wacky april weather

The sun decided to come out for a little bit this morning but we have had very wacky weather this week.

It's been raining off and on all week, sometimes really hard which is not normal April weather here. We should be seeing more temps in the mid 70's but it's been much colder.

Courtesy SF Gate

Yesterday was pretty wild with lightning strikes here and an hour away in San Francisco.

Then there was this bizarre afternoon hail while I was out driving. It was so loud my eardrums hurt and unfortunately most drivers in California aren't used to any extreme weather so they panic. Luckily I remembered how to use the extra stuff my jeep has for this kind of weather (I knew they would come in handy one day). It only lasted a few minutes but of course it made our news.

Two days ago we had a tornado about 40 miles away. Nothing at all like the one in Texas and the damage was minor but just having a tornado here is pretty freaky.

How is the weather in your neck of the woods?

t&t tuesday, atc swap and bizarre weather

Hello and happy Tuesday! It feels like I've been away much longer than 5 days, or maybe it's just me since I've been busy these past few days. We have been visiting family, cleaning and sprucing up the house and I'm also working on organizing my work space for the WBC blog party. And I have had to be more mindful of taking care of myself as I had to take an unexpected trip to the hospital the other week. It seems my tummy is much pickier about what I put in it nowadays.

Our bizarre weather continues here in Tomatoland. Last week we were up to 102 but today is cloudy and breezy and we may actually have some rain. Something that hasn't happened here in June since stagecoach days I think, lol.

You might have noticed my Tips & Treasures Tuesday link disappeared. I think Summer may not be the best time to start up a new linky party since most of us find ourselves spending more time with our families and less time on the computer. I'll still post my favorite tips and treasures now and then and you're more than welcome to add your own in a comment if you like.

In fact here are two favorite things I have found very useful in my art space.

I love this hanging jewelry organizer for storing all the small odds and ends that easily gets lost in my drawers. There are pockets on both sides and when I don't need it I just tuck it away between the hutch and another fixture.

Almost everything sitting on my work table spins. This is a fun and very useful holder I found in the clearance section at Marshalls. The trays stack and the top and middle ones also spin so it's easy to grab any of the little bottles and tubes. And the red rubber mats keep everything from sliding around. I got a couple of these placemats for $1 and cut them up to fit under some of my organizers since the surface on my work table is slippery. That way when Luna gets up on my table things are less likely to get knocked down.

Finally I wanted to add something regarding the Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap from April. Unfortunately not everyone received a card from their partner and this is most frustrating when your partner won't respond to emails to let you know if there might be a problem. We all sign up to do these swaps because we love sharing our art with other creative souls. It's always a thrill to receive a piece of handmade art in the mail from someone who might be a future friend. We all understand that things happen, we end up with more on our plate than we expected, and other things become more important than mailing out a tiny card, wand, doll, etc. It only takes a minute to send an email to your swap partner to let them know what's going on. Later is better than never if possible. And if it's truly impossible, then a little courtesy among artists is appreciated and a quick email to update your partner should be a no brainer. I hope this helps and thank you again to all of you who share your amazing artful bags every month.

I'll see you soon with next month's Artful Bag Challenge theme: Embellish It!

good words + missing followers update

Update: Anyone else notice their followers have gone missing? I just checked the forum and lots of people are having the same problem. Here's a link to a form to fill out to add your blog to the list. Hope they can sort it out soon. I just hit 460 then they all went away :( I miss seeing your smiling faces on my page!

I'm always looking for quotes. I love to read them and many of them, especially the ones about art and creativity really inspire me. Recently I came across one in a magazine that I hadn't seen before.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

This is from tennis legend Arthur Ashe. It's been my favorite since I found it.

Sometimes I just get overwhelmed when I see or read about all the new products and techniques available to artists today. Looking through the pages of my favorite Stampington magazines, I can easily find a project featuring multiple steps and products and gadgets. And I honestly really love and appreciate all of them. But like so many of you, I'm also on a tight budget and my tiny space can barely hold what I already have.

This weekend I was at Michaels and debated way too long on whether to try the Tim Holtz crackle paints. I picked a few up, put one back, walked around with two, put another back, walked around with one...

How many of you have done this before?

Finally I thought about that Arthur Ashe quote and remembered that what I really love is just making something with stuff I already have. Plain old paint, paper and glue (ok and a few of those distress ink pads). So I put the last bottle back. 25% off wasn't a good enough sale for me anyway and I'll just wait until I can use the 40% off coupon they have every week.

Spreaking of using what I have...I decided to recycle old pictures from one of my early posts last year. I remember I found a package of these metal charms with words so I threw them in a bottle and took a few pictures.

I hope you had a great weekend. With or without new goodies to try, lol. Our bizzare weather continues here in 'sunny' California. I drove through a wicked thunderstorm yesterday during a 2 hour trip and all my winter clothes are still out. So so strange....

Do you have a favorite quote? I'd love to hear.

after the storm

Two days in a row. The weather guy got it wrong two days in a row. We were suppose to get more rain yesterday but the sun was out all day. Rain is in our forecast for today too and again it looks like the sun decided to stay. I won't complain since my whole neighborhood is still cleaning up after the storm this weekend. Lots of branches and trees all over the streets but at least the flood alert was lifted. Living a half mile from the river, that is always good news.

Well I'm off to go to my first physical therapy session this morning. After all these months of dealing with the pain in my shoulder I finally got around to getting xrays. So it wasn't a torn rotator cuff or tendonitis after all. I have mild degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis. Basically I'm aging before my time (I think I always knew that lol!) The PT should help to strengthen my joints so I can get full movement back I hope.

I thought this vintage circus poster was too perfect for this post!

I can't believe we're more than halfway through March already! I just saw a few more bags added to the Artful Bag Challenge. I love the creative embellished purses my ladies are doing. Next month we are having our first bag themed ATC swap and I hope some of you can join us for that too. I'll have sign ups for it posted soon.

Have a lovely Tuesday.

pea soup

Aside from the intense summers here in Sacramento, the other thing we are known for is the fog. Thick, pea soup fog where you can barely see but a few feet in front of you. It rolls in from the river which runs along the city and can get a little scary when you're driving in it.

It came in yesterday as I drove my son to school. It's actually very pretty, giving the tall pine trees in my neighborhood a mystical forest feel. It's even prettier along the river as the fog settles on the water, making me think of misty moors far far away.

Visibility right now is still pretty good. By January I would barely be able to see the outline of the trees. My son and I were caught in the fog on the freeway at night a few years ago. We got lost coming home and the only way I could tell which way to go was to follow the truck in front of me as closely as I could. It's a very surreal feeling when you can't see what's around you. I prayed the whole 60 miles and have never EVER taken that drive in winter again.

What's the scariest weather you have ever driven in? I imagine snow can be even more daunting. I'm a California girl but we don't have typical California weather here so we're more prepared than the people living in the milder areas. You should see them when they get a few inches of rain!

I hope you're having cozy weather where you are. I know some of you are already knee deep in snow. We are 2 hours away from the snow up in the Sierras and on very, very rare occasions we will get a light dusting here in the city. My son is getting over a yucky cold and I'm hoping I'm not getting it too.

Have a comfy, cozy, creative weekend.

♥