312/366: Catch Up

I missed another day!  Oops.  This Postaday is tough, but I'm almost there.  I remember the night I decided to do it...Gretchen, why didn't you talk me out of it?

I would have done it anyway.  I love the challenge.

Yesterday, I cleaned the living room.  Today I did the dining room and moved the furniture around in the living room.  I really like it.

It makes me open to other improvements in the house, like our baseboards.  We never painted them when we painted the walls seven or eight years ago.  Sad.  They are still boy's locker room blue with scratches all over.  One task at a time.

What I wanted to look up was this picture I took November 23 of last year.

My strong Christmas Cactus, aka Thanksgiving Cactus, is at it again.  The tiniest of buds are forming on the tips of the leaves. 

I showed the boys, "What?  We have a cactus?  When will it look like a cactus?"

I'll turn their thumbs green eventually.

274/366: Pintember in the Toilet

This is the final installment of Pintember.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I found it to be quite a challenge.  I thought when I semi-retired, I'd have more time to do things like this. 

That doesn't seem to be the case.  And that's okay.

There are still a couple Pinterest projects I'd like to complete, and will show you those as I do them.  The Pintember Project was good.  It kept me creative and writing, and not just falling asleep sitting up while watching TV.

So, my toilet project.

Toilet paper rolls, more specifically.

This is a fairly easy project.  I cut about 20 toilet paper rolls into 5 strips.  Then, with my glue gun, I just went to town.  There is no real way to do this, other than just sticking the new pieces where there is a hole.  I turned the flower as I went and eyeballed all of it.

I also didn't measure the width of the cut pieces.  You may be able to see in the photo that the pieces aren't perfect, aren't the same height and are placed randomly.

 I found the painting to be the most challenging.  My spray paint from my animal taxidermy project didn't seem to coat very well.  I used almost an entire can and thought I'd have plenty.  The paint seemed to absorb into the paper.

But, standing back, you really can't tell. 

I think this was a fun project and a good way to end the month...in the toilet!  Ha!

I'm still working the POSTADAY for the remainder of the year, so don't be a stranger.

Thanks for reading Pintember!

Thunder Night

The long awaited thunderstorm arrived last night at 12:30, along with the frantic, frightened voice of my oldest son. I can't blame him, the blinding light and tumultuous thunder woke even me from my sleep. Into my bed he came with his 8 year old stuffed giraffe named Giraffey.

Our night continued with interrupted sleep. Elbow to my nose, water pounding on the patio, snoring, sniffling, boy on my pillow. It was a long night.

But I loved it. I was with my oldest son. Snuggling. He needed me. He felt comforted by me and we were quiet together. Quite the opposite of daylight hours that included another marathon math session, dislike of baseball, fighting with his brother. I loved last night.

I also loved what I saw this morning. The rain not yet done filling the lawn, the garden not swamped and the fish swimming about, trying to get into my blooming water hyacinth photograph.

Shy Giveaway

I am in love with this little flower.

Not only is it just blooming at the end of September (thank you Liquid Fence!), but it has character.

Perfect, it is not.

Adorable yes.

As if the Pampas Grass in the next island bed told it a funny joke and Ms. Coneflower needed to cover her mouth when she laughed.

Yes, I may be a little wacky, but c'mon, it is clearly different.

There are so many scenario's going through my mind right now. What do you think?  Is this a story or just a crooked petal on a flower?

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think it's saying.  I'll pick a random number on Wednesday and send the winner a 5 x 7 print of it (or if there is another photo of mine you'd like instead, let me know).

Maybe her zipper was down on her daisy dukes.

Kiddie Bling

As I mentioned in this post, the Poncherello needed a little something. At Tom's suggestion, I made a strawberry. It took a really long time. The seeds weren't right so I did those a couple times over. Then, what little two year old would be happy with just one option? A monogram and a flower were added to the batch. I am sure someone has already discovered my idea, but by attaching these to barrettes, they can be changed on the poncho or the more obvious, used separately in her hair. Four little wraps around the barrette are enough to hold it securely.

I guess it is a good thing that I don't have a girl of my own, I would never get anything else done!

Have a happy Saturday.

The next post will be of a new sculptured purse I am working on, it is pretty wild.

Guess that Flower: 2nd and Final Chance

This is a perennial, sometimes disguised as annual.
Comes in red, pink, white/pink mix.
And if you can't ring in for that...sugary bill.

First to respond gets a million dollars.

Just kidding, you get a handmade wash towel.

Name that Weed/Flower

Here is a little contest, to get you folks moving. I have my suspicions, but have not "googled" anything yet. If you can correctly identify this plant, I will send you one handmade wash towel. And calling it a "Dr. Suess" will not qualify.

Clues:

#1: It is not a bulb.

#2: I did not plant it, however, three years ago, wildflower seeds may have been dropped in the vicinity.

#3: It has a neighbor that is shorter, with pale purple flowers of the same shape. This specimen measures about 12 inches tall.

GO!