Girls and Horses

Hey,  Can we do a photo shoot today with the horses?  Oh I suppose.

Pine Mountain Settlement School {Dry Stack Stone Workshop}

Last month Jeff and I took a trip to the hollers of Kentucky to attend a heritage workshop at the Pine Mountain Settlement School near Harlan Kentucky.  The weekend was one of those dreamy perfect fall weekends when being outside is wonderful and refreshing.

A Return to Life {Part 2}

If you missed the first part of this post, you can find it here.

My sister Pam and I drove from the Surgeon’s office to the hospital to complete my admissions forms.  On the drive, fear was having his way with me. Pam knew better than to try to stop him; she was very familiar with fear.  He had tormented her two years earlier.

A Return to Life

It has been over three months since I have assembled my words and my images into a blog post.  I have been on a break, a break that I didn’t see coming.

This watercolor was painted by me the day before my break began.  It needs some corrections.  The perspective between the books and the vase is all wrong; I also tried to do a wash, which failed,  I wasn’t happy with it, but with all it’s faults, the piece was an improvement for me, for sure, and I planned to do the reworks over the 4th of July holiday.
I never did.  I fell on a slippery porch; and my right elbow and wrist were broken. 

Image Dump

Some times you have to really look to see beauty.  It is so easy to overlook.  And then there are the times that we work so hard to make our lives and surroundings beautiful, that we junk it up and see right past the simple loveliness that is already there. 

This picture was taken in the junk yard above.  That’s right!  It is a photo of the pink wild flowers that were growing amongst the garbage.  What beauty are you missing by focusing on the garbage? 
I am dumping some images on you that I took this last month here in the garden state.  Some are in gardens and some are in dumps.  Enjoy!

Country Living Fair 2013 Rhinebeck New York

I subscribed to Country Living Magazine years ago, and now excitedly anticipate each month as it pops into my Kindle.  Their style appeals to me: simple, collected,  a nod to the past, a touch bohemian, with calm hues of traditional colors.  They champion the people who are making a go at the good life and feature their homes, products, and stories.

Vivez Joyeux {Live Joyfully}

I was looking around my blog, trying to decide what it needed.  “It needs something”, I said.  And then it came to me.  What this blog needs is a series of adorable boy photographs.  Just so happens, my grandson Conor is an adorable boy. I am intensely…no insanely smitten with this little guy.  These pictures were taken on a recent day that I had the wee rascal all to myself.

History and a Founding Mother

On my way to New Jersey this month, Jeff and I met up in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  History provokes the imagination, don’t you think?  We romantically yearn for the good old days, when times seemed to be simple and virtuous. 

Home {On Purpose}

I follow these bloggers that are just incredible.  I mean they blog, they homeschool their kids, they have fabulous homes, their projects are beautifully photographed, they write e-books and they teach e-courses.  I mean really incredible what these ladies get done in a single day.  Me, with children who are grown and a husband who is away periodically, I have trouble with simple things, like pulling together a spring table or dying Easter eggs.  But, I keep trying.  So, when Edie at Life in Grace Blog announced that she was hosting a life on purpose (home edition) link up, I thought I’d look back and see what I had done at home this past month, on purpose.

Color was big for me this past month, especially green.  I loved these flowers that were on special at my local grocery.

Swamp of Sadness

Yesterday I awoke and found myself in the swamp of sadness. I was hopeless, miserable, and sad. Dullness clouded my morning.  My frame of mind on this terrible gloomy morning was despair, I planned to just go back to bed.  My dreams are useless, they will never be, I should just do myself a favor, settle in, and wait to die.  It was a blue funk morning.

DUH Pensacola

In the last two weeks I have taken four Florida road trips.  Twice I have traveled to Pensacola…or I should say Pensacol-AHHH.  Amazingly nice, seemingly slow paced town on Florida’s Gulf Coast, with incredible white sand beaches.  Unfortunately, the two days I was in town weren’t beach days.  My visits were for family and the weather was cold and rainy, but lucky for me, we did have the opportunity to check out a local antique and design showroom.  DUH Pensacola left me speechless, which may be why they named it DUH.  I never asked the origin of the name, but I did ask the associate if I could photograph their shop. 

If you are like me and love smart, classic, and a little trendy, you’re going to love this shop.  I was in inspiration heaven.  Lucky you Pensacolans to have this gem in your town. 

Roasted Sweet Potato Hash

A couple of weeks ago I was in Pensacola for a reception for my niece Chelsea and her new husband Brad.  The next day I had lunch at Dolce and was served this delicious savory sweet potato dish. 

Quiet and Alone, With Him

“Be alone”, He said.  “Be ready”, He said.  “Be you”, He said. “Be with me”, He said.

Old School Easter Sunday

What you are looking at here, are 18 perfectly boiled eggs.  How do you say boiled?  I say “bold” eggs, unless I’m trying to fit in with people who say boiled.  I got the recipe for these perfectly boiled eggs from my friend Tim Bridges.  Thanks, Tim.  This also means that they peeled perfectly too.  I’m not kidding you.  Perfect!

4.5mm Isn’t Very Funny

Last week, I gathered all these items I had around the house with the plan to create a Spring Table in my dining room.  It was going to be a symphony of perfection with some high notes and some low notes.  Monday was going to be the day to work on it, but since I had just finished a very busy week returning from an art retreat and working on a niece’s wedding, I decided to wait until the next day.  My beautiful spring table creation would wait one more day.  As I readied myself for a cozy and relaxing evening cuddling on the sofa with my remote and Daisy, I felt a twinge in my side.  Very rapidly the twinge became a major annoyance, and I couldn’t get comfortable.  Walking around, trying to work it out, I realized something was pretty wrong.

Nurture Your Creative Seed Art Retreat

It has been almost two weeks since Nurture your creative seed, the art retreat which I will forever think of as one of the defining moments in my life.  The decision to fly across the country for a few days to attend a retreat without knowing a single person, seemed ridiculously indulgent and harebrained. Indeed, there were whispers and sometimes roars of doubt that I battled once sensibility was discarded and the determination to go, just go, was the chosen path.  

Little Girl, Remember This

I remember taking this picture like it was yesterday.  If you stay with Aunt Teresa,
there will be wildflowers picked, placed in your hair, and pictures taken.

You’re Beautiful, it’s True!

What a privilege I had to photograph two very pretty girls, who just happen to be my granddaughters.  I am afraid that this family is going to need some fool proof tactics to keep the boys at bay.  Actually, these girls are as smart as they are pretty, so I think they’ll be just fine. 

Mixed Metals

I had the opportunity to consult with a couple in New Jersey about their new basement media room.  After meeting with them and getting a feel for their dreams for the room, I started collecting ideas and putting them together on a mood board.  They wanted a real "elegant/glamorous" vibe for the space. One aspect of the plan was the use of mixed metals.  Camel gold, silver, and bronze was the eventual color palette for the room. So many of the items that really spoke to me as being a fit for them were in different metal finishes.  The fabrics were camel gold, cool blue, winter white, and silver. 


Floor plan and Finishes

Happy Valentines Day Old Stump

This morning on the right of way here in Oklahoma City, I fell head over heels in love with this stump.  I wanted to go up to him, and hug him, and have a conversation with him.  “Oh my goodness, you are one handsome stump,” I would say.  He would probably blush and think “who is this woman?”

Where did you say you were? Oklahoma?

I’m in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I am working. 
I did not know that I would ever say that, but I did.  I’m in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma working.
I was given another opportunity to do an inspection job and what was to be a two week assignment, has turned into almost a month.  While there hasn’t been much time for being an OKC tourist, I have been able to take the occasional quick snapshot of the surroundings.

Lord keep me always tuned in to the beauties that surround me. 

Time you old Gypsy Man

After our son Todd's wedding, I received an invitation to travel to Salt Lake City and spend a week with Cindi and Hugh.  

The view from Hugh and Cindi's rear deck

We would spend a few days at their home and then she and I would drive up to their mountain cabin and have a girl's weekend.  Cindi and I have been sis in laws for over 30 years, but have never lived in the same city.  

If Life Hadn’t Been So Kind

If life hadn’t been so kind to me, I would still be looking for this man.

Today we celebrate the 36th anniversary of our marriage.  Circumstances find us in different cities, in different states, in different parts of the country even, but we have a connection that can never be broken by distance. 

What Went Where

Am I the only person that has trouble remembering what went where the Christmas decorations were?

Give me “Your” Eyes

Do people annoy you?  They do me.  Like today, I was in line ordering my burrito bowl when the guy puts black beans in my bowl.  I didn’t want black beans, I wanted pinto beans.  And when I told him that he didn’t ask which beans I wanted, he was annoyed with me because he had to start over with a new bowl.  I just wanted to lash out and set the guy straight.

And then the other day…

I can’t be addicted

Daggum you Hurricane Sandy!  Being without the internet was hard.  What did you say? I’m not addicted.  Why would you say that?  Who wouldn’t change their clothes three times in one day so that you’re not recognized by the Panera Bread people?  Pfff…  It’s just something I enjoy.  I read the news, the weather, the sports, my daily inspiration, Facebook, funny cat pictures, the Instagrams, and all the DIY blogs I find on Pinterest.   And the videos, I love the videos.  That one about the Sweetie girl who was going out to get a cold pop and thought somebody was BBQing.  Haaaa Haaaa! I die laughing at that one.

Why I'm in New Jersey Part One

Because of the construction economy, Jeff had been working on out of town projects since the first of 2010.   It began when Jeff was talking with my brother who does business with an engineering firm in Boston. They offered Jeff the position of a Utility Safety Inspector for some of their large natural gas pipeline projects. He started in California, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado, and then New Jersey.  So, Scott took over running the company, and anyway there just wasn't enough work to support us.

Peach Cobbler

Now I didn’t can all those peaches this summer for nothing. 

Pumpkin Junction

What we didn’t know when we bought our ticket today on the Black and Western Railroad, was that we needed a kid.  It was a people with kids trip. There may have been clues, OK fine, “pumpkin junction” was our destination.

Plein Air Painting

This fall I am taking a plein air painting workshop here in Stockton.  It is taught by Ty Hodanish at his studio at the Prallsville Mills.  From what Mr. Hodanish said, there has only been one time that he had a student that just couldn’t be taught. Dear Lord, please don’t let me be number two.
Ty Hodanish

Painted Coffee Mugs or Who is “Really” the Most Creative?

My sister in law Cindi and I are both relative newbies to the coffee set and just love talking about all the best ways to enjoy our new little morning friend.  While walking around Ogden, we wandered into a paint your own pottery shop.  Neither of us really needed or wanted to paint a garden frog or chip’n dip, but coffee mugs, why yeah. Let’s stop right here and say that of the two of us, I’m the creative one …we clear on that?  OK, then here’s how it went down.

Temporary Home

One of the ways that I have enjoyed my time in New Jersey is by making this rental loft our home.  The pieces I used were extras or cast offs from our home in Winter Haven.  I finished off the space with a few things people kicked to the curb and spent a couple of dollars on drastically reduced items at Home Goods.  Several of you have asked for pictures, so here you go...

The island was a potting bench that I had on my lanai in Florida and the white dresser was buried in the landlord's garage.

The kitchen...the stools came from my craft room and I chose a new color which I spray painted.

There are chickens in the yard so I painted one of the little ladies.  And I don't know why I felt the urge to do HELLO , but this little cutie now sits on the dresser in my TN guest bedroom.

My artist tool box, had to bring that , and the headboard that divides the living from sleeping space is actually a door turned on it's side.

Weekend at Paper Road Farm

How was your weekend?  Mine started out like this....

Saturday I  had the best time hitting the local flea markets....which

are amazing......

I bought a variety of flowers, herbs, and vegetables to add to my garden.

When I got back home I went inside the farm's little combination potting shed/chicken coop

and I bah-reed some pots.  That's what we say in the south bah-reed and just because I am here in New Jersey, don't think I'll start saying borrowed.

Like my little plant area?   Ah, do....still in southern girl talk.

and the herbs....

 and a shot of the garden....

But hold on, saved the best for last.....I  saw these little guys when I returned from the markets on Saturday.
Did you say Awww in your southern accent?

You'ns Pick?

Last weekend Jeff and I went to our favorite little music spot near our home in Shady Valley, TN.  It is in a little backroads town called Laurel Bloomery, TN.  The Music Hall is located in the old Morefields Country store building.  Seating consists of a collection of cast off sofas and chairs and there is always a crowd so come early for a seat.  Some of the regulars congregate on the front porch and if they don't recognize you they will ask..."you'ns pick"?  This means did you come to join in, because that's how it's done at the Little Ole Opry Store.  The music is down home authentic and if you are fine with a hot dog and some root beer then plan to eat ....I say, nothing finer.

On My Way Back To The Old Home

Afternoon Snow

 These images of Stockton were taken on a snowy afternoon with a slow shutter speed.  I wanted to capture the  old sense of place that is so much a part of this area, especially in the winter. Yes, I did have a hot cup of tea when I returned home.