Off with the old tail, plants thriving, and the rock garden massacre...

I finally got around to clearing off a large enough space on my work table for the giant gecko. I have repeatedly mended cracks in his tail with Aves Apoxie but when I got him up on the table today, I saw that he had a new one. I learned from all the time I spent repairing cracks on the dirty old man sculpt that when cracks keep appearing to just give it up. So off came the old tail!

Actually I see geckos in my yard all the time with missing tails just like my giant gecko. When their tail is grabbed by a predator, it breaks off allowing them to escape, and they eventually grow new ones. I don't even want to imagine how many tails Emmy has swallowed... ewww... the little barbarian! Anyway, back to my giant gecko... I made a new tail armature and inserted it into the stub of the old one, and have started putting a layer of apoxie over the tail armature. Hopefully by using Aves Apoxie over the armature it will be sturdy enough to keep the tail from cracking when the clay I will apply later dries.

Remember back in May when I planted sweet potato vine and bougainvillea in the light pole pot, and filled in the front flower box with more sweet potato vine? In case you forgot, you can see it here. I took new pictures today, and even though it was cloudy when I took these, you can see how the new plants have taken off and thrived. At the moment the bougainvillea isn't blooming, and is growing slower than the sweet potato vine. If you click the pictures you will see the full size versions.



And here is a picture of the rock garden, the site of a recent ugly massacre. I would have shown close-ups, but it still bears the scars of the violent and deadly attack that took place there a couple of Sundays ago. Before I tell you about that brutal Sunday, let me give you some background on the rock garden. We started it several years ago with some ponytail palms, giant pots, some purple groundcover plants (can't remember the name of it) that was supposed to spread but didn't, some gorgeous canna tropicana plants (that got some kind of disease and died) and colorful annuals in the pots. That area gets full sun most of the day and the annuals in the pots just burned up. I'd have to water twice a day to keep annuals looking good in those clay pots, and that isn't going to happen. And even though Mike had put down the black landscape cloth and the entire garden was then covered with rocks, we still had a horrible time with weeds. So I needed plants that would spread and keep the weeds down, and that also would thrive in full sun and could go longer than a day or two without water.The perfect solution was succulants! A friend had given me a bunch of pots filled with different succulants, so I set them around in the rocks, soon they multiplied and filled the entire area- and they kept the weeds down... halleighluia!

And now the tale of the deadly Sunday massacre. Just before the unfortunate event, we had been admiring how the succulents had filled in and more importantly, the lack of weeds. Mike commented that one variety of the succulents needed thinned out, and I agreed that maybe a few of them could be pulled. Later as I was busy on the patio putting a protective finish on some old plant stands, I noticed Mike pulling plants out of the rock garden. I hollered at him to ask what he was doing, and when he said he was thinning out the succulents, I reminded him not to get carried away, which he has a tendency to do at times. A little while later as I kept working on the plant stands, he remarked that there was a pretty moss growing under the succulents. Suddenly I realized he was pulling plants out with a frenzy, and in a panic I ran out the door to stop him... but it was too late. Most of the left half of the garden was bare! The poor mutilated dead bodies of my brave little succulents were scattered everywhere, and later filled two large garbage bags. I didn't say a word, but the look on my face must have expressed my horror because Mike was all like "What?"- "What's wrong?"- "I was just thinning them out a bit!" "See the pretty moss?" Determined not to make a scene and entertain the neighbors, I silently walked into the house and Mike very wisely did not follow me. We didn't have much to say to each other for a couple of hours. Mike has now taken a solemn oath that he will never, ever again pull a single thing from the ground without me standing there giving my blessing. Oh- and the pretty moss? They were frigging weeds. And they are doing quite nicely, thank you.
Peace-
Linda

Letting go, catching up, and to tile or not to tile...

Concerns about those dear to me sometimes brings life to a screeching halt as I get caught up in worrying about things out of my control. So it's time I moved on from my fretting morose, and get back to the things I enjoy so much...like remodeling-Ha! (Thank you, Vee, for your comment of concern while I was missing in action, it's nice to be missed )

We finished grouting the window sill, so that is one chore crossed off the list. I really love the slate tiles we used. And because they are so rustic looking it wasn't that important that every tile was perfectly placed. If you look at it closely, you can notice that all the lines aren't perfectly aligned.

Now that is not the new trim-LOL! The windows will eventually have a light oak trim around them.


Now the question is, can we manage the job of tiling the kitchen walls? During all the remodeling, we have made boo boos on just about every project, and I am able to live with them. But it is important to me that the kitchen tiles are done perfectly. So we are debating whether it might be best to have the kitchen tiles done by a professional. We are going to use smooth ceramic tile in the kitchen and perfect alignment will be more important than it was with the ones we just did on the window sill. I signed us up for class on tiling held at Home Depot last Sat. The instructor covered both tiling a wall and a floor. Instead of first giving the instructions for the floor and then for the wall, he jumped back and forth between the two. I found it a bit confusing keeping up with which he was talking about when he switched from one to another. I was pleased to see that the small ceramic tiles like we will be using have notches sticking out which means we won't have to use those pesky spacers. Even after the class, we aren't convinced we can pull this job off. The instructor ended with a cheery: "See how easy it is to use tile?" I won't repeat what I said before wandering off muttering to myself. Let's just say it wasn't very cheery or positive. Perhaps we will draw up the design first, and then decide whether to hire someone or try it ourselves.


Due to spending the better part of a week wringing my hands and worrying obsessively, I didn't get much done in the studio. The sun box still awaits hinges and clasp, the giant gecko is getting restless sitting under my work table waiting to be finished, and every time I walk into the studio the three little frogs sit and look at me hopefully. So it's time to get back to work, dontcha' think?


I know I posted photos of this table awhile back, but I am not sure which entry it was. A friend who hadn't seen it before, asked to see photos of it, so I am posting new ones. The pictures should enlarge if you click them- that is if Blogger is in a good mood tonight.











Have a great week!
Peace-
Linda

Sun box, gecko canvas, and grouting plans...

This week has flown by and soon we will be grouting- fun, fun, fun!!! Not.... Now that we are back to work on the remodeling, I dread the weekends again-LOL! I love seeing progress, just hate spending my time doing it. I certainly have gained an appreciation for professional renovators.

I worked some more on the box this week, and finished the gecko canvas.
I decided I wanted to line the inside of the box with copper that I hammered out. So I had to cut the lid off so I could get clamps all the way around the box to hold the liner in place as the glue dried.



I sculpted a sun shape, did her face with colored pencils and paint, and have cut out a circle of textured copper around her. Since this picture I have added some more colors to the lid. I haven't decided what else I will use to finish embellishing the top.

And here is the finished gecko canvas. All the photos should enlarge when you click them.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Peace-

Linda

Ibis graze, Amy goes missing, tiling sills, and crazy neighbors-

While Mike made a trip to Lowes to pick up some items we needed to tile the living room bay window sill, I sat in the studio messing with the sun box. Still haven't decided if I will sculpt, paint or make a copper cutout for the sun image.

I think I have mentioned that I stick to routines. My routining thingie doesn't just apply to how I spend my time, but involves other parts of my life, too. Take music as an example... I love lots of different kinds of music ( except for rap and country, I don't care much for either of those- oh, and that damn El Rancho music that the street behind us happens to love, love, love-loud, loud, loud ewww....when they have parties, I have long debates with myself whether I should kill them or myself). But even my music listening has a routine- it varies several times a year, but for months at a time, I will listen to the same CDs every day, over and over again for months. Last year I remember a time when every day it was Corinne Bailey Rae, Jimmy Buffett, and Keane. Right now it is Amy Winehouse, K.D. Lang, Eagles, Santana, and Marc Anthony- that's how many CDs my stereo holds , so I listen to them in that order every day.


Imagine my surprise when I clicked on my studio stereo today, and instead of hearing Amy Winehouse, I heard Al Green! And sitting by the stereo I saw my marvelous Amy cd sitting on top of an empty Al Green cd case. I know Isabella and Emmy are very intelligent, but they don't have thumbs and couldn't possibly have changed CDs in my stereo. Which leaves two possibilities- either Mike was messing with my stuff or while suffering an unremembered spell of amnesia, I changed the cds myself. Here is my stereo blaring Al Green-

When Mike returned from Lowes, I met him at the door and excitedly told him: " Don't be alarmed, it's all been taken care of and the police are on their way!" And he gets a stunned and panicked look on his face, so I continue.." Right after you left, I discovered that some horrible stranger that has no respect for personal space broke into the studio, removed my beloved Amy cd from my stereo and left Al Green in her place!" I then reminded him he has 2 IPods and a stereo in the living room, and to never, ever remove my Amy from her home in my stereo again. Now Al is out and Amy is in, my music routine is back in order, and all is right in the world-amen.

Just before Mike got home, I spotted the ibis in the lawn across the street. They always travel in groups and often arrive to eat something from our yards after it rains. I don't know if it is snails, worms, or some other kind of insect.

And here is the window sill we tiled today. (This picture was taken before we started tiling). Mike cut the tiles and we got them set in the adhesive. We didn't finish until after 7 this evening, and they have to set for at least 24 hours before the grout can be applied. I am certainly not going to start grouting after 7 tomorrow night, so we will wait until next Sat. to grout.

When digging through the tiles, I discovered a sheet of tiles I had brought home to try out as the back splash in the kitchen. I have looked everywhere for these tiles for months and couldn't find them. So now I have them propped up in the kitchen so I can look at them for a few days and decide if I like them or not. This evening I was standing in the kitchen looking at the tile, while Mike was in the living room looking at the window sill, and I commented that I thought maybe I wanted a lighter colored tile. I heard him utter this anguished "What?!?!", and glanced over at him and realized he thought I was talking about the window sill tile we had just glued down-LOL! Wish I had gotten a picture of his face -pure anguish!


Considering that I am old, live in a 55 and over community, and thrive on daily routines, you would probably think my life is very boring. Fortunately I have eccentric neighbors who occasionally liven things up ...such as today...

As we were applying the adhesive to the window sill. I glanced out the window and was flabbergasted! Mike looked up and said "What in the hell has she got around her head???" I took these quick pictures through glass and a screen with my zoom, so the quality isn't great. But as you can see, there were these big white things fluttering over her ears and out the armholes of her shirt. We laughed hilariously and tried to guess the purpose of the white fluttering thingies? Perhaps they were "magic" panels that prevented the government from reading her thoughts? Or to block messages from aliens? My neighbor is stylish, so I knew she would never wear anything as tacky as aluminum foil to block fiendish secret rays. She would wear elegant white organza "magic" panels. My curiosity got the better of me so I had to run out and ask her what in the hell she was wearing-LOL! Come to find out, it wasn't anything as interesting or quirky as magic panels. I guess because of the rains we have been having, the gnats in our yards are driving us all crazy. My neighbor just wanted to do some lawn work and someone had told her that dryer sheets would repel gnats. Either it didn't work or I embarrassed her, because she soon went back inside. I hope I didn't embarrass her because she gave me a good laugh, and I love her attitude of not giving a shit what others think. Plus she is a great neighbor and I like her alot.

And how was your Saturday?

Peace-

Linda

Cigar box, more storms and routines......

I've had this old cigar box sitting around for several years. A friend gave it to me knowing I would use it for something. I've been thinking about making a sun box (I love boxes) for some time, I decided to use the cigar box for this project. I'm still at the papering stage as you can see in the photo below. Amazing how much time can go by while you shred mulberry paper into tiny strands and apply them a few at a time. Hopefully I will be ready to start embellishing it by Monday.

Another typical late afternoon storm rolled into paradise today. I love these afternoon storms that cool down our hot summer days, and leave us with a fresh gulf breeze, making evening on the patio so comfortable and relaxing. Mike just got home today when the sky opened up, sending rain and lightning crashing down. This was a 1 pill day, Isabella hunkered down and rode out the storm in the computer room. We sat contently on the patio and read as the storm played out and eventually moved on.

This little gecko girlie has decided to make her home in the artificial tree on the patio that is lit at night with white lights. With all the real living plants and shrubs we have, why she has set up housekeeping in an artificial tree, I'm not sure. She either has bad taste in homes or likes the bit of warmth the tree lights might emit. I am determined that Emmy is not going to eat her, which means I take Emmy in and out of the patio on lead, or gecko girlie wouldn't have lived this long. Anyway, here she is heading home early today, just beating the storm.

Heqet, the frog goddess, sits by the patio front door and soaked up today's rain.

The wind even drove the rain far enough in to give a sip to the plants sitting along edge of the patio. I always have a bucket sitting under a drain pipe to catch rain so I can give all the patio plants generous amounts of rain water.


I think I have mentioned I like routines. I do pretty much the same thing around the same time most days. It gives me some structure and keeps me from sitting in the same spot for an endless span of time thinking about the universe and slowly going mad. Monday through Thurs., from the time I get up until one in the afternoon, I do household chores, mess with the dogs, put Puck out in his big cage on the patio, get laundry done, etc. Then at one I head into the studio to play until Mike comes home, then have coffee with him, and return to the studio and work some more until about 11 p.m. Of course through out the day, I am checking e-mails, posting at groups, and checking the radar (so I know if Isabella will need to be medicated- rolls eyes), and take the dogs on walks. Tonight I realized that perhaps there is a bit too much routine to my life.... Every Friday night we have pizza delivered and watch whatever HBO or Showtime series we happen to be following. This month it is Weeds on Showtime- love that show! Totally outrageous and hilarious. Anyway, back to the too much routine point I was trying to make... I noticed tonight that Isabella was sitting at the door intently watching for the pizza delivery person to pull up. Evidently she has a good enough sense and concept of time to know that this was Friday and the strange man would be arriving with her favorite meal. I wonder if it would confuse her if we had Chinese food delivered next Friday (which she doesn't really care for) and if it would upset her entire sense of time?

Peace-

Linda

And it is all Shashi's fault...

I finally got back into the studio today, and finished the gecko canvas. Then I started working on an old cigar box I've had sitting around for ever. I sketched out a sun face that I want to put on the lid, but haven't decided whether to sculpt the sun from clay or paint it on. I started papering the box, and played around with some different techniques that didn't turn out the way I wanted. But all in all it was a great day just to be playing in the studio and settling back into my normal routine.

Weather-wise, it was a 1/2 pill day - just a brief thunderstorm that only lasted about 20 minutes (so Isabella only needed 1/2 a pill). This is how we measure rain now...Mike comes home and asks me if we got alot a rain that day, and I will reply by saying it was a 1, 2, or a 3 pill day. Or we will look at the weather forecast and say hmmm.... looks like tomorrow might be a 2 pill day. Such is life with Isabella during the summer rainy season...sigh...

We truly have become the stereotypical eccentric old couple with pets. When we aren't ranting about politics, we are discussing our dogs. A popular topic seems to be poop- who pooped when, who needs to poop now, and if they produced good poop or sickly looking poop. My gawd, just writing this makes me realize we need to get out more and widen our world.



And speaking of dogs... Emmy alerted me when she spotted Mike in the act of pure insanity. Like most dogs, Emmy has different barks, and at that moment she was was using "the bark that can not be ignored". The one that says "I'm not playing, bitch! You better get your ass in here right now!" (Sorry to use curse words, but that is just the way Emmy talks, she is a little rough around the edges. dontcha' know?). As soon as I heard "the bark that can not be ignored", the high pitched shriek that drives through your ear drums and stabs you in the brain, I rushed to the living room to see what was going on. There was Emmy, on the arm of the couch, looking out the window as she barked like the hound from hell. I looked out the window and felt like barking myself. There was Mike standing on the top of his pick-up truck taking pictures. Not on the hood, mind you, but the cab roof top. I didn't have time to grab my camera before I rushed outside, so the following are re-enactments and not actual footage the incident.

I was out the door in a heart beat, yelling at him that he was going to break his neck. When I shrieked "What in the hell are you doing up there?!?!", Mike looks down at me like it was the most stupid question he had ever heard and calmly replied "Just taking pictures." And my come back was "Get down from there! You are almost 60 yrs. old and shouldn't be walking around on top of trucks, for gawd's sake! I have no intentions of spending my summer changing your diapers and giving you bed baths if you fall and break your frigging back!" I probably looked something like this:
And he was wearing flip flops, for gawd's sake! Those things slip like snot on slick waxed surfaces.
I'm sure the incident was quite entertaining for the neighbors, but the show was over when I stopped shrieking after Mike got down from the top of the truck. As we walked back inside he explained to me that he was trying to get some good sky photos and needed to get up high. It was then that I realized this was Shashi's fault. She had visited our Florida blog (if you visit, click the pictures to see the full version) and had left a nice comment about Mike's photography. Although I have been telling him that he takes great photos, he didn't take me seriously. But when I showed him Shashi's comment, I was able to point out that it wasn't just me that thought he took great photos. And now he has lost his mind trying to take that perfect photo...
Peace-
Linda

Down Day and Sleeping with the Fishies...

Around noon today my cable connection for TV and the internet went down, and stayed down until about 3 p.m. I'm not able to work in my studio right now because we have the door between that room and the living room taped off while we paint. My studio room has no air conditioner vents, and with the door between it and the living room shut it is just too warm, especially in the afternoon when the sun is beating down on that side of the house. We thought we were through painting in the living room, but I decided I need to do another coat or two of the texture (which I will do Wed.). But today I spent some time working on the mermaid and fish I drew on my sketch pad a week or so ago, which I scanned into my graphic program- and here is Sleeping With The Fishes-

(Click to see full size)

Around 3 p.m. the cable TV and internet came back on, just in time for me to check the current radar image and see that a big storm was moving into our area. So as soon as I had an internet connection, I had to shut down and unplug my computer...grrr.... We got lots of rain, thunder and lightning, and poor Isabella was adequately medicated. While it stormed, Mike and I sat out on the patio and worked crossword puzzles- a nice way to spend an early evening. Later tonight when I took Isabella out to potty, I spotted this little tree frog on our lit artificial palm tree that sits by the patio door. He was on the corn plant last night, and Mike got some marvelous photos of him (he posted them on our Florida - Our Secret Garden blog). He also posted a great photo he took recently of lightning across the nighttime sky. Mike takes much better photos than I do.

I hope to get the living room painting finished soon because I want to get back into the studio and back to my daily routine. I have discovered I am truly a creature of habit and I miss my studio time.

Peace-

Linda

Lightning, rainbow, and drudge work...

As evening approached on the 4th of July, we could see a storm to the east of us. And I finally got a photo of lightning! Not a great one, I know, but if you knew how many pictures I snapped to get just this one little streak. Mike had has a better camera and tripod so he got a much better photo than I did. The storm fell apart before moving into our area, so we had great weather for the fireworks. The county provided a wonderful display over Manatee River, and we could see some of them from our yard. But the real show came from the Latino neighborhoods behind us. I'm not talking about things like bottle rockets, but big boomers that lit the sky up with huge colorful displays that went on for hours. Every year since we have lived here, it has been like this on the 4th and often also on the 5th. These people spend some serious money on fireworks. It is so ironic- supposedly it is illegal to set off fireworks in FL., but there all kinds being sold at roadside stands. The Manatee Co. Sheriff's office ran announcements all week saying they were cracking down on illegal fireworks. Hard to take them serious with these road side stands all over, and the area most of the fireworks were coming from, was like a street or two away from a sheriff substation. But with the high crime rate in FL., I am sure they have more serious crimes to deal with daily. And considering they are under staffed, under paid, under budgeted, and under appreciated, I'm just grateful anyone would want to work in law enforcement in this area.

No fireworks tonight, but another rainbow appeared as our afternoon storm moved out and dissipated into the Gulf. And the holiday weekend comes to an end. And I can't say I am sorry to see it over- since we spent most of it working on the remodeling (my least favorite thing in the world to do), I am looking forward to a brand new week so I can get back into my own little world- my studio!

Peace-

Linda

Have a Great 4th of July!

Are you all ready for the big holiday weekend? Maybe having a cookout with family and friends, a neighborhood party, attending a patriotic community parade, and watching fireworks? Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a fun and safe holiday.

I took this photo yesterday in my neighbor's yard just as a storm was moving in- loved how the wind was blowing their flag, with the storm clouds and palm tree behind it.

Mike is off work all this week so we could have spent it lounging around the pool or playing on the beach, but there is no way I would be seen in public in a swim suit. The poison ivy is healing and the itchiness is much, much improved, but I look awful. Where the clusters of itchy blisters were all over my arms and legs, I now have a landscape of scabs covering my skin. Plus a big ol' scab on my knee from when I fell recently and just below it another long scab where I dropped something on my leg that ripped off a layer of skin. Are you seeing a theme here....scabs, scabs, and more scabs. I gave it a lot of thought, but for the life of me I couldn't come up with a way to make this into a fashion statement. Mike went to the pool for awhile yesterday and today, but I didn't think it would be a good idea for me to go,with him. Not only would the intense sun make me itch worse, but I also look like I have some cruddy skin disease. If I was in a swimming pool and someone whose arms and legs looked like mine got in the pool , I would jump out of the water as quickly as I could , and possibly call the health department. Mike said I could just tell them I have poison ivy and it isn't contagious, but if they are as suspicious and germ phobic as I am, they wouldn't believe me. So I stayed home, slathering pretty pink caladryl lotion all over me.

But last night I had to go out to Lowes with Mike to pick out paint for the living room. Luckily a big ol' storm had blown thru earlier and cooled the temps down a bit, so I was able to wear a long sleeve tee and long pants without looking like a freak. Here in SW FLa. , during the heat of the day, if you see someone wearing long sleeves and long pants you assume they are either all covered up because they are getting ready to pull off a robbery, or are drug addicts hiding track marks. So lucky for me, it was a cool and breezy evening and the long sleeves and pants didn't look that weird. Anyway, we picked out the paint, buckets, texture stuff, brushes and rollers, blah blah blah ...and were standing in line waiting to check out. So I was glancing around at the magazine rack as we waited and then my eyes fell upon the racks of candy bars- oh lordy, not the candy rack. I have been so good lately, no snacking, eating lightly and healthy. I stared at my favorite candy bars, trying to remember the last time I'd had a candy bar. Next thing I knew I had a hand full of candy bars. Mike looks at me, then at the rack of candy bars and soon he had several in his hand. Then we had to stop at Walgreens, and what do you suppose they had in a display by the register? Huge Dove Candy Bars- Chocolate peanut toffee crunch. And they were on sale! 2 for $3. Of course they went into my sack...Here is the picture of the goodies we came home with (minus the Almond Joy we ate on the way home) . And all we were going out for was paint and shampoo-ha! The Milky Way and M&Ms were Mike's, and the rest were all mine! But I did share with him.


Today we primed the living room ceiling and walls, and applied two coats of paint to the ceiling. We will take tomorrow off and have a fun day grilling brats, and making homemade ice cream. But come Sat. we will be back to work painting the walls.

I got a bit more done to the gecko canvas. I have all the embellishments I made and will use laid out on the canvas but haven't glued them down yet. I might not get much more done in the studio until next week when Mike goes back to work and the remodeling stops for the week.




Have a great holiday-
Peace-
Linda

PS- the photos will enlarge when you click them.