It runs in the family...

Granddaughter, Olivia, is an artist in the making. She is only five, but already is rarely without a crayon or marker in her hand. I, of course, love it. She drew this picture for me on her last sleepover at our house. I think it's an excellent likeness of one of the girls. I do occasionally dress them up in sweaters when it's cold, but not the leg warmers. For Christmas this year, I gave Olivia a crayon maker. I don't know who was more excited about the gift, me, Olivia or her Daddy. It's supposed to melt down broken crayons and produce brand spanking new ones. You can also combine colors for a swirl one. As a kid, nothing was better than opening a brand new box full of all those fantastic colors.

A gift

Today, I'll show a collage that I made for a gift. It's on a 10x10 canvas. All of my work seems to have a central theme of birds. I can't seem to help myself. They must inspire me to create.

Happy Birthday, Ruby Doobie Do!

Ruby is 4 years old today. She can be such a love, and then that fast, be such a pain in the butt. I've never known a dog with a personality like hers. She is the boss. She gets what she wants, whenever she wants it. No exceptions...ever. Who'd have thought she could have wrapped a certain man around her little paw like she has? Scarlett just wants cake.

Look who stopped by

I'm going to come clean and admit that I have been secretly harboring jealousy. What does that have to do with birds , you ask? Well, here's the truth. My sister has the most incredible amount of these Goldfinches that show up at her feeders everyday. It's just amazing to see. We get plenty of the red bellied variety, but I could never attract these guys. We decided to try a different type feeder, and I think it's the solution. I was so thrilled to see them today.

Way too long

since I've posted on here. Ruby has reminded me that Scarlett has been the center of attention long enough. I've been away from my other passion way too long. I've missed my other creative outlet of collage making. I'm the type of person who gets singularly focused on one thing and it takes priority over everything else. My stitching is a priority, it's an everyday thing, but after a while I start to hear the nagging voice of other creative pursuits. Ignoring it no longer, I sat down the other day and made these journals. I'll put them on my Etsy shop and see if there's any interest. Speaking of Etsy, I'm almost at the point of being tired of painting my little needlework accessories. I love it that people have been so receptive, but if I get to the place where it's no longer fun, it ends there.

I'd like to give a shout out to my dear sis-in-law, Julie, who's recovering from surgery. She recently pointed out that I've been neglecting this blog. She's right, so this post is for her. Get well soon, Julie, and make your way to the warm sun soon.

Too stinkin'hot...

here in AZ, for most flowers right now. These are from my brother's garden in IL. He was kind enough to send the picture so I can enjoy them, too. Hydrangeas are so beautiful, and one of my favorites. I just came in from watering what few plants we have left. My geraniums are gasping for air, the roses are just sad, and everything else is about to give up. I hate this time of year. I miss my patio. Everything is covered with a film of dust from the monsoons, and hunkered down so nothing will blow away. I long to sit out there and listen to the birds, which are also keeping a low profile on these hot days. I see them gathering in the birdbath, splashing and cooling off. At least, July is almost over, and fall will be here eventually.

Funny story...sort of.

Remember the visitor from last week? The real owl? Well, my hilarious husband played a trick on me last night. We were in the middle of a monsoon storm, it was dark and raining like crazy. I walked out onto the patio to see if anything was getting wet, and I came face to face with this guy sitting on the fountain. I almost died, or had a heart attack at the very least. Believe me, he looked real in the dark. I froze in my tracks, and when I turned around, there was Paul laughing so hard. It must have blown off some one's something because Paul found it laying in the middle of the street. Pretty funny, honey! Not!

This family of Gambel's quail showed up in the yard this morning. They are scared off easily and hard to photograph. I was hiding behind a bush, that's the reason for the green corner. They are so cute when they run. Their little topknots are just a bobbing.

I love this shot. It's looks like Jr. is getting a scolding.

"Keep up children, and don't fall off. "

I think I should change the name of my blog to the Bird Blog!