Channeling *Chicken Little*

Once upon a time a foolish girl headed out with her camera on a very hot (97 degrees) afternoon, with bleach on her hair, to snag a few photos of flowers.
But she looked up and saw a passing cloud with the sun and thought, "Gee, how pretty!"

(and actually, it was!)
Then she wandered some more and looked up again and thought, "Gee, that doesn't look as nice, but I'll take a photo anyway...."

(and it wasn't as nice...it was a little stormy looking)
So she was smart enough to cut the bleach job short and get it all out before the possibility of loss of power, as the weather had the feel of a storm.
Later, this is what she saw, and should have been in the house, but the bleach had affected her brain, so out she went, camera in hand!

"My, those look like scary fingers reaching across the sky....."
And they did. Only to be followed by;

This.....and.....

This....and....

THIS!!!
(and those last three photos? no, she should NOT have been out at all, as the winds had changed and the storm was bringing in a smell that meant business!)
Everything was black as night and just like Chicken Little, she was running around, though taking photos due to lack of sense, and thinking all the while;
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
AND IT DID.

Happy Sunday from a very foolish girl......


Pax....

A Bit Weathered.....

....But still lovely!

For any of you wondering, we were not blown off the map; we might FLOAT off but everything is okay.

I was out (as usual) in the weather recording the moments.

And there was a lull in the storm when I noticed this interesting composition the rain had made~~bowing the poppy and everything wet and lush and looking different. My garden is an alien landscape now.

I have a few projects in the  works and will be in and out as I can!

Miss y'all!!!

Pax....

Is it Monday again???? (A.K.A. Monday-MishMash)

Lovely as those clouds are, they are of course clouds that produce---you guessed it---more storms. I am storm weary and yesterday the heat and humidity was to the point I was flat out all day with a migraine. I had managed to make it to church and home before things got active in the hydrological way.......

....they do look soooo pretty. And they have made everything soooo green! There is no keeping up with lawn nor flowers nor weeds. This is a year that I admit defeat and the season is theirs, at least until the humidity drops. Even in the early morning and late evening, it is too stagnant to be outside working.

Of course, the flowers are loving it. The second round of dames rocket in the foreground, one of my very pretty day lilies in the background. The whole clump needs digging and resetting but not this year. I think I would prefer to breathe, thank-you-very-much.

We are having the heat of August combined with the storms and humidity of early May----it is an unsettling combination.

Even in the house, with the A/C blasting, I am pretty useless.

Saturday it occurred to me that I had a reception to attend, and one where I needed to go clean and coiffed, and NOT have my nails looking like *artists nail*.......y'all know what that one is. Those lovely multi-colored things that scrape paint and everything else. Well, I grabbed my manicure set and my French Manicure Polish and was going to town, only to discover the white polish had turned to molasses in January. Oh crud! What do I do???

Next best thing? (even better actually.....)

Golden white fluid acrylic to the rescue!

And I can promise, you will never see these hands looking this good again.......
Actually, I will never bore you with a photo of my fingers again unless I do something stupid and have the hand in a cast! LOL!!!!
I will be back to moderating comments due to the pervy-creeps in cyberland that have nothing better to do with their time than come to my blog. Tried it without it for a few days, but here they are again. I hope the dithering dolts know they are turned in each time.....I can give them that much attention. Why Blogger flat out does not disable any linked text in a comment is beyond me; it would make it easier for us bloggers.....but.....I don't run it and heaven knows they have made enough changes you have to squirm your way around now.
Okay, those are my official brain dribblings for the day; I have a load of work on my plate due to a lost weekend, so will visit and chat when I can
Have a great one everybody!!!

Pax...

Between The Raindrops....

(just a teaser of the final work---top of the canvas)

....popping in to say hi and no, we did not get blown away to the merry old land of Oz, but then the day isn't over either.
I had planned to have the final post up about the current collage piece; got most of the text saved yesterday afternoon, took photos and then the weather rolled in and I decided *off and unplugged* was safer than sitting here trying to load photos and getting electrocuted! Hopefully I can integrate the pix I took into the words I wrote later today and have the post up tomorrow morning.
It will be long, with quite a few photos, and I am really praying Blogger doesn't start eating them like last time......what a nightmare.
But other than varnishing, the piece is done (I think!) and the decisions left will be satin or gloss varnish or both, some on different elements. This is a good place to be with it; giving it a days rest and looking with fresh eyes tomorrow for anything I might have missed or want to add to a bit.
One thing I noticed as I worked was the color of warm yellow/red I used kept reminding me of something and sure enough, I finally remembered; betadyne. And some parts had that lovely old stain left from mercurochrome---who is old enough to remember that being a staple in first aid kits and being swabbed on cuts, scrapes and bloodied knees? (I think I was some shade of it peretually when I was little.....)
I assume maybe I choose colors subliminally? I don't know.
You decide tomorrow.

Pax.

Welcome Aboards and Why I Need Custodial Care.......

First off, Welcome to new followers that I have neglected to post a happy and heart Hello to! Forgive me....age and cabin fever are taking their toll.

This is, for the most part, an artless post, other than the photos, taken at approximately 11:00 a.m. yesterday. The snow was coming down very heavily, and I, in my infinite wisdom, found it too hard to resist just walking on the porch to snag a few images. Up by the house it was clear; how could this hurt? What trouble could I get into?

My favorite vista, across the road....quickly becoming obscured from the snow swirling in from the East. Beautiful, but I know those Nor'Easters bring lots of the white stuff.....

My glass hummingbird feeder, that should be in the house, wearing a lovely white topknot and a bit of a white kiss on the feeding flower. This, this bright bit of red, was what drew me out. It must have been my inner-magpie responding to the shiny tid-bit......

Then I got brave and decided to walk on around the porch (large, L shaped) where there was snow, but hey.....I have a cane and I am being careful, right? No harm.....just take my time. The pines really showed off the weather continuing to roll in at an alarming pace.

And not to be forgotten, my favorite tulip tree, covering with snow. I was at the very end of the porch, having naughty thoughts about stepping off and going out in the yard. As the title says, I need custodial care. I need a leash that only lets me go so far and then reels me back in.

Quickly.

Before more stupid ideas come, and they always do......

What stopped me from further *adventures* was the fact that the bottom of my shoes were so caked with snow, I was having trouble balancing, even with the cane. So it was back indoors for me.

And now the fun part. Why, you may ask, do I want to see a photo of your shoes?

Because, gentle readers, I stepped in and my feet immediately FROZE TO THE DOORMAT. Yep, couldn't move. Couldn't get the shoes off, couldn't get the snow off, did NOT have the phone (all thebraincells were obviously not working)---I stood there, stuck, in every sense of the word! And I knew if DH got wind of this, I would be in deep something-or-other, because I'm not---repeat NOT---supposed to be out when he isn't here, or someone semi-competent.

There I stood, cussing, and working up enough hot air that something must have loosened the shoes from the grabby doormat. I immediately stepped over to my good, wool, hall runner and did a backwards scoot that looked much like a pooch when it has a nether region that needs scratching. It was ugly. It was funny. It was on my BEST RUG!!!!

So the lesson is, maybe I should listen to DH.

Or get the leash with the choke collar.

I am thinking he, if he reads this---and sometimes he does, would vote for the second....  :-)

Have a day with all options open to you, and no *getting stuck* in any way!!! LOL!!!

I bid you, from my humble, warm casa/prison.....

Pax.

Should things get quiet here....

......don't worry. We have some seriously cold weather coming in and usually the broadband goes down with the frigid temps. I noticed today that the internet was not working properly and I could not get the comment box to connect to reply. But I could read you all!
Therefore....if there is silence, I have NOT been doing something I wasn't supposed to and bunged myself up. Just making that clear. I am behaving. >:-\
It's just the weather......pffffft!!!
(all I wanted was snow, not the North Pole....)
Snuggle up and stay warm y'all!!!

Pax.

Lazy, Rainy Monday

........sigh........

Sleeping in is a wonderful thing, especially when you have needed it, and the sleep was good sleep. Of course, getting up and remembering that the blog post you were going to do the evening before is not up and you can't remember what it was, well, is pretty much life as usual around here.

Normally I am very meticulous about this stuff; I may even have the next day's post in the can by afternoon so I don't have to try and type AND think too much in the a.m. I like coffee and comment replies....there is something relaxing about it.

However, today is a numb-brain day; it's raining, I have a mess of work that sort of got pushed aside yesterday due to too much time spent watching a movie, starting a new pair of socks and then seeing the Yankees win. GO YANKS!!!! Then I wandered off to snoozy-poo land, never once giving a thought to the blog. Well, I did, I was going to post the Noro socks that are done but I had to try them on and couldn't get my leg hoisted up into the usual *sock photographing position*.

I am a sinner indeed.

Forgive me.

Frankly, I need forgiveness for a lot of omissions of late---people I forgot to include in something, blogs I haven't made comments on, e-mails I have not properly answered, you name it. I've sort of gone into this zone of blinders on and too much to do.

I guess, although I hate to admit it, the thought of surgery in December is weighing heavy and worse than that is the work that must, has to, absolutely NO CHOICE, needs to be out of here by the end of November.

And I am in the normal *Mid-October-Funk*, which I am sure all artists have a time of year they go through this. I should schedule it on the calender.....it would make life easier, eh?

So this is a desperation post; maybe tomorrow there will be some gleaming tidbit of humor or knowledge or fantastic art. (and where are you borrowing any of that from Anne? Hmmmm?)

Never mind......

It's the start of a new week--go enjoy it, go be creative and take advantage of the fading days before the cold of the year!

I bid you....

Pax.

P.S. And I have done it again...forgotten official WELCOMES to new followers...I am just TOAST! Welcome! Normally it's not this disorganized in blog-land....my studio? That's another story!

Welcomes! And the beauty of water......

First off, a happy WELCOME to some new followers; hope you hang with me while I work on a large sewing project. That's when photos fill the gaps! ;-)
We have had drought here, and when rain finally arrives, there is something exceptionally beautiful about the droplets on the plants. Suddenly everything is green and alive again and it is too good not to record with the camera.
My tiger lily, above, with delicate reflections in the little water globes......

......puddles on the broad leaves of a plume poppy, sitting all proper and upright! These plants go back to the original settlers and are amazing structurally. They spread......so not a favorite of some gardeners. They are in the same family as blood root, a tiny cousin.

The remaining bell shaped blossoms of one of my hosta varieties, a bit droopy but still delightfully delicate and elegant with their rain bonnets on.
Hopefully you all will have a good week, some relief from the heat and some rain if you area needs it. I do find shooting the pics in the morning rather interesting, as I end up as wet as the plants........
Have a creative week; look for the beauty out there!

Pax.

Is it just ME......??????

....or is anyone else not enjoying this hotter than Hades weather that is going around?
Yesterday was a complete nothing done day. Even though I am in the A/C, it's sort of like the barometric pressure that comes with the heat saps any strength you might have left. Oh I've done little odds and ends:

Found the pack of poster board for banner patterns
Once again made myself blind trying to find items for trim on line
Slept off a mild headache
Didn't learn the first time and was back again looking for trim on line (stupid!)
Ignored all the housework other than minor cooking
Laid on the couch watching a bad movie and was too lazy to get up to change to something else (though the ending was an interesting twist)
I even turned the computer OFF.

Yes, you read that right----O-F-F.

I am in the summer doldrums, right when I need to be hopping to it. Now, generally it means I whine for a few days/weeks (who's counting! well, besides my gentle readers....) and then I'm right back at it hard, but it is always---and I do repeat ALWAYS---when I need to get work done the most.
I've ordered most of what I need for the banner project, have the studio somewhat in order, and what isn't is only a matter of a couple of hours to fix, and half of me is ready to hit it.
The other more belligerent half is pouting and stomping about, kicking things, fingers in ears, refusing to respond. So it must be the weather.......really......it must.
I hope where ever my readers are today you have cooler temps than us and have a cooler approach to getting things done. As for me and my Southern Blood, I think we'll languish in the shade with some sweet tea and a smarmy novel, or maybe a medical text. That's my idea of a good time! ;-) Hey, keeps me out of the tattoo parlor!!!
Stay cool, stay creative!

Pax.