At the left is the stained glass panel I constructed for light from the ugly florescent fixture above the stove to shine through. I used the two colors from the previously posted shades as well as two frosted and beveled squares. My counter tops are persimmon so I am stuck with accenting with shades of orange, but that is the compliment of blue on the color wheel so it works for me! This also, Erica is a respectable house, so--no jelly bean colors allowed.




Now look at the fish and plain tiles that I made and have installed and grouted. I cannot seal the grout for about two weeks and please ignore the grout residue on the counter. I was so
anxious to get the picture that I didn't notice all
of the residue which is very apparent on the top.
I used a colored grout which was nearly the same
hue as the fired clay on the tiles. As you can see
the glaze nearly matches the counter top color and I just got lucky there.








A close-up here.


We are off to another pool tournament this weekend and we are finished with classes so I can get down to serious business of gardening which is also another form of therapy for me. Debby came for coffee this week and we had such a good visit. She had one of the last two calves arrive on Tuesday and perhaps I will try to get some pictures this next week. There is nothing so pretty as a baby calf's face. Their large gorgeous eyes are beautifully framed with long lashes.
By the way, it is snowin' again today. Curses!!


"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere."--Vincent Van Gogh

First day in the garden and lamps

These two shades are now hanging above our bar-island and the one below is above the dining room table.

I spent all last week and this weekend painting my kitchen cupboards and getting the stained glass shades up...the Mr. did that for me!! So the pictures show the shades.




Today was the first day that I was able to get out into the garden. Although the sun was shining, the wind blew some but I spent about 2 hours cleaning up debris from the yard. What a mess the winter left us. Tulips and daffodils that were planted last fall have emerged from the frozen ground and the daffodils are even blooming. I did spend a lot of time digging up the blasted yarrow and blue flax that are so invasive! Curse them! Lots of green things that I don't identify are coming. When we were at nurseries last year my gardening guru, Bonnie, told me last year that I had to have "that" so I bought "that". Now that is coming all over. Plant tags never survive the harsh winter here and even though I keep a garden journal, my yard is so big that I can't keep track of everything in a journal.

The handmade tiles are up in the bathroom, I struggled with the adhesive and the tiles this morning and should be able to grout tomorrow. So will post pictures. I am really please with the glaze on them.

My garden is starting to green up, but overall, it still appears somewhat brown. It will be so pretty soon, but looking at it now, it seems impossible. The quote below parallels that brown garden.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." - R. Buckminster Fuller

Catch-up

As you can see, below is the finished lamp which now hangs above the new table. Pretty cool? And as a result, I have been painting the kitchen cupboards. You see, there were 3 stained glass shades hanging previously here and since I had constructed them, I still wanted to use them. Long story. Picture to follow in another post. Anyway, they now hang above my kitchen island and above my dining room table. They are, however, a cream and funky blue, and my kitchen was caramel creme and a pale green. This was way too many colors, so I opted to try to match the blue and cream. So since I only have 36 drawers and doors plus a pantry, it has taken me the better part of this week and I have at least two days left. I have gotten behind with my blog.
This is the other picture of the fish tiles and I hope to fire the last of the tiles tomorrow in order to complete the bathroom.
Last week we finally finished up the last of the birdhouse. This is the back side. Between inclement weather, spring break, vacation and deaths, not to mention a birthday or two, and one of our girls leaving for a couple of months, we are finished with classes up at the Whistle Pig. We have tried to meet just as a group of a few just to paint with no real instruction, in order to stay in touch with each other and finish up projects. We still have a valentine project that we couldn't get together to finish. With spring here (I don't really think it is), I am really itching to get out and work in the yard.
I spoke with Debby last week and she still didn't have her last two calves. Today, the Mr. decided to drain the pond and put fresh water in the pond so he started the pump which feeds the stream, and is re-filling the pond. As I was at the sink this evening, Merle and Pearl, the two turtle doves came to drink. They had not seen the stream before and of course, the pond wasn't very full. They were curious, but didn't know what to make of the running water in the stream and couldn't access the water in the pond from the edge. They wandered around the yard for quite a while, pecking at seeds I suppose on the ground, before flying away. It was cold and windy out today, but the sun was shining. We still do need some moisture in spite of the snow all winter and a little rain would be welcome. But...

"If you pray for rain, be prepared to deal with a little mud."

Spring Weather?

The weather this weekend is supposed to be in the 70's in Denver. We had another storm two days ago, closing the roads again. I am waiting for the 70 degree weather here. Being a couple of miles north of Denver, surely we will see some warmer weather won't we? Since we were stuck in the house for a couple of days, the Mr. and I took advantage of the time to work on a new pool lamp for above the table. Below is the series of pictures showing the progress.

He cut out the arrow shape from some scrap steel and I started to paint buffalo on the shades. Then, he pounded and heated the arrow shape to resemble an actual chipped stone and welded it to the pipe.

Then he sprayed it with a primer. (Ignore the peanut shells).

And, here is the finished piece before wiring and detailing. Three lamp shades will hang from the arrow and pictures to follow in the next post.

Merle & Pearl in the Garden

Every morning the two doves come to the pond in my garden to drink. They first land on the fence to observe the yard to determine if my "4 legged critters" are out and about. If all is clear, one at a time, they fly down to the edge of the pond and if there is ice on the pond, they carefully walk across to get a drink. I have decided that these two are Merle and Pearl. I know that more than a few doves can be a messy flock in the yard, but all winter we have had only the one pair and I hope they continue the ritual for a long time. Day before yesterday a male robin took advantage of the melt to have a bath. Standing on a river rock, he was nearly submerged. All that was visible was the top of his back and his head. Splashing water in every direction, he was certainly getting a bath deluxe. Most of the time they get their bodies in up to their bellies, but this red breast was getting everything wet!!

We had snow again yesterday and the sun even came out for a while. I ventured into the garden long enough to see what "green" things were waking up from this long winter and noticed lots of poppies, and quite a few perennials greening up. Things are still very much a muddy mess, but hopefully (cross your fingers), we have seen the worst of winter.

This is the first picture of the glazed fish tiles. Not being a very good photographer, the picture doesn't do them justice, but will try to get another to post. I still have half a dozen tiles to fire to bisque and glaze to replace the broken and warped ones. All of this has been a learning process for me. However, I am quite please with the outcome so far.

The blueberries that we bought about a month ago and that the dog stripped of leaves when she was sick, have recovered and are doing great. I have to try to keep them alive until I can get them into the garden. If Mother Nature would but give me a few warm days! My cabin fever is getting the best of me and I know in my heart I am supposed to be out in that darned yard at least 8 months of the year!!! It is my therapy. Where are the flowers? (Don't they have a vaccination for that cabin fever?)

"Flowers are words which even a babe may understand."--Bishop Coxe

More gardening thoughts

We had another horrible snowstorm this weekend, stranded many motorists, closing the interstate for 24 hours and causing multiple accidents, some of them horrific. However, our garden club met yesterday for their "International" luncheon with state officers attending and the camaraderie of those others loving to garden gives me hope that spring will come yet. The sun is shining today and the snow (at least 12 inches) is melting. That said, the robins, doves, blackbirds, finches and bluebirds have been visiting my backyard garden and the pond. Sooo-we have cleaned out the bird boxes and with help from the Mr. I have finally figured out how to make a house from an old Wyoming boot.

This first image shows the elements: an old boot from the Mr., an old license plate and two cedar boards cut about 2"x7" and two for the roof pieces. I cut the hole with a common utility knife. With a leather punch, surrounded the hole with about 10 holes for the lacing and to secure the lacing, pulled it up through the holes in the top of the boot and tied in a square knot.
With a drill, holes were placed in the front and back for the screws which secured the two narrow pieces of wood inside. The two roof pieces were screwed and glued together, then screwed into the upright cedar pieces. The license plate was bent and attached with two screws.
I have had some birds nest in the most unlikely decorative homes so to insure that you might have visitors, you may want to size the entrance hole according to those "wrenters" in your area.
I used an old piece of barbed wire for the hanger by simply threading it under the roof. I did not yet put drainage holes in the sole, but will do that. Mike.....this is for you. Erica got a camp trailer so this is yours finally. I can't wait to make mine and get out in the garden. The dahlia's haven't been ordered as I can't decide which ones to order...so many pretty choices to put in the soil.

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."--Margaret Atwood

Sink and Pool

As promised, this is the sink with some of the hardware in.  I have since coppered the mirror trim which in this image is antique gold and the sink is actually functioning.

These 3 examples of tiles glazed with a copper, coal and a gold glaze came out of the kiln with such beautiful success.  I am not telling which we have decided to use, but will post finished pictures when that step happens.

Now I have to glaze all of the previously fired bisque tiles.  Exciting isn't it?  Well it is for me. 

We are involved this weekend with a pool tournament here in our little town.  Even the 4th ranked player in the nation is here for demonstrations and they are using the Mr's personal pool table at the events center.  This is the one he purchased and we trekked to Colorado for.  Luckily he didn't get sick.  Colorado is my home state and he thinks that every time he crosses the state line he will get sick. He played last night and lost at the hill game in a race to 5 so he played 9 games in one match.  After spending a week with two others re-covering all 17 tables, lifting slates, replacing side rails, etc., he was really tired before his match began.  He is down there again this a.m. working and will play another match later this morning I think.  Sometimes I think there are 3 in this marriage-him, pool, and me.  As for me, I have been doing the spring house cleaning so the reason for no posts is that I have been scrubbing.  My poor arthritic wrists are suffering too!! Almost finished though after a week.  I have a garden club luncheon this week and a list a mile long.  I am a list maker, but it is the only way I can stay organized, and I get much satisfaction from crossing things off the list. Crazy, I know!  We had another snow storm this week and so many accidents on the interstate and state alternative that both highways were closed in the afternoon on Thursday.  I am going to order a bunch of Dahlias and I am sure that will bring warm weather our way.

    "A flower touches everyone's heart." - Georgia O'Keefe