I Just Decided

Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. Roald Dahl

I found magic in the raindrops! 

Look closely at the ones lined up on the left petal of the daisy!

I also found it when I connected my puzzle from top to bottom. 

And then again when I connected it from side to side. My ordering strategy is working like a dream by the way. I just decided that these puzzle moments are magic....and I always celebrate them.

And I have to share the chubby pumpkin stem that caught Cherie's eye.  I've never seen one that thick. The two of them together are chubby and stubby! Cherie knows it's all about the stem.

Singing

We had our first blue sky day since before the storm....and everything seemed to be singing. October is my favorite month....so I was singing too!

Right Down the Street

Subtitle: A Generous Heart... A Playful Sense of Adventure....and the Final Stop for The Wandering Flowers

Settle in....I have a story to tell.

Patty was a big cheerleader for The Traveling Flowers. If you are new to the blog...that journey started here...with a guy named Chuck. With the help of Cherie and Dale Chuck's hand crafted metal flowers made a cross country trip from California to Maine....and Patty celebrated with me every step of the way. After they arrived...she secretly photographed them around my condo. 

She invited them down to her garden for a photo shoot with her evening primrose....and she brought Sluggo (her stuffed banana pepper) to my garden for another photo shoot. 

Patty was a fan....and that caught Cherie's attention. Patty made an impression.

Cherie contacted me in early August saying she thought Patty needed her own Traveling Flowers....and wondered if I would help with the surprise. Of course I would! 

She and Dale were heading out on a two month driving adventure to and from California to visit her dad.....and she wanted to bring Patty some of Chuck's flowers. She called them the Wandering Flowers  this time....and on their return trip...showed them the the roadside attractions along the way....and I shared all of that here on the blog. Cherie and Dale....along with the flowers arrived home in Pennsylvania last week. 

Cherie boxed them up....and courtesy of the USPS they made their way to Maine. I love her MUSE box...which is a actually a bag from the Corning MUSEum of Glass to cover  a wine box. Cherie knew...and you probably know too....but I learned the hard way that you can't send liquor boxes through the mail.

The flowers arrived at my condo on Monday....and today they wandered down the street to Patty's home....after making a stop by my front door.

Thanks to Chuck's generous heart, and Cherie and Dale's playful sense of adventure....The Wandering Flowers have made their final stop....right down the street.

They checked out the back garden....but landed by Patty's front door while she was out.

Surprise! Patty loves them....and Sluggo does too!

Thank you Cherie and Dale....and thank you Chuck!

What a fun connection journey this has been!

Order

Subtitle: Game Changer

I have a string of sequence confetti lights I bought several years ago for Christmas decorating. I left them up until March that year so I declared them as my equinox lights. They go up in the fall...and down in the spring. The evening sparkle is a game changer this time of year.

I mostly keep my main living area fairly tidy. I have been known to clutter up the dining room table...and I do use the guest room as a plop spot. And since I'm the only one who uses the little TV room....I tend to have piles of projects and mail to sort patiently waiting for attention. 

But the upstairs studio is a different matter....it's almost always a wreck. I've been trying to do some organizing lately because I have no open workspaces anymore. I need just a bit of order. Maybe I can be motivated by my current puzzle. 

I said it was a doozy...and I wasn't kidding. Hundreds of colorful rainbow butterflies scattered on a world map. I pulled out all the orange pieces....and fiddled with them for a bit with very little progress UNTIL I came up with a strategy and established some order.

I sorted the oranges into lights and darks. Then I sorted each side into two groups...the long skinny pieces that go horizontally...and the short stubby ones that go vertically. I was mostly able to place them the right right side up because of the bits of butterfly on the piece. 

I started with two pieces that were already joined in the box....I consider that a gift from the puzzle fairy....and started building from there. Because of my sorting and order.....it was a game changer! 

And just like that....I had almost all the orange butterflies assembled and connected to the border. 

And after dinner I did the same thing with the yellow.

Just think what some order would do for me in my studio! 

Drips and Strips

You don't have to do everything. Just do the next thing.

My votive rain gauge was full this morning....so that means almost 3 inches on day one of this nor-easter. 

It's been drizzling/raining on and off all day today....so I enjoyed another indoor day. I've come up with a strategy for my new puzzle challenge....more on that another day when there's more visible progress.

I can see my Stewartia tree is from my kitchen window....it's one of my favorite fall transitions to watch.

The changing leaves are especially lovely with the raindrops (drips).

While I was puttering in the studio...I made another tag using punched gelli print squares. They were pretty bright...so I toned them down with a little zinc white paint. 

I added skinny strips of text and a crow as a focal point and I think it flows well from that last tag. 

I couldn't take it to the backyard to photograph in the natural light....so I had to walk around the condo until I found the right light. It was a dark and gloomy day....which I kind of liked. 

I used a piece of striped tissue for the back. I toned it down with white paint and added more skinny text strips.

You can also see that I added a little black and white circle on the last tag for interest and balance. 

Time to transition to a new color scheme. I'll have to find the right inspiration paper or image. 

Rainy Day Activities

Some of you have probably heard about the nor'easter. We get them now and again here on the east coast with strong winds and heavy rain or snow. We're just getting the edge of it here in Maine so not really a dangerous storm here....but just a bit further south it's a whole different story. 

It rained on and off all day...and we desperately need it. It's also been a bit windy so I was happy tucked inside all day. As I write this...the rain is coming down pretty hard. 

Rainy days are good for puttering around the house. I added a few of my favorite Halloween things to my puzzle table...the little trick or treaters make me smile.

And I've always been fond of the shadow box my sister made with photos of my boys in their childhood costumes.

I got the border together on my newest puzzle...and puttered a bit in the studio. 

Perfect rainy day activities.

You know how I feel about butterflies so this one caught my eye. And the fact that they were in a sort of rainbow order sealed the deal. It's going to be a challenge....but I'm up for it! It will take as long as it takes.

I'm starting with the orange butterflies from North America....and so far it's s-l-o-w going on this rainy Sunday.

Focal Point

My days seem to fly by filled with this and that....and I've not made much time for art and projects. But the studio will be there when the time is right....and I know there will be plenty of quiet winter days for making art.  

But I need to make a little tag every once in a while....just to get some glue and paper in my hands. I decided to stick with text for flow and continued with similar soft colors. Once I saw the first photo....I decided it needed a focal point so I added the tissue swirl (it's a little too subtle) and a woodpecker. 

The woodpeckers must have been vacationing with the bluebirds because they disappeared for a while too. But they're back now pecking away at the suet....and that makes me happy.  

I used just magazine text on the back....with a bit of filling in with colored pencil and marker. 

I added little pumpkin as a focal point in the corner garden at the end of our street. It's not my personal garden...but I'm the one who mostly takes care of it. It was robust and beautiful during the summer...but like most gardens it's winding down. The purple verbena and scaevola have been gorgeous and are still doing well...and I love the purple and orange together. There were pops of color with day lilies, daisies, coreopsis, and black-eye Susan throughout the season...most of which have been cut back. And now that the grass is blooming and there's a pumpkin focal point...it feels like and infusion of fall.

Wondering Flowers

It's not a typo...The Wandering Flowers are also known as The Wondering Flowers. 

Did you know it was Dolly Parton Day! It's a playful nod to her hit movie 9 to 5! Get it? Today is 9/25. Patty bought a flag to fly today for the occasion. And I join her hoping this will become a nationally  recognized day of music, service, generosity, and kindness....just part of Dolly's legacy. 

And you know how much I love butterflies! Thanks Patty! I love that I can see your Dolly flag from my driveway! 

Sam joined us for dinner and we ordered pizza...look what they wrote on the inside cover. How fun that Eddies Market is celebrating Dolly Day!    

I had to laugh while Cherie and I were chatting about this new flower journey through email. She suggested the name Wondering Flowers. I was pretty sure she meant Wandering Flowers...and I was right. We probably both made the typo another time or two in our exchanges and today they are actually The Wondering Flowers.....wondering where they will end up.

Cherie and Dale are back at home in Western Pennsylvania....and the flowers will be boxed up soon and start the last leg of the journey via the postal service. Stay tuned. 

Don't they look great with Cherie and Dale's green door! 

Paul came home from the library one day with this puzzle. We both love our bluebirds....and he was sure I would love it.

The bluebirds had disappeared for the second half of the summer. I kept putting dried mealworms out every few days...and other birds would eventually eat them....but JUST YESTERDAY....a few bluebirds have came back. I'm so pleased.

I'll admit I wasn't overly excited about this one at first. I started it when Paul was in Colorado and finished it just a few days ago. Even though it was only 550 pieces...it still was a challenge....a lot of green...and a lot of red. It was only when I sorted the pieces by color AND shape...did I start to enjoy it. I worked loyally from top to bottom (Linda would be proud) and like many puzzles...the joy ended up surprising me. I'm sorting the next one....and it's going to be a doozy!

Speaking of wondering flowers....Janice brought me flowers from her yard when she came the other night....and I'm still enjoying them on the coffee table.

This is the evening sky right now....a splashy finish to Dolly Day! 

Pixelated

Subtitle: Extra Special Curls

Happy Birthday Becky! You caught up with me again!

Sometimes I only need to stand wherever I am to be blessed. Mary Oliver

I was surprised to find this perfect dandelion seed head on my walk this morning...and I held it up against a tree that had just a touch of fall color. When I uploaded the photo....I was smitten with my camera's pixelated interpretation of the tree. The seed head is awesome....but it's the pixelated fall background that stole my heart.

Sometimes we need to just stand where we are....and be awestruck! 

The only thing better than a good stem....is a good stem with extra special curls! 

It has joined the others on the fence...and is my infusion of fall today.

Especially Special

Jay and Janice are coming for dinner....so that has been my focus today. The menu is seafood chowder and apple crisp....which sounded a little bit like fall! It's always a good thing to tend to the condo and prepare a meal for especially special people.

Adding some festive gourds to my centerpiece was my infusion of fall for today.

This one was unique with a great stem. 

But this stem was especially special.

I love the fall findings on my table!

The Wandering Flowers made a stop in New Albany, Indiana where Cherie and Dale had lunch at The Lady Tron's Diner. They were greeted by Lady Tron, and R2D2.

Cherie said the diner was tiny....with just 10 stools. 

This Guest check reminded Cherie of the doodles her dad used to do on napkins and anything he could get his hands on and leave at restaurants. He seems to leave a trail of creativity behind him everywhere he goes.

If you remember one of Chuck's doodles was featured on the first page in Cherie's joy journal. Such an especially special Chuck moment in the Lady Tron's Diner.

I forgot to plot the St. Louis Flower stop yesterday....so there are two stops today. Next up...the final push for home. Cherie and Dale have been on their adventure since the beginning of August....I'm sure it will feel good to be home.