NAILED IT!

After church today, I stopped at Home Depot 

and bought some Behr Marquee paint in the color I thought

 I had picked out back in March! 

 Since I had the paint and a friend to paint it,

 I just went with it at the time

 but I haven't been thrilled with missing out

 on the sage green I wanted. 

 Well, this is the color I wanted and it's perfect.  I painted all day and will have the sore muscles tomorrow

 to prove it but I LOVE IT!  

Then in the evening I knit on the second sock, turned the heel and knit the ankle.  I am ready now to begin the leg ribbing. 

 I head to help Mary put the binding on her quilt today 

and I will bring the sock to work on while she stitches on the quilt!

 

A Kinda Birthday!

Matthew came and finished the pool area-it did need two coats.  That wonderful sunshine takes its toll.

Nyki made sure she left her mark on his work!

Look who Matthew brought with him this time----they couldn't believe they had to wait for their swim!  

The day was very, vary warm so it was a long, hard wait for them but they were troopers!                                       

After the okay from Dad with instructions to keep splashing to a minimum, in they got!

As for the birthday reference, it was one year ago today that I collapsed from a reaction to the Copaxone shot I was given to slow down the MS lesions.  The shot caused my body to go into toxic shock;  I took an ambulance ride I do not remember, I have only a few memories of being in the ER and then pneumonia quickly set in which landed me in the ICU.  Covid was just raising its miseries and so I was allowed no visits.  I am very grateful for the regained strength today because for months I doubted being able to get out of bed and walk alone ever again! 

Life is precious and family and friends are our riches!  

Celebrate life with me today! 

 God is good--L'Chaim!

 

Another Row

A friend had a branch fall from her cedar tree and she thought I might enjoy it.  Her young son asked for something real from it....

I cut the branch up into pieces and even split one that was already cracked-it had more damage inside.

I have only cut dried cedar and it wasn't fun.  I thought this branch would be easier to turn because it is still fresh but I was wrong-the wood is still hard to play with-it cracks easily and it is a bear to work with.  I made a little saucer and bowl for her son and am working on a little bowl for her but that is it--I'm over cedar!!!

Look at the Fringe Tree blossom!  It is about 10' across-it is very dry out so Bill is bringing a hose over to water this tree-it looks like it is struggling!

 I managed to finish painting the white shelving--it took several coats to look all better.  Now I have to cut and paint the shelf between the layers of shelving for a center rack--you will see what I mean when I do it and show you a picture.

I also finished the row I added to the sock scraps blanket---

Lena approves.

It is long enough to wrap under my feet and warm them up!

A Face Lift

I covered the cushions on the bench inside our front door

 but it wasn't enough of a perk.

I peeled off the old dark trim.

 (I had to use the heat gun to soften the glue) 

and sanded down the rest of the residue off.

Then I took the whole bench outside to paint it! 

 It took all three cans to cover the dark wood. 

 It was a beautifully warm day and the coats dried in no time.

I brought it in just as the sky darkened and the rain began!

  Yes, this was the look I was going for!

The print on the upholstery is kitchen-y without being kitchy!

See, it looks light and airy and new. 

 I'm pleased with the days work! 

 (the orange cat scratch/toy really goes well with the bench, too!) lol

 

Painting Takes Many Forms

I'm happy to present my fourth bowling ball painting project!

I would paint a section and let it dry;  repeating it for several coats.

It's been sitting on my sewing table and has served as a bit of PT for me for a week.

I took it down by the flag which is way out front last night, near the road; 

I hope it is there in the morning!

No, this isn't Pop Art!  

This painting has stared at me for a month and I haven't felt like it was working out like I envisioned.  

If it was a sweater, I would rip it out!

 I was listening to an artist on YouTube and he said the great thing about acrylic 

is that you can paint over a canvas if you aren't happy with it.

  BINGO!

 I laughed the whole time I squirted out the white paint. 

 Not a second of regret!

 

 I have a few more coats to go before I can try again! 

 So be it! 

 (if ripping out knitting is called tinking, what is covering over a painting? 

 Tniaping?!

I am desperate to do something in the sewing room so I found some flannel 

that was just a bit too small and added a strip of one of the fabrics I used on the front

 and pieced it in place so the backing is big enough! 

Then I loaded the layers on the frame so it will be there when I feel up to it!

My botany line and wash for the day! 

 A Chinese Foxglove!

A Gardening First!

I've been watching these red 'berries' on the ends of these three Christmas Cactus lobes.

Today, I looked up what they were--gotta love Google!

And indeed, they are berries--seeds from pollinated blooms! 

I don't know if it was the hummingbirds or the bees that pollinated the blooms

but I am thrilled to think that this happened!

I will try germinating these seeds--I've got a bit more research to do first!

How cool is that?  Have you seen this before?

My daily drawing and painting from that calendar.

More pinks...

I'm ready for some blues or purples...! lol

And a wonderful package arrived today!

 I couldn't wait to unwrap and sniff!

What a sweet way to say thank you for those masks I mailed to Araignee' !

Who says blog friends aren't 'real' friends?!

What You Hafta Do

 Our credit card was compromised when I went to a local store on Sat morning,

their card reader wasn't working properly and I had to swipe the card instead of using the chip.

By the time I was home ten minutes later, I had purchased electronics in California!

The fraud dept caught it and cancelled our card. 

 So yesterday morning, we had to take a trip to St A to get new cards!  

While there, we did some other errands.

I accomplished a lot of knitting during the ride!  

This sock yarn is great and I would recommend it!

 We stopped at our other favorite outdoor dining restaurant, The South Beach Grill, 

and had a very warm but delightful lunch! 

 It is a sweltering 97 out for most of the day and at 7pm it was still 96!

We don't cool off much even during the night but it was 77 when I woke up this morning-cool out!

For example, this is our sunrise.

The haze is what the Saharan Desert is bringing us.

Even though it is sunny out, there is a funny color to the day.

 I did find some of the paints I want for the next patriotic bowling ball project!

 And over the weekend, I did a bit of this-the groundwork for my next painting!

I've been watching YouTube videos on sketching and watercolor.

That was what I originally wanted to do when I started this art adventure 3 years ago!

I hope to have something for you tomorrow!

A Little of This and That

 I added the sparkle to the bowling/gazing balls--

but it drizzled all day and I didn't want it in the yard yet!  

 I not only cut out the last 5 blocks from the charm pack so they will be easy to grab and stitch.

 I put together a few more blocks! 

I am not going to want to finish this one!

The boys lap quilt is off the frame and ready for binding.

Just an Hour

 

Some more sunflowers....

with a kitty for company.

 The dining room table has become my art studio.

I usually paint standing up but I have no endurance for that so...

This was great fun to paint,

while an area is drying I head back into my recliner

and knit some more!

 I am working on this picture my son sent me in the Fall.

It is a view of Mt Rainier.

I am now working on the foreground...

when I watch a YouTube video, things go so quickly.

I think it has been a good lesson in patience to paint again.

 I also made another face mask in Bill's chosen fabric so he will have two.

The length of the elastic had to be longer for it to fit him well-note to self, 

men need to have larger sizes for masks to fit them well!

Church by social media this morning....I am missing everyone so much!

Typical Day

Here was my set-up for spinning yesterday-

my e-spinner has a cord that plugs into the car charger so I can spin on the go!

 My view was so pretty ,

the temperatures were just right and it was dry after all the rain of the last two days! (8") 

 I was able to ply both bobbins into yarn; 

 Jjst in time to pick up to go!

 And when we finished with the lunch and nap routine, 

I painted the bottom of the basin and the pedestal of the birdbath.

 When I laid down the old birdbath to paint it,

I discovered why it was always crooked;

this portion of the basin was chipped away in portions

and so I did a fill of concrete to level the portions out.

 Once this area was slightly set, I painted this, too.

Oh, yes, this is better!

I am working on the mosaic for this basin, 

stay tuned! 

 When I was finished with all the painting, 

napper was finished so we took a golf cart ride!

This is what all that rain does for the pond!

Filled past its banks!

(and we have a little 'gator in residence again....)