Empty Nest

Happy Sunday,
Remember this photo from approx. 2 weeks ago? (above) These eggs were so pretty. Hubby has checked on the eggs every day. (He gets so excited.) Pictures were taken through out their growth and today the last bird flew from the nest.

You can see a slide show of the progression here on my AC site. It was so much fun watching these babies grow. I hope you'll take the time to look. The pics are perfect for kids to view too. I do feel more like Spring has Sprung now.

Did you all have a chance to watch the royal wedding? William looked so handsome and Kate was stunning. I so loved the sleeves of her dress. I had the day off and was able to look in on the ceremony on different channels and on the Internet throughout the day. I had watched the wedding of Charles and Diana and was so glad to be able to watch Prince William wed his love. I do like that they are closer in age and have known each other a long while. Diana was so young when she married Charles and they had known each other for such a short time. Ah but that was then and this is now. As you can tell I followed Lady Diana's life and was so saddened when I heard of her accident. But to see William and Harry together, proud and strong, Diana would have been so proud. Didn't you just love the little ones in their finery? They were so cute... And the hats, oh what lovely and ridiculous hats were worn. I had just as much fun seeing the head gear as I did seeing the wedding.

On a different subject, please remember to pray for the victims of the horrible tornadoes this past week in the southern US states. Such destruction, so very sad. Continue to pray for Japan too. And I'm asking for prayer for the mother of a school friend of my daughter. She is on chemo fighting her second bout of lung cancer. Such a sweet lady. Please pray for Mia.

Be Happy, Be Healthy, be Safe,

Tess

5X5 No.3

Greetings my dear blog friends.

I have been so absent lately; I do apologize. The heat here has been so unbearable. Last week we had above 100 degrees with heat indexes in the 105+ range every day. My computer just happens to be in the hottest room in the house. I hate the hot humid heat we have here. Absolutely hate it. But what can I say except; "hey it's Kansas-just wait a while". We finally had some rain last Friday and a few sprinkles yesterday. Today the high was in the 80's. So much better. I haven't been doing much but sitting and feeling sorry for myself. And trying to stay cool.

And as you know when it rains it pours. I'm not referring to the wet stuff here either. With those high 100+ temps Bobbie called us last week to tell us the power kept going off and on in the trailer. Well of course we had her check the neighbors. Yep, they were all out for about 3 hours. She stayed home though. Then the next day she calls to tell us the power keeps going out every time she uses her dryer. She said it would go out and they would flip the breaker back on and it would stay on for 10 minutes or so and then go out again. I tell her it's the extreme heat and to turn off all lights and other appliances before using the dryer. It works for a bit but then power is out again. So we tell her to check the breakers. She does and power comes back on. She gives up on the laundry for the night and all seems well. Then the next day she calls and says "Mom, the AC is blowing hot air". It's over 100 degrees outside and now the *&#@ AC is on the fritz. We just had it fixed a few months ago. So I tell her to get the big fans out and on and hubby says to call the repair man. Nothing more could go wrong, right? Wrong!! Next Bobbie calls to tell us she has no hot water. What?? "It's ok mom, we don't need hot water right now; It's too hot for hot showers anyway", she says.

There is a happy ending to this down-pour. The repair man comes and figures out that the fuse box the trailer is hooked into is fried a bit inside. Bobbie said he showed her and it was all melty inside. He replaced it and everything was working great. She had a cooler trailer and hot water within 30 minutes. I called the trailer court manager and let them know what happened and they are going to pay the repair bill. WooHoo!! Alls well that ends well. :)

I have been working on my 5X5's for the swap I joined over at A Fine Seam. They are coming along nicely. Here is my 5X5

No. 3

Don't look for No.2 because I did not post it. Let's just say it is very similar to No. 1 and leave it at that. We don't want to give away all of the surprise for the swap participants now do we?! I love this one so much I almost want to keep it for myself. I have a cutter pen and am finding I really like it. The birds and such are cut out from used greeting cards. I love recycling. When mom moved to the new house she gave me all of the cards she's been saving over the years for my art. (Wasn't that sweet of her? ~ Thanks mom!! XOXO)

Visit Jillayne's blog post here to find a list of blogs that joined in the swap. They are all making such pretty 5X5's. I am calling my series Winter Song. And I may make more than 5 as I have a bird cutout that I want to make for myself. I also want to make one for a special friend or two. Plus I have an idea to expand on the concept. But with my up and down moodyness lately. And my crafty/writers/artsy block getting in the way a lot also, well who knows. I did write my idea down though. I just hope I can find it again (the scrap of paper I wrote it on). I have also found my hubby works as a muse. He has a keen eye too. I love that he indulges my artsy side. Oh, and I've tore and cut watercolor paper and painted and smeared colors all over and now I've sewn them together to make a little art journal. It is now ready to be used and I hate the center pages. Hate them!!! The colors turned out ugly together so I think I will start there, in the middle. Besides, who says you have to create in order? Not me, nope, I tend to do things all chaotic like. Works for me!! Sometimes drives me nutty too. LOL!!

Well that's about it for now. Oh, I almost forgot...Go on over to Monday's Child and see the pretty prompt pic and just maybe it might give you an idea for a poem or a story. If it does be sure to share by adding yourself to Mr. Linky on her blog. Have Fun! I hope your days are cooler and mine stay that way too (or warmer if you are in a cooler climate).

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be You,

Tess

5X5

Winter Song - Almost Finished

This is for a 5X5 mixed media swap.

We are to make 5 - 5X5's with a Christmas or Winter theme.

I will get 5 in return. I started this and then hit a "block". It was as if what I wanted to do with it just left me. Last night I picked up this one and another that I'm working on just like it and Bam! I got a lot done on both and am still not finished. Soon though as I wrote down what else I want to do. Then I will be on the lookout for more winter birds. I used a song page from an old hymnal I found at the Goodwill. I love how the song title fits in with the theme of my 5X5. Question: Should I leave the tail feathers as is or cut them off? I like as is but wonder. The 5 swap items are meant to be strung together and hung on the wall. So what do you all think?

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be You,

Tess

My OWOH Gift Arrived and More Snow

As promised yesterday I am sharing my One World One Heart gift I received in the mail. Isn't this a pretty little handmade box? I just love it.

This little box came brimming with little pretties inside...

And a beautiful mosaic trivet made by Caroline. I love the center, the beautiful angel. This trivet is just so very lovely and feels sturdy too. I'm not sure if I want to use it as a hot plate or as a table decoration. Or maybe find a way to hang it on the wall. It's just so pretty. The picture doesn't do it justice.

My gift came from Caroline of Carolines Crafts. You really must go visit her blog. She makes such wonderful creations including art dolls. She seems to be an all around crafty gal as she works with fabric, clay, wool, etc., etc. Just about anything she can get her hands on becomes something lovely. She has an etsy shop too. So please do go and visit Caroline. Tell her Tess sent you.

And to Caroline, Thank You so much for my OWOH gift, I love it!!

We had more snow last night....

A little bird danced on my porch. Maybe several tittle birdies.
Then off they went looking for food.

Have you fed our little feathered friends lately?

I'm feeling much better and so is hubby. I will be attempting to return to work tomorrow after a week plus of feeling horrible. I can breathe again yippee! Hopefully we don't get much more snow tonight. We are in a winter weather advisory until 6AM Monday morning. And baby it's cold outside....

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

Playing with Picasa

Hello, I'm playing with my Picasa program. I got it as a free download a long time ago.

I know, I know, I should be playing with my Photo Shop Elements but Picasa is easier and I'm wanting easy right now. Just playing around, goofing off really. I took this picture back at the end of March. Leaves were just starting to produce and green on my honeysuckle bush. The birds love my honeysuckle bush all year round.I thought they needed some color so I gave it some blue (below).

See that mystery spot next to the top bird near the upper right? (above)

Now it's gone. First time I had accomplished that effect. Cool, huh!
Then I decided to give it a graduated color. (below)
Then I decided to play with the black and white focal effect. (below)

Then I thought why not try a really bright color. (below)
I noticed the birds seem to show up better with this color wash.


But what if it were starting to get dark outside? (below)

I hope you had as much fun viewing as I did altering these little feathered friends.

Happy May Day!
&
Have a great weekend,

Tess