Middle May Musings....

I can hardly believe it's the middle of May already.

Mother's Day was wonderful  here,

hope it was for you too.

We are finally getting a bit of rain,

and my Sage on the side of the house shows it.

The saying goes....

when the sage blooms like this,

you will receive rain within three days.

This time it was true.

 I planted a passion vine on our new fence.

It's already blooming.

This is one of the blooms,

and it has about 5 more buds right now.

But there is some kind of caterpillar on the vine.

Anyone know what this is?

My poor hibiscus only blooms one bloom at a time.

It was trampled on and eaten on before we got the fence up,

so I guess it's good that it's even alive.

______________

As far as what I'm reading now....

well... I was reading

Living on the Spine,

but it gets pretty graphic (sexually) several times in the book,

so I've put it down for now.

I'm not a prude or anything,

but I was expecting something else from that book.

I thought it was about her adventures of living in the wild.

I guess I better read the reviews better next time.  LOL

It's not a bad book, just different.

Some of her words about the birds and the mountains are like poetry,

so I do enjoy that part about it.

Oh well....

Now I'm reading

Still Here

by Ram Dass.

He wrote it after he had a stroke,

so it is pretty interesting so far.

_________________

I'm getting ready for an online class,

given by Jennifer Rizzo.

The class is how to make your own

Santos Cage Dolls.

Starts May 27th, if you are interested.

Should be lots of fun.

And it's only nineteen dollars.

__________

Hope you are enjoying your May days!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Tea Day Musings

 Every morning

I've been having a cup of Yerba Mate,

and for Tea Tuesday I think I will do the same.

My husband painted my wire tea cups

that I found at the thrift store.

I'm using them as candle holders today,

but I know they will have many more uses

around the house.

I've been in the garden this week,

as the beautiful weather draws me outside.

One of my new plants is this Rio Dipladenia.

As midday brings warmer temperatures,

I go inside and enjoy my new organized studio space.

This week I designed a bookmark for myself,

using Photoshop.

 The red dragonfly is part of one of my paintings

of the real red dragonfly that I saw once.

Then I added some quotes.

By late afternoon, each day,

 temperatures drop once again, and

 my husband and I sit in the yard,

watching the birds,

laughing and talking about our days,

 about getting older,

and just about life in general.

I did catch this photo of a little hummingbird.

We have probably a dozen or more around the feeders.

Time spent in the garden

is like therapy...

 Creating art is like therapy.

Having a balance of being alone,

and being with others

is important to me.

 All these things in my life

 have brought me to the conclusion that

I need to....

  ...let people know how much I love them much more often

... let family and friends know how much they mean to me

                                    … put words to my thoughts, and to slow my thoughts down
                                                              … let go of the past
                                            …accept where my life's choices have brought me
                                                          … just be in the moment

and if only in my solitude and my thoughts...

 to just...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne



Wu-Yi tea and musings

Happy Tea on Tuesday!

This morning I am enjoying a cup

of zesty lemon tea made by

the Wu-Yi Tea Co. out of Austin, Tx.

I found the hand painted lidded cup

and the linens while thrifting

awhile back.

Wu-Yi tea is named after the Wu-Yi mountains in China. 

 This is said to be some of the most sought after tea in the world.

I love their blue leaf logo.

I always drink hot tea early in the morning.

Then I switch to iced tea. 

Most tea I drink is decaf or herbal teas.

To read more tea posts,

visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

You will also find lots of creative items

when you visit Kimmie's blog

and Etsy shop.

***

MUSINGS

Well, tropical storm Don was a dud,

so we are still in a drought, big time.

The so called eye went right over

us here at Baffin Bay.

We were so hoping for some rain,

but not this time. 

We are still in hurricane season

until November 1st.

***

The Art Center for the Islands director told me yesterday

that the Barefoot show and sale was a success.

I took my Merit show items over

and picked up what I didn't sell at the Barefoot show,

which was only a few things.  Yippee!

Now the reception for my Merit Show

will be August 5th.

I'm so excited!

***

Soon I will be attending

another plein-air watercolor event,

out of town.

My instructor Dolores Price will be there

 and will be giving a demo.

The day includes a salad luncheon.

It should be lots of fun!

Future photos here!

***

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Elizabeth Barton plus my musings

'Art and Quilts, cogitations thereon' 

is the name of the blog written by Elizabeth Barton.
http://elizabethbarton.blogspot.com/

She says in one of her posts....

"We need some repetition in our lives, rhythms like the rhythm of the seasons, the daily routines and rhythms of our lives…and we do need to be able to predict what will happen…But again, a little variety and syncopation keeps us interested and alert. “They” used to think that human beings required perfect balance – stasis – to function best, but now it’s realised that being a little off kilter is actually much better for you! Don’t always stand 4 square on 2 feet – try balancing on one leg for a while!"

Being a artist and instructor,

her posts touch on subjects

that are all very interesting.

To check it out
click on the link above and

just go to her archives in her sidebar

to find what interests you.

***

MUSINGS

It has been a wonderful week.

Most of my most recent posts are ones

I wrote beforehand

and then scheduled to be published

on a certain day.

This makes it much easier,

and I don't spend as much time every day

on the computer.

Who wants to be inside

when the weather is so gorgeous,

and the birds are calling.

I have noticed that many out there

have stopped their blogs,

and some don't post very often.

Doing your posts ahead of time

really helps, in my opinion.

But it is most important to enjoy

and experience your everyday

however you can.

***

I spent 6 days with my sister Lanette,

and yes, she did laugh when she saw

her picture on my 'sing' inchie art.  LOL

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/04/sing.html

I hardly ever got on the computer those 6 days.

Went to Corpus with my friend Karen,

and my sister,

and had such a fun time.

Ate lunch at the veggie Tango Tea Room

where they say

"It takes tea to tango."

Will get photos next time!
Learned about the first Friday art walk downtown,
and will be going next month.
I'm excited!

***

I finally got time to try out the

caraway tea bread recipe and

it turned out wonderful!

Here it is cooling on the counter...

I couldn't wait to try it!

It was great just by itself!

The castor sugar makes a big difference.

To try it,

go to my post...
http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/03/caraway-tea-and-bread-recipe.html

***

I'm working on another watercolor
for my merit show in August.
I will show my progress tomorrow for
Paint Party Friday.
You can see lots of wonderful art
at Paint Party Friday.
If you are an artist,
why don't you join us.
Just click on the logo in my sidebar.
***
It's that time of year for...
art walks,
Botanical Garden events,
the Sand Fest,
Farmer's Markets!
All great fun!
Hope you visit again for photos of all!

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

A Little of This and That

This is my friend Marilyn.

She raises goats with her husband,

and they have 17 new spring babies,

plus three that were born yesterday.

This little one happens to be the tiniest one of the bunch.

She is not more than one hour old here.

Marilyn just got finished cleaning her up,

and letting her suckle on her mama.

Now Marilyn will take care of her,

and keep an eye on her

until she gets stronger and can be put back

with the others.

I get goats milk for my soap from Marilyn.

We meet at her house on Wednesday mornings

for a little 'stitch and rip' group also.

***

Remember this piece that I painted?

I didn't like the way I did the mountains.

Now, don't be shocked!

I took it to class,

and Dolores told me to cut the top off,

so I did!

Then I turned that piece

upside down.

So, now it looks like this!
The photo came out glary,
but it really looks great!

I love my new abstract piece!

It measures 16 by 20 inches.

What do you think?

Things I've learned in class

1. don't be afraid to crop your pieces

2. turn your piece upside down, it may surprise you

3. you can fix anything

***

This is what I use for my castor sugar.

It is from the 1930's I believe.

It is actually part of a S/P set,

but I don't use them for that anymore.

Some of you have ask me about castor sugar,

which is used in the

caraway tea bread recipe

in my previous post here..

Castor sugar is just superfine granulated sugar.

You can make your own

by putting regular sugar into a food processor
(it can scratch your food processor container)

or coffee mill and processing it until

it is fine...not as fine as powdered sugar.
Powdered sugar is processed differently,
it's pressed or something like that.

That's all there is to it.

***
Also, someone ask if my previous post was my last
Tea on Tuesday post
because of the way I phrased it.
I should have said
"previous"
not "last" in that post.
Sorry about the confusion.
I LOVE Tea day!
I will be continuing for awhile.
So, if you don't know about
Tea on Tuesday go see
 Kimmie.

Trite???? musings

I have heard people use the word 'trite' a lot lately.

I happened to make a comment

and someone told me that it was

"trite but true".

Then just two days later,

I overheard someone tell

someone else that very same thing.

Is 'trite' the new word of the year or something?

Above is the dictionary meaning of trite.
It basically means DULL.

Jane Dunnewold, the famous fiber artist,

has a wonderful article regarding the word 'trite'.
Click here to read her interesting article.

In my opinion,
Jane Dunnewold is anything but 'trite'.
Her book is...
Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design for Fabric



To keep from feeling 'trite' I write down goals
and constantly try to learn or do something new.
Go here to read my New Years goals.

Usually my goals are centered around creativity
and/or learning
and most of my goals are simple things.

Big goals are reached
by accomplishing a combination
of smaller goals.

This year on my recent birthday,
 I thought about this...
I will do 58 new things during my 58th year.

My life is simple,
has some routine,
but that doesn't mean it's 'trite'.
I guess the meaning of that word
is all in the viewpoint of the person.

Savor the Day!
Yvonne