I'm a Winner & 50th Post!!

I am the oh-so-very-proud winner of d.reyne's Over 200 Followers Give-Back!  I throw my hat in the ring for many of these very fun drawings, but have never won before.  So....what did I win?  Donna calls it Autumn Wonderment (sounds wonderful, don't you think?)  It is a tote filled with goodies, including a burlap pumpkin that I can't wait to see.  I will show you all the wonderful goodies soon.  How sweet of Donna Reyne to offer this gift as she has so much on her plate.  Please see my older post on her Tinker House and this post on the project she is working on at Horton's.  Really....where does she get the energy?  I'm sensing a shoe theme for the Christmas Open House.  Oh, how I love shoes....I will have to follow this one closely and I hope you all do also.  Many thanks to you again, Donna...for the give-back and for joining me as a follower. 

As for my weekend....it was a doozy!  I worked with two clients yesterday with my 9-month-old design assistant, Kloe Marie, in tow.  She was a trooper and is just an angel.  It went well at both appointments.  One client is a young family moving into an 80's house and trying to bring it up-to-date for their young family.  My second visit was with Susan Stokes.  See her previous project here.  Susan is getting married in January and she and her future hubby have decided to stay in her lovely water-front home and add an incredible master suite......complete with an awesome CLOSET!!!  Both projects have what I call  an Upscale Tropical look that is very popular here in South Florida.  I am honored to be working with both of these clients....who are also my friends.  They put a great deal of trust in me and I take that very seriously.  I will be sure to share pictures as both of these projects will be quite beautiful.

I did get a few minutes to run around the backyard this afternoon to take a few photos before the sun went down. 

The Dixie Chicks on their evening walk-about.
See the shed?  Can you envision my own version
of Tinker House here?  Oh....I can see it SO clearly!

Kloe chewing on her pink cowboy boot (every girl needs
a pair, right?), chickens and a dog in the mix.  My husband
has successfully acclimated all our pets to live as one.

This is the entrance into the coop.  See the beauty berry in
full color to the left?  Hanging just above...a gorgeous
chocolate mint in the basket.  We just got it today and it
smells delicious!

Our orchids are in full bloom.  That is Gracie in the background.

This is my husband's creation....appropriately named Wilson.
Levi, our beagle, in the background.

Spanish lavender and a trailing rosemary in one pot.
Scented geranium to the left.
Fall zinnia's in the ground on the right.

And finally, this is my 50th post here on this blogspot, including a few from my aim at this a few years ago.  In the grand scheme of what is going on in the blogosphere, I'm still an infant, but I feel that I am starting to grow and I find that mighty exciting. 

Sending a big, giant wish to all for an incredible week ahead!!

Maiden Voyage

This is my very first "challenge."  Mary Green of Green Paper offered a free collage sheet.  The mission....should I decide to accept it.....to "create" something, anything....as long as I use the three images (or parts thereof) that she provides.  Now since I've been back in blogland for the last month or so, I have been studying hard.  That is me....a student at heart.  I've been buying and reading the Somerset magazines.  I've been reading and re-reading my favorite blogs/artists who create the neatest things.  I stand in the same isle of Michaels for what seems like hours on end, absorbing the goods.  I decide on only the basics, as I feel that anyone can create from pre-created packages.  Maybe not, I don't know at this point.  I see some good things, even still.

I decide it is time for me to accept this challenge.  So I run off the collage sheet on several different mediums....in color, in black and white, on vellum, on decorative paper.  Again....still studying.  Finally, I decide to make some notes.  It's the 25-plus years that I have spent as a secretary and at various times as a student that makes this seem like the place to start.  I start looking at some other free images I already have on hand and start making a mental story board.  The aspiring writer in me feels like if I have a story to tell, I can make this happen.  Again....out with the books....Somerset Life and Anna Corba's VINTAGE PAPER CRAFTS.  Yes, it is starting to come together in my head.  I decide to use some of the black and white, some color, but the real kicker....Miss Mary herself on vellum.  Then I decide to color her sash and now she looks like a hand-colored sepia negative and I love the effect.

Here is her story.  The pleasure of Miss Mary's company has been requested.  Oh my!  What will she wear?  More importantly, what will she pack as this means a voyage.  Since it is her first, it is her "maiden voyage."  The trip is long and there are many stops along the way.  She gathers little momentos along the way....a violet she will press in her bible, some downy feathers that showed up one morning on deck even though she has not seen birds overhead for days.  Where did they come from?  And a pretty shell and little pieces of coral she found at the shore.  Can you see it all come together?

My first mixed media collage came together.  To my own delight, I love it and the story I hope it conveys.  I used the sepia, hand-colored version of Miss Mary.  I tucked the three color-printed "Will's Cigarettes" florals in a little glycene envelope and tucked in some downy feathers from my chickens.  The pressed violet is one my Aunt Claire dried many years ago and stuck in a birthday card to me.  The little pieces of coral from my walks on the beach.  I have a couple of old books on hand that I love to tear pages from.  Two images are from those. 

(And I just remembered that I have a credit at the nearby used book store, so I will be there tomorrow to see what I can scavenge for future projects.)  I used half of a manilla file folder and cut it into a somewhat fancy tag shape.  I tea stained it a bit, but also used some Jim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo on it as well.  Oh, I failed to mention.. ...my first time using Mod Podge as well.  And.....I LOVE IT!!  Finally, I added a couple of stamped images and I felt like Miss Mary's Maiden Voyage was recorded and complete. 

For my first project....I am very pleased.  Oh, and did I mention????? 

Miss Mary had the time of her life!!!

Work in Progress

(This is the first present-day entry to what will be my permanent blog site.  It is a duplicate from my wordpress.com blog dated today.  Some beautiful changes to this blog are coming soon.  Can't wait!!  Please stay tuned...)

We are getting back to normal at the Bass household these days. Our visit from Glenda has come and gone already. That is hard to believe. The following weekend was a visit from my husband’s brother. Both he and his wife were down, but wife was at a class reunion and brother got to have some free time. So the brothers enjoyed a morning of kayak fishing in our sweltering heat. Still, the water was beautiful as always.

Meanwhile, I am working on a new blogging project that I will share soon. I’m making some changes, but this time change is good. I can’t wait to fill you in. So for now, I’ll just share a few pictures/sites that I love.

You know we love our chickens. Owning chickens (or CHOOKS as they are called in Australia) has become a popular hobby. Anytime I see someone’s coop and yard, I have to save the picture. I love our set up and will look for some pictures I already have on hand. In the near future, I will take some pictures of all the upgrades that have taken place in our yard and house. It all looks so great!

This is one of my favorites. I’m not sure where I found it, so unfortunately I cannot give credit where credit is due. Love, love, love the roses and chickens together.

Then there is this entry from Heather Bullard’s site. I mentioned her in my previous post.  Heather is the senior editor of Flea Market Style magazine. Check out their new blog at the link. She is also an accomplished photographer, so all the pics are her own. She and her “man” visited Santa Barbara and found this set-up behind a store they visited. So charming!! She says that the children of a family come in daily to tend to the hens. How sweet is that?. Click on the link to see all the pictures from her post. You will want to add her sites to your favorites to visit often. I have! We have said that our next coop (when would we need a next one?) would be a walk-in type and this is great inspiration.

I had intended to show our own pictures next, but I believe they are saved in my other computer. So I will wait and take current pictures to share instead. While you wait, here is our kitty….Gracie Allen Bass. She is sitting on top of the opened chicken coop door, but appears to have her eye on something in the distance. She is our miracle cat who survived a near fatal dog attack a few years ago. She has even had one of her hind hip sockets removed as a result, but seems good as new these days. When we have had a few rainy or chilly days she looks to maybe have some arthritic pain there though. She is a beauty!

If I hadn’t started painting, I would have raised chickens. ~ Grandma Moses

~ ~

Paint and Worry

(Reprinted from my wordpress.com blog dated May 21, 2010.)

I felt Martha Stewart would have given an approving nod in our direction this past weekend as the shed was painted Martha Stewart Saguaro (MSL092). The house will soon follow suit. Eventually, the hen houses will be painted the same (very Martha-esque!). I glanced out to see a freshly painted wall and a chicken walking past. It was as if I had opened an issue of Martha Stewart Living and was pleased it was actually my very own back yard I was seeing. The trim is my favorite Ultra Pure White from Behr (the brightest white in my opinion), and back to Martha Stewart for the doors: Kerry Blue Terrier (MSL161).


It looks like this coming weekend will be an exterior paint fest. Calling in all favors from all those for whom we have ever helped paint (or other such projects)!!! Yes, I know it will be hot, but I will keep the liquids flowing. We have a small house….won’t take long at all!!

Meanwhile, worry is filling my mind this afternoon. Yes, I know how fruitless this activity is. It is not about the painting of my home, but of other things I cannot control. In an effort to contain it, I did some research on clever quotes.

“People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross.” – Author Unknown

This conjers up a vision of a bridge so grand that even my bridge engineer brother would be impressed. I feel that at least something constructive would come from my worrying. But if I never get to cross it….wasted energy. Point taken.

“That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change; but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.” Chinese Proverb

I laughed at this one as I instantly saw a FLOCK of birds trying to build a nest on my head. I liked that it brought me to laughter, which has always been a great anxiety reliever to me. It also made me see the nonsense in this activity…this worrying thing.

“For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.” – Author Unknown

BOINK! Hit right on the head! Right….I am not in charge. Okay, I'll quit!!

Check out these nests. Maybe I could wear these as earrings to match my bird nest hat!

Fake It Till You Make It

(Reprinted from my wordpress blog dated May 11, 2010.)

Someone said that to me years ago and it just stuck. Today I will fake that I really don’t have a nagging sore throat; that the projects I always have on my list each night will really get done; that I really am not worried how my son will make it in this life and that his son and daughter will grow up to be perfect and well adjusted; and that I really don’t want to just be out in my garden up to my elbows in dirt instead of where I really am. There – just writing all that down seemed to unload it all just a bit. There isn’t much there that I have control over, so why let it continue to stew?

Over this past weekend, when my sweet little Kloe fell asleep in her swing, I ran out into the backyard in the hopes of planting a few new plants: Russian sage Pevovskia and Powderpuff Mimosa strigillosa.

To me the sage almost looks like lavender with stalks of lavender blooms. I think two more will create the drift I am hoping for. They only go to Zone 9, but I often have good luck with that still. It is planted in a semi-shaded area under a tree that I wish I knew the name of. It is a tropical tree native to South America (I think), with beautiful yellow blooms in the winter (which was why I wanted it) and BIG thorns (which is why I was asked to please not plant it a couple of years ago). I planted it anyway. I cannot fully stand under it yet so I am on my hands and knees digging a hole with my small hand trowel while trying not to get thorns in my back.

The pink powderpuff mimosas are native to Florida. I planted them in and amongst some other groundcovers…a creeping jasmine and dune daisies. I like the idea of the pink powderpuffs popping up their little bushy heads there. All in keeping with the backyard color scheme of purples, whites, pinks, and yellows (and shades thereof).

Any gardener knows that when you are out there on your hands and knees (or finally just sitting there in the middle of the bed), weeds seen have to be removed. I have a pesky weed that likes to invade everything in the yard….grass included. As I was pulling it up and flinging it into a pile, I turned to look over my shoulder and saw our chickens feasting on them. First of all, I didn’t even realize they were out. It is a different view to be sitting on the ground when they are having their walk-about. They look so much bigger. Secondly, it was pretty cool to just watch them pecking all the leaves off the weeds I had discarded. My pest was their feast.

Out of nowhere, these lyrics popped into my head:

To everything: turn, turn, turn;
There is a season: turn, turn, turn;
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven.

I guess seeing the chickens eat what I had considered to be trash reminded me that everything has a purpose and place in this world. And since I basically think life is one big musical anyway and that in certain situations one should just break out in song, I was not surprised that a song came to mind. However, that particular Byrds song had not entered my mind in forever. And right then and there, I felt peace. I enjoyed just sitting in the middle of a flower bed, under a thorny tree, watching a chicken dance, and humming a song in my head.

Next scene, my husband is walking out of the house with our granddaughter, who is now awake. He sits down in the grass so she can see the chickens up close and I can finish getting my few plants in the ground. Here Comes the Sun, the James Taylor/Yo Yo Ma version, is next on the In Carol’s Head jukebox. Truth be said, there is almost always a song going on in there. Kloe mostly bears the brunt of my constant singing and often looks at me quizzically. The other day I made up a little ditty that almost made her laugh. She goes to sleep every night listening to Jewel sing lullabies. I have no idea if it helps or if she likes it. She seems to. It makes me feel better anyway.

In my Fake It Till You Make It world, I often don’t have to fake it for long. I just break out in song and everything seems better!

~~
I miss my singing career very much. ~ Elvis Presley

The only thing better than singing is more singing. ~ Ella Fitzgerald

And finally….

If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning. ~ Simon Cowell

Rainy Days and Mondays

(Reprinted from my wordpress.com blog dated April 26, 2010.)

A bit of melancholy settled in yesterday morning when my 4-month-old granddaughter, Kloe, left with her mother. For reasons inappropriate to divulge, she and her daddy–my son– have been living at my home for the past two months. In that two month period, I have run the gamut of nerves, anxiety, sleeplessness, anger, helplessness, and hopelessness. Not one bit of that matters when I walk into their room each morning to see her face smiling up at me, legs and arms flailing in excitement to see me. I believe yesterday I even heard her first giggle. It’s not really as bad as I make it sound here. It is very good that she spend time with her mother and maternal family. If all goes well, she’ll be back in two weeks for another stay. For all of the turmoil, it seems a modicum of peace and civility has risen to the surface. I will survive. This is just me feeling sorry for myself. I’m allowed to wallow for a few minutes.


After a trip to the feed store for chicken feed, my husband surprised me with a trip to my favorite nursery, Giverny Gardens. I had been saying how much I wanted and needed to get out in my own garden. With a baby in the house, moments were not always my own. So for something positive to do and think about, plants and flowers always do the trick. While this is a beautiful picture below (from their website) it really does not do justice to their nursery. They were chock full of spring flowers. I could have easily spent hundreds of dollars (or more) and still wanted more. They even had foxgloves and delphiniums….just gorgeous. Even though tempted, I did not get either as their lifespan is so short here. I did enjoy seeing them in person though. It may have been the first time I have ever seen a real foxglove. It was beautiful. I do have my eye on a few rambling roses though. I am not sure they are on Fortuniana rootstock though. They probably are not, but I will have to give them a try anyway. It says to prune them every 3 to 4 weeks. They must really take off. At 20 bucks a pop, I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks and hope they are still there. Is five of them too many? I think not.

I did get a few things though and happily went home and puttered. The trip there was absolutely worth it.

My mom used to have several orchids growing in a mahogany tree in our backyard. She said God took care of them because she would just put them in the lower branches of the tree and they were on their own from there. They thrived in the dappled shade, slightly moving air, and humidity. I feel the same way about how my garden looks right now. Flowers are busting out all over. The Confederate jasmine is covered. Roses are in bud. I cannot take credit for it as it has been months since I’ve been out there. However, yesterday, it felt wonderful to do even just a few things. The compost tumbler was emptied and its contents spread about. The plants reap the benefit from the kitchen scraps plus “leftovers” from the rabbits and chickens. I took out my past-its-prime ornamental kale, planted my new plants, and even some seeds. It might be a bit late in the season for that, but I have this mentality that in Florida we have a year-round gardening season and I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I may get a surprise or two when those seedlings don’t thrive in our already warm spring. Still, it felt good to do it.

I don’t get to do whatever I want, whenever I want. None of us do. No matter our age, we still keep trying though. I was reminded of that when I gave Kloe her millionth kiss goodbye yesterday morning. The young have the luxury of having a tantrum. My tantrum will be in the energy I put into my projects for the next few weeks. Still, there is a peacefulness to knowing I don’t always get to have my way, that I don’t have control over everything, that I need to let it go. I will change that to let it grow instead and see what happens.

~ ~

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com