October!

So, where have I been? Struck down with an FM flare-up brought on by necessary dental work. Ugh! Too sick to care about much or to enjoy my new work space in the garage. My friend decided that I'd worked on the bathroom counter long enough so we designed a counter using metal shelves for an area in the garage. Luckily one of the upgrades for this house was a 4-foot extension and sink which most people use to park their golf carts in and wash off their shoes. I've been hauling around a Rhino painting that my second husband painted in the 70's; it's a 4x6 foot acrylic painted on a board and ended up being the perfect size for the counter top. I've also been carting around a roll of 5x7 foot canvas that finally came in handy as a surface over the painting. The only downside is the heat that will undoubtedly prevent me from working out there for months every summer. It's still in the 90's but at least it's cooling off in the evenings and the mornings are pleasant. So far I've been able to make some paper and rust dye a shirt and everything was within my reach! I've also set up the microwave for fabric dyeing, a toaster oven for polymer clay, a crock pot for wax, an area for heat tools so that I can distress fabric. To say the least I'm thrilled! This poor wounded palm tree hit the ground during a windstorm over a week ago. The tree folded into sections and garnered lots of attention from the neighbors who wanted to know if we'd heard it fall. It's directly across the street. Nope, it silently met its demise.

The plumeria, above, has bloomed again! It's the most elegant flower in the yard and is thriving better than I thought it would. We lost 1 out of 6 plumeria which isn't bad considering how many plants didn't survive the summer. Even with all of the losses the yard is amazing and I can't wait to greet the plants every morning. A few years ago I came to the conclusion that I'd never plant a tree in my lifetime and so far we've planted eight, five of them are citrus. One of the trees sheds leaves from time-to-time, they're a beautiful brown and resemble a maple leaf. I crumbled a few of the leaves and added them to the paper pulp during the paper making session. I also embedded a couple of leaves onto the surface of a small sheet of paper. The great thing was that I gathered the leaves by flashlight when inspiration hit at 10pm.

Quote: Weather - "It hain't not use to grumble and complain, it's jest as easy to rejoice; When God sorts out the weather and sends rain, why rain's my choice." J.W. Riley