It's getting harder and harder for me to think of things to photograph for our Photo of the Week challenge. So I wandered around my yard this weekend looking for something, anything to photograph. Flowers? Done that. Palm trees? Done that, too. The sky- lord knows I've take enough of those. No neighbors out doing anything interesting or funny to take photos of this weekend.
But then I spotted this gecko (really an anole, but I like the word gecko better- it's a cuter name-hee hee) enjoying the day and blissfully basking in the sun. I got this first shot of him... (CLICK PHOTOS TO SEE FULL SIZE)
...and then he got bashful and tried to hide behind the spider plant-
When he realized I could still see him, he jumped over to the trunk of my artificial palm tree that I light up at night. Notice how he lightens or darkens his coloring depending on what he happens to be on at the moment?
Getting more annoyed with me by the moment, he then leaped over to the trunk of the corn plant.
He seemed to think that if he stayed perfectly still I either wouldn't see him, or would grow bored and lose interest in him.
When that didn't work, he decided to display his dewlap for me. When displaying, they bob up and down as if doing push-ups and inflate their bright reddish dewlap. They display to seduce a mate or warn off other anoles from their territory.
I doubt he found me attractive and wanted to breed, so his display was most likely to scare me off.
I then took pity on him and left him alone to enjoy the day and get back to his sun bathing. The photo below shows the places where I took his photos. Since he stayed in this small area, I wondered if he had a girlfriend close by hiding in the plants.
I know some people have declared their blogs award free zones and prefer not to get them, but I love getting them!The talented Australian artist, Michelle Eaton, passed this award on to me, and I was just tickled pink to get it. Thank you Michelle! If you haven't visited Michelle's blog, you must check it out. She creates the most charming dolls and magical canvases. To receive the Kreative Blogger Award I'm to share 7 things I love. Since it says "things", I won't list my husband, who would be at the top of my list of people I love. So here are the things I love-
1) Playing in my studio
2) Walking the beach collecting shells
3) Florida sunsets
4) Getting new art supplies
5) Finding treasures in unusual little shops.
6) All kinds of plants
7) Summer nights
Now I have to pass this on to 7 people. Let's see if I can find 7 fabulous people who haven't already gotten this award-
Being an impatient person, I couldn't wait to start a canvas after getting my newest book Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists by Ann Baldwin. So using just some paint and glue I started a small collage board for practice before I start a canvas I hope to create for Mike. In the first photo, it's just the painted board with some photos laid out on it.
Then I added some sheet music I printed out off the internet. This is just a simplistic practice exercise to get an idea of the layout I want to use. Of course the canvas piece will be much more detailed, more colors, lots of textures, etc.
I ordered some blues sheet music for the real canvas I plan to do but it hasn't arrived yet. I think it was Vee who suggested vintage sheet music, but I had already ordered new, and I'll age it artificially. Now that I've worked out the lay out I'm itching to start the canvas. I placed a large order for various Golden brand mediums with Dick Blick and Jerry's Artarama last night, and I can't wait for them to arrive! But until they arrive I have plenty of sculpts in various stages, just patiently waiting to be finished. Here are just a few of them. And of course the giant gecko is occupying a large area of the dining room floor, waiting for his final sanding and painting. After writing this, I'm once again reminded I need some frigging self discipline! I have all these unfinished sculpts and here I am rushing to start on these canvases. I'm hopeless- I think I need medication! LOL-
I altered the photo below in my Paint Shop Pro program and created the image above. I don't know why, but I can't bring myself to post a blog entry without some kind of photo or image.
Do you sometimes have so many things on your mind you don't know where to start when you sit down to blog? When I blog, I try not to ramble on about too many different subjects. Lord knows, there is only so much of me I can ask you all to put up with in one sitting! But tonight I just have so many things bouncing around in my brain.
I'll start off with Isabella's yearly vet visit... She got a clean bill of health, all her booster shots, and blood drawn for her heartworm test, but I forgot her poop sample. It's humbling enough following your dogs around daily and picking up their poops- but driving around with a bag of dog doo (double bagged, of course) in your purse is downright gross and nasty. But Bella has to return to the vet's on Friday so I will take a stool sample then- and hope I am not in a fatal accident and the emergency workers find a bag of shit when they look in my purse for identification. Bella has to go back Friday to have her teeth cleaned due to tarter build up because she refuses to eat dry food, lordy that dog is frustrating. She's lost 6 lbs since storm season has started. Oh- and she now has a new prescription for her xanax to get her through the summer storms. Such a weird experience to pull up to Walgreen's drive thru window and hand them a prescription made out to "Isabella Fleming The Dog".
Now that Isabella has her meds, I'm ready for the storms to return. We're back into a no rain and too dry mode, plus it's been ungodly hot lately, record breaking heat in fact. It's been over 90 for days now, and with high humidity the heat index has been between 100 to 105. This is very unusual for here because we normally have afternoon storms that cool things off, and a strong sea breeze that keeps us from getting too hot. Due to the heat we've been spending alot of time inside with the TV on. For the past several years I've been obsessed with political news and watched all the cable news shows. After the election I realized I was just burned out on politics and swore off all the cable news shows and political pundits. To fill my TV time I began watching the cable reality shows-omg- that's a whole 'nother blog entry for another time.
Anyway, I got sucked back into watching cable news this weekend to follow the news coverage of the protests in Iran. MSNBC didn't cover any of the Iran news, but showed old reruns of Lock-Up and Dateline instead. Unbelievable! Thankfully, CNN provided great coverage, plus Twitter was jumping with news and links. I have just been amazed at the courage of the Iranian young people. I've participated in many protests over the years, but if there had been a gang of secret police attacking and beating protesters, I would have ran for home. I am not brave when faced with physical violence or even the threat of it. In fact, I'm a wimp. I was shocked at the videos coming out of Iran, young people being beaten and viciously attacked. And to think I was outraged when it was reported that the U.S. government was sneaking around and taking down our license plate numbers when attending peace rallies and marches prior to the Iraqi war.
Then the news of the death of a young woman hit Twitter, soon followed by a video of her as she died. I usually avoid watching anything involving physical violence and blood, even fictional, and often have to leave the room during violent parts of movies. But I felt compelled to watch this video, that to not watch it would be a dishonor to Neda. I don't think I will ever forget her eyes, her beautiful, sad eyes. As Iranian women fight for equality, what a tragedy that young, beautiful Neda Agha-Soltan was murdered for merely attending a protest. The L.A. Times has posted a great article about Neda that you can read here.
Why has it been so hard for women through out the world to be granted equal rights? If you haven't watched HBO's Iron Jawed Angels about U.S. women's struggle for equal rights, you must! My god, what those women went through to obtain the right to vote.
I haven't been in the studio since last Friday, but plan on spending the day in there tomorrow. Still working on the naked old lady (actually overworking the naked old lady- need to finish her and move on) and have plans for a new canvas. Mike loves blues music so I'm wanting to do a mixed medium canvas using some old photos of his favorite blues artists. I want to try some of the techniques from the new book I recently bought- Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists by Ann Baldwin.
Okay, I'll take pity on you and quit rambling. I'll save the rest of my ADD fueled thoughts for another time.
I wanted to hurry and get my photos up so I'm not late for the Monday photos again. These are photos of flowers Mike brought home to me the other day. and now I am off to take Issy to the vet for her yearly check-up. I will write more later and catch up with all your blogs. Click photos to see full size-
I noticed this week that a few of my succulents are blooming. Got to say that as much as I love the foliage of many of the succulent plants, their flower blooms are very blah and unimpressive. The first picture is of the whole plant in the top of the tiered planter, and the next is a close up of the flowers- see what I mean? Blah. Pretty little bloom when you look at it up close, but it sure wouldn't grab your attention. Click to enlarge all photos
Mary wanted to see a photo of the Bismark palms Mike planted last week, so here they are. They are about as tall as me right now. Hopefully they will take off and grow rapidly. They are at the back of the house and we are hoping they will provide shade for the air conditioning unit.
If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know my neighborhood is very quiet and boring, especially now that the snowbirds have gone back north for the summer. Usually by 9 p.m. the streets are empty and I don't even see any lights on in peoples homes when I go for my walks. So imagine my surprise the other night about midnight when I was working in my studio and suddenly three police cars zoomed in and stopped in front of the studio windows. Did someone find it suspicious that I had lights on and was up so late? Was I going to be raided because I wasn't in bed like all good old people should be? So I grabbed my camera and went outside- if anything exciting was happening I wanted to get a photo of it!
So I was in my front yard snapping pictures when one of the officers came walking towards me- was I going to be arrested for not going to bed when the sun set which seems to be the official bedtime for old people, or maybe for having in clear view naked old lady sculpts on a table in front of a window? Nope! He explained to me that someone had noticed my neighbor's front door standing open and called it in as a possible break in. Who had noticed and called it in, I haven't a clue, but evidently there really is someone besides me who stays up later than 9 p.m. The officer said they did a walk through and found nothing disturbed, so they assumed the door had not been closed securely and locked. I told him I didn't have a clue, all I knew was that the man who owned the place had returned up north several weeks ago. The police made sure the door was closed and locked before they all drove off into the night looking for criminals. And that was the end of my big excitement.
Crime does seem to be up in our area, maybe due to the bad economy? I've read that the economy seems to be perking up in some areas, but not in Florida. They are predicting that it will be late 2010 before it starts to get better here. So many foreclosed homes and bankruptcies! It's really sad seeing what many people are going through. There have been layoffs at Mike's work place and their orders are down. So far Mike's job is okay, but we know that can change at any time and I can't help but worry. With the high cost of living expenses, we wonder if Mike will ever be able to retire. We are being careful with our spending and trying to save, but you know how that goes. Seems something always comes up to eat any money before we can stick it in savings. I just hope we don't become homeless old people living in the Tracker with the dogs. Of course we could get a tent and live in one of the numerous homeless camps around town. All over town, anywhere there is an empty wooded lot you will find a homeless camp. A far cry from the beach home I dream of spending the last years of my life! Ha!
We went to a party last night at Lou and Dy's, so I took lots of photos. I'm not posting photos of the people that were there because I didn't think to ask them if it was okay. I also took a photo of a painting Lou did, but need to get her permission before I post it. But I will share photos that I took of their delightful patio! I've already shared photos with you of their gorgeous yard, and their patio is just as wonderful. Click each photo to see the full size. This is the entrance to the patio coming in from the driveway-
This is just as you walk into the patio thru the cafe doors-
I took this photo while standing at the door going into the house looking back at the patio-
This is the side of the patio- lovely plants everywhere!
Although the patio is so pretty and comfortable, it was very hot yesterday so everyone stayed inside in the air conditioning.
This was the snack table-
The party was for Lou's sister in law, Dee, who is visiting from N.J. I enjoyed meeting Dee so much. She is witty, lots of fun, very personable and a drop dead gorgeous woman! I'm serious- she is movie star beautiful, and so fit and trim. She looks a good 20 years younger than her age. I'd love to know her skin care secrets- smooth as silk, I kid you not. I think she should write a book on how to look fabulous after age 60.
Other than the party, we didn't do anything fun this past weekend. Mike planted 3 Bismark Palm trees in the backyard which took up most of his weekend because he bought such big ones. After digging the holes, laying the black weed blocking stuff and getting them in the ground, he then surrounded them with circular concrete edgers and filled the area around each tree with decorative rock.
Mike finished putting up all the beadboard in the living room, dining room and hallway, so now I need to pick out paint and get busy painting. Again... Hopefully we won't screw it up this time.
I hope you all had a great weekend and that this week is a good one for you.
I've been making myself get out of the studio and take a walk every night about 11. It's quiet and peaceful, and I so love summer nights! While walking tonight I smelled night blooming jasmine in the air and it made me think of the old Seals and Croft song Summer Breeze. That song has always been one of my favorites. Won't you join me in some summer nostalgia?
Once again I missed the Monday Photo Challenge. I've been battling insomnia again and just not on the ball lately. I plod through each day feeling blah and out of step with life. But I have been working on the aging nude bathing beauty. Started etching some details into her face. I like to do that before the sanding starts, then after she is sanded the details are softened and blend in nicely.
She's needing some hands and feet now. I started sculpting one foot and have added hand armatures to her wrists. Now it's time to begin fattening up her right arm before I start on that hand.
Here she is trying on her hat so I can get her hand and arm positioned before I start sculpting. Her hat is silk and she loves the bright color.
She's quite the flirt, the old tart! Look at her showing off her hat to the tribal man.
I think maybe he is more interested in her hat than her. He offered to hang on to it while her sculpting continues. The poor tribal guys are still waiting to be embellished. Right now they are making do with a few things I threw on them temporarily.
Earlier I was sitting in the studio when I happened to glance out the window, and couldn't believe the vivid color of the evening sky. Swathes of bold blues and wisps of pink. I know I show you all a lot of sky photos, but the colors... I just can't resist showing you the colors! I guess after spending so many years under the washed out IL. skies, I find the rich colors of the FL. sky just irresistible and captivating. I'm sure my neighbors find it odd that I am out taking photos of the sky so often. One old man stopped his car one evening and asked me what I was doing, and I told him I was photographing the sky. He asked me why, was there a space shuttle being launched? I tried to explain to him that I was just in love with the colors of sky and the bold formation of the clouds, but he responded with a blank look like he had no idea what I was talking about, wished me a nice evening and drove off. Okay, so I'm odd. Anyway, click the photos to see fill size...
My little aging bathing beauty is coming along. I took this photo of her tonight as I was making a pattern for her big floppy hat. I know the features are hard to see with the stark white clay. She is a long ways from her final sanding and painting. So you'll just have use your imagination.
And yes, her legs are going to be that stubby. That is exactly how I feel about my legs. I'm petite, okay short.... plain and simple a short 5'2". When I was young, that was okay because I was firm and trim. Not so much anymore. Everything is just way too relaxed. Okay, not relaxed, drooping, everything from my eyelids to the skin around my toes is freaking drooping. I don't need a face lift, I need a frigging body lift! Anyway, as everything sags, my legs seem to be getting shorter. I predict in 10 years, the only thing between my ass and feet will be ankles. Probably big swollen ankles with those ugly blue broken veins.
I didn't notice it when I was taking this photo, but later saw that it looks as if the tribal guys are checking out the aging bathing beauty.
... I gave birth to my youngest son, Ryan. I also have a son, Rod, who is two years older than Ryan. On their birthdays my thoughts are always about them. I remember all the hopes and dreams I had for them on the day of their birth, and what a joyous time it was. In recent years I have been estranged from my kids, for reasons I won't go into here. But regardless of what happens in life or the choices our children make, mothers never stop loving their children and wishing the best for them. So on this day, my heart and mind are focused on Ryan, hoping he is happy and well, and that each year of his life gets better and better for him.
I think this is the perfect song to post for Ryan's birthday- a happy tune all about love-
Remember a couple of months ago when I posted photos of my ruby and pearl babies ( Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa) that I had newly potted? They just finished flowering and are now forming the little white berry thingies. Still not as stunning as the mother plant I saw at the nursery, but coming along nicely.
And remember earlier this month when I took you on a tour of the garden of eden in the 'hood, the yard of Lou and Dyana? I fell in love with their Bismark palms, and as luck would have it Home Depot had them on sale this past week. Mike brought two home yesterday and we'll plant them in the back yard
Yesterday afternoon as the moon was high in the sky...
... this little anole was stretched out in the driveway taking both a moon and sun bath.
Later yesterday evening I went out to see if there'd be a colorful sunset, but it was pretty blah. So I took some photos of things on my patio. This mermaid is one of my favorite things.
And of course, there has to be a couple of bright colorful geckos-
And a seahorse, of course. This guy was plain black metal, so I had to paint him and give him some eyes.
That brings us to this eveing... here is what I have been working on today- an aging bathing beauty and the tribal tube people. The tube people now have their ears, back skull and feet, next they will get arms.
Well, drats! Blogger's spell check isn't working. So kindly overlook any misspellings.
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