Gardening

Taking Care and Flowers

June 6, 2022 Leave a Comment

I am sharing a small little post with you today but what I really wanted to share were some photos I took in the garden. I have really been enjoying photographing my flowers and am using them for some sketches/paintings that I hope to share with you. In the meantime, I hope they bring a smile to your face.

I am slowly moving into my hibernation week taking a bit extra care of myself as-in my haste to clear out some weeds-ignored the poison ivy that was growing amidst the dead nettle at the base of the oak tree. As a very clear reminder of the virtue of moving slowly the left side of my face is now covered in poison ivy. It looks worse than it feels (thanks to calamine lotion) still I believe it’s taking it’s toll in other ways.

I am forever trying to find the meaning in my experiences, the lessons buried deep in the seemingly ordinary. I believe that I am being called more and more to focus on my own way of doing things. Of embracing those parts of myself that perhaps I came to believe were flaws.

Like my lack of “hustle” and the need to meander rather than drive.

I have finished a book and started another (not on the list I shared with you in my last book club update) so I hope to have a few more updates to share with you perhaps next week. In the meantime I will drink tea, make art, snuggle my kiddos and spend as much time in the garden as possible.

I hope this week is starting off well for you. That you are able to move at the pace that feels natural and in a way that feels your own. If, like me, you need to take care of yourself I hope you do.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante.

Sharing a New Podcast and Pulling in More Creativity

May 26, 2022 Leave a Comment

Today I managed to have a play with a few different mediums and it felt so nice.

I worked on a new story in a new notebook that is dedicated to a brand new project which feels so fun! I cannot wait to share more of it with you.

I did some research in alignment with this same project and was learning a bit about 1930’s radio programs. I also found a fun behind the scenes video that was made in the 1950’s that was very interesting. You can watch it here.

I recorded a new podcast-something I would love to make a weekly or almost weekly endeavor. It’s about 20 minutes long and I share a bit more about my new project as well as some that will be coming up on the horizon. I also chat a little about pulling in more and more creativity into my days in simple and gentle ways.

I worked in some of my mini art journals as part of a class I am taking with Alisa Burke. While I was reviewing my podcast I had fun just adding some paint to paper and “prepping my pages” as Alisa says.

I also did a little puttering in the garden. Cleaning up and putting away some of the seedling trays that had been littering the yard. I also started putting the fencing around my garden but am going to wait for a second opinion (i.e ask my husband when he gets home) since it looks like it may not be quite as sturdy as I had hoped.

I hope you manage a little creative time today-if only 5 minutes. You totally deserve it and I hope you can find some space for it. Wishing you a lovely day!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

My Mini Creative Retreat Update & This Week’s Creativity

May 23, 2022 2 Comments

Happy Monday! I hope this is finding you well. We are having gorgeous weather today and I have been spending some time out in the garden. There is lots to do (isn’t there always) and I still have lots to plant out. Zinnia seeds, snapdragon plants I picked up and so much more.

I wanted to give you a little update about my mini creative retreat. I ended up having-in essence 3 days in the house all to myself something I haven’t had in close to 8 years maybe? Hubby took the little ones on an adventure looking at dinosaurs, snakes and owls. Then swimming in the pool and riding amusement park rides. It would seem our 3 year-old has quite the adventurous spirit when it comes to the rides so I am hopeful I will have another friend to ride the roller coasters with.

Everyone hit the road just around noon on Thursday and I spent the day at home. I did some of my free writing which was a practice I let fall away the past few months. It never ceases to amaze me how the practices I love the most and that replenish and fill me the most are the first things I let go of. Still it felt wonderful to be back with my daily writing journal and just letting the thoughts flow out. It was from this exercise that I decided I wanted to make myself a treasure box and I wanted to do it out of paper mache. Now I have never made a box using paper mache but it sounded like it could be a fun project. I did a little search to see if there were any tips and I found a wonderful video and a blog showing how to make exactly what I wanted to make. Sadly neither the channel nor the blog have been updated in 8 years or so but I still enjoyed looking around. There is something I am just loving about blogs again and I feel there is going to be more and more of them coming back in the purest of forms. Here’s hoping anyway.

So I made up my paper mache box and set it out to dry. Can I just say how much fun it was to do? I love getting messy and I find this kind of creativity so therapeutic. I also had do a minor repair on my paper mache project from Sarah Hand’s class that I mentioned last week. I had them both sitting on the kitchen table under the ceiling fan drying. I did quite a bit of art journalling too and really just relaxing and playing. At night I was looking for a movie to watch and found “Groundhog Day,” which I had actually never seen before. It was a nice light movie to end the day with.

On Friday I woke early (well early for me anyway) and video chatted with the family. The weather was gray and not overly inviting to work outside so I spent time prepping and sanding my paper mache pieces. I think the best part of this little retreat was just floating around and doing things as and when I wanted them. I took a little drive to the craft store and picked up some paints for gelli printing and a few other miscellaneous items for other projects. I enjoyed sushi for lunch and made quite a few gelli prints following on of Carla Sonheim’s classes I just signed up for. It was a lot of fun and I have some plans for these prints that I am looking forward to exploring. I did manage some gardening and planted up some hanging baskets and a pot for the front porch that I am pretty proud of.

On Saturday I napped in the afternoon. I was tired and just needed a nap and thought, “why not nap?” The family came home around 8pm so the house was chaotic with luggage and laundry and things to be put away and stories to hear. Sunday was my son’s birthday and we celebrated at home just us. He asked for a treasure hunt to find his presents and pizza for dinner. I had picked up his cake on Saturday which was delicious. Unfortunately the family is dealing with colds now-seems to be a bit of a norm when they travel. Nothing serious just running noses and laying around. Most are already feeling better and on the mend but I think any plans for the rest of the vacation will be on hold.

I am grateful to be writing this blog post on our patio under the tent. The afternoon sun floods the garden and I am enjoying a cup of tea, 2 pieces of dark chocolate and writing to you.

I feel I learned a lot from my mini retreat. Namely how important time like this is for me, my mental health and my creativity. I am hoping to make these happen regularly and to also bring into each day some of the best parts of my retreat. Making my creative a priority is not only healing for me it’s a gift I have been given that needs to be nourished.

I hope you are having a nice start to your week. I would love to hear about your creative retreats if you take any and how you go about it. I prefer to do my retreats at home but I think the mobile minivan studio will be coming out again soon.

Wishing you a beautiful week!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

My Week in Doodles: #1

April 4, 2022 2 Comments

How have you been? I have been MIA a bit around here. I had my hibernation week and then I was just feeling very tired so I rested, made art, watched some art classes and just tried to take care of myself. How about you? How have you been feeling? Are you making time for art? Please do comment and let me know I would love to hear.

I had an idea that woke me up this morning and I couldn’t wait to have a play with it. I thought it would be fun to make a sheet of little doodles, little memories of what I did the previous week and share them in a blog post for you. I also thought I could make my little doodle sheet available for download so if you wanted to use them in your personal collage or mixed media projects you could! All you need to do is to right click and safe the image to your computer-that’s it! The full sheet is at the bottom of this post. If you do use it please share with me I would love to see how you use them!

So this week was a bit of a roller coaster for us. The weather hadn’t been the gorgeous spring weather we were teased with in March but my youngest loves being outside so we bundled up a bit and went outside to gather up some sunshine. My son joined us one day and he cleared out his vegetable garden getting it ready for planting. He managed to harvest about 4 tiny and one large carrot from his garden. When I told him we could use the large one for dinner he was just so proud! He has his garden plan all made up and set up his support poles and planted his first round of snap peas (his favorite!).

I also managed to get in some gardening this week. I cleared a few more beds, put some cardboard down to suppress the weeds and added fresh topsoil and compost to 2 of my beds. I was able to mulch my herb garden and plant out my poppies, lettuce, snap peas, radish and parsnips. I’m in Zone 6 so we are pretty limited in what can go out in the ground but everything I planted should do just fine. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

I finished 2 books this week. I’ll share it with you in my next Book Club update but in addition to finishing 2 I added 4 to my list after some library requests. I laugh at how man new ones I am adding and reading in addition to what was already on my shelf but I think that’s the best part isn’t it? To know you’ll never run out of books to read?

My husband had a work function to go to one night so I took the kids out for a little adventure. We went for a drive then stopped at a fast food restaurant and went inside to eat which they loved. After dinner we stopped at Starbucks for cookies and a cake pop (popcorn for my girls) and Decaf Caramel Macchiato for me. It was a nice time just the 4 of us.

On Friday my husband called us all out to see a full rainbow that he had seen in the sky on his way home. Unfortunately we couldn’t see it from out house but he was so happy to see it and it added a simple joy to the day.

On Saturday my husband took the kids to the park (where my 3 year-old made a friend and had the best time!) and I had the house to myself. The sun was shining and I lounged in my hammock with my dogs at my feet. The neighborhood was silent except for the chorus of birds and I could feel myself recharging and healing.

We also gave our guinea pig Trixie a little pedicure-her nails needed a clean so we had her in just a little bit of water to soften and give her feet a gentle clean. She was quite content with all the attention and enjoyed the special treat after even more.

Sadly our week had started off with the loss of our cat Piper. She was almost 14 years old and was a very special friend to me and my oldest daughter. She is the one I credit with showing me how to be a Momma long before I was one and she has guarded my oldest all of her 11 years. My daughter had asked the we cremate her so we brought her to a really fabulous place not too far from us and it made me feel grateful for people who extend compassion to others. We are all managing well though and are so grateful that she went so peacefully here at home with us. I hesitated to include this as I want to keep my site positive but I drew a little picture of her in the download and it felt only right to share her with you.

Here is this week’s doodle sheet:

I hope you like my little experiment. I had so much fun doing it and would love to make it a regular part of my blog. I would love your thoughts so please share them below and if you would like to make your own doodles to share on your blog then be sure to link it up below using my link party. Just link directly to your blog post with your own doodles so we can stop by and say “hello!”

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Seed Starting and Sun Searching

February 8, 2022 Leave a Comment

*Free Image Credit:* *Jill Wellington on Pixabay*

*If you have a blog post about what you are doing in February for your garden please share it in the link party-details are at the bottom of post*

I started my first round of seeds indoors (insert excited “squee” here). I do love gardening. I love starting seeds, watching them grow and then seeing plants in the garden growing big and strong knowing I started them from these itty bitty seeds.

I started some vinca vine seeds, marshmallow (which is now tucked inside my fridge for the next 4 weeks), rosemary, lavender (also in the fridge), columbine (in the fridge), snapdragons, scallions & leeks. I purchased some seeds online from two different Etsy stores and Botanical Interests. I am really impressed with all the information Botantical Interests includes on the seed packs. Another favorite seed company is Renees Garden-I think the tomatoes I grew last year from her were the most delicious ever! I also planted Lavender seeds last year bought from Renee’s Garden and they grew into flowering small shrubs giving me lots of flowers in just one season! I don’t love the fragrance of the variety I chose but I they are still beautiful and the bees loved them. I am growing English Lavender this time around and I am hoping to be able to create an entire lavender garden one of these day. (The links in this post are just shared in case you would like to try what I purchased. These are not affiliate links-I’m just sharing for your information 🙂

This year I am focused on growing a cut flower garden. I love cutting flowers and bringing them indoors in various mason/repurposed jars and setting them up all over. It makes me so happy to cut flowers outside.

We have been in our home for 21 years and when we first bought the home our backyard was all shade. I mean a lot of shade. So I planted a rose garden out front and some veggies and it eventually became these very large front garden. Over the years there has been an upsurge of invasive weeds-the fast growing, vining, wrap-around-everything-can’t-dig-them-out-with-a-shovel type weeds.

And to be honest, I hate maintaining it. There has been a shift as well since trees in the neighborhood are taller that our front yard gets more shade than it did once upon a time. I am all about making things simple. I hate chores and projects and I want to enjoy my garden. It’s supposed to be something that restores me-not another have to on my list. So this year we are making some big changes.

Firstly we are digging out all of our roses and moving them to our backyard (which is now full sun). We are transplanting some volunteer rose of sharon plants along our driveway and ultimately (if we can) removing our butterfly bushes to a new garden in the back along with the roses.

It’s a lot of plants to move but I think they will thrive in the new location and it will give us the ability to dig out the mulch (it’s mounded pretty high) and add it to our compost bins and then work on digging down and hopefully digging out these weeds. It’s been nearly impossible to dig them out when they are really intertwined with the roses. Did I also mention that in my youthful excitment for an herb garden I planted mint….in the ground….yep. We have gotten rid of most of it using black paper but it’s still there. Beside the lemon balm I planted….in the ground…

So with the yard a blank slate we are hoping to plant some grass and then at least we can mow down the weeds as they come up in our already weedy grass patch.

I’ll be moving some holly bushes out of the backyard that we inherited with the house and also our apple tree. We planted 2 but sadly only one remains so we will be buying a second and moving them to a small garden area next to the driveway. In the space where the holly bushes and apple tree are is where the rose bushes and hopefully the butterfly bushes will be re-homed. We aren’t sure if we can get the butterfly bushes dug up. They have been in our front yard for years and years. I love them and all the butterflies that they attract but the location isn’t my favorite. I think they will look beautiful in our new back garden.

I am also going to be making a new vegetable garden. I moved the vegetable garden from the front yard into the back yard a few years ago. I love it back there. It’s great because the kids can play, it’s fenced in and private and I can just enjoy the gardening time. We built raised beds and I decided this year to make this my cut flower garden. I am going to be focusing on only growing the foods we love to eat and I am going to be using the fabric pots of purchased last year to create a new vegetable/fruit garden. I’ll fence it in (to keep the dogs and groundhogs out) and then transplant my strawberries, raspberries and blueberries into the ground but everything else is going to be grown in fabric pots. What I love about this is I don’t have to worry about crop rotation as I will refill the pots each season and I think it will keep everything a lot tidier.

I am hoping to take some video to share with you as we go about the process of moving everything. Eventually we are going to be growing some privacy trees along the back fence but since we have a lot to get done in early spring I didn’t want the pressure of planting 10 trees on top of everything. With any luck, if the weather is warm and we can get out there early we can still do the trees this year as well.

In the meantime I would love to hear what you are growing or answer any questions you might have. I am in zone 6 so I have a while before the ground is thawed and I am out digging. I am however working on making my own garden journal to capture this season in. I hope to have a flip through video to share with you soon.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Gardening

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