Tag Archives: summer

Studio and Early Summer Tidbits

In my studio today I spent the day finishing the embroidery on Gracie’s sweater, putting the finishing touches on her crocheted cap, and thinking about the little accessories that will accompany this ensemble.

rose trellis 168

gracie 231

I’m not sure if I like this wig on Gracie.  She has always worn the darker blonde wig and looked cute in it.  Although I think she looks more carefree and summery with the light blonde curls, I’m still not sure.  What do you think?

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A few posts ago, I promised to take some photos to show you what is in my studio display cabinet.  I have this little collection (my daughter’s) of blown glass animals (and a lone heart) that I keep in here.  A couple pieces are ornaments and some pieces we found at a resale shop.  The little vintage poodle is one of the three items I have that belonged to my grandmother (my dad’s mother) who passed away before I was born.  I don’t have any memories of her, but I remember these types of things being around my grandpa’s house when I was young.  This poodle most likely was part of this set that I pinned on Pinterest.  I think I mentioned the potted tulips before; my husband brought them back from Holland.

glass animals 179

pink poodle 184

I found this needlework that I had made for my grandparents at my parent’s house.  At first, I didn’t remember it, but then the memories of  it started coming back to me.  I must have embroidered it in grade school as it is a bit . . . hmm, messy?  Look how my grandfather framed it; now scroll down and look at the back!  He was a very frugal man, and used what he had on hand.  I love that about him.

childhood needlework 175

needlework back 177

Outside things are looking very, very lush, and green.  When we returned from Florida we had some cute clover patches growing in our lawn.  I kiddingly mentioned to my husband that we should leave them for the bees.  Well, he did just that!  (I can only imagine how nutty our neighbors think we are.)  When I am out walking I see a couple of hives set up, so I am sure the bees appreciate us growing the clover for them; they need all the help they can get these days.  Not sure how long we should let it get though.

clover patch 206

clover 201

Our easy peasy rosebushes are blooming, as are the violas.

red roses 194

violas 190

These teen tiny biennials were here when we moved into our house 8 years ago.  They keep reseeding, and will bloom during their second season.  I don’t know what kind of flower they are, but they smell like carnations or pinks.

tiny blossoms 217

Our lavender blossomed hostas are getting ready to bloom.

hostas 188

I’ve never noticed acorns at this early stage before.  Aren’t they tiny!

tiny acorns 211

And last, but not least, a few apples growing on our apple tree.  They are about the size of  small limes.

tiny apples 216

We had a rare low humidity day today, just wonderful; I kept the windows open all day long.  Tomorrow, however, a change is coming—storms followed by a cold front.  The weather is never boring here in northern Illinois.

I hope you all had an equally beautiful day.  Thanks for visiting.  Bye for now.

Mother Nature’s Power and Beauty

I want to share with you some pictures my husband took of the storm that moved in to our area yesterday evening.  He captured some beautiful colors and lightening bolts.  It was quite a storm and even produced a small tornado that touched down about 15 minutes south of us.

Even in the midst of Mother Nature’s fury there can be beauty.

What’s Growing Around Here

Since July is coming to a close and it was a perfect day for taking photos (overcast) I wanted to capture some images of what is growing around our house.  I spend very little time in the garden these days, so what is growing has started up by itself with little or no help from me.

Our apple tree has quite a few apples, but sadly they seem to be dropping before they can ripen.  I don’t think we will get any this year.  Last year for the first time in 6 seasons, we had some for eating.  I wrote about it here.

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The yellow jacket wasps will be very happy.  They love the fruit.

The maple tree has these beautifully colored “helicopters”.

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A bit of leaf lettuce is growing in clay pots.  My daughter started some seeds for a biology experiment and this was extra.  We couldn’t throw it out, so we put it into a couple of pots and hope to enjoy a salad soon.

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My husband and daughter went to the greenhouse and purchased some beautiful herbs.  Here is a dwarf purple basil and an orange mint.

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I dried some jalapeño seeds (I eat LOTS and LOTS of jalapeños) and planted them as an experiment.  Do you see the baby jalapeño?  I have four plants growing and they are still in shallow containers.  I REALLY need to take 20 minutes out of my day and get these poor little plants into deeper pots, nothing too big though.  I want to be able to bring them inside and keep them going under florescent lights when it starts to get cold.

tiny jalapeno 957

And here are cantaloupe plants that started out in our compost pile from cantaloupe seeds that came from a grocery store melon.  I dug up a few and planted them in the sun near the house.  I hope they have a chance to turn into ripe fruit before it gets cold.

melon plants 963

The violas, pinks, and lobelia reseed every year without any help from me.

violas 973 pinks 956 lobelia 992

My hanging baskets that my husband and daughter planted for me on Mother’s Day are doing quite well.  Aren’t the flowers colorful?

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So, that’s it for out and around the house at the end of July.  It was nice to get out today and observe nature even if it was only for a short while before I came in and got to work on my new project.  Unlike the apples on our tree, the apples in this print are looking quite delectable.  Hope you all had a great weekend!

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