Watercolor painting and sprucing up a bit!

Where do I begin?
It's been WAAAAY too long since my last post for sure!

Things have been pretty good around here.

I sold my very first watercolor paintings!

I've been painting more and getting some packaged

to sell in our local antique store.

Hopefully I will get a few listed in my Etsy store too!

Here's a sampling of what I've been working on:

The peonies below are what I recently sold!

They were huge!!! 18" x 24"

They were a bit rippled when I finished with them

but was able to get them flattened out nicely.

And here they are matted and framed in my client's home!

I've even painted some teeny watercolors to fit into these sweet little frames!

We've been working on planting a small garden,

potting pretty plants and best of all?

Bringing our old, in-ground pool back to life!

We moved here last year and let the old pool remain covered,

especially for safety's sake.

You could hear the frog's croaking at night

as they basically called it home!

It's now been pumped out, cleaned up and we are waiting

on the new liner to arrive and be installed.

We've never had a pool in our entire lives so

there will be a learning curve. Wish us luck!!!

We gave the retaining wall behind the pool

a bit of a face lift!

The cap blocks on top were old and crumbling away.

Well, we purchased some decorative pavers

that looked good with the wall and my sweet dad

chipped all the old off and added the pavers!

It's a simple change but sure makes a huge difference.

The photo below is before the pavers and before pressure washing the concrete!

You can barely see it but the wall was crumbling on top.

Here are the simple pavers. They were only 25 cents each!!!

You can see our teeny garden too.

Spring is all about beautiful, new plants!

I so hope you are enjoying your spring!

It will be scorching hot here in middle Georgia in just a few weeks

and I won't be able to tolerate it.

If you're looking for me,

I'll be indoors or in the pool!!!

Hugs and love always,

Dawn

Spring anyone?

We have been pretty busy around here!!!

Now that Easter has passed and it really IS officially spring,

Tammy and I have been planting so many

wonderful things!

Herbs, ferns, flowers and succulents.

Yesterday the deck was freshened up by new outdoor carpet

until we can get the floor replaced.

What a difference it has made!

New cushions on the chairs make it even better.

You have to plant and pot things here in Georgia

while temperatures are mild because

in about a month it will be pretty hot and steamy!

I just wanted to share a few photos of our beautiful deck!

Dill and basil ~

A beautiful arrangement of potted flowers Tammy put together!

Mint and more flowers.

I love ferns so we have them sprinkled all over.

Rosemary, parsley, oregano and thyme.

Asparagus ferns mixed with sedum. Flower plantings and a fox tail fern!

Chives!

Another gorgeous flower arrangement potted by sweet Tammy.

She does have the touch having been in the floral business for 40 years or so!

A small bed that we planted foxgloves and other flowers.

The plant in front of St. Francis is catnip!

I've hung a handmade wreath on our front screened door,

complete with fake greenery and fake bird's nest.

WELL a little sparrow thought it looked like home

and built her nest right beside the fake one!

We have five little eggs too!!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little tour around the deck
and that spring has arrived for you as well!

We had better enjoy it this next month before the temps rise!

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I'm up too,

Hugs and love,

Dawn

Spring is here in Georgia and I love it!!!!

Isn't it so wonderful how the spring of the year feels like a beautiful renewal???

We moved to our new home in the fall and

as it was pretty with all of the fall colors but

things changed fast with all the leaves falling

and the cold weather approaching.

I haven't shared this before but we have moved in with 40 year old friends and

are now sharing their home and ALL of the expenses!!!

They too are empty nesters and invited us to share their home with them.

They lost their youngest son (one year older than our Noah) in a tragic car accident

four years ago and the older daughters have moved away.

They have a huge home with an in-law suite that they occupy and offered

us the rest of the house as our own.

I met these precious souls, James and Tammy at my first day at art college.

Long story short, they fell in love...

Dennis and I fell in love and married a year before they married and

I was pregnant with our first son Brent at their wedding!

Dennis and I were the best man and matron of honor at their wedding.

And we've been friends for soooo many years now!

Dennis and James went to school together and were even co-workers too.

Oh, and they are both true artists!!!
And now, in our new home we have a gorgeous studio!!!!

Perfect for all creatives and of course I brought all of my supplies!!!

Anyway that is the backstory.

It has been a beautiful thing for us.

We have dinners together, laugh and reminisce then we all

retire to our separate living spaces to watch a little TV before bed.

So now to making things beautiful!!!!!

Our sweet deck is in dire need of new floor boards

so understand they'll be replaced soon.

But I couldn't help but do some spring planting today!

Mint!

Basil!

Just a random found nest that I placed a river rock inside...that kind of looks like an egg!

And one more ~

A few asparagus ferns with sedum in between!

A little rosemary ~

And chives!

The ferns have been planted and are ready for the front porch too ~

Different varieties of sedum have been planted in the old birdbath too!

Yes, it's rachet, and has been broken but glued back together.

I think that's why we love it so much!

Happy Spring precious friends!!!

Thank you always for following me and my journey through life.

Hugs and love,

Dawn