What a Way To Spend a Tuesday!

Guess what I'm doing on this beautiful Tuesday afternoon??? Spending it with Mr. Plumber who is in my laundry room right now trying to fix the pipe that burst on Saturday while I was at the grocery store. He's been here almost two hours so far. I'm starting to worry about what this is going to cost me. Yikes! Old houses are a pain in the you-know-what. That's why I like our cottage home because it's new and less likely to have things go wrong. Until it becomes old too eventually. My DH used to be able to fix these kinds of things, but alas, I now must call on the professionals since he isn't here to do it anymore. I must admit, I kind of took for granted all the things DH could do. He was quite a handy hubby. And don't you just know now that he's not here anymore EVERYTHING is probably going to break! I sure hope not. The good news is, my laundry room got a thorough cleaning after I found the shut-off valve and stopped the water.

I sure hope you are having a more delightful day than I am.

Memorial Day

"Freedom is Never Free."

Coloring the Garden

I couldn't sleep last night for some reason. Not sure why, but by 5:00 am after tossing and turning for hours, I thought enough was enough and decided I might as well get up and get started on my day. Since today is the first sunny day since I returned from the cottage (and the weatherman is predicting rain for both Saturday and Sunday) I went outside to plant my annuals in the front beds. DH always planted impatiens in one bed and geraniums in the other, so that's what I did too. Both of these flowers do very well in those areas, so I figured don't mess with success.

I think I will try to make it a habit to work in the garden each day as soon as I get up, while it is still cool and nice and quiet outside. Gotta run ~ my dryer is buzzing at me! Have a great day!

Surprise Mail!

While I was spending time at the cottage the past couple of weeks, my mail was piling up at the post office here at home. I picked it up yesterday and sorted it into piles all over the living room floor. . . advertisements, letters, bills (yuk!), magazines, etc. And what do I find in the magazine pile? This lovely pastel pink summer issue of Somerset Studio Gallery. The mailing label said it was an "artcomp" issue, which means there is something of mine inside! After flipping through the pages, I found this little Halloween assemblage of mine on page 50! Woo-hoo ~ what a nice surprise!!!

It's always an honor to be featured in Stampington's beautiful magazines along with talented artists like Becky Shander, Karla Nathan, Jeanne Oliver, Ruth Rae, and Linda Harre, whose art is also pictured in this issue.

Weekend Work

I thought planting wildflowers up at the cottage was going to be a low maintenance type of gardening. Seventeen wheelbarrows full of dead stalks and debris later, it's hard to believe that this picture from last year. . . . .

. . . .can turn into this the following year.

Never fear though. I finished cleaning it all up and hauling the debris away. And I'm planting additional wildflower seeds tomorrow and hoping for a pretty view again in a month or so. My DH used to refer to this kind of work at the cottage as a "different kind of work." I suppose that was because it was work done in a pretty get-away type of location. For me though, work is work no matter where it is done!

More Inspiration . . .

Heather held another of her infamous Petite Inspiration Box Swaps a little while ago which I took part in. I just love these small scale swaps of hers. I think they are my favorite. Who can't use a little box full of trinkets and artsy goodies to inspire you to create something beautiful? As you can see, my swap partners Cassandra and Marti went all-out decorating their boxes their tiny boxes.

Thank you SO much girls!

Beautiful Inspiration

A friend sent these photos to me. These beautiful sculptures created by Bruno Torfs I am told are nestled amongst a rainforest setting in the village of Maryville in Australia. They are beautiful, whimsical and fascinating and the attention to detail is amazing!

What a talented artist . . . enjoy and be inspired!