T stands for ...... I'm Late... again...

 

That seems to be just the way it is for the month of December anyway... and i don't even have an excuse like hubs hospital emergency .. Its just been a BUSY couple of days..  I 'think' about a post on Sunday... then forget and don't remember until Tuesday morning.. Well here i'am... next week i hope to show you what became of those little snowmen in the above picture.. but today... 

............i will tell you that hub' hand is just fine... stitches are out... its still questionable ... to us anyway if he'll get to keep the tip of his ring finger... but other than that he's fine and plans to play golf in 70 F weather this week.. 

i don't know if you have any feelings for Amaryllis.. I have a soft spot for them... My Grandmother had a small round flower bed full of just them in Florida and as long as the temp didn't dip too low they were fine..  There are alot more 'flavors' now. She would have loved them.. So everywhere i live i try to collect them and i sure am tired of moving and giving them away.. 

When i lived in TX previously i gave my 'babies' to my Mother in law when we moved to CA, but try as she might , they died on her... I didn't get any in the 3 years in  CA, then in Arkansas i collected 3 more... When we left Arkansas my friend Josephine was nice enough to adopt them and she has sent me beautiful pictures of them thriving.. Now back in TX i have collected 3 more at 50% off.. and honestly the shape they were in .. i paid too  much... 

I dug around the boxes and found the best 3 bulbs i could find and it WAS a search...  By this time they are starved for light and water..  But as long as the bulb is still firm and shows some kind of life either in roots or stem.. you have a chance.. 

I like to drill holes in the bottom of the pots.. I use the pots they come in just to make sure they are going to survive before i invest in a good pot.. Amaryllis do NOT like to stay wet.. That is probably the biggest downfall when you try to grow them.. Water them well with good drainage and let them dry out good before you water them again.. 

I put rocks in the bottom and mix some charcoal with it.. I would especially do this if you do not intend to drill holes.. That way if you do have any water sit in the bottom it does not smell.. I started adding charcoal several years ago and it has served me well.. Maybe the plants like it other than just stopping it from smelling .. i don't know.. 

There they are .. all in a row.. sitting in the best light i have in this house, which is not the best.. Notice i do not bury the bulb all the way.. The one closest to you looking at it now i wish i would have buried it a little more.. like the others.. but for now that will be okay.. 

So meet Ferrari,  Tinkerbell , and Arabian Night!!! 

Cross your fingers.. Arabian Night was probably in the worst shape .. the bulb was a little soft... But its the one trying to put out a flower.. If i was smart i would probably cut it off.. and let the bulb conserve its energy ... but i haven't the heart.. For now the trick will be learning how best to water these.. Keeping them wet enough but not too wet..  By the way... the dirt they come with is probably the best dirt for them.. it drains and dries out quickly which is what they need.. The bulb likes to be a little rootbound too so don't be in a hurry to transplant into a bigger pot..  I hope you enjoyed this . Have you grown Amaryllis before ? If you haven't i hope this might encourage you to give one you find on an After Christmas Sale a try.. They just need a little love.. I'm on the lookout for a red/white one called Starlight.. and theres another red one called Red Lion.. fun , fun.. 

i want to thank you for checking back for latecomers to the party and being kind enough to visit AND read all the way to the bottom of this long post . Just for doing that, I'd like to offer a GiveAway of one of these bracelets... As you know my blog is Learning2JustBreathe so you know when i found these metal tags on CLEARANCE i just had to have them..  I added the leather clip ons , which were on CLEARANCE too!!!  Yes, i'm a the clearance /sale QUEEN...lol There's no shame in that! lol Well i'd love to give one away.. Sadly only to those that live in the USA..  If you'd like me to put your name in the hat please let me know in a comment.. I'll do the drawing in time for the next T party!! Happy T day! Hugs! deb

T stands for ...........Squeamish photo at the end......

 

..............incase your one of the few who don't know... last week not 5 minutes after i linked up with the T party hubby walked in the back door saying.. 'We need to go to the Hospital'.. not words i like to hear... He had tried to cut his fingers off with a power tool... sigh.. So three hours , 12 stitches, one broke finger later it looked like this.. He's doing good.. honestly didn't bleed much...Could have been so much worse.  He has an appt with some kind of hand specialist tomorrow.. 

You don't think this slowed him down any do you? It may have curbed his golf passion.. for now.. but if you look close you can see his bandaged right hand.. 

And for a touch of Christmas, this is a completed project of hubby's that he finished before the hand incident. He saw this on YouTube and gave it a try.. I think it came out really cool and once we get too old to mess with a Christmas tree i can see this becoming our Christmas tree..  I plan to paint it green . The gold animals are there because i just finished painting them gold and had no where to put them since we didn't put a tree up this year.. Thought they looked cool there..lol 

I found this photo in my phone while attempting to clean out some on there..  My daughter sent it to me when she saw this awesome display.. I want one...lol 

And finally my ticket to the party... Hubs and i don't drink but chocolate will draw my attention every time.. lol I hope your having a great week leading up to Christmas.. Except for hubs finger its been a very quite season for us this year.. no decorations.. no family over.. might sound a little disappointing... but it really depends on your perspective ... I've had many different kinds of Holidays over the years... last year we had two little kiddos running around..  i do miss them but i think we can take a quiet Christmas in stride. I hope your Christmas is just what you were looking for.. Now..... if your not squeamish... you can scroll down if you want a look at hub's finger before the bandaging but after the stitching.. I realize it may not be for all.. so i'll put it down below.. Hugs! deb

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T stands for........... Koi Update

 

Good Morning T friends!!!  Ooops let me check... yep.. yep.. its still morning.. at least in my neck of the woods.. I'm sorry to be so late for all those that live overseas.. I hope you'll visit anyway!  Above is an update on the Koi painting.. I imagine its all beginning to look the same to you as all i'am doing now is adding detail... 

Lots of penwork that you really can't see unless your up close and personal.. The details though are dear to my heart.. I think that comes from my love of sketching /drawing.. Painting is really a new adventure.. 

My pens really don't like to go over the paint... its a struggle... but i put a movie on , cup of coffee.. settle in  and just go nice and slow.. and remind myself when it all comes together in the end it will be beautiful.. 

The weather here has been gorgeous for December.. 70's F and 50'sF at night.. my heater hasn't come on for days... which is good for the heating bill.. So not complaining.. but looks like Mother Nature will remind us its Winter this next week.. I just wish she'd give me a white Christmas.. highly unlikely in TX.. 

Above you can see what it looks like without the penwork.. The pen gives me back some of the detail i lose with just gold.. tedious but worth it i think..  And if you've read this far i'll leave you with some good news... Yesterday i took several  of my pieces to a shop that sells on consignment! The lady picked 4 pieces! Its a little shop in an out of the way location.. she doesn't see much traffic flow BUT  its really not about that.. Oh i'd LOVE to sell something but really its about me taking the plunge and putting my stuff out there.. We were to meet at 11am and all morning my inner voice was trying to talk me out of going... but i didn't listen and went anyway..  So i think thats a win/win!! Happy T day and i'll be around to visit everyone today!! Hugs! deb

T stands for ......Rusty Tractors....

 

Hellllooooo.... all you wonderful T partiers! Running late! .. nothing new.. Spent yesterday down on the Ranch and playing a little golf.  Well i took lots of pictures for you..  As your reading (singing ) the words i want you to think of the song 'Silver Bells".... 

      " Mesquite filled pastures, cactus pastures, 

              trusty chain saw in hand.....

                 In the air there's a smell of cow patties,

           Cows a mooing , horses neighing.... 

                 meeting nose after nose

                And on every dusty mile you hear....

Rusty Tractors, Rusty Tractors...Its Christmas time in the Country... 

                 Paint a Peeling, Tires Sinking

                  Soon it will be Christmas Day.... 

            Did you get it?  lol  Anyway... some of it works .. some of it doesn't.. lol  All i could think of over coffee this morning.. my brain was screaming .. its much too early for this..  I hope those of you who enjoy it .. enjoyed all the rusty goodness.. 

                         I hope your Holiday Season is coming along beautifully.. I may be late but i'll be around to visit... Promise! Happy T day! Hugs! deb