Daylilies

We're having a drizzly day today, all overcast and gloomy. So here are some daylilies to brighten the afternoon.

Brilliant up close

Abundant from a distance

Bold colors

Flower Walk

On this brilliant sunny day, laden with clouds to the west, I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood. 

Flowers are everywhere! In the trees ...

at the curb ...

in the fields.

My neighbors are genius gardeners, and I reap the benefits.

Flowers for Friday

 

#flowersforfriday

Throwback Thursday: Shades of Beige

I'll be getting a new phone before long, so am taking some time to remove, organize and file photos from my current phone. In delving into my photo archive, I found these three photos from 2008 that made me smile. These were all taken with my little point-and-shoot Canon Powershot camera.

Shape and form

Compact fluorescent lightbulb

Architectural detail

Denver, CO

Bit o' Joy

Spokane River
Post Falls, Idaho

Graduation Day

Sort of.

I began counseling again last year. Like most of us, the pandemic isolation was difficult for me. That, plus dealing with my husband's stroke, not getting to spend time with my daughters, and not having the opportunity to get involved in our new community had me dragged down.

My symptoms showed up as high anxiety ... and lack of joy.

Eighteen months of effort, some tweaks to my meds, and a double dose of vaccine later, life is looking up. I'm not biting my lips and twisting my fingers quite as much. I'm noticing a few creative wins. My energy is returning.

At the end of today's session, my counselor and I decided that since I'm doing so much better, I'll be checking in with her less often. Her final words to me were, "It's so good to see you smiling again! It looks like you found your joy!"

I'm so grateful for her help. I appreciate feeling like me again.

Oh ...
Does this mean I'll be putting fewer jigsaw puzzles together? Perhaps.
To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose.

Try It Too-sday: Mr. Peanut Gives His All

This week's #tryittoosday isn't about creating a replica. Let's just say ... it rhymes with the original.

My version features Mr. Peanut:

Here's Kermit, my inspiration:

Yeah ... I do believe Mr. Peanut is giving Kermit the side-eye.

(I found the Kermit image online in October 2019, but I don't know who the original photographer is).

Isn't It Grand!

It's already been a week since the Dale Davaz family was all together in Moscow, Idaho. We took the long Memorial Day weekend to celebrate Melody's 4th birthday -- and the fact that all the adults are vaccinated. We hadn't been together for a year and a half!

One of the fondest memories was when Mimi, Papa, Aunt Jeannie, and Aunt Jodie took the littles to the park. We climbed on things, slid down things, rolled down the hill, and did lots and lots of swinging.

Melody is learning to pump her legs. With the help of Aunt Jeanne, she swung so high that her little bottom popped out of the swing seat at the apex. It feels like flying!

Annie is the swing duration champion. She sat in the swing, mask on, holding on tight, allowing Aunt Jodie to push her until she fell into a trance. She nearly fell asleep. Annie allowed me to hold her and carry her on our walk home because she was so tired. 

(It's the only time she allowed me to hold her for more than 15 seconds the entire weekend!)

I'm so gratified that we'll get to see them more often over the next months.

Change of Seasons

... change of decor

Dale moved heaven and earth (well, lots of storage boxes and tables) to pull these seasonal decor boxes out of the garage for me. Time to do a little redecorating in our living spaces.

Owls!

My old lower back injury got the better of me today, so after a nap I decided I  needed a nice quiet activity. I put this wonderful owl puzzle together while listening the the end of my current audiobook, Three Women.

This is the first time I put a puzzle together by this company. It is a great quality. Nice, thick pieces and no puzzle dust at all. The colors are bright and the image is engaging. It was a great way to pass an afternoon.

I bought this puzzle for myself. I think my granddaughter Annie's love of owls must be rubbing off on me. This flowered owl is probably my favorite on the puzzle.

They all have wonderfully expressive faces.

Plus, their plumage is fantastic.

I'm sure I will return to this delightful puzzle over and over.

Kathy

For no particular reason, I thought about this piece I stitched back in April 2007. The design is by an outfit called Bizzi Creations. I stitched it, then donated it for a charity quilt. I particularly like the bright colors and the hearts in the center.

It's such a happy design. Makes me want to get my needle and floss out again.

#flowersforfriday

Throwback Thursday: Mom's Bowl

Detail of my prized glass bowl that I inherited from my mom.

#throwbackthursday

Grandbaby Bulletin Boards

Once my granddaughters make up their craft kits, I wanted to give them a place to display them. I bought two picture frames from Dollar Tree and removed the glass. I had a couple cork tiles which are nice and thick. Using an Xacto knife, I cut them to frame size. The frames barely held the cork without falling apart, so I reinforced the corners with both super glue and duct tape on the back. The frames can either stand, as shown, or be hung on a wall.

At ages 2 and 4, they recognize the first letter of their names. So using some stencil letters, I stapled their initials to the center of the cork. Then I added a few push pins to the top.

Dale and I (and Jeanne and Jodie and Julie and Jeff!) are all vaccinated. We got to spend the entire Memorial Day / Melody's 4th Birhday weekend with Julie's family. It was wonderful to all be together again after a year-and-a-half!

It was great to sit back and watch the littles open the packages and recognize whose bulletin board was whose. Melody got right to work rearranging the push pins because poking is fun!

The girls were intrigued by the next Grandbaby Craft Kits, too. Melody, in particular, liked blowing through the Fire Breathing Dragon's head to make the flames wiggle out of his mouth. 

Try It Too-sday: Dandelion

Today's #tryittoosday elevates a simple weed.

Here's my version:

I was inspired by this photo by Kevin Oke which caught my eye way back in 2009:

The tricky part was trying to get the yellow petals to glow.

Fire Breathing Dragon!

 Spring Grandbaby Craft Kits have animals, both real and fanciful. Come meet my fire breathing dragon.

A toilet paper tube, some construction paper, pompoms in two sizes, googly eyes (of course), and tissue paper flames.

Don't get too close. You don't want to get singed!

More Favorites

The photos Jodie took of Dale and me last month for our 30th wedding anniversary are so good, I can't keep them to myself. Here are four more outstanding captures.

Bee. Nice!

What's the buzz, tell me what's a-happening.

Making these animal theme Spring Grandbaby Craft Kits are bee-coming my favorite new pastime!

It's a toilet paper roll craft, of course. The tube is wrapped in yellow construction paper, has black tape stripes, pipe cleaner antennae and stinger, and some silly stick-on googly eyes.

Plus, gossamer wings!

Such a charmer!

The Rhodies are in Town

The fuchsia-colored rhododendron bush at the elementary school is in full flower and glowing in the afternoon sun.

Stunning

#flowersforfriday

Kaleidoscopic Rings

Back in 2014 I had some fun playing with binder rings and my editing program. This is one of my favs.

#throwbackthursday

Tropical Waters

Tropical Waters is a gorgeous 500-piece jigsaw puzzle that caught my eye on Amazon. I put it  together about a month ago.

It's a Ravensburger puzzle, which is great quality. These nice big high-quality puzzles are a joy to put together. 

The animals are delightful. 

The colors are vibrant.

The clownfish seem to know where they're going.

(Nemo what I mean?)

#notlost

Tissue Paper Fish

The "Animal" theme of the Spring Grandbaby Craft Kits continues with this fish. 

His body is a paper plate. His fins are made of construction paper, held in place with a brad so that they can move. He's got one giant googly eye. And he's covered in colorful tropical scales ... some of them even sparkle.

And what a smile!

Swim, little fishy! Swim!