My latest experiment ..... I rather like

Well got busy today, finally got an inspiration regarding a gift, from the person who actually the gift was for. I had looked and looked at Buddha quotes and didn't find any that made sense to me, which does make sense since I'm not Buddhist, just ask my sister she will thoroughly confirm that fact since I killed a mole, who apparently at some point in time was someone's grandmother. In fact recommended that I might rethink becoming one. Thank you Agnes.

Any way, my dear friend Sharon who is a Buddhist a very caring and lovely person has her birthday coming up and I wanted to create something special, I think I have.

A week ago her very dear friend Meemie who lives in India sent out an email, which Sharon  forwarded to eight of her friends.

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My table of 8:

I am supposed to pick 8 women who have touched my life and whom I think might participate.

  Please send this back to me. Remember to just read the quotation.

That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached.

Just send this to eight women and see what happens...

If you don't feel like forwarding it, just enjoy!

Quote:"May  today there be peace within. May you trust that you are  exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in  yourself and others.

May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content with yourself just the way you  are.

Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and  allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us."

Perfect, I got eight white plates and began inscribing and scribbling on. Tomorrow into the oven to bake the ink paint. This could be special, I have my fingers crossed, I know it will be.

Wildflower Ride in Paradise

My son in law is up in the area today, well down the hill actually with his parents in Chico. This weekend is the infamous 100 mile bike ride race. It's actually for those who are insane. We live on the top of some buttes, that's why they call it Butte County. Sometimes youngsters delete the 'e' on the state sign posts and for a while we are all butt's, I always smile when I come back from San Francisco and see the changed sign. I live with butts .... too funny. Anyway I digress, so we live 2000' above the valley floor, and the cliffs resemble the Grand Canyon, only on a smaller scale. There is a road called Honey Run, that virtually climbs straight up the cliffs. It's one lane, they say it's two, it isn't. AND there is no honey about it, it's not a sweet ride it's a nightmare and terrifying honestly. Do not drive this road. When you cross the covered bridge, turn back and save your sanity. Anyway this is rather the beginning of the ride from Chico, hence me saying it's insane. Of course later there's the climb up Table Mountain to the plateau. I remember back 2006 and Dan did this right before the wedding, I wasn't very nice when I think I said you will be at the wedding even if we have to prop you up, do not have an accident. He didn't thankfully. So on to other things Etsy is all in a dither they apparently are not as focused on handmade as they used to be, which is rather sad in a way. I know things evolve. However, in this day and age where evolution has taken a turn for the worse especially in the growing of plants and foods, where GMO is ruining the future. And more and more folk are returning to growing and nurturing the land by hand and using heirloom seeds. This move by Etsy almost seems to fly in the face of a new revolution taking place. I'm not sure in the long term that this bodes well for Etsy. It might, but I think the handmade concept being an exclusive thing on Etsy has shrivelled drastically especially for their client base. Quite sad to watch and read about. There is a forum thread about show your hands, and in a way was why I was posting today. I'm older, made my bones so to speak in the corporate world. Now my hands made my life happy. I dig, weed, cook, paint, create, knit, embroider, sew. I owe all to my Mother who did all of this so well, and she wrote, poetry and words that I treasure. She also loved opera. A vastly superior person to me, I just do the basics, and that's fun, I love simple, can't do complicated things. I am outspoken, because I can't dissemble well. I speak from the soul and gut. I do know I'm not malicious so that's good, and I don't do envy. So back to today, I baked bread for the first time since I was in Domestic Science at Sir Thomas Bennett in Crawley. My creation today, is f'ing awesome, smells great, the hubby loves it and it was cheap to do, and not labour intensive. Seriously a lazy bread bake :) And this is the blog where I found the recipe, seriously do not throw this link away, you will need it one day. So with these old hands I baked bread today, I finished sewing up a thing that my daughter saw on Pinterest out of linen and cotton, and managed to redesign and create something that I think she can throw on and be happy wearing.

Dear Badu, I shall miss you

We've spent so many wonderful years together. You were my first grand-daughter and very special. You brought comfort to my Dad, and to so many of our relatives you meant so much, Jean and John will be so sad when they hear how ill you got. Gary says he knows we shall meet you again, it needs to be soon.

In the meantime, enjoy chasing the waves, and racing in the sun and shadows. I shall think of you often and miss your woof, we shall be looking for you. I hope it's soon. Luv, e

Fighting off tomato worms and eating figs

What can I say, every day I wander rather aimlessly in the afternoon when it's too hot to rake up all the oak leaves that are raining down like they think this is October or weeding. (Now that was a runalong sentance. A bit like my wandering).

I do munch my way through the garden, but have also been much better this year at picking crops right before ripening, therefore, haven't shared too much with the birds. The late rain and unusual snow seriously made the garden bounty much less this year. But perhaps the fruit trees need a good rest from producing, in fact I notice that they are much taller and have loads of new growth. I will practice better thinning next year to help them get even stronger.

About those huge tomato worms, well they don't stay on the tomatoes, they also like peppers and eggplant, I've been picking them off and offering them to the birds but they are so well camouflaged they are difficult to spot, and my glasses are constantly slipping down my nose because I am peering so hard though leaves and stalks.

Never mind, several baskets of garden goodies have been shared and loads of stuff has been quick blanched and frozen for later in the year when I am without the benefit of immediate fresh things in the garden. I am in process of persuading Mr. G to build about 4 more raised beds, I do want more, but will ease him into the project. The shade clothe I bought, well I probably didn't need this year (it just doesn't pay to outfox Mother Nature), we haven't been blazing hot in fact only turned the AC on twice so far this year. Quite unusual.

Almost all the major work has been done, now we are waiting for the gutters and downspouts to be installed next week, then we can refurbish the decks install railings and DONE!!

Will get some big tubs to catch rain during the coming rainy season. And then there is the chickens I want, shhhh it's a secret at the moment from Mr. G. But I have picked out the perfect spot for them, huge smile on my face and I found a chicken site that I can purchase the fluffy little things.

Soon it will be mid July 2011

Weather burst into a heatwave, one moment it was in the 60's and now for the last few weeks mid 90's. Good for the heirloom tomatoes, not as comfortable for the folk working on our upgrades to the compound.

The studio inside is almost completed and the painter has been toiling away to make the building match the main house and garage. The breezeway is done, and it's painted, one week we got rain the next 100 degrees, it works we don't get wet nor sunburnt from whatever Mother Nature throws at us. I do have to replant/transplant some things, but I've got until October to figure that all out.

The new Gazebo is going up in the spot that used to have an ancient carport, that was seriously on it's last legs I don't know how it stayed standing. Painter will be here tomorrow to prime the wood, but the start of the roof line is on as of today, soon more shade to putter near the raised beds, now that will be even more of a pleasure.

Ughhhhhhhh.

The knowledge that Scotland, Wales, England and the whole of Ireland are considerably warmer than California and have been for weeks is not comforting. The only bright thing is that Northern California is no longer suffering from years of drought and now that the drought is over and no one, I mean no one has used their irrigation systems in their gardens since last October is a small miracle. Amazing that the water companies have now raised their rates because we are not using water, how nonsensical is that?

But back to the weather, yet again we are looking forward to another three days of chilly, cloudy dreary weather. I'm surprised my tomatoes have survived with all the hail, snow (yes snow) and stuff. Our temperatures are 30 degrees lower than normal. On the bright side the weather folk are promising the middle of next week that we should see something in the 70's. I have hope. I can dream!

The other part of the ughhhhhh, is that I sold a few paintings, that's good. However, I asked my husband to help with mailing on one of those awful tornado days, and he did, he went to the Post Office and mailed the painting in a bubble wrap envelope. I know I should have done it myself. Needless to say, the envelope which was not one of those packages with the cardboard etc. to prevent bending, was shoved in through the letterbox, causing major creases in the painting. Ruined. The customer has requested I create another painting the same as she purchased. How does one recreate a watercolour painting? I offered to refund but no. I'm not sure I can. The paper is masked off and I am procrastinating by blogging. Tick tock, tick tock .....

The breezeway is going up finally from the garage to the house so we don't get wet, I bet when we finish so will the rain. The screen clothe I bought for the vegetables is working, the hail is prevented from damaging the crops. Which leads me now my theory if I hadn't bought the shade clothe and hadn't built the breezeway our weather would be normal, and I'd have tan lines on my toes from flip flops.

One upside to being confined indoors is that I get to read and research some things. For example an interesting article about using human urine on vegetables, not sure about this one but like I said an interesting concept. I am also wading (no pun intended seriously) through Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, I have time on my hands as I mentioned.

Refurbished Sisters Studio

Last year we built a new 3 car garage, which left the dilapidated old house and 3 car garage just sitting. Winter this year was more harsh than normal, we lost some shrubs and damaged quite a few of the fruit trees. But the tin roof on the old garage took some serious beating, it was sagging in the middle and the garage doors wouldn't close properly. My husband was of the mind to demolish all the structures but I held fast. Lets see what it would take to repair.

And so began the project. After about 5 weeks we are well on the way to a vast improvement. The old carport is almost completely gone, the siding and trim, along with the french doors and window are installed, and the trusses will last another 30 years. Of course the whole building needs to be painted to match the main house and garage, same colours dark brown, with gray accents and white trim, and of course the purple paint here and there. Can't be too ordinary right?

I am so looking forward to working in my new art studio my head is buzzing with creativity.