Tuesday, June 29

Simon likes to get dirty.

Dirty.

Nothing better than rolling in the dirt, right? Well, okay, I don't really know about that, but it's definitely high on the "favorite things to do" lists of Simon and Rocky.

Over the past couple of weeks, Will has had packing blankets stacked on the front porch for days at a time. Within the first few days, we looked out and saw that Rocky had decided they were a good cat bed. He spent a lot of time napping out there. Eventually Simon caught on to the idea and one day I walked out to find him laying on a big pile of blankets as if he were the princess from the Princess and the Pea. These cats of mine, they never fail to crack me up. (Okay, so maybe there is no cracking up when they wake me up at three in the morning.)

Found some things this morning that have stuck with me all day. Like this amazing photo. (Truth be told, I could easily favorite every single one of caballosblancos' photos.)

And found via Polaroid Week on Twitter, the Polaroids of Tarkovsky. Definitely worth checking out.

I think there was a third thing that I wanted to share and now I can't remember what it was. Story of my life. Instead I will share this lovely photo that my friend Steph posted this afternoon. Love it. Really makes hope that we actually make it on a hike this week!

Monday, June 28

Monday and some link love.

So so busy and it's only Monday! It seems like each week I start out with a list of things to accomplish and by the first day, every thing changes. Today I found out that five of my felted bags sold at the local shop over the weekend. Five! And all to the same person. That's crazy good. And it means that I need to restock a bit so my list needs to get shifted around to fit in making new bags instead of some of the other things I was going to do. This is good, but it always seems like my desire to experiment with some new things always gets pushed to the bottom of the list. Not so good. But that's how it goes. I am grateful that I sold some things!

This morning I visited always time for tea and found this photo and have not stopped admiring it all day. I am so in love with those poppy pods and Brooke captured them so perfectly (with Polaroid film of course). They are the perfect color and so magical looking. Like a bouquet out of a fairy tale.

And then I stumbled upon this list over at hula seventy. Andrea always has the best lists.

Speaking of lists, I've also been enjoying this new-to-me blog, The Photography of Ashley E. Ashley shares her lists as well and they are always inspiring. Quickly became one of my regular reads.

I also discovered this cool shop on Etsy, Blackbird Letterpress. I am always a sucker for letterpress and I absolutely adore these powerline screen printed flags. Something else that might be a necessary decoration for my office.

Another Etsy shop to check out, For The Love of Paper. Caline makes such beautiful things, handmade books and dream pillows, and now she has some of her drawings available. Drawings from a recent gallery show here in Santa Fe. I really love her work, it's so magical and full of poetry. (Magical keeps popping up for me a lot lately.) Caline also has a delightful blog that you should check out. It always makes me smile. I'm quite lucky to actually know her in person.

One more favorite new and inspiring blog, Vivienne McMaster. Love her photography, it's so bright and dreamy. She takes wonderful self-portraits. And her words never fail to strike a chord with me. Can't remember how I stumbled upon her blog, but it's a great treasure to have found.

And with that, I must call it a day. Time to give my brain a little rest.

Cheers!

****



Whenever I see sunflowers, there are two poems that come to mind.

Ah! Sunflower by William Blake

Ah! sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller’s journey is done;

Where the youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves and aspire;
Where my sunflower wishes to go.

And Sunflower Sutra by Allen Ginsberg.

I love sunflowers.

Thursday, June 24

Randomness.

Is it really already Thursday?! How did that happen? I feel like I have been perpetually behind schedule this week, although at the same time, I've gotten lots of things done. I think I am just too hard on myself sometimes. I never think that I get enough done.

So.

I still have a couple of posts bumping around my head, but sometimes at the end of the day, I am just too tired to really put the words together properly. Instead, I am going to share a few of the random digital photos that I just posted to Flickr.

Looking out one of our new windows.

This is the new window in our laundry room. It is double-paned glass and it doesn't rattle whenever something moves. And it doesn't feel like it is going to break if you tap on it. I'm betting it's also going to keep more heat in during the winter. The blue bottle used to hold tequila, I don't remember what brand as that is Will's department. It's quite a lovely bottle and I like having it in the window. You can also see a couple of my pine cones. I like pine cones.

Peonies.

Peonies in one of my favorite vases. I really love this photo. I actually like it better than the pola that I took. That's a rare thing!

Christine at her 40th birthday party.

Christine at her 40th birthday party that we went to in Albuquerque a few weeks ago. We had quite a lovely time. (And ended up not only staying up waaaay past our bedtime but also closing down the bar with my 21-year old niece and some of her friends. But that's another story.) I've known Christine since 1984 when we were freshman in high school. Such a long time ago.



Beautiful oriental poppies in my mom's garden. Love that orange!

Soon I will have more for you. I promise.

Monday, June 21

Happy Summer!



Fittingly, the latest Words to Shoot By post is Summer. Check it out!

I have to admit, I could curl up in a little ball right now and go to sleep. It's been an exhausting day.

Yesterday we had a lovely Father's Day celebration with my mom and dad. They came over and we had an interesting visit and lots of good food. Guacamole, salsa and chips. Grilled shrimp. Grilled strip steak and asparagus. Baked potato. And mom's always delicious cherry pie with vanilla ice cream.

Some of us also had a margarita, beer and wine. And then after mom and dad went home, some of us walked over to see our two very dear friends that are moving to the Northeast in less than a week. We are going to miss them dearly and we needed some hang out time. Which also involved a couple more beers.

So yes, I welcomed in summer with a bit of a hangover. Which made everything seem a little more stressful than necessary today. It also made me realize that being anal and a tiny bit OCD is totally exhausting.

We've been putting new windows in the house the past week or so. Today was the day for the window in my office and I was in a panic about dust getting in my computer and cameras and what not. So I moved a bunch of stuff out and Will covered everything in plastic for me even though he thought I was being nuts. And of course he was right. He and Luis were so careful, I don't think they got a speck of dust in my room. But oh well, it gave me the opportunity to properly mop the floor and wipe all the shelves down.

And the new windows are awesome. Seriously. No more single-paned glass that rattles all the time and lets all the heat out during the winter. All that's left to do is my little bathroom window. And then no more house projects for a little while.

Also, I'm too old for hangovers.

And does it really matter if my bookshelf isn't in the *exact* same place that it was before?

Saturday, June 19

A few new things.

Another new experiment...vases! Or, I guess, vase cozies. Vase covers? Something.

Vase.

Vase.

I think it's pretty neat looking. Now let's see if I can sell any! Right now I just have one at the gallery, but eventually I'll get some in the shop. And, as always, if you see something here that you want and can't wait until it makes it to the shop, let me know and we can work out a special order.



This set of nested bowls is a special order for my godmother. I'm not a big purple person, but I love the purples with the bright blue. A great combo, methinks. I'm also working on a set of red, white and blue for my godmother, and it's been a bit tricky. White doesn't felt so well. I think I finally got it done today, but it took a loooooooooong time in the washing machine. I felt bad about using all that electricity for one little bowl. (Everything else got done quickly. I have three new *bright* bags drying in the laundry room.)



Another special order, this one for my mom. Okay, yes, I sell most of my things to family and family friends. The sales have to start somewhere!

I have some other ideas I want to try, but there's only so much I can do in a day. And I have a few more special orders to finish up and zinnias to make for the gallery. Zinnia pins are my best seller over there on Canyon Road!

Don't forget that I have quite a few things on sale over at the shop! A coaster set, bowls, bags...and it'll all stay on sale until it's gone.

Also, I know some of you see these same pictures on Flickr and/or Facebook. I apologize for the repetition, but I feel like I have to keep it out there in all the different places that I post. Thanks for putting up with it!

Thursday, June 17

A bit of a melt down.



Isn't that red unbelievable? It pops out so much in the photo that it looks unreal to me. But it's very real. I don't photoshop my Polaroids (or anything really) to look like something that they're not. I bought the flowers at Whole Foods the other day and for once I remembered to make a note of what they are. Matsumoto asters. Matsumoto. I like saying it.

Anyway, I don't remember what I was going to post about this afternoon because I just had a little melt down over pizza dough. I don't make the pizza dough, Will does. But he was running late so I tried to do it and I just made a big mess of stickiness and who knows what it's going to do. I have the feeling that we're going to be eating something else tonight and I will have to satisfy my pizza crazing another time.

Sigh.

I'm not a terrible cook, but there are just some things that intimidate me.

Like pizza dough.

Monday, June 14

Like sherbet.



I think I mentioned before that my snapdragons are amazing this year. I am so in love with them. And this photo right here is one of my favorite spots of the yard right now. The snapdragons are so tall and bushy and, while it's not visible in this not so in focus pola, the purple sage blooms are reaching out between the snapdragons and the colors are wonderful. Like sherbet.

One of the reason I love the snapdragons is because they come in so many different colors. The backyard is just so full of color. Some years I've had mostly reds or purples, but now, with all the snapdragons, there are so many different colors. White, yellows, pinks, reds, purples, oranges, mixtures of colors. It makes me just want to plant more and more. (I might end up planting some in the sandbox which is still empty.)

And that's what makes me love zinnias later in the summer. All the different colors. My seeds are struggling this year though and I can't figure out why. I don't know if I covered them with too much dirt or if they washed out or what. It's kind of bumming me out because zinnias in the late summer are my favorite. I may plant some more seeds. It's getting a bit late, but since zinnias are late bloomers anyway, I think it will be okay.

So yeah, it's all flowers, all the time over here. Even when I don't mean it to be. I have beautiful sunflowers and matsumotos asters in my kitchen right now, making me very happy. I took a bunch of polas of them earlier, of course. (Yeah, I know, so much for not taking so many flower polas.)

The weather has been quite nice lately. Sunny and warm during the day, a little bit cool at night. Just like June should be here in Santa Fe. That week or so of 90 and 100 degree was just too much heat way too soon. I'm glad we got a little reprieve from it. Yesterday was a lovely day and we ended up having an impromptu cook out in the backyard. Will made some excellent margaritas, then moved on to the grill. He cut up a baguette, brushed it with olive oil and garlic and grilled it. So good. It was super hard to stop eating it. We also had grilled shrimp (always so good) and lots of grilled vegetables. The perfect almost summer meal with friends in the backyard.

Will also installed a couple of ceiling fans in our house over the weekend. My office gets incredibly stuffy during the summer because I don't open the window. I know, it sounds dumb, but it is so so dusty here that I am paranoid about having the window open and getting dust in and all over my computer and cameras. The ceiling fan makes a huge difference and it looks pretty damn good too. A bit modern for our old house, but that's okay. I love it. We also put one in the bedroom to get more air circulating in there. That week of oppressively hot weather was rough so we're hoping the ceiling fan helps when the heat returns. I'm so incredibly lucky to have such a skilled (and talented) husband. He can do just about anything.

So things are good. I am super busy. Barely a spare moment between household chores, my handmade work, the garden and trying to be a little social too. Sometimes I have so many little things to do, I get totally distracted and start one thing then find myself wandering off to the next thing without actually finishing the first thing. My brain is all over the place lately. In a good way, for the most part. The one thing I am not doing so well with is spending at least one day a week not doing my regular week. We need to get out and hike and explore and not be in the house. Soon.

Well, I best stop this rambling because I am probably supposed to be doing something else right now but I started this and forgot about it!

Hope you all are having a great start to the week!

Sunday, June 13

What a lovely weekend it has been.



And it's still not over. We are waiting for some friends to come over for afternoon cocktails and grilled goodies.

Saturday, June 12

Peonies on PX 600.



I can't even believe how many photos I took of the peonies! I haven't even gotten to the dark pink ones yet.

You may not be seeing quite as many flowers on Polaroid film here. Flowers are one of my favorite things to shoot, in part because I am home most of the time and this time of year, that's what is around and what I love.

But a few days ago, I counted the last of my Polaroid stash and it kind of made me panic. Okay, it made me panic a lot. Looking at it stacked in the back of the fridge, I felt like I had plenty left, but counting it made me realize that it really isn't going to last forever. And yes, in the back of my head, I have always known this little fact, but the reality is drawing near and the thought of getting down to my last pack of 600 film is just so sad. That's mostly what I am talking about here. The 600/779 film.

I've been using 600 film for so long, it's like a trusty companion. I love the peel-apart film too, but since Fuji makes it, I am not so worried about running out. In fact, I really love the Fuji film. Because it is self-terminating, it makes it a lot easier to take photos on the go since they don't have to be peeled right away. And I love the new films from The Impossible Project, but since they aren't ten bucks a pack like 600 film used to be, I'm never going to be able to buy a lot of it. And in turn, I'll probably feel like I can't shoot it so freely either.

So I am thinking I need to slow down a bit. Not shoot everything with the Polaroid. Save it for the road trips and hikes and what not. But it's going to be hard. I'm not anti-digital, it just doesn't do the same thing for me. I love my other film cameras too, but again, it's just not the same thing. But I am thinking I am going to have to start using my Pentax K1000 a lot more. I do love that camera.

Sigh. Thinking about the last of the 600 film truly makes my heart hurt.

Friday, June 11

A little bit of link love.

White peonies on F2B.

This week flew by. Even faster than usual, it seems. I got a lot of knitting work done, not enough scanning done and had little time for posting here. And I did a good bit of weeding in the garden. (I'm sure there are hundreds of new ones sprouting right this very second.) Last night I did not sleep at all. Well, hardly at all so I'm feeling a bit loopy this morning. And not too thrilled about actually having to work outside of the house all day. Sleep would have helped. But I'll make it. I will!

I've been reading a lot of new blogs lately and have really fallen in love with some of them. I've also been wanting to do a post about it, but I can't seem to get it together in my head. So today I am just going to share a few of them with you and then a few more another day.

There is always time for tea, a blog by Brooke, an artist and photographer. I've really been enjoying her words and polaroids. There's something very peaceful about visiting her blog.

And Color Me Katie, a blog that I added to my links ages ago but wanted to mention here. Katie is a photographer and street artist and her work always always always makes me smile. Her blog is so colorful and full of positivity. Never fails to cheer me up if I am having a bad day.

I've been reading Dear Leila for a long time too. Leila is one of my favorite photographers on Flickr and she shares even more photos on her blog and interesting little bits about her life. Her photographs are incredibly dreamy.

I've been following Leah for a long time on Flickr and just recently discovered that she has a blog too. You can find her at close your eyes and jump. Lots about her reading adventures and creative endeavors. Always something fun and inspiring to be found there.

It's not often that I add a whole bunch of new blogs to my daily reading because there just isn't enough time in a day, but these new ones are well worth it. I've been reading the same blogs FOREVER. Seriously. And I still love them, but new inspiration is always a good thing.

Thursday, June 10

Cucumbers!

Cucumbers!

Just a quick hello this morning so I can share with you my excitement about the cucumbers sprouting in my pots! Cucumbers!

The seeds that I planted in "hills" are showing no signs of life, but the seeds I planted in the pots are all coming up. I was not totally surprised about the "hilled" seeds since I've never done that before and I am not sure I did it correctly. I think they may have washed away.

I am so happy about these little sprouts though, I hope they continue to do well. The seed packet instructs "one cucumber plant per pot" so after the seedlings get a little bigger, I'll have to thin them out.

I'll be delighted if we get just one fresh cucumber this summer.

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, June 9

More peonies.







Some more of my faves from the peony photo shoot last week. I find peonies to be irresistible and have quite a few more photos left to share!

We were in Albuquerque over the weekend which was much fun, but now this week I am a bit behind and super busy so I don't have much time for posting. I will try to get some words, but it may just be photos for a few days. Is it really Wednesday already??

Friday, June 4

Peonies.

On Wednesday, I stopped by my parents' house to take photos of my mom's garden. She has so many beautiful flowers. I've been waiting for the peonies to open and the white and pale pink ones are at last starting to bloom. The white peonies are hard (for me) to photograph though. They are so white and the light is so bright, they get blown out. But I love this pale pink peony against the light turquoise of an old school Ford LTD.



One of my favorites of the day.

I cut a few peonies to bring home and took some Polaroid shots of them yesterday. Again, the white is hard, but I always try anyway and then end up with blown out photos! I did a couple of dry peels with the Fade to Black film.

F2B Peonies.

This one turned out okay, but I think when the dark pink ones open, I'll get some better shots. So be prepared for more peonies! And more shots from my mom's garden!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, June 3

Etsy Love.

The incredible things that one can find on Etsy!

I would love to get a couple of these pillows for our couch. So awesome.

I have a great love for cards. Postcards, note cards, any kind of cards. The multi-talented hchamp recent opened an Etsy shop and her Gocco printed cards are so beautiful. I couldn't resist ordering a few!

Recently we had the pleasure of meeting Kyle, the woman behind Power and Light Press. She makes super cool letterpress cards. I especially love the Burt Reynolds thank you card.

While doing some birthday shopping last week, I stumbled across Roundabout Designs and wanted to buy just about every single necklace she makes. She has just about every necklace I have ever thought about, including this sweet little bird necklace. I have to admit, I did buy this one because I have a thing about stars.

I can't remember how I ran across this shop, but I immediately feel in love with it. Lilla makes healing shards and stones, much of it made from things she finds on the beach, and it is so perfect.

And this windchime...well, I think it would fit perfectly into my blue room.

I love these little stacking dishes too.

Our friend Jen just re-opened her Etsy shop and she has wonderful things. If I could wear strapless tops, I would totally buy this. But me in anything strapless is not a good idea.

This Polaroid jewelry is pretty nifty too. I've seen other Polaroid jewelry before, but nothing like this. Such original ideas. It's tempting to make a custom order for a pendant with one of my Rocky polaroids!

So much fun stuff, one can get seriously lost in all the beauty on Etsy. I've been meaning to share some of my faves forever and yay, it's done! I'm going to try to do it more regularly. There are so many wonderful artists out there.

Speaking of which...don't forget to check out the Mad Orange Shop! Lots of stuff on sale right now.

Wednesday, June 2

Seeds and snaps and sales.

Yesterday I planted a lot of zinnia seeds.

Zinnias!

A LOT. I put them in the front bed even though there's not much room in it anymore with the rosebush taking over. I just love seeing them when I walk up to the house so I had to squeeze some in. I put more on the other side of the coyote fence, like last year, and I planted a bunch behind the vegetables in the side yard. The soil along the edges isn't that great so we'll see what happens. If all goes well, I am going to have 5 or 6 different zinnia patches.

I also planted my cucumber seeds. I've never planted them before and I wasn't quite sure how to "hill" them so I don't know if I did it right. They are a compact variety and can be grown in containers as well so I put a few in some extra pots just for good measure. Maybe we'll get at least one cucumber. My mom gave me a pack of shasta daisies seeds that I put in the "sandbox". I still need to find something bigger to put in there. Although now the cats are using it as a litter box so I am thinking maybe I should let them have it so they don't poop in the rest of the garden. Haven't decided yet though.



Will straightened out our flagstone bench for me. It looks really good now. I am glad we found good use for that random piece of flagstone.

And my snapdragons. Oh, I am so in love with the snapdragons!

Snapdragons.

The ones from last year are HUGE this year and blooming like crazy. They are so beautiful. I planted some more this year since they seem to do well in the backyard and can take the full on afternoon and evening sun that we get back there. Hopefully they continue to thrive.

So far everything is going coming along pretty well in the garden. Most of my perennials from last year made it back this year. The vegetables are hanging in there, although I am a bit worried about my lettuce. The seeds came up, but it's not growing much now. Hopefully it makes it as it was so nice to have our own lettuce last summer. I may try planting some seeds in a big pot just to see what happens.

I get tired of weeding and watering, but right now the backyard just feels so nice. I like sitting back there and looking at all the blooming flowers, watching the birds hop around and tweet in the trees. It's nice when the cats join me too!

Also, I have lots of things on sale over at the Mad Orange Shop! Bags and bowls and a coaster set. I'll be adding a few more things this week too. Get them while they're hot!!

Tuesday, June 1

Zinnias and snapdragons on Fade to Black.

F2B Zinnias

F2B Snapdragons

Before peeling shots are here and here.

I am just so in love with the results of putting F2B on paper. I am dying to do more, but I think I am going to save the last two shots for my mom's peonies. Just waiting for them to open!