12 strings of beauty

I love to play strings, any kind of strings. I am not as accomplished as my friends but I still love to play.I get inspired by the Denver songs of the 70's. Whether 6 or 88 strings if it makes a nice sound I play it. I love the rich sound of sympathetic strings on the Hardanger or the 12 string guitar. I hope to own a Hardanger one day. But I can still play my 12 string, viola and the piano and enjoy their sound.

Broken Stroken

This is Poppy our mostly outdoor cat. He stays outside until fall and winter or it foster kittens are in the house. He is napping in the heat on our deck next to the okra basket. I should have heeded his warning about working outdoors this July. I got heat stroke two times this month. I had been taking care of friends, driving around, farm sitting three farms and tending my own garden in the middle of the day. I had stopped sweating and kept feeling like fainting/ dizzy as I walked around. I came inside and drank gallons of fluids. Then the headache started and nothing worked to quell the head pain. For 3 days my head hurt and I slept/napped a lot. My husband made me stay inside and kept me hydrated. This was the first time this has happened to me. I now understand how people can die from this. It is like a painful stroke/migraine that never stops and you never feel right either too cold or too hot while everyone else feels fine. So now I do my chores early or at dusk and drink a lot of tea and gator aid. 

Big Green Sweetness

Update: we cut this up and it lived up to its sweetness. Every part of the vine, stem and spoons were dried up before we picked it.And it had a yellow belly (or end for us) from sitting on the ground.

This year I grew watermelons from seeds I saved from a very sweet melon we ate last year. I could not remember what the melon looked like but that it was sweet. I started them in my greenhouse in May and them planted them on a pile of dry horse manure we dumped on a meadow. I had 6 melons come up and ripen this month. They are about 16 pounds, ready for harvest. I talked to many farmers about when to pick and have nailed it. Yellow bottom, deep hollow thump, shriveled vine/spoons. And my dogs kept the groundhogs, coons and deer off my melons. And I have success with these planted next to my pumpkin patch. 

Raggedy Repair

I was asked if I restore old dolls recently. I restore many things from machines, wood, cloth, bone  and leather. If it is broken I can fix most things, just not people. One thing about dolls is there is a lot of love in that object. Most want their doll back to the original but that does not happen in my price range and I refer them to a preservationist. But I can clean, sew and refurbish most things. I have sewn dolls and made clothes for many dolls. This Ann is the largest one I will work on. I had no idea there were so many kinds of Ann & Andy dolls in so many sizes. Most are well loved and it shows. The good news is that there are many out there for parts, parts still made and patterns available. I never owned an Ann, I had a large Snoopy doll I drug around and slept on. It is only a memory. But once in a while I get to work on someones woobie or toy companion. And I get to be Geppetto for a little while in my studio.

Holstered

These are examples of handmade holsters other people have made and sell on line. I have been looking for ideas as I have been asked to make 2 leather holsters. The friend who asked is dying of the late stages of liver cancer. I asked that he not accidentally shoot his hospice nurse when she changes his dressings. He told me he just does not want anyone to sneak up on him in his home. He used to be a truck driver and has always had a piece on him when working or staying somewhere. His mother is taking care of him at her home. My friend is only 52 years old and is no longer a candidate for any new cancer treatments nor trials. So to make him happy, I will make these for him. He turns 53 this week and he will not live to see 54. He is the second son to die under their roof in their family. I feel for my friends mother as she helps her son on his last days. The cancer eating away his flesh from the inside out. It is not pretty and does not smell nice. Luckily, he feels none of that as he is with hospice home care. They take care of their own here in the Ozarks. Many choose to die at home with their family like it used to be before nursing homes and hospitals. It seems better all the way around for the dying and their family/friends.