March Activities
March has been one of those months that feels like I haven't gotten much done. But as I discovered while writing this blog post, there's been more than I realized! I've had flowers blooming all month, most from bulbs that I have forced. It has been a steady progression of hyacinths, the last of the paper whites, and a few supplements from the garden center such as these lovely primroses! They start off white and turn pink as they age. So pretty and a perfect pick me up on the gloomy days of late winter.
I filled all the pages of my last journal and needed to begin a new book. That meant I needed to do another yearly setup for the new book as I didn't want to have to jump between books for the rest of the year. For the watercolor, I had done a study of a favorite Beatrix Potter painting and it was a perfect way to start this journal off. I choose a new focus verse, still focused on trusting in God, as I feel that with all the things going on in my life, I need to keep my focus there. No matter what happens in life, good, bad, or just plain difficult, God is still God and deserving of our praise. It is God who helps me, and as the creator of all we know, he is more than capable of providing the help we need. I just need to remember that.
For the month of March, I did a watercolor of the primroses. I struggle painting flowers, which is frustrating, as they are what I want to paint more than anything. I was fairly happy with this one. The layout of my monthly journals has been working really well for me, so I didn't really make many changes.
One of the great things that happened this month is that I graduated from the heavy, uncomfortable cast to a brace that I can remove to do PT exercises and shower! I'm still not supposed to pick up anything heavier than a coffee cup until mid April. Since the muscles are pretty cramped and weak from being in a cast for 2 months, that hasn't been too hard, though this past week, I've probably done a little more than I should. So grateful to be healing, albeit slowly.
The kitties have had some adventures. We suddenly developed a mouse problem. Mushu has caught four mice this month. One didn't survive the attack, but the other three have been released to the farm fields to the east of our neighborhood.
They sure are cute little beasties! But I don't want them in my pantry or stockpiling the dry cat food under the washing machine!
The kitties also got a new kitty tree with multiple nests. Now they each have a place to sleep or to watch the birds from and don't have to fight over a lone nest.
Mid month, I participated in Plein Air Live for the third time. It was a pleasant surprise because I had completely forgotten that I had signed up and paid for it at the end of the last one, until I received an e-mail giving me instructions for how to log in to it! This was from the first paint-a-long. I worked in watercolor because I still can't paint in oils as I use both hands quite a lot. With watercolor, I've figured out how to do it one handed.
This is my work from the second paint-a-long. These are both about 5"x7" on 6"x8" paper. Watch for information on an upcoming art sale I hope to hold soon to raise money to pay my medical bills from breaking my arm.
The biggest accomplishment of the month has to do with the garden shed! I've been wanting to move it ever since I moved in. This photo was taken last fall when I was working on my new garden bed.
The reason I wanted to move the shed is this. It completely blocked the view from my office window, and the only west facing window in my home. Not very nice to look at.
The inside of the shed has been a dark hole. Last summer, I got half of the inside painted white, but it had so much stuff in it, that I never got around to cleaning it a out a second time so I could paint the other half. Since I don't have a garage, it is the repository for anything that doesn't fit in my little house. What a mess!
To prepare for moving the shed, I pulled up all the metal garden edging - that wasn't doing much of anything except making it hard to mow. I was able to fold it in half and flatten it by stepping on it, to make it more manageable to take to recycle.
The edging was held down with 12" long staples. It was challenge doing all of this one handed, but I managed! Took me four hours to pull up three 8 foot long sections and all those staples.
My wonderful neighbor moved the shed for me, almost single handedly in about 45 minutes. Another neighbor chipped in for some last minute adjustments. What a difference! I love having it far enough back to see out of the office window! Those logs are what he rolled it back with. He used a floor car jack to lift it and slide the logs under. I filmed the whole process and hope to get a YouTube video up soon.
Since the shed was emptied out to facilitate the move (Huge thank you to Gary, David, Stephen, and Amanda for helping me move all the stuff I was not able to lift!), I took advantage and finished painting the interior (also one handed!). So much brighter now. Before putting everything back in, I took time to go through stuff and downsize and reorganize everything. There is a pretty good pile of stuff to get rid of, plus some stuff that went into the garbage bin. Now to keep from cluttering it up all over again!
The best part is now having this view from my office window! Can't wait to get the next garden bed put in and to finish the arbor! What a lovely view I'll have of my garden now! The office is so much brighter now that it's not blocked by the shed!
I've been working hard on the next round of YouTube videos. Watch for a flurry of them coming over the next few weeks. Here are a few of the upcoming topics:
- Sewing Birds
- Faux Paper Pieced Mug Mat (shown above)
- Moving the Shed
Perhaps the video I'm most excited about is a talk with Carol Sarchet! She's a wonderfully creative textile artist who I find incredibly inspiring. We had a lovely day filming and chatting about her work and process this past week, and I can't wait to share it!
One last note! I'm so thrilled that my YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/c/IvoryBlushRoses, continues to grow with well over 3,000 subscribers and that I was able to get it monetized this past month! This will help to support me a little and allow me to keep creating more videos.
You can also support me by visiting one of my Amazon links in the tab above for my favorite CQ supplies and books before shopping on Amazon. This allows me to receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, just for having pointed you towards Amazon. This works even if you don't purchase any of the items I have linked above but purchase something else instead.
Another way to support me is to buy me a cup of tea through the link at the top of the side column. Watch for a Patreon site coming in the future which will allow you to support me and my work on a monthly basis! I hope to have that up and running sometime in April.
Thank you all so much for your ongoing support over the years - it truly means the world to me!
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