A Garden Tour

Don't panic--I'm not showing you everything!! For someone who thought she was through with taking care of living things, I've sure taken on a lot. Although they don't cry, get in trouble, or the like, all these plants take a lot of looking after!! A few minutes ago I counted the different types of plants I have in just the back yard and there are twenty; many various colors of the same. For instance, I have four hibiscus plants, two red, one ruffly orange, one plain pale peach. Same goes for geraniums--red, coral, white and purple, not to mention the hanging basket by the side door, I call this one candy cane:

For sure not what they call it, but it works for me! The hibiscus bloom like mad sometimes, other times they are just green bushes:

In the forefront the spicy jatropha tree is filled with red blossoms.

Mostly I do the planting, however, a few weeks ago Bruce surprised me by planting all of these darling little dianthus plants on a Sunday while I was "vending" as he likes to call it!

When I left for the day they were still in their trays and in the ground only in my imagination. Adorable aren't they? Lots of the time I go for the two-tone as you can see.

Yesterday we had the day off from the market because of the semi-annual Fiesta in the Park. To be honest, we didn't mind one bit. My sales have been pretty anemic this month so what's another bad weekend? I did go to Winter Garden on Saturday which was pretty much a waste because everyone was attending the annual "Spring Fever" held a street away. You could find most anything garden related there, which is probably where I should have been rather than behind my table! I did venture to the kids area and saw this girl brushing her little donkey:

So cute!!

Sunday we took advantage of the time off to work in the garden but not before we took a trip out to Lukas Nursery in Slavia. What a place, particularly now in Springtime, although truth be told, Spring may not last very long at the rate we're going.Their selection of large glazed pots is to die for. We roamed around taking in all the beauty of blooming plants everywhere. I was looking for a hanging basket for the front porch to replace the impatiens, which as I told you before, are dying off in droves around these parts. So sad.

The more we talked about the garden, the more mistakes I recognized I've made in choosing plants for various spots. Around the new oak tree has already had about six different flowers, most of which have either not done well, or just don't look right. Remember the beautiful purple salvia I was so excited about? Moved. The spiky yellow flowers moved. Either there weren't enough of them, or they just didn't do as well as I'd hoped. Both Bruce and I immediately fell in love with a new flower, well really not a new flower, just a miniaturized version of an oldie but goodie. This website describes them as petunias on steriods which I hope is the case for us. Supertenias says it all. We counted the ones they had, fourteen which was not quite enough according to Bruce who likes instant planting--none of this watching and waiting business for him! Initially we did not put them on our cart, instead spent a little time looking around at what else was available. Fortuitously, we decided that we'd seen enough and went back to their location. Just as I was picking up both trays, a woman came up saying she was hoping to buy some. I expressed the appropriate amount of sorrow for her loss, but insisted we were buying them all, and in fact, my husband was searching for more. She declined to take no for an answer, saying she'd only stepped away for a bit and was returning for them--"I only need two." I resisted the urge to say, "you snooze, you lose," because that almost described us! Standing my ground, I loaded them on the cart. I did helpfully point out that there were pink ones available. :)

Once we returned home with the back of the Pilot filled to the brim with goodies, I began relocaating the flowers I'd only planted weeks ago. Unfortunately something has been eating the salvia, the leaves are full of holes, although it hasn't seemed to hurt the flowering process one bit. Before re-planting them I sprayed the undersides of the leaves hoping to spruce them back up in their new location adjacent to the side door. The yellow spiky things found a home behind the bench where I grouped them tighter hoping that will make for a better look. Bruce removed two wheel barrows full of dirt, walking them down to the lake lot which was no easy feat!

After hours of work I was pooped and didn't have the energy to finish planting them until 7:00 this morning, just as Bruce was leaving for California for a few days. Hopefully I've found a flowering plant that lives up to it's name!

Now that I see the plantings in a picture I see I could have planted the back ones further away from the tree. Believe me, it was hard going what with all the roots so they are staying where they are!! The yellow guys behind the bench:

I'm loving purple flowers these days! In the foreground is another new one in the pot--what else--purple and yellow!

The caladiums are going gang busters, some with leaves almost a foot tall. Regina was by this morning and couldn't get over how big they are. I was showing off a new variety I found at Lukas picture in the front:

I'm going to give Bidens another chance, or as I'm now going to be calling them, "yellow charm" because they really are charming and the pot said it was so.

This morning I planted some in front of the blue bird bath. Charming indeed.

Purple, purple and more purple--I can't get enough!

And yet another one:

My niece Laura is going to love all this purple--her favorite color. All the stooping and bending wore me out after about four hours so here I sit typing instead. There are still three trays of grass plugs to put in the back yard which may very well have to wait until tomorrow. Although I wore gloves and shoes,  my fingernails look a fright, as do my toenails! Tonight is the funeral for Bruce's co-workers son and I'll be going for the both of us. I'm thinking I'll have to give in and head to the manicurist.

Before I do though I wanted to share a little laugh with you. I did a little Google search to see if my bio on the Sundance page (written by yours truly) would register. Instead I came across this, which goes to show you that you can't believe everything you read on the web! I laughed so hard when I saw two of my prints in an auction on the Goodwill site, calling Bruce in to check it out. Bold photographic prints indeed.

A Day of Play

I had every intention of leaving early to pick up the note cards from Mr. Roger's house that he'd made for me to sell at the Polasek. Actually, we have been selling them, albeit slowly; this was a re-stocking. Good intentions and reality are sometimes not the same. Instead I left sort of early, picking them up on my way to play bridge with the ladies. I was so, so happy to see Debbie when I arrived. You'll have forgotten Debbie by now, but we hadn't. Nearly a year ago she mentioned to me that she had a breast lump. Heading into a bathroom stall to check it out, I knew the minute I felt it, that she was in for some rough days ahead. Fortunately she had the same inkling and had a doctor's appointment the next day. You might be able to spot her immediately in the picture below--the one with the little gray fuzz on her head.

We heard not a word of complaint from Debbie, and I swear, even after not playing for all this time, she jumped right back in as if she'd never been gone. She claims that even though it was hard, she felt no pain whatsoever. Aside from the hair loss, she said everything else was a breeze. What an attitude! 

I did make it over to the Polasek where I sat under an umbrella folding, sorting and stuffing the cards into their little boxes. Trudy is wishing I'd come back; not so much because I'm that great, but I am reliable. As I was heading to my car a lady was arriving in a MINI Cooper.

It's funny because as I've driven around in the "beast", I've thought to myself--this is a far cry from your MINI days. I should say so.

Back at the ranch, I played around taking more photographs--as if I needed to! So, here's the nest out of the palms; pretty sure there are a couple of leftover egg shells inside.

While we're on the subject of cardinals (imagine that!), I can't help but share this one on the back yard feeder:

I may have told you Bruce attached it to the top of the fence at a 45 degree angle in an effort to squirrel proof the darn thing. 

As well, Angela told me that Matt got her the most beautiful tulip bouquet for Easter. Good grief, she wasn't kidding. I brought it home to see what I could accomplish. When people buy my still life photographs, they have no idea of how many different ways I've tried to set it up before something great happens. The bouquet was no exception and to be honest, I'm not sure anything great ever did happen, although with a subject as lovely, it's almost criminal if I can't get anything! Here's how I work:

Wait a minute--this post is about playing! Anyway, using the sky light, I taped the piece of poster board to two chairs in an effort to get a backdrop. Not a very good job right? Because I like orange I hope everyone does, thus the color. To keep shadows off the back drop I had the jar in the forefront, but the trouble was I only had one poster board so it couldn't be seamless. I had fun anyway!

Putting my camera away, figuratively, not literally, I got ready for the 5K. 5K? Are you kidding me? Why no, I'm not dear reader. Darden put together a team for this. Well, I should clarify that--a friend of Bruce's at work convinced him that we should participate so we did. Along with more than 14,000 others I might add!

As noted boldly on our tags, we walked but not before gathering at the Darden tent:

Which is where Mr. Bruce is headed wearing his BRIGHT green shirt provided by Darden! There were lots and lots of tents, however, ours was easy to find because it was right along the fencing. It turned out to be a lot of fun once we got going. Because it was a new experience, we didn't know what to expect, but from what we experienced, we'd like to do it again. Because there were so many people, getting started was the hardest part with everyone clogged onto Eola Street before turning left on Central Avenue. We just followed the pack. A little more than a mile into it, Bruce was getting antsy so he took off jogging for a bit which he interspersed with walking while I hung back in the pack with Barb and Steve. Nightfall came about halfway into it. We really enjoyed all the neighbor's sitting in their yards cheering the group on. Not that we needed cheering--after all, how hard can walking 3 miles be? Afterwards Bruce and I had a little refreshment at Dexter's and headed home. A bonus was that we parked at Trish and Roger's house which is only a few blocks from the starting point. Score!

While we have Darden on our minds, there is some sad news from Bruce's department. One of his co-workers's sons has died. Actually, you might almost call it murder, but that's jumping the gun. We don't know many details except that there was a fight between two young men, (22) that was senseless. The injuries were so severe that even before he died they began harvesting his organs to donate. Such a shame....my heart goes out to them. I CANNOT imagine losing a child. When I think about how tomorrow is the birthday party for our nephew's one year old son, Spencer, and the love they have lavished on him in just this one year, it makes me all the sadder. Imagine lavishing all that love for more than 20 years and this happens? All I can say is we have been blessed to have raised four sons without serious mishaps. Thank God.

Concluding on a happier note, I need to go pack my car for Winter Garden. There is a big gardening event, Spring Fever,  scheduled on the street adjacent to the market. I'll actually have to get myself in gear to leave EARLY--no doubt, parking will be at a premium. Bonus points though--maybe I'll find some awesome gardening stuff and plants???

In the Garden

Sharing a common language with the British, after all that is where ours came from, does not always mean we use the same words to describe the same thing. For instance the vacuum cleaner. From what I can tell, it's often called the Hoover in Britain. I'll bet you can think of any number of words that differ can't you?

Today let's talk about the garden. Maybe most Americans call it the yard rather than the garden because we generally have more space? My dictionary tells me that a yard is a piece of ground adjoining a building or house which is certainly true in our case. We have more than enough space to call it that. The garden, on the other hand, is defined as a piece of ground, often near a house, used for growing fruits, flowers, and vegetables. Well, I'm working on that too. In fact, with the fall of our tree, I've begun to really enjoy making a garden.

While doing just that yesterday afternoon, I recalled that it's not that it is a new passion; having money makes a big difference. No longer having to spend money on large amounts of food, I spend it on new flowers, bird seed, pots and the like. I finished my planting of the shiny new blue pots yesterday afternoon and I think it looks pretty darn cute.

Actually, this is taken before I officially planted them, but you can see Bruce moved it for me. Seriously it is heavy, being made out of real metal and all. Let's hope none of those awful people who go around stealing metal from anywhere don't find it! I thought perhaps it might look good with the other blue related items. The plants I chose, after much thought, are called moss rose or purslane. I like the name Moss Rose--it sounds so sweet. The new location puts it just outside Bruce's work window giving him something pretty to gaze upon when they open at daylight.

Speaking of Bruce, he's working in the garden as I type, clearing out some of the lady palms which are seriously taking over one corner of the house! Furthermore, their invasive roots have "uprooted" the brick pathway to our front door. Removing the bricks, he had to use an axe to chop them out, re pack the soil before returning the bricks to their rightful place. While he's been trimming, look what he saved for me:

The light was poor so early in the morning--be prepared for a better shot of the nest next time! Although he's trimming, there will still be plenty of palms left for our cardinals to use for their next nest building location.

I couldn't resist planting some sunflowers, putting them in a pot with some purple violas.

Bill is back at work after taking last week off and he called asking me if I could pick up another tray of Asiatic jasmine for him. He's not lazy or anything, it's just that their hours of operation don't work well with his schedule. Because I was over that way anyway for a 7AM teeth cleaning appointment it was no trouble at all. I'm so loving my new car, driving is kind of fun. Across from Palm Gardens there are open fields with cows and horses grazing free range.

The above was such a curious sight. Originally, before I got closer, I thought it was a foal, but NO, it is a donkey! For reasons unknown to me, the baby donkey seems to think the horse is a parent. Perhaps it is?  How about this face? While I was standing on the other side of the fence staring at him, he lifted that one ear, perhaps the better to hear my quiet chatting? That's what I do when I encounter an animal or bird up close. Talk to them quietly--don't know why I keep the volume down, but I do.

Adjacent to the nursery is another open space, this one filled with what some call weeds, others call them wildflowers:

It was a lovely morning, made better by my early start. The garden center, picking up Baxter's heart worm medicine, buying concrete mix for Bruce's project, and more filled my morning. I had to make a quick stop while driving by the "peacock neighborhood." This male was kind enough to pose in a large shrub:

Those tail feathers are absolutely magnificent! From what Sarah tells me, decorating with peacock stuff is all the rage these days. I do love to see the feathers fanned out, but there's something about this view that just makes you think of elegance.

After lunch I mowed the lawn. Just as I was finishing, Bruce came out with the phone saying it was Karen. I know a bunch of Karen's, but the one on the phone is special, not only because she has a great wit and makes me laugh, but as long time readers know, she has survived fatal health crisises and is still here to talk about it! Make that, joke about it. It's been way too long since we've had a good long chat so we made up for it yesterday afternoon during the worst heat of the day. I'm certain you know how it is with an old friend--you can talk for hours. We did--well not quite two, but almost. Unfortunately, she's been ill again; two recent trips to the hospital because her heart stopped. She faints, and the next thing she knows, she's in the Emergency Room. This did not sit well with the new owners of the Radiology center where she's worked for years and years, thus they used the latest opportunity to suggest she couldn't keep up with the job and thank you very much. We'll see you to the door.

If you think I'm frugal, Karen puts me to shame! Thus, although her situation is not great, she's been a saver as long as I've known her, and this will help tide her over until I HOPE she gets disability. I suggested she apply today, however, knowing her, she'll do it when she's good and ready. Every time we tried to hang up, one of us would say, what about this and that....good times.

After 6:00PM,  Bill came by to pick up his jasmine, giving approval to all my plantings. Or at least it seemed that way to me. :)

Happy gardening to you,
Gail

Lo and Behold

While getting the mail on Thursday, I might add only a day after I posted regarding Bruce bringing me home a newspaper article, I saw a familiar blue wrapped package leaning against the front door. What was inside you ask? Why the new Anne Tyler novel, The Beginner's Goodbye, reviewed here on NPR.
I'm sending you to that review because apparently the NYTimes does not think much of the novel, but I did. I'll agree with the Times that she has written a variation of this novel before, but by golly, Monet did a version of Water Lilies more than once. In fact, he practically made a career out of repetition! What author/artist/ musician doesn't? Reading an Anne Tyler novel feels comfortable for just that reason--you pretty much know what to expect. For me, that's just fine. I'd much prefer to read her work over most of what is out there!

A lovely weather weekend my dear ones. The markets were busy with shoppers and people out enjoying the cooler temperatures. At the Winter Garden market there is a woman who not only sells hoola-hoops but gives classes on the lawn adjacent to the market.

 We now have a sweet young man selling fresh flowers there as well as at Lake Eola.

As you can imagine Easter morning was slow, as it should be, but after church, the folks starting coming out. While I was talking to my friend Denver, I'm pretty sure one of these ladies took a camera phone shot of the Shepherd Fairey piece which irritates me to no end. Spend the thousands of dollars to go to London yourself thank you very much!

I'm hoping I am wrong. See the brown basket on the little table? The book hanging over the edge is Anne Tyler's latest which I put aside once Denver arrived. Lord, that man can "out talk" me by a mile!

This morning I was super busy from the time I got up around 6. There was the market album to do, send more photos for the Red Chair project by email, and the major task of burning the discs of images to take with me on my visit to Sun Dance today.

Leaving a little early, I made a stop at Wal Mart for pots to fill the white plant stand I painted last week.
Bruce brought home one clay pot to check for fit which did fit but looked pretty uninspired with the white paint. I found these, albeit three times as expensive, which I think will perk it up just fine.

Choosing the plants is now the tricky part because it won't be long before it gets so hot many of the flowering plants will not be happy! According to my friend Sam, the most reliable bloomer we can plant, impatiens, has some sort of disease which is killing it off. I may be able to attest to that because all of mine are looking bedraggled! In fact, I'm taking a little break to go inspect my remaining plants for downy mildew. Okay, they don't have that disease, but something is causing them to die off which is indeed depressing.

Not far from Florida Mall is a big office park which houses Sun Dance Graphics. I met with Sarah who introduced me to all the staff of which there were many. Touring around the place, I was very impressed with what all goes on there. In addition, I was very, very impressed with my first in-person sighting of a Hasselblad camera which is used to photograph the art work. For those of you unfamiliar with Hasselblad, it is a very, very expensive camera from Sweden.

It combines sixteen images for the final image! We looked at the press:

as well as the warehouse where the art work is stored:

Not only do they print art work, but they are a commercial printer as well, doing work for some of the largest companies in our area. I met the ladies who pull the orders, the men who work in the binding, those who shrink wrap, and others who sort. There are graphic people and sales people, and even a Yorkie who sits by his owner's side during work hours.

It is a big operation I'll tell you that much. Printing on just about any material you can think of, including this floor decal, is done there. Furthermore, there are two folks who work with manufacturers putting the art work on plates, shower curtains and the like. Everyone was as nice as could be. My expectations are low only because my work does not fit into any of their categories, however, as Sarah said, we can't know until we try. Indeed.

A Done Deal

At 1:56 PM on April 6, 2012, I edited the Google Document by typing my name on the line. The contract seems to be a done deal. Good Friday indeed.

Of course, only time will tell, but at the moment I'm thinking positive and why not? After I hand over the discs with images, my part is done. If they sell anything, we are both winners. Seriously, is this crazy or what???

When I received the contract on Wednesday, or maybe Tuesday, can't remember, I was pretty much paralyzed, not knowing what to do. Whenever that is the case, I go to the folks who are smarter than I, namely Bruce and Matthew. Because Bruce was out of town, his ability to help was limited. Somehow, Matthew made time in his busy schedule to not only read the contract, but sent it along to a friend of his who is a copyright attorney. He also happens to be a very nice guy because he then looked it over, suggesting a few changes, followed by Matthew actually making those changes for me in the document. I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to all this.

They accepted and so did I--let the games begin!!

Because it seems as if I've spent so much time of late on the business side of photography, this morning early I told Bruce I'm heading out to see what I can see. Sometime recently I'd seen rows and rows of beautiful flowers planted at Lake Eola so I made that my first stop.

Early and overcast with the sun just beginning to peak through the clouds. Nearby at the amphitheater some folks were setting up for a Good Friday service, testing the microphones, preparing the stage and so on. There were teenagers involved and whenever there are boys, they oftentimes will harass the animals. Don't get mad thinking I'm generalizing, which I am, but tell me when was the last time you saw a girl hissing at a swan to make it mad?? This one would not take the bait!

Speaking of birds....Guess what? The other evening, only an hour or so after finishing my blog post saying how I was worried for my baby cardinals, we saw one of them. Sitting by the pool finishing our dinner, we saw a little bird flurry. Baby cardinal flew into the big windows of the sunroom, landing on the pool deck! My heart sank, in fact, I felt a little sick. I won't keep you in suspense, as far as we know he/she survived the accident. Because baby was not moving, Bruce got closer to check for injuries. This got our little birdie going, but not far--another run in with the window, landing just below this time.

Looks pretty good after taking two hits, don't you think? Cute as a little button if you ask me. Eventually, he flew into the bushes and that's the last we've seen of him. Just when I'm least expecting it, I'm sure he'll surface again. There goes that optimistic streak again!

After leaving Lake Eola, I drove the few blocks to the old Amway Arena. About two Sundays ago, they imploded the building with dynamite, or so I think that's what they used. The middle caved in leaving the rest behind.The workers were at it, tearing down what is remaining.

It is so weird seeing the entrance sign on the right--see what look like white sticks with entrance written on them just above the creati sign is. The plans call for something called a Creative Village which sounds somewhat interesting. We shall see what comes of it.

Did I tell you yet how much I like my new vehicle? What's not to like? There is actual carpet, as well as  Bluetooth, which is particularly cool. It is so amazing that even though my phone may be in my purse, it makes no difference. Well, duh Gail--that's what Bluetooth is. Anyway, very cool that music plays like magic.

Another thing I've neglected to mention is that Bruce is officially moving his office to our home. I am none too pleased about it but that's what Darden wants, and that's what Darden gets. I'm waiting patiently for him to run to the store so I can vacuum. I told him he could have my space, but he is happy in the sunroom. He promises to keep his voice down during phone calls if I promise not to vacuum while he's on a conference call. Will do.

It seemed as if it would never happen, after all, the oleanders have been in the ground for nearly a year, but finally they have bloomed. The orange color on the fence is the setting sun the other evening.

Oleanders normally bloom almost all year; the same can not be said for the Confederate Jasmine which visits just once a year, filling the air with their wonderful perfume.

This afternoon we finally got an excellent rainstorm which we sorely needed. Bonus factor--a cold front came with it as you might expect. Cold is a relative term here--the temperatures will retreat from the 90's down into the upper 70's which sound fantastic indeed.

Bruce just left for Office Depot so I must run to get my vacuuming done for the week. Because I work weekends, that is not an option for me. :)

Happy Easter dear ones,
Gail

Practice, Practice, Practice

For five years now I've been taking photographs most every day. To some folks that may sound crazy and it probably is, however, I've been on a learning curve. Even though I know how to take photographs, just as an athlete practices every day, so do I. A slight exaggeration in the previous sentence--I'm still pretty clueless on how the camera actually works!!

Nonetheless, I've managed to amass a huge amount of photographs of a multitude of subject matter. Seriously huge. Truth be told, I have no real idea how many I have, but believe me, it is a lot!! Which actually may work in my favor if everything goes well with Sun Dance Graphics. Yesterday I received the contract which is having a going over by an attorney friend of Matthew. WHO CAN BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME????? I can't. Oh my, oh my!

Between the Etsy business, my every weekend gig, the new car and vacation, my blogging schedule has been so erratic for which I apologize. As well, Bill and Dave turned 33 on Sunday with little fanfare I might add. When your children are all grown up as mine are, gift giving becomes somewhat difficult. Adding to that, when your children earn more money than the parents things get very tricky indeed. That said, this year both Bill and David had a gift in mind. We are renewing David's membership in a card grading group--don't ask me the details they are so crazy.

Bill, on the other hand, wanted a palm tree for his front courtyard. I knew just the place--Palm Gardens where we purchased all our landscaping plants when we remodeled. Because Bill is taking the week off from work, he and I drove out there in the new car. I say car but really it's a big boy. Sort of like a taller version of the old station wagon I drove when all the boys were at home. For those of you worrying about the gas mileage, it's not great but it is better than many vehicles of the same size. Moreover, I drive so little that it should be of no real consequence. Feel better?  I knew you would.

They had the palm but couldn't put it in the ground for two more weeks. Bill, taking matters into his own hands, rented a truck and put it in the ground himself today with the help of two of the maintenance men from his condo complex. Why would he need help you ask? The palm weighed 600 pounds!!!! I ran over earlier this afternoon to take a look:

Bill is wearing the black shirt on the right. Once a mother, always a mother. The temperature today was 94 and black is not the color of shirt to be wearing in the sun. "Bill honey, can you change into a white shirt?" I know, I know, he's 33!!

Monday afternoon Matt called to catch up. This is one funny picture here:

Four layers, or make that five? The blue is my computer background, the orange writing on the left is the blog dashboard, Picasa is next over that and then Face Time over that. Note the large glasses Matthew is wearing--the next trend and you saw it here!! Finally, there is your favorite blogger taking the photograph! Tom is in the background on the right looking very spiffy indeed. The two of them were helping me with Etsy ideas. Is it any wonder I'm a bit of a crazed woman these days??

My poor Bruce has an infected leg, so much so that he had to go to the doctor for antibiotics which are slow in doing their work. I took this photo of him at the market on Sunday.

That's a cute little shirt he's wearing that I found at Ross. I was hanging and he was resting his leg. Lately he's not had to travel much, amazing I know, but this week he left on Monday. As I type he's heading home from the airport. I'm anxious to see how his leg is coming.

I've not shown you the world's cutest dog for a while have I? The scarf lets you know he's just been groomed:

Take a look at that orchid I mentioned which is going plum crazy!

It was so top heavy with blooms that I had to wrap it a bit around the umbrella pole.

When the dog groomer was here last Thursday she had some kind things to say about our home which is always nice to hear. I think one reason people like our place is because there is a lot to look at.

A crazy mix of things, new, old, organic and whatever suits our fancy--that's mostly what we surround ourselves with and it seems to work. The morning sun always lights this table up. It seems as if the current bird nest has been abandoned so very soon you'll be seeing it. Still no baby sighting which worries me some.

When I visited the Whiteds two weeks ago I came home with a plant stand covered with rust. Well, that's not entirely true, some of it was, some of it was weary. Taking it out in the yard, I primed it and then spray painted it white.

Ten pot holders in all! Although I looked for some plants to fill it all up nice and pretty, I couldn't make up my mind just yet.

All in all, it's nice to be busy, just not this busy. Be sure and remind me of that when I don't have much to do will you?

Bruce is home, his shin looks pretty bad, and he's soaking it in the swimming pool as I type. He had a mole or something come off, and somehow, infection set in. Two full days of antibiotics haven't changed it much, but hopefully, tomorrow will be a turning point. Unpacking his suitcase, he handed me the USA Today. I said, please no article on Trayvon! He knows me well--a lengthy piece on Anne Tyler, one of my most favorite authors of all time. I can't wait to read it.

Maybe it was serendipity, don't know, but this article from the New York Times seems like it was meant for me. The recent developments around here are not in the same league as the authors but it is nice to have someone else recognize the work you've been doing. Thank you Sarah. Perhaps she will be my publisher?

I'll keep you posted....
Gail

p.s. No editing today--dinner time.

Beginner's Luck

While on holiday I used my iPhone every now and again to check my email. I used it for lots more than that for maps and fact checking like who sung what--that sort of thing--so glad I finally succumbed to a smart phone. But that's another story....

I think it might have been on Wednesday that an email came through from Etsy saying someone included one of my photos in a "treasury" which to my mind kind of predates Pinterest. Same idea really except instead of choosing from the whole web people choose things they like from Etsy. So that was kind of cool. It was the heart cloud.

I'm pretty sure it was the next day that an email came through with even more exciting news--a sale. The heart cloud. Coincidence? I don't know. What I do know is I was completely shocked and didn't know what came next. What came next was a call to David, giving him the opportunity to say "I told you so", something he is wont to do on any number of topics. Actually, his first words were "Congratulations Mom."

After struggling with the mailing process, off it went. And now nothing. No views, no orders. Totally beginner's luck. Now I need to learn the ropes on how to get people to my shop. Saturday the Winter Garden market was fairly slow for me but I did meet some folks who stayed and chatted for a good long while. After looking at some of my images the man asked me if I sold online. "Well, sort of," I replied. He went on quite a while about how he'd been selling jewelry on Etsy for three years and it is possible to get seen, it's just that there are tricks involved which he was only too willing to share. In fact, he claims he'll be back next week with a book to guide me through the process. We shall see now won't we?

In another new development, a week ago Sunday, just about the time we were closing up the booth, a couple came along and shortly after meeting, the woman started talking to me about their business. What kind of business you ask? Art publishing, or something like that. SDGraphics is the name. I spoke with her last week and sent her an album of requested subjects. She called just as I was sitting down to blog and had some complimentary things to say including the fact that she'd shown the album to someone else who said the same. Would I send specific images again? I answered yes. Here again, I have no idea if anything will come of it, but I won't know unless I try. Think the art you see in retail stores which in their case are HomeGoods and Kirklands. Apparently the way I would make any money out of this scheme is volume. Once again, time will tell.

I got a new car on Thursday--a Honda Pilot.

In a nutshell, the Element lease was due, we needed more space, and so we got this. Pretty plush when compared to the Element that's for sure. A bonus is that when the kids come to town we will actually have seats in our vehicle! Bonus round two--the shed has a lot more room in it now that the back seats for the Element have been restored to their rightful place. Did I really type kids??? They are far too old to use that term!

More importantly the cardinals have hatched and in fact have LEFT the nest as far as I can tell. So here is how I first saw them:

All snuggled up they were. You'll have to click on it probably to see the little eye in the front. I can't wait to see that nest up close what with the paper in it and all. The day we went to look at the car I went out front, watching the nest from a distance, when lo and behold, I saw this little one on the edge of the nest:

The original Mohawk! Actually he isn't on the edge in this one but before long he was.

Those wispy little feathers in the front are really something aren't they? I just knew he was fixing to take off and sure enough he did--a little jump onto an adjacent palm frond which is what you are seeing in front.

From what I can tell about timing, perhaps the eggs hatched while we were on holiday, one of the reasons I was so distressed that all the feeders were empty when we returned. The thing is, now I can't find them anywhere. I mowed the lawn today, which looks excellent if you really want to know, and there were no baby cardinal sightings. I'm slightly worried because, although the pictured chick looked good and ready, the remaining chick appeared to have no interest whatsoever in leaving the nest. Where have my little cardinals gone????

The yard is kicking into high gear what with the warm weather we are having. I'm beyond thrilled that the caladiums are popping up like mad. I took this picture on Friday and today there are even more!

Another very exciting happening around the Peck Casa are my blooming orchids. Forgive me if I'm repeating myself but my sister-in-law Ruth's parents gave me an orchid two years ago Christmas. After all the blooms finally gave up the ghost I placed it under what some might consider a tree. A month or so ago I began to notice blooms forming. If you can imagine, there are 29 buds!!!!!!

It's crazy hard to photograph it well because the stems go every which way and on each one there are gobs of buds and blooms. Fantastic!!!

And then there is this one I got from my market neighbors, Jim and Kathy:

The potential blooms on this baby are not nearly as impressive but still nice. There are birds and butterflies everywhere in our yard. So nice to commune with nature...

How cute is this little one:

I took this through the big window in the living room between the open blinds. I'm considering taking down the blinds so they are not in the way?

I began this blog post hours and hours ago. Happily I spoke with Matt and Tom on all matter of digital media--first FaceTime, then iChat, and finally the regular phone. Crazy I know but good. They both gave me input on the Etsy shop tags--a way for people to find my stuff. Agreeing that worn towels was not good, Matt changed it to just towels. Oftentimes you'll find me going on a bit about how technology isn't such a good thing; of course this is said when I'm not in need of the amazing things that can now be done with same.

Speaking of which, while we were gone, and I was eating out all the time, I couldn't help but notice that all sorts of folks would be sitting together at a table looking at the screens on their phone. This bothered me a lot. When we got to the market last week we learned that one of the vendor's husbands (our age I might add) died while driving a car at 80mph. A heart attack obviously. In the blink of an eye,  he was gone. Love the ones you're with my friends. Will you?