Our Backyard

Good morning! Jim spotted this decorative copper sprinkler at Lowes. We fell in love with it and decided to buy it. At first, we were going to put it in the front yard. We wanted to test it. Jim hooked it up to the hose in the backyard so we could see how it would look. We like it so much that Jim is going to run the conduit for it and leave it where it is. We're going to buy another one (or maybe two) for the front yard.

We have climbing roses and ground cover roses in this garden. We planted the roses last spring. It will take awhile for them to get established.

Ben and His Shadow

I've posted photos of all of our furry kids except Ben and Smitty. They kept running to me every time I would try to take their picture. I finally caught Ben sitting still with no desire to run toward me. Please note that he's sitting with one of his hind legs between his front legs. (He didn't want you to think that was his tummy.) Now the camera and I are after Smitty. Here kitty, kitty, kitty.

Lake Superior

I painted this from a photo Jim took when we were at Wisconsin Point. In the distance beyond the lighthouse, you can see Minnesota. Im going to paint it again and move my horizon line so that it doesn't divide the scene in half.

Finished!

Here is the finished floral.

Jim is watching golf. He just spotted two golfers he was on the golf team with in college. They are now on the Seniors Tour:)

Please check out Laurie Manzano's work at the The Blue Mule Gallery. I just love her paintings! Here is the link http://www.bluemule.net/pages/paintingsmanzano.htm

Floral WIP

I'm working on a painting of clematis from a photo taken in my dad and stepmother's garden. I'm going to let it sit tonight, look at it again tomorrow and finish it.

Corkboard In Progress

Here it is. Our craft project for the art room. As you can see, Jim needs to get on the stick and consume mass quantities of wine to help me complete the project. (He's watching The Coneheads as I write.) I'll be able to use it as soon as it dries. I'll add more corks later.

Gratitude Friday

I'm grateful to Diana for coming up with this idea. I makes me stop and think (an activity that is beneficial to everybody:)).

I'm grateful to Rosie and Briscoe (our dogs) for getting up in a good mood every morning. They're ready for adventure. Yahoo! Let's have breakfast and go for a walk! Come on everybody! Let's go, go, go! Their attitude is contagious. It also amazes us. Jim asks, "How do they do it every morning?"

I'm grateful to my high school Spanish teacher, Mr. Sergio Alvarez. He gave me an excellent foundation for learning the Spanish language. Although I'm not fluent, I can get by. I took Mr. Alvarez's classes many, many years ago. I'm gearing up for the new school year and I plan to use some of Mr. Alvarez's ideas in my English classes this year. It doesn't matter what language you're teaching or learning; certain principles remain the same. Mr. Alvarez was an excellent teacher. Maybe, someday, I will be, too.

I'm grateful to the people who have taken time to view and comment on my blog. Oh, how that brightens my day!

I'm grateful to Jim for being so nice to me.

Gratitude Friday

This morning, with my usual grace, I fell and landed hard on my knees and my right arm. (No, I'm not grateful that I fell:)) I'm grateful that I fell on the carpet and not the wood floor or the tile. I'm also grateful that I didn't hurt myself except for a couple of bruises. My sister asked if I'd ever had a test for osteoporosis. I told her that I administer my own:)

I'm grateful that Jim and I have a perfect view of the sun rising over Sunrise Mountain every morning during the summer when we reach the top of the hill on our morning walk.

Now, the big news: I'm grateful that Gordon Lightfoot will be here in concert in October and we're going to go buy tickets tomorow! We saw him during Spring Break on Vancouver Island. His music is beautiful.

A New Idea for My Art Room

I wanted a place to put up paintings before matting them or just to look at them if I'm not going to mat them. I thought I could make my own corkboard and Googled "cork" to get some ideas. I found this http://www.wineintro.com/products/corks/corkboard.html
They had a clever idea - use wine corks to make a cork board.

Jim is going to help me. We're using an old cupboard door that Jim removed when he installed our dishwasher. (I love the wood that our cupboards are made of.) Jim is making a frame out of quarter round. We started saving wine corks a while back with a vague idea of using them for something. I don't know if we have enough corks, but Jim says he's willing to drink more wine to help me out:) I'm going to glue the corks we have and then fill in the rest later. Working on this project has made me stop and look at wine corks. Most of them have words or drawings on them. They're interesting.

My Husband Is a City Boy or Which Came First The Chicken or The...

When we were on vacation, my husband had his first experience with an outhouse. My sister and I thought it was pretty funny, so we had to document the experience. He was so proud.

Also, he made the discovery this year that a hen can lay eggs even with no roosters around. I love him so much. He makes me laugh all the time. When he learns something new, he is absolutely delighted just like a little kid! I only wish my grandpa was still around. He would have enjoyed this.

More Wisconsin Photos

The Lucius Woods facility is made of logs. The lake is behind the stage. What a great place for a concert! In one photo, you can see the rainbow that appeared during the break in the concert.





Lake Superior is beautiful. It looks just like the ocean. It's about 350 miles long and 160 miles wide. I have to go to Wisconsin Point, which is where this photo was taken, each time I visit Wisconsin and I always get my feet wet - no matter what the weather is like.

The Gratitude Friday Club

Diana Strinati Baur came up with the idea of The Gratitude Friday Club. Please check out her blog. The link is on the right side of my blog under "More Blogs" creativestructures.blogspot.com For some reason, I can't get the link to come up in this post. It's a terrific idea - each Friday you list the things you are grateful for. Here are some of the things for which I am grateful.

I am grateful for a loving husband who enjoys many of the things I enjoy (and indulges me in the ones he doesn't give a hoot about:)

I get to talk to my mom, dad and two sisters often and see them once or twice a year.

I have 4 cats and 2 dogs who are full of love and also create mischief to spice up our lives.

I can paint and I'm getting better at it the more I do it.

I have access to beautiful art and a little glimpse into the lives of the most interesting people all over the world through the technology of the blog.

I am grateful to the person who invented air conditioning.

I am grateful that we were approved for a solar energy rebate this week. Woohoo! We will now begin construction on our solar power system.

I am grateful for good friends.

I don't remember learning to read, but I must have learned when I was 4 or 5. So I'm grateful to the person who taught me to read. That would be Mrs. Sislo or Mrs. Bubalo my kindergarten and first grade teachers. Reading opens up the world.

I am grateful that today is Friday. It's my favorite day of the week.

Saturday Night in Wisconsin

We're back in Las Vegas, but I'd like to tell you a little about our trip to Wisconsin. My dad has a beautiful log cabin on Lake St. Croix in Solon Springs, Wisconsin. He and my stepmother spend a lot of time there during the summer. My sister lives in Solon Springs (population 500, no - now that my sister is there, make that 501). She got tickets to a concert at Lucius Woods Park. It's a gorgeous facility.

Jim and I, my dad and my sister went to see the White Sidewalls on Saturday night at the park. The White Sidewalls are a fifties group. The music was great. We sat on plastic chairs in the grass, surrounded by a wooded park - lovely. The weather was cool. It rained a little, but the audience was prepared with umbrellas:) The timing on the rain was perfect - the band played a set, it rained during the break and stopped when they began the second set. Strange and wonderful. When the rain stopped, there was a rainbow. It was a complete arc. It was beautiful.

After the concert, we went to my dad's cabin. He built a fire down by the lake. My stepmother joined us and we all toasted marshmallows and watched fireworks. (It rained on the Fourth of July, so the fireworks were postponed to August 1.) It was so relaxing sitting by the fire, talking and watching the fireworks over the lake. It was a perfect night.

Beautiful Wisconsin

Here is a picture of my dad and some pictures of his and my stepmother's garden.