A quiet morning

It is quiet this morning, only a few sparrows and wrens are darting about, and the veil of white cottony clouds seem to be softening the intense heat. Today is supposed to only reach the low nineties. And although I'm moving slowly this morning, after printing late last night, I do want to take advantage of the slightly cooler day and pull a few weeds in the garden. Then later I will return to printing. Yesterday I worked on a card, which I think will be kind of special. Not that the card itself is what is special, but for what it will be, if that makes sense. Hopefully I'll share it soon at the Blue Sparrow journal.

And somehow today is the last Friday in July. Less than a month until school begins again. Summer, why do you slip so quickly?

Oh, I'll be closing my Etsy shop for good Sunday evening, so this is the last chance to take advantage of my sale!

Have a good weekend,
H

A list of ups and downs

Friday night we picked the first (small) harvest of edamame and Saturday a handful of okra. Somehow in the sweltering heat, those plants stay strong. Last night M. fixed stuffed peppers for dinner, something he likes to make and I love to eat!

Two good films we have seen lately: Temple Grandin & Faces of America.

Staying hydrated: ice water with lemon, strawberry smoothies, seltzer water, and of course, iced tea.

A snack I have been making almost daily is (freshly popped on the stove) popcorn. Amy's tend post inspired me to add herbs to it, so I went out and picked a few sage leaves (her recipe uses basil) and stirred them into the popcorn. So good! (I missed posting at tend on Thursday due to an awful migraine, sorry about that.)

Last week we took our cat Jack to the vet. He's been having unusual muscle spasms, which of course, raised our concern. Right now, we are waiting on more test results, checking for various things in his blood work. So at this point, these seizures remain a mystery. Thankfully he isn't in any pain.

An upside to the 104°F heat? Laundry dries on the line in about thirty minutes flat. Thankfully today (Sunday) is a bit cooler.

Did you know I'm keeping a journal at Blue Sparrow Press?

It's great to see a new handmade shop in downtown Lawrence. Welcome made! Aimee visited the shop and posted some great pics on her blog.

Have you seen Stephanie's new e-course, Creative Courage? I can think of no one better to lead a course, it looks amazing.

Here's some photos of a new project, an artist's studio, that my husband and his company designed and built. It is fantastic. I'm so proud of them!

I'm glad we're starting a new week. Last one was tough. I'm ready to move on!

Moving Sale!

Thank you for your recent feedback and comments about my new letterpress venture Blue Sparrow Press! I have also made other decisions lately. At the end of July I will be closing my Etsy shop, which I opened in March of 2008. It's been a good three years, but no longer will I be selling my art (paintings, prints, watercolor etc.) on Etsy or Bigcartel. My work will be available only through select galleries and my website. I have thought about this for a while. Since I will be opening the Blue Sparrow Press shop soon, I want to make all transitions at the same time.

So how about a sale? Save 20% right now in my Etsy shop when you enter coupon code MOVINGSALE711 upon checkout! It's the last chance to get some items; either they are about gone or won't be making the move. So go pick up some letterpress goods and mail something fun!

Welcome to Blue Sparrow Press™!

For a while I have been mentioning here and there that I am establishing a letterpress business. This summer I am setting up and busily printing away. And I have been waiting for "the right time" to announce and share this news with you, but hey, how about today?! I think now is as good a time as any to introduce you to my new letterpress business, Blue Sparrow Press™. (insert cheers here!) It's not easy to convey my feelings about it all here in a blog post, but I would love for you to visit and let me know what you think. You can read the story and inspiration behind Blue Sparrow Press™ on the About page and get a few sneak peeks of works in progress in my Journal. More to come, soon! Follow me on twitter so you'll be sure not to miss the official launch. Thanks so much!

Hello July

It's July already?! The summer, as usual, is flying by fast. I've been busily working on different components of my new letterpress business. I hope to share a little bit with you next week about it!

It's been a full week at tend, we hope you'll visit. Our garden is doing well, and these 100 degree temps I think are helping our first tomato to ripen! We've been eating golden raspberries, beets, kohlrabi, baked kale crinkles, purple onions, and are watching the green beans and green peppers form. The garden changes daily!

Ok, back to printing for me. But first, leftover roasted veggies for lunch and a glass of iced tea. Have a great long holiday weekend!