The Innocence of a Child

The innocence of a child is quite amazing.  

She is a pro at brushing her hair and it is getting so very long.

 We had Snicklefritz Friday night and it went very well.

Then Saturday morning as the air began to warm I wanted to take her outside to look at some of the flowers in our backyard.  Yes, yes, we have mirrors on our fences.  We got the idea from a local restaurant and since then The Hubby has picked up random mirrors at estate sales and the flea market.  I LOVE them and so does Snicklefritz.  The yellow flower is a shrub called a Japanese Kierra.  My greatgranny called it a Mexican Rose for years and made it so hard to find until I saw it in an edition of Southern Living a few years ago.  If you buy one get the double NOT the single.  It blooms off and on all summer and especially during hot times.  

 She loved smelling all the flowers during her exploration of the yard.

 My fabulous lilacs.  LOVE their fragrance.

 Had to buy some inside stuff for the family that is descending on us for Easter dinner today.  20 in all will be sitting at our many tables today.

HAPPY EASTER!

Sunday Doin's

Yesterday was a wonderful day as I got to STAY home and enjoy resting.  Yes, I know I'm getting ready to have about 6 weeks of "resting" but I needed to be home, in my yard.  I finally planted some of my pots before the rest of the plants I bought died.  I piddled in my yard and found these lovelies.  My pink peony was blooming!  I really wanted a double one but I love this just the same.  Sadly, we may miss the blooming of the ones at the cabin.  Not sure if we will get there before my surgery next week.

Then as I moved on to the tomatoes, I was pulling weeds and look, LOOK what I found.  One of my Juliette tomatoes had babies!  Yeah!  I'm not much on small tomatoes, i.e. cherry, but these Juliette tomatoes are quite yummy, and prolific.   

Well, on to my week.  It will be a week of trying to get all done at the office and Friday payroll.  Stock up in the refrigerator and freezer.  I may try to get some casseroles in the freezer so The Hubby can feed me.  Hopefully he doesn't feed me too much BBQ, his go to pick up food.  

Favorite Day of the Week

Tuesday's are my favorite day of the week!  You want to know why?  It's because it is painting day.  Actually, I should paint everyday and I try, but Tuesday's are class painting day.  I love class day because I get to paint with my friends, friends that inspire and encourage, critique, and are my FRIENDS!  Since 2009 I have taken a 2 hour class every single Tuesday but I have decided that I'm taking 4 hours now, a double class.  Double the class, double the fun!

Lunch today we all went to eat and on the table were these beautiful gerber daisies.  I took a picture...

went back to class and started something new. 

After a full day in front of the easel I headed home and realized that I had forgotten to thaw something.  I was hoping that I had some frozen chicken breasts in the freezer and luck was on my side.  Then I decided that it was out to my garden to have some fresh stuff.  This was the first pickings from the garden this year. 

Wilted lettuce salad, new potatoes and chicken.  Life is good, my life is good...actually it's GREAT!

Winter WHAT!

Okay, I want to know WHO turned the winter back on.  This past weekend was awesome at the cabin.  We've missed several weekends there so took full advantage to get away and see friends there.  The weather was so gorgeous and we even slept with the windows open both nights.  Awwww, I so love spring.  I have a lot of stuff to do in the yard there but just couldn't get it together to do anything but sit and enjoy the spring, or what I thought was spring.  The weather people started saying that along with the rains last night the temperatures were going to drop and I mean DROP!  So on the way back to town I was bound and determined to get some more wall-o-water's to protect my tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.  Luckily I stopped by Daddy's and he had three of the things I had given him a couple of years ago that he was not going to use.  Yippee, I only had to buy 6 more.  In all I have 18 wall-o-water's protecting my crops and yesterday when I arrived home I immediately set them up!  Bring it on Mother Nature, I'm ready.
Interesting conversation this weekend at our cabin on Saturday night.  Remember I have been growing my hair long.  "My your hair is getting long.  How long are you going to grow it."  My response, "Well, you know I had it down to here (I point to my butt) when I met The Hubby." Someone pipes up, "Long hair on older women looks stupid." Uhhhhh, I kind of was taken back and didn't know what to say.  Oh well, long hair here I come anyway.  Love the honesty of my friends, I think.  LOL!

Random 5 Friday

Times flies when you're having fun...

Random 5 Friday is here again!

1.  Sleep can be overrated, yet I NEED it! This week I had another of those sleepless nights.  Is it because I'm older, much older.  I see those commercials and magazine articles saying that it's a real problem for OLD women!  Hey, I'm not OLD!

2.  Had a neat experience while in art class this week.  I was painting away on my 4'x 6' project "Sunrise" when some guy walked through and came around my easel saying he just had to see what was on the other side.  He gasped and started saying how much he loved it and the colors and that it would look perfect on his wall in his home in Dallas.  I had to to tell him that it was sold and he wanted to see some of my impressionist flowers I do.  He gave me his card and wants to possibly paint him another HUGE painting like this...(this is not finished yet).  The whole room, including my instructor became quiet listening to our exchange of cost and stuff.  WHAT!

3.  Think my tiller is going to get a workout tomorrow afternoon.  Paint in the morning and till in the afternoon!  

4.  Cuteness = Rio

5.  Thinking of finding a spa to go to again.  The Hubby is going to Australia in a few months and the last time he took a big trip (Africa) I went to Lake Austin Spa!  Spa time!

Gardening Muscles

I finally was able to till the garden after all the rain we've been getting.  Then it was a finding time to hit the greenhouse for tomato plants and etc.  

Tuesday, finally I headed out and probably bought more plants than were necessary, but I did it.  

Then yesterday I did it!  I got in there and played in the dirt. 

Plotted out where I wanted it all to go.  Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash a few herbs, I was ready to make it happen!

All done!  OUCH...this morning I got up and realized I activated the gardening muscles.  

Little Rio is now just about 7-1/2 months old and growing like a weed. 

She is teething, eating a few fruits and veggies and is Miss Personality.  She will be crawling before we know it and walking is just around the corner.  What a joy, yet sometimes a headache for her sweet mama and daddy as sleep is sometimes elusive.   

Spring Is In The Air

Last night I went to Broken Arrow to Main Street Tavern to meet some of my fellow high school classmates to continue the planning stages of our 40th class reunion.  WHAT!  I can't believe it has been nearly 40 years.  The place was packed but they set up a table outside and the evening was just absolutely perfect, and quiet.  There was a light jazz band inside which made it a bit difficult to chat.  It was kind of surreal to be sitting on Main Street eating salad.  The last time I ate food on Main Street was at probably a Rooster Day and it was more than likely a corn dog as we walked, meandering through the crowds.  Anyway, we have a date, Sept 20, 2014, let the party planning begin!

The weather yesterday made it into the 70's and today will be pushing 80!!!!!!  Boy, I'm so very excited for the warmer temps and SUNSHINE!  Tomorrow I "plan" on tilling my small garden space in preparation for onions and potatoes...I have to go get onions!  WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO  it's garden time!  I seem to be in better spirits, don't you agree!

Melancholia

Melancholy...that is what I am feeling lately.  I'm not sure if it is spring fever or just flat out depression.  I just spent 30 minutes re-reading my blog posts from the beginning, 2006, after the death of my best friend and just before the death of my mother.  I feel in a rut in a way and I should be happy.  I'm having great fun babysitting with dear Rio and am excitedly awaiting the visit from the youngest daughter and her boyfriend next week.  Yet, I can't seem to read or paint or have a smile on my face.  What is up with that.  I'm just kind of blah!  I'm going to blame it on old man winter and they cold.  Yet today and the past couple of days have been nice and SUNNY!  I'm so ready for spring and summer and I'm ready to NOT WORK!  In fact, I'm playing hooky this morning when I know I should be at the office.  Here I sit at home typing away putting off the shower and packing up of art supplies for class today.  Even that doesn't make me happy.  I don't have anything inspiring me to paint and that is a real bummer.  I've got to get in my happy place.  I don't even want to get my camera out and take pictures so that I have something to paint.  I NEED FLOWERS!  I NEED SUN AND WARMTH!  Come on spring and summer.  I'm ready for a garden!

Party and Garden or Garden Party

Exactly a week from today our party is happening and I have TONS left to do.  It's funny that I have sent nearly 200 invites out and only a handful have bothered to RSVP.  I am going to have to just plan food on the assumption that all will come!?  That is weird but what do you do.  The family helped to get the tree up but I still have boxes and boxes of stuff to put out.  That is really the easy part but I do have to do it.  Then I can tweek the house and shelves and stuff.  I have to make it perfect as it is an open house.  My plan is to also set "my room" up as a kind of gallery and maybe hang a few of my pieces around the house.  What an opportunity for an art show!  Maybe I can sell some stuff.  That would be AWESOME!

My mind is just swimming with stuff this morning.  I was up at five with Clayton and just could not go back to sleep.  The party, and next weekend is B's Alliday Show at the fairgrounds and I have to set up my booth.  That is kind of blowing my mind right now because I'm not really sure I want to do it but I need too.  Last year I had a lot of prints to sell but I'm not going to do that this year.  I just don't want to get into the PRINT stuff.  I just want to paint and sell paintings.  I don't want it to be a "business", I want to create.  I do have note cards and those are easy and sell nicely.

This month, December, I plan on fulfilling the plan to post everyday, I hope.  I did pretty well for posting everyday of the year until about September then I just gave up.  I think because my body was in so much pain that I couldn't write.  The knee thing is a memory, although I still have the arthritis pain some, I am pain free.  I've gone back to the exercise but I don't overdo it because I am still post-surgery and have another 6-7 weeks of healing time internally.  There are times at the end of the day when it is telling me "STOP and rest!"  This week won't be an option for me in that regard.  It is full steam ahead.

The house renovation is complete, inside and out...well, the out is not quite complete but by Tuesday it will be.  The landscaping is done and the new sod will be laid on Tuesday, then we can call it complete, at least till spring when my new vegetable garden will be set up.  I've adjusted where it is and have plans for some of the flowerbeds along with Sue from The Garden Trug.

When we were planning on getting some more landscaping done the guy who did the front yard was a flake and left us with new flowerbeds overrun with the zoysia grass.  We couldn't get him back to replace plants that were the wrong stuff or to fix our problems.  I had HAD it with him and I told The Hubby that I was going to be in charge of the yard stuff.  I love gardening and when I first went to college at the age of 24 my first class was horticulture because that is what I wanted to be briefly.  I knew what I was doing.  He let me, although he couldn't help himself for trying to horn in.  That's okay because I know he is a micro-manager and he needed to be a part.  Anyway, in our little three street area The Garden Trug truck was everywhere at 3 or 4 different houses and I saw that they were doing everything from fences to new flowerbeds.  I contacted Sue and got things going and I am extremely pleased with them.  They will also come out to clean out my beds in the spring and put more annuals, whatever I need!!!!!  I am in control of the yard!

Fountain Time

Yesterday The Hubby came home as I was finishing up make myself presentable for the world to see!  He does this quite often now that our humble abode is so much closer to the office and a lot of the jobs the business is doing.  Also, he is so excited to finish the patio/driveway/etc. that he can hardly stay away.  Which means I NEVER have time, quiet time alone at the house anymore.  Anyway, back to my day.  I tried to paint a bit before I cleaned up but was just not in the mood with the power washer going on out front and the drill and saw out back as the concrete counter top guy was working.  Then The Hubby comes in and I just gave up.  I was all prepped and ready for the afternoon, planning on a visit with my Daddy when The Hubby wanted to go to Southwood Nursery to look at fountains.  Best laid plans, my best laid plans always seem to get mucked up as they did yesterday.  It was all good though as he was after a water feature that I have ALWAYS wanted in my back yard.  

We arrived at Southwood and entered to find this sweet little girl sacked out in a birdbath display.  I petted and she just stretched and splayed her paws in utter joy of her life.  What a precious sight.

Out the doors I saw these lovely sunflowers and just had to snap a picture.  I'm always on the hunt for flowers to paint! 

Towards the back we found the fountains and found this little beauty that we purchased with a bit of discussion of "NO BLUE."  For some reason he had the ugly blue ones in his head for color and I like blue but it was just not going to work for me.  I won, we won, to have this softly gurgling thing soothe away the tensions of the day!   

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Squirrel

Tomatoes

See that blush back there.  

I've been watching two HUGE beefsteak tomatoes slowly grow and ripen.

I've lost so many to the dang squirrels and critters.  

But, I'm bound and determined to hang onto these two beauties.

One of them is as big around as my hand and bigger.

I've done everything from netting, blow up snakes and owls.  

Yesterday morning I could not stand the thought of going out to find them on the ground, eaten.  The last huge one was munched on a bit but I cut the eaten part and fried up a good green tomato.  I'm not going to wait...I picked them and now they sit on my kitchen counter to finish ripening.

Green Thumb

The writing prompt today from Moma's Losin' It is:

Do you have a green thumb?  Tell us what kind of gardener your are!

Let me see, if you had asked me this question 32 years ago the answer would be very different.  32 years ago, after the birth of our first blonde-headed beauty I had the need to loose baby weight and a huge yard to clean up.  The Hubby bought this sweet little beauty from the neighborhood TG&Y for about $60-$75.  (This photo is at B&B2's yard where said tiller is still in use.)  That tiller is a monster and will beat you to death but it is still running after 32 years and gets the job done.  I learned how to man-handle the thing and in the process I lost tons of weight building a huge garden in that yard.  I loved gardening so much that I watched the Victory Garden on PBS like a religion and could not get enough magazines on gardening to read.  I tapped into the wonderful knowledge that my mother possessed about how to grow anything.  She taught me how to garden the old fashioned way, how to can, freeze, make jams and jellies, everything.  

After about a year, I decided that it was finally time I go to college.  I was bored.  I know, how can you be bored with a baby and our own business we ran out of our house, but I was and I loved to garden.  I researched and decided to enroll in what was then Tulsa Junior College, now Tulsa Community College.  My goal was to become a horticulturist.  The first class I took was horticulture.  I was in love with it and excelled.  I never missed a class and made an A.  Slowly I realized that I didn't want to be a horticulturist.  Actually, I was scared of going forward with anymore classes.  You see I was afraid of being in class, dealing with any attention that might come my way.  It was a big step for me to even attend the class at all.  I used to hide in the back of the room in high school, becoming a part of the wall.  Taking that class was the best thing I ever did, even though it was several years before I went back to finish my Associates degree in business and later my Bachelors in Organizational Leadership!  My love for growing green stuff opened a door for me, a door out of my shell.  Yes, I have a green thumb but it is much tamer than those early years.  I'm somewhat of a lazy gardener.  I kind of throw stuff in the ground, mess with it a bit and it grows.  I've not had the magnitude of that first garden but I manage to have something growing, whether it be flowers or a tomato plant, I can grow stuff.  

P.S.  We've purchased a small electric tiller that I can use in my new little flowerbed garden!  Can't wait to fire the thing up.  

Also, today is my 6th blogging anniversary!

Weekend Review

The weekend was pretty quiet for us.  As usual we headed off to the cabin for some R&R.  The usual crowd was not in attendance but Harri and Jimbo were there for company.  I had the camera at the ready for the visit at Harri's.  I usually find something to snap a pic of for a possible painting.

Their sweet little dog, Sissy posed for me in hopes of a painting in the near future.  I've just finished one of her daughter's paintings,  Annie and Harri's other little dog Kuki.  Sadly Annie and Kuki are no longer with us.   

A bit later we enjoyed the deck but Sissy was a bit exhausted from all the posing. 

Feet up and drinks at the ready! 

Saturday night as the evening wore on I noticed the yellow/orange look to the leaves but it is not from fall approaching or lack of water but the sunset over the roofs of the cabins reflecting off of the leaves.  It was cool to see. 

Awww, another glass of wine and I was a happy girl. 

Back home this morning I hurried to the back yard to check my tomatoes.  I had some huge ones ready to pick but look what I spied, or he spied me.  If you look close something was not right. 

The poor guy has a horribly broken wing but he was happily eating the HUGE tomato that I was planning on picking.  I imagine that is how his wing was broken.  He got caught in the netting I have around the tomatoes.  That one tomato he had was very deep in the plant.  I feel just terrible about it but I now know who the culprit has been all along.  He didn't last long sad to say.  I said a little pet prayer for him. 

Damn Squirrel

Damn Squirrel

The Orange Building

The Orange Building is back.  Wait, I think the last one was The Green Building, but they accomplish the same thing.  They let the many workmen have a place to go that is not in a corner of my backyard!

Construction is on going and little Clayton's yard is a rock mess.  Doesn't seem to stop him much from enjoying the sun when he can. 

It is truly a mess and as of today has a lot of very, very deep holes for the new footings.  Clayton took off like he does after rabbits and I was screaming at him because he was heading for one of the very deep holes.  My mind was seeing him falling and breaking a leg but he jumped and cleared it and was after that darned rabbit.  He's usually very clutzy. 

While enjoying what's left of our backyard Monday I decided to soak my feet while I finished that book. 

Today I did my own jumping a few holes to see what my little garden held.  Look what I have been overlooking, that HUGE cucumber.   There were more tomatoes and I stole a few potatoes for our dinner.

Some of the onions that just needed to be picked, hanging to dry.