It's Meow or Never

It's Meow or Never, an Animal Rescue & Sanctuary in Woodinville, WA is having their annual Paws for a Cause Auction! The auction is online, from August 2nd to August 9th. I have donated a piece to this auction, to help them reach their goal of $150,000. They are trying to open an adoption center which will allow them to rescue and rehabilitate more animals in need.
Check them out, and place a bid!! www.itsmeowornever.org.


Make your own Glitter Graphics

Heartbreak in the Garden

Last February, I started a dozen heirloom Russian Black tomatoes ("Black from Tula") from seed. I tended to them daily, gently watering and making sure they had enough light from the special lamp and reflective walls I created for them. They grew wonderfully, and I handed out mature plants to friends with great pride.

I was so excited to find a fruit on my biggest plant in late June!! I began to worry, however, when that fruit was not ripening, and when the newest blossoms dropped off. It's now late July, and the fruit looks exactly the same as it did a month ago.

I then noticed my tomatoes in the garden bed, including a volunteer yellow pear plant, were losing blossoms and whole branches were turning yellow and dying. Good god, what was happening?!?!

This, as it turns out, is the dreaded Blight. A nasty fungal disease. Not much hope is given, and the plant won't put out any more flowers. Burning of the plant is suggested. My best guess is that our extremely rainy June/July weather gave the blight fungus a perfect breeding ground. Had I known earlier, I may have been able to do something about it, but not without massive amounts of chemicals. Which I won't use, as my veggies are all 100% organic. I will most likely pick the dozen green tomatoes that are trying to ripen, and dispose of my lovingly raised Black from Tula plants.

Sigh. This is heartbreaking.

In more uplifting news, my hydrangia is gorgeous!! And my tomatillos that I also grew from seed seem to be doing great! There are tiny fruits on several branches, just waiting to grow into delicious citrus-y goodness!

Bee Fever!!

I don't know why I'm so interested in bees right now. Maybe it's their industrious nature that I admire, their cooperative behavior that inspires me, or maybe it's that they are such a small creature responsible for such a key part in food production. Who knows... But I'm way into them. So here are a few of my favorite bee-related Etsy finds:

From flyingcolors- a gorgeous print called "Abejas de Miel" (honey bees)

copyright Liva Rivas- http://flyingcolors.etsy.com. check out her blog at www.flyingcolors.typepad.com

And this charming necklace from Foundling:

copyright Betsy- http://foundling.etsy.com who has a blog at www.betsyoffoundling.blogspot.com

~just a reminder... my birthday is coming up in a few weeks! he he he...

Hiking the Narrows

My studio, artwork and jewelry have all been on the back burner lately... We just got back from the best trip- to Utah! My best friend lives in Salt Lake City with her husband, so we went to visit. From SLC we drove 4 hours down to Zion National Park which is GORGEOUS and rediculously hot.

On the 4th, we hiked in the Narrows, a section of canyon along the Virgin river. We rented special shoes and socks becuase we were in cold water for 5+ hours. Loved every minute of it, and crashed at the end of the day.

I highly recommend this trip!!

And for my niece, Meagan, who is the biggest fan of High School Musical, here is a pic of us in front of the actual high school they film at. Its in SLC, just down the street from my friend!

We are also STILL finishing up my new studio in the basement, so I'm in transition. No new art. The plan for today is to clean out and organize the old studio because my husband promises the new one will be done next month. I'll hold my breath.... and in the meantime we're heading to Northern Michigan for a relaxing weekend at the family cottage.