24 years & Up to my ears in corn!

So far, I have 4 dozen quarts of green beans canned, 7 quarts of tomato juice (did those last night), a few quart bags of peppers frozen, and just now sat down to rest a while from bagging 9 dozen ears of corn for the freezer! I am so tired and I still have a large black canner full of corn to make cream corn later tonight.

Today is mine and Roger's 24th wedding anniversary. We had plans to spend the day together and eat supper at Outback Steakhouse, but he needed to work, the engine light is on in my Taurus again (just paid nearly $400 a couple weeks ago to fix it), and the corn was ready to pick. So early this morning he picked the corn before he went to work, and I have spent all day shucking, then cleaning and blanching and wrapping and bagging..... I will probably dream about corn tonight, lol! After all my complaining ~ I will say that I am very thankful for a good garden this year and we will appreciate it this winter. We'll see if I say that again after we've opened the 48th jar of green beans and have eaten the 108th ear of corn!

Now we are in the market for a good used upright freezer. We have a small chest freezer, but whatever's in the bottom always gets forgotten. I will have to search the classifieds in the next few days I guess.

I did manage to get another set of Sepia & Colonial Blue Frakturs painted while the tomato juice was simmering last night. Then this morning before I started with the corn, I did the little bit of shading and framed them. They will be available this weekend. I am also having a giveaway for my mailing list customers. I have a questionnaire for them to fill out and return by email, and all the names will go in a drawing for $20, $15, and $10 shopping coupons, good for anything on my website or the 3 online markets where I sell my handmade items. If you'd like to be included, just go to my website and sign up on my mailing list.

Roger's home and we're grilling steaks.... and then the corn will soon be calling my name..... happy anniversary honey!

~*~

Playing KETCHUP

Ever played KETCHUP? No, no, not that kind of ketchup, lol!

This kind ~ catch up ~ where you are overwhelmed with anything and everything and you don't think you'll ever come up for air? Well, I don't play it ~ I live it! Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad, and usually it's good, lots of orders, lots of bounty from the garden to be canned and frozen, going to church, visiting family, talking to friends... but some days I am so far behind... and I don't want anyone to think I've purposefully neglected them.

Day before yesterday I picked more beans, a 5 gallon bucket full, cooked a big cooker of them.... we're eating green beans every day this week, mind you. And I still had plenty left to send a big "mess of beans" to my sister and to an elderly couple. You do know what a mess of beans is don't you?

Then yesterday I had to go to town to pay bills, back home to work on orders, then last night I worked till just after midnight on a few more frakturs. I didn't get them all painted and so I was going to get up early this morning and finish them since they are supposed to be on my website tonight at 7 pm (plug, plug!). Here is a sneak peek...

So this morning I wake up at a little after 7.... yikes ~ I overslept! Drink my coffee, get dressed, and do a few dishes left from last night. I'm getting ready to go into my workroom to paint.... and here comes my sweet husband with 2 more 5 gallon buckets full of GREEN BEANS, LOL!!! He got up at 5:30, made coffee, and picked beans for me, awwwww, how thoughtful (if you detect a note of sarcasm here ~ you're imagining it). Needless to say, I still don't have the watercolors finished, but I do have beans canning as I type this.

Now, I need to tell you about some very dear bloggers who awarded me with, what else, an award! I know many of you have these coming out your ears, and so I won't pass them on this time. I do want to thank each of these ladies for thinking of me ~ you are all wonderful!

Christi of Charm and Grace gave me the 5 Blogs That Make My Day Award (she did this on June 20th ~ see how far behind I am???)

Debra of Sparrowgrass awarded me this beautiful one on July 15th.

Both Donna of Cottage Days & Journeys and Betsy of Betsy's Primitives sent me these, the Brillante Weblog Awards.

Thank you again ladies!

Now, I'm off to finish painting...

~*~

My love of birds...

Don't you just love birds? I love opening the doors and windows every day so I can hear them sing. I keep feeders just outside my workroom and they provide my music. I can hear them now as I type this post. Nothing can compete with nature's melody. I love them. I guess that's why I collect bird items ~ bird prints, bird nests (found fallen from the branches), bird egg shells, feathers, bird watercolors and needlework made by friends, etc. I also make bird themed items, I have made more of my A Bird in the Hand pieces than I can count and I love painting birds. My paintings are just whimsical watercolors inspired by 18th and 19th century fraktur art. My most recent ones are pictured above and may be seen in individual photos on the Artwork page of my website.

Below are some of the birds around our home...

TD ~ the turkey that won't leave. He's outside the pen and I'm inside with the chickens, lol!

Pierre, my Americana ~ I know, you're thinking ~ she named an Americana, Pierre???

One of the beautiful mourning doves that comes to visit...

My bird nest collection...

Another beautiful visitor...

Bobbie Jo, the Barred Rock hen...

I'll be back in a few days to show a few more photos of the chickens. I have some really sweet ones of Pierre feeding his sweetheart.

Take Care & God Bless,

Lana

~*~

French Inspired Adornments, Christmas, and Canning Beans...?

Hmmm, how can I connect the items in the title? Simple! I have been working on all of those this past week ~ multi-tasking is my middle name! Actually Marlene is my middle name but we'll just pretend today, lol! And I'm really not that good at multi-tasking. I usually have so many projects going at once that I get overwhelmed and threaten to run away from home for a few days. Then I realize that wouldn't work because all of my projects and more would be waiting for me when I returned, so I just do the best that I can.

I have several new items for sale on my website and the online markets that I am a part of ~ just click the HONEYSUCKLE LANE WARES ARE FOUND HERE links in the sidebar to see what's new. I did jump the gun a little bit and update my website a day early. Yesterday was our Homecoming at church, and tonight is the beginning of week long revival meetings, so I will be gone a few hours each night this week. I had rather update my website a little early instead of late.

The first two photos (above) are in the French collection and may be seen on my website (check out the Artwork and Whimsies pages) and they will also be listed on Simply Primitives on the 15th.

The photo below is part of my Simple Joys IVORY Note Cards that are on the Artwork page of my site, as well as being on The Primitive Gathering this month.

I'm sure I'll be picking more beans this week and that take a lot of time to pick, string, break, and can ~ whew ~ I'm tired just thinking about it, lol! That's another reason for my updating early ~ gardening and canning. While working in the garden, if I get tired of picking beans, or squash, or whatever is ripe, I just remind myself that we are blessed to have a garden that is producing so well.

Let's see, I still needed to mention Christmas ~ TDIPT Mercantile is doing a Christmas in July theme so be sure to check it out. We have new items on there on the 1st and 15th of each month, but the webmaster usually updates the evening before. The same goes for the other markets that I am a member of and if you don't want to miss an update, sign up on their mailing lists to be notified when they update and have the new pages ready.

I guess that covers all the topics... I'd better get busy...

Have a blessed week.

Lana

~*~

Vintage Party Anyone? & In the Works..

I know some of you bloggers LOVE the vintage pouffy party dresses and my daughter is selling one on ebay this week! I thought I'd advertise for her a little bit. She has a couple more to list today, different colors and styles / eras, all vintage. You may see them here ~ only one will show till I get the other 2 listed. My pc kept freezing up every time I tried to list on ebay so hopefully today will be better. Thanks for looking!
and....

I'm currently working on things for the 15th updates for 3 online markets. There will be Christmas in July items (all ivory and glittery and sparkly ~ but vintage of course!), 18th century French wallpaper inspired items (as pictured above), and more! I made these dainty wall paper boxes to hold silk pincushions embellished with antique buttons. I'm working on a watercolor ~ a sample of mid 1700s French wallpaper. It will be in the same colors as the wall paper boxes.