My cup runneth over.

I've been packing.  Yeah, I know...I've been packing since December, what's new?  But we're down to the actual moving part, so it's packing in earnest.  Everything, even the paint.  You know she's serious when she packs up the craft paint.

Not the house paint, though.  We close Monday on our new house.  I'll paint (more!) walls for a few days, then we'll move that Friday.  So there won't be time next week to pack...it's gotta get done now.

The work began this morning in my studio.  As I scooped up all the brushes on my work table--great fistfuls of brushes!--I was struck by two things.

One, how marvelous they look all fanned out like that.
Two, how lucky I am to have so many.

I looked around...cones of extra thread on the window, plastic drawers chock full of supplies and materials.

The abundance of working materials is not something I take for granted, or at least I didn't think so until today.  So today I am consciously grateful for such a bounty.  When I unpack in the new studio, finding places for paint and fabric and wood and clay...I will do my best to honor this bounty and make the very best of it.  I will include in my prayer of gratitude a thanks for the time, focus, and space in which to create. 

The Fall Garden...and a garden tour.

I subscribe to Texas Gardener, which helps because the weather and such here makes gardening quite a bit different than it is way north, east, or west of us.  For example...forget it in June, July, and August, at least as far south as we are.  But we can grow our cold weather stuff all winter, so there's a trade off.


I've cleaned up the veggie garden, hauled all the dead stuff and weeds to the compost pile out back.  The hub has promised me a load of compost and a load of cedar mulch for my birthday, so if I get the ground turned this week and some seeds in the ground, it will all be ready for a top dressing of compost and some nice mulch to keep the moister in and discourage weeds.

This week I'll start some pole beans, basil (you can freeze it in zip-top bags for later), a couple of gourds (experimenting w/ growing later in the year) and a couple of winter squashes.  Tomatoes for fall and more peppers are going in this week...and of course there are flower seeds to start--the marigolds, sunflowers, etc. that make such gorgeous fall color here once we really do get cooler temps.  But most of the veggies need to wait a little while longer to plant.  I have a nice tidy chart (that's about the only thing tidy in my garden) spelling out what I want to plant, when, and where.

Today I took pictures of landscaping progress, and then it surprised me to go back to when these beds were freshly dug and rather bare.  So this is a picture heavy post, just so you know.  :~)

This is the house as it was when we bought it back in January of 2009.  Tons of white gravel--6 feet out all along the front of the house.  The gravel in the foreground was what we called "the baseball diamond".  It is finally gone now too.

Sept. 5th, 2012.  I know, winter/summer comparison is not fair, but it does show how much we've changed it...

Same thing, back of the house, Jan. 2009.  They had landscape fabric UNDER the dirt.  Nothing grew there at all.

Today, Sept. 5th, 2012.  We cut in a sliding door that first winter, and built the deck, the beds, etc.

Took a year to clear out all the white gravel and dig in some new beds...but we did it.

Did I mention that those people really loved their white gravel?  Ugh.  On the bright side, who need a gym workout when you have white gravel, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow?  This is Spring 2009, in the clearing out process.

Spring of 2010...new beds along the front...

To the left of the front porch...still working on the gravel clearing detail.

These are those same beds today, along with a much bigger apple tree.  Schultz is wondering why we're out in the heat this morning...watering the beds is already done for the day, mom!

In the back, a sky vine on the garden gate, some asparagus and the Peggy Martin roses are the only things still green in the veggie garden at the moment...but that will change soon enough.

Ready to till it up and put in some seeds!

This is Charlotte, a golden orb spider and good garden friend.  She's been my real-life tutorial for my grandsons this summer, on how a spider lives, feeds, lays her eggs, and finally dies.  She is not popular with the Fed-Ex guy or the son-in-law, because this is the front porch.  :~)

Charlotte's two egg sacks...I can't wait to meet the little ones.

For the first time, we have apples!!!

Silly view from under the messy carport behind the house...a.k.a. my "potting shed".  It's where I end up after every day's gardening chores, to put away tools and materials.  Then I head out to those chairs under the live oak to drink a glass of tea with Schultz & Waylon while we enjoy the view. 

 That's the end of the garden tour for now.  Now, back to the land of dolls.

Spring is sprung already.

Lots to do in the garden--primarily, weeding!  But it's hard to do some of it, because lots of the weeds are actually native wildflowers, and they're beautiful right now after weeks of mild rainfall.  Very green here--we even had to mow the front yard (okay he did.  I planted marigolds.)

Our garden has been hugely neglected over the winter--which here is really one of the best times to grow veggies.  But the arugula has bolted and I'm letting it set seed--it's kinda cool to go out in the yard for salad greens every night, but they're bitter once they flower.

The larkspur and poppy seed I scattered everywhere last year are sprouting--some of the larkspur is already tall and flowering!  (That's the tall purple stuff.  The short hot pink stuff is native phlox.)  There's also a native weed vine that grows rampant here all over, and I tend to let it do it's thing and grow because it's a member of the pea family, and does a good job of fixing nitrogen--which can be in short supply in our sandy soil.  Still, it makes for a messy looking garden.

Kale is NOT among my husbands favorite vegetables.  Guess I'll be eating lots of it myself.

The birds are already nesting in this my Dia Head gourd...both his eyes are the doors, and last year it was pretty funny to watch both mom and dad birds sitting with their tails sticking out of it.  In the lower left you can see the neighbor's palm tree.

The ceramic wind chime (more like wind-clink) I made a few years ago only seems to house wasp nests, but since they eat grasshoppers and don't really bother us, I let them stay.

The agave nursery is doing well--despite one or two frosty nights last December.  I have another giant agave (also called a century plant) out front with pups alllll around it, so I'll dig them up and pot them just like these, and sell the pups on Craigslist this spring.  Good desert landscape plants, and they get four or five feet across...very impressive.  The taller yucca looking ones are native New Mexican soap tree yuccas.  I brought babies with me from Las Cruces when we lived there.  I have some in the ground, but some I'm taking with me when we move again.

I love marigolds.  The ones I found yesterday are huge!   

The Hermit's Garden is Open For Business.

Well, it has been for quite a while, but now it's on Etsy.  Phil and I spent something like two & a half days photographing all his notebook covers, belt buckles, purses, belts, archery gear, etc. etc. etc.   I gotta say he's MUCH more organized about it.

Now I'm putting the listings together, so his shop is really starting to look more like...a shop.  Essentially, he has a day job, and so do I.  But while he's stuck at a desk all day, I get to make dolls, manage the stores and do real estate paperwork.  Okay, that last bit is probably not my favorite, but I'm lucky to have so much flexibility and variety in my work.

But there are so many more listings to go!  I try to post one every day, but I think I'll have to start adding more per day to get it all up in time for Christmas shoppers.

So next time you're on Etsy, drop by the Hermit's Garden  

and take a look, "favorite" something, or just say hi. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

New Store?

First let me celebrate: WE GOT RAIN!!!  It was a two-parter...a quick drench on Saturday, followed by a limb-busting thunderstorm on Sunday night.  No damage here, and now I don't have to water until Thursday. (Yes!) 

Now to the point.

The hubs and I decided it's not worth the time, effort, and merchant account bills to attend the arts & craft fairs anymore.  I'll do a couple of doll shows a year, but otherwise, that's it.  If we made and sold small things that fit the cheap-import-price-point mentality of so many art-fair shoppers, things might be different.  But since my dolls, his journal covers, purses, and framed works are each such an investment of hours and materials, it doesn't make sense to sit for two days in a booth while people look at our items, pay lovely compliments, and then go next door to buy the $12 set of quilted place-mats next door.  (Please note that I too love quilted place-mats.) 

To that end, I'll be setting up an Etsy store for him.  To THAT end, he spent the weekend taking pictures of belt buckles, journal covers, etc. etc. etc. so I can write and post the listings.  He learned a lot.  He cussed some.  He realized why I haven't done any of it yet.  :~) 

So sometime in the next little while, I will introduce Hermits Garden Leather on Etsy...maybe we'll have a grand opening sale.  I love grand opening sales. 

Hope your week is swimming along the way you want it to.

Down Time

Riiiiiight.

I have been jumping through hoops for weeks, my house is a wreck, the garden all but dead of record heat and drought, we just bought another house to rehab, and the holidays are coming up. 

This weekend, the hubs and I agreed that we're going to try to go one place, once a month, that we've never been before, just to go.  To explore, enjoy, and experience. 

But right now, all I want to do is finish the monster of art-fair-booth-RV laundry (it was pretty dusty in Ol' Bandera) and clean my poor neglected house.  The weather is helping...it's all the way down to the low-to-mid 90's.  Who would have thought of simple house-cleaning as down time? 

Music?  Check.
Iced Tea?  Check.
Trash bags for Goodwill donations?  Check.
Let the cleaning begin.

Leatherwork designs...

Phil's been working on a new idea--tooled leather panels in frames.  He can offer them for less because there's no hand sewing involved like there is with the bags and notebook covers... 

Framed Leather Art--Celtic Cross

But the messenger bag he'd made, tooled with (my favorite) Triple Horse knotwork pattern, sold on Artfire this last week and is on its way to West Virginia now.  He'll make another one, and has several purses in the works for the upcoming "Celebrate Bandera" event in early September.  I nagged him into it--he does have a full time job already, poor guy--because I know how well his purses sell.  They are tough, good looking, and sit up by themselves when you put them down by your feet.  :~)

Double click the photo to see the tooling details.  My guy is awesome.  Of course, I may be biased.

Messenger Bag

Purse

Triple Horse Celtic Knotwork

Mmmm, tomatoes...

With my job recently leaning toward a 60/30/10 split right now (that is the real estate to housework to art ratio) I am especially grateful for a few days of cooler temps and actual rain--so the garden can sort of tend itself a short while.  Last Thursday's half an inch might not have been enough, but it was something and the landscape breathed a big sigh of thanks.

Apparently the tomato plants were happy about it too.  They smell so good, still warm from the sun...

Hermits' Garden at King William Fair

Like I promised, pictures of our booth.  It was windy at first, so we had to hold the booth down w/ sand bags and small water tanks.  I lost two dolls to the wind...note to self: make them with reeeeelly solid bases, or put them at the back of the booth.

Another lesson learned: never assume people understand they can come IN if they just go around the corner of the booth.  Nevertheless, the wind died down, the temperatures stayed perfect, and it was a good day.
(Click twice to enlarge pictures.)

Belt Buckles, "Good Bones", and other oddities

Our space was 10 x 15, so we had room for the Schutlz in his playpen at the back.

Keyfobs on a screen, lots of dolls, and calico birds.

We usually do two booths, so the two signs go across the front...

Not real busy until after the parade was over...then it got crazy!

We're baaaack.

I am literally on my way out the door for groceries, leather supplies for the hubs, and various other errands, but I wanted to say Hi and Thank You for the good luck wishes.  Pictures of our booth tomorrow.  That's all I have, pics of our booth, because things were so busy I didn't have time to go see other vendors.  We sold enough to enter this event again next year, but not enough that we can retire.  ;~)  Got tons of leads on custom leather work for the hubs, and some interest in custom art dolls as well. 

Hope you are enjoying a gorgeous April (as we are having temps in the mid-nineties already.)

King William Fair!

Today I've washed all our tablecloths, re-rigged some of our displays to make better use of our space, and printed new little price signs.  Along with finishing up some rabbit dolls I designed last week.  Just in time--I have two more days of prep time to go...and it always seems like I spin around in circles getting ready for an event.

Phil's job is to step on one of my feet so I have to be still for a minute.  (My hyper-detail-oriented Virgo nature never seems to come out until NOW, of all times.)  Sooooo, while it seems I've got everything done, I can list tons of things that need checking and sorting, and oooh, a couple more lists to make, and...

Sorry.  Here's a picture and a link if you wanna go check out this terrific one-day event that takes place April 16th here in San Antonio.  Held in the historic district w/ tours of the old homes, a parade, bands, kids' games, carnival food, and hand-made only art vendors--hundreds of them!  And Hermits' Garden is among them this year--Hooyah!  :~) 

If you're here in San Antonio, come see us--we'll be at the corner of Washington and Turner streets, across from the park and stage.

King William Fair--part of San Antonio's Spring Fiesta!

Gearing Up...

Only two weekends between now and our art fair here in San Antonio! 

I will probably lose five lbs just fretting and fussing over inconsequential things like tablecloths and 'where in the hell did I put those price tags???'

I am better at the people part of the job: speaking to strangers is not something that comes naturally to the hubs.

But he's WAY better at the logistics side, so we make a good team.  He's gotten another leather scrapbook commission to work on, so he'll be busy evenings and weekends on that, and on the last few belt buckles, day planners, and zodiac notebook covers.

The King Williams Fair is a fun, colorful, wildly busy time, and I am looking forward to it...there's a huge parade, tons of kid stuff, bands playing, and somewhere around three hundred artists showing ONLY handmade work.  Silly hats and costumes are part of the fun...so I'm wondering if I should make a costume.  I'm spinning around about there only being two weekends left...so, I'll stick with the one I already have from a Ren Faire in Florida...  There are dolls to make and tablecloths to wash!