Practice, Practice, Practice!

Well Hello to you!

Happy Wednesday, March 30.

Last night I watched several YouTube videos of sketching and watercoloring because,

hey, I want to learn how to do that!

I love the translucent look of watercolor paintings.  I love the loose look and the

sketching first with ink.  I love it!

But, alas, I don't know what I'm doing yet and I do attempt it every so often but I get

discouraged easily.  

Then, last night, I got it through my thick head that I don't learn because I don't practice.

Well DUH, right???

 So this morning I brought my cuppa coffee to my craft desk and set up my supplies.

This "old woman" is going to practice, practice, practice. 

Yep.

I'm gonna do it.

My nearly-96-year-old Dad is quite the self-trained artist.  

He loved art so much that he learned how to paint with watercolors among the other mediums.

I think I maybe inherited his love of it.

Well, anyway, I'm ready to dive in and see what damage I can do.

heh heh heh

I hope you're having a lovely day, wherever you may be.

I thank you for your visit.

Comments are always loved, by the way.

Do take care 'till we 'meet again'

MWAH

Connie

xo xo xo

How Did It Become March Already?

Well, already a couple of months have passed since my last post.

It wasn't supposed to happen that way, but, well, you know.

I had good intentions but as usual life got in the way.

My Dad came to live with me temporarily after his release from a two-month stay at a nursing home for therapy following his hospitalization and surgery.  Then he wanted to try living in his home again but, of course, not living alone.  We four daughters and one brother who lives in another state have all pitched in and take turns staying with him.  He must have 24/7 help so we are there 24/7, plus he has hospice care.  For a short period of time he had home health but when he became quite ill again with an infection he was hospitalized for a few days and here we are once again back at his house with care.

He just this week got Internet installed for our benefit.  Today is the first time to have my laptop usable at his house.  He is being entertained with some March Madness basketball (not my interest, AT ALL!) so I figured why not update my blog (FINALLY!!!).

I arrived here this morning and while one of my sisters was still here we had time to hang out a while.  She had to leave so I'm here until in the morning.  I brought a small stash of stuff-to-do including some knitting, some embroidery, my journal, and my electronic devices.  Plenty to keep me busy.

For interest I posted this photo of me and my older sister.

I wasn't very old but I remember this being taken.

Well, Folks, I will end my post here and try to come up with something post-worthy soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a wonderful weekend!

TTFN, Connie

xo xo xo xo xo

January 1, 2022

 Yesterday was New Year's Day and it rained all day long.   A soggy rain.

After having my morning coffee I got busy taking the Christmas tree down and packed up the decorations I'd placed around the house.  When I finished it was nearly noon so I cleaned up and went to visit my elderly father at the rehab facility where he's staying indefinitely following his surgery for his broken leg.

Two of my sisters came there too and the three of us went to eat pizza and then do shopping for Dad (he needed a few more casual shirts and pajama pants).  We did great, found what he described that he wanted in the first store we visited.  

Last night I didn't do much and was in bed by nine.

Yet it was a very nice way to spend the first day in 2022.

Thanks for your visit.

Be back soon,

Connie

xo xo xo

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Wishing you a blessed and safe and happy

new year

2022

TTFN

xo xo xo

Show & Tell -- A Share of a Homemade Journal I Made This Year

My friends know that at one time I loved making quilts.  When I moved (almost) six years ago I gave up quilting and my focus changed to paper arts & crafts.

My favorite thing to make these days is a homemade journal.  Below are pics of one I made recently.  

I don't start out with a plan of any kind.  I begin with making pages then let the project

tell me what to do next.  Before making my first I watched many videos on YouTube for tutorials and inspiration.  I didn't know what a signature was, or what supplies I would choose so I dived in and have loved every moment and every thing that I've learned.

I've got another one started.  I don't know what I will end up with.

Today is the last day of 2021.

I wish you and yours a very happy new year.

Be well, be safe, and be happy!

Much love,

Connie

xo xo xo

O My - Time Flies and Have I Been Distracted!

HELLO to all my friends out there!

Life got me rather distracted and I was MIA for too long.

In August I had cataract surgery.  In December I had another surgery on the same eye.

And in that interval of time my niece became critically ill and my aged father fell and broke his arm and leg and required surgery.  My son and DIL and some of their children had Covid.  

These happenings filled my mind and I didn't give thought to my blog at all.

Today I had a blog comment on my previous post and it shook me back to my little blogging world!

Thank you, Chookyblue!

So, below pic is me at the eye surgery center right before I was taken back for the 2nd

surgery.   It was a vitrectomy.  I'm doing just fine!  Glad I had it because I can

definitely see much better now!

 

The first week or ten days my vision was quite blurry but the air bubble went away and my vision cleared.

I may have the other eye's cataract removed but it might not need it right away.  I have to see the surgeon again and then get new glasses and then we will know about that eye.

Christmas was great this year and I am keeping my tree up until after New Year's Day.  I really enjoy the lights, especially in the evening.

We had unseasonal warm weather for Christmas.  Where's winter???

If you visited and read this far down the page, thank you, and please, visit me again!

Hugs and smoochies!

Connie

The Book I Finished Reading Today

I ordered this book a few months ago from the 

Book Of The Month

but just now got it read.

It's set during the 1930s and is fiction.

It's written by the same author as

The Nightingale

which I've also posted about.

I liked The Nightingale better but this book 

was good.

I plan to start another book tonight but I haven't picked

it out yet.  I have a shelf holding some TBRs so

I need to go check it out.

So glad you stopped in for a visit.

TTFN

Connie

xo xo xo

Plants & Flowers

Good morning from my house to yours.

We have cloudy skies and have had rain with more to follow.

Show & Tell time again 

In this above photo I have an old worn chair as a plant holder.  I bought the petunias from Walmart and they were in full bloom, so so pretty, and then all were gone.  They're back now and have started opening.

The large pot holds a citronella plant that my DIL gifted me.  It's growing!

 These are my starts of Black Eyed Susans, one of my

most favorite flowers.  They will fill in and I will be so happy.

The two small plants in the rocks are hydrangeas which the deer think is a salad.  I wish they wouldn't eat them!

When it's not raining I put quilts on my two swings.

The red & white quilt was made by one of my blog friend's late grandmother.

LIFE'S LITTLE GARDEN

(click to visit this link)

Val's Granny made a quilt every week.

I invite you to click her blog link above to read about her.

I am so happy that you visited me today.

Please stop by again.

Connie 

xo xo xo

Recent Read

Just a quickie post to share my recent read.

 It was a good book.

Good writing.

A few "bad words".

I finished it yesterday then last evening I watched

the Netflix movie adaption.

More "bad words".

It stuck pretty much to the book with a few

minor changes.

I liked the book better.

I give it a thumbs up.

Connie

xoxoxo

Thanks for visiting!

JULY 4, Independence Day IN USA

Wishing my fellow

Americans

a very happy and safe

July 4th

Connie

xo xo xo

Hello Peeps!  💕

It's going to be a nice day!

I want to recommend a good novel.  The story is set in France during WW2 and is about two sisters.  I read this a few months ago and enjoyed it so much that I'm already thinking about rereading.

 I don't read nearly like I did when I was younger but I've attempted to begin reading more.  I love a good story but I don't finish a book that I don't enjoy.  I decided life is too short to force myself to finish a book if I don't like it.  I loved this one.

I didn't intend to post so sporadically here but life gets in the way and you know that overused excuse, I'm sure!  When I was first blogging in 2007 or so I wrote posts frequently.  Maybe with intention I can get back to that eventually.

We Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4 and this is the weekend for it.  There will be many cookouts and lots off noisy fireworks.  I will be around the house until Sunday night when I go stay with my elderly father.  My sibs and I rotate our days to help him with chores and errands and we stay with him  overnight.  His mind is quite sharp but his aged body is frail and slow and we are happy to be his helpers.  He is a musician and artist and misses doing the things he loves but he doesn't have the ability anymore. But we still have his company and we love him so much!

I hope y'all have a great weekend wherever you may be.

I've gained new Followers and I want to say Welcome to my blog and thank you for following!

See you next time,

Connie

xo xo xo

THE TRAVELING TREADLE

Hi everyone!  Thanks for your visit today!

Another show & tell post.

This Singer treadle machine has been in and out of my house about three times now, I think.  Originally, my son bought it from an antique shop and sold it to me for some reason, I'm not remembering now what it was.   

Since then we've shuffled it back and forth with each other at least twice.  It came back to me to live here a few days ago.  My son and his wife and children have moved to a different town and he offered it back to me and, of course, I couldn't resist having it again.

He bought it when he was making reproduction military uniforms for his Civil War reenactment days.  He made some beautiful jackets.  Maybe I can find my photos of them and get them posted sometime.

I have the treadle setting at the foot of the bed in the guest bedroom.

 

 Back when I had it at my house in the past I learned how to use it and I made a small table top quilt for my dear & special friend who lives in Japan.  That is the only thing I ever sewed with it but now that it lives here again I plan to do more treadling for sure!  I remember seeing my mom sew on her old treadle when I was a little girl.

Sorry the last photo is so dark but it was the best possible pic I was able to snap at that angle.

I'm so glad you came to visit today and hope you will visit again.

Connie

xo xo xo

SHOW & TELL

Good morning to you!

Blogger allowed me to upload a photo so it's working again.

A great little shop in my town that I loved to frequent has closed its doors and on their last day of business I got this pierced metal lampshade at a great price.  It's country red but looks black in the photo.  I broke the old shade when I was swatting a stinkbug and was needing a replacement.  Lucky me found one of the exact size I was needing!

This is a project I'm making - an altered book.  Yesterday I completed the few remaining  pages  and now I'm working on the cover.  I'm painting the red white before gluing on the cardstock images and then I will cover the spine with one of the trims.  It's a gift to someone.

After this is finished I am going to do some mixed media stuff I've been wanting to try.

More about that later.

Wishes to you for a happy Memorial Day & weekend.

Will be back soon.

Connie

xo xo xo

FEELS LIKE SUMMER -- SO FAR, SO GOOD

 Hello!  So glad you popped in today.

Yep, these temps have felt like summer recently.  I'm a cooler weather gal but, as long as it's not humid too,  I don't mind the warm weather.

I was going to post a couple of photos with my post today but Blogger is not letting me upload to the post so, here we are with none.

I've been in the craft room recently working on a secret project and getting close to the finish line.  Maybe when it's all finished I will be able to upload a few photos, but I'm not holding my breath.  I no longer need to have the sewing machine out for the project so I got it put away.  The room looks better and roomier.  Yay!  

So, Dear Reader, are you reading any good books lately?  I'm re-reading The Friday Night Knitting Club  by Kate Jacobs.  It's been long enough since reading it that I'm enjoying it almost like a new read (my memory leaves much to be desired).  One of this year's most enjoyable reads was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and it's likely that I will reread it one day also.  I've been a reader since childhood but in the more recent years I have neglected reading.  One of the goals I set for myself for this year is to read more.  

Well, since I'm unable to post pictures today I guess my post is complete.  Will try it out again soon and see how it goes.  'Till next time, TTFN.

Connie

xo xo xo

May Flowers

Our peonies are in bloom and so pretty and full of fragrance.

Last year's forget-me-nots produced two volunteer plants this year.

I love how tiny and delicate they are and the color is beautiful.

Yesterday the temp reached 90 degrees.  

Summer doesn't officially arrive until June but it feels like it's here.  

Back soon ...........

Connie 

xoxoxo