Firefly In The Garden Times 3

I've been more than a little obsessed with our feral kitty, Firefly.  This is a cat I'm feeding every day.  Have saved from "death's door" with the help of my wonderful vet and antibiotics to heal infection from a nasty wound.  Bought things like a heated cat mat for the garage.... battled raccoons in the same garage when I've kept the door up a bit on horribly cold nights so Firefly could go in, warm himself and eat.  This is a cat that STILL won't let me get close to him AT ALL!  So..... I've determined that Firefly is to be our outdoor friend that I feed and enjoy from a distance for as long as he chooses to stay around.  I think trapping and bringing him in would be a rough situation for current girlie cats, hubby, myself, and Mr. Firefly.

I have been enjoying doing a bit of art work and rug hooking using this little guy as my subject.  Below is a photo my hubby took one evening while we sat on the deck.  Firefly likes to sit outside with us as long as we keep our distance.

 

I used that photo for a little painting I did last fall.

And recently, began a hooked piece that I just finished........

All different..... fun to play with the wool and try to capture this little guy sitting contentedly in the grass enjoying the lovely summer evening.  Unfortunately, it's once again horribly cold with ice and snow.  We're back to cat mat in the garage and those nasty determined raccoons!  Spring is bound to eventually show up......

p.s.  There are crocus and snowdrops poking they're sweet little heads up.  Hope they make it through these bitter temps.

xo
dulcy

Bags, Shawls, and a Bit of Acrylic

I've been busy busy lately with hooking and weaving.  My two favorite activities at the moment.  New bags and shawls are now in The Vintage Suitcase, a wonderful little shop which can only be described as..... a bit vintage, a bit French, a bit antique, and a bit shabby wonderful!  Here's a shot of a couple of bags and shawls I've currently added to the shop.  I love hooking my little scrappy rose design in different color combos!

I'm sort of swamped with bag orders at the moment, which is great as long as I'm feeling creative and having fun.  Of course my busy mind has a hard time staying "in the moment", so while I'm hooking or weaving I'm thinking of making a new rug and painting!  Geez!!

I did add a couple of new little paintings to my vintage gardening encyclopedia.

 

The first is from a photo of our front door.  You may recognize it as my current blog banner, and directly above is a white iris shown in the evening with the pond water in the background.  I'm sticking with my theme of paintings subject matter around my own home and gardens.

Of course LOVING fall right now.  The colors here are so spectacular it's hard to take it all in.  I was out to dinner with friends last night and the first words of greeting are "Can you believe the color?!".   And that's pretty much what everyone is talking about right now,  Such a lovely season this year.................... hope yours is the same.

xo

dulcy

Pals and Paint

What a GORGEOUS fall we are having in the Ozarks!  Well, we always have a fabulous fall here, but this year has been wet (last fall was on the tail end of a HORRIBLE drought, so a bit dry and faded) and all that grows seems super enhanced with rich and lush color.  And it's only just begun!  The timing was  perfect for me to attend a fall artist retreat put on by the very lovely and talented Audrey Bottrell at Indian Point.  Audrey has been my art teacher, and also a very good friend.  Before I left, I got a couple of goodies to take with me..........

One day while lunching with my friend Sally,  we were doing a bit of perusing through the sweet shop attached to the cafe and just yakking up a storm, I spotted this yummy pumpkin colored ledger.

I said, "Wouldn't that be fun to paint in?" and before I could get another word in edgewise, Ms. Sally had whisked it away to the counter and bought it for me!  That silly!  Well, I have a plan for her.... Yes I do!  Look at these fun lined pages.  I see paintings of pears and flowers, cats and apples.... oh can't wait to get started!   That darling little cafe, shop, and garden room is just the best.   My friend Katie, her hubby Mark, and my hubby all ate at  The Vintage Veranda, a couple of weeks ago armed with wine and empty stomachs.  We were the last to leave! 

While recently flea marketing with my same sweet sweet friend, Katie, I found this darling old wooden box.  I thought how perfect it would be to carry my paints to the retreat in.

I had to have it when I saw how it opened out to other compartments.  I think someone had built it, and the wood might be cherry.  It IS a cherry!

During the retreat..... which was spent painting, morning and evening Tai Chi, hiking, eating, talking, meeting lovely new friends...  I painted a bit in my old gardening book and did the same painting as a pastel.  This is a scene from our garden when the day lilies were in full bloom.

I guess the point of this post is the importance to me of time spent with friends.  I always feel so happy and full after an afternoon out with my pals.  I came back from Indian Point energized with ideas for art and life (oh.... I do have ideas!).  I was surrounded by very accomplished painters that were so humble, not the least bit pretentious.... I felt comfortable, and there to learn. The first thing I learned was  "I NEED NEW PAINT BRUSHES"!  You would not believe what I've been using..... oh dear.....

xo
dulcy