squares & birds & worms

[squares series | reflections series]

Good morning!

How are you? Did you have a pleasant weekend or perhaps it was rainy where you are? It stormed here last night and it's still grey out. And I will say the coffee smells really good to me. I was up late updating the shop to coincide with the launch of the new Poppytalk Handmade Market, "Mixed Tape". It really does look like a fun mix. It's exciting to be part of it, thanks Jan!

We saw a pair of yellow warblers yesterday out our kitchen window while eating brunch. [At least I think that's what they were. I got out my little birds of Kansas book to check.] I thought of Shari. We've also been seeing some American Goldfinches, perching atop our echinacea, eating the seeds. Seeing that yellow always makes me gasp!

I like these worms, don't you?

I hope you have a nice day. I'm going to pour another cup of coffee and head up to the studio.

H

ps. I should add,,, birds & worms & a big orange cat. Because right now as I've been typing this, Jack is sprawled across my lap, vying for my attention.

pps. You don't want to miss this giveaway at Linn's in celebration of her birthday. A handsewn picnic blanket, with ties! Yes, go...

hello

[film : breakfast dishes]

If you asked me which way was up right now I'm not sure I could tell you. Actually I would probably say up is my studio, the place where I've not worked since last Friday. It's been a back to school week and then some. I'm beat. But hello long weekend!

I have much catching up to do, emails to answer, projects to begin, projects to finish, and a box of plums to make something cobbler-ish out of. But for now, I'm sitting down, enjoying the last two chocolate chip cookies, sipping an iced coffee, and |reading| |a| |few| +++ |blogs|. Aaahhh.

new to me : About Today, by Lizzy Stewart
The Scavenger Project, with Design for Mankind

enjoy your evening,
H

an everyday wonderful weekend

[film : peeling paint on a neighbor's shed]

Hi,

How was your weekend? I hope you had moments of laughter and relaxation.
The highlight of mine was when these two gals came into town. We ate dinner out and talked for nearly six hours! The time literally flew by, and I couldn't believe it was so late when we closed down the restaurant. It was fun, so fun.

This weekend also called for a little routine cleaning and something I use every day is a whisk broom. I recently bought a new one made of tied broom corn bristles since our old plastic-handled one broke. Who needs more plastic? Not me. I always prefer something handmade. These are nice, but check this one out. And who says I'm too practical? Speaking of housekeeping, this morning the beautiful Poppytalk newsletter appeared in my inbox, it has some nice tips and preview of the week to come. Sign up here.

And lastly my husband and I enjoyed a quiet dinner last night sitting at the kitchen table with the windows open. Just listening to the summer bugs. Yes, summer, bugs. We made a pasta sauce with our garden onions, hot and bell peppers, and roma tomatoes. With a slice of local bakery sourdough bread/butter, it was just right.

I'd like to hear about your weekend if you got a moment,,,

H

ps. Goodness gracious, I just remembered, my blog turned one year old this past Saturday. How did that happen?

prepping

[preparing paper for new work : the leaves were used as inspiration for |new| |work| in the shop : studio journal]

Hi,

How are you? I feel like I've been so absent lately and I apologize for that. I've gotten horribly behind on visiting you. This week has been a little wonky, not in a bad way necessarily, just I've been called out repeatedly for something beyond my control and well, it's just been different.

Now I'm preparing for a number of things; new work, a studio visitation, and our beach vacation next week. Well in all honesty, I've not begun getting ready for that. Too much work here still needs to take place.

Now I need to work on preparing for an adult painting workshop I'll be teaching in the spring.

Have your weeks been busy?

I hope to share something nice with you soon,
H

Note to self : In the instance that we run out of milk, a little pat of butter is not a sufficient substitute in a cup of coffee. A spoonful of vanilla frozen yogurt works much better. Something I discovered this morning.

peachy morning?

[little peaches from our tree : I ate some on my cereal this morning : small but sweet]

Morning sunshine,
This morning began in a cranky way for me. Not bad, just cranky. I cleaned up FOUR cat messes around the house. hairballs & the like. fun. oh well. I love those kitties despite the extras.

But now I have mental lists of things to accomplish. One of which is I'd like to begin a new pinhole series, larger than the 5x5's I've been doing.

And I need to get some plane tickets, finally. I always have a mental block with getting those. Perhaps because I don't particularly enjoy flying. Do you?

Do you have something you'd like to accomplish today?

H

*update - plane tickets |check mark|!