Super Fun Weekend: Bodega Bay and Meeting an Old Friend

We spent the mid morning and afternoon at Bodega Bay, after a brief stop in Sebastopol at the bookstore, art gallery, art supply store. I always find things I can use in my artistry there. Then to the beach after picking up the requisite clam chowder and french bread to eat at the headlands overlooking the ocean. Summer flowers were in great abundance. So many colors and varieties.

We always end the day with an ice cream cone...never mind it was only an hour before we were meeting a friend for dinner.

These fire flowers were in Valley Ford across the street from The Oyster House!

Michele met us there. Here she is sweet thing, holding the bag I made and she bought last November from my ETSY store! How sweet was that!

Michele and I go back to the 1970's when we met in a philosophy class at the community college. I also took drama there one semester! We reminisced the years our daughters were babies together; talked about their marriages in recent years; shared notes about our grandchildren!

It was really sweet to see her after all this time. I think we last got together about 20 yrs ago. Too long between visits, but nice to know our friendship lives on.

Michele is the author of almost 20 published books and articles on food.

You can read more about her and her work here. ************

At home on Sunday I worked some more on my sunflower quilt.

Am at the stage where I am adding "bling!"

I have a second project lined up mostly in my

mind right now but will start to materialize it soon. *****

Hope you all had a funfilled weekend,

or

at least a relaxing one!

An Old Journal Unearthed and You Can Never Have Too Many Sunflowers

In 1961, at age 20, I started on a trip that turned into a five year odyssey. I wrote letters home over that time and MY MOTHER Typed them up so she could read them to everyone she knew (family and friends) at special gatherings she held for this purpose! She left in all the typos and misspellings. (or Lynnisms if you will). I wish I had the originals, but I don't, but reading this

takes me back to a younger, fun time in my life I am enjoying remembering in this way. ************** I had a day off today so DH and I took our country drive(s) that we enjoy so much together...he told me he had found more sunflower fields earlier in the week so went out to see...and there were three new fields for us where you could view sunflowers for as far as the eye could see.

Needless to say I am continually inspired to work on my

latest Sunflower art quilt/wall hanging seeing these colors and sunshine

driving away bidding them adieu until next time!

Wishing you a sunny Friday and start of YOUR weekend.

Sharing Art From My Sketch/Paint Book

This is a tin chicken that sits on a metal shelf on my back patio...my six year old grand daughter asked me: "Grandma, what is that!" I said it's a chicken. "But why did you buy it?" Because I like it.

She didn't get it. Sometimes I drape several art quilts on top of each other over this wooden quilt stand. I knit this diaper bag from wool yarn and it was my first ever attempt to felt wool in the washing machine. It came out incredibly well meshed together! The bag has three outer pockets. A felted knit teddy bear sits in one of the pockets on the side of the bag. It's sitting on top of a green and white blanket my mother knit years ago, which is on top of our new leather love seat. ;-) And you already know the hummers love these Lilies of the Nile in our backyard. I haven't attempted to draw a hummer yet, but I may. Hope you enjoyed a trip through my drawing phase!

Henry: "I Can't Go Outside Tonight..."

"Mom said that today a huge explosion occurred when a plastic factory had a terrible fire... and a big black cloud of air that she said was bad for me to breathe came over our house and stayed there...

"so she said I couldn't go outside tonight and I got really really angry...I tore up the newspapers that were on the floor; I banged on the blinds, I screamed and yelled, but both my mom and my dad would not give in and let me go outside..."

"I finally had to give up or maybe I just wore myself out and I went to sleep on one of mom's old quilts."

"I'm dreaming about going fishing on Animal Wednesday!"

Mom here: "Happy Animal Wednesday"!!!! *

"This is my 1400th post today!"

Lynn

View From My Hammock; Sunflower Quilt's Next Steps

On the weekend, and in the evenings after work I find time to go out back and lay in my hammock. I take a good book and my camera. I love looking up at my view through the vines... to the sky...this pink tree is actually over the fence in my neighbor's back yard...

I wait patiently for the hummers to come and visit me and my lilies of the Nile...

I think this delicate flower and background looks like a painting waiting to happen...

I've finished two good books recently; this one last night...I liked it, I like this author; and Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult, for which you can see my "review" on my side bar.

I know it says hot, but in the evening in the shade it's really pleasant. We do NOT suffer high humidity as some states are having right now.

And I am still working diligently on my latest Sunflower art quilt. I have actually started the sewing on top!

This is what I did before the sewing could begin...I did some stamping with bubble wrap and gold paint...and added some flower stamps to it...

I transferred some Sunflower poetry by Allen Ginsburg and Jerry Garcia (very up to date!) lol

And now the sewing can begin (and has)...

Very fitting for Blooming Tuesday, yes?

Sunflower Quilt Progress

Rolling along with this latest art project...sunflower quilt (no name yet)... I have sewn down photos on silk of sunflowers that I have taken myself; and ironed transfers of other photos directly onto the background fabrics. This one is silk. silk...

This is an ironed on transfer. I like the way it divided over the different fabrics

I've since done more (paint/words) and I will take those pictures today before

continuing on...

I'm excited to get to the top sewing.

***

Wishing you all an enjoyable Sunday!

How are you spending your time?

They Say They Are About Ready

These photos just arrived via my son's iPhone. My son looks so proud as I imagine he just finished putting together the crib in the freshly painted room for their baby that is due August 16th.

I love this picture of Jackie posing just like the woman in the journal quilt I made for her when she was just first pregnant. She has finally grown into it.

You can also see the "taggies" I made hanging to the right of the stuffed doggie. Sweet. ***************

Grandma Lynn hit the garage sales of all garage sales today where a woman was selling children's books that were brand new for $1 each; and Boyd Collection collector dolls and teddy bears. I came home with three grocery bags full of books and one girl doll and two bears. I also got some craft items. The sad part of the story was the woman sitting there whose things these were. I noticed her hand shaking as though she might suffer from Parkinson's Disease. I do not think she was as old as I am. I was later told she also suffered from Amnesia. Who knew this was a disease that could befall someone not under catastrophic conditions like an accident, as was not the case for her. I knelt down to talk to her and to thank her for sharing her collections and told her they'd be going to my grandchildren and would be treasured. She spontaneously reached up to hug me and said: "You are a nice lady"... What a sweetheart she is. I went away counting my blessings...and realizing once again how every moment is precious in life. One never knows.

She's Sewing Again

There is something about showing the very beginnings of an art project that pushes me to keep going. I bought some of these fabrics in a fabric store I told you about in Berkeley a few months ago...and some of them came from Mim, thanks Mim. Yes, it's going to be a sunflower quilt...I have lots of ideas that involve layers (paint? maybe; photos, yes! lots of top sewing; beads! 3 dimensions!)

Stay tuned. It felt good to be back at my sewing machine today. *********** I also added some new items to my ETSY store.

See it on my side bar.

Tell your friends!

;-)

************* What are you doing this weekend?

Pictures of the day: 3 June 2010 - Telegraph

Pictures of the day: 3 June 2010 - Telegraph I had to add this found on line: OUR OWLS in a London Newspaper the Telegraph!!!! Click on Older Posts to see my original Friday Post Please!

A Little of This, A Little of That...

First, thank you to everyone who came to my belated birthday party with Patty yesterday! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves! I sure loved having you participate in our fun, sweet day! For a while now, a few months, I've been fretting over a health issue. Lest I cause undo concern let me start by saying I think we finally have a handle on it! It all started when I was awakened on two separate occasions in the middle of the night feeling I could not get my breath! I also was experiencing an inordinate amount of phlegm in my throat and nose causing me to need to blow my nose many times in the mornings; and my voice seemed to be running low on steam by days end sounding to me like an old person's smoking voice. I've never smoked. It was gravely sounding. I went to see my PCP (Primary Care Physician.) She had a list of possible diagnosis', she prescribed some nasal spray and sent me to a specialist who looked at my throat. She assured me my worst fear was unfounded. (I did not have throat cancer)...and she sent me to a speech pathologist. All of these appointments were weeks or months apart. By the time I got to the speech pathologist, who I thought was going to teach me to breath differently to help my voice last longer, I was wondering WHY I was there? He wasn't a doctor. What would he know? But it turns out he was THE MOST knowledgeable about voices and throats and the like. He used a camera that could see and show both of us my vocal cords and throat (non intrusively) on a screen. He asked A LOT of questions. He finally determined that I was DEHYDRATED. As I drank nearly NO water to speak of ever. (enough to swallow pills twice a day). He prescribed my drinking (sipping through the day) 64 oz of water. He made a few more suggestions and he DID show me briefly how to breathe differently while speaking. I've been practicing all he suggested. And the very next day, after only ONE day of water drinking the problem seemed to clear up. I did NOT need to blow my nose more than once in the morning if that. I did not have a gravely sounding voice at days end. I did not have excess phlegm in my mouth. It's been a week and this is still true. I drew the following page in my journal to remind myself of this experience and outcome. I am very relieved that the remedy for my problem was such an easy one. We continue to visit the burrowing owls and I just could not wait until Animal Wednesday to show you this shot. I have lots more of them, but enjoy these EYES!!!

And speaking of eyes, I looked down at my last bite of cereal the other day and these eyes were staring back at me. I did not concoct this, they just WERE!

:-) It's sort of a self portrait on Grateful Thursday!;-)

I love birthdays that keep

going on and on, just like this friendship with Patty that has survived seventy years now and keeps on giving... Patty arrived at my house carrying this beautiful bouquet of flowers...

and after she spent a generous amount of time pouring over my latest art journal; we set out for one of our favorite eateries for a birthday lunch...yeah sure...we split a half a chicken salad sandwich and ate it as quickly as possible so we could get to the goodies, the REAL REASON we had come here...

If these photos are a little reminiscent of my last years birthday celebration with Patty it's because it's the same place, same dessert a year later...

We both love gelato and this year we each had a cup with espresso and terimasu

and we each had a raspberry almond torte cookie

and both were so good!

Can you see my sugar high?

Thank you Patty for being you!

You can also see the very artsy funky necklace she gave me as a gift!

Having a best friend for seventy years is just the BEST!!!

Hugs and Kisses to you Patty!!!! THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND FOREVER

!