Trying to Keep Up!

Well here we are on another Monday, Summer is here and so is all the yard work! Sadly it has been super hard to get any yard work done around here because of the constant rain! Just when the grass has had a chance to dry out it rains again!!!

The good news is that with all the rain and being stuck indoors I have gotten 2 little 12" x 9" paintings done in the last week and here they are....(please forgive the bad camera resolution but I NEED a new one soon)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161741793502?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2648

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161741792264?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2648

The colors are much darker and rich in the originals but I have to manage with what I have for now so hopefully you can see past the photo quality. 

Almost all the proceeds from my art goes towards caring for my rescue cats so there isn't much left over for luxuries like cameras!

Hope you all are having a great day and enjoying the beginning of summer? 


Tina xo

This Year's Garden...so far!

Every year I am blown away with how things emerge differently due to the Winter just past or the Spring we are haves and that was it!ing. This year the rain once again changed the pattern I had gotten used to a few years ago. The warm up in January played havoc with my poor Forsythia once again and they failed to have those lovely yellow blooms I love so much. Once again it just grew green leaves and that was it! The poppies too were negligible and lasted a day or two and then dropped. Sad....
But hey the Irises held on and now the Daylilies are sending up flower stocks and getting ready to pop soon. As always the ever faithful Sunflowers are  are even more prolific than ever so soon I will have some scrumptious photos of those sweet garden friends. I love them because they attract the bees and when I see those little fellas working each day I feel like indeed "God is in His heaven and all is right with the world" !
 
 My adored Irises! I want many more in every color available because they remind me of ladies vintage dresses! Kind of shabby chic!

Lavender Irises

I do love my peonies, they are brave little souls and no matter where they were placed (haphazardly) they have thrived and put forth exquisite blooms each year.....

Peonies

Isn't she lovely?

A few years ago someone gave me a small piece of a plant they called American Bamboo. Now I am not sure that is what it is called everywhere else but since I know no better that is what I call it! It is an intrusive little beggar and has to be savagely cut back each year or it will take over the world, but it can be trimmed into a lovely little shady spot where one could place a yard chair and relax so she remains in her spot despite the work controlling her requires!

American Bamboo

American Bamboo

I am sure you have noticed there is massive amounts of weeding to be done and just as soon as the rain stops for more than 15 minutes I may get a chance to quite the jungle!

And finally for today the beloved and medicinal Comfrey, a favorite of mine and the bees (if the bees love it, I love it)!

Comfrey

 

 

 Well, well the sun is coming out and I may yet get my chance to work out there! So I leave you for the moment with a final little photo of one section of my temporarily neglected garden and go search for my garden gloves. 
I hope this Wednesday is kind to all and that something wonderful will happen for each one of you out there today!

Love 
Tina xoxo

Happy First Birthday Oliver!!!

This past June 9th was my precious grandson Oliver's first birthday! My son and daughter-in-law live in another state so I have only had the pleasure of actually holding this sweetie once on a lovely 5 day visit I had last November, but the memories will last forever!
So without further ado.....

Now I know that all Grandma's think their grandbaby is the most gorgeous bundle in the world but look at that face!!! To say my heart sings whenever new photos are uploaded on Facebook is a gross understatement. 
So expect to see lots of posts in the coming months of this little treasure because he is definitely the apple of this grandmom's eye!

Have a lovely day.....

Tina xo

"NEW ART" today's special!

Yes I love to paint and do just about anything where I can use my hands and mind to create something lovely! Today I finally finished a piece I have been working on for about a month on and off so without further ado.....

Lots of paper added to the surface before I started (I love texture) and then texture medium for more excitement! I then accented with fabric from the covers of old books and a crow from one of my original stencil designs! She is 12" x 16" and available right now on Etsy 

www.etsy.com/shop/OneWildSwan?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Have a super lovely Thursday!!!

Tina xo

POOR BUNNY CAT!

It has been a hectic week so far because one of my dear cats was poisoned on Saturday. I rushed Bunny to the vet and she checked him over and sent me home with antibiotics. I won't go into details but it was a scary couple of days. This morning, thank goodness, he is eating on his own again instead of me having to force feed him, and he wants to go back out to play (which is out of the question while he is on meds). I had many friends and family praying for him and I am sure that was what made the huge difference in the speed of his recovery.

Of course all my energy was focused on Bunny so not much else got done, but maybe today I can work on a few paintings I started and get back in the saddle..:)
Have a great finish to the week and God bless!

Tina xo

Where Was I?

This has been a strange and very challenging 18 months. I worked and agonized over every detail of my life and future and struggled to find the right balance. Finally I had to make a decision on where I wanted to be in 2-3 years and how I was going to get there. First challenge, get off my butt and move into action, start blogging again ( a definite positive in my life) and painting, creating, which led to reorganizing my home and my possessions. Finally I returned to my church life which I had neglected for a LONG time. I knew there were things missing in my life that would help me make sense of all the "stuff" that had been going on, stuff that was causing me to be miserable and giving me the feeling that I was merely spinning my proverbial wheels. So I went back to church, renewed old acquaintances there and started to look for the joy in life instead of letting myself be dragged down by negative people. I am not finished with the task of clearing the debris yet but I have made firm inroads into achieving my goals. I have missed the good friends I made here on Blogger and I hope you will remember me and continue to be my friend in the months to come! I am home!

So to get a good start on my new journey I painted a little painting for a friend's son, he is a penguin fanatic so I did a little piece of artwork for him to hang in his room at college...

I am working on new things and although it has been hard to make myself focus each day on what I wanted to accomplish this day, I have become a better person in learning to corral my restless urges. I hope everyone has been happy and healthy this past 18 months? I had worried so much that while I was wallowing in my issues many of you were going through huge challenges also that I was unaware of. But know that you were all in my prayers through it all and I hope as I visit your blogs I will find you well and happy!

With Love ...
Tina xoxo