Michelle Palmer Calendar!

Another artist samples to share with you!

My 2013 "Outside My Window" Calendar!

Legacy Publishing Group has a wonderful collection of artists~

I'm very grateful to be one of them!

I've been collecting treasures for my 2015 calendar!

Baskets of goodies... still life subjects set up for photographs...

Feathered friends have been happy to pose on the feeders and baths~

This summer has filled me up...

Restored my creative juices!

I miss talking to my mom each morning~ it has almost been one year.

Her four year battle with breast cancer was courageous.

I was blessed to be a caregiver... I was tired. I was empty.

I have started keeping a sketchbook while working in my gardens.

Wrinkled, muddy, messy pages... a fun look!

Drawn in pencil because pens junk up in the dirt spots...

Ideas come...

Sketches capture the thoughts and I work on them when it rains.

Thank you for your sweet comments about my fabric~

We have a giveaway coming in the next few days to celebrate!

Wishing you joy!

Memory Garden...

Forget Me Not...

They're in the studio~ dressed in pink, white and blue!

Tomorrow will mark thirty years that my dad passed away.

I was twelve years old... didn't know much about cancer then.

I dug clumps of Forget Me Nots growing wild in a nearby field

to plant at the cemetery. They never grew back~

I keep them in all of my gardens...

They're a sweet reminder... each April...

When mom passed in October one of her memorial arrangements

were filled with sherbet rose colored Carnations and white Hydrangeas. 

My cousin, a florist, shared with me how to plant the sprigs

of Hydrangeas ~ so to start plants. We had a mild winter... dry.

With the warm temperatures I've been very patient...

Knowing we could still have frosty, snowy days through April.

Over the weekend~ Hubby helped me remove the winter

leaf pack and reveal the babies...

There are three with buds!

Joy!

I have two sisters... I was just praying for three to live!

They will be a beautiful reminder of mom~

I planted these along side the Hydrangea babies...

In hopes that something would make it through the winter!

Mom loved to plant bulbs...

Loved Iris...

Loved Peonies...

I can't bring myself to love Roses as she did~ they're fussy.

I'm not patient with them or their thorns (giggle)

When these pretties first open they're a butter yellow...

Turning to a rich, deep yellow~

Then to the soft pink!

This plant has two blossoms~

I keep every memory of my parents close...

I thank God for the beautiful family I have been given~

We keep old memories near while making new ones daily!

Hope your days are filled with wonderful memories~

Old and new!

Winner and Make-do Palette...

Last night I returned home...

My mom has been fighting stage 4 breast cancer for

almost four years now. I have been out of town caring

for her after she suffered a Pulmonary embolism.

She lives in the city... a pleasant place to visit~

However I am a country girl and there is no place like home.

I think my flowers all waved to me when I drove in!

We have a winner!

Megan Chamberlain

The little vintage dress has been waiting patiently

for my return... eager to find a lovely new home!

Do hope you will visit Megan's blog~ a treat!

I knew this trip might keep me away for a while.

I thought to pack folders of reference material,

Several sketch diaries, pens, fabric squares, ink,

watercolor paper, triangle... ruler... but forgot the palette.

That is an expensive tool to replace...

As time passed and deadlines grew near, paint was needed.

While mom was napping I set out to pick up her meds.,

a few groceries and make a quick trip to the art store.

The palettes were all plastic.

You can see from the first image, my main palettes are

well worn, loved, messy... plastic. It takes time to break

in the plastic surface where I mix the pigments. I was hoping

to find an enamel tray or ceramic plate. Nothing.



I gathered a basic collection of Winsor & Newton tubes...

They had most of my favorites: Perm. Alizarin Crimson,

Cadmium Orange, Quinacridone Gold, Winsor Yellow,

Green Gold, Hooker's Green, Cerulean Blue,

French Ultramarine, Indigo and Sepia...

...and I needed basic brushes 6 round, 4 round,

a flat and a liner... I added a few extras for good measure!

But what to put them on?

An antique store... maybe they would have an enamelware

plate or old butcher tray! I only knew of one store...

The perfect palette was found!

The cover to this little container has a troth around the rim...

Held the paint away from the water & mixing area~

Success!

Mom is very weak but stable~

Can never express exactly how much I LOVE nurses.

They work wonders and their compassionate hearts

are a gift from God.

Wishing you  joy, Sweet Friends!

I will blog when I can~ always thinking of you!

More Christmas & Where are you?

Thank you for so many wonderful comments!

I have been trying to visit each of you and

take time to comment...

Time has been limited as I have been caring for

my mom as much as possible.

A few posts back I shared that I have been trying

to help a special someone as they battle

breast and bone cancer...

That special someone is my mom.

I couldn't say anything at the time... she has been in

this battle for three years~ but never told her

extended family. My sisters and our immediate family

have been doing our best to keep her privacy...

Her wishes...

God has a way of opening doors~

Her siblings and extended family now know.

I am so thankful that they know~ things have

not been going well... she is very weak.

My mom is some distance away.

My wonderful hubby and teens help with my

Etsy shop whenever they can...

Thank you for being so very patient...

Sometimes waiting for special orders...

Every now and then waiting a day or two extra

for packages to arrive or delayed email responses.

I have loads of Christmas goodies to share...

There is time to draw while we sit and visit~

It is relaxing... A positive distraction...

I found my Christmas theme muslin ribbons that

I had made this past Spring...

I was drawing holly and Christmas

right along side my pansy, bunny and bird ones!

Vintage dresses with Christmas themes are

almost ready to list... they look so sweet on teddy bears!

I like to hang them along the mantle...

A nice addition to the stockings~

Thank you... for your kindness and friendships!

You are a very big bright spot~

Much Needed Smiles...

There are those days, weeks... months... when it is

just a bit difficult to smile. My hubby is my dearest

friend~ our children are the most understanding and

supportive teens... so thankful for their love.

Someone very dear to me is fighting stage 4 breast

cancer. I have been at her side to hear the ups, downs &

in-between... mammograms have never detected

the fierce spot that brought the disease to her lymph

nodes and practically every bone from her skull

to her knees. The medicines have kept her fighting

for nearly three years~ but things have started

to deteriorate... options are disappearing.

So many of you share your brave stories...

I pray for you when I pray for her.

Fragile times have brought us close.

Her courage and determination are inspiring.

I am thankful that God gives me strength to walk

through doors I once refused to open...

Even more thankful for the AMAZING

compassion and kindness every health care

provider shares...

That extra special touch.

The understanding glance.

Such special hearts...

Thank you.

I feel selfish when tears cloud over...

I'm not the most sturdy of shoulders...

I did manage to share MANY smiles with her over the

past couple days... My soggy smiles :)

She doesn't mind my tears...

As long as there are smiles and giggles tucked inside~

A new season... in many ways.

Wishing you hope... on your journey~