Stretching & Checking

Red Yarrow Buds

Cooler ambient temperatures today make for decent napping on a sunny afternoon. Alas, I glued together  24 inch by 30 inch stretchers last night.  Up I go from the recliner from what could have been a nice snooze to stretch the canvas on that frame.

 

The new staple gun works better than the old one. I gave up looking for the old staple gun after looking everywhere but my little tackle boxes used as storage that I just remembered as I was typing. 

Nope, not in there either, but there are 2 tackle boxes. Where the other one is will be another search.

The search for where I put the homemade gesso didn't go well. I suspect what was left from the last application, dried out. Thus, I have to make more. All I have to do is find the interior white paint. The other ingredients, plaster of Paris and white glue, I know where they are, (for sure). 

Checking on bloggers who haven't posted in a while, I found a blog that's infected with a virus. Voice comes on telling you don't shut off your computer. I type the old standby, Ctl, Alt & Del to get out of there. I left a comment on another of that blogger's blogs to let them know. I didn't find an email access.

The problem I see with blogs is that on Blogger, blogs are attached to the gmail address.If you don't update (log in) your Gmail address in 2 years, then Google will delete it. Guessing here, if the blog's email address is deleted, then logging into the old blog to manage it, might not be possible. Blogs may be connected for access, but I don't think they are attached as content. Saved emails aka content will be deleted when the old email address is deleted. The blog, I think, stays.

It is a good idea to now and then give your email address a sweep to check on all of them. Write down what they are connected to. I delete dormant email address that are not connected to a blog or an online website.

Have a Wonderful Evening

Day 152 of Week 22 May 2024

 Selecting core ideas to expand on can take time. This is what brainstorming blog ideas looks like:

Questions you don’t need the answers to

•          Why does my big toe look like a boulder sticking out of an outcrop?
•          When will outdoor rain shower stalls in every home catch on?
•          Why is the age of my mind voice a decade plus, younger than my real age?
•          What does my brain think of my dancing?
•          What will wearing a color I dislike for a week do to my attitude?
•          Could I be reincarnated as a tree instead of an animal?
•          If I’m thinner and toned, then would I wear a butt revealing bikini?
•          How did the World get into a common sense drought?

Lady's Mantle

Scribbling out the days on the calendar is an exercise that instills a feeling of a brighter future.

Hand washing clothes has a smooth sunny day laundry vibe. Machine washing clothes has a burning the germs out vibe.

Sleeping and being awake is not a stop and go process for our bodies. Our bodies are on 24/7/365. Physics tells us that we will erode in some ways, but not in others. Our ears will grow our entire lives. Hair and nails continue to grow for a time after death.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Read about the history of lamps

Explore local breweries

Tell a plant a funny story

Sing to your sandals

Draw a pinwheel

Browse hiking shorts online

Photograph a bowl of plums

Day 145 of Week 21 May 2024

About the blog make-over...Meh.

I'm not diggin' all the empty space, small fonts, the image arrangement, and date header placement on the Soho Dark Blogger template. 

However, the overall look is closer to what I want to achieve, a big open photograph when your arrive with not a lot of text and gadgets crowding in the main page.

Old Paint Rag

I have found a nice template on Btemplates.com. The learning curve to install it on Blogger will take time as the instructions are complicated. Customizing this template isn't as easy as the old one. Changing the header font thus far isn't working.

For years I've want a nice custom blog template. I think it is time I put effort into making that happen. As it goes, the process is a positive move that will help me rise up from the present slump. I managed to get more than a few hours sleep last night and today. And, I didn't need to take any allegy medicine. Yesterday was rough. I had a bad mood unpleasantry episode possess me. I'm almost back to my sweet self today.

The Color of Gardening

Orange Pansies 2024

Each year, the seasonal decisions begin haunting my thoughts a few months before the answers are needed. The color theme of my small garden, planters mostly, is an issue that has become as much fun as the gardening itself.

Over the years, orange is the accent color I love the most. In the right light, that warm hue can nearly glow, brightening up the other flowers even more. The second accent is blue. Bachelor's Buttons aka cornflower and lobelia are my favorites. This year I'll be adding delphinium, blue poppy and/or balloon flowers.   With that combination, any other colors will turn the planters into wildflower bouquets. 

One year I tried a red, white and blue theme. The white flowers didn't do well. The red geraniums did do well. The heat waves sapped a lot of life out of the lobelia. Choosing plants that don't need a lot of tender care works for me.

Do you plant using a color theme?

Oh the Tree Pollen Blues

Red Yarrow
May 2024

Much has been slow around here, me especially. Tree pollen is heavy. Thus, my allergies are raging. Over the counter medicine wipes me out. I only take it at night when I will not be going anywhere. Still, it has me dragging when I wake up. Last night I fell asleep, actually watching television. 

Up at 3 AM, I puttered to start the day early. Waiting for the kitchen floor to dry, I dozed off. When I awoke a few hours later, I thought it was the afternoon, not 7:30 AM!

Anyway, light thunderstorms passed right over here last night. The TV antenna lost the signal a few times. I'm fully awake now catching up on blogging, plants, and housework.

For no reason that I've figured out, I'm in a slump. Pulling out of it has been a two week process. I've slowed down being online except for Twitter/X. Watching YouTube videos doesn't even interest me. When this happens, it feels like having an emotional cold, nothing but blah and meh days. I can laugh, feel bad, feel good, get things done, but it all takes deliberate effort with long stretches of nothing but sitting in a chair thinking.

The sunshine this week helps lift my spirits. Changing my routine also places me on a better pathway to moving more, feeling better, and eating better. 

How is your week going?

Honeysuckle, a Make-over & the Daisies

Honeysuckle

The honeysuckle seeded itself inside another shrub the birds like to frequent. It is much better looking than the ninebark shrub that's there. Pruned, they look good together. The ninebark shrub tends to have a fungus that is unsightly. The honeysuckle is always healthy.

Planter make-over

 Caution: large thin plastic planter can split

 Once the rocks for weight and drainage, and soil, are added, carefully placing it on a hard surface will help prevent it from splitting. 

I will not buy another large planter that is thin plastic. 

The planter (photo) is being made over with spray paint and pieces of tape. Several applications of various colors will be applied.The finish will be a few layers of glossy clear coat.

Over 10 years ago, there was a patch of daisies I had to  move/transplant because of my allergies. Seeing them return is a surprise. This year, they will be transplanted to a larger area. The prices of plants this year is so expensive, it is good to have wild flowers growing free.

Tulips, Daffodils & a Row Boat

Yellow Tulip 2024

 

This year only one yellow tulip bloomed. The daffodils are 2nd year in a row not flowering. They have been fed. Are in a good location. And, planted fairly recently. From the same package of bulbs, the daffodils out back are also not flowering. I read online they are called blind daffodils. My take is to replant them in a different location for spring 2025. 

Otter Creek

 Along Otter Creek near the falls, in the spring the water can go right up above the parking lot at the boat launch. In the photo, the grass is the bank between the driveway and the creek right beside the boat launch access. The bank is about, from water's normal edge, 3 feet high (give or take). If you park parallel to the bank, then it can feel like you are in a boat.

Reminds me of a boat joke* that I'm not sure is correct to tell given that woke atmosphere nowadays. Anyway, I was a blond when it was told to me. I was not offended. It is a cute joke. Tell me what you think:

A woman photographer is on a back country road in July when the corn is knee high. She sees strange movement out in the middle of a huge cornfield. So she pulls into the tractor turn off area. She gets out and looks. 
There is a woman in a row boat, rowing like there's no tomorrow! The photographer yells over to the woman.
"Hey you! It's women like you that give blonds a bad name. And if I could swim, I'd come out there and kick your butt!"

I think you can substitute a man or any group, and it would still be funny.

* Sorry if I've posted this before

Relaxing in a Treehouse with Heavy Rain and Crackling Fireplace | Sleep,...

What's Been Going On

Black bean chili is on the stove. A spicey meal with nachos and melted cheese is in order here.

It has been a slowish borderline-ish meh week for me.

There has been some wonderful weather. Sitting outdoors, I have to be cautious not to fall asleep. What a struggle it can be to not allow the wind and sunshine to lull you into dozing off.

I have much catching up to do with blog reading and commenting. The bright sun out today ecourages me to garden some between being online. There are also boxes to fill with things to mail and donate. Puttering has produced a lovely variety of tasks that won't go away with me in a chair daydreaming or watching YouTube videos. 

How is your week going?

Prayers for everyone in the path of bad weather

All life is an experiment. 
The more experiments you make the better.

Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson 1841~ 1844

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 ~ 1882

Reflection Monday May 2024

Lilacs in Spring

Is there a time in any process, 

that you pay more attention to?

Does your baby, puppy, kitten

awwwness,

spread out through your life?

Or

Are you an awww snob?

Thinking About What Intrigues

First Sketch ~ The Party
from a personal photograph

Many years ago I saw the above image in real life when I was taking pictures (with permission) at a birthday party I attended. The majority, being elderly, added a somber vibe to the gathering. There aren't that many 80th birthdays to attend in life. I imagine there was a lot of reflection going on about our own longevity. I was near my sixties at the time. It feels like hundred years ago. All the party goers in the sketch are now deceased. 

Uploading the images, that one particular photo (above) reminds me of Cezanne's, The Card Players (below). To my surprise, after putting watercolor to the sketch, I see my colors are similar to Cezanne's painting.  The memory holds well in my artist's brain.

The Card Players
1890 ~ 1892 Oil on canvas
Paul Cezanne 1839 ~ 1906

What is it that captures my heart in Cezanne's painting is how he puts to canvas the concentration composure of the men playing cards. Deep in thought they are. At the birthday party, those folks are deep in thought as well. It intrigues me that the card game is similar to living to a ripe old age. How we win at a game or life, chances are chances. The cake is consumed. The cards are dealt.

Eventually I will do an acrylic painting from my photograph. I imagine it will be large as there is more off frame that I might add, if  it supports the concentration focus.

If I remember right, then I've done pencil sketches from other pictures of the room. I chose the small section of that table because it best represents what I feel from Cezanne's painting. I don't experience that many connections with my image choices reminding me of an old master's artwork. What will my painting be isn't the highlight. Feeling the connection with an artwork, no matter the artist or era, is the best part.