Heat calls for....

 Creativity

Last night the temperature outside was 80 until it cooled off to 77.  The dewpoint was 75. 

Yeah...that makes for a wicked thick air and major discomfort. However, we have that wonderful little minisplit that cools the downstairs and keeps us cool.

The breezes outside are pretty strong and the heat will intensify this weekend. Enough so there are extreme heat warnings out for the next few days. Then? The storms and rain will move in for a few days.

Welcome Summer!

Update on my Respite Day and new decisions and schedule. I made the most of my time on Friday. I filled Shay in on the doings for the day. She offered to make stuff for supper while I was 'gadding' about.

I showed her a huge pail of fresh strawberries I'd picked for Olive. I hadn't had time to hull them and chop them up. I asked if she'd mind hulling them. She said she'd be happy to.

Then I asked her to take half of them home to enjoy with her son. Her eyebrows shot up and she smiled. Ding Ding! It is always pleasant to share isn't it? It cost me nothing but time to pick them and I was so happy to share.

Boring, but I went shopping for the items I needed for cold salads for this weekend and a couple of other things. I brought a cooler with ice packs so put perishables in. 
I met up with my CF girlfriends at the Viroqua Food Co-op for some coffee, conversations, and laughter. We caught up in each others' grand kids, and weekly doings. 

I can't think of a better way to spend some Respite time [in the heat!] We chatted about Julie's cancer trial and how she was feeling. We are there for each other. They updated me about goings on at the gym and the progress they were making. And of course what was going on in their own lives. 
We mostly discuss grandkids which is everyone's favorite topics.

So where does the Creativity fit in? Well, hot days may push me indoors for the afternoon.

So I need to do something.

Remember the Jason Christoble Candle Holder/Sculptures I got? Well, some were chipped and damaged. 

Yesterday afternoon I got the brilliant idea of 'fixing' them and modifying them. The chipped and broken ones wouldn't really be worth any money anyway. They are not in good condition.

I mixed up some acrylic hobby paint and touched up the places where someone had slapped some white clay on the sculpture. It looked nice, but I decided to go a bit further.

I added a micro resin butterfly to his nose and added some moss to his broken bits.

I think I may just give him a mossy 'do' and add a few more butterflies.  

This one had a frog that had broken off. I used some super glue to put it back together. However parts of the frog were missing and it just didn't look nice. 

Solution? Add moss around the froggy!

I also had a tiny bluebird that had come from Aurora in a gift she'd sent. It had fallen off the stick, so I thought this Entish tree would love more company. 

I painted over her chips and nicks and stopped there. I think my grand daughter would love this piece for her bookshelf of fantasy books. I'll have to send her a nice photo of this and see what she thinks.

I've collected some very odd roots and pieces of wood over the years and never knew what I'd like to do with them. 

Until now. This weekend seems like a good time to stay cool and create something interesting with the pieces of wood. Who knows? My Lego folks and dragons may really love them!

At least I have a plan for the hot weather. Suppers are made, house is clean and it feels like a day off in a way....

Let the creativity begin!

Starlight Starbright...

 Did you ever sing that little diddy as a kid?

Starlight starbright
the first star I see tonight
I wish I may 
I wish I might
Have the wish
I wish tonight...

I got an Aurora Borealis alert on my phone that said I had a 20% chance of seeing the Northern Lights last night. I knew with the overcast sky that seeing anything would be slim to none.

But I decided to walk up to the meadow the other night after putting hubby to bed and do some sky gazing.

I didn't see the Aurora, but I was surprised by Fireflies flitting through the warm air current in the meadow. The sky was overcast and the Fireflies were just floating around. I used my headlamp to light up the grass in front of me a bit.

I recorded the songs of Coyotes singing for their evening hunt. It can send chills up your spine no matter how many times you hear it.

This has been another crazy busy week. Monday was quiet. Tuesday was delivery of the hospital bed and re-organizing the room with a visit from the Social Worker.

Wednesday was our mini trip with Steve. I won't bore you with the rest of the schedule. Just enough to say, I was tired most of Thursday so I laid down to read a book and took a cat nap.

I'm looking forward to a quiet Saturday to mow the yard after doing the dump thing. 

Here are some of the candle Ent Dudes I got the other day, the first shot is with Groot, the Christmas Ornament.

I did these shots in my succulent garden. I used a little light inside to light up the glass marble eyes. I use lights in these but not candles as we have oxygen in use at home.

I can see that there are some fun possibilities with these sculptures...

I'm looking forward to a clear night over the weekend so I can get out and enjoy shooting the Milky Way.

Old Friends

I've written about Rich's pal from past years. As life happens people lose touch only to get back in touch again years later.

Just before Christmas we got a call and then a visit from one of Rich's pals he hadn't seen in about 15 years. Our lives and interests had gone in different directions for a bit.

Then Steve showed up to visit. The 'boys' had an incredible time reminiscing about their days with their hound dogs and their crazy adventures while fishing together. 

Seriously, it seemed as if no time had passed and they wondered how their children grew up, got married and made them grandpas.

When Rich had his respiratory failure in February, Steve came as soon as he got the text. Steve is so kind hearted. He visited every day and spent time with him when I had to go home and do chores.

The two guys are like brothers that get along very well.

Steve called me Wednesday morning. The day was a rainy and he wanted to know what was on our schedule. 

Nothing of course.

"Well, let's go for a drive then! If we can't go fishing, we can go for a drive."

And that is what we did.

We headed over to the Mississippi River to check out sites for fishing that would accommodate a wheel chair.

We loaded up hubby and headed out with extra 02. We were going on an adventure.

Steve had thought of many things. He brought a Rollator for extra ease for Rich to get from one place to another if we were able to. He brought extra water for us [I'd packed some along with the meds] and off we went.

We spent a good part of the afternoon stopping at different boat ramps to see if they had places we could fish from. We did end up with a place that looked great with perfect wheel chair access.

Since we were in the small town of DeSoto, I suggested a stop at a place called The Bright Spot. It is a small bar with a separate room for eating. 

We were quite the sight. Steve and I walked along helping Rich manipulate the rollator up a little ramp to the dining area. 

We ordered burgers and fries and enjoyed light conversation. The waitress was fantastic. The restaurant is not fancy but well loved for its food. People come from the bordering states to eat here for this exact reason.

Steve was a great chauffer and pal.

On another odd note [seems I always have odd things happen to me]. Steve's wealthy neighbors who own second weekender homes have Steve mow their lawns and does other maintenance for them.

He helped one neighbor clean out a shed. Steve was having a large Garage Sale where one neighbor asked him to sell a bunch of 'crap' his daughter left behind when she moved away years ago.

Steve worked on helping the fellow clean out this huge shed so he could put his boats in there.

Anyway, I noticed these odd pieces in a photo that Steve showed me, I asked if I could purchase a couple. Steve brought a few of these items over to me. They were priced at $2 a piece at the garage sale.

When I got them, they were pretty dirty. So I washed them gently and found a name inside them.

Jason Christoble 1975 and Matchless Grove Tree with the their ID number and date carved inside. 

Apparently this fellow sculpted these items as candle holders with glass eyes that would light up when a light or candle was inserted. 

Jason Christoble created many 'Tree Ent' sculptures and sold them in the 1970's and 1980's. There is almost no info on this artist on the internet.

However I was intrigued by his work and recognized that some of his 'work' is now classified as Vintage Collectible.

I liked the 'Ents', they fit perfectly with one of my pretty but cheaply made 'face' pots I've had for a while.

Below is an example of one I ordered years ago. He stores my headphones and charger cords for a couple of my devices.

Imagine what I can do with these odd faces with eyes that will glow!

I found some on sale at different places like Etsy, eBay, and others. These items in very good condition and with a signature seem to hold a pretty good price. Below are my Tree Ents lined up in front of some sweet potatoes.

What a surprising and fun day we had. Rich hasn't been out to eat anywhere in more than 5 years. He hasn't left home except for his hospital stays and doctor appointments for about the same amount of time.

He was tired yesterday but happy.

Old friends can be the best.