Pooch's Memorial Garden

I've been plodding along, digging in Pooch's memorial garden for a week and a half now. This is one of those projects that seemed like a great idea... until we got a couple hours into it. Then, all I could think was "WHAT were we thinking?!?"

Each morning, I eat breakfast and drink my coffee, knowing I'm about to go out into the HOT, hot world (it was 92 degrees today!) and sling a mattock until I'm dripping. To make things worse, the mosquitoes are so big and aggressive that I need to wear long sleeves and sweat pants. The little creeps can drill through those heavy clothes, but I figure, if they're gonna get me, I'll make sure it hurts them as much as me! I've tried using insect repellent, but the skeeters just look at me and say, "Mmmmmm... Marinade!"

As I'm slogging away outside, Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang" keeps running through my head.

You can see in the background of these pictures just how badly overgrown the ground covering vines are. Digging in a new patch is definitely not my favorite thing to do, but the end result will be a peaceful, shady foliage garden. So far, the front half is done and ready for some added top soil before planting.

An overall view

The dogwood sapling

Pooch's "spot" is under the aggregate pavers

I loved these two huchera plants - the leaves contrast with each other beautifully

Our neighbors gave us two gardenia bushes started from cuttings

Can you believe this is a geranium?!? GORGEOUS.

Our "flying pig" weathervane:

It's a good-sized patch - about 10'x10'. I have several iris clumps in the front yard that need dividing. I'm going to bring some of those to this new back garden. Throughout the year I'll add other seasonal things like bulbs and some fall foliage plants. This is a long project - I'm not sure it will ever really be "finished". It's going to be fun to watch it take shape.

Update: Thursday, June 4

Well, dammit! The deer came through and ate the huchera and fuchsias down to nubs. I don't care how cute and pretty the deer are... I dream of venison steaks at this moment in time.

Finding Inspiration Wherever I Look

Last week was a busy one for me. Stocking my new Etsy "destash" shop meant sorting through all the little baggies of beads in the studio, during which I found some beauties languishing in a drawer. It seemed a shame that I haven't used them before now, so I made a concerted effort to do just that.

Along with my resolve to use some stuff up, came an improvement in the weather: sunshine, temps in the high 70's, and balmy breezes. What do all those add up to? Flip flop weather - my favorite time of year!! Monday I took a page from Vanessa's book and grabbed the camera before going outside. Everywhere in the yard beautiful flowers craned their heads toward the warm sun.

It was so gorgeous out, I just had to dance like an idiot and sing this. I took off my shoes to wiggle my freshly painted piggies in the cool grass (gotta have painted toes for flip flop season, right?)...

...as I set about sniffing flowers.

Now that I'd allowed my Inner Crazy Person to come out and play, it was time to buckle down to Production Mode. Many of my beads are acrylic flowers so it felt right to segue from my outdoor wanderings to make Spring and Summer earrings.

~
More gorgeous beads I've been hanging onto:

All of these new earrings should be listed in my Etsy shop by the end of this week. Stay tuned!

Love Is In The Air...

Unrequited plant love, that is. Pollen. Great swirling yellow-green clouds of pine pollen that gets into, and onto, everything. The bane of my (and MarbleMan's) existence at this time every year. I know the pollen you can see is not what causes allergic reaction, but the stuff you can't see that causes my baby blues to itch and swell, and my schnoz to drip like a faulty faucet. I never had allergy issues until we moved South. I vividly remember the first Spring we spent here - I thought I had the flu it was so bad. So while I revel in the burgeoning beauty of early flowers, I pop a Claritin and prepare for the ensuing discomfort. Luckily I only resemble a troll for a week or two.

Pine pollen settles on a puddle surface

The pollen issue has put my outdoor walking plans on hold for the next two weeks. This is a great time to head back to the gym for a walk on the treadmill to nowhere.

The good news is my garden is showing early signs of life after several months of extreme drought conditions. We weren't allowed to water outside at all during this time, and I despaired to see so many plants wither. Thankfully, many seem to be rebounding. Makes me want to go out and frolic!

OK, I Lied...

I've taken a break from everything the past few weeks to get life in order. The weather Sprung great in late May (past tense of Spring) and I was bitten by the gardening bug. Two weeks later an old vegetable patch in the front yard was transformed into a nice 10x10' garden complete with birdbath and seating area. Now if only the Venison -- I mean deer -- would stay away!

Now that the outside was taken care of, the inside of the house needed serious attention as Marble Man's parents were coming to stay for a week. Can't have them seeing how we really live, now, can we? So we fired up that fancy new vacuum cleaner -- zoom zoom -- attacked mystery piles of who-knows-what in corners and on surfaces, and now it's so clean we don't recognize the place. Time to throw a party!

We had a lovely visit with the parents, saw movies, ate out a lot, had lots of visit time. The week sped by really fast. Now it was time to get back into the swing of a regular work schedule. (What's that?!?)

After my last post, my Batgirl ego was pretty excited to be back in the batcave, doing what I love to do. Then for a few weeks after that, my hand was screaming at me to "cut it out, already"! As a result, I have decided to do just enough fabric dyeing to keep our local quilt store stocked (and my pockets full of sorely needed beer money) and some custom work for individual clients (that's money for beads). The rest of the time, I'll concentrate on the jewelry-making, since it doesn't seem to bother my delicate parts as much (the thumb pain's connected to the wrist pain, the wrist pain's...). Disappointing, but a logical move to make I think since, being in pain is such a pain! (I can always add the fabrics in slowly, to keep stock up for my scarf collections and maybe the silk shawls.)

Meanwhile, I've had such a long break with all the house improving going on, that I can't remember what the heck I was working on when I stopped! I cleaned up my studio space, put everything away, and now I'm like, "HEY, what the...! Where was I?" So, I look at this as a creative kick in the pants, (so to speak) and I can do whatever floats my boat at this time. I'll figure out what was in the works at some point - like when I come across a half-finished pair of earrings and say "Oh, yeah! Now, how do I make the other one to match this one?" [I've discounted photocopying as a valid way to reproduce earrings -- too flat]

I have received a lot of positive yummy feedback from family and friends about the jewelry pieces I have already finished, which is great news and tells me I am making some killer jewelry, as they would be the first ones to point out any weaknesses. Now that I have a bit of inventory completed, I need to find the right outlet. I have a few options. 1) I could try to get invited to participate in a home show for the Christmas season. 2) I could suck back a glass of wine for courage and start cold-calling galleries and boutiques. 3) I could have the jury slides made and apply to the regional craft shows. 4) write a really nice letter to Warren Buffet, asking if he'd like some other charities to make donations to (that's ME!).

I am leaning toward options 1 & 2 for now. I have a few friends and family who are artistic and have had success at home shows. So, I'll put out some feelers to see if I would be welcome with my new line of work. I think that jewelry has a wider appeal than the fabric arts do, so I might have some success with the store buyers too. I would make the cold calls to introduce myself, then send out a packet of information including pictures. If I do it right, I should be able to get some appointments to bring work in for review. Cross your fingers!

Now it's back to the bead mine...