HAPPY (BELATED) NEW YEAR :)

Hi All :)

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR :)

Long time no see, sorry about that, I have missed so much in the blogging world but Life has been CRAZY, the kind of CRAZY, where I didn't even get to send Christmas cards out (which I have NEVER, EVER not done before in my whole life, even if I was down with bronchitis or a CFS/Fibro relapse leading up to a Christmas, NEVER!!!

The kind of CRAZY where I only managed to produce 4 blog posts in 2015, WHAT!!!!!

It's been the kind of CRAZY year that I am seriously thinking about leaving my Christmas tree in the corner where it is, all dressed up and just unplugging the lights, leaving the ornaments in place and putting a sheet over it until next year, before you all panic, it is an artificial tree, lol :)

But CRAZY nearly had me defeated at several points, not good :(

I'm not the kind of Girl to be down for the count for long and it has been a long, long time but I'm back to my beloved blog and my lovely Blogger Buddies :) 
Even if it is the beginning of February 2016 already, WHAT!!!!
(Not sure where January went) :(

 And if you are interested I will tell you the tale of my CRAZY 2015 - I will try not to bore you with too much of the dross and it will most probably be in parts (oh joy, I hear you all groan, lots of narrative, lol :)

I promise I will include some pretty photos to break the monotony of my bitching :)

If this was a Tardis (I know it is the wrong type of phone box, I am a Brit, after all, I should know, lol :) I would beam (I know, it's a different show too, lol :) myself to a land where I had a personal assistant or better still, a Fairy Godmother or both and could get on and do everything I would like to do, possibly creating artwork again, rather than the boring things I have to deal with right now :(

Now, where would that land be??? 

Well, for now I "beamed" myself back to Oregon :)

This is what I posted about the start of the adventure in January 2015 :)

2015 was very challenging. :(

As I was in Oregon most of the organisational work on our house fell to me. I am a great planner and love to be organised :) I felt confident I could get the task done. So, with my notepad in hand I got planning, scheduling, calling people, etc., But there were definitely too many people involved in this move for it to go smoothly. 

To start with it was a corporate move; we were reassured that the assigned moving co. would work with us and it would all go smoothly and we had an ever so bubbly relocation "Expert" to help us navigate any problems, unfortunately, neither the Moving Co.'s go to person nor the bubbly relocation "Expert" had any idea of what our lives were like or how my health impacts our daily lives and how this was going to be a HUGE physical challenge for me, regardless of how much I tried to explain, they feigned understanding but it was just empty words. 

Anyway, based on how the real estate market seems to operate in our part of America, we decided to put our home on the market at the beginning of the "Selling" season which is Spring time. With the first week in April as our target time to list our home. Our real estate agent brought in a "Stager" to advise on how to "stage" our house for sale. Well, I spent nearly 2 hours going around our home and her telling me that I needed to paint everything neutral, I needed to neutralise the carpets, I needed to take down all the family photos, declutter areas, lose the personal items, basically turn our home into a show home. Seriously, I'm an Artist my walls are yellow & red & blue; I have red carpet & blue carpet in places, & tons of original artwork & photography on the walls, it all seemed like a load of nonsense to me. We LIVE in our house for goodness sake. But to sell a house in America that seems to be what it takes; it would have cost a fortune to do everything she and the realtor wanted us to do. Seriously, you would think that our house was a complete messy ramshackle hut the way they were talking :(

 1st clue  that we had the wrong realtor but did we realise it at the time, NOPE. :(  

Because my health is unpredictable, at best, I really do need to be extremely careful where I use my energy everyday. With so many people involved in our relocation, even my meticulous organising went out the window in a hurry.

People would show up unannounced to give me a bid on a job (oh we were in the area, GREAT (read "great" as sarcastically as you can), people would show up, out of the blue, to do work that couldn't be done that day because someone else had to do another job the next day BEFORE these peeps could do their work. You get the picture, like the guys who were scheduled to refinish the hardwood floors wanted to go hunting or something, so were going to put the final coat of varnish on the floor the next day, I told them we had agreed to get the job done that day and it needed to be done as the painters were coming in the next day, talk about an unhappy camper, (him not me) he grumpily agreed to finish the work that day but I watched as he and his buddy just slopped the last finishing coat on to the hardwood floors that were just sanded and no completely cleared of sawdust, yet again GREAT!!!!!. He also got the jab in that I should bring a check for the full amount with me when I came back to the house. (I was staying in a nearby hotel (sounds WAY more glamorous than it was) while these "workers" were doing the jobs on our Home. 

I'm just going to say here, that if I never have to organise people to work on my home ever again it will be too soon ;(

We had decided, because of the work that needed to be done to our house, that we would move everything into storage first. A word of advice to anyone thinking of selling a house, NEVER, EVER move everything out of your house to try and sell it, people will think you are desperate and will make low ball offers and that is exactly what happened to us. :(

But I digress................. I'm thinking you guys most probably have read enough so far, so here are a few new photos in my Etsy shop for you to enjoy :)

"SUMMER CALM"

"CATHEDRAL ARCHES"

"RED, RED AUTUMN"

"MYSTICAL BLUE WINTER"

"ST. JOHN'S BRIDGE"

"CRATER LAKE"

I Hope everyone has a wonderful Weekend :)

Here's to reconnecting :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

HI ALL :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

Am I a little late, just a bit but life happens, so I am hoping for "better late than never, yeh!?!?" :)

I know I haven't been around much in Bloggerville the past year and I won't be around too much in the next few months either (but I promise to pop in from time to time :)

So, It isn't a terribly big mystery as to why I haven't been around but it is terribly stressful for me :(

Exactly a year ago my Hubby started another job in another State. 

It doesn't sound too dramatic really if you look at the map given that the State he got a job in is California and we are next door neighbours in Oregon. But when you look at the distance between Portland, Oregon and San Diego, California (1,000 miles) you realize that it isn't a simple commute. :(

We have been trying to bridge it for the past year with our home in Oregon and an apartment in San Diego; 1). because our Sons needed a roof over their heads and 2). we were not sure that we were one hundred percent on board with moving to California, esp. Southern California. 

I had lived in L.A. for a while in my early 20's and had absolutely HATED it. :( I was a LONDON Girl thru and thru, a BRIT thru and thru and L.A. was foreign and really weird!!! I have been back on a few occasions and my opinion really has not changed, you have to be a complete weirdo to live in L.A. lol :) 

I guess it is just one of those places you either Love it or Hate it.

But I have spent a considerable amount of time in San Diego; it is where we go every year to celebrate our Birthdays in March (esp. to get away from the cold and rainy NW.) and we have some good friends who live there too, so it is like a home away from home :)

Anyway, to cut a very long and possibly really boring story short, we have decided, lock, stock and barrel to up sticks and move to San Diego :)

So, now the real fun begins :)

All the prep to selling a house, the movers, the looking for a new home in one State while trying to sell a home in a different State; juggling all this fun to move forward is overwhelming, esp. if you are dealing with multiple chronic debilitating illnesses, yep, the joy of my life, but I try not to complain too much, although leaving our home of 18 years and our Sons behind and also my beloved Portland is gut wrenching to say the least but hopefully the benefits will eventually outweigh the negatives (I am telling myself, over and over, lol :) and so we strive forward :)

So, my Dears, if you don't see me here often know that I am busy dealing with all of the above, phew!!! :)

Oh, and I dropped my lovely camera, again, with my zoom lens attached so they are both in camera hospital getting fixed; So, no new photos yet in 2015 but as I didn't post many photos last year I will try and post a few in the next few weeks :)

Here are a few photos I took on our LONG road trip from San Diego to Portland the week before Xmas. It pretty much started raining in LA, of all places, and hasn't really stopped since :(

Hope you enjoy them :)

click on photos to see larger images :)

Beautiful moss covered rocks exposed at low tide and the start of a Sunset glistening on the water - La Jolla, California - Dec. 2014 :)

La Jolla, California - Dec. 2014 :)

Sunset at La Jolla, california - Dec. 2014 :)

Stormy clouds - Northern California, Dec 2014.

Stormy clouds - Northern California, Dec 2014.

Shot of rolling hills in the mist (Northern california) but you know this could be many other places in the world, isn't it amazing how landscapes can be so similar and so different too, just like people :)

And here we are back in our beloved Oregon - Dec. 2014 :)

We were Home for the Holidays :)

I Hope everyone has a Wonderful Weekend :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Quilt Block Tutorial

Hi All :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

Well, do you remember back in December last year, (lol, sounds like such a long time ago now!!! :)

I WON this amazing book "The Quilt Block Book" by Nancy Wick. 

I had great fun browsing thru it over the holidays and finally came up with a Quilt Block that I thought would be a challenge (for me) and fun to create :) 

(If you didn't see my "I WON" blog post you can check it out HERE :)

So, here is the square quilt block I chose to make and the final result, plus the tutorial on how I did it :)

The Marbles - Quilt Block Tutorial

So, I have to tell you that I am really not good at following written directions and so I really need great visuals to get me motivated and to help me know what the end result will be. When following a skirt pattern, for instance, I can usually make the skirt from the pictures alone, I rarely read the instructions. So, I was really excited that this  Quilt Block book had wonderful visuals and concise, clear instructions, (cuz I did have to read these, lol :)

Here is the pattern I chose and the fabric I felt might work :)

You can see from the design below that you can use lots of contrasting fabrics on fabrics to create multiple Block Squares to create an eclectic quilt.

My mind was going crazy with color combos but I had to stay focused on making the first one :)

First, I cut out a 6.5ins square of my red with tiny white hearts fabric, (I just had to remember to line up the little white hearts in a straight line for the first cut ) easy enough (this is classed as an easy pattern but wait..... :)

Next I used my "Wunder-Under" to trace the "Marble" applique pattern from the book :)

I then, with out thinking, pinned the pattern to the right side of the fabric, oops!!!

It seemed like the obvious thing to do, I cut it out and realised that the pattern would be all wrong because when I tried to fuse the web to the reverse side of the fabric it would be off, so then I had to read the instructions, pin the fusible side to the side you want it to be fused too, sounds obvious but I wasn't thinking (possibly too much celebrating over the Holidays, I guess, lol :) 

So, then I pinned the traced pattern and fusible web to the reverse side of the fabric, all was well :)

I ironed the fusible web (on a low-med heat - no steam) to the reverse side of the fabric and gently peeled off the paper backing on the fusible web.

The next step was to position the "Marble" applique on to my Square, I measured to make sure it was centered and then I pinned the applique to my red fabric and fused it to the fabric using an iron (again, low - med heat, no steam)

I really like how the patterns and colours worked together. :)

I think I will try the Blue fabric as the background square the next time and either use the Pink dot again for the "Marble" applique or maybe the Red with White Hearts, what do you think? :)

There is one last step I wasn't able to complete because my sewing machine is being very temperamental (she's old, but don't tell her I said that, lol :)

Anyway, as you can see from the image below, in the demo photo in the Book they have added a decorative shell stitch to the inner and outer circle, which serves 2 purposes - it pretties up the applique and makes it looks complete and you could use either a neutral colour thread or a contrasting thread and the other thing is it will stop the fabric from fraying. :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Tutorial and please let me know what you think :)

Have a lovely Weekend :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

Hi All :)

I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a Wonderful, Happy, Successful and Fun 2014 :)

The road forward may not be clear all the time but it is how we navigate it that will help us to thrive :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE :)

Cheers, T. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

Hi All! :)

I know I am a little late but better late than never, hey!! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE!!! :)

Our 2013 started beautifully with a sunny but freezingly chilly walk in a local park by the lovely and fast flowing Willamette River.

Here are the first photos SOOC (Straight out of camera) of 2013 for you to enjoy. :)

Click on photos to see larger images :)

Sunny but freezing, the Willamette River, OR.

The fallen trees rushing down the river are getting caught in the old pilings making a beautiful natural 

sculpture, I just LOVE it :)

These basalt columns the "Stafford Stones" were created 

by artist and sculptor Frank Boyden. They are engraved with the poetry of William Stafford, Oregon's most famous poet who was Oregon's Poet Laureate. He lived in Lake Oswego where this beautiful park (Foothills Park) is located along the Willamette River.

Even though is was sunny on New Years' Day, it was a little hazy out over the Mountain 60 miles away but she looked so magnificent I had to take a photo ( taken from Lake Oswego, OR. looking East to Mt. Hood over Milwaukie OR. 

We often say, "Have you seen THE Mountain today?"

On our drive home, I had to stop and take this photo, it looks like the birds are having a NEW YEARS' DAY meeting, LOL!!! :) 

I Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

MERRY CHRISTMAS :)

Hi All :)

I just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a Very, Merry Christmas and a Wonderfully Happy New Year! 

I truly appreciate you all for your kind words and thoughtfulness, for staying connected and bringing joy with your amazing comments and emails. :)

You are my Wonderful Blogging Family and I am truly grateful for each and every one of you. :)

Cheers, T. :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

WARNING!

This image may seem distorted to people who partied too hard last night!!! (He! He!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! Cheers, T. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! :)

(I know I am a tad late but I was struggling with a very weird flu like bug last week, too much partying I guess (He! He!)
It never is good to start a New Year with a bug but at least I got to tidy up some of my computer files, slowly, that was about as ambitious as I could get :(


Anyway, I was planning this post last week but better late than never!
Here are some of the photos I didn't publish last year that I thought you might like to see :)

I Hope you enjoy them :)

JANUARY

I guess coz we have so much cloud cover so often we get some beautiful patterns in the sky at Sunset

Lovely Catkins at the local Park

FEBRUARY

Buttercup :)

View of Mt. Hood from our neighboring Neighborhood :)

MARCH

P.Town

Gorgeous Tulips

APRIL

Fishing Rope, Port of Ilwaco, Washington.

Coastal Trees, Astoria

MAY

Trunk of a Monkey Puzzle Tree

Box Elder

JUNE

Young Bull

Party Table at a wine country restaurant

JULY

Seeds on the Vine Maple Tree

I am not sure what happened to this light bulb but I love the colours on it and the reflection, amazing :)

AUGUST

"Walk like an Egyptian" just kept going thru my head when I saw this photo :) 

Thistles always remind me of Scotland (I guess because it is their National Flower :)

SEPTEMBER

Bird House at a local restaurant's gorgeous outside dining patio

Foxglove at the Shakespeare Garden in Portland Oregon

OCTOBER

Stain Glass windows line the Stairs in the Vista House, Oregon

Fall Grass

NOVEMBER

Yellow Fall Maple Leaves

Fall Hydrangea

DECEMBER

I couldn't resist sharing one of my Bokeh Xmas light shots :)

New Year's Eve celebratory Drink :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season, here's to a really wonderful 2011, Cheers T. :)



Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.