Gardening in July

The drought is over and the grass got up past the knees - every time we'd try to cut the grass it'd rain.  Chris, wonderman that he is, got most of it down yesterday.

Best Laid Plans....

We've had a LOT of rain here, including a downpour that overran the gutters, formed a small creekbed in our driveway and overflowed our little soaker pool.

I went down to the garage/basement to find a dehydrator (and can't find the darn thing), smelled mold and grabbed a flashlight.  We have three major hot spots and all the wood and some paper in the garage was covered.

We grabbed gloves, masks, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and bleach.  So we spent the last hour cleaning up Mom's toddler furniture and my art pieces.  I'll have to get more cement caulking to expand the barrier on the floor and hit the walls again with the sealant basement paint (if it's still good - stuff is expensive).

 

We had a problem when we moved in and I got some of that sealing paint and caulking.  I caulked all the cracks/grout and formed a barrier on the floor in the worst spot.  Then I painted the north side of the basement and garage with the sealing paint - in July.  I'd work a little at a time with lots of water, come up, hose off and do a little more.  Now we have a different spot where it's coming in and the moisture got around my ground barrier.  Back at it again!

That wasn't fun.  I'm highly allergic to the damned stuff.  So, besides dripping with sweat, I seriously needed a scrubbing-every-inch-of-my-skin shower and all clothes are getting washed.

And we had planned on doing nothing today..... best laid plans..........

Crafts, Crafts = finishing touches

Crafty today (or just tired of the rain and grief)

The green guys are a pair of dragon slippers we found at a thrift store - seams falling open, heads dragging.  I inserted small dowels in the necks, added more stuffing, sewed most of the seams and now she has happy dragons

The flat mauve piece is a panel that Mom quilted that was left over from the quilt we finished that she had started.  We are going to hang it as an art piece.

the pillow is two panels that were left over

the beadwork/wood/art piece is the Hebrew aleph-bet done in loomed beadwork, mounted on small wooden squares (or rectangles) that were then mounted on dowels of varying heights.  Mounted on a thin piece of plywood, edging applied, wire and eyelets - hang piece

Next I'm going to work on netting for my bed - with all the rain the bugs are insane this year!  I'm also researching for a new novel I've got the basic plot for in my head - it's such JOY to research Nazis and WWII on a rainy day - NOT

Update

We finished Mama Marie's quilt today. Grandma picked the material, Mom quilted the squares, we put it together.  A quilt over 20 years in the making

http://kathyslegacy.blogspot.com/

We're working to get the yardwork done (the majority done by Chris) - we're doing the garden weeding and weed whacking, he mows the jungle.  He's also going to work on the car tomorrow <crossed fingers that this works>

I'm working on a new beadwork project and more embroidery and Jackie is doing embroidery and crochet pieces.

We lost Annie cat last week and it's hit Jackie hard. Mom fought so hard to keep that little cat alive at times and when we lost Mom we were sure Annie would follow right after. Jackie worked to keep her warm, fed and loved - carrying the cat around in her coat all day but the allergies got too much for her little lungs. I know it felt a touch like losing Mom again for Jackie.

We miss Mama

Art Desk

I haven't posted much here because we've been working on crafts and keeping the house up.

Well, we've completed a project.  We found an art desk at a local thrift store with missing hardware.  It appeared to be a good sturdy desk with nothing wrong with it for $12.00.  We bought it and decided that trying to find the right allen bolts to fit would be a pain in the tail.  We drilled new holes for bolts and put the legs back on with some spacers to make the bolts snug.  We thought the wood was pine and discovered its a very dense hardwood of some sort.

We found the one crosspiece wasn't enough to make the desk very sturdy to we added a foot crosspiece and support boards from back of the legs to the cross piece in back.  The thing is very stable and sturdy and just the right height for working crafts, working on a laptop or drawing.  We're pleased with the end result.

This is the end result.  Note the pieces from the legs to the crossbeam. This prevents the desk from swaying from side to side.

another angle showing the completed desk and how large the working top is.  The small laminated piece at the top of the desk opens for quick access without opening the main part.

This is the crossbeam that we added for additional support for the desk and support for our feet.  Just having them up slightly helps keep the circulation in the legs going and takes just a little bit of pressure off the lower spine.

Open desk - it has a lot of room inside.

Bluebirds and more

Mom began embroider on six panels meant to be put together for a baby blanket.  She began the first one and didn't finish.  I finished it yesterday.  We're going to offer them individually or someone can buy the set and put together the blanket if they're willing to wait for me to finish the other five.

This is a wristband with a Celtic knotwork pattern burned into the leather

Why is this sideways? - it is a wooden cross with silver, gold, bronze and pewter seed beads inlaid

Click on the photo of this one, guys.  it's hard to tell the details. This is the Hebrew alphabet - the Aleph-Bet, in beadwork mounted on balsa wood and then mounted an varying lengths of dowel to put each on at different heights in random order. The colors were chosen at random with what beads I had in my boxes last year inbetween renovating the house in my exhaustion.  

This is a one of a kind piece. 

I'll post more pieces that we've worked on tomorrow

Crafting

We're working on craft things: quilting, embroidery, leather working, crochet and bead work.  Not only for sale on=line but also as a means to keeping focused on something and our hands busy.

Pictures will be posted soon of some of the stuff.