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Oh, so much to show

August 20, 2022August 20, 2022Leave a comment

At the end of July we took our vacation to Frankfort Michigan. People always gather on the beach at sunset for the view. This was the best night that we made it to the show. It was good, but at times has been more spectacular.

Then dropping behind the last clouds that were very low and touching the water, not to be seen for the rest of the night.

One of my favorite art galleries is the Laughing Fish Gallery in Suttons Bay, Michigan. An hour from Frankfort to the east. So much handmade goodness to look at. It’s a mother and daughter run shop, and Shelly is the mother. She was in the shop that day and was working on the fish. She cuts them out with a band saw and then paints them. I think they are wonderfully unique. I had gotten the bottom one last year, her name is Agnes and then I purchased the top three. The top one is Sheldon then Jelly Bean and Bubbles.

They are so fun! I have them above the doorway going into the kitchen and dining area.

I had to buy new succulents and replant them. I had gotten new potting soil the first time but it had gnats in it or the little buggers were attracted to the soil, I am not sure. Oh, they were just so annoying. I tried to get rid of the insects and killed the plants instead. I found some Miracle Grow soil for indoor plants that is not supposed to draw the bugs. So far so good. These are two new ones.

The one on the right is new and I love the way it looks. The left one lived through my dilemma.

All three of these are new and doing wonderfully!

These two were leftovers and that cactus is just going every which way.

While on vacation we stopped at Gwen Frostic again. I was looking for something that I had picked up last year but they didn’t stock it anymore. I picked up instead these postcards with 15 of her images. I thought they were too small to just send in the mail so I had cut some pretty papers as backings and adhered them onto cards.

I used the far right one to send to a friend and just thought it turned out quite pretty. I am always a fan of her raccoon. Last year I picked up a mug with the image on it and also a pin.

Yesterday I received a new supply of Bath and Body Works. Sophie decided to take over the box and make biscuits in it. Just the right size for her. Cats cannot resist a box on the floor.

I also ordered a new supply of goats milk soap. Oh my goodness, it is so so so creamy. I first tried half bars to see if I liked the fragrances which are very nice and delicate. This order I purchased full bars and she also sends a thank you gift. This one is Goat Milk Facial Scrub and I enjoyed using it. They are a small business located in Indiana and here is their website. It is called the Simple Goodness Soap Company.

I have to share this beautiful, handmade candle rug. My friend Cathy who lives in Arizona made it and sent it and I was delighted. I can’t display it on a table because I will find a cat sitting in the middle of it. I may frame it and hang it. I love it so with the little stiches and small cut out pieces.

Lastly here are two paintings I just got completed and sent off to their owner. This is “Chelsie in the Kitchen”. Size 6 X 6

“Among the Flowers”. Their little 17 yo Yorkie passed away recently and they asked for some paintings that would include her. Size 8 X 8 They were very pleased.

So this next week on Wednesday August 24th I am scheduled for a back surgery. It has been a year full of surgeries and physical therapy. I do hope this is the last for a long while. It definitely is needed and will be a process in recovery. In the lower three lumbar discs I don’t have any cartilage, it disappeared, and the spine is compressing the nerves that go down my legs to my feet. The doctor is going to put three cages in between the discs to straighten me up because I don’t stand up totally straight and will get it up off the nerves, that will be very welcome. Spine surgeries are scary but the people who have had this done have said they were glad and were so much better. My life has been put on hold for the year and I am ready to get back to doing the things I like to do easily. So if you happen to think of me on Wednesday send some good thoughts my way. ❤❤ You will hear from me again to let you know how it went.

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It’s A Beautiful Morning

June 23, 2022June 23, 2022Leave a comment

I am up this morning just as the sun is slowly coming up and the sky is slightly brightening. I am a little later than usual because it is usually 5 am or before. It is 5:30 and that makes a big difference with the cat’s stomachs. They hear some rustling in bed and they are all rolling into the bedroom to see who is getting up. So, they get fed and new water put in their bucket and the boxes cleaned out for them to immediately use again. I pour my coffee in one of my favorite cups hand made by Kelly Pottery Design. I am very choosy about my mugs. The handles have to be roomy, nothing smalll. I like to have a firm grip on my morning coffee. She does wonderful, colorful and textured work and is also a delightful person. I became acquainted with her at a show last year and we had such a nice talk about almost everything! You can find her on Facebook at just Kellypotterydesign to find where her next show is.

Making my way out to the covered porch and it’s a little cool so I grab a towel that had been drying and slung it over my shoulders for the perfect warmth. Once the patio door is left open the cats gather around it and watch and sniff the air. They love it so. L to back…Sophie, Pooky, Lily.

Mr. Miggy usually first at the door. He is our largest, so much so that it is hard to have him on our lap and he is a real lap sitter. He is a lover, Pooky is his brother and we have Mama also (not Pictured) and Pavel (also not pictured.)

I absolutely love these kind of days, when everything is green and the farmers field is growing beans this year with the beautiful straight rows. The grass is green but if we don’t get more rain then it is on the verge of being brown. There is a wren singing loudly and in the distance is the soulful song of the morning dove on the neighbors roof. The robins are nearby doing their special chattering. The heron just took off to another close by pond. I love his stick legs straight back in flight. Of course there are the ever present sparrows on the ground looking for bug or moths. The killdeer just flew in over by the pond and I am wondering if there is a nest over there. There are rocks around the pond and would be a perfect hiding place for the nest. I hear the nonstop talk of the goldfinches. I need to fill my birdfeeder again and that would make the cats very happy because we have finches visit all the time. The road that goes through our little town is very busy. I can hear the constant movement of the cars and an occasional motorcycle with the radio turned up.

This is the third year that we have had the tree swallows build their nest and have their babies. We tore down the crappy one last fall and low and behold they showed up again in May. When we are out there they do a lot of swooping back and forth till they decide we aren’t going anywhere. Then they calm down. There are eggs up there and look closely you can see a little head sitting on the nest. Once in a while we find an egg on the ground like it accidently fell out or they dumped it out.

This one stopped by to see if the sitter needed anything, heck they might have even changed places. We often have hawks flying in the air, we have many that live in the trees. There is also a cardinal that flies from tree to tree with its signature song then Mr. Bluejay comes around too with his forceful cry. Well, I think I will end this because Tom has set up the sprinklers to give the grass a good soaking……tika tika tika whirrrrr. Think Happy

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Getting Outside

June 20, 2022June 20, 2022Leave a comment

So I had my first surgery on June 8th and I didn’t get around easily with my walker. Using the walker throughout the house was ok I just kept bumping into doorways and getting through doorways to go outside. We had some good friends stop by last week, they brought a favorite Italian restaurant for dinner and homemade apple crisp. It was fabulous to see them and the weather was nice so that some swam and others sat around the pool. Thank you for good friends. I wheeled my walker out with the help of Tom, he has been the best through this.

Yesterday on Fathers Day I decided that I was tired of walking with the monstrosity walker. I tested the leg and it didn’t hurt so I practiced walking by myself. It was working ok but I got pretty tired. I had some food to make for the holiday, scalloped potatoes, double thick chocolate brownies, hamburger patties with seasoning, cut up melon with blueberries. Got that done and sat and rested, everyone else took care of what needed to be done. I decided to just go back to my cane for the moment and it is easier to go outside. It feels great to be more mobile. The hip replacement has been easier than the knees. I am having another friend come tomorrow to take me to the doctor. Its a big day because I am getting my 31 staples out. We are then going out for a nice lunch.

This morning I went out to take pictures of flowers that I love and are so proud that they are blooming. The first picture above, I was shocked that the tiger lily was blooming. I think I planted it two years ago and didn’t see it last year and thought it was a goner. I saw this bright orange color in the landscaping and was happily surprised. The next picture was the hydrangea I planted last year and was happy that it made it and it looks like it will be pink. The next picture of the blue flowers always delight me when they bloom. The next picture is my husband Tom yesterday just enjoying himself, sitting back and doing what he wants to do.

It was so nice to all be together and I love this picture of my guys. Sam -Tom-Kevin. I hope you also had a great Father’s Day.

The next two pictures are made with Acrylic Ink and High Flow paint.

I love the color in this one and doodles with Poska Pens and white acrylic ink.

The last is just imitating some Georgia O’Keefe. Her painting is on the right and mine is the left.

Thanks for checking in.

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All is well, making decisions

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022Leave a comment

This morning was the first sunrise that I have photographed. So, so uplifting.

This weekend Tom and Kevin took a quick trip to Detroit to Little Cesars Area to choose seats. Tom is getting a small season package for the Red Wings next year. He chose some good seats for us and I am looking forward to it. There were all kinds of things to do and they also got to tour the Redwings Clubhouse. I wondered if is smelled like a clubhouse of sweaty players and Tom said it smelled good.

I thought this was a good one. He claims he is a Blackhawks fan. Ha!

This is the time of the year where my little iris bloom. They are doubling now and are so sweet. I have a perfect small canvas that I will paint these.

These have faded some, last year they were that dark purple all over, but still so pretty.

I have been doing research on my back problem and educating myself better. Since my knee replacement my legs keep swelling, not horribly but need to keep it under control. Our doctor prescribed a diuretic to help take care of this problem. There was something in it that my body did not like, a days worth of terrible GI problems. Kicked my butt. This was the second try and my body didn’t like the different med either, rash and itching that time. I have had an echocardiagram and a EKG and all is well there, so it is not a circulation problem. I am just going to have to wear compression socks daily. I am wearing them approx. four hours per day and it has made a big difference. I have ankles again. Here are my fashionable socks that look like I’m golfing. I am going to get more and after the hip replacement they have told me to bring tight work out pants to wear because they will help with the swelling. I am also picking out my walker. I just borrowed a walker with my earlier surgery but I will need it for two surgeries now so I am doing a purchase. Do I get double wheels or singles? How heavy duty should it be? (I won’t be riding on it for gosh sakes.) Do I pay for the easy releases to fold it up quickly? Such decisions. Where I am looking they are not coming in colors, just steel color. I think pink with flowers would be nice. I would paint it but I don’t want it to chip off and look tacky.

This will take you to an explanation of my back problem and a little video. You get an extra point if you can say the word. I stumble over it but the explanation is spot on. I can see why I cannot stand up straight. I have faith it will get better.

I can’t sleep on my back or my right side, just the side with the bad hip. It doesn’t hurt, unless I turn over. The suppressed nerve makes me yell out loud in pain. I will probably have to sleep on the couch, sitting up for a few days or maybe weeks after the hip surgery. I am not supposed to bend my hip any more than 90 degrees.

My hip probably happened because I had been compensating how I walk with the bad knees. The back has been coming on for a while, but I just thought a cortisone shot once in a while would take care of it. It took an MRI and an X-Ray to discover it all.

I will be having the hip replacement on June 8th, and I will be coming home that same day if all goes as planned.

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Some Sad News

April 28, 2022April 28, 2022Leave a comment

The other day I went to the orthopedic doctor to talk to him about a pinched nerve in my back. I haven’t had a really good nights sleep for a few months. In October I had a double knee replacement and I couldn’t sleep well until they healed. I thought that because I had to sleep in a chair, and it wasn’t a recliner that my nerves in my back became inflamed and I may need a cortisone shot. I had an x-ray and MRI and went in to see what he found out.

So much more than we expected. He said I needed a fusion on my lower back and a left hip replacement, it is bone on bone. I have had a few days to let this soak in, I had pictured using my new knees this summer and happily walking all over the place. I have had more problems than I expected with my new knees, so I thought, my left leg limped and was weak and hurt so much when I slept on that side. I have had pain going all the way down my left side and I can’t stand up straight and can’t sleep on my back.

I have made the decision to withdraw from my shows and get the surgeries and take the time to heal and just begin to feel good. Going to shows and putting up a tent, being out in the heat, dealing with bad weather, all is hard work and I am not up to it.

I will still be painting and offering everything through my website and I hope and hope that good people will fall in love with my work and buy from me through my shop. I will still be involved in the Artist Studio Tour on October 1, 2022. I will have my studio open and will be excited to see everyone.

This has been coming on before my knee surgery and it took that to bring it to the forefront. I am saddened that I have had to withdraw but we will go on.