A country garden!

Visiting my brother and SIL in Clark County, AR.

This morning, we (Marica and I) strolled around the house looking at her world. She has a very green thumb!

Busy chickens, kept safe from varmints!

Last night's moonflower.....

You can see the Hollis and Marica are deer and turkey hunters!

Everything is used to decorate the many flower and plant beds!

Marica showing me her "sweet olive" tree. It does not bear olives, but is fragrant!

The newly rebuilt front porch, below.

View of the pasture north of the house.

Morning glories!

Turkey feathers and garden spade, perhaps this will be part of a still life painting .....

My art journal sketch of the garden.

Dogs guarding the back door!

Welcoming wreath!

 

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today's project...or I have too many hobbies!

Yesterday I found a coupon for a free 8 oz. jar of Valspar paint in one of their premixed "summer" colors....I chose the green called "Crocodile Smile".

Now mixing it with calcium carbonate to make chalk paint.

I have a small wooden chair waiting for the paint....no prep needed with chalk paint. Don't strip or sand, just a general wipe off (dusting) and it's ready for the paint!

Still needs a second coat of chalk paint....but looking great with my Cath Kidston patches quilt!

 

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Wonderful Art Day!

Two friends and I dedicated a day to art play!

We learned grasaille....or gave it a try! Grasaiile ( griz-eye) starts with a value-only painting in darks, grays and lights.

We set up a small still life of pottery and fruit, worked quietly for an hour or so...

Glazes of color are added over the value tones.

We took a break to let some paint dry, and headed to a nearby art supply shop....

THE ART LOCATION , owned by Nadine Ripplemeyer! Lovely contemporary decor and wonderful art supplies....not to mention a large, airy teaching studio right there! We were enchanted!


Back to the day's painting.....we were able to finish up the grasaille exercise, some paintings were "happier" than others....but we all learned and relaxed! painting is a world of it's own!

Then to clean up the table revealing a red vinyl polka dot tablecloth! [Added earlier to catch those artistic paint drips and make easy clean-up!]

We like the table this way, so the cloth is staying!

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Mr. P's Opus!

Three years ago we lost a LARGE elm tree from our front yard. Very sad....it left a legacy of it's roots which were right in top of the ground, making a lawn difficult.

Mr. P began to have a vision of using the roots to make a garden in sections! He started working around the young red maple we used to " replace" the elm....

This is the result, this summer!

Banks of zinnias!

 

I love that he has 7 varieties of black-eyed susans! The fountain grass is wonderful when the wind blows!

Knockout roses of course!

And finally, without the shade from the elm, the crepe myrtle is blooming! Hours and hours of work but very impressive results!

 

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Helping a friend at St. Scholastica's monastery

My dear friend, Macrina asked me to help her re-do a couple of bulletin boards.

Here are the boards we started on this morning.

We made some plans and chose a new word, "Listen" for the smaller board.
"Listen and attend with the ear of your heart", is the opening of the Rule of St. Benedict. (St. Scholastica's brother)
We kept, "Welcome" for,the large board.The retreat center is a sturdy, large building. Here are some views of the Thomas Merton lounge and other areas.

Kitchen

Heart shaped rocks and turtle figure.

Thomas Merton....the lounge has lots of books and seating and large windows. The building is built of cinder block.

A corner of Macrina's office just off the Merton lounge.

Macrina in her office, below. The owl is "Sophia"!

I made at his little mug rug for Macrina a few months ago. The cup is from her "other" ( real) sister.

Macrina sometimes finds herself using this frog paperweight as if it were the "mouse".....as it sits right there waiting to be chosen!

Watercolor patchwork cross, a gift from a friend.

My immaculate room, clean and serene! Complete with private bath.

Tile and cinder block....remember those mushroom decals from the 1970's?

Art from my room....

Now, back to working on those bulletin boards....using fabric I brought from home and some that Macrina found in one of the many organized closets, we were able to make some changes!

They are finished and ready for informative notices, artwork, etc.

I had a great time, good food, strolls on the grounds, interesting conversation, attending vespers last night.

This morning, I slept in, until 7:00. The sisters are up at 5:00.... I went in to make my coffee and found a sticky note from Macrina of the coffee pot. [forgot to photograph it until later....after the coffee had been brewed and consumed...so I stuck it back on in a different place!] it said, "Good Morning!". What a nice way to begin my day!

Taking my sheets off and finding clean sheets, I headed for the laundry chute! So efficient!

The St. Scholastica's retreat center is a wonderful place to visit for a private or directed group retreat. Check the webpage retreat schedule to plan your retreat!

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