Westward Ho!

Heading off to Colorado tomorrow for the nephew's wedding. Need to pack and to get my outfits together. I have printed off instructions for the cat sitter and am waiting to see if the timed lighting for my tomato seedlings is going to work. The working cats are going to have unrestricted diets this weekend. I think I am too! Have loaded up my sketchbook, ruler, and pencil. I guess I can take photos with my phone. I'm hoping it will be a little bit warmer there.... Dang. The light is still on..

Flowers, Fried Clams, and Tomatoes...

Little Something or Others...

Well there is one more sign that spring has finally come to New Hampshire, (we will just ignore Friday's little snowstorm) the Haven is finally open. When you can get coffee frappes and fried clams on the way to Walmart-you know spring is here. Other than that we have some flowers popping up near the front door, crocus in the orchard, and I have finally started my tomatoes. This year I definitely want some paste tomatoes in order to make sauce. No more playing around with the gardener's variety pack. That's always lots of eating but no sauce tomatoes. So this year I am growing Black Krim for eating and San Marzano's for sauce. That and a flock of lemon gem marigolds 'cause I like them. They are nice and bushy. The chicken coop is coming along fine. The husband is fiddling with the mechanics of the hatch door and will move onto the run as soon as I move all the plants out of that one bed. Where to put them though...

Not Ready to Work.....

Let the Season Begin!

Cha..Cha..Cha..Changes.....

Another one that I was unable to position.....

Farewell,little compost maker....

I feel like I'm going to have to change my "About me" segment on my blog soon. The animal attrition rate has been severe this year. Working cat Hamish died this summer so we are down to 3 working cats. This fall when it came time to shut down the barfing cat fountain, I could no longer find my angry garden koi. Suicide or murder? I do not know. Then this Thursday, our rabbit Chihiro, better known as "Buns" headed off to that great cabbage patch in the sky.... Was that what happened in Peter Rabbit? Was he found in Mr.McGregor's cabbage patch? If so, no wonder his mother gave him chamomile tea-cabbage is very bad for bunnies. However we might recoup our losses with chickens. The husband has added insulation to the coop, walled in half of the double door and put in a hatchway. Over in the studio, I have been sketching a few faces, toning down the colors in my sad girl, and I'm sorry Carrie but the blue flowers are no longer in the snow. I don't know what the heck they are doing but give me a couple of months and I might figure it out. And because blogger is so annoying with it's picture positioning...I can't place the photos where I want and I have given up. So just pretend they are in the right place.

Only the 10 millioneth time I have  tried to position this  skectch here....

The Greening of the Garden

Working cat Macadam checking out a new batch of catmint.

We had a guest this weekend and lucky for her it was beautiful, sunny, and very unlike March in NH. Today I gave Miss Mary the grand tour of our garden. Things are already popping out of the ground and the herbs are greening up. Apparently this has already happened during the past few months in Tulsa...hmmph. The husband also impressed her with his woodworking skills and the many projects he has done around the garden. He was putting the finishing touches on shed #3 (my co-workers are convinced he's moving in there when it's finished) and he also put in a window for the soon to be chicken coop. Very little artwork was done this weekend.

Shed#3 in all it's glory.

Chicken coop with a view.

Master carpenter hard at work.

The Doldrums of March...

Well I was thinking about the "ides of March" but when I looked it up, I discovered it only meant the date March 15 on the Roman calendar. Nothing to beware really-unless your name was Julius. So beware the doldrums of March...much more scary trying to work through a period of inactivity and mental drought. I've been doing a lot of sketching and messing around with different projects-none of which are done. All  are in various stages. There is my lost girl who went from looking like a concentration camp victim to something that looks somewhat Spanish when I decided to fool around with her colors. Now her eyes are too dark and she doesn't look nearly as upset. Oh well, it's only paint. I will fool around with her again. Then I have another girl who I think is going to turn into a gypsy or a fortune teller. She came to life on a square of wood that the husband donated to the cause from the scraps of his projects. And then there is what I guess I'll call an exercise in trust because I just pulled out a canvas before I went to the gym and painted for 10 minutes. I'll keep going on like that until I decide it's finished. Speaking of the gym, what is with old men at the gym?  Today I saw a man working out on the weight machines in a striped button down oxford and dress pants. Can he not afford a t-shirt and a pair of sweats? Then there are the men who like working out in their jeans and steel toed boots. I know Planet Fitness is supposed to be a no judgement zone, but I am judging. The working cats are getting ready to return to their garden duties. I have ordered the vegetable seeds and have removed the first tick of spring from Al. Let the season begin!

A Romantic Meal for Four...

This year Valentine's day was once again celebrated with a romantic dinner. The participants of these meals have decreasing as they slowly retreat to college or move away. For many years it was the romantic for six every February 14th. Daughters 1 through 4 were big believers in share the love. In this case, it was share the good food and valentine treats. Now some of them are sharing the champagne too, sigh... The husband and I and daughters 2 and 4 shared steak tips on greens with blackberries, goat cheese, and a nice baguette. Then there was the traditional sharing of the valentine chocolates and conversation about appropriate valentine gifts. Everybody agreed that a pillow was not. This was what my poor co-worker received. She put up a brave front claiming her husband knew her neck hurt. We all know the truth... Leftovers disappeared the next day by someone who shall remain nameless and ought to know better. The nerve. Everybody knows the mom gets the last valentine chocolate

Working cats banned from Valentine festivities

Blogging in Baltimore

And that's about as productive as I probably will get this weekend. I am here accompanying the husband who has to judge an engineering competition. I am here as arm candy(or so I would like to believe...Hey we've all got our dreams). All I have to do is eat,drink, and look pretty. The last one is a matter of pride. Anyway, I'm lying in a bed at 4:06 pm in the Westin Hotel, contemplating how I could have smuggled some alcohol on the plane. No answers to that one. I've brought my computer, spent $13 for 24 hrs worth of Internet access (shame on them), brought books and sketchbook-I am ready to relax. Might meet friend Anita tomorrow for a dalliance somewhere off campus...I might not. Experimenting with taking a picture with my cell phone and sending it to my Gmail account to see if I can post it here. Woo hoo! It worked!