Rose Red - 365Project

This week's 365Project theme is RED & so I roamed my garden looking for red things & happened on this lovely red rose which is called Taboo.  I had not noticed until then, that it was no longer a bud because it lives in a part of the garden that is a bit messy ;)

Gunnera - 365 Picture for Sunday 22nd

This huge plant grows at the base of a small hillside in my garden. Normally grown in bogs or the edge of ponds but this does just fine here as long as I keep its roots nice & moist. The spikes are the 'flowers' & are covered with tiny reddish-green florets which are the seeds. The spikes in this picture measure from 2.5' to about 4' long & the leaves are about 7-8' tall & 5' across.  We have had this amazing plant in our garden for the past 5 years & this is the first time I've found seedlings, which I'm nurturing in my greenhouse.

A link to more info about the plant & a close up of a 'flower' spike

Man am I ever running behind..

I tried to post yesterday but blogger would not let me upload my picture so here we go with the 365Project pictures for the 20th & 21st

This is the seedhead of an Arum Lily full of seeds almost ready to burst out & scatter all around.   I won't let that happen though, I intend to capture them & plant them to sell later in my plant sale..

Here is a tiny Hover Fly -1/2" long- commonly called Flower Fly of the Syrphid Fly family, on a Cone Flower.  I always thought they were tiny bees as they appeared to be collecting pollen but I know now that they actually eat the pollen & nectar & that their larvae eat ahpids etc so I am happy to see them in my garden..

 

Orange Crocosmia -365Project

This project has me thinking outside the box for my pictures & seeing things in ways I would never had thought to before.  Today's picture was taken with me almost flat on my back in the garden LOL but it gave me what I wanted; the clouds to add depth & the sun on the beautiful orange petals giving them a lovely glow.  This also fits in with this week's theme of 'repetition'.

365 Project - Today's pic

The 365Project  has a weekly theme & this week's is Repetition.

I missed this on Monday but my pic for yesterday ( the dandelion seedhead wtih the dew on it)  & today's pic are both in the theme.  I do like the idea of having a theme as it really makes you think & look for different ideas to photograph.  Can you tell I'm enjoying this?

Anyhoo here's today's shot, I called it 'Fading Glory' as these are the last of my Shasta Daisys, I had several large clumps of them in my garden but today they have to be cut down & put in the compost bin. 

365Project pics for Aug 14 to 17th

Opps I got a little behind with my posts, but here are my latest pictures...

This is a Gaillardia Burgundy, commonly called a Blanket Flower.  I love the colours of this flower .

Here we have a spider who made his/her home in a Shasta Daisy

A big bee getting pollon from the tiny Catnip flowers, he was so heavy he made the stem bend right over

Morning dew on grass & a dandelion that has gone to seed.

You really need to make this last picture bigger to see the drops of water on the grass & the fluffy seedheads

Daily pics

What a beautiful sunny day here at the beach, pity we didn't get more days like this..

Here are my 365Project pictures

For yesterday 8-12-10

Now I am not sure what this flower is but a girlfriend said it looks like a False St. John's Wort, now of course I googled it & only found pictures of St. John's Wort but this sure looks like the same flower. Click it to see a bigger pic & the incredible detail of this magical flower

 If it is SJW then how fitting,  as it grows in the garden of our local hospital..


Today's pic is a Yarrow flower just about to burst into bloom..

Daily pic

My 365Project shot for the day...

Gone to seed.

It is a thistle of some kind. In New Zealand we call it Sour Thistle or Puha, which is the Maori name for it.  I have sauted the leaves of this plant with chopped onions & garlic - it's similar to spinach. 

Baby Doll Factory & daily pic

Baby Doll Factory  What an amazing picture, Joe came across it & sent me the link, which I thought was too neat not to share.

Here is today's picture.
I was taking pics of the delightful flowers on the chives when this largish hornet landed on one.   I followed him with my camera & was able to get this nice picture for my 365Projcet

I thought I'd include the rest of the pictures as they are -IMHO- really nice.

Don't forget to click on the pics to bigen them ;)

365Project, Belly bulge & other EXCITING things

First, I read this study this evening & although I knew that belly fat was dangerous, I found the statistics in this article frightening, especially with so many of us without health insurance. 

Here is the study to you to read it yourself. - Study: Belly bulge can be deadly for older adults -

Maybe you have heard of the FlatBelly Diet but if you haven't, check it out, it really isn't a diet as much as it is a way to eat & is full of wonderful information for anyone wanting to work at their making their belly smaller.  Here are some FlatBelly Meals.  In fact Pevention.com is a wealth of information for those of us fighting the battle of the Bulge.

I am diabetic & so have trouble with my weight but I have lost a few pounds recently after putting back 11 of the 15 pounds I'd previously lost - sigh. So far I am down about 4 again but hey it's a start. I have lost a few inches from my waist too, which really makes me feel better & my pants a bit looser ;)  I read somewhere that measuring is a better way to keep track of weight loss than the scales. The study said a Woman's waist should be no bigger than 35", so of course I grabbed the tape & measured my waist & I am just a half inch over at 35.5" - no sucking it in either ;)  I have been doing some isometric exercises that target the core muscles & I think that, as well as my diet are helping be take control of my waist line.

Here is a whole bunch of links to a google search for isometrics aimed at weight loss, enjoy!

OK, some exciting news....  On July 17, my Granddaughter Katy became Mother to Jaxon a beautiful baby boy, making my Daughter Dear a GrandMother & me a Great GrandMother, how's that for exciting?

Today I joined the 365Project ..

 I've been taking a lot of pictures lately as the arthritis in my right hand is not letting me bead much ;( I thought taking pics might keep me busy.  Feel free to sign up to do the picture a day project & join me & hundreds of other folk with an eye for taking pictures..

Funny thing but a while back, the thought crossed my mind about doing a photo a day & posting it on here but that is all it ever was, a thought LOL

I really am going to try & commit to this for a year, so here goes nothing..

Here are the first two pictures..

I found this little guy/gal sitting waiting for dinner in the center of a daisy

As I sat there, a bug landed at the edge where all the pollen is & in the blink of an eye, the little spider had the bug in its grip & dinner was served..

I've started carrying my camera in the pocket of my jeans because I know how often I've thought 'Darn, I wish I had my camera', so now I do & hopefully I'll get some interesting shots over the space of the next 365 days..

♥ Valentine's ♥ Heart ♥ for my Honey ♥

I'm a member of ABeadStory a group my friends Cyn & Dot created for those of us who love to bead embroider.

The challenge for this month was of course a Heart & so I started with the thought that my heart would be in a frame like my BJP Under The Sea series.  I was wrong ;)

As I sat beading the other day, Joe sat down & started cutting up an old pair of jeans which he'd finally admitted had too many holes - he uses them for rags out in his shed.  He came over & put the small coin pocket on my beading table.  As I beaded on my heart, the tiny pocket caused my Muse to get excited, so we (my Muse & I) went & got the back of the jeans & picked the pockets off them. 

The heart is embroidered on fabric that I backed with several heart shape layers of  felt to give it shape. I started with a heart shaped piece of Paua Shell from New Zealand, which glued on before I beaded around it.  I used mainly matt black czech 11s along with a variety of sizes & finishes in black, to create texture along with a sprinkling of red & blue/green to spice up the black.  There's some Hematite too, to add good energy to the heart.   I cut a slightly larger heart from red fabric & stitched both to the pocket, poking a little fiberfill behind them before I finished sewing them down. 

Red embroidery thread & a few tiny flower beads topped with sparkly red beads finished this off.  I used cardboard covered with denim  to back the pocket & used copper wire & beads to make a funky hanger for my ♥valentine♥ for my honey♥

Joe loves it ♥♥

I do love it when my Muse takes over because then I really bead outside the box!!

DollieBeadznSewz

So.... Because I find it hard to simply sit & do nothing, I decided to make things to sell using my sewing machine & am now proud to announce my Etsy Store DollieBeadznSewz which I opened today.

Here are few of the items that are for sale & I hope to offer more as the weeks go by.

I thought these hearts would make the perfect Valentine's gift for that someone special in your life.

Or, they might make the perfect base for someone to use for their BJP pages.. I can make a set in the colours of your choice if you'd like..

So please go to DollieBeadznSewz & tell your friends about it too ;)

Here I am again, at last..

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged..

I have arthritis in my thumb joint & I'm waiting to see if my health insurance will approve a scan of the joint, so that the orthopedic dr can then decide what is the best action to take. I cannot take pain meds & the OTC ones don't do a real lot to relieve the pain.

I have trouble picking things up & holding a needle is painful so I have not been beading lately. In fact I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself & I ate way too much of the things I should not have & managed to put 8 pounds back on, after losing 17 pound early last year! Of course that made me feel worse & so goes the not so merry-go-round.

Then to make matters worse I fell at work about 2 weeks ago, I slipped on a wet patch on the floor & landed on my back. I've had a sore back since then & pains down my left leg, I believe it is my sciatica - I can't sit for very long nor can I stand for too long & of course I cannot take anything to help with the pain Grrrr

I am waiting now for L&I to approve my claim so I can start PT to help relieve this. Man do the wheels turn slowly at L&I!! I go back to see my dr again on Tuesday - I have also been off work since this happened & my sickpay has covered me to date but what the heck is going to happen when that runs out??

Oh well a new week starts tomorrow so maybe things will fall into place for me, at least I can hope, right?