the day olive comes to stay...

and so it came to pass in a small town outside of seattle,

'little olive' the other dog, came to reside at mossy shed...

do not let these pictures deceive you, 'little olive' at only 10 weeks old is already in training for christmas, when she hopes to put her huge ears to good use by being 'the other reindeer' for santa.

i have a few months to crochet some antlers so she passes 'reindeer inspection' but at the moment being in close proximity to 'yarn' is causing me to feel quite faint...

she is off to fight for space infront of the electric fan with her children ~ Tif

the day before olive comes to stay...

i have seen my future...

("what crazy talk is this Tif, has the heat finally fried your last ounce of sanity?" i hear you gasp)

this is no crazy talk dear readers, no sirree... it's the truth, however deranged i appear to be looking in my 'slick stuck to my head' suzi quatro hairstyle and old cotton slip, going 'as is' underneath and having a 'hand fan' as my best friend...

in the past few days i have had a taste of my menopausal future and i don't care for it one bit.

i've accepted my sagging bottom,

come to terms with my pesky gray roots

and convinced myself the crows feet around my eyes are laughter lines...

(actually that is all a pack of 'fibs', but for the sake of me adding drama to my ramblings i must 'bend the truth' at this point, i knew you would understand. but not, i must add at the 'menopausal point' above... no, that is the truth. cross my heart...)

as the outside temps reach over a 100 and inside the shed is close behind with a 'faint' inducing 90+... i have now been given a taste of the 'could fry an egg on my back at night' situation that presents it's self in menopause...

and so today, as 'they' claim it will be even hotter...

i fear for used dog living with a coat of 'black and fur', trying to stay warm with her 'super hero wet cloak' towel and a bulldog clip,

i fear for my feathered friends who are beginning to have an insight to their cousins lives, the rotisserie chickens,

i fear for 'noodle and doodle' the two mieces, in their glass walled home of 'stink' in our #4's room.

but most of all, even more than fearing for my menopausal future,

i fear for my children having to ride out the heatwave with a mother perspiring like she's never perspired before and making sure everyone in the vicinity of the shed, shares her suffering...

she is off tomorrow, travelling north to bring little olive 'home'... and hoping the air conditioning in the car remembers it's supposed to be working ~ Tif

footynote: just a quick 'thanking you kindly'... i truly appreciate your lovely words of support for my 'exhibit moment' of late. it has warmed my heart... actually my heart was already warm due to extreme heat conditions and really didn't require anymore warming but i think you get the gist of what i mean :)

good for nothing... once again

the '100 degree heat' is unbearable

the 'laundry' is unbearable

the 'cooking' is unbearable

my 'sweating' is unbearable

my 'mothering' ability is unbearable

and worst of all

my 'creativity' has been zapped,

which in my books is the most unbearable thing of all...

she is off to visit her friend Tasha in her air-conditioned cubicle to get a little bit of 'heat' relief ~ Tif

when all is said and done...

well, that was easy...

sunday afternoon in the city,

mid summer,

over 95 degrees heat

and what do you have at a 'meet and greet' artist afternoon?

a table full of food,

two exhibitions,

two helpers (making the space look a little busier)

and two artists waiting... and waiting some more

out of the half a dozen or so people that braved the heat to visit our basement yesterday afternoon, three were my actual family so i don't think that counts, four appeared to have 'stumbled' upon us, perhaps hoping for 'air conditioning' but finding none. and then we had two friends of Anna's and her art teacher.

a medal goes to my friend Maggi from down the road accompanied by her lovely little baby, who braved the heat, to soak up some culture in the heart of a very fried city.

i 'talked the talk' with one artist friend of Anna's who kept me on my toes, and quite helpfully allowed me to see 'inside' the workings of my 'thoughts' a little deeper, so it wasn't all in vain.

my favorite moment of the 'hot and sticky' afternoon came when our #4, having been dragged out of the shed to visit with his mother, helped himself to a big slice of cake and then promptly sat down amidst my installation and ate his 'prize' for 'showing support'.

for you see dear readers, it was 'home from home' and rather than sit on the art gallery chairs he choose to make himself comfortable, completely unaware that it was my 'installation' piece...

if only i had my camera to hand at that moment, but alas i was soooo busy standing as close to the fan as was decent that the 'moment' passed uncaptured...

but i do feel that you were all there in spirit yesterday and that is what counts, your words of support helped me no end...

i have a few pictures for your perusal today, not easy to get due to no natural daylight and an awful lot of bright, 'oh so flipping hot' artificial lighting. but i think you will get the gist of my little corner display.

it was a challenge for me to 'place' my installation in such an 'urban environment' preferring perhaps an old derelict house, empty and painted all white from top to toe... but it pushed me way out of my comfort zone and i am thinking that isn't a bad thing to do every now and then...

she is busy preparing for little olive's arrival on thursday and trying to keep 'her cool' whilst practising 'life wearing contacts' ~ Tif

the exhibition moment...

i confess i am totally pants sometimes at promoting myself and dottie angel

("what!!!" you exclaim, "that can't be, it's as if you are everywhere these days Tif")

and now we get to crunch time with my exhibition, it has been up for a few weeks... i was in 'old blighty' when the time to 'display' arrive so my friend Anna and her buddy helped me out. they did a good job but first thing on monday morning i was down there 'tweaking' things... for you see, everything i do is very conceptual

("blimey Tif" that's rather a fancy word for you"...

"i know... my brother told me this when i saw him a couple of weeks back and thought it sounded rather good, so i stored it up for 'use' at some appropriate time")

it's all inside my head, not the day to day stuff, like kids, cooking etc but when it comes to 'visualizing' how i would like to see my wares displayed or photos taken... i can see it very very clearly as if it were right in front of me at that moment.

perhaps my little 'thrifty' stool from my last post is a good example of what i am trying to say...

if we were standing at the thrift store right now, side by side looking at the dodgy 'it' stool i would be seeing it as it ended up looking, but would i have been able to 'convey' my 'vision' to you? i'm not so sure...

another example would be the dream i had last night of the tea shop i opened, the fabulousness of the gloss painted teal furniture, the old china sets, never been seen before but clear as day in my head as i type. the fantastic windows and walls all painted white except for the occasional sprinkling of vintage wallpaper. i didn't get to the front entrance as the morning alarm went off... i was most perturbed to wake and realize it had been a dream and instead of heading down to my tea shop i was in fact getting up to do the laundry and stand in ninety degree heat at the soccer side lines...

but once again i have digressed, perhaps in an attempt to explain a little of the workings inside my brain, and perhaps failing to do so... which is why it is becoming more obvious to me that to 'expand' in any way what i am trying to do, i either need to get better at conveying the 'workings of my mind' or finding someone that is brilliant at mind reading...

and so to the point of me posting on a weekend (such a rare moment in my blogging history)

tomorrow is my 'meet the artist' afternoon at the gallery, which quite frankly is causing me 'hibby gibbys' to say the least.

just in case there is a small chance someone in the 'local vicinity' stumbles upon my 'ramblings' and would like to meet me (gulp)...

the time is 2-5pm

the day is sunday 26th july

the place is the Art Not Terminal Gallery in Seattle

and yes, one could say i am very last minute in my 'invitation' sending out... and that probably speaks volumes... i'm a little apprehensive about the whole 'meeting' people thing... preferring to stay at the shed with my chickens, used dog, the cyber world and my imagination.

for the afternoon in question, i shall be producing a 'tea' of sorts to serve... do not panic dearest readers for any unsuspecting guests who happen to wander into the gallery, i will not be bringing 'home baked' offerings but relying upon a professional 'cake maker' at my local grocery store

("phew" i hear you sigh)

thinking she may need a wee 'tipple' to steady her nerves, and wishing really really hard the 'tea shop' appears for real sometime in the future ~ Tif

thrifty thursdays...

if you are sitting comfortably then i shall begin...

once upon a time in a far off land lived Tif, a young slip of a girl and her 'used dog'. Tif was an 'addict' and once a week she would head into town to get her 'fix'.

'used dog' would wait patiently behind at the shed, never knowing what sort of mood Tif would return in... had she got her 'fix of thrifty finds' or would she come home empty handed and 'down'.

on one such day, Tif was in her local thrift store noting that instead of being super quiet as she had hoped it would be in the school vacation. it was in fact 'heaving' to the point of bursting at the seams with people looking for 'something'.

this did not bode well in Tif's scavenging mind... and just as she predicted, the 'pickings' were slim and her 'fix' was looking more and more doubtful.

then she spied 'it', not a 'oh my, where have you been all my life' it.

but a 'ummm, perhaps i am beginning to lose my way in the thrifty world' kind of it.

and so as nothing else was leaping at her, (not even colin or johnny sadly) Tif decided to take a gamble and purchase the 'it' thing in question. after all she was looking for goodies to decorate her overhang out back.

on returning to the shed, Tif put her 'questionable find' in the back yard to survey.

'used dog' sniffed the 'it'

then she sniffed again

soon after she had to go and have a lie down as the whole 'it' thing made her feel quite faint.

whilst 'used dog' rested, Tif set about trying to create what she had envisioned at the thrift store, with the help of some pink paint and Miss Ethel.

("oh Tif can we just interrupt you there?",

"why yes of course dear readers, what is it?"

"well, you said pink paint, isn't that a little 'bright' for you and your color phobia issues?"

"good question... i must confess i have conquered my 'brightness' fears of late and gone to quite the extreme, unleashing 'bright pink' on several items in our outside area, i think you would be most proud of me... ")

now back to this gripping tale of 'addiction', 'thifting' and 'transforming'...

and so after a happy hour or two, a small swan appeared from within the ugly duckling...

not a 'radiantly fabulous swan' but a swan never the less

after her lie down 'used dog' felt much better.

on taking a good look at what Tif had done with the 'ugliest' stool in the thrift store she gave it two 'paws' up...

giving Tif the confidence to carry on bravely rescuing 'dubious' looking things no longer loved and bringing them back to the shed to enjoy a life with their new 'coats of many colors'...

the end

she is off to get those pesky gray hairs fixed yet again ~ Tif

outdoor living...

ever since i can remember i have loved the idea of a 'living' space outside.

now those of you that know me well would be most correct in thinking that when i say "ever since" it could mean ten years ago, last year or perhaps even last week. as my memory is not my friend these days it really is a bit of a mystery as to how long i have wished for such a space... i am quite sure i was but a 'wee babe' in a cot when i first started to think such lovely thoughts.

to have a little bit of the outside covered over allowing a few pieces of furniture to be left 'out' along with some cushions really is just the most 'loveliest' thing in the world. no need for 'all weather' mass produced stuff here.

with an overhang, indoor furniture can be dragged out along with thrift store finds to give a lovely eclectic air to the space... and no fear of a sudden impromptu shower or two

nearly 41 years on, that 'wee babe' in a cot... gulp! dear god, i have only just got use to saying 40 and now i'm on the brink of 41... it's rushing by in a blur, made worse by my 'lack of remembering'. why is it my 'recalling' issues do not allow me to recollect what i made for dinner last night ("just as well Tif" i hear you cry) and yet i can recall my age precisely to the day... sod's law i suppose.

once again i have digressed where digressing should not be allowed, for today we are focusing on 'el fresco' living.

and so at the grand old age of nearly 41, i stepped off the plane on sunday, greeted by positively lovely 'hot' weather and returned to the Shed to survey what had been going on in my absence.

you'll be glad to know, all is well...

and the yard is looking especially wonderful. to be surrounded by such greenery in the middle of urban life is really quite a treat. i look out on my surroundings and i could be miles from anyone, and strangely that is what i am liking more and more. i fear in a few years i will be a complete 'recluse' requiring only my chickens, used dog, the rest of the clan and just my 'cyber' world for company...

the veggie patch is coming along a treat,

the chickies are getting ready for 'a laying'

gladys still stands there, forgiving me for my 'trailer abuse' of late

and an 'overhang of the utmost kind' has been completed whilst i was gone.

it doesn't get much better than that...

in the past day and a half i have set about creating an 'outdoor' living room,

dragging out items from mossy shed,

painting old chairs

and hanging up paper lanterns.

she loved her visit to 'old blighty' but she sure is happy to be back in her 'nest' ~
Tif

postcard #6...

dearest readers,

we have come to the end of my 'postal' moments. i would like to think they have brightened up your cyber doormats in some small way... or perhaps helped with lining a guinea pig's cage or two.

i have said my goodbyes to the lovely sea as i will be traveling inland to the 'big smoke' in a day or so, to visit with Debbie and Miss Lola before heading back across the pond to Mossy Shed.

in the meantime, i have noted in the past few days the elastic in my slip has given up 'the ghost'.

short of safety pinning it to my undies i am at a loss of what to do. when i leave my parents nest i fear for my 'modesty' and my 'safety'...

i may have to venture into the world tomorrow morning without a slip on. (gasp, shock, horror) my slip is like a security blanket, without it every man and his dog would be able to 'see me' through the skinny summer dresses i have been wearing of late.

this would not be a good thing, in fact it may be a 'huge cause of concern' for any person who happens to be walking behind me along the high street. but i cannot give up my 'security blanket' and so i have decided to continue to wear my slip but walk with my arms wrapped tightly around my waist thus keeping a firm grip on my slip, until i reach Debbie.

i will then leave it up to her to advise me on the best thing to do about the situation that has presented it's self on my last week of 'old blighty' visiting.

after all she sorted my 'undies issue' quite nicely back in February and in nearly 30 years of knowing her, she has always had a 'solution of the utmost' kind. i do feel my 'non elasticated' slip may be pushing it a bit but if she reads this today then it gives her several days to 'ponder' the problem before i arrive on her doorstep, with bulging suitcases in hand, our #2 by my side and chances are, my slip around my ankles...

she has enjoyed penning her postcards to such lovely recipients and bids you a fond farewell until Tuesday 21st July~ Tif

footy note: just to mention this picture of the lovely coastline in south devon was 'thee one' taken by our #3 with one 'numb' hand from stinging nettles. i think you will agree with me that he well and truly deserves the title of 'photographer extroidnaire to Tif'. in fact i am wondering if i will ever allow him to leave home :)

postcard #5...

dearest readers,

my boys are winging their way back to the states and i am left travelling the country lanes with our #2 and Crystal Gail.

i shall miss them most terribly, especially our #3 for i must tell you that since being on the road our #3 has been in charge of 'picture taking' if i require 'moi' in the frame.

he takes the 'shot' and he totally understands what i am seeing in my head and 'voila' a perfect picture has been captured, no cropping needed, i am most impressed...

the boat and myself leaning,

the gate to my imaginary beach house

and the lane that leads to it.

at one point he had a 'to do' with a stinging nettle and still 'kept calm and carried on'. when returning to the shed i am preparing to 'sack' my girls and give him the title of 'photographer extraordinaire to Tif'...

in the meantime me and our #2 have one week left to make the most of 'old blighty'...

and so i send you this postcard stuffed in an envelope along with a few pictures of 'loveliness' from my homeland.

i believe it takes a 'move' to another country to really appreciate one's roots.

so many pretty buildings...

so much character...

so much charm...

and so much of me over here...

ah ha! what a brilliantly clever bit of linking eh!!! oh yes, Tif's still got it after three weeks on the road

("what have you got Tif, and did you really ever have it?" i hear you cry. ummm, good point dear readers...)

so let me move along swiftly but not before i send a "thanking you most kindly" to Victoria for thinking me a worthy 'unexpected' guest and for allowing me to dust off my little cogs and get the old brain 'a thinking'

also inside your super bulgy envelope is a picture of my 'thrifty find of the utmost kind' on this trip so far.

a yellow teapot...

with a pretty lid...

"how much do you think i paid for this?" i excitedly asked our #3 a few days back...

after a pause he said "£2"...

i was most unhappy, i felt sure he would guess in the double digits but no. he was blimen' spot on. yes i paid £2 for it and i was most convinced it was £2 well spent and had hoped everyone would be aghast at my 'canny thriftiness' and 'eye for a pretty find' but it would appear that my boys, after a little discussion would not have paid £2 for such an item and rather take the money and spend it on something worthwhile like 'match attack' cards... they still have so much to learn.

she is bidding you farewell and will return at the beginning of next week with postcard #6 and a 'competition of the utmost kind' (oooh, such thrillingness!!!) ~ Tif

postcard #4...

dearest readers,

the sun has disappeared behind the clouds, not nice fluffy clouds but big angry ones. do we let that get us down. "oh no!" shout i... we just turn Neil Diamond up a little more on the car stereo and sing a little louder. yes, it is quite true 'sweet caroline' is a great mood lifter along with a bit of Elvis...

our usual trip to old blighty results in us standing amongst the candy and music aisles of good old Woolies, but alas, a terrible fate has befallen the British high streets in the past year and so our children's children will never get to feel the 'frill' of going to Woolworths.

every year we would peruse the shelves for the 'must have' sounds of that particular summer, but not this year. sadly there is nowhere since the closure of Woolworths in my folk's town to buy a CD!! isn't that incredible, now of course if i was all 'gadgety' and 'with it' i would instantly whip out my 'gadgety' music player and say "do not fear dearest children, your mother has it all under control"... i would not only be able to download the 'latest and greatest' but also actually know who the 'latest and greatest' are.

but this is not to be, not now and not ever... i do not do little 'gadgety' music players at all. i have reached the point in my life where i do not really wish to bother with such things.

a dinosaur... that is what i have become. i get my 'frills' from thrift stores, piles of doilies, and stashes of yarn but not 'gadgety' things...

so that left me and my clan with a music dilemma. we could choose to travel the wee lanes of south Devon in silence but that would never do, for then we would have no distractions from my driving... so it fell upon my mother's shoulders to select a few CD's from her collection to place in our mode of transport. what pressure of the 'utmost' kind...

my boys of course know Elvis and every word, so that was a hit.

Dixie Chicks was a winner for me... after all i could sing 'wide open spaces' until the cows come home, but 'my clan' did not feel it was safe for their ears or the other cars upon the road.

Roy Orbison didn't get much of a look in either as we discovered good old Neil... my childhood came flooding back and we can now sing to our hearts content, not fearing the narrow country lanes, the huge trucks whizzing past with inches to spare, or the tractors with big prongy things looking most menacing, causing me to close my eyes and send up a silent prayer to whoever may be listening...

she is thanking you most kindly for all your lovely lovely comments and will be back on friday with postcard #5 and the bestest 'thrifty find of the trip' to date. (don't you just love a cliff hanger) ~ Tif

postcard #3...

dearest readers,

it has been a grand week for thrifty finds of the 'utmost kind'...

although i must confess i have a problem when looking for 'where have you been all my life' items whilst traveling in another country. i keep seeing lovely 'things' that have my name written all over them but of course i am hindered by the reality of a 'suitcase' and what will and won't be squeezed in...

so far i have had to accept my dream boat that lives by my imaginary beach house will not be mine for many a year. if it was not a 'pie in the sky' thought, i would have it shipped back to Mossy Shed where i am quite certain it would add some 'curb appeal' alongside of our Gladys.

i have also had to turn my back on the most 'loveliest of lovelies' wicker chair. it was lurking in the corner of an antiques mall. i didn't get a pic but it's enough for me to tell you it had a 'tulip' shaped base and an 'egg' shaped top half for pulses to start racing... as i 'tippity tap' about it, i am overcome with emotion as to think it will belong to another one day.

but do not fear for me dear readers, nor lay awake at night fretting that Tif has not got her 'thrifty frills' on her visit from across the pond. for i have scored on many an occasion these past eight days to the point of having to sit upon my suitcase, and wondering what i can start to stuff inside the children's bags...

i have found knitting needles galore, single and double pointed.

three lovely pitchers, quite chipped and crazed (sounds familiar) but none the less, they still have star quality. i wasn't planning on buying the three but they came as a set and so, fancy that, i was forced to take all three.

a little natty basket of the perfect shape... now being used to haul my growing wonky granny blanket around in. i do have plans to change it to another color but whether i will ever pluck up the courage to do so is another thing...

and some 'spiffy' books from the early 1950's, with the most wonderful jackets.

a green vase with a cross stitched pattern on the side, which i see, looking most 'dashing' upon the kitchen windowsill with peonies to compliment it's beauty...

and last but not least, a hefty stash of linens and more linens, not all revealed here. some in good condition and others not so... of which i plan to help 'revive' in the future so they may be enjoyed again by others.

before i sign off, i must just apologize to my Godson for being rubbish at jumping off a bench. when my friend Debbie showed him the pic of 'me and my boys' leaping from the bench on my last postcard he exclaimed "mummy, the boys are jumping, but Tif's not... she just kind of falling off" and quite right he is too. i have reached that age when jumping off a bench is no longer seen as 'wise' but more as a 'risk' to one's health... i promise to try better next time...

'till then she is wishing you sunshine were ever you are and postcard #4 will be on your doorsteps by Tuesday next week ~ Tif