dreams....

last weekend, i spent a most loverly time with my friend ellen.

i met her at the farm, where she keeps her horses and i took over 300 snaps of the gorgeous creatures. i have been painting like crazy lately and primarily focusing on horses......my goal is to have my very first art show, this fall.

..........aahhhhhh!

did i just say that out loud??

"this fall" is like right around the corner!

oh boy, that makes it seem even more real.

it makes me feel both excited and scared.......but in a very good way....

the thing is though, in order to balance out my time, i fear i will not be blogging as usual. i plan on posting (i can not help it), but commenting around takes up valuable time that i must use.....

to court my muse.

i hope you understand.

all photos taken by me.....

in ellen's, to die for, screened in porch.

a taste of what is to come....

and so please excuse....

me for just a while......

while i work on making my dreams come true.........

mmm

mmmm

revised...

oh my goodness!!!!!

i am dying here.

since i started this post this afternoon,

since i wrote "making my dreams come true", and i kid you not about this......

i have received a call from my neighbor/artist/ friend.....

she will be picking up some of paintings in the morning to hang them in a shop called Just Around The Corner.......in downtown Franklin.......turns out my cute little town is having its very first art crawl tomorrow night!!!

and I (yes, little ol ME) will have paintings hanging there for everyone to see!!!

incredible......

this is another first for me!

i am so excited......

gulp.

o.k. gotta go tweak a few things and put my signature on my babies!!!

double gulp!!

and

thank the powers that are greater than me,

for this most amazing gift.

ask and ye shall receive.

espalier.....

one of the duties, as the gardener to this particular property, is to keep this beautiful espalier looking good.
combined out of 11 bradford pear trees and trained into a living fence...

installed 6 or 7 years ago (can't remember) and underplanted with hosta...,,,,

it borders one corner of the pool area......

it grows like crazy and needs a haircut about every three weeks! see that wheelbarrow there? i call that "my office". i have included this photo with the 5 foot ladder, to show scale and YES i have to stand on the TOP rung of the ladder to reach the top of the espalier (don't do this at home). can you picture me up there, in my stylish wellies and vintage apron and hair in braids?? ya, right......

although, i DO wear my hair in braids.

at what age, is it too old to wear braids?

or teeter at the top of a ladder?

not a bad place to work, eh?

i love my job.

mm

mmm

i hope Hurricane Irene doesn't wreak too much havoc on YOU......

evacuating NY City?? unheard of. oh my.

right around the corner...

feeling restless yesterday....
we took off for a drive through the country. we had not traveled far...

when i spotted this cheerful white weed, merrily dancing across the field.

it turns out.

it was just what i needed.

i go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.

~john burroughs

a few more glimpses...

into my living/sunroom/not sure what to call this room.....i have been slowly adding more brown and earth tones to the room.....as summer winds down (although still hotter than Hades) , i am desiring the early and subtle colors of autumn.......i moved the old hutch, to this wall between the large windows. it weighs a millionish pounds or more.......i used sliders that you slip under the feet, that make it mucho easier to slide across the carpet.

i usually rearrange alone....by choice, mind you.
i brought in this old hose reel, plucked from the garden......to sit on top, for a more industrial look.....and added a plant plopped into a galvanized bucket.

i then removed everything from the hutch......and arranged a carefully folded pile of some of my favorite white and cream blankies........i worked in a quilt store years ago.... the very first job i had after being a stay-at-home-mommy for 13+ years.......where i got lots of practice in how to artistically fold a blankie and shmooz with country music stars.

love the old knob.

i have had this hutch for over 25 years......one of the first antiques i ever bought.

i have thought about painting him many times, but i am glad i did not.......having a dark piece in a room really "grounds" the room.

creamy crockery (use an english accent while saying that...it sounds much better, doesn't it?)

i brought in a white trellis from the garden too.

i also, switched out the chairs at the little farm table......the brown tones announcing the drought laden gardens and colors of the late summer harvesting......

and i added this milk crate with dried whatcha-ma-call-its.....sorry i can not recall the name of this plant! but i do recall that it is the plant, minus the dried heads, from which brooms are made....anybody know the plant? anybody....it is so beautiful.

the folding chair and,

this old desk chair were in my "prop" room, waiting to be dusted off and seen in a new light.

the heavy old desk chair wears this cool metal plaque on its back......i imagine it was used during WW11......the stories it could tell.

it is those quirky details that give a house its soul....

that, and the quirky people who live there.

i strive to be quirky.

mmmmm

mmmmm

i am joining these parties..

debra at commonground blog for inspiration friday

and

laurieannas vintage home for farmhouse friday

thanks ladies!