It was a week of picture-taking for me! I'm not really sure of the reason, but I'll take it for what it is. Sunday was Mother's Day. My mom and step-dad came over (with some distancing) and we grilled burgers to celebrate the day. Before they made it over, I baked banana bread and picked some flowers to brighten the house up.
It was a really nice day.
Monday was all about knocking out my errands (grocery shopping). But, in the afternoon, I sat on the back deck and watched the birds for a while. A large woodpecker caught my eye and had me pulling out the big lens to capture him on camera.
I'm not sure when I became a birder, but I kinda dig it. My next step is to figure out how to attract other birds to the yard. I've just been using wild bird seed and (homemade) hummingbird nectar, but I think there might be some other options to attract other birds. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
As I was prepping dinner, I noticed that some kind of bug was digging the insides of the petals from some of the flowers in my little arrangement.
Tuesday started out nicely enough. I fried up the last slices of the banana bread in a little butter for our breakfast. It was SO GOOD!
But, the day made a nasty turn when I went to take the chickens a treat and found one of the two of them dead in their run. I have to be thankful for a husband that will deal with situations like that for me.
On Wednesday, I busied myself with loads of tasks and errands. I pressed us some sandwiches for lunch and decided to add avocado to mine (no one else in the house likes avocado, so I get them all to myself. Bwahahaha!) I was delighted to discover that it was an absolutely perfect one.
That's the only bad thing about avocados, you never quite know what you'll find inside.
I was able to check off most of the tasks on my list on Thursday and even got to spend a good bit of time outside too. Zoe and I went for a walk on the trails.
They're a bit overgrown and need some work, but it still makes it fun to find fairytale-like images out there. Look at the thorns on that vine!!
I also discovered that our blueberries are ripe!
Oh, and the gardenias are going crazy right now!
I love it!
Speaking of gardenias: on Friday we got a little rain shower. While everything was still dripping, I went out to check the mail and was waylayed by taking as many pictures of the wet gardenias as I could. Here's just a couple of them.
They look almost magical!
Saturday morning had me out on the deck for my morning doodles, and the light was a little odd because of a slight mist in the air.
Over the week, we talked about getting some chicks to replace the one that had passed. So, I called around and found one store that had a few.
I'm almost giddy about having baby chicks in the house again.
Once we had them settled in Pat's office (yeah...that's where they are for the time being), we spent the rest of the afternoon out by the pool.
The temperature here has been fairly mild for May, but it's finally starting to rise. So, I'm glad I spent so much time outside while it was still comfortable. From here on, it's likely to be blazingly hot. Thank goodness for the pool!
I kept on track with my #The100DayProject all week.
Day 34 was using receipt books. I have two that I could put my hands on quickly. One is for rent payments and the other is for a hair salon. They both got buried in the collaged background of this simple page.
I bought a ton of the Amsterdam Acrylic Inks when they were on a deep clearance several months ago. But, there are still a few I hadn't touched. It was Day 35's task to use a few them. I chose three of the brightest colors (Reflux Green, Yellow, and Orange) to create a spread.
I wasn't completely feeling creative on Day 36. But, with the help of an Art Journal Bingo game that I found on Instagram, I was able to create first the papers with ink sprayed through stencils and then this spread.
For Day 37, I needed to use one of the key stickers that I've had in my stash for AGES. I moved quickly through making this page, and it mostly works.
Day 38 was all about using some of the eco-dyed fabric that I haven't touched since it was made several years ago. There were some bumps along the road of making this page, but it really taught me that it's important to try new things to get out of my comfort zone.
I had so many projects already on my desk on Day 39. So, when I saw the material was the Drywall Joint tape, I simply added it to the in-progress thank you notes that I had been working on.
Another clearance deal was Maribou Art Crayons many moons ago. They're definitely a case of "out of sight, out of mind". I used them for Day 40 and tried to experiment with them in several different ways for this art journal page.
If you're looking for some inspiration of your own, here's some I found and shared this week:
- If you have some sort of die-cut machine that's computer connected, check out these DIY Layered Earrings with an SVG file.
- I've got a TON of friends whose kids are graduating this year, so this tutorial on creating Grungy Graduation Year Jewelry caught my attention.
- You've probably seen some of the encouragement to participate in art movements during the quarantine. Here's one on creating Interactive Art in Your Own Windows.
- Chainmaille jewelry has always been a bit intimidating to me, but these DIY Chainmaille-style Earrings at Rings and Things look a little more up my alley.
- These Photographs from Sony's World Photography Awards are absolutely stunning!
- Create a Dichroic-glass Look with UV Resin using this interesting tutorial at Mill Lane Studio.
With that, my day's getting away from me. I hope you're making the most of your days too!!
I envy your ability to have gardenias and chickens. I have always wanted to raise chickens but we aren't allowed to in my neighborhood. Our condo complex in Fl has gardenias and every time I pass one I take a deep breath in.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I love my gardenias and every day that I get to see them in bloom, I smile. They just make me happy. And, we have them all over the property! I hate that you can't be with the ones at your complex in FL right now, but they'll be there next year. As for the chickens, with this much property, it would be a waste to not have some kind of livestock. I had wanted goats too but much of the vegetation on the property is harmful to them. And, it's hard to keep goats from just eating everything. So, I had to let that dream die. But, it's nice to always have fresh eggs on hand. I'm not sure what I would do with the goats other than pet them, so it's probably for the best anyway!
DeleteThese pictures would brighten anyone's day :) I love cut flowers and almost envy you for the selection you have at hand :) I'm following your 100-day project with curiosity (as always) even though I'm not familiar with most of the materials you use but I like what you create.
ReplyDeleteI love our woodpecker so much! We get a pretty good mix of birds at our feeder. Whatever birds are passing through I guess. My friends, about 30 miles from here get some kind of pretty grosbeaks and bluebirds but neither of those birds come to our feeder. Lately even the big ol' blue jays have been visiting the feeder!
ReplyDeleteMmm I never thought to fry up some banana bread in butter. That would be a heck of a lot faster than waiting 20 minutes for the oven to heat up and then another 10 minutes to get the bread hot and crispy in there. Genious!
Having all the avocados for oneself is the best as is opening one that is sheer perfection. I always by extras just in case the one or two I need are no good inside.
Jinjer, I use the Audubon app to record any new birds I see, and it allows me to see other birds that other people in the area (using the app) have spotted. It's kinda cool! And, though we've seen the bluebirds in the yard for a few months, this week is when they've finally decided to use the feeder. It's so funny how much bigger they are than the other birds.
DeleteI had fried banana bread at a fancy brunch place in New Orleans a few years ago, so I have to give credit to them for the idea. But, I've found it's the best way to eat banana bread that's a couple days old. Let me know what you think!
Yeah, I buy about 3 avocados a week and usually only get to eat 2 of them because the other(s) get a little icky. Did you know that when they begin to ripen, you can put them in the fridge to keep them ripe longer? I heard that somewhere and have been doing it, and IT WORKS! Anyway, I hope you and your mom are well. I just saw the scare y'all had a few weeks ago, but then checked and saw that she was home. Anyway...stay well!