Rules for a Happy Marriage sign

 

Good fabulous morning everyone!  Isn’t it a gorgeous day?

Here is my motto for the day…I think I need to make it into a sign.

If feels like Spring is here though I do realize that we have had snow dump on us during Spring break, 3 feet or so of snow. 

This is a photo of my front garden on March 25th, 2011.  Shudder! 

If you want the full story click the photo.

Our ground is bare today and though my garden looks a bit winter weary I can see signs of life popping up, the tulips are about 2 inches out of the ground…

that reminds me, a trip to Ironstone Winery is in order.  I am sure their barrels are teeming with gorgeousness just waiting for me to come enjoy and photograph. 

Today I must work on the mountain and get a few condos cleaned but I would rather be painting and working on cleaning up my gardens. Though once I am there I do enjoy the beauty that surrounds me, the mountain peaks are still frosted with snow and on a sunny day it is a lovely sight to behold.

Yesterday I let my hens free range my yard and though one strawberry bed has been decimated (I did not think they would come to the front garden, my mistake) they had a great time gobbling up the wormy goodness they scratched up.

Who me?  I’m not hurting your strawberries..

I spent my day, as they wandered, scratched and debugged, wrapping signs to ship, painting on a few others and tidying my studio a bit.  While moving stuff around I found a nest of those nasty black and brown spiders like the one that bit me.  Eeeeuw.

Now spiders in general do not bother me but they do not belong in my studio and now I am merciless in wiping them out since one had the temerity to climb up and bite my face a couple weeks ago. Needless to say they are gone for now.

This is the sign I worked yesterday.  I can’t wait to make one with our name on it and wedding date for the customized sample for the website.  This sign is a good size, 24” x 11.25” 

This one too is a new one, I am working on a second already that has a rose motif (go figure).  This is a large sign, 22” x 22”, I need to photograph them in a set up that gives perspective.  I am working on that. 

Okay, enough of my babbling this morning, I need to get my fandango moving, pack my lunch and head for the hills. 

Check back, I have more signs I got painted up this week!  Just a painting fool.

Feels Like Summer!

A grand Sunday mornin’ to you!  The starting temps this morning are so warm I could swear it was summer.  Last year at this time we were not done with snow, I am so thankful that this year we are getting a Spring to enjoy. Here is a link to my post of last May 15th. 


Kind of makes you want to shudder, doesn’t it?

Today we are to enjoy 80+ degrees.  I will be tap dancing in the garden (actually on my hands and knees weeding and planting)but in my heart I will be dancing. 

Actually rather than boasting of our fine weather I stopped in to share a short post on a couple signs I painted.





A returning customer ordered these signs a few weeks ago. This customer always gives my talents a stretch.  Interpreting her ideas into actual paintings sometimes is outside my current abilities so I have to work for it but I am rewarded with not only her ever lovin’ gratitude but also with the knowledge that I have grown in my art. 




She so graciously sent me photos of them hung in her home and I asked if I could share. 







Thanks Terry for the photos.  A happy Sunday to you all!

 

Progress with my seedlings

It has been so lovely the past few days, mid 60’s for a high so time in my greenhouse has been glorious.  I have so many seedlings out growing their community pots I must pot some up each day.  I am using 3.5 to 4 inch pots and my compost mix to plant them up in.  I use 4 parts compost, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part perlite and 1 part sand. I have run out of the vermiculite so I have substituted more perlite until I restock.  The greenhouse still gets a bit too cold at night as the roof panels still need to be put back into place from the last snow storm that had them buckling. The gaps in the roof allow the warm air to escape.

Our temps have been dropping into the 30’s some nights.  Most of the seedlings will do fine as they don’t mind some cold but not my tomatoes.  I have been moving them in and out morning and night which is rather a pain but I am hoping for some warmer nights soon and the snow is melting fast so we will be able to access the panels to fix them, which will keep the heat in more efficiently. 
Early Girl tomatoes. 

I rather over did the Brandywine, I have over 30 seedlings but I will have a plant sale towards planting time which is late May so no waste.  I also have the fabulous sauce tomato called Costuluto Genovese, it makes the richest marinara I have ever made. And I have the best oven roasted marinara recipe that is so easy.  This is one of 3 tubs of seedlings! 

Remember my Delphiniums, here are the seedlings I started a couple weeks ago, I have another batch going.  I will have A LOT of English Delphiniums started.  I will sell some off when they get bigger along with other specialty plants I grow from seed that you cannot get from the garden centers. 

Some of the tomatoes potted up, they are still in a bit of shock in this shot but I have gone out and checked on them again and they are already perking up. 

Between potting up chores I have been painting.  I had a special order come in and I painted it up for the customer. 
They wanted the lettering to be dark blue, though it looks black in the photo.

While I was painting I whipped up a couple vintage looking signs as well.

I need to do a bunch of seafood or beach signs, my stock is low on my website.


And I finally decided on what I wanted to put on that Flowers sign…I added some faded red flowers. 

This will go up on the website as well. 
Seems we are to be hit with another winter storm, only for one day but anymore snow right now is annoying.  It gets in my way.  I have some big furniture building and painting plans along with some studio revamping and I can’t really get to it until it stays nice and the snow is melted.  Sigh!
May your days be sunny and bright!

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