stereo is driving my head into the upper reaches of the sky right about now!!!!

I'm Gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

>>So here's a little self promotion, if ya'll don't mind <<

www.SpringGroveHandweaving.artfire.com I'd be pleased as punch if you'd stop by an' see some of my little goodies!!

Gotta run for now --

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-27T05:22:00.000-07:00

One of my little handbag clutches - this color is really fun, and the yarns just seemed to go together so easily - it almost scared me, but the final weaving was just what I wanted -

I found the dark purple/deep violet/pale blue yarn online, and then tried to find something to coordinate with it that wouldn't look all weird - heaven knows there's enuf weirdness goin' on around here - but anyway, the color on the front flap of the bag was a yarn that I found down at the yarn shop and the lady that owns the store was so patient with me - 'course we had to yak,yak,yak about all things, an' then realized that I did NEED to get some yarn while I was in there~ ! ~ So this bag took a little longer to put together than it probably should have ~ ! ~

An' since I've been so busy with gettin' my shop set up over on Artfire, an' gettin' things taken care of around here, naturally I ended up gettin' sick ~ !! ~ BOO!! ~ I hate to get sick, an' it's really been a long time since I had a cold, so this kind of suprised me when Sat. afternoon I started feelin' kinda lousy - I'd been detailing the Bus, rubbin' out some of the old old dirt spots that looked reallly bad..an' when I got done I just figured I felt tired from all that work - well, it WAS a lot of work, but the tired was also cause I was comin' down with the creeping crud!! so I been takin' it easy and tryin' not to overdo things - right now I'm only workin' on one project, so when I get feelin' a little bit stronger I'll go back the usual 3 projects at one time ~ ! ~

And to have more fun - tom got broken down last nite/evening while he was trying to get back into the port from up near the northern most part of the state of Va. - the water pump in the truck went out, and water spewed everywhere - so he had the office call & get a tow truck..anyway, 2 hours later he was basically right back where he'd started earlier in the afternoon - at first the #^#&* manager told him to sleep in the truck, 'cause he didn't want the company to pay for a hotel bill...grrrr....but then the dispatcher over-ran THAT bright idea, got tom a room across from the truck stop/truck repair shop, so tom could stay in a room for the night. Can you bELIEVE that?? - "Sleep in the truck..." - tha's about the 4th time he's done that to other drivers, so I think the dispatcher just got tired of guys quitting 'cause the manager is a dolt!! -

So now HOPEFULLY today won't be so much of an adventure for tom OR me ~ !! ~ I do need to get my project finished over on the table, an' get a new piece ready on the loom, so I should stop messin' around over here, an' get zippin' along ~ ! ~ Wheeee...

I'm Gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

~~ No picture today (sorry!) but just A quick Hello!! An' to say that I'm up to my ears in weaving projects - I had something of a disaster w/some fabric yesterday (Boo!) but today I am Very Happy to say that I've developed something to fix Said Disaster. Shwwoooo!!

'Course, the projects that Disaster Occured To aren't good now..BOO!!!..but I've got some other things to make up for it - only 2 bit the dust, so that's not so horrid. I DID get quite misty eyed when I discovered that they went Poof - but that's the way some things go!

I'm also glad to say that I've discovered some Beads that I thot went missing. Ha - show's how organized my studio is ~ !! ~ Mercy Me - the things were in another box that I hadn't looked in for awhile, so silly me, I THOT they'd been put in a closet where things go to Never Never Land...or some place where weird things happen..like go into space maybe?? - So, I'm going to go strand some of these beads, and make some other goodies. It seems kinda relaxing to string beads together..Sometimes I get really carried away and then look at the clock and realize 2 hours have gone by - Oop! - So today hopefully that's not going to happen. Well, actually, if it does, noah said he'd make dinner...hummm..maybe he knows I'm sitting amidst projects that need finishing ~ !! ~ Who knowz..

Must go - Tom may be late getting home tonight..he had to deliver some 35,000 pounds of plumbing supplies to a gigantic warehouse this morning. The people running the forklift said they'd get him "Fixed up in no time!"..2 hours later he was still waiting..Get This ~ !! ~ They were having some kind of bbq cook-out on the grounds of the place, so over 1/2 of the employees were over across the grounds, eating bbq!!!! An' left poor ol' tom sittin' in his truck all lonesome an' sad ~ !! ~ "Ma! It smells so good, an' I can't even go over there!!!"....awwwhhhh....

Well - maybe we can have bbq this weekend!! That'll make up for it ~ !! ~ Yeah! That's the ticket!!

I'm Gone ~ !! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Glimmering Teal Clutch Handbag ~

Here's another of the recent handbags that got finished & you can also see over in my shop @ Artfire.com - this was the coolest yarn that I found ~ !! ~ It really DOES glitter and gleam when you turn the clutch just right - that's what drew me to the yarn in the first place. And it came together on the loom really nicely - I added the little beads and goodies for that extra Oomph, and I'm really likin' the way it looks. But tha's just me, so I'm HIGHLY biased ~ !! ~

I was going to finish out some handbags today, but for over 3 hours, I've been drivin' Noah all over creation...livin' in the woods DOES have it's drawbacks, and since it's for EVAH between places here, you just have to realize that it's going to take some time to get from point A to point B..an' just suck up the cost of the gas...The local gas station people can probably retire on what I'm payin them in gas this week...makes me wanna cry, it does ~ !! ~ Wish sometimes that I had a horse & buggy..nahh...that'd only take LONGER..yeee gadzzzzzz.....

But anyway, I'm OPTIMISTIC that I'll get some work done over there..but I'm not sure..As long as the other 2 in the house just don' mind dinner being around 10 p.m., then we're all ok ~ !! ~ Tee Hee - yup, you would be able to hear the NOISE from here with that one now, wouldn't you?? ~~ !! ~~

So it's over to the work table & WORK - 'stead of listening to noah tell me where we need to haul off an' drive to next...Jeesh...tha' poor ol' station wagon...156,000 miles on it, an' I'm suprised it hasn't just STOPPED and said ENOUGH ALREADY!!! - No, noah doesn't like to ride in the Bus, an' that engine hardly has over 9,000 miles on it...

DO NOT LOOK AT MY GREY HAIR....
an I'll be thankin' ya later............

I'm Gone **

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

>> Just a suuuuper quick post, as I'm getting ready to add the embellishments to some handbags I wove up - I've got a basic idea of the colors I'll use, but I won't tell you yet..just will say that they are shiney, pearly, and look just right. Naturally I wouldn't want to add anything that would look ikkkeey, so it just sorta goes w/out sayin' -

Took Mr. Grump-A** to a job "interview" - instead of actually having an interview, he spent over an hour filling out forms, making answers on pages (15) of some form..an' looked like the cat drug him in from some ditch along the highway when he was all thru. Good Golly Miss Molly, is this what companies are doing these days to people trying to get work?? - And it wasn't the actual company hiring - sorta - was an agency that only gathers enuf people that fit a particular description of employees eligible for a certain job.

In other words, he filled out a bunch of papers an' maybe will get called back in for a real interview.

Nothin' like wasting an hour & a half here folks....

Well....

So I gotta run - I know I'm not tellin' much about the next handbag - but it'll be a pleasant suprise..how'z that?? ~ !! ~ Tee Hee ~ !! ~

I'm Gone >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

~~ Well ~~

Here's a picture of one of my newer clutch handbags that I have for sale over on my little site @ Artfire.com - Look up Spring Grove Handweaving, and you'll be sure to see this sweet little handbag for sale -
I've just spent 15 minutes trying and trying to figure out how to make the link work, but it looks like it's gonna take me a lot longer ~ So I think I may have to go get a bottle of water and make myself comfortable, 'cause it's probably going to be where I have to sit here for 3 hours before I can get a link to work...I SOOOOO wish I could take classes in All Things Computer ~ !!! ~ What most people think are "Just easy clicks!" for some of us is just a nightmare ~ !! ~ I can't count the hours I've spent just getting these pictures posted - OMG - I am not kidding when I say that I've truly broken out in hysterical crying jags over all this - makes me feel so downright stuiped, an I know I'm not dumb - but Puuhhhleeeeze, you persons who design or (or whatever it's called) these sites, keep in mind, some of us are NOT computer people ~ !!!! ~ Guess livin' in the woods has come back to bite me on the Bee-hind now, hasn't it??

But on a brighter note, I've got a stack ( !! ) of new clutch handbags over on the work table, all waiting for their little embellishments and stuff to get all fixed up - they want to make their debut too ~ !! ~ Jus' like little Debutantes ~ ! ~ HA!! ~ Tha's what they are!! - Lil' sweet things just waiting in the wings ~ ! ~An' ohh...jus' you WAIT to see how they look - I think you'll like 'em too.

But I gotta go an' get to work - can't jus' sit here chattin' the mornin' away ~ !! ~

I'm Gone >>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well - I've been blathering for some time now about the weaving I'm doing - and I'm just about ready to reveal some more of my pieces, but first (Just to drag things out a bit longer..tee hee..) I wanted to show my sweet little loom - it's not one of the giant ones that take up a gazillion feet of space - but it's just the right size for what I'm doing, and it creates some sweet things. So what more can ya ask for??

The little corner of my room is rather stuffed right now, but I'm gently hinting to Tom to install some nice decorative shelves above the antique table where all my baskets are - he sez" Oh sure, that sounds like a good idea" - so let's not get too excited about seeing those shelves any time soon!

I'm also glad to say, that since I've been totally hit over the head w/a 2" X 4" in terms of trying to figure out my new art site w/Artfire, that my middle son told me to come up to Va. this weekend, an' we'll sit down an' hash out all things computer that I'm having such a hard time with. I wish I could afford to take some classes or something - but it's a catch-22 - I need to make the money to afford the classes, so I can learn how to set up my computer stuff online, but I need to know HOW to set up the online site in order to make money - so where does it all go/come-from/happen? No wonder I just haul off and burst out crying from stress these days - doesn't take much of a screaming fit from Jr. here to make me just cry away. And I've never been one to cry, so this is just not fun! Hopefully after saturday things will start to turn around!

The other plus, is that tom said we are "DEFINETLY" going to go to the fabric store, and the art store, so I can get the 4 items I need to make my handbags - I told our middle son, "All I need is like $10.00 worth of supplies!" - but w/few choices down here, it's a 90 mile drive to get what I need...yikes! But it'll be worth it when the new handbags are done!

But for now I gotta run - I've had another hellish day, an' my headache is jus' not goin' away - but tomorrow I hope will be better...an' in theory maybe some pictures of my new handbags ~ !! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

~~ Just a quick post, as I've got some sewing to do, an' have to check on 2 handbags that got woven last week, and have some lining to get set up inside ~~

I'm workin' so hard at tryin' to figure out a LOT-LOT of new computer stuff..it really shows how backwoods I've been all these years...things like certain programs to enhance the website & how to check some something or other for the number of people checking your work. It makes tonz of sense to everybody else, but for somebody like me who's never taken a computer class EVAH it absolutely reduces me to tears.

And the irony is that noah is a bang-up whiz-kid on all things computer, but refuses to do one teeny thing to help me out. Some people that know him are from the old school, that as mother, all I should be doing is baking cookies, creating cute things from old coke-bottles, and making sure that I know all the Soap Opera stars...nothing wrong with that, if you've got a lotttt of time to waste, but I'm flat broke, and need to generate some kind of extra income, and it's aint easy when I'm behind times in terms of computer programming.

So yesterday I spent 5 1/2 hours trying to get some things ready on my site to sell my handbags...

And I have absolutely nothing to show for it..I'm still totally clueless as to what to do to make it look "professional", and the son who said OH YES - he'd be down here to help..

He went to some club instead an' had a good time.........

Trying not to be so down, but I'm so upset these days, an' I know it's taken a number on my stress level & blood pressure. My eyes are always cloudy an' I'm not seeing good, but I have to keep pressuring myself to get some progress done in terms of learning computer programming..like yesterday would have been perfect.

So this is short, but I gotta run - Hopefully I'll have Good News later on in the week, but for now I'm soo regretting not living in the city for all those years we were in the country..it's come back around to bite me Really Hard>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-10-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

OK - so if you glanced at this post earlier, the picture of the Bus was a little different..but this one I like better, so since this IS my blog, I can therefore change things the way I see fit..

Or something like how my mother used to rant when she got angry -

But - I'm not angry, as a matter of fact I'm in quite a good mood - and this little bumper sticker on the Bus makes me feel so happy and carefree ~ !! ~

Even tho it seems that a lot of people around me seem to think it's something horrid an' terrible..but to MY mind, they just need to get a life ~ !! ~

I'm also tellin' you that the Junk Gypsy's have sooo many great things that it makes my brain scramble each and every time I take a look at their site - you gotta GOTTA go check 'em out ~ !! ~

An' I have Good News - my All-Things-Computer-Son is coming down later this evening to help me out on the site that I've been desperately trying with tears sweat and much angst...he knows just what I need to do to get it all spiffied up - ok, so that spelling is horrid, but you get the IDEA ~ !! ~ So I'm lookin' forward to havin' the help that I truly need - it's frustrating not to know how to do things that people say "Its Easy ! " an' here I am, sitting like a toad not getting one bit of how to do that particular thing ~ !!! ~ Yikes and Yee Gadz....

So once all the kinks and blobs and messes are all straightened out, then I'll be able to post some of my handbags an' let you know how you can go and own your very own handwoven handbag ~ !! ~Yes Sir and Yes Ma'am ~ !!! ~

But for now I gotta get some sewing done, an' get some new brads set up on a handbag that I got finished just this last week..it's really a nice fall color, an' the brads that I found are just the right touch for the front of the bag...makes ya wanna run outside an' fling yourself into a big ol' pile of fall leaves...

Well, maybe not FLING...'specially if it's your husband who just raked up said pile of leaves..he'd probably get a little pissy is you hauled off an' made a mess of 'em all....Tee Hee ~ !! ~.....

But it'd still be FUN ~~ !!!!! ~~~

So - now...

I'm Gone..............

2010-10-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

One of my special pieces for my upcoming site...

Soooo..what happened waz...I got so involved in weaving everyday, that I have sadly gotten away from all of You ~ !! ~ And it has made me feel terrible ~~~!!!!~~~

So let me tell you what has been happening ~

I've got a whole kit and kaboodle full of handbags done for my new and upcoming site..but there are so many new and difficult things to learn on said site, that it's going to take my computer-whiz son to come down from Virginia to help me out ~ !! ~ I have tried and tried to get the stuff figured out and every time that I Juuuust about get it into my pea-picking brain, then the Other son comes along and starts stomping his foot, slamming things around all over the house, and then comes stomping back down the hallway to make me get off the computer.

See the problem is - around where I live, most wives do not do anything like what I've been doing, let alone what my new and fun handbags I've started to make are...in other words, or in the words of a "friend" - "That's not what we do around here..."

That little bit of fluff means, I'm stepping over the line in what's acceptable around here..and it;s ruffling a lot of feathers...

So now I'm faced with going ahead with my new work..and w/the help of my computer whiz son, I can finally - after many many crying jags..too many tears and general falling-apart-at-the-seams...get my site up and running..and most importantly - selling these wonderful handbags to one and all -

I'm working very very hard at getting my #^^%&) together over at ArtFire.com to get my work ready - wellll, the work is Done, it's getting the computer stuff figured out that's my downfall ~ !! ~ And just about the time I get to where I understand the whole spot where
I need to be..I have to get off the computer an' then start all over again the following day...

I've cried more in the last 3 weeks than I have in 4 years..

Frustrated..

Feeling Incompetent..

Knowing that I will have no help from anyone around here...

Yup - it's been something of a nightmare for me.

But I'm sticking to my guns, and come Hell or High Water (ironically after all the flooding after the last hurricane...) I WILL get my site up and I WILL be selling my handwoven hnadbags ~ !! ~

Even if I get lectured by the locals for not doing "What WE do aroun' here..."

I've never been so glad to have a louse 6-pack of beer in my fridge in my entire life...

So, w/that - I gotta run - it's after 7:30 p.m., an' I haven't even considered what to have for dinner...guess I should go an' see what I can dig out of the bottom of the fridge...the other 2 have cleaned out everything else..

sigh...

I'm Gone ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-09-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

~~ I just realized that there were never pictures of where we went for the Bus Festival in July ~ ! ~ So here's a shot of the river where we had our campsite - this particular picture is of when Tom & I woke up early on Saturday morning, and this thin layer of fog was floating over the water - just on the other side of the river, we could hear some animals rooting along the edge of the water, but the fog was too thick over there to clearly see what there was ~

We had also heard some crashing around further up on the shoreline of the opposite side from where we were camping - I'm not sure if it was a large animal or not = But since we had seen a young bear standing in the middle of the road on our way up to the campground (The night we made our way to the campsite..) then we just sort of figured it may have been another bear. Who knows, but it was just fun to sit and listen to the sounds of wild critters doing their thing - No, I'm not talkin' about some of the people camping around us - that's a whole other story - I'm talking about actual CRITTERS - big and small.

But onto other news - I'm still weaving up a storm - as I'm sitting here, I've got 3 pieces that need to have their snaps sewn in, and there are 4 that need the lining fabric set in place. I'm going to post a couple pictures later today - I'm pretty happy with the way these are turning out - and it looks like - if things turn out the way I'm timing things, I should have some of these available for sale on an ETSY spot in the very near future - I'm tryin' like mad to get a good supply available, so that I've got a good stock - It just seems to take longer than I want things to go - And with some very negative attitudes surrounding me as of late, it just adds to what seems like constant delays in my work - family - "friends" - that kind of thing - all just makes me exhausted, and right now I'm scrambling just to get this typed, before noah comes storming back in the door and starts screaming at me for some unknown reason...I definetly need a seperate art studio to do my work in - Keep me in Positive thots in that direction ~ !! ~

Must run - I hear stomping feet...sheesh...

Lady of The Tulips

2010-09-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

~ Just a whoosh quick post, as Noah has started crashing around in the kitchen, an' truth be told, I think he's starting dinner..which is fine with me, as I'm getting some finishing touches on a couple new clutch bags ~

We came thru the hurricane with No Damage ~ !! ~ I am so relieved, an' the weird thing, is that we didn't have any wind or rain 'till nearly 8 a.m. This Morning..an' the storm had moved in pretty early yesterday...no idea why it finally did it's thing today, but I am just glad we didn't have any Baaaad things happen..shwwwwooooooo............

I have some pictures that are jus' about ready to pop on here this weekend..I also found some business cards, that I'm trying to decide on for my new venture - I'm torn with a couple that are really nice, and have some good color - the middle son is just too swamped right now to get something done for me, an' that's ok, 'cause I know I can come up with something pretty quick - Then the real nightmare is finding a place that will make the labels for inside the bags - ok, I mean I KNOW there are places that manufacture them, but have you seen the PRICE??? - GGHHHAWWWDDDD...one place wanted something like $50.00 for less than 25...I'm thinkin' Puhhhleeeeezzzzeeeee......But I know every business owner is doing their darn-dest to make some $$ these days, but that price jus' sounds a little over the top...but then, I do tend to be a cheapskate...

Anyway - I gotta check on some work over on the table, an' see if it's tom that just drove in the driveway..he actually did have work today - we were thinking with the hurricane just leavin' the area, that there wouldn't be anything at any of the Ports, but he had work (Yay!!) so that is welcome news - now they have a 3 day holiday..OH NO !! ~ now what am I gonna do with him for 3 dayz??? -- Oh Stop ~ !! ~ Don' look at the new crop of grey hairs that popped out on my head...Lawdy, dealin' with tom some dayz is jus' like havin' a room full of 2-year olds..don' turn your back for a minute...Wheeeee...

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2010-08-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well, would ya lookie here ~ !! ~

I've got to say, that with all of my little goodies, it has felt really good to be working on all of these sweet handbags/womens clutch bags for the last couple weeks~ !! ~

And - Tahhh - Dahh ~ !! ~

Welcome too, to my new studio - Spring Grove Handweaving ~! ~

I've been working away on these, plus I've got a number of other ones that are all fixed up - I'm getting ready to get a spot over on ETSY too - one of my son's is helping me get some business cards ready, plus we're looking into a provider for the labels to have sewn into each of these bags - it's been a busy busy couple of weeks, but the light seems to be shinning into the end of the tunnel ~ !!! ~

I got 2 pieces woven today - I'm going from these wonderful Summer colors, and transitioning into the Fall shades - In the not too distant future, there will be some fun colors that will make you think of cool Fall days, crisp apples and nighttimes where it seems like every star is visible and you don't know which way to look -

Well, at least, that's what fall seems like to me ~ !! ~

We're waiting for more news on that stuiped, and I mean STUIPED hurricane...yup - it looks like the way the storm center is predicting, we're probably gonna Eat It on thursday and friday - naturally, since we just had to fight with the mtg. company, we gave them literally our last dime, so with $13.49 to our name, we obviously can't drive anywhere to evacuate..Yee Haw ~ !! ~ We get to ride this one out, and by the sound of it, it's gonna be a doozey. I can't stand these things, and it's not looking like this one will be a waltz in the park...we went thru hurricane Hugo in '89, and it was horrible. And this one looks pretty much the same.....

So, I'm hoping there is some way we can at least get a couple more things for food, but it aint lookin' too good. And too, I have no idea of what Tom's trucking company is planning, or Not Planning for this whole thing...But, I may just say the #%^&$ with it all, an' jus' go sit out on the porch an' have a good cold beer...

But for now, I gotta get some finishing touches done on a couple of my little ladies clutch purses/handbags, and dig into some nifty embellishments that are crying out to be used ~ !! ~

I'm Gone ....................

Lady of The Tulips

2010-08-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Ok..OK ...OKKKEEYYY...I know it's been a few days since I've been over here, but there have been many many different and all together exciting things happening here that have kept me away from the 'puter...some good, some I shall not go into at this time.

And I hauled off and found some more grey hairs popping up on my head the other morning, so you know how good that made me feel..

But I have some sorta-kinda newz - I'm still working out some "patterns" for some handwoven handbags, and have some made up that are pretty spiffy - I found a yarn shop in the next town down Ocean Highway, so I am thrilled to pieces about that - I was going to order some yarns to use in the weaving - but the online store required all sorts of tricks and games, and believe me, there is nothing that irritates me more, than having to play/work threw some tricks and games, EXPECIALLY online...not worth the time, and most certainly not worth my money. So after talking with the yarn shop owner, I found out that she charges the Exact same price as the shop (s) I found online, and to add to the happy-dance some more, I don't have to pay shipping/handling charges to buy the exact same yarns.

And to add Even More - if there is one yarn that she doesn't have, I can give her the product code/number, and she can have the yarn in her shop in less that 5 days - all the online places said it'd take 8 - 10 days. 10 DAYS ~ !! ~ ?? ~ do they have to do something in the warehouse before they put the products into the boxes ?? - like doing 334,235 sit ups? - Push-Ups?

Well, before I go into a total rant, let's just say that to drive 10 miles to get the yarns I need to make up some handbags is just the bees knees - where I am right about now - And gettin' ready to do a happy dance at the same time -

And on the other news - I'd thot about getting another space to work in, as there has been some major hatred/evil thots and other assorted bad things thrown at me in the last couple weeks - but that didn't work out, so there seems to be something of a holding pattern for me at the moment - it all relates to that "Your not making anymoney" thing with my art - and the fact that where I've tried to sell my work hasn't made anything but headaches isn't helping either.

So I'm still mulling over ideas - locations - places where I can work on some new things in PEACE and not be tormented..I'm just too old to be messed with at this point, so I'm doin' some major thinking right about now.

And the canvas hasn't even been taken out of the antique hutch yet..it
s stilll all clean and pretty - maybe this next week I'll get inspired to do something with it, but for now it's just gonna have to wait.

And I won't even go into the humidity deal again...as I'm sitting here typing I'm feeling light headed all over again..did I mention how I fell out during our trip home from the mountains the other week?? -- well, I had a bout just about as bad yesterday right here in the house..I won't go into the details as of how the whole thing came about - le's just say it was realllllly ugly, and I am still a little off from the whole ordeal.

Dayum - no wonder there are new grey hairs on me little head ~ !! ~

But for now I gotta go - I promise I'll post the one interior of the little handbag I posted on here the other day - butright now I gotta go find some breeze to get covered in - I'm badly melting an' gotta run ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-30T07:43:00.001-07:00

>> Just a quick post here, as I've got to get the lining inserted into the handbag I photo-ed yesterday..or the other day..and I've got 2 other handbags woven up to take pictures of later this afternoon...there's just something about doing 2 things at one time that just will not go away with me...and here my Dr. told me to slow it down and not get stressed out...ha - shows what that guy knowz...

ANYway...I've got some canvases that are sitting over in the antique hutch that are crying out to me..they are all clean with nothing on them, so they most certainly need something done..I've got some ideas brewing around in my little pea brain, so those will get put to use. I had to go to the gallery down Ocean Highway - not one of my pieces got sold, and the gallery has gone thru some major changes..so my work was just sitting basically in the way..The collages.mixed media pieces were the only ones in the entire space that were Ocean related, and they did stick out like a sore thumb in the place...not like anything else, so there wasn't much enthusiasm over them, and too, the director was asked not to come back for a continuation of her contract..

So for somebody different like me, there wasn't much of a chance for me to make any headway. Ya gotta know when there isn't one word of encouragement in your direction, that it's probably time to call it quits, and go find something else to do.

That's why I got my loom out and started to weave some things again...maybe getting these out in the world will make a difference, I don't know. Things are just not moving in a positive way for me right now, so I gotta find some other way to make up for the negative tha's been surrounding me. The Festival made it clear to me that there needs to be a change for my self esteem, my sense of being an Artist, and a sense that I am in the right place for my going forward ~ There just isn't much in the way of any thing close to encouraging Anything here, so there has to be a change ~ I've got no idea where I'm gonna go, or just how I'm gonna get there, but it looks like there will be a pretty dramatic change coming up.

So tha's what's goin' on around here...uh oh..an' I gotta get off of here, 'cause Noah is rattling around out in the kitchen, so that means that he's probably ready to come stomping down the hall and into the studio to use this..an' naturally, here I am doing something I want to do...damn the bad luck...

I'm Gone.............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

So if we may... Drum Roll Please ~ !! ~

Here is a picture of one of the new little goodies that I've created - a sweet little ladies handbag - handwoven with some yummy soft yarn...the colors are actually "painterly" - as the manufacturer has developed this yarn so that the colors look similar to a Monet painting...they come out so very nice, and with an equally soft yarn for the background, the bag comes out like a sweet little pick-me-up for a nice evening out, or a quick trip to the mall.

This is one of a couple I experimented with to see just how I wanted them to turn out - this will probably be the pattern that I'm going to use for all the rest of the handbags - they measure roughly 9" X 6 1/2 " - just the right size for a bit of money, credit cards and a tube of lipstick..maybe a little coin purse thrown in as well. I love love the color of this one, and the other yarns will be similar, but with just a slight variation in their blending - but they will all have some shade of blue/green/turquoise in them. And a couple will have some soft blues and greens as well...just not the same shade as this one.

I got a couple of people at the Bus festival to take a look at these, and they thot these were really good - that made me feel wonderful ~ ! ~ I'm going to make about 4 or 5 this week, then see where/what I want to do with them...any suggestions?? - I've got a couple ideas, but for now I'm just batting them around...

And the Bus Festival was wonderful ~ !! ~ The road up the mtn. is just breathtaking..the views are something else, and the park we stayed at was right along the New River..it flows toward Virginia, rather than down the state to the Sea..cold rushing water..lots of people out floating on anything and everything..lots of kayaks..canoes...little odd boats of every shape and size..but the river itself is what caught me. I was so relaxed listening to the sound of the water rushing over the series of little falls right outside our campsite. Heavenly.

Course, that was when most of the campers Finally called it a night an' went to bed..lots of party/party/party...shwoo..no wonder some of them looked like something the cat drug in the next morning.. !!..I didn;t take any pictures of the other buses..just some of the scenery right out along the campsite. I'll post some of those tomorrow. I hate-hated coming back home..especially when the temps coming off the mountain were in the 100 Degree range...I very nearly didn't make it...what with the Bus having no air conditioning...and the heat off the interstate...shwooo...don' wanna do that again..well....cept till next summer ~ !! ~ We may go to one of the Festivals in the fall, but we'll have to wait an' see about the $$ for that....

We are now back to the grind...I'm gettin' ready to weave up 2 new bags in the morning, and get some work done on a canvas at the same time...don' wanna just sit and be bored..no No ~ !! ~ an' it's back to hearing noah bellyache about Everything Wrong and other daily thangs...lawdy my hair's turning grey ~ !!! ~

Gotta go for now tho ------ le' me know what ya'll think of the new little handwoven bags...

I'm Gone ******

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

~ "Relax...Enjoy The Good Life" ~ 2010 Spring Bay Studio

Here's a little something that came along just when the weather started to turn a little warmer...I was thinking of going fishing for about 4 days, but then realized, that for whatever reason under the sun, noah hauled off and threw out all the old tackle and tackle box...no advance notice to me...so it was a good thing that I didn't just go over to the edge of the water on the next street over! ~ The Fish & Game people would have had a field day with me - no license? - No tackle? - look lady..just what are you doing over here?? ....sheesh, I can see it now..

So instead of risking Life and Limb, I made up a little something with a fish in it..along with some tropical goodies just for giggles. I love love the 7Gypsies papers, and any more I'm getting to where I always start a piece with at least one of their papers included in the work. Force of habit almost. The texture on the background maybe doesn't show up too much, but I had to wait for an afternoon for the stuff to dry ~ And I didn't even make it as thick as I was going to! ~ Next time I'll make it up earlier in the day so I don't have to traipse back and forth from the kitchen while making dinner, then go down the hall to the studio to check on the canvas..poor timing on that one~ !! ~ Oops..~

So I can't make this too long - Tom has his first day off today, so We're gettin' the Bus ready to head up to the Blue Ridge - he and noah "had" to go to the hardware store to get some stuiped thing or another...always ALWAYS that boy has to get to the hardware store...I asked him if he is considering buying stock in a couple of those companies, 'cause by GAWD with all the money he spends with their products, he sure as #%^%$& should get something BACK..

Sorry- minor rant...

Anyway, I gotta print out the directions so tom has something more to go on than just looking at the map...he knows 90% of the route to where we're going, but these GUYS ~ they have to have it printed out. Any reason ANY body knows??? - And Do Not Ask for directions...EVAH...
I see something smoking around my head in the near future..Oh! - it's my last good nerve twinging at Tom saying, "OH! I KNOW where we're suposed to go!!"....(this from the guy who once drove us thru a residential neighborhood in Lincoln Neb. in the tractor trailer...he "knew" which part of the street to turn down, but went the opposite way instead...to say the people running out of their houses to stare at us was a bit uncomfortable is an understatement...)

So, yes, I'll print out the directions for the guy..heavens to Betsy!!

I'm going to post some of my new little goodies probably when we get back - not enuf time today to get those on here...I think they are kinda cute..an' I usually don't want to make too cutesyy of things, but they are!

You'll See ~ !! ~

I'm Gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

~ "Love Is All" ~ 2010 ~ Spring Bay Studio

Here's the piece that I was talking about last week...I know, I know...it took me like For EVAH to get it posted on here, but the last week has been one of those times that I'd truly rather forget...

Actually it hasn't been all THAT bad - just some irritating things from the-son-who-lives-here...basically running his mouth at the most IN-appropriate times..(lawdy, an' speak of the devil, he just came slamming in the back door...)

But the weekend made up for any bad and negative things that happened earlier in the week..matter of fact it happened to be Tom & my 34th wedding anniversary..an' no, he didn't go and buy me any great big ol' anything..but he DID get a couple steaks that were to DIE for...and cooked those suckers up just right and tender...makes my mouth water all over again just thinking about it - we didn' do anything in terms of celebrating...I played hookie from church, so tom made me some belgian waffles..ohhh YUMMM -- totally NOT what I'm supossed to be having, but they were so slap good, I really do not care how bad the Dr. would have yelled at me...it wasn't HIS anniversary, so THERE ~ !! ~

So now there is a TOTALLY different project nearly done over on the work table this afternoon..nothing to do with painting, canvases or anything like what I "normally" do..not something close. However there are some beads involved and some other things that I have been known to use..so those are still around..

An' no, I'm not going to give out any other secrets 'till I post the picture..an' I'm not sure when that's going to be, 'cause tomorrow Tom and I are going to start packing up the Bus ~ !! ~ We're headed up to the mtns., where it will DEFINETLY be cooler...and the exciting thing is that there will be a weekend BUS FESTIVAL ~ !! ~ Whooo - Boy ~ !! ~ The guy who sold us the Bus told us about it, he'd gone to the festival for 3 years in a row, and he & his friend both told us that we absolutely HAD TO BE THERE ~ !! ~ so that 's that, don' ya know?? !! The info. that I've read about the campground sez that since it is up in the Blue Ridge Mtns., that it does get chilly at night (whodda thunk after steaming away down here>??) and that we need to bring some warm clothes...plus there is a Big Ol' river running alongside the whole place, and I remember from camping alongside a similar place in the mtns of Arkansas that it got REALLY cold at night..so even tho outside right now it's 98 Degrees w/ a heat index of over 102..up there it's nearly 20 degrees cooler, and a lot more at night..

WHATTA RELIEF ~ ! ~ it's gonna be realllllly hard to get me back down from there, I'm tellin' you right now !!

So I'll get my little project photoed (is that even a word..??) an' then it'll make it's debut ..later...not sayin' when...

But for now I gotta go get some laundry done so I have some clean clothes to wear..yee gads...I didn' even remember to do that till almost too late...tha'd a been nice...all the way (over 400 miles) up there an' discover I don' have any clean clothes....oooppppssss............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

>> Just a quick note here, as it's getting hot outside, and now the breeze is blowing in thru the studio windows..which is how I know that it's getting hot outside ~ !! ~ <<

I've got one piece finished over on the antique hutch, and have one canvas with the first coat of paint - nope, make that 3 coats of paint on it - I got a little paint crazy the other day..le's see...yesterday and the day before. Something just MADE me do that! So I went with it, and made something pretty snazzy ~ ! ~ I'll take a picture of the finished piece later this morning, but for now I wanted to say that we FINALLY HAD A GOOD RAIN STORM ~ !!! ~

Whoo - boy~ ! ~ It really came down early this morning - naturally right when Tom was gettin' ready to go up to virginia - but he didn't mind, as it's been so awfuuuul dry and the grass was starting to crunch under foot when you walked across parts of the yard - yikes ~ ! ~ So it was a welcome rain - lightning - thunder - the whole 9 yards. (why nine I got no idea, but you get the gist...) And the breeze comin' in thru the windows was so wonderful - that great smell of rain..wet grass...pine trees...ahh, a good way to start the morning ~ ! ~

That, however is NOT to say that @ 3:00 a.m., I am up and doin' stuff around the cabin - OH NO ~ ! ~ this lil' girl has a great tendancy to just roll over an' fall right back asleep ~ ! ~ An' with the breeze that was comin' in the window right over the bed...absolute heaven ~ !! ~ And I could hear the tires on tom's little honda car, crunch-crunching along the dirt road...slowly makin' it's way over to the next road...('course that's not to say that he was driving slowly 'cause of the rain..he ALWAYS drives slow...much to the irritation of ME an' who-ever else has the luck to come up behind him ~ !! ~ ) Quite peaceful.

So now I'm up, workin' on a the newly painted canvas..I've been listening to some old old concerts from Grateful Dead...70's shows, an' some 80's mixed in. And the weather is just turning warmer, so I need to get my stuff finished before it gets too hot in here - Oh, and right now I can hear the pair of Ospreys that live somewhere down in the farm across the street from us - the farm's been there for over 100 years, and it goes straight to the edge of the water...so the pair of birds must have their next in one of the old, old trees along the shore. It's so great to listen to them - they accend (sp) up from the water after they catch something..their little cry drifting over the trees. Every once in awhile, one of them will fly above the dirt road...looking like they are using the dirt road as a guide to where ever their headed to - and LOW too - kinda scary when I happen to look out the window an' see this BIG bird flyin' along...LOOK OUT ~~ !!! ~~

I'm tellin' ya, never a dull moment around here...

An' did I ever mention the HUGE turtle that Noah an' I had to drive AROUND?? This big ol' DINASAUR (oh hush, it's spelled bad...blah...) lookin' thing..walkin' down the road like it OWNED the place...noah told me to slow down (as IF I'm gonna go racin' past this big ol' thing...) an' when I did, he said he could hear the nails of the critter crunchin' along the road...LAWDY ~ !! ~ I actually got kinda scared..I DID NOT want to get NEAR that thing ~ !! ~ What if it decided to try an' take a bite outta one of my tires?? what if it wanted to take a bite outta ME??? --

I'm Tellin' Ya ~ !! ~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

"Untitled" - 2010 Spring Bay Studio

Another little something that happened along while I was looking out the window...

I've had fun changing up colors - using shades that I "usually" don't apply onto anything..the paint jars just sit by themselves feeling alone and blue..then they haul off and get all dried out in their little plastic homes.

Nothing drives me more batty than to realize that my paints have dried out! - I was going to do some cleaning out at church where the library shelves share storage space with old paints, papers and assorted goodies. I mean, one woman told me that the paints were in the storage cabinets when she moved down here in 1994...yet when I was talking with another woman, she very loudly told me, "Why! There's nothing wrong with those! Their perfectly fine! Those aren't toxic, and their something we use with the children! You just leave those alone!"...and while I take a quick peek at the jars, you can see where the paint has dried out and left spots of dry paint on the sides of the jar...yuck...

But my paints aren't that old! I have used most of mine in the last year, and actually am getting ready to go by more! - Well, not right away, but within the next couple weeks. Gotta make sure bills are paid first! Then it's time to order some nice shades and go from there...

I've been told this morning that I "have to" go get some sodas from the grocery store for Noah..his father was going to pick them up yesterday, but for some reason left them at the store..the things didn't even make it into the shopping cart! ~ And I'm suposed to buy some Fava beans to plant for fall..now, I love love to buy seeds to plant, and then the harvest is wonderful in the late fall/early winter. But for the life of me, I have NO IDEA of what fava beans are..?? Anybody help me out here?? Are they soup beans? Fresh Eating Beans??? do I dry them on the plant? Hang them to dry? Do I leave them alone and hope they'll hop the next freighter outta New York for parts unknown????

Well anyway, I better get some things finished up an' get outta here before The Wrath Of Noah comes slamming in the back door...I swanny, that poor door...I should shake the hands of the people who put that sucker together...it gets slammed more times during the day than anything autta get slammed...poor innocent door...

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

"Gleaning Memories" - 2010 Spring Bay Studio

The piece that had been on my work table the other day, that kept altering itself it seems, by the minute. When I thot that it was just about "done", then some other thot would come in my head telling me, Nope, add this...hold it - change this around...By the time I finally got the last bit of paint added, and the last of the beads set, it felt like I'd worked on this for the last 3 months instead of just over a week.

And why does it seem to take so long? - I read of people who just whip work out on a canvas like there's no tomorrow - 5 in one day, 7 in a matter of 3 days...WHAT??? - How the tar do these people do this? - Do they not have nagging family members who bother them with irritating babblings..getting them sidetracked every other hour??? Do they not have a husband who insists of rattling their last good nerve, by calling 3 times in a row, 'cause the bum is stuck in traffic, and has to call 3 said times in a row, telling about the rotten kids stuck in a car in the next lane...screaming and bouncing around the inside of the car, tho they should be safely secured by a safety belt???

Well, obviously it looks like I must be having much more fun than I thot, 'cause I'm the one getting the off-the-wall phone calls...have-another-person-living-here driving me all over creation and back..then over somewhere else. By the time 5:30 p.m. rolls around, there are days where I'm about slam exhausted and ready to go to bed.

But anyway -

I just take longer to work out something on a canvas than other people, thats just all there is to it. But at least I'm satisfied with the results, and don't go grumbling about the house, saying, well, I SHOULD'VE done this...REALLY should do THAT on that length of the canvas...

Nope.

Once it's done, buddy, it's DONE!! - An' there's no turning back...well, cept maybe to polish up a bid of smudged matte medium (I discovered a blob on a piece the other day ) but tha's all. For the overall work, it's fini.

And there is yet another piece that will make it's debut hopefully tomorrow - maybe monday, 'cause I just remembered that tomorrow is saturday, an' once The Husband is home, there's no telling what kind of mayhem he may rake up around the house...certainly not as much as a friends husband...who one day suprised her, by having his girlfriend show up at their house, just before he got home from work...

Yup - that'd rate right up there with MAYHEM written all over it. The ensuing battle was pretty interesting too, with tha couple..and believe it or not, their still married ~ ! ~ Wears me out is what it does, listening to things like that ...

But for now I have to go do a quick read of a couple theology books that I bought for the church library...sadly 2 of our members have passed away in the last month, and I need to make some donations to the library in their memory. And with that, are new additions to the non-fiction portion of the shelves. The books look very very good, and if I can remember, next week one day I'll make sure to post a comment about them.

For now tho, I have to get to where there is either an open window where a breeze is coming in, or find a spot under the fan...80% humidity today, light rain...but for the moment all the breeze has stopped. And I'm slowly melting into my office chair...uh-oh...this may not be healthy..If I melt, who's gonna fix dinner???

I'm Gone ~~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

Within The Sea - Spring Bay Studio 2010

I know I'd talked about some new work that was over on the table..lets see..clear last week, but as things happen, Life Happens, and there suddenly went the week ~ ! ~ I honestly have no idea where the week went, but I think there was a holiday somewhere along the line, some sitting around the house doing absolutely nothing, and then too, some Buying Things Related To Art...

So it's been the kind of week where you finally get a chance to sit down and say to yourself, Well, just what the #*^*)^ happened here? -

So, this picture is at least one of the things that did happen - not like what I usually work out, and that's what made it something of a challenge for me - I don't remember the last time I used a lot of green in anything, let alone yellow - but this evolved into a Sea Wave of sorts - moving along and within itself something like the currents out offshore do - I took my time with this, as each color needed to make it's presence known, and I didn't want to rush with it. I had the most concentrated time getting the blending and attacking of the colors - sometime along about the 3rd day of painting, and changing this that and the other, I finally felt like I could go ahead and layer the papers.

Tom was very suprised with the color - at first it didn't have much else besides green..."It's veryyyy green...", he sez while popping his head into the room...

I sorta stood there looking at him with my paint pallette in my hand, asking jus' what the #$%&)(+ that was supossed to mean...he just said, "That's all..."

Is there a way that any of you know, that I can either invest some money into the manufacturer of Tums, Rolaids, or any of those companies? - Or, if not that, maybe have a nice sweet truck driver deliver a full 53' trailer FULL of any of those wonder products???

'Cause my husband is about to DRIVE ME OFF THE DEEP END...

'k - tha's my rant for the morning..

But I do want to say, that despite The Husband and Noah rattling my last 4 nerves to their breaking point, I also have managed to paint and paste and glue and cut papers, attach beads, ribbons, stickers and some other innocent bystanders onto some other canvases that I'll show starting tomorrow - I've been busy in spite of all the running around that I seem to find myself in day after day...

But now I'm wondering what the weekend will hold in store for me..we went up to the city on the 4th for a big ol' BBQ at Danny's condo..he stuffed us again with some steaks and some goodies...I probably gained 15 pounds just from that one dinner. Then on monday Tom took me over to the dreaded Wal-Store, 'cause I was totally out of canvases. And I needed, of all things, one stuiped bottle of white paint.

You'd think that finding these things would be easy..yes? - HA! ~ I walked up and down what's called the "Craft" isle, and looked high and low for what I needed...the amount on the shelves has been cut by at least 75% in the one store closest to us..it looked like somebody had to really think hard on how to stretch out what few items there were, to fill in the long shelf near the floor in the isle. I was, needless to say, Unimpressed....And since that store is one of the least liked stores for me, it made it all that much more of a headache...

Then by the time I finally found close to what I needed, I had to hunt tom down...naturally he was over in the automotive section, ready to pay $30 for some part that he insisted we needed RIGHT NOW, for his honda car....

Remember the above request for the trailer load of tums/rolaids///....

Yeah..the sooner the better...

So, I am happy to say that we walked out with just the art supplies in hand, minus the $30 car part (it's not needed after all...just a bottle of gas treatment did the trick...at .99 cents...) - And now I'm going to try out the new canvas.

It looks so sad all empty..clean...nothing all over it...

Whoo- Boy ~ !! ~ That's gonna change in about .1247 seconds ~ !! ~

I'm Gone.............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-07-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

"Untitled" - 2010 Spring Bay Studio

Another one of the pieces that I've been working out over on the table - this happened kind of in fits and spits, but it wasn't as difficult as I thot it was going to be when I started out -

I got all worked up over some of the paper, and when I started working on the texture, I thought I'd really taken on more than I'd bargained for. But once I decided how I wanted the color to go on, then it started to get a little easier for me to add the other elements.

I got some of the paints buried (I keep doing that - buying bits of paint here and there, an' being REALLY good, I put them away, planning on using them on a later day...) and discovered them when I was looking for something totally different - Does that ever happen to you? - Go to look for one thing, an' lo and behold, there is something else you'd forgotten about..yikes...drives me crazy!! `

But anyway - here it is - an' it is just a little different from other things I've done - an' it's kinda fun!! ~ Plus, the one that's just getting dry on the antique hutch is done with colors that I don't normally use - with some of it being brushed on a little thicker than I'd do with other pieces. It felt pretty good doing that, too - Really slapping the paint on, making a mess of me, the work table, and whatever else happened to be in the line of fire...weeeee!!!

And now, right when I was in the middle of having some work getting under way, noah meanders in an' tells me we have to go to lowes RIGHT NOW - or else the earth will cave in, time will stop, and certain parts for the well house and pump ABSOLUTELY have get bought NOW~~~ And he did a fine job of totally derailing my train of thot...#$%^& - an' here he comes in again....grrrr......

So -

I'm Gone.................

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

"Untitled" - 2010 Spring Bay Studio

One of the pieces that I'd mentioned last week..been playing with the background and finally when it looked like what I wanted, then I got the fish and other pieces dug out of the file folder - There was some deciding on whether or not to add some elements to the bottom, but for now, it seems ok to me as it is - I may add something over the texture, but for now this be it.

I've got another larger piece that's not quite like my other canvases - well, wait - it's sorta-kinda-like some work I did not too long ago..somewhere during last winter I think. I had started in one direction, but as the texture on it started to change shape, then it took on a life of it's own. And even The Husband liked it - so that's quite a thing for me!!

I've got to order some new canvases, as the last ones that I bought at that "Mart" place were really a nightmare to work with. I have no idea of what kind of material they were manufactured out of, but they were quite the box of rocks, let me tell you. I fought with those things an' very nearly threw them away. But with lots and lots of gesso added, they finally got used. Nearly wore me slam out, but I made it!! I need a couple paks of things, so on payday Tom may be somewhat suprised to see what I'm ordering. He'll get over it..that's what he always says to me when I get all a-tither over something.."You'll get over it..." - makes me feel like a dump truck just ran over me..but that's a whole other story...

So I'm getting some papers added to a canvas on the work table right now...the color's are not anything I remember using before, so it's quite bright - No, I'm not going to give you any clues as to what they are..just something different..NO! ~ No purple or orange, so there!! ~ You jus' gotta wait!! ~ Tee Hee ~ !!!! ~

So, while it's still cool (we finally had rain last night & this morning..much much better w/temps @75Degrees!!) I'm going to get some work done, so it'll be dry in a New York Minute ~ !! ~ Whooo..............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ok -

So, Here's what NOT to do when running the dishwasher in the kitchen...

See, Noah tries to "save" money by using regular dish liquid in the little dispenser portion in the door of the dishwasher...figures that it saves some $$, an' in his words, "Works jus' fine, it's ok.."

Well, here is a picture that shows what happens when Le Ma tries to do the same thing...uhhhmmm...

I guess what Noah does is something entirely different than what I did, when I wa trying to use dish liquid instead of DISHWASHER liquid in the dispenser ditty in the door...I thot jus' a tad bit would get the dishes ever so clean, an' everybody would say, Oh, aren't you wonderful for doing such a nice job..

Ha!

Well, I did a nice job of making a MESS - what for me was jus' a little tad was way WAY too much for the machine to handle - an' the results went on like this for some time...What Noah neglected to tell me, was that he just sprinkles a little bit of dish washing liquid sorta over an' around the dishes, then starts the machine up.

See...he sorta/kinda/never did tell me that...'course 'till way after all this charming mess happened...

But let me tell you how clean that kitchen floor was ~ !! ~ Whoo - Boy-Howdy!!! That sucker couldn't stand itself, let me tell you.

But I'm going to stick with the CORRECT liquid for the machine from now on, you can totally believe that.

I had planned on showing the 2 new canvases I finished just this week, but Noah hauled off an' took the batteries out of the camera, an' put 'em to use in the remote mouse for the computer..an' naturally didn't tell me BEFORE I'd gotten my canvases all set up to take pictures of out in the dining room..it kinda freaked me out, 'cause I'd gotten the stuff all ready, got the light just right in the room, an' when I went to puch the "On" button on the camera....

Absolutely nothing happened.

So, being the mechanically inclined person that I am, I pushed the button again...

And absolutely nothing happened - AGAIN -

Tha's when it hit me, that the batteries were off doing their thing in another space and time, an' here I was waiting for my ship to come in..or something like that.

So tomorrow when I gotta run errands an' do my waiting for the 1 "Customer Service" person at our bank ( bad enuf you gotta wait for one lousy person to help ya out, an' then adding insult to injury, the woman is one of the most arrogant, demeaning people I've had to do business with for a long, long time. Maybe she's changed banks, an' I won't have to see her ~ ! ~ ) - I can't use the tellers at the windows, or use the drive-in part...I gotta go inside, an' wait for this one person to help me out.

Ever so Convienent ~ !! ~ or however tha's spelled...

So - anyway, tha's what's gonna happen tomorrow..OH ~ !! ~

I nearly forgot - Whoo - Noah got a part time job down Ocean Highway, working at a warehouse - I'm not sure how many days it's gonna be, but at least it's SOMETHING ~ !! ~ An' he seemed pretty jazzed about it - Unfortunately the weather is going to be another scorcher today, so I hope they have lots and lots of fans inside the building - most warehouses don't have air conditioning inside, so it's always scary to think of how hot it get's in them. But noah's been working in the heat all week, an' doesn't seem to mind it..

Where I jus' about fall over an' make a puddle of myself...

So - I gotta run an' check some papers - It's so nice now inside...jus' started up the air conditioning...shweeooooo - whatta difference. 11:00 in the morning, an' it's already 90 Degrees.an' no, I'm too chicken to see how high the humidity is ~ !! ~ Tee Hee......

I'm Gone -

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

*** Just a quick post while a canvas does it's last drying thang ***

I'm glad to say that the weekend went really well..it started off kinda lousy, but then our oldest suggested we come up to see his new condo, an' have some bbq at the same time..

Now...

Do you think for one-half-of-one MINUTE that I paused before accepting that invitation??? I mean, FREE FOOD..an' a chance to see my son's first purchased home? -- Jumped all over that, an' even made sure that The Husband was wearing something at least reasonably clean to go up to the City in.

I don' mean to say that he's necessarily a slob...he just doesn't always wear a straight-from-the-washer/dryer shirt all the time. -- what was tha' old song about wearing a somewhat clean dirty shirt? - wish I could remember all the words to that one...

But anyway - off we went to the city..not too much traffic, an' showed up jus' in time to check out the new place (well, new to our son..) - an' watch a bit of baseball. Then got fed a wonderful STEAK..with macaroni salad...chips...YUM..All those things I'm not remotely supposed to have.

I ate those things like there wasn't going to be any tomorrow...Yes Sir, an' Yes Ma'am...

'Course now I'm sure my cholestrol is probably starting to look like the oil Tom drained out of his car so he could put in clean oil. Oops. Jus' don' tell my Dr., 'k???

But now, speaking of Tom - he jus' called to say he was on his way home early - gotta get up a little later than usual, 'cause he's got to drive up near the Maryland border, to a warehouse for the Mennonite Co-Op that distributes chicken. The box of frozen chicken is going to somewhere in Iraq for our troops..he's been picking up a lot of it lately, an' he's feelin' pretty good that he can do his part for those people over there.

So I gotta go start some stuff for dinner earlier than I thot I would...maybe some thing light, as today the heat index & temp is over 100 Degrees...yee-haw...an' it's early for this intense type of heat, too. Yee Gads, what's the rest of the summer going to be like?? -

I'm gonna stay indoors for the rest of the day, you can believe that!!

But for now -

I'm gone..........

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

"Thinking of You Faraway" - 2010 Spring Bay Studio

Here's the other piece that I mentioned was in progress over on the work table...it was fun messin' around with the papers - And there just is a little something about these papers from 7 Gypsies - Don't know what it is, but they all coordinate with so many others that it makes it a lot of fun to grab a file folder full of papers and get to work playing with all of them.

I have a piece that's drying now on my table, so that's going to get a picture in the morning. Right now it's getting a little steamy and since Noah is on this kick of not using the air conditioning in the house, it's not all that fun to trapse around in the studio hunting for odds and ends for a piece. I started to dig out some canvases, but thot about it - like, maybe it's going to be Tomorrow before I go scrounging around in the bottom of that closet for those canvases. Too humid to test whether or not I'm goin' to get dizzy from the heat.

Been there, done that.

And had to pay extra for the ambulance, 'cause at the time Tom was in the navy, and the military wouldn't pay the fee. Long story, an' I'll go into it another time. Still makes me raving mad about the whole deal.

BUT - I AM glad to say that I found some trims and some papers that honestly, I forgot I had. Some days the little brain cells just don't want to work right..but yesterday they were chugging along on all 4 cylinders, an' lo ~ !! ~ There in a little box were some trims that I thot got stuck wa off somewhere else. Huh ~ ! ~ Boy, didn' I feel like a jerk..here I'd been close to throwing a hissy fit, an' makin' a SCENE..when there the box was, all along - no more than 3 feet away from my work table. Duhhhh...

So those, an' yes, some of my 7Gypsies papers will all get together an' have a little party ~ !! ~ Yee Haw ~ !! ~

After I cool down a little more, 'cause right now the "Feels Like" temp. is 92 Degrees..an' the storm clouds are startin' to get their act together...yeeeks...best go before it all cuts loose ~ !!! ~

I'm Gone ~~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

"To The Sea" - 2010 Spring Bay Studio

Here's the other piece that I worked out over on the table just this last week - I got the idea of the crab from one of the pictures that I saw on an area website, that tells of all the different species of fish and shellfish along the shoreline and further out in the Atlantic.

I wish that I could get some FRESH crab, but I don't know who to contact for it, and the cost is probably something that would make me go into an absolute hysterical crying jag anyway..as in - the cost for one full bushel is probably like $65.00 or something. Not quite in my price range.

But anyway - there are a couple other pieces getting all fixed up over at the table as we speak - I'm thinking of adding some of my fibers and threads that usually just sit in the box and get bored. I want to go off and buy a bunch of new stuff, but that aint gonna happen - 'specially since I've got some already in a big ol' storage box that hasn't been opened in something like 3 months. I hate to waste things, so they need to get used and not take up excess real estate.

And speaking of real estate - there are some new neighbors moving in around us - I'm not sure which little cabin they have bought, but I keep seeing cars and trucks loaded down with goodies sticking out from every area that's possible - windows crammed to the brim with stuff - the back of the pickup bed just overflowing with stuff...

Me, I'd thin out as much as possible, but I know there are people who would just as soon go into mourning, wear black for 3 months and continually throw ashes on themselves, rather than throw things away.

But I'm not a packrat - mainly 'cause there just isn't that much space to store things in the cabin, so I have to learn how to make the best of the storage areas I've got.

Which brings me to the point of where I need to be starting this afternoon -

Tom has a much larger closet than I do, but I'm the one with the boxes of fabric that gets used for blouses, dresses and what-have-you. Said boxes are beginning to show signs that all is not well in Storage Land, and they are beginning to develop middle-age spread...in other words, the middle of the storage boxes are bulging in the center, and the lids aren't closing right, so the fabric is getting dust in and around it. And I also have to dance around said boxes, and have my laundry hamper somehow in the same space...

So = since Tom has the space, and I need to get some of my storage things into that space, I first have to throw out, or take to the thrift store, all the old clothes that tom refuses to wear anymore. Well - maybe that;s too harsh a word to say...he doesn't REFUSE to wear them...they just don't fit. Eeek...yup - he's gotten to big for 'em, so they aren't doin' any good taking up prime real estate for MY stuff...

Chances are he won't even notice their gone outta his closet.

It's such a mess in there, I'm thinkin' he doesn't even know what's in HALF of his closet...

So, maybe not in the dark of night, but pretty close to it - I'm gonna start gettin' stuff put into bags an' take 'em to the thrift store this weekend..THEN that prime real estate is MINE ! Whoo - Boy ~ !! ~

'K - I'm not really frothing at the mouth over this, but I'm considerin' gettin' pretty worked up over it...

So I guess I need to go in there...yeekkk...'k...here goes nothin'...Wish me luck.... ~ !! ~

I'm Gone

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

"Sweetheart" - 2010 - Spring Bay Studio

I didn't even have a name for my new friend...and I felt kinda bad about it - I mean, it's one thing to ? FORGET somebodys name..but at least they HAVE a name.

But this poor lil' dear didn't even have a name..so all I could think of was Sweetheart..An' to me she is rather a little sweetheart..all surrounded by her favorite flowers..and of course a heart from her boyfriend..

Ahhh...

Wish SOMEBODY I know, who Shall Remain Nameless...but who resides in THIS SAME HOUSE would remember to get ANOTHER person a heart..

Flowers would be nice too...

A Card...

Ok..so you get the idea - The Husband isn't one for going all out on the Stuff business...

But just you wait my pretty..........

ANYWAY - I don' know about any o' the rest of you, but here in the south the HEAT is starting to get itself Going - the last I checked the weather info., the humidity was above 75%..Yummm..with the temp. hovering somewhere near 87 Degrees.... YUM!!

Anybody in for a quick sneak over to the pool??

Oh - Wait..I haven't paid for my yearly pool pass...

But it is getting into those Dog Days of Summer..just a tad bit early, it seems. But after the SNOW we had during the winter, it sorta all evens out. I went into town early this morning, 'cuse Noah absolutely-positively HAD TO have some paint for the shed...the shed, mind you. So we did the errands before it was all-together too hot to walk out and climb in the Very Fine Automobile..

Noah doesn't do riding in the Bus..so I have ta take the Very Fine instead...

An' get this - the paint for the shed is the shed that's falling slowly into the ground in the backyard...the one with the off the wall pink/red-faded SOMETHING paint job on it...

An' no - he's not painting the OUTSIDE..he's fixin' up the inside..But it needs it really bad. The elderly couple who lived here hadn't done a thing to the interior, so it was pretty scary...right down to the carcasses of passed away creatures..and other reptiles, which shall Remain Nameless...

Plus a shelf..way, way, WAY up near the ceiling of the shed..

Now, I wanna know - who the $%^#& puts a shelf up within 6" of the ceiling of a SHED??? -- I mean, what in the world, WORLD are you gonna put way, way up there??? A ladder won't fit..there is nothing else that can squeeze up there..'cept maybe the neighbors cat, an' that sucker got smart an' ran away from them..(They never did feed that poor lil' guy..)

So the Shelf remains a mystery -- actually I heard a bunch of hammering, so I gotta feeling that noah HAD IT an took the thing down..This was after he came in the cabin an' muttered a bunch, slammed a couple innocent things around in his room, an' then proceeded to march himself right back outside to the shed...again....

GHAWD - no wonder I'm tired today...plus I woke up at 4:30 this morning...an' for absolutely no good reason at all....

Which brings to mind something The Husband said jus' a while ago - "You might wanna have a cold one, 'cause the temp is climbing as we speak.."

Ahhh... aint he sweet? Always lookin' out for his lil' wifey-poo...

Either that or he's got some kinda bad news to tell me after he parks the truck at the terminal...

I SWEAR I feel grey hair growing on my head right now..I tell ya, I really do...........

I'm Gone ~~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note - I'm not going to say too much, as one of my elderly friends from church passed away this week...I was worried about her earlier a week or so ago - her color didn't look good, and she seemed to be having difficulty standing.

But I felt that she'd get better - pull thru one more time (emphasima ) (sp) and just be there..smiling at church - o - being on her porch, waving as I went past on my bicycle.

But there are things that we just don't understand - and maybe never will. I will miss her, as she was always one of those people who you couldn't help but hug every time you'd see her. And she will be missed terribly.

The memorial service was just a little while ago - quite sweet, as she was sweet. There were many many tears, but there was laughter too - fun little things were shared..many happy memories. And that's what's important, I think - to keep the happy parts of every persons life in the front of you - 'specially when things get bad, sad, and you feel like there just isn't one more minute that you can stand it.

But now it's time to just pause - relish another day here on this glorious Earth. And believe that tomorrow will come around - and we'll all be better by and by..........

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

Wanted to sHare a shot of the pond where we camped at the bluegrass festival..

Now, I KNOW - your saying to yourselves (I knowe you are..) - "Why a picture from, like, a month ago??" -

WELL - 'cause this ties in with a place nearby where I ride my bike..

See..there are all these litte streets that go along the edge of the Sound..actually bordering the 2 "small" rivers that flow into the Sound..and some of these streets have some access places that are somewhat dank, dark and dreary..sorta like something out of a Edgar Allen Poe type poem...and there are days, 'specially after a rain, that when the water gets flowin' like all He** and get out, it really sounds like it's time for the FLOOD and we all better get ready to kiss ourselves goodbye, and in a hurry, thank you very much...

But there is one place, where there is an old empty cabin, teeny and looking like it's ready to flop right on into the teeny inlet...where the trees - grass - bushes an' vines have made it look like something Tim Burton would have a hay - day with (no, I've never know just what a hay-day is either, but it's always sounded kinda fun to me...) -

But this little spot is always incredibly green, not unlike this part of the shoreline where the Pond is in this photo. There are always something's scurring about when I go past this spot on the paved road..I can hear little animals (LAWDY, I hope their animals..like sweet little bunnies...or chipmonks..) or whatever else is lurking in there..sometimes when I'd walk Sara Beth, she'd always want to go crashing into the tangle of vines that grew up the side of a dead tree stump..all I could think about when she'd try this trick, was,.."Oh pleeze Lord, don't let this be too expensive when it's all said and done..I know she's gonna get bit by some horrid creature in there..."

Fortunately despite my fears and trembling, The Dog and I would not be attacked by anything jumping out of this spot..and for most days I just keep on riding my bike - cruisin' along..and really hoping that whatever is living in there will just leave me alone..

But it's so incredibly pretty..If my brain decides to work right, I'm going to take my camera w/me on my next ride in the afternoon, and take a whole mess of pictures, jus' so you know what it's like around here.

And maybe see what really IS living in that clump of stuff just over on the other road...

But for now, I gotta run & get groceries..it's that time of week, an' the 'fridge is lookin' really slap pitiful..I MEAN...the bottom 2 shelves are totally empty..the crisper drawers haven't had anything in them for a week or more...

Look, I jus' haven't been into the whole Grocery Shopping Thang - 'k? - makes my last good nerve twitch some times...all those people all barreling down Isle 5...trying to be the first to grab the On Sale! jar of pickle relish ("Two for One ~ !! ~ Today Only ~ !! ~)..

As if buyin 2 stuiped jars of relish is REALLY going to make or break your whole week, for cryin' out loud...

Well anyway...

I'm Gone...............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-06-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

So here's a look at how the studio work table is being horribly treated..stuff seems to happen to it, and it just sits there and lets it happen.

I know some people who would throw fits, demand an attorney, and other things too terrible to talk about.

But my little table just keeps me goin', an' even tho today is one of those days where it would be best to go find somebodys nice dock to jump off of, and go swimming in one of the cool streams..alas, it's not to be.

So I am working like a wild banshee, cutting and cutting and CUTTING pieces of paper..all types of colors, and various sizes..believe it or not, they actually WILL go together, and make for a very cool and breezy piece when it's all said and done. I really thot I'd gone off the deep end when I realized how much work it ended up taking, to put all those pieces of paper together on a canvas..but the ol' college cheer keep me goin' on - Well, actually not a cheer, but I felt that if I didn't get those pieces of paper slammed down on that canvas, then I'd just be in a funk for the rest of the day ~ !! ~

So that's all gonna get photo'd tomorrow...along with a little girl who just happened to stop by this last week...she is very polite, doesn't shout and make terrible noises. Has something of a sweet smile about her, and doesn't scream at neighbors who go zipping down our dirt road at speeds that are much too dangerous.

Where lots of times I feel like SCREAMING at the fools...but then, I figure, if they keep going at the rate of speed they seem to be driving, then they'll just come to the end of the road, and THEN won't THAT be interesting ~?~

So, that's all tomorrow..but for now I'm going to go stare in the 'fridge an' see if there's something in there to make me wanna do a happy dance for dinner...

Actually, I bought some pretty fresh mushrooms, have some onion, and tortillas...cheese...salsa.. ~ VIVA ~ !! ~ Looks like I'm havin' mexican tonight ~ !! ~ Along with a cold beverage..looks like I gotta go get cuttin' on the cutting board, now, don't it ~ ?? ~~ !! ~~

I'm Gone.......

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

~~ Here's a quick wish for everyone in the U.S. - A very Happy and safe Memorial Day to you ~ !! ~

We are mostly basically and for real doing absolutely nothing today - well, 'cept some laundry, but that doesn't seem to count as "work" around the house - I had considered doing something like running the vacuum cleaner, but decided not to - what with the humidity hovering up near 70% and it not being 11 in the morning, I just couldn't justify gettin' all damp an' cranky messin' with the carpet ~ ! ~

So it's doin' some sketching with my little pencils, filling in some color with watercolor pencils on a piece on the work table, and then maybe cutting some papers for use in another project that's in the works too. The heat is lingering just a bit - near 90 something in the next few hours...with that in the back of my mind, it may just be time to kick up the air conditioner this afternoon...seems like a good idea, yes? I don't like to see the electric bill after a few days of this heat & humidity, but I also really don't like to be uncomfortable in my own house ~ !! ~

So we'll watch our pennies for the next few days, so we'll be able to pay that electric bill...an' drink some nice herbal ice tea (blueberry today!) an' watch all the weekenders zip around the neighborhood...they all drive so fast, an' on this teeny little dirt road, I'm waiting for somebody to go sliding off the side of the road into the ditch - either that, or they'll zing onto the opposite road, go flying off of that past the stop sign, and go splashing in the water at the bottom of the little hill...that's gonna be an expensive "My Bad" ~ !! ~

'course not drinkin' an' drivin' always helps too, but whatta I know??

but for now I gotta go hang up laundry..perfect weather to dry everything in a flash!!

I'm Gone...........

2010-05-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

"Fish Where They Swim" - 2010 -

Spring Bay Studio

Here's the other piece that I mentioned yesterday - It has a little more color with it - can you see the glitter that I sprinkled around and all about it?

I had fun with this, and Tom wondered just what got into me when he saw me cutting these little fish one afternoon - I'd thot about telling him that I was cutting up fish...but then he'd probably think that I'd gone fishing, but that wasn't the case. I mean, I'd LOVE to go fishing, but since we haven't finished paying the yearly fees for our property assessments, I can't use any of the neighborhood docks to go fishing on...stinks, don't it? - I keep wanting to buy my yearly fishing license, but then I have to hike off somewhere and find a place to actually GO fishing..

But anyway ~

I just did some layering of paints on some inexpensive drawing paper that I bought for a song about a year ago - it gives me spits and fits if I try to use a brush on it, but using my fingers, sponges or whatever else may be lurking on the table, well, that paper just acts like it's havin' a good time...so it's like playing and making a mess, which my high school art teacher always ALWAYS frowned on.

HA ! ~ HA ! ~ to her !! > Now I can make all the mess I WANT - an' who's gonna care? -

I mean, I do clean it all up...
Eventually.....

Just not right today, or right away today, 'cause I spent a good chunk of the morning drivin' me & noah all over creation, so now it's finally time to sit down and get something to eat. I think I ate a breakfast...Cocoa Roo-iees or something, blast, I can't even remember...so now my stomach is letting me know it's WAY past time to have lunch (it is after 1:30...) so it's TIME...

Jus' hopin' there is something to eat...
Hmmmmm....le's see...

So with that -

I'm Gone...........

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

"Fish Right Here" - 2010 - Spring Bay Studio ~

I KNOW I've been chattering and making all kinds of noise about some of the work that has been over on the little table..so now I decided that it's time to SHOW that yes, I DO actually have something to SHOW YOU for all that noise...

I did a clever little trick..an' it makes me feel like such a dumb cluck...

I'd wanted some fabric pieces for what seems like for-EVAH..but at over $8.00 a yard, it just didn't seem like that kind of purchase was gonna happen any time soon..'specially since I need close to 10 or more yards of different shades of blue, green, prints, batiks...

You get the idea --

So, I decided to use small pieces of paper that have a similar print or color to them, and used THEM to have as background color -And save myself a WHOLE LOTTA $$$ -- An' like I said, I felt like such a dumb cluck when it dawned on me that I could do the colors this way, than buying all that fabric.

Even tho buying fabric can be so much fun...an' looking online at all that eye-candy..yuummm...some fabu prints that make me want to hop on a plane an' go off to some far-far away island..batiks that just seem to melt into the Sea..

So I went cheap instead. -- my conscience feels much better too - now I don't have to stand and stare at the dining room floor, while I TRY to explain to The Husband why I spent $56.00 on FABRIC..for cryin' out loud...

Otherwise you'd hear his VERY loud noise, I'm jus' about sure.

Man, can that guy QUACK...

But anyway - tomorrow I'll show the other piece that's all Beachy an' swimming-ly nifty...That's all the hints about THAT piece that you're gonna get from me this afternoon.

Besides I'm about flat wore out from drivin' Noah all over creation and BACK today - I've logged over 20 miles in less than 2 hours - goin' from one place to another, and back again - and no, I have nothing to show for it one little bit.

'Cept a headache tryin' to come along..an' some nerves that are just about at the twiingy stage..I feel sorry if some jerk from some corporation decides to try an' tell me some line of #% right now..he's really going to regret making that phone call, 'cause I'm hot, tired, an' altogether cranky.

Must be time to lay down, have a glass of nice ice tea (herbal fruit blend w/ honey...devine!!) an' do NOTHING ~ !! ~

So, yup - tha's exactly what I'm gonna go do!!

I'm Gone ~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if the brickwork shows up or not, but there are some right at the end of the gravel pathway that the original owners put in some years back.

What I wish I could see, across the dirt road, is whether or not the nest for the thrasher is there, or in one of the little bushes to the right of this gravel path.

I noticed the birds last week..and they were ever so busy, taking teeny branches from underneath the trees, and some of the dried grass from where Noah mowed the lawn..so busy, so busy. And it looked like they were building a nest in our yard...but wait.

Then it looked like they were starting to do something across the dirt road.

Can they have 2?

Is one in fact, their vacation home for the summer??

Anyway...........

This time of year brings the weekenders down to the Shore..some of the little cabins are starting to get new life, now that the "First" weekend of summer is nearly here. Some of the places haven't looked this good since last year..an' some of them may as well just start over...like, they've not had anything done with them in WAY longer than a year.

But still, the weekenders come, and enjoy their time away from wherever they live. I just ride my bike around the neighborhood and feel good that there are people who haven't given up on the little area. Some have sold their weekend homes, an' it looks sad, some of them all empty, an' looking neglected - seems like a waste of a perfectly good home to me.

But with the odd-ball economic times that we have right now, there's no telling what will happen to a little area like we have here. Surrounded by old, old farms, with crops growing...

And then there's the area where we live...with some shoreline homes in the millions of dollars...then way, way, down the socio-economic ladder to a little cabin like ours.

A vast difference between spots, but it all seems to work out.

But I still wonder about the little birds in the yard...and hope that the neighbors cat doesn't decide to make dinner out of either one of them. That would make me so terribly sad. Besides, I like to hear the birds with their faint, gentle singing to each other, while they search around the cabin, for worms, bugs, and whatever else they eat.

And I like having neighbors who don't cause problems!!

But now noah is in the house, and making quite a lot of racket out in the kitchen...great mercy, I better go see what all this is about...

I'm Gone ~~

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

SO - I know that I should probably be doing something else besides messin' around with my Bus, but today is the first day where we haven't had rain, rain, and more rain, and Tom fit in my Grateful Dead tapestry on my seat in the Bus..an' the flowers along the front of the cabin were calling my name...

And all kinds of other things were telling me to get out of the studio and do something else besides sit with matte medium all over my hands..an' try to ignore all the paint that seems to be lurking under my fingernails, and GET OUTSIDE ~

So who am I to say no to playing a little bit in my own yard? - Or is that driveway (in the case of the Bus, I guess it would be...) ~~ So, here's what's growing, and a pretty nice look at how tom fixed the grateful dead "deady-Bears" for me in the Bus.

After watching the rain for the last 5 days, it felt sooo good to go out and jus' sorta absorb the quiet in the yard, look at the daylilies along the stone path to the front porch, an' just "excape" for a teeny bit. Far better than hearing some jerk at our bank, yelling at me (He didnt want to get away from the script that he's trained to keep reading, when he didn't know the answer to my question...) an' giving me fits and spits over something that could have been answered in - what - 2 minutes?

So looking over the flowers, feeling the sun on my back, and listening to one of the tiny little woodpeckers way, way up in the pine tree..ahh...that helped much more than I thot it would. And all I can do for somebody like the Banking Fool, is jus' feel sorry for them - they have to keep their script always always perfect so they get their .20 cents per call...they can't let another person help them, 'cause that keeps them from making their commission (or whatever term the corporations use) - an' it just makes me nearly ill, because instead of being a help, I'm discovering more an' more that "Customer Service" is becoming something of a nightmare - an' it really shouldn't. So I feel bad for those people, all closed up in a giant room, smooshed into a little cubicle..being trained to yell at people, and not seeing that there is something else out there besides letting a Worldwide Corporation rule what you say and do...

Sad
Sad
Sad...

So with that, I took the time to enjoy the birds in the woods...listen to something far off out in the Sound..somebody going out fishing/crabbing/doing whatever it is they do for the day...an' breathe in the peacefulness of where I am.

An' say once again...thank you Heavenly Father for giving me this time in our little neck of the woods.

But for now........

I'm Gone.......................

2010-05-15T09:16:00.001-07:00

No picture today, but I am considering taking some, 'cause today is just one of those wonderful Spring days, where the temperatures are beyond compare, and the color of the sky nearly takes your breath away.

Not to mention that the wrens are so darn cute out in their nest on the front porch ~ !! ~ I keep thinking that maybe they'll go away and find another place to keep house, but then I see what must be the female, darting in to and out of her nest, which is all buried under a canopy of leaves of the plant..Then I just can't help but smile, and wonder about what mysteries there are in nature. The male, naturally, has to perch himself on one of the posts of the railing surrounding the porch, and sing his little songs...I've no idea what, if anything, they "mean", tho I guess somewhere there is an ornitholigist ( rotten spelling, but close enuf...) who could tell me in DETAIL..but suffice to say that the male wren just sings away at any moment in the day.

Kind of startles me when out of the blue, here's this LOUD song, just out of nowhere. At least the entire neighborhood knows there's a wren nearby...

And then, the neighbors cat has decided that he just has to stop by on his ramblings around the neighborhood..to stop and meeeoooowwww at me..rub his skinny self along my ankles, and generally try to let me know that he's probably going to die at any minute if I don't give him something to eat RIGHT NOW!!!....although I doubt he's going to FAMISH immediately. He still has to let me know he's gonna be a gonner in just a matter of minutes, tho.........

So that's how today has been so far...an' now we have a resident reptile that has taken up a garden bed just outside our bedroom windows...as long as the thing keeps to itself, an' does its thing without any "help" from me, then we'll all get along jus' fine...tom an' noah both had to tell me "HEYYY MAAAAAA.."

As if I'm gonna do anything to it....

But for now, I gotta check on some watercolor paper on the work table..

An' also appologise (well, I can't spell today worth a lick...) for the blurry picture yesterday of my latest canvas..I even tried to hold my breath..braced my hands against my knees...took my right hand an' held it as steady as can BE..

An' the blasted picture came out blurry anyway...

NEXT TIME..I will certainly try to do much better..

But ---

I'm Gone...........

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Express Your Bliss" - 2010 - Spring Bay Studio

Here's the piece that I've been talkin' about the last couple dayz...it took a little longer to finish some of the pen & ink than I thot it would..mainly 'cause the original pen that I've had for for-EVAH, hauled off and ran out of ink.

That made me dig around in my antique hutch to uncover another pen I had..only to discover that it has > as in the words of The Husband.."Issues..."

The thing won't work right..as in, it runs the ink jus' as nice as can be, then jus' decides that it doesn't want to work anymore..so I have to go over areas that I've already set ink on...an' then the thing starts to work right...then stop...then...

So you get the idea..something that should have gone in a flash, took like, 3 days longer than I planned. So goes "Planning" - But I got thru, an' here the new little girl is..she is jus' a tad different than my earlier "girls", but she's kinda fun.

I've got some other work over on the table that I'm jus' itchin' to get finished, so I gotta make this quick. Plus Noah is lurking in the kitchen, an' I've got this feeling that he wants me to go somewhere an' do errands for him. I can't even think of the miles I've driven in the last week...no wonder this piece seemed to take so long to get done...I worked on it inbetween driving all OVAH..an' out here in the country, where the closest "store" is 5 miles...well, you can imagine how nerve racking it is, when The Husband leaves me his car, saying..."Oh!, it's got plenty of gas for you to drive around in..." - YEAH..if I was going down the street an' comin' right back ~ ! ~ toad....so it's been one of those weird weeks...plus some guy screaming at me about a bill...an' come to find out I was directed to the wrong department...

An' I STILL don't drink...wha's up with THAT?? ~~ after 3 days of odd-ball companies screaming at me (again, wrong departments...) an' Tom sayin' that he's not sure if there will be overtime for the rest of this month (so much for payin' extra on bills..) I'm not sure if my brain will stand this STUFF...

Did I mention we have a wren nest in the plant out on the front porch?? ~ well, more on that later..I gotta get over to the work table 'fore Noah comes in an' starts quackin' about goin' somewhere...

I'm Gone.............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

So, if you don't look at the tears in the headliner, the interior of the Bus isn't lookin' too shabby these days. I keep sayin' I'm finished with fixin' up inside of there, but then I discover something else that would coordinate with the curtains, pillow an' other beads...

So then it's back to messin' around some more.

But not this week, 'cause I have this project that is ready to get extree paint on it..I've got I think 3 shades of Blue ready for it, so it should be breezy feelin' once I get it all slammed together.

I
am very happy to say that Mothers Day was not only a nice sunny, tho a bit chilly, day. I'd thot that danny would have been working some baseball games, but I guess with their new director, the decision was to have the day off this year. Which gave Danny the time to come down and visit. AND he also grilled some burgers for us ~ !! ~ How 'bout That?? ~ I had been home from church 'bout 35 minutes when he called to say he was comin' down. Gabriel couldn't make it, 'cause he had practice w/ his band, and they were also starting to do some recording, so that tied up his afternoon. Plus, he's got a job ( ~ !!! ~ ) now, an' he had to get to that after all the other things he was doin' in the afternoon.

Makes me tired jus' thinkin' 'bout all that runnin' around.

An' I've been runnin' around this morning too - noah had - had to get to the store to get some coke's and other stuff..plus some gas for the chainsaw..plus a stop to the car parts store..by the time I was all done with THAT, I felt wore out! But I got home to work on one of the last pieces for the canvas on the table..an' wouldn't ya know it..a different pen did just what I feared it would do...the ink ran the minute I hit it with a teeny-tiny bit of water from some watercolor paint I was using...so that piece had to be redone..

So here we are, 45 minutes later, an' I'm suddenly realizing that my stomach is growling, an' it's already time to have LUNCH ~ !! ~ man!, how'd it get so late already?

So I guess I better get the 1st coat of paint on the canvas..then probably see if there are some kind of left-overs in the 'fridge...

Yee Gadzzz, wonder what the rest of the afternoon's gonna be like??
Tee Hee>>>>>

I'm Gone.........

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

Jus' a fast - quick - jump - up an' run kinda post, as The Husband is due back here in a dash..so I gotta dash this message like Snap!! - an' then get goin'

There is a batch of new work over on the table, but tha's all I'm gonna say for now!! ~ Several different things have come out of the paintbrush and pen and inks, and I'm really suprised with how they've turned out!! ~ I think you'll see the difference in the work when I get all of it laid out on the canvases. I'm hope-hoping that I've got enuf matte medium to get all of the paper down the way I want. Other wise I may have to make a trip up to the city next weekend, an' I just do NOT want to do that. it wears me out thinkin' 'bout it as it IS...

The bus just keept cruisin' along...the reactions from people run the whole spectrum..some people really like to see it puttin' down the street, other people are just so rude and nasty it just about scares me to pieces. I mean, there have literally been people that have tried to sideswipe me, an' run me off the road..other people have come racing up behind me, and almost rear-ended me. The irony of some of those drivers, is that the people who come up behind me, are usually driving those extremely high-end vehicles, and I'm thinkin'..Are you DAFT??? ~ You're driving a $50,000 Mercedes Benz, an' your drivin' that thing like your a complete IDIOT ~ !!! ~ AND you wanna try an' make this Bus run FASTER???

It's either that thot, or maybe, "Well, you probably should NOT have had that second gin and tonic over at the clubhouse, 'cause now look how bad your drivin'..."

Either way, I just keep goin' on down the little country roads, listenin' to my Bluegrass an jus' doin' my thing. And lookin' at all the lush green growth of all the fields, woods and streams must have had a good effect on me, 'cause my work is definetly showin' it...

There..I gave you another tease on my work...but trust me, it is different for sure.

But with that, I gotta go - The Husband is due in like 2 minutes, n' he gets pretty cranky if I'm payin' attention to him. PLUS - he SAID he'd buy some steaks to grill out tonight for Mothers Day...so I wanna MAKE SURE he bought them suckers...

Or else you'll be able to hear me from where you are ONCE I LAY INTO HIM!!!

'k..

I'm Gone..............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-05-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

A little shot of the interior of the Bus - even after all the camping and mess we made the other week, it's suprising that all the beads and ribbons survived the drive ~ ! ~

I took this before the weather turned cloudy the other afternoon. I thot we for sure were getting some rain, but it only clouded up and irritated me to no end. And to make matters even more agrivating, the temperatures dropped like winter was snubbing it's nose at us, saying Nah-Nah-Nah-Nah-Nah~!!~

Nothing that get's under the skin than when it's all Warm and Springlike..then you literally get up the next day and it's 20 degrees COOLER..makes my last good nerve just twinge that much more.

I'll post some other interior shots either tomorrow or wednesday - right now I'm battling with some watercolor pencils..one shade of blue ended up having more grey undertones than I thought it did. So when I went to add some light blue for shading, it looked like it'd been sunk in the Sound for the last 14 years..not exactly what I had in mind. More of a floaty look, not something hit-rammed-and-sunk during some off the wall war 120 years ago.

So, with some white acrylic, a bit of adding of "Ultramarine Blue", the shading that I'm trying to get is slowly working out.

At least I think it is. Once the watercolor paper is dry, then I'll doublecheck, then add the other paints - fun - but there's always those weird little things that crop up to juuust bring you up short.

That's why it's better to say that it'll all work out, than to get flustered more than necessary. Expect the unexpected. Tha's the ticket ~ !! ~

We're waiting to see what kind of storms are rolling in - I know that Tenn. got hammered over the weekend, an' I'm really hoping everybody is doin' ok now - cleaning up after storms is not one of my favorite things, but Things can get replaced. People can't, so Everybody needs to listen to the Weather people when they say to avoid certain areas, don't get near streams and creeks if they look swollen, an' don't get near power lines that are down. Now we just keep an eye on the sky for the next couple hours, an' it'll be ok. Tom said that the wind is blowing really hard up where he called from in Virginia...70% humidity and climbing. yikes - and the temp. is over 84 - I think he's gonna be glad he left a rain jacket in the cab of his truck~ !! ~

Ack ~ ! ~ Speaking of which, I jus' remembered that I left the windows down in the Bus - I made a trip to the grocery store to get items that ran out over the weekend, then went to the Fishing Center to get Noah a root beer, an' never did roll up the windows.

That'll guarentee a good soaking rain ~ !! ~

Most definetly gotta run ~ !!! ~

I'm Gone........

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post, as I've got to make a trip to the grocery store, then to one of those Dollar Stuff stores...seems that some pretty good name brand products are showing themselves more and more on the shelves of those stores. So, while I'm not a name brand junkie, I do like to buy some products that have a good label..and the plus..if I can get said products for a whole lot less than anywhere else. Even that World Mart chain..I've discovered that they have higher prices than the dollar places, so what's the point in going in the World Mart if you end up spending more?? ~ ! ~ Penny Pinching is an art unto itself, and if I can get any good at it, then I'm gonna KEEP TRYING no matter what!

I made a trip to one of the teeny little "stores" down the road..it's just a little knock-about place, probably been opened for the lat 30 years..if you dislike the smell of cigarettes, then you'll probably not want to go inside the place. And if you don't really want to hear the latest "gossip" - (or "Jus' discussin' thangs..") - then the place isn't for you either.

But it is a spot where Noah has to get his over-the-top-sugar coated Honey Donuts...glaze, cinnamon an' who knows what else all over the things. But he, unlike his mother, can burn off all those 1200 calories in probably 14 minutes. On the other hand, I'd be wearing those fat calories in less than 5 minutes, and they'd be stickin' around for the next 10years.

But anyway -

Tha's where I went earlier this morning, and now while I listen to the sound of the washing machine goin' into it's final spin cycle, I'm going to dry my jeans, get some of my mop of hair stuck in a rubber band, and then get some sodas for noah..plus bread, eggs, whatever else is on the list. ne of those grocery store trips where you pick up what you forgot to get when you did the shopping for the week 3 days ago.

At least I forget to pick up these things..or..what's worse, walk right past the isle where the things are, still looking at the grocery list, and keep on going in the totally opposite direction. Drives me right up the WALL ~ !! ~ But at least I used coupons on the big shopping trip, so that saved me some $$ - this trip will be pretty low cost, as all the things on noahs list (5 total) are all on sale.

Nickle - dime - stuff that has to be bought..or else The Wrath of The Other People in The House decends on me, an' then I get a headache.

Or else I jus' walk away, go sit out on the deck and suddenly have a sudden attack of Not Being Able to Hear...

Work's like a charm!!

But for now -

I'm Gone>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

"Untitled" - Spring Bay Studio 2010

Here's the piece that I just got finished - well, the other day...I had another mess of a time gettin' the frame to come out just the right color. I couldn't decide if it should be a darker "aged" look or not, so finally after scrubbing and blobbing and dabbing paint paint and more paint, I finally said "ENOUGH!!" an' slammed it in the frame.

But it does look pretty cool, huh?

I've got some sketches that are gettin' some various colors added to them this morning. Actually it's pretty amazing that I'm even able to think about color right now...Noah woke me up wayy before 7 this morning, 'cause he absolutely positively HAD TO go to the paint store (forget wall-mart or lowes...) an' buy a can of spray paint to repaint the stove pipe up on the roof. No, no, he doesn't want to spent $3.97 or whatever at the larger hardware store...NO! ...he wants to haul off and spent nearly $7.00 on ONE CAN of spray paint...But I did, at the same time, get to order some paint for me..and yes, I'm really wondering how much those 2 cans of paint are going to come to...

All I can say, is I darn well hope that the paint going up on the stove pipe sings, dances and does the hootchie-koo, 'cause it BETTER do something more than just sit there and look pretty. I have never EVAH paid that much for a can of spray paint. An' the phone will probably fall out of it's wall socket when The Husband hears what I paid for that thing...

Ok, so I'm a cheapskate...but I MEAN, come ON now!! ~ SEVEN dollars for spray paint?? -

Well, the good thing is that it is made for high heat purposes, and does keep rust from happening on a surface that not only gets rain, wind and ice/snow on it, but the heat from the woodstove does a number on any pipes that are made for woodstoves. So, yes, it IS probably worth the extra cost...

But it's just not something that I was quite ready for.

BUT ~ ! ~ I am ready for showin' some of the work that I'm getting done on my latest piece...got some lettering done, and have some flowers that are kinda spiffy. Just hope that once their all put together that they look good. Sometimes it's hard to see what the final product will look like..then The Critic jumps out of the bushes in the front of the house an' screams "You think THAT looks good??! ~ Are you NUTZZ??"

So it's a never ending battle to create something that flows, that makes you want to go swimming in warm tropical waters, and not have to face something like a cranky mother-in-law on the shore...

So it's off to the work table..I'm also realizing that I most definetly need a cup of coffee..I didn't even get to finish my first, when Noah started pacing around the dining room.."patiently" waiting for me to finish my breakfast...

I'm tellin' ya, it's never a dull moment aroun' here..an' don' get me goin' on the ol' guy that was screaming around a corner, down a little bridge over one of the creeks, and driving IN MY LANE at the same time....an' there I am comin' in the opposite direction, right head-on toward this guy...

I guess I better check my automobile insurance policy, huh?

I'm Gone...........

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

So, while the first couple dayz of the Bluegrass festival went really great, as far as the weather goes, then it just hauled off and turned completely upside down...

The picture shows just how far down the ____ everything turned...Saturday got worse, rain and wind..then more wind..but we stuck it out while people with motor homes with HEATERS INSIDE TO KEEP THEM WARM were bailing out of that campground like there was no tomorrow. We, who have No Heat in the Bus, stayed for all of the remaining concerts Sat. nite, and the picture is what the site looked like early on Sunday morning.

Plus is was colder than Saturday. We packed up the Bus, said goodbye to all the Fish in the pond, and made our way home. The route we took back here was the one I originally told tom to use, and we made it back here in less time that I want to think about..compared with the 5 hours that it took with the "short cut"...

Oh anyway..we got back here to some more sunshine, but the WIND ~ !!! ~ I kept feeling like at any minute we'd be upside down with the Wheels sticking up from the edge of the ditch. But Tom, being that he has to drive thru bad weather a lot of the time, was able to keep the Bus on the road..we didn't run off an' go ka-plooey into some poor guys wheat field..

An' now we're just sittin' back thinkin' about the next festival to go to - Gotts to save up some $$, but not as much as this first one.

And on a lighter note, tomorrow I'll post my just finished frame & piece..both are looking none to shabby, even if I don't mind saying so.

And there is some sketches I'll try and remember to post here as well - A bit differnt, but close to some work I did not too long ago. Fun, breezy an' jus' right now that Spring is finally trying to make itself at home.

Or shall I say, considering sticking around..as today we have strong winds an' it's 62 outside. BUT IT SHALL WARM UP ~ !! ~ Around here it's supossed to be up near 85 by the weekend...I'm tellin' ya, there's no tellin' what to expect with the Weather.

That's why it's better for me to say what the Art will be like, rather than the messin' around that the Weather People do day to day.

And they get PAID for it ~ ! ~

What am I doin' wrong? - Oh, heh heh,,yeah, I can't do math, an' Weather Predicting takes a WHOLE lotta that stuff...

Would it work If I took a flag outside to say that it might get windy?...uhmm...no, huh?

Fine.

Be that way......

I'll just go an' get a cold one an' tha's that.

Besides - I got some blue watercolor pencils that I wanna play with - Weeeeeee............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

So look what we hauled off and did~ ! ~ We went up to a campground that has bluegrass festivals - since I was last there the place has grown 3 times what it used to be, in something like 7 years!! ~ We bought tickets not that long ago, and early on Wednesday morning, we finished packin' up the Bus, and headed out to the festival - The music started on Thursday afternoon, but on Wednesday night there was a big "Bean Pot" - covered dish dinner, so we made sure to get to the campground in time to have some free food!! ~ It was Deeeelishouuuusss!!!

We got this site, because we don't have a motor home (are you aware that those big things cost somewhere around $75,000 to START??!!) or travel trailer, so we got a "rough camping" site, and since we got there early, we had our choice of this site next to the pond (stocked with fish) or another site near where me & noah & Gabriel camped when the place had their first bluegrass festival - I did not even KNOW this part of the park existed, 'cause it was all covered in woods. Since '02 the owner has cleared, put in sites, and cleaned the place up - and we were given this spot!!! ~ WOW ~ ! ~ I told people who walked by while they were hiking around the pond, "This is the only way I could afford water front property!!" -

Wednesday was rainy, an' we took our time gettin there...Tom took a "short cut" - an' a trip that should have taken 3 hrs MAX...took 5 - the route went thru 3 cities, and every da%^&^$& blasted STUIPED stop light - WE HAD TO STOP!!! ~ I don' think there was one $#^^&"%") light that didn't turn red when we got up to it...then when we stopped so we could stretch our legs at a truck stop near the highway we needed to use to get to the campground...my foot accidently snagged on the cord for Tom's phone charger, and the cord got ripped off from it's plug...we got to the campground, and the shelter we bought to keep us dry in case it rained...didn't come with directions...

It didn't look too good at the beginning....

But look at how it turned out!! ~ Thursday and Friday were wonderful - great music, and we used a cheapy bbq grill ($7.00) to cook our meals on, with firewood we brought from here...that worked out GREAT!! ~ Yummmy dinners with mushrooms, onions, homestyle potatoes and some sliced ham...Chicken just browned with onions...OH I'm tellin you!! ~ WE had us a TIME!!

So we drove home on the route I'd originally TOLD TOM TO USE (no, I'm not mad..just sayin'...) and we got back down here yesterday in wayyy less time than it took to get up there...an' the rain of Sat., Sat. nite and most of yesterday morning had all gone away, an' we had a good trip back. Well worth all the nightmare weird things that happened on Wednesday.

And the Bus ran like a dream~ !! ~ People really looked at the Bus..a lot of people didn't know what to think...an' some just acted like they didn't wanna see it..oh well, that's THEIR problem. All I know is for the first time in nearly 7 years, we had a vacation!! ~ Boy Howdy, an' it was a good time.

But now the mundane world is ready to slam me upside the head..so I gotta start the business of making phone calls..paying bills...blahhckk....

But what about that Bus?? ~ ! ~

I'm Gone .............

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

Today I'm thinkin' that it's a good day to just sit and do absolutely nothing - I mean, like truly do absolutely nothing.

Just take the day as it comes, look at the growth in the woods, listen to the wild birds surrounding us, and take in all that we're blessed to have.

Tom has some days off, so that is something that hasn't happened in over 2 years..an' even tho the days off were supossed to be his "vacation", it was spent moving us to the little cabin in the woods.

But now we're thinkin' on goin' to listen to some bluegrass music, sit around and laugh at funny things that we see...hear sounds that are new to us...an' generally take time to absorb what we have....which is time between us.

Something that has been neglected for far too long.

So, with the bluebirds singing in the pine trees out in the front of the cabin, and the mockingbird making sure everybody within hearing distance is aware he is HERE...we are going to go do something...but I'll tell ya about it later.......

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the picture of the side "yard" - and the wild dogwood tree that just takes my breath away -

The thing that I like about it the most, is the fact that it just stands out when in bloom, giving a breath of fresh air to all the green surrounding it. I was so thrilled when we bought the little cabin, and made the discovery of that wild tree. Plus some of the wildflowers that are growing along the base of the dogwood and some of the other hardwoods. Just wish the bloom time of the flowers was longer, but ya can't have everything........

I've got a canvas that is starting to take shape, and even tho I shouldn't have, I hauled off and bought a bumper sticker for the Bus - I think it's very appropriate for me AND the Bus -

Got if from Junk Gypsy's - "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History" -

Tom's probably going to bellyache about it, but LISTEN buddy - tha's pretty much how I view things - not well behaved one iota,an' by this stage in the game, it's probably a lost cause tellin' me I gotta BEHAVE -

Maybe it's like lookin' in the mirror an' sayin',

"Well, now, you DO have to come to grips with things, and grow up..."

Fat Chance. An' who wants to be all grown up and Tidy, neat an' Proper..

I think I tried one time, but I got a headache, so I went outside an' had a cold one...

LAWDY - don' tell my sunday school teacher I said that..........

But for now I gotta check on some painted papers an' make sure that some sketches are ready for some ink..

I'm gettin' there slooooooowly but surely ~ ! ~

I'm Gone

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Spring has indeed come along and made it's presence known along the shore - I am so amazed that the plants have taken off the way they have - a week ago there was hardly one bloom that had opened up - and within less than 7 days, they all have decided to pop open. The dogwood tree along the front of the road is just as wonderful as ever - the first year we were here, it didn't bloom this much - Guessing that with all the winter and early spring rains, the roots have been more than soaked, and the tree has responded right along.

The other picture that is worth mentioning, is the one where the Bus is peeking thru the plants - if you can tell, we have a wonderful collection of irises - the previous owner had a relative who worked with some nursery, so he was able to get plants that were either not sold, or were somehow "wrong" - and brought them to the owners - this spring has really shown just how those plants like to spread out - I've had several thru the years, but none of them spread like these have - I made sure last summer to water them really well while soaking the annuals I had planted around them - So the soil moisture has made them super happy from all the winter rains - and now they are making themselves at home. I just don't understand how they didn't spread this much before now...tha's one of those Botany questions I probably missed while taking the class in college...Ooops................

I'm feeling better today - Tom tho, nearly set me off when he called and asked.."Can you do something for me?" - I answered like I was kinda scared...
"Uhmm..sure..what? - Or should I ask?" -

"Could you bring the Dog back for me? - I miss her, an' I wanna see her when I come home from work today..."

Nearly went into a total crying jag again.

But I got thru it well enuf, an' decided that maybe the thing to do is plant a tree in her honor...My sweet friend Darcy had made that suggestion to me last week, and now with all the trees popping out with flowers, leaves and whatever, I'm thinking that a nice fragrant lilac tree would fit the bill. We have several spots where there needs to be something, so one of those would fill in nicely.

Thank you Darcy, for that sweet suggestion. Now I will look an' see which type I need to plant.

An' tomorrow I'll post the picture of the wild Dogwood tree along the back of our property - along with some pictures of wildflowers that have some HUGE flowers on them. I'm not sure of the name of them..but they bloom like crazy, spread all over the place, and make the area around the sheds nearly look tropical...most interesting.

But for now I'm off to do a new sketch..I'm slooooowlyyy gettin' back to my Art..jus' takin' it one day at a time, donchya know???

Lady of The Tulips

2010-04-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

> http://bloginterviewer.com/music/lady-of-the-tulips-lauri-perry ~~ Ah Ha ~ !! ~

Here's the link for ya'll - see what ya think, 'k?

I'm Gone.............

Lady of The Tulips