My first blog post

I just want to start by telling you I am not the poetic type that I know so many bloggers are. In fact, I barely squeaked through my creative writing class in high school (many years ago). The subjects that I excelled in were home economics, art, & sewing. Do they even offer those classes in school anymore??? And, of coarse, as homemaker extraordinaire / artist, these are the skills I use every day.

Anyway, this blog is just about little 'ole me, taking a break from the craziness that surrounds me these days. This year started out with me cleaning and sorting and organizing all winter so I would be ready to sell my house by early spring. Then, in the middle of it all, I had to have a major surgery to remove 6lbs of fast growing tumors from my hip. Lipoma's, nothing serious. Just ugly and uncomfortable. A week and a half later I listed my house. I wasn't going to let a little thing like a surgery slow me down. To my surprise, the house was sold in just 2 weeks. Hooray! But then the real work started. We had to be out just 2 days after close. Time to start packing 20 years of living and collecting and crafting into boxes. What a job! We have been in our new house now since June 11. Almost all our furniture is still in the garage (2 1/2 months later) while we remodel. Lots of cleaning and painting and dealing with the contractors who are installing a bay window. I even dug up nearly 40 hosta from my old garden and had to dig a whole new shade garden to plant them in. But, the biggest job (and headache) has been the koi pond we put in ourselves.

The pond is approx 26'x 14' (at it's widest point) and 4' deep. Not an easy task because we have some extremely sandy soil here. As we dug, the sides would fall in, and the pond just kept growing to gigantic proportions. Well, it is almost done. In fact the waterfall is gushing over the rocks (all 12 tons of it) and the fish are swimmin' around. We are all happy (especially the fishes) that the pond is as big as it is. We had a reserve on the fish of our choice from our old pond. The new owner wasn't too happy to see which fish we chose, LOL. Now we are putting the finishing touches on the hill and rock garden that surround the waterfall and we are building a stone & cedar shake "pump house" to hide the pump that makes it all possible. I can't wait till next spring when I can buy the lotus and water lilies for the pond!

I have been really homesick. Not for the old house, but for my old garden. It was a work of art, like my own backyard painting. The new owner, a young single guy, thought "if that old lady can keep up this size garden it should be a piece of cake". Well, when we were there to catch our fish for the new pond, he said "I gotta hand it to ya, I don't know how you did it". LOL! For me it was therapy. I could go out with a splitting headache and start dead heading and weeding and the headache would vanish. I just loved that garden so! Now it is all weedy and trampled down by his big Husky puppy and the pond is dirty and full of algae. Well, I just tell myself it is time to move on and create a new painting. This time my painting will include vegetables and a raspberry patch! Next on my learning list is how to make jam and freeze and can fresh veggies from my own garden. These are just a few pics of my old "therapist".

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I must say, I have really missed crafting. I haven't had a moment to craft since we moved and the creative "me" is just dieing to get my new sewing room completed and all my craft supplies out of storage. I am bursting with ideas for some new dolls and needle punch make-do's. I love creating for Halloween and Christmas. They are certainly the most creative holidays. And of coarse I spent way over my budget on this new house of mine (and the giant koi money pit) and now it is time to start making some money again to pay for all the new prim lights and paints and windows I put in.

There is a very special Prim web-site that some of my artist friends sell their wares on. I will be applying and hoping for the privilege of being accepted to sell there too. I have just been waiting to get settled in my new house before applying. That way, if I am excepted, I will be able to give it my full attention. Cross your

fingers for me!

What I have learned about myself today is that with a little persistence even "I" can learn to blog! I am not very computer savvy you see and I'm sure there is much more for me to figure out here. But this is a start. I have also learned that while I am not very poetic, I am definitely long winded! Stay tuned! Next time - more about "ME". Well, who else?

See some more of my past creations below.....