It's a boy!

The other day I mentioned that I had another doll cut out and ready to stuff. He is another tiny one, smaller than usual. As I was working on the doll, it "told me" that it wanted to be a boy doll. He didn't really tell me, but doll personalities usually emerge as they are being created and worked on.

So, meet Timothy who is little under 4 inches tall. Like any little guy, he wanted to play, so here he is showing the girls how to work a marionette. The girls gave him a present: a little wagon with a frog in it and some toys they thought boys would like to play with.

Some incredible humidity had the nerve to move in a ruin our nice cool summer. But everyone I have spoken with recently agrees that this is the MOST beautiful summer in decades. Gardens are thriving despite the lack of sun and I have seen breathtaking flora everywhere.

Can it possibly be Friday? The week went by in a flash. I worked on some art projects this past week as well as the little dolls and will share them next week. We are probably going to take a few days to ramble around the back roads of New England but I will be checking in.

Enjoy the day....
and
have a wonderful weekend!

A dear deer

photo taken from the car last night by my husband. This has a mysterious look to it, doesn't it? We saw so many last night as they came out of the woods in search of dinner.

Back to work here....

Enjoy the day!

It must be Wednesday....

but I have lost track of time this week. I am like little Edie above...waiting for things to be completed or at least get started. I have some dolls around here waiting for clothes, to be stuffed, to be finished. Other projects need completion, too.

It is usually quite humid and warm in this part of New England this time of year. We had so much rain earlier and now so much humidity that we have barely seen a blue sky this summer. As I look out into the light gray sky, it is hard to tell what time of day it is. The dew point has made it very uncomfortable for the moment with promises of big thunderstorms later today. It's a good day to work on some of these unfinished projects. One word: murky!

Whatever the weather,

I hope that you..

enjoy the day!

Goats!

Over the weekend, we visited my friend Marie who keeps goats. She is also an avid gardener and has more than half a dozen large gardens.

The constant rain has kept her busy with weeds. Her goats are within eyesight of her garden and her pool. When they hear her voice, they become very animated and social and start "talking." What is is about goats? They always look like they are smiling.

When we were up in Brimfield in the spring, she purchased a small goat statue and has it peeking out of a shrub near her pool. Perfect! The day we bought it, she was lugging it through Brimfield in a cart and people stopped us over and over to say how much they loved it.

It rained frequently over the weekend. We saw water levels were quite high wherever we were and there are flood watches just about everywhere. It has now turned REALLY humid.

Have a very busy Monday ahead. I must remember to smile like the goats and be just as social. They are so affectionate and happy all the time!

Enjoy the day!

Monkey business...

I continue to needle felt tiny monkeys and wanted to create a little art from them. The monkeys cavorted on the table and took over the art. All of these guys are under 4 inches tall....but I really like sock monkeys made from real socks. I have a vintage sock monkey here and would like more, but they take up space. The little ones fit in a mug!

It is raining again. It is a cool morning and as verdant and lovely as one could hope for.The day ahead is filled with possibilities. The weekend looks promising.

Have a wonderful weekend...

and enjoy the day!

Deer abound in New England

This one was curious

and finally left upon hearing the camera click

It's a wild life...

Wildlife sightings have been really abundant this year. We see deer and wild turkeys nearly every time we leave the house. Of course, we see the usual possums, skunks, chipmunks and raccoons as well. The other night a family of eight skunks traipsed through our yard and scurried under a shed. There were six little one in the group. Of course but we sincerely hope that they did not take up residency under our shed.

Last summer a coyote walked down our city street in the middle of the afternoon. A few years ago, we had a woodchuck who nursed her babies every afternoon in the sun in our back yard. They played like kittens and I think they lived under our shed. The whole entourage left one sunny afternoon. I watched them trail down the hill and disappear onto the next street. I have watched raccoons head to the sewer drains when they see people approaching. Raccoons are great city dwellers. Animals seem to adapt.

Once again there was tremendous rain here yesterday. It was good day for art and doing laundry. The rain has stopped and the humidity seems to be very "thick" again. It is so green and beautiful around these parts that I cannot even describe it except through photos.

We live right in the middle of town but less than a mile from the country side, so I think we get the best of both worlds. I love nature...I hope you do, too.

Enjoy the day!

Postcards from Vermont....

Over weekend, I took other photos besides the flags. We happened upon an ice cream social in Marlboro, VT, in front of a church. Marlboro Congregational church was "organized" in 1776. It was a really old fashioned "social." The ice cream was handmade and so delicious! I took a photo of this church last winter and it is here. Looks quite different, doesn't it?

Tasha Tudor resided in Marlboro and one of the ladies serving ice cream told me she had been her neighbor. Of course, "neighbor" means many miles apart in this area that is still heavy with unpaved roads and large farms.

We passed by several covered bridges, but Scott Bridge is interesting. People were diving off it into the water. After a while they replaced the boards they had removed from the sides. We enjoyed lunch parked under a tree and watching the swimmers. It was breezy and quite cool.

Vermont has so much natural beauty. We came across this beautiful pond deep in the woods with this wonderful architecture in the middle.

Now it is Monday again and I am looking at a very large list of things to accomplish this week. The weather was glorious all weekend, but I think the humidity has crept in and it just plain humid this morning.

Enjoy the day...

Happy Monday!

Powerful images...

a flag for each death. How sad that there are so many flags one cannot even begin to get a photo of them.

Taken today as we passed through the town of Townshend, VT.

Installation by Lauri Richardson.

A few more photos...

from Brimfield. The bottom photo shows some of my "loot." See that Eiffel tower? I was looking for this Eiffel Tower for several years and there is was on a table for just a few dollars. (I collect these decanters with French motifs.) These ceramic decanters are quite beautiful and are becoming expensive for the rarer ones. The Garnier company produced the liqueur and the decanters were made in Italy, mostly in the 60's.

I found lots of vintage ribbons and trims, wooden spools, and vintage yarns (which I use for doll hair.) And I picked up a new item, a jacket trimmed with bark cloth from a booth called. "Mes Idees." It will be fun to wear when visiting art galleries in the fall.

Yesterday it turned very humid and we had thunderstorms during the night. I think that we chose just the right day to visit Brimfield.

The weekend is nearly here. It promises to be quite beautiful once we get past some storms and humidity. We have tentative plans but our plans are always fluid so we will just have to wait and see where the road takes us.

Enjoy the day...

enjoy the season...

and have a splendid weekend!

Tired but happy....this says it all!

Bookz...

My friend and I decided to make books for each other as our next swap. The book would be made from six tags and assembled with a cover.

We chose summer as a theme and decided that the back and front of the tags would be decorated and that we would make two sets so we would each own a book in the end. (One of the problems with swapping regularly is that we have very little of our own art in our homes.) The theme is "summer."

When we were planning this, we didn't take into account that six tags times two sides equals twelve images PLUS a cover page finished on both sides. I used my original art which I had scanned and then shrunk to size and printed. The result was the mini collages below. I added paper, rubber stamping and fiber.



Then those 14 images would be made by twice resulting in 28 completed tags. Whew!


We have now decided to do another book but haven't decided on the format yet. We are leaning towards just as many pages and possibly using nature as a theme again. Involved? Yes! But, I am glad that I have a book to keep. Maybe next time I will make three and sell one.

Tomorrow I am off to Brimfield to the HUGE flea market. It doesn't appear that it will be too hot and there is no rain in the forecast. I may or may not take a camera. My friends and I usually walk around at least 6 hours --and we are not young chicks! I usually get so caught up in the wonder of the place that I forget to take photos. So, see you in a day or two. In the meantime,

stay creative...

and enjoy the day!

The saga continues...

Right after Pinto made his appearance on Friday, we received a letter from Lily via her roommate, April.

It seems that sweet Lily

has a crush....

on you know who!

Could anything be cuter than these two made by Peng Peng? Dear, sweet Pinto is sitting near me here and he is such darling little bear--who wouldn't fall in love with him?

We have a new gardener who made his debut on Friday but was lost in the excitement of Pinto's arrival. He is my own creation. Edie always appreciates friends who are 4 inches tall. I needle-felted him to be a friend for Blanche Souris and Rat T Rat and the Sock Monkeys.


Such is life around here. The weekend flew by in a blink of an eye. We were only home to sleep. I didn't take out my camera even once as we dashed about from place to place catching up with shopping and errands long overdue. The weather was just perfect! It barely reached 80F and it was 50F this morning.

Right now I have to dash off myself, so...

Enjoy the day!

Love at first sight...introducing Pinto...

Buddha Bear extraordinaire made by the talented Peng Peng...

and won by me in her very generous blog giveaway. ( I never win anything so I am still in a state of shock.)

Let me start by saying Pinto is so wonderful that I am at a loss for words. Pinto is so well-made, so whimsical , so cute! I cried... and then smiled... when I opened the box.

For many, may years I have been a fan of Peng Peng and her bears and her sock monkeys. Her web site has been a link on the side here since I started this blog.

Peng Peng also has an Etsy shop and has been on HGTV.

Peng Peng, I cannot thank you enough. Pinto is so dear! Pinto will be treasured forever and fit right in here with plenty of "playmates" for company. But, for now, I don't think Pinto will leave my side......truly, it is love at first sight.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Al Fresco....

One of the delights of summer is dining al fresco. I have always maintained that if I don't eat outdoors a few times over the summer, I really haven't experienced summer.

Of course, we eat on our deck but nothing beats the wonderful meals served at churches in the summer.For many years I traveled to an island in Maine and partook of New England Boiled Dinners, Baked Bean Suppers and Clambakes. (We also enjoy picnics and takeout food when we are traveling around and can eat outdoors three seasons of the year.) But we didn't have to travel to Maine to find a lovely dining place and a great meal.

The Menu

The Dining Room

The view

The View in the Other Direction

So what did I have for dinner? New England clam chowder and a warm lobster roll. For the uninitiated, a hot lobster roll is served in some parts of New England on a mundane spit hot dog roll. It consists of lobster meat and clarified butter and nothing else. It is beautiful in its simplicity, pricey and caloric. Cold lobster rolls might have mayo, celery and spices.

A perfect lobster roll must consist of lobster that is cooked to perfection because over cooking can cause it to become rubbery. I hadn't eaten a lobster roll in a decade, but the beautiful evening and ambiance required it. I will be eating salad for the next week to compensate but it was worth it! It was beautiful evening and a fun splurge for a good cause.

The weekend is nearly here. It went down to 49F degrees last night. It required hauling out a blanket for the bed. It was "good sleeping weather" as we call it around here.

Enjoy the day!

Enjoy the weekend!

Indulge in a summer splurge!

It's raining again....

It seems to be raining every day, although the sun makes rare cameo appearances upon occasion. Lately we have been having violent thunderstorms during the night. Last night was quite scary for an hour with heavy lightning and very loud thunder.

A few weeks ago, I made this sunflower collage to swap with a friend. Once again, we used the 4 inch canvases. The themes was summer. I used copies of my original sunflower art for my collage. Of course, I added some stamping, painting and other embellishments to add interest. It was hard to get a good photo at the time since it was raining and not at all sunny. It was also took a long time to dry.


Despite the rain, real sunflowers are blooming everywhere, and it is absolutely beautiful in New England. I remember other years when it was really dry and dusty in July. This particular summer reminds me of summers long ago...when curling up with a good book in the rain was a welcome respite from the heat. It still is.

Enjoy the day...

Enjoy the weather!

Good Monday morning!

The happy traveling-around-week is over and now it is back to the daily grind.

The sun shone all weekend. Animals and people were everywhere enjoying summer.

These deer were by the side of the road and I didn't want to get our of the car to take the photos so it is blurry. They looked so mystical and lovely in the shade. We saw dozens and dozens of deer in the past week...some nibbling in gardens and lots of little Bambi babies with their spotted backs. Notice how everything is so green?

Ditto with wild turkeys. They are everywhere and in large numbers. They frequently fly up on to the house tops and roost. It is hard to imagine what a large flock of turkeys sounds like on a roof! They have large broods of chicks and no natural predators so they are abundant in fields and scratching for seeds along side roads.

We said good-bye to the week near the Thimble Islands.

The breeze came up and it was a great finish to a week that started with violent storms, segued into a rain and fog, and ended up gloriously dry and sunny with a lovely cool breeze.

Have a good Monday...

enjoy the day!