At home in the garden

I think I've been blessed with the most beautiful home on earth.

Not the fanciest or most grand (heaven forbid!) nor the most expensive either, simply the dearest.

Here are a few of the reasons why I love it so, on this sunny day at home in the garden.

I apologize in advance~ this is going to be a long post full of photos. The garden is just too lush and full for any less.

Here I am in front of the studio, right next to the raspberry patch, where a big pile of steer manure is shrinking daily and the garden is reaping the benefits already. And I am wearing summer clothes, hurrah! Sunshine!

The viburnum over my shoulder may not look like much from a distance but up close what a beauty! I fell in love with it at Christiansons' Nursery five years ago and am still a fan.

Just on my right is the big barrel of wild European strawberries that will taste like mangoes. They've just begun to blossom.

And the white bleeding hearts are the very breath of springtime... all that gorgeous green!

I could never get enough white bleeding heart... I buy at least one each year.

My faithful friends are never far away. Here's Katie snoozing by the studio door. 

Mr. Wonderful was calling down from the deck offering me a lemonade!

The shy corydalis is blooming by the back fence.

I accidentally stepped on some of its lovely foliage but thank goodness it is springing back.

Now I'm going to wander through the field with my sketchbook to finish some drawings of Barb's early peonies...

Those are just a few of the reasons I'm thankful today for my own dear home and garden.

What do you love about yours? 

Tulips

Ordinarily I avoid weekends in the tulip fields (too many tourists!) but somehow they were calling my name when I jogged down our street yesterday with the doggy pals...

This field is the closest one to our home and I loved the reflections shimmering in the puddles.

What a sea of color!

And just down the street from home...

We meandered through the mud and down the road a bit...

You can't see the tourists too much in my shots but this little valley was full of them! I took pictures of people from Egypt, Romania, Korea, India and Japan. The tulips are like a mini-United Nations. And so many wanted photos with Luna, Penny and Katie.

Then on the way home a great delight! Pink lemonade from the neighbor girls, as lovely as the flowers in the fields, tending their lemonade and flower stand.

Sunny San Juan Island hopping

My family is blessed to live in such a gorgeous place. 

But it rains. Oh, yes. It does rain.

So when the blue sky shows, we are seized with an irresistible urge to go outside.

This time we hopped a ferry bound for Friday Harbor.

We indulged in our usual pleasures...

a game of "which boat would you choose"...

...watching the float planes come and go...

... spending rather too much at Serendipity Used Books.

This time we played "catch that fish" with a harbor seal named Popeye.

And of course we spent hours picnicking and walking hand in hand, laughing and taking pictures, pictures, pictures, because that is just what we always do!

There's nothing like springtime in the Pacific Northwest on a sunny day.

Beside the studio door

Now that spring has really arrived, I'm having trouble even getting from the back door to the studio without stopping with my sketchbook. The inspiration is so tempting.

The French doors near the press in the studio open to the cherry tree, where we will be snacking this summer on the ruby fruits. 

This year the blossoms are stunning...

The cherry blossoms aren't the only wonders that draw my imagination and my eyes.

Along the fence, under the apple trees and firs, woodland beauties crowd together...

and in the center of the garden, the raised beds are sprouting heirloom vegetables and herbs,

some with names to make you grin... Grandma Einspahr's dill, Speckled Brown Trout lettuce...

and just to the left of the studio door, between the ferns and the Colette roses that will bloom in June, a patch of brilliant red tulips blowing in the sunny breeze.

Consider this your invitation to tea in the garden beside the studio. 

The perfect cuppa

True confessions: I have a secret stash of tea I brought home from London.

I save it for times I need a soothing cup, a steamy treat that feels oh so very British.

I am feeling the need this morning.

And here is why!

This nostalgic pot of tea-for-one is a piece I designed for Pine Ridge Art (www.pineridgeart.com)

It's featured on their blog here http://pineridgeart.blogspot.com/ 

The teal and chocolate brown are a bit stronger in person but the photo gives a fairly good look at it anyway.

I think I need one to sit by the computer and wouldn't it be fun to throw a tea party and put one at each friend's place at the tea table? I admit it: I don't usually gush about the things I design but this time I am swooning, head over heels for this piece. Head over heels for this nostalgic little teapot with its cup and saucer. I. LOVE. THIS. Blush. I really do! (Imagine me turning backflips of delight and doing high fives with the doggie pals.)

Artful getaways... any takers?

Last night I was featured guest on www.favecraftsradio.com speaking on Creative Getaways for Girlfriends. My computer connection failed me but I have been told there were a number of women interested in joining me for a crafty weekend this summer. If you were online, I apologize for not being able to join you on the web chat.

So I've got a question for you... if I held a creative weekend retreat where I taught papercutting or calligraphy and some collage, would you be interested in joining me? 

You'd stay in a fabulous Scandinavian style bed & breakfast, served scrumptious goodies, pampered and cosseted, and crafting to your heart's content. I am still working up the price but wonder how much interest there is. This would likely be a couple of weekends in August  but might take place next fall as well.

This would take place near my home in Mount Vernon, WA, about 70 miles north of Seattle, and if you've looked at my blog at all you know what a gorgeous spot this is. We'd likely go up into the Cascade Mountains for an easy day hike as well, sketching and taking digital photos if the participants are interested.

If you'd like more info send me an email or comment at the end of this post.

And now to tell you of my wee little mini-getaway today...

I think our little valley is gorgeous in spring and summer. So I didn't have far to go to give my mother-in-love a couple hours of retreat. It was not enough but there were deadlines and Katie Dog had cut her face in the backyard and needed attention. Real life intruded but we had a wonderful time...

The tulips are peaking now, very early, and it's a lovely a spring as I remember ever happening in this gorgeous valley, with springy chartreuse color sprinkling the tree limbs and the grass lush in the pastures. 

Oh, the beauty of fresh air & sunshine!

Tropical breezes

Sometimes all it takes is a whiff of ripe pineapple or a snippet of tropical fabric and I am transported back to the beaches of that little corner of Hawaii Mr. Wonderful and I call "ours."

 Which is hilarious, considering we've only been there three times and the last time was 28.5 months ago (not that we are counting or anything!)

This time it was a pineapple from Costco and a scrawled postcard from Sarah. 

"Natalie and I are here for a few days in the sun..."

I had no more than uttered the word "Hawaii" when my husband dashed to the computer and booked flights for only $10 using our mileage plans! Oh, how I love a man of action.

So now the calendar has dates penciled in and I find myself drawn to my old reference photos. How did I miss so much great resource material buried there? Time to dig out the old sketch books. 

I feel a surge of beach-scented creativity... the tropical breezes are blowing in the studio. Funny how a pineapple from Costco and a postcard from a vacationing friend can set you off down a new creative path!

Chicken for lunch

"Don't go over that fence again," I scolded, "unless you want to be Emma's lunch." 

But clearly the Hen Who Loved to Stray did not listen.

Which explains how there came to be a rather impressive pile of feathers in the yard next door and a dog licking her chops after a rather larger than usual meal this noon.

So lucky

For as long as I can remember I've always had a favorite spoon.

It bears a scar on one side from the time it fell down the drain while my mom was running the garbage disposal, but I don't mind. It's still my favorite.

 

When I looked up the pattern online in a random moment of inspiration, I found Angela from Kansas, who had some listed on Craigslist.

Which is how I found myself gleefully opening a box of silverware today.

As I unpacked the silverware I began to laugh. Soon I was dancing around the kitchen.

Really, it's the little things that make you giddiest. A spoon or knife can make your heart sing.

When I picked up a packet of spoons, guess what they were wrapped in? LUCKY! 

More laughter in the kitchen.

Retro happiness. I'm stylin' in the kitchen today!

Woohoo!