it's tuesday, so someone please tell me.....

what the hell happened in my studio?
it looks like a bomb went off in here!

i may have to do something about that!
i hope everyone had a good weekend.....
it was very hot here yesterday..... so hot we put the ac on in the studio but bernie didn't put it in upstairs
so if you talk to me this week and i sound weird......it's partly from no ac at night
i am not sleeping well
i still have a sore throat and i sound rough from the lingering plague-i also lose my voice occasionally.

i want to thank everyone for the comments on my lace addiction.... remember i just knit them
i didn't design the patterns for them or dye the yarn for them
although some times i do...... lately i have been content to just pick out pretty colors and knit something that someone else did all the thinking about..... lately it seems enough just to handle picking out which pattern/which yarn--- i get like that from time to time. i think right now it's a matter of
 ''let me think about this house and drawing, and let knitting be escape"

i am gradually bringing my winter things down to the freezers to freeze for the summer. all the finished shawls you folks just saw are now sleeping in the deep freeze for the summer...to be followed by the hats and other knitted things...... i need those vacuum bags for the knitting i think, and i have wool winter coats that need to go as well....
maybe the down should too?

over the weekend, bernie started on the repairs on the deck......we got caught up with laundry that we werent' able to wash (no way to dry it with all the rain) and some odds 'n ends.....
and of course mucked pens
i have clean ducks!
i have clean chickens

today i need however to get back into my routine
dishes
ducks
drawing
i should move some compost into the garden now that it's so hot out and plant cuc's and pole beans
and i have to actually buy a damn tomato plant as the possum got my stuff
there is also a compost pile that could use a good turning out there
i have to do some work in this studio as well.....
i should also clean the bedroom but without ac up there i don't think so
maybe i will do part of the bathroom next time i'm up there using it

we have a lot of bbq left over (on purpose) from grilling yesterday....this way the house isn't hot during the week
i still want to get that chicken to can.........and roast a turkey to can
(plus can some dried beans)
i have to make some salads like mac salad and egg salad for cold meals with this heat
i would also imagine that my lettuces may bolt....we got one good cutting off them this weekend... and i pulled the spinach for the chickens as it was bolting as well
i'll have to plant something else in there eatable huh?
my snow peas aren't doing much, neither are my sugar snaps......too much rain for them then too hot
i am thinking we so need hoop houses now......
well everyone, i have to go now
start my week more or less
hope all is well with you folks

i'm in the mood for lace

and i don't know why
i been knitting a lot of lace in the past few months
 one shawlette after another
and lusting after expensive skein of hand dyed sock yarn after another...... (and occasionally buying them)
my fingers keep slipping on patterns on ravelry, and i keep knitting
and knitting......and knitting
my preference is to knit with beads, lately i want big honking 2/0 E beads....glass ones
as i like the weight
i like using multicolor beads on a project too
maybe it's the gypsy in me........i just know i was a gypsy in a past life
i love gypsy lore, and gypsy fact, gypsy horses, gypsy colors, vandos, song, culture.......it's all so very fascinating....deeply fascinating....
yup i was really a gypsy in a past life- it reflects in my preferences of colors... all of them all at once...... mostly warm, add some gold, and copper and silver........
i know that it isn't really 'just a phase' as i have always loved many bright colors together with lots of flashes of sparkle, in gypsy fashions...... (the hippie era was wonderful for my love of color) now in real life i tend to wear quiet solid colors (not always but a lot of the time) why? well my personality in real life is rather big.......so i try to tone it down as much as i can......solid color clothing seems to help
but i guess i can't tone it down in what i knit, or how i draw.....or even in the colors in the house
i have a pair of burgundy chesterfield love seats...........and have had them for over 30 years....... (after all you are who you are)
so lately i think that whole need for 'my' colors is why i am knitting obsessively.....shawl after shawl after shawl......
it sure beats starting to paint the vandos decorations and scroll work on the walls...huh? cause that would have been my next outlet if i didn't knit so much color.

now today it's brutally hot out...huh? in may? i am so sick of going from january to august without anything in between.
i had planned on drawing on the deck
so much for that, as everything would run with the sweat dripping off me
we put the ac on and it's just taken it down to 'almost tolerable'
so until i can get back to actual drawing
i am knitting color
what are you folks doing?

shhhhh it's really saturday afternoon, but pretend it's sunday ok?

just in case i get to sleep in???
which i did NOT this morning

we got the duck pens mucked, the night crates cleaned
the stuff left over from the flooding done, the chickens cleaned
and i am exhausted
bernie did a bit more then i did but i did the really messy mucking
i still can't smell too well so that was a big plus
however
i am now not able to move
maybe i should have (still have n't) eatten something?

it's 4pm and so far i had coffee this morning and about an hour ago a lemonaide
hmmm
bernie took a look at me before and told me i look terrible
ya THINK?

i want to take a shower but i don't know if i have clean house pants
and town pants are out of the question

we're going to have ravioli tonight, i made the sauce the other day...... so it's just doing the pasta
dropping frozen ravioli in the boiling water

i suppose this plague is breaking

green stuff is coming out my nose,......gee i really am completely surrounded by green!
inside and out!

today we are to muck pens but it's to rain..........so mucking can't happen in the rain
delay that

meanwhile bernie's been doing dishes as i can't lately........
we won't discuss why the outside of my coffee mug has 'texture' we will agree that due to this plague i am hallucinating and that the glass is as it always has been......smooth
i better be up to standing to do dishes by tomorrow, before the plates end up have 'relief' carved into them

bernie saw the flowering rhodo from the bedroom window this morning...he flipped.
he doesn't want me to cut it
sorry dear but it's run over the electrical wires and overgrown the front windows
we'll wait until after the flowers run though
oye
it is pretty, i agree
and he didn't even see what i saw the other day......sunlight on it
i imagine if he'd seen that i would be sleeping in another state as he would have tossed me before he let me cut that rhodo back
it was a stupid place to plant a rhodo (former owners did that) and now the thing is huge
when we moved in bernie raked the leaves out from under it and then complained when it didn't flower
i convinced him NOT to rake the leaves out, then for one full year i put coffee grinds under it every single day.......that's why it's so huge and flowering like crazy
(not to rhodo growers who are having issues with their plants.... LEAVE THE FALLEN LEAVES)

OYE

right now, as i type, thaddeaus peabody is sitting right next to me,... occasionally tapping my knee with his paw. he does it so gently, this is our head rubbing time, i rub his little head.
when i stop he taps me
we all have our little routines, even the animals
this is one of his
actually i like him when he's like this......i know he's not getting into trouble....which he did last night
oh man
last night............
oye oye
we were out on the deck having supper....
thaddeaus naturally was miffed that he too wasn't out on the deck with us
so he opened the door
and tried to get out
and got his head stuck
which we laughed at ........hysterically while doing nothing to free him
he did free his head but the door sorta of shut on him a little
not enough to actually hurt him but enough to remind him not to do that again
hmmmmmmm
i love a bad behavior that is self correcting!
ok so we laughed a very long time at him
hahahaha
but he didn't do it again!!!!
smart boy
however just in case, we are going to keep the screen door latched unless we're on the deck
life is never dull here

oh and one more thing
i need to DRAW
need to
absolutely

NOW

could it be? blue skys, and i am back from the walking dead?

i think though i dislocated a rib while yacking all night wednesday
gees, just when i didn't think i could get any sicker.....but today i am better

however i slept through most of the night and all of the storms so it's not so bad today

this weekend we are to take part in what apparently is a herron family tradition now...mucking manure
used to be we mucked sheep barns, this weekend we are mucking duck pens
(just think, normal folks have BBQ)
i don't know why it works out that way but it does
i am hoping to get a jump on it but we'll see how i feel

my cousin nick had a tree down on his house.....took the corner off
he's fine, the house will be fine
we didn't see any damage here
and we got TREES huge ass trees
couple hundred year old trees
not a branch is down from what we can see

bernie told me not to over do it today as last night was the first actual sleep i've gotten in over a week
i'll play it by ear

yesterday i tried to start on my studio again which has gotten seriously out of hand
i didn't get too far
i did however print out my reference photo for the next drawing (several times actually)
i ran out of steam when it was time to start the actual blocking out of the drawing
at that point i declared it 'pizza thursday' and informed bernie
maybe he's right about not over doing it today?

i got some pictures for you guys.......this is our rhodo on the front of the house....it's so big now that it covers the front. i am intending on either moving it or cutting it way back in about a week. as i don't want it covering the front windows or giving any area for crooks to hide (or deer..sorry bambi)
but it's a pretty thing, the colors are a big washed out in the photo's. it's actually a deep raspberry color
but i thought you all would like to see it. i think it's about 20 feet tall now and just a sheet of color

ok i have to finish my coffee and get dress, no i am not dressed yet.....blame that on the plague too
oye

ok gotta go

not yet amoungst the living

this thing is knocking me for a loop
bernie keeps bringing home newer more powerful plagues from the hospitals around.....the people he works with go into all the facilities and they get stuff and pass it on to him
he brings it home to me
and you all get to hear me kevetch
i was up most of the night choking and coughing.. whatever this thing is...it's taken up residence in my head and doesn't want to let go
i am walking around with a constant sinus headache too

so forgive me if i'm not all there

yesterday i decided that i would sweep the studio floor..... (through the brain fog)
i texted bernie......'where is the broom?'
he didn't know
ok

next i texted him 'where is the mop'
ditto
in frustration i texted him 'do we even HAVE a vacuum anymore'
oye
i did find the broom however so swept a small section of the studio floor before i had to give that up
in the foggy recesses of my snot covered brain i figured i would pull all the wheelie furniture out.......sweep, and the rearrange things so i can start that drawing of amelia as a duckling
ok that didn't work out well
plan b would be a good thing right now

i don't have a plan b at the moment

in knitting news i am done and binding off forget-me-not
i think i missed one set of repeats......but i ran out of stitches for the short rows so i figured it was a done deal
i am also almost out of yarn between those two facts, i am sure you all would agree with me that binding off is the wisest thing to do.
actually i think it's going to be nice.....but what do i know at the moment
i will tell you that i am actually doing the suggested bindoff instead of my beloved sewn bindoff.....and i am seriously liking it!
it's neat looking, which is something i like..... and it's stretchy, which is also something i like in lace or socks
photo's will follow blocking which will happen as soon as i am physically able
then into the freezer

now onto other things,
like the studio again,
i need a flat file for paper.
i most likely should get a 40'x36'
right now i cut all the paper that comes in and put it in clam shell boxes (which are black and i am thinking of covering with fabric)
i would like at least two drawers to hold full sheets
and i may figure out a fix for this as i think it's the last of the storage related problems to work out

i saw a picture on line of a pair of drafting tables, one large and one smaller, back to back sorta
the large one was tilted, the small one flat and tucked under the tilted one........ how freeken BRILLIANT is that?
how much space can i save with that???????????????????????
absolutely brilliant, so that is what i am going to do..... and THAT will be part of my craft/design/paint center but i will still use my little low wheeled tabley thingie to draw on....... and wheel the taboret around as i need it
i think i can butt this up to a shelf unit and it will work out pretty well. i may use the flat table for beading too
now to get my big antique drafting table on wheels...... that's one hitch in my plan
i want all the studio furniture on wheels, as i think the shakers seriously had it right. wheels make things efficient and easy to clean around

anyway, if i can get some of this done soon, the function of the studio will be much improved i believe.... then just the aesthetics needs work- and i got that sort of worked out and ready to go
oh and somehow i am going to move the computer lines over...... it's too hot here when the woodstove is on.

ok that's my current situation
i feel like crap
apparently i am not dead yet.......
and when i can i need to deal with some furry creature who's digging in all my planters at night
little bastard is most likely going to be run off by a combination of dried blood meal and cat fur
or something

take care
until i am again alive

theraflu is my new best friend, every 4 hours

without it i am a moaning mass of quivering pain.
with it i am half asleep but able to stand for short periods of time and do some things
i got the ducks out early

due to this flu, and the dark overcast days i am adrift again.........
not fully in this world
i have so much to do as usual but am not getting anything done much
animal chores are the only things i am getting done as they are necessary

i am ready to start a new drawing, which if i had already set it up, would be relatively easy to work on....as i would be out of my own way while doing it
however it's not set up
i was working on it when laid low with this plague.......(bernie thinks that by tomorrow i should be better)
just so you all know the next drawing is amelia (when she was a duckling and we called her bigfoot) instructing two of the other ducklings on being feisty, which we all know amelia does best
i am thinking of doing it three times
once as a color study,
once as a black and white and the third time with type on it
i also intend on using the new easel for this and see how that goes.....it will be so odd not to be leaning up on my drafting table while i am drawing.....it will be the first time i do a detailed drawing on an easel so we'll see if that makes any difference in how i work

does anyone else who is getting this rain feel blahhhhh? and sort of drifty or is it only me?

up all night due to plague

eventually theraflu got me back to sleep

i am miserable
i don't do sick well

and i am all upset as the rain is preventing me from doing the front door, the chandelier, and other painting i am behind on

today is monday, it's almost 9am and it's dark as anything out there and inside
i opened the budgie cages up but they aren't really too loud as they are still convinced it's really early
meanwhile i took dayquil
and next up time for coffee

oh and vicki, i am thinking you're right, i need to buy a few i suppose, but they are 5.00 a plant!
that's what gets me so angry about the possum getting mine, for a few cents i have wonderful sturdy seedlings! or had
however with the endless rain i may not bother.....
i am now just hoping for pole beans and maybe some cool weather stuff
and a good price on sweet peppers as well as other things so i can dry them

i'm getting going now folks as my head really hurts

a wonderfully interesting idea in a dream

i dreamt i had a new studio, built for me by an architect......
in the dream it all started with us asking for a small shed/shack out back built out of leftovers to just let me have a painting/sculpting space
then in the dream when i walked into it
it was the studio of EVERYONE'S dreams
it was flooded with light, was in my favorite shade of 'jersey cow grass fed' cream and i was lead down a long hall that was amazing into a gallery room where all my duck pictures where hung!!!!
the one that you walked into first was the blk/wht with the monsters in the leaves....(yes it's one of my favorites)

and then on the other side was a cat walk over a downstairs which had............... PENS
cows, pigs, ducks, goldfish, chickens, and sheep!!!!!
amazing huh?

in the dream there was a party going on, and i remember people telling me that i got the studio because of the drawings... i kept wondering if the architect had the right artist!
big windows overlooking the stream out back, and the woods refracted and reflected light into the house and the green green green of fresh leaves sparkling with water droplets
(and apparently there was also a kitchen in this place- i did consider moving into it)
i did not want to wake up
i also realized we need to start doing something about my current studio
which brings me to donna's question...... well, if i redo some of the studio furniture and only put the watercolor/pen in the same corner but pretty-fied.....(it's a work now right?... although it is scary looking like petrified)---i could still keep it in the room we use now as my studio, this room CAN become a kitchen/family room and i could put the storage in another area right? build a closet somewhere?
oye
anyone know a really really GOOD interior designer

now in gardening news
the opossum got my hardening off seedlings......and also the new mosquito netting......
so no peppers this year it looks like
shit
i am behind on peppers now
and of course today the rain is coming, but at least we got towels dried yesterday, we had no more towels

the other thing we did was take the cats out and let fawn and thaddeaus run around in the mosquito netting tent thing.....they sort of liked it, a bit over whelmed i think
all the more reason to really think about getting a roof over the deck if bernie fixes the concrete supports (we talked to the stone mason quarry place, and they told him how to do it)

so now i will take me, my plague (this one sucks bigtime, i got a terrible sore throat)
and my coffee and go online to read the news

everyone have a good weekend

green green, all i see is green

now this spring fresh rain green, THAT is a green i can get behind!
ordinarily i don't like green.
the real color of leaves is so alive that trying to make it into a pigment or dye just falls so far short of the market as to be painful
but give me alive leaves and yup THAT green i like
now when i look out the studio window all i see is green leaves, it's like living in a tree house

now today, bernie may or may not do the deck........he's got the plague, he gave it to me.....
i am looking to pass it on as well.
it's not the sort of gift you really are too happy about no?

as to the prolonged rain, it's caused a slight problem with laundry around here, since i didn't let bernie fix the dryer.......
it's not drying inside with the woodstove on, and of course fish are swimming around my outside clothesline........
so we have a bit of a back up here
except today
it looks like we've got a window of dryness here today......if so we'll be hustling to get the towels all dry
we need a small stackable pair of washer/dryer for the studio i think, and ditch the big dryer in the cellar, but keep the big washer.
oye
we're back to square one on the kitchen too, i keep wondering if after we fix the deck, would it be smart to move the kitchen into the studio....put a bathroom/laundry room in the old kitchen and turn the old dining room into a tv room/office library
gee now's the time i wish i knew a good interior designer, that was certified.
i need a much better floor plan for this house

and sometime soon i need to get another quarantine cage and three boy budgie babies...oye
the budgie madness never ends once it starts i think

in duck news, the pens are completely filled with muck
we're hoping that the rains stay stopped long enough to let the water drain so we can get the muck out and add fresh bedding all around.
the muck will be most welcome in the garden though
and if it stays nice i can harvest some spearmint to dry for winter
the plants are big out there now and sweet

the carrots and that are sprouted but not really all that big, the peas seem to be thinking about growing but they too aren't doing as well as they should be by now
i want to put the cuc's in soon, and i have no where to put the pole beans!
this season i think is going to be a disappointing one

i want to get some meat from rooster hill farm, and also put some chicken up from the purveyor
i would like to have enough out of the garden to harvest too, it looks like the garlic is ok and the onions, i am hoping for beets and turnips to be put by and really my biggest hope now is a fall/winter garden due to the nightmare spring rains we've been having

how's it by you guys?

ok i have to run now
we've got to get started
have a wonderful weekend everyone

at this rate

i won't be getting my painting done
or anything else like gardening etc

now today i woke up to a sore throat, to that shawl holden in the cat food bowl and cat puke on it as well- my computer was turned on (wtf is up with that every morning?)
and of course........flooded pens
i am contemplating going back to bed now
waking up tuesday

maybe

bernie is very very happy about the stress test, and has taken to teasing me unmercifully about how much i worry.
ahem
i knit with bamboo needles......normally with either circulars or double points
anywheres from 2 to 5 at a time
he really shouldn't be annoying me so much i think

just saying

oh and since he passed the stress test
his permanent job is emptying ponds

yup

right now i am waiting for my coffee, i've been down here a while and forgot to do the coffee!
why no i am not totally awake yet what clued you in?
meanwhile forget-me-not is slowly coming along, we went up early last night......i didn't get as much sleep as i could have due to the really loud excessive torrential rains, i will sleep in with bernie tomorrow
(i wish it was tonight already cause i could use more sleep i think)

but right now, anyone want to join me in a cup of coffee?
i hear and smell that mine is done now

vi

he passed!!!!

oh wow did he pass..... he's got the healthy heart of a man at least 10 if not more years younger then he is
we are so relieved
we went to applebees after, as he was starving and had been wanting to go
i wanted to come home since it was raining but maybe it was good we went

and raining it has been
oh man, even though bernie has been helping me to try and keep them dry with fresh bedding we can't keep up with it
i don't think anyone could with the rains here

i picked up my tabletop easel at hobby lobby, with the coupon it cost me about 30$
these type easels are normally about 50......so very well done there
now if the weather would just let up so we can eat on the deck and i can use my easel out there

in budgie news, poor mrs fezziwig is all by herself away from the flock....... she's really frantic to get back to them but since she insists on trying to kill emma.....no
the constant running back and forth though is worrying me
however i figure she'll lose a bit of weight

i am almost half way through forget-me-not, it was a very good waiting room knit...... it's not boring, it's pretty fast and pretty easy and.......well......... just plain pretty!
i put silver lined gold and silver lined ruby beads in place of the nupps as i am trying to save yarn. this one too will have a hat to match...........
***the pictures do not do this justice, the colors are amazing ***

bernie has a stress test today

he's 'apprehensive'
to the tenth power
i told him it wouldn't be a problem............ ( i hope)


meanwhile we are still getting rain.......everything including the AIR is green
pens are flooded
it's too cold to put pepper or tomato plants out but i am moving turnips and radishes and beets around
peas seem happy
carrots and salad greens are doing well.

meanwhile back in budgie heaven......things aren't so heavenly.......
mrs fezziwig is removed to her own lonely cage
and she is lonely
she wants back to the flock so bad- she is running back and forth in front of the cage door........well she's going to loose some of that fat she put on with captain cuttle feeding her so much.

emma and estella are happy with captain cuttle so far, everyone is ignoring estella
which is sad but ok
we are going to get at least two more boys..... and after quarantine we'll put them in with mrs fezziwig first

with the rain, the duck pens are a mess............ gelatinous messes of oozing goo...........
the ducks love it cause it's filled with worms......me not so much
they are also making even more mud (if that is possible) with their ponds so maybe today everyone gets buckets no ponds?

in knitting news, i am doing 'forget-me-not shawlette, which i can't find a picture of off ravelry but i'll show you all, weather permitting, when it's done
mine's in reds
WHAT? you all surprised? hahahahahahaahahaha
anyway i got the border pretty much done, and am starting the body. i needed to get the beading out of the way before bernie's appointment as this is my waiting room knitting i think
it seems simple enough for mindless knitting ( the border would have been if i'd done nupps instead of beads but i wanted to save yarn)

ok everyone, i have to get the coffee and start my day as we're leaving early
i hope those folks that are getting this rain stay dry and the folks that ARE not getting any rain
well come with tankers here and take some
or please......dig a BIG irrigation ditch ok?
til next time

vi

budgie woes due to rain

they want to breed......i have three girls and one boy
and they don't want to share
mrs fezziwig is trying to kill off emma
who's captain cuttle's one true love
oye
so i am going to move her out into a separate cage as soon as it's dark
it's the rain stimulating them
meanwhile i am squirting mrs fezziwig with a spray bottle to keep her from killing emma
seriously
she had emma on the floor on her back and was going for the throat
poor emma

now it's still raining....... we had two road calls over the weekend....... saturday night/sunday morning from 1:25 am to 4:45am and then again sunday night from 8:33pm to 10:07pm........in the pouring rain of course
i made bernie nap sunday afternoon
what else?
i am transplanting turnips and radishes and beets and spinach....(oh my)
yes i am doing this in the rain

meanwhile bernie said he had a problem with malcom saturday morning...... i've been making sure ever since but i think bernie said that cause he didn't want to put the ducks out by himself saturday
his leg is hurting him too, the one he hurt in 2002
i feel so bad for him
ok chicklets i gotta go now

transplanting the turnips

and new homeowners insurance
oye
we got a HUGE increase in our homeowners, without a claim!!!!
so, i am now looking for new homeowners insurance
i called state farm, and a friend suggested call aarp which i will do as soon as i get off the phone
meanwhile i am behind

*** it is now like 9 hours later, i have called aarp and signed up......AND got our insurance changed so we're saving 300 a year.......
i was told years and years ago that it pays to switch insurance companies every three years........and you know what, i think that is good advise.

now the mail today brought us a mosquito net for the umbrella on the deck
the new yarn i ordered
and that letter from our now FORMER insurance company
the ducks were put out late so they are going to stay out there later......
malcom is pissy
he'll have to stay pissy cause he's not getting a woman in with him

btw, tuesday night we harvested the first of the baby spinach from the garden........ it was to die for!
oh MAN was that good, now if only i remembered which variety i put out there
oye
next will be lettuces.......and it's time to plant the cuc's

this weekend we are to talk to the stone mason supply to do maintance on the deck, put in at least two new raised beds in the garden, and finish doing the mildew treatment on the front
then i will be painting ( all this in time for the RAIN that's to come this week right?)
i have the trim on the studio to do yet

now it's friday, blogger has been insane for a it.....i think since the 11th or so.
this week for me has sort of drifted by
i have been doing dishes, and a lot of research, dealing with phone calls for bernie's stress test that's coming up and then doing insurance stuff
not the least of my issues this week has been picking my next knitting project........
and i finally DID, its' called 'forget me not shawlette'
and i think i am going to do it in the dream in color starry......(flamingo pie)
i need 125 size 6 beads for it as well.......
mmmm i think i can do that no?
i expect that by the time it's time to sit in the waiting room for bernie, i will be down to the easiest part of this shawl..........and the end as well.
if i finish it before i plan on starting the matching hat
(my motto from now on is the hat is going to match the shawl/cowl/scarf so i don't look like a bag lady)

meanwhile i continue to transplant the turnips and am about to start to seed the cucumbers
i have to hill up the leeks too
oye

bernie got his mosquito netting for the umbrella......oh man...... i will have to tell you all about it another day......when i have the strength to face it
needless to say it was a great theory....... but slightly less then great in practice
can i have an OYE?

right now looking out the studio windows my world is very very green looking
that particular shade of spring green that speaks of lush rainfall, and happy plants
now THAT green i love!
but it's time for me to get the duckies in.............
so my chicklets i bid you adieu
until next time

front door progress

here are before/during photo's
as you can see the door is an english plum (and mildew- see in the upper corner that i can't reach???) say good bye to the plum, the seasonal mildew and the mismatched hardware............
the new colors are cream and sweet violet!
i spent most of today working very hard, scraping and sanding........ then sweeping and more scraping..... tomorrow i think i will be washing down the mildew, followed by rinsing and then more sanding
then caulking.......and FINALLY painting!!!
 oh and the violet color in the little violet picture.......isn't quite the color it is in real life......that picture is much bluer then the original
the trim is going to be a cream color and then the door will be violet..... as to the hardware, i am wondering about brushed nickel, or actually i would love something that looked like brushed silver........or a coppery color.........
but i don't think either of those would work
so we'll just have to see what we can see when we get the storm door up, and the front door painted

i did have a momentary pause to consider a rose gold for the door........
and i also kicked around the idea of applying molding to make panels and ditching those damn vertical grooves....those things are just mildew traps anyway.
i have to cut back the yews and some of the front maple as well......WAY BACK       (think nubbins)

bernie is to put small halogen or something spot lights under the porch roof to shine on the door and also on the stairs.....then a railing
he's also going to have to paint the porch roof as no one seems to think it's a good idea for me to get up there....... after all that we get 'shutters' on either side of the door.......cut in a curve at the top to allow for the supports for the roof....... (and to be somewhere to hang season decorations and flowers on no?)
what do you guys think?
the hardware needs to look old and cottagey cause this place IS old and definitely is a cottage
and i doubt that polished brass would look well with violet.......(although it did look great with the plum)
maybe we'll go a bit lighter with the violet but i think this is pretty much it..............
and we won't be waiting 25 years to repaint the trim and door next time, i am thinking........3 years tops
oye

oh MY since thursday? oops!

i hope everyone's mother's day was good, and i am hoping everyone's weekend was restful.

ok let's see
 today i am sanding and painting the trim on the front door
it's a color called cafe cream from behr, UL140-12u in a semi gloss- i took my favorite cream paint chip in (from valspar) and it matched pretty close if not identical so off we go
this paint is got primer build in so i have high hopes of no issues and no more mildew
but we do have to prune the tree back.
we went sunday to home depot to get the paint. now online and in blogland this paint is highly recommended so we'll see
we have picked a color for the front door, it's a violet from the sweet violets out back
and a secondary paint color from another violet.......so i need to get to the paint store with the flowers to have the formula matched
i may try to talk bernie into putting some molding on the door so that i can paint both the violets on it
(one is lighter and one is darker and i love them)
we need to decide on hardware colors too for the door, as we need new...... and with the purple i would like a white silver, but we're so used to polished brass.....hmmmmmm


on saturday, bernie raked up the driveway and the deck, while i worked more in the garden.......weeding season is here.
he also brought me a nice large box of books *used* from the sale at betterworldbooks.com, (thank you susan)  mostly ghost stories !!!!
we spent a quiet weekend as three furry little culprits conspired to unplug the phone! which wasn't discovered until sunday
got laundry done, played with ducks and budgies and cats........(chickens were too busy doing their whole chickeny thing)

bernie put in the first movie of the deathly hollows again, this time i am pleased to say i sat through about 75 % of it....that's fantastic for me........i had to keep asking him about stuff though as he's watched it like 4 times and i barely have watched it once
i think this one and the first one are my favorites but i didn't like the dance scene....it was like WTF?
and what's up with ron calling harry 'mate' all the time

i ordered more yarn......in honor of MDSW.......which we didn't go to... it was on sale! two ella rae in i think 119
 and two different color ways of araucania itala multy one in oranges/browns and one in browns (to match two coats i have>?)  well they were on a serious sale..... the itala was like 12 a skein!
and the ella rae was about 15 so i did well.- free shipping too.....
i am thinking i got enough fingering for lace for a while no?
although some silk lace weight would be good too........don't you think?
i have quite a few in the line up and just added liliiflora by lilygo to the queue.
i think i'd like to do batik first though. then one of the others that look so very good.
i've taken to buying enough yarn to do a hat to match so i don't look like a total bag lady

anyway folks i am going to start my day, as i got the sander out to do the rough/finish sanding.....and i can't wait to see this painted
if i can get through this today i am going to SO be fired up about the deck/studio trim painting which will make me so happy as it's been all chippy and peeling for a long time now
i also moved my chair and broke a window out there saturday morning, so i need to take care of that too this week
oye
ttyl
vi

a small relief

for my poor long stuffed and achy sinuses--not much but a bit
and the heat kicked on this morning?
wtf?
oye
in other news, new jackass neighbor who may not be a jackass but we'll see.......is taking down the privacy fence. oh man there goes MY privacy........but at least my chain link is there
i am hoping that he puts it up a bit closer so that his dog doesn't try to dig under
if not i am going to start some evergreens over there
i dont' want his dog to see my ducks or it's going to be a mess.

we had horrid rain yesterday, so i threw malcom in with the little girls........BIG mistake
he had pru IN the water, actually UNDER the water while he had his way with her.....and stripped all the feathers off her back and some feathers off the neck of amelia so no more women for malcom

basically then, what do i need him for?
duck rape is not what i want going on

today is sunny so i am going to get out there and muck pens i think,
i seeded more lettuce in the upper deck planters (which caused the cessation of rain naturally)
i hoed out some of the damn burdock that bernie didn't listen about and allowed to go to seed in the lawn.......gee thanks bernie
pernicious and deep rooted weeds are what i always wanted in my garden- i am going to put some vinegar on the roots and see where we get
and yes i do know we can eat them...... oye
oh and btw, i like this stirrup hoe of mine......did a pretty good job!

i am still knitting on that hat to match damask......i bought a pattern off ravelry from france......why the hell did i bother? i had to really just do my own thing and just barely almost get near to sorta following the pattern.......
first off i didn't even notice that the pattern wasn't written for knitting in the round......hahahaha
i knit it in the round
then it had cast on 104 ..........nope you need at least 138 for a head in doubled sock yarn......oye
really it was me being too lazy to figure it out on my own
and yes i have gotten spoiled and lazy
so many good young designers with excellent pattern writing skills.. well this particular hat pattern really isn't worth the price
i like the hat design but the pattern really is poorly written
and there is a much better way to knit it then following the pattern
oye

well everyone i hope you are all safe, and happy
i am going to start my day (late i know)

see yous all tomorrow......
vi

down the valley

*** sounds like 'downa shore' which is a jerseyism from when i was a kidlet***
yesterday bernie had a doctor's appointment, a preliminary for his physical.
i actually like this doctor, as does bernie. we got the sheet for labs and went right after the doctor's
he also scheduled a stress test along with a follow up
bernie wanted to know what a stress test was
i told him that they put leads on his chest and make him run on a treadmill
he didn't believe me

so i told him.........they throw you and me in a room for 45 minutes while i yell at you, if you don't have a stroke or  and die.......you pass
all the way home after that he kept pretending to have a heart attack
oye
i imagine he's got ok bp cause they only took it once and the doc didn't ask about anything or say anything about it. even though his entire family has high cholesterol and high blood pressure......he doesn't normally
the doctor did speak to him about his smoking, telling him that if he quits he will live a long healthy life.
they will discuss it later they both agreed
i was really just there to make sure that bernie told the doctor the truth about why he was there.....
which naturally bernie didn't
BERNIE said, 'i'm here cause my wife worries'
then the doc said to me
'ok, what isn't he telling me'
i pulled out the list
most stuff is just minor, a slight fungus on his hand
some minor shoulder pains
but his sweat does smell like fruit and i am worried about his coughing
so the doctor added some stuff to the lab work that is a bit more then just the basics
now NEXT visit is the prostrate exam and the true all over physical.
but at least bernie is comfortable with this doctor and i think it will go better.
as an aside this doc trained in france!
maybe that's why he felt so human?

now today i have to catch up on dishes and do soggy pens. i am seriously thinking of putting malcom up here though with amelia and prudence. amelia is broody but pru loves her momma now
so we'll see how pru takes that
it's still raining too
but i have hoses out there already so no bucket schlepping just ducks and pans.....actually just ducks and one large feed bucket to fill the pans i forgot out.
and then.........today
i have a date with dishes
and more dishes
oye
i need more coffee for this

ttyl stay safe and dry folks

everyone should be so lucky

as to have a big fluffy cream colored cat to cuddle with at night
like a giant stuffed animal that purrs
although he did keep me up a good part of the night.
he likes to sleep in my arms on my pillow, under the covers.....between me and bernie.
i don't sleep well when he isn't there though

i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
we cleaned the deck and brought the patio furniture out, only to find that the umbrella canopy had a hole. i stapled it but i need a new one.
if we get a new cover i will take the old one and sew a sunbrella fabric one
bernie keeps looking at red or navy but i am looking at the khaki.....
although if we change the color of the umbrella, i can spray paint the table and chairs......

we got a new pond for the duckies.....were they grateful? na...........
so yesterday we ate on the deck
we got two new curly hoses....i love those thing! one for the deck so i am not tripping over the hose
and one for the garden so i am not tripping out there
i think i am in love!!!! those hoses are COOL, i just wish they were purple instead of green but that's ok, as long as they work well

we also filled those new planters with dirt so that i can put in some more lettuces with the blueberries that i am putting in there.
we're going to have to fix the wooden part of the deck, which is the uprights and the 'gazebo' part

i ordered mosquito netting for the umbrella too, as this way we can sit out there without me getting eaten like candy.
i think it's time to roof that deck and screen most of it in.........i think
if we spend as much time out there as i think we'll be, i am going to have to put in a wireless router whether i like it or not- although i would prefer a jack or something else but we'll see

i am almost done with the hat i am knitting to match damask. it will be just in time to be putting ALL the hand knits in the freezer for the summer.

well i am most definitely having coffee with you all this morning.
i got up late- and had a small accident with the hot fancy feast and olive oil........i completely shattered a corelle bowl that was full of cat food..... poor calpurrnia as it was her cat food
but the corelle shattered into a zillion pieces.... so prior to coffee and without glasses i had to clean it up. i was too afraid one of the cats would get into it
i even tossed the broom and the dust pan outside to insure that they don't get it.
i'll be hosing it all down later
now i forgot the stuff to do the front door and trim, the coarse sand i need for the carrots..
the black spray paint i need for a few projects
oye
the list goes on
i should go to town to finish up today but it's so over cast and i am so sleepy yet that i won't
now i have to run, as it's late
(all my fault but really all thaddeaus' fault)

ttyl
vi