Leaves of Geraniums

These are the tools that I use to make geraniums. Why so many? There are three different sizes to make leaves. The smallest leaf size also is the one to make the flowers.

The ones on the end with the blue handles are to cut the wire and paper.  There is also one for cutting ivy leaves in this bunch. That cutter is useful for cutting into the  smaller scraps. The ivy leaves are not vey big.

This is all that I got done at Wednesday Witches today.

There are enough leaves for quite a few geranium plants and a couple of ivy plants to boot.

I decided to make the grape leaves out of the vines that came with the kit. I will have to cut the leaves off of the wire and reshape some of them, but it will be easier than going for all new leaves

that I have to cut from scratch.

Here's a close up of the larger leaves and they don't look anything like grape leaves. I would have to do a lot of trimming and even some painting to make them look shiny like grape leaves. So much for that plan.

They are going back to being geranium leaves.

Tessie suggested that I get started on the plants tonight... I don't think that is going to happen. I am tired of both grapevines and geraniums for now.  Maybe tomorrow.

If she wants them started, she is going to have to do it herself.  I am going to bed like a normal person and let her have at it.

If she has to do it herself, it won't get done tonight and probably a couple more weeks after that.

So I am retiring and will start tomorrow bright and early.  See you then.

It's still drizzling!

That puts me in a mood for doing quiet things. 

First quiet thing? About two and a half rows on the rug.  I am not sure how big it is going to be until the thread runs out.  I still have quite a bit left.

Turquoise and Fuzzy is done.  I made it to keep the two disappearing remotes together.  It is working well so far... Of course I only finished it last night.

Ask me about a week from now where the remotes are... I will have no idea. Oh well...

I also started re-doing some of my memory wire bracelets.  They were all on round shaped memory wire.  Walmart is carrying some that is oval shaped now.  I like that better. It is more comfortable on my wrist.

This is one of my favorites.

The rain has been doing some good.  My berry plants are all happily growing new leaves and the strawberry plant has five berries on it so far... Now if I can get them to grow up and turn red, I will be a happy camper.

Wish me luck.

See you tomorrow.

Plants, Beads, and Paints....

I have been covering the hummingbird feeders at night.  That keeps the bats and the bees away.

As soon as I uncover them in the morning, the feeding begins... Woody was first in line this morning. For some reason, the woodpeckers like the juice just as much as the hummers.  If they get there first, good luck to the hummingbirds...

I cleaned the window sill above the kitchen sink and repotted the plants there.  I found a couple of new ones at Civano Nursery this morning.  Now it looks more like a jungle there than it did before, but I like it.

I went away yesterday to make rings after I finished the blog.  I got sidetracked.  I wound up  doing peyote stitch for a watchband.  The two pieces at the left are off of the old watch at the right bottom of the photo. It has long since stopped working altogether.  I am thinking that I may be able to salvage them and put them on a different watch. I didn't think of that until I have already done a lot to the other watch in the photo.

I am liking the new band so far.

Meanwhile, Tessie dumped these two bottles of paint in my cart when we were in Walmart this morning... When I got home and was unpacking the groceries, I questioned her about how they got in the bag... She answered quite simply, "They just flew into the cart(with a little help from her I think).  And you paid for them with everything else.

Remind me to check my purse for hitchhiking witches next time I go.  She did not ask permission to go along!

Then she grabbed both bottles and said, "If we throw these two bottles into a jar and shake it a lot, WE will have PUCE!".  Here we go again.  I thought that I got rid of the puce when I painted over it in her old bedroom.  I guess not.  It's still her favorite color.  Who else would have the color of fleas as their favorite?

I am going back to the beadwork for today.  I will worry about puce tomorrow. See you then.

Outside the Box...

I escaped to the back porch this morning.  It was in dire need of cleaning. 

As usual, I couldn't just clean the porch.  I had to move things around... I am now done for the day... In every way...

 I think that I told you that I was going back to greenhouse in real life, instead of conservatory in miniature. Tessie isn't happy, but I am.  I will have a place to start new plants. She is just going to have to live with it! I still have to remove the rest of the clay from the top.  A little at a time is how it is going.  Any suggestions? I did some of it with a wet paper towel to soften.  Then I did some with an exacto knife and a hammer... Sooner or later, I will get it all off.

I did get a lot of the plants repotted.  Some were outgrowing the pots and some were just ready to give up the ghost.

The big pot at the bottom of this photo has several smaller pots inside now. 

That is the only thing I could do to keep the squirrels from burying and digging up nuts.  The pot was convenient for them... Not much fun for me though. I had to clean up after them every few days. Silly squirrels!

While I was cleaning and repotting, Tessie and Zar ordered another pizza and are watching Wynona Earp for the second time. I do wish that Netflix would get the second season.  Maybe I could talk them into watching that one, instead of the first season over and over.  This is only the second time, but I am sure that there will be a third and fourth if the second season doesn't come on soon.

Anyway, I think that I am going to maybe work on a Rya rug and watch with them... I am tuckered out.

See you tomorrow.

Rya Rug and Back to the Conservatory...

We got a new cat bed for Kota a few days ago... He was not adapting to it... The weather is too hot. 

This morning I washed the sheets and while that was going on, I put the bed on our bed and threw his favorite throw over it... That did the trick.  He has been in it all afternoon.

He kept me company whilst I worked on the Rya Rug. 

 It is coming along nicely.  I am up to the part where the other end design starts.  I am already on the third row or that.

I am starting to see the finish line on this one.

 I finally gave up on the dragon on the roof of the conservatory.  Every time I would lift the lid, something would break off of him and I would have to repair. 

So yesterday morning I took him off and re-did the ends of the roof. Now all I have to do is paint those and put a door on the interior side of the right wall and it will be pretty much finished. 

Granted, it still needs some paint and I have to clean up the windows, but I can see the finish coming.

I stopped into Mesquite Valley Growers here in town and picked up a several plants. 

I think that the pups off of this one are going in tiny pots and will be the first real plants for the conservatory.

I am going to put it out on the porch and see if I can get anything small to grow in there.

There are several small plants growing around the base of this one too, so I will have some starter plants. 

I would like to see if I can grow a lot of small plants in the Edwardian Case.

When Joan gave this thing to me, she started trouble.  I am determined to fill it with mini plants.

We shall see what happens.

Back to the rug.

See you tomorrow.

The Monsoon is Coming!

I have about twice the rya rug that I had yesterday... Slow work, but getting faster all the time.

It is really fun to do.
Looking at the selection of over dyed yarn that I have, I am thinking that there are only a couple of hanks that I would like for a rug.

I do like the one on the right side front with the pinks and turquoise. And maybe even the one that is shades of white and beige on the other side.

I  guess that I should finish the one that I am working on first.  I can only make it as big as the pile of thread that I have left...It's not going to be really big.

I  Planted a bunch of the succulents in the trough.

I can't seem to get any veggies to grow in there.  The sun hits it directly most of the day and with our heat, even tomatoes won't grow...

Relief is coming though. See those grey clouds in the distance... It is the start of monsoon season.  Very soon, we will have rain every afternoon and some times in the evening and into the night.  At least I won't have to water every day... I am looking forward to that. 

I am going back and work on the rug now... The more I do, the more I will be able to see how this is going to look.  I like it so far.

See you tomorrow.

Experimental Minis

I was going to add one of the three little prickly pear cacti in this pot to George's garden... 

However, for some reason, Kota is fascinated by this.  I don't think that it would be a good idea to add this plant that he seems to want to take a bite out of... prickly cat?

I sat the pot in the bowl to see how one of them would look.  I like it... I just don't think that it would be smart with Kota stalking it... 

Maybe I will put it in the conservatory.  Yes... I know.  I still have to finish that one...

I turned Tessie loose with some egg cartons and the glue syringe. She has five rows done already.... Not particularly straight rows. 

I asked her to go back and straighten them... She said... "I wouldn't want to ruin the primitive look of them.  I want this one to LOOK like I built it.". It does!

Then a pause and she continued with... "And besides, you ARE going to stitch me a rug to cover most of it anyway... remember?  Something to wiggle my toes in?"

It is going to have to be a BIG lumpy rug.  The tile are a bit uneven.  As I said, she is experimenting to see if terracotta tile can be made from the other side of the theater trays. 

I guess I had better start a rya rug to cover most of it.  Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

Tessie's Cactus Collection...

I no longer have a cacti and succulent collection.  This afternoon, Tessie helped me start gathering the information on all of the plants that I have on the back porch and in the yard... Then she announced... "If I have to do all of this work, I should have custody of all of the plants that I list.

She seems to think that she has listed every plant on the porch... Interesting. I have not even gotten all of them listed yet.

Why am I doing this?

All of the plants that I have in the collection are things that are of interest to me.  I came home after buying most of them and looked them up on the net. 

 That is an easy way to find out how to take care of them.  I keep collecting photos and information on my Pinterest site in "Succulents and Cactus".

That way if something goes wrong, I can find out, pretty fast, what to do to make them get healthy again.

I am always amazed at how much you can find out about anything that you want to know just by putting a couple of words in the search box on Pinterest.

I am writing things down the old fashioned way, but I may just have to do it on the iPad.

Tessie is holding on to about 10 pages of the notebook that are filled with names of the things in the pots on the back porch... She did NOT write them down.  I did... Therefore I think that the plants are still mine.  She will tell you a different story.  Please don't listen to her.

Anyway, I had a doctor's appointment this morning.  Nothing wrong.  Just routine. So I decided to do something fun, just for me.  I fed the birds and squirrels.  Then I sat back and watched.  We have three new baby squirrels.  Walter called me out to the kitchen window to watch. Momma was teaching them to chew on the bird  block this afternoon.  Very cute! 

So I didn't really accomplish anything mini, but then, neither did Tessie! So she can't hassle me about not doing any minis.

The wind seems to be calming down a bit.  Maybe I can do some more re-potting.

See you tomorrow.

V S P

That stands for Very Special Person... Kota said so!

As long as we have had him, he always runs in the closet when someone besides us comes in the house.

He has a new friend.  Gayle walked up to him and started petting him and he didn't even object. He's a good judge of character.

So... I let him model the beautiful necklace that Gayle mad for me. I don't think that he was as crazy about that as the petting part.  He liked that part. He approved of Gayle.

 This is the "Ice Dyed" fabric that she brought me. I am going to have to think of something special to make from it... Tessie has been eyeing it and hinting that she would love something made from it... I don't think so.  This is Mine! All mine. And so is the necklace.  I have a shirt that is almost the same color.

Thank you so much Gayle!  I love them all.  And Kota and Tessie are not going to get any of it!

I found three partial bags of  lichen. Two dark and one medium green.  I am well on my way to replacing the foliage on the outer walls.

It doesn't help that Tessie is trying to supervise where I put it.  I get it glued to the wall and she pops up and yells, "A little more to the left.". It's not helping.

At least she made friends with the momma dragon.  I am not sure how long that is going to last.  She is also crunchy and good with catsup.

Anyway, I am going back now and fill in a few bare spots that I see in the photos with more green stuff.

See you tomorrow.

We Are Re-roofed!

They are finished.  The last painting was done today.  After they were finished, Walter had to touch up a few spots on the under side of the porch roof.  Other than that, they did a good job. 

We spent a good amount of time carrying everything back to the porch. Walter got to do the heavy lifting and I did a lot of running back and forth with the small stuff.

And Tessie?  She posed for all of the photos after we were finished.  Good luck finding her.

She seemed to be amused with the process, so I just ignored her and took the photos.

I have a LOT of plants.  I don't realize it until we have to unload them and then load them back onto the porch.

I still have to rearrange the plant stands and then put in the pots. We got rid of the two big tables that I had a lot of the plants on.

Yesterday Walter spent a long time trying to get the tables apart. They were bolted together.  Not a fun job.

Anyway, now all I have to do is get everything in some semblance of order.

After this photo was taken, Tessie disappeared.

I looked all over and finally found her in the conservatory.

I asked what she was doing... Her answer?

"Well, if you want anything done right, you have to do it yourself.  I am just going to rearrange everything in here and finish it MYSELF! Now go away and leave me to my work!"

I didn't argue.  I wonder how soon she will get bored with finishing the conservatory by herself?

Personally, I doubt that it will last until tomorrow. We shall see...

See you then.

Bracelets, Birds, and Blooms...

Walter came in with a very sad looking bracelet this morning, after golf.

It's all better now. I took a couple of hours and completely redid it.  He wears this one 24/7, so periodically, I have to restring it. I am just glad that I can.  It is easy enough to re-do.

After I finished his, I went back to work on one that I have been doing for myself.  Can you tell that I like this pattern? I use it a lot in different variations.

OK.  Now for the birds.  Two people got back to me with names for my big yellow hummingbird... He is a Hooded Oriole or a Northern(Bullock's) Oriole.  Thanks people for the answer!

I took this picture in passing, just to prove that we do have real Hummers.  Not just the great pretenders.

Last, but not least, I wanted to show you my Mother's Day Present!

Actually, I bought them and then told Walter what he got me for mother's day.

I have never seen any like the white one before.  It looks like someone got crazy with some dark purple paint and blotched the flowers with it. No two flowers are alike!  Very unusual.  The other one is various shade of the violet color. The two plants go well together. 

I got these at Walmart, of all places! And they were under ten dollars a piece.  Thanks Walter for the early Mom's Day present!  Twenty dollars for both! The nice thing about these is that they will last several months.  Not a few days like a regular bouquet.

I am going back now and see what other trouble I can get into before the day is through.

See you tomorrow!

She's Growing Her Own Pintos!

That's Beans. Not ponies. I consider it a success that the beans even sprouted. Tessie just threw them in the pot and left.  I had to dig them down in and cover them up a few days ago.

If this is a success we will be eating a lot of Mexican Refried beans.  Good stuff!

I am beginning to wonder when this plant is going to stop blooming... It has been putting out these little red flowers for about nine months and shows no sign of stopping.

I threw away the tag and I am not even sure what it is now.  Some kind of thorny succulent. That's all I know.

I have two of them and they don't know when to quit.

Remember the Mother of Millions(Mexican Hat version) that I showed you last week... It had tiny bumps on the edge of the leaves.  We now have a LOT of tiny plants on the edges.

Tessie likes this one, because she thinks that I will get back to the conservatory by planting some of the off spring. She may be right.

I went and looked and there isn't a lot left to do on that one. I need to finish it, so that she will stop nagging me.

Here's Tessie's favorite indoor hide out lately.  It's in the kitchen... Between the micro wave and the sink...

Food and pretty colors.  This orchid has been going strong for at least five or six months now.  The blooms show no signs of fading. 

That's why I like orchids. Water once a week.  Then stand back and look at pretty flowers for a long, long time.

The wind is still blowing.  It has been a very windy spring and shows no signs of stopping.  Otherwise, I would be spending a lot more time outdoors right now. I am going to give up and stay inside for the rest of the afternoon. It's no fun when the wind is trying to blow me away. 

I think that I will go make baskets now.

See you tomorrow.

Back Away From the Wicker!!!

I talked Tessie into a day off.  After all, it is Easter!

She was reluctant, but I whined until she let me off for the day.

April and Amare are both down with a stomach bug, so we aren't doing anything special.

I talked Tessie into repotting plants again today... I am thinking that I have way to many plants if it takes me many days to get them all repotted.

The one that you see to the left, that Tessie is stomping around in, was a hanging planter full of succulents from Walmart.  It was a good buy. I paid about 15.00 for it. If I had bought the plants separately, it would have cost more like $40.00.  There were a lot of plants in there! It has outgrown it's pot in just a couple of months!

This is a euphorbia that I bought a year ago.  I am just throwing it in for comparison...

The one on the right is about the size that the one in the next photo when I purchased it.  That was not too long after we moved into this house...

Here it is today! Almost 20 years later and it is now very close to being the same height as I am!  That's if you include the pot.

Tessie likes this one because she can see all over the yard from that perch. It's like standing on my shoulders...

The Mother of millions that I purchased last year is about to start being a mom again.  Right in front of Tessie's nose there are five plants about to drop off.

If you look at the very top leaves, each one of those little notches in the leaves is another plant just starting to grow. 

They call this one "Mexican Hat".  I am not sure just why.  It doesn't resemble a hat and I don't think that it comes from Mexico... I am going to have to go do some research when I am done here.  I am curious about how it got the name.

Anyway, that's how we are spending Easter.

I am going back to dig in the dirt some more, now.

See you tomorrow.