Oh, Hello

Sorry I haven't written. The months have marched on...Not much artwork to show, and even less to say.  The struggle with health issues continues, but now hubby has joined the club. He spent a week in the hospital after being diagnosed with Crohn's disease.  Then he had a gallbladder attack....had surgery, is recovering from both issues.  We spend most of our time going to Dr. appointments or doing research on natural things we can do to stay away from the doctors.    These are boring things to talk or write about, things no one wants to hear or read.  I suspect this anyhow.  And when there is nothing written, there is nothing to read.

 

The garden is gorgeous, from all the rain we've had in Texas,  Here's a sweet little pom from my miniature ornamental pomegranate tree.  Also a  portion of our back yard, with the sun shining through the palm tree.

 

The middle of September, we went to Indiana for a long week-end on business, then took a couple of extra days off to meet up with a friend from Columbus, Ohio.  While in Kendallville, we visited the Mid-America Windmill Museum.   It was dark and stormy most of the day, but it was still interesting. One of the business functions was held there.



 We went to the United States Grand Prix this past week end.  The weather was perfect, high 80's during the day.  Record crowds reported of 200,000. There were 80,000 for the Taylor Swift concert after the race. We did not stay for the concert.  The stage was in an open field area, with no seating except the grass or standing.  We decided we are a little too old for those conditions.  So...we missed our (probably) one and only chance to see Taylor Swift. 

Busy April and May

Hubby and I spent 3 weeks in Idaho.  While there we relaxed, visited with family, went to a couple of concerts, an art fair, spent Mother's Day with my Mom. Hubby got to play some golf, and we spent as much time as we could just enjoying our house and garden. Lots of spring flowers were coming into bloom.  I did not have reliable internet there so spent very little time on the computer. Actually it felt quite nice to be away from the computer for awhile.  It rained one day the entire time we were there.

Back yard

metal cranes by pond

Clematis

Honeysuckle

Iris

orange tulip

 

Tulips and hyacinth

 

First peonies-for Mom

 

Walk by the Boise river

Geese crossing, an every day occurrence

Sometimes the best thing to do....

Is to do nothing at all.

One view of the backyard at my little retreat in Idaho..

 

 

I arrived there on August 31st, my birthday.  I spent almost the entire month of September there. Every morning I chose a different window to sit by and drink my coffee/tea/chai and gaze out at the garden. In the early evening, I wandered out to the deck or one of those weathered chairs and sat there, looking back towards the house. It is truly a retreat for me, and I enjoy being there so much, for a variety of reasons.   This is not to say that is all I did while there.  I ran around with family and spent time with my Mom. Saw the Aunts and Uncles.  Went to a football game with Hubby, went to several art fairs.  But my best times while there, have become just hanging out with Hubby at the house and relaxing, or even working in the yard.  I know it will feel different when we move there for good, but for now, I see it as a little escape from the real world and I relish it so much. September was truly vacation month for me.

When I get back to Austin, everything is so hectic, with a million things to do, and being pulled in so many directions.  I've been really busy since I got home and here we are the middle of October already.  I'm feeling stressed and overwhelmed so I'm trying to focus on taking care of myself instead of just slipping back into the rut I usually do.  Part of taking care of oneself is setting time aside to create, instead of planning to create when everything else is taken care of.  It never happens.  So that is where I am at, and where I will be for awhile, with my head down...trying once again to find some balance.  Maybe even some finished artwork.  Don't know why that is so difficult for me, but all I can do is continue to keep trying.

When pickle jars turn into flower vases

I'm running out of vases.  I  waited and waited for the peonies to bloom and now they have just exploded.  I counted 12 bushes in my garden and most of them are white.  There was one dark pink one, but it only had a few blooms which I took to my Mother a few days ago.  Medium pink account for about 3 bushes.  Anyhow, I have filled all the vases I had, and am scrounging in the recycle bin for jars.  The irises are about finished blooming, so today I will have another large vase to fill with white peonies.

 

 

back yard looking toward house

 

A Walk on the East Side

Hubby and I went on a walk the other day(on our anniversary) and I wanted to go to Big Red Sun...However they were closed. We called, and they are now only open by appointment, and do mostly commercial work. Sad, another indication of hard economical times I guess. They have some things that most other nurseries don't carry, so will have to look elswhere for unusual plant material.

Looking towards downtown


Love their blue porch and the colors of this light fixture


Plant material, I like the dichondra


Pink...love the plant, lantern, house across the street