what's happening

i haven't been blogging too much in the last few weeks after tucker's illness, because my hands have been bothering me alot (sore joints, low hand strength, pain in the wrist area, etc -and computer use just aggravates them more). could just be a severe tendinitis episode or something else. i did get a lyme's test yesterday since i was bitten by a tick about about a month ago. he also did some arthritis tests too, but wasn't leaning towards any of these things, which leads me back to tendinitis. i'm wondering if how i was holding tucker during those 3 weeks he wasn't well, just aggravated my hands. i've been trying to stretch them alot, which is helping. anyway, that's that.

for a project not related to small hand work, i decided to revamp my cabana, which is now being called "They Gypsy Cabana". i found a darling umbrella at Pier One for $42 on clearance (one part of the umbrella was broken). it reminds me of a circus tent. on a whim, i decided to put the umbrella inside the cabana as the roof part was now open (the roof collapsed over the winter) i got a new outdoor rug, changed out the chairs and added some colorful fabric lanterns that i found at kmart. i dragged over some plantars of grass and put in some candles. finally i added a little Chinese desk that i had bought at Country Living Fair last oct and that was that. you can't tell from the pictures, but in front of the cabana are 3 bird feeders, so it is great fun to sit inside and watch the birds come and feed.

(kabana kitty)
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this is a picture of what i am slowly working on (taking breaks as my hands bother me). i still have some soldering to do on them and then i will cover them in Ice resin.

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finally, here is a my pictures from the warbler nest that i've been watching since i found it several weeks ago. i went down there on monday to check on them and the nest was no longer in the tree. i found it on the ground. hopefully that means that they grew up and flew away.
cover them in Ice resin.

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and finally a collection f shots fm the yellow warbler's nest. i nt down their progress and e nest was no longer inflew away.

Fall 2009

here's what Fall typically looks like around our house - one word: LEAVES! we are surrounded by 40 foot oak trees in front, on each side and in the back yard. we have piles and piles of leaves and then there are leaves on those piles! right now they are all wet and many leaves came down after our last storm (but trust me, there are many more yet to come down!) my neighbors tend to blow their leaves everyday where as jeff likes to wait til they are almost all down and do them in one day. they get blown to the street, where the township comes by and sucks them up and then turns them into mulch.

frog and butterfly

on thursday during the soldering class , a few of us took a break and went outside for some fresh air. Christina's son Max was standing next to me and a deck chair. he moved the chair pillow and found a tiny little frog. it was the prettiest blue/gray color. so i scooped him up to go show jeff, since we love little frogs and that was the first one i've seen all summer. anyway, as quick as i picked him up, he jumped right out of my hand and was gone. so the next morning as i was watering the plants on the deck, i decided to look behind all the pillows and ended up finding 2 more frogs. so that was fun. a pretty orange one and a gray camouflage one. they were very cooperative during their photo shoot. the little butterfly flew by around the same time.

i'm sad to report that the little baby squirrels i discovered in a bird house next to the front door did not make it. i don't know if the area was too high traffic or if it was too hot, but it seems as if mom abandoned them. really bums me out.

typesetter drawer shadowbox

(hint: click on the picture for a nice close up view of the goodies inside the box)

for awhile i have been collecting the old typesetting drawers. why? i don't know, i just like them. i had come across a bunch that were very inexpensive, so we picked them up. they've been sitting on my front porch in the "wood shop" section just waiting to be played with. a few months ago, Lynn Perrella (see her inspiring piece, "Summer Sampling" here and then when you are done, look at her assemblages they are stunning!) did a type setting drawer art piece and then it was in Somerset Studio which is where i saw it. immediately i thought, so that's why i've been collecting those! the funny thing is though, as many of my friends have also been collecting these (before the article came out). it's interesting how my friends and i are drawn to very similar things. i keep wanting to coin a term for this type of girl that i am, but also that i see in my friends. i know jane has some of the drawers, kim has some, a new blog friend, beth has some. and it doesn't just stop with the drawers. i was amazed at the similarities that i found between Jill and i (i met up with her at Handmade Faire). even down to random personality quirks and the fact that we both grew up in the military. my friend jane and i are constantly buying the same things (separately unbeknownst to us), wear the same perfume, stuff like that........ i was thinking of calling us "modern prairie girls with old souls". anyway, kim, of art dog's life recently created a drawer, which made me think of doing some for the country living fair. i gesso'd a few and then have been waiting to get back to them. then i was reading new blog friend, beth, of gypsy fish journal and was amazed to see the drawer she just completed. they both are stunning. so last night i decided i would make the one that i have been envisioning in my mind. i titled it "Nature's Bounty" and it is all things from nature that i have been collecting for over the last year. i love how it turned out. i'll be metal stamping a faceplate for the front of as well. the projects are fun and easy to do. it's a matter of gathering and gluing. i'm going to go back to my source and see if he still has any more trays. if he does, i'll pick them up and sell them for anyone wanting to do a project on their own. i'll keep you posted on that or let me know if you'd be interested in a tray and i'll contact you later. i also have a HUGE one that i 'll be creating with next. finding stuff to fill it up will not be a problem. this one will be more along the lines of using flea market items, dolls, fabric, or whatever i deem worthy to go inside!

in other fun news, my advanced copy of Altered Couture has arrived with my new article in it. it will hit the stands late July at Barnes & Nobles, Borders. my article is on page 125, 126 & 127. i'll scan pics of it later today.