Virtual Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the Virtual Blog Tour and I am excited and happy to share my post with you and then introduce the ladies who will take their turn on the tour next week,July 7th.

The first question is what am I working on?

I am always working on a project of some kind or tweaking something I have done long ago to make it better or different in some way. 
Usually my projects have to do with music or painting and occasionally it is something around the house or outside with my water gardens. Most of my paintings end up as headers on this blog.
Some of my music has seen the light of day in use at weddings.

I have ghost written but that's odd because you are fleshing out the idea of someone else using your own words.  

I have been working on a painting of Barnegat Light which is one of America's tallest light houses.  I can see it across the bay in the distance on the barrier island by Barnegat Inlet.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
What a very difficult question.
My art is amateur stuff.    It is untrained (except for watching Bill Alexander  as a child) and without real rules.  It is just how I see things coming out in what I paint , write or play on the piano.
I can't say it is unique except to say it is my own and what I do is done based on my limitations which are many.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

 I paint what I see and what I know and what I want to be true. I grew up around the seashore and in the great outdoors.
It is now and always has been an important part of my life so I paint it and I paint it again and again because it is a constantly changing vista. It is never the same two days in a row. Each time you see it things are different and I love to paint that if I can.

When I take photographs they are often a bit blurry because my body is not stable because of my spine.  My camera is not the best and I have no training at all.  I just want a record of something lovely that I have seen or a memory to save like anyone else. Nothing fancy.
I share photos and art because it is part of my life and I like to share that with my friends.
I share with others because I just love what they share with me!    Anything from what they bought for groceries, what  movie or TV program they liked, to photos of their families. Just anything.
 I just love it all and the chance to know other people a bit more.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

My writing, my painting, my music begin with inspiration and then I just move and it comes into being.
I feel as though things make themselves and are in there waiting to come out and show themselves.
Michelangelo said "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free" and I understand that very well because it is so true.

For instance in painting clouds on a sky background I saw mountains and voila, the painting changed to a lake surrounded by mountains! 

 

I painted a lake and it wanted to have trees.
Then the easy listening radio station  on my computer played "Church by the Wildwood" and the little brown building wanted to be  placed  there.
"no spot is so dear to my childhood as the little brown church in the dale".
Well,no dale, but the woods are there at least!
The little building wanted a huge glass door so it could shine out onto the lake.

 

I have asked a few ladies but some just cannot take part right now.  So, I have only two who will be joining in. Still, that's two blogs for you to visit and I will also list some other bloggers who have taken part.
If you visit them our community can grow! They will be posting on July 7th.

Let me introduce you to Melanie from Joy in the Journey who shares her joy on her blog.
Melanie is a mother of 3, grandmother of 12 and pet mama of 2.
Melanie lives in central Florida and cares for her aged mother who lives with her.
After 25 years in the nursing profession she is enjoying retirement. This talented lady quilts, and spends time reading, napping, blogging, and doing volunteer work at her church.

The second lady in the tour is our dear Toni at Town Village Notes.
Toni was born in the Bronx, New York and currently lives in  beautiful upstate NY  in the town of Germantown, Columbia County.
She is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and a coffee lover  who has been blogging since 1995.
Her  talent for poetry and graphic art can be seen on her blog.

Others who have joined in the tour :

FourSimply Living   

Picking Poppies

 Daniela at  Sweetly Dreaming of the Past.  
Daniela's blog is exceptionally lovely. She teaches so much  of the romantic side of history  and shows pictures that bring it alive. And she writes the blog in both Italian and English. How cool is that? 

Each of their blog posts contains the names of other women who have joined in so you can find lots of interesting blogs and the wonderful women behind them! This is how the blogging world can be kept alive and vibrant.

Magazine Covers, Questions, Blog Tours

Friday is here and it came far too fast for my liking.

 Time is going too fast.

I am joining in Toni's question and answer and here are my responses.

"magazine cover" I made in 2008

 Unconscious Mutterings
 1.Closed :: mind
2.Tourists :: Traffic!!!!
 3.Footsteps :: in the dark
 4.Ginger :: Snaps
 5.Way :: to go!
 6.Designer :: clothing
 7.Mattress :: Sleepy's
 8.Disaster :: in the making
 9.Chips :: and dips
10.Campaign ::chest

 

photo of my small pond

I made these magazine covers in 2008 from an idea I saw somewhere but can't recall now where.  I made some for myself and some for others . Mine are created using my own personal photos.

 Why don't you try doing one yourself?

They are fairly easy and a cute way to display your photos.

Imagine one of your photos framed like this and on your wall?       I think it would be adorable and I think I will take my own idea and do just that!

buffet table photo

 They really are fun to make.  I just used  my personal photos as  backgrounds and then added the print in Photoshop.

You can click these to make them full sized and easier to see.  

The Virtual Blog Tour is in full swing.
I have emailed a few people but only received a few responses so far. 
 If you would like to join in, let me know. I need 2 more people for it to work properly.
I think its a wonderful idea and a boost for blogging and getting you new friends!
It is a good way to keep blogging alive.
My post goes up on June 30th and the people who respond should have their posts up by July 7th.

In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend.

Ice Cream Meme

This is the Ice Cream Meme.

Everyone likes ice cream in the summer. Most people love it all year long.
Since my spinal surgery last May,  I have craved ice cream and milk because my body is producing a whole lot of new bone and I guess my body needs the milk.
Right now, ice cream is on my mind.

1. Ice cream or frozen yogurt?
     ice cream!

2. Vanilla or chocolate?
      vanilla is my favorite

3. Hard ice cream or soft ice cream?
     hard packed ice cream usually

4.  What do you call the little things you shake on top of the cone? Do you want them in chocolate or multi colored?
     well, here at the Jersey Shore ( which is nothing and I do mean NOTHING like the TV program Jersey Shore.. sigh) we call the colored ones sprinkles and the chocolate ones are called Jimmies.
 No,  we have no idea why.

5.  Soft cake cone,hard sugar cone or pretzel cone?
       Sugar cone!

6.  If you could make up an ice cream flavor, what would it be like?
      Vanilla ice cream with Caramel,  marshmallow, peanuts and a  swirl  of fudge.
      
7.  What would you name it?
      Snickerdoodle Ice Cream

What are your answers.... Answer on your own blog and  let us know in comments that you joined in so everyone can visit your blog and read your answers.


Might interest  you to know that an ice cream tester who was able to identify every ice cream brand blind folded said that BlueBell Ice Cream from Texas was the best in the world!
He named Breyer's the second best in the world.
 Today we have the gourmet brands that are pretty good too.


Until next time repeat our mantra,  Keep Calm and Eat Ice Cream.

Wednesday Doings

Daniela, one of our  blog friends, asked me to participate in a Virtual Blog Tour and I will be taking part on June 30th.

Sunset

 In the meantime you will really enjoy reading her post for the tour.
 You will enjoy reading all her posts. Her blog is very special.  Go there and see for yourself.
To keep blogging alive it is necessary to keep making new friends, so I think this blog tour might be a great answer for that.

Every other Wednesday in summer my town has concerts in the park and fireworks afterward.
 I was supposed to go but never heard from the others who were going. So,I am not sure if they just went without me or didn't go at all. Darn!
I could hear the fireworks and the big finale as the park is not far from me really.
The photo is just for the heck of it!

Tomorrow I will be posting this week's meme.

Tuesday 4

Tuesday means Toni's memes!
Here are my answers to As a Child.

#4 As A Child, I..
 1. As a child I loved to play...? baseball with my friends, ride a bike,double dutch jump roping was a favorite thing to do. I loved playing in the creek out back and pick water cress for my mother.

 2. As a child I wanted to grow up to be...? I once said jet pilot but I think I was an older kid when I thought that. As a little girl I really just didn't give it much thought. I assumed I work with my mother and father in their business.

Napoleon

 3. As a child my favorite thing to eat was...?    Spaghetti! My mother made the best sauce(gravy if you are from NJ) ever. It is still my all time favorite food over all.
I also liked butterscotch pudding and Napoleons.

 4. As a child my favorite relative was...? My grandparents. As a very little girl we lived with my father's parents and later on my mother's mother lived with us for the rest of her life. I could not imagine not having grandparents in the house.

Lazy days are made for napping on comfy beds.
An occasional stretch  or a roll around  is the only activity on such days.

Paws are made for blocking too much sun light.
Soft  fluffy comforters are made for lovely afternoons when window breezes gently ruffle your fur.

Garfield is enjoying the temperate summer weather and celebrating with a bit of a snooze.
Hard work being a cat who is 19 years old.
A Passing Storm has been updated with an old painting.
What's going on at your house today?   

Summer Has Come to the Bay

On a High Note...

I started singing lessons when I was 14 and continued beyond high school.

A few nasty cases of what was called 'quinsy'( peritonsillar abscess) made sure my voice remained in the realm of the average, though I am sure it never was  more than average to begin with either.  

My teacher was stellar, however, and sang with the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera (no small feat)  and gave me a life long love of opera and the glorious beauty of the human voice.
Her voice could blow you out of the room! Opera singers don't need microphones for volume.

I listen to the great arias once in a while and happened upon this beautiful celebration of Dame Joan Sutherland's stellar coloratura soprano.
Dame Sutherland, born and raised in Australia,  passed on in 2010 but what a legacy of music she has left behind for us to enjoy.
During her lifetime Italian opera critics, some of the toughest in the world, nicknamed her 'La Stupenda', stupendous!
Luciano Pavarotti called her voice like being in 'heaven' and that she had the 'voice of the century'. 

Her father was a Scottish tailor and her mother was a  mezzo soprano who taught Joan to sing but was herself too shy for the stage.

Let's end the week on a high note with the top ten E flats of her career.
Simply beautiful.

I hope you have a simply beautiful end to the week.

Iced Tea Month

It is National Iced Tea Month so this week's meme
is about iced tea!



What brand of regular tea makes the best iced tea?
 
I like to use Barry's Tea from Ireland. It is strong and makes very nice iced tea.   One sachet makes a little pot of tea.
If I don't have my Barry's I use whatever is on hand.

Sugar?
If I am using lemon, then yes, please.
I like the super fine kind made to dissolve quickly. You end up using less of it. If I am not using lemon then no sugar at all please.

Fresh lemon or bottled?
Fresh lemon absolutely!  It tastes so wonderful.

Ever drink flavored iced teas like raspberry or spice?
Yes but I like plain tea the best.

Lemon or mint or both?
I like lemon the best but since I do grow many kinds of mint I also use that from time to time.

Now it's your turn....

Tuesday 4

Since it is Tuesday, it is time for Toni's Tuesday 4 Meme.

#03 An Hour, A Day, A Month, A Year

1. How many hours a day do you watch TV?
I probably watch about one hour of TV a week.  
 Like Toni I like the easy listening station on cable TV.  They play songs I remember from the old radio stations of my childhood, songs my parents knew and loved. I find it comforting and relaxing to hear old standards.
I watch Pretty Little Liars, though tonight is my granddaughter's graduation from 8th grade so that will replace our TV date!
Other than that I watch little TV.  I did have the habit of watching City Confidential on the Bio channel but they changed it to early morning instead of the later time and it isn't convenient anymore.


2. How many days in a week do you cook at home?   6 days a week, breakfast, lunch and dinner.   Sometimes I get a chicken schnitzel sandwich after physical therapy since I get so hungry, but not too often.

3. How many times a month do you go to the movies?
  More like how many times a year!  I go very rarely and usually to accompany the Famous Anonymous so she has someone with her.  I go now more often than in previous years when I really never went at all. 
I have been to the movies twice so far this year to see movies with her. Godzilla was one and Divergent was the other.  We will probably go see the new Step Up movie too.  3 movies in a year is huge for me.

4. How many vacations do you take a year?
None. 
Vacations are not in the budget  but I sure could use one.  
I do get some day trips here and there though and that's very nice!

My meme will be up on Thursday afternoon.
Since there is graduation this evening I will be around to visit tomorrow morning.
Have a splendid day.

Shadow Box for Jewelry

I  finally found a nice way to store my longer pieces of jewelry.
Some were inherited and some given to me and a few I found for myself but I had no nice way to store them so they would not tangle, etc.

Other things hang from a large wooden goose I painted many years go.  One day I will take a photo of that as well.

I decided that a good way to do it would be with shadow boxes that I found at Home Goods.
I just put some hangers inside and hung the shadow box on the wall.
Easy and quick and it makes a nice place for longer necklaces etc.
One would be nice for bracelets or even earrings.
However, I think more than one or two would be a bit much.

The wooden frame can be painted any color you like and you can even replace the interior material.
I liked it  as it was and so I left it in the original finish.
These shadow boxes come in much larger  sizes as well.

There are some mementos and letters pinned onto the material behind the jewelry to add interest.

Tuesday Doings

I  am joining in on Toni's Tuesday 4 Meme:
 #02 If You Could Only You Would:

 1. If you could only choose any place on earth to live..you would?
 Live here on the Northern East Coast. I think I would really love Massachusetts. I love upstate New York as well.  I do enjoy the Jersey shore so much too.
 2. If you could only buy anything you ever wanted..you would?
 Season tickets to the Metropolitan Opera and dinners out.
 3. If you could only do whatever your heart desires..you would?
Bring peace and brotherhood for all mankind. But I know it is coming! 
4. If you could only write a great novel about (any genre)...you would?
A Mystery story of course since I am a die hard Agatha Christie fan!

 Today has been an on and off cloudy, rainy ,sunny day today.
Sometimes the sun peeks out but mostly the sky has been silvery gray all the day long.
I had physical therapy this morning which I enjoy despite the hard work.  Hey, it's a day out right?   But really they are so nice there its fun to go.
The place is surrounded with Bridal Wreath and Mock Orange bushes  making it very pretty with a wonderful scent in the air.
Tonight is Pretty Little Liars and dinner with the Famous Anonymous kid.  We  will see the end of the last season and then watch the season opener.   I really got hooked on this show!

Afternoon on the Bay

 I am reading the  Complete New Yorker book my daughter gave me with all about it from the first issue until now.
It comes with CD's as well as the book and is usually $100 but she got it for 10 on the sale table!
How nice is that!

 I have never subscribed to the New Yorker or Vanity Fair both of which I really like.  I think I will have to remedy that one of these days.
 I once did subscribe to the Saturday Evening Post and I used to really love that.
In my email I get articles from the Farmer's Almanac and from Better Homes and Gardens. Both are great.
When I was a kid I liked reading comic books and magazines much more than books.

Do you subscribe to any magazines?
 Do you enjoy magazine reading?     Which ones?

Memes and More Memes

Rainy weather marked my little time off, but that is okay and today is sunny and cool and the fish are happy.
Tomorrow will be marked by hot weather in the 80's something I am never fond of in this very humid climate.   I do not mind if the humidity is low but here in New Jersey, a sub-tropical state, believe it or not, it is very often too humid for me .
The bay and ocean are a chilly 63° F but it will heat up to 70 and more soon enough.

click to enlarge

If you want to see a beach cam near me you can check HERE and HERE
 You must endure a short commercial first but it isn't long or too awful. They help the towns pay for the cameras, many of which were destroyed in 'Sandy' last year.
We are still recovering here at the shore.

My meme is at the bottom of the page but in the meantime I will join in Toni's

#01 Favorites What's Yours?
1. Favorite Outfit To Wear:  A three quarter length sleeve cotton shirt, something denim or blue on the bottom.

2. Favorite Hair Color & Style: Very light  Blonde and cut in a medium length bob.

3. Favorite Kind Of Shoes: Minnetonka moccasins or Bass Weejun loafers . Sandals in summer.

4. Favorite Way To Relax:    Watching old film noir movies or old BBC comedies like The Good  Life or  As Time Goes By.

I also joined in on the older meme Toni put up on Thursday:

Onesome: One-- or more siblings? ...or just you? I have a brother and sister who are over 20 years older than me. My brother has 'walked on' as the Navajo say.

Twosome: Two-- favorite shows on this season? I have not been watching television at all. I hate watching alone. I will be back watching Pretty Little Liars with the Famous Anonymous on June 10.

 Threesome: Three-- ways to cook hot dogs? Fried in olive oil until crispy and then served Italian style topped with fried potatoes, fried red and green peppers and onions. Or, German style with mustard and a ton of rinsed, drained and cooked saurkraut! I am not a fan of them boiled or microwaved.

Now for my meme about your Home Decor with my answers in italic:

Coffee Time on my Kitchen Table

1. Describe your home decor style.
Victorian really. Very eclectic in places.
2. What changes would you make to your interior design? If you have made some would you tell us about it please?
I would buy new book cases and replace what I have. I plan on doing that soon and will show photos once it is done.
3. Would you share a photo of a room or an area in a room that you especially like and tell us why?  (Just a photo of a table top or plants or anything else would do nicely to show a bit of 'you' and your style.)
I like my oak dining table with it's Victorian chairs and big thick pedestal bottom.  This photo shows it ready for coffee.
You can click the photos to enlarge them if you like.
Coffee carafe from Shop Rite, tablecloth from Target.

Join in won't you?   Let's rejuvenate blogging and get people interested once again while we learn about one another.
If you join in tell us in comments so we can visit you!

Mini Time Off

Around the neighborhood things are green as can be!

What a gorgeous day it is today. Sunny and balmy warm.
The sky is super blue and just lovely. I  enjoying  watching Monarch butterflies take nectar from the blossons.
 So pretty.

I will be taking a few days off but will be back blogging on Thursday evening.

I should have a new meme then and I do hope you are enjoying them.