Painting and Posting....All the Live Long Day!

Yep been painting a lot and finally, finally posting to my Etsy site. What fun. Martha had a wonderful segment on Etsy this morn. They said that one of my favorite artists from Etsy will be on Martha in March! How fun.

We, here in Oregon, have been enjoying some Spring weather for the past several days...pure heaven....but them days are over....yes sir-e bob...over and done...chilly and rainy is what is going on out our door. Soooooo, I traded baking some bread for whinning about the weather. I actually like the rain....it is cozy time for sure and I love that! Plus, this storm-a-coming puts me in a real sewing mood. I have had some pillow and doll ideas swimming around in ye ol' noggin for some time now....so I will put the pedal to the medal or at least to the sewing machine pedal and bring these ideas to life.

I am also trying to use up some of the over flowing food in the freezer and pantry....don't buy more until I use and totally appreciate what we have...Amen!

My prayer for all of you in blogland....a safe and peaceful weekend....and maybe a plate of cookies or two. Ta, ta for now.

Paint, Sweet Paint...Thy Name is Delight!

It has to be said....I love to paint. I have never been as good as my Mom or my Sister....but totally inspired by them....that is a blessing that I am grateful for. I must remember to list that on my Sunday Gratitude list (note to self).

Yesterday, I spent the day painting....but more importantly, I spent the day loving what I was painting. I felt inspired and creative ALL DAY. I get so lost in the paint and wax and brushes and pencils...I really do lose the sense of time and what day of the week it is. So today I must master my camera....FOCUS!!!...and post these yummy little works on my Etsy site. All I want to do today is PAINT and spread wax over that paint and repeat....but I must get out in the yard a bit too....I have having a good day and it is only 6:30 am! Here is my prayer: Thank You.

Have a good Tuesday everyone!

Sunday Gratitude Ten

What a great week....very peaceful and warmer than usual....so many things to be grateful for.....so here goes!

1. Totally grateful for my beautiful family and that opportunity to care for them

2. The awesome lunar eclipse this week

3. Clear skies to see the lunar eclipse this week

4. For all of my creative inspiration while painting this week

5. For the calm week ahead

6. Hearing that a friend's daughter is doing well and thriving in her new school

7. For every delicious mocha from Starbucks

8. My daughter's great teacher

9. My older daughter's dedication and love of her goals

10. My really, really funny husband.....he cracks me up daily!

Here's to a fantastic week!

Sweet Friday

I can almost feel it....sweet, sweet Spring. I am, for sure, a fair weather gardener. It is kind of sad that the temp must be above 60 degrees outside for me to get out there and do my thing in the soil. If my toes are cold, forget it! However, I do think that today, yes folks, TODAY, I will get my ol' buns out there and dig a patch or two. I went to Home Depot bright and early yesterday and bought two bags of bark dust. I will, yep, I WILL spread those said bags today, that's right, TODAY. I know how great it will feel to do this. And....I love the smell of fresh bark dust! It is kind of nuts, but my roses have continued to bloom all winter....not a lot, but some. We have had some down-right chilly days and snow off and on but not really sticking around too long....if it ain't going to snow then bring on Spring. I will trim those roses and the hydrangias this weekend and turn the soil over under those puppies and then watch....we'll have a late Winter snow....whatever, I love it when it snows!

I haven't been idle indoors this past week. I have been painting my little fingers to the bone. Loving every minute of it. I will put my goodies up on my Etsy site this weekend. I have been painting on fabric too....gonna make some buckwheat hull pillow for the site....I have been making buckwheat hull pillows for years.....they are so earthy and cool and crunchy and very different. Love 'em, love em', LOVE 'EM!

My cold, that was almost gone....has come back for round two....and I give, it wins! I have lost my voice and am on a diet of green tea and lemon cough drops, yum. The body aches are gone....and I sound very soul-ful when I talk...quite delightful I'm sure. Ha. Well...I am just rambling on and really should be rambling on down the road to my yard....I am sure that I will find many things to be grateful for out there and post them Sunday...until then, may you find a little piece of sunshine in your corner of the world today....Happy Friday good friends!

Sunday Gratitude Ten

Beginning today this will be my first posting of Sunday Gratitude Ten. An online list of gratitude from the past week. After my pity party from my last post....I decided to snap the heck out of it and get on with it! So friends here I go:

My Sunday Gratitude Ten

1. A somewhat warm and sunny weekend
2. A pantry and fridge full of healthy food and plenty of it
2. All of my "kids" were home this weekend
3. We "all" sat and ate together...twice!
4. The most gorgeous sunrise on the way to take Abbie to school this week...Jesus
Paintings...we call them
5. My hard working, fun loving husband
6. The sweetest Valentine card from said hubby
7. A warm and safe home
8. Watching a extremely large bird taking a bath in the bird bath outside the window
9. Good friends
10. Having enough

Mid-Winter Monday Blues

Trying hard to shake them mid-winter blues. Being born and raised in San Diego....this time of year in the Northwest tends to get to me a bit. It is not as bad as as it used to be and I love it when it might snow...which has been a lot lately....but days like today when it is just overcast and no rain and not quite warm enough to venture out into the yard....well I just have to work extra hard to shake them blues. I have our 10 year old home again from school with a bad cold....I have the same cold...I know just where it came from too....this 3 year old at the airport last week that really needed a box of tissue and someone to cover her mouth when she coughed. It is my fault though...when she sneezed toward us in the waiting area, I said to my husband and daughter, "watch us get sick now..." and there you go.

So I will now try and snap out of it and think about Spring and how warm and wonderful March can be here in Oregon...and how much fun I am having with my ETSY shop and how blessed I am to have this time with my wee one who really isn't so wee anymore...time flies when you are having fun!

Enjoy some more shots of the ol' homestead...."Home Sweet Home".

Blessings!

Where are the cushions?

Here they are!

What's for Dinner?

Well....lets see....it is raining and a tad breezy and maybe gonna snow tonight...sounds like soup-time to me. Though....I really do feel like bbqing something...I think that it would take the edge off of the fact that we are deep in winter. Something for dessert is needed too....last night we made individual apple crisps....total YUM. Really buttery and cinnamony and sweet with vanilla ice cream to cut that sweetness just a bit....delish!

I have been deep in it today making pincushions for my Etsy shop. I tried my hand at beeswax....totally cool...so to speak. I was lost in beeswax-ville all morning...the creative juices just started flowing....big time and I could not walk away!


I hope that you enjoy these little cushions as much as I enjoyed making them. I only finished two....but, more important, I became friends with da wax-ola! Yippie-ki-whop-ta-do...and cha, cha, cha.


I hope that all ye out in blogland have a great Tuesday....tomorrow is Ash Wednesday....it seems to come around as quickly as Christmas....shocking, I know...smile. Ta, ta for now.

I did it....it's done!

Finally, finally, finally! I have finally opened my ETSY shop...I hope that you check it out! Ramonaowendesigns....I will be selling lots and lots of this and that handmade from the heart...cha-cha-cha! It is really fun. I am still learning how to use all of the bells and whistles of my camera...it tends to be the only thing that slows me down...BUT, I WILL get there.....trust me....I will get there!

Gonna go make some popovers for breakfast, then off to pincushionland...oh, and what is that I hear? My sewing machine is calling my name...that sweet machine loves me and I love it...AND, I have no problem with it's functions....I DO know how that puppy works....felt, batting, ribbon, thread and buttons, oh my!

Please enjoy more of a peak into our home.