The studio window is a hit with the plants and kitties...

The large window in my new studio office is proving to be a hit 

with both the plants and the kitties!

(watercolor filter)

I picked up this cute "Blue Chalk Sticks" succulent the other day.
It was the perfect fit for this little blue green pot I've had for quite some time now.

The Infant of Prague might not stay here permanently as Baby tends to like this spot. And even though the statue is vintage and already quite chippy, I don't want Baby adding any more distressing to it!

This is a perfect window for Baby to sit in as she watches the buds burst forth as spring arrives! As you can see, I keep rearranging things in here to make sure
everything is Baby-proof!

I purchased this jade plant last fall when Amanda and I took a trip to Woodstock, New York. While there, we stopped at a yard sale and the woman was selling TONS of plants she'd started herself. She clearly had a green thumb as everything was gorgeous. I'm happy to report that I've not only not killed it, but it is thriving. I do need to find a nice pot for it, but it's an odd size so I haven't found one yet.

Until I do, it sits in the original black plastic pot in a tinfoil dish.

Tiger also enjoys looking out the window. On her trips back from the litter box 

(located on the floor in the corner of the room)...

...  she always pauses on the top step to survey the goings on outside of her little world.

If something of interest is occurring outside (dogs being walked or cars going by), her attention stays focused on that even when she has returned to her bed.

As Baby was looking out the window today, she got spooked. 

Baby does not like it when the UPS truck or the garbage truck...

....  or the street sweeper comes down 'her' street. Here in New England, after tons of sand has been dumped due to the many winter storms, the street sweeper is a sure sign that spring has arrived.

Of course as soon as the street sweeper was gone, she was back up on the desk checking out the smallest details of 'our' new studio office!

Click here to see previous posts about the progress of my new studio office.

I'm joining Debra at Common Ground for Be Inspired, and
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday this week.

Donna

The bay window and the basil plant...

 The sun is sitting lower in the sky these days...

 ... as it passes by the dining room window.

 It remains to be seen if the Spicy Globe basil will adapt to being inside.

When I brought it in last week because of an overnight frost warning, it was potted in the huge plastic container that sat on the deck all summer.

That just wasn't going to work for two reasons. #1, the pot was humongous and, #2, the pot was ugly. This clay pot is much more attractive and a much better size.

So far, so good. I trimmed a lot of 'brown' off the ends of the basil. I think they had already gotten a bit too cold before being brought inside.

This is a southern exposure window, so hopefully it will be a sunny enough location.

(DR light turned on)

About 20 years ago we had this bay window installed in the dining area. Before that, it was just solid wall.

(DR light turned off)

I can't even imagine the dining room without this sunny window now.

The basil plant can't either.

Completely off topic, I've been subbing in addition to painting and transcribing lately. Being self-employed means never knowing how much work - or how little work- will come in each month, so in addition to painting and transcribing from home, I've been subbing lately. Can you guess what day it was at school yesterday? Yes, indeed - Red Sox Day!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday today.

I hope you all have a great week!

Donna

Our pink flowering hoppa crab trees are in full bloom!

Glorious spring has arrived in New England!

 I look forward to this view outside our living room window each May...

 ... because that's when our gorgeous pink flowering hoppa crab trees start blooming.

It's hard to believe that when we planted these back in the early 80's, we brought both of them home from the garden center in the back seat of my VW bug convertible with the top down... That's how SMALL they were!

 Here's the second hoppa crab, on the other side of the driveway. (And it won't be long before the clematis on the light post will be in bloom as well! Another thing to look forward to!)

The Adirondack chairs are in place...

The birdbaths have been filled...

...and placed in a variety of spots around the yard...

... and the birdhouses are move-in ready.

The view from the family room sliders in the back yard is equally beautiful right now as our flowering cherry tree is also in bloom! As you can see from the pots in the foreground, we made a quick trip to the garden center today to pick up a few Major Wheeler Honeysuckle vines to plant at the front posts of the swingset deck. Oh, gosh, I'm so looking forward to a spring and summer full of blooms in our little yard this year!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Donna

Rainy days and Mondays...

I love that song, but I must say that rainy days and Mondays don't get me down.

I couldn't resist doing a second post today in order to share our wet weather
(which the robins will LOVE!).

I woke to the rumble of thunder this morning so I quickly jumped out of bed, not wanting to miss a minute of the approaching storm. I get that from my mom, who loved rain and thunder.

I rolled in the patio cover over the deck (in case of high winds), threw some peanuts out to the few Sammy's, Chip's, and Blue Jays who hadn't sought shelter yet, and then waited.

Within minutes the skies opened and the rain came down in turrents, accompanied by winds so strong that the rain blew horizontally...

... which, in turn, made for some beautiful patterns on the screens, completely obstructing the view outside.

And almost as quickly as it started, it stopped, bringing the outside back into focus.

My poor sun catcher. Several years ago I dropped it and it shattered. I repaired it with clear packing tape because I couldn't bear to part with it.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful week, whether rainy or sunny!

Comment Update: Hi Sharon! The thunder started sometime after 9 a.m. this morning with the rain following shortly thereafter!

Donna

Garden Gate Arbor and Clematis

The clematis that covers our garden gate arbor is in full bloom now!

This has been such a rainy week here in Massachusetts that it took some doing to get photos!

 But I was able to run out in between rainfalls and snap some photos before these beauties are but a memory.

 I love this simple arbor that my husband built over the garden gate. I'm hoping we can salvage it when we replace the fence and gate later this year. After 26 years, they are beyond repairing and mending, which is what we've been doing for years.

 Two weeks ago, when I shared photos of the screen feeder flower box, the black 6-pack pots were still very visible and the clematis was a mass of buds, just waiting to burst forth.

 What a difference two weeks make! The lavender is thriving, the impatiens is growing leaps and bounds, completely covering the sides of the 6-pack pots now, and the clematis is putting on a show behind them!

 Back on May 25th...

 And from the same angle on June 8th.

May 24th, from the deck, looking toward the backyard gate. 

Again, no clematis and the flowers had just been plunked down on the screen feeder.

 The same view, photo taken on June 8th.

 This photo was taken 2 weeks ago. The lavender was just starting to open.

But just look at it now, 2 weeks later. Heavenly!

  Late May, the lavender and impatiens were starting to take off.

 June 8. They're continuing to thrive.

 I think it's going to be another successful year of 'non-planting' on the screen feeder! 

Click here to see my original DIY post on using just the 6-pack pots without doing any planting.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!!

Donna